Evertone who has walked in the country, and used his eyes, have noticed the well-known Oil Beetles, so called from must curious habit of ejecting a drop of clear yellowish oil their of their legs when they are handled. One of from the joints cicatricosus, is shown on Plate VI., the these Beetles, Meloe at Fig. 3, and the female at Fig. 4. male being represented colour of these Beetles is dull, dark indigo-blue, and they The insects, especially the females, so are wingless, slow-moving they have no chance of escaping from capture, to which that conspicuous shape renders them liable. their very of the Oil Beetle is a very cmdous one. The

The life history in Uttle holes in the ground a vast female Beetle deposits

number of the tiniest imaginable yellow eggs, placing several thousands in each hole. As soon as the eggs are hatched, the larvse make their way into the open air. They are most extraordinary creatm’es, and no one who saw the newly-hatched and the full-grown larva of this Beetle would ever imagine that they could be the same creature, and in the same stage of metamorphosis. They are scarcely so large as the semicolon (;) used in this work, and are long-bodied, furnished with six long and prehensile legs, and gifted with great activity. A magnified figure of one of these larva is shown on Woodcut XV*. Fig. e. As soon as they reach the open air, they climb the stems of flowers and gain the blossoms, where they lie in wait.^ Presently a bee comes to gather honey or pollen, when the little larva leaves the flower, climbs upon the bee, and clings to its body with its clasping legs.

The bee, unconscious of its new burden, goes as usual to its nest, when the larva quits its hold, and remains in the nest. The parent bee being gone, thinking that everything is right the Meloe larva devoms the egg, and then throws off its first larval form in order to assume another, in which it somewhat resembles the grub of the cockchafer. It now turns its attention to the food prepared by the bee for its young, and nds therein just sufficient nutriment to carry it through its larval condition. One of these larvs, nearly full-fed, is shown on Plate VI Fig. 5. The reader will see that it bears not the least resemblance to the first stage of growth. long-bodied, quick-legged larva in the

To prepare these insects for the cabinet requires some little care and patience, especially with the females, for when the creature dies, the large soft abdomen begins to shrink, and when it 1^3 quite ffiy, the abdomen is not one-third its proper size, is full of wrinkles, and crumpled out of all shape. The

erefore, is to stuff it with only plan cotton wool. The usual mode of of the abdomen, and replace them with cotton wool. I have however found this plan scarcely satisfactory, ges of inasmuch as the the sht are apt to recede from each other, so that the CO ton wool rs visible. There is another plan, certainlv in volvmg more trouble, but with far better Results w^b sharp scrssors cut off the abdomen altogether, squeeze and law

v/bicb is made at its base gently by the bole out its contents the same aperture inblades of the scissors ; through by tbe at a tune, so tba you cotton wool, a very little tJoduce tbe shape of tbe abdomen, taking can exactly restore tbe original larger than it was originally, because cl to stiff it a trifle on tbe cotton wool. Now, stick tbe skin will contract a little into tbe setting-board, te point of a needle perpendicularly to prevent it from tbe eye into tbe abdomen, so as nud nass other half of the Beetle do™- Set the rirSape bTlyi-g are quite dry, join them and, when both parts indeMndently, If this he dr^p of coaguline. wlTtiny junction, and the speci mark of any will not he the slightest as well as it did when living, and preserve r^wdl always ifok ‘“iT "“reTBeetle which was incapable of fighting, Yet Mr F Smith to be the Meloe. that rect woullseem "r ^ T Zr of camples of a rare species "f were crawling near the nert ofjhe^h^^^ K- « ;“a. — JV' either Igs or antenn. or ‘"“^"“:fre%u"h:riost both, and out only four extraordmary escaped without de- Ind o^of two dozen Beetles

jujury. K ™ ^ fo, the females had already deposited

velopment of pug ^ ^„t that which is usual

namely, possesi-cts included,

sion of tbe female.

Wn are still among H

vhieh we now treat is “ observers having thought

ivas not known to be » taking it for tbe sole repreittobeabj^enopterous m^^ Strepsiptera,

"rv^SStbatit^

peculiar structru’e of the claws, each of which is furuishtd with a small supplementary claw on its lower surface.

On Plate XL the reader will see near the Andrena some curious little insects, which evidently do not belong to the order of insects represented on the plate. These are the remarkable insects that have just been mentioned, and which are known by the name of Stylops Mdittce. The discovery of the Stylops is due to the late Mr. Kirby. He had often observed little projections from between the segments of the abdomen in certain bees belonging to the genus Andrena, but thought that they were simply the little niites or acari that beset not only bees but Beetles. He passed a pin under it, and, on trying to disengage it, drew from the body of the bee a little whitish grub, the head of which was projecting from between two of the segments, the whole of its body being buried in the abdomen of the bee.

