1901.] 299 



I was unrler the impression that this ino'.h did not breed in England, never having 

 heard of an instance. The chrysaHs was found in a heap of moukl in a garden, and 

 there was plenty of bindweed about. I liave heard of two other instances of pupae 

 being found in this neighbourhood. — W. G. JuDGK, 13, East Cliffe Gardens, Folke- 

 stone : November 4th, 1901. 



[It is unusual for the larvae or pnpteof S. convolvuli to be found in this country ; 

 but such occurrences have been many times recorded. Probably never before in 

 such numbers as in 1901. Yet the parents of these larvee did not place themselves 

 en evidence. — Eds.]. 



T'olucella zonaria on a Channel boat. — A specimen of this fly was taken at the 

 end of last June by Mr. Horace Darwin as it was buzzing about on the boat between 

 Calais and Dover. He has presented it to the University Museum of Zoology. — 

 F. Jenkinson, 10, Brookside, Cambridge : October I6th, 1901. 



St/rphidce at Cambridfje in 1001. — In my garden here (80 by 20 feet) upwards 

 of 42 species of Syrphida have occurred to myself or my housekeeper, Miss A. 

 Allai'd, who lias proved herself lo be a clover collector. I will only mention Varagus 

 tibialis, Cnemodon, what seems to be Orthoneura brevicornis (one on October 10th), 

 Didea fasciata (one on September 26th), S. tricinctiis (one on August 11th), cinctus ; 

 X. ornatum (two), M. equestris (about a dozen), Chrys. cauttim and C. festivum. — 

 Id. 



Fachygaster Leaclii, &c., at Cambridge. — P. Leachi was common in my garden 

 through July ; the last I saw was on August Stii. It frequents the under-sides of 

 leaves. Miss Allard found it equally common at Newlyn, Paul, Mousehole, and 

 Scilly. 0( P. ater slie took a single specimen in my garden on July 17th. At 

 Lyndhurst I took a single male of P. meromelas about July 3rd. — Id. 



The gender of Fachygaster, cfc.—Mv. Austen says (ayite p. 241) " since gaster 

 is feminine, we must of course write Fachygaster meromelcena," &c., and in a letter 

 I received from him he says, " It is a well known rule of zoological nomenclature 

 that in the case of a genus, the name of which is compounded of an adjective and 

 a substantive, the specific name, if an adjective, ohall agree in gender with the 

 substantive." I accept his statement, but I am very sorry to hear it. The " rule," 

 besides being entirely illogical, is a violation of Greek usage. Fachygaster is an 

 adjective, and can only correctly be made feminine by understanding a feminine 

 substantive, such as musca or myia. Its gender cannot be affected by the gender of 

 gaster.* With such words as Cnemodon, Merodon, and merometas before me, it may 

 seem inconsistent to object to any barbarism. But no one, as far as I know, would 

 defend them as correct, anymore than hippopotamus, " from hippos, a river, and 

 potamus, 'orse," as the showman said. — Id. 



Idia lunata at Cambridge, and elsewhere. — I have secured five specimens this 

 year. I took one female at Hindon, near Salisbury, on August 30th. Males oc- 

 curred at Lyndhurst, June 26th ; Paul, July 26th (Miss Allard) ; Cambridge, 



* Mr. McLachlan has referred me to Ent. Mo. Mag., v, pp. 2:^6, 237, where this pohit was 

 dealt with clearly and conclusively hy the Rev, T. A. Marshall so long ago as 1S69. 



