90 ROUND THE YEAR 



eggs after laying, and that four packets may be 

 deposited in three weeks. After each deposition the 

 body shrinks and the Insect feeds voraciously. 



When the period of hatching is completed the eggs 

 burst, and countless larvae, minute, six-legged, and of 

 bright yellow colour, emerge. They possess con- 





FIG. 32. Female Oil-beetle (Meloe proscarabeu s). Natural size. 



spicuous black eyes, pointed mandibles, and legs 

 furnished at the extremity with a claw and two 

 lateral hooks, so that they appear three-parted. The 

 whole larva is about T V in. long. After a time it runs 

 and creeps with great agility by means of its hooked 

 legs. It can also crawl upon a smooth, vertical sur- 

 face, such as an upright sheet of glass, by attaching 

 alternately the front legs and a pair of false feet, 

 which project from the last segment, and resemble 

 the claspers of a caterpillar. The body is moved 

 either forwards or backwards in a looping fashion. 



