166 THE ENTOMOLOGIST. 
Britannica,’ vol. ii. p. 228. The larve which produce this 
pretty insect are very injurious to corn, more particularly 
tye. The fly lays its egg on the young stems of the rye, 
and when it is hatched the larva gnaws its way into the 
interior, just below the first division or septum, which 
operation has the effect of immediately stopping the growth 
of the rye; so that the stem, instead of rising to a height of 
several feet, is dwarfed for ever at three or four inches, 
presenting a very singular appearance. Wheat and barley 
are subject also to this pest, or very similar ones of the 
genera Oscinis and Chlorops.—Edward Newman. | 
A Railway Train Impeded by Locusts—In Messrs. Kirby 
and Spence’s ‘ Introduction to Entomology,’ many remarkable 
records of the direct injuries of insects are to be found; 
many equally astonishing have come to my knowledge since 
the publication of the Introduction. The late Sir John 
Hearsey used to relate, with great gusto and humour, the 
dispersal of a troop of cavalry, when on march, under his 
command in India. Sir John had entrusted to the care of a 
mounted subaltern a swarm of honey-bees in a box-hive, 
when removing to a distant military station: the bee was 
an Indian species, Apis dorsata, the largest known, and 
also the most pugnacious. The man had the misfortune 
to drop the hive, which split open: out swarmed the infuriated 
host, which immediately vented their rage on the troopers, 
who quickly broke rank and galloped off in all directions, 
pursued by the maddened honey-bees, who stung man and 
horse indiscriminately. I write, however, on this occasion, 
to draw attention to a telegram that lately appeared in several 
of the London papers, dated—* Algiers, May 20th, 1874. A 
train arrived here to-day from Oran, six hours behind time: 
the rails were covered with a thick layer of grasshoppers.” 
We cannot, I think, be at a loss to understand this, and fully 
comprehend the nature of the obstruction to the train: the 
wheels of the carriages, crushing a thick layer of locusts, 
would be much the same as if passing through a layer of fatty 
matter, which would consequently completely prevent the 
bite of the metals. This appears to me a circumstance 
worthy of being recorded in an entomological journal.— 
Frederick Smith ; 27, Richmond Crescent, Islington. ; 
A Nolte on Aphides.—At the beginning of the last week of 
