206 
Transactions of the 
FMonthly Microscopical 
L Journal, April 1, 1869. 
it keeps its body very close to the ground. It is about -pr^b to 
-gVtb of an incb in lengtb; the eyes are placed either upon or 
immediately adjoining a dark band which runs round the front of 
the head at the base of the antennae, and are eight on each side, 
arranged in nearly parallel rows of four in each. Sir John Lub- 
bock's description of Degeeria nigromacula seems to come very 
near it, but that author does not say if the possession of scales is a 
feature of the species known as D. nigromacula. I have met with 
it in a greenhouse at Theale, Berkshire ; under some boards in a yard 
in Pimlico ; and it has been sent me from two other metropolitan 
localities. The scales are almost uniformly leaf-shaped, almost 
ovate, the free end forming quite an acute angle, and the other 
being nearly semicircular. I have found individuals in which the 
scales were shorter and broader than others. 
The only species of Temjpletonia that I have yet found is an 
exceedingly beautiful creature of pearly whiteness, with brownish- 
pink reflexions in the shadows, and red eyes and mouth. It inhabits 
cellars, the roots of plants, and damp earth where the growth of 
, minute fungi is fostered. Although to all appearance this species 
is very delicate, I have had experience that it can hold its own in 
the struggle for life most effectually ; for, on one occasion, having 
enclosed a colony of some twenty of them with a similar number of 
Lejpidocyrti, I found that the former completely exterminated the 
latter and all their eggs in less than a month afterwards. In this 
cell of IJ inch in diameter and less than J of an inch deep they 
multiplied abundantly, and in the course of a couple of months 
had increased to somewhere about 300. I never before or since 
had so beautiful and interesting a sight to display under the micro- 
scope. Now they seemed to play with each other, caressing one 
another's heads and antennse ; then they would quarrel, the weakest 
of course retreating precipitately, and general confusion would 
result, owing to the crowded state of the population. By-and-bye 
the disturbance would be over, and they might be seen industriously 
searching for and eating the fragments of crushed malt which I at 
intervals introduced as food. 
The eggs of this species are scattered about singly, and the 
young hatch out in about a week or ten days afterwards. The 
scales are very beautiful, but owing to their great convexity, like 
the petals of a rose-blossom, it is difficult to get them properly 
spread out in order to see them satisfactorily under high powers. 
The corrugations follow each other almost continuously, so that the 
scale seems to be pleated or ribbed. 
There are several species of Macrotoma, differing chiefly in point 
of size and colour. Two species that I have seen have leaden reflex- 
ions from their bodies, and a third is of a jet black. Full-grown 
individuals are among the largest of the Podurae, reaching to the 
length of nearly ^th of an inch, exclusive of the antennae, which are 