Being naturally simprised at such a result, he tried another specimen, and this time found that he had hit upon a pupa just ready to cast its envelope. ‘ The reader may imagine how gi-eatly my astonishment was increased, when, after I had drawn it out but a little way, I saw its skin burst, and a head as black as ink, with large staring eyes, and antennae consisting of two branches, break forth, and move itself briskly from side to side. It looked like a little imp of darkness just emerged from the infernal regions. I was impatient to become better acquainted with so singular a creature. When it was completely disengaged, and I had secured it from making its escape, I set myself to examine it as closely as possible ; and I found, after a careful inquiry, that I had not only got a nondescript, but a so an insect of a new genus, whose very order seemed dubious.’ ^ bince that time, much care has been given to the investigation of these insects, and it has been found that several genera mhabit England, the whole constituting the family Stylopidse.

he word Stylops is Grreek, and signifies ‘ stalk-eyed.’ It is given to these insects because some of them have their eyes set on footstalks of greater or lesser length. These are aLn remarkable for the very few facets which they contain. The compound eyes of most insects may count their facets by thousands, and in many cases by tens of thousands ; but in the fetylopidee they are counted only by tens, and in one species

tenuicornis, each compound eye only contains fifteen Elenchus facets or lenses.

The antennae are very remarkable, being doubly branched, so that the insect seems to have four antennae instead of two. These little insects fly well, the second pair of wings being enormously large in proportion to the body, and opening like a wide fan, the anterior and posterior margins reaching to the head and tail of the insect. When flying, the Stylops has a peculiar milky look about the wings, not easy to describe, but when once seen. Wings of such mageasily to be recognised nitude necessarily require a very large thorax, in order to give to the muscles which move them ; and accordingly we support thorax is nearly twice as large as the head and find that the together, the latter part of the insect looking quite abdomen compared with the enormous thorax to insignificant when and of which it almost seems to be an which it is attached, instead of being, as it is, the seat of unimportant appendage, the chiefly vital organs. expected, the part of the thorax which bears

As might be namely, the metathorax, is very largely the hind pair of wings, that which bears the little attenuated elytra developed, while These members are indeed so small, is comparatively small. called pseiidelytra, or false elytra. Many that they have been wasps are infested with this singular paraspecies of bees and Andrena seems to be its favourite prey.

site, though the genus the Heteromera, we close our

With two more examples of One is the Blisikb Bebilb or Spanish notice of thi. gioup. which is shown on Woodcut XM. Fly {Lytta vencataria), is well known for its use in medicine, the Fie. i This insect contained in it being highly inflamm^ peculiar substance upon the human skin. This su^ tory, and raising blisters separa.ted from the incantharidin, and, when stance is called takes the form of white flat oiystals, sect which produces it, in alcohol, but not in water. which can bo dissolved by the long narrow body and elytra

This genus is known form of the last joint of long wings, and the egg-Hke the two palpi. The colour of the Blistbb ^ the marillary with gold or copper. The el^raare ve^

green, mostly glossed elytron there are two ridges. wrinkled, and upon each

Sightly

Entomologists believe that this is not an indigenous insect,

but has been introduced from the Continent. It occurs much

too sparingly in this country to be of any practical use, and

our chief supply is obtained from Spain, whence the popular

name of Spanish Fly. In England it is usually found in the

southern counties, the ash being its favoured tree, and when it

is seen at all, it generally occurs in some profusion. Should the Beetle-hunter capture any of these insects, he is advised to be very cautious how he handles them. He should carefully avoid allowing his fingers to come near his eyes, and should wash them as soon as he has finished his task. Indeed, with these Beetles, the less the fingers, and the more the forceps, are used, the better for the operator.

On Woodcut XV*. Fig. 1, is drawn a very remarkable, and in this country very rare, insect, called Sitaria muralis, a Beetle which derives its specific title from the fact that it is parasitic on certain solitary bees which inhabit holes in walls. Bees belonging to the genus Anthophora seem to be chiefly the objects of its attacks. On the Continent it is comparatively common, and it is from Continental entomologists that we have received our principal habits. knowledge of the Beetle and its

The Beetle is known by the elytra, which are very long and narrowed to the apex, but do not cross each other. There are two wings, and the antennas are quite simple, without pectination or serration The colour of the insect is very body being black and the elytra plain, the yellowish-brown.

The female Sitaris acts in some respects Hke the female leloe, for she deposits her eggs in packets containing several thousands each. She does not, however, entrance lay of thenf the holes in the in which the bees have taken up their residence. The eggs are hatched, and the little larvje, which have larger bodies and s lorter legs than those of the undergo their Meloe, enter the nest, and there transformations. discoveries communinesl ^ A r interior of a .lot j Anthophora, very common near Sevres he detected one of the bee-larvse in its ceil, with the inSr of

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