22 SUMMARY OF CURRENT RESEARCHES RELATING TO 



fur and the like. The food consists mostly of keratin, with very little 

 proteid, carbohydrate, or fat ; yet the larvae thrive well. He discusses 

 the reactions in different parts of the alimentary tract, the ferments 

 which digest the keratin, the uric acid in the hind-gut, and so on. 

 Among the results of feeding the larvae with various materials is a 

 demonstration of the interesting fact that some substances like sudan 

 may pass into the eggs and affect the offspring. 



Parthenogenesis in a Beetle.* — A. A. Ssilantjew has been able to 

 convince himself that Otiorhy fichus turca may be parthenogenetic. 

 A female, certainly not fertilised, laid hundreds of eggs, and the larvae 

 were reared till they were J— ^ of their normal size. Over a thousand 

 specimens were collected, but there was no male. 



Unfertilised Ova of Tenebrio Molitor.f — Th. Saling notes that in 

 natural conditions the unfertilised eggs of Tenebrio molitor do not develop, 

 but undergo a peculiar degeneration which is described. He thinks that 

 artificial conditions will be discovered in which the unfertilised eggs do- 

 develop as in Bombyx mori. 



Blind Bombardier-Beetle. :{: — E. Reitter describes Brachynillus varen- 

 dorffi, g. et sp. n., a blind Carabid from German East Africa. It is 

 adapted in an interesting way to life in caves. It has lost its eyes, the 

 wings are atrophied, the pigmentation is reduced to an almost mono- 

 chrome brown-yellow, and there is notable elongation of the anterior part 

 of the body, of the antennae, and legs. 



Revision of American Paederini.§ — Thos. L. Casey has tackled the 

 arduous task of revising the great multitude of species included in this 

 tribe of Staphylinid beetles. He discusses <Si) genera, of which 64 occur 

 within the limits of the United States. 



Treatise on Culicidae.|| — R. Blan chard gives an account of the 

 structure, life-history, and habits of Culicidae, dealing with over 300' 

 species of Culex, Psorophora, Anopheles, etc. Special attention has been 

 paid to the medical importance of mosquitos. 



Studies on Culicidse.lf — E. P. Felt, in his report as State 

 Entomologist, includes a key for the identification of mosquito larvae, 

 descriptions of new or insufficiently characterised species, and some dis- 

 cussion of the structure and phylogeny of the family. 



Structure of the Tsetse-Fly.** — E. A. Minchin gives a fine account 

 of the structure of Glossina palpalis, and especially of the digestive 

 tract, obviously of importance to those who are studying the evolution 

 of the trypanosomes of sleeping sickness, and other tsetse-fly diseases, 

 within the body of their invertebrate host. Figures are given of the 



* Zool. Anzeig., xxix. (1905) pp. 583-6 (2 figs.), 

 f Tom. cit., pp. 587-90 (2 figs.). 

 % Wiener Entorn. Zeit., 1904, pp. 178-9. 

 § Trans. Acad. Sci. St. Louis, xv. (1905) pp. 1-248. 



§ Lies Moustiques, histoire naturelle et medicale. Paris, 1905, G73 pp., 316 figs. 

 ^f New York State Education Department, 20th Report of the State Ento- 

 mologist, 1905, Bull. 97 (Entomology, 24) pp. 442-97 (19 pis. and 21 figs.). 

 ** Proc. Roy. Soc, series B, lxxvi. (1905) pp. 531-47 (6 figs.). 



