Entomological News to AND PROCEEDINGS OF THK ENTOMOLOGICAL SECTION OF THE Academy of Natural Sciences of Philadelphia. VOLUME XI, 1900. EDITOR : HENRY SKINNER, M. D. PHILIP P. CALVERT, Ph.D., Associate Editor. ADVISORY COMMITTEE: EZRA T. CRESSON. CHARLES A. BLAKE. CHARLES LIKBKCK. PHILIP LAURENT. WILLIAM J. KOX. CHARLES VV. JOHNSON. PHILADELPHIA: ENTOMOLOGICAL ROOMS OF THE ACADEMY OF NATURAL SCIENCES, LOGAN SQUARF. 1 900. P. C. STOCKHAUSEN PRINTER 53-55 N. 7TH ST , PHILADELPHIA. INDEX TO VOLUME XI. * Denotes new variety, species or genus. THE GENERAL SUBJECT. Academy of Natural Sciences, Ent. Section 346, 380, 482, 608 Alaskan Insects . . 381, 416, 459 Alpine insects ...... 319 American Entom. Society, 380, 483, 514, 610. Bolivia, Collecting in ... Bolter Collection Buffalo Ent. Club Chicago Entom. Society . Color photography ... Doings of Societies 346,380, 411, 446, 482, 512, 548, 578, 608, 642. Economic Entomologists, As- sociation of ...... 370 Economic Entomology 336, 370, 390, 404, 436, 47 r, 546, 638. Editorials 335, 369, 402, 434, 473, 504, 53 6 , 5?i, 602, 633 Entomological Literature 342, 376, 407, 440, 475, 505, 537, 572, 603, 346 503 435 447 434 Obituary : Bolter, A. . . . 450 (503) Chatfield, A. F. . . . 451 Dakin, J. A 451 Gilbert, Mrs. L. F. R. . 484 Harvey, F. L 451 Hulst, G. D 613 Meade, R. H . . . . 412 Ruscheweyh, G. . . . 580 Soltau, H 450 Peach mite 471 Pin labels 341 Recollections of old collecting- grounds 597 Rose-bug, Fish oil soap for . 546 Russian Economic Entom. Silver Lake, Utah .... Strange habits, Some Entomologists' Directory . . 427 Feldman Collecting Social . 347, 380, 411, 448, 483, 515, 548, 573, 611, 642. Genera ........ 602 Harris Club 341, 401, 446, 513, 579, 609, 643, 644. Kissing bug ....... 547 Malaria and mosquitos . . . 516 Massachusetts Agric. College, Entomology at ..... 359 Mt. Washington, Alpine insects of .......... 319 Newark Entom Society 348, 411, 447, 512, 608, 644. Notes and News 340, 481, 509, 547, 577, 404 363 600 Students' Entom. Association. 447 Sugar-beet pest 390 Trap lantern 579 Watkins, \V 577 ARAChNIDA. Amblyomma hebraeum . Bont tick, Life history of COLEOPTERA. Abnormalities . Alaska, C. of . Allorhina nitida . . Amphionycha flammata . Anthicidae Apion puritana . . Arizona, C. of Phoenix . Bryaxus abdominalis . Callida viridipennis . . Calosoma willcoxi . Cedius ziegleri . . . . Colapsis brunnea . . . 437, 336 336 619 459 609 621 511 411 561 548 621 548 579 437 11 INDEX. Colorado, C. of 597 Copturodes cockerelli . . . 503 Crioceris asparagi 639 C. i2-punctata 436 Cryptorhynchus fuscatus . . 380 Cychrus viduus 611 Cyclocephala immaculata . . 620 Dichelonycha fuscula . (548) 608 Dorytomus brevisetosus . . .601 Elater militaris 348 Eumicrus motschulskii . . . 348 Geopinus incrassatus .... 610 Halticus uhleri ...... 436 Hoplosia nubila 620 Ichalia costata ...... 380 Illinois, C- of ....... 468 Length of life of C. . . . 633 Megalonycha fuscula . . 548 (608) Metrius sericeus* 389 Microchara explanata .... 610 Monstrosities 619 Mycetina perpulchra .... 380 Neladius tennis 643 New Jersey, C. of . 380,411,484, 515, 548, 6n, 642. Northfield, Mass., Collecting at 392 Oberea bimaculata .... 437 Panagaeus crucigerus . . . .515 Pennsylvania, C. of . 348, 380, 449, 499- 548, 579, 610, 612, 619, 643. Phyllobrotica decurrata . . . 642 Platynus spp 499 Saperda vestita 621 Sitodrepa panicea 375 Soronia ulkei 411 Stenomimus pallidus .... 509 Tiger hunt in far west . . . .581 Utah, C. of ...... 482, 581 COLLEMBOLA. Achorutes tigrina* 552 C., New Maine 549 Entomobrya aglis* ..... 549 Smynthurus brunneus* . . . 550 DIPTERA. Anopheles 516 Bee fly four years a larva . .510 Blepharocera capitata .... 305 Cecidomyia destructor . . . 438 C. oxycoccana 324 Chsetopsis apicalis* .... 326 Chrysomyza demandata . . . 609 Daulopogon terricola* . . . 326 Diplosis pini-radiatae* .... 491 Eutanypus borealis 439 Goniops 531 Hesperodes* 429 H. johnsoni* . 429 Hypocharassus 423 Mosquitos and malaria . . . 516 Neaspilota achilleae* .... 328 Pangonia chrysocoma . 392, 531 Pseudatrichia griseola* . . . 501 P. unicolor* 500 Rivellia brevifasciata* . . . 326 Sargus caeruleifrons* .... 325 Seosisoma* 327 S. flavescens* . 327 Synonyms 531 Teucholabis complexa . . . 324 Therioplectes astutus .... 516 T. politus* 325 Traginops* 429 T. irrorata* 430 HEMIPTERA. Aphis mali . 448 Aspidiotus diffinis ..... 425 Cicada septendecim .... 638 Clastoptera 463 C. bimaculata* 464 Diaspis piricola .... . 590 Eriococctis spp. ...... 594 E. quercus tourney i* .... 594 European pear scale .... 590 Eutettix magnus* 395 Pemphigus betae* 391 Platymetopius hyalinus* . . . 501 HYMENOPTERA. Anthophora montana, its para- sites .... 510 Asobara antipoda* 625 Bathymetis antipoda* .... 624 INDEX. in Brachista pallida* 616 Centrobia odonatae* . . . .616 Coelioxys 8-dentata and host . 553 Crabro angelicas* ..... 358 C. foxii* 356 C. of Washington 353 Doryctomorpha* ..... 629 D. antipoda* 630 Eulophus albitarsis* .... 623 Formica exsectoides .... 579 Hyperteles polynemae* . . . 615 Macrotera 510 Megacilissa . 510 Mellinus bimaculatus .... 346 Monedula Carolina ..... 347 Mutilla, Extra-American . . . 400 Parasitic H. ..... 615, 623 Polynema needhami* .... 617 Schauinslandia* 627 S. alfkenii* 628 S. femorata* 627 S. pallidipes* 628 Tetrastichus polynemae* . . 616 Washington, H. of 353 LEPIDOPTERA. Achalaurus cellus 439 Acontia delecta 513 Actias luna 609 ^Egiale streckeri 495 Alaskan L 382, 416 Anartia melanopa 380 Anthocaris genutia .... 465 Arachnis dilecta 600 Archonias lyceas 533 Argynnisnitocris coerulescens* 332, 449, 483. A. n. nigroccerulea* .... 622 Azelina peplaria 583 Brenthis pales alaskensis* . . 383 B. youngi* . 383 Brephos infans 514 Bungalotis midas 600 Callidryas agarithe .... 618 Catocala badia 368 C. innubens scintillans . . . 445 C. titania* 472 Catocalae of Missouri . 433, 472 Cecropia 579, 631 Ceratomia catalpae . . 608, 611 Citheronia regalis 642 C. sepulcralis 446 Cocytius cluentius 334 Ccenonympha kodiak yukonen- sis* 386 Colias philodice . 347, 449, 642 C. eurytheme .... 347, 449 Diurnals, Notes on N. A. . . 328 Double cocoons . . . 401, 446 Eacles imperialis 641 Enodia portlandia 609 Erebia sofia alaskensis* . . . 387 E. youngi* 388 Erebus odora .... 608, 610 Eucordylea* 349 E. atripictella* 350 Feralia jocosa 368 Gastropacha americana . . .514 Geometrina, N. Am. . . 527, 554 Hemaris brucei 380 H. spp 498. 547, 584 Hepialus argenteomaculatus . 610 Hesperidse, N. Am. 413, 578, 579 House-moth injuring specimens 445 Hymenitis spp 600 Inflated cocoons 446, 513, 515, 580, 631. Lycsena sonorensis . . . .481 L. yukona* 4 J 6 iMelipodes jucunda .... 641 Melitaea phaeton superba . . 401 Metzneria lappella .... 644 Mimicry in L 644 Mississippi, L. of 5 12 Missouri, L. of . . . . 433. 47 2 Nealyda* 35 N. bifidella* 35 1 Neophasia terlootii .... 535 New Jersey, L. of . 348,513.543, 608-9, 642, 643. Noctuidse, North Am. species wrongly listed as .... 509 IV INDEX. CEdomasia badia . . . 348, 368 ! CEneis jutta alaskensis* . . . 389 Pamphila attalus 642 Papilio ajax 643 P. asterias on Cosmos . . 577 P. electryon 428 P. philenor .... 580, 642 P. turnus aber. fletcheri* . . 482 Pericopis salvini 600 Phaegoptera ochraceator . . 600 Protoparce rustica 485 Pseudochelaria walsinghami* . 352 Pyralidina, N. Am . . 527, 554 Pyrameis caryae 412 Rearing larvae, Hints for . . 461 Sibine fusca . 517 Skinner's catalogue, Additions and corrections to .... 328 Slug-caterpillar, Life history of a S. Am 517 Smith's list of L 396 Sphinx drupiferarum .... 581 S. luscitiosa 580 Synchlce lacinia 503 Synonymy, Headlong plunge into 533 Thecla mellinus 578 Tinea fuscipunctella .... 503 Tineid larva feeding on dead Cecropia 502, 516 Tineina, New N. Am. . . . 349 Tortricidea fiskeana* . . . 333 Tropasa truncatipennis . . . 403 Utah, L. of T.6-1. J *J Vanessa antiopa 514 NEUROPTERA. Alaskan Odonata 382 Arkansas Odonata . . . .621 Atropidae 431 Calopteryx angustipennis . . 464 Dragonflies caught by tendrils of vines 439 D, Kingbirds eating .... 340 Dragonfly-eggs, Parasites from 615 Enallagma anna* 455 Gomphus crassus 545 G. externus . 545 Indiana Odonata 640 Mecistogaster 601 Megaloprepus 6or Myrmeleon texanum* . . . 596 Psocids at light 601 Psocinella* 431 P. slossonae* 432 Tachopteryx thoreyi .... 398 Troctes bicolor* 559 T. niger* 560 Wyoming dragonflies . . . 453 ORTHOPTERA. Alaskan O ... 382 Earwigs on gallinule . . . . 516 Gryllotalpa borealis 642 Podisma variegata 630 AUTHORS. Adams, C. C 621 Aldrich, ]. M 531 Ashmead, W. H 615,623 Baker, C. F 463 Banks, N 43 '.559. 59 6 > 6o1 Barnes, W 328 Barrett, O. VV. . . 403, 428, 600 Bowditch, F. C. ... 393, 512 Bradley, J. C 44^ Broadwell, W. H. . 411, 447, 5^3. 608, 644. Brown, C. E 439 Browning, G. W 581 Calvert, P. P. . 340, 342, 376, 407. 440, 452, 475, 505, 537, 546, 572, 603, 634, 641. Caudell, A. N 583 Cockerel!, T. D. A. 439, 503, 510, 578, 594, 601, 622. Cockerell, W. P 622 Coquillett, D. W. . . . 429, 500 Davidson, A 511 Dietz, W. G .-49 Doane, R. VV 39 Dodge, G. M 433, 472 INDEX. Dury, C 510 Dyar, H. G. . . 333, 5 1 ?, 5o, 618 Ehrmann, G. A. . . . 499. 6l 9 Fall, H. C. . . . 459 Fernald, C. H 359 Field, W. L. W. 401, 446, 447, 513. 514, 580, 610, 643, 644. Forket, C 5'2 Foster, F. H 461- Fox, W. J. 348, 380, 400, 412, 449. 484, 548, 553, 579, 612, 643. Girault, A. A 439 Goodhue, C. F 368 Griffith, H. G 561 Harvey, F. L 549 Herr, C. W 481 Hine, J. S 39 2 Holland, W.J. . . 332, 381,416 Hulst, G. D 527, 554 Johnson, C. \V 323 Johnson, W. G 47 1 Kellogg, V. L 305, 490 Kemp, S. T 368, 482 Kincaid, T 353 Kwiat, A 447 Lounsbury, C. P 340 Mally, C. W 546 Marlatt, C. L 425, 590 Mills, H 489 Moore, J. P 340 Nevvcomb, H. H 396 Osborn, H 395, 501 Oslar, E. J 495 Read, H. Y 412 Rehn, J. A. G 630 Rivers, J J 389 Satterthwaite, A. F 502 Skinner, H. 334, 335, 347, 369, 380, 402, 413, 434, 445, 473, 482, 483, 502, 504, 515, 533, 536, 545, 571, 602, 608, 609, 611, 632. Slosson, A. T 319 Smith, J. B. . . 375, 509, 615 Smyth, E A., Jr. . 465, 485,498 (547)- 584. Snow, W. A 489 Snyder, A. J. . 363 Soule, C. G 631 Troschel, A 334 Webster, B. F. . . . . . .436 Webster, F. M. . 375, 577, 640 Weidt, A. J 348 Weith, R. J 641 \Vheeler, W. M 423 Wickham, H. F. . . . 450, 597 Willcox, E. V 404 Williamson, E. B. 398, 453, 464 Wolcott, A. B 468 ENTOMOLOGICflL NEWS AND PROCEEDINGS OF THE ENTOMOLOGICAL SECTION ACADEMY OF NATURAL SCIENCES, PHILADELPHIA. VOL. XI. JANUABY, 1900. No. 1 CONTENTS: Kellogg Notes on the Life-History and Structure of Blepharocera Capitata Loew . . . . 305 Slosson Additional List of Insects Taken in Alpine Region of Mt Washington .819 Johnson Some Notes and Descrip- tions of Seven New Species and One New Genus of Diptera 323 Barnes-Notes on North America Diurnals, with Some Additions and Corrections to Dr. Skinner's Catalogue... 328 Ho /land A Description of a Variety of Argynnis Nitocris from Chi- huahua, Mexico 332 Dyar A New Cochildian of the Pa- learctic Group ... Editorial Economic Entomology Notes and News 340 Entomological Literature 342 Doings of Societies 34K Exchanges i. ii NOTES ON THE LIFE-HISTORY AND STRUCTURE OF BLEPHAROCERA CAPITATA LOEW. BY VERNON L. KELLOG<;, Stanford University, California. I. In the swift, tumbling little stream of Coy Glen, which has cut its way from the summit of West Hill into the valley at the head of Cay nga Lake, near Ithaca, X. V.. an interesting fly makes itself abundantly at home. This fly is nicjilmwrrii >'(tj>if on the rock bed. Each of these patches contained from one to several hundred individuals. Most of these full-grown larvae were curiously covered dor- sally with a close growth of diatoms. The most abundant diatom in this growth was one of the stalked Gomphonenia. The basis of this covering of the larva's back was the gelatin- ous mass at the base of the stalked diatoms. Scattered upon, and through this mass were individuals of Nitzscliia and sev- eral other diatoniaceous genera. The covering had a soft, felt- like appearance, grayish or brownish, and did not seem to trouble the larva. In fact in the light of this condition it was very interesting to me to discover that the principal part of the contents of the alimentary canal of the larva was composed of diatoms. Is there any connection between the food habits of the larva and this convenient flourishing of diatoms on the insect's back ? On May 17th there were many new pupa3, but also still many larva and these of all sizes, from the 2 2 mm. fellows to the full-grown ones. The pupae all lie with head down stream. On May 20th the pupa? far outnumbered the larva?, and on May 26th the larva? were scarce. There were no patches re- maining ; the larva? were of various sizes. No adults had issued ; this is certain from the fact that there were no empty pupal cases to be seen in the patches of pupa?. (The pupal skin always remains attached to the rock after the imago issues.) On June 1st I found the midges issuing. A few were seen flying, with slow, weak flight, over the stream, and I col- lected a number as they issued from the pupal skins. Prof. Comstock first observed, and described in the Manual, this in- teresting escape of the delicate fly from the submerged pupal skin. The swift water makes this matter a difficult one, and a majority of the flies whose issuance I watched were carried off before they could get above the water. By June 9th most of the imagines had issued, although there were still pupa- and even some larva? there, mostly old. Farther up the stream 308 ENTOMOLOGICAL NEWS. [Jan some larva of about middle size, i. e. about 5-6 mm., were found. I could find but few of the midges. These were cling- ing to the under sides of leaves of bushes bordering the stream, or were slowly flying about. I saw a female catch a small fly and eat it. Saw none in copulo or ovipositing. Between June 9th and July 1st I visited the stream often, searching for the eggs, but in vain. The imagines were very scarce. I could find but one or two during an hour's searching. There were no larvae nor pupte left. Some reference to the food habits of the imagines will be made in connection with the account of the mouth parts. But I have little else to tell about the life-history. The rest of the story is yet to be learned. Anatomical Notes. The larva. The curious shape of the larva is well shown by the illustration (fig. 508) in Comstock's Manual. But Prof. Cornstock is in error in explaining the character of the seg- mentation of the body. The body (see Fig. 1, A) consists of six parts, separated by distinct constrictions. By making sagittal longitudinal sections through the body it can be seen that the anterior, apparently single, segment is composed of the fused head and three thoracic segments, FIG. 1. Blrphiroce*-a capitata Loew; A, larva, ventral aspect; B, dorso-ventral section of body of larva through a sucker; /. p., lateral projection; s., Backer!; g., tracheal gills; h., heart.; al. c., alimentary canal; mus., muscle; t., tendon; St., "stopper" or sucker; r., rim of sucker. 1900] ENTOMOLOGICAL NEWS. 309 while the most posterior part is composed of the last two abdominal segments, the intervening parts repre- senting each a single abdominal segment. That the anterior body parts comprises the head and thoracic segments is also proved by the fact that all the irnaginal discs of the legs and wings are to be found here. The larva is footless, but each body part (not body segment) bears a pair ,of small, uuseg- mented, pointed projections (Fig. 1, I. _p.), situated on the ventral aspect of the lateral margins. This projection may be of slight use to the larva in locomotion, but, at best, only of slight use. The real organs of locomotion and of attachment to the rock bed of the stream are the six " suckers," one of which lies on the median ventral aspect of each body part (Fig. 1, s). There is but one sucker for the combined head and thorax, and but one for the last two abdominal segments. By means of these suckers the larva clings to the rock bed of the stream, despite the impact of the swiftly flowing water. The larva can loosen its hold with the suckers voluntarily ; and, by loosening those at one end of the body, swinging this end lat- erally and refastening it, and then loosening the other end of the body and swinging and refasteuiug it, a slow but safe locomotion, chiefly lateral, is possible. The larva' move about not a little, especially from the necessity of continually moving from the edge out farther into the stream as the water of the little stream gradually lessens in quantity. The structure of these suckers and the manner of their working are of interest. The ventral (external) aspect of a sucker (Fig. 1, s.) shows a central opening, surrounded by a strong, flexible, concave rim, marked with alternating concen- tric bands of thicker and darker and thinner and lighter 1 minis of chitin. The rim projects, considerably ventrad, so that a considerable free or air space is enclosed by the rim when its outer edge is applied to any surface. In dorso-vent nid sect ions transversal to the body of the larva (see Fig. 1, /;.) the whole structure of the sucker is apparent. The cup- shaped sucker is seen, after all, not to consist of a rim around a circular open- ing, but to be simply a part of the outer body wall i true skin and chitiu cuticula) peculiarly folded and modified to act a- a sucker. The projecting cup- like part (Fig. 1, >.) of the sucker 310 ENTOMOLOGICAL NEWS. [J an is coated with chitin, so as to be thick and strong, although still flexible. At its base the skin is almost free from chitin, thrown into fine folds, and bent in toward the interior of the body and then out again. Here it is greatly thickened by a circular, lens-shaped deposit of chitiu (Fig. 1, st.~), which is slightly larger than the inner neck of the sucker, which it closes internally. The neck of the sucker is the apparent cen- tral opening and the lens-shaped thickening is the bell-shaped structure, which closes this opening internally, as seen in looking at the sucker from the under or external side. The structure of the sucker is all plainly shown in Fig. 1, B, and can be much more readily understood from an inspection of the figure than from reading this description. Attached to the inner face of the lens-shaped " stopper " of the sucker are two great muscles (Fig. 1, WM-S.), which run dorsally and somewhat diagonally clear through the body cavity to the dorsal walls, to which they are attached. The muscles do not rise directly from the ' ' stopper, ' ' but are fastened to it by strong, short tendons (Fig. 1, .). The manner of the sucker's functioning can now be understood. With the rim resting on a smooth surface, the rock bed of the stream, and the u stopper " well down in the neck of the air cavity of the sucker, the lift- ing muscles may be contracted, the " stopper" raised (the folds at the neck give chance for a considerable movement of the "stopper") and a partial vacuum formed with the sucker. What muscles are used when the insect desires to loosen the hold of a sucker is not so evident. Probably the contraction of certain dorso-veutral muscles which lie lateral of the muscles which lift the "stopper " serves to force the "stopper ' down by flattening the body dorso-ventrally. So firmly can the larvae hold to the rock-bed by means of these suckers that one often tears a larva in two in attempting to remove it. The larvae breathe by means of small tufts of short, thick, cylindrical, tracheal gills (Fig.l, harocera capitata Loew ; A, female; H, head of female, ceph- alic aspect. In attempting to understand the specialized mouth parts of the sucking and piercing insects it is necessary for us to find the most generalized condition of the mouth parts existing in any of the groups of sucking insects whose mouth parts are to be studied. Among the Lepidoptera, for example, there exist in tw r o or three small moths (En'or<-i>ltlntln and the highly special- ized mouth of the sphinx moth there exist all the gradations necessary to allow us to understand the course of specializa- tion and the homologies of the extraordinary sphinx proboscis. Among the Hymenoptera a similar condition prevails, and the complex "tongue" of a honey bee is understood, and the 314 ENTOMOLOGICAL NEWS. [Jan manner of its derivation is understood, because the general- ized Hyinenoptera, the saw-flies, have mouth parts sufficiently like the orthopterous type to make the hoinologies apparent, and because there are among the various Hymeuopterous in- sects conditions of mouth parts gradatory from saw-fly to honey bee. Now among the Diptera we search for the generalized mouth among the presumably generalized flies, the Nematocera.* And among all the Nematocera perhaps none has a mouth which is more generalized, i. e., more nearly in the condition of the typical biting mouth, than Blepharocera. The fernal es of Blepharocera, like the females of Simulium, Ceratopogon, Dixa, Culex and some other Nematocera, are . blood-sucking, and, FIG 4. Blepharocera capita/a Loew, mouth parts ; Ib. ej>., labrum epi- pliarynx; m.v., maxilla; m.r. p., maxillary palpus; md , mandible; hyp , hypopharynx ; /;' , labium. while the mouth parts of these forms are not strictly bitiug the mandibles are present, as cutting or sawing or piercing organs. The males of these forms are nectar- feeding and have lost the mandibles. In the mouth parts of the female 7>Y''/>//- arocera all of the parts of the typical biting mouth are pres- ent, the mandibles, maxillte and labium. The mandibles * For an account of the mouth parts of all the Nematocerous families see Kellogg, " The Mouth parts of Nematoeerous Diptera," Psyche, Vol. viii, Nos. 273, 275, 276, 277, 278. 1900] ENTOMOLOGICAL NEWS. 315 (Fig-4, md.) are loug and serrate on their inner edges, so as to be effective lacerating instruments. The maxilhe (Fig. 4, mx.~) are elongate and blade-like and have four-segmented palpi. The labium (Fig. 4, Zi.) is, though somewhat elongated, truly tip-like and has its terminal lobes not coalesced and with- out pseudo- tracheae.. The hypopharynx is not short and tongue- like, as in the orthopterous mouth, but is long and slender, and stylet-like. Altogether the difference between the moiith parts of Blepliarocera and the racial biting type is one of modifica- tion, and of modification not sufficient to obscure the homolo- gies, although a modification more profound than that shown by the most generalized Lepidoptera or Hymeuoptera. On the other hand, there is not much dfficulty in tracing the de- velopment of the Dipterous mouth from, the generalized condi- tion of Bl&pharocera(oTSimiUlium,QT Dixa et al.)to that extraor- dinary specialized condition shown by Musca, where the man- dibles and maxillaB are lost and the labium. is so modified that it has no longer any likeness to the " lower lips " of the or- thopterous mouth. The other specially interesting point in the imaginal anat- omy of Blepliaroeera is the structural condition of the com- pound eyes. It has long been observed that several flies (Slinuliiiiii, Tabanaset o7.)and certain other insects (Libellulida:, Ascalaphus, Ephemeridre, et al.~) have two sizes of fact-Is in each compound eye; that some have the field containing these differently sized facets well delimited, the fields being in some cases actually separated from each other by a non-facet led line or by a constriction. "\Yheu this constriction is so coin plete that the eye is truly divided we may fairly say that there are two pairs of compound eyes, the two eyes of each lateral pair differing in the size of the facets. This last extreme con- dition exists in the case of the males of certain Ephemerid.c and in both males and females of Bh-phurowrn cj>itt- tles, two on each side near the vertex. Thorax sul>op;ique, halters light yel- low. Abdomen somewhat darker toward the base, the whole covered with a short yellowish pile. Legs covered with short yellowish hairs, middle and posterior tibue and tarsi with a more or less brownish tinge. Wings hyaline, with a small brown spoi ;it top, extending equally along the margin on each side of the end of the third longitudinal vein. Length, (mini. Three specimens, one of which was taken along Big Timber Creek, a short distance above "NVestville, August 19, 18!>7. 328 ENTOMOLOGICAL NEWS. [J a n Neaspilota achilleae, n. sp. Fig. 3. Head light yellow, first and second joints of the antennae also light yellow, third joint of a slightly darker shade. Thorax and scutellum light yellow, dorsal portion and the metathorax blackish with a whitish hlooni and pubescence. Abdomen dark yellow, with blackish pile- Ov- [^ ipositor shiny, legs yellow, wings as shown in figure, except that in some specimens there is only a wide costal margin, the short transverse stripe becoming obsolete or wanting Length, 4mm. Common on the Yarrow or Milfoil (Achittea millefoliuin) at Avalon, June 30, 1895 ; one specimen, Edge Hill, Montgom- ery County, Pa., July 4th ; also one specimen from. Dr. Garry deN. Hongh, collected by Mr. G. R. Pilate at Tifton, Ga., Jnne 6, 1896. It resembles in general appearance a small N. vernonice Lw. o NOTLS ON NORTH AMERICAN DIURNALS WITH SOME ADDITIONS AND CORRECTIONS TO DR. SKINNER S CATALOGUE WILLIAM BARNES, M. D , Decatur, Illinois. HeUconius charitomus Linn This species, so common in Florida, is only rarely found in Texas and Arizona I have occasionally re- ceived specimens from near Kerrviile, Texas, and from Cochise Co., Arizona. Agraulis vanilla: Linn. Occasionally found as far north as Col- orado. Argynnis eybele Var. carpenterii Edw. The original types of this variety were taken on Taos Peak, northern New Mexico, and not in Arizona as is stated in both Edwards' and Skinner's catalogues. I have this year received specimens from near Duraugo, South- west Colorado. Cybele, as it occurs with us in the East, I have never seen in the mountainous regions of Colorado, nor west of the con- tinental divide. Typical Ze^o occurs as far east as Utah, and pos- sibly in the extreme western part of Colorado along the line. In the intermediate territory between where leto and eybele fly we find the forms of carpenterii and charlotii, the former more to the eastward, the latter west and north. Charlotti forms a very close connecting link between leto and cybele, and its occurrence in the Intermediate territory is of interest as showing the path along which at some former time the species probably spread across the continent. 1900] ENTOMOLOGICAL NEWS. 329 Argynnis oweni Edw. A long series of specimens of this species, some from Prof. Owen himself, others from Idaho, compared with the types, show such close gradations into hfppolyta that in most cases it is impossible to tell under which name to place the speci- mens Argynnis rhodope Edw. Specimens taken in Yellowstone Park and Idaho are but a shade lighter on the under surface of the second- aries than typical specimens taken in British Columbia. Argynnis behrensii Edw. Mendocino, California, is the only lo- cality mentioned in Skinner's Catalogue for this species. It is, how- ever, not at all rare at Gleuwood Springs, Colorado, as has already been recorded by Mr. Edwards. 1 have also received it from Utah and Durango, Colorado. Argynnis meadii Edw. This is one of the commonest species of Argynnis in the canons around Denver, Colorado. It is also found in Idaho and Wyoming in addition to the localities given by Skin- ner. Melitcea nubigena Var. ivheeleri 11. Edw. Is found in Nevada, Utah and Western Colorado, while the variety capella Barnes is found around Denver and Manitou. Colorado. MelitfKa gillettii Barnes. Since the types were taken in Yellow- stone Park, I have also received specimens from Idaho. Melitcea rubicunda II. Edw. Is found in Oregon, as well as in Northern California. Melitcea acastits Edw. Is common in Western Colorado. Melitcua whitneyiRvhr. Is found in Washington and Oregon as well as California and Nevada. MelitcKa alma Str, Examples from Durango, Colorado, do not differ from those taken in Utah and Arizona. MelitfKa nympha Edvv- Is quite common in the Huachuca Moun- tains, Southern Arizona. Mehtwa arachne Edw. Is not rare around Kerrville, Texas. Melitwa deftnita Aaron. Is common on the Nueces River, Soul li- eru Texas. Eresia tulcis Bates (puttetata Edw.) Common along the Lower Nueces River, Southern Texas. G-ra/ito xntyrus Edw. Is not at all rare in Arizona. Eunica tatila Herr Schaflf. Must be extremely common around Miami, Florida, as I have received more than 500 specimens from there this season. Heterochroa californica Butl. [s found in New Mexico and Cal- ifornia in addition to the localities mentioned by Skinner. It is common in Southern Arizona. Neonmypha henxhaici Edw. I have taken this species as far north as Denver, Colorado, but its home is in Arizona, in the southern part of which State it is very common. Like others of the genus it- flight is rather slow and jerky, flitting under and through the 330 ENTOMOLOGICAL NEWS. [Dec thorny bushes which form most of the vegetation in that delightful country. The rough, rocky nature of the land and the abundance of rattle snakes add additional charms to collecting-. Rubricata is also found there, but is not so common as iu Texas. C&no'uymplia hay den ft Edw. Is very common in Haydeii Val- ley, Yellowstone Park, and adjacent parts of Idaho. It flies out upon the open grassy plains and is very easy to capture. Along in the middle of July one can easily take a couple of hundred specimens in a day. Erebia disco idalls Ivirby. Skinner puts the habitat of this species as Boreal America, but it is common at least as tar south as Calgary Alberta. Erebia sofia Str. This species must be very local in its habits. It is found in Yellowstone Park, on the north side of the low hills where the grass and herbage is rank and green, and where the trees are few T and so scattered as to permit the sun to shine in in broad patches. Its flight is regular and slow, and it does not wander far from home. When they are frightened they fly mly a few feet and then drop down among the rank grass and crawl into the tangled herbage, where they remain motionless. It is very difficult, indeed, to find them aud almost impossible to make them fly up again. The beautiful bright yellow spots change to a dirty yellowish white after death. They are not at all rare in Yellowstone Park about the middle of July, if one knows exactly where to look for them. Gyrocheilus tritonia Edw. This species is found quite plentifully at an elevation from 4,000 to 6,000 feet in the mountains of South- ern Arizona. It flies in the same sort of country as henshatri, and its capture is attended with the same difficulties. Epinephele wicaque Reak. This beautiful Satyrid is not at all rare in the Huachuca Mountains of Southern Arizona, and adds a new genus as well as species to our list. Satynis paulus Edw. Is quite common in Colorado, both around Denver and Glenwood Springs. Satyrus cttus Bd. Idaho and Wyoming may be given as addi- tional localities for this species. Thecla crysalus Var. Citima H. Edw. Is common around Glen- wood Springs, Colorado. Thecla spinetornm Bd. Several specimens taken the past sum- mer iu the Huachuca Mountains, Southern Arizona, show a much greater range for Hiis species than hitherto suspected. Thecla leda Edw. Is quite common around Mesquite iu May, in Southern Arizona. Thecla apama Edw. Is very common in May and June iu the mountains of Southern Arizona. Thecla ajfiitis Edw. I have only received this species from Utah, though specimens of Dumetorum from Colorado are oflen taken with only the slightest trace of the white spots. ]900] ENTOMOLOGICAL NEWS. 3.31 Thechi sheridan if Edw. Ts common early in the spring around Denver, Colorado, but is very local in its habits. Chrysophanus edt'tha Mead. Is found in Southern Oregon, Cali- fornia and Utah, giving it a much more extensive range than cred- ited to it by Skinner. In addition to localities given by Skinner, [ have mariposafeom Washington and Oregon; of zerve from Utah, Wyoming and Idaho ; of Florus from Idaho and Wyoming, and of cvpreus from Beaver Canon, Idaho. Dorcus is quite common at Port Arthur in July. Lycoana glaucon Edw- Is much more common in Utah than in Colorado. Archonias lyceas Godm. and Salvin. This species is occasionally found in Southern Arizona. Both Mr. Poling and myself have re- ceived examples from there the past season. Anthocharis olympia Var. ro.w Edw. Is quite common in the early spring around Denver, Colorado. ('ionepteryx clorinde Godt. Placed by Strecker on our list, but was omitted by Edwards and Skinner. Two quite fresh specimens taken this season in the Huachuca Mountains, Southern Arizona, prove that it is occasionally found north of the Mexican boundary. Col fas eiirydtce Bd. A specimen taken near Kerrvillc. Texas, gives a much more extensive range for this species than it has hith- erto been credited with. Colfas meadii Edw. and elis, Str. Along series of specimens from Yellowstone Park, compared with typical meadii from Colorado, and elis from Laggan, show all gradations and would puzzle any- one to tell to which species they belong. Colins emilta Edw. Is very common around Pullman, Washing- ton, and at Osoyoos, British Columbia. Painj>hilhillnl(t ///////.s-Edw. Seems to be much rarer than dci-n, which it so closely resembles, but a single specimen was obtained this sea- son. Pamphila phylace Edw. This species seems to be common around Las Vegas, New Mexico, aud is occasionally taKeri around Denver, Colorado. Amblyscirtes cassus Edw. and n s. or may nut In- 338 ENTOMOLOGICAL NEWS. [Jan until the ninth. A female which takes up her position alone de- velops little, and is almost sure to let go within a week aiid renew her search for an eligible male. An uumated male may also relax his hold and search for a mate, but this does not appear to be a common habit, and in such cases as it has been noticed the male settled down near a lone female and left her to change her position to effect the match he evidently desired. The duration of a male's life on the host has still to be determined, but many specimens now on cattle under observation have been attached already over five weeks. During its stay it may have several successive mates. Sometimes it turns or is pulled about so as to embrace a second before the first has fallen, and a third has been observed to closely follow a second. The period which clauses between the dropping of the distended female and the beginning at ovipositiou has varied in instances ob- served from two to ten weeks. Ovipositiou has extended from three to nine weeks and incubation from eleven weeks to six mouths. Under ordinary conditions it is estimated that the entire round of life normally occupies at least a twelvemonth. Larval ticks hatched six mouths ago are still alive. The hungry nymphs have less vitality and few have survived thirteen weeks, although the majority not utilized in tracing the life history survived full three mouths. The waiting adult ticks seem to become exhausted in a shorter time, but those kept did not begin to die oft" until the tenth week. The different stages have been kept the periods men- tioned, principally at the office or in living rooms. The vitality of all has no doubt been severely tested by frequent disturbances and by being carried on long train and cart journeys. The larvas have been kept in a cork-stoppered bottle, the nymphs in a glass-topped jar, and the adults in glass-topped p isteboard boxes. No moisture or anything from which nourishment could be derived has been given them . The larvae when on the host naturally gorge themselves with blood, but many specimens reared evidenced by their cream or pink body color that they had drawn colorless fluids wholly or in part. When distended the larvte measure 2mm. in length. The nymphs reared were very uniform in their color; when distended fully they measure 5mm. to 6mm. in length, but exceptional individuals drop when ev^u less than 4mm. A critical examination may show sexual differences in this stage but a superficial one; all that has thus far been made shows none at all. The adults measure from 4mm. to 6mm. in length when they emerge from the uymphal skin. The male does not increase perceptibly in length or breadth during its stay on the host. The female generally increases to at least 20mm in length, and individuals measuring 25mm. long, 19mm. wide and 18mm. thick are not uncommon. These details are in- 1900] ENTOMOLOGICAL NEWS. 339 eluded here merely to give ona an idea of ths size of this gigantic: species. Owing to the size of the tick there is no difficulty in observing the interesting process of ovipositiou. For this act a broad furrow forms under the depressed rostrum and the genital orifice, which normally is beneath the body, is thus brought to the front margin. The lips of the orifice extrude, act as an ovipositor, and carry the egg upward almost half way over the depressed rostrum. Mean- while a pale colored, glandular organ, cleft for much of its length* protrudes from a cavity situated immediately beneath the fore margin of the shield. Gradually unfolding its glistening arms' this gland extends itself downward over the rostrum, grasps th e egg and apparently envelopes it in slime, which it secretes. It then retracts, dragging the egg with it for a distance, but eventually leaving its charge resting on the rostrum. The latter organ with the palpi then comes into play, and rising together they push the egg forward and out of the way. The whole operation usually oc- cupies from fifty-five to s'xty-five seconds. The slightest touch causes a suspension of the work, and several hours generally elapse before it again begins. If repeatedly disturbed, as for instance by the daily removal of the eggs, the tick may cease laying altogether. By careful computation the egg complements of three ticks taken at random have been found to be, respectively, about 10,000,13,400 and 17,600. It is presumed that the largest individuals lay as many as 20,000. The eggs adhere to one another and form an irregular mass in front of the body. The adult male does not appear to draw blood but to live on serous matter. There is always some inflammation about the "bites" of all stages, and at least a slight suppuration occurs where the adults settle. Great sores sometimes form, and it is this result of tick attack more than the actual loss of blood that makes the tick problem so important in South Atrica- Heifers on badly infested farms sometimes lose from one to all four teats before they calve, and there are stock farms on which a cow with a sound udder is exceptional. The transmission of several blood diseases is at- tributed to the agency of the species by the farmers, and in the course of studying the life history it was incidentally discovered that the farmers were perfectly correct as far as Red Water (Texas or Southern fever) was concerned. This malady was transmitted to a stabled cow located a thousand miles from where the origiua* female ticks were obtained. The Bont Tick in all stages attacks all kinds of stock farmed in South Africa, aud that without apparent discrimination. Different classes of stock may beiutesit'vl by the laine tick inthe different stages of its development. The tick doe* not do well where the hair is thick aud long, or it would be nearer the truth to say that it is uot 340 ENTOMOLOGICAL NEWS. [Jan adapted to climbing through hair. Therefore few, particularly in the adult stage, are found away from the relatively bare places, and hence some classes of stock become far more infested than others- Animals in high condition are less subject to attack than those in poor condition, but an animal in the very pink of condition may become much infested. Some individual animalsare far less suscepti- ble than others, but "tick-proof" animals have not been observed. The less susceptible animals are probably found by as many ticks as the others, but for an unexplained reason or reasons the ticks do not take hold. In this connection it may be mentioned that most ticks get on and tumble oft' a number of limes before securing a hold. Horses are made lame by infestation beneath the fetlock; sheep and goats by^attack between the toes. Ostriches are able to re.ich almost all parts of their bodies to remove the tick, and so keep themselves relatively free, the whole surface considered. Larvae, nymphs and adults have all fastened on to the writer, but not so freely as on to cattle. Oddly, the pubic regions appear to be most attractive to them. This apparent preference was at first thought to be due to the arrangement of the clothing, but latterly it has been learned that native children, clad in a single garment hanging from the shoulders, suffer the same experience. CHARLES P. LOUNSBURY. Cape Town, South Africa. o Notes and News. ENTOMOLOGICAL GLEANINGS FROM ALL QUARTERS OF THE GLOBE. KINGBIRDS EATING DRAGONFLIES. During July and August, 1899, at Cottage City, Martha's Vineyard, Mass., kingbirds were fre- quently observed to catch and eat a large species of dragonfly which occurred abundantly about the house and downs The captured insects were invariably carried to a convenient perch, usually a fence, on which they were held with the bird's feet, while the wings were stripped oft" and discarded, when the body was pulled to pieces and eaten. J PERCY MOORE. [The dragonfly referred to was Epia'schna heros Fabr.; the king- bird is, of course, the common Tyrannus, t >/) New Jersey Agric. Experiment Station, New Brunswick, N, J-, Oct. 31, '99. W e b s t e r , F . M . Insectary and office methods 7. I d . An interesting outbreak of chinch bugs in northern Ohio, 7. W e b s t e r , F . M . , and M a 1 1 y , C . W . Insects of the year in Ohio, 7. Wilcox, E. V. Abstracts of recent papers, Experiment Station Record, xi, 3, U. S. Dep't. of Agricul- ture, Washington, '99. Arachnida. C a m b r i d g e , F . O . P . Arachnida Araue- idea, vol. ii, pp- 57-64.