28 ENTOMOLOGICAL NEWS. [Jan., '08 



bite which is so severe that the natives compare it with that 

 of a poisonous snake. I am elsewhere * publishing in full my 

 notes on this interesting insect. 



4- 



No. 500. Bostrychopsis ccphalotcs Ol. (Coleopt.) 

 This species (known to the blacks as "Osekoseko") is, to- 

 gether with its allies, of vast economic significance. It is a 

 wood borer which destroys most native "soft" woods, riddling 

 them completely so that a timber will in time break of its own 

 weight. There is an almost unlimited amount of timber in 

 Angola that is of no value whatever because of this pest. Myri- 

 ads of fine trees (Bcrlinia paniculata, Brachystegia tainarin- 

 doides, etc.) cannot be used on this account. There are for- 

 tunately a good many "hard" trees (Pterocarpus crinaccus, 

 Burkea africana, Balsamca mulelame, etc. also Ebenaceae) 

 which the borer does not touch. But these as a rule are more 

 difficult to work than the "soft" kinds. I once made some ex- 

 periments with this bettle. I found that boards, if sawed im- 

 mediately after the tree is felled and then dipped in a long 

 trough containing a weak solution of sulphate of copper, escape 

 riddling. Another method is to soak them in a stream of 

 water until they smell sour. Of course, the trouble in such 

 procedures is that the boards warp badly for lack of proper 

 seasoning. 



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 No. 525. Heptaphlebcmyia siinple.r Theob. (Dipt.) 



I have chosen this mosquito not only because it is a common 

 and vicious blood-sucker, but also because my observations on 

 it have a bearing on the vexed and unsettled systematic prob- 

 lems presented by the Culicidne, the which are now engaging 

 the active attention of different zoologists. H. siinpJc.r, which 

 in its general facies suggests Culc.r fatigans Wied., was known 

 previous to the writer's collections only from 9 specimens, 

 which differ from all other known mosquitoes by having a 

 distinct seventh scaled wing vein, upon which character Mr. 

 Theobald has founded a new genus and a new sub-family. 



* Deutsche Entom. Zeitschrift. 



