Insecta. 103 



It has been found that in Cyprus a species of Eurytoma iß phytopha^ous. The 

 larrae feed in the kerneis of almonds, and pupate in them in early spring. i"he imago 

 appears to emerge in s])ring. There was one larva in each infested almond exarained. 

 The species seems to be closely-allied to one which is vtry iajurious to plums in S. Russia; 

 but many spp. of Eurytoma are parasitic in other insects, e. g. in weevil-larvae. 



H. Scott (Cambridge). 



258) Cliapmaii, T. A., The dentate raargin of the abdomen in Chrysis. In: Ent. 

 Mo. Mag., Bd. NXIV, Heft 8, S. 182—185, 1913. 



Certain species of Chrysis [Hymen optera tubuliferaj have marked tooth-like 

 projections on the hind-mar^in of the last visit)le abdominal segment. VVhen a tough 

 cocoon has to be pierced by the ovipositor, these projections niay possibly serve to steady 

 the abdomen by pressing down on the cocoon while the ovipositor is being thrust through 

 the latter. For example, Clirysis hidentnta does not oviposit tili the larva of the solitary- 

 wasp {Odynerus), on which it is parasitic, has spun its cocoon, and this species has the 

 dentate margin. On the other band. G. negkcta oviposits while the cell of the host ia 

 still unclosed by the pareiit wasp, and in it the dentate margin is absent. The dentate 

 margin is a specific, not a sexual, character: but it may have arisen through the 

 needs of oviposition and become transferred to the ; .^ex; just as in some weevils the '4 

 has a long rostrum very necessary for purposes of egg-laying, while the ," has an al- 

 most equally long rostrum for which there appears to be no special use. 



H. Scott (Cambridge). 



259) Griraiilt, A. A., A new gall-inhabiting Eulophid genus from Queens- 

 land, Australia. In: Entomologist, Bd 46, Heft 6, S. 177—8, 1913. 



Z(igrammoso)noides fasciatus^ a new genus and species of Eulophid Hymenoptera 

 Chalcidoidea, is described. It is a gall-inhabiting form, and appears to be a true gall- 

 forming Chalcid. The insects were bred — as many as 70 from a single gall — from 

 globular galls, between 1 and 2 cm in diameter, on a species of gum-tree. The pupae 

 were circularly disposed in a flat layer in the galls, which became punctured with the 

 numerous exit-holes at the time of emergence. H. Scott (Cambridge). 



260) Best Garduer C. C, Experiments on the capability of Ants to 

 withstancl drought and to recover from its effects when nearly 

 dead. In: Ent. Record and Journ. Variation, Bd. 25, Heft 3, S. 81 — 83, 1913. 



Ants were taken at random from healthy nests and placed singly in dry 

 upright open test-tubes out of which they could not climb. They were kept thus 

 tili almost dead, and then removed to a damp plaster nest containing food (ho- 

 ney), but containing no other ants which could assist them in their recovery. It 

 was found that they always remained apparently unchanged in the test-tubes 

 tili within 12 hours or less of the end, when they sank rapidly: likewise, when 

 removed to the damp nest, they remained for some time inert (in some cases as 

 long as two days) and then recovered rapidly. They were all more or less para- 

 lysed in the antennae, these organs being the last to recover: in soiue cases the 

 front legs and whole front portion of the body recovered much later than the 

 rest. A table is given showing the length of time spent by each ant in the dry 

 tube, the length of time occupied in recovering etc., and notes on individual 

 ants are added. H. Scott (Cambridge). 



261) Caesar, C. J., Die Stirnaugen der Ameisen. In: Zool. Jahrb., Anat., 

 Bd. 35, S. 161—242, mit 29 Fig. u. 4 Taf., 1912. 



Verf. hat sich vor allem die Frage vorgelegt, in welcher Weise sich die 

 Rückbildung der Ocellen bei den Ameisen vollzieht, und versucht dann durch 

 Feststellung der Faktoren, die die Rückbildung bedingen, etwas über die Funk- 

 tion der Ocellen zu erfahren. Über die Morphologie faßt er sich kurz, da sie im 

 wesentlichen mit der von Grenacher und Hesse für andere Hymenopteren ge- 

 gebenen übereinstimmt. Das Auge ist zweischichtig. Die Linse ist eine lokale 

 Verdickung der Cuticula. Sie wird gebildet durch die Glaskörperzellenschicht, 



