/ S* 1\ & \r*~0 *(a*p THE TRANSACTIONS OF THE LINNEAN SOCIETY OF LONDON. VOLUME XXI. LONDON: PRINTED BY TAYLOR AND FRANCIS, RED LION COURT, FLEET STREET : SOLD AT THE SOCIETY'S HOUSE, SOHO - SQUARE ; AND BY LONGMAN, BROWN, GREEN, AND LONGMANS, PATERNOSTER- ROW. /£$ I ~- M.DCCC.LV. CONTENTS, PART I.— 1852. I. On the Genus Atamisquea, belonging to the Family of the Capparidacese. By John Miers, Esq., F.B.S., F.L.S. fyc page 1 II. On the Development of the Ovule in Orchis Morio, Linn. By Arthur Henfrey, Esq., F.L.S. fyc 7 III. On the Australian Species of the Coleopterous Genus Bolboceras, Kirby. By J. O. Westwood, Esq., F.L.S. fyc 11 IV. Descriptions of some new or imperfectly known Species of Bolboceras, Kirby. By J. O. Westwood, Esq., F.L.S. fyc 19 V. Experiments and Observations on the Poison of Animals of the Order Araneidea. By John Black-wall, Esq., F.L.S. fyc 31 VI. On the (Economy of a new Species of Saw-fly. By John Curtis, Esq., F.L.S. fyc. 39 VII. On the Family of Triuriacese. By John Miers, Esq., F.B.S., F.L.S. fyc. . . 43 VIII. The Anatomy and Development of certain Chalcididse and Ickneumonidse, com- pared with their special (Economy and Instincts ; with Descriptions of a new Genus and Species of Bee-Parasites. By George Newport, Esq., F.B.S., F.L.S. 8fc 61 IX. Further Observations on the Genus Anthophorabia. By George Newport, Esq., F.B.S., F.L.S. fyc 79 vi CONTENTS. PART II.— 1853. X. The Anatomy and Development of certain Chalcididse and Ichneumonidse (con- tinued). By George Newport, Esq., F.B.S., F.L.S. fyc page 85 XI. Further Observations on the Habits of Monodontomerus ; with some Account of a new Acarus (Heteropus ventricosus), a Parasite m the Nests of Anthophora retusa. By George Newport, Esq., F.B.S., F.L.S. 8fc 95 XII. On the Development of the Spores and Maters of Marchantia polymorpha. By Arthur Henfrey, Esq., F.B.S., F.L.S. 8fc 103 XIII. The Ternstrcemiaceous Plants of Song Kong. By Captain Champion, 95th Beg. Communicated by the President Ill XIV. On the Development of Ferns from their Spores. By Arthur Henfrey, Esq., F.B.S., F.L.S. 8fc 117 XV. On Two Genera of Plants from Chile. By John Miers, Esq., F.B.S., F.L.S. 8fc. 141 XVI. On Two New Genera of Fungi. By the Bev. M. J. Berkeley, M.A., F.L.S. 8fc. 149 XVII. On the BZabits and Structure of the Great Bustard (Otis tarda of Linnceus). By William Yarrell, Esq., V.P. and Treas. Linn. Soc. 8fc. ...... 155 XVIII. On the Ocelli in the Genus Anthophorabia. By George Newport, Esq., F.B.S., F.L.S. 8fc 161 XIX. The Natural Sistory, Anatomy, and Development of Meloe (continued). By George Newport, Esq., F.B.S., F.L.S. fyc 167 PART III.— 1854. XX. Notes on the Vegetation of Buenos Ayres and the neighbouring districts. By Charles James Pox Bunbury, Esq., F.B.S., F.L.S. fyc 185 XXI. On the Genus Aquilaria. By the late William Roxburgh, M.D., F.L.S. 8fc. ; with Bemarks by the late Henry Thomas Colebrooke, Esq., F.B.S., F.L.S. fyc. Communicated by Robert Brown, Esq., D.C.L., F.B.S., President of the Linnean Society ' 199 XXII. On Acradenia, a new Genus of Diosmese. ify Richard Kippist, Esq., Libr.L.S. 207 CONTENTS. Vll XXIII. On the Genus Myrmica, and other indigenous Ants. By John Curtis, Esq., F.L.S. fyc Page 211 XXIV. Note on the Maters of Trichia. ByARTHVTL~H.wm,VY,Esq.,FR.S., F.L.S. 8fc. 221 XXV. Note on the Genus Ancistrocladus of Wallich. By G. H. K. Thwaites, Esq., F.L.S. fyc, Superintendent of the Botanic Garden of Peradenia, Ceylon. . 225 XXVI. Remarks relative to the affinities and analogies of natural objects, more parti- cularly of Hypocephalus, a Genus of Coleoptera. By John Curtis, Esq., F.L.S. 8rc. 227 XXVII. On the Osteological relations observable among a few Species of the Bovine Family. By Walter Adam, M.D. Communicated by Robert Brown, Esq., V.P.L.S. 8fC 237 PART IV.— 1855. XXVIII. Observations on the Structure of the Seed and Peculiar Form of the Embryo m the Clusiacese. By John Miers, Esq., F.B.S., F.L.S. 8fc 243 XXIX. Extract from a Memoir on the Origin and Development of Vessels in Monocoty- ledonous and Dicotyledonous Plants. By Dr. Francisco Preire Allemao, of Bio de Janeiro. Translated and communicated by John Miers, Esq., F.B.S., F.L.S. 8rc 259 XXX. Description of Peachia hastata, a new genus and species of the Class Zoophtta ; with observations on the Family Actiniadae. By Philip Henry Gosse, Esq., A.L.S. §rc 267 XXXI. Horse Carcinologicse, or Notices of Crustacea. I. A Monograph of the Leuco- siadae, with observations on the relations, structure, habits and distribution of the family ; a revision of the generic characters ; and descriptions of new genera and species. By Thomas Bell, Esq., V.P.B.S., Pres. L.S. 8fc 277 XXXII. Extracts from the Minute-Books of the Lmnean Society of London . . .315 Catalogue of the Library of the Linnean Society 317 Donations to the Museum of the Linnean Society 347 THE TRANSACTIONS OF THE LINNEAN SOCIETY OF LONDON. VOLUME XXI. PART THE FIRST. LONDON: PRINTED BY RICHARD TAYLOR, RED LION COURT, TLEET STREET: SOLD AT THE SOCIETY'S HOUSE, SOHO-SQUARE ; AND BY LONGMAN, BROWN, GREEN, AND LONGMANS, PATERNOSTER- ROW ; AND WILLIAM WOOD, TAVISTOCK -STREET, COVENT-GARDEN. M.DCCC.L1I. CONTENTS. I. On the Genus Atamisquea, belonging to the Family of the Capparidaceae. By John Miers, Esq., F.B.S., F.L.S. fyc page 1 II. On the Development of the Ovule m Orchis Morio, Limn. By Arthur Henfrey, Esq., F.L.S. fyc 7 III. On the Australian Species of the Coleopterous Genus Bolboceras, Kirby. By J. O. Westwood, Esq., F.L.S. fyc 11 IV. Descriptions of some new or imperfectly known Species of Bolboceras, Kirby. By J. 0. Westwood, Esq., F.L.S. fyc 19 V. Experiments and Observations on the Poison of Animals of the Order Araneidea. By John Blackwall, Esq., F.L.S. fyc 31 VI. On the (Economy of anew Species of Saw -fly . By John Curtis, Esq., F.L.S. fyc. 39 VII. On the Family of Triuriacese. By John Miers, Esq., F.B.S., F.L.S. 8fc. . . 43 VIII. The Anatomy and Development of certain Chalcididse and Ichneumonidse, com- pared with their special (Economy and Instincts ; with Descriptions of a new Genus and Species of Bee- Parasites. By George Newport, Esq., F.B.S., F.L.S. fyc. 61 IX. Further Observations on the Genus Anthophorabia. By George Newport, Esq., F.B.S., F.L.S. 8fc 79 D\ TRANSACTIONS OF THE LINNEAN SOCIETY. I. On the Genus Atamisquea, belonging to the Family of the Capparidacese. By John Miers, Esq., F.B.S., F.L.S. fyc. Read January 18, 1848. A TREE belonging to the Natural Order Capparidacece, growing in the arid desert plain at the foot of the Cordillera de los Andes, which I examined with some attention in 1825, and which 1 then named Atamisquea emarginata (Travels, vol. ii. p. 529), was also found about the same time by the late Dr. Gillies, from whose specimens Sir W. Hooker subsequently first published its generic character (Botanical Miscellany, vol. iii. p. 143) ; but as my Notes upon the living plant, illustrated by drawings made at that time, vary in some respects from the excellent description given by that very distinguished botanist from dried specimens, I have thought that my observations upon this little-known genus may perhaps be acceptable to the Linnean Society. Atamisquea, Miers. Char. Difp. Sepala 2, magna, ovoidea, concava, aestivatione marginibus subimbricatis, cum toro car- noso cyathiformi persistente demum indurate- dentibus erectis notato basi coalita, decidua. Petala 6, e margine tori orta, inaequalia, lineari-spathulata, reflexa ; 2 superiora erectiora, aestivatione subim- bricata; 2 lateralia breviora, exteriora. Stamina 9, quorum 6 fertilia, longiora; filamenta aestivatione replicata, demum recta, declinata, glabra, basi glandulosa, lepidota ; anthera oblongae, 2-loculares, basifixae, erectae, demum curvatae. Thecaphorum declinatum, basi glabrum, disco staminifero cinc- tum, hinc geniculatum ; inde gracile, elongatum, et cum ovario lepidotum. Ovarium ovatum. Stylus brevissimus. Stigma obtuse 2-lobum. Bacca ovoidea, subcarnosa, dense lepidota. Semina 2 (vel abortu 1), exalbuminosa, cochleato-reniformia, funiculo libero erecto 2-furcato ex imo loculo orto late- raliter appensa. Testa coriacea, loculo altera incompleto hilo opposito. Embryo campylotropus ; cotyledones magnae, foliaceae, invicem plicato-convolutae ; radicula teres, infera, sursiim spectans. Char. Nat. Sepala 2 (anticum et posticum), ovoidea, concava, aestivatione marginibus subimbricatis, intus hirsuta, extus lepidota, decidua, basi (toro adnato) coalita. Torus ovalis, cyathiformis, car- nosus, persistens, demum induratus, oblique gibbosus, margine superiori altiori, dente erecto sub- VOL. XXI. B 2 MR. J. MIERS ON THE GENUS ATAMISQUEA. 2-fido, et lateraliter dente utrinque notatus. Petala sex, inaequalia, lineari-spathulata, intus villosa, extus lepidota, reflexa, aestivatione subimbricata, duobus lateralibus brevioribus, exterioribus, et cum sepalis alternis, duobus superioribus post anthesin reliquis erectioribus ; omnia e margine tori orta. Stamina novem, quorum sex fertilia, disco gibbo tenui annulari thecaphorum cingenti adnata : fila- menta glabra, aestivatione replicata, demum recta, sursum declinata, basi glandula libera, obovata, carnosa, hirsutissima, et sparse lepidota munita ; tribus sterilibus reliquis brevioribus, fertilibus peta- lis longioribus: antherae basifixae, loculis duobus coriaceis oblique adnatis intus longitudinaliter dehiscentes, demum curvatae. Thecaphorum e basi tori sublateraliter ortum, declinatum, basi am- pliatum, glabrum, disco annulari staminifero cinctum, hinc geniculatum, inde gracile elongatum, et sursum inflexum, longitudine staminum, et cum ovario apicali lepidotum. Ovarium ovatum. Stylus brevissimus. Stigma obtuse bilobum. Bacca ovoidea, stylo apiculata, dense lepidota, 1-locularis, pulpa parca farcta, post siccationem in valvas quatuor pressione solubilis, sed non dehiscens ; replo * epicarpio delapso persistente. Semina 2 (vel abortu unicum), exalbuminosa, cochleato-reniformia, in pulpa subsuccosa funiculo libero erecto bifurcate ex imo loculo orto lateraliter appensa. Testa coriacea, loculo altero incompleto hilo opposito. Embryo campylotropus : cotyledones magnae, folia- ceae, incumbentes, invicem plicato-convolutae : radicula teres, infera, loculo simulate celata, et ob embryonis curvaturam, hilum superne spectans. Frutex durus, ramosus, America? Meridionalis extratropicas ; ramis abbreviatis, junioribus sublepidotis, nonnunquam spinescentibus ; foliis e ramulis junioribus ortis, parvis, alternis, brevissime petiolatis, canaliculatis, aestivatione conduplicatis, faciebus superioribus invicem applicitis, subtus lepidotis, costd carinatd ; pedunculis axillaribus, solitariis, unifloris. 1. Atamisqtjea emarginata {Miers, Trav. ii. p. 529): foliis lineari-oblongis basi apice- que emarginatis supra, viridi nitentibus subtus hirsutis incanis squamisque lepidotis tectis. Hab. In campis patentibus aridis, salinis, Travesia dictis, provinciae Mendozae. The generic title is derived from the vernacular name, Atamisque. It is a tree of withered and barren appearance, not exceeding 8 or 10 feet in height ; the trunk is very- solid, and much bent ; the wood, hard and of close grain, is of a yellow colour ; the bark is very thin and smooth, formed of several yellowish green, membranaceous laminae, peel- ing off in flakes, and exposing the bare yellow wood. The branches are much bent and tortuous ; the younger shoots, which are furfuraceous and of a whitish hue, alone bear leaves. The leaves are alternate, broadly linear, emarginate at both ends, 3 hues long and 1 line broad, of a somewhat coriaceous texture, veinless, very entire, polished, and of a dark green above, with a central longitudinal groove over the midrib : in the young state their upper face folds inwardly, with the margins adhering closely together ; and when * The term replum, used by Mr. Brown, Prof. Endlicher and other botanists for the indurated margins of seed- vessels that remain after the valves have fallen away, has been objected to by Mr. Bentham (Hook. Journ. Bot. iv. p. 326), who thinks that it is defective and unnecessary, as the word margo, the meaning of which is clear, answers the purpose equally well. In the instance to which he refers (that of the persistent sutural margins of the legumes of Mimosece), the latter expression is certainly well adapted ; but in the case above described, where no margin, nor any true valve can be said to exist, the latter term does not apply ; for the thin epicarp appears entire and supported upon the four fibrous ribs that, rising from the base and uniting in the style, serve to support this epicarpal envelope : and although it may be assumed that its origin is due to the confluence of four carpellary leaves, of which these processes may have formed the midribs, they certainly appear finally under a form that seems better expressed by the term replum than by that of margo. MR. J. MIERS ON THE GENUS ATAMISQUEA. 3 they at length open, the leaf always remains somewhat canaliculate : helow it is whitishly furfuraceous, being covered with a tomentous down, that is almost wholly concealed by a number of closely imbricate peltate scales with radiate ribs, which under a lens appear like fish-scales : the petiole is short, white, and also lepidote. The flowers often axillary, sometimes terminal, are altogether covered with imbricate scales ; the peduncles, one-fourth to three-eighths of an inch in length, are usually solitary, but sometimes in pairs. The sepals are rounded, very deeply concave, the margins being very slightly imbricate before expansion ; they are at first reflexed, and soon break off transversely along the margin of the torus ; they are covered within by tomentous whitish hairs, and are lepidote outside. The torus is a fleshy deep oval cup, which after the fall of the flower becomes hardened, and exhibits a somewhat bifid, erect tooth on its posterior or upper margin, and two other smaller opposite teeth on its sides. The six petals arise in a single whorl from the inner margin of the calycine cup, and are linear, and somewhat spathulate, being hairy within, and covered on the outside with lepidote scales : four of these are of equal length, and situated in pairs, opposite the sepals, while the two intermediate shorter petals are lateral, and alternate with the two sepals ; in aestivation, the margins of the summits are some- what imbricately disposed, those of the shorter pair being exterior to the others ; after ex- pansion they are all thrown back, the upper pair remaining more erect. There are six fertile and three sterile stamens, all seated upon a small gibbous ring, just above the gla- brous thickened base of the thecaphore ; the sterile filaments are shorter than the others, one of them being opposite to the upper petals, and the other two opposite to the lateral petals, two fertile stamens interposing between them ; the fertile filaments are as long as the petals, and though somewhat plicated before expansion, are afterwards erect, and de- flected outwards near the summit ; they are quite glabrous, with a roundish fleshy gland at the base, which is covered with whitish pubescence, and a few lepidote scales ; these glands being seated upon the gibbous ring before mentioned, make it almost appear as if the stamens were monadelphous, but they are in reality free to the base. The anthers, which are oblong and basifixed on the apex of the filaments, are coriaceous, 2-celled, burst inwardly by longitudinal furrows somewhat in front, and afterwards curl downwards in an annular form. The thecaphore arises somewhat laterally from the bottom of the hollow cup-shaped gibbous torus, and is inclined upon its shorter side ; the lower part, which is glabrous, rises to the height of the cup, forming the staminiferous support above men- tioned, one side of this support adhering to the lower and shorter portion of the cup, the opposite side being free and channeled almost to its axis ; above this level the thecaphore becomes more slender, is again inclined further downwards, and rising to the height of the stamens bears upon its summit the ovarium, which, with the slender portion of the thecaphore, is densely lepidote. The ovarium is of an oval form, somewhat nodding ; the style is very short, and the stigma is almost obsoletely 2-lipped. The fruit is a somewhat fleshy berry, covered with lepidote scales, about 3 lines long and 2 lines in diameter ; it is unilocular, bearing generally two seeds, which almost fill the cavity ; the epicarp is thin and somewhat coriaceous, and separable by pressure into four equal segments, leaving the seeds, and the small quantity of enveloping pulp, contained within four slender cartilagi- nous ribs, which arise from the base of the cell and unite in the apex ; these ribs corre- b2 4 MR. J. MIERS ON THE GENUS ATAMISQUEA. spond with the edges of the segments, which show by their laceration that their adhesion with each other and with the ribs has been complete. Within and opposite to the lower- most of these ribs arises a funiculus or placenta, which on reaching about two-thirds the height of the fruit, branches off right and left, by two short threads, towards the hilum of the two seeds, where they are respectively attached. The seeds are smooth, of a dark red colour, reniform, or of a cochjeate shape, somewhat flattened on their adjacent sides, and roundish without. The testa is coriaceous, having on one side, an incomplete cell, formed by the convolution of the inner margin about the umbilical sinus ; the outer in- tegument is brownish, opake, and striated, and adhering to the testa forms between the flexure of the embryo an extension of the false dissepiment of the spurious cell, which serves to inclose the radicle : the inner integument is membranaceous, and marked about the middle of the cotyledons with a broadish thickened chalaza. The embryo is oblong, and bent sharply inwards at both extremities, the ends of the cotyledons and of the radicle being mutually turned towards each other, so that it may be said to be truly campylo- tropous : the cotyledons are convolutely plicated, and somewhat white and foliaceous. From the facts above stated it may be inferred, that the arrangement of the floral enve- lopes in this genus is contrary to the usual structure of the Capparidacece, which offer generally four sepals, four alternate petals, usually eight or more stamens, and a fruit, usually of two cells, with two or more placentae. Sir W. Hooker, in his generic character of Atamisquea (loc. cit. p. 143), regards its floral teguments as consisting of four sepals and four petals, in conformity with the ordinary arrangement in this family : it will be seen, however, that I have ventured to differ with that distinguished botanist in this re- spect, as I regard the two outer valviform envelopes as the true calyx, while the six linear segments appear to me to constitute the corolla, a view which I offer with much deference against the opinion of so high an authority. It appears to me however warranted by the fact, that these external broad leaflets form one entire whorl, as they are continuous at their origin with the margin of the cup of the torus, while the insertion of the six narrower segments (petals) is upon one line, within the margin of the same cup, which is proved by the fact, that when the sepals and petals fall away, the rupture of the former is marked by a clean line on the margin of the cup, while the remains of the claws of the petals are distinctly seen within the line of the same margin as so many projecting indurated teeth, as shown in fig. 9. This view, although opposed to the ordinary structure, is nevertheless supported by' analogy in three other genera of this family, where only two sepals exist, or an entire envelope that bursts into two valves, viz. in Busbeckia, Endl., Steriphoma, Spr., and Morisonia, Plum. The apparent inconsistency of this distribution will disappear, if we consider the floral envelope as formed of three series, each consisting of two normal parts, the inner series appearing double, from the cleaving of the lobes down to their point of insertion ; for in the origin of each upper and lower pairs of petals upon the torus there exists a manifestly distinct interval between them and the two lateral intervening shorter petals, and when the former are pulled away from the cup they cohere together in pairs by their base. Or we may still consider the normal structure as composed of two series, each of four leaflets ; the sepals, from their shape and great width, may be considered to constitute a complete whorl, and may be imagined to have been formed by the cohesion TrcurvsXmn- Soc. ybl.JXl ,t.l.-p.6. 10 15 4 1 r r> 16 ^k CI i4 _Z<? 77 J* J JImts Ksq del . G-. JarmcLTL Sc - MR. J. MIERS ON THE GENUS ATAMISQUEA. 5 of four segments into two, while the inner series of six segments may be viewed as nor- mally consisting of four leaflets, that is to say, with two of the opposite petals somewhat depauperated, while the intervening ones are cleft nearly to their base. This latter view is rendered somewhat the more probable, by the apparent insertion of all the six petals upon one line, and by the cohesion of the upper and lower pairs by their claws, when torn away from their place by force : the appearance of the teeth, or indurated remains of the claws of the petals, that are distinctly seen on the inner margin of the persistent calycine cup, corroborates this view of the case, which is further confirmed by the fact, that when dried each of the sepals by pressure easily splits down the middle, by a clean line, into two distinct segments. EXPLANATION OF THE PLATE. Tab. I. Atamisquea emarginata. Fig. 1. The flower, shown in aestivation. Fig. 2. The same, with the two sepals expanded, the petals still remaining closed. Fig. 3. The same, fully expanded : — all of the natural size. Fig. 4. A magnified view of fig. 2, to show the mode of aestivation of the petals. Fig. 5. A magnified view of fig. 3. Fig. 6. The same, with the sepals and petals fallen away, to show the mode of insertion of the stamens and thecaphore in the calycine cup. Fig. 7- The petals, showing the basal union of the two longer pairs. Fig. 8. The six fertile and three sterile stamens, shown distinct, with the gland at the base of each fila- ment : the mode of their aestivation, and the curled appearance of the anthers after dehiscence, is also seen. Fig. 9. A magnified view of the calycine cup, after the sepals, petals, and stamens have fallen away ; showing the persistent teeth (which are the indurated remains of the claws of the petals), and the portion of the thecaphore, with its glabrous base, and the discal ring, to which the filaments are attached. Fig. 10. A berry, of its natural size. Fig. 11. The same, magnified. Fig. 12. The same, with the epicarp and pulp removed, exhibiting the manner in which the two seeds are suspended, and nourished by the placenta. Fig. 13. The same, with the seeds removed also, to show the persistent replum and bifurcate placenta. Fig. 14. The seeds magnified, seen edgeways, and in front. Fig. 15. A longitudinal section of the testa, showing the nucleus, with its extremities curved inwards, and inclosed within the false cell of the incomplete dissepiment. Fig. 16. The same, with the nucleus removed. Fig. 17- The nucleus extracted, showing the endopleura, with its chalaza. Fig. 18. The embryo in its natural form, deprived of its integuments. Fig. 19. The same, with the cotyledons expanded, to show the mode of their plicated convolution. [ 7 ] II. On the Development of the Ovule in Orchis Morio, Linn. By Arthur Henfrey, Esq., F.L.S. 8fc. Read April 3, 1849. In the spring and summer of last year I made many observations on the young ovules of various plants, with the view of testing the various doctrines on this subject, which had acquired new interest from the recent researches of Amici, Mohl and others. Only one series of my investigations attained anything like completeness ; but in Orchis Morio I believe that I have seen and can confirm all that the above-mentioned observers have described ; and I now present my results to the Linnean Society, partly because I believe that in the present state of the question all evidence derived from careful observation is of some value, and partly because I have succeeded in obtaining a more complete series of figures illustrating the successive conditions of the ovule than has yet been published ; Mohl, who gives the most complete account of the development in Orchis Morio, having given no drawings. The following account is drawn up from my notes made during the observations, principally in the month of May 1848. May 3rd. In the ovaries of flowers which had just opened, and were without signs of pollen upon the stigmatic surface, the ovules, about -^oth of an inch long, were just curving over toward the anatropous position; in some the axis of the nucleus formed nearly a right angle with the funiculus (Tab. II. figs. 4 & 5). The nucleus projected beyond the cells, forming the single coat of the ovule, and consisted of a large central cell (the embryo-sac), enclosed by a layer of very delicate cells of small size, constituting a proper coat of the nucleus. May 9th. The ovules of fully expanded flowers were not much altered, except in the much clearer definition of the walls of the cells. The embryo-sac was filled with a clear, colourless fluid, in which floated minute black atoms, scarcely large enough to deserve the name of granules. In some flowers the stigmas were smeared with pollen, but often from the anthers of other flowers, their own being still closed. These pollen masses sent down numerous tubes, which differed much from any of the cells of the tissue in which they were engaged. The pollen-tubes were always about Toooth of an inch in diameter, at most one-fourth of the size of the smallest of the surrounding cells, which were also short and often irregular in form, while the pollen-tubes always appeared as long, slender filaments. May 13th. The flowers withered and the stigmas covered with pollen. A dense bundle of tubes lay in the midst of the lax tissue of the canal leading to the cavity of the ovary. The ovules were considerably advanced, some being quite anatropous (fig. 6), others three- fourths reversed ; those quite anatropous were about xootn of an mcn in length. The two coats of the ovule (tegmen and testa) were now distinctly evident ; the length of the testa 8 MR. HENFREY ON THE DEVELOPMENT varied ; sometimes it half enveloped the tegmen, in some ovules it had grown up further over it. The inner coat, the tegmen, had not grown over the nucleus in all the ovules, but in most it projected beyond. The nucleus was still covered by its own cellular coat, and still contained only the clear, colourless fluid with black points. May 16th. The ovaries more advanced ; the pistillary cords extended nearly to the base of the ovary, lying in the grooves formed between the projecting placentas and the walls of the ovary, apparently free, and composed of delicate tubes presenting all the characters of pollen-tubes, and apparently continuous with these, as derived from the pollen on the stigma. The ovules (fig. 8) exhibited considerable alteration. Most of them were en- larged, and the outer coat had developed much in the chalazal region ; its cells were larger and more clearly defined. The inner coat, which appeared to be tolerably independent of the outer at the sides, as air passed freely between them, had grown up far beyond the nucleus, and its cell-walls had acquired more consistence. The nucleus was much changed ; the embryo-sac had lost its proper cellular coat, which had disappeared either by solution or by pressure, probably the former, as a free space existed sometimes be- tween the inner coat and the nucleus ; and in some cases the solution appeared imperfect, extending only to the cross walls of the cells, so that the embryo-sac was contained in an outer sac consisting merely of the outer walls of the cells of its coat. The embryo-sac now had the aspect of a large ovoid sac attached by a cellular pedicle to the chalazal region, and contained opalescent mucilaginous matter (protoplasm), in most cases accu- mulated at the ends, chiefly at that next to the micropyle. There was no sign of a nu- cleus or nascent cell yet. May 20th. The embryo-sacs exhibited the collections of protoplasm at the two ends. At the micropyle end new phenomena presented themselves : either one, two, or (and usually *) three minute vesicles (figs. 11-14) had been formed from the protoplasm, and always seemed to me to originate as cavities excavated in the mucilage, not as if formed by the formation of membrane on the outer surface of a nucleus (cytoblast) or globule of mucilage. These vesicles soon appeared as distinct cells, with exceedingly delicate walls, lying at the micropyle end of the embryo-sac, and undoubtedly existed there before the pollen-tubes entered the foramina of the ovules. In some of the ovules examined this day the pollen-tubes had entered the ovules, and I traced them down through the wide mouth of the outer coat and the narrow canal of the inner, as far as the apex of the embryo-sac. They never entered this, but generally appeared to be diverted a little to one side, and to he in contact with its outer surface t, just over the place where the minute vesicles lie within. May 31st. I examined a number of ovules in various stages, repeating the observations on the earlier conditions with similar results. I traced the pollen-tube down to the em- bryo-sac in several specimens (fig. 15) : in one case it appeared flattened against the mem- brane of the embryo-sac (fig. 17) ; in other cases (figs. 15, 16, 19, 20) I traced it a little way * It is probable that there are always three ; but as they vary in size and lie close together, one or even two of them may be hidden in certain cases. t The end of the pollen-tube exhibits dark contents when in contact with the embryo-sac. OF THE OVULE IN ORCHIS MORIO. V down the side of the summit of the embryo-sacs, which always contained the vesicles within. In some embryo-sacs (figs. 20-26) one of the vesicles had begun to develope further, dividing into two cells by a horizontal septum, the upper dividing again and grow- ing out in a conical form through the endostome, to produce the confervoid filament which was described by Mr. Brown, and which Schleiden has certainly mistaken for a develop- ment of the pollen-tube. June 3rd. Traced the pollen-tubes to the embryo-sac, and saw them lying on the out- side, and again satisfied myself that the vesicle within the embryo-sac (the germinal ve- sicle) is the first cell of the embryonic body. It generally exhibits a slight collection of protoplasm at its base, and soon after the pollen-tube reaches the surface of the embryo- sac divides into two cells, the upper dividing again and growing out into an articulated filament, the cells of which are formed by the production of septa in the same way as in Confervas, hairs of Phanerogamic/,, &c, the mucilaginous layer (or primordial utricle of Mohl) being rendered very evident by the application of iodine (fig. 29). The lower part of the embryonic body enlarges while the filament is growing out, and soon perfectly fills the embryo-sac. It appears to me that the process of cell-formation in this lower part, by which the embryo is produced, varies in different cases ; generally the lowest cell enlarges very much and becomes filled with dark mucilaginous matter, and then this is soon divided into a number of cells by the formation of septa. Nuclei were visible in all the cells very soon after their origin, but I could not form an opinion as to their relation to the cell-formation, or determine how or at what period they were really produced. In the earliest condition they resembled clear vesicles, not granular bodies such as Schleiden describes. In some cases two confervoid filaments are produced, two of the germinal vesicles undergoing development. I met with this several times, but omitted to draw them, in the hope of subsequently finding a more favourable specimen, which I was not fortunate enough to do. The obvious conclusions from the foregoing observations appear to be, that the embryo is really produced by the ovule itself; that a germinal vesicle exists within the embryo- sac before the pollen exerts its influence ; that the pollen-tube penetrates the coats of the ovule to reach the embryo-sac ; and that the passage of the pollinic fluid through the intervening membranes impregnates the germinal vesicle and determines its development into an embryo. Since the investigations were made with every precaution, and their results are in per- fect accordance with those of Amici, Mohl, Muller and others, I think that I am justified in believing them to be a sufficient refutation of Schleiden's views, so far as the plant in question is concerned ; but as to their positive value, as to the evidence they afford of the actual nature of the process of impregnation, I still regard them as insufficient. I am not convinced that the whole of the pistillary cords are composed of filaments directly produced by the pollen-granules. It is not yet shown whether there is any relation between the application of the pollen on the stigma and the development of the germinal vesicles ; it is only clear that these last exist before the pollen-tubes enter the ovules. VOL. XXI. c 10 MR. HENFREY ON THE DEVELOPMENT OF THE OVULE IN ORCHIS MORIO. Lastly, although the production of the confervoid filaments appears to be a normal pro- cess, it is still a question open to doubt when only observed in ovaries containing such an abundance of ovules as Orchis Morio. The facts I have detailed above are, however, agreeable with what I have observed in certain other plants, in some as yet imperfect investigations ; I hope to be able to complete them, and to repeat the earlier examinations with especial reference to the doubtful points, in the course of the ensuing summer. EXPLANATION OP THE PLATE. Tab. II. (The Figures are all magnified about 200 times.) Orchis pyramidalis. Fig. 1. A young ovule. Fig. 2. The same, somewhat more advanced. The ovule presents a single coat, enclosing the nucleus, which consists of a layer of cells (the coat of the nucleus), surrounding a large central cell (the embryo-sac). Fig. 3. An end view of the summit of the last. Orchis Morio. Fig. 4. A young, almost erect, ovule with a single coat, from which the nucleus projects. Fig. 5. A more advanced ovule, curving round and exhibiting the nucleus and embryo-sac more distinctly. Fig. 6. More advanced stage, ovule almost anatropous; both coats are now distinguishable, the inner projecting out from the outer, and the nucleus beyond the inner. Fig. 7- The inner coat has grown over the nucleus, which still retains its proper cellular coat (7 a). Fig. 8. The outer coat has grown up further; the nucleus has lost its coat, and is now a simple sac filled with a clear fluid in which float black granules (8 a). Fig. 9. The outer coat almost completely covers the inner, which, with the nucleus, is indicated by dotted lines. The endostome is now very narrow ; the nucleus contains mucilaginous matter (protoplasm, 9 a). Fig. 10 to 14. Embryo-sacs from ovules a little more advanced than in fig. 9, exhibiting the vesicles at the micropyle end. Fig. 15. An ovule with the pollen- tube penetrating. The exostome is a wide mouth, the endostome very narrow. The blind extremity of the pollen-tube lies upon the outside of the embryo-sac, within which is seen one large germinal vesicle. Fig. 16 to 22. Embryo-sacs with pollen-tubes in contact, and with germinal vesicles within. In Fig. 20 & 21 the germinal vesicle has divided into two cells by the formation of a transverse septum. Fig. 23 to 29. Different stages of development of the confervoid filament from the pro-embryo. In fig. 25 the pollen-tube lies beside it. In fig. 29 the upper cells of the filament exhibit the con- - tracted mucilaginous layers (primordial utricles) detached from the cell-walls. The lower part, which produces the embryo, is filled with opake mucilage, which appears to divide into separate cells in various ways. Trans IvnruSoc. TblUl t.2 p.W. -d.litnfrey Esq. del G- jcwmccn. So. [ 11 J III. On the Australian Species of the Coleopterous Genus Bolboceras, Eirby. By J. O. Westwood, Esq., F.L.S. Read March 21st, 1848. JDOBBOCEBAS, a genus of Lamellicom beetles, was proposed by the Rev. "W. Kirby, in his excellent memoir published thirty years ago, in the 12th volume of the ' Transac- tions of the Linnean Society,' containing descriptions of New Australian Coleoptera col- lected by Mr. Robert Brown. In his observations appended to the Latin characters given of the genus, as contrasted with those of Geotrupes, Mr. Kirby more especially endeavoured to point out the differences between these two genera, alluding, among other things, to the structure of the outer lobe of the maxillae, but not mentioning (except in the Latin cha- racter) the horny inner lobe, with its bipartite structure, a character (as Mr. MacLeay has shown) of thes highest importance, as distinctly indicating a variety in the operation of manducation, and consequently in the nature of the food of the insects. It is evident that Mr. Kirby's description of the maxilla of Bolboceras was drawn from the inaccurate figure of that part given in pi. 23. fig. 5d, which omits the upper portion of the lower lobe of the maxilla, which is thereby reduced to a single horny point. The maxilla of Bolboceras is, however, almost exactly similar to that of Athyreus ; indicating, in conjunction with the general appearance of the insects, an analogous mode of life, although the difference in the place of insertion of the middle feet must evidently be regarded as a proof of some distinc- tion in the habits of the two genera. Mr. Kirby's observations, it will be further seen, are directed to the structure of the antennae and trophi alone. There are consequently two important characters derived from the external structure of the other parts of the insects which separate the two genera, rendering Bolboceras also as far removed from the type of the family Geotrupidce as Athy- reus. These are, the entire structure of the eyes in Bolboceras, whilst each eye is divided into two parts by a distinct septum in Geotrupes, and the want of a patch of orange plush-like hairs on the thighs of the fore-legs, which exists in Geotrupes. Mr. Kirby mentions as belonging to Bolboceras, " Sc. mobilicornis, Linn, (of which Sc. testaceus, Fabr., is only a variety), quadridens, Linn., farctus, Fabr., Lazarus, Fabr., Cy- clops, Oliv., &c," together with the new species which he described under the name of Bolboceras australasice, a name now proved to be inapplicable, not only because we pos- sess many Australian species of the genus, but also because the insect so described is but the female of another species. Of the above-mentioned species, the first, Sc. mobilicornis, does not belong to the genus Bolboceras, from which it is distinguished by its bipartite eyes, although the structure of the maxillae and the want of a patch of plush on the fore femora show its near approach to it. It will therefore be proper to apply the generic name of Odontceus, given to this genus by Koppe, instead of Bolboceras, as it stands at c2 12 MR. WESTWOOD ON THE AUSTRALIAN SPECIES present in English collections and books. The species, moreover, which it will be ad- visable to regard as the type of Bolboceras, will be Sc. quadridens, Linn., as that was the species dissected by Mr. Kirby. In 1819 Mr. MacLeay published the description of his genus Elephastomm in the first part of his * Horae Entomologicae,' founded upon the singular Australian Scarabceus pro- boscideus, first described by Schreibers in the 6th volume of the ' Linnean Transactions.' In this strange insect the crown of the head is extended forwards, so as to push the ordi- nary front part of the head, including the clypeus, mandibles and labrum, quite under- neath it ; just as if the human forehead were dilated over the entire face, and the nose and mouth pushed between the chin and the throat ; with this difference, that in the insect the horizontal upper lip and mandibles become perpendicular, whilst the opposite would be the case in a human head so deformed. Referring again to the structure of the maxillae, we find Mr. MacLeay's description of those of Elephastomm, " Maxillae corneas, arcuatae, intus dente acuto et ad apicem lacinia obtusa ciliis spinosulis armatae," incorrect, omitting to notice the upper portion of the inner lobe of the maxillae ; whilst the figure given of it, pi. 2. fig. 10 e, is still more incorrect, omitting both the horny teeth of the lower lobe. In this, however, and all its essential characters, this insect approaches so closely to Bolbo- ceras Australasice, that, long ago, I had attached to a figure of El. proboscideus the follow- ing note : "Is not Bolboceras australasice of Kirby the female ? The box-like clava of their antennae agrees;" and in Dr. Klug's excellent Monograph on the genera Athyreus and Bolboceras, published in the ' Transactions of the Berlin Academy ' for 1843, we find Sca- rabceus proboscideus given as the first species of Bolboceras, with Bolb. Australasia as its female. In fact, with the exception of the extraordinary formation of the head, and the alteration consequent thereupon in the position of the trophi, we can find no variation in the structure of these organs of higher importance (with reference to the question of the retention of Elephastomm either as a genus or subgenus) than the greatly elongated maxil- lary palpi and the identical structure of the two mandibles, which are bifid at the tips. The number of the species of the genus Bolboceras was considerably increased by the late Mr. Bainbridge, who published a short paper on some of the Australian species, from the Collection of the Rev. F. W. Hope, in the ' Transactions of the Entomological Society'; by Messrs. Guerin-Meneville and Castelnau, in their several works ; and especially by Dr. Klug, in the monograph above referred to. As some confusion has been introduced into the nomenclature of the Australian species, and as I have to add several hitherto undescribed ones from New Holland to the list, in- cluding a closely allied new genus, I have thought it would be desirable in this paper to concentrate the whole of the New Holland Bolbocerata. It may be proper to add, that my quotations of the species described from the Collections of Messrs. Hope and Gory have been made from an examination of the type specimens in Mr. Hope's Collection, with which is now also incorporated that of M. Gory. The circumstance of so many of the largest species of this genus being inhabitants of New Holland, where, in consequence of the absence of the larger mammalia, it is impos- sible for them to possess the same habit of burrowing into and under dung, as the Geo- trupes of our moderate climates, is in itself a sufficient evidence that the Bolbocerata, like OF THE COLEOPTEROUS GENUS BOLBOCERAS. 13 the Athyrei, must be regarded as very aberrant species in the family of which our Geo- trupes is the well-known type. It has been thought advisable that a continuation of this paper, containing descriptions of many additional new species of Bolboceras from India and other foreign regions, should be published as a distinct memoir, which accordingly appears as the following article. 1. Bolboceras (Elephastomus) proboscideus, MacLeay, ut supr. citat. ? Bolboceras Australasia, Kirby, loc. cit. Obs. Caput et pronotum delineavi in Tab. III. fig. 1. ex individuo typico in Musaeo Societatis Entomo- logical Londinensis. Obs. 2. Figura maris in opere Griffith's Animal Kingdom, Ins. pi. 40. fig. 4, 4 a, 4 b. Obs. 3. Varietatem maris (cum foemina Bolb. Australasia omnino congruenti copula captam) Societati Entomologica? Londinensi communicavit D. F. Cox. Caput maris cornu perpendiculari infero caret, angulo parvo prominente locum ejus occupante. 2. Bolboceras (Elephastomus) Kirbii ; castaneo-fulvus, capitis cornu antico porrecto brevi truncato piano subtus in spinam bifidam haud producto, vertice carina brevi transversa, prothoracis lateribus valde punctatis utrinque fossulatis ; disco postice canali abbreviate longitudinali instructo. — Long. corp. lin. 9. (Tab. III. fig. 2.) Bolb. {Elephastomus) Kirbii, Hope MS. Hab. in Terra Van Diemen. In Mus. Hope. El. proboscideo minor, corpus castaneo-fulvum. Caput elongatum; vertice carina transversa, quasi e tuberculis conjunctis formata, in medio instructo ; parte ante carinam porrecta subquadrata gra- nulosa antice parum latiori apice utrinque recte truncato, cornu antico abbreviato piano, antice por- recto, apice truncato arcuato. Caput subtus parte antica tumida ; clypeo deflexo, labro ad apicem ejus affixo. Mandibular angustae, fere similes, apice acuto denteque parvo subapicali armatae. Pro- thorax antice laevis, nitidus ; lateribus punctatis et utrinque fossula rotundata instructus ; disco ante medium carina tenui transversa (in medio interrupts) canalique tenui punctato longitudinali pone medium ante marginem posticum obliterato. Elytra striato-punctata ; striis 14 in singulo elytro ad apicem elytrorum extensis. Tibiae anticae dentibus 6 nigris extus armatae. Fig. 2 a, caput et pronotum supra visa ; 2 b, caput a latere ; 2 c, labrum ; 2 d, mandibulas ; 2 e, maxilla *; If, laciniae labii cum palpis labialibus. This appears to be the insect given by Mr. MacLeay as the female of Elephastomus pro- boscideus. It is however a male, and is given by Dr. Klug as a variety of the male of that species. The insect above described appears, however, to me to be sufficiently distinct as a species from the former f. 3. Bolboceras Beichii ; castaneus nitidus, capite cornu valde elongato erecto, prothorace antice valde deflexo et subconcavo cornubus duobus crassis longitudine capitis por- rectis lateralibus antice armato : singulo versus basin dente obtuso erecto instructo ; prothoracis lateribus rude punctatis spatioque triangulari impresso et punctato ante scutellum ; margine postico parum elevato, elytris striis gracillimis punctatis, tibiis * The upper division of the inner lobe is multispinose ; Dr. Klug has represented it as distinctly bifid in both sexes of B. Australasia. t The variety of the preceding species, wanting the perpendicular horn in front of the mouth, received since this sheet has been in type, seems to confirm Dr. Klug's opinion. 14 MR. WESTWOOD ON THE AUSTRALIAN SPECIES antieis extus 5-dentatis. <3 . — Long. corp. lin. 11 ; lat. prothoracis lin. 7. (Tab. III. fig. 3.) Hab. Port Essington. In Muss. Hope et Reiche. c? Bolb. Reichii, Guerin, Voyage de la Favorite, p. 50, et Iconogr. du Regne Anim., Ins. p. 84. Bold. Kirbii fa Hope in Proc. Ent. Soc., Nov. 1841, p. 43. ? Bolb. Kirbii, Bainbridge in Trans. Ent. Soc. vol. iii. p. 79. Foemina differt capite minori ; vertice in tuberculum conicum apice bifidum elevato ; clypeo et vertic carina tenui angulata separatis ; pronoto antice spatio subhexagono piano polito, in puncta duo pro- funda antice lateraliter desinente, disco pone medium valde punctato, versus marginem posticum elevato lsevi, spatio ovali mediano punctato et impresso relicto. — Long. corp. lin. 11. Hab. ad Melville Island. Mus. Hope (etiam in Mus. Gory, nunc Hope, cum nomine B. Reichii inscriptus). Fig. 3, mas magnit. naturalis; 3 a, caput supra visum; 3 b, caput et prothorax a latere visa; 3 c, man- dibular maris ; 3 d, caput et prothorax foemina? supra, visa ; 3 e, eadem a latere visa. Obs. The name given to the male of this species is here retained in preference to that of the female, in accordance with the usual custom in such cases. 4. Bolboceras serricollis, Bainhridge, Trans. Ent. Soc. vol. iii. p. 80. c? . Bolb. frontalis, Klug, Mon. Ath. et Bolb. p. 21. tab. 2. fig. 7 & 7 a. ( <? $ ) ? Bolb. latus, Bainbridge, op. cit. vol. iii. part 2. p. 80. ? Bolb. frontalis, Gue'rin, Ins. Voy. Favorite, Mag. Zool. 1838, p. 51 ; Klug, tab. supr. cit. fig. 7b, c. Hab. ad Swan River. Mus. Hope. 5. Bolboceras hastifer, Bainhridge, op. cit. p. 81. cT. Athyreus recticornis, Guerin, Ins. Voy. Favorite, Mag. Zool. 1838, p. 49. pi. 232. fig. 1. Bolb. recticornis, Klug, op. cit. p. 23. tab. 2. fig. 8. Var. ^ Bolb. fissicornis, Bainbridge, op. cit. p. 82. Differt cornubus capitis et pronoti parum brevioribus, hoc parum crassiori et apice fisso. Fig. 4a, caput et pronotum hujus varietatis maris supra visa; 4 6, eadem a latere; 4c, pars anterior capitis a latere ; 4 d, mandibulse. Hab. ad Swan River. .<. 6. Bolboceras 3-ttjbercijlatus, Bainhridge, op. cit. p. 82. <$ . Bolb. trituberculatus, Klug, op. cit. p. 24. no. 7. Bolb. thoracicornis, Gory, MS. in Mus. Bolb. Guerini, Reiche, MS. Fig. 5 a, caput et prothorax maris supra visa ; 5 b, mandibulae maris ; 5 c, caput et prothorax fceminae supra visa ; 5 d, eadem a latere. Hab. ad Swan River. Obs. Mr. Bainbridge mistook the porrected closed mandibles of the male for the clypeus ; his description, " clypeus quadridentatus medio emarginatus," being drawn from the man- dibles. The female was sent me from Paris for examination by M. Reiche. 7. Bolboceras 7-tttberctjlatus, Bainbridge, op. cit. p. 81. $ . Bolb. excavatus, Klug, op. cit. p. 23. tab. 2. fig. 9. $. Hab. ad Swan River. Insectum hie describam, in Mus. Goryi olim conservatum, cum nomine manuscripto " Bolb. transversus, Gory" inscriptum. Hoc insectum Bolb. 7-tuberculati foemineum existimavi, corpus totum fulvo- OF THE COLEOPTEROUS GENUS BOLBOCERAS. 15 castaneum ; capite et pronoto punctatis ; clypei margine antico recto simplici, postice tuberculis 4 e vertice separato, tuberculis duobus intermediis approximatis et paullo anterioribus, angulis lateralibus ante oculos acutis et parum reflexis. Pronotum impressione parva oblonga in medio marginis antici ; disco transversim bicarinato, carinis lateraliter convergentibus spatium transversum subconcavum includentibus ; impressione parva ovali nigricanti utrinque versus angulos posticos. Elytra laevia, striis gracillimis punctatis. (Tab. III. fig. 6 a, caput et prothorax supra visa; 6 b, eadem a latere.) Obs. Bolb. *] -tuberculatum foeminam Bolb. hastiferi esse autumat D. Reiche. 8. Bolboceras coronattjs ; " testaceus, capite punctato antice medio 5- postice utrinque 1-tuberculato, thorace rugoso, postice transversim bicarinato dorso tuberculato, elytris punctato-striatis." — Long. lin. 9. Bolb. coronatus, Klug, op. cit. p. 22. tab. 2. fig. 10, 10 a. Hab. ad litt. occid. Novae Hollandiae. In Mus. D. Hope individuum pinguedine saturatum vidi. 9. Bolboceras qtjadricornis ; " capite bicorni, thorace dorso cornubus duobus divaricatis armato lateribus profunde excavato, rufus, elytris nigris." — Long. corp. lin. 7^. Bolb. quadricornis, Klug, op. cit. p. 22. tab. 2. fig. 6. Hab. ad litt. occid. Novae Hollandiae ; a me haud visus. 