ZOOLOGY AND BOTANY, MICROSCOPY, ETC. 
623 
Chirping* * * § and Jumping Ants.* — Prof. C. Emery notes that two 
large American Poneridae do really chirp. In species of Paraponera 
and Pacliycondyla the surface of the second (or more strictly the third) 
abdominal segment is transversely striated and produces a chirping 
sound when rubbed against the margin of the segment in front. This 
sound Emery was able to produce artificially, and Herr A. Schulz has 
heard it from living specimens of Pacliycondyla flavicornis. The same 
observer noted that the Brazilian Gigantiops destructor Fab. springs 
from twig to twig, as does also Odontomachus lisematodes in similar 
localities. 
Nests of Formica rufa.f — Sig. P. Bargagli describes the heaps of 
pine leaves and twigs which form the superficial parts of the nests of 
this ant as these occur on the Tyrol mountains. What seems to be new 
in his description is the fact that considerable quantities of resin are 
accumulated by the ants in little grains and larger balls. The author 
has also an interesting note to make on the favourable influence which 
the heaps made by the ants exert on the associated vegetation. 
Hylotoma pagana.J — Hr. G. Del Guercio gives an account of this 
Hymenopterous Insect, which is known to gardeners as the yellow rose- 
fly. He describes the ova, the larvae, the nymph, and the perfect insect. 
The eggs are laid in the young branches, the larvae browse on the leaves, 
the chrysalids are buried in the soil at the base of the stem, the adults 
flit rapidly from hush to bush. Copulation, oviposition, and other 
events of the insect’s life are described. The eggs are readily destroyed 
by insecticide fluids or with a knife. 
Autumnal Generation of Diaspis pentagonal — Prof. F. Franceschini 
has discovered a third generation of this injurious insect, and points out 
the practical importance of his discovery. 
Pogonius bifasciatus F.||— Herr C. Verhoeff gives a short account 
of the development and life-history of this species. He found a cocoon 
containing a larva towards the end of August in a deserted nest of 
Ghalicodoma muraria. As a general rule Pogonius passes its larval 
stages in rock crevices. The larva took about eight months to complete 
its development, the imago being produced at the end of the March of 
the year following its capture. The nymph possesses a stinging 
apparatus similar to that already described for Agenia , and corresponds 
with the latter in several other respects. 
Biology of Chalcididse.f — Mr. L. O. Howard gives an account of the 
general economy of these parasitic Hymenoptera. Dealing first with the 
Insects and stages of Insects infested by them, he points out that repre- 
sentatives of all of the original Linnaean orders suffer from them in one or 
other of their stages : the orders which suffer most are the Lepidoptera, 
Hymenoptera, Hemiptera, and Homoptera. Information with regard to 
the mode of life of the Chalcidid larva is so slight and so contradictory 
* Biol. Centralbl., xiii. (1893) pp. 189-90. 
f Bull. Soc. Entomol. Ital., xxv. (1893) pp. 42-5. 
t Op. cit., xxiv. (1893) pp. 331-45 (5 figs.). 
§ Atti Soc. Nat. Sci., xxxiv. (1893) pp. 285-93. 
II Zool. Anzeig., xvi. (1893) pp. 258-60. 
1 Proc. U.S. Nat. Mus., xiv. (1892) pp. 567-88. 
