COLEOPTERA. 145 



their temporary lodgings; and also sometimes to cer- 

 tain hairy Diptera or two-winged fKes, which closely 

 resemble wild bees. In the latter case it is an un- 

 fortunate attachment for the larvae, as the Diptera 

 make no nest or provision for their offspring, so that 

 tlie would-be parasite necessarily perishes of starva- 

 tion ; and it is probably the chance of this, added to 

 the many fortunate contingencies required before the 

 larvae can be safely landed within reach of their food, 

 that causes such an enormous number of eggs to be 

 laid by the parent beetle. . . . When carried by the 

 unconscious bee to its nest the Meloe larva devours the 

 egg therein contained, changes (without leaving the 

 shell of the latter) into a second form — not unlike the 

 larva of a Lamellicorn beetle in miniature, being arched, 

 cylindrical, with toothed mandibles and stout legs — 

 and then subsists on the food intended by the bee for 

 its own young. After some time this second form 

 of the larva changes its outer covering, which is 

 not entirely shed, but remains wrinkled together at 

 the hinder apex of its body ; it is then arched, dis- 

 tinctly composed of thirteen segments, attenuated at 

 the extremities, and motionless. From this false pupa 

 (and probably, after passing the winter), a third form 

 of the larva appears, similar to the second." It appears 

 there is still a gap to be bridged over, and it has yet to 

 be discovered what are the stages that subsequently 

 take place in the nest of the bee, and what the life 

 history of the creature, till such time as we find it a 

 bloated, tardigrade, wingless beetle upon the meadow, 

 hill- side, or foot-path, where it is commonly found. 

 The Meloe leads us to another curious beetle — also a 



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