The weevils (Fig. 206) are the bane of the dweller in the tropics. They infest bread, cake, and flour and meal of every kind. Perhaps the most dreaded by the Northern farmer is the potato bug (Fig. 207), which plays havoc with potatoes, often ruining the entire crop, the vines being covered by the soft and disagreeable larva, more like a worm than anything else. The diving beetle is an interesting insect, being a flier and a swimmer. Its hind legs are fringed and adapted for swimming. On the fore limb is a sucker, or several, by which the beetle can attach itself to any object. The larva is a ferocious creature, armed with a pair of fierce jaws, with which it attacks small fishes, frogs, tadpoles, and game very much larger than itself. [Illustration: FIG. 206.--The weevil.] [Illustration: FIG. 207.--Potato bug, eggs and young.] XXV. THE BUGS [Illustration: FIG. 208.--Chinch bug, egg and various stages of the young.] The bugs are easily recognized. They have the mouth parts arranged as a sucking beak or proboscis. The chinch bug (Fig. 208), the squash bug (Fig. 209), the seventeen-year cicada, or locust (Fig. 210), and the bean aphis (Fig. 211) are well-known examples. They represent a group dreaded for many reasons; many are parasites on man and beast, while many others destroy crops of various kinds. [Illustration: FIG. 209.--Squash bug.] In nearly all fresh-water ponds and pools curious flat, long-legged creatures (Fig. 212) are seen darting over the surface, being perfectly at home. They are water boatmen, and one species (Fig. 213) is found far out at sea. [Illustration: FIG. 210.--Cicada.] [Illustration: FIG. 211.--Bean aphis.] [Illustration: FIG. 212.--Water boatmen.]