THE ENTOMOLOGIST. 525 



shortly a distant nimble is heard, a black cloud is seen over- 

 head, and if the hapless lord of creation has not taken the 

 hint from these minute teachers he will most likely get a wet 

 shirt. Again, the cattle in yonder pasture are scampering 

 about like mad things. "What is the cause ?" we ask of the 

 farmer. " Oh," says he, " it's going to rain, the gadfly bites." 

 But an eminent naturalist gives us a little more information 

 on this matter: flies bite keenly; Nature has endowed them 

 with instinct to supply themselves with food, because there is 

 a change approaching, that they may not have another oppor- 

 tunity. I ought to have stated in connection with the spider, 

 that when the day was going to be fine the spider was out 

 with his net on the middle of the square of glass catching his 

 prey ; but if the weather was likely to be wet he was in a 

 corner, peeping out of his web like a sentry peering from his 

 box. — JoJui Potts; 79, Spring Gardens, Doncaster, July 

 22, 1873. 



Locusts on a Balloon. — On Saturday evening last, about 

 half-past eight, a balloon descended in a field about a mile 

 from my house, and being near at the time I was on the spot 

 almost as soon as the car touched the ground, and was imme- 

 diately surprised (as was the aeronaut) to find a large quantity 

 of locusts flying about all round the balloon ; and on further 

 inspection we found the balloon had a great many of the 

 insects clinging to it, and a number remained on it till it was 

 rolled up, some apparently dead from the effects of the gas 

 escaping. No locusts have been heard of this summer in 

 this neighbourhood. The balloon had come from Nottingham, 

 about twenty-five miles from here in a straight line. The 

 evening was beautiful, with a slight wind, from a little south 

 of west. — W. Robinson; Grantham; 'Field,'' Aug. 2, 1873. 



[I know not whether Mr. Kobinson is an entomologist ; if 

 so it would be interesting to know the technical name of the 

 locusts found on the balloon. In the market-gardens about 

 London, Acherontia Atropos is the locust; on the heaths of 

 Surrey, Gryllotalpa vulgaris bears that name. The great 

 death's-head larva is not very likely to be found " up in a 

 balloon;" still it would be pleasant for entomologists to 

 know what the species really was. — Eduard Neirnian.] 



Destructive Larva of a Dermestes. — I shall feel greatly 

 obliged if you will name the larva), if they are larvic, in the 

 enclosed box. They have eaten my carpets for the last three 



