38 SUMMAKY OF CURRENT RESEARCHES RELATING TO 



perspiration is inimical, for lice object to excessive moisture in vicinity 

 to man. The most darklj-pigmented specimens of P. capitis are derived 

 from dark-skinned black-haired peoples. Head-lice tend to grow paler 

 on yellow or moderately pale races possessing black hair. The palest 

 head -lice are found on white races, whose hair is often light in colour. 

 Pigmentation is dependent upon the nature of the background upon 

 which the insects are raised, and this may have protective value. Pigmen- 

 tation is not a hereditary character ; it may be acquired in a couple of 

 days. The proportion of the sexes varies considerably, depending on 

 conditions which remain to be determined. J. A. T. 



Pupae of Notodontoidea. — Edna Mosher {Bull. 3faine Agric. Exp. 

 Stat, 1917, 259, 29-84, 6 figs.). Comparatively little is known of the 

 minuter characters of the pupse of even common insects. The author 

 has given careful descriptions of the Maine representatives of Geometridse, 

 Notodontidse and Platypterygids, three families of Lepidoptera in the 

 superfamily Notodontoidea. J. A. T. 



Olfactory Organs of Orthoptera. — X. E. McIndoo {Proc. Amer. 

 Soc. Zool. in Ajiat. Record, 1919, 15, 343). Olfactory pores always occur 

 on the legs and antennae (first and second joints) ; usually on the wings 

 (if present), abdominal segments, cerci, head, mouth-parts ; sometimes 

 on the ovipositor. They resemble the lyrif orm organs of spiders. Some 

 of their borders are radially striated. J. A. T. 



Hermaphrodite Specimen of a Phasmid.— L. Chopaed {Bull. Soc. 

 Zool. France, 1919, 43, 168-75, 4 figs.). A specimen of Glonopsis 

 {Bacillus) gallica from Hyeres presented in the main external masculine 

 characters, but showed at the same time some feminine features, e.g. a 

 rudimentary oviscapt. It was not possible to study the internal organs. 

 It will be remembered that parthenogenesis is frequent in these Phasmids. 



J. A. T. 



Structure of Oocytes of Stone-fly.— TYaeo Nakahara {Anat. 

 Record, 1918, 15, 203-15, 9 figs.). In the ovarian ova of Perla mar- 

 ginata there are two types of nucleoli. Some have a large single nucleolus, 

 others a number of smaller peripheral nucleoli. The large nucleolus 

 increases with the general growth of the ovum. It may sometimes pass 

 out into the cell body. The small nucleoli, on the other hand, are in 

 all probability due to portions of the yolk nucleus which migrate into 

 the nucleus. There is much to be said for the theory that nucleoli may 

 be formed directly of a material taken up by the nucleus, or may 

 be produced as the result of metabolic processes within the nucleus. 



J. A. T. 



New Geylonese Termite. — E. Bugnion {31T. Schweiz. Entomol. Ges., 

 1914, 12, 193-200, 3 pis.). A finely illustrated description is given of 

 Eutermes Tcotuse sp. n., including soldier, worker, king, queen, eggs, 

 larva and nymph. The new species is a neighbour of E. hantanse. 



J. A. T. 



