ZOOLOGV AND BOTANY, MICROSCOPY, ETC. 317 



The larvae hibernate in the third stage, emerging in April and feeding 

 till June, when pupation takes place. The perfect insect hibernates 

 again and does not become sexually mature until the first warm days of 

 the third spring, when it lays its eggs and dies. In other species the 

 eggs are not laid till midsummer, and the imagos emerge the following 

 July and mature quickly, so that adult life lasts only two months. Tem- 

 perature, moisture, and' food influence the length of the stages. Pig- 

 mentation and final hardening of the cuticle takes place in the pupa 

 in those parts which are employed in the final ecdysis, and the bristles 

 of the imago assist in the removal of the exuvium. 



Life-history and Bionomics of Lomechusa.* — H. St. J. Donisthorpe 

 communicates some interesting facts regarding this beetle, which is a 

 dweller in the nests of the robber-ant, Formica sanguined, and whose 

 life-history has been worked out by Father Wasmann. Lomechusa 

 possesses short aborted labial palpi and patches of golden hairs upon 

 the abdomen, whence the ants obtain a sweet secretion. The secretion 

 exudes from orifices under the hair. The beetles ask to be fed by the 

 ants by tapping them with their antenna?. They may, however, feed them- 

 themselves, sucking the honey given to the ants, and biting at dead 

 ants and larvae. In courtship the male and female Lomechusa face each 

 other, bringing their antennae and mouths together, and tapping each 

 other quickly. In copulation the male turns his tail over his head, 

 meeting the upturned female abdomen which is in front. The male in 

 these circumstances is carried hanging back in the air or walking on the 

 tips of his front pair of legs. They separate, and after caressing each 

 other the process is repeated and copulation resumed. Lomechusa defends 

 itself successfully against the attacks of foreign ants, F. rufa, F. exsecta, 

 etc., introduced into the nest. They emit an odour when seized, which 

 comes from glands in the posterior part of the abdomen. The larva 

 mimics the ant larva ; it is valued and protected by the ants themselves ; 

 they feed it and place it even upon their own larvae, many of which it 

 devours. Some interesting facts are stated regarding the relation of 

 Lomechusa to the production of " pseudogynes " in the ants' nests. 

 Eecently this beetle has been found to be not uncommon in England. 



Variation of Nycteribiidae from Ceylon. | — H. Scott has examined 

 a hundred specimens of Cyclopodia sylcesi Westwood, a parasite upon 

 Pteropus medius in Ceylon, with a view to ascertaining to what extent 

 variation occurs. He records that in 57 males there is no appreciable 

 variation in size, structure, and colour. In the 43 females only one 

 striking variation was noted, viz. in the numbered arrangement of the 

 large tubercles on the dorsal surface of the abdomen. These are so 

 variable that they cannot be relied on as a specific character. 



Semi-aquatic Aphid. :£ — 0. F. Jackson describes Aphis aquaticus 

 sp. n., which was found infesting Phihtria canadensis and other aquatic 

 plants. Three pairs of lateral wax-glands on the thorax make a secretion 

 which keeps the insect from getting wet, and other adaptations to the 

 semi-aquatic life are noted. 



* Trans. Entorn. Soc. London, 1907, pp. 415-20. t Tom. cit., pp. 421-8. 



t Ohio Naturalist, viii. (1908) pp. 243-9 (1 pi.). 



