An apparatus for determining the relative toxicities of contact insecticides is described in detail. It is so arranged that successive batches of insects are sprayed under conditions as similar as possible, so that on using various substances at different concentrations, the results are directly comparable.

The apparatus consists of a glass jar in the lid of which an atomiser is fixed. By means of compressed air at known pressure the atomiser throws a constant quantity of fine spray upon insects placed in a dish inside the jar. Photographs illustrating the details of the apparatus are given.

The method used in practice for the spraying of aphides in this apparatus is described, and examples are given in the form of a table and a graph of the type of results obtained when different concentrations of nicotine are sprayed upon apterous agamic females of A. rumicis.

Members of the genus Leptocorisa have long been known in the East as serious pests of rice. A great deal of confusion, however, has existed between the various species, and in many cases there has been considerable uncertainty as to the identity of the insect responsible for damage in any given locality. L. varicornis, F., and L. acuta, Thunb., in particular, have been constantly confused. Leopoldo Uichanco, for example, expressed some doubt as to the determination of the species described by him in his paper on the Philippine rice bug (Philippine Agric. Review, xiv, 1921, pp. 87–125). This confusion was due, no doubt, not only to the general similarity of the two species and the briefness of the original descriptions, but also to the existence of other closely allied species.

My breeding experiments on Locusta migratoria, L., in 1913−14 enabled me to establish that the progeny of this species sometimes belongs to the form which was previously regarded as a distinct species, L. danica, L., and in the same way, the latter insect may give rise to progeny that is typical of L. migratoria. These results have been used by B. P. Uvarov in developing his theory that the periodicity of locusts is due to a kind of irregular alternation of two phases, swarming (ph. migratoria) and solitary (ph. danica), respectively. I shall not dwell here on that theory or on the differences between the two phases, referring those interested in the subject to Uvarov's paper, but will describe further breeding experiments conducted during the year 1923 with a view to obtaining an idea as to what may be the factors that cause the variation in the species.

Through the courtesy of Dr. G. A. K. Marshall, F.R.S., I have had the opportunity of examining the new beetle, a description of which is given below. It was sent by Dr. G. Bondar to Dr. Marshall as occurring in Brazil on Elaeis guineensis. This plant, the African oil palm, is a native of tropical Western Africa, where it has a wide geographical distribution from the Gulf of Guinea to the South of Fernando Po. It flourishes in the Island of Zanzibar and along the shores of the Central African lakes, and has been introduced into the Philippine Islands, the West Indies and South America.

General colour (in spirit) green with dark brown barring on abdomen. Antennae from the apical half of iv. to tip dark brown to black, basal segments pale brown. Head pale green, except for a black depression between the base of the lateral ocellar elevation and the median line; genal cones medium brown; lateral ocelli pink. Pronotum of the same uniform colour except for a small black area marginally. Dorsulum pale green, with two large semicircular or subtriangular light brown areas medianly anteriorly; mesonotum striated with light brown, one median narrow stripe and two broad lateral ones; mesoscutellum unicolorous or faintly tinged with brown. Legs with the femora darker than tibiae, tarsi and claws black. Abdomen with two median black areas on first segment, with a lateral hollow black.

In October 1921, when banding fruit trees for Anthonomus pomorum, L., numbers of larvae of Boriomyia nervosa, Fab., were found spinning up in the bands. The numbers were such as to attract attention, and afforded an excellent opportunity for working out the life-history.

The cocoons were rather coarsely made, very loose, and in the mesh could be seen numerous oil-like globules. The larvae lay in a characteristic curved position in the cocoons with the head bent forward until it rested on the underside of the thoracic segments, the legs being slightly folded inwards. They remained quiescent in the cocoons until the spring of 1922, when many specimens pupated in March.

The question of the proper allocation of the subgeneric names introduced by Walker (Insect. Saund. Dipt, i, 1850) for the division of the genus Pangonia, Latr., appears never to have been entirely or satisfactorily settled.

In his work Walker subdivided Pangonia into 15 subgenera, for which he proposed the names Nuceria, Fidena, Dicrania, Melpia, Scaptia, Pangonia, Tacina, Phara, Clanis, Osca, Philoliche, Scione, Plinthina, Scarphia and Lilaea. Three of these names (Dicrania, Pangonia, and Philoliche) were, however, adopted from previous authors. Three of the names (Dicrania, Pangonia, and Scione) have been utilized since that date, though in the case of Dicrania the name of the genus has recently been altered to Elaphella, while Walker used the name Pangonia for a group of the genus (sens, lat.) in which the type species was not included.

The Tsetse Investigation in N. Nigeria is being carried out under the auspices of the Imperial Bureau of Entomology, the expense being met by the Nigerian Government. The work was commenced by the present Investigators in 1921 and their Report dealing with the first year's work was published in the Bulletin of Entomological Research (xiii, p. 373, April 1923). This paper deals more fully with the trypanosome infection of tsetses in Nigeria and describes a method of estimating this with rapidity.

In the pages which follow I record some observations which I made upon the insect pests of this extremely interesting country while I served the Palestine Government as Medical Entomologist (May 1921 to August 1923). I have divided my notes into three parts. The part which deals with Anopheles and malaria is the fullest; that which deals with some other creatures of medical and veterinary interest is incomplete, and it must not be supposed that an insect is absent or even rare because I have not found it; that which deals with the pests of crops and plants is extremely fragmentary.

In connection with the study of Anopheline pupae with Dr. P. A. Buxton, I extended my comparisons to the Culicine pupae accessible to us, in the first place to discover their differences from Anopheline pupae, and in the second to bring the Culicine pupae themselves into a system. As with the Anopheline pupae, I limited my comparisons to the trumpets and the chaetotaxy of the abdomen, especially of the last three abdominal segments.