Hilgendoef. — Notes on Insects. 265 



high. The larva was about lin. long, very thin com- 

 paratively, and of a light-brown colour. I found it on the 

 1st October, and the adult fly emerged on the 7th November. 



Odontria zealandica. 



The night of the 16th November, 1900, was dark, calm, 

 and warm. As daylight failed the grass-paddocks became 

 literally alive with brown beetles. The rustling of their 

 climbing out of the grass was like a strong breeze in an oat- 

 crop, and their droning while on the wing was like the hum 

 of many threshing-mills. In their wheeling flight they struck 

 the head at every moment, and tangled themselves in the 

 hair and beard of observers. This lasted for twenty minutes 

 at the outside — from 7.25 to 7.45 — then absolute stillness 

 again. When I looked for the beetles they were dis- 

 covered in countless numbers in the orchard, eating the 

 younger leaves of pears, apples, and plums. They took no 

 Dotice of the light of a strong acetylene-lamp, except occa- 

 sionally to fall off the tree and lie as if dead. I often counted 

 four beetles on a single leaf, and I believe there was a beetle 

 on every leaf. When the tree was shaken they fell to the 

 ground like hail. At 9 p.m. they were still feeding, and 

 there was no change at 10.30 or 12 p.m. or at 2 a.m. At 

 3.30 a.m. a white streak of light had appeared in the east ; 

 many of the beetles were still feeding, but a few were flying 

 homeward. By 4 a.m. they were nearly all gone; but there 

 was only a silent and gradual stealing away, very unlike 

 the great bustle of their approach to their feeding-ground. 

 I have not observed so great a flight since, though there have 

 been several of less magnitude. The 16th was very calm 

 and dull, and at nightfall there was a light breeze from the 

 north-west, which changed at 2 a.m. to a slight air from 

 the south-west, with a feeling of dampness. The minimum 

 temperature for the night was 50° Fahr. By morning on 

 the 17th the wind was again north-east, but by noon there 

 was a howling gale from the south-west, with 1-635 in. of 

 rain, next to the heaviest twenty-four hours' fall during the 

 year. The three succeeding days were also days of south- 

 west wind and slight rainfall. 



Another note on the brown beetle may perhaps be of 

 interest. On the night of the 9th November, 1901, I was 

 sleeping on the ground on the slopes of Mount Torlesse. I 

 was suddenly awakened, and soon realised that a beetle had 

 crawled into my ear, and, in the natural efforts of a ground- 

 beetle to get to the bottom of a hole, was clawing against 

 the tympanum, producing intense pain. It continued this 

 scratching while I was striking a wet match, finding a knife, 

 and sharpening a lead pencil, by means of which my com- 



