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to warm showers, they fill the air, like bees at swarming time. Besides being the food of several species of Philonthi, they are eagerly sought after by birds of various kinds. A short time since, the missel thrush and the rook might be seen consorting to participate in the profuse supply; and the sea-gull will sometimes spend an entire day in the pursuit amid the cattle pastures. In the month of August, large flocks of the lapwing, in company with another sandy-coloured whimpering bird, frequented the East Lothian coast, where this insect appeared to be the principal attraction; now they have recourse to the uplands, where it is still prevalent. The plovers have recently joined them, but I have not made any observation as to what they feed upon.-James Hardy; Penmanshiel, Cockburnspath, Berwickshire, October 5, 1847.

Occurrence of Sphærites glabratus in Scotland.—It may be interesting to British entomologists to know that Sphærites glabratus has again occurred as a Scottish insect. I took a single specimen among decaying herbage, in a shady glen in Penmanshiel Wood, about two weeks since. It has the habits of a Hister, which it much resembles.

Id.

Habits of Blemus pallidus.—This insect, which resembles Aëpus in its shelly, flattened body, appears to be of somewhat similar habits. I took some specimens under shingle laid under water by a small rill, on a wild, rocky beach, on the Berwickshire Anchomenus albipes and Peryphus saxatilis were its accompaniments, and with Quedius umbrinus, Lathrobium longulum, and the variety of Quedius fulgidus with red elytra, were almost the only coleopterous tenants of the barren spot.—Id.

coast.

Unusual Habitat for Pristonychus Terricola.-Of this insect, usually abounding in cellars, I found an individual under a stone, on a sandy part of the coast near Cockburnspath, more than a mile from any dwelling, and with little apparent means of intermediate communication. Near it also was found Quedius fulgidus, the black variety, also a native of cellars; and a species of Bledius new to the Scottish Fauna, which, although common on many of the British shores, does not yet appear to have been at least correctly described.-Id.

Insectivorous Propensity of Notoxus Monoceros.-Collectors soon learn, by sad experience, the ill effects of placing the larger Geodephaga, Brachelytra, &c., along with other species, their unhappy taste for dissection proving extremely detrimental to their bottle companions; but as some may not be aware that the little Notoxus Monoceros has similar evil propensities, I record the following incident as a salutary caution. While collecting at Ryde last summer, I put some Notoxi along with several Ischnomera lurida and other species in my bottle. On my return, I observed a Notoxus very busy about one of the Ischnomeræ, and, on closer examination, discovered that he was engaged in nibbling away the last-named insect's elytra: that it was not the freak of an individual appeared from his being shortly joined by three others, who immediately rendered all the assistance in their power, the Ischnomera standing perfectly still the while, as if the sensation was rather pleasing than otherwise. I have kept the specimen, in which both the elytra are eaten away nearly to the shoulder.— George Guyon; Ventnor, Isle of Wight, November 9, 1847.

Occurrence of the Locust near Hull.-Having seen your notice in the 'Zoologist' (Zool. 1900), requesting information concerning the occurrence of the locust, I beg to inform you of three, two of which were captured last year on the banks of the Humber, at Hessle, near Hull, and the other was taken this year at Kingerby, Lincolnshire.-E. Peacock; Messingham, Lincolnshire, November, 1847.

Occurrence of the Locust in Cambridgeshire.—As you wish to know of the occur

rence of the locust, I beg to say I have another fine female specimen, captured at Duxford, Cambridgeshire, September 10th, 1847.—Fredk. Bond; Kingsbury, October 6, 1847.

Occurrence of the Locust near Thorne.—I have just received three fine specimens of the locust, captured on the levels near Thorne, on the 3rd of September, by some harvesters, while passing a field of wheat: one of them was taken on the wing.-Joseph Richardson; Bank, Thorne.

