ON THE SWARMING AND VARIATION IN A 
MYRIAPOD (FONTARIA VIRGINIENSIS). 
ABRAM VARDIMAN MAUCK.! 
Durinc August, 1898, a swarm of myriapods (Fontaria vir- 
giniensis) made its appearance in the fields and woods south 
of the Indiana University Biological Station at Vawter Park. 
They became conspicuous objects in a roadway which they 
were crossing, every square foot of which held one or more 
individuals. Their migration was noticed during the early 
hours of several days, the swarm going in a northerly direction 
towards the lake, a little over 100 feet away. No further 
attempt was made to trace the migration. A few days after 
the appearance of the swarm all traces of it had vanished. 
Thirteen hundred and nine individuals were preserved for 
purposes of statistical study. 
Other swarms of myriapods have been reported, and are com- 
parable with the swarms of the Palolo worm during its breeding 
season. Bollman, Bull. U. S. Nat. Mus., No. 46, p. 75, 1893, 
records the migration and swarming of the same species noted 
bythe author. He says: * At Donaldson, Arkansas, the adults 
were found crawling on the ground in company with a large 
number of their young, probably one adult to 500 or 800 
young, then (July 11, 1887) about half grown." 
Verhoeff (Zool. Anzeiger, Bd. XXIII, p. 465) gives a detailed 
account of the migration of Brachyiulus unilineatus in such 
numbers in the Hungarian district of Alföld that the railroad 
track became so slippery, owing to the countless numbers 
crushed by the wheels, that a train was not able to proceed, 
though the rails were sanded. 
The specimens seen at Vawter Park were all adults and all 
about the same size. Of twenty females examined, thirteen 
contained eggs, about 432 in number, the eggs measuring 0.5 
! Contribution from the Zoilogical Laboratory of Indiana University, No. 42. 
477 
