49 THE ENTOMOLOGIST. 
laying them tenderly on the paper. A new set of food-twigs had 
been already prepared; and the surface of the sand in the saucer 
having been swept of frass, and damped afresh, these fresh twigs 
were stuck-in, and the saucer re-placed in the bell-glass. Now 
the effete twigs were subjected to a searching scrutiny; such of 
the leaves or shoots as supported worms were cut-off with 
scissors and dropped among the new leaves, examined, and 
counted, and recorded at the same time. 
My little family quickly diminished. Scarcely a single 
examination passed without revealing some corpses lying flaccid 
on the sand: but even more were unaccountably missing. This 
fact, occurring again and again, greatly surprised me. ‘The 
circumstances made it impossible that any could be overlooked. 
I examined every leaf with the utmost minuteness, and laid it on 
paper for re-examination if desirable. The area was a flat 
surface of wet sand, on which the worms, dead or alive, could not 
be concealed. The saucer was searched on all sides before it 
quitted the bell: the clean glass of the bell, when the saucer was 
removed, would not conceal a cheese-mite. What then could 
have .become of six, and eight, and three worms, absolutely 
vanished in intervals of three days? I can only suggest that the 
living larvee devoured their fellows! I have abundantly proved 
that the newly moulted eat their own cast skins: and the 
transition from this to the eating of their dead or dying fellows, 
is perhaps, not very great. It is noteworthy that none were ever 
missing after the earliest stages were passed. 
Individuals of this family passed into their successive ages at 
intervals of about seven or eight days; viz., on September Ist, 
7th, 16th, 24th. On the 9th, half of the stock were gone, 
only twenty-five left; on the 17th, when the fourth age was 
reached, twelve were left; on the 24th, when the fifth age, seven 
were left. From the first I aspersed the whole nursery four or 
five times a day, by drawing my finger along a nail-brush dipped 
in pure water, and depositing an impalpable dew on the whole. 
I fancied that the worms enjoyed the moisture in so fine a form. 
LARVA.—8rd age (advanced). 
1 have described the larva when newly passed into the third age. After 
a few days it was much changed in appearance. So wholly and so thickly 
was it now clothed with farina, that it appeared entirely snow-white, the 
