June 1, 1570.] 



HARDWICKE'S SCIENCE-GOSSIP. 



133 



the corn blue-bottle. The spines of the lowest or 

 outer row on its summit are ornamented by little 

 anchors, very like those of the spicula of Synapta. 

 All these interesting eggs are, however, altogether 

 exceeded in beauty of form by those found on the 

 Indian Black-winged Peacock, the Pavo nigripennis 

 of Sclater, which are constructed so much like 

 flowers, that a botanist might amuse himself by de- 

 scribing every part of them in the technical language 

 of his science. 



The manner in which these eggs are deposited is 

 also most singular. The animal attaches a mass of 

 amorphous secretion to the inner side of the shaft of 

 a feather, and then proceeds to construct two or 

 three oval perforated or punctate sacs, much larger 

 than the eggs, and looking like some of the Poly- 

 cistinese (Radiolaria). On and about, and in some 

 cases buried in, these strange sacs, are found the 

 eggs in considerable numbers ; the whole arrange- 

 ment making an object for the binocular microscope 

 which every collector will, I feel assured, be most 

 anxious to obtain. 



It is of course extremely difficult to tell the 

 genera to which these eggs respectively belong. 

 One might suppose a long thin egg to be that of a 

 Lipeurus ; a stout capacious one, that of a Goniodes, 

 or a DocopJiorus. With foreign birds especially it is 

 almost impossible to do more than form a probable 

 guess on the subject. The egg called that of a Nir- 

 mus, in the illustration, may be so, and I think is so ; 

 but I am shy of my authority ; and the commonly 

 used term "Nirmus" may mean anything or nothing. 

 One egg alone, among those figured, that of the 

 Ground Hombill (fig. H), I am able to define cer- 

 tainly as that of a species of the sub-genus Colpo- 

 cephalum of Nitzsch; having the conclusive proof of 

 an example of the parasite with two of these eggs in 

 its abdomen. The long, thin egg from Temminck's 

 Tragopan is, I have little doubt, that of a large 

 Lipeurus, several specimens of which, from the same 

 bird, are now in my possession. 



That all these ova are those of the widely-ex- 

 tended genera Philopterus and Liotheum, may, I 

 think, be assumed with tolerable security ; as not- 

 withstanding the great variety of their forms, it will 

 be seen that they are all constructed on the same 

 general plan. They are not the eggs of the sucking 

 parasites (Pediculida), as these are not found upon 

 birds, and lay eggs of a different character. The 

 eggs of the metabolous fleas, as might be expected, 

 are simple, oval sacs, entire and inoperculate. The 

 Bugs (Acanthidce) certainly lay eggs somewhat 

 similar to those of the Mallophaga in form ; but they 

 are very rarely found as parasites upon birds, and 

 their ova are wanting in the appendages to the 

 opercula which generally characterize the eggs of 

 the true bird parasites. 



In examining a number of these slides, we can 

 pass gradually from the simple and well-known 



forms to those of more uncommon character ; and 

 thus arrange almost a series, crowned by the eggs of 

 the Mallee-bird and the Black-winged Peacock. The 

 most aberrant from the usual type are those found 

 on the Ground Hornbill (fig. G) and the Australian 

 Crane ; but I am strongly of opinion that if ever they 

 are made out with certainty, they will also prove to 

 be those of true Mallophaga. 



When a novel and interesting little corner of the 

 immense field of nature is opened before us, it is 

 but just that we should acknowledge to whose assi- 

 duity and careful research we owe the delight it has 

 afforded us ; and hVis witlvpleasure that I fulfil this 

 duty by stating that these beautiful objects have 

 been discovered andf.brought into notice by Mr. J. 

 T. Norman, of the City Road . 



Perhaps even this necessarily slight and incom- 

 plete sketch may induce some naturalist or micro- 

 scopist to pay attention to a little-known page in the 

 wonderful book we are all trying to decipher. 



The Peacock in this country has a fine species of 

 Goniodes, and the common Turkey is infested by a 

 large Goniodes and a Lipeurus. The eggs of all 

 these parasites will most probably supply interesting 

 slides for the cabinet. 



On reflecting how longj these things must have 

 existed before our eyes, unseen [or disregarded, we 

 cannot but be impressed [by the wonderful variety 

 and lavish fecundity of organic nature. 



Over her most beaten paths novelties lie scattered 

 in marvellous profusion ; and] those who love to 

 search out and contemplate her ways, will see, even 

 in the minute eggs of these despised parasites, 

 something to be admired more than their strangely 

 ornamental shapes. They will see what the student 

 of organic life is always seeing — the sign-manual of 

 an inventive power, sublime beyond conception; an 

 almighty will, ubiquitous, eternal, aud divine. 



Kensington. H. C. Richtek. 



MUSICAL INSECTS. 



WHILST residing in the remote and almost 

 inaccessible village of Taganana (towards 

 Point Anaga), in the north of Teneriffe, during the 

 spring of 1S59, my attention was called to a 

 peculiarity in a beautiful species oiAcalles (1 believe 

 the A. argillosus, Schonh.), which I do not remem- 

 ber to have seen recorded concerning any other 

 coleopterous insect whatsoever. It was on the 

 22nd of May that my Portuguese servant (whom I 

 had sent out to collect) brought me home eleven 

 specimens of a large Acalles which he had captured 

 within the dried and hollow stems of a plant growing 

 on the rocky slopes towards the sea, and which I 

 have but little doubt (from his description) was the 

 Kleinia neriifolia, DO, so common throughout the 

 islands of the Canariau archipelago. I had been 

 accustomed to find such a number of insects in the 

 dead branches of the various Euphorbias, that my 



