, 1880. 161 



look for in diurnal insects. D. pandurus in Yokohama comes freely 

 [to sugar, and is well-known to Lepidopterists there, as a nocturnal 

 species, but of D. rugipennis I have five examples taken at sap at five 

 b'clock in the afternoon, and I have more than once taken it crossing 

 my path while the sun was well over the horizon. 



In a wingless genus, such as the present, it is likely that some of 

 the larger islands may possess species peculiarly their own, and per- 

 haps D. Fortunei is one of these ; but in this case I should not look 

 for any abnormal variety, but a species closely allied to that of the 

 Jadjacent land. There is no record at present, I believe, of two species 

 inhabiting the same district. 



I add a brief description of the new species above referred to : — 



Damaster viridipeknts, sp. n. 

 D. Fortunei proxime affinis, capite thoraceque late purpureo-cupreis, 

 Yelytris rugoso-punctatis. sub-viridibus. 



Hab. : North Nipon. Long, corp., 16 — 18 lin. 



Of the same facies as D. pandurus and Fortunei, the head and thorax are of a 



rrich coppery-red, the latter, with transverse striae, has a very distinct smooth medial 



lline. The elytra are in colour an obscure green on the disc, gradually brightening 



; towards the base, the margins being quite metallic. The sculpture and punctuation 



lof the wing-cases are after the pattern of D. rugipennis, but the punctures are not 



[quite so deep, and the longitudinal striaB are always more or less visible. The colour 



of the head and thorax is slightly communicated to the under surface of the whole 



pbody. The <$ , like D. Fortunei and rugipennis, has the tarsi perceptibly dilated. 



Awomori, Japan : 



September 6th, 1880. 



Habits of Bombylius. — The following notice is an important addition to the 

 ■'little we know on the habits of Bombylius. It is extracted from an article entitled : 

 ■'"The locust scourge," by J. Gr. Lemmon, contained in the San Francisco Weekly 

 iBulletin, of September 15th, 1880. 



"Another enemy (of the grasshopper) which has proved very destructive in 



I Sierra Yalley is the larva of an insect whose full grown form was unknown until this 



I spring. It seeks out a nest of eggs, eats the contents of the whole nest (24 to 32 



I eggs) one by one, pushes the shells aside, while his own body, big and fat with the 



| i feast, fills the whole case, in which condition he curls up and enters upon his long 



p. winter nap. This dormant stage lasts till spring, during which time the grub is 



► .about half-an-inch long and one-fifth thick, being largest in the middle, and tapering 



\ slightly towards its head and tail. In this state several specimens, at different 



'times, have been sent to Prof. Eiley in Washington, but he failed to perfect them in 



i his vivarium. However, the question has been solved this spring in Sierra Yalley. 



i Some earth, with an ascertained number of this larva therein, was carefully watched 



■ under glass. In July, a beautiful little velvet-bodied fly, a species of Bombylius, 



appeared, having a long black beak, with which it sucks nectar from flowers, &c." — 



C. R. Osten-Sacken, Florence : November 16th, 1880. 



