534 
SUMMARY OF CURRENT RESEARCHES RELATING TO 
moriumy it will remain unmolested when introduced into a nest of the 
latter. In finding their way back to the nest or back to discovered 
booty, the sense of smell seems to be the guide. The bees of one 
colony seem to have the same odour, which makes recognition possible. 
In flying home to the hive, bees are guided neither by smell nor by 
sight ; they obey an influence which is operative within a radius of a 
few miles ; but what the influence is remains a riddle. Bethe’s con- 
clusion is that ants and bees have no “ psychical qualities.” 
An Insect Virus.* * * § — J. H. Fabre gives after his manner a most 
interesting account of his search for the virus which makes itself felt 
on the fingers, &c. of those who handle the caterpillars, or the eggs, 
or even the excreta, of Bombyx pityocampa. It is a urinary” product, 
and occurs in other caterpillars, perhaps in all insects. Its isolation 
might have some practical import, like that of cantharidine. 
Cases of Myasis.f — Prof. N. Leon reports the occurrence of larvae 
of Sarcophaga magnijica from the big toe and in the external ear; of 
larvae of Sarcophaga carnaria on the nose ; of larvae of Musca domestica 
on feet, arms, and back ; and other cases, e.g. of undetermined larvae 
from a tooth abscess. Prof. A. Blanchard adds a note of other cases, 
and refers to the popular treatment of them. 
Recent Experiments in Hybridisation. J— Mr. F. A. Dixey gives 
an account of the experiments made by Dr. M. Standfuss, and collected 
in the second edition of his ‘ Handbuch der paldarhtischen Gross- Schmetter- 
linge * (Jena, 1896). In hybridising distinct species, Standfuss fouhd 
(1) that the freshly hatched larva closely resembles the female parent ; 
(2) that with growth a resemblance to the male parent gradually in- 
creases ; (3) that the final extent of approximation towards the male parent 
depends on the relative phylogenetic age of the two species ; the older 
being able to transmit its properties, whether of structure or habit, 
better than the young ; (4) that in reciprocal pairing the male is able 
to transmit the characters of the species in a higher degree than the 
female. 
In pairing normal forms with aberrations and local races, Standfuss 
found (1) that when the normal form of a species ( Grundart ) is crossed 
with a gradually formed local race of the same species, the result is a 
series of intermediate forms; but (2) that when the normal form is 
crossed with a sporadic aberration, the result in many cases is that the 
issue agrees either with the normal form or with the sport, intermediate 
forms being absent. 
False Homochromism.§ — Prof. L. Cuenot adheres to his opinion, || 
which Plateau If has sought to controvert, that the resemblance of 
Venilia macularia L. to spotted withered leaves of poplar, &c., is quite 
accidental and not an adaptation. The occurrence of the insect on a 
congruent background of withered leaf appears to be very rare. 
* Ann. Sci. Nat. (Zool.), vi. (1898) pp. 253-78. 
f Aich. Parasitol., i. (1898) pp. 314-7. 
t Science Progress, vii. (1898) pp. 185-202. 
§ Bull. Soc. Zool., xxiii. (1898) pp. 99-100. 
|| Tom. cit., p. 37. f Tom. cit., p. 87. 
