ME. B. MCLACHLAN ON ONISCIGASTER WAKEFIELDI. 139 



legs, wings, and abdomen. The following day I offered lier food 

 for the last time; but both head and thorax were dead or paralyzed ; 

 she could but wag her tail, a last token, as I could almost fancy, 

 of gratitude and aifection. As far as I could judge, her death 

 was quite painless ; and she now occupies a place in the British 

 Museum. 



Ants. 



My experiments with ants have not been very succcessful ; I 

 may, however, just mention the following : — 



On the 29th of December I took some red ants and placed 

 them in a glass in my room. On the 4th of March following 

 I put four of them back into their nest, but could not see any 

 sign of joy on their part, or any evidence that they were recog- 

 nized by their former companions. As, however, they soon went 

 down into their nest and were out of sight, this observation 

 was not very satisfactory. I therefore took some of the ants 

 which had been left in the nest, and placed them in the glass. 

 They joined the others, and crossed antennse in the usual way ; 

 but I saw no special signs of satisfaction or recognition. For 

 the sake of comparison, I put some other red ants with them, and 

 I could observe no diiference of behaviour. 



On Oniseigaster Wakejleldi, the singular Insect from New Zea- 

 land, belonging to the Family Ephemeridse ; with Notes on its 

 Aquatic Conditions. By Eobekt McLachlan", F.L.S. 



[Eead March 19, 1874.] 



(Plate V.) 



At the Meeting of the British Association for the Advancement 

 of Science held at Bradford in September of last year, I brought 

 before the notice of Section D a very singular species of Ephe- 

 meridse that I had just received from my friend C. M. "Wakefield, 

 Esq., of Christchurch, Canterbury Settlement, New Zealand, and 

 which I proposed to name Oniseigaster Wakeflelcli, the generic 

 term being suggested by the formation of the terminal abdominal 

 segments, they being provided on each side with wing-like corne- 

 ous acute expansions strongly resembling a portion of an Oniscus 

 or of some other Crustacean, and the true relationship of which. 



