1S76.J 95 



everytliing. Opening the Volume by chance at p. 54, we found Pezomachus minimus 

 etyled the "Diminished Pezomachus," and Ophion purgatus the "Purged Ophion." 

 If the agricuhuralists like this sort of thing, we pity them. 



Proceedings of the Natural History Society of Glasgow : vol. ii, pt. ii. 

 Glasgow : published by the Society, 1876. 



The commercial capital of Scotland (in which the British Association is about 

 to hold its 46th Meeting) has often been taunted with being too exclusively devoted 

 to the "science " of money-making to be able to pay any serious attention to matters 

 that do not produce any vision of " bawbees." Has not our faithful " Punch " 

 recently presented us with a still more highly coloured picture of Scottish character 

 in the shape of a fly-fishing laird, who, having hooked an enormous fish, would be 

 " gay and glad " if he saw his " twa and saxpenny flee " out of its mouth ! The 

 young Society issuing these Proceedings shows that the great city of the west has in 

 it a goodly number of hard working naturalists who love Nature for her own sake, 

 and its publications are of a kind that will not permit of their being considered only 

 as the productions of a local body, and of local interest. On the contrary, these 

 Proceedings will rank with those of acknowledged scientific Societies. Almost every 

 branch of Natui'al History is repi-esented, and the authors are in many cases men 

 who have attained distinction outside local considerations. "We notice no less than 

 thirteen entomological articles, principally by Mr. P. Cameron and Mr. T. Chapman, 

 most of them of considerable value, and many of those by Mr. Cameron, on Scottish 

 saw-flies and allied families, must be consulted by all workers on Eiu-opean 

 Hymenoptera. 



Entomological Society' of London : August 2nd, 1876. — Sir S. S. Saunders, 

 C.M.G., Vice-President, in the Chair. 



The following were elected Members of the Society : Harold Swale, Esq., of St. 

 George's Koad, Pimlico, and Thomas Stanton Hillman, Esq., of Ringmer, Lewes. 



Mr. McLachlan exhibited a series of thirteen examples of a dragon-fly (Diplax 

 meridionalis, Selys) recently taken by him in the Alps of Dauphine in France, between 

 Grenoble and Brian^on (the exact locality being near the village of La Grave, at the 

 base of the " Aiguille du Midi "), remarkable for the extent to which nearly all were 

 infested by the red parasite described by De Geer as Acarus libellulee* (perhaps a 

 species of Trombidium) . Of the thirteen examples, captured casually, only one was 

 free from parasites, the number of these on the others being respectively 7, 8, 9, 15, 

 17, 19, 28, 47, 51, 73, 96, and 111, or a total of 481 on twelve individuals. They 

 were firmly fixed on the nervures towards, and at, the base of the wing, and almost 

 (but not quite) invariably on the under-side, and whatever might be the number on 

 any particular dragon-fly, it was always divided nearly symmetrically on the two 

 sides of the insect, those much infested having a very pretty appearance, from the 

 wings appearing as if spotted with blood-red. It appeared to him that the Acari 

 must attain their position by climbing up the legs of the dragon-fly when at rest, 

 possibly at night, and they probably did not quit it till the insect died, or perhaps 

 died with it, so firmly were they fixed. He remarked that the history of these Acari 

 was involved in much obscurity, for it appeared by no means certain that all those 



• These Acari must not be confoiuidud with the species infesting Geotrupes, Bomlms, Sic, &c. 

 The latter forms .another group of Acari : they roam freely over the body of the insect, though 

 evidently preferring certain positions, no doubt partly attributable to the fact that, in these posi- 

 tions, they are not so liable to be dislodged. The Acarus of the dragon-fly, on the contrary, pro- 

 bably never quits the position taken up, and is a "tick," speaking broadly. The idea that Acari 

 make use of insects merely as locomotive engines to convey them from one locality to .another is 

 .1 very old one, and has often been suggested, but, as it .seems to me, without the slightest fonnda- 

 tion in truth.- H. MrL. 



