35 
Botanical.— O n this day two beautiful Orchids were es- 
pecially prominent, being in full bloom. They are both tall 
many-flowered Thelymitras, one — crinita — is blue, the othei — 
villosa — is yellow. The Leschenaultia biloba formed large patches 
of blue on the railway embankment, where also were found 
handsome plants of the Gompholobium polymorphism and many 
other flowers of the Order Leguminosae. 
Diuris and Caladenia in the neighbourhood were beginning 
to fade and their seed capsules to enlarge. On the slopes of 
the hill above Darlington station, where the excursion terminated, 
the tall olive green Prasophyllum datum is especially plentiful 
at this time of the year , up to 5 ft. 6 in. in height. 
Entomological. — The entomologist of our party, M'\ H. M. 
Giles, F.E.S., has found Smith’s Mill to be, on the whole, a poor 
collecting ground at all times of the year. One gully to the 
North-east of the station, had pioved on previous occasions 
to be the most interesting locality, but on this occasion was 
found to have suffered, like so many other places, from the 
severe bush fires of last summei. The total number of captures 
was not therefoie very large. 
The Coleoptera comprised two small Caribs, Bembidium sp., 
four Melolonthids of the genera Diphucephala, Phyllotocus and 
Liparetrus. The Buprestidse were poor in numbers but yielded 
two fine specimens of Stigmodera gratiosa taken on the blooms of 
a Styphelia. This most brilliant and strikingly coloured beetle 
is very rarely taken in this district. The limits of its range 
southwards has not yet been determined. Stigmodera elongata 
was also taken. It is common along the coast nea r Perth and 
foi some distance inland. Two -fpebies p£ Melobasis, M. gloriosa 
and an undetermined species comprised all of that Family- A few 
small Curculios (Weevils), Chrysomelidae, and Lagria cyanea com- 
pleted our list of this Order. Several cocoons of Micropcecila 
breweri were brought back for subsequent hatching. 
We were on the alert for “ Fossorial ” Wasps, but only 
succeeded in taking two species each of Thynnidae and Scoliidae, 
all well known. 
A few specimens of native Bees were encountered. One 
species not previously'’ met with greatly resembled in colour the 
flowers of Daviesia sp., on which it was feeding. 
Diptera were not specially sought for, but a few specimens 
of a Tabanid so persistently sought our collector that they were 
transferred to the killing bottle. 
One Bombydid fly? was also seen. 
Planarians. Several fine specimens of the Planarian worms 
of two species, viz., Geoplana fusco- dor satis and qitinquelineata, 
were unearthed from the heart of a decaying Blackboy, ( Xanthor - 
rhoea preissii,) which they T had evidently chosen as a retreat in 
which to pass the long hot and dry summers, finding not only 
