1900.] 135 



was very abundant in tlieir congervatory. I was very much surprised to find that 

 the beetles in question were Tyrochroa serraficornis, about the last species that one 

 would hare expected to find in such a locality. I suppose the warmth of the con- 

 servatory brouglit them out earlier than usual, and that they must have been 

 introduced in wood in their larval condition. — Edward Saunders, St. Ann's, 

 Woking: 3Iay \2th, 1900. 



Mutilla europcea and Pol'mtes gallica, L. — Mr. Gr. C. Champion sent me last 

 year a 5 oi Mntilla europita which he and Mr. S. Edwards had taken crawling on 

 a nest of Polistes, attached to a rough stone wall by the roadside, at Fusio, Val 

 Maggia, Ticino, last July. I do not remember having seen Mutilla recorded as 

 being parasitic on Folistes, and its presence on the nest of that wasp certainly 

 suggests the probability that its visit was of a parasitic nature. ^Id. 



Concerning a remark in Mr. Morley's paper on Sphegophaga vesparuin. — I 

 desire to demur to Mr. Morley's footnote on p. 120, where he states as definitely as 

 if he had seen it done, that the fluid of the " ghost" of the wasp is " gradually 

 absorbed by the parasite." This seems to me to be not only unlikely, but so im- 

 possible, that the idea becomes untenable. The wasp remains (" ghost " mi^/), if 

 left undisturbed by the wasps, will doubtless dry up and shrivel as recorded by M. 

 Rouget, is a question, probably, of days, or at most a week or so. Still more rapidly 

 if the wasp comb be placed in a dry room, which I rather fancy is the condition of 

 M. Eouget's observation, since he notes that in the nest the wasps clear out the 

 " ghost," and that eggs are laid on the cocoon of vesparnrn, as in any other cell. 

 During the same period the larva of vesparum in its cocoon is probably also shrivel- 

 ling a little, since that is a very usual occurrence in Hymenoptera after spinning up, 

 especially in parasites such as Chrysis, &c. (see Ent. Mo. Mag., vi, 157). Whilst the 

 "ghost" is shrivelling therefore, vesparum is in no want of fluid. But, whether or 

 whenever, it wanted it, it could not get it. We may conclude it does not want it, 

 since its cocoon is as dense as any I know, and almost impermeable. This density is 

 no doubt designed to protect the larva all the winter amongst the debris of the wasp's 

 nest, not so much against living enemies, as against any excess or defect of moisture 

 that is certain to occur. The " ghost " is remarkable for its cleanness when removed 

 from the cell, the cell with vesparum cocoon at its base, is perfectly clean and dry, and 

 the truncated end of the " ghost " is as dry and closed up as any other pai-t of it. I 

 should as soon expect a man to eat a good dinner through the wall of a fireproof safe 

 as for vesparum to absorb any of the " ghost " ly materials. It is further very possible 

 that the " ghost " ly fluid contains excrementitious matter of vesparum. — T. A. 

 Chapman, Betula, Reigate : May, 1900. 



A few localities for certain PsychodidcB collected in England {Wicken Fen, 

 Chippenham Fen), Scotland {Aviemore and Quisachan, Inverness-shire) , and Ireland 

 {Kilmacrenan, Donegal). — Pericoma mutna, Etn., Xilmacrenan, July 10th, 1891 ; 

 Guisachan, June 19th and 20th, 1899. P. nubila, Meigen, Wicken Fen, July, 1892, 

 common ; Chippenham Fen, August, 1892, common. P. trivialis, Etn., Kilmacre- 

 nan, July 10th and :'7tli, 1891. P. ocellaris, Meign., Aviemore, 1899 ; Wicken 

 Fen, July, 1892 ; Chippenham Fen, August, 1892, common. P. notabilis, Etn., 



