MISCELLANEOUS NOTES. 241 



Of the Apionini, 27 Indian species are listed, apart from those of Ceylon 

 and Burma ; many of these are Motschulky's species of 1858 ; very few 

 are recent descriptions, and the group is but imperfectly known in India 

 probably. The author has wholly omitted Motschulky's A. pruinosum (Ent. 

 Stud. 1858, VII, p. 92), and Desbrocher's A. strobilanthi (Ind. Mus. Notes II, 

 p. 32). The latter was bred from seeds ; the only economic species is the 

 " Jute Stem "Weevil " which is injurious in Eastern Bengal to this plant. We 

 have Apion gagatinum, Mo., and several unidentified species in the Pusa 

 collection. These small weevils occur little in collections and are usually 

 unnoticed by collectors. 



(h). — Genera Insectoeum. 



Fascicule 97 is a volume of great bulk dealing with the family Chalcidce, 

 by Dr. 0. Schmiedeknecht. The number of described species is enormous, 

 and this volume, like the rest of the series, gives the characters marking the 

 genera and lists the species. 



The Chalcidce include the abundant small parasites which destroy insects ; 

 many are egg-parasites, many are parasites in such small insects as Aphids. 

 Scale Insects and the like. The fig insects are also included, which occur so 

 abundantly in India. 



The Indian species recorded are very few ; fifty species are enumerated, of 

 which three are real fig insects, nine are inquilines and parasites of the fig 

 insects, while a bare 38 others have been actually named. There are actually 

 hundreds of species in India but they have been little collected and no* 

 described. 



Fascicule 98 deals with the sub-family Nanophyince of the Curculionidse 

 (Weevils). Nine Indian species of Nanophyes are listed. The habits of our 

 Indian forms are wholly unknown, but in Europe, Nanophyes are known to 

 live as larvae in galls, or the larvae live freely in flowers, feeding on the ovary, 

 or concealed in the flower as in Tamarix. These weevils are small, similar to 

 the small Apion which also lives in the tissues of plants. 



Other recent fascicules do not contain Indian species and need no mention 

 here. The editor, Monsieur P. Wytsmann of Brussels, is to be congratulated 

 on the success of the publication ; 99 fascicules have been issued, from the 

 pens of the best experts in each family, beautifully illustrated and well got 

 up ; the series is in a fair way to become complete, and entomologists will owe 

 to the editor a great debt of gratitude for having produced a work of such 

 immense value. 



H. MAXWELL-LEFKOY. 



Pusa, November 1909. 



(0- — Life-history of a Lymantrid on Castor (Orgyia postica, Wlk.). 



In December last the castor crop on the Coimbatore farm was found attack- 

 ed by a species of hairy caterpillar not notsd till now. The insect did some 

 31 



