8532 



Insects. 



B. guttula. Dr. Scbaum (he. cit.) gives Philocthus hsemorrhous of Stephens as a 

 synonym of this species; but the description in the ' Illust. ManuV ii. 9, 6, "elytra 

 oblong-ovate, apex pale pitchy," and also in the 1 Manual,' p. 53, decidedly refers to 

 B. guttula, in which the subapical spots are sometimes suffused ; and in neither case 

 does Stephens allude to the differences in structure. In addition to this, the Philocthus 

 hsemorrhous of Stephens' collection is represented by four pinned specimens, whereof 

 the first and third are Bembidium (Tachys) obtusum ; the second is B. (Philocthus) 

 guttula; and the fourth, which stands below, is also B. guttula. The three upper 

 insects are not marked in any way, but the fourth bears an old ticket attached to the 

 pin (and apparently in Kirby's handwriting), on which the name B. hsemorrhous 

 appears; this certainly does not belong to the species of which I have above given the 

 leading characters, but is, as j list stated, a specimen of B. guttula, in which the sub- 

 apical testaceous spot is very distinct; and in which the whole apex of the elytra, 

 below the spot, is fusco- testaceous. The elytra are thrust open by the pin with which 

 the insect is pierced, and hence the light passing through their semitransparent apical 

 portion causes that part to appear paler than in other specimens of the same species 

 with their elytra in the ordinary position. Mr. Waterhouse has examined these 

 specimens^ and, without being aware of my conclusions, has arrived at precisely the 

 same results. It seems to me doubtful whether Dawson's var. /3 of B. guitula can 

 with certainty be referred to B. Mannerheimii, for, although he meutions the rounder 

 sides of the thoiMX and unspotted elytra, he still refers it to P. hsemorrhous, Steph., 

 which must be incorrect for the reasons above given. The subapical spots in B. gut- 

 tula vary much in size, sometimes existing only as the faintest possible indication of 

 lighter colour, and at others reaching downwards until they meet the light edge of the 

 extreme apex. — E. C. Rye ; 284, King's Road, Chelsea, S.W., April 6, 1863. 



Food of Phryganidous Larvce. — In the current 'Zoologist' (Zool. 8463), Mr. 

 Newman, in a note on the subject of the destruction of salmon ova, takes occasion to 

 express his doubts as to the complicity of Phryganidous larvas in this destruction, and 

 remarks that he thinks that "all the Phryganidous larva? are vegetable feeders." 

 I have myself not had much opportunity of watching these insects in their larva state, 

 but may be permitted to state the opinion of M. Pictet on the subject, than whom no 

 one is better able to give his experience, no other entomologist having been equally 

 successful in rearing these insects. At pp. 113, 114 of his 'Recherches pour servir a 

 l'Histoire et l'Anatomie des Phryganides,' he states that "The larvse of Phryganidae 

 are in general herbivorous. I have always fed them on willow-leaves, and all those 

 that have cases have eaten them willingly. The large species eat all the leaf, com- 

 mencing at the edge ; but the small species are not able to do this, and content them- 

 selves with cutting the parenchyma, leaving the nervures intact. Moreover, almost 

 all the larvse of Phryganidae eat other aquatic insects when they find occasion to do so, 

 and they will even attack larvse of their own kind (leurs pareilles) when these are de- 

 prived of their cases. I have sometimes seen them in captivity kill larvse enclosed in 

 cases when these offered little resistance. Their blunt mandibles only permit them 

 usually to eat the soft part, — that is to say, the abdomen ; they leave the head, corselet 

 and feet intact. They are more or less voracious, according to their size ; they are 

 able, however, to live a long time without eating. I have kept them often in winter 

 without giving them any food; they have lived several months without appearing to 

 suffer in any way from this privation, and have even undergone their metamorphoses." 

 After such testimony as this, I think we cannot for a moment doubt that these 



