122 THE SCOTTISH NATURALIST 



known to be predaceous in both the nymphal and mature 

 stages, but the paper under review only deals with the 

 latter. Thirty-six specimens were examined and the 

 results tabulated, some of these having been previously 

 recorded as isolated examples. Exotic as well as British 

 species are dealt with, and a general summary of the prey 

 given. It is interesting to learn that these insects, whose 

 destructive capacity is very great, possess a considerable 

 power of resisting famine. They rarely fly during dull 

 weather, and therefore in this country, where we experience 

 many successive days without sunshine, they must fast 

 for a considerable period. Their tastes appear to be 

 omnivorous, without any predilection for a particular order 

 of insects, but, as the author remarks, " there is necessarily 

 some correspondence between the size of the captor and 

 the size of the prey." The observations as yet made are, 

 of course, too limited in number to admit of general 

 conclusions being safely drawn, and we should much like to 

 hear of more work being done in this fascinating subject. 

 It is interesting to note that in Africa, tsetse flies often form 

 the prey of Dragon-flies ; perhaps at some future date 

 this knowledge may be turned to useful practical account. 

 Who knows ? 



Other entomological papers worthy of note include one 

 by Claude Morley, on the distribution in Britain of the 

 handsome beetle Carabus clathratus} in which Scottish 

 localities are mentioned ; the description by Dr Sharp of 

 HelopJiorus ytenensis, a beetle new to science, 2 which was 

 first obtained in 1869 at Cairn Water, Dumfriesshire; and 

 a synopsis of the bees of the Andrena minutula group, 

 notoriously difficult of determination, by R. C. L. Perkins. 3 



In the April number of the Journal of the Board of 

 Agriculture (pp. 46-49) a short popular article is given 

 on Millipedes and Centipedes, which gives just that amount 

 of elementary information which all should possess. A 

 clear distinction is drawn between Centipedes, which are 

 carnivorous, and hence useful in the garden ; and Millipedes, 



1 Ent. Mo. Mag., May 1914, pp. 101-103. 



2 Ibid., pp. 103-104. 3 Ibid., pp. 112-115. 



