112 



Observations on the various Insects 



pinion being the darkest, with a brown stigmatic spot ; all the 

 nervures are pitchy ; the anterior thighs are incrassated. 



These insects fly heavily, their hinder legs hanging down, and 

 in the evening they become sluggish, resting on herbage and 

 bushes. The larvae also inhabit cow-dung and horse-muck : it is 

 therefore very possible they may be introduced into potato-grounds 

 with the manure, or the flies may be attracted to highly manured 

 ground to deposit their eggs ; for so little is known of the economy 

 of many insects, that it is impossible to determine their exact 

 habits ; indeed no description or figures were to be found of the 

 larvae and pupae of this fly, until I sent them to the ' Gardeners' 

 Chronicle.' * 



False Scorpions. 



These singular little creatures have occurred in some numbers 

 amongst decaying potatoes, where probably they live upon the 

 mites, as one species is known to be very serviceable in keeping 

 under those pests in cabinets of natural history ; others are found 

 attached to the legs of house-flies so firmly that it is scarcely pos- 

 sible to remove them, but whether they destroy the fly or only 

 avail themselves of their power of flight to be carried from one 

 locality to another is not known. These false Scorpions belong 

 to an Order called by Latreille Trachearij;, to the Family 

 Cheliferid and the Genus Chelifer. I can find no de- 

 scription which answers to this species correctly : it is undoubtedly 

 closely allied to Hermann's C. nepoides^ but the inequality in the 

 length of the legs seems to distinguish them, and for that reason 

 I shall call the potato species 



40. C. inaequalis. It is j of- a line long, of a lively rust-colour: 

 the head is pointed ; the two little eyes are scarcely visible ; the 

 feelers are like the claws of a crab, as long as the body, smooth, 

 with scattered hairs, and 4-jointed ; the basal joint is short, 

 hatchet- shaped, 2nd twice as long and oblong, 3rd as large, pear- 

 shaped, 4th the largest, oval, terminated by two long slender 

 claws, forming pincers: thorax oval, with a transverse suture 

 across the middle : body oval, and brown with scattered hairs, 

 furnished with 8 shortish, ochreous, shining legs ; 4 first the 

 shortest, 5-jointed, and terminated by a minute double black 

 claw (fig. 62 ; c, the natural size). 



Worms. 



It may be remembered that in discussing the minute animals 

 which affect the wheat-crops, a very remarkable little worm called 

 Vibrio tritici ' was described and figured, f and its history was also 



* Vol. iv. p. 868, with figures of the male, female, larva, and pupa, 

 f Journal of Royal Agric. Soc, vol. vi. p. 513, pi. O. figs. 27 and 28. 



