110 [April, 



Limnophilus decipiens, KoL, in Ireland. — About the end of August, 1890, I 

 caught a small number of this not very common insect at two lakes near Glaslough, 

 in Co. Monaghan. The species appeared to be just coming out, and it is thus 

 probably of somewhat autumnal habit. — Kenneth J. Morton, Carluke, N. B. : 

 February, 1892. 



Notes on Ctenopseustis ohliquana, Wile. — In Vol. i, second ser., p. 217, of this 

 Magazine, Mr. C. Gr. Barrett contributed some notes on the destructive habits of this 

 species in New Zealand. When Mr. Barrett's notes were wintten, its attacks were 

 limited to the flesh of ripe apricots. Last year, however, I detected the larvse at- 

 tacking ripe plums, but not to the extent it destroyed apricots. Considering that 

 the species has only attacked the latter for two seasons, it certainly assumed very 

 serious proportions last year. In my own garden I was able, last season, to study 

 the habits of the larvse in all stages of development. The eggs are laid in November 

 on the young shoots or in the axils of the young leaves, and hatch in 12 to 15 days ; 

 in a few days the young larvse are able to move along the shoots, and commence 

 eating the edges of the young leaves j in a fortnight or so they are able to draw the 

 two edges of the incurved leaves together, in which they remain concealed during 

 the day. By the time the fruit begins to colour and ripen, some are half and others 

 two-thirds grown ; they then attack the flesh in the depression around the fruit- 

 stem, and bore into the pulp. In many instances the fruit-stem is injured in a 

 manner to deprive the fruit of proper nourishment, thus causing it to shrivel or ripen 

 prematurely, and drop from the tree. With a little experience it is easy to detect 

 the fruit containing larvse, as they soon become paler, even when they do not fall off. 

 Last season I collected a number of ripe fruit with the full-fed larvse pupating 

 within them. These I kept on dry sand in a glass jar until they rotted, and became 

 covered with a growth of blue mould ; the latter, however, did not injure the pupse, 

 as they all emerged perfectly. The moth has been very common this spring, and 

 the young larvse are numerous at the present time on the foliage of the trees. 

 Grrowers of this excellent and easy grown fruit are likely to have a lively time of it, 

 as well as be at great loss, unless some stringent measures are adopted for its imme- 

 diate suppression. — W. W. Smith, Ashburton, N. Z. : January hlh, 1892. 



Note on Eristalis tenax in New Zealand. — This fine mimicking Dipteron is not 

 quite so numerous in this district this season as it was at this time last year. I 

 think it may in some measure be due to the greater rainfall of last winter, in flushing 

 the stagnant and swampy pools where the larvse chiefly exist. T was lately at a wool- 

 scouring works half a mile from Ashburton, and observed the larvse in hundreds 

 swimming about in the fat barrels. Some of the latter had remained where they 

 stood for years, and were filled with a thick, black, strong smelling liquid ; the larvse, 

 however, appeared to thrive well in the atrocious stuff. — Id. 



Rare Diptera in 1891. — Amongst my captures in Sutton Park last year were 

 Tipula Diana, Mg., not uncommon in a small damp spot about 30 yards square ; 

 Cordylura ciliata, Mg., ^ & ? ; Olaphy ropier a Winthemii, Mg., one specimen; 

 Clinocera histiyma, Curt., common, but difficult to capture, owing to their resting 