* 15. M o 1 1 i a r d , M . On the histological modifications produced in stems by the action of Phytoptus, Comptes Reudus, Academic des Sciences, Paris, Nov. 20, '99. S i m o n, E . Results of a voyage to the Pacific (Schauiuslaud, 1896-'97), Arach- noids, 89 . S m i t h , F . P . An introduction to British spiders^ figs., Science Gossip, London, Dec. '99. Myriopoda. Verhoeff. C. Contributions to knowledge- of palaearctic Myriopods, iv : On the classification, phylogeny and comparative morphology of the Julidae and on some other Diplo- pods, 4 pis, 119. Orthoptera. S c u d d e r , S . H . Pseudopomala and its allies,* 5. Neuroptera. N e e d h a m , J . G Directions for collecting and rearing dragouflies, stone flies and May flies, figs., Part O of Bui letin No. 39, U. S. National Museum, Washington, '99. Hemiptera. B a 1 1 , E. D. Some new Deltocephalinae (Jassi. dae),* 4. B e r g r o t h , E . A new genus of Corixidae, Entomol- ogists' Monthly Magazine, London, Dec., '99. C o c k e r e 1 1 , T . D . A . Tables for the determination of the genera of Coccidae (cont.), 4. II o 1 in g r e u , N. Contributions to knowledge of the female sexual organs of the Cicadaria, 89. H oward, L. Of See Economic Entomology. J o h n s o n , W. G. See Eco- nomic Entomology [Nectarophora*~\. K i r k a 1 d y , G W Aquatic Rhyuchota in the collection of the Royal Museum of Bel- gium, notes and descriptions, 35, No- 10, Nov. 6. M a r 1 a t t , C . L . See Economic Entomology. M ontaudon, L . Hemip- tera cryptocerata, sub-family Mononychinae, notes and descriptions of new species, Buletinul Societatii de Sciiute din Bucuresci, viii, 4-5, Bucharest, July-Oct., '99. Smith, J. B. See Economic Entomology. 1900] ENTOMOLOGICAL NEWS. 345 Coleoptera. A r r o w , G. J . Notes on the classification of the Coleopterous family RutelirUe,* II. E v a n s , J. D. List of Co- leoptera from Halifax, N. S., 4. J a c o b s o n , G. On the exter- nal structure of wingless beetles, 1 pi.. Anuuaire, Musee Zoologique PAcademie Imperiale des Sciences de St. Petersbourg, '99, No. 1. K n a b , F . Coleoptera in September, 4. L e a , A . M . He- vision of the Australian Curculionidaa belonging to the sub-family Cryptorhynchides, pt. ill, Proceedings, Linuean Society of New South Wales, '99, pt. ii, Sydney, Oct. 10, '99. P i c , M . Descrip- tion of new Coleoptera, 55, Nov. 15. Sharp, D- Coleoptera vol. ii, pt. 1, pp. 553-560, pi. xvii [Cucujidae],* 15. Weise, J .' Some new Cassidine genera and species, 119. Diptera B e r g, C. Dipterological notes. 60c. Coquil- 1 e t , D . W New genera and species of Nycteribida3 and Hippo- boscidre,* 4. H o u g h , G- deN. Some Musciuae of North America,* figs., Biological Bulletin, i, 1, Boston, Oct., '99. Rec'd. Nov. 27, '99. V i g n o u , P . On the histology of the alimentary canal in the larva of Chironomus plumosus [translated from Comptes Rendus, Paris Acad.], II. v an d e r W u 1 p , F . M . Diptera, vol. ii, pp. 393-408, pi. xi [Ortaliure, Trypetinae*], 15. Lepidoptera. v . A i g u e r A b a f i , L . The last " oiling ' of caterpillars [in Magyar, summary in German], Rovartaui La- pok, Buda-Pesth, Oct., '99. B e r g , C. JBrent/iia cytheris and B. dexarnene, \ pi., 60c. D r u c e , H. Lepidoptera Heterosera, vol. ii, pp. 553-568, pis. c, ci,* 15. D y a r, H . G. Life-histories of North American Geornetridae, vii, 5. F inn, F. , and Lat- ter, O H . Birds capturing butterflies, Nature, London, Nov. 16, '99. For bush, E. H. See Economic Entomology. Grose- Smith, H. Khopalocera Exotica, part 50. London : Guruey and Jackson. Oct. 1, '99- Rec'd. Dec., '99. H a u h a m , A. W. A list of Manitoba moths, pt. iv, 4. K a t h a r i n e r, L . Ex- periments on the influence of Light on the color of the pupa of the peacock butterfly ( Vanessa io L.), 81 Nov. 1. v on Linden M . [Notice of] J. T. Oudeman's " Lepidoptera from (astrated t larvae, their appearance and behaviour," 81. Oct. 15. S o u 1 e , C . G. Color- variation in larvae of Papilio polyxenen, and other notes, 5. Hymenoptera. A s h in e a d , W. H . Classification of the en- tomophilous wasps or the super- family Sphegoidea, paper No. 6,4. Cocker ell, T. D . A., and Porter, W . Contribu- tions from the New Mexico Biological Station, viii : the New Mexico bees of the genus Bombns* II. Dawson, C., and Wood he ad, S. A. Problem of honeycomb, Natural Science, London, Nov., '99. E m e r y , C . Results of a voyage to the Pa- cific (Schauinslaud, 189C-'97), Formicidae, 89. F ore], A . Hy- menoptera, vol. iii, pp. 81-104, pi. iv [Myrmicidie],* 15. K o 1 b e , 346 ENTOMOLOGICAL, NEWS. [J an H . J . E. "Wasmann's " Psychical capabilities of ants, 74, Oct. 1. Perkins, R. C . L., and F o r e 1 , A . Hymenoptera Aculeata, Fauna Hawaiiensis, vol. i, pt. 1, pp. 1-122, 2 pis., map. Cambridge [England], University Press. March 20, '99. Rec'd. Dec. 7. d e Ridder, P. J. The bee and rain. Revue Scien- tifique, Paris, Nov. 4, '99. T e r r e , L . Contribution to study of the histolysis and histogenesis of the muscular tissue in the bee, Comptes Reudus, Societe de Biologic, Paris, Nov. 18, '99. W eld, L e R . D . The sense of hearing in ants, Science, New York, Nov. 24, '99. DOINGS OF SOCIETIES. At a meeting ot the Entomological section of the Academy of Natural Sciences of Philadelphia, Mr. Fox reported the presenta- tion by Mrs. Slossou of a specimen of Mellinus bimaculatus, takeu at Frauconia, N. H. It is a very rare species. Mr. Lancaster Thomas said that collecting at Cranberry, N. C., has been very poor this past season. There was but one-third the usual rainfall, which made it the dryest summer there for twenty years. The absence of Terias jucunda and delta was mentioned. Mr. Gerhard, who had spent a year collecting Lepidoptera in Bolivia for Mr. A. J. Weeks, Jr., of Boston, Mass , said he collected iirst at Molleudo on the coast, but took but few species. Thence he went to Arequipa, 108 miles inland. This place would be a desert except for irrigation. Col, lectiug was done along the ditches and on the Alfalfa and a few ad- ditional Jspecies found. Puno at 12,000 feet was a dry place without much vegetation ; about five species were found here. Other places at high altitudes were mentioned, but did not produce much. He then went to La Paz, the starting point to the interior, or more tropical part of the country. About five species of diurnals were found at La Paz. Chuluma'iri (5,000 feet) was the next place visited, where he remained seven weeks on account of the difficul- ties of travel and the breaking out of the revolution. The foot of the valley was the best place to collect, but the road? were very poor and zigzag in character and quite steep. The rain greatly inter- fered with collecting, but were often intermittent in character and the sun would shine between the showers. In seven weeks l.soo specimens were taken. Owing to the illness of the mules locomo- tion was difficult and walking compulsory. The Indian guide walked through the cold rains and snow in a state of nudity without apparent discomfort. The great beauty of the mountain scenery was graphically described. The hotels were poor and hardly worthy of the name and are called tambos. The rooms were cheerless and almost without furniture. By collecting locally better results were obtained than by trying to cover too much territory. The second journey was made to the tropical country, about three days,. 1900] ENTOMOLOGICAL NEWS. 347 iourney from La Paz. The difficulty of obtaining' pasture for the animals was mentioned, and thus stopping was made impossible ex- cept at tambos. Many specimens were obtained on animal excre- ment along the roads, the dense vegetation making other places inaccessible. A few miles would often make quite a difference in the species, and different Morphos were mentioned as being taken only three miles apart. A place called Choro was described as a good collecting ground. It was eleven days to Cochabamba from La Paz and three more to Choro. The region was disappointing, the ground dry and vegetation sparse. After twelve more miles an undulating, mountainous country was entered. After a time a place was reached where collecting was good and species found not taken on previous journeys Three weeks were spent at this place. Picking Papilios from moist places by means of the fingers was described. The difficulties and means of travel in this country were graphically dwelt on. Dr. Skinner exhibited specimens of Coif os philodice and euri/theme, captured by Mr. Lancaster Thomas at Cranberry, N. C. A large series showed no differences except in color, and in some the color intergraded. The extreme probability of these two being forms of one species was mentioned. Mr. Thomas called attention to a pallid form which was white above and dark beneath. Mr. Laurent showed a sport of (.'idnla i-ul- uarix and also two of C. repanda The same gentleman exhibited . specimen of Calopteryx macula tu with parts ot the wings spotted. Dr. Calvert said that some specimens were irregularly marked and that the name came from the spotted character of the type HENRY SKINNER. M. I)., Hecorder. AT the November meeting of the Feldmau Collecting Social, held at the residence of Mr. Frank Haimback, 1309 Allegheny Avenue, thirteen persons were present. Prof. J. B. Smith exhibited speci- mens of larva 3 and cocoons of a large hymenopterous insect which captured and stored katydids. This fact led one observer to believe that these larva? were an early stage of the katydid because of the numerous parts of that insect which were found in the cells of the larva?. The larva? were unidentified, but from its large size and from the imago's habit of preying on Orthoptera was supposed to be JJotK'ihila carolino. Discussed by Messrs. Johnson and Fi>\ . Mr. II. "\V. Wenzel showed an unidentified chrysalis, which while in the larval state had bored into a pine log and duir out a cell lie- fore pupating. Prof. Smith stated that it is probably a species of moth of the genus Acroiti/i'tn, several species of which have such habit-. Dr. II. Skinner stated that Mr. Lancaster Thomas had eollevted many specimens of < 'ohas /tti/lodice on October -2<;th at ( 'ranberry, N- C., which were all extremely dark. Mr. Thomas was of the opinion that C. philodice and euryfheme were but one species, and 348 ENTOMOLOGICAL NEWS. [Jan in this view Dr. Skinner concurred. Specimens of both these species had been collected which show all intergrades of coloration. Prof. Smith suggested that a study of the genitalia of these spe- cies should be made before asserting them to be the same. Dr. Skinner agreed with Prof. Smith in this matter. Prof. Smith spoke of the frequent difficulty of determining spe- cies from superficial characters- Although orange and yellow forms may be considered as one species, it is not at all certain that specific characteristics will not be found in the genitalia of the males of each form. Mr. C- W. Johnson exhibited Myrmicomyja myrmjcodes greatly resembling an ant, and a probable species of Stenomacra which he proposed to call S.fiacescens. Mr. H. Weuzel exhibited two specimens of Elater milltaris, a rare insect in this locality. Also recorded in addition to the local list of Pselaphidas l-'imtic.rus motschulskii, only known heretofore from Fl >rida. The secretary called attention to the disproportionate number of females against males in a collection of Eumenida? from Brazil. Dr. Skinner spoke on the present tendency of scientific workers to specialization, which he defended. Prof. Smith commended the entomological portion of the Cam- bridge Natural History by Dr. David Sharp and referred to the high quality of the illustrations. An American elementary work on insects published during the past year forms quite a contrast to the former, not only in ideas but in illustrations. The meeting then adjourned to a collation prepared by our host. Mr. Haimbach, at which the social side of the gathering was much in evidence. WILLIAM J. Fox, Secretary. A regular meeting of the Newark (N. J.) Entomological Society was held at Turn Hall Sunday, November 12th, Vice-President Kemp presiding and ten members present. Mr. Erb remarked that CatocalcK were rare during the past season, but added that he was very successful in rearing Sphinx larva, taken mostly on Long Island. Other members reported that collecting was poor last sea- sou. Mr. Weidt exhibited several specimens of the genus Croatia. which were bred from eggs laid August 17th (second brood). The first imago emerged November 1st and the last November llth. Pupae were kept in cellar since September. The specimens were two <3\ with a heavy black baud on lower wing, one showing a ten- dency to break into spots. There was one $, with the same black baud. This makes the third brood. The balance of pupae will prob- ably layover until spring. Mr- Kemp reported taking a nearly full- grown larva of CEdemasia badia on bay (name of plant) in the mid- dle of June. Imago emerged July 5th. A. J. WEIDT, Secretary. FNT. NEWS, Vol. XI. I'l. 1. _ 1 1^. la & NEW MICRO-LEPIDOPTERA (Dietz). ENTOMOLOGICAL NEWS AND PROCEEDINGS OF THE ENTOMOLOGICAL SECTION ACADEMY OF NATURAL SCIENCES, PHILADELPHIA. VOL, XI. FEBRUARY, 1900. No. 2. CONTENTS: Dietz Some New Genera and Species of N. A. Tinein 349 Kincaid Notes on the Species of Cra- bro found in the State of Wash 353 Fernald Zoology as Taught at the Mass. Agricultural College 395 Snyder Silver Lake, Utah 363 Editorial 369 Economic Entomology 370 Entomological Literature 376 Doings of Societies 380 Some New Genera and Species of N. A. Tineina. By W. G. DIETZ, M.D. Believing that the genera and species here described are new to science, I offer the following as a small contribution to our knowledge of N. A. Tinciua : Eucordylea gen. n. fam. Gelechidae. Labial palpi strongly developed, robust ; first joint porrect ; second erect, with a dense brush of stiff hair the entire length of its upper surface, capable of being extended in a line with the first joint, and a lateral, fanlike spreading out of the brush ; third joint shorter than the second, sharply pointed. Head about as wide as long, face perpendicular, smooth-scaled ; occiput somewhat rough scaled. Eyes prominent, round; tongue wanting; no maxillary palpi : antennae rather stout, simple, joints close set, scarcely more than two- thirds the length of the anterior wings. Thorax and abdomen moder- ately slender. Posterior tibiae with long, appressed stiff hair along their upper margin ; middle pair of spurs at two-fifths from the apex, inner spur more than twice the length of outer one. Anterior wings elongate, dull pointed, nearly five times as long as wide, margins nearly straight from near the base to the apical fifth, then equally narrower from both margins to the apex. Neuration : costal to margin before the middle, cell closed, pointed posteriorly, vein 7 and 8 stemmed, ytocosta. Hind wini^ rhomboidal, anterior and inner margins straight parallel, apex slightly 350 ENTOMOLOGICAL NEWS. [February, produced, posterior margin oblique, feebly bisinuate. A pencil of stiff hair arises between the insertion of the wing and the anal angle. Cilia twice the width of the wing. Neuration ; cell closed ; vein 2 arises re- motely from hind angle of cell, veins 3-5 closely together from the latter. While alive and at rest, the extended palpi, with its dense brush of stiff, bristly hair spread out laterally, give the in- sect a very peculiar, bearded appearance. The statements as to the neuration given above are such as are discernable with- out denudation ; the single specimen in my possession does not warrant such proceed lire. Careful examinations with high power fails to reveal the presence of a tongue. E. atrupictella n. sp. (Plate I, fig. i, i). Pale creamy yellow. Palpi ; outer surface of first joint, a transverse line about the middle and a broader band at the apex of the second joint and both of which extend across the brush of bristly hair ; an annulus at the middle and another at the apex, not including the extreme tip of the third joint, blackish. Antenna; annulate with fuscous. Anterior wings with black- ish markings as follows : extreme costa, from base to one-fifth its length, an oblique fascia beginning at one-fifth from the costa and reaching the dorsal margin at one-third, less distinct at the latter, bisinuate externally and shading oft" gradually to the ground color at the base ; a broad and less oblique fascia before the middle, narrowed toward and not attaining the dorsal margin ; bisinuate toward the base ; a third fascia, narrower than the last, at a little less than two-thirds the length, slightly oblique, becoming narrower toward the dorsal margin without attaining it ; this fascia is further removed from the base at its costal than at the dorsal extremity ; a long stripe in the middle of the wing extends from the second fascia through the third and a trifle beyond ; five larger and several very small and indistinct spots around the apex. Underside of wing, corresponding to the dark markings of the upper surface, but more diffused, dark fuscous. Cilia at apex dusted with dark fuscous scales. Hind wings pale cinereous, cilia concolorous, pale stramineous toward their base. Anterior legs annulate and spotted with dark fus- cous ; middle and posterior femora, with broad, irregular fuscous band before the apex, latter tipped with fuscous ; middle tibiae fuscous exter- nally, posterior with a few scattered spots of fuscous scales, tarsi annul- ate with dark fuscous. Length of anterior wing 5.0 mm.; exp. 12.0 mm.; 0.48 inches. Plab. Hazleton, Pa. A single specimen taken August 4th, 1899. Nealyda gen. n. fam. Elachistidae. Head transverse, moderately con- vex ; face somewhat receding beneath; ocelli present; tongue strong 1 900] ENTOMOLOGICAL NEWS. 351 scaly at its base. Labial palpi of moderate length, curved, ascending rather remotely from the face, cylindrical, close scaled, apex not attain- ing the level of the antennal insertion, second joint somewhat thick- ened toward the apex, longer than the pointed, third joint. Maxillary palpi rudimentary. Eyes round, moderately convex, visible from the front. Antennie slender, scarcely three-fourths the length of anterior wings, basal point very little wider than the stalk, less than twice as long as wide, the latter finely denticulate beneath. Thorax robust, convex. Abdomen rather short, in the male with small anal tuft and lateral claspers. Posterior tibia? smooth, inner spur of middle pair twice the length of the outer and slightly thickened toward the apex. Anterior wings oblong lanceolate, costa evenly curved from the base. All veins present, cell narrow, nearly pointed posteriorly, closed, trans- verse vein very faint between veins 6 and the common stem of 7 and 8 ; costal attains costa at about two-fifths from the base, vein 2 arises closely to the short stem of 3 and 4, 5 approximates to 4 ; 7 and 8 long stemmed, 7 to costa; 7-11 attain the costal margin at approximately equal dis- tance, ib distinctly furcate at base. Cilia less than width of wing, scale-dusted. Hind wings three-fourths as wide as fore wings, outer margin deeply emarginate, causing the wing to become bifid ; costal margin straight for two-fifths its length, thence feebly emarginate to the apex ; dorsal margin straight from the distinct anal angle to the apex of lower apical cusp. Cilia nearly twice the width of the wing. Neura- tion : costal running close to the costa and nearly reaching the extreme apex, cell open between veins 4 and 5, closed between 5 and 7, by the margin of the emargination, 2 arises before the middle, 3 and 4 remote, 5 independently from near the base and forms the costal margin of the lower cusp ; the anterior median reaches the deepest part of the emargi- nation and forms the dorsal margin of the upper branch of the fork. ib furcate at base. The characters thus represented are so anamalous as to find no counterpart anywhere among the Tincid genera, as far as my knowledge goes, nor elsewhere among the L,epidoptera ex- cept the Pterophoridse, to which the genus under consideration, however, bears no relationship. Its rather robust body, gen- eral habitus and palpi would perhaps place it near Scythris Hb. (Bit talis Tr.). N. bifidella n. sp. (Plate I, fig. 2, ia, ib}. Palpi fuscous, annulus at end of second joilit and extreme apex of third, white. Antennae pale brown. Head and thorax greyish, tinged with brown. Fore wings pale brown, tinged with golden ; a dark brown fascia at two-fifths, equidistant from the base at its costal and dorsal extremity, sharply defined exter- nally and edged by a line of silvery white ; toward the base it passes 352 ENTOMOLOGICAL NEWS. [February, gradually into the ground color of the wing ; extreme costa from base to fascia dark brown ; a large costal patch of dark brown scales, beyond the middle, apical part and cilia densely dusted with nigro-fuscous scales, a subterminal line and extreme edge of latter, paler ; before the darkly- dusted apical part of the wing is an indistinct, curved line of silvery scales, concave toward the base. Hind wings pale cinerous, cilia con- colorous, pale stramineous toward the base. Abdomen pale fuscous. Anterior and middle legs dark fuscous, indistinctly spotted with pale, points of tarsi with a pale annulus ; posterior legs paler. Length of fore wing 4.5 mm., 0.18 inch. Exp. 9.5 mm., 0.38 inch. Hab. Glen wood, Colo., August and September. Varies somewhat in coloration of fore wings, ground color from a silvery grey to golden brown. In some specimens there is also a dorsal, less pronounced patch of brown scales, opposite the costal one. The pale line in apical part of wing is not evi- dent in some specimens. Pseudochelaria walsinghami n. sp. (Plate I, fig. yi, 3$). Palpi ashen grey, long, recurved, brush of second joint grooved, third joint longer than the second, pointed ; outer side of first joint and base of second dark fuscous, brush dusted with fuscous, third joint with broad annulus above the base, rest dusted with fuscous scales. Antennaae slender, dark brown above, faintly annulate with pale grey, paler on the underside, finely denticulate toward the apex. Head grey ; thorax, ab- domen and anterior wings ashen grey, with feeble purplish reflections ; a dark brown triangular spot on the posterior end of the thorax. Anterior wings marked with a dark, rich brown, as follows : basal space limited externally by a sharply-defined oblique line, twice as far removed from the base at the dorsal than at the costal margin, but not including the latter and a narrow space of the adjacent surface ; a longitudinal stripe, beginning at two-fifths and extending through the middle of wing to the apex, rather sharply defined along its dorsal margin, but becoming more or less diffused with the dark shading in the costal half ; a whitish fascia at the beginning of the apical cilia, interrupted by the longitudinal stripe and passing gradually into the dark shading of the apical part of the wing ; the costal part of the fascia is concave toward the apex, the dorsal part straight, and passes obliquely backward to the dorsal margin ; apical part with dark lines radiating into the cilia. The median space is washed with brownish, having a slight golden reflection, becoming darker in the costal portion, and more so toward the apical fascia ; in the dorsal half are two brown spots at two-fifths and three-fifths of wing respectively, the former surrounded by raised white scales. Cilia pale with two darker lines, basal line more distinct. Underside fuscous. Posterior wings pale fuscous, paler toward the base ; cilia pale fuscous around the apex, a faint darker line at two-thirds, and another, still less distinct, subterminal one. ENTOMOLOGICAL NEWS. 353 Underside fuscous toward the apex. Underside of body and legs pale ochreous, last ventral segment more or less fuscous ; femora and tibice banded with fuscous, tarsi annulate with the same. Posterior tibiae with stiff appressed hair on the upper side. Length of anterior wing 7.5 mm. ; exp. 17.0 mm., 0.68 inch. Hab. Ha/deton, Pa. Larva pale green, with isolated hairs, lives under a white web on the under side of the leaflets, and also along the petioles of Sumach ( Rhus typ/iosa ) , where it may be found from the latter part of August and during September. Pupa brown. The imago appears the latter part of May and early part of June the following year. It gives me pleasure to dedicate this species to Lord Walsing- ham, who established the above genus and the type of which (E. pennsvlvanica Wlsm. ) is in my collection. The latter species differs from the above-described one in the wing markings, as may readily be seen by a comparison of the figures. It was taken at electric light. Larva not known. Plate I, fig. 4. EXPLANATION OF PLATE I. Fig. i. Anterior and posterior wing of Eucordylea atripictclla. \a, lateral view of head and labial palpus of same. Fig. 2. Anterior and posterior wing of Ncalyda bifidella. 2a, neura- tion of anterior wing ; zb, neuration of posterior wing of same. Fig. ^.Pseudochelariawalsinghami. 3^, neuration of anterior wing ; 36, neural ion of posterior wing of same. Fig. 4. Anterior wing of Pseudochelaria pennsylvanica Wlsm. Notes on the Species of Crabro Found in the State of Washington. By TKKVOR KINCAID, University of Washington. Thanks to the excellent monograph of the Crabronina\ pub- lished by Mr. William J. Fox, of the Academy of Natural Sciences of Philadelphia, it is possible for the American stu- dent of this group to readily determine such forms a^ he may discover. During the last few years the writer has procured a consider- able number of representatives of the genus Crabro from vari- ous parts of the State of Washington, and desires to place on 354 ENTOMOLOGICAL NEWS. [February, record such notes and data as may seem of interest to hymenop- terists. Mr. Fox, in his monograph, indicates twenty species of Crabro as occurring within the limits of this State. The fol- lowing list includes twenty-eight species, the additional number being due to the extension of the range of six species to this- region, and two species are described as new. In their flower- visiting habits the members of the genus Crabro seem to have a preference for the blossoms of the Umbelliferse. Most of the specimens recorded from Olympia were taken upon the flowers of an umbelliferous plant growing in an open meadow along the Deschutes River. At Seattle a number of specimens were taken during the Summer upon the flowers of cultivated parsnips, and in the Fall upon those of Canon gairdncri and Angelica genuflexa. A few specimens occurred at plants of other families, such as Anafihalis inar- garitacea, Achillca millefolium, etc. A series taken at Corval- lis, Oregon, were, with few exceptions, found upon the flowers of Heracleum lanatum. The localities mentioned in the following notes are all within the Puget Sound basin, except Pasco, Wawawai, Almota and the Blue Mountains, which are in Eastern Washington. Hence the former are in the Transition zone, while the latter are in the Upper Austral zone, as indicated by Dr. Merriam in his paper on the faunal areas of the United States. In the preparation of this paper the writer wishes to ac- knowledge the assistance of Mr. Fox in determining some of the more difficult species. Crabro producticollis Pack. Ranges to New York and Texas. Olympia, Wash., 3 9 9 June 23-26, 1897. Seattle, Wash., i $ at flowers of parsnip, June 10, 1897 ; i 9 collection of Professor O. B. Johnson. Whidby Island, Wash., 3 $ c? and 399, collected by Mr. N. L,. Gardner. Crabro bellus Cress. Ranges to Colorado, Nevada and Oregon. Olympia, Wash., i 9 June 3, 1895, i $ June 25, 1897. Cor- vallis, Oregon, i $ on Hcraclciuu lanafiini, June 5, 1898. igoo] ENTOMOLOGICAL NEWS. 355 Crabro montanus Cress. Ranges to New York. Olympia, Wash., 25 9 9 and 24 S $ June 5 to July 4, 1895-97, on Umbelliferse. vSeattle, Wash., 17 x, collected by Mr. Eldred Jenne. Crabro vicinus Cress. Ranges to Colorado, Arizona and California. Olympia, Wash., i9 June 13, 1893. Seattle, Wash., 19, collection of Prof. O. B. Johnson. Corvallis, Oregon, 399 June 3 to June 16, 1898, on Hcraclcnin laiiatnin. Newport, Oregon, i 9 June 10, 1898. 358 ENTOMOLOGICAL NEWS. [February, Crabro cingulatus Pack. Ranges to Texas and Illinois. Olympia, Wash., 5 $ 9 June 14 to July i, 1896, flying about clumps of Lysichiton kamtschatense . These represent a variety, lacking the scutellar spots. Crabro advenus Sm. Recorded from Washington by Mr. Fox. Crabro confertus Fox. Ranges to Colorado. Olympia, Wash., i9 June 14, 1895. Corvallis, Oregon, 10 $ June 10 to June 23, 1898. Crabro pinguis Fox. Recorded from Washington by Mr. Fox. Grabro maculiclypeus Fox var. Ranges to Colorado, Utah, New Jersey. Olympia, Wash., i I June 23, 1897. Seattle, Wash., i June 10, 1897. Crabro scutellatus Say, var. (?) Ranges to Pennsylvania -and Colorado. Seattle, Wash., i 9 July 5, 1898. Crabro angelicus n. sp. 9 Anterior margin of clypeus dentate laterally arid with a median truncated projection ; head finely and distinctly punctured ; impressed lines from frontal depression to fore ocellus and from lateral ocelli to eyes, distinct ; first joint of flagellum one-fourth longer than the second ; ocelli in an equilaterial triangle ; space between hind ocelli much less than between them and nearest eye margin ; pronotum with a rounded crest, subangular laterally ; dorsulum finely punctured, mesopleurse less distinctly so, the episternal suture curved ; middle segment with the en- closed area of the upper face bounded posteriorly by a semi-circular line of fovece divided by the longitudinal finely foveolated furrow into two shining prominences, between which at the base there is a triangular striated area ; posterior face finely roughened, lateral ridges distinct below, becoming obsolete above ; sides shining ; abdomen as long as head and thorax combined, shining, microscopically punctured, the last dorsal segment more strongly so ; pygidium broad, fiat, distinctly punc- tured. Black ; large spots on each side of clypeus, line outwardly on scape, small spots on pronotum, tubercles, line on metanotum, fore and ENTOMOLOGICAL NEWS. 359 medial tibiae outwardly, base of hind tibije, fore and medial tarsi, white ; spot at tip of fore femora, lateral spots on fore tibiae, reddish ; wings sub- hyaline ; nervures and stigma brown. Length 6.5. mm. vSeattle, Wash., July 16, 1898, 2? 9 taken at flowers of . higclica o-fniijle.va. This species belongs in Mr. Fox's group illiniums, and is closely allied to C. scntcllattis. Crabro tarsalis Fox. Recorded from New York by Mr. Fox. Seattle, Wash., i July 26, 1898. Crabro ater Cress. Olympia, Wash., $ $ $ June 20, 1897, June 27, 1898 ; i ? June 27, 1897. Crabro pedicellatus Pack. Ranges to New York and Michigan. Olympia, Wash., 2S June 23, 1897. Zoology as Taught at the Massachusetts Agricultural College, with Reference to Entomology. By Prof. C. H. FERNALD, Ph. D. Physiology. This course is offered to the sophomore class during the Winter term, and extends throughout the entire eleven weeks, four hours a week. It is taught by means of a text-book, Martin's "The Human Body" (advanced course), supplemented by lectures and demonstrations on the skeleton and models. The aim is to give, as thoroughly as may be, a knowledge of the anatomy of the human system, the physi- ology of its various parts, a general idea of hygiene, and to urge upon the student the practice of its teaching. The cotirse presupposes an elementary knowledge of the subject, so that the result, aside from its own worth, forms a valuable aid to the study of /oology which follows. /.oology. Zoology is a required subject, junior year, and may be divided into three parts a laboratory course in comparative anatomy, a lecture course in general /.oology, and a course in elementary entomology. During the fall term eight hours a week, for sixteen weeks, are spent mainly in the laboratory, where a series of typical forms, ranging from the amoeba and 360 ENTOMOLOGICAL NEWS. [February, other microscopic animals, through the earthworm, clam, squid, lobster, star-fish, sea-urchin, shark, frog and pigeon, to the cat, are dissected, studied and drawn. Previous to the dissection of any form a short lecture is given, which, supplemented by a full list of laboratory guides and text-books, gives the student a sufficient knowledge to enable him intelligently to study the creature before him. Each man provides himself with a set of dissecting instruments and note books, but all other apparatus and books are owned by the laboratory. During the Winter term a series of thirty lectures is given, covering the entire subject of zoology, except that portion having reference to the insects, which, because of their importance, are treated as a separate science. The aim here is to supplement and render orderly the knowledge a'lready gained through the medium of the microscope and scalpel, and the lectures are abundantly illustrated by the very complete museum belonging to the de- partment and containing over twelve thousand specimens. Collateral reading is encouraged, and occasional quizzes are given as a test of the student's knowledge from all sources. Entomology. A course of six hours a week is offered in entomology, during the Summer term, its aim being to give a general knowledge of insect anatomy and physiology and a systematic review of the entire group, taking as types, as far as possible, those forms of economic interest to man, and at the same time giving an idea of the life history of each species so taken, and the means of combating it. A knowledge of in- secticides and insecticide machinery and their use is given. An interesting feature of the course is the collection which each student makes and arranges of the more common species which may be found on the college grounds and the nearby region. A very full museum collection serves as an aid to identification and arrangement. Senior Entomology. During the senior year such members of this class as elect advanced entomology take a course of lec- tures on the external and internal anatomy of insects and on the various methods by which injurious forms are destroyed or held in check. The laboratory work consists of a critical study ENTOMOLOGICAL NEWS. 361 of the external and internal anatomy of members of the differ- ent groups, followed by the determination of insects of each group. In connection with this work a careful study of the literature is made, and familiarity with the analytical keys and the more important articles on injurious species is obtained. During the Spring term much of the time is spent in the field, where the student is taught how to look for and find injuries caused by insects, to recognize the species by the nature of these injuries, and how best to deal with each case, either by the use of insecticides or other methods. Finally each student is required to prepare a thesis on some insect or group of insects pertaining to the business in which he intends to engage. He is asked at the beginning of the year what occupation he intends to follow after graduation, and is then advised to prepare his thesis on those insects with which he will have most to deal in the business he has selected. In the prepa- ration of this thesis the work is carried on in the most approved methods, so that he may obtain the most scientific and at the same time practical knowledge of the subject. In fact he is taught such methods of investigation that, if new insect pests appear on his crops, he will know how to proroperly investigate them and discover the best and cheapest methods for their de- struction. If this thesis, when completed, contains information of public interest, whether of an economic character or other- wise, it is published, with whatever illustrations are necessary. This course is primarily for the student of agriculture or horticulture, but, when taken in connection with botany and chemistry, is especially adapted to one wishing to fit himself as a teacher of science in our pubilc schools, or to one intending to study medicine, but in this case his laboratory work would U devoted mainly to histology. (Graduate Entomology. This department is now prepared for and is receiving graduates, from this and other colleges, who wish to continue the study of entomology beyond what they were able in their undergraduate course. These advanced studies will fit them for positions in the experiment stations or as State entomologists, and also give them most excellent training as teachers in our high schools and colleges. 