Silver-Fish Insects. 



45 



One other member ^ of the genus, figured on page 43, 



makes its home among dead leaves in woods. The 



bronze-fish is an advance upon the silver-fish in the 



matter of eyes. Its two compound eyes are large, and 



meet in the centre of the head. In front of the head are 



three other eyes, two of them of a lengthened dumb-bell 



shape, and these are intermediate in character between 



simple and compound eyes. There is here a certain 



amount of development, for Bolivar states that when it 



leaves the egg the bronze-fish has only simple eyes, which 



change to compound eyes as it gets older. Dr. Sharp, 



however, has observed that very young individuals of the 



woodland species have compound eyes. There may, of 



course, be a difference between the two species in this 



respect. The scales with which these Insects are clothed 



easilv separate from the body, and so the appearance of 



the Insect is quite altered, for when intact these make a pi,otoby] //. Ma,n,i-.E.s. 



mosaic pattern. ^^^ Fire-br.\t. 



, , .. 10 ■ i_ \ ■ ±. The fire-brat is the name applied to 



A'ot so closelv related is campodea,- a mmute white this insect by bakers to indicate its 



■ ^ . 11 ri preference for places of high temperature. 



creature that mav be found bv turning over clods 01 clamp it appears to prefer the bake-house to 



... ■ . . " , . , .all other retreats, and from this circum- 



earth in field or garden, in the plain or on the mountain stance it is possible that it deser%'es 



. "" , . , , . , a place on the list of Insects eaten 



top above the snow-lme, on the open sea-shore or m the (inadvertentivi bv man. 

 darkness of deep caverns. Its total length, including its 

 long antenna; and its longer tails, is about a quarter of an 

 inch, but the body without these appendages is only half 

 that length. These appendages are very hairy, and the 

 tails are so much finer looking, that if the Insect were to 

 tuck its legs under its body the hinder portion might easily 

 be mistaken for the front ; and if its size allowed it to be 

 publiclv known, it would probably be described as 

 double-headed. It has no eves, and it is covered with 

 delicate hairs instead of scales. The jaws are not evident, 

 as in the silver-fish, owing to the mouth being sunk into 

 the head, as in the springtails. The legs are compara- 

 tively long, and the integuments are very soft and delicate. 

 It is almost impossible to capture them without injury, 

 and they die and shrink almost immediately. This 

 has made it very difficult to get information as 

 to development and life-history, or to compare 

 specimens from other parts of the world. At present, 

 therefore, it stands in the books as a species by itself ; 



with its wide distribution, 



of Europe, India, and North 



are includrd under the one 



but it is probable that 

 which includes the whole 

 America, se\-eral species 

 name. 



' Macliilis pol\-po(la. 



Photo by] [II. Mam, F.IL.S. 



The Fire-brat. 

 In this photograph the under side is 

 shown, and the full form of the active 

 little legs. The delicate, long antenna; 

 which grace the head have their apparent 

 counterparts at the other end of the 

 body, where, however, there are three 

 processes instead of two. The photo- 

 graphs arc twice the actual size of the 

 Insect. 



2 Campodea staphylinus. 