10. Bolbocebas Taurus ; castaneus nitidus, capitis vertice utrinque laminis duabus auri- culatis erectis instructo cornubusque duobus elongatis curvatis nigris ante oculos armato, pronoto in medio versus marginem anticum parum reflexo seu tuberculis duobus transversis subelevatis instructo; lateribus punctatis. — Long. corp. lin. 8. (Tab. III. fig. 7.) Bolb. Mimax, Reiche, MS. Hab. ad Swan River. In Mus. Hope (olim Gory) sub nomine manuscripto hie conservato ; etiam in Mus. Saunders. Corpus supra castaneum nitidum, pro latitudine parum magis elongatum. Caput sub lente granulosum, tuberculis duobus erectis angulatis inter oculos ; verticis medio carina curvata parum elevata utrinque in cornu porrectum curvatum nigrum (longitudine caput aequans) desinente. Clypeus declivis, gra- nulosus. Mandibulae parvae, apice bidentatae, dextrae margine externo magis rotundato, et ante api- cem inciso. Antennae, partes oris, et caput infra fulvae. Pronotum lateribus marginatis ciliatis et serrulatis, utrinque intra angulum anticum profunde impressum, antice in medio versus marginem anticum glabrum et parum elevatum, parte elevata in duas partes linea longitudinali impressa divisa, lateribus oblique elevatis, rude punctatis, et impressione rotundata pariim profunda intra angulos posticos instructis. Elytra valde convexa striis 7 punctatis ordinariis inter suturam et tubercula humeralia ; lateribus etiam punctato-striatis. Scutellum laeve. Pedes crassi. Tibiae anticae extiis dentibus 5 obtusis armatae. Fig. 7 a, insectum magnitudine pariim auctum ; 7 b, caput et prothorax a latere visa ; 7 c, mandibulae. 11. Bolboceras capreoltjs ; castaneus nitidus, capite postice nigricanti ; vertice cornu lato furcato 6-dentato erecto armato, pronoto antice retuso glabro, dorso carina trans- versa pone medium instructo, mandibulis magnis extus denticulatis. <J . — Long. corp. lin. 9. (Tab. III. fig. 8.) Bolb. diadematus, Reiche, MS. Hab. in Nova Hollandia, Swan River. In Mus. Hope (olim Mus. Gory), cum nomine supra conservato designatum. Foemina in Mus. D. Reiche. 16 MR. WESTWOOD ON THE AUSTRALIAN SPECIES Corpus supra castaneum nitidum. Caput labro porrecto, clypei margine antico tenui elevato in medio tuberculo minuto instructo ; frons glaberrima concava, supra in medio verticis in cornu latum elevata, cujus apex antice in dentes 4 acutos desinet, dentibusque duobus majoribus posticis versus pro- notum inclinatis. Mandibulas magnae, porrectae, concaves, difformes ; singula ante apicem externe in dentem porrectum subacutum elongata. Antennarum clava lutea. Prothorax elytris latior, antice declivis nitidissimus et glaberrimus lineaque pariim impressa longitudinali mediana. carina transversa utrinque abbreviate pone medium disci extensa, pronoti parte postica lateribusque punctatis, his versus angulos posticos utrinque impressione ovali instructis. Elytra nitida tenuissime punctato- striata, striis ante apicem desinentibus. Tibiae anticae 6-dentatae, dentibus externis magnis acutis. Fig. 8 a, mas magnitudine pariim auctus ; 8 b, prothorax et caput a latere visa ; 8 c, mandibulae maris ; 8 d, cornu verticale ; 8 e, prothorax et caput fceminae a latere visa. 12. Bolboceras neglecttjs, Hope, Proc. Ent. Soc. Nov. 1, 1841, p. 43. Fcemina sub hoc nomine in Mus. D. Hope hospitatur, Portus Essingtonii, Novae Hollandiae, incola, quae cum B. Reichii ? fere congruit, nisi magnitudine minori (lineas 9 tantum longitudine habens) spatioque ovali depresso punctato ante scutellum carente ; structural capitis, parteque polita antica pronoti pone oculos in puncta duo magna profunda desinente, cum specie praedicta convenit. An ejus varietas minor vel fcemina speciei alterae ? Fig. 9 a, caput et prothorax supra visa. 13. Bolboceras Bainbredgii ; piceus, capitis clypeo antice tridentato : dente intermedio minori; vertice inermi, pronoto antice valde declivi dente erecto versus marginem anti- cum ; parte declivi supra carina curvata marginata. — Long. corp. lin, 7. (Tab. III. fig. 10.) ' Hab. in Nova Hollandia, ad Swan River. In Mus. D. Hope. Praecedentibus minor. B. hastifero magis affinis, differt verb capite antice tridentato. Caput supra planum ; vertice fere laevi et inermi ; clypeo antice declivi supra in lineam bisinuatam desinente, dentes tres efFormante quorum laterales majores et magis porrecti. Mandibulae difformes, dextra ante apicem externe lobo subrotundato instructa. Prothorax punctatus, punctis in medio disci magis remotis ; parte antica valde declivi, medio versus marginem anticum dente brevi erecto armata, et postice linea curvata vel carina arcuata e parte postica separata : utrinque versus angulos posticos impressione rotundata instructus. Elytra punctato-striata, striis satis distinctis, sed ante apicem evanescentibus. Tibiae anticae extiis 6-dentatae, dentibus duobus anticis (in specimine nostro unico) oblique truncatis. Fig. 10 a, mas magnitudine pariim auctus ; 10 b, caput et prothorax e latere visa ; 10 c, mandibulae. Named in remembrance of the late Mr. W. Bainbridge, an assiduous collector of English insects, by whom descriptions of some Australian species of this genus were published in the 3rd volume of the Transactions of the Entomological Society of London. 14. Bolboceras rottjndattjs ; parvus rotundatus rufo-castaneus glaberrimus, clypeo tuberculo elevato alteroque in medio verticis inter oculos, pronoto convexo vix punc- tato punctis paucis et valde distantibus lineaque longitudinali mediana impressa punctata. — Long. corp. lin. 4. (Tab. III. fig. 11.) Bolb. rotundatus, Hope in Proc. Ent. Soc, Nov. 1, 1841, p. 43. Hab. in Nova Hollandia, ad Port Essington. In Mus. D. Hope. Praecedentibus multo minor et fere rotundatus. Corpus supra glaberrimum convexum vix punctatum. Caput supra in medio tuberculo (vel potius tuberculis duobus parvis conjunctis) instructum, margine OF THE COLEOPTEROUS GENUS BOLBOCERAS. 17 antico in tuberculum elevato, lineis 4 elevatis ex hoc tuberculo prodeuntibus, scil. duabus ad angu- los clypei anticos, duabusque ad basin antennarum ; angulis 2 ante oculos rotundatis ; parte capitis anteriori punctata. Mandibular difformes; dextra ut in multis aliis speciebus, lobo externo ante apicem instructa. Prothorax linea parum impressa longitudinali mediana punctata, lateribus etiam versus angulos posticos impressionibus duabus rotundatis instructis. Elytra punctato-striata; striis ad apicem elytrorum extensis. Pedes antici longiores ; tibiae anticae extiis 5-dentatae. Fig. 11a, caput et prothorax supra visa ; 1 1 b, mandibular. 15. Bolboceras rtjbescens ; fulvo-rufus glaberrimus, clypeo integro e vertice linea ele- vate separato, vertice tuberculis duobus minimis, prothorace convexo nitidissimo vix punctato ; canali abbreviate) in medio marginis antici punctisque nonnullis in lineam longitudinalem posticam dispositis fossulaque rotundata utrinque impressa instructo. —Long. corp. fere lin. 3. (Tab. III. fig. 12.) Bolb. rubescens, Hope, in Proc. Ent. Soc, Nov. 1, 1841, p. 43. Hab. ad Port Essington Novae Hollandiae. In Mus. Hope. B. rotundato valde affinis ; differt magnitudine minori, colore pallidiore, lineaque impressa pronoti fere obliterate. Fig. 12 a, caput et prothorax supra visa. 16. Bolbocebas COBNICULATTJS ; rotundatus rufus glaberrimus, verticis margine antico fere recto in medio subtuberculato ; disco convexo utrinque inter oculos cornu erecto triangulari armato, pronoto sparsim punctato cornubus duobus contiguis versus mar- ginem anticum tuberculisque duobus conicis lateralibus armato medioque fossula parva longitudinali, elytris striato-punctatis. — Long. corp. lin. 3. (Tab. III. fig. 13.) Bolb. corniculatus, Reiche, MSS. Hab. ad Swan River Novae Hollandiae. In Mus. D. Reichii, Parisiis. Parvus, rotundatus, rufus ; elytris magis fulvis. Caput castaneo-rufum, supra valde concavum glaberri- mum; verticis margine antico subrecto, tuberculo minuto medio instructo, ejusdem angulis antici3 subacutis, utrinque etiam prope marginem oculorum internum spina conica erecta armato. Antennae fulvae. Pronotum valde convexum, glaberrimum, tenuissime marginatum, punctis paucis notatum ; cornubus duobus contiguis apice obtusis prope marginem anticum, spatio transverso pone cornua impresso utrinque in tuberculum conicum desinente, dimidio postico, fossula tenui media longi- tudinali punctata impresso, utrinque etiam versus marginem lateralem impressione parva rotundata punctata notato. Elytra glabra, valde convexa ; singulo striis decern punctorum, tribus externis cum tribus suturae magis approximatis ad apicem conjunctis, intermediis abbreviatis. Pedes castaneo- rufi ; tibiae anticae extus 6-dentatae, dentibus obtusis, calcari anticarum elongato gracili, apice obtuso. An B. rotundati mas ? Fig. 13 a, caput et prothorax supra visa ; 13 b, eadem a latere visa. STENASPfDius, Westw. Subgenus novum. Corpus magis elongatum quam in Bolboceratis veris ; scutello elongato (nee triangulari) ; elytris striis tantum quinque inter humeros et suturam ; mesosterno porrecto. Dif- fert etiam colore antennarum. 17. Bolbocebas (Stenaspidius) nigricornis; ovalis niger nitidus sparsim punctatus, capite tuberculo conico inter oculos, pronoto canali punctato medio aliisque duobus VOL. XXI. D 18 MR. WESTWOOD ON THE COLEOPTEROUS GENUS BOLBOCERAS. abbreviatis pone oculos, elytris striato-punctatis. — Long. corp. lin. 3^. (Tab. III. % 14.) Hab. in Nova Hollandia. In Muss. D, Hope (olim Gory, cum nomine supra indicato inscripto), Reiche et Westw. Corpus supra nigrum, nitidum. Caput mediocre. Clypeus e vertice lined elevata vel carinata in medio pariim angulata divisus, lineisque duabus brevioribus ad angulos posticos labri extensis. Antenna? nigra? ; articulis parvi3 intermediis piceis. Mandibulae ut in plurimis, dextra ante apicem externe lobo rotundato corneo instructa. Vertex tuberculo elevato inter oculos instructus ; angulisque ante oculos rotundatis. Prothorax convexus, sparsim punctatus, lmea longitudinali mediana punctata im- pressa alterisque duabus e margine antico pone oculos oblique extensis at abbreviatis spatioque utrin- que angusto pariim elevato, laevi, cum margine postico fere parallelo, in fossulas 2 obliquas pariim profundas versus angulos posticos prothoracis desinente. Elytra striato-punctata, striis 5 inter humeros et suturam, aliisque 4 lateralibus. Tibiae anticae extiis 5-dentatse. Scutellum elongato- triangulare. Mesosternum pariim angulato-porrectum. Fig. 14 a, insectum magnitudine auctum ; 14 b, caput, prothorax et mesosternum, a latere visa ; 14 c, cly- peus cum labro et mandibulis. EXPLANATION OF THE FIGURES. Tab. III. Fig. 1. Bolboceras {Elephastomus) proboscideus, MacL. Fig. 2. Bolboceras (Elephastomus) Kirbii, Hope. Fig. 3. Bolboceras Reichii, GueV. Fig. 4. Bolboceras hastifer, Bainbr. var. Fig. 5. Bolboceras 3-tuberculatus, Bainbr. Fig. 6. Bolboceras 7-tuberculatus, Bainbr. ? ? Fig. 7' Bolboceras Taurus, Gory. Fig. 8. Bolboceras Capreolus, Gory. Fig. 9. Bolboceras neglectus, Hope. Fig. 10. Bolboceras Bainbridgii, Westw. Fig. 1 1 . Bolboceras rotundatus, Hope. Fig. 1 2. Bolboceras rubescens, Hope. Fig. 13. Bolboceras corniculatus, Reiche. Fig. 14. Bolboceras (Stenaspidius) nigricomis, Westw. [ 19 ] IV. Descriptions of some new or imperfectly known Species of Bolboceras, Kirby. By J. O. Westwood, Esq., F.L.S. Read June 6, 1848. X1AVING in two previous communications described a number of new species of Atlvy- reus, ebiefly from South America, and given a synopsis of the Australian species of Bolbo- ceras, I shall on the present occasion continue the descriptions of the species of the latter genus, especially such as are natives of the East Indies. With the view of showing the generic as well as sexual distinctions existing between the Bolbocerata and Odontcei, I have given figures of the head and front of the prothorax of both sexes of Odontceus mobilicomis and Bolboceras JEneas, Pz. (quadridens, Dftschm.) from Austria, together with the side of the head (showing the eyes), maxillae and fore femora of both these insects. (Tab. IV. fig. 1 & 2, with the details.) 1. Bolboceras Cyclops, Eabr. Ent. Syst. i. p. 15 ; Oliv. Ent. i. 3. 1. 15. f. 140 ; ferrugi- neus, clypeo antice carina transversa tuberculisque duobus acutis instructo, vertice linea tenui parum elevata inter oculos, pronoto utrinque excavatione profunda sub- rotunda antice cornu acuto alteroque minori versus medium armato ; spatio inter cornua intermedia piano punctato; antice linea semicirculari parum elevata cincto canali vix distincto longitudinali ante scutellum terminato, elytris punctato-striatis striis tenuibus, tibiis anticis 8-dentatis. (Mas.) — Long. corp. lin. 9. (Tab. III. fig. 15.) Variat mas magnitudine cornuum capitis et pronoti necnon profunditate excavationum hujus lateralium. Hab. in Java, Assam, et India centrali. Muss. Hope (olim Lee) et nostr. {Hearsey). Fig. 15, insectum magnitudine paullo auctum ; 15 'a, caput et prothorax lateraliter visa. Obs. The figure and description are made from the original specimen described from Lee's Collection by Eabricius, now in the Cabinet of the Rev. E. W. Hope. 2. Bolboceras grandis, Hope MSS. ; rufo-castaneus, capite dentibusque tibiarum anti- carum nigricantibus, clypeo carina tenui semicirculari, vertice carina transversa inter oculorum partem anticam, pronoto convexo carina semicirculari tuberculisque duo- bus versus marginem anticum lineaque tenui longitudinali impressa media in parte postica. (Ecem.) — Long. corp. lin. 9. (Tab. IV. fig. 3, caput et prothorax supra visa.) Hab. in India orientali ? In Mus. D. Hope. Caput supra sub lente granulosum, mandibula dextra extiis ante apicem incisa, pronotum antice puncta- tum, postice laeve nitidum, versus angulos posticos utrinque pariim impressum. Elytra tenuissime punctato-striata, striis ad apicem elytrorum extensis. Tibiae anticas 7-dentatae. Corpus subtus con- color, pilis fulvis hirtum. Individuum e Calcutta vidi (pro fcemina sp. praecedentis, B. Cyclops, e Parisiis, a Domino Chevrolatio mihi transmissum) in quo carina antica clypei magis recta et transversa evadit, lineaque impressa D 2 20 MR. WESTWOOD ON SOME NEW OR IMPERFECTLY pone carinam verticalem ; prominentiis in parte antica pronoti minus distinctis, lineaque longitudinali postica obliterate ; capiteque corpori concolori. — Long. corp. lin. *]\. Obs. Captain Parry possesses a rather smaller specimen, with the central impressed lon- gitudinal line of the prothorax less distinct, the lateral tubercles near its anterior angles not so large, but covered with minute punctures, as is also the front of the prothorax, and the front of the head has the angles more emarginate. 3. Bolboceras SUBGLOBOSUS *, Westw. ; fere globosus castaneo-rufus, capite et pronoto punctatissimis, margine capitis elevato, clypei margine antico recto carinaque trans- versa inter oculos, pronoto carina curvata prope marginem anticum. (Foem.) — Long, corp. lin. 8^. (Tab. IV. fig. 4, caput et prothorax supra visa.) Hub. in India orientali. D, Boys, in Mus. Westw. B. grandi valde affinis at magis globosus, capite et pronoto magis granulato-punctatis. Caput latum, carina recta' transversa ad basin clypei alteraque abbreviate recta inter partem anticam oculorum. Mandibular latae, dextra ante apicem profunde incisa, lateribus tenuibus, recurvis, nigris. Pronotum versus marginem posticum parum laevius, carina curvata mediana prope marginem anticum, tubercu- lisque duobus elevatis et sublaevibus inter carinam et angulos anticos, et impressione circulari parum profunda et sublaevi in medio lateris utriusque. Elytra laevia, gracillime striato-punctata. Tibiae anticae latae, dentibus 7 nigris obtusis. The insect which has served for the above description appears to be a female, and is closely allied to the preceding. I am unable, however, to surmise whether the male is one of those described in the subsequent portion of this memoir, or is still unknown. 4. Bolboceras ftjrcicollis, De Laporte, An. Art. Coleopt. vol. ii. p. 104. No. 3 ; castaneo- rufus sub lente granulosus, clypeo maris quadrato piano antice bisinuato angulis late- rabVbus anticis in cornua duo porrectis, pronoto postice elevato ; disco in medio cor- nubus duobus erectis distantibus recurvis alterisque duobus intus concavis versus angulos posticos ; canali lsevi mediano versus marginem posticum, elytris punctato- striatis, tibiis anticis extus 6-dentatis. — Long. corp. lin. 10. (Tab. III. fig. 16, 17.) B. Lecontei, Dej. Catal. Coleopt. p. 149. Differt mas longitudine et magnitudine cornuum clypei et pronoti. Hab. in America boreali (test. De Laporte et Muss. Hope et Gory) an recte ? Obs. Mr. Melly possesses a specimen exactly agreeing with the male in Mr. Hope's Col- lection, figured above, which he received from Comercolly, in the East Indies. He also possesses a second specimen, from Thibet, very slightly smaller, having the cornuted pro- cesses on the prothorax very slightly smaller, the space between the two porrected points of the clypeus nearly straight, and not sinuated, agreeing in its colour with Mr. Hope's Assamese specimen of B. Cyclops, except that of the tips of the spines of the fore-legs and of the pronotum and clypeus, which are black. A third specimen is also in Mr. Melly's Collection, from Thibet, of an intermediate colour, exactly agreeing with them in general character and punctation, but having the anterior angles of the clypeus very slightly por- * This species, as well as Nos. 9, 22, 24, 25, 26 and 27, have been added subsequently to the reading of the paper. KNOWN SPECIES OF BOLBOCERAS. 21 rected, the two horns of the pronotum much smaller, and the conical tubercle on each side scarcely evident, appearing as a slight carina. Fig. 16, insectum supra visum ; 16 a, caput et prothorax a latere visa ; 17 a, caput et prothorax individui alteri masculi supra visa ; 17 b, eadem a latere ; 17 c, labrum cum mandibulis. 5. Bolboceras ferrtjgineus, De Laporte, Hist. Nat. An. Art. Col. vol. ii. p. 104. No. 4 ; castaneo-fulvus sub lente granulosus, capite antice carina sinuata antica tubercu- loque subbifido transverso inter oculos, pronoto ante medium spatiis duobus parum elevatis laevibus linea tenui impressa punctata (fere ad marginem posticum extensa) divisis utrinque etiam versus angulos posticos impressione obliqua supra carina lsevi marginata, elytris punctato-striatis, tibiis anticis 6-dentatis. — Long. corp. lin. 9^. (Tab. III. fig. 18, caput et prothorax supra visa ; 18 a, mandibulae.) Hab. in India orientali? In Mus. Gory (nunc Hope). Obs. M. Gory's specimen, from which Count De Laporte drew his description, is now in Mr. Hope's Collection before me, bearing a label, " Bolboceras ferrugineus, Fabr., Ind. or." Fabricius, however, described no Scarabceus under such a name, whilst the Scarabceus fer- rugineus of Olivier (Ins. 1. Gen. 3. p. 148. pi. 23. fig. 202) does not belong even to the present genus, and is from Senegal. It is possible that it may prove to be the other sex of B. furcicollis, De Lap. 6. Bolboceras carinicollis, De Laporte, Hist. Nat. An. Art. Coleopt. vol. ii. p. 104. No. 2 ; B.ferrugineo affinis sed magis castaneus, sub lente granulosus, capite carina tenui marginali curvata verticeque tuberculis duobus parvis conicis inter oculos carina con- nexis, pronoto obscuro in medio carina transversa abbreviate instructo maculaque nigra utrinque versus angulos posticos, elytris striatis striis punctis minutis, tibiis anticis 5-dentatis. — Long. corp. lin. 10. (Tab. IV. fig. 5, caput et prothorax supra visa.) Hab. in India orientali? In Mus. Gory (nunc Hope). 7. Bolboceras Calantjs, Hope MSS. ; fulvus vel rufo-castaneus, clypeo postice bicornuto, prothorace cornubus 4 versus marginem anticum duobus intermediis contiguis et a reliquis cavitate rotundata utrinque separatis. — Long. corp. lin. 7-8-j. (Tab. III. fig. 19; IV. fig. 6, 7.) Hab. in India orientali, Bombay. In Muss. Melly et Hope. Variat colore, interdum luteo-fulvus, interdum rufo-castaneus ; vertice concavo, parte antica tuberculis duobus elevatis armata, postice linea vix elevata et in medio interrupta instructs. Prothorax dorso vix punctato, .lateribus punctulatis, versus marginem anticum cornubus 4 armatus ; duo contigua elevata subobtusa, alterisque duobus lateralibus majoribus, e prioribus utrinque excavatione plus nri- niisve profunda separatis ; canali tenui longitudinali mediano. Elytra tenuissime punctato-striata. Tibiaa anticae 7-dentatas ; dentibus plus miniisve acutis. Foemina? Rufo-fulva nitida; capite et lateribus pronoti punctatissimis, hujus disco et parte postica fere impunctatis. Clypeus margine postico acute elevato et parum curvato, carinaque parum arcuata inter oculos instructus. Pronotum antice vix retusum carina curvata parum distincta versus margi- nem anticum, utrinque tuberculo parvo lineaque impressa mediana ad marginem posticum extensa. 22 MR. WESTWOOD ON SOME NEW OR IMPERFECTLY Tibiae anticae subangustae 7-dentatae, dentibus externis acutis, elongatis, curvatis, denticulisque pedum posticorum apice nigris. — Long. corp. lin. 7- Hab. in India orientali. D. Boys, in Mus. Westw. Fceminae var. ? (B. tumidulus, Westw.) Obscure castaneo-rufa, carinis transversis ut in praecedenti nigris ; parte capitis postica tumidula. Pronotum antice vix retusum, glabrum, lateribus lineaque longitu- dinali impressa punctatis ; spatio parvo medio antico laevissimo, utrinque impressione pariim pro- funda e lateribus pronoti separato ; tibiis anticis spinis 7 robustis armatis. — Long. corp. lin. 6. Hab. in India orientali, Borhendshukur. D. Bacon, in Mus. Lnferle. Tab. III. fig. 19, mas magnitudine paullo auctus; 19a, caput et prothorax a latere visa; 19 5, clypeus, labrum et mandibular maris. Tab. IV. fig. 6, caput et prothorax fceminae supra descriptae ; 7 o,, caput et prothorax foeminae varietatis supra descriptae ; 7 b, eadem a latere visa. 8. Bolboceras l^evicollis, Westw. ; fulvo-castaneus, vertice ante medium bidentato, prothorace glabro tuberculis 4 versus marginem anticum sequidistantibus duobus intermediis carina tenui curvata conjunctis. — Long. corp. lin. 9^. (Tab. IV. fig. 8, caput et prothorax.) Hab. in India orientali. In Mus. Hope. Corpus supra fulvo-castaneum, capite obscuriori ; clypeo linea tenuissima elevata omnino circumcincto ; vertice concavo, ante medium tuberculis duobus acutis erectis armato. Prothorax convexus, laevis, nitidus, ante medium tuberculis 4 acutis armatus, aequidistantibus, intermediis duobus linea tenui (versus caput curvata) elevata conjunctis, spatio inter haec et lateralia utrinque pariim concavo; canali tenui longitudinali in parte postica polite. Elytra tenuissime punctato-striata. Tibiae anticae dentibus 8, duobus anticis multo majoribus. 9. Bolboceras punctatissimtjs, Westw. ; fulvus punctatissimus, capite tuberculis duobus transversis inter antennarum basin, pronoto vertice parum retuso, parte antica lunula subelevata mediana transversa e postica separata. — Long. corp. tin. 4. (Tab. IV. fig. 9.) Hab. in India orientali, Moradabad, vespere ad lumen volans. D. Bacon, in Mus. D. Laferte. D. lavicolli affinis, omnino flavescenti-fulvus, margine tenuissimo capitis et pronoti et apicibus tubercu- lorum capitis castaneis. Caput et pronotum punctatissima. Vertex tuberculis duobus parvis rotun- datis transversis inter antennarum basin ; lateribus capitis inter antennas et oculos rotundatis. Pro- notum antice subretusum, punctatissimum ; parte retus& e postica lunula curvata separata lineaque pariim profunde impressa pone lunulam versus marginem posticum ducta impressionibusque duabus parvis lateralibus ; scutellum et elytra punctis minutis notata, his striato-punctatis ; striae secundas e sutura parte quarta postica obliterate, lateribus elytrorum magis rugosis striisque lateralibus minus distinctis. Subtiis pallidior, pilis longis flavis obsitus. Tibia; anticae dentibus 7 acutis armatae. Fig. 9, caput et prothorax supra visa ; 9 a, eadem a latere. 10. Bolboceras lateralis, Westw. ; castaneus, capite pedibusque nigricantibus, capite in- ermi, prothorace fere laevi ; excavationibus duabus lateralibus rotundatis singula supra tuberculo acuto armata. — Long. corp. tin. 6. (Tab. IV. fig. 10, caput et prothorax.) Hab. in India orientali, Gogo. In Mus. Hope. Caput nigrum, sub lente punctatum, supra inerme, angulis clypei anticis tuberculo rudimentali instructis, verticeque inter oculos linea vix elevata transversa. Prothorax convexus, fere laevis, lateribus prope angulos posticos excavatione rotunda tuberculoque conico supra armatis, lineaque tenuissima' canali- culate in medio instructus. Elytra tenuissime punctato-striata. Tibiae anticae 9-dentatae, dentibus obtusis. KNOWN SPECIES OF BOLBOCERAS. 23 11. Bolboceras nigeicans, "Westw. ; piceo-niger nitidus, clypeo tuberculo conico antice armato, verticis marginibus lateralibus utrinque bituberculatis discoque carina ele- vata inter oculos instructo, prothorace glabro nitido antice retuso 4-dentato dentibus subaequidistantibus. — 'Long. corp. lin. 6. (Tab. IV. fig. 11, caput et prothorax.) Hab. in Bengalia. In Mus. Hope. Affinis B. 4-dentato e quo differt armatura capitis. Corpus supra nigricans vel nigro-piceum, nitidum, parum punctatum. Capitis vertex inter oculos carina elevata, supra parum sinuata; margineque antico 5-tuberculato, tuberculo medio antico majori acuto. Prothorax paullo ante medium disci 4- dentatus, dentibus brevibus subaequidistantibus, utrinque etiam versus angulos posticos impressione parva. instructus. Tibiae anticas extus 5-dentatae. 12. Bolboceras politus, Westw.; nitidus fulvus, capite et pronoto magis castaneis, capite antice tricorni cornu antico majori erecto, prothorace excavatione maxima dor- sali postice trisinuata, elytris punctato-striatis, tibiis anticis 5-dentatis dentibus anticis magnis acutis. — Long. corp. lin. 6^. (Tab. IV. fig. 12.) Hab. in Senegalia. In Mus. Hope (olim Gory nomine 'Athyreus porcatus, Lap., Senegalensis, Dej./ haud recte inscriptus). Corpus supra nitidum, caput vertice subconcavo, clypeo tricorni, cornu antico suberecto et majori, lateri- bus ante oculos rotundatis. Mandibular difformes ; dextra apice obtuso intus dente duplici armato ; sinistra pone medium marginis externi angulata, apice oblique truncate. Antennas luteo-fulvae. Prothorax nitidissimus, remote punctatus, excavatione magna e margine antico fere ad scutellum extensa: margine ejus postico trisinuato; excavatione parva utrinque versus angulos laterales pro- thoracis. Elytra brevia, luteo-fulva, punctato-striata; striis 7 inter humeros et scutellum aliisque lateralibus. Tibiae anticae acute 5-dentatas. Individuum parvum (lin. b\ long.) e Prom. Bonae Spei in Mus. Chevrolat Parisiis vidi. Fig. 12, insectum magnitudine paullo auctum; 12 a, caput et prothorax a latere visa. 13. Bolboceras Coryph^us, Eabr. Ent. Syst. i. p. 9 ; Oliv. Ent. i. 3. tab. 16. f. 150 ; rufo- fulvus, capite supra piano, clypeo antice bicorni cornubus recurvis apice nigris postice- que mucrone elevato brevissimo nigro, pronoto antice retuso cornubus duobus bre- vibus approximatis antice porrectis apice nigris in medio disco positis postice gibbere obtuso in excavatione parum profunda instructo, elytris punctato-striatis, tibiis anticis 6-dentatis. — Long. corp. lin. 8. (Tab. IV. fig. 13.) Hab. ad Cap. Bonae Spei (teste Fabricio). In Mus. Hope (olim Lee). Fig. 13, insectum magnitudine vix auctum; 13 a, caput et prothorax a latere visa. Obs. My figure and description are derived from Lee's typical specimen described by Eabricius, now in Mr. Hope's Cabinet. 14. Bolboceras scabricollis, Chevrol. MS. ; ferrugineus, capite et pronoto magis piceis, his punctis minutis plus minusve confluentibus scabriusculis, capite in medio carina brevi transversa sub-3-lobata, pronoto impressionibus tribus longitudinalibus fere obliteratis. — Long. corp. lin. 8. Hab. apud Caput Bonae Spei. In Mus. Dom. Chevrolat. B. Capensi, Klug, multo major magisque punctatus. Caput undique margine tenui elevato, disco punc- tate, verticeque in medio carina brevi transversa quasi e tuberculis tribus conjunctis, armato ; man- dibular extus regulariter rotundatae. Antennae rufae. Pronotum piceo-ferrugineum, punctatum, 24 MR. WESTWOOD ON SOME NEW OR IMPERFECTLY impressione fere indistincta utrinque ad raarginem anticum (pone oculos), alteraque longiori media, quae in lineam tenuissimam longitudinalem elevatam extendit. Elytra ferruginea, punctato-striata. Pedes ferruginei ; tibiis anticis dentibus 5 obtusis nigris. 15. Bolboceras capitatus, Westw.; obscure castaneus subnitidus, capite et pronoto mi- nutissimfe punctatis : hoc utrinque excavatione maxima cornubus duobus compositis magnis separata, tibiis anticis obtuse 6-dentatis.— Long. corp. Hn. 10-|. (Tab. III. fig. 20, 21.) Hab. in Assam, India? orientalis. Muss. Melly et Saunders. Species magna et pronoto valde armato distincta. Caput nigricans obscurum vix punctatum, utrinque ad marginem internum oculorum carina tenui (quae ad clypeum extendit) instructum, lateribusque inter antennas et basin clypei elevatis ; inter antennas etiam carina parum curvata transversa exstat. Prothorax maximus supra postice valde elevatus; lateribus excavatione maxima profunda notatis qua? ad angulum anticum extendit, ubi dente infero armata. Pars media pronoti magis punctata, in cornua duo crassa et obtuse dentata divergentia, plus ininusve elevata et elongata extendit, spatio intermedio inter cornua etiam excavata est, parteque postica laevior. Elytra magis castanea, tenuis- sime punctato-striata. Femora castanea, fulvo-hirta. Tibia? et tarsi picei ; tibiae anticae extus obtuse 6-dentatae. Antennarum clava et setae fulvae. Variat mas cornubus intermediis pronoti brevioribus et antice parum oblique porrectis. (Mus. West- wood. India; D. Boys.) Foemina rufo-castanea, mandibulis apice nigris; dextra extus magis rotundata et ante apicem incisa. Clypeus margine antico recto parum elevato. Vertex inter oculos carina elevata transversa abbreviata. Prothorax antice valde retusus et fere laevis, in medio carina transversa paullo curvata, utrinque tuberculo elongato curvato carinaque curvata ad angulos anticos extensis ; cum impressione rotundata versus angulos posticos. Aliter mari similis. Mus. Westwood. India ; D. Boys. Tab. III. fig. 20, mas magnitudine vix auctus; 20a, caput et prothorax a latere visa; fig. 21, foemina paullo aucta; 21 a, caput et prothorax a latere visa. 16. Bolboceras in^qualis, Westw. ; rufo-castaneus, antennarum clava fulva, capite supra concavo carina transversa in parte postica, pronoto antick valde retuso supra quadridentato fossulaque media profunda, elytris striato-punctatis, tibiis anticis 6-dentatis. — Long. corp. lin. 6$. (Tab. IV. fig. 14.) Hab. in India orientali. Bom. J. B. Hearsey. In Mus. Westw. Caput nitidum, supra concavum, sub lente punctis minutissimis, carina verticem e clypeo separante elevata et valde angulata, carina etiam transversa inter partem posticam oculorum instructum ; lobi laterales ante oculos rotundati, margine antico reflexo. Antennarum clava et setae fulvae. Prothorax glaber, valde elevatus, parte antica valde excavata dentibusque 4 erectis armatus, duobus intermediis approximatis spatioque medio (pone dentes intermedios) excavato*; lateribus etiam impressione ovali versus angulos posticos. Elytra concolora, glabra, striato-punctata ; striis gracillimis. Tibiae anticae 6-dentatae. Tab. IV. fig. 14, mas magnitudine auctus ; 14 a, caput et prothorax a latere visa. 17. Bolboceras bicarinatus, "Westw. ; castaneo-fulvus, capite inter oculos et ad basin clypei carinis duabus transversis nigris, pronoto tuberculis duobus parvis parum ele- vatis ante medium, tibiis anticis 7-dentatis. — Long. corp. lin. 8|. (Tab. IV. fig. 15.) * The excavation of the front of the pronotum may perhaps be better described as having its hind margin 6-sinuated, with two elevated horns in the middle. KNOWN SPECIES OF BOLBOCERAS. 25 Hab. in India orientali. Mus. Melly. Castaneo-fulvus. Caput et pronotum disco lateribusque punctatis ; inter oculos carina elevata transversa alteraque ad basin clypei quae ad marginem externum oculorum extendit, nigris. Prothorax punctatus, parte postica laevi ; utrinque pone oculos impressione parum profunda instructus, tuberculisque duo- bus transverse positis vix elevatis ante medium pronoti lineaque tenui longitudinali fere ad basin scutelli extensa. Elytra ut in B. Lecontei punctato-striata : striis quinque mediis ad basin elytrorum magis impressis. Tibiae anticae 7-dentatae. Femora subtiis pallide fulva. Tab. IV. fig. 15, insectum magnitudine paullo auctum; 15 a, caput et prothorax a latere visa. 18. Bolboceras dorsalis, Westw. ; rufo-castaneus, capitis vertice et medio pronoti nigris punctatis, capite in medio verticis tuberculis tribus conjunctis instructo, pronoto punctatissimo fere regulari, tibiis anticis 8-dentatis. — Long. corp. lin. 7i- (Tab. IV. fig. 16, caput et prothorax.) Hab. in India orientali. Mus. W. W. Saunders. Forsitan fcemina speciei cujusdam haud rite determinatae. Caput punctatum, margine tenui elevato ad marginem internum oculorum extenso ; vertice in medio tuberculis tribus transverse positis et con- junctis. Pronotum irregulariter punctatum, medio nigrum, lateribus rufo-castaneis : dorso fere regulari, linea impressa vix distinguenda e margine antico versus medium extensa alterisque duabus obliquis anticis cum impressionibus duabus ordinariis versus angulos posticos fere inconspicuis. Elytra rufo-castanea, tenuissime punctato-striata. Tibiae anticae 8-dentatae. 19. Bolboceras nigriceps, "Westw. ; obscure castaneus punctatus, capite nigricanti carina arcuata ad basin clypei tuberculisque tribus verticalibus, pronoto linea longitudinali impressa et utrinque cum tuberculo parum elevato, tibiis anticis 7-dentatis. — Long, corp. lin. 7|. (Tab. IV. fig. 17, caput et prothorax supra visa ; 17 a, eadem a latere ; 17 b, tibia antica.) Affinis praecedenti et forsitan foemina speciei diversae. Caput linea tenui elevata marginatum, ad basin clyp'ei curvata, et ad marginem internum oculorum extensa; vertice tuberculis tribus conjunctis parum elevatis et transverse positis instructo. Pronotum linea pariim impressa centrali longitudinali et utrinque tuberculo parvo parum elevato instructo, disco minute punctato. Femora subtiis fulva. Tibiae anticae 7-dentatae. 20. Bolboceras transversalis, Westw. ; fulvo-castaneus, capite lato carina recta trans- versa elevata inter oculos, pronoto linea longitudinali antice dilatata impresso. — Long, corp. lin. 4£. (Tab. IV. fig. 18, caput et prothorax.) Hab. in India orientali. Mus. Melly. Obscure fulvo-castaneus. Caput latum irregulariter et valde punctatum, margine tenui elevato ad mar- ginem internum oculorum extenso, vertice carina recta transversa elevata instructo. Pronotum minus punctatum, linea media longitudinali impressa laevi antice dilatata notatum. Elytra striato- punctata ; antennarum clava pallide lutea. 21. Bolboceras Indicus, Hope, MS. ; fulvo-rufus, capite antice tuberculis duobus conicis erectis armato, pronoto laevissimo antice excavatione semicirculari parum profunda notato, calcari pedum anticorum elongato obtuso, tibiis anticis 9-dentatis. — Long, corp. lin. 4 (Tab. IV. fig. 19, caput et prothorax.) Hab. in India, orientali centrali. In Muss. Saunders et Hope. Nitidissimus et, nisi sub lente visus, laevis. Caput tamen magis evidenter punctatum, ante medium tuber- VOL. XXI. E 26 MR. WESTWOOD ON SOME NEW OR IMPERFECTLY culis duobus conicis elevatis armatum ; lineaque tenui elevata marginali ad basin clypei recta, et ad latera interna oculorum extensa. Pronotum antice impressione parum profunda, semicirculari, disco omnino regulari. Elytra punctato-striata. Tibia? anticae 9-dentatae. Hoc insectum pro foemina haberi possit,.attamen dentes duo verticales sexum masculinum forsitan indi- cant. Individuum alteram (masculinum ?) etiam possidet Bom. Saunders huic magnitudine, colore, forma et patria simillimum; differt vero capitis carina tenui transversa ad basin clypei breviori, tuberculis verticalibus nullis, carina autem transversa inter oculos; pronoto etiam antice pariim excavato tuberculisque duobus rotundatis vix elevatis armato. (An species diversa ?) 22. Bolboceras TRIANGULUM, Westw. ; rufo-fulvus nitidus parce punctatus, clypeo carina curvata (in medio angulata), verticeque tuberculis tribus, pronoto antice retuso : parte retusa e postica lunula semicirculari separata. — Long. corp. lin. 4^. (Tab. IV. fig. 20.) Hab. in India orientali, Mussooree, in stercore bovino. D. Bacon, in Mus. Laferte. Rufo-fulvus, punctis magnitudine variis impressus ; elytris sub lente punctis paucis minutissimis, serieque ordinaria striarum punctatarum ; scutello punctata. Antennas fulvae. Mandibular castaneo-nigrae. Clypeus margine antico elevato, in medio angulato, linea tenui elevata ad verticem ducta ; tuberculis duobus inter basin antennarum alteroque posteriori triangulum formantibus ; angulis lateralibus ante oculos obtusis. Pronotum antice retusum, medio marginis antici pariim angulato ; parte retusa fere circulari subconcava, et e postica lunula parva separata ; canali tenui media longitudinali e lunula versus marginem posticum extensa. Tibiae anticae 8-dentatae ; dentibus apice castaneo-nigris. Tab. IV. fig. 20, caput et prothorax supra visa; 20 a, eadem a latere. 23. Bolboceras lineatus, Melly, MSS. ; fulvus nitidus, capite nigro punctato inter oculos tuberculo apice subbifido armato, pronoto simplici macula discoidali nigra, elytris convexis sutura spatiisque intermediis longitudinaHbus elevatis nigris, tibiis anticis 8-dentatis.— Long. corp. lin. 3f . (Tab. IV. fig. 21.) Hab. in insula Ceylon. In Muss. Melly et Templeton. Species quoad colores insignis. Caput nigrum, punctatum ; vertice inter oculos tuberculo parvo conico apice subbifido instructo. Pronotum convexum, integrum, antice vix retusum, nitidum, punctis minutis distantibus, disco in medio plaga parva nigra. Scutellum nigrum. Elytra fulva, valde gibbosa, singulo sutura et spatiis tribus intermediis longitudinalibus convexis nitidis nigris, apicibus fulvis ; singulo spatio convexo utrinque serie punctorum marginato, spatiisque intermediis depressis serie longitudinali punctorum ; margine laterali elytrorum nigro, parum marginato, serieque puncto- rum intra marginem lateralem instructo. Corpus subtus cum femoribus obscure fulvis, pilis longis pallidioribus. Tibiae anticae extus 8-dentatae. Obs. Tbis and the four following species present a peculiar facies, owing to tbe longitu- dinal alternately raised spaces on the elytra, and the narrow curved club of the antennae ; but I have not thought it necessary to form them into a separate subgenus. 24. Bolboceras nigerrimus, Westw. ; niger nitidus, capite punctato, vertice cornu brevi erecto armato, prothorace antice retuso excavatione transversa ovali ; disco sparsim punctato, elytris striato-punctatis : spatiis intermediis convexis. — Long. corp. lin. 4. (Tab. IV. fig. 22.) Hab. in India orientali, Landour. B. Bacon, in Mus. Laferte. Caput latum punctatum, angulis ante oculos rotundatis; vertice inter oculos tuberculo conico glabro instructo. Oculi septo, nisi in spatio minuto postico, in duas partes divisi. Mandibular piceae ; partes reliquae oris castaneo-rufae. Antennae fulvo-rufae, clava oblonga curvata pallide fusca setosa. KNOWN SPECIES OF BOLBOCERAS. 27 Prothorax niger, nitidus, punctis perpaucis in discum irregulariter dispositis, antice retusus, parte retusa brevi transversa, subovali, et parum impressa. Elytra valde convexa, singulo striis 13 punc- torum ; spatio inter suturam et striam lam convexo nee non spatio latiori inter strias 3m et 4m et inter 6m et 7m ; punctis striae 7mae ad basin elytrorum extensis, 8va3 et 9nae sub humero evanescentibus, lOmae et llmae extiis ad humerum conjunctis, 12mae et 13mae intus marginem lateralem ad basin elytrorum extensis. Corpus subtus nigrum, setis griseo-fuscis vestitum; jugulum pallide luteum. Tibia? anticae extiis 8-dentatae. Tab. IV. fig. 22, insectum multd auctum; 22 a, caput et prothorax a latere visa; 22 b, antenna. 25. Bolboceras plagiattjs, Westw. ; niger nitidus, vertice punctato tuberculoque parvo conico postico, prothorace in medio longitudinaliter impresso sparsim punctato utrinque maculis duabus magnis fulvis rotundatis conjunctis, elytris basi late fulvis striato-punctatis : spatiis intermediis convexis. — Long. corp. lin. 3. (Tab. IV. fig. 23.) Hab. in India orientali, Landour. D. Bacon, in Mus. D. Laferte. Caput nigrum, latum, punctatum, angulis ante oculos rotundatis ; vertice inter partem posticam oculorum tuberculo parvo conico instructo. Antennae fulvo-castaneae, clav& ut in specie praecedenti. Prothorax niger, nitidissimus, sparsim punctatus, disco in medio longitudinaliter impresso, impressione punctata, ad marginem posticum vix extens&, utrinque maculis duabus magnis rotundatis fulvis conjunctis. Elytra valde convexa basi late fulva colore lateraliter magis extenso, striis 13 punctatis notato ; spatio inter suturam et striam lam polito convexo, stria 2nda punctorum vix ad basin extensa, 3tia ad basin, inter 3m et 4m spatio latiori convexo nitido ; 5a ad basin haud extensa, 6a ad basin producta spatio inter hanc et 4m eodem ac spatium inter 3m et 4m ; 7a ad basin, 8va ante humerum evanes- centi, 9na extus humerum at basin elytri non attingenti, lOma propius ad basin accedente, lima valde abbreviate, 12ma ad angulum basalem extensa, versus basin subcurvata, 13ma intramarginali. Tibiae anticae 9-denticulatae. Tab. IV. fig. 23, insectum multo auctum ; 23 a, caput et prothorax a latere visa. 26. Bolboceras posticalis, Westw. ; niger nitidus, capite tuberculo inter oculos, pro- thorace integro fulvo gutta parva discoidali nigra, nitido sparsim punctato ; elytris fulvis plaga maxima postica communi et sutura nigris striato-punctatis : spatiis in- termediis convexis. — Long. corp. lin. 3. (Tab. IV. fig. 24.) Hab. in India orientali. D. Boys, in Mus. Westwood. Caput latum, nigrum, nitidum, punctatum ; clypeo antice rotundato, angulisque ante oculos rotundatis, vertice inter oculos tuberculo conico nigro nitido instructo. Mandibulae et labrum piceae. Antennas luteas. Prothorax nitidus, sparsim (praesertim ad latera) punctatus, antice vix retusus, dorso haud canaliculars, fulvus, gutta parva dorsali nigra. Scutellum nigrum. Elytra convexa, fulva, suturd late nigricanti plagaque maxima postica communi piceo-nigra, margineque laterali a medio ad apicem piceo, spatiis inter suturam et striam lm, 2m et 3m, 4m et 5m latioribus et convexis striis 1, 2, 3, 4, 5 ad basin elytri extensis, striis 24 cum 5a, et 3tia cum 4ta postice conjunctis, stria 6ta in medio tantum apparente, stria 7ma pone humerum evanescente, 8va et 9na antice et postice conjunctis serie brevi punctorum (circiter 6) in spatio intermedio inclusa, lOma valde abbreviate, lima pone humerum evanescenti, versus basin pariim curvata intramarginali. Tibiae anticae extiis 7-denticulatae. Corpus subtus cum femoribus castaneum ; tibiis obscurioribus. Tab. IV. fig. 24, insectum multo auctum ; 24 a, caput et prothorax a latere visa. 27. Bolboceras ljettjs, "Westw. ; niger nitidus, capite cornu brevi inter antennas armato, protborace rufo-fulvo antice retuso postice canali tenui impresso, elytris fulvis, scutelli e 2 28 MR. WESTWOOD ON SOME NEW OR IMPERFECTLY lateribus sutura margine tenui externo plagaque laterali nigris. — Long. corp. lin. 5. (Tab. IV. fig. 25.) Hab. in Ins. Ceylon. Capt. Champion. Caput nigrum, irregulariter rugoso-punctatum ; clypeo rotundato, medio marginis antici et lateribus parum elevatis ; vertice tuberculo conico inter basin antennarum armato. Antennae castanea?, clava oblonga curvata. Labrum et mandibulas nigrae. Prothorax nitidus, vix punctatus, fulvus, lunula minima utrinque supra pedes anticos nigra, antice retusus, parte retusa tuberculis 4 e parte postica separata, tuberculis 2 intermediis transversim confluentibus, spatio inter haec et tubercula lateralia undato ; disco linea tenuissima media longitudinali impresso. Scutellum nigrum, laeve, medio fulvum. Elytra fulvo-rufa, margine omni tenui suturaque anguste nigris, plagaque oblonga ejusdem coloris versus marginem lateralem : singulo striis 13 punctorum, spatiis inter strias fere aequalibus et convexis, stria 2da, 5ta, 8va et lima antice et postice abbreviatis. Pedes nigri, tibiis anticis extiis 9-denticulatis. Tab. IV. fig. 25, insectum multo auctum ; 25 a, caput et prothorax a latere visa. Subgenus Eucanthtjs, Westw. Corpus minus depressum quam in praecedentibus ; pronoto antice haud retuso. Tibia anticae dentibus duobus apicalibus magnis aliisque minutis externis versus basin arcnatae. Elytra punctato-striata ; singulo striis 5 tantum inter humeros et sutu- ram, punctis profundis. 28. Bolbocebas (Eucanthtjs) Melibosus, Eabr. Ent. Syst. i. p. 20 ; rufo- vel piceo-niger, clypeo carina transversa plus minusve elevata (quasi e tuberculis duobus conjunctis formata) verticeque cornu brevissimo truncato (parum emarginato) instructis, pro- noto subdepresso inaequali, canali punctata longitudinali in medio (marginem anticum haud attingente) impressionibusque lateralibus curvatis punctatis tuberculoque utrin- que instructis, elytris glaberrimis punctato-striatis, mandibula dextra extiis ante api- cem profunde incisa ; sinistra integra. — Long. corp. lin. 4 — f>\. (Tab. IV. fig. 26.) Bolboceras concinnus, Dejean, Cat. Coleopt. Hab. in America boreali. In Mus. D. Hope. Tab. IV. fig. 26, insectum multo auctum ; 26 a, caput et prothorax a latere visa ; 26 b, mandibular. Obs. The figure and description are made from the typical specimen formerly in Lee's Cabinet, described by Eabricius, now in the Cabinet of the Rev. E. W. Hope. Count De Laporte and Dr. Klug appear to have described this species under the name of B. Lazarus. 29. Bolbocebas Lazarus, Eabr. Syst. Ent. p. 11 ; Ent. Syst. i. p. 14 ; Oliv. Ent. i. Gen. 3. pi. 16. f. 146. This species was originally described by Eabricius as a native of North America, from the Collection of Mr. Yeats. His description is too concise of itself to allow of identifica- tion. " Sc. scutellatus, thorace trituberculato, capitis cornu brevi emarginato. Statura parva Scar, mobilicomis, capitis clypeus emarginatus utrinque sinuatus. Thorax fuscus canaliculars tuberculis tribus, medio transverso. Elytra striata rufa." The figure of the species given by Olivier is also equally insufficient ; it however shows the elytra to have but few striae. His description is, however, more precise, the species being stated to be in the Collection of Mr. Lee. He describes the clypeus as terminated by two " dentelures tres- KNOWN SPECIES OF BOLBOCERAS. 29 petites ; " and on the crown is a " corne courte, large, obtuse ou echancree," and the prothorax with four " petites elevations obtuses a la partie anterieure et une ligne longi- tudinale enfonc6e a la partie superieure." Erom these characters it appears to me that the species is very closely allied to, if not identical with, Scar. Melibceus, Eabr. ; indeed, since the above remarks were written, M. Chevrolat of Paris has sent me a specimen labelled "Lazarus, Eabr. c?," which differs only from the typical specimens of Scar. Meli- bceus, Eabr., in being rather larger and apparently rather broader. I can, however, detect no specific distinctions between them. DESCRIPTION OP THE PIGURES. Tab. III. Fig. 15. Bolboceras Cyclops, Fabr. Fig. 16. Bolboceras furcicollis, De Lap., mas. Fig. 17. Bolboceras furcicollis, var. Fig. 18. Bolboceras ferrugineus, De Lap. Fig. 19. Bolboceras Calanus, Hope, MS. Fig. 20. Bolboceras capitatus, Westw., mas. Fig. 21. Bolboceras capitatus, Westw., foem. Tab. IV. Fig. 1. Details of Odontceus mobilicornis. Fig. 2. Details of Bolboceras jEneas. Fig. 3. Bolboceras grandis, Hope, MS. Fig. 4. Bolboceras subglobosus, Westw. Fig. 5. Bolboceras carinicollis, De Lap. Fig. 6. Bolboceras Calanus, Hope, MS., foem. ? Fig. 7. Bolboceras Calanus, Hope, foem. var. ? Fig. 8. Bolboceras Icevicollis, Westw. Fig. 9. Bolboceras punctatissimus, Westw. Fig. 10. Bolboceras lateralis, Westw. Fig. 1 1 . Bolboceras nigricans, Westw. Fig. 12. Bolboceras politus, Westw. Fig. 13. Bolboceras Coryphaus, Fabr. Fig. 14. Bolboceras inaqualis, Westw. Fig. 15. Bolboceras bicarinatus, Westw. Fig. 16. Bolboceras dorsalis, Westw. Fig. 17. Bolboceras nigriceps, Westw. Fig. 18. Bolboceras transversalis, Westw. Fig. 19. Bolboceras Indicus, Hope, MS. 30 MR. WESTWOOD ON SOME NEW SPECIES OF BOLBOCERAS. Fig. 20. Bolboceras triangulum, Westw. Fig. 21. Bolboceras lineatus, Melly, MS. Fig. 22. Bolboceras nigerrimus, Westw. Fig. 23. Bolboceras plagiatus, Westw. Fig. 24. Bolboceras posticalis, Westw. Fig. 25. Bolboceras Icetus, Westw. Fig. 26. Bolboceras (Eucanthus) Melibceus, Fabr. Trims. Linn.Soc, V.2I. PLS.Jj 18. Tmm.Lmn Jon. Vol. Zf. PlU . hug. 30: [ 31 ] V. Experiments and Observations on the Poison of Animals of the Order Araneidea. By John Blackwall, Esq., F.L.S. 8fc. Read December 19, 1848. M.UCH has been written about the deleterious property of the transparent colourless fluid emitted from the minute orifice situated near the extremity of the fangs of spiders on the side next to the mouth, when those instruments are employed to inflict a wound. The numerous accounts which have been published by various authors of the singular effects induced in the human species by the bite of the Tarantula {Lycosa tarantula apu- liw, Walck.), and of the still more extraordinary mode of cure, together with the serious and sometimes fatal consequences which have been attributed to the bite of the Malmig- natte {Latrodectus malmignatus, Walck.), must be regarded as amusing fictions in the natural history of the Araneidea ; and if the opinion, prevalent among arachnologists of the present day, that insects pierced by the fangs of spiders die almost instantaneously, should be found on examination to be at variance with well-ascertained facts, it must in like manner be deemed fanciful. For the purpose of testing the validity of this opinion, which I had reason to doubt, and in order to determine with a nearer approximation to accuracy than had previously been done, some of the effects produced under divers circumstances by the poison of spiders, more especially the degree of influence it exercises in destroying the vital functions of ani- mals, in the summer of 1846 I commenced an experimental investigation of the subject, the particulars of which are comprised in the following pages. To avoid confusion, the experiments have been arranged under four distinct heads, corresponding to the objects upon which they were made; namely, the human species, spiders, insects, and inanimate substances. It may be proper to premise that all the animals were adult individuals in vigorous health, and that the temperature of the atmo- sphere, in every instance recorded, was ascertained by means of a thermometer graduated according to Fahrenheit's scale, and exposed to the open air in a shady situation having a northern aspect. 