14 The Scottish Naturalist. 



Blatta germanica, L., in Glasgow. — While I was in Glasgow, at the 

 meeting of the Cryptogamic Society, Mr John Rae, of the ' Glasgow Daily 

 Mail,' gave me several specimens of a small Cockroach which is, he told me, 

 very abundant in the office of that newspaper. On examining the insects 

 I found them to belong to Blatta germanica. The species is easily distin- 

 guished from its congeners in Europe by the presence of two longitudinal 

 dark bands on the thorax, and by the veins of the outer two-thirds of the 

 hinder part of the elytra not branching from the long axis, but being nearly 

 parallel to it. 



B. germanica seems rather widely spread in central Europe, alike in 

 houses and in the open country. In Stephen's 'Entomology ' (vi. 46) it is 

 said to be found in various seaports in the south of England, but only in 

 ships, warehouses, or dwellings, so as to indicate that it has been introduced 

 into Britain by commerce. Its habits resemble those of the only too com- 

 mon Blatta oricntalis, L. , but the latter insect seems to expel its smaller 

 convener, as they are not found to remain together in a house. — J. W. H. 

 Trail, 23d? Nov. 1880. [Blatta germanica is said sometimes to expel B. ori- 

 entalis, but this would appear to need confirmation. — Ed. Sc. Nat.] 



A New British Tricfcopteron. — At the last meeting of the Glasgow Natu- 

 ral History Society, I exhibited specimens of Molanna palpata M'Each., a 

 species of Caddis-fly new to Britain. It has hitherto been known only from 

 Finland and Siberia, and a specimen from St Petersburg was found among 

 Kolenati's types of M. angustata in the Vienna Museum. 



The remarkable form of the third joint of the maxillary palpus, in both 

 sexes, at once distinguishes it from its congeners. 



The above species was taken during my stay last summer at Cannich, 

 Strathglass, Inverness-shire, and occurred commonly all through August. 

 It was the common caddis-fly in all parts of the Strath visited by me. 



I found it along the margins of lochs by brushing with the net the over- 

 hanging heather, &c. I cannot remember having seen it flying without its 

 having been first disturbed. Angustata, De Geer, is the only other British 

 species of the genus. — James J. King, 207 Sauchiehall Street, Glasgow. 



We regret to have to record the death of one of our earliest contributors, 

 Dr William Lauder Lindsay, F.R.S.E., F. L.S. Dr Lindsay was a student 

 of science all his life, and was well-known for his investigations in one of 

 the most difficult branches of Cryptogamic Botany— the Lichens. Of late 

 years his attention was almost entirely directed to Psychology, with especial 

 reference to the existence of mind in the lower animals, on which subject he 

 wrote voluminously. For a long period Dr Lindsay was Medical Superin- 

 tendent of the Royal Murray Asylum, Perth, but retired about a year ago on 

 account of failing health. He died in Edinburgh, in November last, at 

 the early age of 50. 



The Sixth Annual Conference of the Cryptogamic Society of Scotland was 

 very successfully held in Glasgow at the end of September. The island of 

 Mull has been selected as the place of this year's Conference. 



