The Glow-Worm and Other Beetles 



fluctuations of the digestive canal, which is 

 gorging itself with honey; and along the cir- 

 cumference of the flat, elliptical back we per- 

 ceive a double row of breathing-pores which, 

 thanks to their position, cannot be choked by 

 the viscous liquid. Before describing the 

 larva in detail we will wait for it to attain 

 its full development, which cannot take long, 

 for the provisions are rapidly diminishing. 

 The rapidity however is not to be com- 

 pared with that with which the gluttonous 

 larvae of the Anthophora consume their 

 food. Thus, on visiting the dwellings of the 

 Anthophorae for the last time, on the 25th 

 of June, I found that the Bee's larvae had 

 all finished their rations and attained their 

 full development, whereas those of the 

 Sitares, still immersed in the honey, were, 

 for the most part, only half the size which 

 they must finally attain. This is yet another 

 reason why the Sitares should destroy an 

 egg which, were it to develop, would produce 

 a voracious larva, capable of starving them 

 in a very short time. When rearing the 

 larvae myself in test-tubes, I have found that 

 the Sitares take thirty-five to forty days to 

 finish their mess of honey and that the larvae 

 of the Anthophora spend less than a fort- 

 night over the same meal. 



