206 ANCEUXE. 



" Annals of Natural History " (No. 5 for 1848, vol. i. 

 p. 65), in which he remarks : "I found a species of 

 Praniza, pretty common on the clayey shores of Strang- 

 ford Loch, last week in company with Anceus maxillaris 

 [i.e. the male of A. Halidaii above described]. They 

 were in small cavities on the surface of the clay, under 

 stones, sometimes singly, oftener two, or even three 

 and four in each hole ; the smaller slender green one * 

 were few in comparison. You will find some of the 

 new-born young with them having all the characteristic 

 form of the parent, but the posterior thoracic segments 

 not so completely confounded together." Mr. Haliday 

 furnished us with living specimens of both sexes and 

 all sizes, captured at the end of February, 1856, amongst 

 which, however, the males preponderated in number, the 

 immature females being scarce at that period of the year, 

 whilst in the summer they bore a fair proportion to the 

 adult male, which was abundant enough. On the 14th 

 March following, he observed in a letter to us : " It was 

 only the other day I observed the notice in the ' Comptes 

 rendus ' of the Paris Academy, of Hesse's observations 

 on the identity of Anceus and Praniza. Notwith- 

 standing their constant association, and the fact that 

 the Anceus is always of pretty uniform size, and Pra- 

 niza varies from about the same down to the smallest 

 size, I should never have guessed that the latter was 

 the larva of the former, and yet do not understand 

 how to combine it with my positive observation of 

 Praniza producing young, the very eyes of which (be- 

 fore birth) were visible through the transparent integu- 

 ments of the parent." 



This Irish species appears at first sight most nearly 

 to approach the Anceus formica of M. Hesse's memoir. 

 Our specimens, however, not only exhibit none of the 



