96 THE BRACHELYTRA. 



any unlucky insect that may pass too close to the 

 mouth of its den^ whilst at night it quits its conceal- 

 ment_, and boldly roams about in search of prey. It 

 appears to attack almost any creatm-e that comes in 

 its way, and, like the perfect insect, always erects its 

 tail, and opens its jaws in a threatening manner 

 when interfered with in its pui'suits. It does not 

 even spare its own kind, and according to some ob- 

 servers, when a larva of this species feels an inclina- 

 tion towards cannibalism, he always endeavours to 

 seize his victim at the narrow neck, uniting the head 

 with the first segment of the body, as when he has 

 fixed his jaws in this situation, he has nothing to fear 

 from those of his antagonist. As an instance of the 

 boldness and determination of this larva, I may men- 

 tion that I have seen one of them engaged in a 

 struggle, which lasted about twenty minutes, with a 

 worm of some five inches in length, the larva being 

 scarcely more than an inch long. During this con- 

 test, the little savage crept about under the worm, 

 fixing his mandibles into the creature^ s body in 

 various places, each bite apparently producing a con- 

 siderable swelling. Sometimes he would fasten upon 

 the head of the worm, and retain his hold with the 

 pertinacity of a thorough-bred bulldog, although 

 twisted about in every direction by the convulsive 

 struggles of his intended victim. At last, however, 

 he seemed to come to the conclusion that he had been 

 too ambitious in his desires, and went quietly off 

 amongst the grass, rather prematurely as it seemed to 

 me, for when the worm began slowly to leave the field 

 of battle, about an inch of his tail was attached to the 

 rest of his body solely by the intestine, a union which 

 the jaws of the larva would easily have dissolved. 



