DESCRIPTIONS OF GENERA AND SPECIES. 229 



stand as the name of the genus, if there ever be a 

 genus to receive the group. 



The next paper was my own in 1886 (loc. cit.). I 

 found Kramer's species, but I worked out the whole 

 life-history, and found the adults of both sexes ; at 

 the same time I found the adults and some, at least, of 

 the immature stages of some closely allied species. I 

 came to the conclusion that there was not in the then 

 state of our knowledge any sufficient means of insti- 

 tuting a sound generic distinction between the Acari 

 forming this group and the genus Glycyphagus, and I 

 included them all in the last-named genus. 



In 1897 Berlese (loc. cit.) took the same view as I 

 had done in 1886, and included all the species in 

 Glycyphagus ; but he has, as it seems to me, complicated 

 the matter considerably by creating a sub-genus 

 Homopus (overlooking the preoccupation of that name), 

 and putting into it not only Koch's and Kramer's 

 species noticed above, and their allies, but also what 

 seem to me to be such very different species as 

 Glycyphag-ns plumiger, G. palmifer, G. Canestrinii, G-. 

 perigrinans, and G. intermedius. None of these, as far 

 as we know, have any hypopial nymphs having any of 

 the characters upon which the genera Homopus and 

 Lcibidophorus were intended to be founded, nor have 

 the adults any of the characters upon which the genus 

 Dermacarus was founded. Berlese only leaves three 

 species in the sub-genus which he calls " Glycyphagus 

 veri ; " these are G. ornatus, G. domesticus, and G. 

 spinipes. He says that these three have smooth skins, 

 and the body-hairs very finely plumose, while the sub- 

 genus Homopus have punctured or rough skins, and 

 body-hairs thickly plumose, deeply barbed (" alte 

 barbatulse ") or laminaceous, or, rarely, simple and 

 short ; but, as a matter of fact, none of the three 

 species constituting Berlese's " Glycyphagus veri " have 

 smooth skins, and their body-hairs are almost as 

 plumose as those of G. perigrinans or G. intermedius* 



* Both foreign species. 