362 ENTOMOLOGICAL NEWS. [February, A three years' course leading to the degree of Doctor of Philosophy is in active operation, three subjects Botany, Chemistry and Entomology, arranged as a major and two minors being required. In those cases where entomology is chosen as the major subject the course consists of lectures and laboratory work, some of the topics treated being the fol- lowing : Morphology and Development of Insects Embryology. Trans- formations. Histology. Phylogeny. Hermaphroditism. Hy- brids. Parthenogenesis. Psedogenesis. Colors ; chemistry of insect colors. Mimicry. Warning coloration. L/uminosity. Deformities of insects. Insect variation. Duration of life. (Ecology of Insects. Life histories of insects. Instincts of insects. Insect architecture. Dimorphisms. Polymorphisms. Fertilization of plants through the agency of insects. Insect products of value to man. Insects as disseminators of disease. Enemies of insects ; vegetable and animal, including parasit- ism. Geographical distribution in the different faunal regions. Methods of distribution. Insect migrations. Geological history of insects. Economic Entomology. Principles. Insecticides. Apparatus. Special cases (borers, etc.). Photography of insects and their work. Methods of drawing for illustrations. Field work on insects. Insect legislation. Svstcmatic Entomology. History of entomology, including the classification of various authors and the principles of classi- fication. Laws governing nomenclature. Literature ; how to find and use it. Indexing literature. Number of insects in collections and in existence (estimated). Lives of prominent entomologists. Methods of collecting, preparing, preserving and shipping insects. Important collection of insects of the world. In connection with these topics corresponding laboratory work is given so far as possible, and in addition investigations on subjects not previously studied are made, and the results published in the form of graduate theses. 1900] ENTOMOLOGICAL NEWS. 363 SILVER LAKE, UTAH. By A. J. SNYDER. And after the Fourth was over, especially that part of it de- scribed by the Doctor in December NEWS ; when we had emerged from the mouth of the canon, removed the dust col- lected during a day's journey of not less than eighteen miles, during which even the Doctor had shown marvelous ability to " get over sagebrush," and our friend Laurent had absolutely refused to travel farther for either flies or beetles ; when Mrs. Browning had again provided refreshment for the hungry "bug-hunters," and the captures of the day had been dis- cussed and recorded, we walked twelve of those long Salt Lake City blocks to call upon the owners of a cottage at Silver Lake and gain permission to camp on their premises and use the cot- tage during our stay in the mountains. One other incident, however, inasmuch as it affords another illustration of the depravity of man, and is connected with City Creek Canon, must be related by the subject of the plot, who considers himself better able to relate the facts than the per- petrator of the deed. Papilios were abundant, and about every moist spot in the road they \vere collected in great numbers. Papilios, as everyone knows, may be decoyed by placing some of their kind in conspicuous places, where their brilliantly- colored wings will attract all passers. One of the party, let his name be anon, saw numerous fine butterflies about a small moist spot in the road, and, stealthily creeping upon them, slowly lowered his net for a stroke, but pausing to select only the perfect ones for capture, perceived that all were second- class specimens. At the same instant he decided not to make a stroke, for, beneath a convenient bush, he heard a suppress il chuckle, and at a glance saw the Doctor, in imminent danger of bursting his sides with laughter because his friend had at- tempted a still hunt and had almost made a " pot-shot " at hi> decoys. Silver Lake, Utah, is a small Summer resort back in the mountains, thirty-three miles from Salt Lake City, and at the head of Big Cottonwood Canon. In the Winter this little ENTOMOLOGICAL NEWS. [February, valley is literally filled with snow, and during the early part of July some of the lakes above Brighton's, as the only hotel is called, have ice upon their surfaces. All through the Sum- mer, snow may be seen upon the high mountains surrounding Silver Lake, and up to the middle of July the snow banks cling to the margin of Twin Lakes and Mary's Lake, while the ice water from the surrounding snow constantly cools the waters of several lakes which are well stocked with speckled beauties. These are large enough to allure even the most ardent chaser of butterflies and cause him to drop a fly or worm into the clear depths, where the artful dodgers are plainly visible, and where they are likely to remain, spurning, at that season of the year, the most tempting bait. Eight or more miles from the city the stage road enters the foot-hills, and the rest of the journey to Silver Lake is up hill. Most of the distance the road is close beside the foaming cur- rent known as the Big Cottonwood. About half way up a pause is made for lunch and to change horses at the Half Way House. The driver turns into a small yard and stops before a house. We alight and find that we are in a small glen enclosed on all sides by rocks which rise almost perpendicularly hun- dreds of feet. On the right still rushes our mountain stream and ahead there seems no opening wide enough for a wagon road, but it is there, and winds upward, now on this side, then on that, of the stream, but ever onward, with ever-changing and constantly more beautiful scenery. Pamassiits clodius flits through the glen while we rest and lights upon a dwarf flower ; /VV/v'.s- pallida hovers about the small irrigation ditch ; Panipliila comma lights upon a leaf in the sunshine ; Thccla calif or nica is found in its usual resting place, upon the leaves of the choke cherry, and on the same plant are found the larvae and eggs of Papilio rutidns ; Papilio delimits sails haughtily by and Pyramcis carve haunts the bunch of nettles by the water. Melitcca acastus flits about the door yard and the omnipresent 1 'aticssa antiopa darts at the intruder from his resting place on a convenient tree. A fresh A ;;<,>; r nut's leto hesitates beside a thistle blossom, but seems to realize that a bounty is placed upon its scalp ( the Doctor is constantly re- 1900] ENTOMOLOGICAL NEWS. 365 minding us of the scalp-locks and insists that nature always places such locks upon the thoraxes of butterflies, especially of the Famphilas ) and A. Icto disappears down the canon. As we rest and notice the butterfly visitors to the glen we also see the mountain tops in the distance and' think of the treasures wt- have found in similar localities, until our Jehu cracks his whip, and once more we journey upward. The first time we cross t he- stream we see many Papilios, and among them several Papilio indra. To our great sorrow we cannot take time to pursue, for we are going into a strange camp, and hope to arrive before dark. A fourth member had joined the party that morning, Mr. J. B. Short, of Salt L-ake City, a gentleman whose locks had been silvered by the icy fingers of time, and who carries the scars and a bullet received in fighting for his country ; a gentleman who, no matter how many years may have passed over his head, will alw r ays love life in the open air, and \vill always be the saint- generous, hospitable, open-hearted host, whom we learned to know and appreciate during the days spent at Silver Lake. It was largely due to his courtesy and to the hospitality of Mrs. Short and their family that our stay here was so pleasant and profitable. A tent, with comfortable cots for the night ; a cottage, with food, stove and the necessary cooking utensils ; what more could anyone want than sunshine and time to study the nu- merous insects, plants and animals ? Everywhere 011 the moun- tain sides and tops butterflies were abundant when the sun shone. The stream before our cottage and the lakes about us were well stocked with trout ; the rocks on the mountains shel- tered numerous marmots, gophers and conies ; a pair of eagk - dwelt on the peak back of camp, and when waiting for meal--, or when the sun failed to shine, innumerable beetles beneath the rocks and pieces of bark longed for our attention. The white-crowned sparrow picked up the crumbs about our door and aw T Oodpecker fed its noisy young within a stone's throw of our tents. Mt. Millicent rose before us, Mt. Majestic at our backs, Mt. Scott towered on the right, and from our little val- ley numerous paths led to ideal places of collecting. 366 ENTOMOLOGICAL NEWS. [February, A somewhat lengthy introduction, dear readers, I know ; but the writer believes that in the hearts of many others is the same love of the beautiful, appreciation of natural and grand scenery, and sympathy with all children of nature, which make these outings so delightful to him, and he would share the in- spiration which he receives from his brief visits to and studies in the Rockies. Come, join the party of three, as, on Monday morning, with all the essentials for collecting and preserving insects, they begin the day's work. It is useless to begin collecting butterflies be- fore nine o'clock in the morning, for you will find none moving. From ten to two is the best time, and every moment included in those hours should be improved. If a cloud covers the sun the collector may as well seek a sheltered place and rest, for every butterfly will have disappeared. This morning the sun shines, and as our path up the mountain leads into more open territory we see butterflies flitting here and there. There goes a beautiful Aiit/iochan's Julia. Its captor must be both quick and sure. Here and there an Eitdanius ncrada rests in an open spot on the bare ground. A careful stroke, and a quick one, if you would catch /:. ncrada. A few Lvcccnas are resting on the white flowers, and as the brow of the first mountain is approached we find a large patch of Mcrtcnsia ; and noiselessly traveling from flower to flower is a ' buzzless bee," as we early nicknamed \ffcinaris brncci. This species is usually rare in the parts of Utah I have visited, but a few days later we found it abundant about the blue and yellow flowers on this mountain side, and learned that the way to capture it was to wait, as it came up the mountain, and then be sure to capture the specimen at the first stroke. Among the rocks near the top we found the wily Chionoba* ch)'v.\~ns abundant, and after capturing enough to learn how it is done, and to gain some skill in detecting these wonderful insect mimics, as they rested with closely-folded wings upon the rocks, we turned our attention to other species. Tliccla slicridaui was abundant on this mountain side, and associated with it was Tliccla nf/inis. Not a single s/icn'dani was found during either of my previous trips, but here their 1 900] ENTOMOLOGICAL NEWS. 367 green undersides were beautifully blended with the vegetation upon which they usually rested, and they were at home. Even when resting on the small white flowers of which they were very fond they were not easily seen. On the wing no eye could follow them, but fortunately for the collectors they had a habit of al- ways returning to some spot near the one from which they were frightened, and then were easily captured. Argynnids were scarce and hard to capture, but a few ineadii, snvdcri, platiua and chitonc were taken near the peaks or at the tops of mountain ridges. On the highest point of each moun- tain, resting on the rocks, were always found a few specimens whose sole duty seemed to be to chase others away. Here one usually found Pyi aincis carditi, Picris occidentalis > a Pampliila or two, several Chionobas chryxtis, an Eudamus, and perhaps an Argvnnis or a Melitu-a. Most of these specimens were not worth capture, but their actions were interesting. Each new- comer was sure to be attacked, regardless of size or color. It was enough that he should move while others rested. There would be a flash and a buzz, and the two specimens, darting back and forth at each other, would gradually rise in the air until they disappeared in the distance. In a moment one would return and light in its former place as though nothing had hap- pened, but be just as ready to attack the next arrival. At the edges of the snowbanks we usually found Mclapor- plivria ononis and belladonna. These are but a few of the species taken any day on the mountains. One is always being surprised in the Rockies. Perhaps he takes a friend to a place where he found a rare species abundant a previous year, all the conditions are favor able, but not a specimen is to be found. Why? I don't know. Some species are in their homes abundant, but only found in small areas. One year a species fairly swarms and then is not seen for years. Then, again, when one has found a species at a certain place and time he may be able to find it at the same place and time every year. All these peculiarities of insect life are like the physicians sure remedy for disease. "Sometimes it cured and sometimes it didn't." After col- lecting to the top of the first mountain one usually finds a 368 ENTOMOLOGICAL NEWS. [February, ridge or "hog-back' leading to the next peak, and so it is easy to go on and on until the day is spent, and then there is the long journey home. The comparing of specimens at the end of the day's trip is one of the many pleasures, and identifying species in the field is another. A certain savant, once upon a time, offered fifty cents for each specimen that he could not identify in the field. When he arrived home after the trip he wrote to a friend : "Field identification is worth almost nothing." In the last statement he was certainly correct. After a few days amid such scenes as here described two of the party found it necessary to turn thtir stt-ps homeward. As the stage started down the thirty-three mile trail one morning two of the party were aboard, and the writer bade them a sor- rowful adieu as he turned his lonesome footsteps toward Scott's Peak, of which and other scenes, both old and new, more anon. THE paragraph relating to my report of captures, published on page 348 of the January number of ENTOMOLOGICAL NEWS, just received, should read Catocala badia instead of Oedemasia badia. I reported also, at the same meeting, the capture of a number of larvae of Oedemasia con- cinna,cm the same food plant, viz., bayberry, in October; hence, possi- bly, the slight confusion of names. These larvae, at the end of October, spun cocoons very similar in texture and appearance to that of Hyper- chiria io, but almost transparent. I have twenty-one of these cocoons, and the larvae can still be distinguished, lying dormant, and apparently awaiting the arrival of spring before pupating. S. T. KEMP, Elizabeth, N.J. IN the NEWS for June, 1899, page 189, among the Doings of Societies, is a short account of Feralia jocosa, setting forth some of its habits, which do not agree with what we have observed here. We take this species every year by beating from willow flowers, and during the evenings of May 8th and gth, 1898, we took eight or ten specimens by shaking from small plum and cherry trees which were in full bloom, it being an unusu- ally early spring. We also take them quite often flying in the evening. We do a good deal of collecting by taking a lantern and net, and walking slowly along the numerous wood roads near here, and netting everything, as far as possible, that comes within reach. In this way we get many good things, and jocosa as often as any other equally rare species. It eems to have a short season only about fifteen days between our ear- liest and latest dates. CHARLES F. GOODHUE, Webster, N. H. ENTOMOLOGICAL NEWS. [The Conductors of ENTOMOLOGICAL NEWS solicit and will thankfully receive items of news likely to interest its readers from any source. The author's name will be given in each case, for the information of cataloguers and bibliographers.] To Contributors. All contributions will be considered and passed upon at our earliest convenience, and, as far as may be, will be published according to date of recep- tion. ENTOMOLOGICAL NEWS has reached a circulation, both in numbers and circumfer- ence, as to make it necessary to put " copy " into the hands of the printer, for each num- ber, three weeks before date of issue. This should be remembered in sending special or important matter for a certain issue. Twenty-five " extras," without change in foim, will be given free, when they are wanted ; and this should be so stated on the MS., along with the number desired. The receipt of all papers will be acknowledged. ED. PHILADELPHIA, PA., FEBRUARY, 1900. OUR former printer made a blunder in regard to the January NEWS, in placing on the title-page Vol. X, No. 11, instead of Vol. XI, No. i. The copies had all been mailed to sub- scribers, and we feared double references if we reprinted the number and started the pagination with page i. We have decided to put a reprint of the first leaf of the January num- ber in this number, and continue the same paging through this volume ( Vol. XI ). WE have already spoken of what might be termed peripa- tetic entomology, or walking --nowadays riding over the country in search of types, with a view of getting correct names by comparison of specimens. There have been so many per- sons afflicted with the mi/ii itch who have described slight geographical variations as species that it becomes necessary to see the identical specimens from which their descriptions were made. If entomologists would only wait until proper series of specimens were at hand, or until they become sufficiently versed to know the meaning of variations whether specific or the contrary much of this trouble could be avoided. Lately we have had a number of gentlemen visit us on the errand of type-seeing, and we have wondered whether the time would' come when entomologists would only describe species that nix- specific enough in character to enable an identification to be made without a railroad ticket in one's pocket. Probably there will always be persons who will describe these geographi- cal forms ; and so long as this is done, peripatetic entomology will be necessary, as every hundred miles changes the fades of a species, and evolution makes any description or identification impossible unless one's specimens came from the very fence- corner where the types were found. It is true that individuals in the human species are given names, and also cats and dogs ; but, unfortunately, the individuals in insects are so numerous that their identification to us, at least seems impossible. 369 37 ENTOMOLOGICAL NEWS. [February, DEPARTMENT OF EGONOMIg ENTOMOLOGY. Edited by Prof. JOHN B. SMITH, Sc. D., New Brunswick, N. J. Papers for this department are solicited. They should be sent to the editor, Prof. John B. Smith, Sc.D., New Brunswick, N. J. The Association of Economic Entomologists. Bulletin No. 20, new se- ries, of the U. S. Department of Agriculture, Division of Entomology, contains the proceedings of the nth annual meeting of this body, at Columbus, Ohio, August 18 and 19, 1899. It is a pamphlet of 112 pages, most of them well worth reading, and some of them worthy of careful study. By all odds the most comprehensive and valuable paper is the presi- dential address by C. L. Marlatt, entitled "The Laisser-Faire Philosophy Applied to the Insect Problem." I do not often quarrel with a title, but I consider this a somewhat unfortunate one, since, from the start, it tends to lead to a misunderstanding of the address. Mr. Marlatt considers the subject from much broader, more philosophic grounds than has been done before, and shows conclusively that against certain natural movements we are powerless, whether we enact State or national laws His example is the San Jose or pernicious scale, and, after rehearsing something of the efforts made to stem the tide of this insect's spread, he asks : " Does anyone think for a moment, and at all seriously, that the San Jose Scale is to be exterminated, and that its dissemination is to be prevented, whatever may be the legislation, and whatever quar- antine steps may be adopted or exterminative measures put in operation ?" No one who has had any real experience in field work, and has ever lifted himself above the narrow little horizon bounded by spraying ma- chines, dusters, poisons or fumigating outfits, and has viewed the pro- cesses before him with any real understanding, can fail to agree with Mr. Marlatt's conclusions. The processes of nature are slow, but they are as inevitable and irresistible as our " /aws" are futile in opposition. Mr. Marlatt explains why insects introduced into a new environment are often so much more injurious than natives, or than the strangers them- selves were in their native home, and he points out that all these are mere local conditions that have little effect upon the balance of nature in the long run. Now here is a chance for a misunderstanding and for the suggestion that the economic entomologist is a useless incumbrance, for if matters even themselves up in the long run they might as well be left to them- selves altogether. But Mr. Marlatt's essay does not authorize this view. While we cannot stop the natural spread of the pernicious scale, now that it has secured a foothold, there is no reason why we should not prevent ENTOMOLOGICAL NEWS. . 371 its artificial spread by means of nursery stock as much as possible, or why we should not kill it off on our fruit trees, at intervals, to prevent any serious damage to the crops. We can palliate, or we can often avoid injury by dodging, and the entomologist has an overly-great field to cover in this direction. Personally, I am glad Mr. Marlatt has spoken, and as definitely as he did. It is an indication that the San Jose scale scare is about over, and that we can now estimate it at a little nearer its true value. We have had conventions, have had lurid speeches and papers, have had State laws galore and attempts at national legislation as well. The result is that we have our nursery stock shut out of all foreign countries, and have annoying and expensive restrictions upon our fruit trade in some others. The scale has, meanwhile, marched on unconcernedly ; more fruit is raised now than ever before ; the farmers, where it has been established longest, have lost their dread of it ; and how much of all the good is to be credited to the laws and to the great outcry ? Mr. Marlatt's point of view is, it seems to me, the completely correct one. Dr. Howard presented the results of experiments made by the Rus- sian, Prof. I. Porchinski, who finds that the Tabanids may be greatly reduced in number by covering pools which they frequent with a film of kerosene. An interesting and perhaps generally unknown fact is that Tabanids are so much addicted to drink ! One of the new fields into which applied entomology has recently en- tered is brought to our attention by Dr. Howard's intensely interesting account of the present status of the Caprifig experiments in California. It marks another step forward in the really scientific consideration of the relation of insects and plants to each other, and that two such papeis as those by Marlatt and Howard should have been presented at one meeting shows that the Division of Entomology at least, in Washington. has risen above the dull routine of ascertaining the actual percentage of scales killed by any particular application, and its influence for good will increase in proportion to the encouragement which is given to tin broad study of the problem. Mr. Marlatt has pointed out, not origin- ally, indeed, but pertinently, that there is such a thing as a balance of nature, and, as all our interference, by introducing plants and insects into new localities, tends to unsettle this balance to our disadvantage, our studies should be directed toward restoring, so far as in us lies, this condition of equilibrium. And, by the by, referring to the matter of judging an insecticide by the percentage of the specimens killed, this has always had an absurd side to it, from my point of view. If I apply a material, like tobacco for instance, and, after a day or two, find that it has killed ninety per cent, i.f the plant lice, this does not prove that it is the fault of the tobacco that the others were not killed, but simply that the insecticide did not reach 372 ENTOMOLOGICAL NEWS. [February, those that escaped. I know that crude petroleum will kill pernicious scales whenever it is brought into direct contact with them, and if, a month after a tree has been sprayed, I find ten per cent, of living examples, it does not occur to me to blame the oil, but the man who put it on. Lest it be not sufficiently considered, Messrs. Howard and Marlatt present another communication on the pernicious scale, this time re- viewing the evidence as to its original home. The conclusion is that really we do not know anything at all about it, and this expresses my own opinion exactly. Dr. E. P. Felt gave an account of his endeavor to establish a voluntary entomological service in New York, and, under some circumstances and in some directions, such a service will undoubtedly prove useful. Mr. W. G. Johnson described the Emory fumigator, devised for apply- ing the hydrocyanic acid gas to orchard trees, and it seems clear that on the smaller trees an apparatus such as that described can be very suc- cessfully used. The value of such work is undoubted, but I sometimes wonder if it is really entomological. Has not the entomologist done all that pertains to his office when he has studied the life history of a species, has discovered and pointed out the weak point where it is most subject 1o attack, and has indicated the killing agents that should be used ? The practical application of his suggestions really does not belong to his office at all. I am aware that this limitation of our work is not practical, but personally I never go into that branch more than is absolutely necessary. Mr. F. M. Webster spoke on " Insectary and Office Methods," and the seeming necessity for such machinery as he describes reconciles me to my lack of both insectary and assistants. There is, incidentally, the other advantage, that no one can ever charge that your assistants really did all your work. Mr. A. H. Kirkland presented arsenateof lead as "A Probable Remedy for the Cranberry Fire-worm," and I have little doubt it will prove effective, as will any other of the arsenites if applied properly and at the right time. The chinchbtig received attention from Mr. F. M. Webster, who de- scribed an interesting outbreak in northern Ohio. It indicates very forcibly the effect of the prevailing industry of a region upon the abund- ance of a parlicular species. Dairying is a leading feature of the region mentioned, and the consequent number of timothy meadows offers ideal conditions for the development of the brachypterous forms of the Blissus. Mr. A. L. Quaintance presented notes on " Some Insects of the Year in Georgia," which cannot well be condensed. A rather interesting note, however, charges Jlfonocrcpidius vespeiiiniis with being a scavenger in habits, feeding upon the excrement of cotton ball-worms. In New igoo] ENTOMOLOGICAL NEWS. 373 Jersey it has been at times and locally troublesome on beans, of which it has undoubtedly eaten the foilage, but none of the elaterids known to me feed very much at the worst. The attempted use of poisoned bran against Allorhina nitida failed as, theoretically, it ought to, for the small mouth parts of these beetles, with the weak, compound mandibles, are not well adapted to mastication. Dr. E. P. Felt presented "Notes of the Year for New York." The forest tent caterpillar seems to have found the season much to its liking in that and indeed some of the New England States, and widespread injury has been caused to sugar bush as well as to orchard and shade trees in the infested region. The elm leaf beetle is spreading and very injurious in its new localities. In this connection it is interesting to note that this is now the third successive season during which very little in- jury has been done in New Jersey, more, however, this year (1899) than during the two last preceding it. It is decidedly interesting to note that the Diabrotica is-punctata has spread far into northern New York and has reached Buffalo in its progress, which seems to become more rapid each year. Brood XIX of the periodi- cal Cicada occurred in several counties in western New York. Mr. W. G. Johnson presented " Miscellaneous Entomological Notes" on a variety of species of local economic importance. Messsrs. Webster and Mally presented notes on the "Insects of the Year in Ohio," mentioning a great number of species. An interesting statement is: "At last we have found out how to kill the rose-chafer, Macrodactylus sitbspinosus. One half pound of fish oil soap, dissolved in a gallon of water and sprayed upon them, will kill ninety- five per cent, of the adults, the females being especially susceptible, if the suds is sprayed directly upon them." This sounds suspicious, and will certainly not apply in New Jersey, where suds of double that strength have proved ineffective. The fact that females were the more susceptible recalls the results of one experiment with sludge-oil soap, where females were so generally killed that I examined closely and found that all were wornout specimens that had oviposited and were ready to die naturally. Mr. Marlatt discussed " Temperature Control of Scale Insects," a point which was incidentally referred to by others, and formed the subject of another paper by \Y. M. Scott, of Georgia. It seems that, to the South especially, the low temperatures of the early part of 1899 were fatal to a variety of species, while others were unharmed. Further to the north the effect was less marked, and it is notable that the lowest recorded temperatures failed to affect the pernicious scale. Species that wintered in the egg stage suffered as much as those that were partly grown, will be seen that the cold of the winter in question was as efficient as an ordinary treatment with the best of our insecticides." Mr. Marlatt also gave an account of Aspidiotns o!trey'on>iis. a Euro- pean species which has been introduced into the United States, and has 374 ENTOMOLOGICAL NEWS. [February, become established in some localities. I remember that when, in the early spring of 1898, I showed Dr. Ritsema Bos, the Dutch entomologist, some of our scaliest trees in New Jersey, he was not at all impressed, and said that he had seen trees in German orchards quite as badly covered by this newly-introduced pest. Now, let us pass laws excluding all European and Canadian fruit stocks. Incidentally, Mr. Webster expressed himself on the effect of cold on the pernicious scales: "Doubtless the cold of winter kills the young, but the mature scales survive and continue breeding." My own experi- ence is exactly opposite. Specimens that begin breeding in fall never survive the winter, and the young produced late in the season are also apt to succumb. The specimens that set in October and become dor- mant in the form of little round black scales are the forms that survive and resume breeding the June following. Mr. E. H. Forbush spoke on the destruction of hairy caterpillars by birds, and gave a list of those that had been found feeding upon them in Massachusetts. Our good friend the English sparrow is very close to the end of the list, and I cannot but think the habit exceptional in this bird. At all events my experience with this species has been that it keeps off more effective birds than itself, and thus far counterbalances what little good it may actually do. Nevertheless, Mr. Forbush is right in urging more systematic field observation to help us to a real knowledge of bird habits. Mr. Johnson spoke on '' The destructive pea louse, a new and import- ant economicjspecies of the genus Nectarophora." This was an account of a most remarkable invasion by a species not even described, which extended along the Atlantic Coast region from Connecticut to North Carolina, but was, perhaps, more severe in the southern range of the species. At all events, the percentage of injury was not as great in New Jersey as Mr. Johnson made it in Maryland. Toward the end of the season Mr. Johnson found predatory forms in such quantities that the aphids were disappearing and a fungus developed in many specimens. Similar conditions developed in New Jersey a little later and the fungus was determined for me by Dr. Thaxter as the common Entomophthora aphrdis. I can scarcely agree with Mr. Johnson, however, when he says : "As to the future, candidly, I am of the opinion that it will be many a day be- fore we will see a repetition of such destruction to the pea crop by Nectarophora destructor.''' Mr. Johnson spoke in August, and at that time I would have been inclined to agree with him. But since that time the field peas on the college farm have been ruined, precisely as they were in the fall of 1898, though the character of the season was exactly opposite. I have advised our growers for canneries to place no depend- ence on crops to mature after June 15, the date when, in New Jersey, this insect became destructive. ENTOMOLOGICAL NEWS. 375 Mr. Johnson also described "The Stalk Worm, a new enemy to young tobacco," though new only on this food plant. The species itself, Cram- bus caligniose/lus, is old enough and common enough on corn, as Mr. Johnson pointed out. Mr. A. H. Kirkland spoke of "An improvement in the manufacture of Arsenate of Lead," whereby nitrate of lead is used in place of the acetate. The resulting product contains about five per cent, more arsenic than that made with the acetate, and the cost is somewhat less. Unfortunately no exact formula is given, except that which is to be inferred from the fact that it requires 880 pounds arsenate of soda, 2398 pounds nitrate of lead to make one ton arsenate of lead, as com- pared with 758 pounds arsenate of soda and 2593 8 pounds acetate of lead to produce the same quantity. Mr. E. H. Forbusli reported on the progress of "Recent Work Against the Gypsy Moth," from which it appears that, while much had been ac- complished in reducing the numbers of the insect in the known infested districts, three new colonies in outside districts have been discovered. Mr. A. T. Burgess reported on "A Destructive Tanbark Beetle," Dinoderus snbslriafiis, which he found developing in great numbers in the stock of a tannery at Maiden. Mass. Finally, before adjournment, the association adopted a set of resolu- tions which, as a whole, are admirable, but from one part of which I wish to dissent emphatically. It states: " The association is also in full sympathy with judicious national and State legislation for the purpose of enacting and enforcing laws to prevent the importation of foreign insect pests, and controlling or exterminating such as have become already established in this country." That this was the sentiment of the majority in attendance is probably true, and it is in the nature of a direct contradiction to the conclusions cf the presidential address. The association consists of all the members, and Mr. Marlatt's dissent at least is clearly enough expressed. It is one of those perfunctory resolutions which will be used wherever legislation is attempted and to support whatever the party using it happens to con- sider "judicious." Is any legislation that imposes a burden upon com- merce "judicious"? JOHN B. SMITH. SlTODREPA PANICKA Ll.NN, LIVING IN AND FEEDING UPON ARC' >l Recently Prof. F. L. Odenbach, S. J., Ignatius College, Cleveland, Ohio, has sent me specimens of this well nigh omnivorous beetle, which he finds burrowing in Argol. During tVrmentation the juices of the grape deposits tartaric acid (C 4 H (; O, ; ) in the form of hydropotassic tartrate or "bitartrate of potash, which, in commerce, is known as tartar or argol. As, in this case, the deposit was from red wine, the beetles were working in red tartar, many of the pieces of hard dry argol being almost honey- combed with burrows. F. M. WEBSTER. 376 ENTOMOLOGICAL NEWS. [February, Entomological Literature. COMPILED BY P. P. CALVERT. Under the above head it is intended to. mention papers received at the Academy of Natural Sciences of Philadelphia pertaining to the Entomology of the Americas (North and South). Articles irrelevant to American entomology will not be noted. Contribu- tions to the anatomy, physiology and embryology of insects, however, relating to Ameri- can or exotic species, will be recorded. The numbers in HEAVY-FACED TYPE refer to the journals, as numbered in the following list, in which the papers are published ; * denotes that the paper in question contains descriptions of North American forms. Titles of all articles in foreign languages are translated into English; usually such articles are written in thesame language as the title of thejournal containing them, but when such articles are in other languages than English, French, German or Italian, this fact is indicated in brackets. 3. The American Naturalist, Boston, Dec., 1899. 4. The Canadian Entomologist, London, Out., Dec., '99. 5. Psyche, Cambridge, Mass., Jan., 1900. 6. Journal of the New York Entomological Society, Dec., '99. 8. The Entomologist's Monthly Magazine, London, Jan., 1900. 1O. Nature. London, '99. 11. The Annals and Magazine of Natural History, London, Dec., '99. 112. Comptes Rendus. L' Academic des Sciences, Paris, '99. 21. The Entomologist's Record, London, Dec., 15, '99. 37. Le Naturaliste Canadien, Chicoutimi, Quebec, Dec., '99. 41. Entomologische Nachrichten, '99, No. 23, Berlin, Dec. 4G. Tijds- chrift voor Entomologie, xlii, 3, The Hague, Dec. 6, '99. 74. Naturwis- senschaftliche Wochenschrift, Berlin, '99. 79. La Nature, Paris, '99. S2. Centralblatt fur Bakteriologie, Jena, '99. 84. Inseckten Borse, Leipsic, '99. 1O8. The Agricultural Journal, Cape Town, '99. 12O. Consular Reports, U. S. Dept. of State, Ixi, No. 231, Washington, Dec., '99. 121. Archives des Sciences Physiques et Naturelles, civ, No. n, Geneva, Nov. 15, '99. The Insect World : a Monthly Magazine, Edited Y. Navva, Gifu, Japan, and printed entirely in Japanese, completed the twelfth number of the third volume Dec. 15, '99 ; we wish our contemporary long life ! THE GENERAL SUBJECT. Anon. Obituary of Rev. Yin- cent dementi, 4. Garret, A. M. F. Guillebeau and his entomologi- cal works (concl.), L'Echange Revue Linneenne, Lyon, Dec., '99 Cou- pin, H. Propriety in insects, 79, Dec. 23 Distant, AV.L. Biologi- cal suggestions, mimicry (cont). Zoologist, London, Dec., '99. Dury, C. Random notes on natural history [Odonata, Lepidoptera, Diptera, Coleoptera], Journal, Cincinnati Society of Natural History, xix, 5, Jan. 4, 1900. Felt, E. P. Collection, preservation and distribution of New York insects, Bulletin, New York State Museum, vi, 26, Albany, Apr., '99. Received Dec. 13. Hepdeii, A. S. Entomological science in schools, 21. Janiclieii, R. A new aberration to the third generation of Lasiocampa populi folia Esp. var autumnalis Jaen, 84, Dec., 28. Keilhack, K. On soil-forming activity of insects, 74, Dec. 24. v. igoo] ENTOMOLOGICAL NEWS. 377 Linden, 31. Edgar Kriigers " On the development of tho wings of in- sects with especial reference to the wing-covers of beetles", Biologisches Centralblatt, Erlangen, Dec. i, '99. cle Meijere, J. C. H. On a case of dimorphism in the two sexes of a new Cecidomyid (Monardia van der Wulp), 2 pis., 4O. Roy, S. Entomological notes, 37. Sharp, I>. Insecta, and Brown, A. W. Arachnida, Myriopoda and Prototra- cheata-in : The Zoological Record, Volume the Thirty-fifth. Being Rec- ords of Zoological Literature relating chiefly to the year 1898. Edited (for the Zoological Society of London) by David Sharp, London, '99 - Tutt, J. W. Entomology as a subject of instruction in schools, 21. Weed, C. 3T., and 3Iurtfeldt, 31. E. Stories of Insect Life, Second Series, Summer and Autumn. Boston, U. S. A. Ginn & Co. 1899. "Pp. x, 72. 