Excerpt from The Massachusetts Agricultural Repository and Journal, 1827-1832, Vol. 10

This insect devours the leaves of trees and shrubs. Its duration in the perfect state is very short, each individual living only about a week, and the species entirely disap pearing in the course of a month. After the sexual Union has taken place the males perish, and the females enter the earth, to the depth of six inches, or more, making their way by means of the strong teeth which aim their anterior tibiae 3 here they deposit their eggs, amounting to nearly One hun dred in number, from every female, which are soon after abandoned, and the females ascend to the surface, and, after languishing a few days, perish also.

From the eggs are hatched, by the warmth of the earth, little whitish grubs, called, in France, vars blancs, each pro vided with six legs, situated near the head, and the mouth furnished with two strong jaws. They live on the roots of plants and other vegetable substances found in the ground gradually increase in size, and change their skins once a year, about the commencement of spring, after which they approach nearer the surface in search of food; for during the winter they do not eat, but, having penetrated below the reach of frost, remain torpid until the succeeding spring. At the close of their third summer they cease eating, and penetrate about two feet deep into the earth: there by its motions from side to side the grub forms an oval cavity, which is lined by its excrements, and some glutinous fibres, in which it is changed to a pupa by casting its last larva skin. In this state the legs, antennae, and wing-cases are visible through the transparent skin which envelopes them, but appear of a yellowish white colour; and thus it remains until the approach of the ensuing spring, when the thin film which encloses its body and limbs is rent, and the per fect insect digs its way to the surface of the ground, where the superabundant moisture with which it is imbued, is ex haled, and it expands its wings and takes flight.

About the Publisher

Forgotten Books publishes hundreds of thousands of rare and classic books. Find more at www.forgottenbooks.com

This book is a reproduction of an important historical work. Forgotten Books uses state-of-the-art technology to digitally reconstruct the work, preserving the original format whilst repairing imperfections present in the aged copy. In rare cases, an imperfection in the original, such as a blemish or missing page, may be replicated in our edition. We do, however, repair the vast majority of imperfections successfully; any imperfections that remain are intentionally left to preserve the state of such historical works.