ZOOLOGICAL NOTES 195 



destructive insect ? Its ravages have of late years been worse than 

 usual in France and other parts of the Continent, and in Southern 

 England it has also done damage. Specimens of the Cockchafer 

 (Melolonlha vulgaris) were sent to me in September, November, and 

 in December most unusual dates for it, as the ordinary time of 

 flight is May and June. And early last month a Kirkbean farmer 

 brought me a two-year-old example of the larva or grub, wishing to 

 know what the creature was. In his case a " ley " field was literally 

 overrun with these grubs. I have also heard of it from various other 

 quarters, but not to such a serious extent as in the Kirkbean case. 

 Like so many other noxious insects, the Cockchafer has what may 

 be characterised as maximum and minimum periods at which its 

 numbers increase or diminish. The causes for these periods of 

 destructive increase, or the reverse, are no doubt climatic, depend- 

 ing upon the particular cycles of weather that may suit particular 

 species, but very few precise observations have ever been applied 

 towards their elucidation. R. SERVICE, Maxwelltown. 



Libellula quadrimaeulata, Z., in Ross-shire. On the 25th 

 May last a fine specimen of this somewhat local Dragon-fly was sent 

 to the Museum for identification by Mr. J. M'Lennan of Melvaig 

 Schoolhouse, Gairloch, who stated that it had been captured there 

 the day before. The occurrence of this species so far north may 

 be of some interest to students of Neuroptera. The specimen has 

 been kindly presented by Mr. M'Lennan to the Museum collections. 

 PERCY H. GRIMSHAW, Museum of Science and Art, Edinburgh. 



Eriehthonius Hunteri (Spence Bate) in the Cromarty Firth. 



This Amphipod was obtained in a miscellaneous gathering of inverte- 

 brates which I recently examined, and which was collected in the 

 Cromarty Firth on i3th August 1895. Though Eriehthonius 

 Hnnteri was described as far back as 1862 (see "British Museum 

 Catalogue of Amphipoda " of that date), yet the first distinct British 

 record of the species that I know of is that contained in part iii. 

 of the " Fourteenth Annual Report of the Fishery Board for Scot- 

 land," published last year. The specimens referred to in that 

 Report were obtained in the Firth of Forth ; its occurrence in the 

 Cromarty Firth is therefore of interest this being a new station 

 for the species on the east coast of Scotland. T. SCOTT, Leith. 



Seottomyzon gibberum (T. and A. Scott) in the Cromarty 



Firth. Seottomyzon gibberum was described and figured by my son 

 and I in the " Annals and Magazine of Natural History " for February 

 1894, from one or two specimens obtained in the Firth of Forth. 

 Though at that time the species appeared to be rare, I have found 

 since that it is really not uncommon in the Firth of Forth when one 

 knows where to look for it. Some time after the discovery of the 

 species in the Firth of Forth, my son obtained it in the Liverpool 



