88 CApril, 



A New Entomological Monthly Journal. — "Insociitor Inscitiaj Menstruus, a 

 Monthly Journal of Entomology," is the title of a new Amei-ican periodical 

 started during the present year. It is conducted by Mr. Harrison G. Dyar, and is 

 sold only by siibscription, at the price of two dollars per annum, payable in 

 advance. We are indebted to Mr. ¥. Knab for a copy of No. 2 of Vol. 1, which 

 contains papers on Diptera and Lepidoptera, including descriptions of new 

 speciesi The only other Americiin journals of this kind that we are acquainted 

 with are the " Canadian Entomologist," commenced in ISG'J, and the "Entomo- 

 logical News," commenced in 1890. — Ed.s. 



Note on the Equisetum-eating larva of Bagous claudicans, Boh. — In the 

 " Tijdschrift voor Entomologie," LV, pp. 208-21G (October, 1912), Dr. J. C. H. 

 Meijere gives an account of the life-history of two insects living in Holland tipon 

 Equisetum limosum in their earlier stages — a saw-fly (Dolerus palustris, Kl.) and 

 a Curciilionid beetle {Bagous claudicans. Boh.), both of which are British. The 

 larva of the Dolerus has ]>een described by various authors, but that of the 

 Bagous is not known to British Coleopterists. A short extract, th(>refore, from 

 Dr. Meijere's paper will doubtless interest our readers : — 



" To the best of my knowledge very few larva; feed on Equisetum — so far I 

 only know of the saw-fly, Dolerus palustris, and the beetle, Bagous claiidicans, 

 whose larvae feed up inside the hollow stems. On May 30th, 1907, I examined 

 some plants of E. limosum growing at Kortenhoef, and found a few oblong 

 orange-red ova, mostly singly in each plant, rarely two in different intei'nodes. 

 The hole made by the ovipositor of the parent beetle is visible from outside. I 

 had the eggs a month before the larva; hatched. These are legless and have a 

 few scattered colovirless hairs. In 1908 I foxmd several larger larvse (measuring 

 lap to 4 mm.), mostly close to the apex of the stem, which then is always dead 

 for a length of from 5-15 mm. The larvse eat up through the nodal diaphragms 

 None of these larva) were bred, but in 1911 I found more large larva', which all 

 pupated by June 8th, the whitish-yellow pupae lying free in the internode. On 

 June 19th three beetles emerged. As far as the Dutch species of Bagous are 

 concerned, the metamorphoses of B. nodulosus only are known, the larva of 

 which has been found by Gadeati de Kerville in numbers on Stratiotes aloides." 

 The larva and pupa of B. claudicans are described at length by Dr. Meijere and 

 figured on Plate 9 of the work quoted. In the same paper the author notes that 

 the Homopteron Philaenus spumarius does not sj^are Equisetum. E. limosiun, it 

 may be stated, is a common British plant growing in the mvid at the edges of 

 shallow ponds and ditches, often with Carex, Phragmites, Menyanthes, and 

 Glyceria. Grypidius equiseti appears to be attached to Equiset%i.m arvense and 

 palustre. — G. C. Champion, llorsell, Woking: March 17th, 1913. 



Stenus oscillator. Rye, in Ireland. — Mr. E. Bullock recently sent me for 

 examination various freshly-captvired Steni from Killarney. Amongst the 

 S. hifoveolatus, Gyll., there was a single specimen differing from the rest in having 

 the marginal keel on segments 2-4 of the hind body wanting. This at once 

 suggested the long sought for S. oscillator, Eye, which has remained unique since 

 it was described in 1870, and on comparing the Killarney insect with the Brighton 

 type in the British Museum, Mr. Bullock's specimen proved to be clearly refer- 



