234 THE ENTOMOLOGIST. 



Thursday evening. I never before knew this species out 

 quite so early. — Henry Douhleday ; Epping, Fehruary, 

 1869. 



Cimbex conuata, a new BiHish Hymen opier on of the 

 Family Tenthredinidie. — M. Van Vollenhoven has lately been 

 engaged in studying the Dutch species of the genus Cimbex, 

 and his labours will almost immediately appear in the ' Zoo- 

 logist,' translated with his usual care and skill by Mr. May\ 

 M. Van Vollenhoven appears to find that two larva?, differing 

 essentially in food and general characters, produce perfect 

 insects almost exactly similar ; thus the present species, C. 

 connata, feeds exclusively on Alnus glulinosa (the alder), 

 while its twin species, C. Saliceti, confines itself entirely to 

 the willow : the similarity between the perfect insects is 

 marvellous, but still, when once recognized as species, the 

 slight differences will be found to be constant : thus Connata 

 invariably has the two basal segments of the abdomen brown, 

 and a median spot on the third segment of the same colour, 

 while Saliceti has the entire abdomen luteous. This cha- 

 racter taken alone would be quite insuflBcient to differentiate 

 species in this genus, yet, combined with a knowledge of the 

 two larvK, it may serve to assist the inquirer. — Edward 

 Newman. 



American Ants. — In some regions, where the ground is 

 strewn with brilliant grains delached from the crystallized 

 rocks, a curious fact has been observed — the ants' nests are 

 filled with these grains ; we quote on this subject the fol- 

 lowing passage from an account of a well-known explorer, 

 M. Jules Marcou : — "There exists on the high plateaux of 

 the Rocky Mountains a species of ant which, instead of using 

 wood and remains of vegetables to build its house, employs 

 only small stones of the size of a grain of maize. Its instinct 

 teaches it to choose the most brilliant pieces, and the nest is 

 often filled with magnificent garnets and grains of very clear 

 quartz." — From ' Volcanoes and Earthquakes,^ by MM. 

 ZurcJier and Margolle, p, 164 (Bentley, London, 1868). 



Melasis huprestoides, ^c. — I met with a fine male speci- 

 men of the above beetle, in the forest near Woodford, on the 

 'SOth of last June ; it occurred in a spider's web on the trunk 

 of a tree. Among the wood- and fungus-feeders I have 

 taken in the forest I may enumerate the following : • — Near 



