into November. The eggs are laid in the catkins in a hole easily 

 distinguishable from that due to feeding because the female secretes 

 a yellowish, syrup-hke fluid which gradually hardens and assumes the 

 colour of honey. Sometimes the eggs are deposited in the galls of 

 Eriophyes avellanae, Pag. The adults do not seem to survive the 

 year in which they have appeared. The egg hatches in 8-9 days in 

 September and in 10-11 days at the end of October and early in 

 November. The larva develops in from 15 to 20 days at the end of 

 summer and beginning of autumn ; pollen forms the principal part of 

 its food. When mature, the larva bores its way out of the catkin and 

 drops to the ground, into which it burrows to a depth of 4-12 inches, 

 and constructs an oval earthern cell. In autumn it requires about 

 two months to transform into a pupa, so that pupae are to be found in 

 the cells in mid-December, though some larvae are still present 

 imdergrown early in March. At Portici an occasional adult was found 

 in a cell as early as 30th December. In the case of individuals 

 developing in the galls of Eriophyes the larval stage may be shortened 

 in February and March owing to an increase of temperature. The 

 pupal stage lasts only about a fortnight. 



The chief injury done by C. ruber in 1914-1917 was to the young 

 nuts, as even a single puncture causes them to wither. A Thomisid 

 spider, Xisticus lanio, Koch, has been seen preying on the weevils, but 

 is not of practical importance. The only Hymenopterous parasite 

 observed was a new Ichneumonid, Thersilochus coeliodicola, sp. n., 

 of which a description is given. It oviposits in the larva in the catkin. 

 The parasitic larva then feeds on the host while the latter is in its 

 earthern cell, within which it constructs its own cocoon, the adult 

 apparently emerging the same autumn. 



The only useful and practical method of combating C. ruber is the 

 collection of the adults by shaking the branches in the morning during 

 the first half of May. The best sheet for the purpose measures about 

 2 yards by 1 yard, each of the longer sides being fastened to a stick. By 

 means of these sticks the sheet can easily be stretched sufficiently to 

 form a shallow gutter in which the beetles collect and which allows 

 of their being easily poured into a sack. Collection would also reduce 

 infestation by Balaninus nucum, L. (hazelnut borer). If neglected in 

 May, collecting may be done late in September or early in October. 



Froggatt (W. W.). The Destruction of Bird Life in Australia. — 



Separate from Australian Zoologist, Sydney, i, part 4, 8th October 

 1917, pp. 75-79. 



The author, in discussing the cause of the destruction of Australian 

 native birds, points out that the poison-baits used for rabbit 

 extermination have not been the cause of the decrease in their numbers^ 

 as many writers have suggested, but that natural causes have been now^ 

 as in the past, working to that end. The arrival of settlers, bringing 

 the domestic cat, the progress of civilisation, entaihng the clearing of 

 forest land, etc., and the introduction of foreign birds, have all 

 contributed to the diminution of native bird life. On the other hand 

 the multiplication and extension of bird life in Australia is regulated 

 by the conservation of water, and as the pioneer settlers move towards 



