272 tMay, 



summer, in latitude 70°, does not suffice for tlie development of many 

 Lepidoptera, but that two or more summers are required for the 

 purpose. 



If, therefore, more than one summer is needful for the develop- 

 ment of Lepidoptera, it appears to me even more certain that 

 Humble-bees must require more than one summer. "With us it is 

 only the fully developed females which survive from one year to the 

 next ; in spring they form the new nest, lay eggs, and bring up the 

 larvsB which develop into workers, and thus begin to contribute to the 

 support of the family, whence at last towards autumn males and 

 females are developed. It seems hardly credible that all this can 

 happen each sunmier in a similar way at Grrinnell Land, in latitude 

 82°, especially as there the supply of food must be less than with us. 

 Hence, the development of a colony of Humble-bees must there be 

 something quite different. 



Were it not satisfactorily established that Humble-bees do occur 

 in such high latitudes, one might, from our knowledge of their mode 

 of life, be disposed to maintain that under such conditions they could 

 not live. 



They seem, however, to have one advantage over their more 

 Southern brethren. In the Arctic regions they do not seem to be 

 troubled with parasites, such as Conops, Mutilla, which help to 

 diminish their numbers in other countries. 



JEntomology and Medical Jurisprudence. — Our correspondent, M. Lichtenstein, 

 sends us a paper under the title " Un nouveau cas d'application de I'Entomologie a 

 la Medicine legale," extracted from the " Montpellier Medical " for February, 1885, 

 from which we make the following notes : — 



When pulling down an old house at Montpellier, the workmen discovered the 

 mummified remains of a new-born infant concealed under the flooring. An enquiry 

 was held on the remains, which (owing to their condition) mainly resolved itself 

 into a question as to how long a period had elapsed since they were deposited. As 

 insect remains were present, M. Lichtenstein was asked to report as an " expert." 

 He found in the linen in which the body was wrapped numerous empty pupae of 

 JDiptera, numerous " runs " of Lepidopterous larvae, which he considered the work 

 oi Aglossa innguinalis, and remains oi Anthrenus. On the body itself were debris 

 of Ptintis and the cast skins of Acari. But nothing whatever in a living state. In 

 taking into consideration the nature of the insect remains {Ptinus, Anthrenus, and 

 Aglossa, in which latter case reference is made to the late Mr, Buckler's paper in 

 the No. of this Magazine for Febrviary, 1884), M. Lichtenstein arrived at the con- 

 clusions that four or more years must have elapsed since the body was deposited 

 where it was found, and (from the Dipterous pupae) that it must have previously 

 been exposed to the air for some time. — Eds. 



