CA1RD INSECT HOUSE, 97 



and turned out upon Euonymus plants. This species is a- good 

 exhibit as it is visible in all stages. 



A long series of varieties have been preserved and are now 

 exhibited. The larvae display considerable variation of colour, 

 some of them being almost completely black. I was advised to 

 isolate these melanic forms with the idea, of producing some 

 unusually dark imagos. I selected 73 melanic larvae, but the 

 results were disappointing, and I found the adults merely, 

 varied like those bred from un selected larva 1 . 



Oeonata. 



Dragcn-tfies in the earlier stages have done well in the tanks. 

 The following species have been bred : — JEschna grandis, jE .jun- 

 cea, Brachytron pratense, Libellula cjuadrirnaculata, Orthetrum 

 co&ridescens, and Ayr ion puella. Specimens have been preserved, 

 together with the nymph skins from which they emerged. 



We have no difficulty in rearing these creatures, as they feed 

 upon other insects bred in the tanks ; our trouble begins with 

 the emergence of the Dragon-fly, which is a very fastidious 

 feeder and will only take insects in active flight in hot 

 sunshine. 



The right conditions are obtainable only in an outdoor en- 

 closure, which we hope to provide later, to exhibit these creatures 

 during their natural adult life, which varies from one to three 

 months. 



CoLEOPTEKA. 



Teratoloyical spec linen s . 



Tetropium gabrieli. 



Some larch logs were received from Sutton Park, Staffordshire, 

 infested with larvae of this species. 



One adult specimen, which emerged in the house, has mal- 

 formed antennae, the right member of the pair having an 

 additional branch consisting of live joints. 



Donacia linearis. 



Specimens were collected at Waltham Abbey and exhibited on 

 reeds in a shallow tank. 



One specimen has ten instead of eleven joints to the antennae, 

 the eighth joint on each side being almost equal in length to 

 joints 8 and 9 of a normal specimen. 



Bananas as Food for Beetles. 



The problem of providing suitable food for various species of 

 Coleoptera, whose ordinary feeding -habits are as different as 

 Proc. Zool. Soc— 1917, No. VII. 7 



