208 
Transactions of the 
fMontlily M Icioscopical 
L Journal, April 1, 1869. 
out into a tliiii glass-cover (previously cleaned), and with a very clean 
needle-point roll it backwards and forwards upon the glass till suffi- 
cient scales are removed. A very light pressure is indispensable, so 
as not to squeeze out any of the insect's fluids. 
A vigilant search in the localities likely to be frequented by 
podur^e is the only means of obtaining the insects. The walls and 
floor of cellars, the under-side of pieces of damp wood and old mouldy 
bungs and corks lying upon the floor, are their special haunts in 
houses. Out of doors they are to be sought under stones, especially 
brick-bats in heaps of old rubbish, nestling on the roots and bark of 
decaying trees, scampering about among moss growing in shady and 
damp situations — and if the search be made in green-houses, the 
bottoms of the flower-pots and boxes, the ornamental rock-work of 
the ferneries, and the brick sides and floor are their most favoured 
localities. They often occur in quite unexpected places. 
After keeping them for some time, I notice that they are prone 
to eat their dead companions, and also that they are able to renew 
their antennae or legs, if injured, with great facihty. Thus it will 
sometimes appear that the antennae are of difierent lengths, or, even 
if they be of the same length, it may be that a joint or two is in 
course of being replaced. A number of Lepidocyrti that I enclosed 
with an active specimen of Chelifer Latreillei this autumn, suflered 
considerable damage from the claws of that creature ; but after the 
Chelifer had appropriated to itself a corner of the cell in which to 
hybernate, the miserable podurae recovered from their injuries, and 
their legs and antennae all grew again. 
The dissection of these insects is extremely difficult, owing partly 
to their minuteness and partly to the softness of their bodies. 
Mounting them in spirit and water has, in some cases, aflbrded me 
a glimpse of their internal anatomy, but the information I have 
gained in this direction is extremely small. The distinctive features 
of the sexes of those genera with which I have had to do (if there be 
any distinction), for I should not be surprised if it were discovered 
that both sexes are united in the same individuals, has been to me a 
great puzzle, and so are the functions of the ventral tube and another 
external organ between it and the root of the springer. I have seen 
this ventral tube fulfilling the office of a sucker on a glass surface; 
and I have frequently observed the insect obtaining from it a fluid 
wherewith to lubricate and cleanse its limbs. I have watched 
podurae of various genera patiently for the last three years, and 
though vast numbers of eggs have been laid and hatched under my 
own observation, I have never seen a case of copulation. I have 
detected traces of tracheae in the exuvi^ of Lepidocyrtus, and seen 
what appear to be spiracles in the genus Podim ; but it seems to 
be doubtful, according to Sir John Lubbock's researches, so far as 
they are published, if tracheal tubes are invariably present. 
