LIGIA. 69 



light dirty brown. In young specimens two light-coloured 

 patches occur on the median line of the dorsal side. The 

 colouration has generally a mottled appearance, the dark 

 portions being due to presence of closely packed chro- 

 matophores. In injected specimens a close connection is 

 observed between the terminations of the fine capillaries 

 and the chromatophores. In moulting, the cuticle of the 

 posterior half of the body is shed first, and a short time 

 elapses before the anterior half is shed, so that individuals 

 are often found with the posterior half of the body lighter 

 in colour than the anterior half. 



Their food consists chiefly of decaying animal and 

 vegetable substances, and from a study of the contents of 

 their guts, the latter appear to form a large proportion of 

 their diet. In captivity they prefer the weaker members 

 of their own species, but there is not much evidence that 

 this is a natural habit. 



They are able to run with great rapidity, coming out 

 from their dark retreats after sunset to feed, at which 

 time they may be caught with the aid of a lantern. The 

 best instrument for capturing them during the day is a 

 fairly long wire, having the last half-inch bent at right 

 angles ; by means of this they can be extracted from their 

 narrow crevices. 



External Characters. 



The body is oval in shape, broadest across the fourth 

 thoracic segment, and gradually decreasing in size towards 

 the posterior end. It is almost twice as long as it is 

 broad. The males are larger than the females, the reverse 

 being usually the case in Arthropods. They may attain 

 a length of 32-34 mm., the width of the thorax reaching 

 18 mm. The females are more regularly oval in shape 



