Huan Scott 113 



(3) Observations made tend to confirm the view already expressed 

 by some writers, that the larvae of this insect are usually saprophagous, 

 but that they sometimes return to the predaceous habits characteristic 

 of the Cleridae, and kill and devour other larvae. They were observed 

 to eat the soft parts of dead adult flies, and to be attracted to mouldy 

 cheese; they sometimes bore into puparia of flies (two were watched in 

 the act) ; and with considerable difficulty some were induced to kill and 

 eat fly-maggots. 



(4) For pupation the larvae make use of existing cavities, and 

 screen over all spaces with hardened, white, opaque, secretion; or they 

 make themselves cells, and line these with the secretion. As recorded by 

 earUer writers, a very frequent method is to enter an empty fly-puparium, 

 and screen over the open end. But they also readily excavated and lined 

 cells in sawdust, sometimes even when empty puparia were ready to 

 their use. Two larvae pupated without any cell or cocoon, but this was 

 probably a result of unfavourable conditions. 



(5) The adult beetles were observed to eat dead fly-maggots and the 

 soft parts of dead adult flies. They were attracted in numbers to mouldy 

 cheese and to sugar-and -water. The evidence was against their killing 

 fly-maggots. 



(6) Some notes on the form of the larva and pupa are given, including 

 observations which indicate that slight changes in the number of setae, 

 etc., occur at the larval moults. 



REFERENCES. 



Tiie following is not intended to be an exhaustive list of every work in which 

 allusion is made to the habits of Necrobia. Many of the older text-books and other 

 writings refer briefly to the subject without making any fresh contribution to it, and 

 the titles of these works are not all included. Rupertsberger gives a number of refer- 

 ences to articles bearing on the biology of this genus and of Corynetes {Biol. d. Kcifer 

 Eur. 1880, p. 172; Biol. Lit. d. Kafer Eur. 1894, p. 176): so also does Schenklxng 

 {Goleopterorum Catalogus, Part 23, Cleridae, 1910, pp. 140, 142, 143). Most or all of 

 these are included in the Ust below. 



References to the history of the association of N. ruficoUis with Latreille's escape 

 from prison during the French Revohition may be briefly summarised as follows: 

 Latreille alludes briefly to it, Gen. Crust. Ins. x, 1806, p. 275, and at greater length. 

 Hist. nat. Crust. Ins. ix, p. 157. A fuller account, mainly from Bory de Saint Vincent, 

 is given by Brulle, Hist. Nat. des Ins. vol. vi ( = Coleopt., vol. in): this is cited in 

 extenso by Girard, Traite e'lem. d'Ent. l, 1873, p. 546, and in Kiinckel d'Herculais, 



