130 THE ENTOMOLOGIST. 



crippled. If the fact that the pupa when found was much 

 lighter than it afterwards became shews that it had but lately 

 changed from the larval state, then the pupal condition would 

 seem to last about three weeks. Possibl}^ however, premature 

 exposure may have caused the darkening. 



Soon the snakefiy was killed, as otherwise it is difficult to 

 identify the species. It was then found to be a male of Raphidia 

 macuUcollis. Of the genus liapliidia there are four British species, 

 R. yiotata (Fig. 3) being considerably larger than the other three 

 — R. macuUcollis i(Fig. 2), R. xanthostigvia and R. cognata — 

 which are of about the same size. They belong to the natural 

 order Neuroptera, in its restricted as well as in its wider sense. 



In the Oxshott and Esher Common districts of Surrey this 

 species appears to be fairly plentiful. I have met with it there as 

 early as May 18th in 1901, whilst the latest date I have is June 

 14th in 1906. In the Wisley district I met with one on May 23rd, 

 1899. Mr. E. C. Goulton gave me a female taken near Lyndhurst 

 in the New Forest in 1906, and Mr. D. Sharp gave me a Scotch 

 specimen which he took at Nethy Bridge in July, 1908. Mr. 

 M'Lachlan had received a specimen from Haslemere and another 

 from Morayshire. So the species seems to be rather widely dis- 

 tributed. On May 20th, 1903, Mr. G. T. Porritt and myself took, 

 chiefly by beating, about twenty-eight individuals in some two 

 hours at the Black Pond, Esher Common. Most, if not all, had 

 lately emerged, and had glossy wings shewing their teneral con- 

 dition. One was found on a tree-trunk near its empty pupa- 

 skin, which I then met with for the first time. The wings of the 

 recently disclosed imago were yellowish and clouded, like those 

 of a freshly emerged dragonfly ; the joints of the body were pale 

 brown, the rest of the insect being dark. One of the snakeflies 

 taken that day and placed in a box with some Hemerobius 

 hiimuli (judging by the results found afterwards) attacked two of 

 the latter, killing them, and eating part of their body. 



In R. macuUcollis the wing-veining near the pterostigma 

 seems sufficiently constant for purposes of identification. Atten- 

 tion should be paid to those cells containing a cross (Fig. 5). 

 The single cell attached to the distal extremity of the ptero- 

 stigma seems to be constant in this one of the four British 

 sj)ecies and peculiar to it. 



It should be noted that the pupa is able to work its jaws, 

 though it has no cocoon to cut open. 



Explanation of Plate. 



1. Pupa of jR-macitZicoZZis in resting position on its side (x 10). 2. Imago 

 (female) oi B. macuUcollis (nat.size). 3. Imago (female), for comparison, of 

 B. notata {n&i. size). 4. Jaws of pupa of B macuUcollis (x 16), for com- 

 parison with those of ant-lions and Chrysopas, belonging to the same natiiral 

 order, 5. Tip of right fore wing of B, macuUcollis (magnified). 



