HAHDWICKE'S SCIENCE-GOSSIP. 



231 



PUBLIC INSECTAPJA. 



rpiIE suggestion of Mr. W. M. Macpherson is 

 ■*- of the utmost importance to all lovers of 

 Natural History, aud many must regret the absence 

 of an " Insectarium " at the Zoological Gardens, 

 Regent's Park, of that interesting department — 

 Entomology— which is inferior to none. 



Fig. 141. 



Could an Insectarium be erected, it would afford 

 to the amateur Entomologist an *opportunity"of 

 studying the various insects,[with their wonderful 

 transformations, disclosing a succession of pheno- 

 mena in some instances more striking and beautiful 

 than can be imagined. 



I think that a house to hold] the various "viva- 

 riums " could be erected upon a horticultural 

 principle, no amount ofjlight*and sunshine being 

 too much for butterflies, &c. 



I beg to annex a drawing of an insect vivarium, 

 which is considered sufficiently adapted for the 

 rearing and keeping of [insects. As some insects 

 require water, an aqua - vivarium 'could 'be con- 

 structed upon the samey principle/ the 'upper part 

 being made to lift off from the aquarium, which 



could only be done when none of the insects are on 

 the wing. One side of both structures should open 

 like a door, to allow the interior to be cleaned and 

 arranged when necessary. The water need not 

 occupy the whole area of the bottom, but be made 

 to represent the irregular shores of a mimic lake, 

 round which can be grown the ferns, grasses, &c, 

 the various insects require. Short, close-growing 

 grass is a most important thing to produce; but the 

 different sorts of food depend on the dif- 

 ferent insects each vivarium contains. 



The vivarium and aqua-vivarium must be 

 kept scrupulously clean, and, above all, let 

 the ventilation be perfect. Plants at night 

 give off carbonic acid gas, which, if there is 

 not ample opportunity for it to escape, would 

 soon kill the insects. This can be avoided 

 by having perforated zinc at the top of each 

 vivarium, and some at the side near the 

 bottom, thus insuring a continuous current 

 of air through each structure. 



Those who make Entomology a study will 

 doubtless find the vivarium and aqua-vivarium 

 a valuable acquisition. 



Tikxmas C. Oboejst. 

 Tangley Par/,; Worplesdon, Surrey. 



ZOOLOGY. 



Spiders.— Spiders are spread over well 

 nigh every portion of the globe ; but it is 

 chiefly in the tropics that we find species of 

 large size, of strange form, or of brilliant and 

 varied colours. The members of the lovely 

 genus Argyopus, remarkable for the bril- 

 liancy of their silver and golden livery, and 

 the species of Gasteracantha, whose bodies 

 are studded with long hard spines, are found 

 only hr'the hottest regions of America, Asia, 

 and Africa. The kinds most frequently met 

 with in the North belong to the genera 

 Thomisus, Lycosa, Clubiona, and Tegenaria, 

 most of which pass their lives in dark places 

 or under stones. But the spiders which are most 

 prettily marked are such as spread their nets in the 

 open air — the species of Epeira, Thomisus, and 

 Sporassus, which frequent flowers. On the other 

 hand, the Tegenarise, Clubionse, and Lycosa;, which 

 inhabit sombre spots but little exposed to the sun's 

 rays, are invariably of a brown or greyish hue. — 

 Blanchard, Diet ionna ire Univ. (V Hist. Nat. 



Ant Guests.— There are several species of 

 beetles which are never seen in any other localities 

 than ants' nests ; and, until their singular mode of 

 living was discovered, were ranked among the 

 rarest of our insects. No less than thirty-seven 

 species of ants' - nest beetles have already been 

 acknowledged, besides the larvse of three other 



