^journJilprTr^^^^^^^ Royol Microsco^picol Society. 205 
disturbing them. Aided in my experiments by the suggestions of 
kind friends, I at last completely overcame all difficulties in manu- 
facturing the requisite pieces of apparatus ; specimens of which I 
exhibit, and a glance at them will explain the manner in which the 
result is attained. They each consist of a piece of the best sheet 
cork for lining entomological boxes, with a hole punched out of the 
centre ; a pad of blotting-paper,* to form the bottom of the cell, 
and to be damped with clean water when necessary ; plate-glass 
top and bottom, and india-rubber rings to bind the whole together. 
I have found two species of Begeeria which are scale-bearing. 
The first of these t I have elsewhere called " Speckled," that being 
the term which seems to convey the best idea of its appearance 
under the microscope. It is about V^th of an inch long, and Sir 
John Lubbock's figure of Begeeria lanuginosa bears a strong 
resemblance to it, but I doubt if it be the same. It is furnished, 
especially near the head, with an abundance of clubbed hairs, as well 
as scales. The scales are of various depths of tint, ranging from 
pure white to dark brown ; and the dark ones are for the most part 
situated all along the median line of the back and at the posterior 
margins of the segments.t The antennae are very long and slender, 
and so are the legs. The eyes are black, and conspicuous from 
their size and arrangement. In the months of May, June, and 
July chiefly the eggs are laid; they are scattered about singly 
over a comparatively wide space, and for some days before bursting 
the eyes of the contained young ones are visible through the investing 
pellicle. The insect is not much given to leaping, though its powers 
in this way, when alarmed, are considerable, and it runs with con- 
siderable speed when it is on the move from place to place. I 
have met with it only in two localities — both of these in London ; 
and I believe it to be uncommon. In confinement it eats oatmeal, 
but sparingly, and ultimately pines away. In its natural state, 
I suspect it feeds on dry decaying wood. The structure of the 
scale I have already attempted to describe in 'Science Gossip.' § 
The second species of Scale-bearing Begeeria bears a strong resem- 
blance in form to the species of Begeeria which are not scale-bearing. 
It is of a stone-colour, and the hinder segments, especially the sixth, 
are ornamented with patches of a dark-brown or black, disposed 
with regularity on each side of the median line. In some indi- 
viduals these patches are larger and more continuous than in others. 
The insect is active, and runs rather than leaps, and while running 
* Pink blotting-paper seems to answer best, since it readily shows when the 
cell is getting too dry, and the colour is not in any way detrimental to the health 
of the podurse. Four inches by two inches is a very convenient size, the cell 
itself being an ellipse of 1^ inch in the long diameter. 
t The arrangement of its eyes, and its unusually long limbs, may induce 
future observers to regard it as the type of a distinct genus. 
X Sometimes these dark scales are so profusely distributed, that it is not easy 
to distinguish the segments of the body. § Vol. iii p 53 
Q 2 ' 
