19000 ^^ 



Beetkauia PRI8CA, Kolbe, Ent. Nacbr., viii, p. 208 (18S2) ; Id., 

 Rostock's Netzfl. Deutschl., p. 188 (1888) ; Tetens, Ent. Nachr., 

 xvii, pp. 377—378 (1891). 

 The following is a translation of part of Kolbe'a later description 



(1888) :— 



Body brown. Head dark brown, vertex paler. Contrary to other Psocidw, the 

 vertex is distinctly swollen forwardly, the front shallowly swollen. Upper lip extra- 

 ordinarily large, under lip excessively small. Palpi thin and slender, last joint five 

 times so long as thick, and three and half times so long as the penultimate joint, it 

 is acute as in no other Psocid. Second joint long, slightly clavate,and curved. The 

 slender antennae, as well as the palpi and legs, are unicolorous brown. The hemi- 

 spherical eyes, on the somewhat long head, are large and laterally prominent. Pro- 

 thorax almost as broad as the mesothorax, and of the same length. The abdomen 

 with very distinct genital apparatus ; brown above and at the sides, whitish 

 beneath. I^"«?^^^' ^^ '"'"• 



The above are mostly specific characters : to them may be added 

 the facts that the ? is entirely apterous, the antennae IS-jointed, the 

 legs very long, with 2-jointed tarsi. 



When fresh the abdomen above shows traces of fine paler an- 

 nulations at the sutures ; the long legs give the creature a spider-like 

 aspect ; and the extremely prominent and ciliated sub-genital plate is 

 enough in itself to convince any one who might still have any lingering 

 suspicion of the maturity of the creature. 



Originally discovered by Dr. Bertkau under a stone on the peak 

 of the Wolkenburg in the Siebengebirge in the spring of 1881. Later 

 on Herr Tetens (Z. c.) found numerous females under stones in the 

 Nassau Rheingau, and on October 2nd, in the early morning, under a 

 stone in the same district he found one winged male, which he refers 

 to the same species, about the size of Cceciliusjlavidus, the body colour 

 paler than in the ?, the antennae with long and fine pubescence, 

 the wings strongly pubescent, the neuration abnormal and differing in 

 the opposing wings, where normal probably as in the fossil genus 

 Epipsocus. Of this supposed male Bertkauia nothing further has 

 been said, and I know not if any further examples have been found. 



That the apterous examples of J3. prisca hitherto found appear 

 to be all ? is certain, and that the ^ should be winged is almost a 

 natural sequence. Bertkauia is a genus much higher in the scale than 

 Atropos, Clothilla, Hyperetes, &c., as evidenced by the few jointed 

 antennae, and the 2-jointed tarsi, and it is possible that when the 

 winged ^ is fully known, the necessity for placing the genus in a 

 special group may not be apparent. 



Lewisham, London : 



September 2nd, 1900. 



