2i6 ANNALS OF SCOTTISH NATURAL HISTORY 



A note on the adult and young from my notebook, 25th June 1901, 

 may be of interest here. " Nests of O. muscorum were fairly common 

 on a rocky patch by the wayside near Preston House, but they were 

 for the most part empty and generally wasted, as if to indicate that 

 they were no longer required. Eventually one with an opening in 

 it proved to contain young. The little creatures, a dozen or so in 

 number, were venturing forth from their retreat, and as they wandered 

 among the tiny cracks and crevices of the stone, they went through 

 the antics of the adult perfectly. In moving about they held their 

 pincers well forward, and kept opening and shutting them ; and 

 suddenly, even when there was nothing to cause any suspicion, they 

 would dart backwards in the manner so characteristic of this group 

 of creatures, as if an enemy lurked in a part of the stone they had 

 touched. They ran backwards rapidly, and far too, considering 

 their size. They were very light in colour, with a greenish hue, 

 most pronounced on the cephalothorax, and with a pinkish tinge on 

 the pincers. The adult was not to be seen, but was probably out 

 on a hunt for food. I found other nests, closed, which contained 

 the adult and her young. When I opened up one of these nests, 

 the young soon showed that they were ready for active life, as one 

 after another came forth to enjoy its new freedom, and seemed to 

 be intent on wandering away without any intention of returning. 

 One brood that I counted consisted of twenty-four individuals." 



At the beginning of July the false scorpions are again laying, 

 but whether these are the same creatures as have already reared a 

 brood or not I cannot say. 



One other point about which I am still undecided is whether 

 these nests are ever occupied by other than pregnant females. 



Chernes plialeratus, Simon. On 1 2th April 1901, on a rocky 

 piece of ground near Northbank, Bo'ness, I found a false scorpion 

 under a stone tightly embedded in the soil. A microscopical 

 examination convinced me that it was new to Scotland, and I took 

 it to my friend Mr. Wm. Evans. We examined it together without 

 coming to any decision, but on a subsequent examination he deter- 

 mined it as Chernes phaleratus, Simon, an identification which has 

 been confirmed by Rev. O. Pickard-Cambridge. On 3oth April I 

 found a second specimen on a piece of rock, about half a mile from 

 the previous locality. On 9th May I procured three under one stone, 

 and was rather surprised at there being a colony of ants under the 

 same stone. On i3th May I found two, and on i4th May three more 

 of the same species; and on i3th August I took another making 

 eleven in all under one of the stones that had already yielded 

 specimens. With the exception of the individual taken on 3oth 

 April all have occurred within a very small area of ground. All have 

 been active ; and, so far, I have failed to learn anything of their 

 economy. 



