. A manual for the study of insects. Insects. COLEOFTERA. S^7 males also the first three segments of the anterior tarsi are usually dilated and densely clothed with hair beneath. It has been said that these beetles make burrows in which to retire from the rain and cold. We have ^een them in September digging burrows in a hillside; these descended slightly and were about five inches deep. The beetles kicked the dirt out behind them as they dug, so that it lay in a heap at the opening of the hole. But we were unable to discover whether these burrows were made as dwellings, or, what is more likel
. A manual for the study of insects. Insects. COLEOFTERA. S^7 males also the first three segments of the anterior tarsi are usually dilated and densely clothed with hair beneath. It has been said that these beetles make burrows in which to retire from the rain and cold. We have ^een them in September digging burrows in a hillside; these descended slightly and were about five inches deep. The beetles kicked the dirt out behind them as they dug, so that it lay in a heap at the opening of the hole. But we were unable to discover whether these burrows were made as dwellings, or, what is more likely, places in which to deposit eggs. No observation as to the egg-laying habits of these insects has come to our notice. The tiger-beetle larvae (Fig. 619) are as ugly and ungrace- ful as the adults are beautiful. The two have only one habit in common—their eagerness for prey. The larvae live in vertical burrows in sandy places or in beaten paths. These burrows occur also in ploughed fields that have become dry and hard. They often extend a foot or more in depth. The larva takes a position of watch- fulness at the mouth of its burrow. Its dirt- colored head is bent at right angles to its p^^ 619 —Larva lighter-colored body and makes a neat plug to °^ adndeia. the opening of the hole. Its rapacious jaws extend upward, wide open, ready to seize the first unwary insect that walks over this living trap. On the fifth segment of the abdomen there is a hump, and on this hump are two hooks curved forward. This is an arrangement by which the little rascal can hold back and keep from being jerked out of its hole when it gets some large insect by the leg, and by which it can drag its struggling prey down into its lair, where it may eat it at leisure. It is interesting to thrust a straw down into one of these burrows, and then dig it out with a trowel. The chances are that you will find the indignant inhabitant at the remote end of the burrow, chewing savagely at the end of the intrudi
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Keywords: ., bookcentury1800, bookdecade1890, booksubjectinsects, bookyear1895