34 figs. ECONOMIC EKTOMOLOGY. Anon. The malarial expedi- tion to West Africa, Science, New York, Jan. 5, '99. Barcliet. Silk- worms in China, 12O. Beutelspaclier, G. Suppressing the San Jose scale in Canada, 12O.- -Clement, A. L. Tobacco insects, 7i>, D ec 2. Diiubler. The Malaria Expedition to Sierra Leone, 82, Dec. 23. Hauitscli, R. Mosquitoes and malaria, 1O, Dec. 21. Mop- kins, A. D. Preliminary report on the insect enemies of the forests in the northwest : an account of the results gained from a reconnoissance trip made in the Spring and early Summer of 1899. Bulletin No. 21, new series, U. S. Dept. of Agriculture, Division of Entomology, Washington, '99. Lawrie, E. The " Laveran body " in birds and the mosquito theory of malaria, New York Medical Journal, Dec. 30, '99 Louns- bury, C.P. Grain bug, Codling moth, Bagrada bug, 1O8, Nov. 9 Id. The bont tick, Ainhlyounna hcbricuin Rock., its life history and habits, figs., 1O8, Nov. 23. Id. Report of the Government Entomologist for the year 1898, 9 pis. Cape of Good Hope Dept. of Agriculture, Cape- town, '99. Lowe, V. H. The forest tent-caterpillar, figs., Bulletin No. 159, New York Agricultural Experiment Station, Geneva, N. Y., Oct., '99 Reli. Indigenous orchid scale-insects, 7-4, Dec. 17. C. B. S. Insects as carriers of disease, 1O, Dec. 14. Zimiiierinami, A. The combatting of animals injurious to cultivated plants by means of their natural enemies, 82, Dec. i, 5. PROTOTRACHFATA. Bouvier, E. L. Biological observa- tions on Peripatus capensis Grube, 12, Dec. 4. Id. Now observations on the American Peripati, 12, Dec. n. 3IYRIOPODA ANI> ARACHNIDA. Fritsch, A, Myrio- poda pars ii [and] Arachnoidea. Fauna der Gaskohle und der Kalk- steine der Permformation Bohmens, Bd. iv, heft 2. PrAg., '99. Pis. 145- i'54. Silvestri, F. Contribution to the study of Chilian Chilopods, Revista Chilena de Historia Natural, Valparaiso, Oct. and Nov., '99. ORTHOPTERA. Edes, R. T. Relation of the chirping of the tree cricket ((Ecantlnis niveus) to temperature, 3. Hancock, J. Li. 37 8 ENTOMOLOGICAL NEWS. [February, Synopsis of subfamilies and genera of North American Tettigidae, 5. Petrimkewitsch, A. The digestive organs of Periplaneta oriental:* and Blatta genuanica, histological and physiological studies, i pi., Zoo- logische Jahrbucher, Abtheilung fiir Anatomie u. Ontogenie, xiii, i, Jena Dec. 5, '99. Tiimpel, R. Die Geradfliigler Mitteleuropas, Lieferung 6, Eisenach, \ r erlag von M. Wilckens. Pp. 137-157, Perlidae, Psocidse, pis. xviii-xx [Acrididae, Locustidje]. NEUROPTERA. Calvert, P. P. A contribution to knowledge of the Odonata of Paraguay, Anales, Museo Nacional de Buenos Aires, vii, Nov. 17, '99 Carrie, R. P. New species of North American Myrmeleonidae, v*, 4. McLachlan, R. Concerning Teratopsocus maculipeimis Reuter, with notes on the brachypterous condition in fe- males of Psocidae, 8. HEMIPTKRA. Cholodkovsky, X. Aphidological communi- cations, i pi., Zoologischer Anzeiger, Leipsic, Nov. 27, '99 Cocker- ell, T. D. A. A coccid from the far north*, 4. 1(1. New records of Coccidne, (i. Distant, W. L. Rhynchotal notes, iii : Heteroptera, Discocephalinae and Pentatominae (part.), 118. Kirkaldy, W. A new Hawaiian Fnlgorid genus and species, 41. Slater, F W. The egg-carrying habit of Zaitha, 3. Webster, F. M. Distribution of broods xxii, v and viii of Cicada septendt'cini in Indiana, map. Proceed- ings Indiana Academy of Science for 1898. Extract, no paging or date ! COLEOPT ERA. Blackburn, T, Revision of the genus Parop- sis, part v, Proceedings, Linnean Society of New South Wales, '99, pt. iii, Sidney, Dec. 9, '99. Bordas, L. General considerations on the male reproductive organs of Coleoptera with compound and racemose testes, 12, Dec. 26. Chagiioii, G. Cychrns victims Dej. captured at Saint-Hilaire, P. Q ., 37. Fischer. [Oviposition and cocoons of] Hydrophilus piceus, 121. Horn, W. Description of a new species of Cicindcla [from S. America], Annali, Museo Civico di Storia Naturale di Genova, (2) xix, '99 Jacobson, G. The genus Aliirno (Coleoptera, Chrysomelidse) [in Latin], Annuaire, Muse"e Zoologique de TAcademie Imperiale des Sciences de St. Petersbourg, '99, No. 3. Mead, C. E. Collops bipunctatus as an enemy of the Colorado potato beetle, 3. Wickham, H. F. On Coleoptera found with ants, fifth paper, 5. DIPTEKA. Coquillett, 1). W. Notes and descriptions of Try- petidas*, 6. Heclit, E. Biological and histological notes on the larva of a Dipter (Aficrodoti inutabilis L.), i pi., Archives de Zoologie Experi- mentale et Generale, (3) vii, No. 3, Paris, '99 de Meijere, J. C. H. See the General Subject. Webster, F. M. Species of Diptera reared in Indiana during the years 1884 to 1^90, Proceedings, Indiana Academy of Science for 1898. Extract, no paging or date ! LEPI1>OPTERA. Beutenimiller, W. Descriptions of and notes on some North American Lepidoptera*, O. Cappel, H. A. de V. T. N. On the spine on the fore tibia in the genus Agrotis, 3 pis. [in igoo] ENTOMOLOGICAL NEWS. 379 Dutch]. 46. v. Caradja, A. On some Spilosoma hybrids [transl. from "Iris", '98]. Entomologist. London, Dec. '99 Oamptoii, H. E. An experimental study upon Lepidoptera, figs., 3 pis , Archiv fiir Ent- wicklungsmechanik. ix, 2 Leipsic, Dec. 12, '99' I">yar, H. G. Life histories of North American Geometrida?, viii, ix, 5. Id. The life his- tories of the New York slug caterpillars (.concl.), 3 pis., 6. Id. De- scription of the mature larva of Acronycta connecta. fig.. <>. Fyles, T. W. Observations upon fioinby.r cunea, Drury. etc , 4. Gibson, A* Lepisesia ufalinne Strecker in BritHi Columbia, 4. Moft'at, J. A. Butterfly wing structure, i pi., 4. Moore, F. Lepidoptera Indica, pts. xl, xli. London, Lovell Reeve & Co., '99. Reed. Jan. 15, 1900 [Pp. 65-112 of vol. iv, pis. 309-324. Nymphalinae, group Nymphalina.]- Ottoleiijyui, R. A contribution to the discussion of Spi/osoma con- or/ta, 4. Rippon, R. H. F. Icones Ornithopterorum, a monograph of the Rhopalocerus genus Qrnithoptera or hird-wing butterflies. Pt. 14. Published by the author, London. Reed Jan. 15, '99 Smith, . Butterfly-shadows, 1O, Dec. 7. HYMEXOPTERA. Andre, K. The mushroom-raising ants [12 pp.]. Extrait de la Societe Grayloise d'Emulation (anne 1899). Aiijflas, J. On the histogenesis of the imaginal muscles of Hymenop- tera, Comptes Rendus. Socie'te' de Biologic, Paris, Dec. 2, '99. Ash- incad, W, H. Classification of the entomophilous wasps, or the super- family Sphegoidea, No. 7, conclusion, 4. Cockerell, T. I). A., and Porter, W. Contributions from the New Mexico Biological Station, vii : Observations on bees with descriptions of new genera and species, 11. DuimiiifT, !*>. X. Notes on Philanthtis, 4. Emery, C. Vege- tarianism among ants, 121. Hunter, S. J. The honey-bee and its food-plants with special reference to alfalfa, figs. Bulletin of the Dept. of Entomology, University of Kansas, Lawrence, '99. Reed. Dec. 26, '99.- Konoiv, F. W. New Tenthredinidse, 41. Id. New South Ameri- can Stromboceros species (fam. Tenthredinidse)*. Wiener Entomologische Zeitung, xviii, TO, Dec. 24, '99. Marshall, T. A. Braconidje, pp. 289-334, pis. xiii-xv, in 676 Fascicule (July i, 1899) and Andra, Krn- e.st. Mutillidse, pp. 1-64. pis. i-iii in 68e Fascicule (Oct. i, 1899) of Spe- cies des Hymenopteres d'Europe et d'Algerie fonde" par Edmond Andre et continue sous Ernest Andre. Paris, Vve Dubosclard, diteur. Robertson, C. On the classification of bees, 4. Smith, AV. AV. Large colonies of ants in New Zealand, 8. 380 ENTOMOLOGICAL NEWS. [February, Doings of Societies. At a business meeting of the American Entomological Soci- ety held December 28th, 1899, the following officers were elected to serve during the coming year : President, Philip P. Calvert, Ph.D.; } 'ice-President, H. \V. Wenzel; Treasurer, E. T. Cresson ; According Secretary, Henry Skinner, M.D. ; Corresponding Secretary , W. J. Fox ; Curator, Henry Skinner ; Librarian, W. J. Fox ; Publication Committee, E. T. Cresson, C. Few Seiss, B. H. Smith ; Executive Committee, P. Laurent, C. Liebeck, H. W. Weiizel ; Finance Committee, J. \V. McAllis- ter, C. S. Welles, C. C. Cresson. HENRY SKINNER, Sec. At a meeting of the Entomological Section of the Academy of Natural Sciences of Philadelphia, held December 2 Nth, 1X99, the following were elected officers for the year 1900: Hi rector, Philip Laurent; \ 'ice- Director, H. W. Wenzel ; Treasurer, E. T. Cresson ; Conservator, Henry Skinner, M.D. ; Recorder, Henry Skinner, M.D. ; Secretary, W. J. Fox ; Pub- lication Committee, C. \V. Johnson, J. H. Ridings. Mr. J. C. Bradley was duly elected an Associate of the Section. HENRY SKINNER, M.D.. Recorder. At the December meeting of the Feldman Collecting Social, held, on the evening of the 2oth, at the residence of Mr. H. W. Wenzel, 1523 S. i3th St. Ten persons were present. Prof. J. B. Smith called attention to larvae of a species of Tineid which had burrowed in a mass of casein, which is not a natural food for insects of that kind. The habits of the bee-moth larvae were dwelt on by Messrs. H. Wenzel and Smith. Mr. H. W. Wenzel exhibited specimens of Ichalia costata, a very rare insect in this locality ; two specimens were taken on December 3d and loth respectively. The capture of Cryptorhynchus fuscatus from Clementon, N. J., oil December 1 7th, and t\vo specimens of Mycetina pcrpulc/ita from Newtown Square, Pa., were recorded, as w r as also the collecting of Cve/irns on December loth and ryth in New Jersey. Dr. H. Skinner remarked on the occurrence of Hemaris /Inieci in Wasatch Mountains, Utah ; it was quite plentiful at high altitudes. Also specimens of Anarta mclanopa from the same locality w r ere shown. Prof. Smith stated that he had found that in collecting in various canons in the southwest, each canon would have a peculiar fauna of its own. He therefore pointed out the advisability of labelling specimens with the exact locality in which they were found. A vote of thanks was extended to Mr. Frank Haimbach for the elegant collation tendered the members at the November meeting. WILLIAM J. Fox, Secretary. ENTOMOLOGICAL NEWS AND PROCEEDINGS OE THE ENTOMOLOGICAL SECTION ACADEMY OF NATURAL SCIENCES, PHILADELPHIA. VOL. XI. MARCH, 1900. No. 3- CONTENTS: Holland Alaska Insects 381 Rivers A New Metrius 39 Doane A New Sugar-Beet Pest 390 Hine Pangonia Chrysocoma 392 Bowditch Collecting Notes 392 Osborn A New Species of Eutettix... 395 Newcomb Smith's List.. 396 Williamson Tachopteryx Thoreyi.... 398 Fox Extra-American Species of Mu- tilla 400 Editorial 402 Economic Entomology 404 Entomological Literature 407 Doings of Societies 411 ALASKA INSECTS. BY W. J. HOLLAND, IX.D. PART I. Enumeration of the insects collected in Alaska by Rev. S. Hall Young and Rev. M. E. Koonce, during the Summer of the year 1899, with descriptions of some new species and vari- eties. The labors of Rev. S. Hall Young as a missionary and explorer in Alaska are well known in ecclesiastical and educa- tional circles. His young associate, Rev. M. E. Koonce, has only recently entered upon his field of labor on Alaskan soil. Though their professional duties leave but scant leisure for the prosecution of researches in the domain of nature, they have both kindly fulfilled the promise, given me before starting upon their journey to the north, to collect such insects as they might happen to find in their journeyings to and fro. The accompanying list is published as serving to throw some light upon the fauna of this, as yet, only very imperfectly explored quarter of our continent. 382 ENTOMOLOGICAL NEWS. [March, ODONATA. Genus ANAX Leach. 1. A. junius Drury. i , mountains between Mission and Forty-Mile Creeks, Alaska, July 25. (Young.) i I , Eagle City, Alaska, Aug. 3. (J. Murray Presnall. ) ORTHOPTERA. Genus ARPHIA Stal. 2. A. frigida Scudder. Three specimens, Eagle City, Alaska, July 12. (Koonce.) 1 am indebted to Dr. S. H. Scudder for the identification of the species. LEPIDOPTERA. Rhopalocera. Family NYMPHALJM. Sub-family NYMPHALIN^. Genus BRENTHIS Hubner. 3. B. helena Edwards. The specimens referred to this species are somewhat smaller than the types, and not so brightly colored. The specimens are, however, somewhat worn. Among them is an aberrant female, which, while agreeing quite closely on the under side with the other specimens, is much brighter upon the upper side, and has the inner area of the wings less heavily marked with fuscous, and the dark spots and lines quite fine and light. 2 $ $ , 3 9 9 , mountains between Forty-Mile and Mission Creeks, Alaska, July 20-26. (Coll. Young.) 4. B. chariclea var. arctica Zetterstedt. This small, dark-colored variety has hitherto only been known from Greenland. I obtained a small series from Mr. Young, agreeing perfectly with specimens in my collection obtained a number of years ago from Dr. Staudinger, who received them from Greenland. 2 , American Creek, Alaska, July 15; 9 , 2 9 9 , moun- tains between Forty-Mile and Mission Creeks, July 20-26, (Coll. Young.) IQOO] ENTOMOLOGICAL NEWS. 383 5. B. boisduvali Duponchel. One specimen only was obtained. I cannot agree with Elwes in treating this form as a mere variety of B. chariclca Schnei- der. 6. B. pales Schiffermueller, var alaskensis var. nov. Unfortunately, the collection contains only a single specimen of this interesting form. It differs widely upon the upper surface from specimens of B. pales coming from various European localities and contained in my collection. It comes nearer in general aspect to the variety named gen- erator by Staudinger, coming from the Pamir and Transalai regions of Asia, but is smaller. The fuscous area of the basal portions of the pri- maries and secondaries is reduced, extending outwardly only to the mid- dle of the cell, and the entire wing beyond this is bright reddish fulvous, with the characteristic lines and spots narrow and fine. The under side is marked much as in typical pales. Expanse 33 mm. 1 1 , mountains between Forty-Mile and Mission Creeks, July 20. (Young). 7. B. freija Thunberg. There is an interesting series of this species, mostly females, all more or less worn, showing that, when obtained, they had already been long upon the wing. If collections could be made in the locality where they were found at an earlier date, no doubt better specimens could be obtained. 2 $ $ , White Horse, N. W. Territory, June 24; 2 9 9 , Lake Labarge, June 27; i 9 , Fort Selkirk, June 28; 399, mountains between Forty-Mile and Mission Creeks, July 20-26. (Young legit}. S. B. polaris Boisduval. The collection contains one good pair and one badly worn female of this species. All of the specimens agree perfectly with typical examples obtained from European localities and various points in boreal America. i , 2 9 9 .mountains between Forty-Mile and Mission Creeks, July 20. (Young, Coll.) 9. B. youngi sp. nov. 9 The upper side of both wings is pule fulvous, with the base of the primaries as far as the middle of the cell, and the secondaries from the 384 ENTOMOLOGICAL NEWS. [March, base outwardly to beyond the end of the cell and as far as the inner angle grayish fuscus. On the primaries, the space between the middle spot on the cell and the K shaped spot at the end of the cell is pale, almost white. The transverse median line of spots and the submarginal lines of rounded dots are marked on either sides by paler shades, almost white. On the secondaries, the transverse median band of spots is heavy and black, and coalesces near the origin of the median nervules with the dark fuscous shade which obscures the base of the wing. Standing out prominently between this band and the dark fuscous inner shading are two pale quad- rate spots situated just beyond the end of the cell. The fringes are white, checkered with fulvous at the end of the nervules. On the lower side, the primaries are quite evenly very pale fulvous, with the characteristic mark- ings of the genus very faintly indicated. The secondaries on the inner hall are reddish-ochraceous, the median band of spots characteristic of the genus being faintly indicated in a slightly lighter shade, each spot being defined inwardly and outwardly by fine reddish lines. From the origin of the third median nervule and the inward inner margin just beyond this median band is a dark brown shade. The outer half of the wing is very pale ochraceous, inclining to whitish, with the discal row of spots and the submarginal row of hastate markings very faintly indicated. The costa is marked by a narrow even line of silvery white. The only spot showing a tendency to present a silvery appearance is the spot shaped like an hour-glass, forming the upper spot in the median band ; the upper edge of which spot, immediately contiguous to the fine silvery line, shows a silvery reflection. The upper side of the thorax and abdo- men is blackish, the lower side reddish. The antennae are black on the upper side, reddish on the under side. The legs are reddish-brown throughout. Expanse 30 mm. i 9 , mountains between Forty-Mile and Mission Creeks, N. E. Alaska, June 20. (Young). This interesting form is so thoroughly distinct, from the character of the markings on the under side, that I do not hesitate to describe it as a new species. I cannot bring myself to regard it as a mere aberration, after careful comparison with all the other species of the genus known to me ; and my col- lection contains a good series of specimens of every species which has been described. 10. Melitaea helvia Scudder. $ Closely allied to M. taylori Edwards. The resemblance upon the upper side is very close, but the median band of light spots on the secon- daries is less strongly developed, and the marginal and submarginal spots on the primaries are much larger and not nearly so heavily bordered with I 9 00] ENTOMOLOGICAL NEWS. 385 black as in taylori, the black borders of these spots being reduced to fine lines, so that the general appearance of the wings is that of a paler insect. The most characteristic difference, however, is found in the mark- ings of the under side of the wings. In 717 taylori the light spots are conspicuous, and are well defined, both externally and internally, by heavier shades. In M. helvia only the spots in the middle and end of the cell and a few near the apical region are bright and distinctly defined. All below the median vein and the upper median nervule in 717. helvia are quite obscure and stand forth indistinctly upon a much paler fulvous ground than in J7. taylori. In M. taylori, on the secondaries, the median band of light spots is bordered externally by two fine black lines, includ- ing between them a dark reddish-brown or almost blackish shade. The median band in 717. helvia is not thus externally defined by a heavy dark shade. The facies of the under side of the specimen is wholly different from any specimens of 7)7. taylori known to me, because of these facts which I have pointed out. 9 The female is like the male, but larger. The same differences from .]/. taylori which were noted in the case of the male reveal themselves in the case of the female as to the markings on the under side of the wing, and it will be perfectly easy to discriminate the two forms by noting the points to which I have called attention. Expanse r? 32 mm.; 9 35 mm. 2 fc , White Horse, N. W. Territory, June 24. i 9 , Eagle City, Alaska, July 8. (Young). The type of helvia is reputed to have been destroyed in the Chicago fire. After carefully comparing Dr. Scudder's descrip- tion with the specimen before me, in which work I was joined by Dr. Skinner, I am forced to the conclusion that the speci- mens before me are this long-lost species. Because of its evi- dent nearness to M. lay/on', which is well known to collections I have given the foregoing comparison of the two forms to aid in their proper discrimination. Genus PHYCIODES Dotibleday. 1 1. P. pratensis Behr. I refer the specimen before me to this species, although upon the under side they are much paler, and prevalently less dis- tinctly marked than specimens of /'. /vw/V//.svV coming from more southern latitudes. Most of the specimens are, however, too badly worn to enable me to be quite sure whether this is a positive characteristic of the form. The species of this genus appear to me to badly need revision. 386 ENTOMOLOGICAL NEWS. [March. 2 $ $ , Fort Selkirk, N. W. Territory, June 28 ; i , 3 9 9 , Eagle City, Alaska, July 8-12. (Young legit. ) Genus GRAPTA Kirby. 12. G. hy las Edwards. i, Tagish L/ake, British Columbia, July 21. (Koonce %/Y. ) 299, Rampart, Alaska, August 12. (Young, legit.} 13. G. gracilis Grote and Robinson. i , Tagish Lake, B. C., July 21. (Koonce legit.'} i S , i 9 , White Horse, N. W. Territory. (Young.) i , 5 9 9 , Rampart, Alaska, August 6-17. (Young.) i , American Creek, Alaska, August 18. (Young.) Genus VANESSA Fabricius. 14. V. milberti Godart. Three badly worn females, Skaguay, Alaska, June 12. (Young.) 15. V. antiopa Linnaeus. One female with the blue submarginal spots near the inner angle of the secondaries obsolete. Eagle City, Alaska, August 18. (J. L,. W.; Subfamily SATYRIN^;. Genus CCENONYMPHA Westwood. 1 6. C. kodiak \ar. yukonensis var. nov. cf The primaries on the upper side are bright ochraceous, with the outer margins and the costa shading into gray. A whitish subapical band, very poorly defined, extends beyond the cell from below the subcostals to the second median nervule, as in C. kodiak Edw. and C. anipclos Edw. The secondaries on the upper side are dark gray, very slightly tinged with ochraceous, traversed by an obscure whitish, irregular median band, interrupted between the first and second median nervules. On the under side the primaries are dark ochraceous (in one example deep chestnut- brown), fading at the apex and on the outer margins into pale cinereous. The white band indistinctly seen on the upper side is reproduced on this side, sharply defined and solidly white. A small dark-pupiled ocellus is located near the outer margin, between the upper and lower radials. The secondaries on the lower side are dark fuliginous, passing into pale cinereous on the outer margin, with the median band of white clearly and sharply defined. A submarginal series of ocelli is faintly indicated. $ The female is like the male, but larger, and throughout paler in color on both sides of the wings. Expanse 30 mm. ; ? 32 mm. ENTOMOLOGICAL NEWS. 387 This form in the arrangement of the markings comes near- est to C. kodiak, with the type of which I have carefully com- pared it ; but in color is nearer to C. inornata. It may be a distinct species. 2 I , Dawson, Yukon Territory, July i; i ^, Eagle City, Alaska, July 14; 2$ , American Creek, July 18. (Young Genus EREBIA Dalman. 17. E. disa var mancinus Doubleday and Hewitson. 3 I , i 9 , White Horse, N. W. Territory, June 24. (Young.) 18. E. rossi Curtiss. 2 , i 9 mountains between Forty-Mile and Mission Creeks, N. E. Alaska, July 20-26. (Young.) 19. E. epipsodea Butler. The collection contains two specimens departing somewhat widely from the typical form, but agreeing with examples labeled /:". epipsodea in the Edwards' Collection, which came from Colorado, and presumably are conspecific with other examples conformed to type. These Alaskan and Coloradan specimens are characterized by their smaller size, the obsoles- cence of the ocelli and the diminution of the expanse of the red areas surrounding the ocelli which survive, and the breadth and distinctness of the dark median band on the lower side of the secondaries. The form has been named brncci by Elwes = sinc-ocellata Skinner. i , Eagle City, Alaska, July n; i \v elevated edges that extend inward from the angles are not present in this species, through the disc runs a median polished line that shines in con- trast with the sombre tone that surrounds it. Elytra a third wider than the thorax, ventricose obscurely punctate-striate, the punctures distinct ; the scutellum polished black like the median line of the thoracic disc ; underside and legs black, shining, towards the tarsi growing reddish. Length 9 mm. Two examples, found by Mr. Max Albright the present season upon the slopes of Mount Whitney, at an altitude of 7,000 feet. 39 ENTOMOLOGICAL NEWS. [March, Notes on a New Sugar-Beet Pest, with a Description of the Species. By R. W. DOANU, Washington Agricultural College and School of Science, Pullman, Washington. The way in which a seemingly harmless insect may, under changed conditions, become, in a very short time, of serious economic importance is well illustrated by a species of Aphis that has been giving more or less trouble to beet-growers of this section during the last two or three seasons. We have here, feeding upon the roots of the Polygommi aricnlare and Achillca millefolium, and more rarely on other plants also, a species of Aphis, which, while seldom occurring in large colo- nies, is pretty well distributed throughout the soil wherever these plants grow. The large amount of the white flocculent secretion with which the insect is covered makes its presence easily detected; the little spaces where the roots formerly ran, and any cracks or crevices in the soil near the infested plants, are more or less completely lined with this substance, which looks very much like a white mould, and indeed is often mis- taken for such. As long as this insect attacked only uncultivated plants, little or no attention was paid to it. But during the last three years it seems to have developed a remarkable liking for sugar beets, with a result that those interested in the growing of this plant have suffered considerable loss from the ravages of this new 7 pest. If the season is favorable and the insect attacks the beets early, the yield may be very materially affected. It feeds wholly on the roots sometimes occurring in sufficient numbers to entirely destroy the smallest rootlets ; thus, of course, stopping the growth of the plant, and causing it to shrivel and become spongy. Certain growers report a large part of their crop thus destroyed ; while others have only suf- fered from having the yield more or less decreased. In a bul- letin soon to be issued by this station, the life-history of this insect, so far as it is now known, will be given in detail. Only brief notes need be given here. The colonies found during the winter months consist of a 1900] ENTOMOLOGICAL NEWS. 3QI small number of individuals in all stages of development from the small larva to the full-grown, viviprous, apterous female. During the months of April or May these colonies begin to grow rapidly, and by mid-Summer the whole root of the infested plant is often quite covered with the .-Ip/iis and the cottony secretion. Some time during the Summer just how early has not yet been determined winged forms begin to appear ; these increase in number until as late as November 1 5th, when the winged individuals in the colony frequently out- number the wingless forms. These winged forms are also agamic, viviprous females, no males having as yet been dis- covered. After leaving the plant, they sometimes fly for con- siderable distances before settling at the root of another plant, where a new colony, the Winter colony, is established. The beets may become infested either by one of these winged females establishing a colony on them, or, as is probably more often the case, by forms which are already in the soil attacking the small rootlets as soon as they are sufficiently developed. The wing venation and the structure of the antennae place this species in the genus Pemphigus, among the root-inhabiting forms ; but, so far as I can learn, it has never been described. So a brief description is given : Pemphigus betae n. sp. Wir.ged, viviparous females: length 2 mm.; alar expanse 6.75 mm.; head, thorax and appendages bluish black, pru- inose. Abdomen, after the hoary secretion is removed, dark-green with considerable flocculent m.itter on the posterior segments. Antenna: i mm. long, annulations indistinct ; joints all somewhat constricted at base ; third joint longest, last joint next in length and more slender than the rest ; unguis distinct. Third and fourth joint with transverse senso- ria. Eyes large, very dark brown. Wings somewhat smoky ; stigma, all the veins and the narrow space between the costal and subcostal veins, brown ; first and second discoidals arising close together, more rarely a very short distance apart; basal third of cubital obsolete. Apterous individuals yellowish, sometimes so covered with the whitish secretion as to make them appear almost white ; legs, antenna,-, distal half of back, and a rather large spot on the dorsal aspect of the head very dark brown ; eyes very small, almost black ; tne white tl jcculent secretion is confined to the last three or four segments of the abdomen, and is often i mm. long, sometimes even longer. Larva; like the apterous individuals, only more slender, and in the earlier stages with only five joints to the antenna;, the last of which is the longest. 392 ENTOMOLOGICAL NEWS. [March, Pangonia Chrysocoma, Osten Sacken. By JAMES S. HINE. It was five or six years ago that I read in Psyche, Professor Aldrich's description of Goniops hippoboscoidcs. I was much interested in the species at the time, as it occurred so near the locality in which I had collected oftentimes, and also as I had previously become interested in the Tabanidse, its natural family. On July 25, 1898, while collecting in a rocky woods in Medina County, Ohio, I was successful enough to procure a female of the species, and within the next ten days two more, but was not able to procure or see the male. The past Summer, in the same locality, on July igth, a male was taken, but upon com- paring it with males of Pangonia c/irysocoiua, Osten Sacken, taken at Pittsburg, Pa., I was convinced that it is that species. Upon investigation of literature I find that Osten Sackeii's. description of the female of P. chrysocoina exactly describes the female which I identified by Aldrich's description and figure in Psvchc as G. hippoboscoidcs, but does not mention the acute angle in which the eyes terminate above, a characteristic which is mentioned as one of the best characters of the genus Goniops. Since the wide front and small, acute-angled eyes are not to be found in the female of other species placed under Pano-onia it might be well to retain Goniops for chrysocoma. The habits of the species in the field are interesting. Several of the specimens taken were first located by means of the peculiar noise they make while at rest. They stationed them- selves on the upper side of a leaf and by vibrating their wings, striking the leaf at each downward stroke, make a rattling noise which could be head plainly several feet away. COLLECTING NOTES. By FRED. C. BOWDITCH. I passed the last three weeks of August at Northfield, Mass. , a small town on the east bank of the Connecticut River, and adjoining the New 'Hampshire line. Early in the season I should judge the locality would be a fine collecting ground, as there is a good variety of meadow, hill, valley and forest suffi- ENTOMOLOGICAL NEWS. 393 cient to afford a rich fauna. My visit was the fag end of t he- season, and though I worked hard the results were not very large. Five common species of Cicindela were in evidence, rcpanda being very abundant in the river banks. The Carabidas were pretty well represented. The river banks producing vari- ous species of Bcmbidinm, Tachys and I\vschirius, as well as Onwphron, Harpalus, Platynns, Ainara, etc. I looked partic- ularly for Cvchnts, but found only two specimens of the com- mon Iccontci. Water-beetles were very abundant in numbers, though not particularly so in variety. Four species of Dytiscns, among them two of marginicollis (Which is our rarest in Mass. ), and six or eight verticalis : Illybiiis ^-niaculatus L/ec. and biguttalns Germ, were common, the latter very abundant, two or three species of Agabus, innumerable Hydroporus undidatits Say showing many interesting variations in spotting, and many hundreds of other specimens representing about a dozen species, also an example of Hydrophilus ovatus G. & H. In this connection I will diverge a moment to describe my water net, which may be new to some readers, and which 1 find very efficacious and easy to use. Take an ordinary wire dish- cover, such as is used to keep flies from dishes, etc. ; remove the handle, and close the wires where it has been inserted, and solder the cover by its narrow iron rim inside a short brass uet- ring, which screws into an eight-foot bamboo handle. I use an 8 -'4 -inch cover, and my ring is of quarter-inch brass wire the whole screwed firmly into a one-inch bamboo stick. This makes an exceedingly stiff, rigid net, which will stand any- thing in the way of scraping round. The water passes through it with the greatest ease, and, after a little practice, the beetles can be scraped up, kept in, and taken out with amazing rapidity as compared with a cloth net. The motions in using must, of course, always be forward, so as to keep stuff in the net, and a simple shovel-like motion is often very effective, while a single back stroke cleans it. Dystisc/is inarginico//i* is very lively in the water. I have known it to jump out of the net if the latter was free from debris, but a quick eye and hand will always be able to frustrate any such attempt. But it i> 394 ENTOMOLOGICAL NEWS. [March, not only in scraping together material that time is saved, but also in the facilities offered for examining the catch. When sufficient material is in the net, pick out the large specimens, raise the net up and tip it half over, so that the sun will shine in, and, if possible, the wind will blow through it. The water will immediately drain off, and the small beetles will hasten to leave the drying debris and hurry to the edge of the net, where they pass under the eye of the collector, who easily picks out any he desires, and the rest walk out over the edge. Persons who have never used a wire net have no conception of the time saved and the amount of waste and material which can be passed upon by its use, and a net once made will last a long time and stand a deal of rough work. Some minute species pass through the meshes and are easily picked off outside. One species of Liodes and about thirty of Staphylinidae were turned up, while the Cocinellidae were well represented, and a few 7 interesting varieties occurred. The Eiidomychidae gave six species, among them PJtymaphora pnlchcUa New. My first specimen of Georyssus pusillus L,ec. was picked up on the river bank. A few good species of Nitidulidae and Histeridse oc- curred, among them one of Saprinus fitchii Mars, on sand 011 the river bank. I suspect this species of living on the sand or under debris on the water's edge, but the closest search failed to turn up a second specimen. In past years I have taken great numbers of ^S". estriatus L,ec. on sand under debris on the beaches of Great Salt Lake, Utah. The Buprestidse showed in seven or eight species, among them two examples of Pvccilonota thnrcitra Say on poplar ; it is probably common earlier in the season. About eight or nine species of Elater were taken, among them a pair of Cryptohvpnus pectoral is Say in sand on the edge of a brook. Scarabs and L,onghorns were sadly wanting, and the few that presented themselves were common. The Chrysomelidse were fairly represented in num- ber of species, but not specimens. Tenebrionidae were con- spicuous by their absence, while the Rhyncophora showed up a fine number of species and some few good things, notably a pair of Splenophorus found at the roots of water plants in a dried-up bog-hole. I goo] ENTOMOLOGICAL NEWS. 395 There were a good many species scattered through the other small families, a considerable part of which would be classed by the collector as good or desirable things. L,ast season I had the opportunity of overhauling two nests of the ordinary gray squirrel. Aside from fleas or one or two ticks, I found about a dozen or eighteen Dendrophilus punctu- latus Say, three pairs of Trox scabcr L,inn. and one small unde- termined species. A number of mouse nests showed three minute species, one of them a Falao-ria. I think a careful study of these nests will reveal many small forms, and some- body who is favorably situated should make a point of digging out and examining the burrows of our woodchucks, rabbits, foxes, etc., and the chances are they will be well repaid. On June 17, 1897, a great number of IJ.vus avicarns Say w r ere taken both singly and in pairs in Rnnic.\- brittanica Linn, (the great yellow water dock). Though a common species elsewhere, I have never seen it here before, so that its occurrence in num- bers was rather interesting. By the way, I have a theory- which, perhaps, is shared by others that no species is rare if collectors know when and where to look for it. They may be extremely local and be found only for a few days, but in that time and place they are common, or if even a part of the life- liubits of a species can be found out, it usually ceases to be a rarity, while the pleasure of such a discovery compensates the finder for many disappointments and much hard work. Hrookline, Mass. * 9 . A New Species of Eutettix. (JASSID^E, HOMOPTERA.) By HERBERT OSBORN, Ohio State University, Columbus, O. Eutettix magnus n. sp. General aspect of /itrida, larger, more conspicuously marked; elytra broader apically. Yellow, with dark brown fuscous and blackish mark- ings on head, pronotum and elytra. A broad, black, frontal band extend- ing to and enclosing the light-yellow occelli at each side. Length, to tip of elytra, 9 6.75 mm ; J 1 5 mm. To tip of abdomen, 9 5-5 mm ; c? 2 mm - Width of pronotum, 9 2 -5 mm - ', 2 mm - Head broadly lunate, vertex slightly longer at middle than next eye, a distinct but rather shallow transverse depression on anterior third in and 396 ENTOMOLOGICAL NEWS. [March, behind which the surface is minutely, longitudinally striate while in front, and passing over on to the front it is transversely striate ; front, except at upper border, scarcely striate, very minutely punctate ; antennse over- hung by a slight ridge ; clypeus rather long, widening toward tip ; \oras oval, slightly more elongate than in lurida, the margins of genae meeting clypeus by a narrow margin. Pronotum short, sides rounded, carinate, posterior border scarcely concave, transversely striated ; scutellum with very faint punctures and impressed lines. Elytra broad, narrowing slightly beyond the middle, with narrow appendix. Color: vertex yellow, except anterior margin which is invaded by the broad frontal band which extends between the ocelli, enclosing one at either end, and which is broken at the center by a narrow line ; face below the frontal band uniformly light yellow in the 9, and with broken semi- arcs and borders of clypeus and lora? fuscous in the $ ; eyes, except for narrow yellow margin, brown ; ocelli yellow ; pronotum yellow with broad transverse fuscous band, broader in ^ than in 9 5 scutellum yellow ; elytra brown in 9 fulvous in s Cress. aa. Thorax shorter, hexagonal. Crcssoni, toliica, ariadnc, solola , .