454 



REMARK'^; ON VARIOUS INSF.CTS. 



that nothing could get at it Thus it remained for about two 

 months, when out salhed a host of little animals, of a light 

 brown colour, having as near as may be the shape of Kirby's 

 figure in the Mon. Ajimn, which ran about the glass as swift as 

 a Yankee pony,^ allowance being made for their difference in 

 size. If I am not much deceived, I saw some of these actually 

 making their way through the egg shell. I put a lot of them 

 into a glass jar, with some Ranunculus leaves and some flies, 

 principally Syrphi and Muscce ; to these latter they soon 

 attached themselves, just at the base of their posterior legs, 

 remaining fixed so long as their victims lived. I supplied 

 them with fresh food for some days ; but with all their feeding 

 they grew none the bigger, and in about three weeks they were 

 all dead. I consoled myself with hoping better things the next 

 year; but hitherto I have been disappointed, not having seen 

 since that year ten living Melocs, and not two in this neigh- 

 bourhood. A friend of mine, not an entomologist, but a lover 

 of natural history, has told me since, that he once tried to rear 

 the larva from the egg, but met exactly with the same fate as 

 myself. This he was much puzzled at ; the moi-e so, as he was 

 unaware of any previous attempt of the kind. 



The same year I had better luck with one of my schemes: I 

 resolved to raise a Stylops, and raised five {Dalit), one of vvhich 

 Mr, Stephens now has. I had noticed that many of my speci- 

 mens of an Andrena {fulvicrus, I believe) had the heads of 

 the larvae of Stylops very apparent on their abdominal segments. 

 I therefore examined all I could take, and found many which 

 had larvae in them. These 1 shut up in a large chip box, 

 with only a piece of gauze for a lid, giving them fresh flowers 

 every morning before they were awake. Judge of my joy, 

 when one morning I found that two Stylopcs had made their 

 appearance. Two more appeared a few days after, and an- 

 other soon followed these. Possibly I might have raised more ; 

 but happening to leave home for a few days, my Andrence all 

 died. I fancied myself the only person possessing this Stylojis, 

 but soon found that Mr. Dale had preceded me by a few days, 

 and that Mr. Curtis was about figuring it from his specimens. 



The Eristalis I mentioned in my second letter to you, is 



" Your readers cannot fail to remember the story of the " very severe pony," 

 which was cliased three times round a field by a flash of lightning, wliicli at last 

 gave up the chase, " not being able to come within a rod of it." 



