lxxxii 
JOURNAL OF PROCEEDINGS. 
Mr. Ashton exhibited a collection of specimens of insects of 
various orders in spirits from Barbadoes. 
The Rev. George May presented a piece of pear-tree bored to 
the^centre by the larva of Zeuzera ZEsculi. 
Mr. C. Curtis exhibited a domestic fly attacked by a great num- 
ber of small Acciri, which had attached themselves to the extremity 
of the body around the anus. 
Mr. Yarrell exhibited a number of the larvae of one of the 
Longicorn beetles which had been discovered by Mr. Leadbetter 
in a case of stuffed birds, where they were found to have so exten- 
sively burrowed into the branches upon which the birds were fixed 
as to render it necessary to remove them. The case had been closed 
for the last seven years, so that the insects must have remained so 
long in the egg or larva state. 
Mr. Aldous presented a plain and coloured highly magnified 
figure of the head of the flea recently published by him, exhibiting 
the various parts of the mouth as they appear in the solar mi- 
croscope. 
Mr. Ingpen communicated the following notes upon the economy 
of Brachinus crepitans , and Si rex duplex : — 
“ Brachinus crepitans has been taken in immense profusion by 
Mr. Shipman on a bank in the Duke of Somerset’s Park at Wim- 
bledon, in the last week in April. On pulling down a part of the 
bank the ground was literally black with them, but on visiting 
the same spot a week afterwards a few only were found, and those 
by twos or threes under stones in the vicinity. What could be the 
cause of their congregating together in such a mass ? Had they 
but just arrived at their perfect state? If so, the larvae must 
be gregarious. The specimens, however, were perfectly mature. 
On killing some of the specimens in scalding water, one of them 
struck him in the face with its fundamental artillery at the distance 
of fifteen inches, at which times the abdomens of the females were 
distended to double their ordinary size. 
“ Several specimens of Sirex duplex were taken in the house of 
Mr. Edwards, at Henlow, Beds. The house had been built about 
three years when the family were very much alarmed by the ap- 
pearance of these insects, at first few in number, but subsequently 
‘ by thousands.' Innumerable holes in the floors of the rooms 
were made by the insects large enough to admit a small pencil 
case. There could be no doubt of their having been imported in 
the timber (which is supposed to have come from Canada), and 
therefore they must have been considerably more than three years 
in arriving at their perfect state.” 
