March 1, 1897.] 



KNOWLEDGE. 



73 



1896. 



September 2.s 



October 6 



16 



26 



28 



29 



30 



Kovember 1 



10 

 12 

 13 

 14 

 15 

 16 

 17 

 18 

 20 

 23 

 24 

 25 



... 8-8 

 ... 8-7 

 .. 8-.5 



80 

 ... 7-9 

 ... 7-8 

 ... 7-8 

 ... 7-6 



7'5 

 ... 7-2 

 ... 7-0 



700 

 ... 68 



6-2 

 ... 6-2 



60 j 

 ... .5-9 

 ... 57 

 ... 5-5 

 ... 5-3 

 Yerv red 5'1 

 '... 5-2 



1896. 



November 28 



30 



December 1 



3 



4 



9 

 11 

 13 



15 

 19 

 20 

 22 

 23 

 23 

 2.5 

 26 

 26 

 27 

 29 

 30 

 1897. 

 Jauuai'y 4 



Mag. 



4-9 



... 4-7 

 4-6 



4-6 



4-5 



4-5 



. . \'cr( red 4*4 



4-2 



4-2 



4-4 



4-2 



4-2 



4-2 



.. Very red 44 



4-2 



, 4'4 



4-3 



4-5 



4-3 



4-3 



43 



4-4 



41 



By placing the maximum on December 16th, the period 

 of 331 •(! days remains unchanged ; but it has been a ques- 

 tion in my mind whether it has not been lengthened about 

 twenty days. The star has been quite perplexing since 

 December 15th. The figures which I give for any date are 

 usually the result of three or four observations on that 

 night, and on many of the nights since then I thought it 

 varied as much as three steps. And last night it seemed 

 to be on a rise for another maximum. 



Comparison stars used : — 



R Leonis this season is a morning star, but for nearly 

 three months the evenings have been more favourable for 

 observations. Following the old terms, the maximum of 

 this star was due on December 29th, 1896, but, as in years 

 past, it came over forty days earlier. 



My observations and estimates are as follows : — 



Taking Mr. Yendell's maximum of January 12th, 1896, 

 or my own two days earlier, the maximum of the present 

 apparition may be placed at November 1.5th, and the 

 period of 312-87 days is maintained fairly well. 



The comparison stars were : — 



Mag. Mag. 



Nu Leonia 53 d, «/. 69 



18 „ 5-7 e.s.f. 7-2 



c, just north ol' R ... 6 5 



There is no probability of another rise of this star this 

 season. 



The " Companion " has, apparently, made a correction 

 for the future maxima of these variables of about forty 

 days each, but its sufficiency and permanency is somewhat 

 doubtful. D.uTD Flakery. 



Memphis, Tenn,, 6th January, 1897. 



LIFE-HISTORY OF THE COMMON TIGER 

 BEETLE. 



By Fred. Enock, F.L.S., F.E.S. 



ACCORDING to certain authors, the number of 

 named insects in the world is something lilie 

 three hundred thousand ! At first sight this seems 

 a large number, but anyone by making a visit to 

 the Insect Room at South Kensington Natural 

 History Museum can see with his own eyes that this is 

 a fact. The late Prof. Riley computed the number of 

 insects in the world to be ten millions ! while others consider 

 this to be considerably below the number. Such numbers 

 are simply beyond oiu- conception, and many people turn 

 away at the very idea of so many " horrible creatures." I 

 am inclined to think it possible to clear away much of this 

 prejudice, by the simple operation of truthfully depicting 

 with pen and pencil the complete life-history of one of the 

 commonest of British beetles. But the true life-history 

 of an insect is not (as so many imagine) to be discovered 

 in a few mouths or years. The chain may be almost 

 complete, but still wants one or two links before the cycle 

 is absolutely perfect, and years may pass by before the 

 desired facts are observed ; but — " perseverance over- 

 cometh all things." 



My earliest recollections of the tiger beetle (Cicindiia 

 (■(iiiiijestris) go back to my schoolboy days (some forty years 

 ago), when I, on every occasion of a walk, was in the habit of 

 poking my nose into every corner in which an insect might 

 have taken refuge. On warm, bright days in April and May 

 we used to start these beetles up from the sandy commons, 

 and year after year this beautiful insect has been looked for at 

 the return of spring. It is known to all collectors, and the 

 first to attract the attention when seen in a drawer — for it 

 heads the order Colfoptera. It is about half an inch long — 

 the wing cases of a beautiful green colour, each with five 

 irregular shaped spots, which are more or less yellow ; the 

 head golden green, tinged with crimson, as also are the 

 antenui)?, legs, and elytra. The mandibles are powerful 

 and sharply toothed, giving the creature a most formidable 

 appearance, well sustained by its ferocious nature, from 

 which it takes its name of tiger beetle (Fig. 1). It is 

 always ready and willing to show its teeth and to use 

 them, the act of closing (on your finger) being accom- 

 panied by the gratuitous gift of a tiny drop of pleasant 

 perfume. 



The colour and markings bear a protective resemblance 

 to its environment, for when the beetle is seated upon a 

 clump of green moss it is most difficult to detect. It is 

 the habit of the beetle to be always on the alert, and it 

 invariably sees one coming, and starts up two or three 

 yards in advance, quickly pitching down again on to the 

 moss or short grass. The way to obtain it is to keep the 

 eyes fixed two or more yards ahead, but quick eyes and 

 hands are necessary to capture. 



The actual life of the tiger beetle lasts but a week or two 

 above ground, for after mating the male soon dies, while 

 the female follows as soon as she has completed her task 

 of depositing her eggs one by one in tiny burrows in the 

 sand. This first stage (the egg) is frequently the last fact 

 to be discovered by the naturalist, as the ingenuity of 

 insects is so great that they are able in many cases to 

 utterly baffle our attempts made year after year to find the 

 nidus. The tiger beetle generally selects a bare, sandy 

 piece of ground, well exposed to the south-west, sometimes 

 on the level, at others the vertical side of a bank is chosen, 

 wherein to deposit the eggs ; each of which is most care- 

 fully placed. Raising her head and antennas, she depresses 



