142 
[November, 
■winged Psocidce , ordinarily very common in autumn, especially in houses. Mr. Ilart 
is no doubt correct in supposing they feed upon mildew' ; probably they also attack 
ordinary dust and debris, such as that which collects in corners anywhere. ■ 
R. McLachlan.] 
The red clover and hive bees. — “ The bee has been forbidden the honey of the 
red clover, as a punishment for not keeping Sunday ” — an interesting item of popular 
Natural History among the peasantry of Mecklenburg, which I find recorded in 
the recent work of Prof. C. Bartsch, “ Sagen, &c., aus Mecklenburg.” 
This belief probably rests on the observed fact that the proboscis of the bee is 
too short to reach down to the honey of the red clover; nevertheless, they get at it 
by gnawing a hole through the side of the florets. (See Herman Muller, Befruch- 
tung d. B lumen durch Insecten, 1873, p. 224). — C. R. Osten-Sackbn, Heidelberg: 
October, 1880. 
A swarm of flies. — Under this heading tho “ Shipping and Mercantile Gazette,” 
of September 8th, has the following account : — 
“The Master of the schooner ‘Topsy’ informs us that at 10 a.m., on Thursday, 
the 2nd inst., while on a passage from Grimsby to London, the ‘ Topsy ’ became 
swarmed with flies, so thick were they that the people on board were unable to 
remain on deck for five hours ; there were millions upon millions of flies. The air 
became clear about 4 p.m., when the flies were thrown overboard by shovels-full, 
and the remainder were washed off the decks by buckets of water and brooms.” 
I have seen the Master of the “Topsy” and he informs me that there is not tho 
least exaggeration in this statement ; and that although he has been in many parts 
of the world he never witnessed such a scene before. The vessel, at the time, was 
sailing along the Norfolk coast, about a cable’s length from the shore ; the air was 
obscured by the flies, as by a cloud, and they fell as thickly as snow-flakes, closely 
covering the rigging as well as the deck. He gave me some of the flies which I 
forwarded to Mr. R. H. Meade of Bradford, who has obligingly sent the following 
note respecting them : — 
“The little flies are all females of Dilophus vulgaris {spinatus, Wik.), one of 
the Bibionidce (JSemocera) . This common little fly (“in profusion everywhere, 
most so on sand-hills,” Hal.*) sometimes appears in immense numbers or masses, in 
which the members of one sex usually greatly predominate over those of the other. 
Some of the species of Bibio, to which Dilophus is closely allied, have the same 
habit; very little is known of their life-history. The larvae of the species of Bibio 
are said to feed at the roots of grass, and Zetterstedt says that he has found the 
larvae and pupae of Dilophus vulgaris in the stems of grass. 
“ The occurrence of this cloud of flies at sea is very curious and interesting. 
Were these females seeking some fresh pasture in which to deposit their eggs?” — J. 
W. Douglas, 8, Beaufort Gardens, Lewisham : September \bth, 1880. 
Hcuieius. 
The Transactions of the Yorkshire Naturalists’ Union : Parts i — iii. 
London: W. Satchell & Co. ; Leeds: Taylor Bros. 1878 — 80, 8vo. 
Most of our readers are familiar with the “ Naturalist,” the monthly journal of 
the above-mentioned “ Union.” Latterly the body has also issued a more pretentious 
publication in the form of “ Transactions,” three parts of which are before us. 
* Wik., Ins. 13rit., Vol. iii, p. 140. 
