978 



SCIENCE. 



[N. S. Vol. XIV. No. 364. 



Chapman have investigated this matter,* con- 

 firming the previous knowledge, and discover- 

 ing that one species is ovo-viviparous. They 

 find that the eggs develop into larvae in the 

 ovarian tubules, and increase in size during 

 their progress down the oviduct. This indi- 

 cates that fecundation in these insects is not by 

 the usual method ; but how is as yet unknown. 



Part I., 1901, of the journal of the Hungarian 

 National Museum, Termeszetrajzi Fiizetek, con- 

 tains world catalogues of two families of insects. 

 One is ' Catalogus Pipunculidarum,' by C. 

 Kertesz, pp. 157-168. It brings the subject 

 down to 1901, and includes 4 genera and 110 

 species. The other is a ' Catalogus Endomy- 

 chidarum,' by E. Csiki. It is published as a 

 supplement to the journal, and contains 78 

 genera and 585 species. 



Brauer has issued another part of his ' Beitrage 

 zur Kenntniss der Muscaria schizometopia.^ f 

 This deals with the synonomy of many species 

 described by Bigot, Macquart and others that 

 belong to genera allied to Calliphora. It is pre- 

 fixed by a table to these genera. Nearly 

 twenty of the species come from the United 

 States, and many more from Mexico. Of especial 

 value are his determinations of the Bigot ma- 

 terial. 



E. Wasmann has concluded his paper on 

 ' Termitoxenia,'' J in which he deals with the 

 systematic position of the genus. In a previous 

 part he thought it would go in the Stethopathidse, 

 but now he concludes to erect for it a new 

 family, Termitoxenidse, intermediate between 

 the Eumyidse and the Pupipara. It thus falls 

 into Coquillett's superfamily Muscoidea. 



An interesting contribution towards the life- 

 history of an eastern mosquito has been pub- 

 lished by Miss Nelly Evans. § She has studied 

 C'ulex fatigans, one of the species known to 



* ' Observations on some Species of On'na, a Genus 

 of Viviparous and Ovo-viviparous Beetles,' Trans. 

 Ent. Soe , Lmid., 1901, pp. 1-19. 2 plates. 



■f Sitzungsber. Akad. Wissensch., Wien, 1899(1901), 

 pp. 49')-529. 



X' Termitoxenia, ein neues, flugelloses, physogastres 

 Dipterengenus aus Term i ten n estern '; part II. 

 Zeilschr. f. Wisti<nsch. ZooL, 1901. 



I ' Some Observations on the Life-history of Culex 

 fatigans, the Common Grey Mosquito of Lower Ben- 

 gal,' Proc. Asiat. Soc. Bengal, Aug., 1901, pp. 65-67. 



attack birds. Specimens were kept a month 

 on fruit ; but will not deposit eggs until they 

 have had a meal of blood. Fertilization nor- 

 mally occurs after feeding, but one specimen 

 laid eggs that had been fertilized only before 

 feeding. Egg-boats are laid about four to six 

 days after meal of blood ; if the mosquito is 

 again fed, it will deposit again, and some speci- 

 mens laid five egg-boats. The larval stage 

 lasts twenty days ; the pupal stage four days. 



Dr. F. Dahl has given an account of the 

 habits of the ants of the Bismarck archipelago.* 

 It is preceded by a systematic article by Pro- 

 fessor Forel. Dahl, however, gives tables to 

 the genera and species, both according to struc- 

 ture, and according to nesting habits. He com- 

 pares the fauna to that of north Germany, and 

 tabulates the species of the latter region accord- 

 ing to nest habits. The plates illustrate two 

 remarkable nests. One is of Camponotus quadri- 

 ceps in the stems of a plant. The pith is par- 

 tially excavated ; at places the cavity is en- 

 larged, and there are simple openings to the 

 outside. This does not affect the plant or cause 

 any abnormal growth. The other is a greatly 

 enlarged stem of a plant in which there are 

 many channels and cavities caused hj Iridomyr- 

 mex cordatus. 



Dr. G. Enderlein has written on the breath- 

 ing apparatus of the Gastridse f (more commonly 

 known as CEstridse). In these larvae, which in- 

 fest various large animals, respiration is often 

 performed under difficulties, and results in con- 

 siderable modification of the breathing appa- 

 ratus. These modifications, which the author 

 describes in considerable detail, are summed up 

 as follows : 



1. Complication of the closing apparatus of 

 the stigmata. 



2. Elongation of the stigmal cleft. 



3. The beginning of air reservoirs. 



4. Development of the terminal tracheal 

 structures for the reception of oxygen by the 

 blood. 



* 'Das Leben der Ameisen im Bismarck-Archipel,' 

 Mitt. Zool. Mus. Berlin, II., hft. 1, pp. 1-70, 2 pis., 

 1901. 



t ' Die Eespirationorgane der Gastriden,' Sitzungs- 

 her. Akad. Wiss., Wien, May, 1899 (1901), pp. 235- 

 302, 3 pis. 



