134 On the Life Historic of " Wlreivonns" 



two gentlemen my thanks must be expressed for their careful examina- 

 tion. 



The only other case of parasitism by an insect occurred in the case 

 of a larval Agriotes obscurus, probably also from Windermere, handed 

 over to Dr Malcolm Laurie, of this station, for examination of the 

 internal anatomy. Within the larva he found several larval parasites, 

 which he believes are also referable to the family Proctotrujndae. 



Wireworms are apparently parasitised by a fungus of the genus 

 Isaria, as has been already stated in the Board of Agriculture leaflet (4). 

 Critical work on the subject is necessary to be certain that the fungus 

 is not in reality a saprophyte, though from my experience with it there 

 is a strong presumption that it is truly parasitic. 



In one of the sod heaps previously mentioned portions of larval 

 Agriotes have been found on one or two occasions, consisting of a thin 

 layer of external chitin only, the whole of the interior portions of the 

 larvae being represented by a mass of fungus hyphae. Similar cases 

 have occurred amongst laboratory-fed larvae obtained from the same 

 source and the fungus has been induced to grow upon apparently 

 healthy larvae by enclosing them in a box with an affected larva, upon 

 portions of which they fed. Fig. 3 (Plate IV) represents the fungus 

 growing from a specimen of Agriotes obscurus. The photograph was 

 taken by Mr W. F. Bewley, to whom and to Mr W. B. Brierley I am 

 greatly indebted for assistance and advice in dealing with this branch 

 of our subject. 



REFERENCES. 



(1) AoRiANOV, A. P. Report on the work of the Entomological Bureau (of Kaluga) 



i/i 1913-14. Kaluga, 1914. Biiei sibBti&ct in Revieto of Applied Entotnology, 

 series A, in (1915), 309. 



(2) Beling, Th. Beitrag zur Metamorphose der Kaferfamilie dcr Elateriden. 



Deutsche ent. Zeits. xxvn (1883), 138. 



(3) Berry, W. Scottish Nattiralist, '!<:o. 66 {Idll), I2l-ri5. Ahstraet in Rev. App. 



Ent. A, V (1917), 348. 



(4) Board of Agriculture. Lea/7e/, No. 10, 1918. 



(5) Carpenter, G. H. Report on Injurious Insects in Ireland in 1905. Econ. Proc. 



R. Dublin Soc. t, 339. 



(6) Report on Injurious Insects in Ireland in 1910. Ecou. Proc. R. Dubin 



Soc. 11, 49. 



(7) Ci'RTis, John. Farm In-iccls, ]H6t). 



(8) Del Gukrcio, G. Prima contribuzione alia conoscenza degli Elateridi, etc. 



Redia, vi (1910), 23.5-241. 



