208 [September, 



under-side up, on that which for the time was the top o£ the box, nor 

 have 1 knowMi it produced by the ? s. A similar, but very much 

 louder noise is produced by the (J of Perla cephalofes, and, I think, 

 also by that of P. maxima. In the case of P. cephalotes the noise is 

 sometimes nearly as loud as that produced by a mouse nibbling behind 

 a wainscot. P. cephalotes gives three or four raps only at a time, but 

 Ch. grammatica gives three or four series of raps in quick succession, 

 each series consisting of four raps. 



I do not at present see the object of this habit, which I have only 

 observed in confinement, and which did not seem to produce any par- 

 ticular effect on ? s in adjacent boxes, nor can I find any meutiou of 

 it in the few authors who have written on the group. Is it an instance 

 of " calling," confined to ^Js, so many of which in this group have the 

 wings more or less abortive ?, or is it an expression of rage ? Slapping 

 the floor with the stomach seems a curious way of expressing the 

 feelings ! 



Rock House, Lynmoutli, N. Devon : 

 Augunt nth, 1897. 



[Mr. Briggs' valuable observations should be followed up and 

 further elucidated, and especially as to whether it is the motion only, 

 or the sound produced by the motion, that is the essential factor. The 

 bottom of a chip or cardboard box is a resonant surface, the like of 

 which would scarcely occur to the insect in a state of nature: a dead 

 leaf would probably be the nearest. It would be interesting to know 

 the behaviour of pairs ( (^ ? ) of the insects or of several of each sex 

 confined in the same box. — R. McLachlan.] 



THE CIMEX IN THE NESTS OF DOMESTIC FOWLS. 

 BY J. W. nOUGLAS, F E S. 



Since the publication of the notes on this subject ([)p. 159 and 

 185, ante), I have become aware that one of the Bulletins of the 

 U. S. Department of Agriculture* contains, among other matters of 

 much interest, copiously and excellently illustrated, an account of 

 Acanthia inodora, A. Duges.f a species infesting poultry in Mexico, with 

 a figure of it prepared from specimens forwarded by Dr. A. Duges. 



* Bulletin No. 5, n. s. U. S. Dept. of Agriculture. Division of Entomology. Insects affecting 

 domestic animals : an account of the species of importance m North America, with mention of 

 related forms occurring on other animals. Prepared under the direction of the Entomologist, by 

 Herbert Osborn, Professor of Zoology and Entomology, Iowa Agricultural College, Ames, Iowa. 

 Washington, 1896. pp. 1 — SOti. 



t La Naturaleza, 2nd Series, vol. ii, 1892, p. 169, PI. viii, 8 tigs. 



