Notes on Myrtapoda. 9 
passages made by these animals through the soil in which 
they lived, some very little systems of network formed of 
cobweb-like filaments and arranged at a distance from one 
another. At the centre of each was hung a spherical 
globule, white, of the size of a small pin-head. This globule 
was nothing else but a spermatophore. For a month anda 
half spermatophores are deposited by the males in the same 
way. What becomes of these spermatophores? How do 
they effect fertilization? Fabre tells us the ‘complete absence 
of copulatory organs, the protective sperm-capsule, the 
spermatic nets, all make me believe that the male deposits 
the spermatophores furtively on nets stretched in the sub- 
terranean passages and that it is there that the female, 
guided by her instinct and urged on by her burden, comes 
to seek the element complementary to her ovules.’ 
““There is no cot/us: that is pretty certain if the infor- 
mation given by Fabre be taken for granted. But in the 
question which interests us, this fact, in spite of its great 
import, is only of secondary significance. Whether there is 
or is not coitus is of no importance to us; but what does 
concern us is the date of the deposition of the spermatophore, 
which is very probably the date of fertilization too, since in 
the ordinary air the spermatophores, being very delicate 
microscopic corpuscles, are condemned to almost certain 
destruction in a very short time. Excessive humidity cracks 
them, drying shrivels and hardens them, arachnids to whom 
they are a great delicacy devour them very quickly. 
“* Now the date of the deposition of the spermatophores 
coincides exactly with that of the appearance of luminosity 
in phosphorescent Geophilide. 
“Tabre, as a matter of fact, has proved that the de- 
position of the spermatophores of Geophilus convolvens 
(which is not a phosphorescent species) goes on from the 
end of September to the 12th of November, and the obser- 
vations which we have cited concerning the capture of 
photogenic Geophilide record as extreme dates 25 September 
(G. Newport) and 14 November (Maille). 
“The proof afforded by this last coincidence establishes a 
conviction, and within the limits of present observations 
I believe I have the right to conclude that among phos- 
phorescent European Geophilide the appearance of luminosity 
is not only intimately connected with genital activity, but seems 
to correspond exactly with the date of the deposition of the 
spermatophores (very probably also with fertilization) —that is 
to say, from the end of September to the first fortnight of 
November.” 
