DR. JOHNSTON ON THE ACARIDES OF BERWICKSHIRE. 295 



simple curved claws moving in the same d irection : Of the 

 legs, the first pair originate from a knob in front on each side 

 of the palpi, tliey are stouter than the others, and as long 

 as the third pair ; the 2d pair arise in a sinus between the 

 origin of the first pair and the shoulders, they are the shortest 

 of any ; the 3d and 4th pairs arise from the lateral sinus be- 

 hind the shoulders, and near each other, the 4th pair are by 

 far the longest, and are nearly twice as long as the third : 

 Bristles of the body straight or slightly curved, sub-acute ; 

 those of the legs longer and setaceous ; many of them obsolet- 

 ly barbed or indistinctly serrulate on one side only. 



Mites, like every other class of creations, differ in glory one 

 from another, and this must be conceded to be one of the most 

 glorious of its order, both in point of size and beauty, and of 

 activity in its habits. It varies, however, much in size, some 

 specimens being not more than one half the bulk of others ; 

 and it is equally variable in its markings. It may in general 

 be readily recognised by its dark red colour, with a conspi- 

 cuous fascia down the back, expanding at both ends into a 

 roundish patch ; but in some individuals there is no posterior 

 spot ; in others, I have seen the fascia continued to the hinder 

 margin without ever becoming broader ; in others, both spots 

 are rather obscurely and indefinitely marked ; and in one 

 there was merely an elongate triangular spot between the 

 shoulders without any fascia. The spots and fascia are some- 

 times scarlet, but more frequently of a yellowish-orange 

 colour. In the first individual of this kind which I examined, 

 the two basal joints of all the legs were lemon-yellow, forming 

 a beautiful and decided contrast with the others ; in another 

 specimen the yellow colour pervaded the three upper articu- 

 lations ; but certainly in most of my specimens all the joints 

 were red and alike, except, perhaps, the ultimate ones might 

 be a little brighter. 



I am indebted to Mr. James Hardy for my specimens of 

 this fine species. He tells me that " it is very common on 

 clay banks, over which it courses with exceeding rapidity, 

 showing extreme dexterity in finding a hiding-place when 

 pursued. I have twice taken it with the red ant (Myrmica 

 rubra) in its power. In the first case it was dragging the aut 

 across a road, and it did not lose its hold until after it was 

 placed in the quill ; and next morning it still held on by its 



