552 BRITISH ORIBATIDvE. 



cates it as liexapod. I have gone somewhat carefully 

 into this question, and there is no doubt that in the 

 species which I have investigated Claparede is right. I 

 have actually seen the hexapod larva emerge from the 

 egg on the stage of my microscope, and the drawing 

 PI. LI, fig. 3, was made from a living specimen which 

 I had just seen emerge from an egg laid in my own cell 

 by a Ho2:>lophora which I was keeping in confinement. 

 Claparede says that the larva has a small dermal 

 appendage, like a blunt-ended spine on each side of 

 the ventral surface between the second and third legs, 

 he calls it " Bruststiel," and states that a similar 

 appendage is found upon the hexapod larva of Tyro- 

 glyphus. 



In the commoner species this usually has a semi- 

 transparent, slightly chitinized shell, which in the fully 

 formed egg is closely and irregularly wrinkled ; in H. 

 arclua, however, the mature egg is hard and opaque. 



Development of the Egg. — I regret that time and 

 opportunity have not been available to enable me to 

 make any embryological studies regarding the Orihatidoi 

 which I think of sufficient importance or value to be 

 included in this work, nor do I propose to offer any 

 such with respect to the present genus, but HoplopJiora 

 stands in a somewhat different position from other 

 genera of the family ; in the first place, if a female 

 Hoploplwra of one of the common species, dasypus 

 or magna, be dissected, the oviducts will generally be 

 found to contain numerous eggs, perhaps ten to fifteen 

 or even twenty, in various stages of development, and 

 these eggs are sufficiently transparent to allow a good 

 deal of what is taking place within the shell to be seen ; 

 secondly, this has tempted Nicolet to give an account 

 of the development based on what could be seen from 

 the exterior, and that account is, I believe, chiefly 

 correct, but there are some points upon which I can- 



