:54o 



Xot being v ed for aggressive warfare, this group is 



very remarkable lu its adaptation for defense. The thick chi- 

 tinous integument of the group when taken into consideration 

 with the special structures of the Orilxtfifl'^. the pteromorphit 

 or abdominal wings, affords an excellent protection against some 

 of their smallest, though most troublesome, enemies. When the 

 least disturbed, most of the species with these -chitinons ab- 

 dominal wings will fold the legs up uDdemeath the body and 

 close down the :_gs over them, so that they are 



almost or quite •.•j.i.^.t:-.j ■■jQcealed and protecte<i. Incase 

 of the Hoplodennnhf. which have the cephalothorax hinged to 

 the abdomen, they at once feign death upon being disturbed, 

 fold themselve- ' " -oiall ball by l>ending the cephalothorax 

 down over the .r _:.... surface of the abdomen, at the same 

 time drawing up the legs, and are thus completely covered by 

 the cephalothorax. 



In their movements the Orifnifoid^n are sluo^h as com- 

 pared with the other A'-'inna. As a rule the smooth, shiny 

 species are more active than the larger, rongh species. The 

 species of the genera Xe'jli'j'h-^ and XothrK-^ are esi>ecially slow 

 in their move!^: ' "- One species. Zttot-'h^-^^'^s inii-r>jntf'-h>i-. 

 which though .: in Europe has been found in only one 



place in America, is quite unique in being the only oribatid 

 which is saltatorial. 



Many of the OritnTfoiiJen pass the winter in moss. Some 

 of the species which live upon the leaves of trees, appai-ently 

 winter under t ": 



The Taxonomy of the Higher <TBorps of the Uribatoidea- 



Mi' e expert acarologist already mentioned, regards 



the groui_' lc ueetle-mites as a family, and in his monograph 

 of them in " Das TieiTeich" i Lief. 3. 1S9S divided the group 

 into seven subfamilies. I can hardly agree with this author in 

 all respects as to this division, for although the characters 

 which separate some of his subfamilies are fundamental and are 

 correlated with differences in habit as well as structure, others 

 are somewhat variable and hardlv of more than seneric ira- 



