568 General Notes. [July, 
of several, the head being distinctly separated beneath. The sides 
of the joints appear tuberculous and each joint has, indeed, a pair of 
separate, decurved, cylindrical and pointed tubercles issuing from 
it, resembling six pairs of legs, and used doubtless to lift the larva 
from its attachment when movement is desired. Medio-ventrally 
there is a series of six circular, elevated sucking disks, each hav- 
ing a series of tracheal filaments on the side, which filaments also 
doubtless aid in suction. The pupa is very flat ventrally, convex 
dorsaily, with two conical horns on the anterior end, each com- 
posed of four compressed laminz, which easily separate, and 
which are the thoracic trachez, corresponding to those of other 
aquatic dipterous pupz, as in the common mosquito. The pup® 
collected in Massachusetts are somewhat smaller than Fritz Mil- 
ler’s specimens, but structurally identical. They strongly recall 
6 color and general appearance some of our smaller Gyrinid 
eetles. 
BRAULA Ca@:cA NOT PARTICULARLY InjuRIOUS TO THE HONEY 
Ber.—Mr. J. Fedarb has in Hardwicke’s Science Gossip for May 2, 
1881, an article on Braula caca, that curious dipterous parasite of 
our honey bee. He asserts that there can be no doubt that the 
damage done by it is generally overestimated, and that the rav- 
ages of other hidden guests within the apiary are often wrongly 
attributed to Braula, the real authors of the mischief being overt 
looked. Braula is no doubt annoying to the bee it infests, but 
only when it occurs in very great numbers has it an injurious ef 
fect on the bee colony. Mr. Fedarb finds that Braula was Ut 
known to the ancient authors on the honey bee, while even such 
careful observers of a more recent time as Swammerdam an 
Huber do not mention it at all. The parasite may have only lately 
developed the habit of living on the honey bee, being present 
formerly under other conditions, or it may have spread recently 
from some restricted point of the globe. 
stances of insect injury during that year in Great Britain, none ss 
more remarkable than that of the wide-spread damage caused by 
various species of Tipulid larva to wheat, barley, oats, cabbage, 
potatoes, peas and strawberries. The larve gnaw away theo 
part of the plant just at the surface of the ground or a little be- 
neath it, thus weakening or in many instances killing the plants. 
Tipulid larva are very plentiful in many parts of our own coun fe 
and occasionally inflict some damage to rich meadows, but no son 
of injury to field and garden crops has so far been reported to wee 
Miss Ormerod is doing an admirable work, and we are glad to 
see that she is meeting with success and encouragement. 
