400 



paralisfs it, lays an cg.^ on it and px's away: tin- larva on hatdiini: 

 devours tliu ^riil) and pupatrs tlicrc." The proceed in-;- ol' the Sroliu 

 is assuredly similar, the wasp pushing a way throu.uli the broken 

 n|) tissue of the Coconut stem to reach the beetle lirulj : l)nt the act 

 has not been obserxcil. 



Bingham in the Fauna of British India, Hymenopteia i. 

 (J.ondon. l.S!)7). p. TS, ascribes to Srolia erralica a distribution 

 thi-ou>:h the l'ollowin<i- countries, Avliicli all have a considerable rain- 

 fall. — Sikkim. Kurma. Tenasserim. Sumatra and .lava. Dr. 

 Ilanitsch has taken the in.sect at Cbaniii. .Sini^ajtore. 



•Xone of these countries are ontsidc the raiiii'c of the Ke(l 

 ^\'eevil. which occurs over a much wider ai-ea. and into much drier 

 reizions — even for instance to the Suleiman ranire on the border of 

 AlVbani.^tan ((Jbo.sli in Memoirs Dept. Agrie. ludia ii Xo, 10 p. 

 •;!<>(; ). 'J"lie distribution, therefore, does not suggest another host 

 lor tlu' parasite: but we lia\e no warrant for saying that it preys 

 Inclusively on the Weevil grubs. Observations sliould be made. 



Srolia I'nulidi. at any rate. ma\- l)e counted as a beiielicial 

 insect. 



I. H. BlKKILL. 



THE FLOWERING OF THE PIGEON ORCHID. 

 DENDROBIUM CRUMENATUM, Lindl. 



There is a paper ol eousiderable interest by J)rs. A. A. L. 

 1>utgers and F. A. F. C. Went on tlie flowering of the Tigeon 

 Orchid in the last issue of the Annals of the Botanic (lardeu, 

 Buitenzorg,* in which observations are set f<irtb to throw light upon 

 the marked synchronised flowering of this conunon plant. The 

 one author worked in Java: the other in Holland: in Java the 

 ])lants under ex])eriment were grown in the Botanic (iarden at 

 Buitenzorg, and observations made tliere were supplemented by 

 otiiers made elsewhere in the island : in Holland the jdaiits under 

 exiieriment were grown under glass in the Utrecht Botanic (warden, 

 having been sent thither from Java, and the observations made 

 there were supplemented by otliers made in Bomi, (iottingen and 

 Hamburg. 



In Utrecht the plants maintained their habit of flowering 

 all together, but the dates were different, and the frequency less, 

 becauise through the winter they did not flower: moreover although 

 at first they bloomed and faded on one and the same day, after the 

 cultivation had gone on for some time they commenced to occupy 

 two days with their flowering because the buds did not open all 

 together on the first day. 



On p. ];>) a table is given which shows tliat at Buitenzorg in 

 the year lS9i there were eleven flowerings, in LSiJ.j eight, in 1896 

 seven, in 1912 ten; but at Utrecht there were four flowerings in 

 19i:J, six in 19U and six in ]91.j. 



*Aanales du Jardin Botanique de Buitenzorg, xxix (191G) pp. 129-160. 



