Entomological Society. 3663 



antennae which distinguish the beetle tribe. It is, however, provided with the 

 mandibles and other oral apparatus of the mandibulate group of insects, and it is 

 only in this feature that any connexion with the beetle can be traced. The trunk is 

 precisely that of a worm ; it consists of many closely-knitted segments, which are 

 possessed of an extraordinary contractile power. It bears no mark which would 

 indicate a future metamorphosis into a beetle. There is no sign of a future division 

 into thorax and abdomen. There are no rudiments of wings or feet, as the under 

 surface of the body presents exactly the same appearances as the upper. At the 

 posterior extremity of the worm, however, there is a small horny termination, some- 

 thing like the hinder part of the leech. The organs are exceedingly simple, the 

 digestive being the most developed. Albumen is the substance which composes 

 its body, and its blood is of a greenish tint. With a motion similar to that of the 

 earthworm, it perforates with extraordinary rapidity into the substance of the tree in 

 which it is found. 



" When the moon is at her full, the gatherer of worms enters a neighbouring 

 wood, and selects a. young palmiste tree. This is a tree of the palm order, exceedingly 

 stately and graceful, growing sometimes to the extraordinary height of eighty feet. 

 From the roots upwards, it has not a single branch or shrubby excrescence, but grows 

 beautifully smooth and straight, tapering towards the top. At its top, an abundance 

 of the richest and most beautiful leaves spread out in graceful symmetry, and bend 

 down on all sides, forming a figure like an umbrella ; while the young leaf, still firm 

 and compact in its foliar envelope, is seen stauding erect in the centre of this foliage, 

 like a lightning-conductor. 



" When a promising palmiste is found, the gatherer makes an incision into it with 

 a cutlass or a hatchet. This incision is generally in the figure of a half-moon, with 

 the base of the semicircle downwards, and the wound increasing in depth in that 

 direction, so as to expose effectually the flesh of the tree. When this is done, the 

 gatherer marks the locality, and leaves the tree, which he does not revisit for a con- 

 siderable time. When the moon is in her wane, he returns and examines his palmiste. 

 If the young leaf, together with the others, begins to show a yellow tinge at its 

 extremity, and if, on application of his ear to the trunk, a hollow, rumbling noise is 

 heard within, he concludes that the worms have attacked the vital parts, and the tree is 

 immediately cut down ; but if these symptoms are absent, the tree is left standing 

 until they appear. The gatherer, however, must now visit the tree frequently, because 

 the transition of the insects is so rapid, that almost immediately after the appearance 

 of* the yellow tinge the whole would disappear. When the tree is felled, a square 

 portion of the bark is cut out longitudinally from the original incision upwards, and 

 its fibrous texture laid open. Myriads of worms are then seen voraciously devouring 

 their way through the substance. In capturing them some degree of dexterity is 

 necessaiy, both to protect one's self from the mandibles of the insects, which inflict 

 a painful bite, and also to save time, by preventing them from burrowing out of sight. 

 When the worms are taken, they are placed into a close vessel, where they continue 

 to retain their activity and vigour. 



" The number that can be procured from a single tree, depends altogether upon 

 the season in which it is wounded. If the moon is at her full, they are generally 

 numerous and good — many thousands being found in an ordinary young tree' of 

 25 feet in height. If a few succeed in eluding the gatherer, they do so only to become 

 a prey of as voracious animals, for the wild hogs, or quencos, of the forest relish much 



