2Qg: [September, 



on dead tlies, etc. He found that tlie larva cliano-ed its sl<in five times, at 

 irregular intervals, that the perfect insect laid forty eggs under bark, and these 

 hatched iu 15 to 21 days. 



Donisthorpe, in 1897, records rearing a number of Tiresias serra from the 

 larvae, by feeding them on paper. The larvae, which were of all sizes, were 

 obtained in March under loose bark of hawthorn trees in Richmond Parle, 

 where they were very abundant. He had intended feeding them on ihes, but 

 finding that they had eaten holes all over the paper which was in the bottle in 

 which they had been placed, he determined to try to see if they could be 

 reared on such pabulum. The experiment was quite successful, and the larvae 

 commenced to pupate in about three weeks, and the perfect insects began to 

 appear in a little over a fortnight. He briefly described the larva, and pointed 

 out that the bunches of hairs on the last segments can be erected at will, and 

 that when agitated the tail hairs vibrate very rapidly. He says that the 

 creature pupates within the larval skin, and on changing to the imago it 

 remains within the skin till mature. He comments on the fact that though 

 the larvae occur in great numbers, and are very common, the perfect instct is 

 decidedly scarce and generally found singly. 



Beare, in 1898, records that he had reared the insect from larvae taken 

 under hawthorn-bark in Richmond Park, and that he had fed them on 

 diy crusts. 



Sharp, in 1899, figures the larva, and writes: — "The most curious of 

 Dermestid larvae is that of Tiresias serra, which lives amongst cobwebs in old 

 wood, and probably feeds on the remains of Insects therein, perhaps not dis- 

 daining the cobwebs themselves." 



Uollman, iu 1913, records seeing (when in company with Uonislhorpe) 

 some dozen imagines of Tirenas serra in Richmond Park on May 31st, 1912. 

 They were mostly under loosely attached pieces of oak-bark, among the dry "cob- 

 webby " accumulations, in just such situations as the larvae frequent ; though 

 a few were noticed crawling on the outside of the bark. Trinvdes hirtiis F. 

 was found at the same time. 



I may mention that on looking up my Journal for 1897, I find that I bred 

 14 specimens of the beetle from the larvae fed on paper. The only specimens 

 of the perfect insect I have seen alive, other than those mentioned by DoUman, 

 are : one sweeping at Sutton on June 1st, 1893, and one at a " Cossus-tree " in 

 the New Forest on June 5th, 1895. 



From the above various records a short, though somewiiat incomplete 

 life-history of the beetle can be built up. The perfect insect, which is 

 generally rare and usually found singly, occurs in May and June. It h'ys 

 its eggs, to the number of forty, under bark, and the larvae hatch in from 15 to 

 21 days. The larva, which often occurs in numbers, may be found among cob- 

 webs under loose bark of elm, oak, willow, plane, hawthorn, and fir. It feeds 

 on the remains of insects, woodlice, eggs of Lepidoptera, small insects, and 

 caterpillars, and probably also on cobwebs. It may be easily reared on dead 

 flies, etc., and will eat paper and dry crusts. It changes its skin five times at 

 irregular intervals (I believe this is often the case with Dermestid larvae. 

 I captured an Anthreims larva at Putney in 1917, which changed its skin in 

 July 1918, October 1918, and July 1919. It did not change again, but died 



