1895.] ENTOMOLOGICAL NEWS. I?^ 



the first joint long but heavy, the second short and more slender, tipped 

 with a long bristle. Legs stout, the coxae prominent, trochanters sepa- 

 rated from femora by a distinct suture, tibia; tapering to tip, claws slightly 

 curved and with a strong spine before the middle. Spiracles in nine 

 pairs, the first situated under the posterior prothoracic angles the re- 

 mainder in segments 1-8 of the abdomen, gradually receding from the 

 anterior ventral margins as we proceed backwards. 



This larva differs in many important particulars from that of 

 Siipha ramosa which Mr. C. F. Gisslar has described in the 

 " American Entomologist." Vol. iii, pp. 265-267. In 6". suri- 

 namensis the third antennal joint shorter than the first while in 

 6" ramosa it is much longer. In surinamensis the mandible has 

 a tooth internally, the first joint of the labial palpi is the larger 

 and the claws have a single spine on the lower surface, while in 

 ramosa the mandible is without molars, the joints of the labial 

 palpi are of equal length and the claws are said to have two 

 spines at middle. The pygidial appendages are also different. 

 A full knowledge of the larvae of our American Silphae is much 

 to be desired, as likely to throw light on the real value of the 

 divisions proposed in the genus as now understood in this country. 

 Two of these larvae were obtained on the 20th of June, one 

 of them in its cell beneath an old log, ready for pupation, the 

 other crawling on moss. The first-mentioned specimen disclosed 

 the beetle on the 3rd of July. The pupa is very sensitive to 

 touch and wriggles vigorously at the least disturbance. It is 

 remarkable for the serrate thoracic margin, the prominent hind 

 legs and slender abdomen with its long lateral bristles and crooked 

 terminal appendages. The length is 18 mm., the color white. 



EXPLANATION OF PLATE. 



Fig. I. — Hydrocharis obtusatus Say. larva: p. pupa; a, antenna; /, leg; 

 md, mandible; mt, mentum; fnx, maxilla; h, head, under surface. 



Fig. 2. — Siipha surinamensis Fabr., larva: ab, ninth abdominal seg- 

 ment with appendages (under pressure). The other lettering is the same 

 as in fig. I. 



The larvae of Tenebrio molitor, commonly called Meal-worms, which 

 are found in carious wood, are bred by bird fanciers to feed nightingales, 

 and constitute the only bait by which these shy birds can be taken ; a fact 

 the more curious when it is considered that the nightingale, in a state of 

 nature, can seldom or never see these larvae. They are also used to feed 

 chameleons which are exhibited. — Cuvier Anim. Kingd. Ins. i, 569. 