\~alisco, all of Blake. Males. a. First segment distinctly nodose. Macilcnta BL, apicalata BL, fT/Aw*/ Cres., ha <'nniris which differ markedly from those commonly taken in the North. Mr. Clark reported the capture of a specimen of Mclitcca fhicton var. snf>i-rlw Strk. in Newton, Mass. W. L. W. FiKU>, * Rubrueps Cress, from Cuba, iztafa Bl. from Honduras, proserpina. Bl. from same region probably belong bere. These are the only three exotic species described by these authors which I have not seen. ENTOMOLOGICAL NEWS. [The Conductors of ENTOMOLOGICAL NEWS solicit and will thankfully receive items of news likely to interest its readers from any source. The author's name will be given in each case, for the information of cataloguers and bibliographers.] To Contributors. All contributions will be considered and passed upon at our earliest convenience, and. as far as may be, will be published according to date of recep' tion. ENTOMOLOGICAL NEWS has reached a circulation, both in numbers and circumfer. ence, as to make it necessary to put " copy " into the hands of the printer, for each num- ber, three weeks before date of issue. This should be remembered in sending special or important matter for a certain issue. Twenty-five " extras," without change in form, will be given free, when they are wanted ; and this should be so stated on the MS., along with the number desired. The receipi of all papers will be acknowledged. ED. PHILADELPHIA, PA., MARCH, 1900. WE had printed on the NEWS mailing envelopes for last month the words " PLEASE DO NOT FOLD," but were compelled to cut them out by the Post Office authorities. This month we have pasted slips over them, as unfortunately our mailing envelopes have been printed in advance for the entire year. If your copy of the NEWS is neatly folded into halves and any plates ruined you have no redress and must grin and bear it, as " Uncle Sam " prefers to have it that way. SCIENCE IN THE HIGH SCHOOLS. To the Editor of the Leader : Why should pupils be compelled to study the anatomy of bugs and small animals in the high schools? It is of no use whatever, unless one is going to be a scientist or an explorer. Girls are not supposed to be either, and yet the girls have to study with the boys in the same rooms. It makes them feel out of place, and besides, what use is it in after life? Can not some more useful study, for instance, French, be substituted for it? Most of the pupils have a natural abhorrence of bugs and other small animals, and when they are dead it makes it next to impossible to handle them. Also, the teachers allow the bugs to lie on the tables day after day, which breeds disease among the pupils. Why do they allow it ? Win- do they compel the pupils to study something they detest? Those who dislike it dread the hour during which they must pull the legs off of harm- less animals. If the Board of Education thinks science is a necessary study to one's education, why do they not make it an extra study like 402 1900] ENTOMOLOGICAL NEWS. 403 music, drawing, or reading? Either one or all three are considered neces- sary if one is out in society. One does not converse about bugs, as a rule, but more about music, or something more interesting than bugs. Can not something be done for the pupils of the high schools who dislike bugs and everything connected with them ? A HIGH SCHOOL PUPIL. Cleveland, O., Leader, December 19, 1897. Prof. F. M. Webster sent in the above clipping and asked whether L,epidopterists are bug hunters. Of course Lepidop- terists are not bug hunters. Bug hunters are Coleopterists, Dipterists, Hemipterists, etc., including economic entomolo- gists. Of course, "High School Pupul " is correct. Polite society cannot tolerate bugs. Just imagine a social gathering of the elite of the town discussing bugs. Then, there remains the horrible idea of the conveyance of disease. Again, some of the pupils might become interested in bugs and neglect French and music and then be ostracized by polite society ; what a cruel fate ! It does seem an unmitigated outrage to compel "High School Pupil" to pull off the legs of beetles, and something should really be done. " High School Pupil ' will doubtless become a political! (although for this profession French and music are not essential), and give the 11011 elite of society nice liquid mud to drink and filthy streets to walk through (the elite of society ride behind cobs).* The whole subject is painful, and our eyes grow so misty with tears that we must cease. PROF. JOHN B. SMITH'S Check-List of the Lepidoptera of Boreal America is out of print and cannot be supplied. IN the issue for December (p. 293) reference was made to the occur- rence of " Actias luna" in Mexico. Since writing the note I have re- ceived the bulletin of the " Laboratoire d' Etudes des Soies " of Lyon, in which M. Sonthonnax describes as a new species the Mexican moth which much resembles A. luna. The differences are slight, but in the six or eight specimens which I have examined of Trofcca fmncaiipennis, as the moth is now called, there is no variation whatever toward the typical A. luna. The r^rf have the primaries distinctly produced at the apex and truncated ; the tails are longer and broader in proportion than in A. luna ; the maroon border is much more distinct, and the moth itself considerably larger. O. \V. BARRHTT, Museo, Tacubaya, Mex. * Cobs are horses with the tails sawn off pretty close. This is not nearly as painful as pulling the legs off of beetles and other bugs. DEPARTMENT OF EGONOMIE ENTOMOLOGY. Edited by Prof. JOHN B. SMITH, Sc, D., New Brunswick, N. J. Papers for this department are solicited. They should be sent to the editor' Prof. John B. Smith, Sc.D., New Brunswick, N. J. SOME RUSSIAN ECONOMIC ENTOMOLOGY. By E. V. WILCOX, Department of Agriculture, Washington, D. C. As is well known to all scientific workers, the Russians are very active along most lines of natural science, and the published results of their investigations are.of great value and importance. Unfortunately these results are for the most part published in the Russian language, and are, therefore, less accessible to the average worker than they would be if pub- lished in French or German. Frequently abstracts are published by the authors in French or German periodicals, but the complete articles and illustrations are for the most part found only in the original Russian publications. It is the purpose of this note to call attention to a few articles in econo- mic entomology which may be of interest to American workers. The articles referred to are found in two publications. The one is called "Selskoe Khozyaistvo i Lyesovodstvo," and is published in St. Peters- burg by the Ministry of Agriculture and Imperial Domains. It is a very valuable agricultural journal, and contains articles on all agricultural and forestry subjects. The other publication mentioned is the "Year Book" of the St. Petersburg Forestry Institute, the first number of which was published in 1886. The following is a list of the more important articles from these two publications which the writer has had occasion to read tin ring entomological work : Concerning the grasshoppers which are injurious to grains and grasses in the governments of Perm, Orenburg and Tobolsk, I. A. Porchinsk 1 (Selsk. Khoz. i Lyesov., 1895, No. i, pp. 79-108, figs. 16). A discussion of the parasities of grasshoppers and of the steppe or Russian species. The nun and its associates in the forests of middle and eastern Russia during the summer of 1894, I. Shevuirev (Selsk. Khoz. i Lyesov., 1895, No. 8, pp. 471-489). Notes on Ocncria iiiotiac/ia, O. dispar, Toiniciis typographic. Trachea piniperda and other forest insects. Diseases of tobacco in Tashkent, their causes, and measures for com- bating them, V. Polovtzov (Selsk. Khoz. i Lyesov.. I.SQS, No. 2, pp. 109-136). A detailed account of the life history, habits, host plants and emedies for Siphonophora scabiosce. 404 1900] ENTOMOLOGICAL NEWS. 405 Combating injurious forest insects in Bavaria, V. Ogievski (Selsk. Khoz., i Lyesov., 1895, No. 9, pp. 31-44.) An account of species of Tomicus, Hylesinus, Hylobius and Pissodes. Combating phylloxera, P. Stroev (Selsk. Khoz. i Lyesov., 1895, No. 10. pp. 183-208, figs. 22). A general discussion of the forms and life history of the insect, with recommendation of remedies. Sericulture in the province of Turkestan, A. Shakhnazarov (Selsk. Khoz. i Lyesov., 1896, No. 5, pp. 137-153). A study of the actual condi- tion of sericulture in Turkestan, with an account of the extent and future of the industry. Combating phylloxera in Russia, B. Witmer (Selsk. Khoz. i Lyesov., 1896, No. 6, pg. 375-407 ; pp. 609-625). A discussion of methods adopted in different parts of Russia in fighting this insect. Observations on bark beetles in 1895, G. Jacobson (Selsk. Khos. i Lyesov., 1896, No. 6, pp. 419-442, figs. 11). Notes on the 20 species of bark beetles. Destructive increase of bark beetles in central Russia from 1882-94 and experiments in combating them, I. Shevuirev (Selsk. Khoz. i Lyesov., 1896, No. 10, pp. 523-545). Notes on Polygraphus, Xyleborus and other species. Apiculture, N. Sharov (Selsk. Khoz. i Lyesov., 1896, No. n, pp. 751- 770). A general discussion of the subject. Injurious insects of Semiretchinsk, I. Ingenitzki (Selsk. Khoz. i Lyesov. 1897, No. i, pp. 177-197, figs. 3). An account of Pachytylus migratoruis, Caloptenus {(aliens, and species of Psyche, Agrotis, etc. Insects injurious to the sunflower, A. Krulikovski (Selsk. Khoz. t Lyesov., 1897, No. 6, pp. 585-598, figs. 10). Notes on Agapanthia dahlii species of Clytus, Strangalia, Leptura, Heliothis, etc. Combating locusts in the Danube delta, 1884-88 and 1893-95, E. Rekalo (Selsk. Khos. i Lyesov., 1897, No. 10, pp. 99-125). An elaborate study of the methods of fighting locusts. Injurious field insects in the government of Ufa, S. Torski (Selsk. Khos. i Lyesov., 1897, No. i, pp. 395-411). Notes on species of Trachea, Mc,- mestra, Entomocetis, etc. The enemies of agriculture in the Trans-Ural region, V. Polferov (Selsk. Khoz. i Lyesov., 1897, No. 12, pp. 583-593). Notes on grass- hoppers, the corn weevil, field mice, etc. Injurious insects in the government of Kiev, S. Torski (Selsk. Khoz. i Lyesov., 1898, No. 2, pp. 413-427). Notes on Gastropacha iicnstria. Ocneria dispar, O. monacha, etc. Simple apiculture as a result of the work of the Agricultural Society in the central /one of European Russia, A. Popov (Selsk. Khoz. i Lyesov., 1898, No. 5, pp. 347-383; 6, pp. 577-616). An elaborate account of bee culture in this region. Tabanidse and a simple method of destroying them, I. Porchinski (Selsk. Khoz. i Lyesov., 1899, No. 3, pp. 557-573)- The author's obser- 406 ENTOMOLOGICAL NEWS. [March, vations were made upon species of Tabanus, Chlorops and Hfematopota. Species of the first two named genera have the habit of darting down upon the surface of pools to take water, and advantage was taken of this fact in devising a remedy for their destruction. Pools were covered with films of oil and the insects were destroyed by corning in contact with this substance. Injury caused to hazel trees in Crimea by a scale insect (Lecahium corni, Bouche", or L. robiniantin, Doug), S. Mokrzhetzki (Selsk. Khoz. i Lyesov., 1899, No. 2, pp. 413-420, figs. 4). General survey of the life history of injurious insects and means of combating them, I. Shevuirev (Selsk. Khoz. i Lyesov., 1899, No - 6 > PP- 587-628). Economic notes on a large number of noxious insects. Combating the enemies of agriculture, V. Morachevski (Selsk. Khoz. i Lyesov., 1899, No. 8, pp. 193-225). Notes on Orthoptera, especially Pachytylus migratorius, and a detailed discussion of the means adopted in different governments of Russia for fighting them. Combating the enemies of agriculture, V. Morachevski (Selsk. Khoz. i Lyesov., 1899, No. 9, pp. 445-454). Notes on species of Agrotis, Anisoplia and the Hessian fly. Materials for the study of the geographical distribution of bark beetles in Russia, I. Shevuirev (Ezhegod. Lyesn. Inst., St. Petersburg, 2 (1888), pp. 173-183. Pissodes strobili, N. Zhilyakov (Ezhegod. Lyesn. Inst., St. Petersburg, 3 (1888), pp. 113, 114, figs. 2). The restraing influence of the weather of 1888 upon plants and insects, A. A. Silantev (Ezhegod. Lyesn. Inst., St. Petersburg, 3 (1888), pp. 115- iiS). Notes on species of Melo/ontha, Tomicus, Lophyrus, etc. Entomological notes, A. A. Silantev (Ezhegod. Lyesn. Inst., St. Peters- burg, 3 (1888), pp. 119-121). Notes on Cryphalus tilice, Oicnncs pini, Lymexylon dermesfoides, etc. The galleries of bark beetles, N. A. Kholodkovski (Ezhegod. Lyesn. Inst., St. Petersburg, 3 (1888), pp. 181-197, figs. 13). Notes on the habits and burrows of a large number of spceies of Scolytidae. The biology of bark beetles, A. A. Silantev (Ezhegod. Lyesn. Inst., St. Petersburg, 4 (1891), pp. 223-231, figs. 2). Notes on species of Tomi- cus, Myelophilus, Hylastes, etc. Biology and classification of the genus Chermes, N. A. Kholodkovski (Ezhegod. Lyesn. Inst. St. Petersburg, 4 (1891), pp. 255-290, figs. 17).- A detailed account of a large number of species of this genus. This brief list of articles may be of service to economic entomologists in America if in no other way than by calling attention to the existence of articles of considerable size upon definite entomological subjects which affect us in this country. Many of these articles are abstracted by the writer at some length for the Experiment Station Record. It is hoped, however, that the brief notes added to most of the titles will serve to indicate the general trend of each article. ENTOMOLOGICAL NEWS. 407 Entomological Literature. COMPILED BY P. P. CALVERT. Under the above head it is intended to mention papers received at the Academy of Natural Sciences of Philadelphia pertaining to the Entomology of the Americas (North and South). Articles irrelevant to American entomology will not be noted. Contribu- tions to the anatomy, physiology and embryology of insects, however, relating to Ameri- can or exotic species, will he recorded. The numbers in HEAVY FACED TYPE refer to the journals, as numbered in the following. list, in which the papers are published : * denotes that the paper in question contains descriptions of North American forms. Titles of all articles in foreign languages are translated into English; usually such articles are written in the same language as the title of the journal containing them, but when such articles are in other languages than English, French, German or Italian, this fact is indicated in brackets. 4. The Canadian Entomologist, London, Ont., 1900. 5. Psyche, Cambridge, Mass., Feb., 1900. 8. The Entomologist's Monthly Maga- zine, London, Feb., 1900. 9. The Entomologist, London, Feb., 1900. 11. The Annals and Magazine of Natural History, London, Jan., 1900. 13. Comptes Rendus. Societe de Biologic, Paris, 1900. 15. Biologia Centrali-Americana, London, pt. cli, Nov., '99. Reed. Feb. 5, 1900. 121. The Entomologist's Record, London, Jan. 15, 1900. 36. Tran- sactions, Entomological Society of London, 1899, pt. iv., Dec. 30. 74. Naturwissenschaftliche Wochenschrift, Berlin, 1900. 78. The Garden- er's Chronicle, London, 1900. 86a. Annales, Societe Entomologique de France, Paris, 1898. Trimestres i et 2, Oct. '98 ; 3, Dec., '98 ; 4, May. '99; all rec'd. Jan., 1900. 861). Bulletin of the same, 1898, rec'd Jan., 1900- 122. Transactions, City of London Entomological and Natural History Society, 1898. Reed. Jan., 1900. THE GEN T EKAL SUBJKCT.-Aiion. Henry Herbert Lyman [Biographical notice], portrait, 4, Jan. Anon. The role of leucocytes in histolysis of the muscles of the bee during metamorphosis, Revue Gen- erale des Sciences, Paris, Dec. 30, '99. Boas, J. E. V. New remarks on the metamorphoses of insects [in Danish], i pi., Oversigt kongelige danske Videnskabernes Selskabs Forhandlinger, 1899, No. 4, Copenhagen. -Borclag-e, E. On regeneration in the Phasmids, 86a, i and 2. Brainier von Wattenw.vl. Note on the coloration of insects [trans- lation], 21. Burr, M. Brunner von Wattemvyl, portrait, 21 Caus- ard, 31. On the role of air in the last moult of aquatic nymphs, 86b. Clement, A. L. Observations on different anomalies in insects, rigs., 86b. Dominique, J. Parthenogenesis and thelytokie in the Phasmidae, Bulletins, Societt; des Sciences Naturelles de 1'Ouest de la France, ix, 2, Nantes, June 30, '99. Reed. Jan. 26, 1900. Gadeau de Kerville, H. On tetratological forking of the feet, the antenna? and palps of insects, figs., 86b. Lucas, If. Insects in general, and Seid- litz, G. Coleoptera in Review of scientific results in the field of Ento- mology during the year 1896, Archiv fur Naturgeschichte Ixiii, ii, 2, i Halfte, Berlin, Nov., '99. V. L.. On the development of insects, with 48 ENTOMOLOGICAL NEWS. [March,. especial reference to the elytra of beetles, 74, Jan. 7. Perez, C. On muscular histolysis in insects, 13, Jan. 6. Pic, M. List of his own zoological publications (1889-1897), 8Ga, i and 2. Prout, L. B. On some heredity experiments with Coremia ferrugata, 12ii. Vigiioii, P. Criticism of the vesicular theory of secretion, figs, [special refer- ence to Diptera], Notes et Revue, Archives de Zoologie Experimentale et Generate (3), vii, 2, Paris, Dec. 20, '99. Witehell, C. A. Stray notes on mimicry. Zoologist, London, Jan. 15, 1900. ECONOMIC ENTOMOLOGY.-Aiioii. Phylloxera in Italy, Revue Scientifique, Paris, Jan. 20, 1900. Fuller, C. Notes and de- scriptions of some species of Western Australian Coccidae, i pi., 3G. Galli- Valeric, B. Do the fleas of rats and mice play an important rule in the transmission of bubonic plague to man ? Figs. Centralblatt fiir Bakteriologie, Jena, Jan. 6, 1900. Geiinadius, P. Treatment of psoriasis of Hesperidae in the Levant, 8Gb. Giard, A. The army worm in France, 8Gb. Laveran. On the subject of the destruction of the larvae of mosquitoes by oil and petroleum, 13, Jan. 20. L,esiie, P., and Martin, J. Notes on some attempts at destruction of the kola-nut weevil (Balanogastris kola: Desbr.), 8Gb. Lounslmry, C. P. Insect bites and the effects thereof, 4, Jan. Pergande, T. A new species of plant-louse injurious to violets,* 4, Feb Prowazek, S. On the nat- ural history of the " Rapserdfloh " (Psylliodes chrysocephala], figs., 74, Jan. 14. Simon, E. On a fabric made from spiders' silk in Madagas- car, 8Gb. VV. S. The " Hatfield " cure for red-spider, 78, Feb. 3.- Taiig-ye, E. Trapping the codlin moth, 78, Jan. 27. Webster, F. M., and Mally, C. W. The purslane savvrly, Sc/tizocenis Zabriskei Ashm. MS., figs., 4, Feb. Wilcox, E. V. Abstracts of recent litera- ture, Experiment Station Record, xi, 4, Washington, '99. ARACHNIDA. Banks, N, On two genera of mites, 4, Feb.- Cambridg-e, F. O. P. Arachnida Araneidea, vol. ii, pp. 65-80, pi. v,* 15. Loniaim, J. C. C. The Opilionidse of the Plate Collection, i pi. Fauna Chilensis, Bd. ii, Heft i. Jena, Gustav Fischer, Dec. 20, 1899.- Simoii, E. Description of a new senoculous genus (Symposia) of the- family Agelenidse, 8Gb. Id. Description of a new genus of Arachnida, family Lycosidse, 8Gb. Troiiessart, E. Preliminary diagnoses of new species of plumicolous Acarina, additions and corrections to the sub- family of the Analgesinae, pis.,* Bulletin, Socie^ d'Etudes Scientifiques- d' Angers (n. s.), xxviii, '99. Id. Preliminary diagnoses of new species of plumicolous Sarcoptidae (three papers),* 86b. PROTOTKACHEATA. Bouvier, E. L. On the structure of Peripatus Tholloni Bouv., 8Gb. MYKIAPODA. Broleinaiiti, H. W. Voyage of M. E Simon to Venezuela (Dec., iS97-Aug., 1888), 27th memoir: Myriapods, 8 pis., figs , 8Ga, 3. - Id. Myriapods from High and Low Sarare, Venezuela, given by M. F. Geay to the Museum of Natural History of Paris, 2 pls. r 8Ga, 3. de Zog-raf, O. On the lateral cephalic organs of Glomcris, 11. ENTOMOLOGICAL NEWS. 409 ORTHOPTERA. Bordage, E. See the General Subject Do- minique, J. See the General Subject Hancock, J. L. Notes on species of the Tettigian group of Orthoptera,* 4, Jan. Relin, J. A. G. Melanopliis differentia/is in New Jersey and Pennsylvania, 4, Jan. Sayce, O. A. On the structure of the alimentary system of Gryllotalpa aitsf rails (Erichs.), with some physiological notes, 2 pis , Proceedings, Royal Society of Victoria, xi (n. s ), pt. ii, Melbourne, '99. NEUROPTERA.. >IcL;u-hlan, R. Psocids on the wing: a query, 8. Xeedham, J. G. How to rear nymphs of dragonflies [ex- tract], 8. HEMIPTERA. Baker, C. F. Four new species of Platymeto- pius* 4, Feb. Bergroth, E. Description of two new Reduviida* 86b. Champion, G. C. Rhynchota Heteroptera, vol. ii, pp. 265- 288, pi. xvi,* 15. Enock, F. [Oviposition of Nepal, 36, Proceed- ings. Fowler, W. W. Rhynchota Homoptera, vol. ii, pp. 249-256, pi. xvi \_Tcttigonia\* 15. Giard, A. On the scale insects of the genus Orthezia Bosc., 86b. Hempel, A. Descriptions of three new species of Coccidae from Brazil, 4, Jan. Johnson, W. G. The de- structive green-pea louse, figs.,* 4, Feb. King 1 , G. B. Bibliography of Massachusetts Coccidje: supplementary to the knowledge of Massachu- setts Coccidae, 4, Jan. Id. The fifth species of Kermes \_andrei~}, 5. Kirkaldy, G. W. On the nomenclature of the genera of the Rhyn- chota, Heteroptera and Auchenorrhynchous Homoptera, 9. Martin, J. Descriptions of new species of Nepidae, figs.,* 86b. Perg'ande, T. See Economic Entomology.* COLEOPTERA.- -Arrow, G. J. On sexual dimorphism in the Rutelid genus Parastasia with descriptions of new species, i pi., 36 Bennett. Notes on the habits of Goliathus druryi, 36, Proceedings. - Boileau, H. Note on the "Catalogue of the Lucanidae," by M. Carl Felsche, 86a, 3. Bordas, L. Contribution to the study of the repro- ductive organs of the Coleoptera : male genital glands of the Cleridae, i pi., 86a, 4. Clone' t des Pesruches, L. Notes on various Aphodii- dae, 86a, i and 2. Croissaiidean, J. Monograph of the Scydmaeni- dae (cont), 14 pis., 86a, i and 2. Dierckx, F. The pygidial glands of Pheropsophus Bohemani Chaud., figs., Zoologischer Anzeiger, Leipsic, Jan. 8, 1900. Gahaii, C. J. Et al. [Stings of beetles], 36, Proceed- ings. Giard, A. See Hymenoptera. Grouvelle, A. New Clavi- corns from America, 2nd memoir,* 86a, 3. Guillebeau,|F. Revi- sion of the genus Scydmcenus Latr. (Eittnicrus Lap.), 86a, i and 2 - Heasler, H. Beetle coloration, 122. Lesne, P. Revision of the Coleoptera of the family Bostrychidae, 3rd memoir, figs., * 86a, 4. Id. Description of the adult larva of Julodis albopilosq. Chevr , and remarks on various characters of the larvie of Buprestidae, figs , 8<>b. Leveille", A. Description of five new Temnochilidae, 86b. V. L. See the Gen- eral Subject. Raftray, A. Diagnoses of three new Pselaphidu 1 . 8<>b. Seidlitz, G. See the General Subject. 410 ENTOMOLOGICAL NEWS. [March, DIPTEltA. Coquillett, IX W. New genera and species of Ephydridae,* 4, Feb. Ricardo, G. Notes on the Pangoninae of the family Tabanidae in the British Museum Collection, i pi., 11. Vignoii, P. See the General Subject. Wall 1, B On the tracheal system and the imaginal disks of the larvae of Eristalis tenax, figs., 5 pis., Arbeiten des Zoologischen Institute!!, Universitat \Vien, xii, i, '99. LtfPIDOPTERA. -Barnes, W. New species and varieties of North American Lepidoptera,* 4, Feb. Dyar, H. G. Bombyx cunea, 4, Jan. Id. Critical notes [on J. W. Tutt's British Lepidoptera, vol. i], 21. Id. Notes on some North American Yponomeutidae,* 4, Feb. Id. Life histories of North American Geometridae, . Fyles, T. W. Metzneria lappella L : a curious life-history, 4, )an.- Grote, A. R. The neuration of Argynnis, 4, Jan. Howard, L. O. A popular name for Clisiocamp.a disstria, 4, Feb. Hulst, G. 1>. A new genus and species of Phycitina?,* 4, Jan. Mayer. A. G. On the mating in- stinct in moths, 5 >leLaelil;m, It. \_Deilcphila lineata in Colorado at 9000 ft ], 36, Proceedings. Merrifield, F., and Poultoii, E. B. The color-relation between the pupae of Papilio machaon, Picris napr and many other species, and the surroundings of the larvae preparing to pupate, 36. Motelay. Note on a butterfly which is attracted by sight and not by odor of flowers, Actes, Societe" Linneenne de Bordeaux, liii, '98. Reed. Jan. 26, '1900. Prout, L. B. See the General Subject. SHng'erlaud, M. V. A new popular name for Clisiocampa disstria ["forest tentless caterpillar"], 4, Jan. Tutt, J. W. Migration and dispersal of insects : Lepidoptera, 21. HYMENOPTERA. Andre, E. Study on the Mutillidae of the Museum of Paris,* 86a, i and 2. Id. Description of two new ants from Mexico,* 86b. Anon. See the General Subject. Betlie, A. Still more on the psychical qualities of ants, Archiv fur die gesammte Physiologic (Pfliiger's), Ixxix, i and 2, Bonn, Jan. 18, 1900. du Buys- soii, R. Chrysis shanghaiensis [anatomy], i pi., 86a, i and 2. Id. The nest and the larva of Tripoxylon albitarse F-, 2 pis., 86a, i and 2. Coekerell, T. I). A. Tables for the determination cf New Mexico bees, Bulletins, Scientific Laboratories of Denison University, xi, 3, Gran- ville, Ohio, Nov. '98. Reed. Jan. 1900. Id. What is the proper name of Lophyrus Latr. ? 9. Dawson, C., and Woodhead, 8. A. The hexagonal structure naturally formed in cooling beeswax, and its influence on the formation of the cells of bees, 11. Euock, F. [Life history of Prestiuichia aquatica Lubb.], 3(>, Proceedings. Fertoii, C. On the habits of Sphecodes Latr. and Ha/ictus Latr., 8Ob. Forel, A. Hymen- optera, vol. iii, pp. 105-136 [Formicidae],* 15. Giard, A. On Ccpha- /iioiia (Hymen. Proctotryp.), parasites of the larvae of Ptinidoj, 8Gb. Id. On the development of Litomastis trnncatcllas Dalrnan (Chalcid), 86b. Kieffer, J. J. Remarks on the eggs of Cynipidae, fig., 8(>b. 31archal, P. The evolutionary cycle of Encyrtus fuscicollis, 8Ob.-- Robertson, C. Homologiesof the wing veins of Hymenoptera, Science, New York, Jan. 19, 1900. Webster, F. M., and Mally, C. W. See Economic Entomology.* ENTOMOLOGICAL NEWS. 411 Doings of Societies. At the regular monthly meeting of the Newark Entomologi- cal Society, held in the Turn Hall January i_|.th, the following officers were elected: President, Mr. S. T. Kemp; ]'icc-Pn si- dent, Mr. O. Buchholz ; Secretary, Mr. Win. H. Broadwell ; Treasurer, Mr. S. Seib ; Librarian, Mr. J. Engelman, and Curators, Mr. H. Brehme and Mr. Bischoff. WM. H. BROADWELL, Sec. pro tan. At the January meeting of the Feldmaii Collecting Social, held at the residence of Mr. H. W. Wenzel, 1523 So. i3th St., eleven persons were present. This being the annual meeting of the society, the President delivered his address, reviewing the progress of the society and dwelling on the good fellowship existing among the members. Mr. P. Laurent exhibited specimens of a dipteron which he had found at Silver Lake, Wasatch Mts., Utah. Mr. Johnson identified these as belonging to the genus Chironomus, and spoke on habits of certain species of that genus. In one instance, at Palatka, Florida, a species was so abundant as to completely cover the fence-posts. Mr. Laurent also exhibited two specimens of Soronia nlkei, taken under fresh chips of wood at Westville, N. J., on May 4th. It is a rare coleopteron in this locality. Some lumber bored by the larva of Hylotrupes bajulus was also shown. Mr. Bland recorded the capture of Apion pit)-/ fan a Fall, in large numbers in May at Westville, N. J. Mr. H. Wenzel described collecting in swamps along the New Jersey coast. In such places sifting gives good results for many beetles. On Dec. i4th last he had visited a swamp surrounded by high trees and screened from the sun. Here he had found numbers of species not before met with by him, the coleopter- ous fauna seemng to differ almost entirely from the more open swamps only a short distance beyond. This difference in the faunae seemed to hold true of all open and closed swani] visited. 412 ENTOMOLOGICAL NEWS. [March, Mr. Bland spoke of the abundance of coleoptera in newly- mown hay which had lain on the ground over night, especially Atomaria and small Staphylinidae. Mr. L,aurent referred to Prof. Smith's remarks, at the last meeting, on the peculiar faunae of the various canons in the Southwest, and stated that he had found similar conditions existing in the canons of Wasatch Mts., Utah. The following officers for the ensuing year were elected : President, Dr. D. M. Castle. Vice President, Charles W. Johnson. Secretary, William J. Fox. Assistant Secretary, C. Few Seiss. Treasurer, Henry W. Wenzel. Mr. W. Reinick, 216 Epsley St., Germantown, and Henry G. Harbeck, 1635 N. i5th St., were proposed for membership in the society. WILLIAM J. Fox, Secretary. - PERSONS having duplicate copies of the December, 1899, NEWS will kindly return them to the editors, and receive their grateful acknowledg- ments. OUT of a few dozen larvae of Pyrameis which I found and raised on the hollyhock (A/t/iea] last season at Denver, Colorado, about 90 per cent, were parasitized, the chrysalids of the remainder yielding imagos of Pyrameis carytz. The larvae were present in swarms on the leaves of the hollyhock from the middle of July to the end of the first week in August. The first imago emerged on August i4th and the last on August 23d. Henry Edwards' description of the early stages credits the species to California, and it has been reported from Utah ; but I think this is the first record of its occurring as far east as Denver. HOMER Y. READ. OBITUARY. Richard Henry Meade, the English Dipterologist, died at Bradford, England, December 230!, 1899. He was born in 1814, was a practicing surgeon, and for twenty years a Justice of the Peace. He wrote chiefly on Muscidae (in the broad sense.) From a sketch by R. McL,achlau in Ent. Mo. Mag., February, 1900. ENTOMOLOGICAL NEWS AND PROCEEDINGS OF THE ENTOMOLOGICAL SECTION ACADEMY OF NATURAL SCIENCES, PHILADELPHIA. VOL. XI. APRIL, 1900. No. 4. CONTENTS: Skinner North American Hesperidse 413 Holland Alaska Insects 416 Wheeler Genus Hypocharassus 423 Banks A New Genus of Atropidae 431 Dodge List of Catocalse 433 Editorial 434 Marlatt Aspidiotis Diffiuis 425 i Economic Entomology 436 Barrett Papilio Electryon 428 j Entomological Literature 440 Coquilett New Genera of Diptera.... 429 | Doings of Societies 446 North American Hesperidae. By HENRY SKINNER, M.D. Pamphila hobomok was described by Dr. Harris in 1862, since which time it has been confused with za bit Ion by a num- ber of authors. Students have had so much trouble with these species that I thought it desirable to show them side by side. Hobomok has two females ; a yellow tawny one like the male, and a black one ( pocahontas), whereas zabulon has but one kind of female, and that is black or dark brown. Yellow females of zabulon have been mentioned and described, but I have never seen one in a collecting experience of twenty-five years. I have also examined all the large collections of the country excepting one. If any person can send me a yellow female zabulon I will be greatly indebted ; zabulon is decidedly the smaller species of the two and lacks the pronounced black nervures of the other. The golden spots on the zabulon female are much more sharply denned, and on the underside it is much brighter and has a pronounced purple color. Mr. Philip Lau- rent has frequently reared these two species and found them abundantly distinct. With the aid of the figures no one can 414 ENTOMOLOGICAL NEWS. [April, fail to readily separate these two species. Pamphila scudderi was described in ENT. NEWS, Vol. x, p. in, and was taken along the White River in Colorado, between July 24th and Aug. i3th, by Dr. S. H. Scudder, who has a good series of the species. Pamphila be/Ins was described by Mr. W. H. Edwards in 1884, and has been very rare in collections. During the past Sum- mer it was taken in abundance in the Huachuca Mts., Cochise Co. , Arizona. It is a rather handsome and interesting species. Pan/p/ii/a panoquin is found in great abundance along the Jersey coast in Cape May County, where the members of the Feldinan Social succeed in getting nice specimens annually. Pamphila panoquinoides is smaller and darker than panoquin and lacks the spots on the fore wings. Below it resembles panoquin in the character of the maculation. Pamp/ii/a stigma is a very distinct species. It is found in Texas and New Mexico and probably also in Central and South America. Pamphila pittacus has only been found in Arizona, as far as I am aware. Pamp/ii/a nemorum has a very characteristic stigma and im- maculate secondaries beneath. It is common in the Yosemite Valley in California. Pamphila rhesus is a very handsome Colorado species and is not uncommon. Pamphila massasoit suffusa is readily known by the oblitera- tion of the yellow in the secondaries below. The types came from Westville, New Jersey. Pampliila draco is a very distinct butterfly but is often in- correctly named. The country was flooded with this species sent from Colorado under the name of man itoba some years ago. P. loainmi is a rather rare and fine Florida species. I have also had it from Wilmington, N. C. The figure of P. alcina represents the type of the male. When more material is at hand and proper comparisons made it is not unlikely that this may prove a synomyn of rhcna Edwards. sKgialc stirckcri is a very fine insect and has been found in Colorado, Texas and Arizona. Mr. E. J. Oslar during last Summer found them in numbers in S. W. Colorado, and has given an interesting ac- count of their habits in a paper to appear in the NKWS. The yellow spots 011 the female are about twice the size of those on the fore wings on the male. The female is also several shades 12 26 ENT. NEWS, Vol. XI. I'l. II. HESPERIDXE AND ONE PIERID. HE THREE-COLOR PROCESS. ENTOMOLOGICAL NEV/S. 415 lighter in color and lacks the long hair on the hind wings, which is such a prominent character in the male. Archonias lyceas was taken in Cochise Co., Arizona, and the specimen figured was sent to me for identification by Mr. O. C. Poling, who very kindly permitted me to retain it for some weeks s< > that the NEWS family might have the pleasure of seeing it also. It looks somewhat like a little Danais, but belongs to the !'/<>'- idu-. Dr. Barnes also sent me a specimen for ^identification along with a lot of other extra faunal species mentioned in his paper in the January NEWS. Lyceas was described in the Biological Centrali- Americana, Rhop., Vol. ii, p. 123, August, 1889. Two male specimens are mentioned by Messrs. God- man and Salvin from Bugaba. DESCRIPTION OF PLATE. * Fig. i. Pamphila hoboinok Harris, $ , upperside. Fig. 2. " underside. Fig. 3- " " " 9, Fig. 4. li upperside. -j Fig. 5. Pamphila zabulon Bdl. Lee rj, upperside. Fig. 6. " underside. Fig. 7. " 9, Fig 8. " upperside. - Fig. 9. scuddcri Skinner, ^, (type). Fig. 10. 9 (type). " Fig. n. bellus Edwards Fig. 19. rhesus " upperside. Fig. 20. " underside. *Fig. 21. nemorum Boisduval cT> upperside. -Fig. 22. inassasoif var. siiffusa Laurent ^, underside. * Fig. 23. draco Edwards 9- underside. -M Fig. 24. loaumii VVorthington ^, underside. >4 Fig. 25. alcina Skinner $ , upperside (type). - Fig. 26. panoquinoides Skinner " upperside (type). "Fig. 27. sEgialc streckcri Skinner ^, upperside. -Fig. 28. Archonias lyceas Godman and Salvin, upperside. 416 ENTOMOLOGICAL NEWS. [April, ALASKA INSECTS. BY W. J. HOLLAND, L.L.D. PART II. Family LYC.ENID.E. Genus LYC-ENA Fabricius. 24 L. saepiolus Bdv. i $ , Fort Selkirk, N. W. Territory, ; e 28. (Young.) 25. L. afra Edwards. i $ , Tagish Lake, B. C., June 21 (Koonce) ; i & , White Horse, N. W. Territory, June 24 (Young) ; I , Lake La- barge, N. W. Territory, June 27 (Young). 26. L. sp. ? I have a number of specimens of a form which is near L. afra Edw., and yet still nearer to L. lygdamas Doubleday, which puzzle me. They are not exactly referable to either species. They may represent a boreal race of L. lygdamas, but I am in doubt, and therefore withhold further comment. 27. L. lotis Lintner. This species was originally described from Mendocino, Cali- fornia. The specimens probably came from Mt. Shasta. It appears to be common in Alaska. 25 $ $ , 9 9 , Eagle City, Alaska, July 8-14. (Young.) 28. L. yukona sp. nov. cf Wings on the upper side uniformly dark purplish violet, the outer margin of both wings marked by a very narrow brown line, the fringes whitish. On the under side the wings are obscure ashen-gray, both wings at the base obscured by bluish gray scales. The primaries have a discal mark at the end of the cell surrounded by a light whitish circle. Beyond this there is a transverse line of discal spots, six in number, gradually in- creasing in size from the costa to the inner margin, the spot nearest the inner margin being double. Beyond this along the margin is an even row of fine narrow dark linear spots, succeeded inwardly by a corresponding series of heavier sagittate markings, the points turned toward the base. The secondaries are marked by three small black spots near the base, arranged in a straight series, one above the cell, one on the cell, and one about the middle of the inner margin. At the end of the cell is a trans- verse linear dark spot margined with white ; beyond this a curved limbal series of black spots margined with white ; the upper five spots forming an evenly curved series beyond the cell, the sixth, which is a double spot, ENTOMOLOGICAL NEWS. 4l7 being near the inner margin and nearer the anal angle than the last of the series of five. The marginal series of fine narrow lines surmounted by darker sagittate markings, which appears on the primaries, is repeated on the secondaries, the spots growing larger and more distinct toward the anal angle. Between the first and second median nervules, between the outer spot and the inner sagittate spot, there is a red spot. The abdomen on the under side is white ; on the upper side the body is fuscous tinged with bluish. The legs are bluish gray. $ The wings on the upper side are fuscous, with the primaries on the costa near the base and the secondaries in the region of the cell shot with purplish violet. On the under side the female is marked like the nude. but with all the spots larger and heavier. Expanse J\ 22 mm.; 9, 2 4 mm - 4 $ $ , i 9 , Mountains between Mission and Forty-mile Creeks, N. E. Alaska, July 20-24. (Young.) 1 have hesitated to add another species to the list of North American Lycsenidse, but after carefully examining all the col- lections which are available, and having read up the entire literature on the subject, I am convinced we are dealing here with an undescribed form. I possess the types or cotypes of almost all the species attributed to our fauna, with the excep- tion of L. arnica, L. pe/nbiua, L. ardca and L. kodiak, species described by Mr. Edwards, but the types of which were not contained in his collection at the time I purchased the same. I had hoped that the insect above described was one or the other of these, but after carefully going over the published descrip- tions with the insect before me, in which work I \vas aided by Dr. Skinner, it has been impossible for me to believe that I was in any case justified in regarding the insect before me as having been already described by Edwards. 29. L. pseudargiolus var lucia Kirby. 2 S $ , Skaguay, May 24, 3 S $ ; Skaguay, June 12. (Young. ) Family PAPIUONID.lv Sub-family PiKRiN.ii. Genus PIERIS Sdirank. 30. P. nelsoni PMw. The male of this species has been described and beautifully figured by Edwards, Butterflies of North America, Y<>1. II, Plate 1, of Pieris. The type, a male, came from St. Michael's, 418 ENTOMOLOGICAL NEWS. [April, Alaska. The solitary specimen taken by Mr. Young happens to be a female in excellent, in fact, perfect condition. The female does not differ from the male in the disposition of the markings on both sides of the wings, but they are all much heavier, especially on the under side of the secondaries, where the veins are all heavily bordered on each side by grayish green. The species, as has already been pointed out by Ed- wards, is near to P. callidicc Hsper, but quite distinct. 