Chelifer Librorum, Temp.
  Chelifer oblongus, Temp.
  Chelifer acaroides, Hermann.

Dr. Templeton appears to have been puzzled to account for the appearance of the latter species in Ceylon, so far from its native country, but it has most certainly been introduced from Europe, in Dutch or Portuguese books.]

[Footnote 2:  Lepisma niveo-fasciata, Templeton, and L. niger, Temp.  It was called “Lepisma” by Fabricius, from its fish-like scales.  It has six legs, filiform antenna, and the abdomen terminated by three elongated setae, two of which are placed nearly at right angles to the central one.  LINNAEUS states that the European species, with which book collectors are familiar, was first brought in sugar ships from America.  Hence, possibly, these are more common in seaport towns in the South of England and elsewhere, and it is almost certain that, like the chelifer, one of the species found on book-shelves in Ceylon, has been brought thither from Europe.]

The latter, which is a familiar genus, comprises several species, of which only two have as yet been described; one is of a large size, most graceful in its movements, and singularly beautiful in appearance, owing to the whiteness of the pearly scales from which its name is derived.  These, contrasted with the dark hue of the other parts, and its tri-partite tail, attract the eye as the insect darts rapidly along.  Like the chelifer, it shuns the light, hiding in chinks till sunset, but is actively engaged throughout the night feasting on the acari and soft-bodied insects which assail books and papers.

Millepeds.—­In the hot dry season, and more especially in the northern portions of the island, the eye is attracted along the edges of the sandy roads by fragments of the dislocated rings of a huge species of millepede[1], lying in short curved tubes, the cavity admitting the tip of the little finger.  When perfect the creature is two-thirds of a foot long, of a brilliant jet black, and with above a hundred yellow legs, which, when moving onward, present the appearance of a series of undulations from rear to front, bearing the animal gently forwards.  This Julus is harmless, and may be handled with perfect impunity.  Its food consists chiefly of fruits and the roots and stems of succulent vegetables, its jaws not being framed for any more formidable purpose.  Another and a very pretty species[2], quite as black, but with a bright crimson band down the back, and the legs similarly tinted, is common in the gardens about Colombo and throughout the western province.

[Footnote 1:  Julus ater.]

[Footnote 2:  Julus carnifex, Fab.]

CRUSTACEA.—­The seas around Ceylon abound with marine articulata; but a knowledge of the crustacea of the island is at present a desideratum; and with the exception of the few commoner species that frequent the shores, or are offered in the markets, we are literally without information, excepting the little that can be gleaned from already published systematic works.