1. Experiments on the Human Species. On the 19th of July 1846, a female Epeira diadema was induced to bite me on the inner side of the left hand, near the base of the forefinger ; it continued to force its fangs deeper into the flesh during a period of many seconds, and at last quitted its hold voluntarily, when a little blood issued from the wounds it had inflicted. Though the spider was in a state of great excitement from previous irritation, yet I did not experience more inconve- nience from its bite than from a puncture made near it at the same time with a fine needle ; indeed, allowing for a considerable degree of compression in the former case, the effects of both injuries appeared to be very similar. The thermometer, while the experi- 32 MR. J. BLACKWALL ON THE POISON OF ment was in progress, stood at 76° ; the air throughout the day was sultry, and an exten- sive thunder-storm occurred in the evening. A highly exasperated female Epeira diadema was allowed to seize me on the inner side of the left fore-arm, near the carpus, on the 30th of July 1846. It continued for more than a minute to bury its fangs deeper in the flesh, and on quitting its hold voluntarily a little blood flowed from the wounded part, near which a puncture was made simultaneously with a fine needle. The air was sultry, the temperature at the time being 75°, and distant thunder was heard. No difference was perceptible between the results of this and the preceding experiment. At llh 30m a.m. on the 22nd of August 1846, the thermometer at the time indicating a temperature of 65°, a powerful and much-irritated female Epeira quadrata bit me on the inner side of the left fore-arm, near the carpus. It retained its hold for the space of five minutes, occasionally forcing its fangs deeper into the flesh, and on quitting it voluntarily blood issued freely from the punctures. Due allowance being made for the strong degree of compression employed by this robust spider, the effects of its bite did not differ mate- rially from those of a wound made near it at the same time with a needle of an average size, the intensity and duration of the pain being very similar in both instances. On several occasions, in the month of August 1846, spiders of various species were in- duced, under the influence of excited feelings, to seize a piece of clean window-glass with their fangs, when the transparent fluid which escaped from the small aperture near their extremity was deposited upon it. The application of this fluid to the tongue did not pro- duce any sensible effect on that organ ; but the result was very different when the poison emitted under like circumstances from the sting of the common Wasp, Vespa vulgaris ; the Hive-bee, Apis mellifica; or the Humble-bee, JBombus terrestris, was so applied, a powerfully acrid pungent taste being the immediate consequence. A contrast equally remarkable was evinced when these fluids were transmitted into a recent wound ; that secreted by the insects caused inflammation accompanied by acute pain ; effects, which if produced at all by that secreted by the spiders, were scarcely appreciable. The legitimate conclusion deducible from the experiments seems to be, that there is nothing to apprehend from the bite of the most powerful British spiders, even when in- flicted at a moment of extreme irritation and in hot sultry weather, the pain occasioned by it being little, if any, more than is due to the laceration and compression the injured part has sustained. The manner in which spiders are affected when pierced by the fangs of animals of their own order demands attention in the next place. 2. Experiments on Spiders. On the 22nd of July 1846, a male Tegenaria civilis, in a violent struggle with a female of the same species, deeply inserted his fangs near the middle of the dorsal region of her abdomen, and retained his hold for several seconds ; from the punctures thus made a brown fluid issued copiously, and in a few minutes coagulated. The injured spider ap- peared to suffer very little from the severe wounds it had received, as it speedily constructed a small web in the phial in which it was confined, and continued for more than a year to ANIMALS OF THE ORDER* ARANEIDEA. 33 feed freely on the flies introduced to it. The thermometer, at the time the experiment was made, indicated a temperature of 74°. In a hostile encounter between two female spiders of the species Segestria senoculata, on the 29th of July 1846, one of them was pierced by the fangs of her opponent on the under side of the abdomen, near the spinners. A transparent colourless fluid oozed from the wounds for many minutes, and ultimately coagulated ; but the spider seemed to expe- rience little inconvenience from the injury, being lively in its motions and preying eagerly upon the insects with which it was supplied. The temperature at the time was 76°, and the atmosphere was highly electrical. A female Ciniflo atrox was bitten by an exasperated female Lycosa agretyca near the middle of the cephalo-thorax, on the 29th of July 1846, the temperature by the thermo- meter being 76°. The Lycosa retained its hold for many seconds, and on quitting it volun- tarily a transparent colourless fluid flowed from the punctures and coagulated. The wounded spider, apparently regardless of the injury it had received, spun a web with which it long continued to ensnare its victims. On the same day, the mercury in the thermometer denoting a temperature of 75°, a female Epeira diadema, in a violent struggle with a female Ccelotes saxatilis, pierced her abdomen in the medial line of the dorsal region, about a third of its length from the spinners. The wounded spider did not exhibit any marked symptoms of distress and speedily resumed its accustomed habits. In an attack made by a female Ciniflo ferox upon a female Lycosa agretyca, on the 30th of July 1846, the temperature being 74°, the latter was wounded by the fangs of its assailant at the base of the coxa of the left posterior leg, and a transparent fluid, which soon coagulated, issued from the injured part. Nothing occurred afterwards to indicate that the Lycosa had suffered from the encounter. Two female spiders of the species Epeira diadema engaged in a severe contest on the 30th of July 1846, the thermometer standing at 73°, when one of them was seized by the fangs of her antagonist near the middle of the right side of the abdomen. A brown fluid flowed from the punctures and soon coagulated, but the spider appeared to be only slightly and very briefly affected by the injury. A female Epeira diadema, in a highly excited state, bit itself near the middle of the femur of the left anterior leg, on the 5th of September 1846. The temperature at the time was 69°, and a transparent fluid flowed copiously from the wounded part ; coagula- tion, however, quickly ensued, after which the spider manifested no unfavourable symptom whatever. Extensive mechanical injuries commonly prove fatal to spiders, whether received in conflicts with their congeners or otherwise, the extinction of life being more or less rapid in proportion to the vitality of the part lacerated ; but no evidence supplied by the fore- going experiments indicates that the fluid emitted from the orifice in the fangs of the Araneidea possesses a property destructive to the existence of animals of that order when transmitted into a recent wound ; in short, it does not appear to exercise any greater de- gree of influence upon them than it does upon the human species. I now proceed to show how insects are affected when pierced by the fangs of spiders. VOL. xxi. p 34 MR. J. BLACKWALL ON THE POISON OF 3. Experiments on Insects. 1846. August 7th. A female Epeira diadema inflicted a severe wound on the mesono- tum of a common Wasp, near the base of the right anterior wing, at llh a.m., the tem- perature at the time being 74°. The wasp, though disabled from flying, survived the injury for the space of thirteen hours. August 7th. At lh 30m p.m., the temperature being 72°, a female Epeira diadema pierced a Humble-bee, Bombus terrestris, with its fangs near the posterior part of the mesosternum. The wound deprived the humble-bee of the power of flight, but did not terminate fatally till llh p.m. on the 10th. August 8th. Temperature 68°. A female Segestria senoculata seized a Flesh-fly, Musca vomitoria, near the middle of the tibia of the right posterior leg, and did not quit its hold for several seconds. A transparent colourless fluid issued from the wounds made by the fangs of the spider, but the fly retained the use of its wings, and did not expire till even- ing on the 10th. August 13th. Temperature 64°. At 5h 15m p.m. a female Segestria senoculata inserted its fangs about the middle of the abdomen of a large Green Grasshopper, Acrida viridis- sima, and retained its hold, which it quitted voluntarily, for many seconds. A greenish- yellow fluid flowed copiously from the punctures, yet the insect continued to be lively in its movements, leaping with agility up and down the glass vessel in which it was confined, and ceased not to exist till midnight on the 15th. August 14th. Temperature 66°. A female Epeira diadema pierced a large Green Grass- hopper at 4h 43m p.m., burying one fang at the base of the antenna on the right side, and the other in the right eye. The spider retained its hold for several seconds, and on quit- ting it a greenish-yellow fluid issued from the former wound and a dark brown fluid from the latter. Notwithstanding the serious injuries the grasshopper had received, no dimi- nution of its activity was apparent, and it did not expire till afternoon on the 16th. August 29th. Temperature 69°. At lb 22m p.m. a Hive-bee had its abdomen extensively lacerated near the middle of the left side by a female Epeira quadrata. A large quantity of transparent fluid flowed from the wound, but death did not ensue till 3h 18m p.m. September 3rd. Temperature 68°. A common Crane-fly, Tipula oleracea, punctured by the fangs of a female Segestria senoculata, at 4h 35m p.m., about a quarter of an inch from the posterior extremity of its abdomen, survived till 8h 7m p.m. September 7th. Temperature 69°. At lb 45m p.m. a Flesh-fly was bitten by a female Epeira diadema on the under side of the abdomen, near its posterior extremity, and a brownish fluid continued to ooze from the wounds till 5h 18m p.m. on the 8th, when the fly expired. September 7th. Temperature 68°. A common Crane-fly was seized near the posterior extremity of the abdomen, at 4h 54m p.m., by a female Epeira quadrata. A brownish fluid issued from the punctures made by the fangs of the spider, and the existence of the insect terminated at 6h 9m p.m. on the 8th. September 10th. Temperature 64°. Pierced a Flesh-fly through the middle of the left side of the abdomen with a fine needle, at 12h 14m p.m.; a transparent fluid issued from the wound, which the fly survived till 4h 20m p.m. on the 11th. ANIMALS OF THE ORDER ARANEIDEA. 35 September 10th. Temperature 65°. At lh 13m p.m. a common Crane-fly was pierced through the left side of the abdomen, near the middle, with a fine needle ; the insect ex- pired on the same day, at 5h 29m p.m. September 10th. Temperature 65°. The point of a strong needle was deeply inserted into the right side of the abdomen of a large Green Grasshopper, near its anterior extre- mity, at lh 20m p.m. Though the injury was severe, the life of the insect did not become extinct till 7h 41m p.m. on the 12th. September 10th. Temperature 66°. The right side of the abdomen of a common "Wasp was penetrated near the middle with the point of a fine needle, at 2h 5m p.m.; a transpa- rent fluid oozed from the puncture, and the life of the wasp terminated at 10h 20m p.m. September 18th. Temperature 60°. A male Tegenaria civilis deeply inserted its fangs near the middle of the mesonotum of a House-fly, Musca domestica, at 10h 10m a.m., and retained its hold for more than an hour and a half. The victim continued to manifest unequivocal signs of life till 10h 44m a.m., and appeared to sink gradually from mere ex- haustion. All the time it was in the grasp of its enemy, with the exception of short intervals, it was perceived to have a slight nodding motion, which was discovered to be caused by the act of deglutition on the part of the spider, a synchronous motion being always observed in the fluid suddenly and copiously propelled into the spider's mouth, and then by degrees reduced in volume in exact proportion to the continuance of the nutation. Whenever the fluid was withdrawn from the mouth a fresh supply was speedily introduced, and after mingling with that extracted from the body of the fly, was conveyed into the stomach of the spider by a repetition of the act of swallowing, thus occasioning the nodding motion with intervals of repose apparent in its prey. September 18th. Temperature 61°. At 10h 20m a.m. a female Tegenaria civilis seized a House-fly with its fangs near the middle of the mesonotum, and did not relax its hold for more than an hour. The struggles of the fly became gradually more feeble, till they ceased altogether at 10h 47m a.m. The nodding motion of the victim, and all the attendant circumstances, were as conspicuous in this instance as in the preceding one. September 18th. Temperature 64°. A female Segestria senoculata penetrated with its fangs the right side of the mesonotum of a House-fly at lh p.m., but did not deprive it of life till lh 29m p.m. The spider kept its hold about an hour ; and a nodding motion of the fly, regularly accompanied by the act of deglutition in its destroyer, with brief and simul- taneous pauses in both, was observed during the entire period. 1847. July 15th. Temperature 71°. At 5h 3m p.m. a brilliant Green Fly, Musca cmsar, was pierced by the fangs of a female Agelena labyrmthica near the posterior extremity of the abdomen, on the under side. After retaining its hold about ten minutes the spider transferred it to the middle of the mesosternum, perforating the part and rapidly extract- ing the fluids of its prey, whose existence terminated at 5h 26m p.m. A nutation of the fly was constantly observed to accompany the action of swallowing in its adversary. July 19th. Temperature 70°. A female Agelena labyrinthica struck its fangs into the left side of the mesonotum of a Mesh-fly, at 12h 23m p.m., and eagerly extracted its fluids, the act of deglutition being attended with the usual nodding motion of the victim. After ineffectual efforts to escape the insect became exhausted, and finally expired at 12h 43m p.m. f2 36 MR. J. BLACKWALL ON THE POISON OF These experiments do not present any facts which appear to sanction the opinion that insects are deprived of life with much greater celerity when pierced by the fangs of spiders than when lacerated mechanically to an equal extent by other means, regard being had in both cases to the vitality of the part injured, as the speed with which existence terminates mainly depends upon that circumstance. It is true that the catastrophe is greatly acce- lerated if spiders maintain a protracted hold of their victims, but this result is obviously attributable to the extraction of their fluids, which are transferred by oft-repeated acts of deglutition into the stomachs of their adversaries. From the entire mass of evidence supplied by the experiments taken in the aggregate, it may be fairly inferred that whatever properties characterize the fluid emitted from the orifice in the fangs of the Araneidea, it does not possess that degree of virulence which is commonly ascribed to it, neither is it so destructive to animal life when transmitted into a recent wound as it is generally supposed to be. "Were I disposed to speculate upon the manner in which it affects insects on being introduced by the fangs into their vascular system, I might conjecture that it has a tendency to paralyse their organs of voluntary motion, and to induce a determination of their fluids to the part injured ; but I refrain from dwelling upon a suggestion, however plausible it may appear to be, which in the present state of our knowledge of the subject can only be regarded as hypothetical. 4. Experiments on Inanimate Substances. In the month of September 1846, litmus paper presented to spiders belonging to several genera when in a state of extreme irritation, having their fangs extended, and the trans- parent fluid which issues from the fissure near their extremity conspicuously accumulated there, on being seized invariably became red as far as the fluid spread round the punctures made in it, a result clearly proving that this animal secretion, though tasteless, is an acid. Care, however, must be taken, in conducting the experiment, not to suffer any fluid from the mouth to blend with that which proceeds from the fangs, either before or after it has been transferred to the litmus paper, the former, rendering the blue colour of the test more intense, and restoring it after it has been converted to red by the action of acetous acid, being decidedly an alkali ; consequently, if both combined in due proportions, they would neutralize each other ; but as there is usually a much more copious supply of the alkaline than of the acid fluid, its agency would predominate, and scarcely a trace of red would be discerned on the litmus paper. Submitted to the same chemical tests, the fluid contained in the stomachs of spiders and that which flows from wounds inflicted on their bodies and limbs were found to be alkaline. Now if the frequency and suddenness with which large quantities of fluid are propelled into the mouths of spiders when occupied in extracting nutriment from their prey be borne in mind, the conclusion that they must be ejected from the stomach through the narrow oesophagus and pharynx seems to be inevitable*, as there is not any other * The statement of Savigny, that some spiders have three pharyngeal apertures, does not appear to he applicable to several of our larger indigenous species, as I have not been able to detect more than one such aperture in Cinifio ferox, Ccelotes saxatilis, Tegenaria civilis, Agelena lahyrinthica and Ep'eira quadrata, on the most careful inspection. ANIMALS OF THE ORDER ARANEIDEA. 37 source known whence they could be derived ; and it has been ascertained that if they are applied to litmus paper, which has or has not been reddened by acetous acid, they always produce upon it effects precisely similar to those caused by the gastric fluid, or rather by the fluid contents of the stomach, when subjected to such tests. I may remark that the yellow colour of turmeric paper is rendered brown by the application of the fluids from the mouth and stomach, and that it is restored again by the agency of the fluid secreted by the poison-glands, changes which afford another proof, in addition to those already advanced, of the respective alkaline and acid properties of these animal products. The instruments employed by the Araneidea to seize and destroy their prey are im- properly denominated mandibles ; I say improperly, because they actually do not consti- tute any part of the oral apparatus, as Mr. W. S. MacLeay has plainly asserted * ; indeed, many eminent zootomists, judging from their position and from the origin of the nerves distributed to them, entertain the highly probable opinion that they are the analogues of the. antennae of hexapod insects, and in accordance with this view of the subject M. La- treille termed them chelicera ; but so widely do they differ from antennae in structure and function, that the propriety of bestowing upon them a distinct appellation which does not imply anything hypothetical will scarcely be questioned : I propose, therefore, to name them falces. Much of the misapprehension that exists among arachnologists relative to the falces has been occasioned, in all probability, either by the prevailing belief that spiders are destitute of a labrum, or by mistaken notions as to its precise situation. That they pos- sess the organ in a low state of development is undeniable, as I have distinctly observed it in species belonging to the genera Lycosa, Dolomedes, Salticus, Thomisus, Olios, Dras- sus, Clubiona, Ciniflo, Agelena, Tegenaria, Ccelotes, Theridion, IAnyphia, Upeira, Dysdera and Segestria f. It is attached by its base to the superior surface of the palate, but the extremity, which is free and usually round or somewhat pointed, can be slightly elevated, depressed, extended, retracted and moved laterally at will. To apply the term mandibles to organs originating above the labrum, and therefore not situated within the mouth, must evidently be erroneous; and I venture to anticipate, upon anatomical considera- tions, that future investigations will lead to the conclusion that the mandibles of the Araneidea are confluent with the palate. * Annals and Magazine of Natural History, vol. ii. p. 2, note *. f Professor Owen has detected a rudimental labrum in spiders of the genus Mygale. See his ' Lectures on Com- parative Anatomy,' Lecture XIX. Arachnida, p. 257. [ 39 ] VI. On the (Economy of a new Species of Saw-fly. By John Curtis, Esq., F.L.S. fyc. Read January 15, 1850. XHE general attention which is now paid to Natural History almost daily brings to light some hidden treasure to interest the public and satisfy the inquiring mind. The subject of this communication appears to be one of these novelties, for a knowledge of which I am indebted to a friend who has lately been admitted a Fellow of the Linnean Society. The insect alluded to belongs to the family Tenthredmidce, a group of Hymenoptera so different in oeconomy from the rest of that Order, that some entomologists have been inclined to separate it from the aculeate families. In general habits the Saw-flies resemble the Lepidoptera in their second or larva-state, usually feeding on the leaves of plants ; but there are many instances of their living on the pith in the stems of shrubs *, in fruit f, and evidence is not wanting to lead to an opinion that some are parasitical J, whilst others form galls §. It is not my intention now to enter farther upon these curious anomalies, but to give the ceconomy and descriptions of the species before us, which I propose naming, in honour of its captor, Viscount Goderich, Selandria Robinsoni. On the 19th of June, 1848, Lord Bipon's gardener at Putney, Mr. Joseph Jerwood, sent me, by the request of Lord Goderich, forty or fifty caterpillars the size of those figured, which for two years had devoured the leaves of the Solomon's Seal ; eating enormous holes in them, and leaving only portions of the fibres, as exhibited in the drawing (fig. 1) . During the present year Lord Goderich forwarded to me the following memoranda : — " Three years ago (1846), about the month of July, I observed that the only plant in our garden of Solomon's Seal (Convallaria multiflora, L.) was completely covered and almost entirely devoured by larvae, which I easily perceived must belong to the family of Tenthredinidce. They had at that time almost consumed the entire membrane of the leaves, and many bf them were even feeding on the stalks. In a short time after, they had eaten the plant nearly to the ground, leaving only the stronger branches. They did not appear to touch any of the surrounding flowers or foliage, but upon the Solomon's Seal they were extremely numerous, amounting I should think on one small plant to full one hundred. " The next year they re-appeared in the same numbers, and then, being much struck by * Dr. Maclean has discovered a larva in the succulent shoots of rose-trees, which may possibly be the offspring of Emphytus varipes, a species I have reared from the stems of dog-roses. t I have found the larvae of Selandria testudinea 1 feeding in apples, and of S. Morio in plums. X Bielocerus Ellisii, Linn. Trans, vol. xix. p. 249. § Nematus internes causes the rosy galls on willows. 40 MR. CURTIS ON A NEW SPECIES OF SAW-FLY. the circumstance, I sent you some specimens, which I helieve were dead before you got them, owing to your absence from home. Last year they again appeared, and I then sent you those from which you have so fortunately been able to obtain the perfect fly. " I have not, as you know, been much at this place of late years, and therefore it is possible they may have existed here before 1846; but I am sure when I was more at Putney, from 1840 to the end of 1843, there were none of them to be found, although the plant was then in the same place as at present. They have never killed the plant, although they have often eaten up all its leaves and tender fibres. It is now the 8th of June, and none have as yet shown themselves this spring." By a subsequent letter, however, I find that on the 14th Lord Goderich noticed them, but in smaller numbers than in previous years. The caterpillar has 22 legs, viz. 6 pectoral, 14 abdominal, and 2 small anal feet : it is of a pale greyish green, shagreened, with very narrow transverse folds, and there is a slight tint of ochre about the fourth segment and towards the tail, with an indistinct greyish fine down the back : the head and six horny pectoral legs are deep black and shining : there is a double row of minute black dots down the back, formed of short spiny tubercles, with a row of similar dots down each side, as well as along the spiracles, which are black, and the folds of the thighs are freckled with minuter spines (2, 2) : the trunk or fore-part looks dilated when viewed from above ; these larvae were nearly f of an inch long on the 28th of June, when many of them had cast their last skins, which were left sticking to the leaves (fig. 3), and they disappeared in succession, burying themselves from 2 to 4 inches deep in the earth, where they formed small oval cocoons like a coating of glue, but often perforated in places (fig. 4). In the present year I had the satisfaction of breeding a male fly on the 30th of April ; on the 3rd of May another hatched, and also two females, and these were succeeded by several more of the latter sex which emerged from their tombs. They were as black as ink, and appear to be allied to Selandria fuliginosa of Schrank ; but the male antenna? approach those of Cladim, and altogether these Saw-flies are different from any I have seen. The entire body is shining black ; the male being smaller than the female (fig. 11) : the head is transverse, with two lateral eyes, and three ocelli on the crown, forming a slightly depressed triangle (fig. 5) : the mouth (fig. 6) is composed of a semicircular, ciliated la- brum (a), of two bifid mandibles (b, b), of two elongated maxillae (c, c), towards the extre- mities of which are attached long, slender, pubescent palpi, composed of six joints, the basal one short, the remainder tolerably equal in length (figs, d, d) : the mentum is small, producing a nearly orbicular, tripartite, membranous labium (fig. f) ; from the superior angles of the chin arise the short labial palpi, which are stout, pubescent and 4-jointed, the third and fourth joints the stoutest, the latter slightly notched at the apex (figs, g, g). Antennae 9-jointed ; those of the male (fig. 7) are nearly as long as the body, filiform and densely ciliated internally ; the basal joint is short and ovate ; second subglobose ; third elongated, clavate, the following rather longer; the apical joint slender, incurved and pointed : in the female they are nearly as long, but more slender, and not ciliated, but pilose : the abdomen is elongate-ovate and the apex bilobed in the male ; stouter and conical in the female, the testaceous ovipositor being received into a groove beneath : the ample MR. CURTIS ON A NEW SPECIES OF SAW-FLY. 41 wings are entirely black, with the costa and stigma thickened and darker, as well as the nervures, the surface being iridescent ; the superior (fig. 8) have two marginal and four submarginal cells ; the first minute, the second twice as large, the other two very large, the third receiving the transverse nervures which divide the marginal and discoidal cells ; the inferior have only one discoidal cell (fig. 8*) : the legs are moderately stout and pubescent ; the tibise are spurred at the apex, the spur of the anterior pair notched at the apex ; tarsi 5-jointed, the first four lobed beneath ; the last joint terminated by two bifid testaceous claws and simple pulvilli (fig. 9). Although the elongated antennae of this Selandria resemble those of Nematus, and still more those of Cladius, this species is not only distinguished from those genera by the divided marginal cell, but the heavy habit of the females especially shows at once the groups to which it is naturally allied, and these affinities are supported by its trophi, which are intermediate between Atlialia\ and Tenthredo\. I may observe that the number of discoidal cells in the inferior wings varies in the species of Selandria, a character hitherto unnoticed, but which may supply admirable distinctions for reducing the genus into sec- tions. 1st, Those with two discoidal cells, the marginal cell receiving one transverse nervure, of which 8. serva, Fab., is an example (fig. 13). 2ndly, S. stramineipes, Klug, in which both transverse nervures are united with the marginal one (fig. 14). 3rdly, Those with one discoidal cell, as shown in S. Robinsoni (fig. 8*) ; and 4thly, Those having no discoidal cell, as in S.fuliginosa, Schr. (fig. 15). The variations in the position of the nervures and the magnitude of the cells will also be found very useful in identifying the species ; and although occasionally the nervures are not symmetrical, and occasionally the recurrent ones are wanting, such exceptions will not invalidate the divisions I have traced, but will, I trust, lead to a more careful investigation of this fine and interesting family. EXPLANATION OE THE PLATE. Tab. V. [Obs. Those figures with a * attached are magnified.] Fig. 1 . A portion of the stem of Convallaria multiflora, as eaten by the larvae of Selandria Robinsoni. Fig. 2, 2. The larvae feeding in two different skins. Fig. 3. One of the skins cast off" and sticking to a leaf. Fig. 4. The cocoon, with the end opened by the fly when it hatched. Fig. 5*. Head of the male viewed above. Fig. 6*. The trophi or mouth. Fig. a*. The labrum or upper lip. Fig. b, b*. The two mandibles or jaws. Fig. c, c*. The two maxilla. t Curtis's Brit. Ent. fol. & pi. 617. X MM. fol. & pi. 692. VOL. XXI. G 42 MR. CURTIS ON A NEW SPECIES OF SAW-FLY. Fig. d, d*. The two palpi or feelers. Fig.,/*. The labium or under lip arising from the mentum or chin. Fig. g, g*. The two palpi attached to the mentum. Fig. 7*. Antenna, or horns of the male. Fio-. 8*. Superior wing of Selandria Robinsoni. Fig. 8* Inferior wing of ditto. Fig. 9*. A fore-leg of ditto. Fig. 1Q. Natural dimensions of the male fly. Fig. 11*. The female, represented flying. Fig. 12. Natural dimensions of that sex. Fig. 13*. Inferior wing of Selandria serva, Fab. Fig. 14*. Inferior wing of Selandria stramineipes, Klug. Fig. 15*. Inferior wing of Selandria fuliginosa, Schr. Belitha Villas, Barnsbury Park, November 1849. Trans. Lintv. Sac. Vol XXI . 1.6. p 4Z. 12 21 10 ^— ^ u Sx U /J J Curtis del.. G-. Janruvn. Sc. [ 43 ] VII. On the Family o/Triuriacege. By John Miers, Esq., F.B.S., F.L.S. fyc Read April 2 and 16, 1850. IT is now about nine years since I offered to the notice of the Linnean Society the descrip- tion of Triuris hyalina, which was honoured by a place in its Transactions *. Upon that occasion, after giving the details of its structure, I remarked, that as it could not be referred to any known natural order, it might be received as the type of a distinct family, which I suggested as holding a place near Fluviales, or Burmanniacece, but whose positive rank in the system could not be known until we obtained some information relative to the structure of the seed and its embryo f. The subsequent discovery, by my much lamented friend Mr. Gardner, of a very analo- gous plant with female flowers only, differing in no respect from Triuris, except in having six divisions instead of three in the perianthium, and in a more lateral and less pointed style, supplied an interesting fact ; but as its carpels were not in a more advanced state of development, it afforded no insight whatever into the structure of the seed. That inde- fatigable botanist, whose recent loss we must all greatly deplore, in the paper he presented to the Society on this subject %, offered several speculations upon the affinities of his plant and of Triuris, tending to show, as I will prove, erroneously, that they were allied to Smi- lacece ; and upon such unestablished data he drew out § a diagnosis of the family I had previously suggested. In that memoir he stated, that in juxtaposition with his plant he found another of similar size, presenting a single petiolar blade, much resembling the leaf of a Cissampelos || . Although he failed in tracing any underground connexion between the roots of these two plants, he concluded too hastily that the one appertained to the other, and hence he inferred that his plant was related to Menispermacece or Smilacece. He offered at the same time an opinion, that I had overlooked a similar distinct leafy append- age in Triuris ; but this certainly was not the case, for on quitting the Organ Mountains in 1838, 1 carefully gathered all the specimens I could find, with the soil and moss attached, keeping them well moistened for two months, until I embarked for England, hoping to witness a further development of the ovaria : at the same time, I examined the moss for any remains of seed or seed-vessel of previous growth : and hence I feel assured that had any such leafy appendage existed in connexion with Triuris, it could not have escaped my frequent and searching observation. The stem of Triuris, in the living state, is quite hya- line and transparent, appearing composed of simple cellular tissue, without any visible longitudinal vessels, except toward the centre, where it is somewhat more compact. On comparing Mr. Gardner's plant with Triuris in the dried state, both exhibit a similar struc- ture, appearing quite translucent externally, with central darker axile lines. The stem of * Linn. Trans, vol. xix. p. 77. f Ibid. p. 80. X Ibid. p. 155. § Ibid. p. 160. || Ibid. p. 156. tab. 15. fig. 4. g2 44 MR. J. MIERS ON THE FAMILY OF TRIURIACE^E. the leaf, however, offers a very different appearance ; it is far more opake, not darkened in the centre, but altogether traversed by numerous longitudinal vessels, which can be traced distinctly in continuity with the radiating nervures of the leaf-blade : this blade has the same texture, similar nervures with finely reticulated venations, even to the same peculiar excurrent free veins terminating abruptly in the centre of all the areoles, and the midrib is excurrent in a long mucronate point, as in the leaf of a Cissampelos. Again, the mem- branaceous tubes that surround the base of the petiolar support do not exist in the plant allied to Triuris ; these sheaths consist of a simple cuticle with lacerated margins, without nerves or veins, but marked by several parallel fines, which under a lens are seen to be those peculiar ducts formed of dotted spiral walls so frequently seen in the Menispermacece, and of which no signs are visible in the accompanying plant, or in Triuris. The inference hence is irresistible, that the leaf-bearing stem has no connexion with the singular plant that accompanied it, and that it is only a young seedling of some other plant, probably of a Cissampelos. It has been necessary to be thus precise upon a point involving the validity of all Mr. Gardner's views regarding the aifinities of Triuris. Under these circumstances, the name of Peltophyllum can apply only to the Menisper- maceous plant, and not to the other, for which a new appellation must now be given. As it differs from Triuris only in having six instead of three segments to its perianth, the name of Hexuris appears the most appropriate ; and in order to retain the name of its discoverer in connexion with it, I propose to call it H. Gardneri. Its generic character may hence be reformed as follows : — Hexuris, Miers. Peltophyllum, Gardn. Char. Gen. Flores dioici. Masc. ignoti. Fern. Perianthium profunde 6-partitum, hyalinum, per- sistens ; laciniis obovatis, praefloratione valvatis, singula infra apicem cornu subulato duplo longiore gyrato incluso, demiim patentibus, marginibus reflexis. Ovaria indefinite numerosa, minima, den- sissime in gynaecium aggregata, sessilia, gibboso-ovata, 1-locularia, 1-ovulata. Stylus subulatus, ad faciem internam sublateralis, apice paulum incrassatus, oblique truncatus et stigmatosus. Fructus ignotus. Planta pusilla, Brasiliensis, diaphana, albescens ; rhizomate fibrosa ; caule erecto simplici vel subramoso ; foliis bracteiformibus paucis, basilaribus, ovatis, acutis, adpressis, hyalinis ; floribus solitariis vel sub- racemosis; pedunculis \-floris bast bracteatis. 1. Hexuris Gardneri, Miers. Peltophyllum luteum, Gardn. in Linn. Trans, vol. xix. p. 157. tab. 15. Planta sub-2-pollicaris, hyalina ; caule imo foliolis 2 minimis donato ; pedunculis 2-3-4 alternis, flore 3-plo longioribus ; bracteis folio aequalibus. Hab. in arenosis umbrosis humidis prov. Goyaz, Brasilia?. Gardn. No. 3570. Three years subsequently to the presentation of Mr. Gardner's paper, a memoir by Cap- tain Champion appeared *, describing two plants which he had discovered in Ceylon, one of which was evidently allied to the Sciaphila of Blume, and both of very analogous struc- ture to the foregoing genera. These, soon after his arrival in Ceylon, he had shown to * Calcutta Journ. Nat. Hist. vol. vii. p. 463. MR. J. MIERS ON THE FAMILY OF TRIURIACEjE. 45 Mr. Gardner, who at first was much struck with their resemblance to Triuris and his Pel- tophyllum ; hut on account of their manifest affinity to Sciaphila he renounced that idea, and in some observations which he annexed to Captain Champion's memoir, he suggested their position as being in Artocarpece, that being the station assigned to Sciaphila by Endlicher. Captain Champion, on the contrary, was more inclined to place them in TJrti- cacece, among the Morece, because of their aggregated carpels on a common receptacle. The first plant described by Captain Champion is the Uyalisma ianthina ; it greatly resembles Triuris liyalina in habit, and agrees with it, and with Hexuris, in being dioecious. The perianthium is cup-shaped at its base, with the border divided into eight pointed seg- ments of equal size, being valvate in aestivation, with the apical points inflected in a ver- tical umbilicus. The male flowers have four stamens placed opposite each alternate seg- ment, and almost sessile upon a fleshy prominent disc, as in Triuris ; but the lobes of the anthers, instead of being distinct, are here confluent, at first four-celled, but afterwards bursting into two valves, by a transverse line across the apex on one of the cross pollini- ferous dissepiments. The ovaria are numerous and aggregated in the female flowers, but the style, instead of being subterminal and sublateral, as in Triuris and Hexuris, is here nearly basal upon the ventral face. The whole plant, as in those genera, is covered with prominent vesicles, forming a bullulato-cellular epidermis. The more important con- sideration of the structure of its seed will be noticed in a subsequent page. The second plant described by Captain Champion, under the name of Aphylleia eru- bescens, is very similar in general habit and structure to Uyalisma ianthina, differing only in the number of the segments of the perianthium, which are six, as in Sciaphila, with six stamens opposite to them in the male flowers. The carpels in the female flower do not differ much from those of Uyalisma, excepting that the style is shorter and ciliately fringed, not long, simple and pointed. In all the pistilliferous flowers I have seen they are con- stantly somewhat polygamous, with three or fewer stamens, placed opposite the alternate segment, among the outer row of carpels ; but whether they are polliniferous or other- wise, I have not been able to determine. The structure of the seed is exactly that of Uya- lisma. In Sir William Hooker's herbarium I found a plant of Mr. Cuming^s collection from the Philippine Islands, that bears a great resemblance to Aphylleia erubescens : like it, the perianthium is 6-cleft, but the segments are not altogether glabrous, being furnished within at the apex with a tuft of long articulated hairs, and the stigma is radiate with similar cilia. I have noticed that all the flowers here are hermaphrodite, the three sta- mens being intermixed with the carpels, as in Captain Champion's plant above mentioned. The fruit is utricular, and of similar structure. In the same herbarium is another plant, found by Purdie in Venezuela ; it agrees with the two plants last mentioned in the form of its perianthium, and in having its flowers hermaphrodite, that is to say, with only one or two stamens, placed on the margin of a clustered heap of carpels : here, however, the segments are alternately somewhat narrower, the broader segments only having ciliate margins, but all are furnished at the apex inter- nally with long articulated hairs, and the segments, as well as the bracts and bracteiform leaves, are marked with long red spots, as in the two preceding species. 46 MR. J. MIERS ON THE FAMILY OF TRIURIACE^. From these facts we may safely conclude, that neither the Aphylleia of Champion, nor Cuming's specimen from the Indian Archipelago, nor Pur die's from Venezuela, differ gene- rically from the Sciaphila tenella of Blume, a very similar plant from Java, long before described in the ' Bijdragen ' of that celebrated botanist. Being compelled to impugn the accuracy of the observations of others, it is essential that I should detail minutely those facts which alone can guide us to a knowledge of the true affinities of these singular plants, and I therefore proceed to describe the structure of the seed, as I have found it in Sciaphila. Captain Champion, in the memoir above quoted, figures and describes the embryo as a comparatively large body lying across, and near the vertex of the albumen, with a pointed radicle as long as the cotyledonary portion ; but the whole seed, he says, " is so minute, and difficult of dissection, that it is hard to say whether the cotyledons are one or two;" the radicle, he adds, "is slightly curved, and pointed towards the hilum ; the albumen, which is originally liquid, becomes hard as the seed ripens, and usually causes the testa to burst on the side opposite the raphe." Gardner adds, " The radicle is short, conical, and of a brownish colour ; the cotyledons elliptical, compressed, and white ;" the embryo lies " on the outside of a t\xm fleshy albumen, or but slightly covered with it, on the side of the seed opposite the raphe, nearly straight, and with the radicle directed towards the hilum," which he states to be on the dorsal face of the seed. The albumen, which according to Gardner is " fleshy," is said by Champion to be somewhat " corneous " in Hyalisma, and " rather hard " in Sciaphila. It is remarkable that such circumstantial details are not only inconsistent with each other, but decidedly at variance with the structure of the seed, as I have observed it. My observations upon the seed of Sciaphila are to the following effect. The outer coat is a distinct utricle, composed of cellular tissue with intervening merenchyma, the inner face being marked with muriform lines, the outer surface formed of large, prominent, sub- spherical and somewhat overlying vesicles. This bursts along the whole dorsal side, the apex and part of the ventral face, by a gaping line, displaying an entirely free, erect, obovoid body, connected only by its conical support with the base of the utricle. This body, in the dried state, is marked by several (about eight) prominent, dark-coloured, longitudinal ribsj with intervening hollow spaces, which are pellicular and transparent, the ribs being connected with transverse dark bars, and the membranous intervals marked with spots of a dark crimson colour ; in the centre, the opake seed is readily distinguished. This structure is rendered more apparent by making a transverse section of the whole, when the seed appears as if enclosed within a second indehiscent utricle : the ribs all spring from the conical support of the seed, and after running parallel are arched over, and all again are united in a dark tumescent strophiole, which is attached to the apex of the seed. This second envelope appears to partake somewhat of the nature of an arillus, in which the longitudinal ribs convey the nourishing vessels, and from whose common points of union the seed is both supported and suspended. The testa of the included oval seed is of a deep crimson colour, marked by several longitudinal lines, with very numerous transverse hexagonoid areolae, forming an almost scalariform structure ; it is hard, testa- ceous, and lined within by a fine, transparent, reticulated, adhering membrane ; but not the smallest trace of any nervure, or distinct raphe, on the surface of the testa, can be distin- MR. J. MIERS ON THE FAMILY OF TRIURIACE^. 47 guished, nor any mark of hilurn, as described by Capt. Champion. The inner space is wholly filled by a translucent, hyaline nucleus, of so firm a texture, that the hard testa may be broken, without rupturing it ; it is quite free, or perhaps connected by a mere point, at the apex of the testa. This nucleus is covered by a thin transparent integu- ment, which is marked with large and somewhat longitudinally hexagonal reticulations, through the areoles of which are seen a number of included spherules of small size, and on making sections in different directions across this nucleus, it will be found to consist of an aggregation of homogeneous, spheroidal, or rather angular cells, which, by pressure, exude a transparent oil, and a quantity of most minute dark grains of solid matter : the cells appear all of equal size, and this arrangement was found to be constant in upwards of thirty very careful sections in various directions, sometimes in clean longitudinal slices cut parallel with the axis, or transversely, by which the whole internal structure was made distinctly apparent : these again were subjected to the compressorium, and examined under the simple and compound microscope of considerable power, but every effort to detect the slightest indication of a distinct embryo, or even to find one cell darker or larger than the others, has completely failed. The uniformity of these results, obtained from the seeds of the two species of Sciaphila, those of Hyalisma, and also of another genus yet to be described, warrants the conclusion that the nucleus, in all these cases, is deficient of an embryo. The fact that the seeds thus examined were nearly, if not entirely, ripe, is indi- cated by the bursting of the utricular covering, and their detachment in many cases from their basal support, both in Sciaphila and Hyalisma, as well as by the hardness and deep colouring of the testa, and the firmness of the nucleus. The genus Sciaphila may be characterized as follows : — Sciaphila, Blume. Aphylleia, Champ. Char. Gen. Flores monoici vel polygami. Perianthium in utroque sexu simile, 6-partitum, basi cyathi- forme ; laciniis oblongis, acutis, reflexis, aestivatione valvatis, persistentibus. Masc. Stamina 6, in hermaphroditis abortu 3-1, in androphorum carnosum fere sessilia; filamenta brevissima; anthera transversim oblongae, quadratim 4-loculares, apice rima transversali 2-valvatim hiantes. Fcem. Ovaria plurima, in gynaecium carnosum subglobosum dense aggregata, obovata, sessilia, 1-locularia ; ovulo solitario erecto. Stylus lateralis fere basalis, plus minusve papilloso-subciliatus. Stigma truncatum, papilloso-plumosum, raro simpliciter obtusum. Carpidia plurima, densissime aggregata, obovata, styli basi persistente notata, monosperma. Pericarpium utriculare, subtenue, papilloso-rugosum, sutura dorsali 2-valvatim hians. Caryopsis obovata, brevi-stipitata : endocarpium arilliforme, 8-10- costatum, costis basi apiceque confluentibus, transversim cancellatis, interstitiis membranaceis. Semen ovatum, basi apiceque endocarpio sufiultum et suspensum : testa colorata, testacea, striis paucis longitudinalibus, aliisque creberrimis transversis scalariformibus signata, apice saturatius colorata ; integumentum externum pelliculare, reticulatum, testae adnatum ; integumentum internum tenuissimum, areolis hexagonoideis magnis oblongis reticulatum, nucleum arete cingens. Nucleus (embryo proto- blasteus) indivisus, homogeneus, carnoso-cereus, opalinus, cellulosus; cellulis parvis, subglobosis, materie grumosa succoque oleoso farctis. Herbae pusillce, utriusque hemisphcerm indigence, hyalince ; rhizomate fibroso ; caule erecto, simplici vel sub- ramoso ; foliis paucis, bracteiformibus, alternis, ovatis, acutis, adpressis, venis destitutis, celluloso- rugosis; floribus simpliciter spicatis, monoids, $ superioribus, § inferioribus ; pedunculis l-floris, basi bracteatis; bractea/bfto conformi. 48 MR. J. MIERS ON THE FAMILY OF TRIURIACE^E. 1. Sciaphila tenella, Blume, Bijdr. 514; "tenerrima carnosa aphylla, scapo simplicissimo erecto, floribus nutantibus, perigonii laciniis reflexis apice villosiusculis, stigmate sessili punctiformi, baccis pluribus glandulis pellucidis tectis, semine sub-triquetro ; testa subcoriacea." Hab. Java. Obs. Nothing is known of tbis plant beyond the above description ; it was placed by Endlicher among the doubtful genera at the end of his order Artocarpece, with the remark, " affinitas plane obscura." 2. Sciaphila maciilata ; hyalina, caule simpHci, foliis bracteiformibus adpressis 1 in pis interruptis rubris maculatis, perianthii laciniis sublanceolatis reflexis apice intus bar- batis: alternis margine ciliatis, floribus inferioribus staminibus 3 cassis?, carpelhs densissime congestis, utriculo hiante. Hab. in insulis Philippinis ; Cuming, No. 2088. This plant has a very slender erect stem, and is altogether about 3 inches in height ; the flowers are alternate and nodding, upon filiform pedicels, 3 lines in length, each with a bract at base ; the size of the cauline leaflets is half a line long : the spike forms two- thirds of the length of the whole plant. The structure of the seed has already been described : the length of each utricle is -^th of an inch ; the included caryopsis is ^gth long, •g'jth broad ; the testa is ^th long, xxoth inch broad : the size of each cell of the nucleus is about -fo-th of its breadth, or -0-5-th inch in diameter. 