64) [March, 



111 July, 1910, a beautiful female of Eristalis oestraceus, L., was 

 taken by Herr Quecliiau, Konigliclier Forster, in the vicinity of Pait, 

 near Gross Krauleiden, East Prussia, on the blossoms of either wild 

 radish {Raphanus raphanistrnm, L.) or purple loosestrife (Lythrum 

 salicaria, L.). This specimen was acquired by the Hon. N. C. Roth- 

 schild, who most generously presented it to the British Museum 

 (Natural History), and it was while deterinining it with a view to its 

 incorporation into the National Collection that the winter made the 

 discovery that Eristalis (Syrphus) oestriformis, Walk., is a synonym of 

 E. oestraceus (Musca cestracea), L. Thus one more species is added 

 to the already fairly lengthy list of Syrpliidie^ knoAvn to be common to 

 Europe and North America. 



Eristalis oestraceus, which measures some 14 mm. (rather more 

 than half an inch) in length, exhibits, in the case of the male at any 

 rate, a general resemblance to E. intricarius, L., but is distinguishable 

 at once owing to the presence of a large, quadrate, dark brown blotch 

 (wanting or indistinct in the male) on each wing ; a further distinctive 

 character is that in E. oestraceus the first three joints of the middle 

 and hind tarsi are ochraceous-buft" or ochraceous-ruf ous. The head and 

 body of the female E. oestraceus are black, except the scutellum, 

 which is straw-yellow; the face is clothed on each side with whitish- 

 yellow pollen and hair, there is a broad band of similarly coloured hair 

 occupying the scutellum and hind margin of the main portion of the 

 dorsum of the thorax, the first abdominal segment is gi'eyish-poUinose 

 and bears whitish-yellow hair, and the hairy covering of the distal 

 extremity of the abdomen is orange- ochraceous or ochre-yellow. 



British Museum (Natural History) : 

 January 26th, 1911. 



The collections, <^'c., of the late Mr. Edward Saunders. — We are indebted 

 to the E,ev. F. D. Morice for the following information as to the disposal of the 

 collections, &c., formed by the late Mr. Edward Saunders, F.R.S., which may 

 be useful to those interested in the Orders of Insects that formed the chief 

 objects of the st\idy and work of oxir late esteemed colleague. 



The entire collections of British and exotic Hymenoptera, the Palsearctic 

 Hemiptera, and all the Microscopic preparations, including the originals figiired 

 by or for him in his various illustrated publications, have been acquired by, or 

 presented to, the nation, and are now in the Natural History Museum at South 

 Kensington. The important series of British Hemiptera was piu'chased by Dr. 

 Gr. B. Longstaff, and generoiisly given by him to the Hope Department of the 

 Oxford University Museum. Dr. Malcolm Burr has acqiiired the Orthoptera, 

 and the Collection of British Coleoptera has been pxu-chased by Mr T. G. 

 Bishop, of Beattock, N.B. Mr. Saiinders's fine library of Entomological works 

 was recently dispersed by aiiction at Messrs. Stevens's rooms, and his few iin- 

 published papers are in the hands of Mr. Morice. 



