ing it when it is feeding on potatoes. Make careful
drawings of a cluster of eggs, the grub and the beetle.

CHAPTER XII

THE LADY-BEETLE

"_Hurt no living thing:
Ladybird, nor butterfly,
Nor moth with dusty wing,
Nor cricket chirping cheerily,
Nor grasshopper so light of leap,
Nor dancing gnat, nor beetle fat,
Nor harmless worms that creep._"

--CHRISTINA ROSSETTI.

The lady-beetles comprise one family of small beetles, which is famous
for the number of beneficial forms it includes. With but two exceptions
the American forms feed upon other insects, in most cases pests such as
plant-lice and scale insects. From the time they hatch from the egg
until they pupate and again after the beetle stage is reached they are
regular tigers after plant-lice. They catch and hold their prey between
the front feet while they devour it bodily. The larva of the lady-beetle
has an astonishing capacity for in one day it will eat several times its
own weight of plant-lice. Farmers and fruit growers could hardly get
along without the help of these small beetles and yet unfortunately
thousands are often destroyed by those who do not know of their
beneficial work.

[Illustration: The spotted lady-beetle; a, larva; b, pupa; c, adult;
enlarged. (After Chittenden, U. S. Dept. Agri.)]

The lady-beetles, or lady-birds as they are often called, are fairly
uniform in shape and color. They are oval or round in outline with the
back rounded or elevated and the underside flat. In color they are
usually either orange or yellow, checkered or blotched with black or
black with yellow or bright orange markings. They closely resemble small
tortoises. Unfortunately several plant feeding beetles are similar in
shape and color which casts reflections on the lady-beetles.

[Illustration: The convergent lady-beetle; a, adult; b, pupa; c, larva;
all enlarged. (After Chittenden, U. S. Dept. Agri.)]

The grub of the lady-beetle is usually black or dull colored with red or
yellow markings which make it very conspicuous. It runs about over
foliage and is broad in front and tapers to a point behind. When the
grub is full fed it attaches the top of its body to a leaf, twig or
other object and pupates. In the pupal stage it is often protected with
spines and is able to lift the front end of the body up and down when
disturbed, producing a light tapping sound.

The lady-beetle usual