The wood-eaters or horn-tails are wood-boring insects living in the trunks of trees and stems of plants. They are called "horn-tails" because of the spine at the end of the body. They lay their eggs in these borings and the young, when hatched, continue to bore their way through the pith.
The Saw-flies.
The saw-flies saw their way into plant tissue and lay their eggs in the openings thus made. Many of these flies are very injurious to vegetation because of this habit. The currant-worm, rose-slug and pear-slug are all members of this family, and farmers are not on friendly terms with these insects.
THE COLEOPTERA.
This is the order of insects which includes beetles, glowworms, lady-birds, weevils, cock-chafers, etc. Their chief characteristic is the hard wing covers. The wings proper are below these. Most of this order have strong mandibles. The diet of beetles is much varied, but they are all voracious.
The little lady-birds, about whom the nursery rhyme sings, warning them to "fly away home," feed upon the scale insects.
The glow-worm derives the first part of its name from its luminosity, and the second from its worm-like appearance. To this same family belong a number of other luminous beetles, the name "firefly" being usually given.
The weevil is a general name for plant-eating beetles, and they not infrequently cause great destruction to vegetable matter. Certain weevils are interesting because of their habit of rolling up leaves in order to construct a shelter for their young. The nut-weevil lays her eggs in the young nut while it is still soft and its grub bores its way out in the fall. The cotton-boll weevil has caused great injury to the cotton crops in the Southern States. It pierces the leaves of the plant and lays its eggs. The young feed upon the plant. There are also corn weevils and rice weevils, and still others that attack peas and beans.
The cock-chafers belong to a large group of dark-colored beetles known as June bugs. They frequently enter light rooms at night, making a loud buzzing noise. The insect comes out of the ground in the spring and is very destructive to the foliage of fruit and other trees. Its grubs live under ground and feed on roots. The chief enemies of the grub are moles and birds; of the beetles, bats and birds.