143 



a mention in Ixsect Life of Mr. Koebcle's liav'ing seen (or tliere liaving been) in 

 Mr. Olliff's possession a new species of Vedalia, and 1 know he liad no others but 

 what I sent him, hecanse he was so destitute of specimens tliat ho wanted to borrow 

 one to make a drawing from. 



QUAILS VERSUS POTATO BUGS. 



Mr. E. H. Stowe, of Ponii)ei, Midi., has been good enough to send 

 us a clipping from the Gratiot Journal, in which the statement is made 

 on the authority of Rev. J. E. Long, pastor of the Presbyterian Church 

 of Ithaca, Mich., that '^ several weeks ago a pair of quails flew ui^ out of 

 his garden. In making the turn about the corner of the house, one of 

 them missed its reckoning in some way, and, striking the house, fell 

 dead. On examining its distended crop, 101 potato bugs were found, 

 the little fellow's breakfast, for the bugs were yet alive and began to 

 move about when brought to the fresh air." 



The great value of the quail as an insectivorous bird is abundantly 

 recognized, but we have never before met with a similar instance of 

 voracity in a potato field. 



MYRMECOPHILOUS BEETLES. 



Under the title ''Kotes on some Myrmecophilous Coleoptera," Mr. 

 H. F. Wickham publishes some interesting notes in Psyche for Septem- 

 ber, 1892 (vol. VI. pp. 321-323), on ten species of Coleoptera that are 

 inquilinous in ants' nests in the West. Hetwrius liornii is described as 

 new and a number of Tenebrionidae are mentioned as probably ti:ue 

 myrmecophiles, 



MOSQUITO REMEDIES AGAIN. 



In the Scientific American for September 10 is published a communi- 

 cation from M. Kawn, of Bangkok, Siam, apropos of the note entitled _ 

 '' The Best Mosquito Remedy," which appeared in Insect Life (vol. 

 Ill, p. 223), and was republished in the Scientific American. Mr. Kawn 

 states that in Siam it is the custom to place an iron nail in the water 

 jars, since the water jars are the breeding places of the mosquitoes. 

 The rusting of the nail acts as a deterrent and the mosquitoes will not 

 breed in the water. For the first few days after placing nails in the 

 water the mosquitoes continue to breed, and Mr. Kawn heats his nails 

 red-hot, which produces an immediate effect. We are somewhat skep- 

 tical as to the success of this remedy, but are open to conviction. 



An ingenious method of capturing adult mosquitoes in the house is 

 in extensive use in some localities in New Jersey. We have not seen 

 it described in print, and mention it here in the hope that it may be new 

 to some of our readers. It consists in nailing to the end, or rather the 

 top, of a stick the lid of a small tin box, such as a yeast-powder box. 

 The stick must be long enough to enable the operator to reach the ceil- 

 ing, and the tin cover of the box is nailed to it in an inverted position. 



