190 THE ENTOMOLOGIST. 



the anterior parts are quite different in action ; they are held 

 raised a little from the ground, and moved about quickly from 

 side to side ; the head moves the most freely, and the mouth- 

 parts are kept in constant and rapid vibration, like the tongue 

 of a snake ; the movements indeed are singularly reptilian, as 

 well as the form of the creature. 



As regards the extraordinary segmentation, we may remark 

 that at first sight there appear to be : head + 4 thoracic + 23 

 abdominal segments. A careful examination reduces the number 

 of segments to that normal for coleopterous larvae. What appears 

 in the photograph to be the head is really the progndthous 

 mouth-pieces, which are separated from the rest of the head 

 (i. e. the elongated part that immediately follows) by a trans- 

 verse division that extends completely round. The head, in 

 fact, is excessively elongate, and may be described as pseudo- 

 bisegmental. The first thoracic segment is hard and of a brown 

 colour like the head ; all the following parts are pale and soft. 

 In length the three thoracic segments are subequal ; and the 

 first is connected with the head, the third with the first abdo- 

 minal, and the three one with the other, by means of inter- 

 segmental membranes that do. not differ greatly from the 

 intersegmental membranes of ordinary Elaterid larvae except 

 by being somewhat longer and more exposed than usual. The 

 apparently increased number of abdominal segments is due to 

 great elongation and exposure of the intersegmental membranes. 

 The number is made up thus : first abdominal segment consists 

 of two divisions, segments 2-7 consist each of three divisions, 

 segment 8 of two divisions, and segment 9 is single ; thus 

 making up twenty-three, the pseudo-segmental number. The 

 true tenth abdominal segment is concealed in a dorsal view by 

 being placed under the ninth. When the larva is alive there is 

 a slight difference in colour and texture between the super- 

 numerary divisions and the others, that confirms the interpre- 

 tation of the abdominal structure I have just given. 



The larva was found by Mr. A. Ford, of Bournemouth, and 

 myself side by side with specimens of Cardiophorus asellus (of 

 British collections). No other Cardiophorus is known to occur 

 at Bournemouth, so that the connection of the larva and imago 

 is not open to doubt. I mention this because the larva described 

 and figured by Schiodte in his well-known work is said to be 

 that of C. asellus. If so, his figure is far from successful, and 

 I believe it really pertains to a species different from that I have 

 described. Perris's figure (204, ' Larves de Coleopteres ') is said 

 to be G. rufipes : this figure gives a better general idea of our 

 larva than does that of Schiodte, which is far too broad and 

 robust. 



The peculiarities of the larva of Cardiophorus are far from 

 being confined to its segmentation. But a consideration of them 



