! WIRE-WORM. 
thrive best in a shady border, and may be pro- 
pagated either from seeds or by radical division. 
All possess tonic and astringent properties; and 
two plants which formerly belonged to them, but 
are now assigned to another genus, and have been 
noticed in our article Cu1moPHILa, are eminent- 
ly medicinal. Six species inhabit the woods of 
Britain,—principally in moist and lofty situa- 
tions ; and three have been introduced from North 
America. Alli the nine have a height of about 6 
inches, and bloom about midsummer or in July ; 
and most have either white or reddish flowers, 
often highly fragrant. Two of the indigenous 
species, the rose-coloured and the intermediate, 
occur in England but not in Scotland; two, the 
side-flowering and the smaller, are semi-aquatics ; 
one, the single-flowered, occurs only in very lofty 
situations; and the remaining one, the round- 
leaved, in common with the two non-Scottish 
species, inhabit ordinary woods. A curious cir- 
cumstance in the natural history of the smaller 
species, P. menor, is that it has frequently been 
found growing in small patches in young planta- 
tions where the ground was previously in culti- 
vation, and yet could not be discovered in previ- 
ously uncultivated ground in the vicinity, even 
though the soil and the situation were exactly 
similar, 
WINTER-SWEET. See Margoram. 
WINTER WEED. The ivy-leaved speedwell, 
Veronica hederefolia. See the article Veronica. 
WIRE-WORM. The larva of a click-beetle or 
elateridous insect, living in the soil, and preying 
destructively on the roots of cultivated plants. 
See the article Enarer. Four species of ela- 
teridz, as stated in that article, have been per- 
fectly ascertained to produce vast multitudes of 
the wire-worms of both field and garden; and 
eight other species are strongly suspected or 
presumptively known to produce many more; 
and we shall first give descriptions of all these 
twelve species,—next notice their general eco- 
nomy and habits,—and next detail the principal 
known means, natural and artificial, of keeping 
them down or exterminating them,—simply pre- 
mising that, after having searched very many 
authorities and papers on the subject, we feel 
ourselves driven to rely mainly on an ample and 
most able article by Mr. Curtis, in the 5th 
volume of the Journal of the Royal Agricultural 
Society. 
The spitting click-beetle, Agriotes sputator— 
called by Linneus Hater obscurus—is the small- 
_ est of the four species which are certainly known 
to produce destructive wire-worms. It is shin- 
ing, piceous, and clothed with very short ochre- 
ous pubescence. The head and the thorax are 
black, and thickly and distinctly punctured ; the 
latter orbicular, convex, the hinder angles form- 
ing short stout teeth, sometimes rufous; and 
down the centre is a channel. The scutel is 
subovate. The elytra or wing-cases are not 
broader than the thorax, but more than twice as 
745 
long, elliptical, convex, slightly rugose, with nine 
punctured striz on each. The antenne and legs 
are rufous; the former not longer than the tho- 
rax, slender, the joints obconic, the basal ones 
the stoutest, the second a little longer than the 
third, which is the smallest. The feet have five 
distinct joints. The length of the insect is from 
3 to 32 lines, and the breadth from 1 to 12. 
Some specimens are entirely tawny, excepting 
the black eyes and tips of the mandibles; whilst 
others have the head and thorax only black, the 
hinder margin of the latter and the spines being 
tawny as well as the elytra. From this great 
difference of colour, this species was named Lia- 
ter varrabulis by Herbst; and Paykull, thinking 
it was the same as the next described species, 
gave it the name of later obscurus. It is very 
abundant everywhere from the beginning of May 
to the end of June in hedges, on grass under 
oaks, in corn-fields, &c.; it occurs also in profu- 
sion amongst rejectamenta left by floods. 
The dusky click-beetle, Cataphagus obscurus— 
called by Linneus Later obscurus, by Eschscholtz 
Agriotes obscurus, by Fabricius later variabilis, 
and by De Geer Hlater obtusus—is rather more 
robust than the Agriotes sputator, and has more 
convexity on the sides of its thorax. It is pice- 
ous, densely clothed with short depressed ochre- 
ous hairs. The head and the thorax are thickly 
and distinctly punctured; the latter is as broad 
as it is long, orbicular, very convex; the poste- 
rior angles are produced into strong spines, and 
there is a channel down the back. The scutel 
is oval. The elytra are not broader than the 
thorax, and nearly three times as long, elliptical 
and convex, the extremity when united conical, 
the apex of each rather acute, reddish brown 
and punctured, each having nine punctured strie | 
somewhat in pairs. The antennz are a little 
clavate, quite as long as the thorax; the basal 
joint stout, the second and third of equal length, 
shorter and smaller than the following, the ter- 
minal one ovate-conic, reddish brown as well as 
the legs. The feet or tarsi are distinctly five- 
jointed. The length of the insect is from 44 lines 
to 43, and the breadth 14 to 1%. The pubescence 
is so thick on perfect specimens as to give them 
a dull brown tint all over; whilst others which 
are old and rubbed appear blackish. From April 
to Midsummer this beetle is abundant in fields, 
pasture-lands, woods, and gardens. 
The striped click-beetle, Cataphagus lineatus— 
called by Linneus later lineatus, by Panzer 
later striatus, by Gyll Hlater segetis, and by 
Kschscholtz Agriotes lineatus—is supposed by 
some entomologists to be only a variety of Cata- 
phagus obscurus, with the elytra or wing-cases 
striped, the spaces between the strize being al- 
ternately dark and light, forming four brown 
and five testaceous lines. It is an exceedingly 
common species in various situations, and is the 
most frequently bred from the larvae by those 
who have taken the pains to rear them. In 
