1 88 



SCIENCE-GOSSIP. 



with the male, on more than one occasion. The 

 process is well described by Mueller : it is very 

 curious, and, as in the fleas, the female is upper- 

 most, and is larger and more powerful than the 

 male. Mr. Soar gives the length of the male in 

 this species as 163 mm., and that of the female 

 io-86 mm. 



Fig. 4. — The next mite is Arrenurus zachariae. I 

 have not seen this mite alive, but have had the 

 pleasure of examining it in preservative solution, 

 which, however, unfortunately, discharges the 

 colours. It was found by Mr. Soar at Sunningdale. 

 The formation of the tail, as will be seen by the 

 figure, is very different from the other tailed mites. 

 It was named by Kccnike, and is probably rather 

 rare in England, one specimen only having been 

 found. Its legs are much like those of A . buccinator 

 and many other tailed mites. Mr. Soar gives its 

 length as 1/04 mm. 



Fig. 5 has been named Arremirus festivus by 

 Kcenike. The tail willbe seen to be more cylindrical, 

 the sides straighter, and the termination more 

 dilated than is found in the other mites here 

 figured. Mr. Soar gives its length as 1-32 mm. 



I found it in company with A . buccinator. I have 

 not detected the female belonging to this mite. 

 Fig. 6 represents a male Arremirus, with a much 

 shorter and broader tail than the others ; I have 

 not been able to make out its name. It was found 

 by Mr. Soar, at Staines, last year, and I myself 

 met with it on several occasions, so that it is by 

 no means rare, and therefore has doubtless been 

 described and named. It resembles somewhat 

 Arrenurus albator, Mueller, but has the central part, 

 or petiole, of the tail spear-shaped. In " Zoolgischer 

 Auzeiger," No. 401, for September, 1892, p. 342, 

 is a figure of the tail of a mite something like this, 

 with the exception of the petiole, which is there 

 heart-shaped. I shall be very glad, if any reader of 

 Scien'CE-Gossip has met with a description or 

 figure of this mite, if he will kindly give me the 

 reference to it. Fig. 7 represents the ventral 

 surface of this doubtful Arrenurus. 



I have again to express my thanks to Mr. Soar, 

 for so kindly drawing for me the figures which 

 accompany and form so important a part of these 

 notes. 



Kirton in Lindsey. 



EARWIGS. 

 By Malcolm Burr, F.E.S., F.Z.S. 



T N the whole history of Entomology, with some 

 exceptions, few insects have received such 

 scant attention as earwigs. On reading up the 

 literature of the subject, it will be found that all 

 descriptions and notes are contained in various 

 papers scattered through the scientific journals, 

 "Proceedings" of societies, in various languages, 

 and in rare cases they are to be found in the pages 

 of a larger work dealing with different groups and 

 orders. Several species were described in the 

 more important works by Linnaeus, Fabricius, 

 Serville, Burmeister, and De Haan. The first 

 systematic paper was H. Dohrn's " Versuch einer 

 Monographie der Dermapteren," in the " Stettiner 

 Entomologische Zeitung," commencing in 1862. 

 About that time, the Swedish entomologist, Stal, 

 described several earwigs, and more than ten years 

 later Scudder described f 1 ) a number of species 

 from the " New World." He also compiled a com- 

 plete catalogue (-) of all the then known kinds, in 

 his Critical and Historical notes upon the genera. 

 Since 1876, that eminent American entomologist 

 has published little work on this group. About 

 the same date, De Bormans began to publish, and 

 has since been the leading authority upon the 

 subject, and his long-wanted monograph is expected 

 to shortly appear. 



Within recent years a few species have been 



0) Proc. Bost. Soc. Nat. Hist., xvii., 1875. 

 ( 2 ) " Entomological Notes," v., 1S7G, repiinted from Proc, 

 Bost. Soc. Nat. Hist., xviii., 1876. 



described by W. F. Kirby ( : ), Brunner (-) 

 Karsch ( 3 ), Bolivar ('), and the writer ( s ). The 

 known number of species is 378, not including 

 five inccrtae seiis. They are distributed through 

 thirty-one genera, but more will be added by the 

 appearance of a systematic work upon earwigs. 



The genera are separated upon details of struc- 

 ture, which will be made apparent in the following 

 notes. There is a scutellum visible between the 

 elytra at the base in seven genera, viz., Apachya, 

 Tagaiina, N eolobophora , Pygidicrana, Nannopygia, 

 Cylindrogaster and Diplatys. In the remaining 

 genera there is no visible scutellum, except per- 

 haps in some subapterous kinds. 



In fifteen genera the small second tarsal segment 

 is simple and cylindrical, viz., in Pyragra, Brachy- 

 labis, Platylabia, Echinosoma, Echinopsalis, Labidurodcs, 

 Psalis, Labidura, Chaetospania, Sparatta, Mecomera, 

 Anisolabis, Labia, Auchenomus and Spongophora. 

 These again are subdivided according to the 

 presence or absence of little lateral tubercles on 

 the second and third abdominal segments. 



The remaining genera have the second tarsal 

 segment more or less lobed or heart-shaped ; in 

 Cheiisoches it is produced into a lobe under the third 

 tarsal segment, but in all others is simply lobed. 



0) Linn. Soc. Journ. Zool., xxiii., 1891, xxv., 1896. 

 ( 2 ) Prodromus der Europaischen Orthopteren, Leipzig, 

 1882. 

 ( 3 i Berl. Ent. Zeit., xxx., 1S8C ; Ent. Nach., 1885, 32, 2. 

 C) Act. Soc. N. H. Esp., xxii. 

 ( 5 ) Ann. Mag. N. Hist. (61, xx., 1897. 



