113 THE ENTOMOLOGIST. 



inedibility through the stages, it was found that no inedible 

 imago was edible in the larval stage ; in this stage therefore 

 the unpleasant taste arose. 



Fertilisation of Figs by Insects. — At a meeting of the 

 Linnean Society, held March 17th, 1887, a paper by Dr. George 

 King on the Indian Figs was read, in which it was shown that 

 insects play a considerable part in the fertilisation of certain 

 forms. Dealing with the structural peculiarities of the flowers 

 in the genus Ficus, he specifies (1) male, (3) pseudohermaph- 

 rodite, (3) neuter, and (4) female fertile flowers. Besides these 

 occur a set of flowers originally named by him " Insect-attacked 

 females," but for which he has since adopted Count Solms- 

 Lambach's term " Gall-flowers " (Bot. Zeit. 1885), this botanist 

 having anticipated him in publication, though his own researches 

 were of earlier date. As to the question of these gall -flowers. 

 Dr. King states that the pupa of an insect can usually be seen 

 through the coats of the ovary. The pupa when perfected 

 escapes into the cavity of the receptacle by cutting its way 

 through, and fully winged developed insects are often to be found 

 in considerable numbers in the cavity of the fig. The pupa of 

 the insect must become encysted in the ovary of the gall-flower 

 at a very early period, for about the time at which the imago 

 is escaping from the ovary the pollen of the anthers of the male 

 flower is only beginning to shed. Thus Dr. King holds that 

 through the interposition of insects the malformed female 

 flowers doubtless become functionally important in the life- 

 history of the fig-trees. 



Aculeate Hymenoptera of Cheshire. — During the past 

 three years I have worked up this interesting order of insects, 

 and I think a list of captures, in this district, may prove 

 interesting to the readers of the ' Entomologist.' I should like 

 to know if any other collector has observed that the family 

 Vespidse are attracted by Cotoneaster microijhylla whilst in 

 bloom.* Is it the flowers are the attraction, or, on the other 



* [Cotoneaster vulgaris has long been known to hjmenopterists as being very 

 attractive to many of the Aculeate Hymenoptera, as also to n\any species of 

 Diptera. The Vespitlre were most probably in search of the larvrc of some 

 lepidopteron, feeding on the plant, with which to store the cells for their young 

 larvie.— T. R. li.] 