3. Sciaphila picta ; hyalina, caule subramoso erecto flexuoso, foliis bracteiformibus ma- culis longis rubris pictis, perianthii laciniis oblongis acutis patentibus rubro-maculatis apice intus barbatis : alternis sub-latioribus ciliatis ; tubo basique laciniarum lineis punctatis creberrimis violaceis ornatis, floribus hermaphroditis (an semper ?), carpeUis plurimis densissime supra discum carnosum congestis staminibus 2 vel unico munitis. Hab. in Venezuela, ad fluv. Apure, a cl. Pur die lect. Octob. 1845. A single specimen only of this plant exists in the herbarium of Sir William Hooker, and is about 5 inches in height ; it is dichotomous, throwing up from near the base two sub- flexuose erect stems, with short, few-flowered, terminal spikes ; the pedicels are scarcely 2 lines long, the flowers are very minute, and drooping. 4. Sciaphila ertjbescens ; hyalina tenerrima, foliis bracteiformibus bracteisque acutis rubro-pictis, floribus punctis rubris maculatis, perianthii laciniis sequalibus oblongis acutis glaberrimis reflexis ; superioribus masculis ; inferioribus foemineis interdum hermaphroditis, staminibus 3 cassis ?, utriculo bivalvi. Aphylleia erubescens, Champ, in Calc. Journ. Nat. Hist. vii. p. 468. Hab. Ceylon, ad Narawalla, prope Galle, in sylvis umbrosis. This plant is about the size of 8. picta, throwing up from the base a second scape, as soon as the first has matured all its seeds. The flowers, which are hyaline, with reddish long spots, become purplish when the fruit is well formed ; the ovaries and utricles are sanguineous red, and covered with prominent pellucid areoles ; the bracts and leaflets are MR. J. MIERS ON THE FAMILY OF TRIURIACELE. 49 half a line long, the pedicels 2 lines, and the flowers \ to f of a line in diameter. Capt. Champion states that he has occasionally found all the flowers pistilliferous, and that the utricles do not burst until some time after the fruit is fully ripe. Hyalisma, Champion. Char. Gen. Flores monoici vel dioici. Perianthium in utroque sexu simile, 8-partitum ; laciniis lanceo- latis, aequalibus, patentibus, celluloso-rugosis, basi in urceolum coalitis, sestivatione valvatis, persis- tentibus. Masc. Stamina 4, in androphorum carnosum prominulura fere sessilia, laciniis alternis opposita ; filamenta brevissima ; antherm quadratim 4-loculares, peltatae, apice linea transversali 2-valvatim hiantes ; pollen sphaericum, simplex. Pistilli rudimentum nullum. — Fern. Stamina nulla. Ovaria plurima (50 ad 60), densissime in gynaecium carnosum liberum aggregata, obovata, 1-locularia ; ovulo unico erecto. Stylus fere basilaris, ovario 3-7-pl6 longior, subulato-filiformis, celluloso-articu- latus, apice subobtuso, stigmate inconspicuo. Carpidia plurima, utricularia, obovata, breviter stipi- tata, structura omnino Sciaphike. Herba Ceylanica, pusilla, hyalina ; rhizomate fibroso ; caule simplici erecto ; foliis bracteiformibus, alternis, ovatis, acutis, venis destitutis, celluloso-rugosis ; spica terminali ; floribus pedicellatis, sapissime dioicis, interdum monoids, et tunc superioribus masculis, inferioribus femineis; pedicellis \-floris, basi bracteatis. 1. Hyalisma ianthina, Champion (loc. cit. p. 466, cum icone) ; hyalina, caule erecto striato, foliis paucis bracteiformibus acutis, floribus purpurascentibus, perianthii laciniis patentibus marginibus subreflexis bullulato-rugosis. Hab. Ceylon, prope Galle, in sylvis humidis. This plant is from 4 to 8 inches in height ; the stem is slender, erect, and often flexuose. Capt. Champion states that the flowers are generally monoecious, but his specimens are all, without exception, distinctly dioecious. The leaves and bracts are a line in length ; the capillary pedicels 4 lines long, the male flowers \\ line, the female 2 lines in diameter ; the stamens are fixed upon the margin of a somewhat quadrately conical roundish receptacle, very analogous to that of Triuris, from which genus Hyalisma differs in the form of its anthers, the cells of which are here confluent. It is very easily distinguished from Scia- phila, by the extreme length of the persistent style, and its much longer pedicels. Among the specimens recently sent from Para by Mr. Spruce, is one much resembling the foregoing plants. The stem is in like manner simple and erect, the flowers spicate and monoecious ; the perianth is however here 4-cleft, with only two stamens in the male flowers : in the female the carpels are very numerous and densely aggregated, with a lateral and basal style, as in SciapHla. The fruit is of the same shape, but is not utricular, as the pericarpial and endocarpial envelopes are glued together with woody matter, and are separated, with some difficulty, from the crimson-coloured testa, which, together with the included nucleus, coincides with that above described of Sciaphila. I have proposed for it the name of Soridium, from <rog og, because of its aggregated carpels. Soridium, gen. nov. Char. Gen. Flores monoici. Perianthium in utroque sexu simile, 4-partitum, basi cyatbiforme ; laci- niis ovatis, acutis, patentibus, celluloso-rugosis, asstivatione valvatis, persistentibus. Masc. Stamina VOL. XXI. H 50 MR. J. MIERS ON THE FAMILY OF TRIURIACE^E. 2, supra discum minimum inclusum fere sessilia, laciniis alternis opposita ; filamenta brevissima; antherce transversim elongatae, compressae, quadratim 4-loculares, rima verticali longitrorsum 2-valva- tim et septicidim hiantes: pollen globosum, irregulariter sub-3-valvatim rumpens. Pistilli rudi- mentum nullum. — Fern. Stamina nulla. Ovaria plurima, in capitulum dense aggregata, obovata, sessilia, 1-locularia; ovulo solitario, erecto. Stylus lateralis et fere basilaris, pilis longis clavatis plu- mosus. Stigma obconicum, truncatum, piloso-plumosum. Carpidia plnrima, baccata, radiatim aggregata, obovata, stylo persistente basilari notata, monosperma. Pericarpium siccum, subcoria- ceum ; semen ovale ; testa colorata, nucleoque omnino Sciaphilce. Herba Amazonica in uliginosis umbrosis indigena, hyalina ; rhizomate substolonifero, jibras radicantes hinc inde emittente ; caule simplici, erecto ; foliis paucis, bracteiformibus, alternis, ovatis, acutis, venis desti- tutis, celluloso-rugosis ; floribus spicatis, masc. superior ibus, fern, inferioribus ; pedunculis \-floris, basi bracteatis. 1. Soredium Sprtjceanum, Miers. Planta subhyalina ; rhizomatis fibris elongatis, ciliatis, incanis ; caule erecto, sulcato ; foliis paucis, mini- mis, adpressis ; spica simplici terminali ; floribus foemineis circiter 7, infimis ; bractea lineari, acuta, pedicello aequilonga. Hab. Para, ad Caripi in sylvis umbrosis. At first sight this plant bears much the habit of Dictyostega orobcmchoides. Its rhi- zoma appears somewhat stoloniferous, and to creep along the ground, throwing out at short intervals bunches of long hairy rooting fibres, each fibre springing out of a small cupuliform node, thus showing its endorhizal structure ; the prostrate intervals are of the same thickness as the culmiform portion, and bear similar bracteiform leaflets. The spike occupies one-third of the length of the single erect stem, which is slender, sulcated, some- what flexuose, and from 8 to 10 inches in height ; the leaflets are few, and mostly towards the base ; they are linear, pointed, 1| line long. The bracts are also linear, about the length of the pedicels, 1 bine long ; the flowers expanded measure 2 lines in diameter ; the ovaria are from twenty to thirty in each of the female flowers, of which there are from five to seven at the lower portion of the spike. Although the pericarpial and epicarpial cover- ings of the seed are here glued together into one coriaceous mass by the deposition of woody matter, yet upon making a longitudinal section, the same nervures, basal support, and apical strophiolar process, that form so conspicuous a feature in the arilliform cover- ing of Sciaphila, may here be distinctly traced, and the darker-coloured basal support, and apical strophiole, adhere so firmly to the testa, that they are with difficulty removed from it. Having thus enumerated the facts connected with the history and structure of these remarkable plants, I will now offer a few remarks upon their affinities. They evidently belong to one common group, and coincide with Triuris in their general habit, their hya- line cellular texture, the absence of any green colour throughout their substance, their growth in damp shady places, their underground rhizoma, furnished with numerous long delicate fibrillse, which probably derive much sustenance from the roots of other plants : they also agree in their simple erect striated stem, composed chiefly of cellular tissue and devoid of woody deposit, in their bracteiform veinless leaves, spicate bracteated inflo- MR. J. MIERS ON THE FAMILY OF TRIURIACEjE. 51 rescence, unisexual flowers, simple perianthium, similar in both sexes, nearly cleft to its base into regular segments, with a valvate aestivation and a cellular epidermis ; the male flowers furnished with few stamens, which are seated opposite the segments upon a fleshy disc, or more or less prominent androphorum ; very numerous distinct carpels in the female flowers, having a more or less lateral style, and a single erect ovule, and offering a seed of most peculiar structure. These characters do not conform with any other natural family ; for which reason, when Trinris only was known, I suggested it should form the type of a new order. In regard to the affinities of this group of plants, it is manifest that they bear no analogy with Menispermece or Smilacece, as Mr. Gardner at first inferred ; nor can they be held related to Artocarpece, where that zealous botanist, following the example of Endlicher, referred Sciaphila and Hyalisma. Their structure, totally different habit, simple style, erect ovule, arilliform envelope, and acotyledonous seed, distinguish them in the most decided manner both from Artocarpece and Urticece. In order to arrive at their real position in the natural system, we must first determine in what class to seek their nearest alliance. The facts before shown lead to the inference, that the seed of the Triuriacece is not only acotyledonous, but inembryonal, a fact not singular in the history of Phsenogamous plants. But does the absence of the usual elements constituting an embryo, viz. cotyledon, radicle, and plumula, imply the want of the ordinary function of the reproductive power of the plant from its seed so constituted ? It appears that the presence of such elementary parts is not always a necessary condition to the capacity of vegetable reproduction. According to the views of modern physiologists, the embryo is but a normal condition of a leaf-bud and stem, whose gradual increment is due to certain secretory deposits, regulated by fixed laws of cellular expansion, thus producing a highly complicated or low degree of vascular development in every pheenogamous plant, from the smallest herb to the most gigantic tree of the forest. But in those plants destitute of real leaves, and composed of little more than simple cellular tissue, void of green colour, and of the fibres and ducts that enter into the structure of most other vegetable substances, we can hardly expect to meet with a reproductive embryo organized in the form of such a normal bud ; and it is only consist- ent with so simple a structure, to expect a nucleus equally simple in its nature, formed merely of an aggregation of cytoblasts, which, under favourably-exciting influences, are endowed with the faculty of self-development. Indeed, we have no satisfactory evidence of the existence of an embryo, in the ordinary sense of this term, in the seeds of Burman- niacece, &c, notwithstanding that we know they must be constantly reproduced from their seeds. Mr. Robert Brown, in his learned memoir upon Rafflesia, in the nineteenth volume of the Society's Transactions, has shown that the seeds of that genus, although albuminous, possess an embryo of the most simple and reduced form ; but the Balanophorete, which that most distinguished botanist holds to be quite a distinct and even distant family from the Rafflesiacece, have been shown by Mr. Griffith to be truly inembryonal ; and in his paper on Balanophora * he describes the structure of its nucleus, and the contents of its cells, as being precisely similar, even in words that answer in every respect for all that is * Trans. Linn. Soc. vol. xx. pp. 98, 101 and 102. H2 52 MR. J. MIERS ON THE FAMILY OF TRIURIACEjE. seen in Sciaphila, Hyalisma, and Soridium, and the figures he gives of it * quite corre- spond with the details now offered of the seminal nucleus in these genera. Prof. Lindley has long contended that these two families belong to a distinct class, which he calls Rhi- zcmths or RUzogens ; but Mr. Griffith, in his able memoir above-quoted, wholly accords with Mr. Brown's views on this subject, and states that these plants, though with inem- bryonal seeds, or with what he calls a homogeneous-embryo-form structure, may, without violating the rules of classification, be considered as aberrant forms of an imperfectly developed state of exogenous or endogenous organization. Thus, Mr. Brown has always considered the Rafflesiacece to be allied to the Aristolochiece, and Mr. Griffith contends that the Ralcmophorece should be placed near the JJrticece. The considerations before stated naturally lead to the inquiry, if in such plants no em- bryo exist, using that term in its ordinary signification, how is their propagation effected by a seed with a simple nucleus of aggregated cells ? According to the views of most modern physiologists, the earliest development of an embryo within the ovule is the forma- tion of a germinal vesicle (primordial utricle of Mirbel), generated by the action of the pollen-tube upon the embryonal sac, and the degree of perfection in the organization of the cotyledon, radicle, and plumula, is evidently proportioned to the function requisite to the future elaboration of the leaves, or a more or less complex stem ; but in the case of leafless plants, the same amount of development would be useless for so simple an economy of structure. This is even seen in plants of a very high degree of floral development, as in Cuscuta, for instance, where the embryo of its seeds is altogether deficient (apparently) of the usual requisites of cotyledons, radicle, and plumule f, as it consists of a simple spiral thread, not germinating in the usual manner from two fixed points, but from which pullulating vesicles are produced, indifferently from any point of its surface, thus proving that the organization of the embryo bears an evident relation to the economy of the future plant. The Orobanchece also present a very small undivided embryo, and the Monotro- pece have a minute nucleus, in which neither cotyledon nor radicle is perceptible ; and this is included in a reticulated arillus, as in Rurmcmniacece. Another instance, still more striking, occurs in Cactece, where in the leaf-bearing genera the cotyledons are fully deve- loped in the embryo, while in the leafless species the embryo is sobd and undivided. In the same manner it is probable that in the Rurmcmniacece, Ralcmophorece, Triuriacece, &c, the inembryonal nuclei, consisting of a series of germinating cells or cytoblasts, pullulate at certain points, and thus perform all the requisite purposes of reproducing their very simple forms of structure, in a somewhat analogous way to that in which the ordinary embryo effects the more complex organization of vascular fibres and elaborate tissues in the higher orders of Phsenogamous plants. If we admit the existence of an organ, thus endowed with the function, but wanting the usual structure of the embryo, it should hold some adequate designation, and for this the term Protoblastus does not seem inappropriate, as it effects the same purpose as the gemmule or plumula J. The word used by Mr. Griffith for this organ, "homogeneous embryo," would require that the ordinary embryo, in contradistinction, be called hetero- * Trans. Linn. Soc. vol. xx. pi. 8. fig. 9-14. f Lindley, Introd. to Bot. p. 217. J In a similar sense, Richard has applied the term llastus to the plumula of the seed in Gramineee. MR. J. MIERS ON THE FAMILY OF TRIURIACEjE. 53 geneous, which would not accord with its nature ; but if these denote only different con- ditions of the embryonary form, the one may be considered as a protoblastous, the other as a cotyledonous embryo. On surveying other peculiar embryonal forms, some will be better understood by this view of the subject ; for instance, we may conceive that the pro- toblastus, instead of forming one compact mass of spherules, as in Balanophorece, Trm- riacece, &c, may be somewhat less aggregated, so as to assume the shape of elongated bundles of cells, such as have been termed paraphysiform : such a form is actually met with in Ceratophyllum, where the exterior series of unequal size have been assumed to be an unusual number of cotyledons, and the very numerous inner series have been held to be a highly developed plumule, while the common point of their union is considered as the radicle. The development of this embryo has been well analysed by Scldeiden, in his memoir on Ceratophyllum *. Professor Lindley remarks t, that " in this instance, as in Nelumbiacece, the highly developed plumule may be a compensation for the want of albumen, enabling the embryo to germinate without assistance, as soon as it is ex- posed to the fitting conditions." The leaves of Ceratophyllum appear destitute of all nervures, consist of confervoid parallel cells, and dichotomously divide themselves into simply articulated hair-like segments, thus denoting a lower order of development than has been assigned to it. Independently of this cellular texture, we must bear in mind that this genus possesses monoecious flowers, with a simple perianth, having a valvate aestivation, almost sessile stamens, an unilocular carpel with a solitary ovule ; and if, in addition to these characters, we regard the construction of its embryo, in the view above contemplated, its position in the system would rank near Fluviales, as was long ago suggested by Bernard and Antoine de Jussieu, followed by Jaume St. Hilaire and Agardh, and therefore, as will be seen, not far from Triuriacece. Conterminous with the ■Fluviales we find another family, the Aroidea?, which offers many circumstances bearing upon this subject. Blume describes Amorphophallus% as possessing an exalbuminous simple nucleus, homogeneous in texture, with one of its extremities pullulating at one, two, or three points, and throwing out fleshy lobes, which overlap each other. The same botanist records, that in Aglaonema the seed has a solid nucleus, which, in germination, throws out several squamulse at one end § ; and Schott states that the nucleus of Crypto- coryne emits several gemmulae in a similar manner ||. This fact has been confirmed and illustrated in an admirable manner by Mr. Griffith, in a very interesting memoir upon Ambrosinia (Cryptocoryne) ciliata%, where he has shown, that at an early period the ovule presents an embryo, which then appears to be quite homogeneous, and " entirely cellular," and that its development is first marked by the production, upon a * Linneea, vol. ii. p. 512. f Vegetable Kingdom, p. 263. t In Rumphia, i. 138 : "in quo ad extremitatem inferiorem umbilicum spectantem una rarius 2 vel 3 minutse gem- mulae germinantes observantur ; gemmulae ejusmodi constant squamulis aliquot carnosis sibi oppositis et sese amplec- tentibus." (Kunth. Enum. iii. 32.) § "Embryo semini conformis, exalbuminosus, solidus, ad extremitatem radicularem squamulis aliquot munitus." — Rumph. i. 130. (In Endl. Gen. PI. Suppl. p. 1370.) II "Embryo cotyledonibus (protophyllis ?) plurimis."— Schott, Meletem. Bot. (In Kunth. Enum. iii. 12 ; et Trans. Linn. Soc. vol. xx. p. 266.) ^f Trans. Linn. Soc. vol. xx. p. 263, 54 MR. J. MIERS ON THE FAMILY OF TRIURIACE^E. small area of its surface, of several minute oblong cellular bodies, wbich soon enlarge, others in great numbers being successively formed in their centre. These rudimentary processes soon become more and more elongated, their growth being very rapid, until they acquire five or six times the length of the original globular nucleus, from which, when fully developed, they finally detach themselves, the nucleus remaining enveloped in the swollen integuments. This new production thus assumes the form of a large plumula, still more highly developed than that of Ceratophyllum, and separates in the manner above described, as the germ of a future plant, consisting of an immense number of subulate thread-like processes, at least an inch long, which are furnished with vessels, but their chief bulk is cellular, the cells containing a number of green globules. Mr. Griffith re- marks, that the cells of the nucleus, as well as of the processes, in an early stage of their development, abound in active molecules, possessed of an exceedingly rapid oscillatory motion; and it is obvious, from the universal presence of these corpuscles during the formation of tissue, that they play an important part in this most obscure process. Mr. Griffith considered the nucleus to be the cotyledon, the processes as forming a plumula, and the neck, which united them at base and which is seated upon the globular cotyledon, to be the radicle ; but these parts do not seem to bear any analogy to such elementary portions of the ordinary embryo of phsenogamous plants, as is evinced by the quite unusual position of what is here considered a radicle, between the cotyledon and plumula, and by the fact of the detachment of such cotyledon, which has always been held to be necessary to the completion of the germinating functions of the radicle and plumula. Mr. Griffith endeavoured to explain these contradictions by ingenious reasonings, which, however, are far from being satisfactory, as he was forced to acknowledge that this case forms a re- markable exception to the general law of the absolute necessity of a cotyledon in a distinct embryo, and that it is only to be accounted for on the plea that the presence of such a' highly developed plumula obviates that necessity. These anomalies, however, appear to me more satisfactorily explained by considering the original nucleus in the light of a simple protoblast, from which a certain number of its cells, animated by the oscillatory motion of the active molecules, as described by Mr. Griffith, pullulate and attain a rapid increment, by the production of a number of thread-like cellular processes (or protophylla) united at their base by the common centre of the original germinating cells (or epiblast). The plumula of Griffith may thus be considered simply as an aggregated bundle of proto- phyls, destined to form the germs of future leaves ; and his radicle may be viewed merely as an epiblast, which, however, performs all the functions of a radicle, by subsequently generating from its former point of attachment other cells to constitute future rooting fibres ; and his cotyledon remains only the original protoblast, which having thus performed its function of elaborating a gemmiferous prototype, becomes detached from its offspring. Under this point of view the embryo of Cryptocoryne may be considered as protoblastous, and not as cotyledonous, and the anomalies above shown vanish without calling in aid forced exceptions to the ordinary laws of development. The Pistiece, considered as a suborder of the Aroidece, present some circumstances ana- logous to the structure of Sciaphila. On examining the seed of Pistia obcordata, I find that what has been described as its testa is in fact an arillus, which in some degree may MR. J. MIERS ON THE FAMILY OF TRIURIACE^. 55 be compared with the arilliform covering above described in the genus just mentioned. The embryo of Pistia is cylindrical, nearly half the length of the albumen, in the summit and in a longitudinal cavity of which it is placed, with its apex quite bare, the whole being enveloped by a thin pellicular integument, and this again by a thin and somewhat coria- ceous reddish testa, marked much after the manner of that of Soridium. This testa is fixed upon a long, thickened, stipitate support, and is crowned at its apex by a dark pulvinate process, suspended by a cylindrical plug or strophiole, the point of which is seen in the umbilical apex of the seed. The external covering is a thick, wrinkled, fungous or pithy substance, lined inside and outside by a thin adhering membrane, and enclosing the stipes, the testa and the strophiole, and it can be considered in no other light than an arillus, and as analogous to the peculiar covering of the testa seen in Sciaphila. In the Zingibera- cece the seed is also covered by an arillus somewhat similar to that of Pistia, while in Rave- nala, by its numerous ribs, it approaches yet nearer to the seminal envelope of Sciaphila ; here, however, as well as in Pistiece, the albumen is of peculiar structure, being farinaceous when dry but becoming distinctly cellular when moistened, and the cells are separable from each other without bursting ; they are then translucent, and bear altogether a very different aspect from those seen in the nucleus of Sciaphila, in which they are more opake, as if filled with dark grumous matter. The facts here brought together are inter- esting, as presenting some analogies bearing upon the question, and they serve to show that we have yet much to learn concerning the nature of the more simple forms of em- bryonal structure, and of the functions of reproduction. In respect to the position of the Triuriacece in the system, if we follow the rules of classification founded upon the three great divisions of Acotyledonous, Monocotyledonous, and Dicotyledonous plants, a plan now quite untenable, they must of course range in the same group as the Balanophorece, although they hold but little relationship with them. But if we regard the condition of the embryo, not as a basis, but merely as a frequent indication of the three great divisions, founded on the structure and development of vegetable fibre, viz. Acrogens, Endogens and Exogens, and if we accord with the views of Mr. Brown and Mr. Griffith, in considering what the latter calls the homogeneous-embryo-form state of the seed merely as an imperfect condition of development, common alike to all these groups, then the Triuriacece must take their place among the Endogens. Here, the family that at first sight appears most approximate is the Alismac'ece, with which the Triuriacece agree, in their simple stem, sometimes spicate unisexual flowers, and their numerous carpels ; but Alismacece differ in having leaves with parallel nerves, in their floral envelope being distinctly biserial, the outer calycine, the inner petaloid, and both with imbricated aestivation ; they are also dissimilar in their bilocular anthers, with parallel cells, dorsally affixed to long filaments ; ovules often two in each carpel, one being superimposed ; carpidia opening by their ventral suture, and seeds with large hippocrepi- form embryo. With Fluviales, Triuriacece accord in their soft cellular structure, their monoecious flowers, simple perianthium with valvate aestivation, often 4-locular anthers, several distinct ovaria, with a single erect ovule in Caulinia and Najas, baccate fruit, with a pericarpial utricle bursting on one side in Althenia, Zoster a, Najas and Cymodocea ; but 56 MR. J. MIERS ON THE FAMILY OF TRIURIACEjE. the plants of this family differ wholly from the Triuriacece, in having distinct, entire, large leaves, with long amplexicaul petioles, and intrapetiolar vaginant stipules, in their female flowers arising from the superior axils, in the frequent absence of any perianthium, ovules often suspended from the ventral suture, and very delicate membranaceous testa. Their exalbuminous macropodous embryo may be considered as an approximation to the structure of the nucleus of Sciaphila. With the Juncaginece they agree in their inconspicuous spicate flowers, numerous carpels, with a solitary erect ovule and exalbuminous seeds ; but these again differ in their large leaves, with parallel nervures, 2-serial floral envelope, extrorse stamens upon long filaments, and sometimes two ovules in each carpel. The Juncaginece, however, have been considered by some as a suborder of the Alismacece, by others to be more nearly allied to Fluviales and Aroidece, on account of their spicate flowers : indeed, though placed at so great a distance in the system by Endlicher, they are really so closely allied, that the genera Ruppia and Potamogeton are placed by some botanists in Fluviales and by others in Juncaginece. If we agree in placing these four families in closer juxtaposition in the system*, the Trvuriacece will find a place near them; but, upon the whole, the greatest amount of approximative characters will be seen to lean towards the Fluviales, especially through Potamogeton (which genus is arranged by Mr. Brown among the Alismacece), and which possesses a simple perianth of four segments in a single series, with valvate aestivation, and four stamens opposite to them, globose simple pollen and uniovular carpels ; and although it bears hermaphrodite flowers, it must be remembered that Sciaphila is some- times bisexual. Najas and Caulinia, as before observed, present also carpels with a soli- tary erect ovule. It now only remains to define the characters of this small order. Tritjriace^;, Miers (1841). Triuracece, Gardn. (1843). Triuridacece, Lindl. (1846). Herbm parvulae, subhyalinae ; rhizomate fibroso, interdum substolonifero ; caule subsimplici, textura cellu- losa, vasis deferentibus in axi centralibus ; foliis alternis, bracteiformibus, sessilibus, nervis destitutis. Flores monoici, vel dioici, rarius polygami, spicati ; pedicellis alternis, 1-floris, basi bracteatis. Perianthium in utroque sexu simile, 3^1-6-8-partitum, hyalinum, textura celluloso-bullata, vel papilloso-rugosa ; laciniis ovatis, acutis, basi in tubum brevissimum coalitis, apice interdum processu elongato donatis, aestivatione valvatis. Stamina numero varia, pauca, in fundo perianthii fere sessilia, supra androphorum saepissime magnum carnosum inserta; anthera 4-loculares, 2-valves, rarius in lobos 2 sejunctae. Ovaria plurima, in gynaecium toro adnatum densissime aggregata, 1-locularia ; ovulo unico, e basi erecto. Stylus excentricus, introrsum lateralis, saepissime fere basilaris, glaber aut plumoso-fimbriatus. Stigma obsoletum, vel truncato-clavatum. Carpidia plurima, baccata, radiatim excentrica, obovata, stylo persistente fere basilari notata, coriacea et indehiscentia, vel interdum utricularia dorso valvatim dehiscentia ; caryopside obovata, tela arillaeformi donata : testd * This we find adopted in the ' Prodromus Floras Novee Hollandise ' of Mr. Robert Brown, where the Aroidece, Fluviales, Alismacece, and Juncaginece are placed in contiguity, with the intervention of Pandanus alone, of which it is worthy of remark that it also offers the peculiarity of an entire and simple embryo : and nearly the same arrange- ment occurs in the system of De Jussieu. MR. J. MIERS ON THE FAMILY OF TRIURIACEjE. 57 ovata, dura, testacea, colorata, transversim scalariformi-striata. Nucleus (embryo protoblasteus) opalinus, integumento areolis elongatis reticulato inclusus, textura mollis, cellulosus ; cellulis materie oleosa grumosa farctis. Triuriaceee in locis humidis umbrosis sylvarum intertropicarum totius orbis epigeae. The family may be thus divided : — § 1. Triukie^e. Perianthii laciniae appendice lineari, aestivatione spirabter torta et inclusa, demum exserta, munitae. Stylus cum ovario gibboso lateraliter continuus. Antherarum lobi disjuncti, singuli 2-locellati. Perianthii laciniae 3. Stamina 3. . . 1. Triuris. Perianthii laciniae 6. Stamina ignota . 2. Hexuris. § 2. Sciaphile^e. Perianthii laciniae ecaudatae. Stylus fere basilaris. Antherarum lobi confluentes, et inde 4-locellati, rinia transversali v. verticali 2-valvatim hiantes. Perianthii laciniae 4. Stamina 2. . . 3. Soridium. Perianthii laciniae 6. Stamina 6. • . 4. Sciaphila. Perianthii laciniae 8. Stamina 4. . • 5. Hyalisma. Fig. 1. Fig. 2. Fig. 3. Fig. 4. Fig. 5. Fig. 6. Fig. 7- Fig. 8. Fig. 9. Fig. 10. Fig. 11. Fig. 13. Fig. 14. Fig. 15. Fig. 16. Fig. 17. Fig. 18. Fig. 19. VOL. EXPLANATION OF THE PLATES. ♦ Tab. VI. A plant of Sciaphila erubescens : — of the natural size. A single male flower. The same: — magnified. A section of the same, showing three of its stamens placed opposite the segments, upon the cen- tral fleshy androphore. An anther before dehiscence : — more highly magnified. The same, burst open ; showing its transverse mode of dehiscence, and the cruciform septa which form the divisions of its four cells. A female flower of the same plant, after expansion : — magnified. A single pistil, showing its lateral and nearly basal style. A fruit : — of the natural size. , The same, showing its persistent style : — magnified. The same, showing the mode in which the pericarp opens and displays its single erect seed. A plant of Sciaphila picta : — of the natural size. A single male flower, in bud : — much magnified. The same, expanded. A female flower of the same, expanded : — equally magnified. An anther, before and after dehiscence. A single pistillum, showing its lateral style. i A plant of Sciaphila maculata : — of the natural size. XXI. I 58 MR. J. MIERS ON THE FAMILY OF TRIURIACEjE. Fig. 20. A single hermaphrodite flower. Fig. 21. The same, in bud, and inverted upon its slender pedicel, with its corresponding bract : — magnified. Fig. 22. The same, reversed, in order to show the position of its three stamens among its numerous pistilla. Fig. 23. An anther, expanded. Fig. 24. The style. Fig. 25. A single flower of the same plant, after the ripening of its fruit:— of the natural size. Fig. 26. A single fruit : — natural size. Fig. 27. The same, exhibiting its persistent lateral style : — magnified. Fig. 28. The same, with the pericarp burst open, exhibiting its single erect seed inclosed in its peculiar endocarpial covering. Fig. 29. The pericarp, after bursting, with the seed removed . Fig. 30. The endocarpial covering of the seed, as seen from above, showing its eight prominent ribs. Fig. 31. A side view of the same, showing the cancellated structure of the endocarp and the markings of its areolae. Fig. 32. The same, with half of the endocarpial covering removed, in order to show the mode of attach- ment of the summit and base of the seed to the ribs of the endocarp. Fig. 33. A transverse section of the seed and endocarpial covering. Fig. 34. The seed removed, showing the markings of its testa. Fig. 35. The nucleus, as seen after the removal of the testa, inclosed in its reticulated integuments. Fig. 36. A transverse section of the same, showing the granular or cellular structure of the hyaline nucleus. Tab. VII. Fig. 1. A male plant of Hyalisma ianthina. Fig. 2. A female plant of the same : — both of the natural size. Fig. 3. A single male flower with its pedicel and bract : — of the natural size. Fig. 4. A bud of the same, seen from above, in order to show the mode of aestivation of its eight segments. Fig. 5. The same, expanded; showing the position of its four stamens upon its fleshy androphore : — much magnified. Fig. 6. An anther, before and after dehiscence. Fig. 7- A female flower, expanded : — equally magnified. Fig. 8. A single pistil, with its elongated basal style : — more highly magnified. Fig. 10. A plant of Soridium Spruceanum : — of the natural size. Fig. 11. One of its male flowers expanded: — much magnified. Fig. 12. A side view of one of its stamens : — more highly magnified. Fig. 13. The same, seen edgeways. Fig. 14. A section of the same, showing its two cells. Fig. 15. The same, seen sideways, in order to show its mode of dehiscence. Fig. 16. A transverse section of the same. Fig. 17. Grains of pollen, still more highly magnified. Fig. 1 8. A female flower supported on its pedicel and bract : — magnified. Fig. 19. A pistil: — of the natural size. Fig. 20. The same : — much magnified. MR. J. MIERS ON THE FAMILY OF TRIURIACEjE. 59 Fig. 21 . A longitudinal section of a pistillum, with one half removed, in order to show its single erect ovule. Fig. 22. A fruit : — of the natural size. Fig. 23. The same, with its persistent basal style: — much magnified. Fig. 24. A longitudinal section of the same, exhibiting its single seed enclosed in its fleshy pericarp. Fig. 25. The seed removed, showing the particular reticulated surface of the testa. Fig. 26. The same, after the removal of the testa, exhibiting the reticulated texture of the nuclear integuments. Fig. 27. A transverse section of the same, showing the granular texture of the nucleus. Fig. 28. A longitudinal section of the entire fruit, exhibiting the structure of the whole. Fig. 29. A section of the fruit of Pistia obcordata, showing its single seed, enveloped by its pithy arillus, its apical strophiolar attachment, its testa upon a basal support, and its embryo placed in the summit of its albumen. Fig. 30. The embryo of the same. i2 Trans. JzmuSoc. Tbl.XZL t.6.-p 58 '*r< Miers Esq. del. G. JccrmtbtL Sc . TroTis. Lmn.Soc VolJiJCl.l. 7. -p. 58. J Miers £sq. del. G. JaTTftJZTl Sc . [ 61 ] VIII. The Anatomy and Development of certain Chalcididse and Ichneumonidse, compared with their special (Economy and Instincts ; with Descriptions of a new Genus and Species of Dee-Parasites. Dy Geokgb Newport, Esq., F.B.S., F.D.S. fyc. Read March 20, 1849. Preliminary observations. A. HE parasitic Hymenoptera include, in their larva state, some of the most imperfectly organized conditions of life to he found in the whole of the Articulata. They leave the ovum delicate, apodal, almost motionless, and entirely incapable of locomotion, and are injured and perish by slight accident, as an abrasion of surface allows the fluids of their bodies to escape quickly and fatally by the wound; and yet these very beings, having passed unhurt through this scarcely other than foetal condition, acquire a perfection of organization, a degree of activity and power, and an acuteness of instinct, fully equal, and perhaps superior to the organic and the functional endowments of other tribes of insects. One section of them, — some of which I shall make the subjects of this paper, — are nourished entirely by suction, and subsist on the fluids of other insects ; and either attached singly to the external surface of the bodies of their victims, or, located internally, between the tissues, they drink up the life-blood prepared for another, without entirely destroying the means of its production. Other species are gregarious and reside in the same cell with their victim ; and while that subsists on vegetable food, — pollen mixed with honey and stored up for it by its parent, — it is attacked on all sides by its insidious enemies, succumbs, and dies as they become nourished. Yet the general form of body, and of the digestive organs, at the earlier periods of growth, is almost precisely the same in most of these de- scriptions of parasite, and the special development of each is regulated by the same laws. They cast their skin at succeeding stages of growth as certainly as do the larvae of Depi- doptera ; but the thrown-off covering is of such extreme tenuity, and is so gradually and almost imperceptibly removed, without interfering with the form or the enlargement of the body, that, hitherto, the deciduation of the tegument of the apodal larvae of Bymeno- ptera has always escaped the observation of naturalists. I have, however, witnessed its repeated occurrence in the genus Paniscus, as I shall show in this paper ; so that these species do not constitute, as was supposed, an exception in this respect to one general law. Much as they resemble each other in external appearance, they do so still more in the structure of their organs of nutrition. The digestive apparatus in the whole of them is at first but a simple, capacious sac or bag, rounded and closed at its larger extremity, with an imperforated intestine proceeding from it, without an anal outlet. It has this form in most of these insects during the earlier periods of the larva state, when the organizing 62 MR. NEWPORT ON THE ANATOMY AND DEVELOPMENT powers of the system are most energetic, and when nearly the whole of the food is appro- priated to the enlargement of the body. Very little undigested substance then remains, after the assimilation of the nourishment imbibed, and consequently no excretory outlet to the organ is required. But when the assimilation of food begins to be arrested, and the rapidity of growth is diminished, as is the case when the larva is approaching its maturity, — changes which seem to lead to the inference, that the forces of combination in the primary organisms of the body become less and less energetic in proportion to the degree of stimulus to which they are submitted,- — the digestive apparatus then assumes a " new form : it is narrowed and elongated, and being connected with a column of granu- lated cell-masses, which, derived originally from the yolk, are continuous with those that constitute the walls of the digestive cavity at one end, and at the other with the tegu- ment, the csecal extremity of the sac becomes perforated, and the cells separating in the axis of the column form a tube, that is quickly lined with epithelial membrane, to allow the passage of the refuse of digestion, the tegument having previously separated also at a given point, by which an excretory or anal outlet to the canal is completed. The mate- rial first removed is composed chiefly of disintegrated epithelial cells, which bine the digest- ive cavity, and are thrown off as they become aged and worn-out, during the elaboration of nutrient fluid, like the cells which form the cast layers of tegument. This change of struc- ture does not take place in any of the parasitic larvae, so far as I am aware, until the indi- vidual is replete with nourishment, and ceases to feed, preparatory to more extensive alter- ations of form. When this marked period of its existence has arrived, it is first necessary that the unassimilated portions of food, together with the worn-out materials of the body, should be removed, and this necessitates the change from a closed receptacle to a canal. But further reason for this late completion of the organ, as well in those larvse which are confined to a given space with their food, and in those still more confined between the tissues of other insects, at once suggests itself. In the one case the food stored up must remain pure and uncontaminated, for the support of the larva preyed upon ; in the other, the fluids of the victim must not be changed from nutrient to noxious aliment by the engenderment of disease within it, through contact with effete matter from the body of the parasite, and thus destroy what otherwise it would nourish. But the primary object, the healthy maturity of the larva, being attained, the development of the canal is then completed. PART I. CHALCIDID^. The two species I am about to describe are parasites in the nests of the wild-bee, Antho- phora retusa. They seem to differ in their particular economy as in generic character. The first species is generically distinct, so far as I am able to ascertain, from any hitherto described genus ; the other is a species of Monodontomerus, which may prove to be iden- tical with a known species, but of which there is some doubt ; so that the name which I propose for it must be regarded as provisional. OF CERTAIN CHALCIDID^E AND ICHNEUMONIDiE. 63 Fam. CHALCIDID^. Gen. Anthophobabia, Newp. Char. Gen.* Fern. Caput thorace latius. Antenna 6-articulatas (?), pilosae; articulis 2do 3tio 4to 5toque subaequalibus, 6to clavam elongato-ovalem efformante. Thorax abdomenque longitudine aequales. Alee vena mediana bifida. Tarsi 5-articulati. Mas. Antenna 4-articulatag ; articulo basali arcuato, magnopere dilatato, inferne excavato ; 2do cylindrico, 3tio magno globoso, 4to elongato-ovali. Oculi stemmatosi. Alee abbreviatae. As the females of this species are the most numerous, and are most likely to be met with, I have regarded this sex as affording good generic characters, although those of the male are the most extraordinary. The name I propose for the species is Anthophobabia betusa ; Fern. (Tab. VIII. fig. 2.) JEneo-viridis, capite magno, oculis compositis nigris, abdomine nitido ovali, alis magnis rotundatis, pedibus flavescenti- bus. Mas. (fig. 1.) Flavus vel saturate ferrugineus, capite magno rotundato ocello utrinque unico tribusque in vertice instructo nigrescente, pedibus robustis. — Long. lin. 1. Hab. in cellulis Anthophora retusce, apud Rutupium in Comitatu Cantio. In the month of August 1831, while examining the dry clay bank beneath the ruins of the Roman castle at Kichborough, near Sandwich in Kent, in search of the larvse of Meloe in the cells of Anthophora retusa, with which the bank was thickly perforated, I found many cells filled with an abundance of minute parasitic larvse, about one line in length, and apparently full-grown ; but scarcely a cell contained any vestige of its original inha- bitant, the larva of Anthophora. During that autumn and the following spring I met with these parasites so frequently in the cells, in different stages of development, that although I regarded them at that time as a new species of Chalcididce, I took little heed of them, as my chief object then was to obtain the Meloes, and as I expected to find them on future occasions in equal abundance. Indeed they were so common as to occasion me considerable annoyance in finding the cells filled with these intruders instead of the larvse of Anthophora or Meloe. I took care, however, to make very precise drawings of both sexes, in the perfect state, and of the larva, and also entered some notes of description. In the following years, 1832 and 1834, I again met with them, more especially on the 21st of August in the latter year, but not in such profusion as at first ; but I have not been able to procure them since that period. The larva (fig. 3) is completely apodal, of a subcylindrical form, a little attenuated at each extremity, and composed of fourteen segments. The head is small, like that of the wasp, or hornet, and the mandibles are short and acute. It occurred in the bee-cells to the num- ber of thirty or fifty in each. I found it not only in the autumn, but also in the winter and early spring, in this state, but in some cells the larvse had changed to nymphs before the month of September. * These generic characters were published in full, together with short specific characters, in the ' Gardeners' Chro- nicle,' March 24, 1849, No. 12. page 183, in the report of the reading of the first part of this paper. 64 MR. NEWPORT ON THE ANATOMY AND DEVELOPMENT When the nymph (fig. 6) state was attained, at the end of August, the change to the imago occurred in about ten or twelve days afterwards, and the perfect insect hybernated during the following seven or eight months. In most instances, however, no change took place until the spring, the period of hybernation being passed in the state of larva. The fact of the larvae being full-grown at the end of August, and the cell otherwise entirely empty, seems to indicate that the species is carnivorous and feeds on the young of the Bee. The imago. — The two sexes of this insect differ much in their anatomy and general appearance, and the dissimilarity is so great, that if they were found in separate cells, in- stead of being constantly together, they might readily be taken for distinct species. The males are heavy and creeping in their movements, scarcely ever making use of their wings, or attempting to escape, but the females are lively and very active. Description of the species. — The male (fig.l) is of a deep yellow colour, very different from the female, which is of a shining bronze-green. }t has a large rounded head, somewhat wider than the thorax, with a single ocellus on each side, instead of the usual large com- pound eyes of the tribe, and it has also a transverse row of three ocelli on the vertex. The antennae (fig. 1 a & b), as I have shown, differ so much from these organs in the other sex, that they might easily be mistaken for those even of an entirely different genus. The prothorax is conical, and the head is supported on it as on a pivot. The mesothorax is somewhat quadrangular, and the scutellum very large. The abdomen in both sexes has seven distinct segments : it is sessile and of a suboval form. The legs are more robust in the male than in the other sex, the tibia and femur being well developed, and the tarsi are five-jointed. The wings are small, narrow, and extend backwards, when folded, as they usually are, to about one half the length of the abdomen. I never have seen the male unfold, or attempt to use them. The female (fig. 2) is of a shining bronze-green colour, with a large head, and large com- pound eyes at the sides. The antennae (fig. 2 a), as in most of the tribe, are each formed of a long basilar joint, about one half the length of the entire organ, the remaining portion composed of five joints being somewhat clavate. The prothorax and mesothorax resemble those of the male, as also does the abdomen, excepting that it is highly polished. The ovipositor is concealed. The wings are large, rounded, and iridescent, and the insect is exceedingly active on them. The legs (fig. 5 d) in this sex are yellow, and less developed than in the male. The number of females in each nest was as six or eight to one of the other sex, the number of the whole in each nest being from thirty to fifty. I have been unable to find any description in the works of entomologists of this curious genus of parasites. Mr. Walker, our most assiduous monographer of the Chalcidida, is unacquainted with it ; and the only naturalist, so far as I can ascertain, who has made reference to an insect which possibly may have some affinity with this, is Mr. Westwood, who, in his work * published in 1839, mentions a species found by M. Audouin in Prance, in the nests of " Odynerus, Anthophora and Osmia," but he adds that " the species has not yet been described." Since then he has again alluded to M. Audouin's insect f, as * Introduction to Modern Classification of Insects, vol. ii. part xi. p. 160. (March 1839.) f Proc. Entom. Soc. Lond., July 5, 1847, p. xviii, in the Transactions, vol. v. part 3. 1848. OF CERTAIN CHALCIDIDjE AND ICHNEUMONIDjE. 