revealed is attended with a good deal of danger and surprise. On
a calm fine day, a couple oí policemen standing at the Court-house
door, with as great an appearance of dignity as St. Helena policemen
can possess, were quite unnerved by the antics of a staid old
Margossa tree in full foliage, which, long a shelter frorn^ the sun s
heat, suddenly fell to pieces and prostrated itself around them—
on examination it was found that Termites had completely hollowed
out the stem and branches nearly to the hark.
The destruction of the town became a matter of such grave importance,
and the necessity for rebuilding with other materials than
those similar to what the insects had destroyed so evident, that
many valuable experiments were tried with various materials, at the
instigation of the then Governor, Admiral Sir Charles Elliot, K.C.B.,
and the results, affording much useful information, are embodied m
a published official report. Numerous timbers and various compositions
were contributed from different parts of the world, but
the Termites at St. Helena devoured most of them excepting teak
timber, cedar, Brazilian yellow-wood, timber of the tree called
Cunninghamia lanceolata, and creosoted deal. There were also some
very hard, close-grained timbers from South America and Africa*
which they would not touch, hut the cost of working them, together
with other reasons, rendered it impracticable to use them at St. Helena.
Of the compositions tried, creosote alone defied them, hut the difficulty
of getting timber completely impregnated with it has been experienced
at St. Helena as elsewhere. Teak has been most generally
used in reconstructing the town ; at present the Termites only
bore through it ; what they may do, if they remain at St. Helena,
which I am inclined to doubt, after the teak has well dried and there
is no timber which they like better, remains to be seen.
I t is extremely fortunate that these insects have so far been confined
to the town and its neighbourhood, and have not penetrated to
the country or high land ; this may in a great measure be attributed
to the fact of their having been introduced on the leeward side
of the Island, and their inability in their migration by flight to make
progress against the trade wind, rather than to their dislike for a
colder climate. Their habit being to occupy the earth, they might
descend to a considerable depth, so long as any vegetable matter
exists in the soil, and thus continue to live in much colder climates
if once sufficiently established.
O r d e r H ym e n o p t e r a .
The Ichneumon Flies chiefly represent this order, and Mr.
Walker considers that they are new, but advises the publication of
descriptions to be deferred. Out of thirteen insects which he has
examined in this order, eight are indigenous to the Island.
Fam. Poneridcs.
Pheidole, Westw.
P . p u s i l l a , Westw.—The common, small, red Ant is identical
with the house Ant of Madeira, and is also found in London.
Without exception it is the most abundant insect at St. Helena,
where it exists in swarms on both high and low land. Most houses
are plagued with it, more especially in wet weather, when it
is driven indoors. I t attacks everything and even finds its way
into beds, hats, brushes, and clothing. Out of doors it exists in
colonies under stones on barren land, where it is difficult to discover
what it feeds upon. A colony generally consists of five
distinct forms of inhabitants. First, there are large numbers of
the ordinary-sized ants or workers; second, a lesser number of
larger ants, about one-third of an inch long; third, a lesser number
again of still larger ants, about half an inch long, which appear to
be females ; fourth, a moderate number of winged an ts; and fifth, a
large number of transparent white eggs or larvse. When one of
these settlements is disturbed, the small ants or workers rush about
most frantically, each laying hold of and carrying away one of the
larvae. There is another species which appears to be confined to
the town; it is slightly larger, quite black, and more active in its
movements. \
Fam. Sjjlegida.
Ampulex, Jur.
A . c om p r e s s a , Fabr.— This most brilliant green, blue, and red
Fly is rather abundant in the summer months, on the low land about
Jamestown, where it feeds upon cockroaches. I t is common in
India and Ceylon, but at St. Helena' is erroneously called Spanish
Fly, for it is a green beetle and not a fly at all that supplies the
cantharides for blisters. I t inhabits, also, E. Africa, Mauritius,
Hindostan, China, and Java.