1907-] Records of the Indian Museum. 83 



obained some larvae from fresh water and placed them in water 

 from the Port Canning pools : they died within a few hours. 



G. C. Chatter J EE. 



Mosquitoes from Kumaon. — Mosquitoes are very abundant in 

 the lower parts of Kumaon at the end of September ; during a 

 visit to Bhim Tal (4,500 ft.) at that time of year the following 

 species were collected : Anopheles Undesayi (Giles), Toxorhynchitcs 

 imniisericors (Walker), and Stegomyia scutellaris (Walker). (The 

 last = Culex albopictus, Skuse.) All these were abundant, especially 

 the first and the last. The Anopheles and the Stegomyia were 

 breeding in water-butts by the side of European houses, and the 

 latter also in cavities in jungle trees which had become full of 

 rain-water. 



N. Annandale. 



OLIGOCH^TE WORMS. 



Peculiar habit of an Earthworm. — In the jungle at Bhim 

 T^al I was surprised to find that hollows in trees which had become 

 filled with dead leaves and rain-water, contained enormous numbers 

 of small earthworms, all belonging to the same species. Dr. W. 

 Micheelsen, of Hamburg, has kindly examined specimens and says 

 that they belong to the genus Perionyx and probably to the widely 

 distributed species P. excavatus. All the specimens sent him proved 

 to be immature, and although I made a careful search for indivi- 

 duals with the clitellum developed, I could not find any. The 

 specific identification, therefore, is a little uncertain. The worms 

 lay at the edge of the cavities, with the posterior half of the body 

 sunk in the water and the anterior half closely applied to the wood ; 

 when touched they retreated among the dead leaves below the water. 

 They occurred in large masses, which, owing to their bright coral- 

 red coloiu: and apparently filamentous structure, I mistook at first 

 sight for fungi. I noticed that on a wet day the worms left 

 the cavities and crawled about on the tree-trunks. Apparently 

 they did so also at night, for I found many of them on the trunks 

 early in the morning, while others were observed at this time of 

 day crawling across paths and even roads. Those which were 

 caught by the sun in such positions were killed, and almost every 

 morning dead individuals, which apparently had perished because 

 they had not reached a damp situation early enough, could be 

 found on the exposed road surrounding the lake. I have noticed 

 in the Malay Peninsula that certain species of Scorpion are subject 

 to the same danger. 



Together with the worm, I took in the tree-hollows numerous 

 larvae of the Mosquito Stegomyia scutellaris and of a beetle (probably 

 an Elaterid), while I observed a handsome Tipulid, which Mr. 

 E. Brunetti has identified as Pselliophora chrysophila (Walker), 

 laying its eggs on the wood at the edge. 



N. Annandai£. 



