It is then the normal larva; the only form known to Reaumur.

The rejected coat forms a suspensory thread, expanding at its free end to form a little cup.

In this cup is inserted the end of the abdomen of the larva, which, before allowing itself to fall to earth, takes a sun-bath, grows harder, stretches itself, and tries its strength, lightly swinging at the end of its life-line.
This little flea, as Reaumur calls it, first white, then amber-coloured, is precisely the larva which will delve in the earth.

The antennae, of fair length, are free and waving to and fro; the limbs are bending at their articulations; the fore-limbs, which are relatively powerful, open and shut their talons.

I can scarcely think of any more curious spectacle than that of this tiny gymnast hanging by its tail, swinging to the faintest breath, and preparing in the air for its entry into the world.