304 Mr. Newport on the Natural History 



by the development of fresh ova, and was again reduced on the deposition of 

 these preparatory to the maturation of others. 



These observations coincide with those formerly made by Goedart *, who 

 found that a specimen of M. proscarabceus confined in a vessel alone depo- 

 sited a second packet of eggs at the end of twenty-one days, but the number 

 produced on the second occasion was not so great as on the first. Goedart 

 says that he counted in his first packet two thousand and six, but that he had 

 reason to believe there were more than three thousand. On the second occa- 

 sion he counted nine hundred and six larvae, but he remarks that there were 

 a vast many more which he was unable to reckon. 



/ 2. Of the Egg and Larva. 



The eggs of all the species are similar in form and colour, and only differ a 

 little in size. When first deposited they are about one-twentieth of an inch in 

 length, very slightly conical, but obtuse at both ends, and of a bright orange. 

 The shell is transparent, coriaceous, flexible, and exceedingly delicate. Al- 

 though it is not my intention at the present moment to enter on a lengthened 

 account of the internal structure of the ovum, and the evolution of the embryo, 

 which I shall leave for a future part of this paper, I may here state that the 

 contents of the Qg^ are an orange-coloured yelk, composed as usual of distinct 

 cells, and surrounded by a very small quantity of transparent, colourless albu- 

 men-like fluid. Near the middle of the unimpregnated egg, on the surface of 

 the yelk, and projecting slightly from it, a small rounded body, the germinal 

 vesicle, is distinctly visible. When the egg is impregnated, and is deposited 

 in the earth, this vesicle has disappeared, preparatory to the commencement 

 of organization. I am not certain whether the manner in which the eggs are 

 arranged in the burrow may have any special reference to the development of 

 the young, but it is worthy of remark, that they always lie parallel to each 

 other, and adhere together at their sides, with one end directed to the entrance 

 of the burrow. 



The length of time that intervenes between the deposition of the egg and 

 the appearance of the larva is subject to much variation. It seems to differ a 

 little in different species, but in each depends much on the temperature of the 



* M6m., tome ii. p. 180. 



