130 PACKARD, HUMBLE BEES, ETC. 



matured pupa : but the transitional forms between show 

 that they gradually merge together. Owing to the great 

 rapidity with which the pupa is developed beneath the 

 larval skin which in most insects is hard and thick, the 

 intermediate stages pass on so rapidly that we know really 

 little about them. 



The " semi-pupa" as it may be called of Meloe has not 

 been compared with the similar stage in other Coleoptera, 

 of which we know almost nothing, hence it is not to be 

 wondered at that so philosophic and acute an observer as 

 Newport should call the immature pupa of Meloe, a fourth 

 stage of existance, intermediate between the larval and 

 pupal. 



The specific characters of our larva can be best brought 

 out by comparing it with the figure of Newport.* It is 

 shorter and broader throughout. The head and thoracic 

 rings are together longer than the abdomen, which is 

 shorter and more ovate than in the European species ; 

 the head is longer and the pro-thoracic ring is longer 

 than the two succeeding rings, where, according to New- 

 port's figure, it is a little shorter than the mesial thoracic 

 ring ; the two hinder rings also dilate more on the poste- 

 rior edge, as do the abdominal rings ; the setae attached 

 to the hinder edge of each abdominal segment, which are 

 large and conspicuous in Newport's figure, are in our 

 species minute, and the terminal setee are shorter ; the 

 legs of our larvae are a little stouter than in the species 

 referred to. Its color in the young is very pale, becom- 

 ing in the full sized individuals nearly black. Length, .06; 

 breadth, .02 inch. 



Notice of Stylops Childreni Gray. 



I was fortunate enough during the past spring and after 

 this article was presented to the Institute, to discover the 

 male of this species. 



According to Westwood (Modern Class. Insects) this 

 species was discovered in the abdomen of a species of 



* Trans. Linn. Soc. Vol. 20. tab. 14. 



