78 ! M."-rl, 



flies, spiders, &c., all with their heads in the same direction, and all probably actuated 

 by the same motive of self-preservation, fleeing from the advancing waves, would 

 well repay them for the time and trouble the sight may cost. I have been sur- 

 rounded by such great numbers of these little crustaceans, that it has been impossible 

 to get out of their midst without regretfully crushing them at every step. In the 

 autumn a small colony of Diphyllus lunatus (larva, pupa and imago) was found in 

 black, globular, fungoid growtlis on oak, and Octipus hninnipes was taken beneath 

 moss on the same species of tree. In the previous spring (1889) in a willow bed a 

 single specimen oi Pterostichus cethiops was captured. — James II. Keys, 9, Addison 

 Eoad, Sherwell Estate, Plymouth : Fehruary, 1891. 



A query as to the food of certain Dipterous larvcB found in 7iests of Vespidce. — 

 I feel that I can say very little in reply to this interesting question raised by Mr. 

 Meade (rt«^e p. 43), simply because so much mystery seems bound up in "wasp 

 paper " as to prevent a trustworthy investigation. In a state of confinement all the 

 Dipterous larvee recorded (anie p. 41) fed upon wasp larvse and pupae, prefe.ably 

 those tliat were in a state of decay. Failing tliese they readily fed upon the material 

 at the base of the cells, wliich, I believe, consists of cast skins, &e. In no instance 

 have I found any of the larvse inside a sealed cell ; neither have I ever seen them 

 attack and kill either larvse or pupae. It is just possible, however, that H. canicu- 

 laris, L., may feed upon living larva; and pupae ; indeed, I do not see how they could 

 derive sufiicient nourishment from the excrement or the few dead larvae and pu]);e, 

 especially in nests where these larvae occur in great numbers as I have seen them do. 

 I once took a nest of Bomhux wMscoriOH, Linn., which was almost alive with the 

 larvae of H. canicidaris, as many as three or four in a single cell. They seemed to liave 

 eaten everything contained in the nest, even the cells were destroyed by them. This 

 nest contained but few larvse of the Bombus, which is not to be wondered at, for in 

 addition to Homalomya, there were quantities of Cryptophagi. — R. Newstead, 

 Grosvenor Museum, Chester : February bth, 1891. 



Scarcity of Aculeate Hymenoptera in South Devon.— \ have been much in- 

 terested and, I fear, also a little pleased to find in your columns several references to 

 the scarcity of insect life on the coast of Devon. I have, for the last three years, 

 visited South Devon, and collected on the coast line from Paignton and Torquay to 

 Teignmouth and Dawlish, and inland as far as Dartmoor, but, as regards the Aculeate 

 Hymenoptera, never have I worked so poor a ground. The vegetation is luxuriant 

 and varied, the climate — at least, from an Anglo-Indian point of view — absolutely 

 perfect, but bees, wasps and ants are not only extremely limited in species but in 

 numbers. There is a spot beyond Dawlish called the " Warren," with the most 

 attractive sandhills, a very Paradise for the Fossores, but not a sand-wasp could I 

 find ; I have seen better collecting in St. Sepulchre's little garden in the city. 



The first visit I attributed my want of success to having been accustomed for 

 so many years to collecting in India, and after the grand tropical forms I thouglit it 

 very possible that our less conspicuous English species uiiglit have escaped my 

 notice ; but two more visits, coupled with the observations of Mr. S. Stevens and 

 others, lead me to think it is not from personal defects as a collector, but really that 

 there /* something in the counly itself which is not suitable or attractive to Hy- 



