NOTES ON METHOCA ICHNEUMONIDES.
3
ground. The parasite usually remained about half an hour
down the burrow and then spent thirty minutes to half-an-hour
filling up the hole. This done she at once started off in quest of
a further victim.
They were unable to observe that any food was taken, and
specimens remained alive up to eight days in captivity without
eating. Mine, however, fed readily on moistened sugar.
When I received the specimen, the next thing was to get
Tiger-beetle larvae, and my friend, Mr. J. T. Smith, at once paid a
visit to High Beach, where we had previously often observed their
burrows, and he returned with several specimens. Each was
established in a subterrarium, a device arranged for the observa-
tion of underground insects, which consists of a layer of earth,
between two pieces of glass supported vertically. The sandy soil
in which the larvae were found was used and a hole made about
the centre was adopted and enlarged by each larva.
The Methoca was then introduced to one of the subterraria.
The Tiger-beetle larva was not at the top of its burrow, which
was soon discovered, and she promptly descended the shaft.
As the glass was obscured by earth I was unable see what
happened. She came up after a short stay, and remained on
the surface of the earth all night. Next morning I gave her a
large crystal of sugar moistened with water, and she immediately
commenced to feed on it. Then I introduced her to another
burrow and the previous performance was repeated ; but when
she reappeared she was minus a leg. After another feed she was
given a third opportunity; she went down the shaft, but had
not reappeared by the following morning. Subsequent examina-
tion showed no trace of her. She was probably handicapped by
the loss of a leg and fell a victim to her maternal instincts.
There was no available material for filling in the burrows, so
that nothing could be done in this direction. I was unaware at
the time of the necessity for this. The first two larvae had each
an oblong egg placed more or less transversely on the ventral
surface, just behind the third pair of legs, one being towards the
right side and the other towards the left. The larvae wriggled
about in the burrows if disturbed by my examination of them,
otherwise they remained perfectly still all the time.
The egg laid second hatched before the first, and the young
larva did not appear to alter its position from that of the egg,