WHIP-SCORPIONS AND OTHERS 123 



bably feed on small arthropods such as Collembola, Thysanura, 

 Symphyla and possibly small ants such as Monomorium pharaonis 

 with which they are frequently associated (Cloudsley-Thompson, 

 1949). In captivity they show cannibalistic proclivities. Anal stink 

 glands produce acetic acid, or similar compounds, which are used 

 in defence. The animals have no fixed abode, but live in natural 

 holes and crevices in the soil. 



Males of Schizomus latipes have not yet been found, although 

 the writer has examined over forty specimens of this species. 

 Possibly they have a short life and die soon after mating. 



The breeding habits of Schizomida are little known and appear 

 to have been observed only in the case of S. crassicaudatus. Ac- 

 cording to Graveley (1915) a captive specimen constructed a little 



Fig. 28. Schizomus crassicaudatus, female guarding her eggs. 

 (After Gravely, 1915.) 



cavity about 15 mm below the surface of the soil. The nest had no 

 opening and the Schizomus never left it until the eggs disappeared 

 three weeks later. It was lined with soil cemented together. The 

 eggs were seven in number, flattened at their poles, glistening 

 white and not enclosed in a brood pouch. They were arranged in a 

 spherical mass attached to the abdomen of the female in the region 

 of her genital aperture. As a rule she rested on the side of the nest, 



