280 ['^^■'J'' '^'"• 



described as new in Opuscles Entomologiqucs, xyi, p. 175, and included in the Zoo- 

 logical record for 1875, vol. xii, p. 299, my species must fall. — E. C. Eye, 70, Cliarl- 

 ■wood Road, Putney : April, 1879. 



A species of Aphodius neio to Britain. — I have for some years had separated in 

 my collection some examples of an Aphodius,nen,rinqi(itiatus, which are evidently A. 

 melanostictiis, Schupp.,Er. Compared with inquiiiattis, the majority are conspicuously 

 larger, with more developed limbs, and the gronnd colour of a darker testaceous 

 colour, the sides of the thorax entirely reddish-testaceous, and the black streak in the 

 second interstice of the elytra reaching further towards the middle. In all but one 

 of my specimens also, the black line connected with this streak is carried towards the 

 apex and connected in the lower third with the lateral black line, which is not the. 

 case in any of my varieties of iiiquinatus. The specimens are from the Manchester 

 district.— Id. 



Insects at Zanzibar. — [Mr. Joseph Thomson, of the Royal G-eographical Society's 

 African Expedition, has sent to his friends in Scotland some notes on the Island of 

 Zanzibar ; amongst them are the following entomological extracts, which will no 

 doubt interest the readers of the Ent. Mo. Magazine. — D. Sharp.] 



" In our walk to the woods, we cannot but be astonished at the absence of 

 beautiful butterflies. In all my perambulations I have as yet only seen three large 

 species, although there are innumerable small forms. The dragon flies make up 

 somewhat for the scarcity of the former ; these voracious beings are in great abun- 

 dance, many of them of large size and great beauty ; I have caught more than thirty 

 species, and I have seen as many more, wl^ich I have not yet captured. Entering 

 the woods, our attention is attracted by the hiige millipedes, 6 or 8 inches in length, 

 wriggling amongst the branches, and the equally large land snails {AchatincB) with 

 shells half a foot in length, crawling with steady pace along the banana leaves. 

 Looking up to the mango trees, a curious nest-like object formed of leaves drawn 

 together is noticeable, which suggests the idea that they are nests of the tailor bird ; 

 but, on going near to examine, we are filled with surprise to find them swarming 

 with large ants ; in fact, they are the nests of these wonderful little creatures. If 

 you disturb them, you will find that they well deserve the name of mago-raoto (fire 

 watei') which they receive here. Further on our attention is drawn from tree gazing 

 by the cry of our guide, ' siafa, siafa ' (ants, ants), and looking to the ground, a 

 broad band of what appears to be motionless ants is seen extending across the path. 

 On closer examination, the band, to our astonishment, resolves itself into a tunnel of 

 these creatures, througli which the others are pouring in apparently endless multi- 

 tudes. The unwary pedestrian, who unwittingly tramps on this tunnel, will find, to 

 his agony, that his trousers have been converted into a channel up which they rush, 

 and, with a fiendish vengeance, they will let him know that they ai*e not to be touched 

 with impunity. 



" In our long delightful walk, night lias surprised us, and warns us to turn our 

 backs on the malaria of the damp ground. The tcpe-tepe has hushed its tooting, 

 and is replaced by the more sombre sounds of the owls. The goat-sucker flits about 

 like an uneasy spirit, and a large owl-like frugivorous bat hovers here and there over 

 a mango tree. The deafening music of the Cicadce is in full force, with all its mar- 

 vellous ringing of bells, jingling of rings, and whistling of steam engines, while the 

 frogs in the marshes add to the din by their incessant clatter from a thousand throats. 

 In the hedges and amongst the trees, fireflies, like little shooting stars of earth, glance 

 and scintillate through the murky gloom, recalling old legends and stories of fairies 

 and elfs." 



END OF VOL. XV. 



