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published in the Canadian Entomologist for February, 1878, from which we quote the 

 following : 



Some time during the month of October last, we were informed by Mr. B. Gott,nurseryman 

 of Arkona, Ont., that he had observed on cutting into clusters of the eggs of Clisiocampa 

 that the larvae were at that time fully formed,a fact he had discovered by the use of a magni- 

 fying lens. It was our intention to take an early opportunity of verifying this statement 

 by examination of the eggs under higher powers of the microscope, but delayed doing 

 so for want of time. During the latter part of November Mr. A. Puddicombe, one of the 

 members of our Society here, a careful observer and good microscopist, independently 

 made the same discovery by cutting into clusters of these eggs with a sharp knife. He 

 submitted the results of his observations at a meeting of the London Branch of the Ento- 

 mological Society, held early in December, when the eggs were opened and examined under 

 the microscope. We found the interior of the eggs perfectly dry, with a pearly lustre, the 

 larvae fully developed and only waiting warmth before making their escape. When the 

 upper end of the egg was removed, the larvae would trequently push their heads out and 

 move them actively about, occasionally crawling almost or entirely out of the shell. 

 Examinations have thus since been frequently made with eggs both of G.sylvatica and G. 

 Americana. In several instances where the egg clusters have been kept in a warm room 

 for a week or two, the larvae, mistaking the warmth for that of spring, have eaten their 

 way out of the shells, and finding no food, have died. These details, we think, are sufficient 

 to establish the interesting fact that the larvae of both these species mature early in the 

 fall and hybernate inside the egg, waiting the warmth of spring before eating their way 

 out. 



Recently we devoted an evening to the microscopic examination of these egg clusters, 

 having previously collected a number of them for this purpose. In many instances it was 

 found that the glutinous coating which covers the clusters was imperfect, that a piece here 

 ^ and there had disappeared, leaving the eggs bare, and in some cases patches of the exposed 

 eggs were empty. To ascertain, if possible, the cause of this, some of such affected clusters 

 were cut into, when they were found to be colonized by mites. The outside gummy matter 

 is of a sufficiently porous texture to afford abundant shelter to these little friends, who had 

 evidently eaten into the eggs and devoured the young larvae, and had also consumed the mis- 

 sing portions of the gummy covering. In the range of a single section of an egg mass some 

 eggs would be found inhabited by the larvae uninjured, while out of others would proceed 

 several (in some cases as many as five) active little mites, who, when thus disturbed, would 

 run in and out of their dwelling places, and keep up a peculiar drumming motion with their 

 tiny antennae. We found what where probably two diflferent forms of the same species of 

 mite, the one so small that four or five or more could find ample room and to spare within a 

 single egg-shell, and these were very active and nearly transparent; the other much larger, 

 of a pale red colour, with bright red eyes, sluggish in its movements and only one in each 

 egg ; indeed, one specimen nearly filled an egg. On the outside of some of the clusters were 

 found some round pale red eggs, which we presumed were the eggs of these mites. From 

 their structure the mites appeared to belong to the genus Trombidium. 



We have submitted examples of these insects and egg clusters to Dr. H. Hagen, of 

 Cambridge, Mass., and he has kindly and promptly examined them and confirmed the correct- 

 ness of the views above advanced. Dr. Hagen says that he found the supposed mite eggs 

 both empty and full of the small, active, white creatures, that these active specimens are 

 doubtless the young of the larger red form, which latter is .04 inch long, and he is of opinion 

 that it belongs to Trombidium. He further says : " In the whole European literature I have 

 not been able to find anything about Acari eating eggs, so the fact seems new and is very 

 important." 



On almost every cluster we have examined we have found more or less of these mites, 

 and if they are thus generally distributed over the whole district inhabited by the moths, they 

 must prove a most efficient check to the undue multiplication of Clisiocampa. In No. 8 of 

 our last volume we drew attention to the fact of the enormous abundance of the larvae of C. 

 sylvatica last year in many of the western portions of Ontario, and to the further fact that 

 we had found a large number of the larvae to be infested by parasites, both Dipterous and 

 Hymenopterous. Notwithstanding this, large numbers matured and their egg clusters are 

 numerously distributed over almost every forest and fruit tree. We have no evidence that 



