exact locality where he met with the Dorcatoma, we 
determined, if possible, to find it again. The place indicated 
is situated between the railway and the shore, and consists 
of a flat common joining up to the sandhills. Here the 
most conspicuous and interesting plant to a botanist is 
Juncus acutus, which occurs in very large tufts, the pretty 
little Neottia spiralis, was also abundant, and, on the sand- 
hills, Iberis amara, and other scarce plants. 
Scattered over this common we found many fungi, in all 
stages of growth — Bovista nigrescens, Bovista plumbea, 
Geaster limbatus, and another smaller species, and one or two 
species of Boletus. We carefully examined these in search of 
larvae, but for some time without success. At length we 
found a few in very small dry specimens of Bovista plumbea 
We then collected what we could find in the same condition. 
In less than a week several perfect specimens of Dorca- 
toma bovistae made their appearance, and others have since 
continued to do so very sparingly. Sometimes the larva 
eats its way out of the fungus and at once changes into the 
pupa state, from which it becomes the perfect insect in 
about ten days, but usually it forms a cocoon of spores, 
changes to the pupa state inside the fungus, and the j^erfect 
insect eats its way out. 
We found Bovista plumbea in all stages of growth, from 
the size of a pea to the old dry specimens in which were the 
larvae, but found no traces of larvae in any of the fresh ones, 
although it seems most probable that eggs had been laid 
and hatched in some of them ; probably the larvae were too 
small to be easily discovered. 
The antennae of D. bovistae are very curious, especially in 
the male, and it would be interesting to discover the reason 
for their singular formation, suited, no doubt, to their pecu- 
liar mode of life. 
I have sent for exhibition a few specimens of the Dorca- 
toma, with legs and antennae displayed, also folded together, 
in which state they look more like seeds than insects; a 
specimen of the pupa case, some of the larvae, and a specimen 
of Bovista plumbea probably containing others. 
