Z P 



RECENT LITERATURE*. *-" ' ^-»^ 271 



embryos, and of these many die apparently barren, but others void, 

 through the vulva, instead of several migratory or " caraboid " 

 young, a single, large, soft, oval egg, which adheres to the side of the 

 mother, and hatches in eight or ten days into a first stage larva 

 utterly unlike the previous forms, and which much resembles a weevil 

 larva in appearance. This larva feeds on the contents of the mother's 

 body, and when full-fed changes into another form of larva having 

 short, stumpy, three-jointed legs, and later pupates. It appears 

 that from the ■ pupae thus derived only male beetles are developed, 

 whereas from the pupae derived directly from the Cerambycoid form 

 of larvae only female beetles emerge. If subsequent observation 

 confirm these results, we shall be faced with some extremely inte- 

 resting facts indeed. Mr. Barber has not yet succeeded in getting 

 the male and female beetles to pair, and has therefore not been able 

 to observe the stages following upon the ordinary sexual mode of 

 reproduction. He hopes to give a complete account of the extra- 

 ordinary life-history of this beetle at a later date. We shall await 

 it with the keenest interest. C T G 



The Life-history of Panorpa klugi, McLach. (Journal of Coll. of Agric. 

 Univ. of Tokyo, vol. iv. No. 2). By T. Miyake. Pp. 117-139, 

 and 2 plates shewing larva and pupa, and structural details. 

 Tokyo, 1912. 

 In 1863 Brauer gave a life-history of Panorpa based on observa- 

 tion of several European species. In 1895 Felt gave the result of 

 his observations of the larval stage of the American insect, Panorpa 

 rufescens. In the present paper Miyake is able to give the com- 

 plete life-history of a Japanese species, Panorpa klugi. Enderlin 

 places this and other Japanese species in a new genus, Aulops, but 

 Miyake, after his work on this insect, does not consider the separa- 

 tion justified. 



Our author gives a description of his breeding-cages, and especially 

 the method employed for keeping the interior damp without excess 

 of moisture. He fed his larvae on wounded or dead insects, since 

 meat was not found to be satisfactory. The eggs were first put in 

 Petri dishes, and great care was necessary to preserve both eggs and 

 larvae from vegetable and animal parasites and other foes. 



Although cases have been mentioned of Panorpa preying on living 

 insects, Miyake considers, and no doubt correctly, that such an 

 occurrence is very exceptional, and that the food consists of dead or 

 injured or even partially decayed insects. They sometimes feed on 

 vegetable matter, e.g. petals of Silene armeria. 



After describing copulation, egg-laying, and eggs, Miyake gives a 

 full description of the larva. The egg stage lasts about a week, and 

 he concludes that the larva undergoes seven moults in ten to fifteen 

 days, but the last stage lasts over a month. There are changes in 

 the spiracles, also seven in number. The full account of larval 

 habits is interesting reading. The pupa is free in its burrow, and 

 this stage lasts six or seven days for the first brood. In his cages 

 Miyake found that the females often lived more than a month, but 

 the total length of life may be longer in natural conditions. Eggs 



