LIFE-HISTORIES OF GAMASIN^. 303 



Observations on Gamasus coleoptratorum. 



First Generation. — On the 14th April, 1880, I captured, 

 amongst some rubbish in my own garden, two Gamasinae which, 

 in my opinion, decidedly belonged to one of the species known as 

 coleoptratorum, with the strongly divided dorsal plate, although 

 they were not at the moment parasitic on the beetle. One is 

 figured on Plate XXII. fig. 2. 



By the 16th April they had become accustomed to the cell, and 

 did not try to escape. 



Up to 25th April they went on without any marked change, 

 other than growing larger, the chitinous plates on the back not 

 increasing in size, but the white margin becoming gradually 

 broader. 



On the 26th April I could not find them for a long time ; at 

 last I saw their front tactile legs waving about from beneath a 

 dried seed-husk. 



On the 27th, not seeing them, I turned the husk over and saw a 

 cast skin ; one soon ran out, it was larger, soft, and light coloured, 

 and had evidently just cast the skin. A short time after the 

 second emerged, which also had cast the skin. One, which turned 

 out to be an adult male, was smaller than the other, and even- 

 tually became darker ; this one is figured (Plate XXIII. fig. 1). 

 Neither of these adults had any division whatever of the dorsal 

 plate ; they never became hard, but were of a more leathery 

 texture ; they were not Hermann's crassipes, nor had they any 

 resemblance to it. 



These two specimens were kept together ; and on the 7th of 

 May there were eggs in the cell, and the female continued to 

 lay eggs ; these eggs were placed in a separate cell. 



19th May, the cell became too dry ; the male was dead, but 

 I revived the female with moisture. 



Second Generation.— I cannot say when the first (six-footed) 

 larva emerged from one of the above-named eggs : they are small 

 and difficult to see j but they continued to hatch out until the 

 15 th May. These larva? were quite white and transparent, and 

 did not show any sign of dorsal plates ; they had a singular long 

 hair in the centre of the posterior margin not found in the 

 nymphs or adults. The larva is figured (Plate XXII. fig« 1)* 



In about three days the larva underwent the first change to the 

 eight-footed asexual nymph ; this also was quite white, and did 

 not show any sign of dorsal plates. 



