ZOOLOGY AND BOTANY, MICROSCOPY, ETC. 
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temperature, and he found that certain phases of courtship could be most 
satisfactorily studied when the insects were first roused to activity. 
Digestive Apparatus of Brachytrypes.* * * § — M. Bordas gives an 
account of the digestive apparatus of B. membranaccus , one of the 
Gryllidae. He finds that it presents characters which distinguish it 
from that of the Blattidae, Forficulidae, and others, but in which it 
resembles that of Gryllotalpa. From the last, however, it is distin- 
guished by the atrophy of the oesophagus, the enormous size of the crop, 
the reduction of the appendages of the intestines, and, above all, by the 
great length and the numerous coils of the true intestine. 
Habits of Locustidse.j — M. J. H. Fabre describes in a most vivid 
fashion some of the habits of Decticus albifrons Fab. He fed them first 
on the weed-grass Setaria glauca, which they ate, though they refused 
much else apparently more appetising. Afterwards they greedily at- 
tached the half-ripe capsules of Portulaca oleracea, but the chief part of 
their diet was found in the fresh fiesh of crickets and allied insects. He 
gives a minute description of the copulation, in which connection one 
of the most extraordinary facts is that the female chews the empty 
spermatophore, which is of relatively immense size (in volume almost 
equal to the abdominal capacity of the male). The same was seen in 
Ephippiger vitium Serv., and the occurrence of a spermatophore in 
Locustidae seems general. The eloquent observer also gives an account 
of the musical instruments and capacities of Locustidae. 
Spermatogenesis of Calopetenus Femur-rubrum.J — Mr. E. Y. 
Wilcox has continued his studies cn this subject. In considering the 
work of other observers, he calls attention to the theory of Eismond, 
and points out that his argument seems to be considerably coloured by 
his general idea of the structure cf protoplasm. He accepts Biitschli’s 
soap-bubble theory, and by its aid attempts to explain away both centro- 
somes and attraction-spheres. How in Calopetenus the centrosomes arc 
just as truly specialised bodies, both chemically and physically, as are 
the chromosomes. The figure which the author gives is, he says, not 
exaggerated, and no one who looks at it could think the centrosomes 
to be simply the points to which the spindle-fibres converge. At the 
same time the author must not be thought to maintain that the centro- 
some, the “ Nebenkern,” or the spindle-fibres preserve their individuality 
indefinitely. They may not be directly concerned in the transmission 
of hereditary substance, but they do possess a special chemical nature, 
and they arc of some morphological significance. 
Power of Resistance of Helophilus Larvae to Killing Fluids.§ — 
Hr. E. Y. Wilcox made some experiments on the larvae of a marine 
insect which appears to belong to this genus. The larvae are small 
and apparently delicate creatures, and so transparent that the form and 
movement of the main organs can easily be seen through the integument. 
The author thought it best, therefore, to kill them in toto. He soon 
found, however, that none cf the killing fluids at his disposal, when 
* Comptes Eendus, exxii. (1896) pp. 1553-6. 
t Ann. Sci. Nat. Zoo!., i. (1896) pp. 221-44 (1 pi.). 
+ Bull. Mus. Comp. Zool., xxix. (1896) pp. 193-203. 
§ Anat. Anzeigw, xii. (1896) pp. 278-80. ‘ 