9 , White Horse, N. W. Territory, June 24. (Young.) 41. P. napi var bryoniae Ochsenheimer. The collection contains three females taken at Skaguay, June 12, which are remarkably dark. 32. P. napi \ar hulda Ed\v. This is the prevalent form of the species in the interior. I find thirty-four males and seventeen females in the collection coming from Eagle City and American Creek, Alaska, with a couple of specimens taken at Fort Selkirk, all taken in July. Genus EUCHLOE Hubner. 33. E. ausonides, Bdv. Six specimens, White Horse, N. W. Territory, June 24 ; 2 specimens, Fort Selkirk, N. W. Territory, June 28 ; i speci- men, near Dawson, N. W. Territory, July i. (Young.) Genus COLIAS Fabricius. 34 C. hecla Lef. There are two female specimens which I refer to this species, agreeing fairly well with specimens I have under this name from Greenland. 35. C. chione Curtis (?) There is a solitary orange yellow specimen in the collection which corresponds almost exactly, with the figure of C. cl/io/u- given by Curtis in the appendix to Ross' Expedition. In the absence of more material I cannot be quite positive as to the correctness of the determination. 36. C. chippewa Edwards. There are twelve males and four females agreeing exactly with the types of C. chippewa in the Edwards collection and ENTOMOLOGICAL NEWS. 419 showing very little if any variation. Skinner sinks chippciva as a synonym for G. palacno Linn. , but with a suite of nearly forty specimens of C. palacno before me from various localities in Europe and Asia, I can at a glance separate the specimens from Alaska. On the upper side the dark marginal band of the males is much narrower, and the specimens are smaller. The females on this side are almost without any dark margin, resembling in this the females of C. scuddcri. On the under side of the wings they are quite different from C. palacno, one marked feature being the light-colored ray which runs from the discal spot of the secondaries toward the base, through the darker grayish green ground color of the wings. If C. chipper 'a Edw. is not a good species, it is at all events a very strongly marked varietal form, which, when known, is not easily mis- taken. 37. C. nastes Bdv. i $ , i 9 , Mountains between Mission and Forty-mile Creeks, N. E. Alaska, July 20. (Young.) Sub-family Genius PARNASSIUS Latreille. 38 P. eversmanni Me'ne'tries. 9 tcr.\- Aaron. Hagen erected the genus PsoqitUla for a very handsome species of which he had seen but one specimen, supposedly from Hamburg. McL/achlan in his monogaph of the British Pso- cidae recorded two specimens found in England, and gives an excellent figure of the insect. Other than these two references the species appears to be unknown. The species is probably a native of some tropical country, and its occurrence in Europe due to occasional importations. Doryptervx was proposed by Aaron for a pale insect found among piles of books in Philadelphia. It is a very active little form and jumps readily. The female appears to be normally apterous, but the male has slender wings, held close to the bod}', after the manner of Borcus. I have found it among books at Washington, D. C. Although it may be an importa- tion it appears to be fully established at the present time. To these two genera I can now add a third, which was recently sent me by Mrs. A. T. Slosson in a vial of spiders from Biscayne Bay, Florida. Mrs. Slosson writes that this little atropid was caught destroying her butterflies while on the stretching boards. Although the harm done in her case was trifling, the insect could, with a little carelessness, become quite a pest in insect boxes. Psocinella n. gen. No ocelli ; two short wings (mesothoracic), somewhat more than twice as long as broad, broadly rounded at the tip, with several veins and a closed central cell ; costal vein forked toward tip ; the median vein gives off three branches behind and one in front ; anal vein simple ; no trace of hind wings ; legs slender, femora not dilated, tarsi three-jointed, basal joint long and slender, hind tibia longer than the femora (but not as much 43 2 ENTOMOLOGICAL NEWS. [April, as in Doryptcryx} ; head not very broad and the eyes not especially promi- nent ; antennae filiform ; abdomen rather slender. Type, P. slossonie. This genus differs from Doryptcrv.v by the shape and vena- tion of the wings ; from Psoquilla by less prominent eyes, venation and less swollen femora. Psoquilla is evidently its nearest ally ; in that genus, however, the costal vein is not forked, there are but two branches below from the median vein, the anterior branch of the median is forked ;-the head is broad and eyes very prominent ; and the abdomen is broad and depressed. The three genera of Atropidae with veined wings may be tabulated as follows : 1. Wings broad, rounded at tip . . . ... 2. Wings lanceolate, femora slender . Dorypteryx. 2. Costal vein forked, femora slender . . . Psocinella. Costal vein simple, femora slightly dilated . Psoquilla. Psocinella slossonae n. sp. Whitish, head yellowish, antennae purplish, a black spot above on the fourth abdominal segment, tibiae blackish. Wings hyaline, veins hyaline, reaching beyond middle of abdomen ; the costal vein forked near tip ; the median joined to the costal in two places near center of wing thus forming a closed cell ; upper branch of median vein simple, three simple branches below ; anal vein simple. Antennae filiform (broken beyond sixth joint). Head not broad above, nasus prominent ; legs slender, basal joint of tarsus about one-half as long as tibia ; hind tibia plainly longer than hind femora ; abdomen slender, subcylindric. Body and legs sparsely clothed with fine short hairs. Length, i.i mm. Described from two specimens collected at Biscayne Bay, Florida, by Mrs. A. T. Slosson, to whom the species is dedi- cated. Since this paper was written Dr. C. Ribaga has publishd the description of a new genus and species* similar to the above. His genus, Psocathropos , has the venation on the same plan, but the veins are bent out of the straight course observed in Psocinella. The thorax of his insect is much smaller than in Psocinella. An important difference is that Psocathrofios has very short hind femora, while in Psocinella they are a little longer than the other pairs. * Descrizione di uti nuovo genere e di una nuova specie di Psocidi trovato in Italia. Revista Patol. vegetale, VIII, p. 156 (September, 1899). SNT. NEWS, Vol. XI. RED AND BLUE. PI. VIII ENTOMOLOGICAL NEWS. 433 List of Catocalae Taken at Louisiana, Missouri. By G. M. DODGE. Amnica, Ilia, Piatrix, Grynea, Cara, Nebulosa, Micronympha, Amatrix, Judith, Cratsegi, Junctura, Robinsonii, Abbreviatella, Epione, Retecta, Clintonii, Serena, Desperata, Illecta, Habilis, Viduata, Censors, Inuubens, L,achrymosa, Cerogamna, Palaeogama, .Insolabilis, Ultronia, Neogamna, Obscura. Coccinata, Subnata, Of the thirty-two species of Catocalse named in this list, all but one (amatrix) were taken during the season of 1899, pre- vious to which we had made no attempt at systematic collect- ing. In addition we have four species as yet undetermined, making a total of thirty-six species for this immediate locality and all taken within the limits of 190 acres of land. Of several of these we saw but a single specimen each ; from which we may safely infer that other species \vere overlooked entirely. The collector who wishes to make an exhaustive list of the Catocalae of his district must work in more than one way. Sugaring is a good method, so is collecting from tree trunks in the day time ; but to employ either one to the exclusion of the other w r ill cause the loss of some specks. There are species that must be sought under sheds and the eaves of hou^-^ while others, again, are found on flowers at dusk. By colled ing the larvae still other species may be had that would rarely or never be otherwise obtained. Kven when all these methods are employed no person will succeed in taking all the species of a given locality in one season's collecting. < \\'K can supply extra copies of the three-color plate on heavy paper (9 x 12) suitable for framing or keeping as separata. Price 15 nis in stamps. Apply to the Editor. ENTOMOLOGICAL NEWS. [The Conductors of ENTOMOLOGICAL NEWS solicit and will thankfully receive items >f news likely to interest its readers from any source. The author's name will be given .in each case, for the information of cataloguers and bibliographers.] To Contributors. All contributions will be considered and passed upon at our earliest convenience, and, as far as may be, will be published according to date of recep- tion. ENTOMOLOGICAL NEWS has reached a circulation, both in numbers and circumfer- ence, as to make it necessary to put " copy " into the hands of the printer, for each num- ber, three weeks before date of issue. This should be remembered in sending special or important matter for a certain issue. Twenty-five "extras," without change in form, will be given free, when they are wanted ; and this should be so- stated on the MS., along with the number desired. The receipt of all papers will be acknowledged. ED. PHILADELPHIA, PA., APRIL, 1900. In January, 1891, through the kindness of Mr. Julius F. Sachse, a well-known scientific and literary gentlemen of this city, we published a half-tone of the larva of Cithcronia n-oalis. As far as we know this was the first time that this process of photography had ever been used in a natural history journal. Since then the use of half-tones for illustrative purposes has become general. In December, 1891, we also published "A Suggestion for a Possible Method of Identifying the Colors Photographed." This work was also done by Mr. Sachse and was a step in advance. Since 1891 photographic processes have been improved in various ways, and in this number we give illustrations of the so-called three-color process. Three negatives of the objects are made, each one through a different 'color screen," respectively, red, yellow and blue. Three half-tones are then made from these negatives, and then by making an impression on the paper from each half-tone block, and using for each block one of the three inks yellow, red blue the perfect print is obtained. Great care must be taken in registering the blocks, so that each color shall properly cover the figures. The process is a wonderful one and is beautifully adapted for natural history work, as it gives me- chanically correct maculation and is practically correct for color. This is our first plate of the kind, and was made here in Philadelphia. ENTOMOLOGICAL NEWS. 435 Dr. W. J. Holland deserves great credit for having so promptly seen the possibilities of the method and for having used it with such success in his beautiful " Butterfly Book." We give illustrations showing a print of each color ; prints of two colors and the three combined into the finished illustra- tion. We are also indebted to Mr. Sachse this time for ad- vice and assistance. We hope to publish more of these plates, and from the experience gained, make further improvements. The subjects are from the collection of Dr. Skinner, and were selected on account of their non-actinic colors and the difficul- ties they present for ordinary photographic methods. "MARY YEOMANS, an English woman now living in California, makes money by catching butterflies. She had some knowledge of the different varieties when she went to the Pacific slope. One day a flock of pansy- like butterflies hovered over her for a moment and then flew up the moun- tain side. She thought she recognized a rare and valuable species only known in the higher Alps. She followed these honey-loving beauties up the mountain and captured a goodly number of them. She painted a fac- simile of one in water colors and sent the sketch to London. The result was an order for twenty-five of the butterflies, for which she received $575-" Mr. Edward D. Keith, of Providence, R. I., sent us the above clipping and wanted to know if it were not newspaper entomology. We have seen a variation of the above to the effect that a young lady was making a fortune in California as the owner of a butterfly farm. We presume this clipping will interest our subscribers in California, who would like to sell the species at $23 each. FORMATION OF AN ENTOMOLOGICAL CLUB, IN BUFFALO. On Janu- ary 3d a meeting was called by the Buffalo Society of Natural Sciences for the purpose of getting together those in the city interested in the col- lection and study of insects. There was a good attendance, and much interest was manifested. As a result of the meeting an entomological sec- tion was organized in the Society, and Edward P. Van Duzee elected chairman. For the present season meetings will be held on the second and fourth Wednesdays of each month. During the collecting season at least two field days will be observed each month. These will be in the form of excursions to the best collecting grounds about Buffalo. The special objects in the formation of the section are the mutual sympathy and encouragement and better acquaintance among those in the city in- terested in this branch of science, the investigation of the local insect fauna, and the formation and preservation of a good collection of insects in the Society of Natural Sciences. DEPARTMENT OF EGONOMI6 ENTOMOLOGY. Edited by Prof. JOHN B. SMITH, Sc. D., New Brunswick, N. J. Papers for this department are solicited. They should be sent to the editor Prof. John B. Smith, Sc.D., New Brunswick, N. J. SOME INSECT NOTES.* By B. F. WEBSTER. The little clover Halticus uhleri, has been studied and we have found that there are probably not less than five annual generations at Wooster. This species has a peculiar interest, as there are two forms of females, one having fully developed wings and the other has no wings at all, and instead of flying or walking, as does the first, it hops about like some of the flea beetles, and like them have the posterior femora enlarged. A peculiar case of retardation in development has come to notice dur- ing the last year. On June 6, 1898, a number of saw-fly larva;, from a strawberry patch near Wooster, were placed in a breeding cage in the insectary. Others from the same source were added a few days after. As nothing had emerged up to June 3, 1899, almost a year after, I in- structed Mr. Mally to clear up the cage in which these larva; had been placed with their food plants, but he was surprised to find the larva; still alive in the small earthen cells into which they had retired for pupation. The soil in the cage was carefully replaced, but still nothing developed. September i6th, supposing all must have died, it was again decided to clear up the cage, but we were again surprised to find the larva; alive and in apparently good condition in their cells. The soil was again replaced and we shall await the developments, as, up to date, over eighteen months since the larvae ceased to feed, nothing has appeared. At the meeting of the Association of Economic Entomologists in Co- lumbus last August, Dr. E. P. Felt, State Entomologist of New York, called attention to the occurrence of the i2-spotted asparagus beetle, Crioceris i2-punctata at Buffalo, and in October, at the meeting of the Entomological Society of Ontario, Canada, Dr. Fletcher reported it in eastern Ontario, opposite Buffalo, so that we may expect it to reach Ohio, even as soon as next summer. This is an introduced species, coming to us from Europe, but was first found here long after Crioceris aspara^i had begun to make its way westward. It may be stated that the latter species reached Wooster for the first during the last year, and an ex- tended seach about Sandusky revealed only a single individual, and this at the Soldiers' and Sailors' Home just south of the city. * Read before the Ohio Academy of Science, December 22, 1899. I goo] ENTOMOLOGICAL NEWS. 437 Colaspis brunnea, the larvae of which are known to attack the roots of strawberry and the beetles feed upon the leaves of grape, was reared from a species of dock (Rumex). Adults and larva; were both observed thus feeding quite extensively. Allorhina nitida, the fig eater of the South, has been reported from southern Ohio feeding on ripe blackberries. In Bulletin 96 of the Ohio Experiment Station was published a brief note on the development of Oberea bimaculata, and certain peculiarities of food habit noticed. On January 27, 1899, at Gypsum, Ohio, acting under my direction, Mr. Mally examined a large number of wild black- berry canes in search for any Oberea larva;, and while several were found showing the characteristic girdlings only one contained a larva. The tip of the infested cane had been broken off and the rough surface calloused over. The larva had bored down only about an inch below the girdle, where it was found head upward, the girdled part of the cane being dead. This larva was transferred to a tall blackberry cane in the insectary, January 2ist, and began feeding within two hours after, in a temperature of approxi- mately 75 to 85 degrees F., indicating that they commence feeding as soon as warm weather begins. By January 3ist the larva had made the first opening through the cane about one inch from the top, and was work- ing industriously. By means of a hand glass Mr. Mally watched the larva protrude the castings and, to his surprise, discovered that the pellets were pushed out with the mandibles. The cane was immediately pared away until the opening was enlarged sufficiently to permit of distinct observa- tion. In a few moments the larva ascended backwards until the jaws were opposite the opening, when it reached out, dropped the pellet, and then descended the burrow, but after feeding for a short time head down- ward it reascended several times in succession, each time pushing out small bits of material. One or two small pellets were noticed on the tip of the last extremity. These drop off and fall down to the bottom cf the burrow while the larva is feeding, when it grasps them with its mandibles and carries them to the opening and pushes them out. By February 2nd, the larva had made three excretal apertures, about i}{ inches apart, thus having burrowed farther in twelve days than Mr. Slingerland records for the larvee of Oberea bimaculata observed by him during the middle of July. The castings could be separated into two distinct forms, the ob- long rounded pellets, frequently occuring in chains and irregular granular crumbs or chips. At first it was thought that the chips were fragments of pellets that had been broken as they dropped down between the larva and the wall of the burrow. In order to get definite information on this point it was necessary to pare away the woody tissue, so as to show tin- full length of the burrow, and then securely fasten a narrow strip cf mica over the opening, thus exposing the larva to full view while working. At first the larva was very restless, but soon became accustomed to the new conditions and began working energetically, pulling off bits of the pith and pushing them in behind the mica until the irregularities had been adjusted and then pushing them out at the excretal opening. It would stop and feed occasionally, often protruding three to five pellets at a time. ENTOMOLOGICAL NEWS. [April, These would be dislodged by an unsteady lateral motion of the tip of the abdomen. The larva would sometimes ascend the burrow, especially after a new excretral opening had been made, and seizing the lower end of the chain pellets before they dropped to the bottom, thus eject them from above the opening. But usually it would seize the chain by the upper end, and draging it up to the opening eject it from beneath, the chain at first protruding upward at an acute angle, but as the middle was reached, it would balance and hence be very readily pushed out. The ejection of the pellets in chains is made possible by the way the larva makes the opening. When beginning to gnaw through to the outer surface the opening is large and irregular ; but gradually narrows down to a small aperture by the time the epidermis is reached, thus making it broadly sub-conical, and admitting the head just far enough for the mandibles to reach the surface. The larva certainly pulled out a great many more chips than is necessary to simply round out the burrow. This must be considered as a waste of food material for which there would be no ex- cuse, unless it is done to make sure of reaching the rootstock before winter, even at the risk of exhausting the food supply, in case the larva was in a small cane. But, as the larva was seen feeding from the sides of the burrow, it may be that, on reaching the rootstalk, it feeds at random. To determine the necessity of its reaching the rootstock it was placed in a blackberry cane five feet high and left undisturbed. It burrowed down to within three feet of the surface and then stopped working, no more castings appearing. An examination July 10, 1899, revealed the fact that the larva had died, leaving this point still in question. But the fact that we received similar larvae from the twigs of apple and pear in such position that the larva could not reach the roots, would indicate that they may feed until ready to transform and then pupate, regardless of the rootstock. On August 21, 1899, at Langsville, Ohio, Oberea larvae were found working in the young canes of red raspberry, the great majority having already burrowed down into the rootstock, thus limiting their food supply and certainly necessitating their transformation in one year, for it is mani- festly impossible for them to make their way from one cane to another. This difference in life history is certainly important, and suggests the possibility that there are two species in question. Ordinarily the larva of the Hessian fly, Cecidomyia destructor, has the effect of destroying the central shoot of the young wheat plants, but this year an exception to this rule was noticed in a plot of wheat sown on unfertilized ground on the Experiment Farm. In quite a number of in- stances plants having a full grown larva back of the leaf sheath the central shoot was in good condition. In some cases the larva was lodged securely just behind the upper end of the sheath at the base of the leaf, while in others it was half way, and in others close down to the roots. Those at the upper end of the sheath having attained the flaxseed stage are quite certain to develop adults. This difference in the effect of the insect could ENTOMOLOGICAL NEWS. 439 not have been due to the variety of the wheat as all of the plots were of the same variety but differently fertilized. On the fertilized plots the peculi- arity was not observable. It would seem then that the Hessfan fly may attack a wheat plant, the growth of which has been influenced by lack of fertility in the soil, and develop there without destroying the plant. While this phenomenon is easily explainable where larva had developed near the base of the leaf and had clearly drawn its food supply from the leaf instead of the stem, in case of those low down, near the root, explanation seems quite impossible on these grounds. A CORRECTION. For Harrison G. Dyer, on page 333 present volume, read Harrison G. Dyar. W. J. HOLLAND states in his Butterfly Book that Achalaurus cellus (the golden banded skipper), is found in Virginia and southward. I have found them abundant in this part of Maryland (Anne Arundel County.) Alex. A. Girault, Annapolis, Md. Eutanypus IN NEW MEXICO. On January 3ist I examined the bands placed around the apple trees on the Experiment Station Farm atMesilla Park, to see what might be hibernating beneath them. The miscellaneous catch included one living Chironomid fly. which I took to be a species of Tanypus. I sent it to Mr. Coquillett, and he tells me that it is his Euta- nypus borcalis, described last year from Bering Island and Mt. Washing- tON, N. H. The occurrence of this boreal fly so far south seems worth recording ; and it is interesting to note that, whereas in the far north it is caught in July and August, with us it appears in midwinter. T. D. A. COCKERELL. DRAGONFLIES CAUGHT BY TENDRILS OF VINES. "A rather unusual occurrence which created some little interest among local entomologists and others in August of the present year (1899) was tne ensnaring of a large green dragonfly, Anax junius Drury, by a tendril of wild balsam apple, Micrampeles lobata Green. " It is conjectured that the insect had settled upon the vine and becoming somewhat benumbed by the cool of evening, was easily entrapped by the outreaching tendril, which had wound itself quite tightly about the insect's body, near the joint of the seventh and eighth abdominal segments. ' The prisoner remained quite lively for several days, often flying out to the length of its vegetable rope until it finally perished at the hands of a careless observer. "After our attention had been drawn to this curiosity, several instances of the entrapping of smaller species of the order Odonata by vine ten- drils were also noted. In these cases the insects had been made pris- oner by the tendrils entwining [them] selves about their limbs." C. E. BRO\VN in Bulletin of the Wisconsin Natural History Society (new series), i, pp. 67-68. Milwaukee, January, 1900 440 ENTOMOLOGICAL NEWS. [April, Entomological Literature. COMPILED BY P. P. CALVERT. Under the above head it is intended to mention papers received at the Academy of Natural Sciences of Philadelphia pertaining to the Entomology of the Americas iN.nth and South). Articles irrelevant to American entomology will not be noted. Contribu- tions to the anatomy, physiology and embryology of insects, however, relating to Ameri- can or exotic species, will be recorded. The numbers in HEAVY-FACED TYPE refer to the journals, as numbered in the following list, in which the papers are published ; * denotes that the paper in question contains descriptions of new North American forms. Titles of all articles in foreign languages are translated into English; usually such articles are written in the same language as the title of the journal containing them, but when such articles are in other languages than English, French, German or Italian, this fact is indicated in brackets. 4. The Canadian Entomologist, London, Ont., March, 1900. --7. U. S. Department of Agriculture, Division of Entomology, Washington; Bulle- tin 22, new series, 1900. 9. The Entomologist, London, March, 1900. 11. The Annals and Magazine of Natural History, London, Feb., 1900. 13. Comptes Rendus. Socie"te de Biologic, Paris, 1900 15. Biologia Centrali-Americana, London, part clii, Dec. '99; rec'd. Feb. 20, 1900. 21. The Entomologist's Record, London, Feb. 15, 1900. 24. Berliner Entomologische Zeitschrift, xliv, 3. Dec. 99. 33(1. Denkschriften, Kai- serliche Akademie der Wissenschaften, Mathematisch-Naturwissenschaft- liche Classe, Ixvii, Vienna, '99. 33s. Sitzungsberichte of the same, cvii, '98 ; rec'd. Feb. 19, 1900 35. Annales, Socie'te' Entomologique de Belgique, Brussels. 37. Le Naturaliste Canadien, Chicoutimi, Ouebec, Feb., 1900. 41. Entomologische Nachrichten, xxvi, 4, Berlin, Feb., 1900. 44. Verhandlungen, Zoologisch-botanische Gesellschaft in Wien, xlix. 6Oc. Comunicaciones, Museo Nacionalde Buenos Aires, i, 5, Dec. 30, '99 O7. Entomologiske Tidskrift, Stockholm, xx, No. i, Mar. 22, '99 ; No. 2-3, Sept. 26, '99 ; No. 4, Jan. 23, 1900. 68. Bulletino, Societa Entomologica Italiana, xxxi, Florence, Dec. 31, '99 84. Insekten Borse, Leipsic, 1900. 92. Illustrierte Zeitschrift fiir Entomologie, Neudamm, '99. 99. Bulletins, Cornell University, Agric. Exper. Station, Ithaca,, New York. 1O4. Mittheilungen, Naturhistorisches Museum, Hamburg, xvi, 2, Nov. i, '99. 123. Bulletin, Wisconsin Natural History Society, new series, i, i, Milwaukee, Jan. 1900. 124. Schriften, Naturwissen- schaftliches Verein fiir Schleswig Holstein, xi, 2, Kiel, '98; rec'd. Feb. 26, 1900. 125. British Bee journal, London, 1900. THE GKNERAL SUBJECT. Brown, C. E., See Neuroptera. Busck A. Notes on a brief trip to Puerto Rico in January and Febru- ary, 1899, 7. Chitteiiclen, F. H. Insects and the weather : observa- tions during the season of 1899. 7. [Crevecoenr, F. F.] Notes on Mis- cellaneous insects in Kansas, 7. Friilistorfer, H. Leaves of my diary [travels in the U. S.], 84, Jan. 4-Feb. 15. Gillos, W. S. The use of formalin as a preservative of insects, $* iYu' ward, W. Insectivorous habits of lizards, 7. Howard, L. O. 'i iuj'.jsects to which the name 1900] ENTOMOLOGICAL NEWS. 44! "kissing hug" became applied during the summer of 1899, figs., 7. Kmilli. P. How flowers attract insects, 1U4. Lameere, A. Dis- course on the reasons for the existence of metamorphoses in insects, '.~>, xliii, 13, fan. 23, 1900. Pic, M. Some entomological accidents, Le Natur- aliste, Paris. Feb. i. 1900 Rudow. On variations in size of insects, 84, Jan. !!. Terre, L Metamorphosis and phagocytosis, 13, Feb. 17. Vire A. La Faune Souterraine de France, Paris, J. B. Balliere et Fils., 1900, Svo.. pp. 148, 4 pis. ECONOailC ENTOMOLOGY. A 11011. Mosquitos and fever, 84, Jan, 18. Auoii. Caterpillars and maple sugar, 157. Bailey, L. H. etal. Spraying notes, 99, No. 177, Jan., 1900. B[aiiks], N. Cotton insects in Egypt, 7. Bergman, A. On economic relations of Oestridae, 2 pis. [in Swedish], 67,i. Id. Researches on the larva of Ocneria dispar L., O7.4. Brown, C. E. Depredations of the cottony maple scale; Fruit feeding habit of the cotton worm moth, 123. Busck, A. See General Subject. Chapais, J. C. The strawberry saw-fly, the goose- berry fruit-worm, 37. Chitteiiden, F. H. Food plants and injury of North American species of Agrilus ; Notes on two species of " lightning hoppers" [Fulgoridae] ; The recent spread of the Mediterranean flour moth, 7. Coquillett, D. W. Two new Cecidomyians destructive to the buds of roses, figs.;* a new violet pest, fig.* 7. Dalrymple, W. H., Dodsoii, W. R., and Morgan, H. A. Immunization against Texas fever by blood inoculation, figs., Bulletin, Agric. Exper. Station of the Louisiana State College, etc. Second series, No. 57, Baton Rouge, La., 1899. Fisher, A. K. A new clothes-moth remedy [carbon bisul- phide], 7. Hauley, A. H. Tumbe or Kroo fly, New York Medical Journal, Mar. 3, 1900. Havens, F. G. Insect control in Riverside, Cal- ifornia, 7. Henieiiway, H. E>. Experiments with hydro-cyanic acid gas, as a means of exterminating mealy bugs and other insect pests in greenhouses, 7. [Howard, L. O. et al.] Reported injury by giant scarabaeid beetles ; Locusts in Argentina and Lourengo Marquez, South- eastern Africa ; A cotton stainer [Dysdercus] in Peru ; The green June beetle of the Southwest \_Allorhina mutabilis} ; A Dipterous enemy of cucurbits in the Hawaiian Islands [Dacus cucurbita:] ; A troublesome twig-girdler of the Southwest [Oncideres putator], 7. Kornhuber, A. A scale insect as a forest pest on Robinia Pscndacacia L., Yerhandlun- gen, Vereins fur Natur- u. Heilkunde zu Presburg (n. F.), x.iSgg Krii- ger, L. Insektenwanderungen zwischen Deutschland und den Vereinig- ten Staaten von Nordamerika und ihre wirtschaftliche Bedeutung, Her- ausgegeben vom Entomologischen Yereine zu Stettin, 1899, Svo., pp. 174, viii. Lagerheim, G. Contributors to knowledge of galls of Jn>iif>enis foimnunis, 67, 2-3. Lampa, S. Report of the State Entomological In- stitute for 1898, figs, [in Swedish], 67, i. Id., Meves, ,1. The "Nonne" Lynia niria nionacha L., I pi. [in Swedish, separate articles], 67, 2-3. Libbertz, A. On blood pa* ,;tes and their transmission by blood- sucking insects, 6 pis., Be'richt cier Senckenbergischen naturforschenden 44 2 ENTOMOLOGICAL NEWS. [April, Gesellschaft, 1899. Frankfurt am Main. Lohmaun, H. The San Jose scale and its allies, 124.--Lounsbury, C. P. Fruit fly notes, Agricul- tural Journal, Cape Town, Jan. 4, 1900. Id. Two pine apple pests and some reflections on pests in general, figs., /. c., Jan. iS, 1900. Morgan, H. A. Ticks and Texas fever, 9 pis., Bulletin, Agric. Exper. Station of the Louisiana State College, etc., second series No. 58, Baton Rouge, La., 1899. Nuttall, G. H. F. Newer researches on the rule of mos- quitos in the distribution of malaria, Centralblatt fur Bakteriologie, Jena, Feb, 12-16, 1900. Keli, JL. Researches on American orchard scales, 1O4. Id. Scale insects on American fruit imported into Ger- many [translated abstract from the preceeding.] 7. Renter, E. A new competitor with the codlin moth ( Carpocapsa pomonella) [in Swedish], 67, i. Sjostedt, Y. [On economic entomological stations in the United States and Canada] [In Swedish], 67, 2-3 Sling'erland, M. V. The peach tree borer, figs., 99, No. 176, Dec. '99. Tepper, J. G. O. Notes on cockroaches in South Australia, 7. Van Slyke, L. L. Re- port of analyses of Paris green and other insecticides, Bulletin 165, New York Agric. Exper. Station, Geneva, N. Y., Dec. '99. Wilcox, E. V. Abstracts of recent publications, Experiment Station Record, xi, 5, U. S. Department of Agriculture, Washington, 1900. "Woldert, A. A pre- liminary investigation of the theory of the inoculation of malarial fever through the agency of mosquitoes, i pi., Journal American Medical Asso- ciation, Chicago, Feb. 3, 10, 1900. Numerous short "Notes from Cor- respondence," 7. ARACHNID A. Cambridge, F. O. P. Arachnida Araneidea,vol. ii, pp. Si-SS, pi. vi,* 15. Cambridge, O. P. Arachnida Araneidea, vol. i, pi. xxxiii., 15. Krrepelm, K. On the classification of the Soli- fugse, 2 pis.*, 1O4. Morgan, H. A. See Economic Entomology.- Thoii, P. C. C. On an interesting case of parasitism among the Hy- drachnidae, 44, 9, Dec. 23, '99. MYRIAPODA. Attems, C. Classification of the Polydesmida;, part i, ii pis.,* 33d. Verlioeff, C. W. On double males among Dip- lopods, figs., Zoologischer Anzeiger, Leipsic, Jan. 22, 1900. AP TERYGOTA. Plateau, F. [Report on award of prize to V. Willem's] "Anatomical and systematic researches on the insects of the group Apterygota," Bulletin, Classe des Sciences, Academic Royale de Belgique, 1899, No. 12, Brussels. Willem, V. A new type of Smin- thurid; Megalothorax, figs., 35, xliv, i, Jan. 30, 1900. ORTHOPTERA. Bordage, E. Regeneration of the tarsus and of the two anterior pairs of limbs in the Orthoptera saltatoria; On the ab- sence of regeneration in the posterior limbs of the Orthoptera saltatoria and its probable causes [both translated from French orig.], 11. Burr, M. On the geographical distribution of European Orthoptera, -I. Hunter, W. D. An investigation to determine whether Mclanopliis sprctus breeds permanently in the Turtle Mountains in North Dakota, 7. McNeill, T. The Orthopteran genus. Trimerotropis* Psyche, Cam- ENTOMOLOGICAL NEWS. 443 bridge, Mass., March, 1900. Id. Orcheliunnn, Serv., -4. Smith, H. M. Nocturnal flight of grasshoppers, 7. NEUROPTERA. Berg, C. The Mantispidae of the Argentine Republic [in Spanish], 6Oc. Brown, C. E. The balsam apple vine as an insect trap, 123. Kolbe, H. T. The species of the peculiar Neuropterous genus Nonopfera, Sitzungs Berichte, Gesellschaft der naturforschenden Freunde, Berlin, Jan. 16, 1900 Xeedliam, T. G. Nymphs of Northern Odonata still unknown, 4. Wasmanii, E. The guests of ants and termites [transl.J, 21. HEMIPTEKA. Berg, C. Hemipterological notes [in Spanish], 6Oc. Busek, A. [list of Coccidse] See the General Subject. Cau- dell, A. N. A new species of Sinea* 4. Cliampioii, G. C. Rhyn- chota Heteroptera, vol. n, pp. 289-304, pi. xvii,* 15. Cockerell, T. D. A. New insects from Arizona, and a new bee from Mexico ;* Note on the coccid genus Oudablis Signoret, 9. Id. Rhynchota Homoptera, vol. ii, pt. 1-33,* 15. Green, J. A. A new Western enemy of the Colorado potato beetle [Perillus clandits Say], 7. Haglund, C. J. E. Notes on Hemiptera collected in Chile and Argentina by Mr. P. Dusen, engineer [in Swedish], 67, i. Haudlirsch, A. How many stigmata are there in the Rhynchota? Figs., 44, 10, Jan. 19, 1900. Howard, L. O. The two most abundant Pulvinarias on maple, figs., 7. Kirkaldy, G. W. Notes on Jamaican Rhynchota, No. 2,* 9. Martin, J. O. A study of Hydrometra lineata, figs., 4. May, W. On the ventral shield of the Diaspinae ; On the larvae of some species of Aspidiotus, 1O4 Montgomery, T. H., Jr. Note on the genital organs of Zaitha, figs., American Naturalist, Boston, Feb., 1900. Tinsley, J. I>. Con- tributions to Coccidology, ii, 4. COLEOPTERA. Aurivillius, C. New or little known Coleop- tera Longicornia, figs., 67, 4. Bartlett-Calvert, G. Monografia de los Elateridos de Chile. Publicado en los "Anales de la Universidad.'' Santiago de Chile. Imprenta Cervantes, 1898. Stated on the title page to be extracted and translated into Castilian from the works of Candeze and other authors. Svo. 84 pp. [in Spanish]. Berg, C. On some Chileno- Argentine Anisomorphidse [in Spanish] ; The genus Rhyephenes Sclionh in the Argentine Republic [in Spanish], 6Oc Brenske, E. The Serica species of the World, monographically treated (cont.), 24. Chittendeii, F. H. Biologic observations on Harpalus pennsy/vaniciis DeG. ; A note on the cocklebur bill-bug \_Rhodobcenus ij-punctatus} ; The bronze apple tree weevil (Magdalis e&nescens Lee.) figs., 7. Also see Economic Entomology. Delfin, F. T. Data for a knowledge of the Coleoptera and Hymenoptera of the Department of Talcahuano, [In Spanish] Revista Chilena de Historia Natural, Valparaiso, Jan. 1900. Heller, Iv. M. On the synonymy of the Zygopidse, 41. Holnign'ii, N. To knowledge of the copulatory sac of the Elateridae, and a contribu- tion to the classification of this family; preliminary note, 67, 2-3. Horn, W. On two new species of the genus Tctracha from Ecuador, 41. 444 ENTOMOLOGICAL NEWS. [April, Lewis, G. On new species of Histeridae and notices of others,* 11. Oudemaiis, J. T\ De Nederlandsche Insecten. Aflevering 14. s'Grav- enhage Martinus NijhofF., 1899, pp. 641-712, Coleoptera (cont), figs., pp. 715-739, Hymenoptera, figs, [in Dutch]. Roeschke, H. Carabological notes, v. [some types in British collections], 41. DIPTERA. Bergman, A. See Economic Entomology. - Brauer, F. Contributions to the knowledge of the Muscaria schizo- metopa, 33s, 6, June, '98. Goquillett, D. W.* See Economic En- tomology. Ficalbi, E. Twenty species of Italian mosquitoes (Culicidae), classed and described, and indicated according to their chorological dis- tribution, figs. 68. Kellog-g, V. L. An extraordinary new maritime fly, figs.,* Biological Bulletin, i, 2, Boston, Jan., 1900. Mik, J. Dipter- ological miscellany, Wiener Entomologische Zeitschrift, xix, i, Jan. 31, 1900 Noe, G. Contributions to the study of the Culicidae, 68. Petri, L. The muscles of the wings of Diptera and of Hymenoptera, 3 pis., 68. Ricardo, G. Notes on the Pangoninae of the family Tabanidae in the British Museum collection (cont.), 11. Riibsaameii, E. H. How are cecidozoa prepared, 92, Feb. i. Speiser, P. On the Streblidse, pupiparous Diptera parasitic on bats, 2 pis., figs. Archiv fur Naturge- schichte Ixvi, i, i, Berlin, Dec., '99. vail der Wulp, F. M. Diptera, vol. ii, pp. 409-416,* 15. LEPIDOPTERA. Brown, C. E. See Economic Entomology.