NOTES AND OBSERVATIONS. 91 



lighting, but the fact that the new lights give a somewhat whiter 

 light than the old ones suggests that there may be more ultra-violet 

 rays in the former, and these rays are known to be unacceptable 

 to some insects, e. g. ants. This opens up a very interesting aspect 

 of the attraction of light for insects, and perhaps Mr. Tarbat can get 

 some definite information on the comparative composition of the 

 respective lights. — C. Nicholson. 



New Bees from Madeira.— In a paper published in the ' Pro- 

 ceedings of the Entomological Society of Washington,' vol. xxiv, 

 No. 1 (January, 1922), Prof. T. D. A. Cockerell describes four new 

 species of bees from the Madeira Islands. These are Haliclus 

 wollastoni, Andrena maderensis, A. portosanctana and A. wollastoni. 

 Excepting A. portosanctana all are in the British Museum. — E. S. 



Boreus hyemalis, Linn. (Neueoptera). — In the ' Trans. Ent. 

 Soc. Lond.,' January, 1922, will be found a paper by C. L. 

 Withycombe, B.Sc, giving a full account of his breeding of this 

 aberrant member of the Neuroptera (or Mecoptera, if it is preferred 

 to constitute the Panorpas and their allies a distinct Natural Order 

 of the Insecta). One peculiarity of this insect is that it appears as 

 an imago in November and continues as such in December and 

 possibly longer. The larval period extends from December till 

 August. B. hyemalis is a small insect — from 3 to 5 mm. long. The 

 male has four bristle-like wing-remnants ; the female is wingless, and 

 has a long ovipositor somewhat resembling that of the Locustodea 

 amongst the Orthoptera. Both sexes possess the Panorpid " beak." 

 Through all its stages B. hyemalis lives in moss, especially Mm am 

 homum, Lirin. The larva also feeds on moss, but the food of the 

 imago consists of animal juices," although apparently it does not 

 attack living insects. The paper is illustrated by good enlarged 

 figures of the larva and of the male and female imagines, while a 

 photographic plate shows all stages on a smaller scale. — W. J. Lucas; 

 Kingston-on-Thames. 



The Earn Collection op British Lepidoptera. — It is given to 

 few men to spend so many years of a long life in the formation of a 

 collection of British Lepidoptera as in Farn's case. For little short 

 of three-quarters of a century he was an assiduous worker in the 

 field ; he also lost no opportunity of adding any remarkable specimen 

 that came in his way to his cabinet. Sabine, too, was a diligent 

 worker throughout the greater part of his life, more particularly 

 among the butterflies, and at his death Farn acquired his collection 

 and amalgamated it with his own. The auctioneer was therefore 

 justified in saying, when he offered the first portion of this collection 

 at Stevens's Auction Booms on February 14th, that it contained many 

 "choice lots." The best Papilio machaon, a light form, made 11. 

 while the whole series of Pieris brassicae, which included se 

 specimens showing minor variations, went for 16s. Pontia daphdice 

 in couples sold for 35s. to 55s. per lot, and a very nice one l>\ itsell 



* After more recent observation, Withycombe considers dial normally the 

 imago, as well as the larva, feeds on moss. — W. J. L. 



