( iv ) 



continuing its meal. He had never observed any other attack 

 by this species on Lepidoptera that lie could recall. 



Dr. T. A. Chapman felt it impossible to accept the conclu- 

 sions arrived at by the exhibitor vpith regard to the earwig. 

 An earwig would probably not attack a living ^^/-oi is; if it 

 did the Agrotis would probably repel it successfully. Suppos- 

 ing it to attack with all its strength it could not produce the 

 damage observed, and again the damage to the two moths 

 as recorded and exhibited on the specimens shown, would not 

 result in their dying there and then on the spot. It seemed 

 evident then that some accident had happened to the moths, 

 whether from some bird or beast thex'e was no evidence to 

 show, but the part of the earwig was merely that of a petty 

 pilferer, coming to regale himself on the feast provided. 



Swarms of Locusts and Dragonflies in Africa. — Mr. C. O. 

 Waterhouse exhibited a specimen of Acridmm peregrinum 

 from a swarm that visited Las Palmas, Grand Canai-y, in 

 October 1908. Dr. Taylor, who sent the specimens to the 

 Natural History Museum, states in his letter that the authori- 

 ties had killed fifty tons of these locusts, and he estimated 

 that there were 150 tons more. Mr. Waterhouse said 16 

 locusts weighed one ounce, but allowing 15 to the ounce (as 

 the specimens may have lost in weight), one ton would repre- 

 sent 537,600 locusts, and the 200 tons 107,520,000. Besides 

 these the vessels reported that the sea was in many places 

 covered with them. He also exhibited a dragonfly, Tramea 

 hasilaris. This species occurred in such numbers on one 

 occasion in Portuguese Congo that the natives mistook them 

 for a swarm of locusts. They rested on the trees for the 

 night and went off next day. 



The saws of Saw-flies. — The Rev. F. D. Morice exhibited 

 photo-micrographs (magnif. about 210 diam.)of the "saws" in 

 10 British sawflies — species of the genus Dolerus. After briefly 

 alluding to the specific characters presented by them, to certain 

 points in which all alike differed from the ordinary tenon-saws 

 employed by carpenters, he invited suggestions which might 

 account for these differences. Thus, whereas in a carpenter's 

 saw the teeth point away from the handle (or base) of the 

 tool towards its apex, in the insect's saw they point from the 



