5922 



Arachnida. — Insects. 



and of unimpeachable veracity, says there exists a lizard known to the natives by 

 the name of the " Cband 'n ghur " (ibe spelling is iny own), the bite of which is of so 

 deadly a nature that death invariably follows in the space of two or three hours. My 

 informant states that three instances came under his own observation in which death 

 ensued from the bite of one of these reptiles ; and at length he had an opportunity of 

 bringing to the test of anatomical dissection whatever doubt he might still have en- 

 tertained upon the matter. Within his own " compound," and near to an old ruined 

 wall, he saw a " Chand 'n ghur," which he transfixed with his spear, and said to the 

 doctor of the regiment, who was present and had repeatedly denied the existence of 

 venomous lizards, "Now, doctor, I'll make you a bet that this lizard has poison- 

 fangs." " Done," replied the doctor ; " I'll lay you a gold mohur he has none." The 

 doctor accordingly took home the defunct lizard, and upon dissecting the head found 

 the entire apparatus of fangs and poison-glands fully developed, in the same manner as 

 in the viperine tribe. The lizard is described as being from 18 inches to 2 feet in 

 length, very agile, of a brown colour with ochreous-yellow spots, and is said to delight 

 especially in old ruinous walls, in the neighbourhood of which it is always found. — 

 W, V. Guise ; Walsingham Abbey ^ November 3, 1857. 



Spider Silk, — Seeing a notice (Zool. 5835) concerning the silk obtained from a 

 species of spider, a native of Austria, I beg to say that in the Bermudas, some three 

 years ago, I obtained silk from the large spider of those islands, Epeira clavipes, 

 which was so strong that I could wind the single thread, from the insect itself, on a 

 piece of paper, just as I would wind cotton upon a reel. This is the species of spider 

 that forms its web between cedar trees, often ten feet apart ; and in this formidable 

 net, composed of the silk I have mentioned, are captured a large and powerful species 

 of Cicada {Fidicina Tibicen), and sometimes even the little bird locally named " chick 

 of the village " (Vireo noveboracensis) , I may also add that the Mudian ladies use 

 this silk for sewing purposes. I had this latter fact from an old lady who had been 

 resident in the Bermudas all her life. — J. M. Jones ; November 12, 1857. 



Lepidoptera at Plymouth. — Colias Edusa: about a hundred specimens have been 

 taken here during the season. C. Hyale: three specimens. Sphinx Convolvuli : I 

 have had two specimens brought to me. Acherontia Atropos : one larva was 

 brought to me, but a brother collector obtained upwards of fifty. Heliophobus hispi- 

 dus: I have been exceedingly fortunate with this species, having had a large catch. — 

 J. J, Reading ; Plymouth, November 21, 1857. 



Colias Edusa in Scotland. — As there is only one recorded capture of this insect in 

 Scotland (Zool. 1985), it may be interesting to know that this season eighteen speci- 

 mens have been taken in the neighbourhood of Dumfries. Being at Southerness, a 

 small sea-bathing place on the Kircudbrightshire coast, I took two males, one on the 

 24th and the other on the 31st of August ; but on the 12th of September I was so ex- 

 tremely fortunate as to capture a couple of females (one of them so exceedingly fine 

 that it must, I think, have emerged from its chrysalis the same day), which are, I be- 

 lieve, the first ever taken in Scotland. The same day I caught two more males, and 