65 having " singularly distorted antennse, and the wings almost rudimental," thus offering, he says, " a strikingly opposite analogy to other hee-parasites." But without describing M. Audouin's insect, either generically or specifically, or explaining in what its " stri- kingly opposite analogy" consists, this naturalist has proposed to designate that insect Melittobia Audouinii. A name thus given without a description, either generic or spe- cific, cannot, however, be adopted ; even if that insect should ultimately prove to be iden- tical with mine. The necessity for precise description when a name is imposed will at once be perceived, in the fact that both Reaumur and DeGeer long ago found Chalcidi- dous parasites in the nests of mason-bees, and yet, up to the present time, their species have not been clearly made out. Reaumur * found more than thirty larvae of one species, and in other nests ten or twelve of a larger species. DeGeer f also found twenty speci- mens of another kind in a single cell, and which he reared to the perfect state. He re- marks, too, that the larvae of mason-bees are very subject to be destroyed in their cells by the larvae of different species of Ichneumon. The species found by DeGeer seems to have been a Pteromalus, or nearly allied to that genus. These facts are interesting, as showing that mason-bees are infested by many parasites. The occurrence of Audouin's insect in the nest of Odynerus, as well as of Osmia and Anthophora, as stated, renders its identifica- tion with the insect I have discovered very doubtful. I have never found my species in any other than the nests of Anthophora. The habits of this insect may be inferred from the peculiar organization of the male. From both sexes being found in the closed cells of the bee, and from the absence of a long ovipositor in the female, we may conclude that the eggs are deposited while the nest is being provisioned, or immediately before it is closed ; and that, like the true Ichneumons, the parent either plunges her eggs into the body of the newly-hatched bee-larva, or attaches them to its skin. The bee-larva, like many other species similarly circum- stanced, continues to feed, and grow, and supply nourishment to the parasites ; and by the time it has consumed the whole of its provision, these also are far advanced in growth. When the young bee is entirely destroyed these are matured, and prepare for their change to the state of nymph, which they assume lying loosely in the cell, without spinning sepa- rate cocoons. Erom the circumstance that although both sexes are found moving about freely in the cell, the male is by far the least active, and especially from the fact that his organs of vision are merely single ocelli, instead of large compound eyes, as in the other sex, I am led to the conclusion that impregnation is effected before the insects quit their habitation ; because ocelli, being different in their structure from the individual parts of the com- pound eyes, are fitted only for near vision. The difference of structure consists in this : the cornea, or external surface of each part of the compound eye, which is individually as perfect, as an organ of vision, as the ocellus, or single eye, is less convex than the cornea of the latter ; while the chamber of the eye, or space between the cornea and the termina- tion of the nerve at the bottom of the structure, is of much greater length in the com- * Memoires pour servir a l'Histoire des Insectes, tome vi. part. i. p. 98. 12mo. Amsterdam, 1748. t Memoires, tome ii. part. 2. p. 887-8. pi. 30. fig. 23-25. VOL. XXI. K 66 MR. NEWPORT ON THE ANATOMY AND DEVELOPMENT pound eye than in the single. The result of these two conditions is, that the compound eye is fitted for viewing objects at a considerable distance, but with little magnifying power ; while the ocellus has great magnifying power, but is fitted only for viewing near objects. The male with his single eyes may thus be regarded as acute, but short-sighted, the very opposite of his partner. But this condition is essential to him, and fully suffi- cient, if, as presumed, the greater portion of his existence is passed in a closed cell, not half an inch in diameter, and from which perhaps he never wanders more than to the distance of a few inches. But stemmata or ocelli only would be insufficient for the other sex, who has not only to seek out the proper locality for her eggs, but also to elude the vigilance of the bee in whose nest she is seeking to introduce her own progeny. Instead, therefore, of mere stemmata, the eyes of the female are multiplied, and occupy, as in most other perfect insects, a large portion of the surface on each side of the head. Each of these aggregated eyes has a much greater length of sight, or distance of vision, than is afforded by the different structure of stemmata ; while the multiplicity of these organs at one spot supplies to the insect at once long focal distance, or long-sightedness ; and their multiplicity more than compensates for the narrowness of the field of each cornea. The conclusions, then, which are deducible from the structure of the organs of vision seem to be, that whenever an insect is provided only with stemmata, the habits of the species, in that state of existence, are restricted to a few objects or requirements ; or that the species is limited in perception and locality ; while, on the contrary, when the organs of vision are multiplied and aggregated to form what we designate a compound eye, as in the imago state of most perfect insects, the field of vision, as well as the focal distance, or length of sight, and with these the range of the insect, are greatly extended. Other facts in the comparative anatomy of this parasite confirm these conclusions. The short closed wings of the male, as noticed by Mr. Westwood in regard to the undescribed insect Mellitobia *, contrasted with the wings of the female, lead us to infer that the former sex rarely or never employs them in flight, and confirm the opinion that impreg- nation is the sole requirement for the male, and is effected within the cell. This condition of the sexes affords a remarkable contrast to that of Stylops, which I for- merly had the honour of bringing before the notice of this Society, Jan. 19, 1847 f. In that genus, as will be remembered, the worm-like female is sought out by the active male, in which the organs of vision, as in the equally active males of the Hive-bee and Glow-worm, are enormously multiplied, yet merely for one single act of existence — the continuation of the species. Thus it may be seen that under every form of body, and of each individual organ, the special anatomy of a species is an index to its natural history and economy. The second Chalcididous parasite, which I have found in the nest of Anthophora, is an insect of different character from the one just described, but equally illustrates the gene- ral views now proposed. * Compare Mr. Westwood's remark on M. Audouin's insect above referred to, Introduction, &c, vol. ii. p. 160. f Linn. Trans, vol. xx. p. 347-349. OF CERTAIN CHALCIDIDJE AND ICHNEUMON IBM. 67 MONODONTOMERTJS NITIDUS. On the 12th of September, 1847, I detected, in several cells of Anthophora retusa, in a dry clay-bank at Gravesend, a number of white Hymenopterous larva?, which at first I mistook for those just described. There were from twelve to twenty-five in each cell, appa- rently full-grown, and measuring each about one quarter of an inch in length. The body, in these larvae (fig. 7 & 8), was formed of fourteen distinct segments, each divided trans- versely on the dorsal surface into two, and covered with exceedingly fine, scattered, brown- ish hairs. The head was small, and provided, as in all parasitic Hymenoptera, with short, transverse, corneous mandibles, and the larvae had considerable power of locomotion, by the extension and shortening of the segments. The whole of the food that had been pro- vided for the bee-larva was already consumed, and the bee-cell contained only the para- sites and the dried tegument and head of the young bee, which seemed to have been starved. It was a question with me whether the bee-larva had not been killed by the other larvae piercing it, and abstracting its fluids from without ? This query, then, seemed to be answered by the circumstance that the number of the parasites was dis- proportioned to the size of the victim, which, had it served as food for them, would in all probability have been entirely consumed. Besides which, one anatomical fact showed that they were external feeders, — their bodies were covered with a few scattered hairs, appre- ciators of contact ; a condition which I have never yet observed in the soft-bodied, inter- nal-feeding larvae of other Hymenoptera, and one which is as little required by them, as it doubtless would be inconvenient. Added to this, the great power of locomotion pos- sessed by these larvae, — which is neither possessed nor required by internal feeders, which remain almost constantly in the same spot, — suggested the opinion that it is on the food of the bee that these larvae subsist, and not on the young bee itself, which may perish merely by deprivation of its proper nourishment. The larvae also exhibited some indications of the formation of an anal outlet to the alimentary canal, which are not apparent in internal feeders at this stage of growth. I preserved these larvae, in the cells in which they were found, through the following winter, and although the remains of the bee were left with them in the cell, it continued untouched, and they exhibited no further change until the middle of May 1848. At that time some of the specimens gave signs of approaching transformation, in the shortened and more shrivelled appearance of their bodies. Each of the larvae then spun some very delicate silk, in small quantity. Shortly before they were ready to enter the nymph state, the alimentary organs became perforated, and faeces were then passed for the first time during the whole period of the insect's previous existence. The faeces passed were little solid brown masses, that closely resembled the faecal masses passed by the pollinivorous larva of Anthophora, which, like its parasites, as I have constantly found, passes nothing from its alimentary canal until it is about to change to a nymph. These faecal masses seemed to indicate the supposed nature of the food, — pollen and honey ; and to support the opinion formed of the habits of these larvae from some points in their external anatomy. From twelve to twenty masses were passed by each larva : these were composed of the refuse of digestion and of epithelial cells accumulated during the period of feeding, and ' k2 68 MR. NEWPORT ON THE ANATOMY AND DEVELOPMENT retained in the digestive sac until the period of its perforation. In this way the food and abode of the insects are maintained pure and uncontaminated, and the digestive apparatus is completed, and the refuse of nutrition ejected only when the whole of the food has been consumed. Thus we find the most perfect concordance between the internal as well as external anatomy, and the functions and economy of the animal, exemplifying in every particular the harmony of creation. I have stated that the digestive cavity is at first a closed sac. This species has enabled me to demonstrate the fact, and further to illustrate the manner in which it is changed from this form to that of a tube or canal. On dissecting this larva, I found that nearly the whole interior is occupied by the di- gestive apparatus, which has the form of a bag, or rather of a Florence flask (fig. 9). Pro- ceeding from the mouth and pharynx is a narrow short oesophagus (a), which suddenly en- larges into the common cavity (b) : this occupies nearly the whole of the interior, and has extremely thick walls, formed of large packets of granulated cell-masses, inclosed between an exceedingly delicate muscular envelope on the external surface, and an equally fine, gra- nulated membrane on the internal. It is divided from the oesophagus internally by a thick fold of its mucous and celliform tissues, which here constitute a complete cardiac valve (c), and prevent the regurgitation of the food. At the posterior, or larger end (d), it is con- nected with a column of cell-masses (dd), which have partially coalesced on the exterior, in the formation of a fibro-cellular envelope, and which, proceeding backwards, are united with the common tegument of the body in the fourteenth, or anal segment (/). In the centre of this segment, on the external surface, the skin and muscles separate at a definite point in the formation of the anal outlet. When the change is about to commence, the cell-masses that form the csecal end (g) of the cavity also separate and recede, and this separation extends backwards to the fourteenth segment in the axis of the column of cells. By the centrifugal expansion of these, and the consequent widening of the tube, the canal is completed, and quickly becomes lined with a delicate membrane, like the interior of the larger cavity. The digestive organ is enveloped in a thick layer of granulous matter, in which the Malpighian vessels (h) and the organs of reproduction are developed. At its anterior and inferior surface it covers two large sacs, the silk-glands (i). These are the first developed organs of this class of structure, and are needed thus early for the produc- tion of the silk which the larva spins before its change. The nymph state (fig. 11) was assumed by two of my specimens at the end of May. On the 30th of that month I found that three others also had undergone their change, and that the remaining ones were preparing to do so. The nymph had the usual form of the tribe, and the sexes were now for the first time distinguished. The male nymph was smaller, more slender, and with the apex of the body acute ; while the female was much larger than the male, with a short projecting keel at the posterior of the abdomen — the ovipositor. The imago (fig. 12). — On the 27th of June, about four weeks after entering the nymph state, one of the female specimens threw off its envelope and became perfect, and proved to be a species of the genus Monodontomerm. A few days afterwards one of the males appeared ; and in the course of a week, before the 3rd of July, most of my specimens had become perfect. OF CERTAIN CHALCIDIDjE AND ICHNEUMONID^E. 69 Of fifteen specimens allowed to complete their changes, there were only two males, with thirteen females. The remaining specimens I had preserved in their larva and nymph states for dissection. This small number of males coincides with the small number of this sex in other bee-parasites ; but the deficiency in numbers is fully compensated for by the activity of the individuals. The fewness of the males, and their great activity, lead me to believe that the females are impregnated, not before, but shortly after they have left the cell, and in the hot sunshine. Like the Chrysididce, these insects are active only in strong light. Both sexes of my speci- mens always became dull and motionless when removed from the light ; but when exposed to the sun they immediately resumed their activity. They seem to live but a short period in the imago state. The males died within a few days, and the females in about a fortnight. I have proposed for this species the name of nitidus *, from its elegant and glistening appearance. It may be described as follows : MONODONTOMERTJS NITIDUS. Male. — Head and thorax brilliant shagreen, with fine short hairs : head broader than the thorax, face bluish; labrum emarginated ; eyes and ocelli large, dark brown; antenna? 11-jointed, basal joint coppery. Prothorax compressed and slightly excavated at the sides. Metathorax and scutellum large. Abdomen green bronze, hairy, petiolated, very much compressed at its base, and keeled on the ventral surface ; first and second pairs of thighs green ; third pair large, copper-coloured ; tibiae and tarsi fuscous, very hairy. Wings hyaline, hairy, with black costal spot. Length two lines and a half. Female (fig. 12). — Head and thorax brilliant shagreen, hairy : head large ; face blue, punctured ; eyes and ocelli large, brown; antennae pubescent, 11-jointed, with the basal joint coppery, as in the male. Thorax compressed laterally. Scutellum very large. Thighs green, shining. Tibiae and tarsi hairy, fuscous, with an acute spine at the articulation of the tibiae. Abdomen coppery, polished, with a few white hairs, subsessile, compressed at its sides, and strongly keeled ; ovipositor exserted, longer than the abdomen, and very acute. Wings dusky iridescent, hairy, and with dark marginal spot. Length of body two lines f. From the length of the ovipositor in this insect, we may conclude that the female does not enter the bees' nest to deposit her eggs ; but that she perforates the cell and conveys them into it, after the cell is closed, and probably after the young bee is hatched. Every part of the anatomy of this insect, as of the preceding, and of every other species when attentively considered, will thus be found to exemplify its general economy, and to indi- cate how closely the one is connected with the other, — how intimately associated is the instinct of a living being with special conformations of its organism. Some other families of Hymenopterous parasites are marked instances of the unfolding of peculiar instincts subsequent to the development of particular structures. Amongst these we may notice two of the true Ichneumonidte, Paniscus virgatus and Ichneumon Atropos. * This name was proposed for the insect at a Meeting of the Entomological Society, on the 3rd of July, 1848, and the discovery of the larva in the nests of Anthophora retusa was then mentioned. See Proceedings, Ent. Soc. Trans, vol. v. part 5. p. xlii. 1848. f Mr. Walker has recently re-described this species as " Monodontomerus Anthophorce, Newp." See Ann. and Mag. of Nat. Hist. vol. ix. No. 49. Jan. 1852, p. 43. 70 MR. NEWPORT ON THE ANATOMY AND DEVELOPMENT Postscript to the foregoing Section of this Paper. Read May 1, 1849. I am desirous of appending a few remarks to the section of this paper that has already- been communicated to the Society, before proceeding with the remainder. These refer to the second bee-parasite described, and provisionally named Monodonto- merus nitidus. The parasitism of insects of this genus on Anthophora had not previously been ascertained. M. obsoletus had been suspected of infesting the genus Osmia *, like one of its affinities t, but its larva, so far as I am aware, was unknown. I found the larva of M. nitidus in the nests of Anthophora, on the 27th of September, 1847, and men- tioned the fact to an entomologist, Mr. F. Smith, who, some time afterwards, as he him- self informed me, obtained specimens of it from the same locality. From a note on its habits, which he has recently communicated to this Society J, it appears that the larva is carnivorous, and feeds on the bee-larva, and not on its food, as I had believed. I am thankful for this correction of observation. The mistake arose in my haste to furnish part of this paper for reading to the Society by a given time, which obliged me to forego an examination of the parts of the mouth, which are difficult to observe, and compelled me to rely on the appearance of the faeces, and on the fact of having found my full-grown speci- mens in the cell of the bee with the dried-up remains of the bee-larva. I have now made the required observations on the oral organs, and also have microscopically examined the contents of the digestive apparatus, and these lead me to agree with Mr. Smith in regarding the larva as carnivorous, and not as pollinivorous. The mandibles are slender, arched and acute, and are fitted only for piercing, and not for comminuting food ; the labium and maxillae are thick, large and membranous, somewhat like those of the larva of Paniscus. The contents of the digestive apparatus I found to consist of large and small nucleated cells, consolidated together, and darkened in appearance, conditions induced probably by admixture with secretions from the parietes of the apparatus during digestion. Thus further examination of this larva tends but to confirm, instead of to confute the general view which I have constantly maintained, — that structure, when carefully and accurately investigated, is an infallible index to function and habit. My incorrectness in opinion as to the particular kind of food of the larva of Monodontomerus was the result of hurried and incomplete inquiry, and it is now rectified by direct observation on the habits of the insect, and by closer attention to its anatomy. Yet the main object of this paper was but little affected by the error, my aim being to show not merely that Hymenopte- rous parasites may differ in their kind of food, but the more general fact of a concordance between structure and kind of life ; — and also that whether the Hymenopterous parasite is shut up in the same cell with an insect that continues to feed, or whether it preys on the surface or interior of such insect, its alimentary canal is closed and incomplete until it has ceased to take food and has acquired its full size, when the canal becomes perforated, and allows a passage for the ejection of the refuse of nutrition ; the necessity for this late com- pletion of the organs of digestion having reference to the preservation of the food of the parasite in a condition fitted for its proper nourishment. * Westwood's Introduction, &c, vol. ii. p. 160. t Id. % Proceedings, vol. ii. p. 29. OF CERTAIN CHALCIDID^E AND ICHNEUMONIDjE. 71 PART II. ICHNEUMONIM. Read May 1, 1849. Paniscus virgatus, Fourc. The parasites of the genus Paniscus, and their affinities Ophion, which are some of the most active and percipient of insects in their perfect state, are examples of one of the very lowest forms of life as larvae, as well as of one of the most curious modes of nutrition. In the earlier stages of growth they more resemble cotyledonous vegetables, in general appearance, than animal organisms which are destined to become some of the most perfect, and most active of their Class. I have traced Paniscus virgatus from the bursting of its egg to its assumption of the imago state, and have watched its growth and the formation of its tissues. The earliest notice I am acquainted with on the habits of an insect of this family is of Ophion luteum, by Goedart*, who found five specimens of the imago produced on the 29th of June from the hard cocoon formed in September of the previous year, by the larva of Cerura vmula, L. Bonnet f afterwards, as quoted by DeGeer J, made some observations on the singular economy of this insect. He remarked that the eggs of Ophion are attached to the outside of the body of the caterpillar of the Puss-moth, by a short pedicle or footstalk inserted into the skin, and that the parasite when hatched is nourished on the outside of the body, still attached to its shell and pedicle like a vegetable growth. DeGeer § found the same insect on the Puss-moth larva, and ascertained that several indi- viduals subsist on the same caterpillar, which dies of exhaustion after it has formed its hard wooden cocoon. More recently the eggs of this genus have been the subjects of a memoir by Dr. Hartig, as mentioned by Mr. Westwood ||, but this memoir I have not yet seen. I do not pretend, therefore, to claim entire originality for the few observations which I have made on Paniscus, but merely to state what I have myself observed, in accordance with the views I have proposed. On the 26th of September, 1847, I found many nearly full-grown larva? of the Broom- moth, Mamestra pisi (fig. 13), feeding on that plant in the hot sunshine. On the following day I detected a number of little shining black-looking bodies (a) on one of these larvae, attached to different parts of its three thoracic segments. On examining these bodies more closely, I found to my surprise that they were black shining eggs (a), inserted at one end into the skin of the caterpillar. These eggs were somewhat oval, or rather pear-shaped, the attenuated footstalk being lodged under the skin. There were eight thus attached. But what fixed my attention closely was, that most of the eggs had already burst, or were in the act of bursting longitudinally (14 c), precisely as I have formerly seen and described in the eggs of the Iulidce %. Each egg had divided in the middle line, at its anterior ex- tremity, and the two halves of the shell were separating like the cotyledons of the seeds of * Metamorphoses Naturelles, 12mo, torn. ii. p. 162. pi. 37. A la Haye, 1700. t Memoires de l'Academie des Sciences de Paris. % Memoires, torn. ii. p. ii. page 851. § Ibid. p. 852, 853. || Introduction, &c, vol. ii. p. 146. ^ Phil. Trans. 1841. 72 MR. NEWPORT ON THE ANATOMY AND DEVELOPMENT leguminous plants, whilst the head of the little white larva was slowly passing out between them (14 a&b), like the germ-roots, to become affixed by its mouth to the skin of the cater- pillar, the body being retained within the shell. As the parasites became attached, the fated caterpillar moved about with increased rapidity, twisting and turning its body in every direc- tion, and evidently endeavouring to get rid of its new-born enemies, but to no effect. The little beings, securely affixed by their shells, giving no evidence of sensation, and scarcely even of vitality, were unaffected by these endeavours to displace them, and retained firm hold. The cleavage of the shell was chiefly on the under surface, so that the two halves formed a kind of bivalve covering or cloak to the larva, and clasped its body as the head emerged! The head at first was the only portion of the larva that was exposed. But the little creature grew rapidly, deriving its nourishment by slight puncture and suction through the skin of the caterpillar, with scarce an abrasion of the surface. The rapidity of its growth in this way was truly astonishing, the whole of the nutriment thus imbibed being appropriated to its increase, excepting only the very little expended by cutaneous transpiration; for respiration at this early period can scarcely be proved to have com- menced, as I was unable at this stage to detect the respiratory organs, while the digestive cavity, as we have already seen in other parasites, was imperforate. Within two hours from the bursting of the shell there was a marked increase of size in the larva. In the course of the first day the prothorax and the head were extended from the shell, and early in the second day the three thoracic segments, as well as a large portion of its ventral sur- face, were exposed, the larva (fig. 15) then being nearly twice its original size in the ovum. When examined by a lens it seemed to be almost entirely formed of an immense stomach, connected with the mouth by a short and very narrow oesophagus, as in the larva oiMono- dontomerus. The motions of the stomach, vermicular and incessant, were distinctly seen through the tegument. As the insect increased in size, it was more and more extended from the shell. Its anterior part grew the most rapidly, the largest segment being the first, or prothoracic. It was not until after the completion of the second day that I was able to detect the respiratory organs through the tegument, although I had previously sought for them with much care. The little vegetating being then seemed like an embryo, which, — instead of deriving its means of growth, bike other embryos of its class, in the unburst egg by imbi- bition of fluid from without, through its shell and membranes, — had been prematurely exposed by the sudden rupture of its envelope, and left to perish, or to absorb adventitious nourishment from other bodies. I could not help regarding it among insects as the representative of the embryo Kangaroo among quadrupeds, prematurely liberated from its foetal coverings, and extruded from the body of its parent, to continue existence attached externally to the teat in the marsupium. But still more closely did it resemble the em- bryo of the inferior Ifyriapoda, — the Iulidce, in which the young, after bursting its shell longitudinally, as in Paniscus, is detained within it, and continues to grow by imbibition of nourishment through its membranes from the surrounding medium. There is, how- ever, this difference. In the Iulida? the retained embryo is inclosed in its membranes after the shell is burst, and does not throw them off until it has acquired organs of loco- motion and is able to move about and seek food. But the young Paniscus bursts its OF CERTAIN CHALCIDIDjE AND ICHNEUMONID.E. 73 membranes with its shell, although it is completely apodal and incapable of locomotion, and has to derive nourishment, not by simple endosmosis through its foetal envelopes into the tissues of its body by similar means, but by the direct abstraction of fluid from another living body into its own. To ensure this, the larva requires to be attached by its terminal segments to its shell during the whole period of its growth, and like the larvae already described, it passes no faeces until it has attained its full growth, and becomes detached from its shell, to prepare for its change to a nymph. After the second day I was accidentally prevented for some time from making any very precise observations on these insects, further than noticing that they grew rapidly from day to day, and that they retained their connexion with the shell. On the 4th of October, the ninth day of their existence, I was enabled to resume my examinations of them, and then found that several of them had perished, and that three only remained healthy and thriving. The caterpillar on which they had fed had become shrunken and wasted, but still retained sufficient irritability and muscular power to contract its body with a quick lateral motion when touched. The larvae that remained healthy were now at least twelve times their original size (fig. 16). The head (16 a) of the larva, which at first was the most ample region of its body, was now the smallest, relatively to other parts which had increased more rapidly, and but little exceeded the size of the ovum. The parasites were attached, one on the dorsal surface and one on each side of the caterpillar, the latter one coiling round the inferior surface of the thoracic seg- ments (fig. 17). Their bodies, enlarged and fattened, were of a dark pea-green colour, and were formed each of fourteen segments, all of which, more especially the anterior ones, were distinctly marked. The stomach in each was in a state of incessant to and fro ver- micular motion, and had become enveloped in a thick tissue of little white follicles, which have been regarded as the rudiments of fat-vesicles. No anal outlet had yet been formed, nor was there, so far as I could discover, any perforated intestine. In the interval of seven days, during which I had been prevented from following up my observations, each larva had three times cast its tegument. This, I believe, is the first time that the soft- bodied Hymenopterous larvae have been noticed to undergo this change. These larvae, therefore, as I have already pointed out, are not exceptions, as they have been suspected to be, to the general rule of development in hexapods, in so far as refers to the casting of the skin ; although, as the body is still connected with the egg-shell, the cast teguments are not entirely got rid of until the larva is detached to become a nymph. The skin is fissured in Paniscus, as in other larvae, along the dorsal surface of the anterior thoracic segments, and is gradually removed from the dorsal, lateral, and inferior surfaces of the head and succeeding segments, by the growth and expansion of the new tegument beneath it, the fissure being extended, and the covering slipped off from above downwards and back- wards, as much by the rapidity of growth in the parts beneath, as by the occasional slight muscular contractions of the segments. When I re-examined my specimens on the ninth day, neither of the cast layers had been removed further than to the posterior segments of the body, which they partially inclosed. The first shed skin (fig. 16 a) was attached to the anal segment, and enveloped this part, surrounded by the shell, and covering the inferior surface. The second (b), within the first, but larger and more corrugated, partially sur- VOL. XXI. l 74 MR. NEWPORT ON THE ANATOMY AND DEVELOPMENT rounded the twelfth and thirteenth segments : and the third (c), the deciduation of which I had the good fortune to witness, while examining the larva for other purposes, was in- ternal to, and partly covered by, the second, and was not forced back further on the ventral surface than to the ninth segment, although, like the preceding, it was entirely removed from the dorsal surface. The whole thus formed a kind of treble sheathing to the posterior segments of the body, until the period when the larva, full-grown to reple- tion, was to prepare for its transformation, become detached from its shell, and leave its deciduated coverings in connexion with it. On the tenth day, October 5th, the larvae had further increased in size, were more raised from the body of the caterpillar, and lay coiled up in a more circular form. Each one was still attached to its egg-shell, although now more than twenty times its size, and each adhered to the caterpillar by its oral organs, exhausting and impoverishing it of its juices. The skin of the parasite again appeared tense and dull, as when about to be cast. The head and thorax had a whiter and more fibrous appearance, the stomach was less easily distinguished through the tegu- ment from other viscera, excepting at intervals, and the heart was seen in motion along the dorsal surface, but with little regularity in its contractions. Its movements appeared to be greatly influenced by the motions of the digestive apparatus, which seemed to induce the tissues around it to contract, and thus excite a reflected action in the circulatory organ, the movements of which appeared to be greatest in the middle of its chambers. The tissue which has hitherto usually been regarded as the adipose — and which I may hereafter have occasion to notice more particularly — was now much extended and augmented in size, and the respiratory organs, although extremely simple, were become well marked. On the eleventh day the larva was still larger, and became detached from the egg-shell; but whether this resulted from accident, or from the completion of its growth, I was not then able to determine. Its tegument had become more opake, and there were tubercular pro- jections at the sides of its abdominal segments, immediately below the line of longitudinal tracheal vessels. On the twelfth day I found that the separation of the specimen from its shell was accidental and premature, and that the larva was unable to re-affix its oral organs to the skin of the caterpillar and perished. This is usually the case when a larva is prematurely detached ; and this result explains the necessity for the continuance of its connexion with the egg-shell, which, as DeGeer has observed of the eggs of Ophion, is so firmly inserted into the caterpillar that it cannot be removed without lacerating the skin. My further observations were now continued on the other specimens of the same brood, which had been more slow of growth. On the fifteenth day one of these was mature, and separated from the shell, leaving its cast teguments forced into a little mass attached to it. DeGeer* formerly noticed that the larva of Ophion left something connected with the egg-shell, but he does not appear to have been aware that it was the entire cast skin of the larva. My specimen of Paniscus now measured somewhat more than half an inch in length, was of a curved form, and was smallest at each extremity. Mr. Westwood f has already indicated this as the general form of body of the larva of this tribe of parasites, and has mentioned that they have lateral fleshy tubercles. He has described the parts of the mouth as consisting of " two obliquely deflexed horny mandibles, very small, slender, * Mt'moires. t Introduct. vol. ii. p. 147. OF CERTAIN CHALCIDIDjE AND ICHNEUMONID^E. 75 and acute, beneath which is a curved fleshy lobe, formed by the union of the dilated maxillae and labium." In this account he is perfectly correct. But while challenging the description given by Reaumur of the head of the larva, he appears himself to have fallen into the singular error of mistaking the rudiments of the future antennae for ocelli. He says*, "The head is furnished with two distinct round points — resembling ocelli," but he makes no allusion to the existence of antennae. No organs of vision exist in any of the parasitic Hymenoptera at the "points" he has indicated in his text and figure of the head of these larvae, the parts referred to being the apices of the antennae of the future imago. I have traced the antennal nerves into these parts in the larva of Ichneumon atropos, which closely resembles in this respect that of Paniscus. The small size and deflection of the mandibles partly account for the difficulty which this larva has in re- attaching itself to the caterpillar when detached from its shell, and the consequent neces- sity for this attachment for its preservation, — premature removal resulting in starvation, as with my first specimen. My second specimen, which left the shell only when matured, I placed on some bight mould, in a covered glass vessel, to observe its changes. I ex- pected to have seen it bury itself in the earth, knowing this to be the habit of the larva on which it feeds ; but in this I was disappointed. Its instincts were more limited and im- perfect than I had imagined. On the day after placing it on the mould, it was lying in a slight hollow on the surface, made by contracting and turning its body, and was in the act of spinning a delicate web of silk, under which it was lying, and where I hoped to have seen it change to a nymph. It attached a few grains of earth to the inside of the web, and between the threads scattered here and there, like the particles of earth inter- woven with its threads by the caterpillar of Mamestra, but after remaining at rest for a couple of days, I found it discoloured and dead. Thus checked in my observations, I had no hope of being able to complete this inquiry by tracing the insect to its imago state, until, on the 6th of April, 1848, I found, on exa- mining the earth in a breeding cage, in which I had kept many larvae of Mamestra pisi, to obtain the pupae of that insect, — in several earthen cocoons formed by the caterpillar, — from two to three cylindrical leather-bike cases of a black colour, applied so closely together that their walls formed angular surfaces, precisely bike the cells of a honeycomb, or wasp's nest. There were from two to three of these cylindrical cases in each earthen cocoon of Mamestra. Each cylinder measured about six-tenths of an inch in length. In some cocoons there were three cylinders, and in one only I found four. In the latter instance they were smaller than when the cocoon contained but two, as if the inmates had not been sufficiently fed. This was markedly the case with two of the four speci- mens found together, which were scarcely more than one-half the size and length of the others. Each of the cocoons of Mamestra was completed in the usual mode of this larva, its earthen walls being smoothed on their interior, agglutinated together, and lined with silk ; and each contained, besides the cylinders of the parasitic insects, the dried-up remains of the caterpillar. Erom these facts it seems to follow, that the economy of the parasite is this : the parent Ichneumon-fly deposits her eggs on the caterpillar when this is nearly full-grown, and * Introduct. vol. ii. p. 147, fig. 76. 14, p. 140. L2 76 MR. NEWPORT ON THE ANATOMY AND DEVELOPMENT will soon enter the earth, which it does, as I presume must have been the case with these insects, while the parasites are very young and small, otherwise they may be injured or detached while the caterpillar is burrowing and making its cell. The fated insect, ex- hausted by the parasites, has but sufficient strength to complete and tapestry its earthen chamber before it dies, leaving its newly -formed abode to the occupation of its enemies, which grow rapidly, as we have- seen, pass through the changes I have traced, and then form their own cocoon in which they are metamorphosed to nymphs. On examining one or two of the cylinders at the time of obtaining them in the begin- ning of April, I found that the inmates had very recently changed to nymphs (fig. 18). On the 8th of May one of these assumed the imago state (fig. 19), but escaped on my incautiously opening the box that inclosed them. On the 14-th two more appeared, and I now had the means of identifying the species. It proved to be as I have stated, Pcmiscm virgatus. It is probable that these insects may have come forth at a period earlier than in their natural haunts, having been kept in a warm room, and the temperature of the season, at the time of their evolution, being considerably higher than usual. It is worthy of remark, however, that the moth, or the larva of which this Paniseus is a parasite, kept during its pupa state under precisely similar circumstances, had already made its appearance a week at least previously; so that, under similar conditions of locality and temperature, the parasites came forth at the latest period. Trans Lwjl. Soc Vol XXI. t8j>16. G-M«wport, ViTCmg.&u cora * "W*»<-,I.iuiogrii^>«ro. Si.EiTOn CUi-dsi ■WWmg.lii OF CERTAIN CHALCIDID.E AND ICHNEUMONIDjE. 77 DESCRIPTION OP THE PIGURES. Fig. Fig. Fig, Fig. Fig. Fig. Fig. Fig. Fig. Fig. Fig, Fig Fig. Fig. Fig. Fig Fig Tab. VIII. 1. Anthophorabia retusa, Newp. (male). a. Antenna of the male, upper surface. b. Antenna of the male, inferior surface. 2. Anthophorabia retusa (female). 3. The larva of Anthophorabia retusa. 7. Larva of Monodontomerus nitidus, Newp., early stage. 8. Larva of Monodontomerus nitidus, Newp., full-grown. 9. Alimentary canal of the larva. (a). (Esophagus. (b). Stomach, or digestive cavity. (c). Cardiac valve. (a*). Pyloric valve. (e). The undeveloped celliform future intestine. (/). Future anal outlet. {g). Cascal end of the digestive cavity, the centre of which is the future pylorus. (h). The Malpighian vessels or bile-ducts. (i). The silk-glands. 10. Inferior surface of the head of the larva of Monodontomerus. 11. The nymph (male). 12. The imago (female). 13. The larva of the Broom Moth, Mamestra pisi, infested with the eggs (a) of the Ichneumon fly, Paniscus virgatus. 14 a 8s. b. The larva of Paniscus recently burst from the egg and still retained between the two halves of the shell. 15. Larva on the second day. 16. Larva on the ninth day. 16. Magnified larva to show the deciduation of the skin, a, b, c. 17. The dead and exhausted larva of Mamestra pisi, with the parasitic larva of Paniscus attached. 18. The nymph of Paniscus in its oval cocoon. 19. The imago. [ 79 ] IX. Further Observations on the Genus Anthophorabia. By George Newport, Esq!, F.E.S., F.L.S. 8fc. Read February 3, 1852. .HAVING had the good fortune, in September last, to re-discover in the nests of Antho- phora, at Gravesend, the Chalcididous parasite Anthophorabia, which, twenty years ago, I found at Richborough in Kent — and an account of which is given in my paper on the Chalcididce and Ichneumonidce — I feel it necessary to offer a few additional observations on this insect ; since one of the most remarkable peculiarities of its male sex — and on account of which the genus was characterized and named in that paper — has been denied to be a fact — the denial being printed in the " Proceedings " of the Linnean Society*, and else- where!. The peculiarity to which I allude is the possession of a single stemmatous eye, in the place of a compound eye, at the sides of the head in the male. At the time of communicating my paper on the Chalcididce, &c, to this Society, I was not in possession, as was then pretty well known, of specimens of the insect itself, but only of delineations which I had made in the year 1831 from living specimens, and at which time, and for two or three years afterwards, I found the insect in such abundance that, expecting to be able to obtain it at pleasure, I neglected to preserve it. Through the long interval of time which has since elapsed, up to September last, I have not again been able to find it. It was upon the very fact of the existence of stemmatous eyes, in the place of compound ones, in this insect, that some important physiological deductions in my paper are founded ; and thence it was reasonable to expect that every inquirer would have believed that of this fact, at least, I must have been quite certain, before venturing to deduce conclusions. Yet this has been repeatedly questioned by Mr. Westwood, and even in the " Proceedings " of the Society itself $. As I am now in possession of specimens of the insect, which I beg to lay before the Society §, I am enabled to prove that not only do stemmatous eyes, instead of compound ones, exist in the male, as I have stated, but also that the principal characters given in my paper as marking the genus, — the enlargement and excavation of the basilar joint of the antenna, as well as the enlargement of the middle joint, — are correct. The male has a single stemmatous eye on each side of the head, and three stemmata on the vertex, so * Vol. ii. p. 37. t Gardeners' Chronicle, May 12, 1849, p. 295. Annals and Mag. of Nat. Hist. (2nd ser.) No. 19, vol. iv. p. 39, July 1849. Trans. Entom. Soc. vol. v. part 7, 1849, p. lxv. X " The asserted possession of stemmatous eyes by the male was regarded as erroneous, there being no instance of such a structure, throughout the whole range of winged insects, whilst it is essentially a character of some of the wing-- less tribes." — Westwood in Proceedings of the Linnean Society, vol. ii. p. 37. § Specimens of both sexes of the insect were exhibited at the Meeting. 80 MR. NEWPORT'S OBSERVATIONS ON THE GENUS ANTHOPHORABIA. that, with the insect before us, we are now enabled to demonstrate that this little creature really does possess the eyes stated*. It is but just, however, to mention, that with regard to some other details of less importance, my former description admits of revision ; but any occasion for this, although asserted, could only have been guessed at as vaguely as with regard to the eyes, by those who have never seen my insect. Thus I now find that the club of the antenna, in both sexes, is formed of a plurality of closely-united immovable segments, instead of being but a single joint; a circumstance which affects the declared number of parts of which the antenna is composed ; and the possibility of which I have elsewhere admitted f. Further, the number of joints in the tarsi may either be regarded as five, as I have described them, if, as anatomists, we consider as a distinct joint the pad- like terminal portion of the foot ; or as four only, if this part be discarded, and the number be computed in the way usual with entomologists. With regard to the supposed identity J of Anthophorabia with the insect mentioned in my paper of the 20th March, 1849, p. 64, on the Chalcididce, and which had been named Me- littobia, but which, up to that period, had not been described §, there cannot be much diffi- culty in arriving at a conclusion in the negative ; if the description in the accounts given by the entomologist who has since repeatedly characterized the latter insect be correct. Thus the male of Anthophorabia has stemmatous eyes, while that of Melittobia is described as having " eyes and stemmata wanting ||," or as " omnino caecus^f," or " caecus**." And again, the male of Anthophorabia has the middle joint of the antennas " large and globose" or subangulated, while that of Melittobia was first stated to have " 2nd and 3rd joints small, nearly equal, 4th, 5th and 6th very small and subannulosettj" aud afterwards these characters were revised by the omission of all reference to the second and third joints, the statement being simply " articulis 4to, 5to et 6to minimis J J." So that, presuming these several descriptions to express the fact, the question must be looked upon as decided. Thus much then with regard to the identity of the genus Anthophorabia. In respect of the species there appears to be even less difficulty, Anthophorabia retusa being described both generically and specifically in my former paper, while no specific characters whatever have even as yet been published of Melittobia Audouinii. I now propose to revise the generic description of Anthophorabia in the following manner : — Earn. CHALCIDIDjE. Gen. Anthophorabia, Newp. Fern. Caput latitudine thoracis. Antennm 9-articulatse, pilosae ; articulo 3tio ad 6tum subsequalibus ; reliquis clavam solidam ovalera efformantibus. Thorax abdomenque aequales. Tarsi (4-?) 5-articulati in utroque sexu ; articulo 5to minimo pulvillo simili, fere obsoleto. * Page 63. f Ann. and Mag. of Nat. Hist. August 1849, p. 123. J Proc. Linn. Soc. vol. ii. p. 37. § See Mr. Westwood's "Introduction," &c., vol. i. p. 18. "The species has not yet been described." Also, Trans. Ent. Soc. vol. v. part 3, 1848 (Proceedings), p. xviii. || Gardeners' Chronicle, May 12, 1849, p. 295. ^f Transactions of the Entomological Society, vol. v. part 7, p. Ixv. 1849. ** Proceedings of the Linnean Society for May 1, 1849, vol. ii. p. 37. ff Gardeners' Chronicle, ubi suprh. %% Trans. Ent. Soc. and Proc. Linn. Soc. ubi suprh. MR. NEWPORT'S OBSERVATIONS ON THE GENUS ANTHOPHORABIA. 