4802 Entomological Society. 



this, and adapting it to his purposes ; for he now forms a circular cell, quite large 

 enough for himself and two friends, although he never invites them ; and he polishes 

 up the walls of this cell in the nicest and neatest manner; and, without using silk of 

 his own spinning, or any other material except the often-watered earth, he makes every- 

 thing snug and comfortable, and settles himself in for a fortnight's rest, during which 

 he practises total abstinence, as if to atone for his former voracity. I will describe the 

 grub in this state of abstinence and rest. Length, -4125 inch ; greatest breadth, i.e. 

 at one-third of the length between the head and the anal extremity, '151 inch : head tes- 

 taceous, horny, very shining, gibbous in front, rounded at top, truncate below at its 

 greatest diameter, having therefore the figure of a beehive : beneath the truncature 

 protrudes thelabrum, which exhibits the anomalous or previously unobserved character 

 of a curious pectinated process at each angle, — two strong, incurved, testaceous man- 

 dibles, having a blunt tooth near their black tip, or, perhaps, more correctly cha- 

 racterised as being obtusely bifid at the apex, — two maxillae, much smaller and less 

 conspicuous than the mandibles, but horny and glabrous; internally and apically the 

 maxillae bear an obtuse lacinia, having a serrated, subspinous, internal margin ; exter- 

 nally they bear a Particulate palpus, the basal joint of which is stout and nearly glo- 

 bose, the apical joint rather longer, cylindrical, and somewhat obtuse,— finally, a labium, 

 long and narrow, bearing at each external angle a biarticulate palpus, much resem- 

 bling those of the maxillae. The body is composed of twelve segments, of which the 

 first seems to have only its sternal surface developed, and the twelfth is little more 

 than a tubercle ; on the second on each side near the head is a circular spiracle, the 

 only one that I can find : there are no legs, but each segment has a series of papillae 

 and a number of strong testaceous bristles ; aided by which, the grub has very con- 

 siderable powers of locomotion when placed on a somewhat uneven surface. At the 

 expiration of a fortnight the larval state has ceased and that of pupa has been assumed ; 

 this undergoes changes of colour very much like those of the larva ; at first it is hya- 

 line, then slightly opaline, and finally cream-coloured, with very conspicuous black 

 eyes : the peculiarities of a necromorphous pupa are now so familiar to entomologists 

 that I need not dwell on them ; every limb is free, and every joint of the antennae and 

 tarsi is discernible through the slender pellicle with which it is invested ; the elytra, 

 attached to the dorsal surface at the anterior margin of the mesonolum, at first 

 bend forwards, and passing between the middle and hind legs, repose on the latter, 

 which, in their turn, are neatly arranged in front, reposing on the sternum. An un- 

 explained phenomenon must be noticed here ; a considerable number of the pupae, say 

 one in nine, preseiit an atrophied or shrunken appearance, and these, not possessing 

 sufficient vitality to carry them through the final change, die, turn black, and 

 eventually decay : coexistent with these atrophied pupae is the presence of a certain 

 myriapod, which I believe to be the young of Lithobius forcipatus ; but the connexion 

 between the myriapod and the weevil still remains to be unravelled. The pupa state, 

 like that of the larva after it leaves off eating, lasts about a fortnight, and it takes 

 another fortnight at least for the weevil to become hard and fitted for a more locomo- 

 tive life ; so that six weeks are occupied from the formation of the tomb-like earthy 

 cell to the time for finally quitting it. The beetle, when first emancipated, is of a dull 

 white colour; it soon turns to a pale, testaceous brown, which gradually becomes 

 darker and darker, until the final deep hue and hardened surface are attained : it then 

 breaks the walls of its self constructed prison and crawls solemnly and slowly about 

 the greenhouse, probably in quest of amorous adventures, to be followed by those 



