1S96.J 2.37 



Syrphus guttatus as British. — In the October number of the Ent. Mo. Mag., 

 Mr. F. C. Adams mentions, among other rare Diptera he has captured, Si/rphus 

 guttatus, and says, it has only been recorded once previously by Mr. Coryndon 

 Matthews. This is hardly correct, as in the March number of this vol., p. 52, two 

 f males are recorded, taken by myself, one at Sutton Coldfield, the other at Barmouth. 

 ^ :frphiis flavifroyis,YeTY.,vii\\ probably turn out to be the $ of this species ; it lacks 

 the two white spots just above the scutellum so characteristic of the ? . I have 

 three specimens taken in my garden. — Id. 



Camarota as a noxious insect. — In the last number of the Wiener Ent. Zeitung, 

 1896, p. 247, Mr. Mik says, concerning Camarota flavitarsis, Meig., " The trans- 

 formation of this genus has, to my knowledge, up to the present time, never been 

 observed, and it has not been anywhere known to be noxious to cereals." In my 

 Elencho delle publicazioni entomologiche del " Professore Camillo Kondani" (Bull. 

 Soc. Ent. Ital., 1885, p. 160) will be found :— 



No. 114. Un' altro nemico delle biade (Camarota cerealis,n. sp.), Giornale "La 

 Campagna," Parma, 1873. 



N.B. — E una notizia preliminare al No. 115. 

 No. 115. Un unovo roditore dei frumenti (Camarota cerealis). 



Bull. Com. Agr. Ann., vi. No. 7, pp. 103-105, con fig. Estratto, Parma, 1873, 

 p. 3. 



In No. 115 Eondani says, " The species in question belongs to the genus Camarota, 

 Meig., wliich he introduced for a single species that he cdl\e6. flavitarsis ; but from 

 his description, and from the authority of Macquart, it results that our Camarota is 

 specifically different, and as it has not hitherto been distinguished from the typical 

 flavitarsis, I shall give it a separate name, C. cerealis," &c. 



The description reads very much like that of flavitarsis, with slight discrepancies, 

 the principal of which is a distinct brown ring on the posterior tibise, wliich is not 

 mentioned by Meigen.— C. R. Osten Sacken, Heidelberg : October 1st, 1896. 



Note on Eristalis tenax, Linne, in New Zealand. — The recent extremely mild 

 winter in New Zealand appears to have been congenial to our alien insect friend E. 

 tenax. After a hot summer this Dipteron was very numerous on the chrysanthemum 

 blooms in the autumn, and has, since the month of May, frequented the blooms of 

 Laurestinus (Viburmim. timis) every calm day of sunshine. In the public gardens 

 here, where the Laurestinus blossoms splendidly, the flies were numerous on the 

 blooms until July 5th. On that date and for several nights following there were 

 five degrees of frost, each followed by days of warm sunshine. The frosty nights 

 certainly chilled them, as since July 9th they gradually lessened in number and also 

 became less active. The 24th and 25th of the present month were unusually calm, 

 sultry days for spring weather. On these dates I observed a number of them on tlie 

 Laurestinus blooms, generally on the sunny side of the shrub. Throughout the last 

 two summers the larv£e of this interesting Dipteron have been numerous in a large 

 barrel we use for " brewing " liquid manure.— W. W. Smith, Ashburton, N. Z. : 

 August 28fh, 1896. 



