BEETLES. 
21 
In the larval state, the eyed elater lives in rotten 
wood. The other click-beetles live either in decay¬ 
ing wood or in the soil where they feed on the 
roots of grasses and other plants. Indeed, some of 
these do much harm to crops of wheat, oats, corn, 
etc. These larvae are known as wireworms because 
of their slender, wiry bodies. Their heads are 
brown and bodies yellow or creamy-white in color. 
Click-beetles do not reach maturity in one season; 
on the contrary they are known to take three or four 
years to reach the perfect state. 
TIGER-BEETLES, BORERS, AND SOLDIER-BEETLES. 
The tiger-beetles are very unlike the lady bee¬ 
tles. The head is very conspicuous. The thorax 
is also well-marked and the abdomen much wider 
than the other parts. The elytra are black or dark 
greenish-brown, variously marked with yellow. 
Tiger-beetles are very active and intelligent in 
their actions. When approached they will permit 
one to come very close and then fly quickly away 
for several feet. In alighting they always face the 
approaching person so as to keep him well in view. 
Tiger-beetles burrow in the ground. Their larvae 
hide there and thrust out only the head, which is 
not easily seen because of its dirt-color. The larva 
is also said to have a curious hook on one of the 
rings of the abdomen for holding him fast in his 
hole if some enemy should attempt to pull him out. 
The boring-beetles resemble the tiger-beetles in 
