COLEOPTERA. — CANTHAHID^. 299 



Soc. Ent. de Prance, 1835. p. Ixxvii.). His account of these obser- 

 vations has not yet been published ; but he has had the kindness 

 to communicate the result to me, and to show me his specimens 

 illustrating the natural history of this curious insect, as well as 

 to furnish me with some of the larvae, which he has obtained from 

 eggs deposited by the female. In examining the interior of the nest of 

 a large Anthophora, very common near Sevres, he detected one of the 

 bee-larvaj in its cell, with the interior of the body entirely consumed, 

 a thin pellicle only remaining ; and from within this bladder-like 

 exuvia he extracted a female Sitaris, which had evidently therein 

 undergone its transformation: he did not, however, observe whether the 

 pellicle of the larva, or of the pupa of the Sitaris, was contained within 

 the pellicle of the bee-larva. He subsequently found more specimens 

 of the Sitaris at large in the nests of this bee, and observed one of the 

 females deposit her eggs (whilst in a state of captivity), from which 

 were hatched the minute larvte, of which my figure St. 5. is a 

 magnified representation (Jig. 'M. 4. being the natural size in a 

 scroll) ; from which it will be perceived that it materially differs 

 from the supposed larva of Meloe (^"^r. 3 t. 21.) in several important 

 respects, — Jig. Si-. 6. representing one of the mandibles ; 34. 7. a 

 palpus; 34. 8. an antenna ; and 34'. 9. one of the legs. 



M. Gene has published an account of the minute active larviB 

 produced from the eggs of Apalus bimaculatus, which he states 

 agree precisely in form with the Triungulinus Andrenetarum of L. 

 Dufour, and Pediculus melittas of Kirby ; from whence, as well as 

 from the observations ofServille, Zier, De Geer, &c., he is induced to 

 believe that the whole of the tribe or family Cantharidae undergo 

 similar metamorphoses. He was unable to trace the growth of 

 the larvffi, and states that on quitting the egg they left the ordinary 

 envelope behind them. 



The genus Zonitis is stated by Latreille to be similar in its habits 

 to Sitaris. 



Of the vesicant genera that of Cantharis is pre-eminent, having 

 for its type the blister-fly of the shops (Meloe vesicatorius Linn.) 

 {Jig. 34. 10.), a handsome insect of a rich sericeous green colour, and 

 varying from half to three quarters of an inch in length. This insect, 

 which is of rare occurrence in England, is found in great abundance 

 in the south-western parts of Europe, where it appears about the 

 middle of summer, frequenting the ash, privet, syringa, lilac, dire, and 

 emitting a very powerful odour. 



