soMb: PRiMrnx'i- i]ritish insects. 



I.— I" Hi- I'KOIURA. 

 r.y KkllARI) S. IJACiXALL, I-M,.S.. F.E.S. 



An insect w itliout antennae ! 



It was on the occasion of a tiekl meeting of the 

 Northumberland. Durham and Xewcastle-upon-Tvne 

 Natural History Society, at Mitford, Northumberland. 

 in the May of 1909, I first met with this curious 

 form of insect life. I remember I was searching 

 for those tiny, bustling centipedes, the Pauropods. at 

 the time. Under a log l\ing by the roadside was 

 a colony of Pauropus — of a species then unrecorded 

 as British — and with it were two small creatures, 

 yellowish and to all appearances larxal. l?ut under 

 a lens they pre- 

 sented an alto- 

 gether strange 

 appearance, chiefl\' 

 on account of their 

 conical beak- 

 shaped heads, and 

 of the great de- 

 velopment of the 

 fore-legs. the 

 peculiar posture 

 thereof reminding 

 one of the Praying 

 Mantis. I there- 

 fore bottled them. 

 and placing them 

 under the micro- 

 scope at home I 

 discovered other 

 peculiarities no 

 less striking. 



The mouth parts were quite unlike those of any 

 other insect known to me ; eves, antennae and 

 wings were absent; the claws were similar to those 

 of the bristle-tails (Thysanura), the 

 last abdominal segments reminded 

 one curiously of a crustacean, and 

 there were no spiracles. Several 

 structural features, including the 

 genitalia, proved that the insect was 

 not larval. 



I felt that I had thus stumbled 

 upon an entirely new ty()e of insect, 

 and as such labelled my preparation, 

 but lack of knowledge and literature 

 together with the pressure of other 

 interests and important work, forced 

 me to put it to one side. 



It is curious how strange occur- 

 rences such as this revolve in one's 

 mind. Without antennae, e\"es and 

 wings! We can bring to mind 

 whole orilers of wingless insects, 

 such as the springtails (Collembola). 



bristle-tails (Thysanura), bloodsucking and biting 

 lice (.\noplura and Mallophaga) and numerous 

 sightless arthropods. But without antennae, or in 

 other words, without either of the organs of sense, 

 the eyes and antennae ! This curious creature was 

 brought before me more forcibly by the discover}- of 

 a second species in 1910, a third in .August and yet 

 another in December, 1911, the latter in profusion, 

 and whilst rcccntK' corresponding with Professor 



iMlipo Silvestri 

 rouvli sketch and 



1 other matters, 



isked his opiiiicin. 



1 ii.i 1.1. J-)'i. 

 Accrcntoiiiiiii (irtiiiis Bagn.. enlarged. 



Th( 



/'^ C. Lis/imaii, D.: 



Figure 240. 

 natural si/e is 1-6 nun. 



Figure 241. 

 anterior end of Acci 

 greatly enlarged 



sent him a 

 He intnrmed 

 me that these 

 insects were, as I 

 had thought, true 

 insects, and that 

 they belonged to 

 the order Protura, 

 an order diagnosed 

 by him as recetitly 

 as December, 1 907. 

 Thus ended my 

 dream of the first 

 (iisco\t'r\' of an 

 ciitireh' new ts'pc 

 <if insect ! 



Its history is, 

 however, a short 

 one ; the insect is 

 known to very few 

 naturalists, and 

 \et about a dozen 

 species have been 

 described, mostly by Berlese from Italy, who, 

 in 1909, monographed the order in his usual most 

 thorough and comprehensive manner. 



Acercntoinon — '" An insect w itli- 

 out antennae.'" that is the literal 

 translation of the name proposed 

 b\- Silvestri. <i = without ; Kepag^ 

 antenna : eVro/Uoi'^ insect. Could 

 a more appropriate name be chosen ? 

 The position of the front pair of 

 legs suggested to me that they, in a 

 measure, protected the head. I 

 recently had the opportunity of 

 watching the living insects, and it 

 was especiallv interesting to note 

 that the long front legs were not 

 used to anv extent for walking, 

 but as feelers held tremulousl}- on 

 each side of the head, and this 

 observation is confirmed on e.xamin- 

 atioii of the fore-tibia under a 

 high power, when sense - organs 

 similar to those found on the 



lltoillOtl. 



:i5 



