LARVAE OF BLAPS MORTISAGA IN THE HORSE. 475 
‘ Catalogue 5 originally appeared in the f Transactions of the 
Entomological Society/ being afterwards published in the 
pages of the London Medical Gazette, 1887. 
As regards the mode in which the maggot gained access to 
the child in Horne’s case, it was not easy to decide; but in 
the case of the girl Eiordan the mode of ingress was suf¬ 
ficiently explained. The Blapsidce, considered as a family, 
are closely allied to the meal-worms, and, like most of the 
TenebrionidcB, are black and foul-smelling beetles, fre¬ 
quenting dark and damp situations, from which they retreat 
only at night. The family comprises numerous species, of 
which probably not more than three are found in this 
country. They are abundant in Africa, especially in 
Egypt, where the women eat Blaps sulcata cooked with 
butter in order to make them grow* fat. The insects are 
also employed as specifics against ear-ache and the bite of 
the scorpion. The superstitious notion of a “ charm ” is 
generally at the bottom of these domestic remedies. In 
Riordan’s case, as Westwood observes, the parasites 
“ probably originated in an absurd and superstitious practice, 
which she had for some time followed, of drinking daily for 
a certain time a quantity of water mixed with clay, taken 
from the graves of two Catholic priests, and eating large 
pieces of chalk. One of these beetles was immersed re¬ 
peatedly in spirits of wine, but revived after remaining 
therein all night, and afterwards lived three years/’ The 
intolerance of light shown by the perfect insect seems to be 
equally shared by the larva. Of this fact I had repeated 
evidence by observing the behaviour of the living specimen 
sent by Dr. Horne. Thus, when on February 5th, 1877, I 
placed the maggot on the surface of some moist mould, 
scarcely half a minute elapsed before it commenced to bore 
its way downwards, and in less than a minute all but the 
tip of the tail had disappeared. In like manner, when on 
the 7th I raised the lid of the box, and found the maggot 
on the surface of the soil, it almost instantly proceeded to 
bury itself. 
The parasite recently received from Mr. Evans has not 
acquitted itself precisely in the same manner. Like certain 
caterpillars, when touched, it lay perfectly still. Placed 
on the surface of mould (in a small tin box) it imme¬ 
diately feigned death. When, however, the lid of the tin 
box was replaced and put aside in a quiet place for about 
ten minutes, I found, on examination, that the maggot had 
completely buried itself. On June 2nd, at 8 p.m., I reopened 
the box and found the maggot at the surface of the mould. 
