LIBRARY

82 COLLEGE ENTOMOLOGY
Grev., Podura Linn., Pseudachorutes Tullb., TuUberg£a Lubb., and Xenylla
Tullb.
The New Zealand Holacanthella spinosa Lubbock, a dull, slaty, spiny species
10 mm. long, is said to be the largest member of the order.
The armed springtail, Achorutes armatus (Nicolet), is probably the most
widely distributed species in the world, being cosmopolitan in the temperate
regions. The young are white and the adults slate-colored. They occur in the
soil, among leaves, in rotten wood, manure, and similar places and often congregate
in great numbers. They may devour germinating seeds and are at times
a pest to mushrooms.
The sl1owfiea, Achorutes nivicolus Fitch, is a dark blue-black cosmopolitan
species often occurring on the surface of snow.
The seashore springtails, Anurida maritima Lab. and Xenylla maritima
Tullb., are common and often very abundant along the seashores of Europe
and Africa and the latter has also been noted in North America. They feed on
dead animal matter and debris.
The golden snowfiea, Onychiurus cocklei (Folsom), is a minute yellow
species which often appears in great numbers on the surface of the snow along
the Pacific coast from British Columbia into Alaska.
The water springtail, Podura aquatica Linn., is widespread in Europe and
North America and frequently occurs in myriads on the surface of standing fresh
water.
Family ENTOMOBRYIDlE Ti:imosvary 1883 (En'to-mo-bry'-i-dce, from the
Greek EvroJ.wv, insect, + {3puov, moss; in reference to the damp habitats
of some species).
This is the dominant family of the order. The body is somewhat cylindrical
with smoot.h cuticle clothed with scales and simple, clavate, and pectinate hairs.
The furca arises from the fourth abdominal segment. and is long in certain
species. The antennre are normally four-segmented, but those of the genus
Orchesella have six segments.
According to Handlirsch (1925) there are approximately 50 genera and 560
species distributed as follows: Palrearctic 226, North American 96, South American
54, African 29, Indo-Malaysian 72, and Australian 45.
The important genera are Armrophorus Nicolet, Cyphodurus Nicolet, Entomobrya
Rondani, Folsomla Willem, Heteromurus Wankel, Isatoma Bourlet,
Isotomurus Borner, Lepidocyrtus Bourlet, Lepidophorella Schaffer, Orchesella
Templeton, Paronella Schott, Proisotoma Borner, Sindla Brook, Sira Lubbock,
and Tomocerus Nicolet. The most important of these are Entomobrya, [sotoma,
and Tomocerus.
The marsh springtail, Isotoma palustris (Miiller), is widely distributed
through northern Asia, Europe, and North America. It lives under wet leaves
and in wet soil and moss and may also appear on the surface of fresh-water
pools. [Botoma viridis (Bourlet), a green species, attaining a length of from
5-6 mm., occurs in Europe and North America. Salina wolcotti Folsom is a