- Butler, A. G. Note on Cyan iris pseudargiolus of Boisduval and Le Conte, 4. Chapman, T. A. On the moult to pupa in Pterophorus, 9. Deriiehl, P. H. Swarming of the milkweed butterfly, Danais archippus ; On the occurrence of the hawk moth, Argens labruscce in Wisconsin, 123. Dodg'e, G. M. Pyrameis hnntcra, n. var. fulvia* 4. Druce, H. Lepidoptera Heterocera, vol. ii, pp. 569-592, 15. Dyar, H. G. Notes on some North American Yponomeutidee (cont.),* 4. Fischer, E Contributions to experimental Lepidopterology (cont.) pi., 92, Feb. i. F ring's, C. On the seasonal dimorphism of the species of Pieris oc- curring in Rheinland, Societas Entomologica, Zurich-Hottingen, Feb. i, 15, igjo. Fyles, T. W. Further observations upon Bombyx cunca Drury, etc., 4. Grote, A. R. Genealogical trees of butterflies, Pro- ceedings, American Philosophical Society, Philadelphia, xxxviii, No. 160, Dec., '99. Id. A new popular name for Clisioca/mpa dissfrui, 4. Mayer, A. G. On the mating instinct in moths, [from Psyche] 11. Moffat, J. A. Hydroecia strainentosa, Guen. i pi., 4 Pageii- stecher, A. The Lepidopterous fauna of the Bismarck Archipelago, ii part, the night moths, 2 col. pis. Zoologica, heft 29. i2ter Bd., Lieferung i and 2., Stuttgart, 1900. Rauterberg, F. Diurnal Lepidoptera of Milwaukee Co., Wis., 123. Rebel, H. Fossil Lepidoptera from the Miocene formation of Gabbro, i pi., 33s, heft 7, July, '98. Id. On recognition of the Lemoniidas as a separate family of Lepioptera, 41. Schultz, O. Phosphorescent light appearance on the antennae of Ast<-r- oscopus sp/iin.r Hufn. (cassinia Fabr.) 24. Stichel H. Oreogenes, a IQOO] ENTOMOLOGICAL NEWS. 445 new Neotropid genus, fig., 24. Weymer, G, Some new Neotropidae, i pi., 24. HYMENOPTERA. Aiiglas, J. Preliminary note on the internal metamorphoses of the wasp and the bee ; lyocytosis, 13, Jan. 27.- Anon. Bees and the knowledge of the weather, 84, Feb. i. von Bllttel-Reepen, H. Are bees "reflex machines?" Experimental con- tributions to the biology of the honey bee, Biologisches Centralblatt. Er- langen, Feb. 15, 1900. Cockerell, T. I). A. A new oak-gall from New- Mexico,* 4. Also* see Hemiptera. Delfiii, F. T. See Coleoptera. Forel, A. Hymenoptera, vol. iii, pp. 137-160 [Formicidae],* 15. Id. Ants collected by Her Royal Highness Princess Therese of Bavaria on a journey in South America, figs., 24. Hamlyii-Harris, R. Partheno- genesis and the part it plays in the development of the honey bee, 12.5, Jan. n, 18 Janet, C. Anatomy of the thorax of Mynnica rubra queen, figs., i pl.,Memoires Societe Zoologique de France, 1898. Id. Tegumen- tary glandular system of Myruiica rubra ; various observations on ants, figs., Paris, G. Carre et C. Naud Editeurs, 1898, 8vo. 30 pp. Id Sting of Myrtnica rubra; apparatus for closing the venom gland, figs., 3 pis. Paris, G. Carre et C. Naud, editeurs, 1898. 8vo. 27 pp. Koiiow, F. AV. Analytical tables to identify the hitherto described larvae of the Hy- menopterous suborder Chalastogastra, 92, July i. Krie'- saameii, E. H. See Diptera. Smith, J. B. The life of a digger bee, figs., Popular Science, New York, March, 1900. Terre, L. On muscular histolysis of the Hymenoptera, 13, Jan. 27. Id. On the histolysis of the adipose body in the bee, 13, Feb. 17. Wassmaim, E. See Neurop- tera. WE have received a specimen of Catocala innubcns var. scintillans from Coban, Guatemala. This gives quite a range to this species. HENRY SKINNER. MR. R. J. WEITH, of Elkhart, Indiana, has sent a specimen of Tabanns aniericanus and also the imago and pupa case of what we take to be the common house-moth. The larvae of the moth fed on the Tabanns and the imago emerged from it. We have also had museum specimens of Lepodoptera injured by the larvae of this moth and do not believe such injury is uncommon. Mr. \Veith has not observed such injury before in an experience of many years as a collector and would like any informa- tion on the subject. EDS. 446 ENTOMOLOGICAL NEWS. [April, Doings of Societies. The third meeting of the Harris Club was held at 35 Court Street, Boston, on Friday evening, January, 19, 1900. A formal Constitution was adopted, and officers were elected as follows : President, A. G. Weeks, Jr.; Vice Presidents, H. H. Newcomb and P. G. Bolster ; Secretary and Treasurer, W. L. W. Field. Communications dealing with Protective Coloration were presented by Messrs. E. B. Clapp, A. P. Hall and A. H. Clark, and were discussed at some length. Mr. H. H. New- comb mentioned a specimen of Citheronia scpulcralis from York, Maine, and Mr. W. F. Low told of the capture of the same species at electric light in Jamaica Plain, Mass. W. L. W. FIELD, Secretary. At the fourth meeting of the Harris Club, held at 35 Court Street, Boston, on the evening of February 16, several interest- ing communications were made. Mr. L/awrence Brooks showed an enormous cocoon of ^Ittaciis cccropia, which he had found attached to the lower part of a bush in a swamp. Mr. R. W. Denton remarked on the frequent occurrence of such inflated cocoons in similar situations ; he conjectured that they might have a greater capacity for resisting inundation than is pos- sessed by the usual form, though it would bediffcult to account for such an adaptation to extremely local conditions. Mr. W. L. W. Field hazarded the suggestion that an excessive supply of water might increase the production of silk, if not, indeed, the actual size of the larva. Mr. A. H. Kirkland told of the discovery of an egg-cluster of the Gypsy moth, coated with algae, on piling which was submerged in salt water at high tides. The eggs hatched when the proper time arrived. Apropos of Dr. May er's experiments with Attacus promethea, he briefly recounted his own investigations of the mating instinct in the Gypsy moth. The finding of two pupae in a single co- cooii of the Clisiocampa d/ssfn'a was also mentioned by Mr. Kirkland, and Mr. Brooks told of a like case of co-operative cocoon spinning by larvae of Ifalisdota car\'ic. Mr. Field remarked on the great variation observed from year to year in the insect fauna of New England, and the importance of a 1900] ENTOMOLOGICAL NEWS. 447 thorough study of the distribution of certain species. Mr. Denton exhibited some beautifully mounted specimens of pro- tectively colored L/epidoptera. W. L. W. FIELD, Secretary. The meeting for March of the Newark Ent. Society was held in Turn Hall. Meeting called to order by President Kemp. Mr. G. L/uccareni, of Boonton, N. J., was elected a member of the Society. Prof. Smith gave an interesting lecture on how to distinguish Noctuids from Bombycids and Micros from Tineids, etc., by the veins of the wings. WM. H. BROADWELL, Sec. A regular meeting of the Chicago Entomological Society was held Thursday evening, March, 15, 1900, at the John Crerur Library. Those present were Messrs. Heal}-, Bates, Hancock, McDade, Longley, Hills, Thiess, and Kwiat with President Westcott in the chair. Visitors present were Messrs. Rowley, Engl, Orbe and Prof, J. G. Needham. After the reading of the minutes, the Publication Committee made its report on the first issue of "Occasional Memoirs," which was just completed. Bills for same were unanimously approved and ordered paid. Moved and seconded that a price of thirty cents be charged for all copies sold. Carried. Moved that twenty-five reprints be ordered for the use of each con- tributor to the publication. Seconded and carried. Mr. Healy and Dr. Hancock were then appointed by the Chair to super- vise the work of distributing copies of the publication. Professor Needham then read the article written by him, which appears in the book, entitled, "Insect Drift on the Shore of Lake Michigan. ' ' He also complimented the Society on the excellent book, which forms the first issue of its "Occasional Memoirs. ' ' He was applauded at the close of his discourse and after some discussion on the subject of the paper the meeting adjourned at 9.30 P.M. A. KwiAT, Secretary. THE STUDENTS' ENTOMOLOGICAL ASSOCIATION. Although Philadelphia already had two entomological socie- ties, one the American Entomological Society, of world-wide repute, and the other, the Feldman Collecting Social, for the fostering of social interests, yet it became apparent that UK rr 44 ENTOMOLOGICAL NEWS. [April, was room for another society in which the younger entomologists might associate themselves for study. The object was to form a society in w^hich those who wished could make together a systematic study of their chosen orders of insects. To further this plan the Society was divided up into sections so that any two or more persons interested in a common branch of ento- mology could form a section for the study of that branch. Through the kindness of the Academy of Natural Sciences the Association was permitted to meet in their building, and at the organization meeting, Jan. 30, 1900, seven persons were present. At the second meeting scientific work was begun, sections being formed in Coleoptera, Hemiptera, L,epidoptera and Diptera. Since then a meeting has been held every Tues- day evening and in all deep interest in the work on hand has been shown. Several corresponding members have been elected in various parts of the United States, and it has been thought, that in many to\vns and cities similar societies might be formed, which by uniting with the Students Entomological Association could carry on scientific correspondence and exchange with it, and with each other. We, therefore, ask everybod}- to consider the possibility of forming a chapter in their town or city. Three or more per- sons wall be sufficient. No dues will be requried, but chapters will be expected to send a report of the work done at least once in six months, also to subscribe for the Proceedings of the Association in order that we may keep in touch with each other. It is our desire to make the Association a permanent success, and every prospect seems to be that we will. J. CHESTER BRADLEY, Recording Sccniary. At the February meeting of the Feldman Collecting Social, held at the residence of Mr. H. \V. Wenzel, 1523 S. i^th Street, twelve persons were present. Prof. Smith exhibited sketches of the apple plant louse, . //>///\ mail. He had stocked certain trees with these insects for ex- perimental purposes, and from a badly infested tree he had gathered specimens continuously through 1898, and it was found on examination of the material that at least seven gene- igoo] ENTOMOLOGICAL NEWS. 449 rations of one species were represented. The heretofore called .Ip/i/'s malt is not that species, and the name should be applied to the one now under observation. The characters of the larva were described, the insect going through four moults prior to maturity. The larvae have at first a 3-jointed antennae, which are enforced by an additional joint at the third moult. Two series, winged and wingless, are found in the mature insects, the antennae of each series showing peculiarities. The young of these two series show quite distinctive characteristics. Mr. P. Laurent showed 102 species of Lepidoptera collected by him recently in the Wasatch Mountains, Utah, and Manitou, Colorado. Referring to the Argynnids, he stated that each of the several species represented were peculiar to different canons in these Mountains. Specimens of Papilio rutilus from the head of Big Cottoiiwoocl Canon are much smaller than the typical form. A specimen of Admctoi'is shown is probably new. Mr. H. W. Wenzel exhibited specimens of Holoparamcsus ra^ns(f, Cartodere costulata, Corticaria scrrata, Monotone quad- rifoveolata^Cryptophagus croccns, and JMycctaca hirta, all of which had been captured in the cellar of his house. Prof. Smith stated he had received from the author species of Argynnis cccndcsccns Holland, described as a variety of A. notocris, and he had found on dissection of the genitalia that the so-called variety is an apparently distinct species. Dr. Skinner stated that he could find no specific differences in the drawings of the genitalia of males of Colias philodicc and C. eiirvf/icu\ which had been made by Prof. Smith from a series of both species. Prof. Smith stated that he had received the abdomens only of these two insects without any indication of the species to which they belonged, and in his opinion there were two distinct species among them, although an intermediate series was found which is somewhat puzzling, but he believed the differences shown by this series may be due to the different method by which .some of the specimens were prepared for microscopic exami- nation. The subject was further discussed by Messrs. Smith and Skinner. Mr. William Reinick and Mr. S. Harbeck were elected members of the Social. WILLIAM J. Fox, 450 ENTOMOLOGICAL NEWS. [April, OBITUARY. Hugo Soltau died last Summer in Europe, after having left this country in May on account of failing health. He was born at Elmshorn, in the North German Province of Holstein, forty-four years ago, and never married. At the age of eighteen he came to America and had been for many years past in the employ of the drug house of Lehn & Fink, of New York, as traveling salesman. This occupation gave the opportunity of meeting entomologists and making collections in various parts of the country, especially in the South. He went as far west as Salt Lake and was well known to collectors in most of the larger cities and town of the Mississippi Valley and the Eastern States. Mr. Soltau was a man of remarkable enthusiasm and pos- sessed of much personal magnetism. The long enforced ab- scenc from his collections interfered with the acquisition of much technical knowledge of classification, but as a collector he had few equals. To his industry and skill science owes many a hitherto undiscovered species and the recapture of others which had been for years unknown except as relics of some historic cabinet. Entomology has lost one of her most faithful followers, and many of those who remain will long miss his visits and the inspiration of his ardent interest. H. F. W. Andrew Bolter, probably the oldest, and one of the best- known entomologists in the West, died on March iSth. For forty-five years he was a resident of Chicago and was regarded as a high local authority. Mr. Bolter contributed no books to scientific literature. He frequently, however, in response to requests for information from instructors and students of insect life, wrote lengthy let- ters on various phases of the subject, and his reputation for practical knowledge was widespread. He was a member of the Academy of Science in Chicago, New York Entomological Society and a corresponding member of the American Ento- mological Society. From boyhood until a few years before his death, at So years of age, Mr. Bolter's chief pursuit outside of business hours was the collection of injects. His collection of beetles, butterflies and other insects of innumerable kinds, said to be one of the most complete private collections in the world, will probably go to the University 'of Illinois. Mr. Bolter, who was born in Sigmeringen, left Germany be- cause the Government resented his supposed connection with h e revolution in 1848. IQOO] ENTOMOLOGICAL NEWS. 451 Alfred F. Chatfield died at his home in Lynn, Mass., Feb. 6, in his 84th year. ' ' A native of England, he came to Albany when still a young man, and at first worked at the printer's trade, being employed for a number of years as a compos- itor on the Albany Transcript, in its day one of the famous papers of the capital. At the same time Mr. Chatfield carried on his studies in entomology and horticulture, a love of which he acquired in his native country. Nearly half a century ago he acquired property on what is now Chestnut Street, where he erected greenhouses, which he enlarged from time to time and conducted successfully for many years. The Chatfield nurse- ries are still very well remembered by most of the old and middle-aged residents of Albany. He was for many years an officer of the New York Agricultural Society and an active promoter and patron of the annual Stite fairs. He was a man of many accomplishments, possessed a companionable and kindly nature, and made many friends, who will learn of his departure with sincere regret. Mr. John A. Dakin, an enthusiastic devotee and collector of Lepidoptera, died, after an illness of six days of spasmodic colic, at his home in Syracuse, N. Y., February 21, 1900, at the age of 48 years. In 1893, Mr. Dakin became interested in the study of Lepidoptera, which he persued until the time of his death, possessing then one of the largest collections of N. A. Lepidoptera in this section. By his death the entomo- logical world loses a valuable and able devotee. He was a charter member and one of the founders of Onondaga Acad- emy of Science and an associate member of A. O. U., and he will be mourned by a large circle of friends. Prof. F. L. Harvey. A little less than two years ago, the little band of students of the American Odonata had to mourn the death of Prof. D. S. Kellicott. Within a few days they have suffered another great loss in the person of Prof. F. L. Harvey, who died at Orono, Maine, on the morning of Tues day, March 6, 1900. Francis Leroy Harvey was born near Ithaca, N. Y., in 1850. His early education was received in the city schools of Ithaca. Later his parents moved to Independence, Iowa. He entered the Iowa Agricultural College in 1868, and was graduated with the degree B. S., in 1872. In 1*74, he filled the chair of natural science in Humboldt College, Iowa, and in the same year took a post graduate course in botany at his alma mater. The Summer of 1877 he devoted to the Harvard Summer 45 2 ENTOMOLOGICAL NEWS. [April, course in mineralog}* and geology. Frorii 1875 to iSSi he filled the chair of theoretical and applied chemistry in the Ar- kansas Industrial University, and from 1881 to 1885 the chair of biology, mineralogy and geology in the same institution. He was in charge of Dr. A. E. Foote's natural history and mineral establishment in Philadelphia in 1885 and 1886. He went to Maine in the latter year to fill the chair of natural his- tory at the University of Maine at Orono, and he held that po- sition until his death. In addition, he was botanist and ento- mologist to the Maine State Experiment Station connected with the University. In 1890 the Arkansas Industrial University conferred the degree of Ph. D. upon him. "At the University of Maine he was recognized as a hard and faithful worker along the lines of science, and as an in- structor he was well liked and had the esteem of all the stu- dents coming under his department. As a resident of Orono he \vas looked up to as one of the leading men of the town, and many were his friends among the townspeople." His untimely decease was the result of ovenvork, leading to nervous debility and melancholia. He is survived by a widow and five children, to whom we tender our deep sympathy. His work on the Odonata began in 1890, since which time he carefully explored various parts of Maine in the study of its Odonate fauna. He made many interesting discoveries of species hitherto rare or unknown in that region, such as Ciomphns nirriits and Scudderi, Neurocordulia vamaskanensis^ Somatochlora septentrionalis and the new Ophiogomphus anouut- lus. The last two months of his life, when he could work, were devoted to preparing the results of his collecting trips of 1 899 for publication. These manuscripts he committed to our charge three days before his death. The Thysanura and Collembola of Maine had also received much attention from him, and among them he had discovered a number of new species. His writings on Economic Entomology were published chiefly in the Annual Reports of the Maine State College Experiment Station. The most extensive and important of these deals with the Apple Maggot ( Trypeta pomonella) and appeared in 1889. We are informed that he also published on fossil and recent plants, on forestry and allied subjects. P. P. CALVERT. ENT. NEWS, Vol. XI. PI. IX. 1,2. ENALLAGMA ANNA. 5,9,10. ENALLAGMA CALVERTI. 3, 7. ENALLAGMA ANNEXUM. 8, 12, 14. SYMPETRUM SCOTICUM. 4,6. ENALLAGMA PR/EVARUM. 13. SYMPETRUM MADIDUM. 11, 1U. SOMATOCHLORA ELONGATA, VAR. MINOR. ENTOMOLOGCIAL NEWS AND PROCEEDINGS OF THE ENTOMOLOGICAL SECTION AC \DEMY OF NATURAL SCIENCES, PHILADELPHIA. VOL. XI. MAY, 1900. No. 5. CONTENTS: Williamson Wyoming Dragonffies... 453 Fall Coleoptera from Arctic Alaska 459 Foster Rearing Larvae 461 Baker Notes on Clastoptera 463 Smith Anthocliaris Genutia 465 Wolcott Coleoptera of Central 111 468 Johnson New Peach Mite 471 Dodge Catocala 472 Editorial 473 Entomological Literature 475 Notes and News 481 Doings of Societies 482 Notes on a Few Wyoming Dragonflies. (ORDER ODONATA.) By E. B. WILLIAMSON. According to Banks' Catalogue one species of Odonata, Libcllula qnadrimacnlata Linne, has been reported for Wyo- ming. Thirteen other species have been recorded for the Yel- lowstone. From July 19 till August 6, 1899, the writer, a member of the Wyoming Fossil Fields Expedition, observed the species considered below. Others were seen but not taken. Doubtless Wyoming will be found to be less favored odonato- logically than man)- of the other States ; the number of species to be recorded will be small when compared with the number now known to live in New York, Pennsylvania, Georgia, Ohio, and other localities. i. Lestes umjiiiculatus Hagen. L,aramie, July 19 ; Medicine Bow, July 20 ; Sheep Creek, Albany Co., July 23; Ljttle Medicine, Carbon Co., July 30. A common species at all points. The males have the superior appendages at base dorsally and externally more or less pale yellow. 454 ENTOMOLOGICAL NEWS. [May, 2. Lestes uncatns Kirby. Laramie, July 19; Medicine Bow, July 20; Sheep Creek, Albany Co., July 23 ; Little Medicine, Carbon Co., July 30. Both sexes taken at all points where the species was observed. 3. Amphiagrion saucium Burm. Sheep Creek, Albany Co., July 23, taken along a small trib- utary, 3 $ i 9 . Laramie, July 19, two . Abdomen $ 19, 9 19-21 ; hindwing 15, 9 15-18 mm. These Wyoming specimens have certain differences from the typical form robustness, darker colors and villose thorax which are more marked than in any other individuals exam- ined, even from Montana and Washington. The form of the male appendages will not serve to separate them ; a female from Washington is indistinguishable from a Wyoming speci- men. Judging from my material the variation seems to run from the typical Eastern saucium to specimens from Washing- ton, then Montana, and finally the Wyoming forms. These last agree so w 7 ell with Pyrrhosoma abbreviatum Selys, that his name must be considered a synonym of saucium* 4 Enallagma annexum Hagen. (PI. IX, figs. 3, 7). Medicine Bow, July 20 ; Sheep Creek, Albany Co., July 23 and August 6. When these notes were prepared I had not separated this species from the next, including both under the name culvert i. I have since been able to distinguish the two by the aid of a drawing of the abdominal appendages of the male in profile of each species, which Dr. Calvert sent me, together with a speci- men of each species, aniic.i'iiin from Seattle, Washington, June 14, 1894, an d calrcrti from Olympia, Washington, July 9, 1893. When sending this material Dr. Calvert raised the question of the distinctness of annc.\nm and calvcrti. So far as the Wyom- ing material goes there seem to be no intermediate forms. A single male of annexum from Pasadena, California, July 7, 1899, does not differ from Wyoming specimens of the same species. Between the two species no color differences are * I have studied some of these Wyoming specimens, as well as those from Montana, Washington, and also Colorado, and hold the same opinion as to the specific identity of abbreviatum and saucium. P. P. Calvert. i goo] ENTOMOLOGICAL NEWS. 455 discernible, and the description of E. calvcrti female, as given below, will serve as well for the female of annex urn. The amount of black 011 abdominal segment 10 of the males varies considerably in both species. Left superior abdominal appendage of (a) . annexum $ , Sheep Creek, Aug. 6, 1899, and (b) E. calverti rf, same place and date. Both are interno-latero-dorsal views. The extent of black on the abdominal appendages seems to depend on age. Teneral individuals of anncxum have the appendages entirely pale, excepting the tip of the lower branch of the superiors and the tip of the inferiors. Older individuals have the append- ages entirely black, excepting the base and lower part of the inferiors. In profile the out- line of the superiors is often suggestive of E. gcminatum Kellicott or E. divagan-s Selys. Annexum was the most abundant Enallagma observed. 5. Enallagma calverti Morse. (PI. IX, figs. 5, 9, 10). Ab. c? 23-26, 9 24-26; h. w. $ 19-21, 9 20. Medicine Bow, July 20 ; Sheep Creek, Albany Co., July 23 and August 6. Several pairs were taken and in every case the female was greenish in color. Bright blue males were taken singly. They are older and possibly spent individuals. This applies as well to annc.vitm. 9- Greenish or bright blue ; head and thorax marked with black, as in the male ; posterior border of prothorax rounded, entire. First ab- dominal segment black at base ; dorsum of 2-10 black, pale as follows : basal rings on 3-7, interrupted on 3 by the narrowed dorsal stripe, 8 en- tirely pale, excepting a median cordate spot, point anterior, or this spot may extend backward to the apex and on to the sides of the segment, the point being produced anteriorly to the base ; the black dorsal stripe narrows gradually on 9 and 10 to the apex of 10. 6. Enallagma civile Hagen. Sheep Creek, Albany Co., July 23, 2 $ $ . 7. Enallagma anna n. sp. (PI. IX, figs, i, 2). Ab. J 1 26, $ 25 ; h. w. $ 20, 9 21. cf Head yellowish below ; above blue ; vertex and frons above black ; first joint of antennas blue ; postocular spots connected ; rear of head 456 ENTOMOLOGICAL NEWS. [May r pale bluish. Prothorax black, blue as follows ; a transverse stripe cov_ ering the anterior half of the first lobe, a cuneiform spot on either side and the sides of the middle lobe, and narrowly on the posterior border, which is entire, flattened above. Thorax with the following black : a mid-dorsal stripe, a humeral stripe, wider below, and a line on the upper third or fourth of the second suture. Abdomen with the following black : base of i ; an orbicular apical spot and a very narrow apical ring on 2 ;. the dorsal spot and apical ring on each of 3-7 connected ; dorsum of 3. with the apical half or third ; 4 with the apical half or three-fifths, nar- rowed anteriorly ; 5 with the apical three-fifths or two-thirds, narrowed anteriorly, but wider than the corresponding part of 4 ; 6 with the apical two-thirds or three-fourths, but little narrowed anteriorly ; 7 entirely, ex- cepting a blue basal ring, the black of uniform width ; 10 entirely. Legs pale bluish, femora with a black line on the dorsal surface, tibiae with a black line on the anterior surface. Pterostigma black ; 3 antenodal cells. Superior appendages in profile about as long as 10, bifid, the lower branch short, extending posteriorly scarcely one-third the length of the appendage, its apex directed ventrally, internally and slightly anteriorly ; the upper branch is cylindrical, little curved till in the apical third, which turns inward and downward ; between the two branches on the inner sur- face is a pale tubercle which extends posteriorly beyond the lower branch. Inferiors about three-fifths as long as the superiors, directed upward and inward. ?. Head and thorax similar to the male ; mid-dorsal thoracic carina pale ; posterior border of the prothorax with a low median elevation and a smaller one on either side ; the lateral elevations are black, con- tinuous with the black of the middle lobe, the remainder of the border pale. Abdomen with dorsum of 2-10 black, 10 very narrowly ; sides and basal rings yellow or greenish. Sheep Creek, Albany Co., July 23, 1899, 8 $ $ , 3 99. Named for Miss Anna Tribolet. Mr. Hiue writes me that specimens of this species, from Arizona, are in the Kellicott Collection tinder the name pnc- -carum. In a specimen of preeranon from Mexico, collected by Mr. and Mrs. Beam (PI. IX, figs. 4, 6), there is no pale tubercle, the appendages are shorter and less conspicuous, the lower branch of the superiors is wider and longer, with the apex directed posteriorly, and not at all anteriorly, as in an net the inferiors are slenderer and, when compared with the su- periors, relatively longer. Dr. Calvert says that the differ- ences here indicated between prtcvarnm and anna are shown by a comparison of a type of prccrarnni and specimens of the Wyoming species which I sent him. Moreover, specimens 1 900] ENTOMOLOGICAL NEWS. 457 from New Mexico differ from pm-carum in another direction. Anna stands between civile and pr&varum. From civile it may be recognized at once by the reduced tubercle and lower branch of the superiors. 8. Opb.iogompb.us severus Hagen. At Medicine Bow this species was transforming by dozens along the banks of the Medicine Bow River. The species was also very common, both as tenerals and as full)' matured indi- viduals, along Sheep Creek. In the male the two branches of the inferior abdominal appendage are pressed together in their apical half. Medicine Bow, July 20 ; Sheep Creek, Albany Co., July 23. 9. Somatochlora elongata Scud., var. minor Calvert. (PI. IX, figs, ir, ii a). Ab. $ 32 mm.; h. w. $ 34; pter. 2.75 (2. 2.15 in the types). Sheep Creek, Albany Co., Aug. 6, 2 $ $ . One of these was compared by Dr. Calvert with his types and identified in this way. The following differences from his original description (Ent. News, ix, p. 87, April, 1898) may be noted : cf. Postclypeus (nasus) and vertex black ; mesepimeron and metepi- meron each with a median oblong yellow or whitish spot. 10. Libellula quadrimaculata Linne". L/aramie, July 19, one 9 11. Sympetrum rubicundulum Say. Laramie, July 19 ; Medicine Bow, July 20 ; Sheep Creek, Albany Co., July 23 and August 6 ; Little Medicine, Carbon Co., July 30. A very abundant species wherever observed. 12. Sympetrum scoticum Donovan. (PI. IX, figs. 12, 14). Ab. $ 22, $ 21 J h. W. J\ 9 2 5 . c5\ Labium yellow with a median black stripe ; labrum dark brown ; clypeus and irons green ; the frons above and extending on to the front more or less tinged with brown, black before the vesicle extending to and a short distance around the eyes in front ; vesicle and occiput red- dish brown ; rear of head yellow, each side with three black spots or lines. First two lobes of the prothorax marked with bright yellow and black ; hind lobe orange, deeply bilobed. Thorax heavily clothed with white or yellowish tinged pile ; above bright yellowish brown extending 458 ENTOMOLOGICAL NEWS. [May, to the humeral suture, which is broadly black, interrupted at the middle ; sides of thorax bright yellow with black stripes, varying greatly in dif- ferent individuals. The male figured has the black markings more de- veloped than has any of the other three specimens taken. Abdomen yellowish or reddish, obscure markings above on 1-3 and posteriorly ; 9 with a mid-dorsal black spot ; 2 with a lateral black spot ; an inferior lateral stripe on 3-10. Coxae and trochanters yellow ; legs black. Wings hyaline, pterostigma brown, paler ventrally. (j\ Similar ; frons without brown or with less than in the male. Ab- dominal segments 8 and 9 narrowly black above. Wings orange at base, the color scarcely or not reaching the first antecubital. Sheep Creek, Albany Co., August 6, 2 $ $ , 2 99. One of the males has two cross nervures in the lower basal cell of all four wings. Dr. Calvert has examined a specimen of each sex, and I am indebted to him for the identification of the species. 13. Sympetrum madidum Hagen. (PI. IX, fig. 13). Ab. cf 26 ; h. w. tf 28. Sheep Creek, Albany Co., July 23. 14. Sympetrum corruptum Hagen. Little Medicine, Carbon Co., July 30, one 9 . EXPLANATION OF PLATE. Figs, i, 2. Enallagma anna n. sp., male abdominal appendages, i dor- sal, 2 profile view. Sheep Creek, July 23. F'gs. 3, 7. E. annexum Hagen, id., profiles. Sheep Creek. 3 July 23, 7 August 6. Figs. 4, 6. E. prcsvarum Hagen, id., 4 dorsal view, 6 profile. Queretanx Mex., 5900 feet, Dec. 12, 1898. Figs. 5, 9, 10. E. Calverti Morse, id., 5 dorsal view, 9, 10 profiles. Sheep Creek, August 6. Figs. 8, 12, 14. Sympetrum scoticum Donov., male, 8 profile of abdomi- nal appendages, 12 color pattern of right side of thorax, 14 pro- file of genitalia, also hamule seen from in front. Sheep Creek, August 6. Fig. ii. Somatochlora elongata Scud. var. minor Calvert, male, profile of abdominal appendages, showing also the tip of the left superior appendage; na ventral view of inferior appendage. Sheep Creek, August 6. Fig. 13. Sympetrum madidum Hag., male, genitalia seen obliquely from beneath and in front. Sheep Creek, July 23. I goo] ENTOMOLOGICAL NEWS. 459 List of a Small Collection of Coleoptera from Arctic Alaska. By H. C. FALL, Pasadena, Cal. In his Catalogue of the Coleoptera of Alaska the author, the late Dr. John Hamilton, remarks that " there is no record of any named species of coleoptera having been taken in North America, within the Arctic Circle, except Qncdius fulg idus at Discovery Bay beyond the 82 of latitude." In view of this fact the following list of a small collection of beetles, made for the most part in Arctic Alaska, will be of interest : In the early summer of 1898 a party of gold seekers left South California for Kotzebue Sound. They spent the fol- lowing winter at a point some three hundred miles up the Kowak River (latitude 67 30') and arrived home in Novem- ber, 1899, after spending some time at Cape Nome a little to the south of Behring Strait on the way back. My ornithological friend Mr. Grinnell, of Pasadena, was a member of the party, and it is to his kindness that we are indebted for the opportunity of making a few additions to Dr. Hamilton's list of one. Mr. Grinnell does not hesitate to assert that, next to gold, beetles are about the scarcest things to be found in Arctic regions. This is probably not very wide of the mark, still, beetles are alwa} r s scarcer with ornithologists than with en- tomologists, and we who seek the smaller game cannot help feeling that had we been there well, we should have needed another box. Altogether the collection contains thirteen species and about fifty specimens, and these, so far as it is possible to identify them at the present writing, are as follows : Garabus truncalicollis Fisch. i $ , Cape Nome, July 27. Carabus chamissonis Fisch. One pair ( expensive, bulky, and newly-hatched larvae are too easily lost in it. Leaves of most plants will keep fresh for days in a tightly- closed jelly tumbler or tin box, but the atmosphere in a tightly- closed receptacle soon becomes foul, and larvae thus confined are prone to disorders of the alimentary canal. Leaves placed in boxes or jars not airtight soon wither, so that the larvae reject them. Leaves or twigs placed with their stems in a bottle of water will keep fresh from a day to a week, according to the nature of the foliage, and if the bottle be placed in a well-aired box some of the important requirements are met, but larvae, espe- cially when small, have a way of dropping off their food leaves, and they are then very easily lost in a large breeding box. The smooth sides of a glass bottle effectually prevent their return to their food, even if the}- knew the way. The leaves and the bottle of water are good, but they should be so arranged that the larvae cannot get lost and can easily return to their food if they fall from it. These conditions are all met by the apparatus described below, which has the merits also of simplicity and cheapness. Procure a tin dish about four inches in diameter and about as deep (an empty tomato can does very well, if one-third of its upper end is cut off ) ; an ordinary cylindrical Welsbach gas chimney three and a half inches in diameter and four and one-half inches high ; a small bottle three or four inches high, 462 ENTOMOLOGICAL NEWS. [May, and some gauze. Place the bottle in the center of the dish and fill around it with clean earth nearly to the level of the top of the bottle. This holds the bottle in place and furnishes natural conditions for the larvae which pupate upon or beneath the sur- face of the ground. The bottle should be filled with water, the food leaves placed with their stems in it and the gas chimney set over them, resting upon the earth in the dish, the upper end being closed by a removable cover of gauze attached to a rim of pasteboard, which can be very quickly and easily con- trived. For the sake of cleanliness it is well to cover the earth in the dish with a piece of white blotting or other paper, which can be changed as often as necessary until larvae mature, when the earth should be left accessible to species which pupate beneath the surface. A little care in arranging the food leaves so that one or more are in contact with the bottom of the cage will insure the speedy return of any larva which drops off. The writer bred a number of species from eggs with this style of apparatus the past season with very small percentage of loss. Large species can, of course, only be cared for in these cages in their earlier stages, and a larger house, upon the same principle, can be provided by substituting a box for the tomato can, a larger bottle and a cage made of three sheets of glass eight by twelve or ten by twelve inches. The three glasses are placed on end, with edges joining so as to form a hollow prism, and bound together by a few strands of fine wire wrapped around the prism at top and bottom. A cover of gauze and pasteboard can easily be made. With this larger cage the largest bombycids can be successfully reared if too many be not placed together. A further advantage of the apparatus described above is that the larvae are all the time in plain view without opening the cage. The neck of the bottle of water should always be closed by a tuft of cotton if the leaf stems do not fully close it. The cages should be placed where there is plenty of light and air, but not in direct sunlight. ENTOMOLOGICAL NEWS. 463 Notes on Clastoptera (Cercopidae.) By C. F. BAKER, Auburn, Alabama. Clastoptera lineaticollis Stal. (= Clastoptera delicata Uhl. )^| I think the above indicated synomymy will be verified by an ex- amination of the types. Stal's name will take precedence. Stal says distinctly of the thorax in lineaticollis, ' ' L,ineis pluri- bus transversis fuscis. ' ' In spite of this Mr. Ball has referred it to obtusa (see la. Acad. Sci., Vol. III. ), even the western form of which never has more than two fuscous bands, while the Californian form under the name lineaticollis in his scheme is given as having the " pronotum entirely black." Clastoptera binotata (Ball.) Mr. Ball has merged this manu- script species of Uhler's in delicata. I regard it as a good species. Among other things the' pronotum in binotata is opaque and broadly, shallowly wrinkled, in delicata (lineati- collis) it is shining and nearly smooth. Binotata is further distinguished by the coarser sculpturing of the clavus. A variety of binotata occurs in California, having a greater ex- tent of light coloring along the costa and a transverse light band across lower part of face. According to recognized usage in zoological nomenclature Mr. Ball's " subsp. I. lineata " of delicata should be known as delicata. However, with the removal of binotata, there will be no necessity for the use of any name in this connection. A similar state of affairs exists in connection with Mr. Ball's varieties of protcus. He mentions the fact that saint-cyri Prov. belongs to his " subspecies I," and yet applies the name Jiava to that subspecies. At the same time it is impossible that Fitch's varietal names should be utterly disregarded. Mr. Ball rearranges the known varieties to conform with his own ideas of their proper limits. This is entirely legitimate. But even in this new arrangement many of the forms must be identical with those studied by Fitch, and in these cases Fitch's names must be used. Clastoptera osborni G. & B. This species appears in Mr. Ball's arrangement as a "subspecies" of obtusa, \vith pint and testacea as varieties. The pronotum in obtusa is shining and with about nineteen or twenty distinct, even wrinkles. 