90 THE CANADIAN ENTOMOLOGIST, 



OBSERVATIONS ON ANTHRENUS VARIUS Fab., ANTHRENUS 



MUS^ORUM Lin., TROGODERMA ORNATA Say, 



AND SITODREPA PANICEA Lm. 



BY JOHN HAMILTON, ALLEGHENY, PA. 



ANTHRENUS Varius Fab. — Entomologist.s generally are well enough 

 acquainted with the appearance of this insect, and but too well with the 

 work of its larvae ; but as to the time required for its development there is 

 not the same unanimity of knowledge, — some stating that it requires a 

 year for its various transformations ; others, that only a few weeks are 

 necessary. The following is my experience : May, 1879, I placed a 

 female in a paper collar box with some refuse Coleoptera and Lepi- 

 doptera. This box stood on the mantel-piece in my office, and conse- 

 quently the temperature was nearly uniform summer and winter. An 

 examination two months afterwards revealed several small larvge. These 

 were inspected monthly, and appeared to have attained their growth by 

 the I St of December, though they remained active during the winter. 

 The first pupae were observed March 5th, and the first beetle on the 26th. 

 From that time to May ist thirty-five developed in all, — the product of 

 this one beetle. Three females and two males were left in the box, and 

 six weeks afterwards young larvte were observed. They were inspected 

 monthly, and followed the same course as observed the previous year. 

 From April to May, (18S1), seventy-five beetles were taken from the box. 

 How many were left is unknown. The box was closed, and several 

 months afterwards was found to be inhabited by countless multitudes of 

 half-grown larva?. These disclosed, as before, during the following April, 

 (1882). The beetles and cast-off larvae skins nearly filled the box, and 

 the original food was reduced to a powder. They were numerous enough 

 to have supphed all the cabinets on the globe. Box and all were con- 

 signed to the flames. This experiment shows that this insect is moder- 

 ately prolific ; that it is annual, at least in this instance ; that it does not 

 require water ; that it can be propagated indefinitely without the male and 

 female resorting to the open air, or tasting the sweets of flowers ; and 

 that the larvae do not seek to escape from confinement by gnawing out. 

 Experimenters should use two close fitting telescopic boxes of different 

 sizes, one within the other, so as to prevent any possible escape of the 

 larvae. 



