BEETLES 157 



time of my visit to Java Dr. Koningsberger was on 

 leave in Europe, and I was unable then to get any 

 further information about the beetle, but later on he 

 was kind enough to supply me with several specimens 

 of the larvae in their burrows, and I was able to make 

 an examination of their external anatomy. 1 



The burrow occupied by a Collyris larva is situated 

 in the pith of very small twigs. It is generally half 

 as long again as the larva, so that there is room for 

 to-and-fro movements by the occupant. Just at the 

 front end of the burrow is a small circular orifice 

 passing through the woody tissue of the twig and 

 placing the burrow in communication with the outer 

 world. On examining a larva, it can be seen that it 

 possesses no organs adapted for boring through the 

 resistant woody tissue of the twig, and it is obvious 

 that the egg must be placed in the soft pith by the 

 mother beetle. An adult female of Collyris emarginata 

 is provided with a complex armature of strong chitin, 

 concealed within the terminal visible segments of the 

 abdomen. The armature is really made up of three 

 abdominal segments and their appendages, retracted 

 within the abdomen, and highly modified for ovi- 

 position. The actual oviposition of this species has 

 never been witnessed, but a glance at the chitinous 

 armature of the female is enough to show that it is 

 well suited for penetrating the relatively hard wood of 

 the coffee-twigs, so that the egg can be placed safely 

 inside the pith. All the Cicindelidce, so far as is 

 known, deposit their eggs in substances and not on 

 substances, and the females invariably have some sort 

 of boring apparatus concealed within the abdomen. 

 1 Trans. Ent. Soc., 1907, pp. 83-90, PI. III. 



