878 On the occurrence of certain Insects, by James Hardy. 



wMeli lie had an English example) and Ps. pyrisuga, (Verhand. 

 Nat. Yereine der preussischen Eheinlande, 1848, pp. 77-79.) 



In the Club's "Proceedings," vol. iii. pp. 180-184, there is an 

 article by Mr Selby "On the Wasps within the limits of the Club.'' 

 He describes four species as being found near Twizell, viz. Vespa 

 vulgaris, V. rufa, V. arhorea, and V. Britannica. V. Britannica 

 now gives place as a synonym to V. Norvegica, Fab. To these I 

 have added V. syhestris, Scop (Y. Holsatica, Fab) ; (" Proc." vii., 

 p. 154, having found a queen on the flowers of Comarum palustre 

 in Cold Martin Moss, and one from Penmanshiel, Berwickshire. 

 Mr Bold had only rarely met with it. In my collection are two 

 specimens from near Gibside. V. vulgaris and rufa are ground 

 wasps for the most part, and are both equally numerous ; the 

 other three suspend their nests from trees or shrubs. F. arhorea 

 I have not seen. V. Norvegica is frequent among fir woods. 

 There is a sixth species, V. Germanica, Fab., which will probably 

 occur in the district, having been captured near Newcastle by 

 Mr Bold ("Catalogue of Aculeate Hymenoptera," p. 19) ; and 

 near Aberdeen and Banchory ("Trans. Nat. Hist. Soc. Aberdeen," 

 1878, p. 46). It breeds in the earth. 



Dr Paxton of Norham mentioned to me that a most effectual 

 vesicatory can be extracted from wasps' nests. They are dried 

 and ground down, and the product is of a brown colour when 

 duly prepared. It was employed for blistering purposes by a 

 horse doctor in Norhamshire, and answered admirably. 



Migratory Locust. — By an oversight in former years, occurr 

 ences of the Migratory Locust {Acrydium migratorium) have only 

 been recorded in scattered instances, but during the present 

 autumn, the local newspapers have kept us fully apprised of the 

 presence of a detachment of these wanderers from a warmer 

 clime, of which a sprinking reached the Border counties, and even 

 the northern extremity of Scotland. As visitors to Britain they 

 have been known for hundreds of years. On Aug. 27, a fine 

 specimen was taken at Spittal by Mr Thomas Fotheringham, 

 and presented to the Berwick Museum, {Ber. Adv. Sept. 3. 1880). 

 Mr James Mein, Lamberton, on Aug. 31st, while his people were 

 engaged in harvest operations, observed a large insect flying 

 across the standing corn, which was captured ; and he caught 

 another a few days afterwards in the adjoining field, also among 

 standing corn. Both proved to be migratory locusts. They ate 

 cabbage leaves and turnip shaws greedily. {Ber. News, Sept. 14), 



