172 
Trmisactioiis of the Boyal Society of South Africa. 
more thickly on the thoracic region ; round the edge these hairs are 
longer, and are arranged in tufts somewhat closely set ; the tufts are 
black, and contain from twenty to thirty hairs in each. Amongst the hairs 
in the tufts are several protruding tubular spinnerets, having on the outer 
end a kind of multiglobular ring or crown ; from these proceed cylindrical, 
glassy, straight tubes as long as the tufts of hair. Long, fine, glassy^ 
delicate filaments, as long as the body of the insect, radiate from the edge 
all round ; but these, being very fragile, are often irregular, or absent. 
During gestation thick, short, cottony processes form at the edge of the 
thorax, seemingly attached to the feet. Antennae of eleven joints, very 
slightly tapering; each joint bearing hairs. Feet normal, somewhat 
thick. Rostrum not long ; mentum triarticulate. Procreation com- 
mencing soon after the first formation of the ovisac, the eggs being ejected 
into the sac as it grows" (Maskell). 
The adult 2 (mounted) averages 5 mm. long. The dermis is charac- 
terized by numerous tufts of black hairs, and gland-pores of two sizes. 
Both of these have beaded edges ; the larger ones are circular, the smaller 
broadly elliptical. 
Antennae 11-jointed ; joints II. and III. subequal (115 fx) ; IV., V., 
VI., VII., VIII., and IX. subequal (56-68 ^) ; X. about 90 ^ ; XI. 
comparatively short (about 135 fi). 
The following interesting account of the male of this species is taken 
from Prof. C. V. Eiley's 1886 Report, pp. 480-481, 1887 :— 
•'The adult male is a trifle over 3 mm. in length, and has an average wing 
expanse of 7*5 mm. The general colour is orange-red. The head above is triangular 
in shape, with the apex blunt and projecting forward between the bases of the 
antennae. The eyes are placed at the other apices of the triangle, and are large, 
prominent, and furnished with well-marked facets. There are no mouth-parts, but on 
the underside of the head is a stellate black spot with five prongs, one projecting 
forward on the conical lengthening of the head, one on each side to a point just 
anterior to the eyes and just posterior to the bases of the antennae, and the remaining 
two extending laterally backwards behind the eyes. The antennae are light brown 
in colour, and are composed of ten joints. Joint 1 is stout, almost globular, and 
nearly as broad as long ; joint 2 is half as broad as 1 and is somewhat longer ; 
joint 3 is nearly twice as long as 1 and slightly narrower than 2 ; joints 4, 5, 6, 7» 
8, 9, and 10 are all of about the same length as joint 3, and grow successively a 
ittle more slender; each joint, except joint 1, is furnished with two whorls of long 
light-brown hairs, one near base and the other near tip ; each joint is somewhat 
constricted between its two whorls, joint 2 less so than the others. There are no 
visible ocelli. The pronotum has two wavy subdorsal longitudinal black lines, and the 
mesonotum is nearly all black, except an oval patch on the scutum. The metanotal 
spiracles are black, and there is a transverse crescent-shaped black mark, with a short 
median backward prolongation. The mesosternum is black. The legs are also nearly 
black and quite thickly furnished with short hairs. The wings are smoky black, and 
are covered with rounded wavy elevations, making a reticulate surface a cross-section 
of which would appear crenulate. The costa is thick and brown above the subcostal 
vein, which reaches costa at a trifle more than four-fifths the length of the wing. 
