374 ' THE ENTOMOLOGIST. 
Parasite of the Tortoise.—Nothing is more common than 
to find a tick, about as large as a dog-tick, on a tortoise in a 
garden; sometimes as many as a dozen on a single tortoise. 
They attach themselves to the loose but very tough skin at 
the base of the legs of the tortoise. The scientific name is 
Ixodes Gervaisii. The name of Ixodes Testudinis has been 
given for this tick; but it is nowhere described by that 
specific name. 
Parasitic Acarus on Crane-flies—The minute mites 
attached to the crane-fly, which A. D. has sent, are the 
Ocypete rubra of Leach, described by that eminent entomo- 
logist in the eleventh volume of the ‘Transactions of the 
Linnean Society.’ Dr. Leach observes that “this little 
animal, which is not larger than a grain of sand, is parasitic, 
and is frequently to be found on the largest tipuladous insects 
adhering to their legs. No less than sixteen specimens have 
been obtained from one insect.” He describes it as having 
“six legs; colour red; back with a few long hairs; the legs 
with many short hairs of a rufous ash-colour; eyes black- 
brown.” I have frequently observed mites, which I presume 
to be of the same genus, clinging to the bodies of butterflies, 
Melanagria Galathea and Epinephele Janira more parti- 
cularly. I shall be obliged for any further observations on 
this subject. 
Bombyx processionea in Dorsetshire.—In ‘ Science Gossip’ 
for August Ist I find the following paragraph :—“I1 beg to 
inform you that these caterpillars (Bombyx processionea) 
have made periodical visits to my garden for the last dozen 
or fourteen years. The first year they appeared we caused 
our servant to catch them; and, being all of us ignorant of 
their urticating nature, the boy suffered as your correspondent 
describes. Since that time we have destroyed many, but 
have taken care never to touch them. I have heard of clothes, 
dried near the trees on which the caterpillars were, becoming 
poisonous. The processionaries are very numerous, although 
I have never had the luck to see a procession. With us they 
devour oak, elm, hornbeam, and even laurel.—Judia Colson ; 
Swanage, Dorset.” ‘There are many things in this difficult 
to understand: not being a clothes-moth, I do not eat clothes, 
and, therefore, do not care for their becoming poisonous; 
but, in common with several brother entomologists in this 
