( Sekix ) 
consideration are laid, is not yet known, but the apod larve are found 
in the egg-cases of the locusts, when less than half grown. The larve 
themselves may be unmistakably recognised, as curvate, fleshy, smooth, 
pale-yellow or creamy-white grubs, having a small and retractile but 
prominent, well-defined, shining brown head. They are flattened beneath, 
with a catenulated lateral border above, and measure from half to three- 
quarters of an inch in length. They leave these egg-cases in the autumn, 
forcing their way through the mucous deposit which closes the cases; they 
then live during the winter in the earth as larve, but feed no more. In the 
late spring (May or June) these larvee change to brown spinose pupe in 
the ground without any special cocoon or covering. Previous to the last 
change these pupe force their way through the surface of the ground, and 
the perfect fly then makes its escape. 
Sir R. Biddulph’s despatch informs us that from 5 to 8 per cent. of the 
locust eggs are this year devoured by these larvee. Since 800,000 okes of 
locust egg-cases have been destroyed in Cyprus this season to the end 
of October, it follows, from the lowest computation,* that about eighty 
millions of our powerful natural allies—the bee-flies—were associated with 
them, and must have been sacrificed if the destruction of the egg-cases 
took place before the larvee of the fly had left the cases. It is during 
their long larval life that these insects can be specially protected. The 
very important problems now requiring solution are (1) the means of 
readily ascertaining those egg-cases which contain the bee-fly larve, and 
(2) how to retain the services of such a legion of auxiliaries and render their 
co-operation more effective hereafter. 
These details, however, can best be worked out by the authorities on 
the spot, according to the means at their command and their method of 
collecting and disposing of the egg-cases in the several districts; while 
availing themselves of the facility afforded by the grubs in’ quitting these 
cases in the autumn for the purpose of completing their metamorphoses in 
the earth, at a period long anterior to the development of the locusts them- 
selves. Thus, if the egg-cases were in the first instance deposited in parcels 
here and there in suitable localities, where the Bombyliid larve should of 
themselves be enabled at once to penetrate into the earth—allowing a suffi- 
cient time for this purpose, say until the beginning or end of November—the 
cases should then be destroyed, as presumably containing only locust eggs 
at that period. 
We cannot conclude without expressing our satisfaction at the discovery 
of these valuable coadjutors in Cyprus, as suggested in our previous Report ; 
* Of the egg-cases received 1 oz., avoirdupois, contains 48 white-earth cases 
or 38 red-earth cases; say 45 cases average. An oke being 2? tb. English (44 oz. 
avoirdupois), there would be thus about 2000 egg-cases to the oke, and if 5 per cent. 
were affected, one oke of these cases would contain about 100 Bombylhid larve. 
