wbicli limits the breeding season to a month, or two, whereas in Aus- 

 tralia the season lasts very nearly all the year tlirough -, and secondly, 

 in England there are many owls, hawks, and other enemies which prey 

 upon the Sparrows, whilst in Australia these enemies are almost entirely 

 absent. Perhaps, when it is too late, the opponents to the Sparrow bill 

 will find that their pockets and personal comforts are very intimately 

 affected by the presence of hordes of these little pests, which drive away 

 all the insectivorous birds, but will not touch an insect (except from 

 l)ugnaciousuess), but which will eat all the seeds of all the ])lauts that 

 grow in the fields, spoil all the fruit that is produced in the orchards 

 and vineyards, and even attack the vegetables and flowers in the gar- 

 dens when there is nothing else to destroy." — Garden and Field TAde- 

 laide. South Australia], January, 1889, vol. .14, p. 92. 



HERMETIA MUCENS INFESTING BEE-HIVES. 



In August, 1887, Dr. W. B. Eohmer, of Grand Bay, Mobile County, 

 Ala., wrote us concerning an insect that had caused much trouble to 

 bee-keepers in his vicinity, accompanying his communication with spec- 

 imens of the imago and also of the eggs which he had observed the in- 

 sect in the act of depositing. Noticing the insects alighting in the vi- 

 cinity of his hives, his attention had been drawn to them, and he found 

 that they introduced their ovipositors beneath the entrance blocks or 

 in the cracks between the hives and the bottom boards and remained 

 in this position several minutes, perfectly motionless, repeating the op- 

 eration a number of times. Upon investigation a large number of eggs 

 were always found deposited. When the hives were removed for the 

 purpose of cleaning- them, worms in all stages of growth were found 

 upon the floors, esi^eciall}' in recently transferred hives, where there 

 had been a large accumulation of debris incident to cleaning away and 

 sealing comb to the frames. In this debris of wax and foreign material 

 all sizes occurred, from the tiny worm just hatched to the large one 

 snugly ensconced in its web. Where the hives were clean and there 

 was nothing in the bottom for the worms to subsist upon, the newly- 

 hatched larvai made their way up unobserved to the combs at the bot- 

 tom of the frames, eating and growing as they advanced. The perfect 

 insects were also seen laying their eggs in the cracks in the sides of old 

 hives where the boards were nailed together, and for the reason that 

 they have so many points of introduction these hives are more infested. 



The specimens sent proved to be a true Dipteron, Hermetia miicens, 

 which belongs to the Stratiomyidie. Nothing similar to these habits 

 has ever been published, so far as we are aware. In fact most of the 

 species of this famil3', except some which are a(puitic in their early 

 stages, live underground and their life history is not thoroughly under- 

 stood. This, therefore, is a matter of not only considerable scientific 

 interest, but also much economic importance from the stand-i)oint of the 

 bee-keeper. That the Hermetia occurred in such locations and laid the 



