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Suffocation of Bees.—The following case of an entire swarm of bees destroyed by suffocation happened a few weeks since in the aviary of a clerical friend. Having a Nutt's hive, the centre box of which was tenanted by a weak stock of bees, he was desirous of adding to its population, and accordingly very injudiciously hived a swarm in one of the side boxes, with the intention at some future time of effecting a junction between the two families. He saw the bees apparently quietly settled in, and left them, as he thought, all right. He had occasion to go away until the evening, and on his return, to his great grief and mortification, he discovered that the whole of the bees were lying at the bottom of the hive in a state of suffocation. Every means likely to restore them to animation were resorted to, but not in vain: they were all dead or dying. Being certain in his own mind that he had given them means of egress and ingress, for a long time he could not account for their dying of suffocation. On examining the hive, he found that the entire aperture of the entrance was effectually prevented, and no admission of air could take place. The consequence was the loss of a valuable swarm of bees; by my friend was far more affected by the seemingly cruel manner by which they met their death.—Apiator, in Gardener's Chronicle.

Earwigs.—The present hot dry spring has produced earwigs in immense profusion, or, to speak more properly, has offered no check to the hatching of the eggs and growth of the young. At the present time (June 21) all the specimens visible (and they swarm even in the museum here) are in the pupa state, with rudiments of wing-covers. Small bits of elder-twigs, with the pith scooped out, laid about the flower-beds, or hung against the walls, are excellent traps. The females deposit a comparatively small number of eggs, in holes in the earth, and brood over their young when hatched like a hen over her chickens.—J. O. W., Oxford.

New Gall Insect.—Mr. W. Couper has recently described a parasite on the common creeping rye-grass. It belongs to the Hymenoptera or Bee order of insects. As soon as the larva issues from the egg, it places its head downwards in the gall, remaining in that position till it eats its way through. About the end of September it ceases to feed, and prepares to meet a Canadian winter. By this time the gall is hardened, and the larvæ remain in a torpid state, becoming active again in the spring, and changing to perfect insects in time to attack the young grass of the season. Baron Sacken regards it as belonging to the genus Eurytoma.

Deformed Swallow-tail.—A few days ago a "swallow-tail" (Papilio Machaon) in my possession emerged from its pupa-case, and I was annoyed to see it defective, as I have been waiting for its development some little time. It had only two wings, and these were both on one side, and were perfect. A piece of shrivelled membrane, on which but few scales were visible, replaced those on the opposite side. But making the best of a bad bargain, I cut it up for the microscope instead of preserving it. I also mounted the spiracles on either side of the pupa-case, and on their examination I saw what I believe to be the cause of the disaster. The spiracles on one side were perfect, but those on the other were malformed and undeveloped. Instead of being oval, they were roundish, and no perforation was visible; moreover they were placed at nearly a right angle to the others. Of course neither air nor moisture could be absorbed; and hence I suppose the absence of wings on that side. Wood, in his "Common Objects of the Country," mentions a similar case, but give as a probable cause "insufficient moisture" (vide page 115). I may mention that in the box where I kept the chrysalis I had a watch-glass containing water to supply the requisite moisture.—John Davis.

American Blight.—This common insect (Aphis lanigera), which infests apple-trees, produces in the course of a season eleven broods of young. The first ten broods are viviparous, or are brought forth alive, and consist entirely of females. These never attain their full development as perfect insects; but, being only in the larva state, bring forth young, and the virgin aphides thus produced are endowed with similar fecundity. But at the tenth brood this power ceases. The eleventh does not consist of active female larvæ alone, but of males and females. These acquire wings, rise into the air, sometimes migrate in countless myriads, and produce eggs, which, glued to twigs and leaf-stalks, retain their vitality through the winter. When the advance of spring again clothes the plants with verdue, the eggs are hatched, and the larva, without having to wait for the acquisition of its mature and winged form, as in other insects, forthwith begins to produce a brood as hungry and insatiable, and as fertile as itself. Supposing that one aphis produced 100 at each brood, she would at the tenth brood be the progenitor of one quintillion of descendants (1,000,000,000,000,000,000).—Paterson.

The Ants of Great Britain.—The Entomologist's Monthly Magazine for July contains a paper by Mr. F. Smith on the British Formicidæ, in which all the British species of ants (thirty-two) are enumerated, with the situation of their nests, period of swarming, and localities where found.