158 ANNALS OF SCOTTISH NATURAL HISTORY 



It has come to our knowledge that a person in Orkney 

 received no less than sixty Great Skua's eggs from one of the 

 Shetland stations. We trust that the County authorities in 

 Shetland will do all in their power to enforce the observation 

 of the Act under which this bird and its eggs are protected 

 in the area under their jurisdiction. 



ON A NEW BRITISH FLY (HYDROT^EA PILIPES, 

 STEIN) FROM THE FORTH DISTRICT. 



By PERCY H. GRIMSHAW, F.E.S. 



IN my recent list of Diptera from the Forth district (Ann. 

 Scot. Nat. Hist, October 1903, p. 223) I recorded a male 

 Hydrotcea taken at Aberfoyle by Mr. A. E. J. Carter in 

 July 1903 as rondanii, Meade. Since this list was published, 

 however, I have been occupied in studying the genus with 

 the aid of the valuable monograph of the European species, 

 by Herr P. Stein, in the " Verhandlungen der k. k. zool.-bot. 

 Gesellschaft in Wien," published in February of that year. 

 In that paper H. rondanii is given as a doubtful synonym 

 of H. palcestrica, Mg., with which I saw at once Mr. Carter's 

 specimen did not agree. Working with the key given by 

 Stein I came to the conclusion that it must be the species 

 described as new under the name pilipes, and the detailed 

 description given in the body of the paper strengthened this 

 opinion. I at once sent off the fly to Herr Stein, who 

 confirmed my identification. H. pilipes was described from 

 a single male specimen in Bonsdorfs collection, from 

 " Akkas " (Palestine?). Mr. Carter took four males in all, 

 and in a letter to me says, " I find from my notes that I $ 

 was taken 2/7/03, and 3^ $ 4/7/03, on the hills 

 north of Aberfoyle, near the waterfall and stream where 

 I took Oxycera dives. The ground is well covered with 

 bracken, and trees (I think chiefly birch, alder, and larch) 

 grow all down the sides of the stream. It is likely, I think, 

 that I took the species on the bracken. It was a very 

 sunny spot." 



