170 
SUMMARY OF CURRENT RESEARCHES RELATING TO 
Parasitic Hymenoptera of St. Vincent.* — Messrs. C. V. Riley, 
W. H. Ashmead, and L. 0. Howard have a report on the parasitic 
Hymenoptera collected by Mr. H. H. Smith for the West India Com- 
mittee. It is said that the material collected has proved of great interest. 
In addition to a large number of new species, many of those found by 
Guilding have been rediscovered. Though a number of the forms are 
found within the United States, they are species of wide distribution, 
and the characteristic fauna of St. Vincent is much more nearly like 
that of northern South America than of North America, or even of 
the sub-tropical portion of the Floridan peninsula. 
Salivary Glands of Bees.j — M. Bordas finds in the workers of Apis 
mellifica , two new salivary glands which he names internal mandibular 
and sublingual. In the drone, he describes post-ocellary glands and a 
very large sublingual. Bees also possess thoracic, post-cerebral, supra- 
cerebral, and external mandibular glands. 
Morphology of Stylops melittse.} — Herr N. Nassonoff finds that the 
females of this species have much resemblance to the free-living larvae. 
The integument consists of the matrix and of three chitinous layers 
somewhat separated from one another. The outermost arises from the 
last larval ecdysis, and corresponds to the cocoon of the male; the 
second (pupal layer) probably corresponds to the investment of the male 
pupa. The innermost layer (imaginal layer) alone represents the 
chitinous covering of the adult insect. The interior of the body of 
the adult female is filled with eggs, amongst which lie fat-cells. We 
may find eggs in all stages of development ; at the same time the females 
observed by the author probably reproduced themselves partheno- 
genetically. It would appear that the multiplication of the Strepsiptera 
is an example of pseudopeedogenesis, the females never being completely 
developed. 
Seat of Life in the House-fly.§ — Dr. J. B. Smith, remarking that 
the house-fly is capable of standing a good deal of mutilation without 
manifesting pain and without dying at once, made various experiments 
to test what injury would kill immediately. Decapitated flies lived from 
10 to 16 hours, and would run or fly when disturbed, though without 
any idea of direction. When the abdomen was cut off, flies lived from 
6 to 10 hours and for the greater part of the time were active, running 
and flying readily. When head and abdomen were both removed these 
parts died in a few minutes, but the thorax retained life for more than 
6 hours, and could be readily induced to walk. Dividing the insect 
between the first and second pair of legs killed all the posterior parts at 
once, while the anterior parts remained alive from 4 to 5 hours. Cutting 
an insect through the prothorax just above the fore-legs killed it at once. 
Dr. Smith concludes that the vital point lies in the large ganglion in 
the prothorax. 
Luminosity of Midges. |] — Mr. P. Schmidt discusses the causes of 
the luminosity of Midges. He fails to come to any final conclusion, as 
* Journ. Linn. Soc. Lond., xxv. (1894) pp. 56-254. 
t Comptes Rendus, cxix. (1894) pp. 693-5. 
X Entomol. Untersuch. Warsaw, pp. 75-92 ; see Zool. Centralbh, i. (1894) pp. 
766-7. § Proc. Amer. Assoc., 1893-4, pp. 230-1. 
II Zool. JB. (Svst.)., viii. (1894) pp. 58-66. 
