25 
in Europe. In some cases the rejected wings were found 
lying upon the ground. Five groups captured in one spot on 
the same day exhibited a synaposematic tendency in European 
beetles, the members of the specially protected groups possess- 
ing a similar conspicuous colouring, and exposing themselves 
in a similar manner on flower heads, grass-stems, projecting 
twigs, &c. A special study was made of the predaceous flies 
of the family Asilidae, and the courtship of one species, Dasy- 
pogon diadema, was observed on several occasions. With 
these fierce and powerful females courtship is nearly as 
dangerous as it is in many spiders. One female, D. diadema, 
was captured in the act of devouring the male of its own 
species; and it is possible to understand why the males seem 
especially eager to court females which are engaged in eating 
other insects. Much light was also thrown upon the pre- 
ferences of these and other species of Asilidae for particular 
kinds of insect prey. Dzadema was captured devouring the 
hive-bee on many occasions, and the Hymenoptera generally 
suffered more than other insects from these attacks. It is 
hoped that a systematic account of this and other material 
bearing upon the struggle for existence will be published at 
no distant date. 
Twenty-two insects of various Orders from La Granja (July, 
1902) were presented by the captor, Mrs. E. B. Poulton. 
Six insects, including D. diadema and its prey, from La 
Granja (July, 1902) were presented by the captor, Monsieur 
Chretien. 
An extremely valuable gift has been presented by R. Shel- 
ford, Esq., M.A., Christ’s College, Cambridge, Curator of 
Rajah Brooke’s Museum at Kuching, Sarawak: viz. the great 
majority of the specimens represented in the 156 figures on 
Plates XIX-XXIII of the Proc. Zool. Soc., 1902, including 
10 types or co-types of new species. These specimens, illus- 
trating Mr. Shelford’s interesting memoir on “ Mimetic Insects 
and Spiders from Borneo and Singapore,” will be kept together, 
arranged as in the Plates. Full references have already been 
printed for all of them. 115 of these figured specimens 
