CELLAR BEETLES AND MEAL WORMS 43 



Under the three segments immediately succeeding the 

 head are three pairs of short legs, each terminating in 

 a sharp curved claw. By means of these the " worm " 

 is able to progress at a tolerably rapid rate, provided 

 there are sufficient irregularities in the surface to afford 

 foothold to its tiny claws ; but if transferred to a 

 polished surface it presents a ludicrous spectacle; the 

 front part of the body makes mighty efforts, struggling 

 vigorously with its legs, and twisting itself from side to 

 side, in vain endeavours to stir the inert mass of legless 

 body which acts like a drag behind. The two legs in 

 each pair are moved forward simultaneously, and the 

 order of movement, which is not always quite uniform, 

 and is extremely difficult to follow, appears generally to 

 be first the front pair, then the third, and lastly the 

 second. As the insect walks along, that part of the 

 body immediately over the legs is, of course, somewhat 

 raised, but the head is kept near the ground, so that 

 it may feel its way with vibrating antennae and palpi. 

 When walking slowly, or endeavouring to extricate 

 itself from a difficult position, it also makes use of a 

 pair of fleshy tubercles underneath the front part of 

 the terminal segment, thereby either helping the hinder 

 part of the body forward, or acquiring leverage for the 

 proper action of the legs. But when trotting briskly 

 along there seems to be no necessity to call these 

 tubercles into play, and the hinder part of the body 

 therefore simply trails helplessly over the ground. 



When fully grown, the larva is nearly double as long 

 as the beetle it produces, but what the latter loses in 

 length it gains in breadth, as it is fully twice as broad 

 as its ancestral worm. Having spent some months in 

 devouring farinaceous substances, and changed its skin 

 several times during that period, the " worm " enters 



