GLASGOW SOCIETY OF FIELD NATURALISTS. 43 



eggs, upon which they had lived in the lai-val condition. The 

 spider's egg-bag in which they were found must have contained 

 upwards of a hundred eggs, yet not one egg had escaped destruction. 

 He also read some notes on the transformations of Hyper a 

 plantaginis. This v/eevil in the larval condition feeds on grasses, 

 and is found at Possil Marsh and Kenmuir during June and July. 

 The larvse is a stout, green, somewhat hairy grub, with a fuscous 

 head, and a white sub-dorsal stripe; and spins an oval, white, 

 semi-transparent cocoon attached to the flower-heads of grasses. 



PAPER READ. 



Mr. S, McDonald read a paper on " The habits of the Formi- 

 cidse," giving an account of a day spent at Tighnabruaich in 

 examining the nests and observing the habits of different species 

 of these insects. The paper was illustrated by coloured drawings. 



9th January, 1874. 

 Mr. P. Cameron, jun., in the chair. 



EXHIBITION OF SPECIMENS. 



The Chairman exhibited four saw-flies which had not been 

 recorded as British : — Nematus pallipes, Fall, which had been 

 taken by him on a mountain at Hannoch in Perthshire, at an 

 elevation of 3000 feet, and near the spot where they were 

 captured some cocoons were found, evidently belonging to this 

 species ; and as the only vegetation near consisted of moss and 

 grass, the larvse no doubt fed on the latter ; Nemiatus mollis, 

 Kl., taken by Dr. Buchanan White at Braemar, and by himself 

 at Bannoch; Nematus obductus, Kl., taken by sweeping grass in 

 Possil district ; JSematus croceus, Fall., taken at Cadder "Wilderness 

 by beating willows, upon which the larva? feed. 



Mr. Binnie exhibited living specimens of a rare shell, Zonites 

 glciber, taken by him in Yorkshire. 



The remainder of the evening was taken up examining a large 

 and interesting collection of microscopic objects, and a collection 

 of enlarged drawings of some of the more remarkable forms of the 

 Diatomaceae, such as Toxonidea gregoriana, Pinnularia majo7\ 

 Triceratiuni striolatum, &c., exhibited by Mr. Barlas. 



