Dec. 29, 1882 



♦ KNOWLEDGE ♦ 



496 



trachea-, their trachete are scattered here and there over 

 the entire body. It appears, says Moseley, that we have 

 existing in Peripatus almost the earliest stage in the evolu- 

 tion of trachew, and that these air tubes were developed in 

 the first tracheate animal out of skin glands scattered all 

 over the body. In the higher tracheate animals the tracheal 

 openings have become restricted to certain definite positions 

 by the action of natural selection. 



The sexes are distinct, and the males much smaller and 

 rarer than the females. Out of fifty specimens found only 

 two were males. The females are ^■iviparous ; and, accord- 

 ing to the above - mentioned distinguished author, a 

 standard-bearer of the lamented Darwin, a process of deve- 

 lopment of the young shows that the homy jaws of the 

 animal are the slightly modified claws of a pair of limbs 

 turned inward over the mouth as development proceeds ; 

 in fact, "foot jaws,' as in other anthropods. 



To Moseley is due all the present knowledge concerning 

 this curious insect, and previous to his elaborate examina- 

 tions at the Cape of Good Hope nothing was known as to 

 its method of breathing air by means of trachea?, scientists 

 believing it to be an annelid. 



In the accompanying cut the great peculiarity of the 

 animal is shown. Being slow, cumbersome, and utterly 

 unable to pursue game, it seems to have been provided by 

 nature with ample compensation. We see it lying upon 

 the ground almost invisible, so similar is it in colour to its 

 surroundings ; a fly or some larger insect approaches ; the 

 tw'o horns dilate, move to and fro, as if in excitement, and 

 the approaching fly, when within several inches, suddenly 

 stops, as if paralysed and unable to move, but remains sus- 

 pended in the air. We draw nearer and see the cause of 

 this phenomenon. At the approach of the victim the Peri- 

 patus has ejected from its mouth curious thread-like jets of 

 some glutinous irritating fluid that forms instantaneously, 

 as if by magic, a complete network of gleaming, glistening 

 web, that resemliles the maze of the spider with its quiver- 

 ing drops of dew. Myriads of these glistening darts or 

 threads encompass the victim, holdiug it in a close embrace 

 until the unwieldy Peripatus approaches, breaking through 

 the sheeny prison, and releasing the victim to a worse fate. 



This remarkable web is fmind to proceed from large 

 glands that secrete a clear viscid fluid that seems to crystal- 

 Uze when ejected from the papilla, one of which is found at 

 each side of the mouth. If the Peripatus is attacked sud- 

 denly the web appears in front of it instantly, the jets 



forming a perfect protection from many enemies, as it is 

 almost as tenacious as birdlime. It is not an irritant 

 when tasted, but when taken from the glands and placed 

 upon a glass slide, forms a trap for the largest insects, 

 holding them securely. 



The food of the Peripatus is, however, to a great extent, 

 vegetable, and in the stomachs of nearly all the specimens 

 examined by Professor Moseley at Good Hope, vegetable 

 matter was found. In their habits they are similar to the 

 common centipedes, living under logs, stones, and dead 

 wood They are nocturnal insects, moving about in a slow, 

 hesitating manner in the daytime. When at rest the body 

 is perhaps two inches long, but in motion they stretch out 

 in a surprising manner to nearly twice that length. Most 

 of the specimens found by Professor Moseley were in old 

 willows that were highly luminous, and in the weird liglit 

 the insects were seen coiled up ready for transportation to 

 the collecting case. Professor Moseley thus describes the 

 search for this rara insrcta : — 



" My colleague, the late Ton Willemoes Suhm, and I 

 both searched hard for Pfripntus. He was unsuccessful, 

 but I was lucky enough to find a fine specimen first under 

 an old cartwheel at Wynberg. Immediately that I opened 

 this one I saw its trachea?, and the fully-formed young 

 ■within it. Had my colleague lighted on the specimen, he 

 would, no doubt, have made the discovery instead." 



In Xew Zealand, the species known as P. Xoia Zealando; 

 is found among the dead wood near Wellington. Here, 

 also, the females predominate. It much resembles the 

 Capensis, having, however, thirty feet instead of thirty- 

 four. 



Equally remarkable as a web-constructor are the lar\;'- 

 of a lepidopterous insect, the ILipItantidima sericariititi, 

 found in Australia. Myriads of the creatures join forces 

 and produce a silken web, in some cases measuring nearly 

 300 square feet. Mrs. Thos. AViseman, of Australia, has 

 successfully raised numbers of them, and sent specimens to 

 Europe. Mr. Helenus Scott, of the Wollombi, thus refers 

 to her work in a communication sent to an English naturalist 

 with some specimens : — • 



"Mrs. Wiseman had placed a quantity of shelled maiz. 

 in a veranda room, 8 ft. 6 in. long, 6 ft. wide, and 9 ft. 

 3 in. high, the stone walls being plastered. At a subsequent 

 period, this room being required for a bedroom, the walls 

 were found to bo entirely and uniformly covered by a 

 beautiful white-coloured web, fastened at the ceiling, floor, 

 and corners by a stouter and coarser fabric, and occasionally 

 to portions of the wall itself ; so that in this uistance an 

 unbroken sheet of cloth, containing some 72 square feet, 

 might with care have been obtained ; while the web 

 measured at least some 252 square feet. The specimens 

 of this cloth sent to me, rudely torn from the walls, wcr< 

 of the size of a large handkerchief. The remaining per 

 tions of the original construction had been ruthlessly de 

 stroyed by the servants. The larva, wlien full grown, is 

 about five-twelfths of an inch in length, with the head and 

 first annulation depressed, somewhat horny, and of a 

 blackish-brown. It possesses sixteen feet 



" It is of a pale yellowish-white colour, with whorls of 

 si.v small black spots on each annulation, each emitting a 

 tiny hair. The caudal segment is spotted with brown. 



" In confinement these caterpillars were found to be 

 active, with a dislike to the light ; so tliat when exposed, 

 they immediately commenced spinning their web, connect- 

 ing together several grains of the maize, upon which they 

 subsisted. Tliey likewise lined the top and sides of tlie lx)x 

 with their silken tissue. 



'•At the latter end of August they assumed the pupa 

 state, each larva asauming a separate cocoon for itself 