Occurrence of the Locust near Hertford.-A specimen of Gryllus migratorius was brought to me on the 16th of 8th mo., 1847. It was taken on some cabbages in a cottage garden near Hertford.-E. Manser; Hertford, 15th of 10th mo., 1847.

Occurrence of the Locust near Wisbeach.-I possess a specimen of this rare insect, which was captured alive, three weeks since, in a potato field not far from this locality. I have also heard of several others having been found in the neighbourhood.-Robert Marris; Lynn Road, Wisbeach, October 11, 1847.

Occurrence of the Locust in Lincolnshire.-Two instances have come within my knowledge where the locust has occurred, that is, Stamford and Millthorpe in Lincolnshire, but in both cases the wings were very much split and worn.-Wm. Turner ; Uppingham, October 13, 1847.

Occurrence of the Locust at Whitley, and near Newcastle-on-Tyne.-My brother caught a locust on the sea-banks near Whitley, on the 27th of September: another specimen was taken in the vicinity of Newcastle a day or two previous. The specimen caught on the 24th of August (Zool. 1900) continues alive and active, feeding freely on lettuce.-J. J. Bold; Newcastle-on-Tyne, October 5, 1847.

Occurrence of the Locust in Derbyshire.—I feel happy to be able to add another locality to your list of places where locusts have this year occurred, and which may be more inland than usual. A fine and perfect specimen of this locust was taken on or about the 12th instant, upon Elton Moor, in this county. It is now in my cabinet.— Thomas Bateman; Yolgrave, October 23, 1847.

Occurrence of the Locust in Cornwall.-The more common, or devastating locust (Gryllus migratorius) has been known from the earliest periods in the countries of Western Asia, and the parts of Europe that border on that division of the world. It is also abundant on the African borders of the Mediterranean Sea; from whence, rather than from its more eastern haunts, it is known at uncertain periods to cross into Italy and Spain; and the former country in particular has sometimes been subjected to its desolating ravages, to as great an extent as the countries of Asia, and with even more formidable results. But the advance of this insect into the cooler regions of France and England is a rarer occurrence; and it is even more so than has been supposed, for it is beyond a doubt that a species of dragon-fly, probably Libellula depressa, has been mistaken for it; and this error is the more likely to be committed from the degree of resemblance which they may bear to each other when on the wing,-at least in the estimation of those who are not closely acquainted with either of those creatures; and as this dragon-fly in its ordinary habits is solitary, its casual assembling in such immense multitudes may easily lead to this mistake. But notwithstanding the rarity of the occurrence, it is on record that the true locust has been sometimes seen to visit the British Islands. In the year 874, after devastating France, they attempted to cross the British Channel; and such multitudes were drowned and thrown on the shore, that their putrefaction was supposed to have been the cause of a pestilence that soon after followed; (Ruysch's 'Theatrum Animalium'). But the Channel

has not always proved an impassable barrier; and in the year 1593 clouds of locusts were seen in Wales. In the eighteenth volume of the Philosophical Transactions' there is also an account of their again visiting this country, in the

