44 ENTOMOLOGICAL NEWS. [March, 



A Correspondent in Hardeeville, S. C, says he "witnessed a most 

 wonderful phenomenon: from noon to sundown, with a gentle wind blow- 

 ing from the southwest and a perfectly clear sky, a shower of white 

 balls filled the air and covered the ground for a space of ten miles square, 

 with a gentle shower of a white fleecy substance, as fine as silk, which 

 was ver>' strong when twisted. He was unable to account for its pres- 

 ence there, and had never seen anything like it before." The same thing 

 occurs here every autumn, but I never saw it as abundant as the cor- 

 respondent describes. The little balls referred to are the flocculi, or 

 remains of the web of which the spiders make their cocoons, the excess 

 being cut off and floats away. — C. A. Blake. 



A Needless Alarm. — Some time ago a certain entomologist in one 

 of the leading cities of the country who, on the Sabbath days, strives to 

 enlighten a large and aristocratic congregation in the mysteries of the 

 gospel, but beguiles his leisure moments by the pursuit of he.xapods, hap- 

 pened to find a heap of refuse lying near a humble dwelling in the out- 

 skirts of the city aforesaid. The gentlemen is a devoted student of lepid- 

 opterolog]^, but bags the beetles, also, as they chance to fall in his way. 

 The most prominent object on the ash heap was an antiquated and effete 

 ham, upon which numerous carrion beetles were disporting themselves. 

 Recognizing the find as worthy of his attention, he began to collect the 

 insects upon it. He had barely begun his malodorous task when he dis- 

 covered that he was being observed, and a strident female voice from the 

 second story of the humble dwelling rang out an excited warning — " Law 

 sakes! man alive that ham is spiled! Nancy and me thro wed it out day 

 before yesterday! It's all blowed! Law sakes! you don't be after gatherin' 

 up such truck as that, be ye? A well dressed man like you un hadn't 

 orter to be rakin' in old ash heaps after somethin' to eat. Ef you're hun- 

 gry- come in the house an' I'll give you a bite. But (and here the voice rose 

 to a shrill falsetto), mercy me! leave that old ham alone ! It's spiled! I 

 tell you it's spiled!" The clergyman, who carried under his waistband 

 reminders of an elegant luncheon served an hour or two before, cannot 

 cease to smile at the memory of the position into which his entomological 

 ardor had brought him in the eyes of the old dame, from whom he es- 

 caped as she was coming down-stairs to open the door and offer him the 

 hospitalities of her little home. — Anon. 



Entomologica.! Literattare. 



Il Naturalista Siciliano. — Anno IX, No. i, October, 1889. [Re- 

 ceived January, 1890.] — Contains " Lepidotteri nuovi della Sicilia," [Ti- 

 neidce) by F. Wocke. " Note Lepidotterologiche (cont.)," by E. Ragusa; 

 brief notes on species running from Antigastra to Aciptilia. '" Helo- 

 chares nigriiulus n. sp. (habitat Sicilia)," by Kuwert. "Tavola sinottica 

 dei Gyrinus di Sicilia," [synoptic table of the Sicilian species of the genus 



