JOURNAL 



OF THE 



ROYAL MICROSCOPICAL SOCIETY. 



MAY, 1879. 



TRANSACTIONS OF THE SOCIETY. 



XII. — A Contribution to the hnoivledge of British OrihafidcV. 



By A. D. Michael, F.E.M.S., with the assistance of C. F. George, 

 M.E.C.S.E. (of Kirton Lindsey). 



(Read hefore the Society, March 12th, 1879.) 



Plates IX., X., and XI. 



Amongst the Acarina are various groups which have received 

 little attention in England, but, probably, there is not any family 

 that has met with more neglect than the Orihatidie, or beetle 

 mites. 



The common Damseus genicidatus is well known, and is 

 mentioned by Curtis,* who discusses whether it is injurious to 

 vegetation. I have seen a print, cut from some work published in 

 1800, inappropriately called the " Wandering mite," which is 

 evidently one of the Oribatidse, probably a Notaspis. Johnston t 

 mentions a Carabodes nitens in Berwickshire, but I doubt it being 

 possible to identify it, although it is evidently one of the Oribatidae ; 



DESCRIPTION OF PLATES. 

 Plate IX. 



Fig. 1. — Tegeocranus latus. Larva. 



„ 2. — „ „ Nymph full grown. The central ellipse on the 



back is the cast dorsal skin of the larva, the two 

 next rings are the similar cast skins of the nymph 

 in its earlier stages, a, stigmatic hair seen side- 

 ways ; 5, the other similar hair seen edgeways. 



„ 3, — „ „ Mature (perfect) creature x 65. «, wing-like ex- 



pansions of the cephalothorax ; h, stigmatic hairs ; 

 c, projection of the sternal plate cleft for the inser- 

 tion of the first pair of legs ; d, projecting lateral 

 ridge (at a lower level than the dorsal plate), 

 forming a protection to the first and second pairs 

 of legs when they are folded up. 



„ 4. — „ „ Palpus (copied from Nicolet). 



„ 5, — „ „ Mandible „ „ 



* ' Farm Insects.' 



t 'Hist. Berwickshire Nat. Field Club,' vol. iii. p. 113. 

 VOL. II. Q^ 



