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Orginal Articles.

 

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VI.—On Sphærularia Bombi.—By John Lubbock, F.R.S., F.L.S., F.G.S. (With Plate I.)

This very curious creature was first discovered by Leon Dufour, and described by him in the "Annales des Sciences Naturelles" for 1836. He at first supposed that it was a dipterous larva, but soon saw that it belonged to the Entozoa; and as it certainly could not be referred to any other genus, he gave it the appropriate name of Sphærularia.

Von Siebold is, I believe, the only other naturalist who has recorded any personal observations on the subject; and as the remarks of both these excellent observers are very much to the purpose, and at the same time very short, I may, perhaps, be permitted to quote them in full.

M. Leon Dufour' s description is as follows:—

"SPHÆRULARIA BOMBI.^[1]

"Teres, albido-pellucida, mollis, filiformis, haud annulata, undique sphærulis vesiculæ formibus granulata, antero posticeque obtusa subrotundata.

"Hab. in abdomine Bombi terrestris et B. hortorum. Long., 6-8 lin. J'ai vainement cherché a rapporter ce singulier Entozoaire a quelqu'un des genres consignés dans l'ouvrage de Rudolphi; j'ai cru pouvoir en constituer un nouveau sous le nom de Sphæ- rulaire qui exprime sa structure extérieure. Je l'avais d'abord pris pour une larve de Diptere, mais l'absence de toute segmentation et sa forme cylindrique, me ramenerent a un Entozoaire. Il n'est pas tres greles, puisque sur six a huit lignes de longueur il en a pres d'une de largeur. Il n'offore aucune distinction ni de tête ni de queue, et il est obtus ou même arrondi par un bout ou par l'autre. Toute la surface de son corps est couverte, soit au dessus, soit au dessons, de granulations spheroidales semblables a des vesicules subdiaphanes.

"Je l'ai rencontré plusieurs fois dans la cavité abdominale des especès preciteés de Bombus, en dehors du tube digestif et toujours libre. En Juin, 1833, j'en trouvai deux ensemble dans le meme individu du B. hortorum, et cette circonstance me fortifie encore dans l'idée que c'est un Entozoaire."

V. Siebold says ("Müller's Archiv.," 1838):—

"Who would not be surprised at the appearance of the Sp. bombi, figured by Léon Dufour, and ask himself in which of the five orders of Helminths this bee-worm should be placed. I have been fortunate enough to find this worm in the cavity of the body of B. terrestris, muscorum, and sylvarum, together with completely formed young ones, and have made out from the form and manner of development of the latter that this parasite can be nowhere better placed than among the Nematoids. Besides which, the formation of the female generative organs corresponds exactly with those of Filaria; but, on the other hand, the rest of the worm presents some peculiarities: its digestive appa-

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1. Léon Dufour, Ann. Sc. Nat. 1836, 2nd Ser., vol. vii.