1904.1 2G1 



From the wootlyard in tlie Struan roarl, about a mile and a lialf from the 

 village, I got four Ili/Jecaatu^ dermesfoides, (lying in the hot sunshine ; and Asemum 

 was fairly common. The midges in this yard, so far as my own experience goes, are 

 the most bloodthirsty in all Scotland, and will get through pretty well anytliing in 

 the way of clothing. 



A final week spent at Boat of Garten proved disappointing, as the weather 

 changed again, and we had little else but cold and wet. Pterostichus lepidus was 

 fairly plentiful under stones in one particular corner of the moor, and Asemum 

 again turned up in the pine woods. -Theodore Wood, The Vicarage, Lyford Road, 

 Wandsworth Common : October \Oth, 1904. 



Strangalia aurulenfa, F., at Looe. — A neighbour of mine, while collecting 

 Lepidoptera in August last at Looe, was much bothered by a beetle which persisted 

 in flying round and round his head, till at last he lost patience and bottled it. On 

 his return home he handed it over to me, and I was delighted to recognise in it a 

 very fine female example of the above named rarity. — Id. : October lOth, 1904. 



Apferyqida media, Haejenh. {albipennix, Meg.). — I have taken a good many 

 specimens of this earwig in the Huntingfield, Charing and Doddington districts. 

 The greater number were taken in a hop field after the hops had been picked. — 

 A. J. Chitty, 27, Hereford Square, S.W. : October, 1904. 



Apis mellifica in the island of Herm. — The following particulars about the 

 occurrence of the Hive Bee (Apis mellifica) in Herm may possibly interest some of 

 your readers. 



I spent a few weeks in that interesting little island with my wife and my little 

 boy during the spring and summer of this year. Our first visit extended from 

 March 31st to April 7th, and the second (rom April 20lh to 27th. Insects were 

 fairly numerous, considering the small size of the island, and by the latter date we 

 had collected about twenty species of Aculeata ; but no trace of Apis mellifica 

 could we discover. 



At the next visit (from May 25th to June 4th) we found the Aculeata plentiful 

 enough ; and again the entire absence of the Hive Bee struck us as very remarkable, 

 I should mention that we were out every day insect-collecting in all parts of the 

 island — three nets at work— with a special eye (ov the Aculeate Hi/menoptera, bo 

 that we could not easily have passed over the Hive Bee, which in fact we particu- 

 larly looked for. But not one single specimen was seen. 



Our fourth and last visit to Herm was on August 8th, and wo remained there 

 three days. To our great surprise and delight some Hive Bees were observed at 

 flowers during our very first walk, and we immediately captured specimens. After- 

 wards we found them spread all over the island, that is to say, on the large sandy 

 common, as well as on the cliffs and in the interior ; not nearly so numerous as in 

 other places where Hive Bees occur, but we probably saw altogether several scores 

 during the three days. 



Now, faow is the appearance of this species in August to be accounted for, since 

 r,o vestige of it occurred in June, or earlier ? 



