THE CANADIAN ENTOMOLOGIST 225 



black. Found from Kansas to Mexico, and is abundant throughout the 

 whole region. 



13. Tergrodera erosa Lee. — Body and legs black ; head and thorax 

 reddish, the former with a deep groove ; wing-covers bright yellow, their 

 surface roughened with coarse reticulations, with a median and apical 

 black band, which in some specimens are wanting. Abundant in Southern 

 California and peninsula of Lower California, on a low herbaceous plant 

 with a blue flower. 



In all these species the female is more valuable than the male, especially 

 when well distended with eggs, owing to the relatively larger proportion 

 of the soft parts. Eggs have the same power as the other soft parts ; the 

 blood Dr. Horn believes to be more active than any other portion. 



Having referred in detail to the perfect insects, it is now proposed to 

 sketch their history as far as known through the earlier stages of their 

 existence. 



The life history of Afe/oe, which has been well worked up in Europe, 

 may be taken as a type of all the species mentioned, since all the facts 

 accumulated on this subject point to a similarity in the character of the 

 transformations and habits, which in the vesicating insects are very 

 remarkable. 



In the 20th volume of the " Linnean Transactions " there is a memoir 

 on the natural history of Me/oe, from which many of the following facts are 

 derived. 



The Meloe beetles, when fresh from their pupa cases in spring, are 

 feeble, move slowly, and have their bodies small and contracted, but after 

 feeding a few days these enlarge greatly, the abdomen of the female 

 expanding to twice its original size owing to the enormous quantity of ova 

 within its body in process of development. The abdomen will then 

 measure an inch or more in length, and appears to be dragged along with 

 difficulty. They are fond of basking in the hot sunshine, and are said to 

 be most active during the early and middle parts of the day. When con- 

 fined in boxes for the purpose of observing their habits, it is necessary to 

 expose them much to the sun and supply them with an abundance of 

 food ; they are then quite at home, and their proceedings may be easily 

 watched. They drink freely of water and require their food to be well 

 wetted. In a few days after leaving their winter quarters they pair. 



The eggs are deposited in the earth. A small excavation is made by 

 the female, sometimes as much as two inches in depth, into which, when 



