304 [Juno ' 



DESCRIPTION OF THE LARVA OF PR ALEXIA CADAVERINA, F. 

 BY THE BET. CANON FOWLEB, M.A., E.L.S. 



Mr. Q. C. Bignell having kindly sent me a colony of P. cadaverina, 

 I\, together with two of the larvae of the insect, I take the opportunity 

 of describing the latter, as I have hitherto seen no description in any 

 of the works that I have come across. It is very closey allied to the 

 arvse of Crypticus, Heliopathes, and Hopatrum, and other Tenebrionida ; 

 in fact, the members of the whole family are very closely connected 

 together by their larvse, and in this state it would be often hard to 

 distinguish many of the genera, which, in the perfect state, seem to 

 be entirely dissimilar ; there are, of course, exceptions, as in the case 

 of Bolitophagus and Scaphidema, &c, but, as a rule, the larvse of the 

 Tenebrionidoe have a very strong family likeness to one another ; they 

 bear an extremely strong resemblance to the larvae of Agriotes, &c, 

 among the JElateridce, the well-known " wire worms ;" indeed, the 

 chief differences consist in the fact that the Tenebrionidcs have the 

 clypeus non-connate, and the labrum large and plainly visible, and 

 also in the formation of the anal segment, which is much more simple 

 in the latter family. The following is a description of the larva of 

 P. cadaverina : — 



Long., 11 — 12 mm. ; lat., H mm. Elongate linear, scarcely narrower behind, 

 of a lighter or darker ochreous colour, with the head dark brown, and the mandibles 

 almost black ; the claws also and spines of the legs are dark ; head broad, with a 

 shallow, transverse, V" s haped furrow, and with two obscure small dark spots in 

 front ; ocelli black, rather large, three in number on each side, placed close together 

 in a somewhat oblique line, their separation being ill-defined ; mandibles brown and 

 strong, maxillae brown, maxillary palpi three-jointed, with the joints about equal in 

 length, and the last a little narrower than the penultimate ; labium large, labial 

 palpi two-jointed, the joints being formed like the apical joint of the maxillary 

 palpi ; antennae short, three-jointed, arising from a prominence which gives them the 

 appearance of being four-jointed, penultimate joint dilated, furnished at apex with 

 two ridges, from the apical one of which arises the last joint, which is very small 

 and subulate, and is terminated by a fine silky seta ; body consisting of twelve 

 segments, of which the prothorax is the largest ; the latter segment is about as long 

 as the meso- and meta-thorax together ; the first eight abdominal segments vary a 

 little in length, but do not call for any remark ; the anal segment, however, is some- 

 what spoon-shaped, being slightly contracted at its junction with the eighth abdomi- 

 nal segment and rounded at apex ; almost the whole upper surface is occupied by a 

 broad, somewhat rugose, shallow excavation, the edges of which are ridged, except in 

 front, and the apical margin is furnished with four small, but stout and distinct, dark 

 tubercles ; the front of the head is set with short, brown setce, which might perhaps 

 be more correctly designated as setose prominences, and the head and sides of the 

 thoracic segments, and also the sides of the first abdominal segment, and of the 

 penultimate segment posteriorly, as well as the sides and apex of the anal segment, 



