Audouiri 's History of Insects. 137 



Dufour, Correspondant de lTnstitut. Extracted from the 



Annates des Sciences Naturelles. 



The pages of the French periodical Annates des Sciences 

 Naturelles, have recently been enriched with numerous very 

 valuable papers upon various annulose animals. Among 

 these contributions the crustaceous memoirs of Audouin and 

 Milne Edwards ; the arachnidous descriptions of Leon Du- 

 four, the orthopterous classification of Serville, and the 

 admirable paper of Duges on the flea, are especially worthy 

 of notice. M. Audouin, one of the editors, has also recently 

 commenced the publication of a series of letters upon the 

 Annulosa, which promises to be of great interest, and of which 

 the first has appeared with the above title, and which is very 

 worthy of the great and well-known talents of its distin- 

 guished author. 



In this memoir M. Audouin has collected the statements 

 of various authors (including those of our countryman Baker) 

 respecting the A'axvi which infest different bats : but, from 

 the vague descriptions given by some of the authors cited, 

 M. Audouin has not thought it prudent to attempt a scientific 

 description of the different species without more precise in- 

 formation. They all, however, appear to be referable to the 

 genus Pteroptus of Dufour, having eight legs. 



M. Audouin then describes, with great precision, another 

 acarideous parasite upon the Fespertilio Pipistrellae, under 

 the name of ^4'rgas Pipistrellae, but which M. Latreille has 

 more recently stated to belong to his genus Caris, having 

 only six legs. 



A similar detailed description is also given of the parasitic 

 Ixodes of the hedgehog, which M. Audouin erroneously con- 

 siders to be new, naming it Ixodes ifrinacei, but which Dr. 

 Leach had long previously described in the Linncean Trans- 

 actions, under the name of Ixodes hexagon us. Some inter- 

 esting notes have been published upon this species, in the 

 first number of the Entomological Magazine, by one of our 

 most zealous young naturalists, W. Longman, Esq. 



Two other species of the same genus are also described : 

 Ixodes trabeatus Aud., found upon grass ; and a species 

 which M. Audouin doubtingly considers to be the Ixodes 

 reduvius of De Geer, and which was also found upon grass. 



The descriptions of these insects are made in the true 

 spirit of one imbued with a love of the science of natural 

 history for the sake of herself alone, and which is so widely 

 different from that superficial style which has of late become 

 too prevalent among us. 



The memoir is illustrated by admirable magnified figures 

 of the insects, and of their essential organst— •</. O. W» 



