NATURAL HISTORY SOCIETY OF GLASGOW. 87 



more distant excursions — to Glen Tromie, where the principal 

 tree is alder, and which is being rapidly cut down to be 

 converted into clog soles; to Glen Feshie, where the Scotch 

 pine is in fine condition; to the Grampians; to Avie More, 

 where there are interminable fir woods — but somehow or other 

 these more distant excursions generally were failures, so far as 

 captures of insects were concerned, for the weather was usually 

 wet or otherwise unfavourable for insect capture, so that most 

 of the species mentioned here were taken within a mile or 

 two of the village. It is probably owing to the area being 

 thus restricted that the list — at any rate of Tenthredinidae, 

 is less than that given last year for Western Inverness-shire ; 

 but Kingussie, on the other hand, yielded more parasitic 

 Hymenoptera, or possibly I paid more attention to these at 

 Kingussie than in the other places. 



On comparing the list given here with that of Western 

 Inverness-shire, there will be noticed a considerable resemblance 

 between the two, nor is there much difference between it and 

 that of Rannoch, nor even from that of Clydesdale; indeed, the 

 variations are so slight, as to suggest that the species of 

 Tenthredinidae are very generally distributed, that the local 

 species are very few, or that the local and rare species have 

 yet to be discovered. The latter is a very likely supposition, 

 considering how very ephemeral saw-ilies are in their lives as 

 imagines, for in the perfect state they live only a few days, 

 and there being few double-brooded species in Scotland, the 

 difficulty of thoroughly investigating a district is much increased. 



In a future paper I intend to treat of the parasitic Hymenoptera 

 of Kingussie and Western Inverness-shire, so I need not say 

 anything regarding them here. 



Tenthredinidae. 



Cimhex sylvarum rare on birch ; Trichiosojna lucorum very 

 common on birch. It is remarked by Landois, in his very interest- 

 ing work on " Die Ton- und Stimmapparate der Insecten," that 

 he has never heard saw-flies producing any sound. If he had 

 ever watched the males of the species just mentioned, on a warm 

 sunny day in June, he would have had ample evidence that some 

 " Blattwespen " at least can produce a very decided humming 

 noise. I have often watched them in the sunshine flying in short 



