. Elementary entomology. Insects. FIG. 201. A carrion-beetle (Silpha novaboracensis) and larva. (One and one half times natural size) (After Kellogg) is derived from their habit of excavating beneath dead animals, which they gradually drop beneath the surface and then cover with soil. Both adults and larvae feed on decomposing animals and are among the chief natural agents for their sanitary disposal, though some species are predacious and others feed on decaying fungi. The larvae are black, flattened, with the segments sharply marked, and are found with the adults. The rove-beetles (Staphylin
. Elementary entomology. Insects. FIG. 201. A carrion-beetle (Silpha novaboracensis) and larva. (One and one half times natural size) (After Kellogg) is derived from their habit of excavating beneath dead animals, which they gradually drop beneath the surface and then cover with soil. Both adults and larvae feed on decomposing animals and are among the chief natural agents for their sanitary disposal, though some species are predacious and others feed on decaying fungi. The larvae are black, flattened, with the segments sharply marked, and are found with the adults. The rove-beetles (Staphylinidae). The rove-beetles are readily recognized by the very short wing-covers, usually not over a third of the length of the abdo- men. Most species are very small, but the more common ones are from half an inch to an inch long, with narrow, parallel- sided bodies. They run about swiftly and when disturbed curl up the abdomen as if to sting. The larger common species are found with the SilpJiidac feeding on carrion or decaying organic matter, being commonly found in dump heaps, while the smaller species feed on pollen, fungi, or small insects. Cucujidae. The saw-toothed grain-beetle \Silvanus sztrinamensis), which is one of our commonest grain pests, is a good ex- ample of the small family Cncnjidac. It is a small, flat beetle, an eighth of an inch Ions:, and readily distinguished J O from other small grain insects by the ser- rated edges of the thorax. It feeds also on all sorts of fruits, seeds, and dry pantry stores, as do the little whitish larvae. The other com- mon species are much-flattened beetles which live beneath bark and feed upon small insects and fungi. One of these (Cucnjus clavipes] is a bright red, with eyes and antennae black and tibiae and tarsi dark, and is readily recognized by the thin body. Larder-beetles. Every housewife knows that she must be on the lookout for the small carpet-beetle, often called the buffalo-moth (Anthrenus scrophularid), and for the l
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