294 INSECTS AND MAN 



each leg is tipped with two or three substantial claws. 

 After each feeding the larva becomes elongated and 

 swollen with blood. It then falls to the ground, seeks 

 shelter, and below the larval skin new organs are developed, 

 so that, when this skin is thrown off after a few weeks, 

 the adult Trombidium emerges. Aphides, lepidopterous 

 larvae, and, in the case of one species, locust eggs form the 

 usual fare of these adult mites. The winter is spent in 

 hibernation beneath the ground, and in the spring oviposi- 

 tion takes place. 



