l8 THE entomologist's RECORD. 



yet developed. The wings reached the natural size in about five 

 minutes. On May 16th, I took another $ from the La^im fulj(/i)i(isus 

 nest at Oxshott. 



Plati/phora hihhocki, Verrall. — This creature was described by Mr. 

 Verrall from a specimen taken by Sir John Lubbock in ants' nests. 



Phora formicariiDi), Verrall. — This species is parasitic on Lasiiis 

 niger. Sir John Lubbock says {loc. cit., p. 26) : "If a nest of the 

 brown ants be disturbed at any time during the summer, some small 

 flies may probably be seen hovering over the nest, and every now and 

 then making a dash at some particular ant. These flies belong to the 

 genus Phora, and to a species hitherto unnamed, which Mr. Verrall 

 has been good enough to describe for me. They lay their eggs on the 

 ants, inside which the larv^p live." Westwood {Mod. Class. Insects, ii., 

 p. 575) says : " T have repeatedly observed, on disturbing the nest of 

 the common brown garden ant, a very minute species of Phora, 

 hovering over, and flying upon ants." Mr. Collin tells me he 

 considers this species mentioned by Westwood to be /'. forwicaritnn, 

 and that he has taken the species by sweeping over ants' nests in Mr. 

 Verrall's paddock at Newmarket. 



Scatojise infumata, Hal. — I have taken this species in the nest of 

 Lasins fulvjinosiis at Oxshott. 



Sciara, sp. ? 1. — I took a species of this genus, of which several 

 are recorded with ants on the continent, in the nest of Formica riifa, 

 at Oxshott. I have since bred this species in numbers out of my 

 " observation nest " of F. ntfa. I took the first specimen in my nest 

 on April 9th, and saw it constantly after that up to the end of July, 

 when I went away. It does not fly much but walks quickly dodging 

 out of the way of the ants, who appear to pay no attention to it. 



Sciara, sp. ?2. — I took this species in the nest of Lasitis fidii/inosiis 

 at Oxshott, on April 2nd and 12th, 1901. 



Sciara, sp. ? 3. — I took this species with F. nifa at Oxshott in 

 1900, and with L. fidii/inosKs on April 26th, 1901, also at Oxshott. 



Trineura, sp. ?— I have taken a species of this genus, of which 

 several are recorded with ants on the continent, in the nest of F. rufa 

 at Oxshott. Westwood (loc. cit., p. 231) records that, on disturbing 

 neats oi F. fnsca he noticed a small species of this genus hovering 

 over the nest and darting at the ants. W^asmann in quoting this record 

 (Inc. cit., p. 175) considers that from the description of the nest the 

 ant must have been F. rufa and not F.fnsca. 



MicroddH, sp. '? — I have seen several of the curious larva- of a 

 species of Microdon in the Jjritish Museum. They were taken by Miss 

 Simpson at Kendal, in Westmorland, in a nest of Formica fiisca, in 

 1900. 



Erebia aethiops and its Variation. 



By H. MOUSLEY, F.E.S. 

 I remember some few years ago receiving a letter from a corre- 

 spondent in which he said: "I wish you collected something more 

 than the butterflies, there is so very little to be done with them, and 

 exchanging becomes a difficult matter." I think, if we obtain a copy 

 of the Procccdi)if/s of the South London Fntomoloi/ical Socictij for the 

 year 1895, and read Mr. Tutt's interesting paper on the above insect, 

 and then spend a few days every August for two or three years (the 



