302 



DAMAGE BY THE RED SCALE GROWING LESS. 



We have received no announcement of the fact from official or thor- 

 oughly reliable sources, but notice in a recent number of the California 

 Fruit Grower that the Red Scale is said to be rapidly disappearing in 

 the San Gabriel Valley, and that this is accounted for by the unusual 

 prevalence this season of parasites and predaceous insects. 



A SYSTEMATIC WORK ON GALL-MITES. 



In the Botanisches Gentralblatt (vol. 41, Nos. 3-4, 1890, pp. 115-118) 

 Dr. F. Thomas reviews Mr. Alfred Nalepa's recent work entitled 

 <' Beitrage zur Systematik der Phytopten."* Although we have not 

 yet seen this work, it is, so far as we are aware, the first attempt at 

 a classification of these mites. Nalepa distinguishes four genera of 

 Phytoptidce, three of which are gall-makers. So far as we can gather 

 from Dr. Thomas's review the work is important from the systematic as 

 well as the biologic standpoint. 



MORE FACTS CONCERNING THE KATIPO. 



The following statements are taken from an abstract of a paper by 

 Prof. T. W. Kirk, read before the Wellington Field Naturalists' Club 

 December 18, 1889, and from the published discussion: 



The author said: We hear a great deal about the Katipo, and yet it is surprising 

 Low few persons know one when they see it. Such being the case, he ventured to 

 introduce a specimen or two to the members of the club. He stated that the Katipo 

 was exceedingly common along the seashore of the Wellington district. It may be 

 found in abundance under the stunted bushes that grow between the water's edge 

 and the base of the hills at Lyell Bay ; indeed, the specimens exhibited were collected 

 there on the occasion of the club's excursion. There are said to be two distint varie- 

 ties, but he thought it had yet to be proved that the differences are not due to age 

 and sex, for he would be able to show that not only do the sexes differ considerably, 

 but also that the Katipo, during the various stages of existence, presents most remark- 

 able variations. Though so plentiful, it is seldom that persons are bitten by the 

 Katipo; and this is the more remarkable when we remember the great numbers of 

 people who throng the seabeach on holidays. The reason : The explanation will 

 probably be found in the fact that this spider is much more active at night than dur- 

 ing the day ; indeed, the native name is said to mean " night stinger ;" and so long 

 as he is not molested, during daylight, he seldom interferes with anyone. The chief 

 food is a species of black beetle, thousands of the wing cases of which may be found 

 under the bushes where Katipos are plentiful. That the bite is very venomous there 

 can be no doubt; and, although the writer was not aware of any European having 

 actually died from the effects of one, there are a number of well authenticated cases 

 in which strong, active persons have been rendered ill for periods varying from a few 

 hours to several months. 



The Maoris have a decided dread of the Katipo, and the bite appears to have a much 

 greater effect on a native than on a white man. 



The female Katipo is much larger than the male ; she is black with a bright orange- 

 red stripe down the middle of the body ; sometimes the red is bordere'fl with yellow, 



* Published in Sitzber. d. K. Acad. d. Wiss. Wien, 1889, No. 16, p. 162 ff. 



