242 Transactions British Mycological Soctety. 
although not always evident from a superficial survey, is at 
once revealed when one looks more closely. Ants of many species 
abound almost everywhere, and they devour the sporangia of 
some Mycetozoa eagerly. The larvae of various coleoptera, 
lepidoptera and diptera also do their share; as a rule their 
attentions are directed to the immature or freshly matured 
sporangia ; for some reason the stalks are frequently left. Besides - 
these foes they are subject to attack by various small beetles, 
but probably ants do most damage. I have frequently observed 
ants devouring immature sporangia of Arcyria denudata and 
Hemitrichia clavata, while a small tiger beetle has apparently 
acquired a taste for Perichaena vermicularis. Fungi and bacteria 
seem to be equally effective in causing the rapid destruction of 
mature sporangia and heavy rain washes them away. Hence 
it follows that unless one is fortunate enough to see a colony 
almost immediately after it has matured the whole may quickly 
disappear. 
Almost the first point that one notes with regard to tropical 
Mycetozoa is the absence or rarity of certain species which are 
exceedingly common in temperate climates, such for example 
as Physarum nutans and Trichia varia. The question of tem- 
perature is suggested as a possible reason for this as I believe 
that in temperate regions the majority of species reach maturity 
during the cooler periods of the autumn months and early 
spring. The abundance of other species in the tropics which are 
rare elsewhere, is equally noteworthy. 
Collecting and preserving specimens. 
A few notes on preserving the specimens of Mycetozoa in the 
tropics may not be out of place. 
In the field I find lightly wrapping each gathering in a 
separate piece of paper on which is written any note which 
may be useful afterwards is all that is necessary. On returning 
to the house these are placed at once in a desiccator over benzine 
fumes and left for half to one hour. I found this a very necessary 
precaution to kill the numerous small insects, larvae, etc., which 
otherwise might, and on occasion did, consume the sporangia. 
Each specimen is then transferred to a match box or larger 
box as required, and is labelled with date, locality and the 
material on which the sporangia formed. 
The next thing is to get the gathering dried as quickly as 
possible, and this I usually did by exposing it to the sun on a 
small, low bench, the legs of which stood in cups containing 
crude creosote. If the specimen is on wood this had been soaked 
previously with the same material; this ensures against insect 
attack while drying. 
