HEMIMERUS 



2 17 



Fam. II. Hemimeridae. 



Apterous, blind Insects ivith exserted head, having a constricted 

 neck, mouth placed quite inferiorly ; the 

 thoracic sterna large, imbricate. Hind 

 body elongate, the segments imbricate, the 

 dorsal plates being large and overlapping 

 the ventral; the number of visible seg- 

 ments being different according to sex : 

 a pair of long unsegmented cerci at the 

 extremity. Coxae small, loidely separ- 

 ated. Development intra-ute7'ine. 



Fig. 114. — Hemiments 

 hansenijemale. Africa. 

 (After Hansen.) 



In describing the labium of Mandibulata, 

 p. 97, we alluded to the genus Hemimerus as 

 reputed to possess a most peculiar mouth. 

 When our remarks were made little was 

 known about this Insect ; but a very valuable 

 paper ^ by Dr. H. J. Hansen on it has since 

 appeared, correcting some errors and supply- 

 ing us with information on numerous points. 

 M. de Saussure described the Insect as possess- 

 ing two lower lips, each bearing articulated 

 palpi, and he therefore proposed to treat 

 Hemimerus as the representative of a distinct Order of Insects, 

 to be called Diploglossata. It now appears that the talented 



Fig. 115. — Under siile of head and 

 front of prothora.x of Hemimerus. 

 a, base of antenna ; b, articulation 

 of antenna ; c, labrum ; d, man- 

 dible ; c, condyle of mandible ; /, 

 articular membrane of mandible ; 

 g, stipes of maxilla ; h, exterior 

 lobe ; i, palpus of maxilla ; k, sub- 

 mentum ; I, mentum ; )ft, terminal 

 lobe of labium ; n, labial palp ; u, 

 plate between submentum and ster- 

 num ; JO, presternum ; q, cervical 

 p -L I '" sclerites. (After Hansen.) 



Swiss entomologist was in this ease deceived by a bad prepara- 

 tion, and that the mouth shows but little departure from the 

 ordinary mandibulate type. There is a large inflexed labrum ; 



1 Ent. Tidskr. 1894, p. 65. 



