Aktici.K VTIT. — T'a'c .V('7C' Varieties of Earth^coruis ivith a Key 

 to deseribed Species in Illinois * By Frank Smith. 



The collections of earthworms made by the writer in 1895 at 

 Havana, Illinois, for the Illinois State Laboratory of Natural History, 

 contain specimens of an nndescribed form which closely resembles 

 Ilelodrilus (Biuiastus) (jiesclcri (Udc) and is here described as a 

 variety of that species. 



HelodriIvUS (Bimastus) GiHSELERi hEmpeli n. var. 



(PI. XL I, Fig. 1-3) 



Definition. — Color of living worm on dorsal side, brownish red 

 tinged with purple ; somewhat more pronounced on a few anterior 

 and posterior somites. Length, extended, 65-75 "''"i- Maximum 

 diameter, 2.5-3.5 mm. at the clitellum. Somites, usually 105-115. 

 Prostomium epilobic, about Yz. Setaj closely paired, ah ^ i^A, cd, aa 

 a little greater than he, dd nearly y^ circumference. First dorsal pore, 

 V/VI. Clitellum, XXII-XXIX or >4 XXX ; incomplete ventrally. 

 Tubercula pubertatis lacking. Spermiducal pores on XV, conspicuous ; 

 surrounding glandular areas sw^ollen, but externally confined to XV. 

 Septa VI/VII-XIV/XV, slightly thickened. Sperm sacs, two pairs, 

 in XI and XII. Spermatheca^ lacking. 



The description is based on specimens collected at Havana, Illi- 

 nois, under the bark of fallen timber in the Illinois River bottom- 

 lands. Specimens were very abundant in April and May of 1895, 

 and freshly formed cocoons were abundant during the latter half of 

 April and throughout May. More recently, specimens have been ob- 

 tained at several places in Champaign County near Urbana, some of 

 them from fallen timber and some from beneath a straw stack. 



EXTERNAL CHARACTERS 



The brownish red color is generally distribute<l along the dorsal 

 half of the worm, being a little stronger on the anterior and posterior 

 ends. The coloration extends to about midw^ay between h and c, the 

 ventral part of the body being without pigment. The clitellum is 



*Contribiitions from the Zoological Laboratory, University of Illinois, No. 42. 



