802 THE ENTOMOLOGIST. 



lardarius, A short time ago a carpenter brought to me a 

 small piece of Honduras mahogany, in which some larvae 

 were feeding ; the wood was perfectly solid, and was part of 

 a larger piece similarly perforated, and upon which similar 

 larvge were feeding. Two or three of the larvae were partly 

 exposed by splitting the wood, and their operations distinctly 

 visible ; their rasping or gnawing of the wood could also be 

 distinctly heard. The carpenter thought the grubs were 

 those of some valuable beetle, and wished to dispose of them. 

 1 could not enlighten him on that point, so he agreed to 

 await the event. For four or five weeks the larvae continued 

 to feed upon the wood, having by that time buried them- 

 selves within it. I became anxious to ascertain what pro- 

 gress they were making, and for that purpose cut away some 

 of the wood, which again exposed the larvae : I found they 

 had done feeding, and were just changing to the pupa state. 

 About a week later I again examined the insects, and, to my 

 astonishment, beheld my wood-boring larvae metamorphosed 

 into Dermestes lardarius : on splitting up the wood I found the 

 same insect in various states of development. The common 

 or more popular name of this insect is the bacon-beetle, or, 

 as it is called in Hampshire, the bacon-bug : all beetles are 

 bugs in that county. It is extremely abundant in houses, 

 feeding upon bacon, biscuits, and most kinds of provisions ; 

 out-of-doors it is common upon heaps of garbage, dried 

 bones, skins of all kinds, and it occasionally appears in long- 

 neglected boxes of insects. I fancy the present is the first 

 notice of it also being a wood-feeder, and that it is one, I may 

 add, I am fully convinced of, because " seeing is believing." 

 — Frederick Smith ; Bournemouth ; August 31, 1865. 



226. Luminosity of Fulgora laternaria. — It occurs to me 

 that the above proverbial saying is exceedingly applicable to 

 the question involved in a long controversial stumbling-block, 

 the luminosity or non-luminosily of Fulgora laternaria : those 

 who have been fortunate enough to have witnessed this bril- 

 liant luminosity believe in it ; those, on the contrary, who 

 have not, gravely shake their heads, and doubt the fact. 

 Some two years ago I myself again stirred up the luminosity 

 of Fulgora ; but, notwithstanding the strong evidence of the 

 truth of the fact, those who had seen the insect alive, not 

 having at any lime observed its brilliancy, gave testimony 



