262 L^ovember, 



A beetle which •produces eloquence. — The following extract is of interest. 

 It is taken fi-oin a book recently published, entitled, " With a Prehistoric 

 People : the Akikuyu of British East Africa," by W. Scaresby Eoutledge and 

 Katherine Eoutledge (page 206) : " Intelligence is much prized and so is 

 " eloquence. A particular beetle (Melaspis (jlahripennis, Kolbe), carries with 

 " it the power of conviction, and, if a man finds one of these he rejoices greatly. 

 " He takes a banana and makes a hole in it, puts the Ijeetle in the banana and 

 " dries it in the sun. Then the day before he has to go to a shaiu-i (or debate) 

 " where he is anxious that his words shall receive diie attention, he eats the 

 " banana and the beetle and tells no one. He finds himself gifted with many 

 " words, every one hangs on his iitterance, his arguments are overwhelming, 

 " and no one knows that he has eaten the beetle." 



Probably there is something in this, as the possession of the beetle, and the 

 evident traditional belief in its powers, of themselves serve to give confidence 

 and help among reasoners. I have never heard of any such custom before 

 but possibly other entomologists may know of something analogoits to this. — 

 W. W. Fowler, Earley Vicarage, Reading: September 19th, 1910. 



A melanic form of Athous haemorrhoidalis from Dartmoor. — Diu'ing the past 

 summer Mrs. A. E. Holt-White, of Princetown, has been good enough to send 

 me several consignments of beetles which she had taken on Dartmoor. From 

 amongst them I have the pleasrure to record a melanic form of Athous hsemori-- 

 hoidalis, F. Unfortunately there was a single specunen of it only. On writing 

 to Mrs. Holt-White aliout the insect, she replied : " I remember the one I sent 

 perfectly .... I saw a similar one a day or two after, but being busy with 

 something else, I did not take it immediately, and when I looked for it later 

 there was no beetle to be found." My friend, Mr. E. A. Newbery, has seen the 

 insect, and tells me that the variety is unknown to him. He fiu'ther says that, 

 according to du Buysson, the type form of A. haemorrhoidalis is dark brown, 

 almost black ; the var. $ dark brown-black with sometimes a greenish reflec- 

 tion, and the elytra moi'e strongly punctate-striate. The Dartmoor specimen is 

 not punctvu-ed differently from the usual pale form It is black with the elytra 

 showing a tinge of pitchy coloiu- in certain lights ; the legs pitchy-black with 

 middle of tibiae slightly less dark, and terminal joint of tarsi ferruginous. — 

 J. H. Ket.s, 2, Freedom Park Villas, Plymouth. 



Further captures of Galerucclla fergussoni, Fowl. — The Rev. W. W. Fowler 

 (p. 228 ante) describes a new species of Galerucella taken this year by Mr. 

 Anderson Fergusson. There is, however, no mention of this insect having been 

 taken or recorded previously. In 1900 I took three specimens of this species 

 at Possil Marsh, and it is included in the list of Coleoptera compiled by Mr. 

 Fergusson for the " Flora and Fauna of the Clyde Area" in 1901. These were 

 identified for me at that time, through Mr. Fergusson, by the Rev. Alfred 

 Tliornley as dark varieties of Galerucclla nymphteae, and if my memory serves 

 me correctly, Mr. Thornley experienced considerable difficulty in placing the 

 insect. They now tm-n out to be the G. fergussoni the Rev. Mr. Fowler has 

 described. The other specimens I took at Milngavie, also named and recorded 



