D. BRYCE ON THE MACROTRACHELOUS CALLIDINJ:. 17 



peculiarity is tliat by far the majority of them seem to have 

 their habitat among, or upon, the stems, leaves, or bracts of 

 various mosses. Specimens are rarely found in ordinary dip- 

 pings, nor are they met with crawling over the leaves of the 

 usually gathered water plants, and this is doubtless the reason 

 why so little has been known about them. My own method of 

 collection is both successful and very simple. Provided with 

 several wide-mouthed bottles, with tightly fitting corks, I 

 gather (with as little soil as possible) threads or stems of moss 

 from old w^alls, from damp banks, from the bark of trees, from 

 alongside pools, or, best of all, from tufts of Sphagnum. I take 

 care not to pack the moss tightly, nor do I add water, for the 

 moisture clinging about the moss is sufficient (in a well-corked 

 bottle) to keep the CallidincB alive for months, I presume in a 

 succession of generations. This refers to moss gathered in a 

 moist state, but if gathered from dry positions it may be 

 slightly damped, no more. The store bottles (for which may 

 be substituted tin canisters) should be kept in a cool room, 

 and exposed to nothing stronger than a north light. When 

 convenient I place a stem or two in a zoophyte trough, and 

 add water. After a few minutes I move the moss briskly to 

 and fro in the w^ater, and then remove it. I place the trough 

 in an inclined position, and when the water is sufficiently clear 

 I remove it to the inclined stage of my microscope. A brief 

 search with the one-inch powder generally reveals specimens of 

 several species of these CalUdince, accompanied by Adineta vaga, 

 and several species of the Catliypnadte. 



I have not succeeded in locating any favourite lurking place 

 of the apparently free-living species about the moss stems, but 

 the forms symhiotica and Leitgehii are stated to make their home 

 in certain cavities and corners formed on the under side of the 

 leaves of four species of Jungermannit^, and Dr. Hudson, in a 

 very interesting passage, relates to us how, after reading Dr. 

 Zelinka's account of their habit of life, he remembered where 

 he had noticed some moss of one of these species, and having 

 brouo'ht some home was delighted to find some of these Callidince 

 inhabiting it in the manner described.* These two forms, sym- 

 hiotica and Leitgebii, have a special interest. They appear to 



* I hiive to thank Dr. Carl Zelinka for a copy of bis instructive paper 

 which he most kindly forwarded to me. 



JouRN. Q. M. C, Series II., No. 31. 2 



