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SCIENCE-GOSSIP. 



Agriolimax laevis var. maculatus. — I see no 

 reason to doubt that the " new variety " mentioned 

 by Mr. G. E. Mason (ante p. 157) is in reality 

 my maculatus. My original specimen may have 

 been a little more spotted than those he has found, 

 but there can be no essential difference. It seems 

 possible, from what Mr. Mason says, that it may 

 prove to be a distinct species. In that case those 

 who hold extreme views about homonyms will 

 probably want to rename it, as Simroth, in 1886 

 (SB. Ges. Leipzig, xii. pp. 11-12), called the 

 Amalia maculata Heyn., Agriolimax maculatus. As 

 a matter of fact, however, this latter slug is not an 

 Agriolimax, but belongs to the genus Lytopelte 

 Bttg. (Platytoxon Simr.). Still again, supposing the 

 Barnes Common var. maculatus to be a distinct 

 species, it will remain to prove that is not A . lacustris 

 Bonelli, or A. mentonicus Nevill. A. lacustris 

 certainly has the sub-aquatic habits of maculatus, 

 but it presents some peculiarities not yet observed 

 in the latter. No doubt Mr. Mason will in due time 

 clear up all these questions. — T. D. A. Cockerell, 

 Mesilla Park, New Mexico, U.S. A . ; October 24th. 



Electricity in Plants. — Up to the present I 

 have looked in vain through the columns of 

 Science-Gossip for an accurate account of the 

 remarkable phenomenon of the electrical display 

 of light by plants under certain conditions. So far 

 as my knowledge serves me, the phenomenon is 

 occasionally exhibited by red and orange-coloured 

 flowers, and more infrequently and less markedly 

 by those of yellow tint. The manifestation seems 

 dependent on an electrical condition of the air, and 

 has only been observed after sunset, never during 

 bright sunshine, in such plants as the marigold, 

 the different species of poppy, the scarlet geranium, 

 the heartsease, etc. Up to this point the facts 

 noted in the case of the red Oriental poppy by 

 Captain Cobbett (ante pp. 60, 125) agree, in so far 

 as they concern that plant, with those just given. 

 Thereafter, however, comes a difference. That 

 observer states that the "scintillations" were of a 

 bluish colour. I always understood that the light 

 was of the same colour as the corolla of the plant 

 from which it issued. I should be glad, therefore, 

 if. anyone possessed of fuller and perhaps more 

 authentic information would correct any errors in, 

 or add to, this brief note for the benefit of those 

 who, like myself, may be desirous of learning more 

 of this interesting phenomenon. — Wm. Falconer, 

 28, Varley Road, Slaithwaite, Huddersfield. 



Vespa austriaca in Scotland. — A few weeks 

 ago I received from Mr. John Mearns, Jasmine 

 Terrace, Aberdeen, N.B., a small box of Vespae 

 and a few other Aculeate Hymenoptera, with a 

 request that I would name them for him, as he 

 had just commenced their study and found con- 

 siderable difficulty in determining the several 

 species. This I was only too pleased to do. 

 Amongst his Vespae was a very fine matured and 

 somewhat wing-worn specimen of the female 

 Vespa austriaca Panz. (arborea Smith), ante p. 69. 

 It, however, somewhat differs from the normal 



form in that the three black dots on the disc 

 of the clypeus have become spots, and the two 

 lower ones united by a downwardly-curving some- 

 what jagged streak. It thus simulates the anchor- 

 head termination of the mark as exhibited on the 

 clypeus of the female Vespa rufa. The yellow of 

 the abdomen is pure and unadulterated, and the 

 hairs on the tibiae are abundant and long. With 

 Mr. Mearns' permission I record his capture of this 

 comparatively rare British wasp, of which he says : 

 " Vespa austriaca was taken in the middle of May, 

 1898, in the suburbs of Aberdeen. I discovered 

 and netted her on the trunk of a rotten tree, while 

 searching for Diptera." The date of the capture, 

 the bright colours and the somewhat worn condition 

 of the wings, all point to its being a hibernated 

 specimen that had been on the wing for some time. 

 — Charles Robson, Kiilinguiorth , Newcastle-011-Tyne. 



Botany of Medi.eval Monks. — I think your 

 correspondent, Mr. A. E. Burr (ante p. 188), will 

 find an explanation of the peculiar interrupted 

 pinnate condition of the sepals of Rosa canina in 

 their mode of arrangement in the bud. The sepals 

 there overlap one another in such a way that five 

 margins are left free, while five are covered. The 

 free margins are those which become pinnate ; the 

 others, owing to compression within the bud, are 

 unable to develop in the same way. On reference 

 to the accompanying diagram, where the figures 

 show the succession from below upwards or from 

 without inwards, it will be seen that owing to their 



Diagram showing relative position of sepals of Rosa 

 in the bud. 



position, two sepals (1 and 2) will be lobed on both 

 margins, two (4 and 5) will have no lobes at all, 

 while one (3) will be lobed on its free margin 

 and not on the one that is covered. The leaf- 

 points to the sepals occur very commonly on 

 several species of the allied genus Rubus. — R. R. 

 Hutchinson, Tunbridge Wells. 



Entomologists' International Exchange. — 

 Like all entomologists, I have found some difficulty 

 in obtaining specimens from foreign countries by 

 means of exchange or purchase. I therefore, sug- 

 gest that an International Exchange Club should 

 be formed in London by one of the several ento- 

 mological societies, the organizing society to have 

 correspondents in every part of the world ; the 

 duplicates sent in by members to be credited to 

 them according to number and value. This would 

 be determined by a committee of two or three 

 members. Postage and other expenses should be 

 paid by members who are exchanging. A sub- 

 scription of, say, one pound sterling, would be 

 ample, and would go also to cover rent of a suitable 

 office or room in London for the purposes of the 

 club, such as storage, cost of store-boxes, etc. I, 

 for instance, have quantities of duplicates of all 

 orders of South African insects, and should be glad 

 to exchange them for English and Foreign Cole- 

 optera. Should anyone take up the suggestion I 

 should be pleased to act as hon. secretary for 

 South Africa' or, more especially, Cape Colony. — 

 Delancey Dods, P. 0. Box 634, Cape Town. 



