300 



FSrCHE. 



\ April— June 1885. 



whicli lie li;ui made in northoni Smalaiul ol'-ix 

 clirvsalids of Lycaiiia {irons L. undei' Ihe 

 baik of a spruce which was inhabited bv /.rt- 

 aiiif iiiffer. The chi vsalids were found in the 

 cavities made and frequented bv the ants and 

 had envelops of an uncommon tenuity and 

 transparency. As it is difficult to attribute 

 the presence of these chrysalids in the colo- 

 ny of ants to any fortuitous circuiiistance. it 

 is likely that it has some connection with the 

 secretion of a sugary moisture which has 

 already been observed in some larvae of !y- 

 cacnidae. Miskin reports that the larva of 

 Og^r's genoviiva, a large lycaenid from Aus- 

 tralia, is entertained and taken care of by ants 

 in the same way as are the aphides in our own 

 country. An identical fact has also been 

 shown in North America. It is also probable 

 that, as a recompense for this sugary liquid, 

 the ants lodge the larvae o( Lycaenaargus'L,. 

 during tlieir pupal state when they have their 

 principal need for protection." 



Aphis nect.\r and honey. The nectar 

 secretion from aphides is a well-known pro- 

 duct. In many cases, however, notably the 

 larch plant-louse, the lice so mimic the 

 twigs on which they rest, that their pres- 

 ence is hard to detect, especially as the lice 

 are often confined to the upper branches of 

 the trees. Often this nectar is secreted so 

 abundantly, that the leaves, and the grass 

 .beneath the trees, are covered at early morn- 

 ing by drops so large that it'is easy to collect 

 a considerable quantity of the nectar. Suffi- 

 cient of this nectar can be secured directly 

 from the larch lice and the elm cocks-comb 

 gall lice to test it. Bees are also known to 

 gather it in large quantities. This Aphis 

 nectar is very pleasant and wholesome, and 

 unquestionably forms at times no inconsider- 

 able portion of our most beautiful honey. 

 .Such honey is light-colored, pleasing to the 

 taste, and perfectly safe as a winter food for 

 the bees. The truth of this statement is 

 sustained by the fact that the bees work 

 freely on such nectar, even though the 

 flowers are yielding abundant nectar at the 

 same time. The bees themselves practi- 



cally proclaim the excellence of this Apl.is 

 nectar. — Science, 23 Jan. 1SS5, v. 5, p. 82. 



Habits of spiders. The following note 

 is extracted from a partial translation [Rec. 

 3S25] of Dahl's "Beitrage zur biologic der 

 spinnen" (Zool. anzeiger, 3 Nov. 1884, jahrg. 

 7, p. 591-595), as it appears in the Annals and 

 magazine of natural kistory for Jan. 1SS5. 



" It has often been asserted that the geo- 

 metrical spiders do not repair old webs. This, 

 however, is true only in a limited sense. The 

 outer framework and some of the radii which 

 have become nearly free from transverse 

 threads are probably always used again by 

 Zilla x-notata and others. The rest is gath- 

 ered up, worked into a ball with the mouth 

 and thrown away. If the spider removes a 

 lifeless object from the web, and damages the 

 latter in so doing, it certainly sometimes re- 

 produces the destroyed portion of the frame- 

 work, the radii, and the central shelter. If 

 we interrupt a spider in the formation of its 

 web, by tenring aw.iy a portion of it with the 

 corresponding part of the outer framework, 

 all will be completed up to the part that has 

 remained uninjured. In this case the comple- 

 tion of the framework is especially interest- 

 ing, as this unaccustomed work is not usually 

 successfully pertormed at once. Here we see 

 very distinctly how reflection comes into play. 

 I was still better able to ascertain reflection, 

 or, what is the same thing, actual inference, 

 in the case of At/ns arciia/its Bl., when I of- 

 fered it flies touched with oil of turpentine. 

 Sometimes the spider despised the species of 

 fly employed (//o///rt/o/«i7'rt canicnlaris, L..), 

 whilst it attacked other insects (e. g. Chiro- 

 nomus tendcns, Fab.) just as before. Thi.s 

 spider also draws similar conclusions in those 

 cases in which it cannot overcome insects in 

 consequence of their chitinous armor being 

 too hard. These it usually attacks only once, 

 and is then for a long time forewarned. Dan- 

 gerous insects, however, such as small bees, 

 it avoids, without having seen their sting. 

 Here therefore we have an instinctive dread. 

 Bee-like flies are equally dreaded." 



129.131 were issued 4 Aug. 1SS5. 