year 1748. This is the last visitation of which I have been able to find a notice, and the instances, or at least the observers, have in each case been confined to the midland parts of our island, exclusive of the extreme north or west. It becomes therefore a matter of interest to the natives of Cornwall to learn, that in the present year (1846), the locust has not only visited and been diffused over England, but that it has also been found as far north as Scotland, and westward in our own native county. For the knowledge of their presence in Scotland I am indebted to the authority of the newspapers; which also announced in the first instance their flight into England across the narrowest parts of the Channel. But that it has been a visitant to Cornwall, I have the evidence of a specimen which, early in the month of September, flew into a house in East Looe, and which was captured alive after it had given its pursuers some remarkable instances of its agility. This specimen is in the possession of Mr. Clement Jackson, who has carefully and skilfully preserved it; and to his kindness I owe the opportunity of obtaining a coloured drawing, and of satisfying myself of its certainly being the true Gryllus migratorius. It appears from a variety of evidence, that some specimens of this insect were also taken within a short distance of the Land's End. It may be a subject of some interest to inquire what can have been the cause by which, at such considerable intervals of time, these creatures of a distant and warmer climate have been drawn to visit this extremity of Britain. And in the first place the remark is obvious, that it is not from the influence of boisterous winds, which have irresistibly wafted them away from their native haunts. On the contrary, the past summer has for the most part been calm, and for two or three months previous to their visit remarkably so. But with the general tendency to calm there has been also a condition of climate and temperature which was not indeed exceedingly hot, but which yet conveyed an impression of genial warmth, greatly resembling what is described as usual at their active periods in their native regions, and which therefore may be supposed to be that which is most consistent with their settled habits. It seems to be a repugnancy to certain conditions of the atmosphere,―among which perhaps humidity and a tendency to chill are the most influential,—that proves a more effectual hindrance to wandering, in a variety of creatures, than any geographical limits of mountain or ocean; and when for a time, as during the last summer, the atmospheric state of a region has received the impress of a new condition, it is not surprising that creatures, hitherto repelled, should acquire a disposition to extend their range of flight to our shores.-Jonathan Couch; Polperro.

Occurrence of the Locust at Battel.-On the 13th of September a man brought me a locust alive. He caught two, but one escaped before he could secure it properly.— J. B. Ellman ; Battel, October 4, 1847.

Occurrence of the Locust in London.—This evening (October 12th) a small specimen of Locusta migratoria was brought to me, taken a few days previously at the back of the London Hospital.-J. Fremlyn Streatfeild; Chart's Edge, Westerham, Kent.

Generation of Aphides." The history of the plant-louse, as ascertained by Leeuwenhoek, Bonnet, Reaumur, and others, is so generally known to naturalists, that it is almost an act of supererogation for any one merely to repeat the observations of those authorities; and we cannot expect to add much to the very ample details they have given yet the facts they have recorded respecting the generation of Aphides are in

themselves so exceedingly curious, and at the same time are so unexplained by any hitherto received theory of generation deduced from observations on vertebrated animals, that I have been desirous of verifying these facts by direct experiment, preparatory to attempting hereafter to show their accordance with some universal law of reproduction. I trust, therefore, that I may now be permitted in this short note to bear testimony to the correctness of the observations of Leeuwenhoek, Bonnet and Reaumur, on the mode of generation in the Aphides, although at present I can add but little to what has already been observed by those naturalists. The facts I have more particularly endeavoured to investigate, are- -first, whether the Aphis is in reality viviparous at one season, and oviparous at another? and next, whether the supposed ova are deposited as true eggs; or whether, as imagined by some observers, they are only capsules designed to protect the already formed embryos during the winter season? With these objects in view, I selected the Aphis of the rose, as best fitted for the enquiry. In the beginning of November, 1842, the young shoots of a rose tree, that had remained in the open air during the whole of the preceding summer, were thickly covered with Aphides, amongst which I had not yet seen any winged specimens ; neither had any of the females yet deposited ova. The rose tree was placed in the window of an apartment in which there was no fire, and where the temperature ranged from about 45° Fahr. to 50° Fahr. In the second week of November, as the temperature of the season became cooler, I first noticed several specimens with rudiments of wings, and a few days afterwards these cast their skins and became fully developed. Most of these individuals were males. At this time there were also a great many very young specimens. On the 30th of November the number of winged individuals had greatly increased; there were many with only the rudiments of wings: and there was also a great abundance of black oval eggs distributed everywhere on the young shoots of the plant, not only on the leaf-buds, but on the stems of the leaves and branches. I saw au Aphis at that moment bearing two eggs at the extremity of her body. On placing one of these beneath the microscope, I was quickly assured of its real nature: it was not a capsule that included a ready-formed embryo, but a true egg. When first deposited the egg is of an orange-yellow colour, but it soon acquires a much darker hue, and ultimately becomes of a deep shining black. The colour is entirely dependant on the pigment of the shell, and is much darker in some specimens than in others. The eggs are firmly glued to the plant, and are not easily removed. The egg of the Aphis is similar to that of other insects; it is composed of an orange-coloured yelk, formed of yellow nucleated cells, and surrounded by a very slight quantity of transparent vitelline fluid. It contains also a very large germinal vesicle, with a distinct macula or nucleus. This vesicle is three or four times as large as the cells that compose the yelk, and, unlike that of most other impregnated eggs of insects, does not disappear until some time after the egg is deposited. The vesicle is so persistent, that in one instance in which I examined an egg, shortly after it came from the body of the Aphis, it did not disappear for several seconds after the egg was crushed under the microscope.

