ZOOLOGY AND BOTANY, MICROSCOPY, ETC. 317 



workers of nearly all the species and the small eyes of the females. The 

 large-eyed members of the genus Phyracaces forage in troops (or in whole 

 colonies ?) on the surface of the ground, their prey consisting of the 

 brood of other ants. The workers of the Cerapachyini are easily recog- 

 nized by their long, slender, jointed bodies ; the petiole and post-petiole 

 of the abdomen are distinct ; and in Eusphinctus even the gastric 

 segments are marked off from one another by pronounced constrictions. 



J. A. T. 



Ants of Borneo. — W. M. Wheeler {Bull. Mus. Gomp. Zooh 

 Harvard, 1919, 63, 43-147). A list of 256 Bornean species is given, 

 adding 58 to the known fauna, and 23 new to science. On the whole, 

 the fauna has many forms in common with Sumatra, Java, and the Malay 

 Peninsula, but many seem to be peculiarly Bornean. " Of course, 

 Borneo has been invaded by the usual tropicopolitan tramp species." 

 But the most interesting fact is that the series of Bornean genera com- 

 prises, especially in the mountains, several of ancient aspect, like 

 Cerapachys, Phyracaces, Metapojie, Dimorphomyrmex, Gesomyrmex, 

 Echinopla. Several, like Gesomyrmex chaperi, are probably relicts of the 

 once very widely distributed Eocene ant fauna. J. A. T. 



Frit-Fly on Oats. — T. H. Taylor {Pamphlets Agric. Dept. Univ. 

 Leeds, 1918, 108, 1-12, 12 figs.). A finely illustrated account of this 

 serious pest. Shining black flies, less than ^th of an inch, appear in May 

 and June. After mating, the females lay their eggs upon the young 

 corn between the lowermost sheaths. The white Qg^ is a mere speck to 

 the naked eye. The female has a retractile egg-laying tube. The 

 hatched larv^ cut a short spiral track through the intervening leaves, 

 attack the growing point, and pupate in the recesses of the plant. The 

 flies of the summer brood emerge in July or the beginning of August, 

 and lay eggs upon belated tillers, or more especially on young ears, the 

 eggs being usually placed on the inner surface of the chaff. The larvae 

 pupate in the grain, and a third brood emerges during August and Sep- 

 tember. These lay in a winter cereal or on a grass. The larvae, feeding 

 through the winter on the grass shoots, pupate in April or May, and give 

 rise to the first brood of flies of the new season. The larvas only live 

 through the winter. In spring and summer the life-history takes about 

 thirty-five days. Death occurs after egg-laying. Frit-flies are con- 

 spicuous chiefly on sunny days, when they seek the tops of plants. They 

 move in a leisurely way, occasionally taking short flights from one leaf 

 to another. It is probable that frit-flies, like many other insects which 

 lay their eggs separately, spend a considerable time over the process and 

 require to feed. They are unusually wary and shy when laying their 

 eggs. J. A. T. 



Urticating Hairs of Parasa lepida. — P. E. Keuchenius {Tijdschr. 

 Nederland. Dierk. Ver., 1916, 15, 94-109, 1 pi., 1 fig.). It is well 

 known that the setee of some caterpillars, like Thaumatopma, the 

 Procession Caterpillar, produce great skin irritation. The author has 

 studied the urticating setae of a Javanese caterpillar, Parasa lepida. 

 There is considerable variety, and a description is given of : {a) delicate 



