2l8 TRANSFORMATIONS OF INSECTS. 



begins to suck the animal juices. The young Scolia grows 

 rapidly, and day by day the beetle larva becomes smaller and 

 smaller, in consequence of being continually sucked. By the 

 time that it has become completely exhausted, nothing else but 

 the skin remaining, the larva of the Scolia has attained its full 

 growth. It then spins a thick cocoon of a brown colour inside 

 the skin, which is all that is left of the beetle larva; so that this 

 unfortunate creature affords food to the Scolia in the first part of 

 its life, and a certain amount of protection and covering during 

 metamorphosis. The Scolia passes the winter in its cocoon, and 

 undergoes its transformation into a nymph during the spring, but 

 the perfect insect does not break forth until the commencement 

 of June. 



In the engraving a male and female Scolia will be noticed, 

 the one on the leaf and the other in flight. Immediately under- 

 ground in a cell is a larva of the beetle Oryctes nasicornis on 

 its back. The small larva of the Scolia has its head forced into 

 the body of the beetle larva. Below, and on the right hand, is a 

 cocoon which will be seen to rest inside what is left of the beetle 

 larva ; and on the left the nymph of the Scolia is shown within 

 its cocoon. 



In the Seychelle Islands, and in Madagascar, there are some 

 species of Oryctes the individuals of which attain a great size ; 

 they do a great deal of harm to the cocoa-nut trees, and thus 

 cut off one of the most important sources of food in tropical 

 countries. There are two kinds of larvae of the genus Scolia 

 which eat and destroy the larvae of these beetles, and which are 

 metamorphosed exactly in the same manner as the European 

 Scolia. 



The Sphcx is a well-known insect, and belongs to a genus 

 which is closely allied to Scolia, and is commonly called the 

 Sand Wasp. They are generally of considerable size, and their 

 colour is of a brilliant violet blue, more or less deep, and some 

 of them are marked with bands of yellow. Species are found 

 scattered over all parts of the world, especially in warm climates, 

 but only one is found in Great Britain. These Hymcnoptera 

 are remarkable for their activity and also for the elegance of 

 their shapes. There is one which has yellowish wings and a red 



