6 Transactions of the Society. 



between them. It is along this line that the rupture takes place 

 when the larva escapes, as recorded in my first paper on the 

 Oribatidie in this Journal.* 



Wood-loring Species. - ■ 



Claparede, in his ' Studien an Acariden,' records the result of 

 his excellent observations on Hojplopliora in its immature stages, 

 his discovery that the larvae and nymphs were wood-boring 

 creatures, and he expresses his astonishment at finding that the 

 nymphs and larvae were soft white creatures, when the adults are 

 so hard and dark ; he calls it passing through an Acarus stage. I 

 find that Hoplophora is not by any means an exceptional instance 

 in either of these particulars. The nymphs of Hermannia arrecta, 

 Tegeocranus elongaius, Cepheiis vulgaris, and some others, live in 

 dead wood, which they perforate with long burrows in all direc- 

 tions, until the wood is often thoroughly riddled by them, only the 

 thinnest partition being left between the burrows. The larva or 

 nymph, as the case may be, is usually found at the end of the burrow 

 furthest from the mouth, being in fact the last place which it has 

 worked to ; the burrow behind it is usually filled with excremental 

 matters and wood-dust. The nymph of Tegeocranus coriaceus 

 burrows into the more solid fungi in exactly the same manner, 

 and there are doubtless other boring species which I have not yet 

 traced. It is rather interesting to observe that, in all of these 

 instances, the larvae, or nymphs, are soft, white creatures, entirely 

 without the defensive armour or other protection possessed by 

 members of the family which are more exposed to danger than 

 these sub-cortical species. 



Ecdyses of Leiosoma jpalmicinctum. 



Those who have seen the beautiful nymph of Leiosoma 

 pahnicinctum, which is figured in a former paper of mine in this 

 Journal,! will not readily forget it. I was curious to see how the 

 very large Japanese-fan-shaped, membraneous hairs, which form 

 a broad border round the abdomen of the nymph of this species, 

 were disposed of during the formation or ecdysis. I had naturally 

 imagined that they would be folded up, either by closing the 

 nervures together like a fan, or else transversely like the wings, &c., 

 of insects. The extremely simple and pretty method by which 

 nature effects the packing did not strike me. The elegant mem- 

 braneous hairs grow on the edge of the body, and are formed fully 

 expanded ; instead of being doubled up, their peduncles are simply 

 turned down a little, so that the palmate hairs lie flat against the 

 ventral surface of the Acarid, and are thus protected from injury ; 



* Vol. II. (1879) p. 225. f Vol. III. (1880) PI. III. 



