. The American entomologist. Entomology. 196 THE AMEEICAN thick dermis. This is composed of layers of fibres which pursue a spiral direction around the body of the worm, alternating or crossing ill the successive layers. Within the thick skin of the worm there is a thicker muscular layer, composed of longitudinal fibres. Tlie Gordius is a wonderfully prolific animal. The mode of impregnation I have not observed. In the European Gordius aquatious, Dr. Meiss- ner observed that the tail end of the male wound spirally around that of the female, and by its forked extremity grasped that of the latte
. The American entomologist. Entomology. 196 THE AMEEICAN thick dermis. This is composed of layers of fibres which pursue a spiral direction around the body of the worm, alternating or crossing ill the successive layers. Within the thick skin of the worm there is a thicker muscular layer, composed of longitudinal fibres. Tlie Gordius is a wonderfully prolific animal. The mode of impregnation I have not observed. In the European Gordius aquatious, Dr. Meiss- ner observed that the tail end of the male wound spirally around that of the female, and by its forked extremity grasped that of the latter, while the genital pores were closely applied together. The Variable Gordius and the Loug-lobed Gordius extrude their eggs in a long, narrow white cord, from between the lobes of the tail, as represented in Figure 120, h. I observed a Variable Gordius, 9 inches in length by 2-5ths of a line in thickness, commence laying eggs, and continue the process very slowly and gradually during two weeks. They were ex- truded in a delicate cylindrical cord, resembling a thread of sewing cotton. At first it broke ofl", as extruded, in pieces about a foot in length, but, towards the end of the process, the cord appeared to be less tenacious, and broke oflf in pieces a few inches, and even a few lines, in length. The pieces in the aggregate measured 91 inches; the thickness of the cord was about the 1-lOth of a line. The eggs are very minute, and in the cord were compressed together so as to be polyhedral. lu a transverse section of the cord I counted abont 70 eggs, and in the length of l-40th of an inch 26 eggs, which by calcula- tion gives 6,624,800 as the whole number of eggs in the cord. The eggs when isolated assume an oval shape, and measure about the l-750th of an inch long by the 1-lOOOth of an inch broad. The development of the young from the egg is readily observed from day to day; and it takes about a month before the process is completed. The globular mass of yolk in the ce
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Keywords: ., bookcentury1800, bookdecade1860, booksubjectentomology, bookyear1
