186 THE entomologhst's kecord. 



Olibnis aiflnii^, Sturm. — lu the 1893 Catalogue this species is 

 treated as a synonym of jiarticrps, Muls. It is, however, a good species, 

 as pointed out by Mr. Newbery [Knt. llccurd, vol. xi., p. 137). Mr. 

 Champion has taken it in the New Forest, and ]\Ir. Newbery in the 

 same locality, as well as at Hythe. 



(To he concluded.) 



®RTHOPTERA. 



Parasites of Orthoptera. 



By MALCOLM BUliR, F.Z.S., F.E.S. 



It is well known that Orthoptera are subject to the attacks of 

 parasites of A-arious kinds, chiefly protozoa, parasitic worms and fungi, 

 ('.//., hcnia, Kntomuthnra and other fungi have long been known to cause 

 the death of grasshoppers, and they have been seriously considered as a 

 means for combating locust plagues. A diseased insect craAvls up on a 

 stem of grass and there dies. The fungus destroys the internal organs 

 until the insect will crumble at a touch ; the spores are then scattered 

 to continue their mission of destruction. 



Biitschli notes a Spirillum {SrJii-^onn/crtcs) in the rectum of the 

 cockroach. Filaments of a minute Alt/a also abound in the rectum of 

 the cockroach, which Valentin says is /i////rwyor/s- intestinali^, one of the 

 ('i/aiKipJn/ccac. The same parasitic Ah/a is said to occur in the crayfish. 

 Protozoa are common in KndaiitDcba hlattac, Biitschli (IlJiiza- 

 ])()ila), in the rectum, whilst (iri'i/arina hlattannn, Stein., is fairly 

 common in the chylific stomach, gizzard and large intestine. Of the 

 Infusoria, Ni/ctotJicnis Dralis, Leidy, is known to inhabit the intestine 

 of Blatta uri/llotalpa, and I'laiiintduia (Biirsai-ia) hlattannn, Stein., the 

 rectum. Clarapede considers these two species to be identical. There 

 are three species of J.(ph(niiiinai<, all of which occur in the rectum of 

 FAattiilac. They are, />. hlattannn, Stein., and L. striata, Biitschli, 

 in I). <)rinitali:<, and L. sulcata, Schust., in I'crijilanrta cuiwricana. 



Nemathelminth worms are common i)arasites on Orthoptera. In 

 the Hamburg Museum there are specimens of a (jonlius taken from 

 the intestines of some cockroaches from Venezuela. A (inrdius, of 

 dimensions really gigantic, is recorded by Siebold in ] hriirus rrrruri- 

 rnrus, L. Several species of O.vijuris are known to be taken in JUatta. 

 (K (licsiufii, Ham., is frequent in the rectum, <>. hlattac-oricntalis, 

 Ham., much rarer. Leidy mentions O. (jracilis and O. appouUrulata, 

 and A" an Beneden notes O. iiiarraura, Eadk., in the same situation. 



In 1878, Rev. Fitzroy Kelly Lloyd exhibited at the Entomological 

 Society of London a worm tAvo inches long, taken from the abdomen 

 of an earwig. Mr. Pascoe said it was probably a Filaria. Filaria 

 rJnjtipleuritcs, Galeb., is found encysted in the fat body of the cock- 

 roach, and in the sexual state in the alimentary canal of the rat. 



In Arachnida, an Acarus, sp., was found by Cornelius on the sexual 

 organs of the male cockroach, and Dr. Sharp observed Acari on the 

 hind legs of (injllotalpa. They were so synnnetrically placed that 

 they appeared to be a ]:)art of the striictiire of the limb, which possibly 

 prevented them from being rubbed oft when the creature moved. Mr. 

 E. T. Giinther has informed me that he noticed the same thing on 

 grasshoppers in northern Persia. 



Among insects we find examples of Diptera, Hymenoptera, and 



