Page:The Zoologist, 1st series, vol 4 (1846).djvu/294

1460 Waller, describing what he calls "an English flying glowworm," which he observed at Northern, in Herefordshire, and the light of which was so vivid as to be plainly perceived when a candle was in the room. — Frances M. Levett; Milford Hall, Lichfield, Staffordshire.

Capture of Lamia ædilis in the Black Forest, Rannock. — I am happy to state that three specimens of this rare insect have fallen to my lot, one male, and two females. This species was generally considered to have been imported into this country with foreign timber; be that as it may, I can vouch for these three specimens being British. They were much admired by several gentlemen who called to see them when alive. These insects are attracted by the scent of turpentine that oozes out of the pines in June ; they are only to be found in hot sunshine. — Richard Weaver; Kinloch Rannock, Perthshire, July 21st, 1846.

P.S. I forget the precise day of capture, that matters very little ; they are only to be found in hot weather, whether that comes in June or July,

Capture of Trichius fasciatus, near Loch Rannock. — I have fortunately collected a sufficient number of this beautiful insect for my cabinet, and have some left for my friends ; I took them flying in the sunshine, and also at rest on the blossoms of this- tles and other flowers, on the following dates, June 28th, 30th, July 1st, 3rd, and 18th. These pretty insects were only to be found in one small locality, and when flying they may be easily mistaken for small specimens of Silpha Vespillo. I am informed this beetle is only to be seen in the old collections, not having been captured for more than twenty years. Mr. Dale informs me that he took one specimen on the thyme flower, near Loch Rannock* T am also informed that it has been taken in one confined spot in Wales, not recently, and T have not heard of its being captured in England or Ireland at any time. — Richard Weaver; Kinloch Rannock, Perthshire, July 21st, 1846.

Locusts. — Captain Hager, of the brig Marcella, brought home a preserved grass - hopper of the size of a man's thumb, as a sample of an immense field through which he sailed for five days. He fell in with the field off the Western Islands, and the presumption was, that they were blown oflf from Africa. The water was heavily crusted with them ; the grasshoppers filling the surface to the depth of some inches, and extending in the course of the bark for 400 miles. — Hong Kong Register.

American Blight. — Naturalists are probably well acquainted with the difi'erence of opinion as to the native country of this destructive creature, and with its spreading itself of late years through France and Belgium. It cannot molest the smooth and S3und bark of an apple-tree, but it efiects a settlement wherever there is a furrow or a crevice. It often infests the little twigs and shoots, as well as the trunk and large branches, and then there are no means of getting rid of it by any preparation applied to the tree. Like the Psylla and the Aphis (that attack the buds, and will this year cause a great failure in the apple-crops) it abounds chiefly on decaying trees ; and the most effectual cure is to cut away the whole or a great part of these receptacles for the propagation of mischief, and to replace them frequently by young trees, and thus to sacrifice a present profit for greater future advantages. I am informed by Mr. Crowe, the Consul General for Norway, that this blight has lately appeared in his or- chard at Christiania. Aphides, unlike most insects, seem to have two final states, the wingless and the winged ; these are distinct in all stages of growth, and the former never passes into the latter, which is a pupa, or has the rudiments of wings from its birth. — Francis Walker.