530 Short Communications: — 



with a fly in its hold ; and, after standing still a moment, then 

 walking over the grass with it, mangling it the while, it flew 

 off" with it. The hornets seemed to be on good terms with 

 each other : it was a clear case of " parcit cognatis maculis 

 similis fera." Of 



Wasps here, although there were some, there were scarcely 

 so many as one might expect to find at such a banquet. It is 

 not unlikely that, had an entomologist been present, he would 

 have noted more species than one. I 'observed one small one 

 with its abdomen so pubescent as to seem almost hoary with 

 it. As a wasp flew round a tree, the flies flew up ; and I 

 thought that they did this more to a wasp than a hornet. 

 Was this from fear ? Had it been from the vibration caused 

 by the wasp's or hornet's wings, it would have been done most 

 to the hornet ; but my observation did not extend to a suffi- 

 cient number of instances. — J. D. 



The Dung Fly dead in the Posture of Life, (61.) — I have, 

 for many years, observed, in August and September, flies of 

 this species fixed in the manner Mr. Fennell mentions, in 

 p. 61., upon the leaves of a lilac tree near to the door of a 

 convenient outbuilding in my garden. They are, however, 

 invariably fixed by the proboscis alone, which seems to be 

 agglutinated to the leaf: every other part is free. I have 

 never found one so fixed which had any life remaining in it. 

 They are all precisely in the same attitude ; and are covered 

 with the mould Mr. Fennell mentions. I have at times 

 removed all I could discover; but found them replaced, on 

 the morrow, by others equally mouldy, and in similar atti- 

 tudes. Although I have watched, I have never been able to 

 discover one in the act of affixing itself; and have often 

 puzzled myself with attempting to discover the object nature 

 has in view by causing this fly to terminate its existence in so 

 singular a manner. As nature does nothing without an object, 

 I should presume that there is some reason why this particular 

 fly should die, and be fixed, in this manner, instead of ter- 

 minating its existence like other flies. — Thos. Thompson. 

 Hull, Jan, 9. 1834.. 



\_Flies, of various Species, dead in the Posture of Life. (61.)] 

 — This condition is not peculiar to the dung fly. I have often 

 seen the house fly in its natural posture, on the windows, 

 dead, and covered with the same sort of white substance as 

 that to be found on the dead dung flies. This last does not, 

 under the microscope, present any peculiar appearance. I 

 have not been able to quite satisfy myself whether it is a 

 fungus growing on the dead animal, or is produced by dis- 

 ease. ^E. T. S. Feb. 1 7. J 834. 



