mi.] 141 



Ceratophyllus silantiewi, Wagner ; a " plague- flea." — 1 have recently received 

 from Dr. Petrie, of the Lister Institute, IS specimens of the little known flea, 

 Ceratophyllus silantiexvi, Wagner, captured early this year at Manchoui'ie on 

 the frontier of Siberia and Manchiu'ia. The examples in question were taken 

 f rom " Tarabagans " (Arctomys hobac). Tarabagans are known to suffer from 

 epidemics of plague, and the recent epidemic in Manchuria started amongst 

 the Chinese hunters of these animals in Mongolia. These hunters returned 

 sovith when the winter set in and carried the disease with them. Dr. Petrie 

 informs me that the few specimens of this flea surviving when he received 

 them at Mukden fed when placed upon his arm. — N. Charles Eothschild, 

 Arundel Hovise, Kensington Palace Gardens, W. : May 18f/i, 1911. 



ituaiiiT. 



William Alfred Bollasori died at Triu'O on April 23rd, after a very brief 

 illness, at the comparatively early age of 48 years. Since 1899 he had held the 

 position of Art Master in the Central Technical Schools of that town, in which, 

 and indeed throughout the West of England, he was well known and greatly 

 esteemed for his marked artistic and musical talents, as well as for his genial 

 and enthusiastic character. As an Entomologist he has probably contributed 

 more than any other worker to our knowledge of the insects of Cornwall, a 

 county hitherto by no means fiilly investigated. His attention was at fii'st 

 mainly directed to the Lepidoptera, of which he formed a large collection, and 

 we luiderstand that he had in view the compilation of a text-book of the British 

 species of the Order, for which he had executed a very fine series of coloiu-ed 

 drawings of larvae. Latterly he took up the study of the Hymenoptera, and 

 was a highlj^ esteemed correspondent of the late Mr. Edward Saunders ; only 

 as recently as oiu* April nvunber (pp. 90-93 ante) a very interesting list of 

 Cornish Aculeata observed by him appeared in our pages. Mr. Eollason was a 

 Fellow of the Entomological Society, to which he was elected in 1909. 



^ocMtijjs. 



Lancashire and Cheshire Entomological Society. — Meeting of the 

 Society held at the Koyal Institution, Colquit Street, Liverpool, March 21st, 

 1911.— Dr. P. F. TiNNE, Vice-President in the Chair. 



Mr. G. H. Watson, of Manchester, gave a lecture on " The Saturniidse, a 

 Group of Wild Silk Moths." 



Afttr reviewing the classification of the group, the lecturer detailed the 

 work that is being done, by himself and others, in order to discover new 

 sources of supply of silk and also to strengthen the races of silk-producing 

 moths cidtivated in Europe and Asia. The true silk moth is not known as a 

 wild insect, although in China there are records of its cultivation ui)wards of 



M 



