SCOTTISH HAIRWORMS 259 



gained an indermitencss of connotation altogether at variance 

 with scientific accuracy. Such being the case, I have followed 

 Rosa and Camerano in usiiig a specific name, C. villoti^ the 

 significance of which is clear. But it must not be assumed that 

 all the specimens labelled G. aqnaticus in British museums belong 

 to the species G. villoii, for the former name has been used indis- 

 criminately to signify almost any species of gordian worm. 



During the past summer (19 14) Mr Wm. Evans has found many 

 specimens which belong to this species in a limited area of the 

 Tyne, in East Lothian. The first example was caught alive on 20th 

 June 1914. It was pale in colour, of a creamy white, and had 

 probably just left the abdomen of the insect host in which it had 

 developed. During July and August individuals were numerous ; 

 thirteen individuals, all males, were captured on 29th August, 

 amongst dead leaves, algce, etc., within a space of two or three 

 square yards. These were kept alive in captivity for some time, 

 but subsequently died. It was noticed that, very soon after death, 

 the bodies of dead specimens become coated with algal growths. 

 By the end of September it was clear that the season's activity 

 was over, for living examples were exceedingly rare. An inter- 

 twined bunch of specimens, gathered on 26th September by Mr 

 Evans in the same locality, contained five males and five females, 

 the bodies of the former flattened and collapsed, those of the 

 latter empty of eggs, and almost all covered with debris and fine 

 algal growths. Of the ten specimens, only one or two showed 

 signs of life, and even these were in a dying condition. From 

 these observations it would appear that in Scotland the existence 

 of the adult stage of Hairworms, including as it does the vital 

 period of reproduction and egg-laying, is limited to three or four 

 months, these months being the hottest in the year. 



The longest of the Scottish specimens examined was 177 mm. (7 

 inches) long, although continental examples 760 and even 910 mm. 

 (2 to 3 feet 1 ) in length have been recorded. In colour, examples newly 

 escaped from the insect host are creamy white, but the usual colour 

 is a rich reddish brown, which becomes darker as the individuals 

 increase in age. A good diagnostic character (as amongst British 

 species) is the presence of tiny whitish spots scattered irregularly 

 over the body. These can be recognised with a lens, magnifying 

 say 10 diameters, and form a useful guide in field work. The 

 distribution of the spots is interrupted along a narrow space on 

 the middle of the dorsal and ventral surfaces, where a thin dark 

 line traverses the length of the body. Behind the cream tip oC,ti>«'T^~^ 

 head is a distinct black band or collar. ,< 'O'""- '"■' ' '^ > 



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