THE ENTOMOLOGIST. 301 



instantly seized the larva, and, having gnawed a hole in it 

 about the fourth segment, commenced feeding on the inside, 

 which it completely cleared out in twenty minutes, leaving 

 nothing but the empty skin. 1 have since discovered large 

 numbers of the skins of larvae in or near the holes of these 

 beetles, which abound in the locality. The numbers of larvae 

 they destroy must be immense, and the benefit to the farmer 

 proportionally great. — Henry Moncreaff ; September 11. 



225. Dermestes lardarim a Wood-borer. — There are a 

 thousand things, familiar to an Entomologist as " household 

 words," which, to a person ignorant of the wonders of the 

 insect world, would, were they narrated to him, appear mat- 

 ters of such improbability that an Entomologist would not 

 be in the slightest degree surprised at finding his familiar 

 facts pronounced to be mere fictions of romance. Place that 

 hideous, misshapen piece of deformity, which we turn up out 

 of every sand-bank, before a non-entomological person, and 

 tell him that in process of time it will become an elegant, 

 beautiful beetle, in fact the counterpart of the Cicindela 

 campestris which he is admiring : are we surprised at the 

 smile of incredulity that greets us ? Certainly not. Or tell 

 poor Hodge, who is gazing ruefully on his demolished bed of 

 cabbages, that all his disappointment is due to those snow- 

 white butterflies that his children are chasing with such 

 joyous glee, and mark his look of dumb amazement. But 

 the Entomologist may ask himself whether his favourite 

 science does not, from time to time, reveal such marvels that 

 even the most enthusiastic student is ofttimes startled as 

 some new wonder suddenly bursts upon him. " Seeing is 

 believing" is no doubt a well-known old saying, but it is far 

 from being adapted for universal application : it is no uncom- 

 mon thing to hear a person declare, " Well, I would not have 

 believed it even if I had seen it with my own eyes." Another 

 person reminds you that, upon a certain occasion, you your- 

 self declared so-and-so to be a fact, adding, by way of' con- 

 firmation, you had witnessed it with your own eyes ! " Ah, 

 yes, my dear fellow," you reply ; " I certainly did think so, 

 but upon mature reflection I have arrived at the conclusion 

 that I was quite mistaken notwithstanding." Some persons 

 may probably think the latter observations applicable to the 

 following accoimt of that well-known coleopleron, Demiestes 



