14 THE ENTOMOLOGIST. 



will prove to be Acridium peregriniim. Mr. Walker, who 

 gives me this name, is now engaged in cataloguing the Lo- 

 custidae in the British Museum, and will kindly furnish further 

 particulars hereafter. — E. Newman.'] 



Parasitism of Rhipiphorus, — With reference to a recent 

 article in the * Annals and Magazine of Natural History,' in 

 which Mr. Andrew Murray contends that Rhipiphorus is not 

 a parasite, but only an inquiline in the nests of wasps, Mr. F. 

 Smith desired to recall attention to the observations of the 

 late Mr. S. Stone, recorded in the * Proceedings of the Ento- 

 mological Society' for 1864, pp. 62—66. On p. 64, Mr. Stone 

 stated that on opening the closed cells of a nest of the common 

 wasp, he had found a larva of Rhipiphorus firmly attached 

 to the full-grown larva of the wasp, the mouth of the former 

 buried in the body of the latter just below the head; and that 

 in forty-eight hours it consumed every particle of the wasp- 

 larva with the exception of the skin and mandibles. In 

 another nest, which was destroyed by means of gas-tar, Mr. 

 Stone also discovered a small larva of Rhipiphorus firmly 

 attached to its victim, so firmly that when immersed in 

 spirits they remained attached just as they were before death. 

 This identical pair, preserved in spirits, and still in situ, was 

 exhibited by Mr. F. Smith, together with numerous other 

 larvai and pupae of Rhipiphorus, which were placed in his 

 hands by Mr. Stone. One of Mr. Murray's objections to the 

 carnivorous propensity of Rhipiphorus was the fact that he 

 had found the pupa of Rhipiphorus and the pupa of the 

 wasp in the same cell : it appeared, however, that both were 

 of stunted growth, and it was a matter of common experience 

 that larvae occasionally spin up before they are full led, even 

 when food is obtainable, which might have been the case 

 with this Rhipiphorus larva: the attacks of parasites are not 

 always fatal, but many Hymenoptera appear as well as their 

 parasites, e.^. Stylops and the bee. Having regard to the 

 known carefulness and accuracy of observation of Mr. Stone, 

 Mr. F. Smith, notwithstanding certain difficulties raised by 

 Mr. Murray, which he was not at present prepared to explain, 

 did not hesitate to re-affirm his belief that Rhipiphorus is a 

 larviv»orous parasite, and not a mere guest which enters the 

 nest of the wasp and shares the food of the legitimate 

 occupants. 



