188 THE ENTOMOLOGIST. 



distance, and gives off branches right and left in a very characteristic 

 fashion." 



" The two different modes of spore-formation yield different kinds 

 of spores — (1) Ascospores, formed by subdivision of the protoplasm 

 inside a single cell or ' asciis ' ; (2) Conidiospores, formed by constric- 

 tion of a hypha, so as to form a row of spores arranged more or less 

 like a string of pearls or beads." The remarkable fact is that while 

 C. hiiffelii (the "Vegetable Caterpillar") is known only in its ascospore 

 stage, it is only the conidial stage of C. dnclairii that is known. Both 

 stages are known in some Em-opean species, the conidial stage not 

 necessarily growing on an insect (but sometimes on leaves, bark, &c.), 

 so that possibly the two New Zealand forms may be merely links in 

 the life-history of one species of Cordyceps. 



G. W. K. 



Die Dermatopteren und Orthopteren von Ostetreich-Unrjiini imd Deutsch- 

 land. Bearbeitet von Josef Eedtenbacher. Wien : 1900. 



With present-day British authors, the Dermatoptera (Earwigs) 

 are usually looked upon as the first division {Forjicularia) of the 

 Orthoptera ; but Eedtenbacher, on the other hand, looks upon them 

 as a distinct order, naming the rest Orthoptera genuina. Leach also 

 early in the nineteenth century gave the Earwigs ordinate rank under 

 the name of Dermaptera, which name, however, De Geer had pre- 

 viously proposed for the whole of the Orthoptera. Leach's estimate of 

 the position of this interesting group of insects has found favour with 

 a number of British authors, who have treated them with the same 

 distinction as Eedtenbacher. 



Thirteen Earwigs are enumerated, Forjiciila lesnei and Apterygida 

 aracJiidis not beiug amongst them ; but the latter has been recorded 

 from two localities only in Britain, and those not out of doors. 



Of the Cockroaches there are sixteen in all, including five species 

 of the genus Aphlebia, which so far is unrepresented in Britain, and 

 five of the genus Ectobia, the three British species being amongst 

 them. The British casuals — Nyctibora holosericea, Rhyparobia madercB, 

 Leucophtsa suriname^isis, and Blabera girjantea — are not mentioned, while 

 Blatta australasicB is not given a recognised position. 



In Britain the Mantids and Phasmids are unrepresented ; but for 

 Germany and Austria Eedtenbacher is able to give four of the former, 

 including Mantis religiosa, and one of the latter. 



Of the Grasshoppers proper we have in Britain eleven species, in 

 addition to about live casuals, amongst these five being the " locusts " 

 that occasionally reach our shores. In Germany and Austria there 

 are seventy-one. Of the Locustids there are eighty-nine as against 

 our nine. Of Crickets there are seventeen to our four. 



The book, which is in German, is a large octavo of 148 pages, in 

 paper covers, and is printed in large clear type. One lithographic 

 plate of details constitutes, unfortunately, the whole of the illustrations. 

 There is but little introduction, and the descriptions and notes on each 

 species are short. The work takes the form of a synopsis, and there- 

 fore appeals to the specialist rather than to the general reader. 



W. J. Lucas. 



