68 | Botanical Society of Edinburgh. 
Physoderes notata, Westw. Obscur? brunneo-fulvescens, pronoto 
in medio partis antice lineis duabus latis parallelis notisque tribus 
lateralibus obscuris, abdominis lateribus nigro flawogee. varis. 
Long. corp. lin. 44.—In Mus. Britann. 
Extract of a letter addressed by Colonel Hearsay to Mr. West- 
wood, containing a notice of the habits of Galeodes and Scorpio, and 
on the specific identity of Papilio Pammon and Polytes, which he 
had observed in coitu. 
The Galeodes vorax of Hutton was observed running about’ the 
floors of the Bungalows at Nusseerabad, as large as small mice, 
several of which he had kept alive in glass bottles. On giving a 
large Sphex to one, the Galeodes seized it, and though stung, soon 
devoured it, without appearing injured by the sting. He also de- 
scribes a battle which occurred between one of these insects and a 
good-sized scorpion: the Galeodes was stung several times, but was 
disabled by the scorpion either nipping or biting off a small piece at 
the very end of one of the two long thread-like feelers, the extremity 
of which has a process for climbing by excluding air; for by hanging 
by the end of these leg-feelers they can, but not easily, climb up the 
side ofa glass tumbler. On putting another Galeodes to the scorpion 
the former seized it, and was actually thrown, more than once, vio- 
lently to the sides of the glass from the strong muscular action of 
the tail, and the sting fairly entered its body. The Galeodes re- 
turned to the charge, and at last seized the tail of the scorpion near 
the sting, the latter endeavouring, but in vain, to seize the limbs of 
the former: as the Galeodes could not however bite through the 
hard substance of the tail, it gradually went down it with its jaws to 
its junction with the body, when it buried two of its fangs into the 
body of the scorpion, holding fast by the other two, and alternately 
gnawing and holding by these fangs. By this means it cut off the 
scorpion’s tail from the body, and then gradually eat it—tail, sting 
and all. 
In reference to this communication the President stated, that the 
species of Galeodes in question, which had been named G. vorar, was 
the G. fatalis, Hbst; and Mr. Doubleday mentioned, that in the 
genus Diadema (Papilio Bolina, &c.), the females of some of the 
species occasionally exhibited the colours of the male. 
BOTANICAL SOCIETY OF EDINBURGH. 
This Society held its first meeting for the session on the 13th No- 
vember, 1845. Dr. Douglas Maclagan, President, in the chair. 
The President, on taking the chair, begged to offer a few remarks 
on the present state and prospects of the Society. During the past, 
as well as former sessions, many valuable papers had been read to 
them, and much interesting botanical information, especially on some 
of the more obscure classes of vegetables, had been brought before 
the public through the medium of their Reports and Transactions. 
In one respect only the Society had occasionally been deficient ; he 
meant in the attendance of members at its meetings. This was 
owing in great part to the circumstance that almost all the members 
were “professionally occupied, and therefore unable to give to a purely 
