288 



FLIES ON APPLE TWIGS IN NEW ZEALAND. 



The New Zealand Farmer for December, 1889, aud January, 1890, has 

 contained two articles entitled " Flies on Apple Twigs," which are 

 rather interesting. In the first article an account is given of the occur- 

 rence of certain rather large hump- backed flies found sticking upon ap- 

 ple twigs which had apparently "died black" and were covered with a 

 fungus growth. In the second article, however, the fly is determined 

 by Professor Kirk as Henops hrunneusj and an article is quoted from Mr- 

 Maskell, which states that the black fungus look on the twigs is in 

 reality a mass of eggs laid by the flies. Mr. Maskell saved the eggs 

 until the larva had hatched, but he was unable to keep them alive. He 

 states that the larvie of none of the Acroceridce, to which this fly be- 

 longs, are known, and he is unable to state what these larvae would 

 have been in the state of nature. 



The notes are of considerable interest, especially if the determination 

 should be correct, for upon looking the matter up we find that all of the 

 flies of this family of which the habits are known are parasitic upon 

 spiders. Acrocera sanguinea and A. trigramma have been reared by C. 

 Koch from the orange-yellow cocoons of Tegeyiaria agilis. Henops mar- 

 ginatus or Ogcodes palUpes was reared by Menge from Clubiona putris, 

 the larva living in the abdomen of the spider. Astomella Undenii was 

 reared by Erber, from the abdomen of Gteniza ariana. The probabil- 

 ties are that the discrepancy between the two accounts arises from the 

 wrong determination of the New Zealand insect. The figures are too 

 poor to enable a determination. 



NOMENCLATURE OF BLISTER BEETLES. 



At the meeting of the French Entomological Society held on November 

 13, 1889 {Bull, des Seances, pp. ccxii-ccxiii). Dr. H. Beauregard pro- 

 posed some changes in the nomenclature of certain species of Meloidse, 

 on account of duplicated names. The following apply to our North 

 American fauna : 



Nemognatha hieolor Walk, is changed to iV. icalkeri. This change is 

 superfluous as Walker's species has long been known to be a synonym 

 of N. apicalis Lee. 



Cantharis lugubris Ulke is changed to G. ulJcei because the specific 

 name conflicts with Epicauta lugubris Klug. This change would seem to 

 be unnecessary so long as the genera Epicauta and Cantharis can be 

 kept apart. 



To Tetraonyx 4:-maculatus Fabr. belong as synonyms T. cruciatus Cast., 

 described from S. Domingo, and T. cubensis Chevr., described from 

 Cuba. — [E. A. Schwarz. 



