PARASITIC BEETLES. 143 
beetle, scarcely exceeding a quarter of an inch in length, 
and is remarkable for the beautiful comb-like antenn 
of the male. As for the female, she is so unlike her 
mate that she has been described as a different insect. 
She has no pretensions to beauty, and can scarcely be 
recognised as a beetle, her form being that of a mere 
soft-bodied grub. Moreover, the size of the two sexes 
is notably different. The male is, as has already been 
observed, only about a quarter of an inch long, while the 
female is not far from an inch in length, and is broader 
than the length of her mate, antennze included. 
This curious insect lives in the body of snails, the 
common banded snail of our gardens being its usual 
prey. When it is about to change into the perfect 
state, it makes a curious cocoon, of a fibrous substance, 
which has been well likened to common tobacco; the 
scent as well as the form increasing the resemblance. 
The grub or larva of this beetle bears a very great 
resemblance to the. perfect female, and indeed is so 
similar that none but an entomologist could distinguish 
the two creatures. It is furnished with a number of 
false legs, as well as with a forked appendage at the 
end of the tail, by which it is enabled to force its way 
into the body of its victims. The head is pointed, and 
the jaws are very powerful. 
PRINTED BY BAILLANTYNE, HANSON AND CO. 
EKDINKURGH AND LONDON, 
