18 [January, 



and spring from a very short stalk so that their bases are pressed closely 

 together. Between the leaf-bases rain water is usually present, and in all 

 localities various forms of animal life take refuge there. Cockroaches, earwigs, 

 katydid-like insects, larvse of beetles, of moths, of flies and of mosquitos, ants 

 with long jaws that snap together with an appreciable sound, snails, eartli- 

 worms, scorpions, both true and false, centipedes, and even snakes of poisonous 

 repute are common hromcliadicoli which we met in our examinations. The 

 length and tovighness of the leaves and their sharp spines made it necessary to 

 carry a heavy knife to investigate these plants properly. In October, 1909, we 

 were gladdened by the discovery of undoubted dragon-fly larva3, in a bromeliad 

 below Juan Vinas, which were carried carefully to Cartago and placed in jars 

 each containing a little water and a small bromeliad. We fed them with 

 ' blood worms," the bright red yoixng of certain flies, readily obtained from a 

 dirty ditch near the town. The first lot of larvae died out in about two months, 

 but a second lot from nearly the same locality in December found oiir jars 

 sufficiently endiu'able to complete their growth and to transform into the 

 winged insects in early April. Two of them made tliis change about 8 o'clock 

 on two bright mornings, so that we could photograph them in the act, and one 

 of the illustrations herewith presented shows the fully expanded dragon-fly 

 (3Iecistogastcr modeshis) and the exuvia from which it has emei-ged. The 

 latter, and also the larva when within it, was four-fifths of an inch long, and 

 when the dragon-fly fu-st detached itself it likewise had the same length, but 

 in one and a half hours' expansion, due, some believe, to inspired and also 

 swallowed air, increased the length of its body to three and one-eighth inches, 

 and of each wing to two inches. The larva of Mecistogaster is not longer than 

 those of many other insects, but the adult is conspicuoiisly longer, and this 

 great increase in length is thiis a matter of a relatively short time at the 

 period of transformation." 



The particular insect referred to, Mecistogaster modestus, as well as the 

 allied M. ornatus, Pseudostigma aherrans, and Megaloprepus coernlans, I have 

 often seen in the Central American forests, and it certainly never struck me 

 that any of them could have bred in the abundant Bromeliads overhead ! It 

 may be observed, moreover, that the late Julixis Flohr found many special 

 Staphylinidse amongst these plants on the branches of the trees in Mexico. — Id. 



Monojjis weaverella, Scott : additional specimens. — After reading Mr. Bankes' 

 able paper on this Species (Ent. Mo. Mag., 1910, p. 221), I naturally examined 

 my specimens of M. rusticella. It may be just now of interest to note that 

 I fovurd eleven specimens of M. weaverella. These were labelled " sjjiJoieWa " 

 in a rather shaky handwriting, but unfortunately no locality-label was attached. 

 I obtained them when tlie collection of the late Mr. P. B. Mason was disposed 

 of. They may have come from two sources, as four of them have white pins 

 and seven black pins. I should be much obliged if any Entomologist who sent 

 " spilotella" to the late Mr. Mason would inform me of the fact. All these 

 specimens have veins 5 and 6 of the hind-wings stalked, and the finer examples 

 have an appearance quite distinct from that of M. rusticella. — Alfred Sich, 

 Corney House, Chiswick : October 24:th, 1910. 



