40 SELECTED NOTES FROM 



They form a small osculant order between Orthoptera and Neurop- 

 tera, in neither of which do they find a natural place. " The 

 relations of this order are very difficult: the nature of the metamor- 

 phoses would unite it with the Orthoptera or Hemiptera ; whilst the 

 structure of the wings and mouth remove it from both these orders : 

 the mouth indeed seems to be of a character almost intermediate 

 between the Mandibulata and the Haustellata ; the seti-form mandi- 

 bles are very like those of the Hemiptera, whilst the other parts 

 of the mouth, in their general distribution, are more like those of 

 a real mandibulated insect. It appears doubtful to me, however, 

 whether the action, even of the maxillEe, can be transverse, or 

 whether the insect can be said to bite its food." — (Westwood's 

 Intro., Vol. II., p. 5.) 



Hairs of Antelope. — I wish to direct attention to the perfection 

 of their structure for lightness and warmth ; hollow like delicate 

 quills ; filled with air, and therefore lights and at the same time 

 packed with layer upon layer of a felty substance, the essence of 

 warmth. If we could but have clothes equally adapted to comfort 

 in our present temperature (SS*^ in the shade), we should not need 

 to echo the Rev. Sydney Smith's merry wish that " we could take 

 off our flesh, and sit in our bones ! " 



TuFFEN West. 



Selecteb IRotea from tbe Societ^'0 



IRotc^Boofte* 



Antennse of Diptera (Plates 5, 6, 7). — The most noteworthy 

 feature in these Antennae is the large size of the olfactory capsules. 

 A considerable resemblance will be observed between the Antennae 

 of Sargus and those of Stratioinys^ Figs, i and 2, and the alHed 

 genera, although their outward form varies much. Perhaps Fig. 

 1 1 is the most interesting pair of antennae on the slide. Figs. 9 

 and 10 belong to a genus very nearly related to the fly which 

 owned the antennae. Fig. 8. Although the antennae are so different, 

 the flies themselves might easily be confounded by a young student 

 of entomology. Figs. 6 and 7 belong to flies allied to the Bom- 

 bylidae, which are described in Science Gossips 1875. 



H. M. J. Underhill. 