81 Mas. Caput magnum. Oculi stemmatosi. Antennce 10-articulatae ; articulo lmo globoso, minutissimo; 2do arcuato, magnopere dilatato, dimidio anteriore subtus excavato ; 3tio magno ; 4to adhuc majore, globoso v. subangulato ; 5to, 6to, 7moque minimis, cyatbiformibus ; 8vo, 9no, lOmoque auctis, clavam solidam ovalem efFormantibus. Aim abbreviatae. As the specimens which I now possess afford some specific characters which I do not remember to have observed in the specimens formerly obtained at Kichborough, and as I do not possess any of those to compare with them, I propose to name the species I have obtained at Gravesend, provisionally, in the event of its proving to be distinct, Anthopho- rabia fasciata, and to describe it as follows : — Anthophobabia fasciata ; Mas. Fulva, fasciis 5 transversis abdominalibus saturatiori- bus, antennarum articulis anterioribus oculis prothoracis margine posteriore macu- laque subalari utrinque in mesothorace nigrescentibus, pedibus subarcuatis robustis ambulatoriis, trochantere femorumque paris secnndi parte terminali subtus spinulis minutis dense barbatis, tibiis tarsisque omnibus fortiter spinosis. — Long. lin. 1. — Fcem. Mgro-aenea nitida, lineis 2 longitudinalibus in mesothorace scutelloque albi- dis, abdomine ovali elongato acuto fasciis transversis saturatioribus pilis albidis mar- ginatis, oculis rufescentibus, pedibus flavescentibus, femoribus saturatioribus, tibiis rectis elongatis pilosis, tarsis pilosis fortiter spinosis. Hab. in nidis Anthophorce retusce, juxta Gravesend in com. Cantio. These insects were found while myself and a friend were searching for the larvae of Monodontomerus nitidus, on the 14th of September, 1851, at Gravesend ; and although met with in only one bee's nest, I was fortunate in securing nearly one hundred and fifty specimens. Most of these were still in the nymph or pupa state, but some of them had already become imagos. On examining them on the following day, I found that several more had recently changed ; and while I was engaged in watching them, I had the satis- faction to observe two males throw off their coverings. Having placed the whole in a shallow vessel covered with glass, I was enabled to watch their proceedings. These males began immediately to traverse round the interior of the vessel leisurely, but very assi- duously, touching and turning many of the yet undeveloped female nymphs with their antennae. Occasionally they raised their rudimentary wings, but made no attempt to fly, or even to leap, as the females frequently do, although they were in no way confined for room. In this manner they continued to roam about, without making the slightest effort to escape, their sole attention being evidently directed to the unhatched females. The males appear to be very few in number in proportion to the females, as out of the hundred and fifty specimens obtained I could only find eleven. They are also very short- lived, as the whole of those which came forth in the afternoon of the day subsequent to that on which they were found, were dead on the following morning. The females were much longer-lived, and not only crept about freely, but occasionally leaped to a consider- able distance. I was not able to observe any direct communication between the sexes, notwithstanding the apparent attentions of the males in the way I have mentioned. Yet there afterwards appeared reason to believe that some of the females had been fecundated, probably, as for- VOL. XXI. M 82 MR. NEWPORT'S OBSERVATIONS ON THE GENUS ANTHOPHORABIA. merly suggested, while they were still included in the closed bee's nest. I had placed nearly a hundred females, including some which had been hatched in the closed cells, and others which I afterwards saw change from the nymph, in a glass tube, secured, as I be- lieved, completely with a cork. For a few days the insects remained quiet, occasionally voiding faeces ; thus showing that the females, at least, are destined to take food, and sur- vive for some time. But at the end of ten days or a fortnight I found, to my surprise, that the glass tube had become nearly empty, almost the whole of the insects I had inclosed in it having escaped, although the cork had not once been removed during the interval. They had contrived to insinuate themselves into slight depressions in the sides of the cork, between it and the glass, as I found one or two thus in the act of escaping ; while others, which had obtained their liberty, were noticed in different parts of the room, one or two being found in the window and elsewhere. This fact, trifling as it is, is inter- esting, as probably illustrative of the penetrating, fossorial habits of the species, and, with other circumstances, leads me to believe that the insect penetrates into the closed cell of the bee to deposit her eggs on the nearly full-grown larva within. Happening about the 20th of November, seven or eight weeks after this observation, to examine a box in which I had placed some larvae of Anthophorce in partially opened cells, I noticed a small parasite attached to the surface of one of them, and which, from its size, I at first mistook for a larva of Monodontomerus. But on opening the box again, about a week afterwards, I remarked that the parasite had but slightly increased in dimensions ; while, on closer examination, I found within the cell, beside the bee-larva, three perfect female Anthophorabice ; and on watching these for a few minutes, two of them seemed to be engaged in oviposition. I then saw that instead of there being only one or two para- sitic larvae attached to the skin of the young Anthophora, there were many, in very different stages of growth ; from that which I had first observed, and which had nearly attained its full size, to others which did not exceed the fifth of a line in length. I now concluded that these were not the larvae of Monodontomerus, as I first supposed, but oiAnthopho- rabia, an opinion which was confirmed by subsequent examination with the microscope ; and this further induced me to think that the females noticed were, as they appeared to be, depositing ova. I did not observe any of these larvae parasites on the young Antho- phorce at the time of procuring them from their natural haunts in September, when the cells were first broken and their inmates exposed, at which time they appeared to be quite healthy. Nevertheless, one or two of the parasites now upon them were nearly full-grown, and measured nearly a line in length, while others were so small as to be hardly recog- nizable ; thus giving further reason to suppose that the eggs had been deposited and hatched at different periods. The way in which this appeared to be capable of explana- tion was, that some of the female Anthophorabice which had escaped from the glass tube, as just stated, had sought out these larvae of Anthophorce, which lay exposed in their cells in the box near to where I had placed the tube from which they escaped, and insinuating themselves into the box, had at different times deposited their eggs on the young bee- larva ; and that, owing to the gradually decreasing temperature of the season, the para- sites produced from the eggs last deposited had been more delayed in their growth, a high temperature being as necessary to the development of them as to that of the young bee. MR. NEWPORT'S OBSERVATIONS ON THE GENUS ANTHOPHORABIA. 83 From the circumstance that each parasite was attached to the surface of the bee, and fed upon it from without, like the larva of Monodontomerus, it was evident that the female does not insinuate her eggs into the body of the bee, but merely attaches them to its skin ; while from the circumstance of nearly the whole of the females I had confined in the tube having escaped by insinuating themselves between the sides of the cork and the glass, and forcing their way through chinks which appeared much too small to admit of their passage, there seems reason to think that the usual habit of this species may be to penetrate into the cell of Anthophora after it has been closed, and deposit her eggs c# the nearly full- grown inmate. This supposition is further countenanced by the acute and denticulated form of the mandibles of the female, and by the absence of an exserted ovipositor, which structure would perhaps be necessary under other circumstances. Further, also, that the bee is infested not by a few, but by an abundance, — a whole brood of these creatures, — which entirely destroy it. I have allowed my bee-larva, with its parasites, to remain in a cold room up to the present time, but the latter have scarcely at all increased in size, and yet they remain firmly attached to their victim, appearing scarcely even to vegetate. This is precisely the condition in which the bee itself remains during winter ; both that and its parasites requiring a high temperature of the sand-bank, heated by the sun's rays, for their evolution. DESCRIPTION OF THE FIGURES. Tab. VIII. Fig. 4. Anthophorabia fasciata, male: — magnified. a. The antenna of the male. b. Posterior leg. c. Inferior surface of the middle leg. Fig. 5. A. fasciata, female : — magnified. a. The same, with the wings expanded. b. The antenna. c. The mandible. d. Posterior leg. Fig. 6. The pupa, or nymph. M2 THE TRANSACTIONS OF THE LINNEAN SOCIETY OF LONDON. VOLUME XXI. PART THE SECOND. X4 LONDON: PRINTED BY TAYLOR AND FRANCIS, RED LION COURT, FLEET STREET: SOLD AT THE SOCIETY'S HOUSE, SOHO- SQUARE; AND BY LONGMAN, BROWN, GREEN, AND LONGMANS, PATERNOSTER - ROW ; AND WILLIAM WOOD, TAVISTOCK -STREET, COVENT- GARDEN. M.DCCC.LIII, CONTENTS. X. The Anatomy and Development of certain Chalcididse and Ichneumonidae. By George Newport, Esq., F.B.S., F.L.S. Sfc page 85 XI. Further Observations on the Habits of Monodontomerus ; with some Account of a new Acarus (Heteropus ventricosus), a Parasite in the Nests o/Anthophora retusa. By George Newport, Esq., F.B.S., F.L.S. fyc 95 XII. On the Development of the Spores and Elaters of Marchantia polymorpha. By Arthur Henprey, Esq., F.B.S., F.L.S. fyc 103 XIII. The Ternstrcemiaceons Plants of Song Kong, ify Captain Champion, 95th Beg. Communicated by the President Ill XIV. On the Development of Ferns from their Spores. By Arthur Henfrey, Esq., F.B.S., F.L.S. 8rc 117 XV. On Two Genera of Plants from Chile. By John Miers, Esq., F.B.S., F.L.S. &fc. 141 XVI. On Two New Genera of Fungi. BytheBev.M.. J. Berkeley, M.A., F.L.S. tyc. 149 XVII. On the Habits and Structure of the Great Bustard (Otis tarda of Linnaeus). By William Yarrell, Esq., V.P. and Treas. Linn. Soc. 8fc 155 XVIII. On the Ocelli in the Genus Anthophorabia. By George Newport, Esq., F.B.S., F.L.S. 8fc 161 XIX. The Natural History, Anatomy, and Development of Meloe [continued). By George Newport, Esq., F.B.S., F.L.S. fyc 167 [ 85 ] X. The Anatomy and Development of certain Chalcididse and Ichneumonidse. By George Newport, Esq., F.B.S., F.L.S. 8fc. PART III. ICHNEUMONTD^ (continued). Read June 5, 1849. Ichneumon Atropos, Curtis. oEVERAL years ago, chiefly in the year 1829, 1 obtained many specimens of Ichneumon Atropos (fig. 1. Tab. IX.), hoth in the larva and perfect states, in the neighbourhood of Canterbury, but I have not yet met with it in any other locality, nor since the year 1834*. Mr. Curtis, to whom we are indebted for the description, and an admirable figure of the species f, states it to have been bred by Miss Giraud at Eaversham, from the larva olAche- rontia Atropos ; that the perfect insect, from which his drawing was made, was taken at Rochester by Professor Henslow ; and that another specimen had been taken at Darent Wood by Mr. Davis, so that the insect appears to be a truly Kentish species. It was by no means uncommon in the neighbourhood of young ash plantations, at Canterbury, in the month of July, at the period I have referred to, when I took it on the wing ; and I have several times reared it from the pupa of Sphinx ligustri, and very frequently have found the larva within the body of the larva of this Sphinx. It seems in fact to be a parasite common to this Sphinx ; much more so perhaps than to Acherontia Atropos. Mr. Curtis, when describing the species, suggests that the true Ichneumons "prefer naked caterpillars, and probably puncture them after they have descended into the earth, but before they have changed into chrysalids." But this is not the habit of Ichneumon Atropos, as I have often found the Ichneumon-larva (fig. 2 a, b, c) within the body of the Sphinx caterpillar several days before this had acquired its full growth, or had ceased to feed, and consequently long before it would have entered the earth to change to a pupa. I suspect that the egg of the Ichneumon is deposited quickly after the caterpillar has changed its skin, and has entered its last period of growth ; since, at about the middle of that period, I have found the parasite within it more than a quarter of an inch in length ; and consequently, it must then be at least two or three days old. This length of time, added to a similar period, which we may suppose to be necessary for Ihe hatching of the egg after deposition, will bring us to the commencement of the last stage of the caterpillar, when its tegument is soft and pierced with least difiiculty. I am not aware whether the Ichneumon-egg is deposited on the surface of the skin through which the larva eats its way into the body, when hatched, like the larva of Sty lops, or whether, as seems to be most probable, the egg is plunged at once into the caterpillar. The latter opinion seems to be * Since this paper was read, I have obtained two specimens of the imago from pupae of Sphinx ligustri during the past summer, 1852. t British Entomology, vol. v. p. 234. VOL. XXI. N 86 MR. NEWPORT ON THE ANATOMY AND DEVELOPMENT supported by the fact that I have never yet met with even the youngest larvae between the skin and muscles of the caterpillar, but always internal to the muscles, imbedded in the so-called fatty tissue, between them and the alimentary canal, and always on the dorsal surface, and usually with its head in the direction of that of the caterpillar. I have found it in different stages of growth, from one-fourth to three-eighths of an inch in length (a), as early as the middle of August, when it is of a light pea-green colour; but I have obtained full-grown specimens (c, d) only from the pupa of the Sphinx, sometimes as early as the end of October, but more frequently not until the commencement of March, and sometimes as late as the end of April. Usually, one egg only is deposited in each caterpillar, but sometimes there are two, and both become hatched, although of the parasites one only arrives at maturity, as one is invariably destroyed by the other. I have the following entry of a fact of this kind in my note-book with the date " March 13, 1832," which shows that two larvae may exist in the pupa of the Sphinx up to a late period, but that one is then destroyed. " The pupa now examined was one in which Ichneumon Atropos had deposited two eggs. Two larvae had been hatched, and these were located in the lower part of the abdomen of the pupa. One of them was very small, being scarcely more than one-fourth of an inch in length, and appeared to have been dead for some time. The other was a fat well-fed specimen, about three-quarters of an inch in length and one-sixth in diameter. It seemed to have destroyed part of the fatty sacculi of the Sphinx, and was lying in the cavity of the body, but it had not injured the upper part of the digestive apparatus, the stomach, behind which it lay so imbedded that I had almost mistaken it at first for the intestine and colon, which had not undergone their proper change. The nervous system of the pupa had not been injured by the larvae, although its changes had been retarded. It thus appears that the Ichneumon sometimes deposits more than one egg in the body of the caterpillar, as several times before this I have found two of these larvae in the same insect, although, I beHeve, never more than one of them comes to perfection." All my subsequent observations have confirmed this conclusion. The usual situation of the parasite in the Sphinx-pupa is in the tissue of the middle part of the body beneath the dorsal vessel and above the stomach, on which it often rests. This is the position of the full-fed larva in the drawing and preparation (fig. 3), and this is the specimen alluded to and partly described in my second memoir on Meloe, printed in the Society's Transactions, vol. xx. p. 335. It was obtained at almost the latest period of the larva state, on the 18th of April, 1832. The other specimens exhibited were pro- cured between that period and the month of October, so that the insect continues to sub- sist on the Sphinx, and probably passes into a state of hybernation with it, during the long interval of six months. One specimen found on the 20th of March, and removed from the body of the pupa into water, lived several days, while another, not placed in water, spun a few delicate threads to prepare for its change to a nymph. This change usually takes place in April, but when placed in water at that period it soon perishes, as its respiration has then become more active, as the following entry from my note-book shows : — " April 21, 1832. On dissecting a male pupa of Sphinx ligustri, a few days ago, I found, somewhat to my mortification, one of my old friends, the larva of Ichneumon. It was a large and full-fed specimen, and laid with its anterior portion in the thorax, and its OF CERTAIN CHALCIDID^ AND ICHNEUMONIDiE. 87 posterior in the abdomen of the pupa. I put it by for future examination in a vessel of water, having first made a drawing of it (fig. 2 d). The spiracles, on each side of its body, are oval, corneous, and slightly project from the tegument, and are situated one at the anterior part of each segment, a little above the longitudinal trachea, and immediately anterior to the trachea that supplies the dorsal surface of each segment. The whole of the tracheal vessels are distinct and distended with air. On looking at it this morning I found it dead." So that although the parasite may reside for many months bathed by the fluids of the Sphinx, it perishes when a change occurs in the degree of activity of its respiratory functions. The length of time which it remains in the nymph-state is about a month or six weeks at the utmost, as most of the specimens I have bred from the pupa have appeared in June. The perfect insect makes its way out of the dead pupa of the Sphinx by perforating the case with its mandibles, on the dorsal surface, and sometimes, as in the preparation now exhibited, it becomes fixed in the orifice and unable to escape (fig. 4). The body of the larva (fig. 2 a to d) is composed of fourteen segments, or, if the pedal process of the last segment be reckoned, of fifteen. It is elongated, somewhat tapering, and curved in its earlier stages of growth; but is thick, fat, and pointed at its anal extremity, when mature. The pedal or terminal portion of the last segment is pointed and projecting, and is opposable to a process from the inferior margin of the thirteenth seg- ment, with which it forms a kind of forceps, or prehensile organ by which the larva may affix itself, and change its position in the body of the Sphinx The lateral margins of all the segments are thinned and project as tubercles. These are well-marked in the pro-, meso-, and metathoracic and pre-abdominal segments, but are most distinctly tubercular from the fifth to the eleventh inclusive. These latter segments have also distinct tubercles or segmental appendages on each side of the ventral surface in the shape of mammae, and in the position of the false feet of the Terebrantiate Hymenoptera to which they may be regarded as analogous, and as subservient to the movements of the larva within the Sphinx. The lateral tubercles of the Ichneumon-larva have already been noticed by naturalists, but I believe this is the first time that ventral tubercles also have been discovered. In the very young larva they are situated nearer to the side of the body than in the full-grown, and become more and more approximated to the median line, as the growth of the larva proceeds, by the greater extent of growth and development of the dorsal than of the ventral portion of the segments ; thus beautifully illustrating the corresponding process of growth of the segments, and the approximation of the limbs to the median line of the body, in the Myriapoda. But although pedal tubercles exist along the ventral surface of the abdominal segments, the future true legs of the perfect insect are indicated only by six white points on the ventral surface of the thoracic segments, in the precise situation, however, of the tubercles on the abdominal. The head (fig. 5) and mandibles (d) of the larva are strong, corneous and of a yellow colour, with the margins and apices of the mandibles black, curved and sharp-pointed, fitted only for piercing and suction, and not for manducation. The maxillae (e) are three- jointed, with the terminal joint broad, triangular, soft and membranous, the second joint very short, and the basal joint strong and elongated. The labium (/) is triangular, with a N 2 88 MR. NEWPORT ON THE ANATOMY AND DEVELOPMENT slight median ridge, and a narrow membranous border, admirably fitted with the margins of the maxilla? for suction. The strength of the mandibles, and the consolidation of the parietes of the entire head, prove to us that the force necessary to overcome the contractile power of the tissues in the Sphinx, in obtaining nourishment, is by no means inconsider- able ; yet this force appears to be little, if at all, under the power of volition, since the Ichneumon-larva, like that of Paniscus, exhibits only the very slightest indications of sensation, when touched or pressed. It makes no distinct effort to escape, but merely contracts its body, perhaps simply by reflected action, without any intervention of con- sciousness. This is precisely the condition, as regards the consensual functions of its nervous system, (fig. 9.) under which we might have expected it to exist. Shut up in the body of another animal, and subjected to the compression of its tissues, the endow- ment of sensation would only entail on it an amount of suffering proportioned to the degree of its perception. Vegetative, or simple organic life, therefore, is, as yet, sufficient for all the requirements of its existence ; although afterwards it is to become endowed, as certain of its consensual organs are developed, with perceptions and instincts the most acute. Thus we find in this larva that organs of vision, totally useless to it in its intra- abdominal abode, do not yet exist ; and the place of their future development is scarcely even indicated ; while the antennae, almost equally useless to it in its present condition, exist only in the most rudimentary state, merely as slight homy elevations, on the front of the head, (fig. 5 a) on each side of the clypeus (b), formed of a series of concentric rings (fig. 6) the centre of which is the apex of the future tactile organ. Into this centre I have succeeded in tracing the termination of the antennal nerve ; the optic nerves, for the future eyes, being in their usual situation at the sides of the cerebral ganglia. I have also succeeded in tracing this nerve into the corresponding part in the larva of Anthophora, in which the antenna is more developed than in Ichneumon, and forms a little cone of concentric rings. In Monodontomerus the same part is terminated by a single hair (fig. 7), precisely as hairs and spines originate in the central nuclei of tegumentary cells in the larva of Meloe. I have elsewhere shown* that the form of the digestive apparatus is very similar, at the earliest periods of growth, in all parasitic Hymenoptera, whether they are enclosed in the same cell with their victim, as in Monodontomerm, whether carried about with it attached to its surface like Paniscus, or whether shut up within its body bike Ichneumon. In each of these instances there is not merely a general similarity in the form of its parts, but there is also a concordance in their function. The intestinal portions continue small and imperfect, and no faeces are passed until the larva has arrived at its maturity. I may now further state that this principle, or law, is not confined to the strictly parasitic, or carni- vorous larvae, but operates, as I believe, among the omnivorous, and certainly among the true pollinivorous. The digestive apparatus in the larva of Ichneumon (fig. 8), is a pear- shaped elongated sac (/), with only a very short intestine (g, h, i), through which, I have reason to believe, no faeces are passed until the larva has ceased to take food. It differs from the great digestive organ in the Hornet chiefly in its larger diameter as compared with its length. Hence we might expect to find but little variation in its function. In * Linnean Transactions, vol. xxi. p. CI. OF CERTAIN CHALCIDIDjE AND ICHNEUMONID^. 89 Anthophora, as I ascertained many years ago, the chief portion of the digestive organ is an elongated stomach, and although in this instance a short intestine and colon exist, not an atom of faeces is passed, as I have many times, to my complete satisfaction, proved, until the whole of the food is consumed, and the larva has attained its full size. IV. Development of the Alimentaey Canal and its Appendages. These remarks on the anatomy and development of parasitic Hymenoptera, compared with their economy and instincts, lead us to inquire into the mode in which the alimentary canal in Insects is formed. The first developed portions of the parietes of the body in the embryo are the ventral and lateral divisions of the segments. These are produced before the alimentary canal is commenced, the space between them being occupied by the yolk, which supplies the means of growth to the whole. The lateral portions of the segments grow from below upwards, and their free margins gradually more and more approach each other, until at last they meet along the median line of the dorsal surface of the body. The parts which first meet are those of the cephalic, and afterwards those of the anal segments, and the junction of the remaining segments then proceeds in gradual suc- cession from behind forwards, as I have witnessed in very numerous observations in the embryo of Forficula. The whole of the remains of the yolk, composed entirely of masses of nucleated cells, is thus gradually enclosed within the body, by the successive union along the dorsal surface of the two sides of the segments, from behind forwards, the last portion included being in the prothorax. The fact of the yolk entering the body at this point of the thorax in the Crustacea was first pointed out by Rathke. From the remains of the yolk thus included the alimentary canal is entirely formed, the external portion giving origin to muscular tissue and basement membrane, and the internal, besides sup- plying nutriment for the further development of the embryo, becoming organized into an elaborating tissue, which for a time retains the general character of the original cell- masses of the yolk, as shown in Monodontomerus. The termination of the future ali- mentary canal is thus the result of a folding on itself of the first portion of the yolk included by the completion of the anal and penultimate segments, and is the commencement, poste- riorly, of the column of cells which, becoming perforated, constitute the future colon and small intestine, and which retain the celkeform structure to so late a period in some larvae, as in the instance we have seen in Monodontomerus. In this way, formed from the included yolk, the digestive apparatus becomes a hollow cavity, closed, at first, at its abdominal end by the approximation of the whole of its component structure, but com- municating anteriorly with a canal which is formed between the parts of the future mouth, and which becomes its inlet or oesophagus, the connexion of the yolk with the dorsal surface of the body in the prothorax being entirely obliterated. As the growth of the body proceeds, the walls of the alimentary canal become thinner, lose much of their cellse- form condition, and acquire a more organized structure. The column of cells which connect the great digestive cavity with the anal segment, as in Monodontomerus, are gradually transformed into muscular tissue, from without inwards, and constitute the future intestine, or colon and ilium. These parts being chiefly for the transit of the faeces, and further elaboration of the contents of the stomach, are later developed, but acquire a 90 MR. NEWPORT ON THE ANATOMY AND DEVELOPMENT more muscular structure than the great digestive cavity, which longer retains its cellae- form condition, its lining cells becoming changed into secreting or glandular structures, of two kinds ; one of which elaborates the juices required for digestion of food, while others take up the results and diffuse them through the body for the general purposes of nutrition. Hence we find that the general form of the great digestive cavity is very similar in all embryos of a given class, at the earliest periods ; and similar in all which pursue a like habit of fife, as in Hymenopterous parasites ; the chief structural differences being in those parts which become small intestine and colon. Different species, even among the para- sites, differ slightly in regard to these parts, both as to form and as to period of completion. In Monodontomerus we have found that the whole of the digestive canal long retains its cellseform condition, its muscular tissue being completed very late. In Ichneumon (fig. 8), and Microgaster (fig. 11), which feed within the body of their victims, the intestinal por- tion (g, h, i) of the digestive apparatus is completed more early, and a canal, paved with epithelium, is formed in it, but continues almost completely closed, and does not admit into it a particle of the matter to be rejected until the growth of the parasite is complete. In Microgaster the small intestine (g) and colon (h) are ready to convey the faeces more early than in Ichneumon ; and this seems to have some reference to the special require- ments of this species for a more early rejection of the waste of nutrition. In like manner the more or less early completion of the appendages of the digestive apparatus in the advanced growth of the embryo, or of the larva, immediately precedes the unfolding of some speciality of function or of instinct. I have already shown, in the first part of this paper, that the earliest completed glandular organs connected with the digestive apparatus in the larva of Monodontomerus, are the salivary. So we find also in Microgaster (fig. 11), in which they are not only early, but most extensively developed (d), for the production of that abundance of silk which is formed by this larva in the construction of its cocoon quickly after it has issued from the body of the insect it has devoured. In Ichneumon Atropos also, I have found the salivary organs (d) extensively developed in the larva at an early period, doubtless for a similar purpose. Dufour was unable to detect these organs in the perfect Ichneumon, although he correctly believes in their existence. The Malpighian structures (k), attached to the commencement of the intestinal portion of the digestive apparatus, and the function of which is still a question with some physiologists, although usually believed to be that of the liver, are completed, as we might fairly have anticipated, at a much later period in these parasites than in the vegetable-feeding larvae, in which the food requires greater elaboration to assimilate it with the animal tissues, than in the carnivorous feeder, which imbibes the ready-formed animal juices of another body. In Monodontomerus, the Malpighian organs, even at the close of the feeding period, still exhibit evidences of their original mode of formation by the longitudinal junction and coalescence of cells to form tubes ; while in Ichneumon and Microgaster these parts are more early and more extensively developed, although even in them they are incomplete. On the contrary, in the true vegetable-feeding larva?, the herbivorous caterpillars, these organs exist well-formed almost from the period at which the insect leaves the egg and begins to feed ; and, in many instances, have their secretory capacity increased by the deve- OF CERTAIN CHALCIDIDJE AND ICHNEUMONIDjE. 91 lopment of caeca over their whole surface, from their opening into the alimentary canal to their distal terminations, which, in all insects, are csecal, and do not, in any way, anastomose with any other structure ; as some have erroneously supposed them to do with the so-called adipose, or splanchnic tissue. Thus we find that in proportion to the more or less early development of any structure or organ, the function or instinct associated with that organ is more or less early evolved ; and that in proportion to the completeness of a tissue, such is the degree or perfection of each special function or instinct in the animal. Additional Note. Read February 15, 1853. The change of form and condition which the alimentary canal undergoes, after the para- site has ceased to feed (fig. 8) and is assuming its imago state (fig. 10), is as remarkable as that which takes place in the vegetable-feeding caterpillar, in changing to the chrysalis of the future butterfly or moth. The short narrow oesophagus (e) becomes considerably elongated, and instead of terminating, as in the larva, in the third or meso-thoracic segment, it is extended, in the imago, through the meta-thoracic, into the abdominal region. In the anterior portion of the abdomen, the fifth, sixth and seventh segments, it is then dilated into a conical-shaped crop (/), which, by a constriction at its termination, and a reflexion inwards of its tissues to form the cardiac valve, is separated from the true digestive cavity, the stomach. This portion of the canal, the chylific ventricle (/,/), which occupied nearly the whole interior of the body of the larva, is now restricted to the eighth, ninth and tenth segments. It is a powerful muscular structure, of a somewhat elongated oval shape, and the length of which is scarcely more than thrice its diameter. Around its termination are inserted, externally, the hepatic or Malpighian organs, from twenty to thirty in number (k), where, internally, by a reflexion of the tissues, is formed a second valve, the pylorus. The canal then becomes narrowed into what may be regarded as duodenum and ilium, or small intestine (g). Beyond this it is again dilated into a more muscular structure (h, i), the colon or rectum, which is usually filled with ejecta, and terminates at the anal valve. The canal in the imago, as in the larva, is formed of distinct layers or tissues, a muscular, a glandular, and a mucous ; and is invested, externally, by a distinct, transparent, perito- neal membrane, which appears to be homologous with the peritoneal covering of the viscera in the Vertebrata, and processes, or reflexions of which, in these Invertebrata, clothe every internal organ, the salivary and hepatic glands, the organs of circulation and repro- duction, and the adipose tissue, and tracheae ; as expressly mentioned, in regard to the latter, in my article ' Insecta*.' The tissues of the alimentary canal are, however, much changed in condition in the imago, from that in which they exist in the larva, — a change which is accompanied by some alteration of function in the entire organ. In the larva, in which the canal is little more than a capacious bag, the external or muscular tissue is imperfect, and consists of * Cyclopaedia of Anatomy and Physiology, vol. ii. part 18, p. 965 (Oct. 1839). 92 MR. NEWPORT ON THE ANATOMY AND DEVELOPMENT only a very few longitudinal and transverse fibres, which are separated by wide inter- spaces (fig. 12 a) ; the one extending throughout the whole length of the organ, and the other encircling every part of it ; and these are crossed obliquely by a few fibres which attach the canals loosely to the tegument, and aid its peristaltic movements. But the glandular or middle tissue is more complete. It is composed of the cells before alluded to*, which are large, hexagonal in shape, and, in most instances, correspond to the inter- spaces formed by the decussation of the muscular fibres (b). Each cell in its interior has a very large granular nucleus. The mucous, or lining tissue of the canal, is formed by a layer of somewhat flattened cells, which have small granulated nuclei, are loosely aggre- gated together, and have all the characters of epithelial cells (c). In the imago, however, the muscular tissue is composed of very strong longitudinal and transverse bands, crossed as in the larva by a few delicate oblique ones ; while the glandular tissue is less marked, the mucous tissue being most developed; thus, preceding in its changed condition, the change of food of the perfect insect. Every part of the canal is supplied with tracheae, the trunks of which, one in each segment, passing transversely inwards, divide into branches, which, again subdivided, penetrate into and ramify through the structure. These, like all other tracheae, are formed, as described by Sprengel, of three tissues, an external membranous, and an internal mucous, which enclose between them a strong spiral fibre. The external, as I formerly showedt, so loosely invests the middle, or spiral, that, usually, there is some interspace between them; and, as also mentioned J, this external tissue is simply a reflexion and extension of the common peritoneal membrane. The ramifications of tracheae which penetrate the structure of the canal, or of any other organ, become, as I have since found, denuded of this covering as they enter, and then seem to be formed only of two tissues, the spiral and mucous, — if, indeed, there be not also, as I have reason to think there is, an extremely delicate serous, or basement membrane, closely adherent to, and uniting the coils of fibrous tissue, on its external surface. The tracheae which penetrate the muscular layer of the canal terminate in the glandular or adipose layer, where a few of the branches anastomose; but, as elsewhere stated §, "they do not ramify in the internal or mucous membrane." The ultimate divisions of these tracheae are always distributed separately, and do not anastomose. They end in extremely minute, filiform, blind extremities, as noticed by my friend Mr. Bowerbank, E.B.S. This I find is their condition in all struc- tures, in the nervous and tegumentary equally as in the glandular and muscular. These facts may, perhaps, assist us to understand the nature of the injection of the tracheae by M. Blanchard||, and also the mode of nutrition in insects; — the ultimate branches of tracheae in the tissues of the alimentary canal operating, possibly, as absorbent structures, and inducing the chylific fluid elaborated around them to flow, in its transit outwards, along the channels formed by their loose peritoneal covering, into the regular circulatory currents^", — a view which, in part, — so far as refers to the presumed absorbent operation of the tracheae, — was long ago held by Dr. Kidd, in his paper on the Anatomy * P. 89. f On the Respiration of Insects, Phil. Trans. 1836, p. 530. pi. 36. fig. 1. % Article ' Insecta,' loc. cit. p. 965. § Loc. cit. Phil. Trans. 1836, p. 532 and 564, pi. 36, fig. 4. || Annales des Sciences Nat. 3me Serie, torn. xi. p. 372, et seq. ^[ Article ' Insecta,' p. 979. OF CERTAIN CHALCIDID^E AND ICHNEUMONIDjE. 93 of the Mole Cricket* ; although the precise structure and mode of termination of the trachea? now described appear to have been unknown to him. Further, they may assist to explain the mode of coloration of the tracheae in the experiments of MM. Alessandrini and Bassif, and M. BlanchardJ, and also in others, yet unpublished, by myself, made on the larvae of Clissocampa Neustria, in July 1837. EXPLANATION OF THE PLATE. Tab. IX. Fig. 1. Ichneumon Atropos, imago state. Fig. 2. a, b, c, d, larvae of Ichneumon in various stages of growth. Fig. 3. Full-grown larva (a) between the adipose tissue (b) and stomach (c) of a pupa of Sphinx ligustri. (d) brain ; (c) muscles of the thorax ; (f) heart ; (g) testes. Fig. 4. Perfect Ichneumon escaping through the back of a destroyed pupa. Fig. 5. Upper and under surface of the head of the larva, (a) antenna; (b) face or clypeus ; (c) labrum ; (d) mandible; (e) maxilla; (/) labium. Fig. 6. Magnified view of antenna of larva of Ichneumon. Fig. 7- Antenna of larva of Monodontomerus. Fig. 8. Alimentary canal, &c. of larva Ichneumon, (a) antenna; (b) brain; (c) optic nerves; (d) salivary glands ; (e) oesophagus ; (/) stomach ; {g) intestine ; (h} i) colon and rectum ; (k) Malpighian organs. Fig. 9. Nervous system of the larva. Fig. 10. The imago Ichneumon dissected ; letters as before. Fig. 11. Alimentary canal and appendages of Microgaster. Fig. 12. Tissues of the alimentary canal in the larva Ichneumon, (a) muscular layer or tissue; (6) glan- dular; (c) mucous. Fig. 13. Respiratory system in the abdomen of perfect Ichneumon. * Phil. Trans. 1826, p. 235. t Gazette Medicale de Milan, t. vi. and Annales des Sciences Nat. 3me Serie, torn. xv. J hoc. cit. torn. xv. VOL. XXI. TraJis Luvjv. Soo VolJXl Tab. II p 34 CNwjon 4J yfVm£ ]ai IWiAffpU rm. H»ttor Gudll [ 95 ] XI. Further Observations on the Habits of Monodontomerus ; with some Account of a new Acarus (Heteropus ventricosus), a Parasite in the Nests of Anthophora retusa. By George Newport, Esq., F.B.S., F.L.S. fyc. Read March 5, 1850. As some of the details of a paper on " certain Chalcidida? and Ichneumonidce," which I had the honour of communicating to the Linnean Society, in March 1849, drew forth, at that time, the criticism and dissent of some entomologists who had paid considerable attention to those groups, I was desirous, during the past summer, of repeating my ob- servations, and, having the ascertainment of strict truth for my object, sought to correct, if erroneous, whatever might have been questioned, and to confirm by further observations what I had already correctly stated. Accordingly, on the 16th of September last, I revisited the spot at Gravesend, where, two years before, I discovered the larvae which proved to be those of Monodontomerus, and of which an account was given in the paper above referred to. On this second occasion I had the good fortune to obtain an abundance of these larvae. Some idea may be formed of the number discovered by the fact that I brought away with me two hundred and forty-seven specimens, independent of many that were accidentally lost in the search. These larvae were found, as on the previous occasion, in the closed cells of Anthophora retusa, either in those which still contained the larva (Tab. X. fig. 1) or nymph (fig. 2) of that bee, or in others in which the original inmate had been destroyed. The number of larvae of Monodontomerus found in the first five cells opened was nineteen in the first; twenty-three in the second; thirteen in the third; nineteen in the fourth, and thirty-four in the fifth. In each of these cells I had full proof that the parasites had fed on the Anthophora itself, as stated by another observer in correction of my first sup- position, and as I had already been convinced by examination of the organs of nutrition. The emptied and dried-up tegument alone was all that remained of the body of the original inhabitant in each cell. In order however that there should be no mistake on this fact, I removed three of the cells, which contained larvae of Monodontomeri, without opening them further than to ascertain the presence of the parasites, and placed each in a separate small box to examine the contents at leisure, and more accurately than I could do on the spot. This examination was made on the following day, and each cell was then found to contain the dried-up remains of a single larva of Anthophora, with a variable number of the larvae of Monodontomerus, — nineteen in the first cell, twenty-three in the second, and thirteen in the third as just stated. In neither of these instances had the parasites been contained or fed within the body of the bee-larva, but had exhausted it from without, and had drained the body of its contents in the same way as the larva of Paniscus drains that of the body of the caterpillar. In those cells in which the parasites were of largest size, the remains of the bee-larvae had been most completely exhausted ; while in two of the cells the tegument was still soft, and not quite emptied, but in each o2 96 MR. NEWPORT'S FURTHER OBSERVATIONS ON instance it was shrivelled up and lay at the larger end of the cell. In a fourth cell, which I took home with me almost entire, there were eighteen larvae of Monodontomerus, and the remains of a nymph of Anthophora. In this cell the parasites were scarcely more than one-half grown, and the remains of the nymph were very complete. The head, limbs, and parts of the mouth were still uninjured, but the thorax and abdomen were nearly emptied. The parasites had pierced the body in both these regions, and were ranged on each side of it. This specimen therefore confirmed Mr. Smith's statement*, that the Monodontomeri feed on the nymph of the bee, as I had previously shown that they feed on the larva. It also afforded the fullest confirmation of my original opinion, — that these parasites are external feeders, — a view to which I was led, — not, as erroneously stated by Mr. Westwood, in the printed Proceedings of the Society t, from the simple fact of my having found that the bodies of these parasites have an armature of hairs ; but, as ex- plicitly stated in my paper J, as read to this Society, because I have never yet found hairs on the bodies of internal feeding parasites. External feeders, nevertheless, may be deficient of this armature, as in the instance of Eulophus Nemati cited by this observer. As the whole of the tegumentary portion of the body of the nymph of Anthophora, obtained by myself, like that of the larva, remained in the cell, although partially shrivelled up, there seems to have been some error also, in part of Mr. Smith's observa- tions, as given in the following words § : " When first observed the pupa of the bee was about one-third consumed, and at last not a vestige of it remained ; all that the cell contained, besides the larvae, being a small portion of yellow dust, or small granules." I cannot help regarding this statement as having originated in oversight or mistake, as in every cell which I have examined the tegumentary remains of the destroyed bee-larva have invariably been present ; while in neither of the many cells which I opened very carefully at the moment of finding them in their natural haunts, nor in the four which I preserved for still closer examination at home, could I detect any " yellow dust or gra- nules." There were only the parasites and the more or less dried-up tegumentary remains of the destroyed insect. Neither was there any "yellow dust or granules" in the cell with the nymph of Anthophora. All which this contained were the parasites and the remains of the nymph ; together with the larva skin it had thrown off on assuming this condition ; while the larger end of the cell was coated with a perfectly smooth layer of ejecta ; a coating which, as I formerly stated, it always gains after, the larva has ceased to feed, and before it changes to a nymph. I mention these circumstances the more par- ticularly, because, as Mr. Smith's remarks on Monodontomerus were communicated to the Linnean Society in correction of mine on this insect, previously read, and as the abstract of that paper has since been published in the " Proceedings," it is incumbent on me to notice his statements with care, and to show in what we agree or differ. In his com- munication to the Society, he states that he obtained the larvae of this insect "in the summer of 1848 1|," and also remarks: — "I then made a drawing of the larva of the parasite, which I enclose." On this drawing is written the following confirmatory note : — " Larva found feeding on the pupa of Anthophora retusa, July 1848." The following * Proceedings, vol. ii. p. 29, April 3, 1849. f May 1, 1849, vol. ii. p. 37. X Transactions, vol. xxi. p. 67. § Proceedings, vol. ii. p. 29, April 3, 1849. || Loc. cit. p. 29 ; also Ann. and Mag. Nat. Hist. August 1849, p. 124. THE HABITS OF MONODONTOMERUS. 97 passage from the Proceedings of the Entomological Society*, printed in 1848, records the exhibition, by myself, at that time, of specimens of the Imago insect, reared from the larvse mentioned at p. 67, found on the 12th of September, 1847 : — " July 3rd, 1848. Mr. Newport exhibited a new species of the genus Monodontomerus, belonging to the family of the Chalcididce, reared from larvse which he had found in the nests of Antho- phora retusa. He proposed for it the name of M. nitidus." Thus my recent observations on Monodontomerus in its natural haunts, supported by further examination of the anatomy of its digestive organs (figs. 3 & 4), have fully confirmed my former opinions as regards the nature of the larva, that it is an external and not an internal feeding parasite, and that some remains of the destroyed bee-larva are always found in the cell. They confirm too the observation that the bee-nymph is preyed upon ; as well as that the larva of Monodontomerus is carnivorous ; but they do not support the statement, and the inference to be deduced from it, that "not a vestige" of the bee is left in the cell. Further, they give strength to the opinion I have advanced respecting the mode and time of introduction of the eggs of the parasite ; viz. by perfora- tion of the cell. The circumstance of the bee-nymph being preyed upon, as well as the larva, goes far to establish this, as in each instance the parasites with the nymph were scarcely more than one-half grown. This seems to show that they had been introduced at the time of change, or at a very late period of the larva state. There seems reason to believe also that the eggs are seldom conveyed into the cell until long after this has been closed, and consequently when the bee-larva within has far advanced in growth, as in no one instance could I discover a particle of the food of the larva. Being desirous, however, of ascertaining facts by direct observation, rather than of arriving at views by inference, I placed, on the 17th of September, twenty of the most healthy middle-sized specimens of the larval Monodontomeri with a single larva of Antho- phora, in one division of a glass tube ; and twenty smaller specimens, with a nymph of this bee, in another division of the same tube, separating the two sets with a piece of sponge, and closing the tube with a cork. On the following day the parasites had arranged themselves with their heads towards the body of the larva, but they did not appear to have commenced their attack, probably from a cause which I shall presently mention. On the next day, however, the third of inclusion in the tube, I saw one individual attack the nymph, and in precisely the same way in which the larva of Paniscus attacks the caterpillar, by piercing the skin, and imbibing the fluid as it transudes. On the 22nd of September, the fifth day of inclusion, I was surprised to find that some of the specimens were changing colour, and looking unhealthy, and that not one of them appeared to be feeding. On the following day the whole Avere slightly discoloured ; and, on very close inspection, I then first noticed that their bodies were covered with multitudes of little spherical bladder-like objects, exactly similar, at first view, to microscopic drops of fluid transuded through punctures in the skin. My hope to follow out a series of observations on these larvse was now at an end, as it was evident to me that they were diseased and perishing. But I was entirely at a loss to imagine the cause of this failure, as at the time the specimens were collected, the whole were perfectly healthy and strong. On the 24th September they were * Trans. Entomological Society, vol. v. part 5, 1848, p. 42. 