142 [November, 



winged Psocidcs, ordinarily very common in autumn, especially in houses. Mr. Hart 

 is no doubt correct in supposing they feed upon mildew ; probably they also attack 

 ordinary dust and debris, such as that which collects in corners anywhere. — 

 R. McLachlan.] 



The red clover and hive bees. — "The bee has been forbidden the honey of the 

 red clover, as a punishment for not keeping Sunday " — an interesting item of popular 

 Natural History among the peasantry of Mecklenburg, which I find recorded in 

 the recent work of Prof. C. Bartsch, " Sagen, &c., aus Mecklenburg." 



This belief probably rests on the observed fact that the proboscis of the bee is 

 too short to reach down to the honey of the red clover; nevertheless, they get at itt 

 by gnawing a hole through the side of the florets. (See Herman Miiller, Befruch- • 

 tung d. Blumen durch Insecten, 1873, p. 224). — C. R. Osten-Sackbn, Heidelberg: 

 October, 1880. 



A swarm of flies. — Under this heading the " Shipping and Mercantile Gazette," 

 of September 8th, has the following account : — 



"The Master of the schooner 'Topsy' informs us that at 10 a.m., on Thursday, 

 the 2nd inst., while on a passage from Grimsby to London, the ' Topsy ' became 

 swarmed with flies, so thick were they that the people on board were unable to 

 remain on deck for five hours ; there were millions upon millions of flies. The air 

 became clear about 4 p.m., when the flies were thrown overboard by shovels-full, 

 and the remainder were washed off the decks by buckets of water and brooms." 



I have seen the Master of the "Topsy" and he informs me that there is not the 

 least exaggeration in this statement ; and that although he has been in many parts 

 of the world he never witnessed such a scene before. The vessel, at the time, was 

 sailing along the Norfolk coast, about a cable's length from the shore ; the air was 

 obscured by the flies, as by a cloud, and they fell as thickly as snow-flakes, closely 

 covering the rigging as well as the deck. He gave me some of the flies which I 

 forwarded to Mr. R. H. Meade of Bradford, who has obligingly sent the following 

 note respecting them : — 



"The little flies are all females of Dilophus vulgaris (spinatus, Wlk.), one of 

 the Bibionidce (Nemocera). This common little fly ("in profusion everywhere, 

 most so on sand-hills," Hal.*) sometimes appears in immense numbers or masses, in 

 which the members of one sex usually greatly predominate over those of the other. 

 Some of the species of Bibio, to which Dilophus is closely allied, have the same 

 habit ; very little is known of their life-history. The larvee of the species of Bibio 

 are said to feed at the roots of grass, and Zetterstedt says that he has found the 

 larvae and pupse of Dilophus vulgaris in the stems of grass. 



" The occurrence of this cloud of flies at sea is very curious and interesting.. 

 Were these females seeking some fresh pasture in which to deposit their eggs?" — JJ 

 W. Douglas, 8, Beaufort Gardens, Lewisham : September loth, 1880. 



The Transactions of the Yorkshire Naturalists' Union : Parts i — iii. 

 London : W. Satchell & Co. ; Leeds : Taylor Bros. 1878—80, 8vo. 



Most of our readers are familiar with the "Naturalist," the monthly journal of 

 the above-mentioned " Union." Latterly the body has also issued a more pretentious 

 publication in the form of " Transactions," three parts of which are before us. 

 * Wlk., Ins. Brit,, Vol. iii, p. 140. 