"Wishing to observe the deposition of more eggs, I selected four specimens of the Aphis for experiment: two of these were males, which as yet were in the pupa state, and had only the rudiments of wings; the other two were large apterous females: these were placed on a detached branch of the rose, inclosed in a stoppered glass vessel, and removed to an apartment, in which the temperature ranged from 55° Fahr. to about 60° Fahr. On the 2nd of December, when the temperature of the room was

1

58° Fahr., I was surprised to find that these specimens were again producing living young. One of the large apterous females had already produced its living offspring, and the other was at that very moment in the act of parturition. The posterior part of the body of a young Aphis was then protruding from that of the parent, and was quickly followed by the remainder of the body, the thorax and the legs. When these parts had passed, there was a slight cessation of parturient action, the head being still retained in the vaginal passage. The disengagement of the head seemed to be the slowest part of the process. The manner in which the parent rid herself of the newborn Aphis was deserving of notice. When the little insect was almost entirely extruded from her body, it clung with its feet to the plant; while the female Aphis, at short intervals, gradually elevated her body, and with a slight jerk seemed to labour to remove it. The young Aphis repeatedly missed its hold, but quickly regained it, and was thus as it were partially dragged forth. The head, with its small black eyes, parts of the mouth, and the antennæ, were thus gradually withdrawn, but I could not detect any fœtal coverings removed with them. The whole process of birth occupied about five minutes. Immediately after the young had escaped from the parent, it turned about on the leaf and moved very slowly, while the female plunged her proboscis into the plant to take food after her exertion.

"These brief observations confirm the statements of former naturalists, that the Aphides deposit at one period true ova, and at others produce living young; and they lead us hereafter to inquire more particularly respecting the circumstances which accelerate the one, or retard the other form of development."-George Newport, F.R.S., in Transactions of the Linnean Society.'

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Habits of Noctilio Mastivus, a West-Indian Bat.-" The following notes are extracted from a journal kept in Jamaica during a residence there in the years 1845 and 1846:

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Being out on a shooting excursion, on the 18th of October, 1845, round Crabpond Point, on the southern coast, about the middle of the day I looked about for a seat, on which to rest while I ate some refreshment. A gigantic cotton tree (Eriodendron anfractuosum) in the grass-piece of Mount Edgecumbe seemed to promise in its long root-spurs the seat I was seeking. On arriving at it I found the tree was hollow, the trunk forming a wide chimney of unknown height, as, being closed at the top, the darkness prevented my seeing more than a few yards up. I remarked to my servant that it was a likely locality for bats; but the appearance of a large gecko drew off my attention, and I attempted to capture it. The reptile darted however within the cavity, and I then noticed that beneath the hollow was piled a heap, several feet in diameter, and at least a foot in height, of a soft granular substance, which on examination I found to be the dung of some insectivorous animals, with a very rank peculiar odour. I had now no doubt of the tree being the abode of bats, but had little expectation of being able to ascertain the fact. While peering carefully up, however, I distinctly heard the flapping of wings and some shrill squeakings, and this determined me to fire my fowling-piece at random up the cavity. This I did twice, and though I brought down nothing but a little rotten wood, yet presently, when the smoke had a little subsided, on looking up again I discerned amidst the darkness one or two heads,

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