98 MR. NEWPORT'S FURTHER OBSERVATIONS ON still further discoloured, and many of them were dead, and all were covered with the hladder-like bodies in greater abundance. On examining other specimens of these larvae, which I had placed in separate bee-cells, I found that these also were in a similar condition ; and on inspecting my collection of larvae and pupae of Anthophora, these too, to my utter astonishment, were covered in the same manner. I noticed also that the vesicles first observed on the larvae in the glass tube had become much larger, during the past two days ; and on inspecting them very carefully with a lens, I found that the bladder-like bodies were either the nidi of parasites, or living parasites themselves attacking and exhausting the enemies of the young bee, as the bee had been attacked by them (fig. 5). Thus in less than eight days from the time when my specimens were collected, the whole were irretrievably destroyed by objects which now covered them in multitudes, but which at first were so microscopic as entirely to escape observation. As it was now evident that my whole collection of larvae of Monodontomeri would soon entirely disappear, I placed a number of them, together with the parasites that covered them, in spirit for future examination. Out of nearly two hundred and fifty specimens of these, and of a still greater number of larvae and nymphs of Anthophora, the result of the persevering labour of several hours' search, I was not able to save even a single specimen. Wherever I placed them in the room appropriated to my investiga- tions, they became covered with these microscopic enemies, whether secured in wooden or tin boxes, or covered earthen pots. I now began to suspect the cause of this mischief. During the time I was collecting the larvae, on the 16th of the month, I found some bee- cells nearly filled with a large mass of vesicle-like bodies. These were completely new to me. The body of the bee-larva seemed to have been changed into this mass of spherical nondescripts (fig. 1), which, although quite distinct from each other, were aggregated together, and somewhat resembled a microscopic bunch of grapes. Each of the bodies was opake and clouded on its upper surface, and seemed to include other bodies. On its under surface it was clear and transparent. They varied greatly in size, from that of a minute pin's head to nearly one-sixteenth of an inch in diameter. Having found several of the cells filled with them, I collected these cells, for the purpose of ascertaining, if possible, the nature of their contents. I found also one cell in which these bodies, as well as the remains of the bee-larva, were almost dried up. The instant this cell was opened and exposed to light, I noticed, on examining the interior with a lens, that it was partly filled with what looked at first like dust ; but more closely observed this was seen to consist of crowds of little brown objects (fig. 6), in a state of the most vivid and incessant motion. These were so exceedingly minute that I could only recognise them to be living creatures by means of the lens, and even then with difficulty, without being able to distinguish their form, as they were of the same colour as the clay-soil of the nest. They reminded me very forcibly, by the vivacity of their movements on exposure to light, of the larvae of Meloe, although scarcely one-third the size of those diminutive creatures when first hatched. No Pandora's box could ever have been more fatal to man, than this bee-cell and its contents became to my store of larvae. I placed it together with those which seemed to contain only vesicles in the same case, which I did not again examine until the following day. and then found, to my surprise, that but very few of the dust-like objects remained in THE HABITS OF MONODONTOMERUS. 99 the cell. The majority, as was afterwards proved by what I have just stated, had crept out and distributed themselves over the room. Many probably had escaped into my other collecting boxes while being conveyed home. It was in the afternoon of the following day that I placed my larvae of Monodontomerus with that of the bee, in the closed glass tube, as already mentioned ; so that, in all pro- bability, it was during the few hours that my boxes which contained the young bees and their parasites remained near that which enclosed the cell, that these little creatures escaped and affixed themselves to the larvae. This was at a stage of existence when the whole brood of nondescripts had been recently matured, and probably soon after there had been communion of their sexes (?) within the cells,— if, indeed, males, which I have not been able to identify, are produced, — and before the bodies of the fertilized females, which the vesicles in the other cells, as well as those afterwards found on my larvae, all proved to be, had begun to be enlarged. These diminutive objects I soon found to be Acari of a new type (fig. 7). I have said that the bladder-like bodies were fertilized females. There seems to be full proof of this in the. following circumstances. At the time when I enclosed the larval Monodontomeri in the glass tube, the temperature of the atmosphere of the room was above 55° Fahr., and very frequently during the ensuing fortnight was more than 60° Fahr. The growth of the Acari was then very rapid. Within ten days from the time when they affixed themselves, indeed within eight from my first observing them, the bodies of some were enlarged to the size of the head of a small pin, and the ova within them were readily and distinctly identified with the microscope. They increased in bulk most rapidly during the first fortnight, after which their enlargement was less perceptible. On the contrary, I fancied, but was not certain, that they became somewhat smaller. Several of them at first were more opake, and afterwards became of a brownish colour. In about three weeks, during which time the tube had been frequently exposed to the sun, there was full proof that some of these specimens had produced young. The interior of one end of the tube was then covered with a great number of Acari, such as I had originally seen in the bees' nest (fig. 6) ; not with the abdominal portion of their bodies enlarged, but short, narrow, and somewhat tapering at its extremity. These little beings appeared to have only recently come forth, as they were of a much lighter colour, and somewhat smaller than those which were found in the cell. Some of them placed on a micrometer plate measured only sixteen thousandths of an inch in length. The glass tube being tightly stoppered with a cork, so that nothing could enter or escape, it was fair to conclude that these were the young of some of the females attached to the bodies of the larvae, although I neither saw them come from their parents, nor was able to find that any ova had been deposited from which they might have been hatched. Nevertheless they had already undergone the change common to the tribe, — that of obtaining an additional pair of legs, as they had the full complement — four pairs. It is well known that this is not the condition in which Acari are usually pro- duced, each having at first but three pairs. It remains for future inquiry, therefore, to show in what condition this species first makes its appearance, — whether ova are at any time deposited and afterwards become hatched, whether ova are produced at one season and living young at another, or whether, as I have most reason to conclude, the 100 MR. NEWPORT'S FURTHER OBSERVATIONS ON species is viviparous. The females, already fertile when they quit the cell, move at first with great celerity, the abdomen being then the smallest portion of the body. But as soon as they have penetrated into other bee-nests, and affixed themselves to the bodies of the inmates, and begun to drain them of their fluids, the posterior three or four segments of the bodies of the little nondescripts become rapidly more and more enlarged, and assume the spherical bladder-like appearance seen on the bee-larva or its parasite. This enlargement is carried to such an extent, that this portion of the body of the gravid Acarus soon becomes at least ten, or twenty, or even more times its original size, and at first sight seems alone to constitute the entire being (fig. 8). The Acarus in the meantime loses its power of locomotion, and becomes affixed to one spot, or changes its place so little, and so imperceptibly, as to appear to be immoveable. Gorged with the nutriment imbibed, it sinks into a state of almost vegetative existence, and seems to lose all the energy and power of motion it originally possessed ; strongly reminding us of a similar degradation of animal function which the active little Meloe undergoes before it attains its full growth as a larva ; and which the Stylops also passes through, before it is re-developed in the one sex as one of the most lively of beings, or diverges still further in the other, from the usual condition of an animal, as a mere nidus for the production of new existences. This approach to the vegetative type is the form in which these pregnant Acari are found in the bees' nest, crowding over, and hiding the remains of the larva they have destroyed. From all which I have as yet been able to observe, these Acari appear to become nidi for the development of the eggs formed within them ; and I have much reason to believe that, as in Stylops, the young pass through their earlier stages within the bodies of their parents, and escape from them in an active con- dition, possibly at first as hexapods. The common cheese mite, according to Lyonnet, pro- duces living young at some temperatures, and ova at other more reduced ones ; and this, as we know, is the case with the whole tribe of Aphides among insects. Whether the female Acari perish before their young are hatched, or whether, as I believe, the birth of these is the immediate prelude to their parents' death, I have not yet ascertained. It is certain, however, that the largest-sized females become discoloured earlier than the smaller, and this too I believe in proportion to the temperature of the season. The temperature of the season, or of the locality in which the Acari are placed, greatly influences, not only the more or less rapid enlargement of the bodies of the females themselves, but, as I believe, the hatching of the ova within them. This has been proved to me by the fact that a very large proportion of the females, with the abdomen of full size, early in the autumn, but when the temperature of the season was gradually subsiding, — and which I was careful not to expose to the sun, — have remained alive during the winter to the present time, a period of five months, without producing young, or, so far as I can discover, depositing any eggs. In some of these specimens which I examined a few days ago, I found the ova still immature, and even the germinal vesicles within them still present, and easily detected. We may conclude, therefore, that a rather high temperature is required to complete the development of the ova and produce the embryo. This high temperature is always found during summer in the natural haunts of the Anthophora. The clay banks in which these insects construct their cells become heated by exposure to the morning and • THE HABITS OF MONODONTOMERUS. 101 mid-day sun, sometimes to as much as 84° Fahr. at a depth of one inch and a half, as I have elsewhere shown*, and much of this heat is retained throughout the whole twenty- four hours ; so that, in all probability, the growth of the pregnant Acari, and the hatching of their ova, then proceed very rapidly; while, on the contrary, these, as well as the changes of the bee-larvse, are entirely arrested during winter. This will explain, what might otherwise seem to be discrepant, that some young Acari were produced after expo- sure to the sun, and in a warm room in October, while others not exposed to the sun, and the season becoming colder, have remained until the present time undeveloped. Having stated thus much respecting the economy of this microscopic parasite, I will now endeavour to describe it, and to show that it constitutes a new genus of its class. It belongs to the section Tyroglyphus of Latreille and Gervais, the tribe Sarcoptides of Koch, which has the Sarcoptes scabiei of the human subject as its type, and which includes also the Demodex folliculorum of Simon and Owen, a parasite in the follicles of the hairs in Man. It is most nearly allied to Koch's genus Dermaleichus, most of the species of which are parasites on birds ; but it is perfectly distinct from that, as well as from the genus Trichodactylus of Dufour, a parasite on the Mason-bees of the genus Osmia. It is equally distinct from the Ansetus of Dujardin, which also is a parasite on bees, although it approaches these two genera in certain particulars. It resembles the latter in the general elongated form of body and in the size of the haunches of the legs ; but it differs in the body being articulated throughout, in having a somewhat cordiform moveable head, the prothorax distinct from the trunk and abdomen, and the anterior pair of legs palpiform, while the three posterior pairs are equal, and terminated by four-jointed slender tarsi, the last joint in each being cordiform and pad-like, as in the larva of Sty lops. In this latter respect it has affinity with the genus Sypopus of Duges, as it has also with Trichodac- tylus in the legs being covered with a few very long hairs. With regard to the change and enlargement of the body in the female sex of the Acarus, every one will remember that its parallels are to be found amongst true hexapods, in the Termites and the Pulex penetrans. The characters I would assign for the new Acarus are : — Class ACARI. Fam. Sabcoptides, Koch. Gen. Hetebopus, Newp. Corpus elongatum, subarticulatum. Caput mobile. Thorax a trunco distinctus, ad latera corpusculis clavatis munitus. Pedes anteriores palpiformes ; reliqui (parium trium posteriorum) sequales, arcuati, attenuati, tarsis gracilibus 4-articulatis, articulo terminali lato vesiculari. H. ventbicostts (figs. 6, 7 & 8), pallide ferrugineus, capite saturatiore, prothorace paribus 2 pilorum longorum, pedibus subrobustis ; articulis omnibus longe pilosis : tibiae articulo apicali corporis dhnidium aequante. — Long. \ — \ lin. ? gravida? abdomine magnopere inflato vesiculari. Hab. in nidis Anthophoree retusce, apud Gravesend, in comitatu Kent, meuse Sept. 1849. * Phil. Trans. 1837, p. 279. VOL. XXI. P 102 MR. NEWPORT ON THE HABITS OF MONODONTOMERUS. The importance of a thorough examination of these microscopic pests is at once evident, in the fact that the type of the family to which the whole of them belong is the noisome parasite of the human subject ; that another, as yet undetermined form of the same tribe, is thought by some to be connected with one of the most fatal ailments of our frame, dysentery ; that two distinct Sar copies yet undescribed affect the horse and sheep ; and that even the common sparrow, and our little pet the canary, are infested by others of this class. When, therefore, we reflect on the ailments which these produce, and on the diminutive size of the creature I have just characterized, and which in its effects are so destructive to other tribes, and bear in mind that this mere speck, this particle of dust, is organized for all its purposes as completely as the most perfect of any of the whole sub-kingdom to which it belongs, — even to the flexor, the extensor, and the rotator muscles of its truly atomic limbs (fig. 9) and tarsi, — while the entire body of the creature, when first produced, measures scarcely more than sixteen thousandths of an inch in length ; — and then call to mind that the mere foot alone of the Dinomis, or of the JPalapteryx, the ancient colossal birds of the Antipodes, measures, as shown by the most renowned anatomist of our age, Professor Owen, more than twelve inches — nearly seven hundred and fifty times the whole size of this little body : — who can but feel astonished at this range of Creation ? — who can but feel that the study of natural history, — not as the amusement of an hour, but as a sober contemplation, — must tend to exalt as well as to expand the human intellect ; and that the most microscopic atom of organized life, considered as part of the world, is as deserving of our fullest attention as the most gigantic ? DESCRIPTION OP THE PLATE. Tab. X. Fig. 1. A cell containing the larva of Anthophora attacked by larvae of Monodontomerus. (a) natural size ; (b) magnified two diameters. Fig. 2. A cell containing the nymph of Anthophora attacked by the parasites : — magnified. Fig. 3. Further details of the anatomy of Monodontomerus. Digestive system of the larva, (a) salivary organs ; (b) section of the oesophagus, (c) of the stomach, and {d) of the pylorus ; (e) the Mal- pighian vessels. Fig. 4. Digestive system of the nymph, (a, b, c & d) oesophagus and stomach, as above ; (e) Malpighian vessels, exhibiting their cellaeform structure and mode of termination. Fig. 5. Larva o{ Monodontomerus attacked by parasitic Acari. (a) natural size; (b) magnified three diameters. Fig. 6. Newly developed adult Acarus, Heteropus ventricosus : — magnified. Fig. 7- Pregnant female Heteropus ventricosus during the development of her ova : — magnified. Fig. 8. Several fully developed Acari attached to part of the proboscis of the nymph of Anthophora. Fig. 9. Posterior leg of the Acarus : — magnified. Fig. 10. Magnified view of the head of the male Anthophorabia fasciata, Newp., as seen by transmitted light, exhibiting the structure of the antenna? (a), showing the flexor (1) and extensor (2) muscles, and (3) the cellaeform structure in the cavity of the basilar joint ; (b) the lateral, and (c) the vertical ocelli ; (d) the brain ; (e) the labrum ; (/) the mandibles. TmihsLvruw Sx>. Yob. XXI Tdb.X. j> Mi 165. ■i Nmpurt . ad W Wti»| , lull ftrt feW«t. Bnp, Hattce Guun C 103 ] XII. On the Development of the Spores and Maters of Marchantia polymorpha. By Arthur Henfrey, Esq., F.B.S., F.L.S. fyc. Read November 20, 1849. M. MIBJBEL*, in the first of his celebrated essays on the structure and development of Marchantia polymorpha, expresses himself in a note in the following terms : — " The origin of the elaters would, I think, be a curious discovery. I should not be astonished if most direct and positive observations led one day to the conclusion that these organs are but one of the numerous modifications which the utricles undergo. Such a result would decide many questions which we have long been endeavouring to solve." In his second memoir on the same subject f, he announced the fact that he had observed the development of these bodies from the utricles ; and the progress of vegetable anatomy since that time has made it a matter of certainty, that all the forms of the elementary tissues are to be referred to a cellular type. But so far as I can discover, all observers, who have hitherto investigated the development of the spores and elaters of the Hepaticce, have overlooked certain important points. In the course of a series of observa- tions on the development of spores, made in reference to the theories of cell- development in general, my attention was strongly attracted to a very peculiar condition which I met with in the young sporangia of M. polymorpha, and as I can find no notice of the phe- nomena in the works of previous authors, I am induced to publish an account of them. The spores of Marchantia are produced, as is well known, in sporangia enclosed in peculiar receptacles or involucres situated at the base of the rays of the stellate body borne on the pedicel, on the under side. It is unnecessary to notice the characters pre- sented by the envelopes of the sporangia, as these have long since been well described and figured ; the whole course of development of these parts is beautifully illustrated in the memoirs of M. Mirbel already referred to. The first indication of the production of the sporangia is the appearance of the organs called pistillidia, exactly resembling those of the other Sepaticce and of the Mosses. Within the enlarged base of the pistillidium a small globule of a green colour is soon met with; this is the nascent sporangium, and in its subsequent development it enlarges within the expanding cavity of the pistillidium, acquiring a pyriform shape, and exhibit- ing at one period a little filamentous process at its apex. The nature or import of this process I cannot make out, but I found it also in Sphcerocarpus terrestris, and it is * Recherches anatom. et physiol. sur le Marchantia, &c, Mem. de l'Acad. Roy. des Sc. de l'lnstitut de France, vol. xiii. p. 337. t Complem. des Observ. sur le Marchantia, &c. loc. cit. xiii. p. 375. p2 104 MR. HENFREY ON THE DEVELOPMENT OF THE SPORES represented in the figures of most of the Ricciacece in Lindenberg's Monograph*. While the enlargement of the nascent sporangium tends to fill up the cavity of the pistil- lidium, the single layer of cells composing the wall of the latter is developed still more rapidly than the sporangium ; its elongated neck disappears, and it is found in the nearly ripe fruit as a loose cellular envelope immediately enclosing the sporangium ; when quite ripe it bursts above, exhibiting irregular teeth. The envelope of the globular sporangium of Sphcerocarpus terrestris appears to me identical in its nature, but it remains green and does not burst : a little orifice in the apex, corresponding to the base of the neck-like portion of the pistillidium, may permit the escape of the spores ; otherwise they can only become free by the decay of this involucre. The walls of the sporangia of Marchantia are composed of a single layer of cells, at first almost cubical, and filled with chlorophyll- vesicles ; but as they enlarge they become elongated in the vertical direction, the chlorophyll disappears, and spiral fibres, or more frequently annular bands, make their appearance upon the walls. These bands are of a flattened riband-like form, and of a yellow colour, the membrane of the walls of the perfect cells is hyaline, and the cavity contains only a few yellow granules. This structure of the wall of the sporangium of annular fibrous cells is analogous to that of the Junger- marmice and to the spiral tissue of anthers, and is for a similar purpose, namely by its elasticity to cause the rupture of the mature parts as they become dried by evaporation. No similar elastic tissue presents itself in the Ricciacece, in which moreover the elaters are absent f. In all the foregoing points, my observations agree perfectly with those of M. Mirbel. Before proceeding to detail what I have seen in the development of the spores, it will be as well to give an account of what had been observed by preceding authors. Mr. Griffith, in a note appended to M. Mirbel' s first memoir J, stated, with regard to Targionia hypopliylla, that "in the young ovaries the elaters are not visible, and the seminules, united by a gelatinous substance, form as it were a continuous mass. They then seem to be vesicles filled with corpuscules, although when mature each is evidently a cellular body." M. Mirbel § remarks on the same plant : — "The nascent seminules are contained in the cells of a tissue which fills the young ovary ; each cell contains three or four seminules. As the ovary advances in age, its internal tissue becomes dislocated, and is broken up into as many distinct utricles as there were cells, so that the little groups of seminules each have a utricle for an envelope. " The seminules, young or old, are themselves simple utricles, which contain colourless spherules attached to their walls. This observation does not agree with the opinions of Mr. Griffith ; according to him, the mature seminules are formed of cellular tissue. " The elaters do not display themselves until some time after the dislocation of the tissue. They are slender, colourless, perfectly closed tubes, always with blind terminations {en * Lindenberg, Monographie der Riccien, Nov. Act. Acad. Nat. Cur. xviii. f According to M. Mirbel, the cellular tissue of the sporangium of Targionia (which has elaters) is not annulated, but the cells have half-rings on the internal and lateral walls, like the Jungermannice. % Loc. cit. p. 371. § Loc. cit. p. 371-2. AND ELATERS OF MARCHANTIA POLYMORPHA. 105 ccBCum), and often curved like a hook. At this epoch they contain colourless spherules which subsequently disappear. " When the elaters are older they have acquired a yellow colour, and one would say that each served as a sheath to two long, very narrow bands, rolled concurrently and parallel, like a corkscrew, with very loose convolutions. There is an optical illusion here ; the bands do really exist ; but instead of being free in the interior of the tube, they are an integrant part of it." In his second memoir*, M. Mirbel gives an account of the development of the elaters of Marchantia polymorpha : — " It (the sporangium) is at first merely a mass of tissue, composed of utricles filled with green spherules. But when the pistil had attained the degree of development last indicated, the internal utricles had become detached from one another, while those of the superficies remained closely united, and constituted a balloon- like sac, completely closed, in which the internal utricles were imprisoned. These were not all of one kind ; some had been developed into long slender tubes, pointed at both ends, which most certainly still adhered by one of these ends to the internal surface of the sac; the others, in much larger numbers, polyhedral at first, had passed into a spherical form by the gradual rounding off of their angles. To each utricle elongated into a tube, a double series of utricles were feebly adherent. Both kinds were still filled with green spherules. "As they advanced in age, the utricles composing the sac and those elongated into tube* underwent modifications, to which I must draw the attention of physiologists." [Three or four flattened rings, arranged parallel, appear on the walls of the cells of the sac ; these become better defined, and at last acquire a yellow colour. My own observations on this point agree perfectly with those of M. Mirbel.] " The utricles elongated into tubes only differed from the others in form at first ; they then possessed a delicate, simple, diapha- nous, entire, uncoloured, membranous wall, but they soon became thickened, lost then- transparency, and became marked all round, throughout their whole length, with two parallel streaks, closely approximated and describing helices. Then, increasing in size, their streaks became slits which cut the wall of each, from one end to the other, into two filaments, and the convolutions of these filaments separated, resembling the turns of a corkscrew. Finally, the two filaments acquired a rusty yellow colour, and the metamor- phosis was so complete, that if I had not followed the modifications, step by step, I should now be afraid to say that these two filaments were at first one simple utricle ; but the fact is constant, and I am convinced that whoever repeats the series of my observa- tions, with the firm determination to let nothing escape which it is possible to see, will arrive at the same result as myself." Bischoff gives no account of the development of the elaters, and evidently mistakes their origin, for he saysf : — "Where we find among the spores, elaters which, arising originally as elongated cells from the internal wall of the sporangium, He among the parent-cells of the spores, I should rather compare them to the cellular filaments which occur in the capsules of Mosses, e. g. in Buxbaumia, Funaria, &c, running across between the outer and inner membranes of the sporangium ; and in Polytrichum, in part * Loc. cit. p. 382. f Bemerkungen iiber die Lebermoose ; Nova Acta Ac. Nat. Cur. xvii. p. 909 et seq. 106 MR. HENFREY ON THE DEVELOPMENT OF THE SPORES between the latter and the columella ; while in the Hepaticce where the inner membrane is wanting, they run in free among the parent-cells of the spores." Von Mohl* gives no account of the development of elaters ; with regard to certain of his views on the development of the spores, I shall allude to the papers just cited, further on. Gottschet does not describe the development of the elaters, nor indeed the earlier conditions of the spores. I now proceed to the results of my own researches on this subject. The little green cellular body which is found within the pistillidium increases in size, and in the course of its growth its cells are differently modified ; the external layers, over the whole surface, adhere together into a membrane, which becomes the spiral-celled membrane of the capsule ; the cells contained within this layer produce the spores and elaters. I have not been able to determine satisfactorily the earliest conditions of the enclosed cells. In the youngest specimens I found it impossible to ascertain the true nature of the structure, on account of its delicacy, but I believe that Bischoff is certainly wrong in supposing the young capsule to be filled with a mucilaginous fluid (brei). Mr. Griffith and M. Mirbel state, that there exists a continuous tissue in Targionia ; and Mr. Pitt J states that the apparently gelatinous contents of the capsule of Sphcerocarpus terrestris exhibited a cellular appearance, when dried up, on the object-glass. From these facts and from analogy, I am inclined to believe that the young capsule is at first formed of a continuous cellular structure, and that the cells of this tissue become parent- cells, producing new cells within them, which they set free by becoming dissolved; exactly as occurs in the production of the parent-cells of the pollen-grains, in the con- tinuous cellular tissue of anthers. However this may be, it is certain that cells do become free in the cavity, producing the elaters and spores, and the condition and form in which they present themselves is very remarkable. M. Mirbel states that he found minute elongated cells, the young elaters, mingled with small squarish cells, the spores, which afterwards acquired a globular form. It is evident from this that he missed the earlier stages of the metamorphoses. I found the young capsules to contain elongated cells alone, and these of two sizes. The whole cavity of the capsule was filled up by elongated cells arranged side by side, and apparently radiating from the centre; a portion of these elongated cells were narrow, and were interposed between much longer and broader ones of the same form, in such a manner that scarcely any interspaces existed. The narrow cells are the young elaters, while the broader ones are the parent-cells of the spores. The subsequent development I have followed out clearly. The young elaters are elongated, slender tubes, attenuated toward each extremity ; they are at first filled merely with an almost colourless, coagulable pro- toplasm. After a short time starch-granules make their appearance in them, the true * Ueber die Entwiekelung und den Bau der Sporen der Crypt-Gewachse, Flora 1833; Vermischte Schrift. 67. Ueber die Entwiek. der Sporen von Anthoceros lavis, Linnsea 1839 ; Verm. Schrift. 84. t Ueber Haplomitrium Hookeri, Nova Acta, vol. xx. Ueber die Fructification der Jungermannise Geocalycese, Nova Acta, vol. xxi. % London Journal of Botany, vol. vi. AND ELATERS OF MARCHANTIA POLYMORPHA. 107 nature of these bodies being readily determined by iodine. The starch-granules frequently lie within the young tube, in such a manner that they may easily be mistaken for the rudiments of the spiral fibres, but they are quite distinct from these, and disappear before the fibres begin to be deposited. I believe that the accounts given by some authors of the formation of spiral fibres in spiral vessels from rows of minute granules are incorrect, and have arisen from observation of starch-granules lying in rows, often running obliquely across the tubes. As the tubes grow they enlarge more in length than in diameter, and appear as very long, slender filaments; the starch-granules, and finally the protoplasm disappear, and faint streaks, denoting the nascent fibres, are at length to be perceived upon the walls. These gradually become more and more distinct, until in the mature elaters they present themselves as strong, flattened bands. In Marchantia there are two fibres, and the ends of these are confluent at the extremities of the tubes in which they are contained. More properly speaking, therefore, the fibre is one endless fibre twisted upon itself; the best possible condition of structure for the purpose. We may represent the condition of the fibres by a piece of string doubled, and with its ends tied together ; this, when twisted up, unrolls immediately one end is set at liberty ; or, if both ends are let loose at once, the whole piece springs away as it unrolls, just as the elaters of Marchcmtia spring out when the capsules burst. In unrolling the fibre it tears up the membrane of the wall of the tube, and when the elaters are examined after they have been discharged, the fibres are found somewhat unrolled, and the torn membrane is often no longer to be detected. While the elaters are passing through these stages, the larger elongated cells exhibit a very remarkable series of changes, which appear to differ from everything that has yet been observed in analogous structures. They are at first filled, like the elaters, with a delicate, colourless protoplasm, in which float exceedingly minute granules ; this substance is coagulated even by water, and still more strongly by alcohol, acids, and iodine. It is apparently the same substance that occurs in all young cells which increase by self-division. I have found it unmixed, as here, in young hairs, in the parent-cells of pollen before the formation of the septa, in the confervoid body which grows out from the embryonal vesicle of the Orchidacece, in the Yeast Eungus, &c. In most cells it very soon becomes mixed with starch and chlorophyll vesicles. The elongated cells soon exhibit transverse streaks of a lighter colour, from the proto- plasm separating into a number of portions, and cross membranes are produced at these places, dividing the tubular ceDs into a row of cells, all of square form, except the two end ones, which are attenuated toward the free point, and thus appear triangular in the side view. I could not make out whether the septa were formed by gradual growing in of the membrane ; if so, the process must go on very quickly. Neither could I detect a double membrane ; but this must exist, as the cells afterwards separate from each other at these points. Vertical septa often occur, producing a double row of cells from the original tube. M. Mirbel appears to have made his earliest observations subsequently to the breaking up of these rows of cells, and thus to have missed them. They are a constant phenomenon, and I know of no analogous structure, unless we compare them with the single rows of cells which first appear in the tissue of the anthers, and by subdivision become the parent- 108 MR. HENFREY ON THE DEVELOPMENT OF THE SPORES cells of the pollen ; but the cases are very dissimilar, since in Marchcmtia these rows of cells are produced from free tubular cells, in great numbers, after the dislocation of the tissue of the cavity of the sporangium. About the time the cells separate from each other, the contents undergo a great change, which exactly resembles the change that occurs in the contents of the parent-cells and special-parent-cells of pollen when the formation of free cells is about to take place in their interior. The mucilaginous matter, or protoplasm, which was at first almost colour- less, acquires a deep yellow colour, becomes much thicker, and exhibits a quantity of globular bodies which look like drops of oil. These globules are often described as gra- nules, and some authors have mistaken them for drops of oil; others regard them as vesicles or vesicular cavities in the protoplasm ; I believe them to be globular drops of the yellow protoplasm ; they sometimes d ecome confluent, but are not oil, since they acquire a brown colour, like the rest of the contents, with iodine, and are not dissolved by ether. They may acquire the appearance of vesicles by becoming coagulated on the surface, as this yellow protoplasm is readily coagulated even by water, but very strongly by alcohol or acids. The cells become filled with globules of this kind of all sizes, sometimes occu- pying half the cavity of the cell, but neither before nor after their formation did I meet with nuclei. Soon after the cells become free, the yellow contents exhibit lighter streaks running across, which denote that they are separating into four portions ; these are at length com- pletely isolated and become coated by a proper membrane. They are the spores, and by the solution of the membrane of the parent-cells they become free. When free the con- tents become again clear and almost colourless, then the membrane becomes thickened and of a bright yellow colour, and the contents are changed into globules of pretty regular size which fill up the cavity. I never saw any trace of septa dividing the parent-cells into chambers, such as we meet with in the special-parent-cells of pollen. When the parent- cells in which the contents had parted into four portions were ruptured at one place, all the contents passed out and the membrane remained as a simple sac. When iodine was applied at the same stage, the portions were strongly coagulated, while the parent-cells expanded, but no trace of septa appeared. Mohl states that the parent-cells of the spores of Anthoceros Icevis are first divided into four chambers by septa, and that the same occurs in Jungermannia epiphylla, in the last of which the parent-cell divides into four separate cells, each containing a spore ; which con- dition Mirbel asserts to be universal in the formation of spores. I could find no evidence of it ; and Gottsche says, with regard to Haplomitriwn Hookeri, that the empty parent- cells present marks which make them look as if they were chambered, but that all the spores pass out at one opening. It is quite possible that the enlarging spores cause the marks by their pressure against the enclosing membrane. I could only distinguish a single coat to the ripe spore, and this grows out into a tube at one point in geraiination. The entire spore with its contents becomes colourless during this process, the yellow colour and the globules disappear, and after a short time chlorophyll- vesicles appear, which, when iodine is applied, are seen to be imbedded in a coagulable, colourless protoplasm. Mohl states that the spores of Anthoceros have two AND ELATERS OF MARCHANTIA POLYMORPHA. 109 coats, while Gottsche says that Pellia and Blasia have a single-coated spore, and Fim- briaria and Preissia apparently have two coats. I believe that this point can only be determined with certainty when the spores are germinating, and observation of this pro- cess leads me to the result that the membrane is simple in Marchantia polymorpha. In conclusion, I cannot refrain from directing attention to the striking circumstance, that I met with no nuclei throughout the whole course of development. Mohl, in his essay on Anthoceros Icevis, describes a series of phenomena connected with the appearance of nuclei, of which I saw nothing in Marchantia ; neither did I see any nuclei during the development of the spores of Sphcerocarpus terrestris, which I partially traced last spring. Sometimes the globular bodies in the yellow protoplasm present appearances which might be mistaken for nuclei, but careful investigation always led me to believe that these appearances were deceptive; and as I obtained clear and well-defined views of all the various stages, with fully sufficient magnifying powers to see nuclei if present, I am com- pelled to deny their existence here. The main point, however, to which I wish to direct attention in this paper, is the singular manner in which the subdivisions of the cells take place, in order to produce the very dissimilar forms of long filiform elaters and spherical spores, from a tissue originally homogeneous. London, Nov. 10th, 1849. DESCRIPTION OE THE PLATE. Tab. XI. Fig. 1. A pistillidium containing the nascent sporangium at the bottom. Fig. 2. More advanced sporangium a, enclosed in the membranous involucel, b, formed from the pistil- lidium. c. The outer involucre laid open. Fig. 3. Portion of the wall of the sporangium 2 a, formed of cubical cells filled with chlorophyll. Fig. 4. a. Two ripe capsules with their burst proper involucels, displayed by laying open the outer invo- lucre ; b and c. bursting sporangia. Fig. 5. a. Portion of the elastic wall of the capsules 4, b and c. b. Two cells from the same, one with a spiral fibre, the other annular. Fig. 6. Contents of the sporangium 2 a, consisting of broad and slender tubes. Fig. 7- a. One of the broad tubes with the contents coagulated; b. one of the narow ones (elater). Fig. 8. More advanced condition, with cross lines indicating the formation of septa : a. coagulated in water ; b. by iodine. Fig. 9. More advanced stage : a. fresh ; b. with iodine. Fig. 10. Later stage ; the protoplasm becoming thickened in some cases. Vertical septa forming in some cells : a. in water ; b. with iodine. Fig. 1 1 . Single and double rows of cells formed from the tubes, 7 «. Fig. 12. a. Rows of parent-cells; b. young elater containing starch-granules; c. part of the same with iodine. Fig. 13. Parent-cells in which the contents are beginning to produce the spores; the single one a free parent-cell in which the portions exhibit a membrane. VOL. XXI. Q 110 MR. HENFREY ON MARCHANTIA POLYMORPHA. Fig. 14. Free parent-cells about to produce the spores. Fig. 15. Parent-cells treated with iodine ; the portions of contents coagulated and the membranes swelled ; some cells burst and emitting contents. No trace of septa. Fig. 16. a. Young spores become free, or adhering together in twos and fours, after the solution of the parent-cells ; contents almost colourless ; b. elater with the fibres appearing ; c. portion of an elater more magnified to show the undefined appearance of the fibres. Fig. 17. Ripe spores, bright yellow and filled with granules. Fig. 18. Perfect elater. Fig. 19. Portion of the same more enlarged. Fig. 20. The end, to show the continuous condition of the fibre. Fig. 21. Germinating spores: a. the membrane brownish, no contents visible; b, b, b. membranes hyaline, a few chlorophyll-vesicles formed; c. treated with iodine which colours the whole brown, and shows granular contents. The dark spots are the deep brown chlorophyll-vesicles. The measurements are fractions of an inch. Trans. ZvrutSoc. VoLJOFl, pJ20, tjl. -A. Sen/ray Ms q d&l G.Jarmajt sc. \ [ 111 ] XIII. The Termtroemiaceons Plants of Song Kong, _5y Captain Champion., 95th Beg. Communicated by the President. Read November 5, 1850. CONSIDERING the great success of the Camellia Japonica as an ornamental green- house plant, it appears remarkable that but little attention should have been paid to the introduction into England of other plants of that order from India and China. Both the Camellias and Gordonias are trees or shrubs of very great beauty, and of rather hardy growth ; in tropical climates restricted to elevations, where the climate bears affinities to more northern temperatures; and in China they flower alongside of the Azaleas so successfully introduced into England. Polypetalous, they hold out to the horticulturist the probabilities of increased beauty through judicious and successful cultivation. The species of Camellia at present best known in England has 'been principally intro- duced from Chinese gardens. Without detracting from the good taste of that nation, in having selected elegant species, and brought their flowers to a degree of improvement which alone might have been expected from English industry, it is to be presumed that many species (some of which have been described by Loureiro) remain, in the wilds of Southern China, uncultivated. The Chinese are in some respects bizarres in their admiration of plants; they have their favourites, and they are permanent favourites ; not the fashion of the day, but of centuries; and these alone they cultivate, although we are acquainted, through Mr. Reeves and through Mr. Eortune, with other plants of great beauty, which are less admired by that nation. Should at any period English taste extend itself to others of the Camellia tribe, we must principally look for them from the Celestial Empire. The plants about to be described are indigenous to one small island. Genus Camellia, L. 1. Camellia spectabilis; arborea, foliis lanceolatis acuminatis glabris crenatis sub- tus reticulatis, floribus solitariis magnis albis axillaribus et subterminalibus, sepalis coriaceis fructibusque pomi magnitudinis sericeis. Hab. in insula Hong Kong, Sinarum, in sylvis. A small tree; flowering also as a shrub. Branchlets light ferruginous. Leaves alternate, short-petioled, elongate-lanceolate, with a long acumination, crenated and pellucid on the margin, coriaceous, smooth and shining; pale beneath and reticulately veined. In dried specimens the leaves turn yellow like those of a Symplocos ; they are under 5 inches long by 14 lines broad. Elowers about 2\ inches across ; sepals 9-11, imbricated, obtuse, yellowish green and very sericeous, coriaceous. Petals about 7, white, roundish-obovate, emarginate. Stamens very numerous, gamboge-yellow. Style Q2 112 CAPTAIN CHAMPION ON THE TERNSTRCEMIACEOUS sericeous, splitting a quarter of its length into 3-4 styles. Ovary 3-ceUed, each cell 2-ovuled. Fruit the size of a small apple, retaining at base the persistent sepals, and like them very sericeous. Seeds several, pretty large ; the outer coating chestnut-coloured. Flowers in May, and fruits in November. It is a very handsome species, quite distinct from C. oleifera (Abel), of which I have seen specimens, through the kindness of Mr. Bennett. The petals of dried specimens turn dark yellow. I have endeavoured to intro- duce this species. 2. Camellia Japonica, Linn. Of this but two trees are at present known in Hong Kong, growing wild, and discovered by Lieut.-Colonel Eyre, of the Royal Artillery. It is a moderate-sized smooth tree, loaded in October with single pink flowers. The fruit is smooth and much smaller than in the last species, rather above an inch in diameter. The petals, about 7, adhere at base into a ring, and are soon detached and fall off. The sepals are slightly sericeous, and the leaves more elongate than in most of the cultivated plants. 3. Camellia salicifolia ; arbuscula, ramulis pubescentibus flexuosis, foliis subsessilibus elongato-ovatis acuminatis serratis pubescentibus, floribus parvulis albis, sepalis acuminatis pubescentibus, capsulis glabris parvis rostratis 1 — 3- sgepius mono- spermis. Hab. in insula Hong Kong, Sinarum, in sylvis. Sepals 5-7, subulate, hairy exteriorly, imbricated and subtended by imbricated, hairy bracteoles. Petals 5 ; white, oblong-ovate to obovate, gamopetalous at base, sericeous exteriorly. Stamina very numerous, in four rows ; outer rows united into a tube ; two inner with nearly free filaments. Style hairy, simple, elongate. Stigmas 1-3, filiform. Ovary hairy, 2-3-celled, each with a double row of 3 anatropous ovules. Capsule roundish- rostrate, usually by abortion 1-seeded; rarely 3-celled, 3-seeded. Leaves nearly sessile, softly hairy. Flowers nearly sessile, about an inch in diameter. Fruit from 5-7 lines in diameter. Flowers pendulous, scentless, white. It is a rather pretty undertree with long, weeping, rather brittle branches ; the young leaves are reddish. Seed usually sub- globose, with large, almost conferruminate, plano-convex cotyledons and a minute radicle. As species, it and the next are near to C. caudata, Wall. Mr. Braine has lately intro- duced a plant of it into the Kew Gardens. It flowers throughout autumn (October to January), and the fruit succeeds the flowers very rapidly. Tricondyle pulchripes, White, frequents this tree. 4. Camellia assimilis ; frutex, ramulis glabris, foliis subsessilibus lanceolatis acuminatis serratis glabris, floribus parvulis pendulis albis, sepalis sericeis obtusis, capsulis glabris parvis rostratis. Hab. in insula Hong Kong, Sinarum, in Monte Victoria et Monte Gough. I have seen this species growing almost alongside of the last, and the general resem- blance is very striking. Its smooth habit, shorter and wider leaves, and more especially the difference of shape in the sepals, form the distinction. Its form is more stunted, and PLANTS OF HONG KONG. 113 it grows amongst rocks and ravines. Its pretty pendulous flowers come out about January. Thea Bohea, Linn., is cultivated in Hong Kong, but is not indigenous to it. It fre- quently forms borders to garden beds, just as we employ the Box. As a genus there seems to be no good distinction from Camellia. Genus Etjrva, Thunb. 1. Eurya Macabtneyi ; dioica frutescens glabra, foliis majusculis coriaceis subellipticis margine revolutis serrulatis, floribus majusculis ; <J staminibus 19-22 ; ? stylis distinctis revolutis, fructibus purpureis, circiter 14-spermis. Hab. in insula Hong Kong, Sinarum, in sylvis rupibusque. Floret et fructus fert ab Augusto usque ad Novembrem. It is easily distinguished from 2$. Japonica, Thunb., by its larger (4 in. 2 lin. by 1 in. 7 lin.), more slightly serrated and revolutely margined leaves, their venation (grossly reticulated), and the size of its flowers ; also by the styles of the female flowers being free to near their base. There are frequently black glands on the under part of the leaf. The male flowers are 3^-4 lines in diameter, 2-5 on each peduncle, and slightly fragrant. Sepals orbicular, purplish, fimbriated, emarginate. Petals oblong-obovate, obtuse, white ; patent in the male and revolute in the female flowers ; the latter only 1^ to If line in diameter. Male flowers without remains of an ovary. Anthers oblong, shortly apiculate. The petals are united at base into a tube, like those of Symplocos. The ovary of the female is 3-celled, each cell 5-10-ovuled ; the ovules in place of being suspended are attached horizontally to the central axis. It is a shrub 6 to 8 feet high, and as a species comes near to E. elliptica of Gardner. This species has also been brought from China by Lord Macartney, and exists without name in the Herbarium of the British Museum. 