234 THE ENTOMOLOGIST. 
Invasion.—The ant invasion, described by so many, was 
observed in the north of Cornwall on Wednesday. Driving 
with my family and some friends to Redruthan on that day, 
we were surprised by a sudden gust of wind, bringing with it 
an immense swarm of winged ants, too many of which, for 
our comfort, located themselves upon us, and it was no easy 
task to get rid of them. Upon our arrival at Redruthan we 
found a large portion of the sand darkened with dead ants, 
evidently drowned; each receding wave left a wide mark 
along the beach.”—J. Gatcombe; Stonehouse, September 
5, 1874. 
[l have described in my ‘Familiar Introduction’ how the 
male and female emerge from the pupa state at the end of 
August, furnished with wings. A report of this “extraordinary 
occurrence” and “unheard-of phenomenon” appears annually 
in our newspapers, just before the autumnal equinox.—ZL. 
Newman. | 
Correction of an Error.—I am sorry to say that I was 
wrong in saying the galls, mentioned by me in the July 
number (Entom. vii. 165), were those of Cynips lignicola. A 
day or two after I sent you the notice the perfect insects 
emerged, thus showing that the gall had arrived at maturity. 
This gall, of which I enclose specimens, was very abundant 
on some oaks, near Edinboro’, during the past summer. 
When fresh it is soft, succulent, of a green colour tinged with 
pink, and, unlike other galls, was by no means unpleasant to 
the taste. Can you tell me the name of its maker?-—W. A. 
Forbes. 
Answers to Correspondents, 
Miss L***** ; Pollen Masses of Orchids.—The “strange- 
looking objects” attached to the “tongue” (more properly 
maxille) of a moth are neither Fungi nor Acari, but masses of 
pollen from the blossom of some Orchid. These curious cbjects 
have frequently puzzled me in my early collecting days; 
but on one occasion in Birch Wood, being in company with 
the late William Christy, that accomplished botanist explained 
the seeming mystery. Long after this, and indeed until I read 
an abstract of Mr. Darwin’s really wonderful observations, L 
had formed no conception of the meaning of this phenomenon. 
However, since the publication of his book, ‘On the various 
