84 THE AUSTRALIAN NATURALIST. 
ovipositor. The eggs are laid in an irregular, winding course 
as the female crawls slowly backwards and down the leaf, or 
stem, of the weed, dragging with her the male, which is still 
attached to her neck, while he algo clings to the weed with his 
legs. In this manner the pair would gradually descend till 
the female might become wholly submerged in the water, and 
often the male also. The eggs are, in fact, generally inserted 
in those parts of the weeds which are under water. Some 
half-dozen pairs, thus submerged, were easily caught, and the 
method of insertion of the ovipositor could be examined even 
with the lens, as the insects did not readily seek to escape 
while thus engaged. Several pairs were observed to be two 
or three inches below the surface of the water, and one pair 
was observed to remain completely submerged for seven 
minutes—timed by the watch The thorax and wings, on 
becoming submerged, were noticed to retain a film of air about 
them which probably would supply sufficient air to the 
trachew for a lengthened stay in water. 
Examination of weeds upon which the insects were cap- 
tured in the act of depositing eges revealed the eggs to be 
present in large numbers and embedded in the tissue. The 
eggs are minute, slender, white, cylindrical objects, measuring 
1 millimetre in length by only about 58 of a millimetre in 
width. 
NOTES AND COMMENTS. 
AustratiAn Insrots.—This is the title of an admirable work 
by Mr. W. W. Froggatt, F..S., Government Entomologist, 
and a former President of this Society. The work is a com- 
prehensive one, in that the author has something to say upon 
each order of insects occurring in Australia; in fact, the 
book is an introduction to the study of Australian Entomology 
enerally, and should be of practical utility in paving the way 
for future students, It follows that in a work of a little over 
400 pages, and one so profusely illustrated as this is, that 
each order or group can only be treated upon briefly ; neverthe- 
less, the author has seized upon and availed himself of all that 
is essential in a work of its scope. The book contains much 
useful information, not usually found in works of this nature, 
such as chapters on ‘‘The Collection and Preservation of 
Insects,” “Museum Colléctions and Types” (a most valuable 
contribution, indicating, as it does, the institution, or private 
collection, where types of Australian species are deposited), 
and, finally, a list of ‘‘ Publications Dealing with Australian 
Entomology.” The work is admirably illustrated, there being 
180 figures in the text, 37 plates, and a frontispiece. We 
