Marine Aqua Hum . 4371 



I was fortunate enough to find bred specimens of Notodonta ziozac and N. cucul- 

 lina paired in my cage, a short time since. The females both laid eggs, which are 

 already hatched, and the young larva? feeding well. — H. Harpur Crewe ; 17, Caven- 

 dish Road, St. John's Wood, June 8, 1854. 



List of Syrphidae taken near Putney. — Notwithstanding the paucity of communi- 

 cations respecting Diptera, in the ' Zoologist,' I am induced to hope that the 

 following list of rather uncommon species of Syrphidae, taken (with one exception) in 

 this neighbourhood, during the late spring, may not be unacceptable to some of its 

 readers. My attention has been directed almost exclusively to the Syrphidae, or the 

 list might perhaps be indefinitely extended. 



Cheilosia flavipes. Beginning of April. Wimbledon Common. 



Syrphus luniger. April 15 to May 20. River-bank; also at Weybridge. 



Cheilosia albitarsis. May 9. Wimbledon Park, and elsewhere. 



Syrphus grossulariae. May 9. Wimbledon Park ; also at Weybridge. 



Ascia dispar. May 10. River-bank. 



Syrphus tricinctus. May 12. Weybridge. 



Doros citrofasciatus and ornatus. May 17. River-bank. 



Cheilosia means and chlorus. May 23. Wimbledon Park. 



Merodon clavipes. May 31. Of this rare insect I have at present but one speci- 

 men (fem.), taken in a market garden off cabbage-bloom. 



I have also been fortunate enough to capture two species apparently new to the 

 British list (a species of Syrphus and an Ascia), neither of which I have been able at 

 present to determine: this may, perhaps, be the subject of a future communication. — 

 Fredk. W. Grant; Grove Villa, Putney, June 7, 1854. 



Notes on a Marine Aquarium. By George Guyon, Esq. 



I send a few notes on a marine aquarium which I established at the 

 commencement of the winter, as the subject seems to be exciting 

 a good deal of interest at the present time. The experiment was con- 

 ducted on a small scale, the " tank " being a confectioner's show-glass 

 of about 1 J pint capacity, and two-thirds filled with sea-water. The 

 first few weeks were a succession of failures, the animals dying and 

 the water becoming offensive. This was, I believe, in a great mea- 

 sure owing to the glass lid being kept on, under the impression that 

 an atmosphere of oxygen would thereby be maintained in contact 

 with the water ; for on substituting for the glass cover a piece of per- 

 forated zinc (to allow of the transmission of air but prevent the escape 

 of the occupants), the condition of the aquarium greatly improved. 

 For the last three or four months the water has never been changed 

 nor the weed renewed, and several of the animals have continued in a 

 flourishing state throughout the period. 



