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©riginal %,xtuh&- 



VI. — On Sph^etjlaeia Bombi .By John Lubbock, E. R. S., F. L. S., 



E.G. S. (With Plate I.) 



This very curious creature was first discovered by Leon Dufour, and 

 described by him in the " Annales des Sciences Katurelles" for 1836. 

 He at first supposed that it was a dipterous larva, but soon saw that it 

 belonged to the Entozoa; and as it certainly could not be referred to any 

 other genus, he gave it the appropriate name of Sphserularia. 



Yon Siebold is, I believe, the only other naturalist who has re- 

 corded any personal observations on the subject ; and as the remarks of 

 both these excellent observers are very much to the purpose, and at the 

 same time very short, I may, perhaps, be permitted to quote them in 

 full. 



M. Leon Dufour' s description is as follows: — 



" SPHJERULARIA BOMBI. * 



" Teres, albido-pellucida, mollis, filiformis, haud annulata, undique spbserulis vesicula? 

 formibus grarmlata, antero postieeque obtusa subrotundata. 



" Hab. in abdomine Bombi terrestris et B. hortorum. Long., 6-8 lin. J'ai vaine- 

 ment cherche a rapporter ce singulier Entozoaire a quelqu'un des genres consignes dans 

 l'ouvrage de Rudolphi ; j'ai cru pouvoir en const ituer un nouveau sous le nom de Sphae- 

 rulaire qui exprime sa structure exterieure. Je Tavais d'abord pris pour une larve de 

 Diptere, mais l'absence de toute segmentation et sa forme cylindrique, me ramenerent a un 

 Entozoaire. II n'est pas ties greles, puisque sur six a huit lignes de longueur il en a pres 

 d'une de largeur. 11 n'offore aucune distinction ni de tete ni de queue, et il est obtus 

 ou merae arrondi par un bout ou par l'autre. Toute la surface de son corps estcouverte, 

 soit au dessus, soit au dessons, de granulations spheroidales semblables a des vesicules 

 subdiaphanes. 



" Je l'ai rencontre plusieurs fois dans la cavite abdominale des especes precitees de 

 Bombus, en dehors du tube digestif et toujours libre. En Juiu, 183B, j'en trouvai deux 

 ensemble dans le meme individu du B, hortorum, et cette circonstance me fortifie encore 

 dans l'idee que c'est un Entozoaire." 



Y. Siebold says ("Miiller's Archiv.," 1838) :— 



"Who would not be surprised at the appearance of the Sp. bombi, figured by Leon 

 Dufour, and ask himself in which of the five orders of Helminths this bee-worm should 

 be placed. I have been fortunate enough to find this worm in the cavity of the body of 

 B. terrestris, muscorum, and sylvarum, together with completely formed young ones, 

 and have made out from the form and manner of development of the latter that this 

 parasite can be nowhere better placed than among the Nematoids. Besides which, the 

 formation of the female generative organs corresponds exactly with those ofEilaria; but, 

 on the other hand, the rest of the worm presents some peculiarities : its digestive appa- 



* Leon Dufour, Ann. Sc. Nat. 1836, 2nd Ser., vol. vii. 