2. Eurya Japonica, Thunb. Eurya Chinensis, B. Br. These two species I find mixed up indiscriminately in my collection, and believe them to be identical. It is a species subject to considerable variety, flowering profusely about October. The fruit is dark purple, and the size of a pea, 9-10, or, in poor specimens, fewer- seeded, and crowned by the styles, which remain, even then, combined two-thirds of their length ; their revolute free portions eventually falling off. The male flowers are first greenish, then white, and have a nauseous smell ; 2-3 together on each peduncle, and 2f-3f lines in diameter. Stamina 13-15 in one series. Ovary of the male flowers abortive with remains of one style. Specimens grown on barren hills are fewer-flowered than those growing in damp woods, and often smaller-leafed, and then constitute Mr. Brown's E. Chinensis, collected by Abel. The fruit is pea-shaped, 3-celled with about 3 seeds in each cell, attached at first to a placenta suspended from the apex of the axis. The berry is then succulent and nearly dry ; finally, it becomes filled with 114 CAPTAIN CHAMPION ON THE TERNSTRCEMIACEOUS purple mucilage, which nearly obliterates the cells. Seeds small, triquetrous, wrinkled. Flowers and fruit, October, November and December. The female flowers are one-third less than the male flowers in size, and scentless. The pubescence or smoothness of the ultimate branches I believe to be entirely local. I obtained excellent specimens of male and female flowers and ripe fruit, all within a few yards of each other, on December 6th, 1848. Genus Pentaphylax, Gardn. & Champ. 1. P. euryoedes, Gardn. & Champ. (Tab. XII.) This new genus is described by Dr. Gardner in Hooker's ' Journal of Botany,' No. 8. p. 244-246. The species grows to an undertree of great beauty when in flower, and is exceedingly common in the Hong Kong woods. The flowers are small and white, and owing to those lowest on the branch expanding first, the pseudo-racemes when coming into flower present a pyramidal form with the leaves at their extremity, and have a very peculiar effect. The tree blossoms most profusely. The seed is dry, and its coating membranaceous ; the embryo conduplicate ; its radicle terete and cotyledons plano- elongate-cylindric. Flowers in summer and fruits in autumn. The definite 5 stamina, anthers opening by terminal pores, and the fruit resembling that of a Gordonia on a small scale (but with the embryo conduplicate), render it a very interesting genus. Genus Ixionanthes, Jack. 1. Ixionanthes Chinensis ; subarborea, foliis petiolatis alternis glabris integris elongato- ellipticis apice emarginatis reticulatis, corymbis longe pedicellatis axillaribus pluri- floris dichotomis, staminibus 10 longissimis, capsulis supra-uncialibus. (Tab. XIII.) Hab. in insula Hong Kong, Sinarum, in sylvis. A small tree with reddish brown bark ; the leaves nearly 5 inches long by 1^ inch broad, much reticulated and chartaceous. The 5 cells of the ovary are 2-ovuled (pendu- lously arranged by pairs), and in the fruit the seeds are naked, winged, and like those of a Gordonia, to which genus its capsule approaches. The tree was originally referred to CedrelacecB, but is now very properly classed with Ternstrcemiacea?. Its sticky flowers and long filiform stamina are very peculiar. Several of the seeds which I sent to Kew have vegetated. Upon referring to Dr. Jack's description of the Sumatran species, Ixionanthes reticulata, Jack, I feel some doubts as to the Hong Kong plant proving a new species. It differs in the increased size of the leaves (5 in place of 3 inches long), and probably on comparison will do so in some other particulars. Genus Gordonia, Ellis. 1. G. ANOMALA. Polyspora axillaris, Sweet. This highly ornamental tree is very common wild on the hills and in the woods of Hong Kong, and is much cultivated in that colony. Its large, white, sleepy, Cistus-like PLANTS OF HONG KONG. 115 flowers are sweet-scented, and nearly 3 inches in diameter. Its capsule large and woody. Flowers in autumn, in cold weather. Genus Schima, Reinw. 1. S. stjperba, Gardn. & Champ. Already described in Hooker's ' Journal of Botany,' No. 8. p. 246. Flowers in May, and fruits in October to December. Its bunches of large white flowers resemble Mesua at a distance. The fruit is nearly 10 lines in diameter, subglobose and splits into 5 valves, each containing 3 compressed reniform seeds. The embryo is curved, radicle terete, coty- ledons large, and conforming to the shape of the seed. A very rare tree in Hong Kong, except in the woods near the top of the slopes over Little Hong Kong, where it grows abundantly. Genus Cleyera, Thunb. 1. Cleyera fragrans ; arborea, tota glabra, ramulis di-tri-chotomis, foliis lanceolatis margine integriusculis leviter revolutis coriaceis, ramulis floribundioribus, floribus axillaribus pallidis fragrantibus fugacibus solitariis bibracteolatis, sepalis fimbriatis petalisque glabris parvis, staminibus brevibus glabris ; connectivo acuto, stylis 2 pro- fundi divisis; stigmatibus reniformibus, fructibus globosis diametro subsemi-unci- alibus. Hub. in insula Hong Kong, Sinarum, in sylvis. FL Maio et Octobri. Fruct. Octobri et Novembri. A small tree, with numerous sweet-smelling pale yellow flowers, which blow in the morning and fall off before evening ; the petals are combined into a ring, and are 2^-2^- lines in length. The leaves (about 3 inches long by 13 lines broad) are bright green above, pale or rust-coloured beneath. Peduncles longish, reflexed, 1-flowered. Sepals 5, oblong, fimbriately crenated. Bracteoles 2, ovate, fimbriated on the margin. Petals gamopetalous, oblong-emarginate, smooth, margin uneven. Stamina very numerous, filaments about a line long. Anthers bursting longitudinally ; connective small, acumi- nated. Ovary conical, 2-celled ; each cell with 2-3 collateral pendulous ovules. Style profoundly cleft ; stigmas reniform. Fruit usually 5 lines in diameter, dry and finally hard, orange-brown with reddish spots, globose, 2-celled, each cell 1-2-seeded. Seeds thickish, small (2\ lines long), and covered with a thin coating of oily scarlet mucilage, dying as in Bixa. Testa hard and bony, with a conduplicate embryo ; radicle terete ; cotyledons plano-cylindric. This may prove to be an Anneslea, Dr. Wallich's genus ; his species is described with a 3-celled ovary. This tree constitutes much of the woods of Hong Kong. 2. Cleyera dtjbia ; frutescens, tota glabra, foliis lanceolatis margine integriusculis laeviter revolutis coriaceis, floribus majoribus (8£ lin. diametro) axillaribus pallidis bibrac- teolatis, sepalis fimbriatis petalisque glabris, staminibus brevibus ; connectivo acuto, stylo ssepius trifido, fructibus globosis diametro supra-uncialibus. Hab. in insula Hong Kong, Sinarum, in Monte Victoria. Floret Februario et Martio. Fruct. Junio. 116 CAPTAIN CHAMPION ON THE TERNSTR(EMIACEOUS PLANTS OF HONG KONG. I have doubts as to this being really different from the last. Their general resem- blance is very striking, and the only specific differences I can perceive are, that here the branchlets are more swollen, ash-coloured, and less compact, the flowers larger, nearly scentless, and the petals less fugacious. The fruit and seeds are much larger ; differences which might also be effected by situation. The fruit is usually 3-celled, and the seeds 4J lines long. The species of Cleyera are of very difficult discrimination. This species occasionally flowers when the young leaves are coming out. EXPLANATION OP THE PLATES. Tab. XII. Fig. 1. Flowering branch of Pentaphylax euryoides: — natural size. Fig. 2. Fruit : — natural size. Fig. 3. Front view of a flower : — magnified. Fig. 4. Stamen and two petals : — magnified. Fig. 5. Bracteoles, sepals and style: — magnified. Fig. 6. Ovary, cross section : — magnified. Fig. 7« Fruit: — magnified. Fig. 8. Fruit, vertical section : — magnified. Fig. 9. Seed : — magnified. Fig. 10. Seed, section showing the embryo: — magnified. Tab. XIII. Fig. 1 . Flowering branch of Ixionanthes Chinensis : — natural size. Fig. 2. Flower: — magnified. Fig. 3. Young fruit : — slightly magnified. Fig. 4. Cross section of ovary : — magnified. Fig. 5. Vertical section of ovary, showing the torus. Fig. 6. Fruit burst : — nearly natural size. Fig. 7. Seed: — magnified. Fig. 8. Embryo : — magnified. Ashhurst Lodge, Sunning Hill, November 1st, 1850. Irons. l,vmi.Soc. Vol 3iX2, pjje t.JZ- G-J <zrrrLo,TL sc. #&M [ 117 ] XIV. On the Development of Ferns from their Spores. By Arthur Henfrey, Esq., F.B.S., F.L.S. 8fc. Read June 15, and November 2 & 16, 1852. 1 HE remarkable discoveries published by Count Leszczyc-Suminski in 1848, together with those to which they may be supposed to have led, in the allied families of the Crypto- gcmia, in the researches of Messrs. Hofmeister and Mettenius, are of a character to excite the strongest interest among vegetable physiologists, from the important changes which they appear to necessitate in our general views of the reproduction of plants. It is cer- tain, moreover, that they equally deserve the attention of animal physiologists, since the phenomena which have been described seem to point directly to a much closer relationship between the characters of the sexual reproduction of plants and animals, than has of late years been considered probable; for, while the facts which have been demonstrated in reference to the mode of fertilization in flowering plants seemed to remove the possibility of tracing any satisfactory analogy, — the pollen-tube differing so widely from the sperma- tozoon,— a new set of conditions have been revealed in plants, which present the strongest resemblance to those met with in the' fertilization of animals. Still more, the remarkable biological conditions known in the Animal Kingdom under the title of ' Alternations of Generations ' are found to occur in the Vegetable Kingdom in a much more definite manner than was supposed, presenting all the distinctness which characterizes them in animals, and by no means confined within the debateable territory in which they were at first sought, namely, in the metamorphoses of the organs of single plants. The observations of Suminski naturally attracted the attention of the more active vege- table anatomists, and have already been repeated by several German botanists, whose results, however, not only differ in many points from those of Suminski, but also among themselves ; and opinions are divided both as to the actuality of the existence of the most important point of all, viz. the process of impregnation, and as to the period and circum- stances of its occurrence. Thus, while Von Mercklin confirms Suminski' s statements in regard to the act of impregnation taking place at an early period, Schacht and Wigand deny it altogether ; and, again, Hofmeister and Mettenius assert the fact of the impregna- tion of a germ-cell by spermatozoids, but declare that Suminski mistook the structure of the organs and the modus operandi of the phenomenon. Under these circumstances I believed myself performing a useful task in subjecting the question to minute investigation. These researches were indeed commenced imme- diately after the publication of Suminski' s treatise, but were left imperfect until the past winter and the present spring, during which I have carefully repeated all my former observations, and traced the development entirely through from the spore to the young leafy plant, applying every available means to clear up the anatomical conditions in each VOL. XXI. R 118 MR. HENFREY ON THE DEVELOPMENT stage of the progress. The extreme delicacy of the young prothallium renders dissection a matter of some difficulty, and, as in the embryotomy of flowering plants, the anatomist, with all the skill acquired by practice, must be content to obtain decisive observations in but a very small proportion of his preparations. The drawings which accompany this Memoir were nearly all made by means of the camera lucida eye-piece, so that they represent preparations actually seen ; the unimport- ant details alone, such as the green colouring matters, &c, being given in a conventional manner, except in a few separate figures devoted to the special illustration of these points. The first part of the Memoir is devoted to an account of my own observations ; to this is added a critical examination of those of preceding authors ; and, in conclusion, a few remarks on the general bearing of the results upon vegetable physiology. As some foreign vegetable anatomists have been inclined to lay great weight on the quality of their microscopes, in discussing the points in dispute between different observers, it may be as well to state, that my investigations were made with one of Ross's large microscopes, with his 1-inch, ^-inch, ^-inch and ^-inch objectives (about seven or eight years old), and the drawings sketched in with the camera lucida eye-piece, after the pre- parations had been fully observed with various other eye-pieces. The ^-inch objective sufficed for most purposes ; the ^-inch was useful for the spermatozoids, but in regard to anatomical points was chiefly used on account of the short focus, which is often advan- tageous where the lines of cell- walls cross above one another. The most important point, however, is the clearness of the preparations observed, and on these I place my depend- ence as to the accuracy of my statements, since there can be no doubt of my microscope being quite equal to those of foreign investigators. I. The Prothallium. The specimens which I investigated were obtained from the Chelsea and Regent's Park Botanic Gardens, consisting in a great measure of self-sown plants collected from the pots of ferns growing in the stoves. Hence I am unable to give a very definite statement as to the species of ferns on which I made my observations, and can only say that they were chiefly species of Gymnogramma, Adiantwm, Tteris and Asplenium ; this is of the less consequence, since the phenomena appeared to differ very little in the different specimens in which specific distinctions were certainly known to exist. Plants of Gymnogramma chrysophylla and of an unknown fern were obtained in the earliest condition, for among the tufts of young prothallia placed beneath the simple mi- croscope for separation, I often found the burst capsule of the parent plant, with the spores germinating within and growing out from it. Examination of these showed that the first change which occurs in the spores is the bursting of the outer tough coat and the protrusion of the delicate inner membrane as a kind of pouch, like a pollen- tube from the pollen-grain; this tubular process grows longer, and sooner or later becomes divided by I cross partition into two cells (figs. 1 & 2) ; this is sometimes formed near the spore ; other cases the first cell is produced into a long filament before the cross-wall is forme and the latter then partitions off a small portion at the end. The second cell become OF FERNS FROM THEIR SPORES. 119 elongated in like manner and again divided, and sometimes this goes on until a row of five or. six cells is formed (figs. 3 & 4) : when the first cell grows out into a long filament, fewer cells are formed in the simple row. Chlorophyll granules show themselves, in- creasing in quantity in the newly -formed parts. The first formation of radical fibres often occurs in the earliest stages, consisting in the growth outward of the wall of one or more of the cells of the filamentous prothallium into a slender tube, which attains a great length, remaining narrow and uniform in diameter, and never having its cavity cut up by partitions. All the roots met with on full-grown prothallia exhibit the same characters ; they are tubular prolongations from the inferior walls of cells of the green, vegetating, frondose expansion, and their tubular cavities are freely open into those of the cells from which they arise. After a time the youngest cell of the growing prothallium becomes more expanded in the transverse diameter, and after the next transverse subdivision of the cavity we find a new mode of increase, namely, a division of the newest cell in a direction parallel to the original direction of growth ; by the frequent repetition of these two modes of extension the prothallium gradually acquires a somewhat three-sided figure, with the angles rounded off (figs. 5, 6 & 7). When it has attained a certain size a difference begins to present itself in the degree of expansion of the new cells continually formed by subdivision ; those in the middle of the front border (that directly opposite to the original point of growth) remain small and are greatly surpassed in size by those at the sides and at the two ante- rior angles, so that the latter advance forward as rounded lobes, leaving a notch or exca- vation in the middle, giving the entire prothallium the form which in leaves, &c. is termed obcordate (fig. 9). In the meantime great quantities of radical hairs are developed from the lower faces of the cells in the neighbourhood of the obtuse apex of the heart-shaped frond, that is, about the posterior part of the prothallium, which generally exhibits a very ill-defined margin, as the cells formed at first often decay away and disappear, leaving a ragged edge (figs. 9 & 10). "While the cordate form, which varies a good deal in different species in the lateral ex- pansion of the two lobes, is becoming perfected, the middle and posterior region of the prothallium, near where the roots arise, begins to display a new mode of growth. Up to this time the entire prothallium consists of a single flat layer of cells, in which state the lateral lobes and the anterior border persist, but in the central and posterior part the cells now become divided by horizontal walls, so as to give the prothallium a thickness of two, three, or more cells in the vertical section (figs. 62 & 67). The thickened portion forms a rounded cushion-like projection from the inferior face of the prothallium (fig. 51), while the upper surface remains flat or is even slightly depressed in the region over the thickening. The characters presented by the cells are as follows : — their walls are delicate and closely in apposition, so as to leave no intercellular passages between them ; they are lined by a layer of mucilaginous consistence (the primordial utricle) enclosing a clear fluid filling the cavity of the cell. This substance is coagulated and contracted by acids and iodine, so as to collect all the cell-contents into an isolated mass in the centre. In the cell are also found, more or less abundant, chlorophyll globules, some imbedded in the mucilaginous r2 120 MR. HENFREY ON THE DEVELOPMENT layer lining the wall, others lying in the more internal parts of the cavity (fig. 13). In some cases the chlorophyll globules are so closely packed, in isolated cells, as to acquire a parenchymatous form from mutual pressure (fig. 14). These chlorophyll globules present in a high degree those characters found in the same structures in all the higher Crypto- gamous plants, — characters which appear to warrant Nageli's view that the chlorophyll is contained in a membranous vesicle, and that these vesicles are increased in number by a process of subdivision like that of cells. I have met with appearances which I cannot explain in any other way, but shall be content with a mere indication here, to avoid digressing from the immediate subject of this Memoir. I believe that I have seen the enveloping membrane enclosing a green fluid (fig. 15) ; moreover, the development of two or more starch-granules inside those vesicles, so as gradually to displace the chlorophyll ; but as the vesicles are only about -g^ooth or 10io00th of an inch in diameter, much eareful examination is requisite before a safe decision can be arrived at. In some cells I have seen a small colourless and formless accumulation of mucilage upon the side wall, among the chlorophyll globules. It is possible that this may have been a nucleus. I also found a large clear and circular vesicle in one of the cells of an old barren prothallium ; this had all the appearance of a nucleus, excepting that it was so exceedingly transparent. In the vegetative cells generally I saw no trace of nuclei. The cells of the older posterior part of the prothallium contain but little chlorophyll, and like the root-filaments, are filled with colourless, slightly granular mucilaginous fluid ; and they often appear stained with brown patches, arising from the partial decay of the walls. In all cases the death of the cell-membrane is followed by a brown colouring of the dead part. Such is the normal history of a prothallmm, so far as its vegetation is concerned (for the reproductive structures, left out of view in the preceding description, are in part deve- loped at a very early period). If the regular development of a leafy stem takes place, a term is naturally set to the existence of the prothallium, which quickly decays away as the young stem grows up. But if the prothallium remains barren, if none of the arche- gonia become fertilized, its vegetative existence may be continued for a long time. The lateral lobes grow much larger, their borders become curved and sinuous, or variously convoluted ; new lobes sometimes grow out from the cushion-like thickening in the middle ; and, finally, individual cells of the margin may grow out and repeat the mode of development exhibited by the spore-cell in the original germination, so as to produce new prothallia (by a process of budding), which become detached from the parent (fig. 12). The progeny of • proliferous ■ prothallia exhibit antheridia, but I have never seen arche- ffonia upon them. In other respects they are exact repetitions of the parent structure. II. The Antheridia. The organs to which this name is applied are produced in much greater abundance than those which are indicated by the term archegoniwm, and they present themselves through- out almost every stage of the growth of the prothallium, in some cases from the time when it consists of a mere collection of some dozen cells, in others not until the cordate form has become evident, until the latest period ; so that since they run through their OF FERNS FROM THEIR SPORES. 121 _„._.___. every condition of their development in prothallia which are fully formed. When anthe- ridia appear on very young prothallia, composed of a single row of cells, or at most of a double row in the upper part, they present themselves as productions from the margins, the outer side of one of the cells giving origin to each cmtheridium. But as soon as the prothallium has acquired anything like a flattened form, by the transverse expansion of the anterior end, the antheridia are formed almost exclusively upon the inferior surface, that surface in contact with the soil upon which the plant grows. They appear first upon the older cells of the central region, and gradually spread forward as the prothallium grows, hut appear seldom to extend beyond a certain distance from the centre, occurring in greatest number about the central cushion-like protuberance above described. It has already been stated that they occur upon the progeny of the proliferous barren prothallia ; in some cases I have found these branching at their edges and bearing anthe- ridia in a very abnormal position, at the ends of projecting cellular processes (figs. 27-32); this, however, afforded great facility for observing the internal structure of these organs, and checking the results obtained by observations upon sections. The first sign of the production of an antheridium consists in the elevation of a globular protuberance from the lower, free surface (or in the young prothallia from a lateral surface), forming at first a kind of globular pouch (fig. 17), in which are seen at first a few chlorophyll globules, which afterwards vanish and give place to a collection of light yellowish, mucilaginous contents, slightly granular. A septum is soon formed, shutting off this budding cell from that which gives origin to it, and as it becomes elongated another cross septum often appears, a little higher up (figs. 21 & 29, &c), so that the structure then consists of a basal cell forming a peduncle, as it were, for the proper anthe- ridial structure. This occurs most distinctly in marginal antheridia (figs. 27-32). The antheridial structure, at first consisting of a simple cell, exhibits a considerable collection of protoplasm occupying the greater part of its cavity ; but this portion soon becomes denned by a circular wall, which makes its appearance simultaneously all round the central contents, converting the simple cell into a compound organ, consisting of a central cell surrounded by an annular cell ; while a horizontal septum is formed above and at right angles to this, cutting off a new cell, convex above and flat at the surface, in contact with the contents. In antheridia produced on young prothallia, the enveloping tubular cell surrounding the central cell (the parent-cell of the sperm-cells) does not always undergo further sub- division, but in fully developed specimens (when the basal, peduncular cell is often absent) the tubular cell appears to be divided into two by a horizontal septum running all round. This wall is seen most clearly in old antheridia which have discharged their contents (figs. 48, 49). The central cell meanwhile acquires an increased quantity of protoplasm, which also appears to become more dense ; these contents by their increase cause the walls of the cell to bulge out in all directions, and at a certain stage they seem to press so much upon the inner wall of the annular cell, forming the boundary of the central cell, as to push it quite against the outer wall, in fact so as to flatten the boundary cell, and for the time to efface 122 MR. HENFREY ON THE DEVELOPMENT its cavity. The same takes place upwards and downwards, and thus the antheridium, when examined in this state, seems to consist merely of one large cell (figs. 21, 22 & 26), with rather thick walls consisting of a double membrane (figs. 24, 25). While in this expanded condition the entire structure increases in size, and the contents of the central cell become more granular. After a time faint lines can be detected run- ning through the protoplasm (fig. 21), and these soon display themselves more clearly as the boundaries of square isolated masses of the protoplasm (figs. 22 & 25), the nascent sperm-cells. Around each of the little masses thus isolated a membrane is formed. It was impossible to ascertain whether the parent-cell was first divided into a number of square partitions, by cross walls, thus producing " special parent-cells," for the sperm-cells, like those formed in the development of pollen-grains, the original partitions subsequently becoming dissolved to set free the cells thus originally connected together ; or, whether the protoplasm was simply entirely broken up into a number of isolated portions, each of which secreted a membrane and thus formed a free cell ; but I incline to believe that the latter was the fact, and that the same occurs in the completely similar case of the produc- tion of a number of closely packed endosperm-cells, in the embryo-sac of many Phanero- gamia, as in the Cruciferse and Scrophulariacese*. However this may be, the result is the production of a large number of free cellules, filled with mucilaginous protoplasm (figs. 26, 34), of a light yellowish colour, becoming gradually more and more granular. As these cellules, at first squarish, enlarge, they become spherical, and by their expansion distend the parent-cell and disguise the existence of the annular cell surrounding it. Their num- ber, in well-developed antheridia, seems to be between thirty and forty, probably never exceeding the latter number. The free cellules, the sperm-cells, become more and more opake and granular, and after a time spiral lines may be detected in them, while still within the parent-cell in the antheridium (figs. 35 & 36). At this time the antheridia may be burst very easily by pres- sure (fig. 36), and the sperm-cells which escape can be observed in all stages of develop- ment, until a spiral fibre can be clearly seen, coiled up in the interior. Specimens lying in water, under the microscope, now frequently exhibit a movement of the contents of the sperm-cells, they swell up, and the spiral lines are seen to change their position. Very often the bursting of the sperm-cells takes place within the antheridium, and the sperma- toxoid becomes free (fig. 38). But usually, and apparently normally, the cellules are dis- charged entire from the antheridium. This occurs by the splitting of the line of junction of the lenticular cell crossing the antheridium with the lateral cell, at first at one side and then usually all round, but sometimes it remains attached by a small portion (fig. 48). By this circumscissile dehiscence the cavity of the antheridium is freely opened, as when the lid is removed from a box. The sperm-cells begin to escape as soon as the dehiscence commences, and a large portion of them have often made their exit before the lid has completely opened. As the opening of the lid gives a vent to the contents of the distended central cell, the tubular enveloping cell exerts a pressure inwards by striving to regain its original form, and as the sperm-cells are discharged, the side-walls of the central cell come back into * I have observed it in Lathreea Squamaria most distinctly. OF FERNS FROM THEIR SPORES. 123 their former position so as to render the existence of the enveloping cell or cells very evident. After the whole of the contents have been discharged, the walls of the parent- cell acquire a deep brown colour, presenting a peculiar appearance and making the anato- mical structure of the antheridium very clear (figs. 48, 49). The lower faces of full-grown prothallia exhibit, when moderately magnified, a great number of circular bodies with brown roundish or squarish central patches ; these are effete antheridia, with the brown walls of their cavities showing through the orifice at the summit (see figs. 19 & 50). We have next to consider the appearance of the spermatozoids, produced by the sperm- cells. These cells, as stated already, generally emerge entire from the antheridium, the spiral fibre being visible, in movement, in their interior. After a variable time, according to the stage of development of the spermatozoid, it breaks through the wall of the sperm- cell, and if perfect, escapes entirely from it. When perfect it appears to consist of a flat- tened band, curled spirally into about three and a half coils, bearing all along the outer edge, cilia of considerable length, vibrating with great rapidity ; so much so, indeed, that they appear only like a fringe of light while the spermatozoid is in active motion (fig. 40). The filament when in the condition of the lowest specimen in the group (fig. 40) mea- sures about xwoth of an inch in length, as coiled up ; the diameter of the widest coil, about equal to that of the sperm-cell, is usually about -^ooth of an inch. I never saw one uncoiled and flaccid but once ; this measured about 20300ths of an inch in length (fig. 42 a). The motion consists of a rapid rotation around its axis, which, from the spiral form, causes a motion of great velocity, forwards, in the water. The motion does not seem to follow any fixed rules ; the spermatozoids dart here and there, turn aside or backwards, or alter- nately to the right and left in their course onward, so as to preclude the possibility of laying down any formula or law for it. If they come in contact by the smaller extremity with any fixed body, they often adhere by this point and then revolve around their axes without advancing. By degrees the motion becomes slackened and the rotation is lost, merely a kind of vibratory motion remains, and this at length ceases ; but the spermatozoids seem to undergo dissolution during this time, and when they come to rest often appear as shapeless masses. By applying iodine the movement of the most active can be stopped instantaneously, and in this way a tolerably clear view of the structure is obtained. Under these circumstances the cilia may be seen pretty clearly (fig. 41) ; the flattened band exhibits minute granules adhering to it, and is seen to have a little rounded head, from which the coils run back, increasing successively in diameter, so as to give a conical form to the outline of the whole, as seen at the side. Such, so far as I can make it out, is the character of a perfect spermatozoid. But these bodies acquire the capability of motion, of whatever nature this may be, before they are perfectly developed, and hence, I imagine, the different accounts which different observers have given of them. It seemed to me that when they had not acquired their full develop- ment, the fibres could not unroll into the true form when they emerged from the sperm- cell ; they thus appeared to present fewer coils, often only one and a half, the latter of very large diameter ; in other cases they looked like minute shells of Gasteropodous Mol- lusks. In fig. 46 I have given representations of several of these forms, and it should be observed that these imperfect forms exhibited a greater quantity of adherent granules, and 124 MR. HENFREY ON THE DEVELOPMENT a less definite outline than the others. Finally, some appeared unable to extricate them- selves from the sperm-cell, and carried this along attached to the posterior extremity (fig. 44). This vesicle attached to the spermatozoid has been described by some observers as formed by the swelling of the extremity of the filament after its exit from the sperm- cells, therefore as constituting an integral part of the structure of the spermatozoid ; but I believe this to be an error. In one case I saw an appearance which seemed to indicate the existence of a hair-like production of the posterior extremity of the spermatozoid, like that figured by Hofmeister. A spermatozoid moving rapidly forwards in the water dragged after it, at a little distance, a small mass of mucilage (fig. 42 b) ; the bond of connection was invisible, and therefore, most probably, must have consisted of a capillary process. I never saw any hair-like tail in specimens suddenly paralysed by iodine, but it may have escaped notice from its tenuity ; on the other hand, it may possibly be only found in the most perfect state of the spermatozoid, and since these are examined under artificial conditions, often causing the rupture of the antheridia before their contents are mature, the most perfect condition may only be met with occasionally. III. The Archegonitjm. In the description of the development of the prothallium, it has been stated that a thickened, cushion-like mass is formed in the central region, by the time the general form has become complete (fig. 51). This central mass is composed of several layers of cells, and, projecting from the general surface, does not reach quite to the inner extremity of the anterior notch of the prothallium, so that an inclined surface is produced looking somewhat forwards toward the notch (fig. 52). Upon this arise the archegonia, which are variable in number, seldom however exceeding six or eight. The earliest rudiment of the archegonmm is the embryo-sac, as it may be termed, con- sisting of one of the cells of the thickened cushion, separated by a single cell from the (inferior) surface of the prothallium (figs. 54 — 57 a). A cell, destined to become an embryo- sac, is found surrounded by a circle of cells of smaller size than those of the surroundi tissue, and formed by the production of walls in the cells immediately bordering the embryo-sac, tangental to the circumference of the latter, which thus becomes defined by wall of small cells surrounding it (figs. 55, 57 b). Cell-division also takes place in the cells beneath the embryo-sac, and these multiply so as to form a collection of condensed tissue enclosing the embryo-sac at the sides and below (figs. 66, 67 b), visible through the cells of the surface of the prothallium (figs. 54, 56) before the external structure is formed. The commencement of the development of this consists in the enlargement of the cell sepa- rating the embryo-sac from the surface, and its division into two cells by an inclined wall, the larger of these being again divided by another partition at right angles to the former, so that as seen from the (under) face of the prothallium (fig. 52), the superficial cell seems divided into three. I could not follow the development of the cells, step by step, onwarc from this point, but it is evident that they go on repeating the mode of subdivision of the first cell ; that is to say, the process is as follows : the original cell, A, divides by an oblique septum into an upper, b, and lower, a, the latter being divided by a radial septum intc OF FERNS FROM THEIR SPORES. 125 two, a 1, a 2 ; the cell b expands upwards, and by the formation of a septum inclined exactly in the opposite way towards the horizon, to that first formed, cuts off cell b into b and c ; b is then divided by a radial septum into b 1 and b 2, while c, the last new cell, overlaps a 1 and a 2 ; another division of c leaves c 1 and c 2 over a 1 and a 2, and carries up d to form d 1 and d 2, above b 1 and b 2, until the papilla reaches its full height, and appears composed of tiers of four quadrant-shaped cells, the first tier consisting of a 1 and a 2, b 1 and b 2 of the series ; the next tier of c 1 and c 2, d 1 and d 2, &c. (figs. 58-61). In the meantime, the embryo-sac at the base, which very early appeared filled with opakish protoplasm, comes to exhibit a central globular body (figs. 56, 57 c), which in all probability is an isolated mass of protoplasm, destined to secrete a membrane around it, and to form the germinal vesicle, just as occurs in the embryo-sac of Phanerogamia (for example in Orchis). The next peculiarity is the appearance of a clavate cavity running up the centre, between the convergent inner angles of the four series of cells of the papilla, forming a canal evidently communicating, through a constricted neck, with the embryo-sac (figs. 62-70). In this canal is observed a slender clavate filament of slightly granular mucilage (fig. 70) running down into a point in the embryo-sac below, where I believe it is in contact with the germinal vesicle : I imagine this to be a portion of the protoplasm of the embryo-sac which has been protruded up into the intercellular canal of the papilla, after the absorption of the wall of the embryo-sac, where it at first closed the bottom of the canal at the constricted neck. After a time the canal becomes opened to the external medium, and then the clavate filament is often seen hanging out from the open mouth (figs. 63-66) ; it is generally double (figs. 63, 64) at the upper end, which I cannot explain. It appeared firmly attached in the canal, and bore the movements of the preparation, by pressing and sliding over the covering glass, without becoming detached from the papilla. It is at this stage of development that I believe the impregnation to take place ; but before proceeding to speak of this part of the subject, I may conclude the description of the archegonia, by stating that the greater part of them are abortive ; very rarely more than one being fertilized on a prothallium, and very often none. When thus abortive the cellular papulae continue growing to some extent, the central canal becomes widely opened, often into a large funnel-shaped orifice, and the walls of the intercellular canal and the embryo-sac acquire the same deep brown colour as the interior of the effete antheridia (figs. 72-74). IV. Development of the Embryo. My opinion with regard to the fertilization is, that the operation is effected by the con- tact of one or more spermatozoids with the mucilaginous filament contained in or hanging from the mouth of the canal of the archegonium. I have seen the spermatozoids swim- ming in numbers around the mouth of the archegonia, but never detected one inside, and I do not see any good reason for supposing such a process necessary. The pollen-tube of flowering plants only comes in contact with the outside of the embryo-sac, and the in- fluence is sometimes communicated through a long suspensor ; and there does not seem to be any sufficient objection to the supposition, that the contact of the spermatozoid with the filament of mucilage which lies in the canal of the archegonium, suffices to convey the vol. xxi. s 126 MR. HENFREY ON THE DEVELOPMENT necessary stimulus. I imagine this stimulus resides in the mucilaginous fluid in which the spermatozoid is bathed in the sperm-cell, and which, adhering to this, is conveyed to the mucilage (protoplasm) of the germinal vesicle, just as the contents of the pollen-grain become combined with the protoplasm of the germinal vesicle in flowering plants. The nature of the process is clearly a problem beyond the reach of science, but it seems to be a necessary induction, from the facts in the Phanerogamia, that the phenomena result there from the material union of two fluids, and I hence conclude that this is the case here. The comparatively few cases of successful impregnation among these prothallia, so many of which prove sterile, may perhaps be accounted for by the peculiar conjunction of circumstances required to bring a sufficient amount of the fertilizing fluid, by means of the spermatozoids, to the germinal vesicle, at the precise epoch required. Some doubt has been thrown upon the possibility of the impregnation of the archegonia by means of the spermatozoids, on the ground that the free movement of the latter in the water, beneath the microscope, is an abnormal condition. I attach no weight to these objections, for the occurrence of numerous empty antheridia, on moderately developed prothallia, proves that their dehiscence is a natural process, and if the moisture which always exists upon the under surface of the prothallia is insufficient to allow such a wide and free course to the spermatozoids as they find in the water on the glass slider beneath the microscope, we see a compensation for the obstacles in the way of the conjunction in the large number of antheridia produced, and this not at one time only, but throughout the whole growth of the prothallium. Again, there is evidence that the process is not easily and constantly completed, in the fact of so many prothallia remaining sterile, and in the provision of several archegonia upon each, while in normal cases only one produces an embryo. Arguments have been urged against the entrance of the spermatozoids into the archego- nium, from the consideration that the mouth of the canal is directed downwards, and the spermatozoid would consequently have to work its way upwards, contrary to the attraction of gravity ; and further, from the fact that the apex of the archegonium is usually directed forwards towards the notch of the prothallium, while the antheridia occur principally about the posterior part. If we imagine the contact of "the spermatozoids with the mucilaginous matter protruding from the mouth of the canal to suffice for the impregnation (it being understood, however, that this happens under such circumstances that the spermatozoid is fresh from the antheridium, and the mucilage of the canal of the archegonium has not yet become coagulated by exposure), this difficulty is done away. The first result of the impregnation, — that is to say, the first step of development of the embryo, which I believe to be the consequence of such an operation, — as seen by means of vertical sections of the prothallium, consists of subdivision of the germinal or embryonal vesicle* of the archegonium. In the earliest state that I have been able to see clearly, a little globe of minute cellular structure occupied the place of the embryonal vesicle (figs. 71, 75), * It is unimportant which we call it, since it is here developed at once into the embryo. In flowering plants the germinal vesicle usually becomes subdivided to form a suspensor, and one of the cells produced by it becomes the embryonal vesicle. OF FERNS FROM THEIR SPORES. 127 in the embryo-sac. The succeeding stages of growth of this new cellular body, the embryo, consist of a gradual multiplication of the cells by division, and expansion of the new struc- ture, until at length the rudiments of a radicle and the first leaf become visible as projec- tions from the surface, resulting from the more rapid increase of the cells in the situation where they are found (figs. 76-79). In the ulterior development of the embryo the radicle appears to be arrested in its deve- lopment, and to remain as a cellular mass (fig. 80 a) within the cavity of the prothallium, until it disappears with the latter by decay. The first leaf unfolds upwards and forwards (fig. 80 b) towards the notch of the prothallium, and the first adventitious root (fig. 80 c) breaks through at the base of this towards the posterior border of the prothallium, exhi- biting a coleorhize like that of the Monocotyledons. The second leaf arises near the axil of the first, one-third of the circumference of the nascent stem to the side ; the third leaf arises one-third to the side of the second, so that the three leaves form a circle, in which they stand at equal distances, and the fourth leaf arises over the first (Oymnogramma chrysophylla ?). They are of very simple structure, consisting of cellular plates with twice- forked rudimentary nervures, and they are accompanied by very elegant ramenta at the bases of the little petioles (figs. 81-83). * I have not followed the development beyond the formation of the fourth leaf (fig. 83), by which epoch the prothallium has generally decayed away from the base of the young stem. V. Criticism of previous Observations. The first account of any of the peculiar structures above described was published in 1844 by Nageli*, in a memoir entitled " Moving Spiral Filaments (spermatic filaments) in Ferns," wherein he announced the existence of the bodies now called antheridia, but mis- taking the archegonia for modified forms of the antheridia, he was led away from a minute investigation of them. If he had followed the development of the prothallia further, he would have detected the relations of the nascent embryo, which would probably have put him on the right track. As it was, the remarkable discovery of the moving spiral fila- ments, or spermatozoids, occupied all his attention, and caused him to fall into error in certain important respects ; for example, in fig. 11 of his plate, he has represented what is undoubtedly an archegonium, filled with cellules {sperm-cells), which, he states, emerged from it as from the antheridia : this is undoubtedly incorrect. With regard to the spermatozoids his description is imperfect, the only indication of the existence of cilia being a statement that he occasionally saw a long filiform appendage, like that represented by Meyen in the spermatozoids of Chara. On the other hand, the mathematical definition of the movements of the spermatozoids is surely misplaced, since nothing can be more arbitrary or irregular than their course. However, whatever be the faults of observation, it is certain that it is to the keenly inquiring spirit of this author that we owe the first step of the investigations which have thrown so much light upon the reproduction of the higher Cryptogamia. Nageli's observations remained without confirmation or criticism until the publication * Zeitschrift fur wiss. Botanik. Heft i. 168. Zurich, 1844. s2 128 MR. HENFREY ON THE DEVELOPMENT of the important investigations of Count Suminski, which were first made known in the 'Bulletin' of the Berlin Academy, and hy a note from Dr. J. Munter in the 'Bota- nische Zeitung,' but were given in a complete form in a separate treatise by the author in 1848*. These investigations, which form the basis of the subject before us, from the capital fact of the discovery of the archegonia and of the development of the embryo from one of these, present a curious mixture of industrious observation and preconceived theories. It is an invidious task to criticise an essay which has so greatly advanced our knowledge of the subject, but it is an unavoidable one. The great fault of the essay is the free exercise of the imagination in cases where the delicacy of the structures renders the objects exceed- ingly difficult to make out clearly. I feel warranted in making this assertion by the fact that my own microscope must be equal if not superior to that used by Count Suminski, since I have seen, with the greatest clearness, points which he missed, where good defi- nition of the microscope was all that was requisite, and on the other hand, I can trace actual invention in cases where bad definition of the object would leave points obscure which I saw distinctly. Moreover, his figures display appearances which I neither saw nor can conceive the possibility of seeing with the distinctness represented in his drawings, while some of these bear patent evidence of a faulty interpretation of tolerably clear con- ditions. Such assertions of course require evidence, and it is desirable that this should not rest upon counter-statements alone, but should furnish some explanation of the probable causes of the errors stated to exist. In the first place, then, Suminski describes the growth of the cells of the prothallium to take place by the formation of two or more free cells within a parent-cell, expanding till they come in contact, and meanwhile displacing the chlorophyll and other contents of the parent-cell, which become absorbed and are reproduced in the new cells. This statement is opposed to all my experience of vegetative growth, not only in these prothallia, but in all other plants ; and is evidently a hasty conclusion, arising out of a preconceived notion, — that notion of cell-formation formerly asserted by Schleiden to be universal, but now acknowledged by him to be subject to exception : for I can affirm that the growth of the prothallium occurs by the expansion and subdivision by septa of the cells, without im- portant disturbance of the contents, and this process is in all probability effected through the agency of the primordial utricle, or layer of dense protoplasm which invariably lines the walls of the growing cells. "With regard to the antheridia, Suminski observed them very superficially ; he describes the compound cellular body borne upon a peduncular cell, as a simple cell, discharging the sperm-cells by bursting. He overlooked therefore all the stages of development, fror the very earliest up to the time just preceding the dehiscence, and can scarcely have paic any attention to the appearances of the effete antheridia. I need only refer to