MELOLONTHINVE. 
253 
folds in the skin and three pairs of short jointed legs. The month-parts 
are of the usual mandibulate type and the food is principally roots and 
underground plant tissues. The larva moves actively in soil but is com¬ 
paratively helpless on the surface, the curved body interfering with loco¬ 
motion. When full-grown it makes a mud cell and transforms to a 
pupa in the soil. The length of the life-history is not known and may 
occupy one, two or three years as it does elsewhere though there is at 
present no reason to believe it occupies longer than one year. The imago 
flies by night and comes to light. The forewings are not moved in flight 
but are held rigidly and apparently serve for a parachute and as direct¬ 
ors of flight. The food consists of vegetable matter, leaves and flowers 
being eaten at night, the beetles hiding by day. Few are active by day. 
but some may be found clinging motionless to grass stems. 
The destructive species are so on account either of the destruction 
to roots by the larva, or the destruction to leaves or floral organs by the 
imago. In Europe immense numbers of Melolontha vulgaris constitute 
a very formidable pest in both stages and immense multitudes of these 
insects occur. Nothing of this kind has yet been observed in India, and, 
though species are plentiful, the enormous multiplication of any one 
species does not seem to take place and the place of the Melolontha in 
Europe is here taken by the Eutelid Anomala. The grubs of Melolonth- 
idce are the prey of Scoliidce which seek them out and lay their eggs upon 
them, after they have been parasitised by stinging. 
The number of species is very large and no complete list of Indian 
species exists. A number were described and listed by Brenske in 
Indian Museum Notes. The classification of such large numbers of insects 
is a very difficult matter and the sub-family as a whole is not studied to 
the extent it deserves. The identification of Indian forms is possible 
only by systematists with large reference collections and libraries at hand 
and cannot be undertaken at present. The more common species of the 
plains are figured (I. M. N.) and we can only advise collectors to collect 
patiently, to sort out their specimens into species under numbers and 
hope to get them identified as occasion may offer. The species of the 
Indian Museum were listed by Barlow (Indian Mus. Notes, IV, p. 234). 
The Hoplini include only Hoplia and Ectinohoplia with less than twenty 
species mostly hill forms. The Sericini have been monographed by 
Brenske (Die Serica-Arten der Erde) with 103 Indian species. Serica 
