Insects. 1239 



a short time ago in the case of a coleopterous insect. Walking one evening in my 

 garden, my attention was arrested by an earthworm upon the surface of the soil, twist- 

 ing itself from side to side in a strange unwonted manner, I immediately saw that 

 something was wrong with the poor animal, and that it was in fact in the agony 

 of death, but from what cause I did not at first discover ; presently a little black larva 

 about half-an-inch long, which had been couched quietly near the worm, ran to it and 

 bit it near the head ; this had the effect of increasing the agonized writhing of 

 the worm. The same thing was repeated several times until the motions of the dying 

 animal became less violent. The aggressor then commenced a survey of the surround- 

 ing ground, prying into every little hole within a circle of nine or ten inches radius, 

 sometimes disappearing entirely underneath the surface for a few moments, at length it 

 appeared to have found one every way suitable to its purposes situated a short distance 

 from its victim. The larva then commenced dragging the worm head-foremost to- 

 wards the hole, but a small lump of earth lay between these, and to have dragged the 

 worm round this would have materially increased the resistance : the difficulty it over- 

 came by laying fast hold of the worm with its mandibles some little distance from the 

 head and lifting it over the obstacle ; the body being now nearly in a straight line with 

 the hole, it again seized hold of the head and dragged it by little and little until it 

 came to the mouth of the hole (an old worm burrow), it then commenced pulling it in, 

 until all but about half-an-inch of the worm had disappeared under ground, which was 

 in about a quarter of an hour from my first seeing them. When it had got to this 

 point of the operation I dug up both the destroyer and its victim, and carried them 

 forthwith to an accurate balance, where they were weighed, and the worm was found 

 to weigh eighteen grains, the larva not quite one. There are in this fact two things 

 worthy of notice ; the amazing strength of the larva, which was as if one man were to 

 drag eighteen or twenty others all tied together for the distance of a hundred yards 

 over broken ground ; and the proof of rationality it exhibited, for what could it be but 

 the faculty of reason which directed its actions when surveying the ground with all the 

 care of an experienced general. If to reason be to compare ideas, then most assuredly 

 the larva reasoned when it sought for a hole wherein to conceal its prey. It did 

 not decide until it met with a cavity, its idea of the fitness of which (including length, 

 width, and easy access) accorded with its preconceived idea of the requirements of the 

 disabled worm. How strange it is that human vanity can so blind the judgment as to 

 lead men to deny to animals the possession of the same faculty with themselves, when 

 the most positive proofs of the affirmative meet us every day. The larva appears to 

 me to be that of some species of Staphylinus ; it is entirely black excepting the tips of 

 the short antennae, is about half-an-inch long, and furnished with a very formidable 

 pair of mandibles. I enclose it for your inspection and opinion. — Edwin Brown ; 

 Burton-on- Trent. 



Note on the species of Haltica. — Haltica concinna, a small jumping beetle which 

 sometimes abounds on the rhubarb, also attacks the turnip, but it is not so destructive 

 as the turnip-flea, (Haltica nemorum). The turnip, the sea-cale, the cauliflower, and 

 the cabbage are subject to the ravages of a third species, Haltica Lepidii. Dr. Harris 

 in his ' Insects of Massachusetts injurious to vegetation,' mentions three other species 

 (H. pubescens, H. striolata, and H. chalybea) that are equally injurious to gardens in 

 in the United States. — F. Walker ; Grove Cottage, Southgate, October, 1845. 



Occurrence of Haltica consobnna in the Isle of Wight. — I met with this insect in 

 some plenty during last October on the plants of Brassica in my garden. It has 



