136 The Rev. W. F. Johnson and Mr. G. H. Carpenter 
it at night. During the earlier stages of its existence the 
larva must hide very carefully as it has not been found in 
its haunts until full-grown or nearly so. When full- 
grown the larva is easily observed, just like the imago by 
turning over stones in the place it frequents. The larva, 
when young, is more restless than when full-grown; it runs 
about trying things with its mandibles evidently in search 
of food. When full-grown it becomes less restless and 
though if disturbed it makes off with great rapidity 
rushing into any hiding place that offers, yet otherwise 
it sits quietly in the one spot. 
The perfect insect is most plentiful in the months of 
May and June, but it has occurred as early as April 4th 
and as late as October 4th. The larve are to be found in 
August and September. From these dates it would seem 
probable that the beetle hibernates either in the pupal 
or in the imaginal state. That the latter occurs, in some 
cases, was shown by experiment. Several specimens were 
placed in a flower pot and covered with a glass shade; 
they vanished during the winter but reappeared in the 
spring, quite well, though no food had been supplied to 
them for five months. They had evidently spent the 
intervening time in a state of torpor. Their place of con- 
cealment when under natural conditions has not been 
detected. At Lough Neagh, and also at Lowry’s Lough 
near Armagh, the locality they haunt in the summer is 
in winter covered with water, so that they must retire to 
a position above the reach of the floods and here burrow 
into the ground, for they were not found in moss taken 
from the bank at Lowry’s Lough where they were most 
likely to have taken refuge. We have no facts bearing on 
the duration of the beetle’s life, except that specimens 
captured during the first week in August bred, and were 
still alive and vigorous, at the end of the month when 
they were removed to avoid the danger of their attacking 
the young larve. 
STRUCTURE OF FULL-GROWN LARVA. 
The full-grown grub of Pelophila borealis measures 
14—15 mm. in length. It is of elongate form, attaining 
its greatest breadth (25 mm.) at the third segment of 
the abdomen, whence it tapers gently towards the head 
and more decidedly towards the tail-end. (Fig. 3.) 
