The Meloid
seems to be revolving in a circle: it undoes what it has just done, it
draws back after advancing. The idea sometimes occurs to me to look
upon the pseudochrysalis as a sort of egg of a superior organization,
starting from which the insect follows the ordinary law of
entomological phases and passes through the successive stages of
larva, nymph and perfect insect. The first hatching, that of the
normal egg, makes the Meloid go through the larval dimorphism of the
Anthrax and the Leucospis. The primary larva finds its way to the
victuals; the secondary larva consumes them. The second hatching, that
of the pseudochrysalis, reverts to the usual course, so that the
insect passes through the three customary forms: larva, nymph, adult.

The tertiary larval stage is of brief duration, lasting about a
fortnight. The larva then sheds its skin by a longitudinal rent along
the back, as did the secondary larva, uncovering the nymph, in which
we recognize the Beetle, the genus and species being almost
determinable by the antennae.

The second year's development turned out badly. The few nymphs which I
obtained about the middle of June shrivelled up without attaining the
perfect form. Some pseudochrysalids remained on my hands without
showing any sign of approaching transformation. I attributed this
delay to lack of warmth. I was in fact keeping them in the shade, on a
what-not, in my study, whereas under natural conditions they are
exposed to the hottest sun, beneath a layer of sand a few inches deep.
To imitate these conditions without burying my charges, whose progress
I wished to follow comfortably, I placed the pseudochrysalids that
remained on a layer of fresh sand at the bottom of a glass receiver.
Direct exposure to the sun was impracticable: it would have been fatal
at a period when life is subterranean. To avoid it, I tied over the
mouth of the receiver a few thicknesses of black cloth, to represent
the natural screen of sand; and the apparatus thus prepared was
exposed for some weeks to the most brilliant sunshine in my window.
Under the cloth cover, which, owing to its colour, favours the
absorption of heat, the temperature, during the day-time, became that
of an oven; and yet the pseudochrysalids persisted in remaining
stationary. The end of July was near and nothing indicated a speedy
hatching. Convinced that my attempts at heating would be fruitless, I
replaced the pseudochrysalids in the shade, on the she