44 THE VICTORIAN NATURALIST. 



It is interesting also to notice, for the first time in the southern 

 latitudes, the presence of pathogenic bacteria. A black spot on 

 the leaf of the Kerguelen Island Cabbage is caused by minute rod- 

 like bacteria, and my friend Dr. Cherry, of the Melbourne 

 University, is making cultures of them. In addition to the 

 bacteria, the total number of species of fungi at present known is 

 therefore fourteen. 



Note on Diamma bicolor. — Who that has ever walked over the 

 sandy wastes of Oakleigh, Caulfield, Cheltenham, &c., has not 

 noticed the large metallic-blue or green-coloured bulldog ant. 

 In Caulfield especially it was formerly very plentiful, but whether 

 or not it is so now I cannot say, as that is a locality I very 

 seldom visit, and moreover, a good deal of the sheltering heath 

 has disappeared since the days when I and others considered it a 

 first-class collecting ground for many varieties of insects. No 

 doubt, however, it is still to be found there, and anyone who has 

 observed it will almost certainly have been struck by its pug- 

 nacity, for it is not one of those insects that will submit to capture 

 without a struggle, and consequently a pair of nippers will be 

 found very useful in securing it. This insect belongs to the 

 Hymenopterous or Wasp order, and is the wingless female of the 

 scientifically named Diamma bicolor, of the family Mutillidse. It 

 is a solitary form — that is, it lives by itself in burrows made in the 

 sand, and not in large communities as do so many of the ants. 

 But my principal object in drawing attention to this insect is to 

 record the capture of a male by an old and present member of 

 the Club, Mr. J. E. Dixon. I have come across hundreds of the 

 females, but this is the first time I have ever seen a male, and 

 although it may not be so to some of our members, it is certainly 

 a novelty to me. Not that in itself it differs to any material 

 extent from some others of the family, but I look upon it as 

 strange that after all the years I have been collecting I have 

 never before seen one. It is, as you may notice by the specimen 

 on the table, winged, and in size is in marked contrast to the 

 females, which are from twice to three times as large. The 

 colour is of a metallic black, the antennae about one-third to a 

 quarter of the length of the insect, and the segments of the body 

 are edged with cream-coloured bands. Perhaps some of the 

 members present may be able to supplement the little infor- 

 mation I am able to give of the life-history of this insect. — D. 

 Best. 13th June, 1898. 



