352 



PSYCHE. 



[October— December iSSj. 



curving in zigzag, and not three concentric 

 semicircles, from which peculiarity the author 

 has given the insect the generic name Gyro- 

 s/ig^ma. The entire larva, the mouth-parts, 

 and posterior stigmata of G. siimairensis, the 

 new species in question, are figured. 



PoSTLKE OF NEVVXY EMERGED BUTTER- 

 FLIES. — Mr. Joseph Anderson called atten- 

 tion, several years ago, in the Entomologist, 

 to "a singular habit of Afatura iris upon 

 emerging from the puparium, — to wit, its 

 clinging to the empty case with the head 

 uppennost for five or six hours, and then 

 reversing the position (still keeping hold of 

 the chrysalis) and remaining with head down 

 and wings upward for a similar time." Since 

 that time Mr. Anderson has learned from Mr. 

 F. N. Pierce, of Liverpool, that Vanessa 

 polychloros has a similar habit, except that 

 it leaves the pupal case and clings to a 

 branch. In a note in the Entomologist for 

 September 1SS5 (v. iS, p. 241-242), Mr. An- 

 derson asks the reason for this curious habit 

 of two butterflies, which thus differ in habit 

 from Vanessa io, V. urticac, V. cardui, and 

 Erebia medea. 



Erosion of glass. — Under this title 

 William M. Ord communicates to Nature, 19 

 Feb. 1SS5, V. 31, p. 360, the results of some 

 experiments upon the erosion of glass by 

 alkalies in connection with colloid substances. 

 These experiments were undertaken with 

 especial reference to the question of how 

 "white-ant mud" was capable of eroding glass. 

 Mr. Ord thinks that "the white-ant mud must 

 consist of a mixture of some colloid with car- 

 bonate of lime or some other salt capable of 

 taking spherical form." In conclusion he 

 adds, as a result of his experiments, "It suf- 

 fices, at the moment, to indicate that the sur- 

 face of a glass slide may be eroded in a way 

 to suggest the action of an acid, such as hy- 

 drofluoric acid, when no free acid is present; 

 and that erosion may occur when the glass is 

 brought in contact with alkaline fluid, a col- 

 loid, and crystalline substances capable of 



assuming, in the presence of a colloid, sphe- 

 roidal form." 



EUBAMIS TITYRVS FLYING AT NIGHT. — 



On the evening of 5 Aug. 1SS5. at gh. 30m., 

 I removed a mosquito netting from a window 

 near which I was sitting, to close the window 

 for the night, when a butterfly flew in. It 

 fluttered very little in the room, and suppos- 

 ing it to be a moth I paid no particular atten- 

 tion to it at the moment. About ten minutes 

 later, however, happening to approach the 

 gas chandelier, I saw the butterfly suspended 

 to one of the screws holding a glass globe 

 around one of the gas-jets. It was stationary, 

 but frequently uncoiled its tongue so that 

 only the tip remained between the palpi, and 

 then slightly coiled and uncoiled it so as to 

 rub the tip between the palpi. It would sud- 

 denly coil the tongue up completely, and 

 then soon resume the former motion. Upon 

 my attempting to capture it, after watching 

 it some time, it uncoiled the tongue so as to 

 free the tip completely from the palpi, and 

 then beat against the globe as a moth would 

 to get at the flame. Finally it got inside the 

 globe and scorched its wings and fell to the 

 floor, but fluttered frantically when I tried to 

 pick it up. It proved to be Endamiis tityrus, 

 and is sent herewith.— 5; Pickman Mann^ at 

 meeting of C. E. C. 11 Dec. 1SS5. 



Parasites ne.matods. — M. Henri Gadeau 

 de Kerville, at the meeting of the Soci^te en- 

 tomologique de France, 9 Sept. 1SS5, report- 

 ed the finding of three species of nematods 

 in arthropods, which are interesting additions 

 to the lists of arthropods in which parasitic 

 vermes have been found. The species of ne- 

 matods were determined by A. Villot, of 

 Grenoble, as follows : Gordiiis emarginatus 

 Villot, of which the determination is doubtful 

 because the caudal extremity of the specimen 

 was partly liidden in tlie digestive tube of a 

 Lithobius forficatiis, its host, from which M. 

 Villot did not wish to completely extract 

 the worm ; Mermis acuminata Siebold, from 

 a larva of Vpsipctcs sordiduta Fab. ; and 



