16 ENTOMOLOGICAL SOCIETY OF ONTARIO. 



Mr. Howard's bulletin on the Joint-worm Flies, for its grasp of the subject, its 

 clearness of description, and the beauty of its illustrations is a model work. Mr. Marl itt's 

 NematiNvE is also first, class — excellent in every way. Of Mr. Ashmead's Proctotry- 

 piDjE I can say, that the more I study it, the more I marvel at the amount cf care and 

 research that it betokens. It is a very mine of information. 



I have said above that I wanted <o obtain wasps' nests for a special purpose. Some- 

 times wasps' nests are plentiful enough. This Eesson there has been a scarcity of tbem, 

 from the nests of Vespa macu/ata, Fab. downwards. 



Here is a story of a wasp's nest : Two Irishmen were working in the woods one day. 

 One called to the other, '• Pat, here's a bees' nest in a blather, let us take the honey ! " 

 " Arid sure," said Pat, telling the story afterwards, " there was more cry than honey ; 

 and the cry was from Terence." 



A short time since I was at a village in the eastern townships ; and a farmer I there 

 called upon reminded me of a circumstance that occurred thirty year3 ago. At that time 

 I was on a visit to a friend for whom this man was then gardener. He was troubled 

 about a colony of wasps that had suspended their nest in the centre of the ceiling of the 

 carriage-bouse. He was " afiaid to burn it, and afraid to crush it." What could he do 1 

 " Meet me at night- fall," I said " with a pair of steps and a lantern ; and I will take it 

 for you." At the time appointed I went, taking a cork, and a small bottle of chlorolorm 

 in my pocket. I placed the steps under the nest, whilst the gaidener held th^ lantern 

 at a respectful distance. Having mounted the steps I deftly sli|>t the cork into the hole 

 at the bottom of the nest, and then poured a teaspoonful of chloroform upon the top of 

 the insect habitation. It immediately soaked through the paper covering; and then 

 there was a great commotion within ; but in a few moments all was still I cut the nest 

 from the ceiling with my pen-knife and brought it down in my hand. " Well," said the 

 gardener, " that was neatly done ! " And he has remembered all these years the way to 

 take a wasps' nest. 



On the 10th of this month I went to the St. Henri woods. Colias Philodice, Gdt. 

 and Chrysophanus Americana, D' Urb*n, were on the wing. Besides them a few locusts 

 and crickets, two noctuids out of reach, a two-winged fly (Sericomyia mitilaris, Walker), 

 and a beetle (N ecropltorus tomeutosus, Web.) were all the perfect insects I saw. 



I found larvae of Aulax nabali, Brodie, in the stalks of the Wild Lettuce, Nabalus 

 ditissimus, Hooker, a foot, or so, from the ground. They were feeding in the white, 

 downy lining of the stalk, and in some instances bad commenced their cells or cocoons 

 which as the stalk dries up will stand out in the hollow like bulblets, the size and sbape 

 of grains of hemp. Some years ago I exhibited cocoons of the species at one of our meet- 

 ings. The perfect insects came from them early in the year following. 



I have taken many a walk and examined many a tamarack in the hope of finding 

 cocoons of Platysamia Colnnibia, Smith, a species that was taken at Quebec by Mr. 

 Bowles. Some years ago 1 found a vacated cocoon of the species. I greatly fear that 

 Nematus Erichsonii by stripping its food trees has banished this fine species from the 

 locality. 



SOME INSECTIVOROUS MAMMALS. 



By Robert Elliott, Plover Mills. 



Under the above heading I would like to treat in a popular way of a group of 

 animals which, on account of their food habits, have a more or less direct bearing on the 

 science of economic entomology. 



Three orders — namely, Cheiroptera^ (Bats), Inseclivora (Moles and Shrews) and 

 Carnivora,l represented by such non typical forms as the Raccoon and the Skunk — 

 include all of our own species which deserve the apellation " insectivorous mammal." 



