300 THE ENTOMOLOGIST. 



223. Power of Pachyta livida and other Insects to resist 

 vegetable Poisons. — Mr. Newman's notice of Pachyta livida 

 resisting the power of laurel-poison (Entora. 290) reminds me 

 of a similar fact published about two years ago by Dr. Stierlin, 

 of SchafFhouse, in the ' Mittheil. der Schweiz. Entom. Gesell- 

 schaft,' No. 4, April, 1863, p. 119. The following is a rough 

 but close translation of his article, given for the benefit of 

 such of your readers as may not have the opportunity to read 

 the original. Dr. Stierlin says : — " Ou making, last summer, 

 the survey of an apothecary's shop, I found a glass, holding 

 about a pint, three-fourths of which was filled with finely- 

 pulverized root of Belladonna, and which was closed with a 

 well-fitting and intact cork. In this powder I noticed nu- 

 merous traces of insects, which observation induced me to 

 take the glass and contents home. There I examined the 

 thing more carefully, and I found a great number of Anobium 

 paniceum in all stages of development, including numerous 

 larvBB of different sizes, moving about in a very lively way. 

 These larvas have no other food but this powder, which is so 

 very poisonous to man and warm-blooded animals, the dose 

 to full-grown men being half a grain to two grains at the 

 utmost : notwithstanding this they thrive in it splendidly. 

 The poison does not seem to have any effect on these crea- 

 tures. We may learn by this what success there is to be ex- 

 pected if we try to keep intruding parasites off our collections 

 and other objects by using vegetable poisons." — Albert 

 Midler. 



224. The Great Rove-beetle preying upon the Turnip- 

 grub. — A few evenings since I was sitting on a sand-bank 

 near the sea, shortly after sundown, when my attention was 

 attracted by a number of curious-looking objects a short dis- 

 tance from me. On closer inspection they proved to be a 

 number of the common rove-beetle (Staphylinus olens), each 

 dragging a larva of Agrotis exclaraationis to the shelter of a 

 large plant of Beta maritima, under which I found their holes. 

 On examining the larvge 1 found that they had all been dis- 

 abled by a gripe with the mandibles. Having read that this 

 species was a carrion-feeder, I thought it likely that they 

 were about to bury the larvae as food for their young. I 

 secured two of the beetles and one living larva, which I took 

 home and put together in a flower-pot : one of the beetles 



