THE YOUNG NATURALIST. 



135 



sun, and also from the eyes of the 

 innumerable urchins who beset your path. 

 Your next care will be to provide a suitable 

 home for your larva, which is very simple 

 in its arrangement. Procure a good sized 

 jar ; or, in lack of that article, a small pan 

 mug. Place an ordinary white pudding 

 basin at the bottom, and surround it outside 

 with loose garden mould. Having thus ob- 

 tained a water-tight cavity in the earth, 

 strew a quantity of small pebbles at the 

 bottom of the basin, and after laying a 

 goodly-sized block of sandstone on these, 

 whose top projects over the surface of the 

 water, with which the basin must be filled 

 up to the brim, your aquarium is complete. 

 The addition of a few aqueous plants is of 

 great service in keeping the water fresh. 

 The larva may then be introduced into its 

 improvised home, when, after a few pre- 

 cursory rambles, it will remain motionless 

 in its usual position of rest, with its bi-caudal 

 appendage spread flat upon the surface. 

 It should be fed upon live worms or pieces 

 of fresh beef, the former of which will be 

 speedily left a mere empty skin, but the 

 latter will be rejected after a while 

 as a white mass, whence all the 

 nourishment has been extracted through 

 the hollow jaws of the animal. Here let 

 me give a word or two of caution to the 

 novice. If he has any regard whatever for 

 his fingers, he should present the food to 

 the larva between the tongs of his tweezers, 

 thereby saving the aforesaid members from 

 being bitten by the insect, which is apt to 

 mistake them for its prey. If the specimen 

 be but young, let it be fed upon the beef or 

 small portions of worms, until it is about 

 an inch long. Then worms and an occa- 

 sional stickleback (the latter having been 

 freshly killed) by way of variety may be 

 added to its diet. Supposing it were cap- 

 tured in July, it will be full-grown in about 

 eighteen days, and then will prepare for its 

 important transformation. For a short time 



| previous to this, all food will be rejected, 

 j and when the time above specified has 

 j elapsed, it will leave the water and burrow 

 | into the earth surrounding the basin, where 

 it will form a cocoon and change into the 

 j pupal state. As soon as the uneasiness which 

 precedes its change exhibits itself, great 

 care must be taken that the basin be kept 

 ! well filled with water, in order that it may 

 have as little trouble as possible in leaving 

 that element. It will be four or five days 

 before it becomes a pupa. The jar should 

 now be completely covered with a wire 

 gauze lid, in order to prevent the escape of 

 the perfect insect, which, however, it will 

 be unable to effect for two or more days 

 after its last metamorphosis. If all has 

 gone well, this change will take place about 

 three weeks after its entrance into the pupal 

 state. Fig. 4, Plate 1, gives an excellent 

 representation of the male insect as it now 

 j appears. 



The place of the basin and earth is then 

 supplied by a layer of pebbles spread over 

 the bottom of the jar, and one or two rough 

 stones projecting above the surface, in order 

 that the insect may leave the water and 

 justify its titleof an amphibian. The addition 

 of a flat-topped stone is a most important 

 item, for the insect takes great delight 

 in temporarily deserting its fluid home and 

 sitting high and dry on the top of a minia- 

 • ture isle. The gauze lid is still an indis- 

 j pensable requisite ; for it has also a habit 

 of flying about at night, and will have no 

 difficulty of making its escape if this pre- 

 caution be not attended to. Its food must 

 be of a precisely similar character to that 

 before enumerated. 



With all proper care and attention, fresh 

 water and abundant food, this highly 

 interesting insect may be kept for a 

 considerable length of time. 



A specimen reared by myself in this 

 manner lived for nearly three years, and 

 then met its death accidentally. 



