7766 Insects. 



expected, were drawn blank. Had I been only a diplerologist, what execution 

 could I have done ! but as it was I was the executed. Myriads of monstrous 

 Tabanina, such as I never saw out of Wales, rose from every cover, and plumped 

 down upon every bit of bare skin on my body. There was I, " in the right place" for 

 Diptera, but unfortunately I was not " the right man " except for their operations. 

 The following were my only captures of the perfect insects, with the exception of the 

 commonest kinds, all taken between June 27th and July llth : — Eulhemonia russula 

 (worn), Hadena coutigua, Uepialus hectus, Cymatophora duplaris, Melanippe pro- 

 cellata, Ephyra trilinearia (worn), Asthena sylvata, Eupilhecia lenuiata, Botys lancea- 

 lis, Crambus inquinatellus, C. perlellus, Paedisca occullana, Penthina picana, Tortrix 

 adjunctana, T. crataegana, Peronea ferrugana, Cochylis slraraineana, Prays Curtisel- 

 lus (dingy variety), Depressaria assimilella, Lithocollelis ulmifoliella, Argyresthia 

 retinella, A. Brockeella, Elachista adscitella, Cemiostoma spartifoliella, Pteropliorus 

 osleodactylus. I took the following larvae : — Platypteryx hamula, on birch ; Dicra- 

 nura vinula, poplar and sallow; Notodonta ziczac, poplar; N. Dromedarius, birch; 

 Clostera rechisa, poplar; Thyalira Balis, bramble; Catoptria ulicetana, Genista 

 anglica. — E. Horlon ; Wick, Worcester, August 22, 1861. 



Bluebottles and Ants, — A day or two ago I picked up a pear lying on the garden 

 walk, and as quickly put it down again on finding some halt'-a-hundred ants clustering 

 on the under side, which was much eaten away. Yesterday morning the pear was 

 gone, but several bluebottle flies were collected on the spot, evidently attracted by some 

 fruity matter remaining on the gravel. These flies were in the thoroughfare of a nest 

 of the small black ant, and I vvas struck by the vigilance displayed by the flies in 

 avoiding contact with their Hymenopterous comrades ; the bluebottles edged away 

 the moment au ant came within half an inch of one, though the latter seemed unaware 

 of their presence. It was a busy scene, there being fourteen or fifteen bluebottles and 

 much more than as many ants in constant movement, the flies often springing up an 

 inch or two to avoid contact with the ants, but the latter did not appear to make any 

 attempt to seize them. The care displayed by the large bluebottles to avoid their 

 diminutive neighbours argues an instinctive dread of the latter as real as that enter- 

 tained by a small bird for a hawk, accompanied with an apparent consciousness of 

 safety as long as absolute contact was avoided. — George Guyon ; Richmond, Surrey, 

 August 15, 1861. 



On Phryganidm and their Parasites. — Science has to thank Mr. Walker for one 

 of the most interesting discoveries, in the observation that Hymenoptera (Agriotypus 

 armatus) go under water in order to deposit their eggs in the larvae of Phryganidae. 

 It seems very extraordinary that creatures which appear only adapted to live in the 

 air should be capable of remaining under water for some time in order to execute 

 certain operations. It had been already previously observed that Phryganea grandis 

 goes under water in order to lay its eggs, and subsequently this observation was 

 repeated amongst the Agrionidae, in Lestes, for instance. Here the male is so polite 

 as to accompany the female under water. The process of respiration is, however, 

 assisted during the short period necessary by the layer of air on the abdomen which 

 the insect takes under water with it. It has also been lung known that some Diptera 

 are parasitic in the larvse of Pliryganidae, but I am not aware that the species are 

 known. Some species of Phryganidae, especially Silo pallipes (which is not scarce 

 in May in hedges near Lewisham) are much infested with the parasitic Agriotypus. 

 Von Siebold has made a very interesting discovery respecting these insects; namely. 



