COLEOPTERA. 
153 
the bee in which their mother brought them forth ; in 
this way they are carried to the nest of the bee ; there 
they bury themselves in the bodies of the bee-larvee, 
become converted into soft grubs and live upon its 
fatty matter until the bee-larvae arrive at their perfect 
state. Both male and female Stylops assume the pupa 
stage within the body of the bee; but on becoming- 
perfect insects the male Stylops, being a winged insect, 
flies off, while the female, being a wingless, legless, 
helpless creature, remains for ever a prisoner for life. 
After giving birth to a numerous family of larvae the 
female dies. The Stylops was first discovered by 
Mr. Kirby, who, observing certain mite-like creatures 
infesting the bodies of a wild bee (. Andrena ), attempted 
to remove one. He thus speaks of his discovery: 
“ Upon this insect, Melitta {Andrena) nigro-cenea , I 
discovered a very singular animal, which seems appro¬ 
priated to the present genus. I had previously more 
than once observed upon other species something which 
I took to be a kind of Acarus, which appeared to be 
immoveably fixed just at the inosculations of the dorsal 
segments of the abdomen ; at length finding three or 
four upon a specimen of M. nigro-cenea , I determined 
not to lose that opportunity of taking one off to 
examine and describe ; but what was my astonishment 
when upon my attempting to disengage it with a pin, 
I drew forth from the body of the Melitta a white fleshy 
larva, a quarter-of-an-inch in length; the head of 
which I had mistaken for an Acarus. How this animal 
receives its nourishment seems a mystery. Upon ex¬ 
amining the head under a strong magnifier, I could not 
discover any mouth or proboscis with which it might 
