SCIENCE- GOSSIP. 



Ovipositor of Tipula. — This is a curious organ 

 of the "Daddy-long-legs," but the parts are not 

 arranged on the slide as in nature. There are 

 250 ( 3 ) species of Tipula known. They lay their 



phora = snout bearers. The really distinguishing 

 mark of the order is the elbowed antenna. These 

 common weevils are found in immense numbers in 

 the wheat imported from Calcutta and from Aus- 



Oyipositob op Tipula. 



eggs in the ground or on the surface in batches of 

 200 or more. The eggs are black. The grub pro- 

 duced from the egg is known as the " leather 



Battledore-like 



Object 



ix Ovipositor 



of Tipula. 



jacket," and is very destructive. This last remark 

 applies to only two of the 250 species. I should 

 very much like to know what those battledore-like 

 objects lying near may be. 



Parasite from Humble Bee. — These are mites 

 and near akin to spiders. They have eight legs 

 and are therefore not insects. The crab-like 

 toothed jaws are curious. I do not know the name 



Jaw of Parasite of Humble Bee. 



this mite, but it cannot be mistaken for Stylops 

 spencii, parasitic on bees and other Hymenoptera, 

 which used to have an order all to itself (Strep- 

 siptera), but which is now included amongst 

 Coleoptera. 



Disjecta Membra of Commox Weevil. — It is 

 no use mounting this very hard and opaque beetle 

 whole, as one cannot see anything in that way. 

 The weevils are an order of Coleoptera, the common 

 weevil being an example, and are furnished with 

 long snouts. Hence they are also called Ehynco- 



(3) There are over 1,000.— [Ed. Micros.] 



Gizzard and Antennae of Common Weevil. 



tralia, and infest granaries and mills. They bore 

 a hole in the wheat grain with their long snouts, 

 which are furnished with a row of teeth at the tip, 

 by a sort of turning movement, and in this hole the 

 egg is laid. The hole is then plugged with gum 

 secreted by the female, and the grain looks none 

 the worse. The egg hatches in a few days. The 



Eyes and Snout of Common Weevil. 



change from larva to pupa, and from pupa to imago, 

 takes place within the grain. The imago eats its 

 way out. They are said to breed only when the 

 temperature is above 65° F. It is a remarkable 

 thing that they never injure the germ of the grain, 

 which therefore grows as well when it has served 

 as a nest and home for this little pest as previously. 

 The eyes at the base of the snout should be noticed. 

 and also the gizzard. 



Ovipositor of Wild Bee.— I do not know the 

 name of this bee. There are, I believe, over 200 

 species of wild bees in England. This is large, 

 long, and black, one that I have never seen except 

 in the autumn, and which seems especially to 

 frequent the common red fuchsia. The organ is 

 undeniably curious, but lacks the finish generally 

 found in nature. — (Mev.) It. 8. Pattrick. 



KEMARKS. 



Aphis with Young. — Is it certain this speci- 

 men was in a viviparous (as stated in the notes) 

 condition when mounted ? May it not have been 

 in an advanced ovo-viviparous condition at the 

 time, with the outer substance of the ova very thin 

 and delicate, so that each w T as smashed up in the 

 bursting of the insect by pressure ? Do not some 



