ZOOLOGY AND BOTANY, MICROSCOPY, ETC. 
731 
mimicry would be especially easy, for it would bo brought about by 
comparatively insignificant modifications of colour and form. The 
mimicking insects appear to be a species of Stegaspis , one of the Membra- 
cidae, and the Ant mimicked is the Cooshie Ant ( (Ecodoma cephalotis). 
5. Arachnida. 
Oviposition and Cocoon-weaving of Agelena labyrinthica.* — Mr. 
C. Warburton remarks that no accurate account appears to have been 
published of the cocoon-weaving of this form, one of the largest and 
most abundant of British species. If placed in a box, web-spinning 
begins by the stretching of a number of foundation-lines across the box 
at the level of the future sheet ; the spider then walks to and fro along 
these lines, strewing them with numerous threads from its long, up- 
turned, posterior spinnerets ; at last an almost opaque white sheet be- 
comes formed. The approach of oviposition is indicated by the animal 
commencing to weave a hammock-like compartment from the roof of the 
box and above the sheet-like web, to which it is braced by lines. Ovi- 
position takes between five and ten minutes, and the eggs are entirely 
enveloped in a coating of soft material of loose texture. The final 
process is the construction of a closed box or case with the egg-bearing 
sheet for its roof ; this is a beautiful filmy transparent structure. 
The work is very varied and perfectly regular in the sequence of its 
variations ; the author has been able to show that the work is performed 
even if the eggs are removed immediately after they have been laid ; this 
extends and confirms the remarkable experiments on bees made by Fabre. 
Copulation of Water-mites.f — Herr F. Koenike describes the 
peculiarities of the male Gurvipes fuscatus and its remarkable copulation. 
The fourth joint of the hindmost leg is much incurved and bears strong 
bristles ; the last joint of the third leg is shortened, curved, slightly 
swollen, and clawed ; behind the very small genital aperture a chitinous 
receptaculum seminis projects into the body-cavity. At the breeding 
season the male keeps the tips of both of the third legs in the sperm- 
sac. The female offers prolonged resistance, but is gradually quieted. 
With the third legs the male seems to stir up the sperm-sac until emis- 
sion occurs. With the bent joint of the last leg the male seizes 
the base of each of the fore legs of the female, the bristles making the 
grasp secure. The modified third legs are then used to transfer the 
semen, which forms a viscid mass of spermatophores and minute sharp 
spines. The latter may help to break up the spermatophores. The 
seminal mass is not directly placed in the vagina, but is fixed to the body 
of the female. 
Anatomical and Physiological Notes on Ixodidae.J — Prof. A. Batelli 
y lias investigated Ixodes reduvius , Ixodes liexagonus , Phaulixodes rufus, 
BMpicephalus sanguineus, and Hyalomma marginatum. He first de- 
scribes the buccal apparatus with its stylets, rostrum, buccal glands, 
&c. In connection with the gut, he discusses the hepatic caeca which 
serve two purposes — storing and digesting. The destructive changes 
* Ann. and Mag. Nat. Hist., viii. (1891) pp. 113-7 (1 pi.). 
t Zool. Anzeig., xiv (1891) pp. 253-6 (1 tig.). 
% Monitore Zool. Ital., ii. (1891) pp. 78-84, 98-104 (1 fig.). 
3 f 2 
