244 [November, 



after the gii.Uory is opened, and the adherence of the skin to any smooth 

 surface like glass lias prevented their being kept in thin sections between 

 microscope slides. Chips of wood kept in plaster cells have given best results, 

 but the life-history must be pieced together out of disjointed observations and 

 occasional thorough examinations of breeding material of known origin. 



Beginning with the yovmg larva born by the ptedogenetic mother larva, avc 

 have a minute white larva principally conspicuous by its long, slender legs of 

 the Carabid type— i.e., coxa, trochanter, femiu', tibia, tarsus and two claws. 

 The remains of the mother are usually consumed by some of her young, after 

 which all crawl away. This stage is to the species a minor migratory form, 

 securing dispersal into new parts of the log in which the colony is living. 

 After crawling oiit of the mother's cell the young wander for a time, then start 

 burrowing into the wood again, feed a little, and after a week or so moult into 

 the second form which is legless and much resembles a Cerambycid larva, but 

 for its odd but inconspicuous anal armatux-e. A second or perhaps a third 

 movdt must occur in this form to allow for growth of head. The larva bores 

 tlirough the wood, packing its gallery tightly behind it with dust for some 

 months, the body appearing dark coloured from the food in the alimentary 

 tract. During the latter part of this growth the eggs in the ovaries of what 

 will be the ptedogenetic form become plainly evident as large obliquely placed, 

 oval, white bodies on each side of the distended and dark colored alimentary 

 tract. Wlien full fed it reverses its position in the gallery, makes a cell and 

 begins to " sestivate." Gradually the body becomes white until no food is left 

 in the alimentary tract. It then either, very rarely, pupates, or usually, moults, 

 disclosing the psedogenetic form. After a period of about two weeks the young 

 numbering from three or four, to thirty or forty, but usually about ten in 

 number are born, tail first, and begin the new generation. Certain individuals 

 of the pajdogenetic form, however, do not develop embryos, and of these many 

 die apparently barren, but others void, through the vulva, instead of several 

 niigiatory or " Caraboid " young, a single large, soft, oval egg wliich adheres to 

 the side of the mother and hatches in eight or ten days into a first stage larva 

 utterly unlike the previous forms, and which much resemble a weevil larva in 

 appearance. This larva puts its head into the vulva of its mother and feeds on 

 the contents of her body, growing rapidly and looking like the larva of a 

 Hymenoptero\is parasite. When full-fed it changes into anotlier form of larva 

 having short, stumpy, thi-ee-jointed legs, and later pupates. It now appears 

 that only male imagoes develop oiit of this metrophagous larva from the 

 uni-oviparous paedogenetic form, and that only female imagoes develop direct 

 from pupa' out of the Cerainbicoid larva>. 



According to common knowledge it is expected that the female after mating 

 will lay eggs (few in number and of large size as in other ptedogenctic species) 

 which will liatcli into first stage larvae (probably different from either of the 

 other first stage larva; that liave been mentioned), and that these will moult 

 into feeding larvaj tliat may or may not be the feeding larva' preceding the 

 paedogenetic form. 



