THE ENTOMOLOGISTS 
WEEKLY INTELLIGENCER. 
No. 201.] SATURDAY, AUUGST 11, 1860. [Price Id. 
LONGEVITY. 
We occasionally stare when we see 
recorded in the ‘Times’ the death 
of some individual aged one hun- 
dred and odd years. Sometimes a 
local paper gives a paragraph respect- 
ing the centenarian, remarking how 
all the faculties were retained un- 
diminished till the most recent period, 
and such paragraphs are almost sure 
to conclude with the number of 
children, grandchildren, great-grand- 
children and great great-grandchildren 
that the centenarian has left behind 
him or her. 
Would any of us like to become 
centenarians ourselves? Conceive the 
case of a person living twenty years 
too long, — felt as an incumbrance to 
all immediate relatives, — a sort of “ old 
man of the sea,” not to be got rid 
of. Conceive the number of pleasant 
speculations which would take place 
on the possible contingency of the 
death of such an individual, — conceive 
all this, and then you may begin to 
imagine the feelings which a Cole- 
ophora larva, endued with unusual 
longevity, propagates in the breasts of 
all who are anxiously expecting its 
decease. 
As we write these lines, a larva of 
Coleophora compieuella is walking about 
quite pleasantly ; we look at it with 
anything but pleasurable feelings, for 
it is clear to us that as long as it 
remains a larva it will never attain 
the perfect state, and we had hoped 
ere now to have placed it in our cabi- 
net. We presume we must now wait 
till next year! 
Mr. Bedell first took this insect on 
the 12th of July, and here we are 
getting far advanced in August. Well, 
patience. 
Of the larvae of Coleophora Melilo- 
tella, collected by Mr. Scott last August, 
only two have yet made their appear- 
ance in the perfect state: on investi- 
gation it is found that most of the 
cases contain living larvae. How long 
are we to wait for their good pleasure 
to assume the pupa and imago states? 
This longevity is a great nuisance: 
it will never do to throw old Cole- 
ophora cases away, as they may pro- 
duce moths next year, and rubbish is 
always accumulating fast enough, as 
things are. 
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