18G THE ENTOMOLOGIST. 



the Latter paper in the raonograph referred to above. Another 

 paper on the scorpion-flies of very general interest is one by 

 E.P. Felt, D.Sc. (Report of New York State Entomologist, 1894, 

 X. 96), in which he gives a full account of the habits and life- 

 history of a North American species, Panorpa rufcscens. 



Though these writers are able to tell us something about the 

 curious insects under consideration, still we know really very 

 little about them, and entomologists who observe any points in 

 connection with their economy should record them whether they 

 study the Neuroptera or not. It seems clear that the larvse are 

 carnivorous, and as they are subterraneous they probably live on 

 larvae, worms, and so on. Whether they are predaceous, in 

 the true sense of the word, we would like to know. It is 

 perhaps established that in the imago stage they suck the juices 

 of dead or injured animals, but do not hunt them down them- 

 selves. 



Prof. E. B. Poulton, in his paper "Predaceous Insects and 

 their Prey" (Trans. Ent. Soc. Lond. 1906), gives five instances 

 of scorpion-flies with their prey : P. meridionalis surrounding 

 and sucking a dead worm ; P. communis with a Telephorid beetle ; 

 and three cases of P. germanica* one with an Empid fly, and two 

 each with a Bibionid fly. The P. meridionalis were clearly feed- 

 ing on dead prey ; as regards the others no inference may be 

 drawn. Only once have I myself come across a scorpion-fly with 

 its prey. On June 14th, 1908, near Oxshott, Surrey, one had 

 possession of what appeared to be a whitish grub, which it 

 seemed to be sucking. On my attempting to make a capture 

 both dropped and could not be found. These insects always 

 seem sensitive of one's approach, and often drop in this way. 

 If followed, they usually dive into the matted herbage on 

 the soil. 



When handled, scorpion-flies eject a dark brown fluid and 

 emit a somewhat offensive smell, the former perhaps being the 

 cause of the latter. As further weapons of ofi'ence they possess 

 the scopion-like forceps at the extremity of the abdomen, with 

 which they are able to give a very effective nip. 



As regards distribution, we again have very incomplete 

 evidence, though probably P. germanica and P. communis are 

 universal and common, while P. cognata is equally scarce. My 

 own casual records, with dates, follow : — 



P. COMMUNIS. — May 2nd, 1903, one male, Hurst Hill, New 

 Forest ; May 27th, 1903, a specimen with markings reduced, 

 Horsley, Surrey; June 1st, 1901, Byfleet Canal, Surrey; June 

 7th, 1903, June 5th and 12th, 1910, Oxshott district, Surrey ; 

 June 6th, 1903, Horsley ; June 19th, 1909, between Ashtead and 



■''■ Fig. dd in the Plate accompanying this note represents one of these, 

 its prey being Emjpis tessellata. 



