156 THE CANADIAN ENTOMOLOGIST. 
the Burmese forests on a botanical trip, and whilst in the act of detatching 
a specimen plant of Dendrobium farmert from the naked branch of a 
tree, I felt a severe and painful sting on my thumb. On examination I 
noticed I had seized hold of a large caterpillar, lodged amongst the roots 
-of this orchid. It was about two inches long, clothed with erect hairs ; its 
colour was a reddish brown, the lower part of the abdomen being darker, 
with well-developed legs. My thumb continued painful for three days ; it 
‘was considerably swollen, the skin having a drawn glazed appearance. 
The Burmese told me that this kind of caterpillar was exceedingly 
venemous, and one fellow was particularly consoling by informing me that 
unless the pain subsided in three days the sting might prove fatal. Iam 
‘inclined to think that the caterpillar for self-protection has the power of 
-detaching these hairs ; whether any propelling force is present at the time 
of detachment it would be difficult to prove. I found steeping my hand 
in Eau de Cologne gave me the greatest relief.” 
Mr. ALBERT MULLER communicated the following notes at a meeting 
of the Ent. Soc. of London, England :— 
1. Areocerus cofee at Basle— ‘On the 29th of September, 1862, 
“while attentively watching the unpacking of some freshly-imported bags 
of Java coffee, in a warehouse at Basle, a very lively specimen of this 
beetle came tumbling out of one of the bags. I secured it and kept it 
alive for some days. In a letter dated the r4th of March, 1873, which I 
have just received from my lynx-eyed friend Herr H. Knecht, of the 
‘same city, he tells me that he can now get this species in any quantity at 
Basle. It is well known that this species of Anthribidæ feeds in the larval 
state on raw coffee-berries ; hence its introduction and capture in com- 
mercial emporia on the coasts of different continents need cause little 
‘surprise; but the two facts here recorded illustrate once more the 
indubitable axiom that insects living on merchandise are spread chiefly 
along the main trade-route, and become acclimatised along their whole 
course, Basle being one of the chief markets where Central Europe stores 
and disposes of the purchases derived from Mediterranean and Atlantic 
ports.” 
2. Tribolium ferrugineum in Ground-nuts.—<* In the summer of 1863 
a cargo of ground-nuts (Arachis hypogea) arrived in the port of London 
direct from Sierra Leone. On arrival the usual samples were drawn, when 
it turned out that the husks were riddled by countless holes, while the 
