t)0 THE VICTORIAN NATURALIST. 



insects in the Plenty Ranges, about twenty miles from Melbourne, 

 and in the burning heat of midday sun had sat down to rest and 

 pin my captures under the shade of a thick acacia tree. I was 

 astonished, and almost startled, at a peculiar sound, apparently 

 very near me, which was unlike anything I had ever heard, and 

 which I at first thought was the voice of some unfamiliar bird. 

 I listened attentively, looking in the direction of the noise, but 

 could see nothing. I took up my net and walked up the opening 

 in the woods, the sound still continuing, and greatly exciting my 

 curiosity. It was very loud and distinct, and not unlike ' Whiz 

 whiz ' repeated by the mouth with the teeth closed. I had 

 proceeded about thirty yards when the noise suddenly stopped. 

 I sat down and waited, thinking that I should again hear it and 

 be able to trace it to its source. I was not disappointed, for in a 

 few minutes it again appeared, and this time quite close to me. 

 I looked very carefully, and in an opening, buzzing about with a 

 swaying lateral motion, were two or three insects, which, at first 

 sight, 1 took to be some species of Hymenoptera. I gave a 

 sweep with my net and made a capture, which was soon safe 

 within my collecting bottle. My heart beat violently, as I found 

 that I had taken a lovely black and orange moth such as I had 

 never before seen. The structure by which the insect is enabled 

 to produce the singular and striking sound is the thickening of 

 the costral membrane about the apical third, behind which and 

 nearer to the centre of the wing is a rather broad vitreous space 

 extending almost to the median nerve, this space being trans- 

 versely libbed, as are the bundles of eggs in some species of 

 orthoptera. The antennae are thickened at the tips into a sort of 

 prolonged club, pointed at the extreme end, and with the under 

 side of the terminal joints horny and devoid of cilia. These 

 striking as they would do in flight at the will of the insect against 

 the tranverse ribs of the transparent space cause the whizzing and 

 characteristic sound that so attracted me, and which is doubtless 

 intended as a call of love to the individual of the weaker sex, who 

 sits enthroned in the branches listening with delight to the noisy 

 homage of her many lovers." Strange to relate, as H. Edwards 

 has pointed out, the geographical distribution of the species of 

 this genus is peculiar. Of the five recorded species, four are 

 Australian and one inhabits Mexico. — Queenslander, Brisbane. 



We are requested by Dr. Macgillivray to state that Miss E. C. 

 Jelly (author of "Synonymic Catalogue of Marine Bryozoa") is 

 anxious to dispose of her collection of specimens of Polyzoa. 

 Miss Jelly wishes to sell her specimens in sets of 100 slides each 

 — recent and fossil mixed — the price of each set being five guineas 

 (cost of carriage to Australia paid). Some members of the Club 

 may be glad to avail themselves of this opportunity of securing 

 excellent specimens of Polyzoa. 



