March 20, 19 19] 



NATURE 



59 



i-^cd on it by Nav^s to be quite untenable. A 

 A subdivision of the Australian species into three 

 nera, based on quite new characters, is given, 

 -I'ther with descriptions of two new genera and twt) 

 \v species. A number of new facts are given about 

 - very rare Psychopsis illidgei, Froggatt, including 

 iii^Lires of this species at rest in two positions. The 

 • haracters of the family are given in full, together 

 with a discussion as to its affinities, fossil and recent, 

 and a full bibliography for the Australian species, 

 which now number eight out of a total of sixteen 

 known for the world. — A. M. Lea : Descriptions of 

 new species of Australian Coleoptera. Part xiv. 

 Four genera and thirty-one species are described as 

 new. — Dr. C, Hall : A new species or form of 

 Eucalyptus. A single tree only has been seen, which 

 may be a hybrid, as it has some of the characters of 

 the Stringybarks, especially in the seedling stage, y«t 

 differs from them in others, in the mature stage, as 

 in bark, oil, and timber. — Dr. R. J. Tillyard : Aus- 

 tralian Megaloptera or alder-flies, with descriptions of 

 new genera and species. The only known .Australian 

 -pecies of the order Megaloptera is Archichauliodes 

 i^iittiferus. Walker, belonging to the archaic family 

 ( orydalidae. No species of the family Sialidae occurs 

 in the Oriental region, and the nearest known species 

 i- found in Chile. In this paper two interesting new 

 genera and species belonging to this family are 

 described, one from Maria Island, Tasmania, and xhe 

 other from Mount Tambourine, South Queensland. 

 Roth are related to the Chilian form, one by the struc- 

 ture of its wings, and the other by its coloration. The 

 latter (the Tasmanian species) is also closely related 

 to the Holarctic genus Sialis. The occurrence of these 

 insects in Australia afTords further evidence of the 

 truth of the .Antarctic theory, since they could only 

 Have arrived from the south. — Dr. J. M. Petrie : The 

 occurrence of methyl laevoinositol in an Australian 

 poisonous plant. The endemic Australian plant 

 Hftcrodetidron oleaefolium, Desf. (fam. Sapindaceae), 

 contains the methyl ester of laevorotatory inositol. 

 The amount isolated was equivalent to 065 per cent, 

 of the dried (at 100° C.) leaves. This substance is 

 not optically isomeric with the pinite of Maquenne, 

 which is the methyl dextroinositol possessing a dif- 

 ferent melting point and optical rotation. It is 

 apparently identical with Tanret's quebrachite, and 

 had been previously pecorded from three plants only — 

 Aspidospenniim quebracho (Apocvnaceae), Hevea 

 braziliensis (Euohorbiaceae), and Grevillca robusta 

 (Proteaccae). The occurrence of this compound is, 

 therefore, exceedingly rare, and in great contrast to 

 the occurrence of inactive inositol, which exists as a 

 plastic substance in most plants. Heterodendron also 

 contains a cyanogenetic glucoside. — Dr. R.J. Tillyard : 

 Studies in .Australian Neuroptera. No. 7 : The life- 

 history of Psychopsis elegans, Gu^rln. The complete 

 life-cycle occupies about two vears, of which the 

 greater part is spent in the larval state. The eggs are 

 laid singly on the bark of eucalyptus trees, and the 

 young larva lives in cracks or crannies of the bark, 

 whence it attacks other insects, sucking them dry 

 with its huge, calliper-like mandibles. There are 

 three larval instars. The full-fed larva is brownish- 

 grev, with whitish pruinescence ; the hairs of the 

 abdomen are modified into peoiliar star-like processes, 

 which the author terms dolichasters and micrasters 

 respectively, according to their form and origin. The 

 mouth-parts and anal papilla of the larva are fully 

 described. The general form of the larva is inter- 

 mediate between the slender type of the Hemerobiidae 

 and the stout form found in the Myrmeleontidae and 

 allies. The jaws are large, like those of the Mvrme- 

 leontidae, but have no internal teeth. The cocoon, 



NO. 2577, VOL. TO3] 



