1925] Mystery of “ Trilobite Larvce” Definitely Solved 141 
have the stomach and intestines full of a dark mass of decayed 
woody products, reminding one of the material found in longi- 
corn larvae. 
When touched the larva withdraws its head very quickly 
and remains still for a time. Slowly the head is again thrust out 
and the larva continues its slow crawling. 
When taken between the fingers the larvae secrete a kind of 
mikly white substance between the segments and the joints of 
the legs, which apparently serves some protective purpose. No 
living being in the jungles seems to be inclined to attack or feed 
upon the larvae on account of their nauseating properties. In 
the numerous stomachs of birds which I purposely examined in 
search of parasites, I have failed to discover any remains of 
“trilobite-larvae.” 
Peculiarly enough I have never been able to find larvae of 
smaller size than 15 min. Probably the female deposits her 
eggs in the interior of big hollow decaying logs and the young 
larvae remain in their birth place until they have cast the skin 
several times. 
The larvae grow very slowly, as many of them kept by me in 
captivity have remained unchanged and cast no skins during 
more than six months. In all probability the larva requires 
several years to become full grown. 
It is equally strange that one never finds the adult females 
in nature. Although having for years hunted through the 
jungles in search of other invertebrates, both myself and my 
trained collectors, and having turned every stone and split up 
thousands of pieces of decaying wood or heavy logs I have never 
been able to find a single fully developed female, in spite of the 
fact that full grown larvae were abundantly common there- 
abouts. Where she undergoes her last ecdysis still remains a 
mystery. As the larvae are very feeble, helpless creatures they 
can neither live a subterranean life by digging themselves down 
into the ground nor by boring themselves into the wood. It 
is, however, possible that the female manages to reach the interior 
hollow parts of a big heavy log, which is comparatively sound 
and where entomologists do not gain access. 
