28 



of the sand martin at St. Valery-s.-Somrae, and I Lave myself met with it crawling 

 upon and at the base of sand banks inhabited by these birds, and have watched the 

 beetles ascend the almost perpendicular walls of sand and enter the burrows in which 

 nests were situate. Mr. May found it copiously in flowers, and I have several times 

 taken it in those of the ragwort (Seneeio Jacobcea)." 



Mr. Tegetmeier called the attention of the meeting to a theory propounded by 

 Principal Leitch to account for the development of a fertile queen-bee from an egg 

 which would, under ordinary circumstances, have produced a sterile worker. 



It is well known that bees deprived of their queen select several workers' eggs or 

 very young lavvse for the purpose of rearing queens. The cells in which these eggs 

 are situated are lengthened out and the end turned downwards. The larva undergoes 

 its development in this perpendicular cell, which is capable of being entirely sur- 

 rounded by the worker bees. It was found by experiment that the position of ihe 

 cell was not of importance, as a fertile queen was developed with equal certainty when 

 the cell was placed horizontally or even inverted, as when it remained in the natural 

 pendent position. It was suggested that the more perfect development of the fertile 

 larva was due to increased temperature, and that the object of the isolation of the cell 

 was to allow iis being entirely surrounded by a cluster of bees, whose rapid and 

 increased respiration was productive of the warmth necessary to accomplish the growth 

 of a queen . 



In remarking on this theory, Mr. Tegetmeier stated that the idea of the develop- 

 ment of a queen being dependent on the use of a food known as "royal jelly" 

 appeared destitute of any foundation in fact, and that the theory which attributed 

 the change to increased temperature produced by the clustering bees appeared sup- 

 ported by the fact that in rearing queens artificially several queen cells were usually 

 situated closely together, and also that the production of fertile workers, which 

 occasionally took place under these circumstances, miglit be regarded as dependent on 

 the adjaceut cells being subjected to a somewhat increased temperature by the 

 clustering of the bees around the royal cells. He further staled that it had been 

 ascertained by the use of delicate thermometers that a higher temperature existed in 

 the neighbourhood of the queens than was found in any other part of the brood- 

 comb. * 



Mr. M'Lachlan exhibited a fine series of Phryganidae pertaining to the genus 

 Stenophylax of Kolenati, and read des^criptions of all the known British species, 

 amongst which were two not hitherto recorded as natives of this country. 



Mr. Adam White called attention to the injury caused to ginger root brought to 

 this country from Cochin and Calicut by the larva of a small coleopterous insect, 

 believed to be Lasioderma testaceum, Sleph.; and to the damage done to macaroni by 

 the rice weevil {Sitophylus Oryza). Tiie depreciation of the crop of ginger root in 

 value is computed at £3000 or £4000 annually; and a large consignment of 

 macaroni from Genoa, which cost 5rf. per It)., would, in its now damaged state, be 

 gladly disposed of by its unfortunate owner for \\d. per fb. 



Mr. Desvignes communicated descriptions of two new species of Ichueuinonidas, 

 pertaining to the genus Epbialtes. 



Part 10, completing the fifth volume of the new series of the Society's ' Transac- 

 tions' was on the table. 



