NOTES. 71 



11. Note on the Habitat of " Ramcia iiiepta," Annandale.- When 

 I found the larvae last year which have been described by 

 Dr. Annandale as Bamcia inepta* they were in the marsh, always 

 associated with a red flocculent matter made up of vegetable debris, 

 a few diatoms, and a closterium in large numbers. The larvae were 

 sluggish compared to those of Culex, but when they did move they 

 moved with a quick jerking motion. The pupae were markedly 

 sluggish, and stayed at the surface of the water, and were to all 

 appearances dead. From the numbers I found on the first occasion 

 I should think the fly is not rare. I regret I did not at that time 

 collect more material, but not being an entomologist I was not 

 aware that the larvae, though they struck me as unlike anything 

 I knew, were unusual. A. J. MacDOUGALL. 



12. Note on a Web-spinning Psocid. — Web- or silk-spinning by 

 larval insects is of very common occurrence, and is employed by 

 representatives of at least five of the nine main orders of insects. 

 The cocoons ol Lepidoptera and Hymenopter a are instances in pomt. 

 But the power of producing silken webs is extremely rare amongst 

 adult winged insects, and appears to be confined to certain species 

 of the lower and more archaic families of the order Neuroptera. 

 The Embiidce, for instance, are provided with spinning organs on 

 the front feet, and construct silken galleries in moss and under 

 stones. Another family in which this phenomenon occurs is 

 the Psocidce — minute soft-bodied (often apterous) insects, certain 

 species of which are known as " book- lice." Some species of 

 Psocidce construct silken coverings for their eggs, others live in 

 colonies beneath a more or less elaborate web , which might easily be 

 mistaken for the work of a spider. The accompanying photograph 

 (for which I am indebted to Major C. H. Ward) represents part of an 

 orange tree in the Royal Botanic Gardens, every branch of which 

 has been profusely covered with a fine and intricate web of this 

 nature. The character of the web is strongly suggestive of a snare, 

 but I have been unable to find any proof of this in the form of 

 captured insects upon which the Psocids might be feeding. It is 

 more probably constructed for protection, though it does not appear 

 to be completely effective for this purpose, as I have found the webs 

 frequented by a small predatory Hemipteron {Ploiariola polita), 

 which appears to be preying upon the Psocids. f 



Mr. J. C. F. Fryer has been studying the habits of this insect, and 

 finds that the silk is produced by individuals of all stages of growth. 



* N. Annandale : "A New Genus of Short-beaked Gnats from Ceylon." — 

 Spolia Zeylanica, Vol. VII., Part XXVIII., p. 187. 



In addition to the Reduviid, the Psoeus insects are attacked and preyed 

 upon by the orange-red larvae of a species of Thrips. 



