148 THE AUSTRALIAN NATURALIST. 
NOTES AND COMMENTS. 
Parasitic Wasps.—An interesting (collection jof parasitic 
wasps ranging from the small red Braconid, bred trom the 
pupae of the Queensland Fruit Fly to the large Megalyridae 
parasitic on the larvae of longicorn beetles, &c., was ex- 
exhibited at the April meeting by Mr. L. Gallard. Living. 
examples recently bred were shown of a red Braconid wasp 
bred out of Queensland fly larvae from Gosford ; the scented, 
sticky Pimpla wasps from the hairy caterpillars which de- 
foliate quince trees; striped Pimpla wasps from Tie-tree 
sawfly larvae. One very fine black Megabyridae had a body 
length of one inch and ovipositor three-and-a-half mches 
long; it was found at Dungog. 
Lipardidae Moths.—Mr. ©. H. Wickham’s exhibit 
at the April meeting comprised *the life histories of three 
Liparidae moths. ‘The first was Zeia anartoides, which is 
at times a pest in our gardens and orchards, the larvae 
eating the leaves of the geranium and apple. They are light 
brown and hairy, with four distinctive tufts on the back. 
They purpate on the leaves, forming a loose cocoon of 
their own hairs. The female moths are wingless, dark brown 
in colour, and never crawl far from the cocoon, but ‘simply 
lay their eggs and die. The males are gay little moths 
with black and brown forewings, and orange with black 
bordered hinder wings. The second (name unknown), was 
found feeding on the leaves of the grass tree. A black, 
hairy caterpillar two inches long, which pupated just ben- 
eath the surface of the ground in a cocoon much firmer than 
that of the preceding species. The female adult is also 
wingless and black, and after laying shrinks to half original 
size. Eggs are white with dark brown band, three quarters 
of the way round. The male is a pretty buff insect, with 
very feathery antennae. The third was ‘“‘Ocinara Lewinae,”’ 
the larvae of which live in a web at the foot of young eucalyp: 
tus saplings, the leaves of which they eat at night and retire 
to the web in the daytime. In some parts these webs are so 
numerous that horses eating them with the grass die from 
the effects. The larvae are not nearly so hairy as the others, 
and are light brown, with a circular white spot on both the 
head and tail. They pupate under ground in a’ cocoon, to 
which the adjacent earth adheres. Both adults have wings. 
The male is light brown with darker markings, and the 
female-a dark slatey brown all over, with a very pronounced 
tuft of hair at the extremity of the abdomen. 
Several reports held over. 
