ZOOLOGY AND BOTANY, .MICROSCOPY, ETC. 143 



New Termitophilous Beetle.*— Ernest Warren describes a Staphy- 

 linid, Gorotoca akermanni sp. n., found by Conrad Akermann in the nests 

 of E uter mes trinervius near Pietermaritzburg. In some nests a beetle 

 larva was found, but all attempts to rear it proved fruitless. The larva 

 was comparatively common ; the beetle appears to be excessively ran-. 

 It may be that the termites interfere injuriously with the pupa. The 

 genus is highly specialized, and was based by Schiodte from Brazilian 

 forms. This distribution indicates antiquity. The abdomen is much 

 swollen and the greater portion is permanently turned forwards over the 

 dorsal surface of the thorax as far as the middle of the pronotum. 

 Tragardh described a similar Staphylinid, Termitomimus, from Zululand. 



Indian Mallophaga.f — V. L. Kellogg and J. H. Paine report on a 

 collection of Mallophaga obtained from the skins of birds (mostly Indian 

 crows, jays, and pheasants) in the Indian Museum. It is pointed out 

 that records from dried skins are not very apt to be misleading. The 

 danger of straggling is small because of the sedentary habits of the 

 parasites and their early death after the host's death. Thirteen new 

 species are described belonging to the genera Goniocotes, Goniodes, 

 ' 'nlpocephalum, Docophorus, JYirmus, Menopon, and Nitzschia. 



Phasgonurids of Tonkin 4 — J. Carl describes nine new species of 

 these Orthoptera from Tonkin. He establishes a new genus Parapsyra, 

 intermediate between Galops t/r a and Psyra, and regarded as representing 

 an ancient element in the fauna. The same may be said of Tracfiyzulpha 

 annulifera sp. n., of which the only other known species is found on the 

 Tengger Mountains in Java. This is a good example of discontinuous 

 geographical distribution. On the whole the Orthoptera of Tonkin 

 seems to be " young," consisting of endemic species of large genera with 

 a wide geographical representation. The endemic nature of many of the 

 species is related to the mountainous character of the country. The 

 figures refer mainly to the external genital parts. 



Beaded-winged Variation in Drosophila.§ — John 8. Dexter has 

 studied a case that for some years seemed to defy Mendelian analysis, 

 but has now yielded. Masking of a Mendelian ratio may be brought 

 about by the presence of multiple factors, by environmental influence. 

 or by the appearance of lethal characters. When a beaded fly is mated 

 to one without the gene for beadedness a varying percentage of the Fj 

 offspring is beaded. If the male parent is beaded the majority of the 

 beaded offspring are usually females, and if the female parent is beaded 

 the majority of the beaded offspring are usually males. A female beaded 

 fly, however, gives a larger percentage of beaded daughters than does a 

 male beaded fly. It may be that the male offspring are somewhat 

 influenced to or away from beadedness by the nature of the ovum- 

 cytoplasm. Beaded wings showed no linkage to any sex-linked character. 



* Ann. Natal Museum, iii. (1914) pp. 103-6. 

 t Records Indian Museum, x. (1914) pp. 217-43 (2 pis.). 

 J Rev. Suisse Zool., xxii. (1914) pp. 541-55 (12 figs.). 

 § Amer. Naturalist, xliii. (1914) pp. 712-58 (12 figs.). 



