1879.] Zoölogy. 127 
A Hummer’s MeaL.—Mr. A. R. Wallace, in a recent number 
of the Fortnightly Review, says, concerning the tongues of hum- 
mers: “ This tubular and retractile tongue enables the bird to 
suck up honey from the nectaries of flowers, and also to capture 
small insects; but whether the latter pass down the tubes, or are 
entangled in the fibrous tips and thus drawn back into the gullet, 
is not know 
Mr. Wallace’ s remark led to some investigations during the past 
summer, the results of which do not entirely agree with his state- 
ment. Two hummers were attracted to the house by a saucer of 
syrup placed on the window-sill. Each day they would come and 
satisfy their hunger. In each instance they would alight on the 
edge of the saucer, and lap up the syrup as a dog would lap 
water. The question as to whether insects “pass down the tubes or 
are entangled in the fibrous tips and are thus drawn back into the 
gullet,” was also solved. Insects too large to pass through these 
tubes being placed in their way, the birds were observed to take 
them as readily as smaller ones. The insects were evidently 
secured by adhesion to the saliva of the tongue-tips, and thence 
drawn into the gullet. In my opinion, these tubes of the tongue 
connect with the lungs rather than with the abdomen. These ex- 
periments were abruptly terminated, one day, by the approach of 
a third hummer, a male, who drove the others from the window, 
and in a fit of rage darted at one of the pair, thrust its bill well 
through its body, and both fell dead on the ground.— IW. H. Bal- 
lou, Evanston, Ill, 
RECENT Papers ON CrusTACcEA.—From Mr. W. N. Lockington’ 
we have two papers on Crustacea—“ Remarks on the Thalassinidea 
_and Astacidea of the Pacific Coast of North America” (Annals 
and Magazine of Nat. Hist., Oct., 1878), and “On the Porcellan- 
idea of the West Coast of North America * (eid., Nov., 1878). 
In the first paper eight Thalassinidea and nine Astacidea are 
enumerated. One new species (Gebta rugosa) is described; 
Callianidea ce is added to our fauna “ue was described by Milne 
Aana, Antenne II gemei joints 3-7 very short, the 8th pm a little TO 
joints 8-10 with a brown annulus. Head, thoi A and nodes of the petiole striate, _ 
metathorax with two stout yap a first node o the petiole ‘with a short cariniform 
tooth at base sec see second n with y aes very short, “poets teeth in the median 
line beneath. Body lothed with thinly scattered, erect h airs ; wings white, SA 
nig s . 3 
brown spots above, which sometimes unite to form a broad band; the spines on meta- 
thorax more aeren! oa in the 9. The second node of the petiole without teeth 
beneat 
The worker dirs f “Freeh the European S. westwoodti in having no spine beneath 
the a rian of t nh org .. = the species is vores distingushed by its color. 
Conne —TInhabitin ls of Gelechia galle-solidaginis me and oe 
Si, sihen ni S, and rene the Moe of Violet and Speen ers 
