ZOOLOGY AND BOTANY, MICROSCOPY, ETC. 47 



in a few instances (e.g. the living Taia intha and some forms of 

 Margarya melanoides) are transformed into series of peculiar squamous 

 spines. Moreover, Vivipara is not the only genus in which this 

 tendency appears. It is shown to some extent by the Neritidae of 

 Tertiary beds in Cos, and in a more striking manner by the Hydrobiidse 

 or Paludestrinidse of the same period and region, and by those still 

 living in the Yangtse valley. A number of new forms are described. 



J. A. T. 



Action of Veratrin on Snails and Slugs.— G. Colosi {Arch, ZooL 

 Exper., 1919, 58, Notes et Revue^ 45-8, 2 tigs.). If a specimen of 

 Helix or Limax be immersed in water with a few drops of weak solution 

 of veratrin there is protrusion and paralysis of tentacles, buccal mass 

 and penis, while the rest of the body pulsates violently and then 

 becomes rigid. There appears to be a great increase of internal 

 pressure in the anterior region of the body. The protrusion of the 

 penis after veratrin treatment showed that Limax maximus is as regards 

 this organ very different from L. cinereo-niger. J. A. T. 



Arthropoda. 

 a. Insecta. 



Blood-sucking Insects of the Philippines.— Charles S. Banks 

 {Philippine Journ. Sci., 1919, 14, 169-89). A useful survey of the 

 different kinds of blood-sucking insects : bed-bugs, lice, forest flies 

 (Hippoboscidse), bat flies, mosquitoes, horse flies (Tabanidae), moth flies 

 (Psychodidse), true flies (Muscidas), buffalo gnats (Simuliidae), midges 

 (Chironomidae), fleas, water-bugs, rubber flies (Mydaidse and Asilidse), 

 which capture and suck other insects, and the small fringe-winged 

 Thrips. Blood-sucking mites and ticks are also referred to for the sake 

 of completeness. J. A. T. 



Trapping of Insects by an Asclepiad. — H. Ricome {C.R. Soc. 

 Biol., 1919, 82, 1045-7). Many insects, such as hawk-moths and bees, 

 are trapped by an Asclepiad of the genus Arauja, which is cultivated in 

 gardens. The flower is adapted to pollination by insect visitors, and all 

 goes well if the insect keeps its proboscis between the stamens and the 

 petals. It carries away the poUinia on its tarsal joints. But if the 

 proboscis is inserted between one of the retinacula and the contiguous 

 edges of two adjacent anthers it gets caught in a viscous groove of 

 the retinaculum. There is no reason to believe that this means more 

 than that European insects are not adapted to an exotic flower. Perhaps 

 in the natural conditions the trap eliminates unwelcome visitors. 



J.A.T. 



. Larva of Pontania vesicator. — Rob. Staeger {Revue Suisse Zool, 

 1919, 27, 333-46). This gall-wasp larva makes bean-shaped galls on 

 the leaves of Salix daphnoides. The presence of the %gg is not enough 

 to cause the irritation ; the larva is necessary. If a gall be cut open, 

 the larva will seek another open one if that promises food. The 



