54 



THE LIFE-STORY OF INSECTS [CH. 



which feeds between the upper and lower skins of a 

 leaf, or of Psylliodes chrysocephala (fig. 15), which 

 burrows in stalks, has a pale, soft cuticle like that 

 of a caterpillar. 



In the larvae of the little timber-beetles and their 



Fig. 15. (a) Cabbage-beetle (Psylliodes chrysocephala) magnified 5 

 times, and its larva (b) magnified 12 times. 



allies (Ptinidae), including the 'death-watches' whose 

 tapping in old furniture is often heard, a marked 

 shortening of the legs and reduction in the size of the 

 head accompany the whitening and softening of the 



