79 



which my mind retains of its appearance, for I did not make any notes at the time, 

 entering into the minutiae of size, form or colour, and write entirely from memory. I 

 did not observe the eggs of the parasite on the pollen ; their minuteness, similarity of 

 colour and rapidity of deposition, baffling the unaided sight; but I judged of their in- 

 tention, as you conjecture, from their movements. The eggs were certainly left either 

 on the pollen or hinder parts of the body or legs of the bee. I assumed the former as 

 the more probable. I regret that I did not procure specimens of this ingenious insect, 

 but my attention was almost exclusively devoted to the acquisition of the more bril- 

 liant species of Lepidoptera.'' 



Mr. Smith then read a note on a nest of Polistes Lanio, Fabr., lately sent by John 

 MacGillivray, Esq. to the British Museum, from St. Salvador, where the wasp is abun- 

 dant, the nests being formed under the eaves of the houses. In one of the cells he 

 found a specimen of Trigonalys bipustulatus, Smith, not enveloped in any pellicle, and 

 the wings crumpled up ; nor had the cell been closed in any way, proving that it had 

 never quitted the cell, and that Trigonalys is the parasite of Polistes, — a discovery of 

 much interest, as showing the relationship of the insect to be among the Pupivora. 



Mr. Smith also read a note on another nest, recently presented to the British Mu- 

 seum, of a social wasp, unfortunately without any tenants, the chief interest attached 

 to it arising from its being constructed entirely of sandy loam, and the exterior being 

 so hard that a saw used in opening one of its sides was blunted. 



The following note by J. M'Intosh Esq., of Charminster, was read : — 



" In the 'Proceedings of the Entomological Society,' October 7, 1850, p. 36, it is 

 recorded that "Mr. Westwood, on the part of Mr. Gould, exhibited two insects he had 

 found iu Scotland, impaled on the spines of furze." And Mr. Westwood says " the 

 subject of insects impaled on thorns required elucidation.'' Perhaps the following me- 

 moranda made by myself on this subject, may prove interesting to the Entomological 

 Society. 



" I have frequently taken from off the thorns of Crataegus and Ulex, the following 

 insects: — I. Pieris Crataegi. This insect was alive, and had been driven against the 

 thorn by the force of a gust of wind. The caterpillar also of this insect I have found 

 in the same position. On one occasion I watched a caterpillar of this species crawl 

 over a thorn, in doing which its weight, and a slight breeze of wind at the same time 

 giving a motion to the branch, caused the sharp thorn to pierce the caterpillar, which, 

 struggling about to relieve itself, worked the thorn through its body, by which means 

 it became completely fixed. This was not a case of determined suicide, but an acci- 

 dental death. That insects meet with their death by being driven by wind or rapid 

 flight against the thorns or spines of trees, numerous examples have come under my 

 own observation. On heaths and in plantations, caterpillars, by crawling over the 

 sharp thorns or spines of plants, become in many cases pierced, and in their endea- 

 vours to escape only fix themselves the more securely, and become the easy food of 

 some feathered enemy. 2. and 3. Vanessa Urticae and Cynthia Cardui. The perfect 

 insects I have taken from off the thorns of Crataegus Oxyacantha, on several occasions 

 dead, but not in any way injured to lead me to suppose that they had been placed there 

 by any enemy. If so, they would have been mutilated in some degree. 4. Ourapte- 

 ryx sambucaria. An example of this moth I have taken from off the spines of Ulex, 

 not injured. 5. Coccinella 7-punctata. I have met with frequent examples of this 

 insect impaled on the spines of Ulex, and what is more curious, on the sharp leaves of 

 Araucaria imbricata and Abies Canadensis, as well as on Crataegus Oxyacantha. I 



