IxXXxXvill 
The Secretary read a letter from Mr. C. A. Wilson, Corresponding Member, dated 
Adelaide, 27th of February, 1867, in which the writer gave the following account, on 
the authority of his brother, Mr. Theodore Wilson :—* One day in December last, 
while stopping for a while under a tree at Cockatoo Valley, I saw a centipede actually 
slain by the heat. He dropped from a branch of tbe tree under which T was standing, 
and immediately made off at a great rate to find shelter, but he unfortunately came 
upon a piece of sand which was so intensely hot that he could not make any headway 5 
his pace became slower, he turned about and savagely bit the leaves and sticks near 
him, then struggled, turned on his side, and gave up the ghost. In a minute or two 
he was shrivelled up like a piece of bark, I felt the sand where he was; it was so hot 
that it would have blistered my fingers had I kept them there a short time.” Mr. 
C. A. Wilson also announced the discovery, by Mrs. Kreusler and Mr, Odewahn, of 
Gawler, of a species of Xenos, being the first time that a Strepsipterous insect had 
been detected in Australia. 
Mr. Frederick Smith had received from Mr. F. G. Waterhouse, of Adelaide, and 
exhibited to the Meeting, specimens of Paragia decipiens, upon which the Xenos was 
parasitic, and read the following note: — 
“In the Transactions of the Society (2nd series, vol. v., p. 127) will be found a 
paper on the geographical distribution of the Stylopide : it is there shown that aculeate 
Hymenoptera from all quarters of the globe have been attacked by some members of 
that parasitic family; it also appears to be proved that these attacks are most general 
among the genera of the families of Fossores and Vespidex. Among the Apide these 
attacks are confined to the Halicti and Andrenide; it is true that the genus Bombus 
has been mentioned as having been subject to attack, but this circumstance requires 
confirmation. Numerous instances have been recorded of attacks on species of the 
genera Sphex and Pelopeus, but they have been observed to oceur most frequently 
among the Vespide. Stylopized Hymenoptera have been found in Europe, India, 
China, Celebes, Mauritius, Gambia, Brazil, Chili, North America, and Canada, and a 
single instance has been noticed in Tasmania, but at the time of the publication of 
my paper (1859) no instance of attack had been discovered in Australia, A recent 
communication from that country has been received by Mr. Waterhouse, announcing 
the discovery of a hymenopterous insect attacked by one of the Stylopidw. The insect 
in question is the Paragia decipiens of Shuckard : it was taken by Mrs. Kreusler on the 
Gawler River, Adelaide, South Australia: specimens of the wasp were forwarded by letter ; 
the Stylops is described as having four-jointed fureate antenne, belonging probably 
to the genus Xenos, or to a genus closely allied. This is, I believe, the first notice of 
the capture of one of the Stylopide in Australia. Of the four specimens of Paragia 
sent, number one has the remains of a male pupa-case beneath the third segment of 
the abdomen; the sccond and third specimens are similarly attacked; the fourth 
specimen has portions of two male pupa-cases beneath the third segment. It is rather 
remarkable that no female Stylops is found, as in British Hymenoptera they are found 
in the proportion of at least ten or twelve to one male.” 
Professor Westwood mentioned that a Homopterous insect captured by Mr. 
Wallace appeared to have upon it the remains of a Strepsipterous insect, and it would 
be within the recollection of Members that Herr Nietner had found stylopized aunts in 
Ceylon. 
