Proceedings of Scientific Societies. 387 



Mt. Vauglian, near Cape Palrnas, "West Africa, Jan. 15tli, 1840. 



Dear Sir. — I send five specimens of the Calandra palmarum or palm weavel. 

 This insect inhabits the Elais Gulnetnsis, the pahn tree from which the natives ob- 

 tain llieir palm oil. It lives upon the juices of the tree, whicii, as they exist in 

 their natural state, are exceedingly sweet and pleasant. It penetrates the cabbage 

 by its rostrum, and is thus often found in the act of sucking the natural palm wine. 

 I am informed by the Alricans that the male is distinguislied from the female, by 

 being of a smaller size ; the female is provided with a tuft of yellow hair upon the 

 upper edge of the beak and the tibia of the fore leg. The larvae and the fully de- 

 veloped insect are eaten by the natives, and in either state are considered a deli- 

 cacy ; they are eaten uncooked or roasted, with pepper and salt. They are taken 

 by the aged and impotent for their supposed aphrodisiac powers. 



There is also a smaller species of Calandra, which is very destructive to the 

 rice ; it is probably the C. granaria of Europe. 



The best and rarest of the Lamellicornes which I have transmitted to you, are 

 three specimens of the Scarahaius GjUathus of Lin. and Drury. This species has 

 received the different generic names of Cetonia, Fab. and Olivier, Goliathus , La- 

 marck and Duncan, and more recently Hcgemon from Dr. T. W. Harris, of Har- 

 vard University. The larger specimen seems to be the Cetonia. cacicus, Fab. and 

 Oliv., first described by VoSi in 17d-5, and erroneously supposed to be a native of 

 America. (See Hope's Coleopterist's Manual.) This is positively pronounced by 

 the natives to be a male, of which there can be no doubt, from what is known of 

 the sexual distinctions among the group of Lamellicornes. The two smaller spe- 

 cimens are undoubtedly the females of the larger specimen; they are evidently 

 identical with the insect described by Hope as C. princeps, and which on dissec- 

 tion proved to be a female; and uncertain whether it had been previously de- 

 scribed, he gave it the above name provisionally. The natives declare very posi- 

 tively that it is the •* woman" of the larger specimen. They are both found on 

 the same tree and have the same habits. They are not found immediately on the 

 coast, but some miles back from the sea. They abound in January, February and 

 Maich, and are easily obtained when the natives cut the forest trees preparatory to 

 planting their rice. Yours, &c. Thos. S. Savage. 



Dr. T. W. Harris stated that he regarded the specimen described by 

 Dr. Savage as the Goliathus, the most valuable addition which had ever 

 been made to the entomological cabinet; he thought it distinct from the 

 caciais, tlie latter wanting the spots on the shoulders which existed in the 

 specimen under consideration. He regarded it as an undescribed species. 



Dr. J. Wyman, e.xhibited the cranium and drum of the howling mon- 

 key, Siinia seniculus, Buff., a donation to the cabinet from F. W. Cragin, 

 M. D. of Surinam. The cranium is remarkable for the great obliquity of 

 the face, the facial angle being only 30°. When placed in its natural po- 

 sition, the occipital hole is found to be on a level with the superior part of 

 the orbit, and instead of being situated in the plane of the base of the skull 

 as in most of the other quadrumana, it forms a right angle with it as in 

 the rodenlia. The lower jaw is excessively developed both in its body 

 and branches, having a surface almost equal to that of the cranium. The 

 branches of the lower jaw form two walls of a large cavity, in which is 

 contained the body of the hyoid bone, modified in a most remarkable man- 



