The Gardeners' Chronicle and Agricultural Gazette . larvaefeeding in the soft, wet, and rotting wood of stumps inwoods, which had been left as stools, where portions ofthe underwood had been felled. In searching for insectsin Coomb-wood towards the end of April, 1841, I ex-amined the stump of a decayed Birch-tree, covered withmoss and very wet; on pulling it to pieces with a diggerI detected two of these larvfe and several of the Helopscaraboides with them, as well as great numbers iu thecrevices of the bark and at the base of other Birch-trees :they change to pupae, no doubt, in the same situ
The Gardeners' Chronicle and Agricultural Gazette . larvaefeeding in the soft, wet, and rotting wood of stumps inwoods, which had been left as stools, where portions ofthe underwood had been felled. In searching for insectsin Coomb-wood towards the end of April, 1841, I ex-amined the stump of a decayed Birch-tree, covered withmoss and very wet; on pulling it to pieces with a diggerI detected two of these larvfe and several of the Helopscaraboides with them, as well as great numbers iu thecrevices of the bark and at the base of other Birch-trees :they change to pupae, no doubt, in the same situations,but I do not remember to have seen them in that state ;I have, however, found the beetles just hatched, whenthey are, of course, very tender and almost white ; theysoon change to an ochreous tint, and eventually becomeof a pitchy colour. They may he taken in many partsof England throughout the year ; by searching in thewinter at the base of trees and the roots of Grass, wherethey hybernate ; and in spring the Broom is theirfavourite The beetle was named Helops caraboides by Panzer,H. dermestoides by lUiger, and H. striatus by Olivier,aud it is the Blaps Spartii of Marsham. It is of a pitchycolour, often incUning to chesnut, the surface smooth andshining ; the maxillary palpi are prominent and hatchet-shaped ; the autennte are moderately long, and a littlethickened towards the extremity ; they are ferruginous,silky, and ll-jointed, the second joint being minute, thethird elongated, the remainder increasing in length tothe apical one, which is oval; the head is ovate, thicklyand minutely punctured ; the eyes are black, lateral,and kidney-shaped; the thorax is twice as broad, convex,rather broader than long, and slightly narrowed before,the sides being rounded ; scutellum small and triangular ;elytra thrice as long as the thorax, very convex, elliptical;the apex rounded; they are thickly and minutely punc-tured, with eight shallow punctured strite on each, varies mu
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Keywords: ., bookcentury1800, bookdecade1840, bookidg, booksubjecthorticulture
