312 Records or the S.A. Museum 



vegetation shfillowly situcitcd in the slowly nmiiiu^' slrcjim. The ('<i<rs arc alinnt 

 1-0 mm. in lono-tli, irrognlarly oval in sliajH', and somcwliat tlattcned on one side; 

 the micropyle is sitnated in a nipple a1 the apex ; the snid'ace is niinntely Avrinkled 

 and is marked with a i-ather nncven, liny, i-etienlatin«i' pattei-n, eonsisting mostly 

 of hexag'ons, hnt with oeeasionally a tive-sided ti<''ni-e interposed (e). Eaeh egfj 

 is borne on a translneent, thread-like jxnlieel eonneeted 1o a disc, which is firmly 

 attached to a ]ilant stem. The pedieel, notwithstandin<i' its frajiile appearance, is 

 extraordinarily strong, flexible, and elastic; on being stretched 1o abont t'onr 

 times its noi-iiial length it i-cadily i-clnrns when released. If snfficient force is 

 nsed 1o drag the egg from the object to which it is connected, the disc usually 

 becomes detached, bnt the connecting pedicel rarely breaks. 



As develo])ment i)roceeds the eyes of the {'nclosed embi-yo become increasingly 

 visible on each side, at aboni the a])ical third of the egg-case; seen through the 

 semi-trans}iarent chitin they appear reniform and of a castam'ous colour. In 

 hatching, the larva l)nrsts open the to]) of the egg-case, the apex being split into 

 several teeth. The newly-emerged bug is 2-.') unn. in length and. excepting for 

 the eyes, is almost transparent, with very faint ti-aces of pigment. The compound 

 eyes are small and cf)nsist of comparatively few facets, the interocular space 

 being much wider than in the adult. The ])osterioi' tai-sns is pi-ovided with two 

 terminal claws, and throughont the innnatni-e stages is monomerous. 



In an aquarium the late pupal stage was attained five mouths after hatching, 

 Avhen the l)ugs unfortunately ]ierished before the identity of the species coidd 

 with cei'tainty be established. 



The Corixidae ai-e of almost woi-ld-widc distribution. Six species have 

 hitherto been recorded from Australia, five of these being named by Kirkaldy 

 and om^ by Fieber. Eight additions are herein recorded, some of which have a 

 wide range over the continent ; the tyjx's are deposited in the South Australian 

 Museum. Several species are often associated in the same situation, and recently 

 a single pool near Adelaide yielded eight of those enumerated in this paper. A 

 single specimen only has been received from Western Australia ; more must, of 

 course, occui- there, aiul doubtless fui'ther s|)ecies i-cmain to be recorded from 

 this and other States. In 189:^ Skuse(") wi-ote : "Thi'ee species of forira 

 common in the ponds about Sydney," and "Two species, rather abundant."' of 

 Sif/ora (Micronecto ). No other pajier dealing with the (^-yptocerata has been 

 published in Australia. 



T here express my thanks to ]\Ii-. W. W. Fi-oggatt, of the Agricultural Depart- 

 ment, Sydney, and to the Direc1oi-s of the Australian Museum, Sydney, and 

 National Museum, Melbourne, for the opportunity of examining the Corixidae 

 preserved in these institutions, 



