4 THK ENTOMOLOGIST S UKCORD. 



easily imagine a descendant of QncdinH iiH'soiiiclinuH as a regular ants'- 

 nest species. 



Microt/lossa (/cnfilis, Miirk. — Previous to last year I had only taken 

 this species at Oxshott, but it put in an appearance in the Woking 

 fi(li(ii)iosiis nest on March 19th, 1920 ; on May 30th it was common 

 together with its larvie. It was subsequently observed on June 20th, 

 1920, and June 6th and October 7tb, 1921. 



Sri/dinaeniis e.vilis, Er. — Harwood found this little beetle in a nest 

 of Foiviica tufa in the Limpsfield Woods near Westerham, in consider- 

 able numbers extending over a period of many weeks. On September 

 17th I had the pleasure of taking it with him in this nest. This 

 precludes the possibility of its being only a chance find ; moreover 

 J. J. F. X. King sent me several specimens taken on July 24th, 1916, 

 in a riifa nest at Bridge-of-Gairn, and Wasmann tells me he has it in 

 his collection, taken by the late Viehmeyer with the same ant in 

 Saxony. The beetle is often, and probably generally, found under 

 bark — I have taken it under such circumstances in Sherwood Forest — 

 but the above records show that at times it can, and does, lead a 

 myrmecophilous life. 



Chalcididae. 



Spalavf/ia enjthromera, Forst. — Having at last discovered the true 

 host of this Chalcid, it seems advisable to give a short account of both 

 how this was arrived at, and also its history as a British insect. 



On April 6th, 1906, T captured a specimen of this insect (which 

 had not previously been found in Britain) in a nest of A. {£).) 

 fiili(linnsiis at Wellington College. On the same date I took home a 

 number of the ants and their larva;, carton from the nest, and other 

 debris, which I fixed v;p in a large glass bowl to serve as an observa- 

 tion nest. In this bowl large numbers of the Spalatujia were reared 

 (the insect continuing to emerge all through the year) ; as well as 

 other parasitica ; Diptera including many i^lnjlloiiij/za lasiae ; etc. I 

 jumped to the conclusion, perhaps naturally, that as the Chalcid is 

 shining black like the ant with which it always occurs, and as the ants 

 treat them without hostility, even tapping antennae with them at times, 

 they were parasitic on the ant larv;i3 ; and there the matter rested. I 

 subsequently captured the species, always with the same ant, at 

 Darenth Wood, 26-vii-09 ; Oxshott, 9-ix-lB ; VVeybridge, 28-viii-14 ; 

 and Woking, 27-ix-20, 22-ix, and 7-X-21. 



On September 27th, 1920, I took home, from a fuliiiittosiifi nest at 

 Woking, a small quantity of carton, damp earth beneath it, refuse, 

 etc., which bad in it a number of fat Dipterous larvte, and various 

 species of Dipterous pupaj ; but neither ants, nor ant larvte. This I 

 fixed up in a small plaster nest. On December 10th a Spalani/ia put 

 in an appearance. I suggested that — " This however proves nothing, 

 as the Sjialaii;iio may leave its host before pupating, and have been 

 present as a pupfe in the debris " [Knt. Hec 33 28 (1921)] . It never- 

 theless made me suspicious, and I isolated some of the Dipterous 

 pupie in a small glass-topped box. On February 18th, 1921, a 

 S/'rtZrt»///a emerged from a pupa of Phylloinyza lasiae; thus settling 

 the question of the host. Two more specimens were reared from 



