374 THE ENTOMOLOGIST. 



Parasite of the Tortoise. — Nothing is more common than 

 to find a tick, about as large as a dog-tick, on a tortoise in a 

 garden; sometimes as many as a dozen on a single tortoise. 

 They attach themselves to the loose but very tough skin at 

 the base of the legs of the tortoise. The scientific name is 

 Ixodes Gervaisii. The name of Ixodes Testudinis has been 

 given for this tick ; but it is nowhere described by that 

 specific name. 



Parasitic Acariis on Crane-Jlies, — The minute mites 

 attached to the crane-fly, which A. D. has sent, are the 

 Ocypete rubra of Leach, described by that eminent entomo- 

 logist in the eleventh volume of the 'Transactions of the 

 Linnean Society.' Dr. Leach observes that "this little 

 animal, which is not larger than a grain of sand, is parasitic, 

 and is frequently to be found on the largest tipuladous insects 

 adhering to their legs. No less than sixteen specimens have 

 been obtained from one insect." He describes it as having 

 " six legs ; colour red ; back with a ievv long hairs ; the legs 

 with many short hairs of a rufous ash-colour; eyes black- 

 brown." I have frequently observed mites, which I presume 

 to be of the same genus, clinging to the bodies of butterflies, 

 Melanagria Galathea and Epinephele Janira more parti- 

 cularly. I shall be obliged for any further observations on 

 this subject. 



Bomhyx processionea in Dorsetshire. — In * Science Gossip' 

 for August 1st I find the following paragraph : — " 1 beg to 

 inform you that these caterpillars (Bombyx processionea) 

 have made periodical visits to my garden for the last dozen 

 or fourteen years. The first year they appeared we caused 

 our servant to catch them ; and, being all of us ignorant of 

 their urticating nature, the boy suffered as your correspondent 

 describes. Since that time we have destroyed many, but 

 have taken care never to touch them. I have heard of clothes, 

 dried near the trees on which the caterpillars were, becoming 

 poisonous. The processionaries are very numerous, although 

 I have never had the luck to see a procession. With us they 

 devour oak, elm, hornbeam, and even laurel. — Julia Colson ; 

 Stpanage, Dorset.'''' There are many things in this difficult 

 to understand : not being a clothes-moth, 1 do not eat clothes, 

 and, therefore, do not care for their becoming poisonous; 

 but, in common with several brother entomologists in this 



