Family Panorpidae 



and the larvae hatched in from six to seven days. The young 

 larva when first hatched is whitish, with a light brown head 

 which becomes darker when the body becomes gray. It looks 

 like a caterpillar but the antennae and the eyes are unusually 

 prominent. The abdomen bears a row of ringed spines down 

 the back, those toward the anal end of the body being longer. 

 The larvae pass through several stages of growth within the first 

 two weeks. They burrow into little tunnels under the surface 

 of the ground and remain underground most of the time. They 

 were fed upon raw meat placed upon the surface of the ground. 

 Sometimes they come out of their burrows for feeding. They 

 are cannibalistic and the stronger ones destroy the weaker 

 ones. They wander in search of food and feed upon all sorts of 

 dead flesh. They reach full growth in from three to four weeks, 

 burrow deeper into the ground, excavate another cell, and remain 

 as larvae for several months before entering the pupa state. 

 There seems to be but one generation annually, the adults issuing 

 in midsummer. 



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208 



