. A manual for the study of insects. Insects. 588 THE STUDY OF INSECTS. blister-beetles find their way to the nests of solitary bees has not yet reached perfection ; for many of the larv^ae at- tach themselves to flies, wasps, honey-bees, and other flower- visiting insects, and merely gain useless transportation thereby. Nearly two hundred species of blister-beetles have been found in this country. The majority of our common species belong to the genera named below. Meloe,—The beetles of this genus present an exception to the characters of the Coleoptera, in that the wing-covers, instead of me
. A manual for the study of insects. Insects. 588 THE STUDY OF INSECTS. blister-beetles find their way to the nests of solitary bees has not yet reached perfection ; for many of the larv^ae at- tach themselves to flies, wasps, honey-bees, and other flower- visiting insects, and merely gain useless transportation thereby. Nearly two hundred species of blister-beetles have been found in this country. The majority of our common species belong to the genera named below. Meloe,—The beetles of this genus present an exception to the characters of the Coleoptera, in that the wing-covers, instead of meeting in a straight line down the middle of the back, overlap at the base (Fig. 717). These wing-covers are short, and the wings are lacking. These beetles are called oil-beetles in England, on account of the yel- lowish liquid which oozes from their joints in Fig, 717. large drops when they are handled. Our most common species is the Buttercup Oil-beetle, Meloe angusticollis (Mel^o-e an-gus-ti-coHis). It may be found in meadows and pastures feeding on the leaves of various species of buttercups. Nernogfiatha.—The species of the genus NemognatJia (Ne-mog'na-tha) are remarkable for having the maxillae developed into a long sucking-tube, which is sometimes as long as the body, and which resembles somewhat the suck- ing-tube of a butterfly. A similar modification of the maxillae occurs in the genus Gnathium (Gnath^i-um), which differs from Nemognatha in having a slight thickening of the outer segments of the antennae. The species of these two genera occur chiefly in the South and West. Our most common species of blister-beetles in the East belong to the genus Epicauta (Ep-i-cau^ta). These insects feed in the adult state upon the leaves of potato, and upon the pollen of goldenrod ; the larvae, so far as is known, are parasitic in the egg-cases of locusts. The Pennsylvania Blister-beetle, Epicauta pennsylvanica, (E. penn-syl-van'i-ca),. Please note that these images are extracte
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Keywords: ., bookcentury1800, bookdecade1890, booksubjectinsects, bookyear1895