which is spun from the anus, is a beautiful spherical 

 object, resembling a pearl. The pupa is of the usual 

 Planipennian type, with \\i\\- remarkable mandibles, 

 used for cutting the cocoon open. The emergence of 

 the imago from the. pupa is fully described and figured, 

 as are also the mouth-parts of the imago. The paper 

 concludes with a short discussion as to the potential 

 economic value of the Psychopsidaa as a beneficial 

 group of insects, the conclusion being reached that 

 experiments with these insects in orchards of old trees 

 might help considerably in reducing the codlin moth 

 and other kindred pests.— Dr. H. S. 11. Wardlaw : 

 Note on the temperature of Echidna aculcata. A 

 series of some eight hundred observations of the 

 rectal temperature of Echidna were submitted to 

 (ialton's method of statistical analysis. The most 

 probable temperatures were : — ^Spring-summer period, 

 morning, 30° C. ; afternoon, 32-6° C. Autumn-winter 

 period, morning, 297° C. ; afternoon, 32-3° C. The 

 results show that the temperature-regulating 

 mechanism of Echidna only aqts while the body- 

 temperature lies between 27-6° C. and 326° C. Out- 

 side these limits Echidna behaves as a poikilo- 

 thermal animal. —F. H. Taylor: Contributions to a 

 knowledge of Australian Culicidae. No. 4, 

 .Synonymical notes are furnished. The , .Australian 

 species of Anopheles are tabulated. Ten species,- 

 referable to six genera, are described as new.— G. P. 

 Darnell-Smith : (i) An account of some observations 

 upon the life-history of Phoma citricarpa. Mc.Alp.. the 

 cause of the "black spot" of -citrus fruit in New 

 South Wales. " Black spot " is a serious disease 

 which develops, on the sunny side of trees, and upon 

 the parts of the fruit exposed to sunlight. Two kinds 

 of spores have been obtained — normal pycnospores, 

 which germinate readily in suitable media, and ".v" 

 spores, which could not be induced to do so. The 

 details of the formation of the pycnidia and pycno- 

 spores have been worked out. Spraying with 

 Bordeaux, 6:4:50, followed up by sprayings with 

 weaker solutions, controls the disease. (2) The 

 occurrence of an inverted hymenium in Agaricus 

 campestris. 

 ^ , 



BOOKS RECEIVED. 



Year- Book of the Royal .Society of London. No. 23. 

 Pp. 236, (London • Harrison and Sons, 1919.) 5s. 



Records of the Survey of India. Vol. xi. (Supple- 

 mentary to General Report, 1916-17.) .\nnual Reports 

 of Parties and Officers, 1916-17. Pp. 115. (Dehra 

 Dun : Printed at the Office of the Trigonometrical 

 Survey, 1918.) 4 rupees or 5.9. ^d. 



Commonwealth of Australia. Advisory Council of 

 Science and Industry. Memoir No. i. The Aus- 

 tralian Environment (especially as Controlled by 

 Rainfall). A Regional Study' of the Topography, 

 Drainage, Vegetation, and Settlement; and of the 

 Character and Origin of the Rains. Bv Dr. Griffith 

 Tavlor. Pp. 188. (Melbourne, 1918.) 



The Phvsical Chemistrv of the Proteins. By Prof. 

 T. B. Robertson. Pp. 'xv + 483. (London: Long- 

 mans, Green, and Co., 1918.) 25s. net. 



Neue Beobachtungen iiber den Erreger der Mau- 

 lund. Klauenseuche die Entwicklung des Schmarotzers 

 im Blut, Speziell in den Roten. Blutkorperchen. 

 Von Dr. Hrch StaufTacher. Pp. 62 (plates. (Zurich: 

 Polvgraphisches Institut A.-G., 1918.) 8 francs. 



Coal-Tar Dves and Intermediates. Bv E. de Barry 

 Barnett. (Industrial Chemistry Series.) Pp. xviii-f- 

 213. (London: Bailli^re, Tindall, and Cox, 1919.) 

 lov. 6d. net. 



Verses from Fen and Fell. By Thomas Thornely. 



