SCIENCE- GOSSIP. 



263 



perhaps somewhat straighter and narrower. Yellov 

 veinings very distinct. Disc, spot small. I n it 

 distinctly black and oval. H.w. of the same 

 coloiu' as f.w., marginal band as in C. cdusa. Disc, 

 spot small, but of a bright reddish -orange, costal 

 patches yellowish-orange. 9 marginal band of 

 both wings with very distinct greenish-yellow 

 spots, large and evenly placed. F.w. ground colour 

 orange, dusky at base, disc, spot distinct. H.w. 

 almost entirely greyish-black, disc, spot bright 

 orange, and there is sometimes a very slight trace 

 of orange coloration beneath it ; marginal spots 

 large and of a greenish colonr. There is a white 

 form analogous to 0. edusa var. helice, and also an 



intermediate form in which the white ground 

 colour of f.w. is slightly tinged with orange. U.S. 

 tinged with light green. Disc, spoi f.w. white 

 centred, that of h.w. round and silvery. 



1 1 \ 1 *. . I >schachar Mountains, C. Asia (H. & R.). 

 Most, if not all, t he specimens in collect ions in this 

 country are, 1 think, some of those taken byGrvtm- 

 Grshmailo in the Amdo Mountains in 1890. The 

 series in my own collection are from that source, 

 obtained through Mr. Elwes. The male is said to 

 be very rare, perhaps on account of the difficulty 

 of its capture owing to rapid flight, as in the case 

 of the last species. 



(To be continued.') 



NOTES ON SPINNING ANIMALS. 



By H. Wallis Kew. 



(Continued from page 229.) 



VII.— Spinning Flies. 



A MONG the few insects capable of spinning in 

 -*--*- the imago-state are certain little pseudo- 

 neuropterous flies of the family Psocidae. Some 

 insects of this family are wingless throughout life* 

 and of these the little book -lice, which are commonly 

 seen running over paper, are known by sight to 

 most people. 



Those Psocidae with which we are here con- 

 cerned have not received any popular name. They 

 are winged in the imago-state, arid are prettily 

 coloured little flies, of curious and pleasing 

 appearance, living often gregariously on tree- 

 trunks, palings, etc., as well as among the foliage 

 of trees ('). Their spinning habits have long- 

 been known. Westwood (1840) gives a state- 

 ment communicated to him by Audouin, that the 

 latter naturalist had observed a female winged 

 Psoeus weave a web over eggs which she had 

 deposited in the depressions formed by the veins of 

 leaves ( 2 ). Hagen (1861) says generally that the 

 females cover their eggs with a tissue, so that they 

 form flat silvery spots ( 3 ) ; and M'Lachlan (1867) 

 states that the eggs are laid in patches on leaves, 

 bark, and other objects, the females covering them 

 with a web ( 4 ). Further, in 1884, Packard mentions 

 having observed Psocids lay eggs on leaves of lilac, 

 pear, and horse-chestnut ; and he states that they are 

 covered with a flat round web like the " cocoon " of 

 a spider, though only about a line in diameter ( 5 ). 

 The principal observations, however, are those of 



(1) Hagen, Synopsis of British Psocidae, Entomologist's 

 Annual, 1861, pp. 18-32 ; M'Lachlan, Monograph of British 

 Psocidae, Entomologist's Monthly Magazine, iii. (18157), pp. 177, 

 etc. ; Sharp, Cambridge Nat. Hist., v. (1895), pp. 390-8 



(2) Westwood, Modem Classification of Insects, ii. (1840), 

 p. 19. 



(3) Hagen, I.e. 



(4) M'Lachlan, I.e. 



(5) Packard, Standard Nat. Hist., ii. (1884), p. 142. 



Pierre Huber, published in 1843, and based on two 

 Psocids, one with wings of uniform colour and the 

 other with those organs spotted with brown. The 

 first individual watched was on the upper side of a 

 Cytisus leaf, in the depression formed by the mid- 

 rib, where the creature was making a little shining 

 white spot, oval in shape, and consisting, as was 

 seen by means of a strong lens, of a great number 

 of silken threads, placed closely together and 

 variously crossed. On examining the leaf against 

 the light the little satiny patch of web was found 

 to cover six small eggs. Subsequently, on leaves 

 of trees of various kinds, Huber found many such 

 patches, all covering clusters of from six to fourteen 

 eggs. By placing several of the flies under glass 

 vases, with leaves from the trees on which they 

 were found, he saw them spin repeatedly, observing 

 the whole process from the laying of the eggs to 

 their final concealment by the completed silken 

 covering ( 6 ). 



Huber observed that individuals believed to be 

 males were capable of spinning ; and M'Lachlan 

 has expressed the opinion that both sexes spin. 

 The web, the latter naturalist remarks, is undis- 

 tinguishable from that of spiders ; and he adds that 

 if a number of specimens be enclosed in a pill-box 

 it will be found, at the end of several hours, that 

 the interior is traversed in all directions by 

 numerous lines of web. This circumstance appears 

 to have been noted also by S. F. Aaron in the case 

 of Psoeus sexpunctatus, caught near Philadelphia 

 and taken home in paper boxes ( 7 ). It was noticed 

 by Huber that some clusters of eggs had, in 

 addition to the ordinary close-fitting covering, an- 

 other protection, a little distance above the first,. 



(6) P. Huber, Memoire pour servir a Ttiistoire des Psoques,. 

 Mrm. Soc. de Phys. et d'Hist. Nat. de Geneve, x. (1843), pp. 35-47. 



( 7 ) McCook, A Web-spinning Neuropterous Insect, Proc. Acad. 

 Nat. Sci. Philadelphia, 1SS3, pp. 278-9. 



