2 1 2 [September, 



Xysfa (Phasia) cana, Mgn., an addition to the British list, and other Diptera. — 

 Curiouslj enough, while brushing for Coleoptera on May 23rd last, I found this 

 species in my net, and sent it to Mr. Meade for confirmation. A former specimen, 

 taken here in 1894, was too damaged to pronounce upon with certainty. I have 

 heard of no intermediate records for Britain. May was a good month for Tachinidae 

 and AnthomyidcE, and several I had not seen before occurred to me, such as Exorista 

 albicans, Taehina {Chretotarhina) rustica, Hyetodesia incana and Spilogaster dupli- 

 cata at Ipswich ; Exorista vulgaris at Eastbourne ; E. acronyctarum and Degeeria 

 collar is {oriiata) at Polegate, Sussex. In April I took here Anthomyia radicum, 

 Phorbia trichodactyla, Hylemyia variata, il^'c. Trigunometopus frontalis, that 

 curious Heteroneurid, was swept not uncommonly from Sparganium on March 23rd, 

 among which it probably hibernated, since I took it in the same situation last 

 autumn. Species of Bibio have also been unusually prevalent this year — poinona:, 

 marci, leucopterus, hortulanus, atiglicus, reticulatus, nigriventris and johannis being 

 generally abundant, excepting leucopterus and nigriventris, which were uncommon. 

 — Claude Morlky, Ipswich : August, 1896. 



The QSstrid of the Indian Elephant bred. — At the meeting of the mathematical- 

 physical class of the Imperial Academy of Sciences of Vienna, held on July 2nd, 

 Prof. Fr. Brauer stated that he and Herr Handlirsch (with the assistance of Herr 

 Kraus, of the Zoological Gardens at Schonbrunn) had succeeded in rearing both 

 sexes of Cobboldia elephantis, which had been previously known only in the larval 

 stage. Preliminary descriptions (generic and specific) were communicated. The 

 larrse live in the throat of their host (as is the case with Pharyngobolus africanus, 

 Br., the host of which is the African elephant), which they leave in the early 

 morning, change into pupae in from one to two days, and in sixteen days from 

 leaving the host the perfect fly appears. — Eds. 



Ilemiteles areator a hyperparasite ; Telenomus phalcenarum on eggs of Tygara 

 bucephala. — In June last I collected several Limneria vulgaris cocoons, that were 

 parasitic on Gonepteryx rhamni, and from one of them Ilemiteles areator emerged 

 on July 23rd. I have several times bred li. areator, but could not say for certain 

 that it was a hyperparasite in any of the cases. 



On July 1st I was examining oak leaves for galls, and discovered a batch of eggs 

 of PygcEra bucephala ; these, however, proved to be infested with Telenomus phalce- 

 narum.— G. C. BiGNELL, 69, Union Street, Stonchouse, Plymouth : Aug. 18th, 1896. 



Rare Diploptera in Donetshire.—The ? of Vespa auslriaca, Panz. {arborea, 

 Smith), has been known for many years in this country, having been taken in various 

 localities singly, or in a few specimens, the West of England and the neighbourhood 

 of Dublin having so far yielded the greatest number of examples ; the male, 

 however, has not been recorded hitherto as British. The Rev. O. P. Cambridge sent 

 me the other day some Vespidce, &c., which he wanted determined, and amongst 

 them were a <J and ? of this rare wasp. The J may be known from its allies by 

 much the same characters as the ? ; it belongs to the section with short cheeks and 