464 ENTOMOLOGICAL NEWS. [May, which rarely anastomose ; in the type of osborni the pronotum is opaque, the wrinkles about twenty-eight, much finer and. more indistinct than in obtiisa, and irregular freely anasto- mosing. The body is narrower than in osborni and the propor- tions of the clavus are different. The ocelli in obtnsa are larger and nearer the front edge of vertex. Very light-col- ored specimens of obtusa occur, but these differ from osborni in the same manner. Mr. Ball's "Subspecies III' will be- come subspecies testacea (Fh.) Clastoptera bimaculata n. sp. 9 Length 3 mm. Of the size and with the ground color of a small pale C. xanthoccphala. Pronotum shining, with numerous fine, veiy faint wrinkles, which are straight and anastomose but little. Scutel coarsely scabrous. Clavus finely,. evenly punctured. Inner discoidal, cell much larger than outer. Anterior half of pronotum and a large spot extending across middle of clavus and encroaching on corium, light yellow. Elytral callosities black. Face with a dark transverse shading across middle and about six dark arcs on either side of front above. Mesosternum black ; all else below, excepting black tibial spines and two 3'ellow annuli on fore tibae, same as ground color above. Described from a single female taken near Vera Cruz, Mexico, by Rev. H. Th. Heyde. This distinctly marked little form pre- sents structural characters which will not admit it to any of our northern species. It may be a near relative of Uhler's Cuban stolida. Calopteryx angustipennis Selys. (note bottom p. 199, ENT. NEWS, Sept., 1899, P. P. Calvert). Two males of this species were sent to Mr. VV. F. Kirby, British Museum (Natural History). Mr. Kirby says "We have only a single specimen, with a broken abdomen, and the size is just about the same as your two specimens (Selys, Syn. Calop., gives the ab- domen of this specimen as " environ 55 mm." Hagen, Psyche, V, p. 244, gives 56 mm. Ohio and Pennsylvania specimens measure about 46 mm.). It is of a uniform green, whereas your specimens are much bronzed, especially on the vertex and prothorax. Otherwise I see no important differences. I thought I might have found some in the neuration, but there seems nothing tangible, especially as the neuration of your two specimens varies." A female (abdomen not perfect) was sent to Mr. Henshaw, Museum Comparative Zoology. Mr. Henshaw writes: "I have compared your 9 Calopteryx angustipennis with the two in the Hagen collection without finding any specific differences. In breadth of wing your specimen is intermediate between the Berlin specimen and the one from Bee Spring, Ky." E. B. WILLIAMSON. 1900] ENTOMOLOGICAL NEWS. 465 Anthocharis Genutia Fabr. By ELLISON A. SMYTH, JR. Anthocharis gcmttia is a regular early Spring butterfly here, near Blacksburg, Va., on the top of the Alleghanies. I find them on the wooded open hillsides bordering ravines, and the cedar- covered, rock}- ridges, about a mile east of the College. The eggs are laid on Dentaria laciniata, which seems their only food plant in this region. I have followed carefully a female and collected the eggs as they were deposited on the plants. My captures have generally been made on the wing ; the flight is weak and uncertain, but when alarmed they manage to give the pursurer a race before capture is possible. They fly only a few feet above the ground, and generally start down hill, over rocks and through tangle when pursued, but seldom tak- ing to the open hill top. Genutia is on the wing in mid April and continues emerging until about the ist of May, by which time well-grown larva can be found upon the tooth- wort (Doi- taria ladniata). The fly is very regular in its appearance ; April i6th is the earliest, and April 2oth the latest date of their first appearance, according to my records for a number of years. Fresh exam- ples continue appearing for a week or more ; May 2nd is the last date that I have seen any of the first brood on the wing. The second Spring brood is on the wing as early as May 26th, and seems to fly only about a week ; it is not as numerous as the first brood. I have never seen the fly on the wing in the late Summer or Fall, though Dr. Holland speaks of a Fall brood in North Carolina. The following abridged extracts from my note book for a number of years, will show dates of appearance and relative- abundance of flies and eggs of gcnutia : April 1 6th. Caught one genutia first of the season. April 1 7th. Caught one and two 9 9 genutia. April 1 8th. Saw three male gcnutia and caught two, on top of ravine in open woods, with patches of red cedar here and there ; trees not in leaf yet. Ccrcis in bloom, also Dentaria, ffepatica, Sanguinaria, Trillium and wild cherry. April i gth. A rainy day and chilly. Searched all the 4.66 ENTOMOLOGICAL NEWS. [May, patches of Dentaria in the neighborhood along the ridge and found six eggs of genutia. Came across a male and female genutia on a flowering raceme of Dentaria. They were rest- ing on the flowers and below the cluster, close to each other, wings closed, fore wings drawn far within and overlapped by hind wings, and antennae touching the fore costae. I took them with the cyanide jar. April 2oth. Caught two ma\& genutia. April 2 2nd. Warm and bright ; saw twenty-one and caught nineteen genutia, two females and seventeen males. I pursued one female, which flew up hill and took to the open fields ; when close to her, she disappeared behind a tuft of small shrubs, nor could I start her again, though I stirred and beat the bushes thoroughly. I took one male at rest and feeding upon Dentaria flowers, the wings were held open, nearly at right angles. April 26th. Found eleven eggs. April 27th. Caught two males and two female genutia; one of the latter when pursued flew up hill into the open, and was caught after a smart race. The males generally fly down hill when pursued, and I find a cautious approach while they are idly hovering is better than a headlong rush. They must be taken on the wing, however, as they seldom light. April 28th. Took two female genutia and found four eggs. April 29th. Caught five males and two female genutia. May ist. Found about sixty eggs of genutia and Dentaria ; in some cases, three eggs on one plant ; on a number of plants I found two eggs, though one egg to a plant was the rule. In one case the egg was on a sepal, in another, on the underside of a withered petal which dropped as the plant was touched ; in a few cases the eggs was on the flower pedicel, but usually on the rachis at the base of the pedicel. May 2nd. Took two male genutia. These were the last seen of the first brood ; there was then a gap, as fas & genutia was concerned, until - May 26th. Saw \.vfO genutia, and caught one, a fresh female. May 27th. Saw one genutia, in open woods on the oppo- site side of the College and about three miles from the ridge to ENTOMOLOGICAL NEWS. 467 the east where the others were caught. There is a line of hills to the west and about three miles from the college, where they are also found, and this one had probably come from that side. May 28th. Took a fresh male gf nut/a in my garden, feeding on candy tuft blossoms. This is the only one seen by me in cultivated grounds. June i st. Saw eight genutias, five of which, all freshly emerged males, were caught. My notes show that the majority of the flies are caught in open woods, along the top of rocky ravines ; that occasionally they stray to the open sunny glades at the bottom of the nar- row valleys where streams flow, and where there is a sprinkling of flowers. When pursued they sometimes take to the open hill-tops, but usually fly down hill through the rocky woods. I note only one capture in cultivated grounds. The records of other years are substantially as above, with slight differences in dates. The egg of gcmitia is about 90 mm. long and 33 broad, orange yellow, and under the glass shows prominent longi- tudinal ribs, with regular and closel) 7 parallel cross ribs. They are often laid on the flower pedicels, occasionally on sepals and petals, but most usualty on the rachis at the base of the pedicel. I have never seen one on a leaf. Usually but one egg is found on a plant ; often two, and rarely three ; in the latter cases 1 believe these to be laid by different females or at different t visits by the same female. Young larvae in my cages refused to eat either Capsella or Draba, the only other wild crucifcru- I could at that time find, and I had to transplant Dcntaria, bring- ing home in my vasculum the plants with balls of earth around the roots and setting in jars in my breeding cage, ncntaria will keep for several weeks if the rhizomes are left attached and placed in jars of water. Eggs laid on the igth of April (collected by following the gravid female), hatched on the 24th and pupated on May i4th. When about full grown the larvae are an inch in length, of a clear velvety apple green, slightly golden, with short scattered black spines and a white- yellowish lateral line. They eat only the seed-vessels i sili<|ues ) 468 ENTOMOLOGICAL NEWS. [May, of their food plant, occasionally biting on down from the top until the pedicel is partly consumed. Sometimes they start in on a seed-pod near the middle and eat it nearly through and then finish one side on down to the stalk. Only once did I find one cutting a leaf. At rest they often assume a sphinx-like attitude. In confinement, when one caterpillar has suspended itself and pupated, another will frequently select the same spot and spin its "button' over that of the first, attaching its " chest loop " to the back of the first pupa. I have observed this also with larvae of Papilio crcsphontes in confinement. The prolonged pointed beak of the pupa of genii tia extends so far beyond the ' ' chest loop ' ' that the chrysalis has an uneasy ap- pearance, as though about to fall out. The peculiar, jointless, double-pointed, yellowish brown pupa has been well described by Mr. Edwards, and after him by Mr. Scudder. In the works of both of these gentlemen the full stages of the larvae are also given at length. In May, 1898, I had nine larvae of genutia in one breeding cage : all pupated and have remained apparently lifeless ever since. On March 28, 1900, I found a freshly emerged male hanging in the cage near an empty pupa skin, and two others have since emerged, and at the present writing others show signs of activity. This is quite a long period for so many pupae to remain over. I have often had one or two out of a brood of asterias or tiirnus or ajax to remain over two seasons, but never quite so wholesale a delay. Coleoptera of Central Illinois No. HI. By A. B. WOLCOTT, Bloomington, 111. Since the two lists previously published in the ENT. NEWS, vol. vi, p. 309, vol. vii, p. 234, many species have been added, but it has been deemed advisable to await the result of thor- ough collecting before publishing another specific list. Some notes pertaining to the more unusual species may not be amiss in the meantime, and with this fact in view the fol- lowing are submitted : 1900] ENTOMOLOGICAL NEWS. 469 Calosoma sayi appears to be a very voracious insect, having frequently taken this at the electric light and in every case found it attacking some soft-bodied caterpillar or cutworm. It is not nearly so common here as C. scrutator. Pterostichus taitaricus, a male specimen found here, exceeds 25mm. in length ; have found but two, also at lights. Nothopus zabroides, found but once, exact locality not noted, being a male and dated July 30. Mr. Wickham states that he found several at Independence, la., on a sandy stretch over- grown with sand burrs, chiefly in wagon ruts, about the last of August. He found this species at Albuquerque, N. M., also at Colorado Springs, Col., always on sandy stretches. Brachyacantha \~punctata has occurred but once, beaten from leaves of soft maple. G. R. Crotch, in his revision, gives Illinois, Massachusetts and Georgia as localities. TriphyUus humeralis, taken abundantly in fungus on an old log, the specimens differing from the usual form in the almost complete absence of the reddish humeral spots. Dermestes pulc/icr was found March ist under loose bark on dead oak. The beetle had formed a cell of loose particles par- ticles of decayed wood, which were cemented together, and I believe the cell was formed for the purpose of hibernation, the specimen being perfectly mature, and no larval or pupal re- mains being present. The cell was about 10 mm. in diameter inside, and the walls 3 or 4 mm. in thickness, the trunk form- ing the bottom and the bark the top, the thickness of cell being but little more than the height of the beetle. I kept the speci- men alive several days, offering it dead coccinellids, which were, however, not eaten. Zcnoa picca. Have taken six or seven specimens at various times, usually in July, always under bark of old decayed logs such as one would invariably pass as a fit abode only for Passalus conn/tits. Silis percomis occurred quite abundantly in the open fields along a railroad track on bright, calm days. Tryphcnis latipcnuis was found in numbers beating trees and shrubbery along the Kickapoo River. 5* 470 ENTOMOLOGICAL NEWS. [May, Cymatodera bicolor and C. nndnlata are both attracted to light, the former more commonly than the latter. Prioccra castanca, a beautiful and unique species which seems to be quite a rarity. All specimens were taken at Hey worth under bark on just such logs as cited for Zcnoa picca. The Prioccra are sluggish and easy to capture ; found July i2th and 1 5th. Clcrns qiiadriguttatns, two specimens of limbs of fallen wal- nut, the trunk being badly infested with Molarchus bimaculatus and Cryptorhynchus parochus , upon the larvae of which the Clcrns may possibly feed. Hydnoccra longicollis was taken at light. This species has been bred by C. F. Baker from galls of the hymenopterous Enura silicis-nodus walsh, at Fort Collins, Col. Cupes concolor was taken but once at lamplight indoors. Aphodins concavits, a single specimen flying in open field in August. Mr. Wickham states that he finds two or three every year at Iowa City, la. ; it occurs as far south as Albuquerque, N. M., where he found one several years ago. May not this differ in food habits from others of this genus ? Purpuriccnus a.vi/laris, one dead example found in hickory stump July 2 jth, whose legs had been attacked by a fungus growth. Phyllotreta armoracicc Koch, a male specimen taken May 5th on blossoms of horseradish growing in the garden. This intro- duced species has been previously reported from Guttenberg, la., Chicago, near the Columbian Exposition, and at Okauchee, Wisconsin. Mycetochares fraterna was quite common at the lights near Hey worth. Zonitis bilineata, taken but once on mullen. The species was described by Say from the plains of Missouri, and, according to Riley, zonitis is known to develop in the cells of Ostuia and Anthidiuiii, and to have a coarctate larvae like that of Sitaris. Gnathotrichus matcriarius is said to infest pine, but have on two occasions taken it on walnut. ERRATA. For B. F. Webster, page 436, read F. M. Webster. 19] ENTOMOLOGICAL NEWS. 471 The New Peach Mite. By \V. G. JOHNSON, Maryland Agricultural College. I was much interested in Mr. Fuller's account (ENT. NKWS Sept. 99) of the new peach mite, or a similar species, in West- ern Australia. The characteristic "silvering of the leaves," noted by Rolf and Fuller, has not been noticed by me in this State associated with the new mite. On the contrary, trees in the nursery row affected with this mite are easily distinguished by their dense green foliage and the bunching of the twigs. As a rule w r hen the terminal is killed several lateral buds shoot and cause the bunching, while the foilage is very dark green. The amount of the bunching and the color of the foilage de- pend also upon the season. For instance this summer it is more marked in Maryland than last season, as we have had more rain, thus fostering growth. The injury still continues about as previously reported, caus- ing dwarfed, crooked, unsalable trees. The extent of the damage, however, this year is not so great as last, as the mite did not appear until after the young trees had made from two to three feet growth, while last season the most injury was done when the trees were from ten inches to one foot in height. As a result a much larger proportion of trees this season are salable. The mites are still active and ruining terminals in many places. On the gth inst. I found eggs of this species behind injured buds in the cavities excavated. At the meeting of the Association of Economic Entomolo- gists, in Columbus, August 18, 19, 1899, Webster and Mally reported injury to peach trees by the tarnished plant bug, Lygus pratensis, and w r ere of the opinion that much of the in- jury in Ohio nurseries attributed to the mite was caused by this insect. Dr. J. B. Smith writes recently that he has found a species of thrips in the terminal buds of young trees, injur- ing them, in some New Jersey nurseries. . Any injury to the terminals of young growing stock would naturally cause " dog legged trees." The injury in Maryland is caused by the mite, which continues to be a serious economic species. 472 ENTOMOLOGICAL NEWS. [May, Catocala Titania n. sp. By G. M. DODGE. Primaries uniform, greenish gray, the green predominating ; lines all indistinct, nearly obsolete. The t. a. line narrowly marked with brown, runs obliquely from costa to median vein, there losing itself in the ground color. Two dark dots on the costa mark the median shade, which ap- pears as an undefined cloud, enclosing the reniform and reaching to the t. p. line. This line seems to have two discal teeth, rather widely diverg- ing, the upper about twice as long as the lower. The reniform appears to be open. A toothed subterminal line can be distinguished. The fringes are concolorous with the primaries and faintly maculate. Second- aries bright yellow. The median band is narrow, squarely produced in- wardly and then outwardly. Before reaching the inner margin it nearly meets a long black basal ray, and from this point continues as a mere line nearly or quite to inner margin. The marginal band is once excavated internally, abbreviated, and reappears as an oval patch at anal angle. The fringes are broad, yellow at base and tipped with white, and are crossed by fine black lines at ends of veins. Apical patch yellow. Abdo- yellow. Thorax and collar greenish gray. Below all the wings are pale yellow, the marginal bands gray outwardly. The basal ray of second- aries does not appear. Fringes white and distinctly spotted. Expanse 37 mm.; a little less than one and one half inches. Taken at Louisiana, Missouri, June, 1899. This is, I think, our smallest known species. In nearly un- marked primaries remind one of jncssalinct Guen. It is, how- ever, allied to prcsdara ; the secondaries of the two species being similar. The delicate, mossy green fore w y ings, contrast- ing with the golden yellow inferiors, make this insect a truly lovely object. In presenting herewith such a namesake, I believe I am doing no injustice to the " Fairy Queen." ON page 412 of the March number of ENT. NEWS is a note of the occur- rence of Pyrameis caryce " as far east as Denver." It may be interest- ing to your correspondent and some others of your readers to hear that in Mr. Arthur Gibson's collection is a fine specimen of caryat, which was taken at Toronto, Ont., about 1894, by Mr. C. H. Tyers. A few years previous to this three larvae were sent to me from Victoria, B. C., which had been found feeding upon hollyhocks, in a garden, all of which pro- duced P. caryce. The species was also taken at Shushwap Lake, B. C., by Mr. James M. Macoun. JAMES FLETCHER. ENTOMOLOGICAL NEWS. [The Conductors of ENTOMOLOGICAL NEWS solicit and will thankfully receive items of news likely to interest its readers from any source. The author's name will be given in each case, for the information of cataloguers and bibliographers.] To Contributors. All contributions will be considered and passed upon at our earliest convenience, and. as far as may be, will be published according to date of recep- tion. ENTOMOLOGICAL NEWS has reached a circulation, both in numbers and circumfer- ence, as to make it necessary to put " copy " into the hands of the printer, for each num- ber, three weeks before date of issue. This should be remembered in sending special or important matter for a certain issue. Twenty-five " extras," without change in form, will be given free, when they are wanted ; and this should be so stated on the MS., along with the number desired. The receipt of all papers wiil be acknowledged. ED. PHILADELPHIA, PA., MAY, 1900. Now that warm weather is approaching and insects awaken- ing from a Winter's sleep, the newspaper paragrapher groweth restive, and we are beginning to see signs of the revival of last Summer's "hum-bug" stories. Doubtless when Noah corraled the animals in the ark he picked up some insects with tongs just as crabs are handled at the sea shore. Since that time it has been known that a few insects bite and that a few sting, but a person who did not know anything about entomological literature would think that all such knowledge was acquired last Summer. This ap- plies particularly to certain Heteroptera, which have been called "kissing bugs." Of course there are no such things as "kissing bugs," the whole of this nonsence having originated with a Washington, D. C., newspaper. Insects attack the most convenient point of the human body, and each individual bitten or stung could logically call the insect hurting his feel- ings, from the part of his anatomy attacked. The small boy who inadvertently sits on a yellow jacket's nest would have equal rights with the mythical personage bitten on the lip by a bug. We also find that even entomologists use the terms bite and sting interchangeably, whereas insects bite with one end and sting with the other. Now let us inquire what a kiss is. Webster says "to salute 474 ENTOMOLOGICAL NEWS. [May, with the lips, as a mark of affection, reverence, submission or forgiveness." Now, have we bugs, except, perhaps, P/it/ii- riits inguinalis, that seek a particular part or organ of the body for attack ? Is it a fact that Melanolestcs picipcs or Opsi- ccetns personatits salute with the lips (and on the lip), as a mark of affection, reverence, submission or forgiveness. L/ast Summer a gentlemen staying at a sea-shore hotel was bitten on the piazza, but unfortunately the insect escaped and could not be identified. Was this a piazza bug ? We feel sure that there is no authentic case of a person having been bitten on the lip by either of the bugs mentioned, and if it were so it would only be by the merest accident that the insect happened to be on the lip. A characteristic of the Washington yarn was that no pain was felt from the bites. If anyone is inquisitive, let him handle one of these bugs, and he wont be apprised of the effect twelve hours later by finding his hand swollen. There never was any such thing as a "kissing bug," and we hope scientific entomologists will not countenance such arrant non- sense ; the name should sink into oblivion. " Residents of Evanston, 111., are in terror of a Mexican nose bug, which has escaped. It is equipped with strong pincers and a beak. Its mode of procedure is to fasten itself to the nose of a victim a"nd then to insert its beak for a copious draught of blood. It cannot be detached without tearing out a piece of the flesh. Death sometimes follows, as the pincers are poisonous." The above clipping is from the Philadelphia Public Ledge) of April 1 4th, and shows where we are drifting. It is the more dangerous kind of "hum-bug," as it is founded on a slight basis of fact. The story given is probably perverted from statements going the rounds of the newspapers in regard to the Texas or Mexican bed-bug, or, as the article stated, the ' ' blood sucking cone-nose. " " It is only a step from the sub- lime to the ridiculous." We have the "kissing bug," "the Mexican nose-bug," the " strangling bug," and may expect a goodly crop of other hum-bugs during the Summer. CORRECTION. In the NEWS for February, 1900, page 376, and for March, 1900, page 407, in the fine type under the heading " Entomologi- cal Literature, line 7, insert "new" before " North American forms." ENTOMOLOGICAL NEWS. 475 Entomological Literature. COMPILED BY P. P. CALVERT. Under the above head it is intended to mention papers received at the Academy of Natural Sciences of Philadelphia pertaining to the Entomology of the Americas (North and South). Articles irrelevant to American entomology will not be noted. Contribu- tions to the anatomy, physiology and embryology of insects, however, relating to Ameri- can or exotic species, will be recorded. The numbers in HEAVY-FACED TYPE refer to the journals, as numbered in the following list, in which the papers are published ; * denotes that the paper in question con tains descriptions of new North American forms. Titles of all articles in foreign languages are translated into English; usually such articles are written in thesame language asthetitleof thejournal containing them, but when such articles are in other languages than English, French, German or Italian, this fact is indicated in brackets. 4. The Canadian Entomologist, London, Ontario, April, 1900. 5. Psyche, Cambridge, Mass., April, 1900 (>. Journal of the New York Entomological Society, March, 1900. 7. U. S. Department of Agricul- ture, Division of Entomology, year book for '98, Washington, '99. f). The Entomologist, London, April, 1900. 11. The Annals and Magazine of Natural History, London, March, 1900 12. Comptes Rendus. L' Academic des Sciences, Paris, March 12, 1900! 13. Comptes Rendus. Societe de Biologic, Paris, 1900. 15. Hiologia Centrali-Americana, Lon- don, pt. cliii, Feb., 1900 21. The Entomologist's Record, London, March 15, 1900. 22. Zoologischer Anzeiger, Leipsic, 1900. 35. An- nales, Societe Entomologique de Belgique, xliv, 2, Brussels, March 9, 1900. 41. Entomologische Nachrichten, xxvi, 5, Berlin, March, 1900. 45. Deutsche Entomologische Zeitschrift, '99, 2. Berlin and Dresden. Coleopterologisches Heft, Feb., 1900; Lepidopterologisches Heft, Mar. 25, 1900. 4f>. Tijdschrift voor Entomologie, xlii, 4. The Hague, Mar. 9, 1900. 55. Le Naturaliste, Paris, 1900. 75. 3oth Annual Report, En- tomological Society of Ontario for 1899, Toronto, 1900. 79. La Nature, Paris, 1900. 82. Centralblatt fur Bakteriologie, Jena, 1900. 84. Insek- ten Borse, Leipsic, 1900. 8t). Zoologische Jahrbucher, Abtheilting fiir Systematik, etc., xiii, Jena. Heft i Feb. 24, Heft 2 Mar. 22, 1900. i)8. Travaux de la Socie~te Imperiale des Naturalistes de St. Petersbourg, xxx, '99. 12O. Consular Reports, U. S. Dept. of State, Ixii, Washington, 1900. 126. Nuove Relazioni intorno ai Lavori d. R. Stazione di Ento- mologia Agraria di Firenze, Serie Pritna No. i. Florence, '99. 127. Occasional Memoirs of the Chicago Entomological Society, vol. i, No. i. Chicago, published by the .Society, 1900. Received Mar. 26th. This first number of a new entomological journal is a large octavo, hand- somely printed, of 38 pages and one photogravure plate of new Tettigidce from Madagascar. It is edited by J. L. Hancock and O. S. Westcott, and its aim is stated to be "to present, from time to time, new discoveries in Entomology. The contents of each number will consist of original articles bearing on the Morphology, Distribution, Physiology and .Etio- logy, or in brief, the Biology of Insects. In order to maintain a high plane of usefulness, the publication committee reserves the right to use 476 ENTOMOLOGICAL NEWS. [May, -only such contributions as are of truly scientific value." The contents of the present number are furnished by Messrs. Hancock (on Madagascar Tettigidae) and Tough, Needham and Snyder as noted below. We wish our new contemporary success and long life ! THE GENERAL SUBJECT. Anglas* J. On the signification of the terms "phagocytosis " and " lyocytosis," 13, March 3. Anon. The entomological exhibition in Stuttgart, 84, Apr. 5. Bataillon, E. The problem of metamorphoses, 13, Mar. 17. Bordage, E. On the spiral growth of appendages in course of regeneration in Arthropods [transl.], 11. Cholodkovsky, N. On the structure of the insect testis [in Russian, brief abstract in German], i)8, Sept. Distant, W. L. Biological suggestions, mimicry [with note by C. A. Witchell post~\, The Zoologist, London, Mar. 15. 1900. Fletcher, fT. [Some rare or inter- esting insects in Canada], 75 Harrington, W. H., Evans, J. D., Gibson, A., Moffat, J. A., Betliuue, C. J. S., Fyles, T. W. Notes on insects of the year, figs, [separate papers], 75. Loclilieacl, W. Nature-study lessons on the cabbage butterfly (Pieris rapa:*}, figs., 75. Lovell, J. H. The visitors of the Caprifoliaceae, American Natura- list, Boston, Jan., 1900. Lymau, H. H. The President's annual ad- dress, 75. Mott'at, T. A. Remarks upon some Cuban insects, 75. Needham, J. G. Insect drift on the shore of Lake Michigan, 127. Plateau, F. A probable case of defensive mimicry, figs., 55, Mar. 15. Rabaud, E. What is an anomaly ? La Feuille des jeunes Naturalisles, Paris, April i, 1900. Rudow. Further contribution to the size-rela- tions of insects of different degrees of latitude, 84, March 15 Saim- ders, E. Mimetic resemblances between Paragus bicolor Fabr., a Dipteron, and Prosopis variegata Fab , an Aculeate Hymenopteron, Entomologists' Monthly Magazine, London, April, 1900. Schenkling, S. Caspar Schwenckfeld's Entomology [1603], 8-4, Apr. 5. Scluiltz, O. Two cases of gynandromorphism in Hadena ochroleuca Esp., figs., 45, Lep. Heft. Verrall, G. H. The President's Address [on relative advantages and disadvantages attending the study of Entomology at the beginning and at the end of the igth century], Transactions, Entomologi- cal Society of London, '99, pt v, Mar. 10, 1900. Ver.soii, E. On the function of the giant cell in the testicular follicles of insects, Archives Italiennes de Biologic, xxxii, 3, Turin, Feb 26, 1900. Vignoli, T. Modern museums of natural history, Rendiconti, R. Istituto Lombardo di Scienze e Lettere (2) xxxiii, 5, Milan, 1900. Webster, F. M. One hundred years of American entomology, 75. ECONOMIC KNTOMOLOGY. -Anon. Phylloxera before the Saxon Landtag, 84, Mar. 8. Betliuue, C. J. S. Fatal bite of an in- sect ; The use of Entomology, 75. Bitting, A. W. Sheep scab, figs. Bulletin So, Purdue University. Indiana Agric. Exper. Station, La Fay- ette, Ind., Sept., '99. Celli, A. Second annual report of the Italian Society for the Investigation of Malaria, 812, Mar. 23. Celli, A., and Delpiiio, G. Contribution to knowledge of malaria epidemiology from 1900] ENTOMOLOGICAL NEWS. 477 the newest etiological standpoint, 82, Mar. 10. Chitteiideii, F. H. Insects injurious to beans and peas, 7. Dearness, J., et al., Confer- ence on the San Jose scale, 7*5. Del Guercio, D. G. Some Tortrices of the Italian fauna specially injurious to cultivated plants, figs ; Contri- butions to the study of the forms and of the biology of Trama radicis Kaltenbach with a note on the position of the genus in the family Aphid;u. figs.; Contributions to the study of the forms and of the biology of the Phlceothrips of the olive (P. olete (Costa) Targioni) and on some soap- mixtures of carbon bisulphide and nicotine as insecticides, figs., 1!2<>. Ewert. Destructive effects of some species of Tipula on meadows. Zeitschrift fiir Pflanzen-Krankheiten, ix, 6, Stuttgart, Feb. 4, 1900. Fletcher, T. Injurious insects in Ontario during 1899, 75.--Hananer, S. W. San Jose" scale in Germany, 12O, No. 235, April. Howard, L. O. The principal insects affecting the tobacco plant, 7. Hutt, \V. N. Asparagus beetles, figs., 75. Larbaletrier, A. Chimney soot used as a fertilzer and as an insecticide, 7O, Mar. 10. Loch head, W. Notes on some insects of coniferous shade trees, figs.; injurious insects of the orchard, garden and farm for the season of 1899, figs., 75. Lugger, O. Fifth annual report of the Entomologist of the State Experiment Station of the University of Minnesota, to the Governor, for the year 1899. St. Paul, 1899 248 pp., 249 text figs., 6 pis. "Contains an account of all beetles found in Minnesota, which, in their larval and adult stages, are destructive to our fruit-bearing trees, shrubs and canes, and which fre- quently cause considerable losses to our fruit growers." Marlatt, C. L. The struggle against injurious insects [translation into French], Revue Scientifique, Paris, Mar. 3, 1900 Kidgely, B. H. Phylloxera in Switzerland, 12O, No. 234, March. Smith, J. B. Report of the Entomological Department of the New Jersey Agricultural College Ex- periment Station for the year 1899. Camden, N. J., 1900. [Pp. 421-512 of the Annual Report of the Station ; figs.]. Id. The apple-plant louse, .Ipliis mali Koch., figs., 2 pis. Bulletin 143, New Jersey Agric. Exper. Stations, New Brunswick, N. ]., Mar. 8, 1900. Targioni Tozzetti, A. History of the Royal Station of Agrarian Entomology and Chronicle of its operations from 1886 to 1896, 12<>. Webster, F. M. The native home of the San Jose scale, 75. Weed, C. M. The spiny elm cater- pillar [Vanessa an/io/>a], figs.,- Bulletin 67, New Hampshire College' Agric. Exper. Station, Durham, N. H., Oct , '99. Wiloox, E. V. Abstracts of recent literature, Experiment Station Record, xi, 6, 7, Washington, 1900. AKACHN"IDA. Banks, N. Some new North American spiders, 4. Cambridge, F. O. P. Arachnida Araneidea, vol. ii, pp. 89-104, pi. vii,* 15. E. Loinan, J. C. C. On the 478 ENTOMOLOGICAL NEWS. [May, geographical distribution of the Opilionidae, 2 pis., 89, heft i. berg 1 , E. On the scorpions obtained during the Swedish expedition to Tierra del Fuego, 1895. Wissenschaftliche Ergebnisse der schwedischen Expedition nach den Magellanslandern, 1895-1897, Unter Leitung von Dr. Otto Nordenskjold Bd. ii, Zoologie, erstes Heft, Stockholm, 1899. Id. Some biological observations on Galeodes and Bnthus, Ofversigt, Kongl. Vetenskaps-Akademiens Forhandlingar, Ivi, 10, Stockholm, Dec. J 3. '99- Pocock, K. I. Some new or little-known Thelyphonidae* and Solifugae, 11. PROTOTRACHEATA. Bomier, E. L. On the origin and the relationships of the Arthropods of the class Onychophora (Peripafus and neighboring forms), 12. MYRIOPODA. Silvestri, F. See Apterygota. Verluieft, C. Contributions to knowledge of palaearctic Myriopoda, x. On the compara- tive morphology, phylogeny and classification of the groups and of the species of the Lysiopetalidas, figs., 3 pis., 89, Heft i. APTERYGOTA. Silvestri, F. Projapyx styliferQ. F. Cook, also in the Argentine Republic; A new genus of Polyxenidae, 22, Mar. 5. ORTHOPTERA. Burr, M. Exotic Forficulas of the Royal Museum of Natural History of Brussels, 35. Hancock, J. L. A new Tettigian genus and species from South America, figs., 5. Krauss, H. A. On a peculiar organ in the field grasshopper Pcecilocerus soco- tranus Burr, figs , 22, Mar. 19. Moore, H. How does the earwig fold its wings ? How long does Blatta orientalis L., 9 carry its ootheca before deposition ? 21. Perkins, R. C. L. Orthoptera [and] Neurop- tera, Fauna Hawaiiensis, vol. ii, pts. i and 2, Cambridge [England], Aug. 19, Sept. 25, '99. Scudder, S. H. The species of the Orthopteran genus Derotmema* Proceedings, American Academy of Arts and Scien- ces, xxxv, 19 [Boston], Mar., 1900. Id. The species of the CEdipodine genus Heliastus Sauss. occurring in the United States,* 5. Id. Cata- logue of the described Orthoptera of the United States and Canada.* See notice, post. XEUROPT ERA. Perkins, R.C. L. See Orthoptera. Tough, J. A new species of Gomphus* figs., 127. Wasinauu, E. See Hymenoptera. HEMIPTERA. Betlmiie, C. J. S. See Economic Entomology. Champion, G. C. Rhynchota Heteroptera, vol. ii, pi. xviii, 1.5. Cholodkovsky, N. A. On the questionof the sexual apparatus of Chcrmes [in Russian], 98, Oct. Cockerell, T. D. A. Table of North American Kermes, based on external characters, 5. Del Guercio, D. G. See Economic Entomology. Fowler, \V. W. Rhynchota Homptera, vol. ii, pt. i, pp. 257-264 [ Tettigonia*']. 15. Hanson, H. JV On the morphology and classification of the auchenorrhynchous Homop- tera [transl. from Danish orig.], 9. Paulmier, P. C. The spermato, genesis of Anasa tristis, 2 pis., Journal of Morphology, xv, Supplement- Boston, Dec., 1899. Smith, J. B. See Economic Entomology. ENTOMOLOGICAL NEWS. 479 COLEOPTERA. Acloque, A. Social inequalities among the scarabseids, figs., 79, Feb. 24. Bartlett-Calvert, G. Descriptions of the Chilian Scydmaenidse extracted from Dr. L. VV. Schaufuss' mono- graph of the family of 1866, figs, [in Spanish and Latin], Revista Chilena di Historic Natural, Valparaiso, Feb., 1900. Bordas, L. Anatomical study of the male generative organs of Coleoptera with compound and fasciculate testes, 12. Candeze, E. New Elateridse, seventh part (posthumous work),* 35. Dierckx, F. Etude Compartie des Glan- des Pygidiennes chez les Carabides et les Dytiscides avec quelques re- marques surle classement des Carabides. Extract from "La Cellule." .xvi, i, Lierre et Louvain, 1899, pp. 63-176, pis. i-v. Kempers, K. J. W. On the venation of the wings of beetles [in Dutch], 2 pis., 46. Knaus, W. The Cicindelidse of Kansas, 4. Lewis, G. On new species of Histeridse and notices of others,* 11. Lugger, O. See Economic Entomology. Pic, M. Diagnoses of American and Asiatic Coleoptera,. 55, Mar. r. Id. Descriptions of Coleoptera, 55, Mar. 15. Id. De- scription of Circum-Mediterranean and exotic Coleoptera, L'Echange Revue Linneenne, Lyon, Mar., 1900. Koescllke, H. Carabological notes, vi, 41. Sharp, D. Coleoptera, vol. ii, pt. i, pp. 561-584 [5Y/- vanus* Monotomidae,* Cryptophagidae*], 15. Was man i), E. A new guest of Eciton carolinense [Ecitonusa Fore/i*~\ ; a new Melipona guest {Scotocryptus Goeldii) from Para, 45, Col. Heft. Weise, J- CoccinelHdae from South America ; Remarks on the latest works on the Coccinellidae ; Synonymic Remarks, 45, Col. Heft. DIPTEKA. Coqnillett, 1>. W. Notes and descriptions of Or- talidae,* G. L>oane, K. W. Additional notes on Trypetidae, 6. Esclier-Kiindig, J. See Arachmda. Imhof, O. E. Ocelli in the Tipulidae, 22, Mar. 5. Kellogg 1 , V. L. A new Blepharocerid,* figs., 5. Mik, J. Dipterological miscellany, Wiener Entomologische Zeit- schrift, xix, 2-3, Mar. 10, 1900. Supiiio, F. Observations on pheno- mena occurring during the postembryonic development of Calliphora. erythrocephala, Rendiconti, R. Accademia dei Lincei, Rome, March 4, 1900 Wandolleck, B. On the anatomy of the cycloraphic Diptera larvae; anatomy of the larva of Platyccphala planifrons F., figs., 2 pls. r Abhandlungen und Berichte d. Konigliche zoologischen und Anthro- pologisch Ethographischen Museums zu Dresden, 1899, viii, Festschrift fur A. B. Meyer. vail der Wulp, F. M. Diptera, vol. ii, pp. 417- 428,* pi. xii, text figs., 15. LEPIDOPTERA. Butler, A. G. The genera Cnpido and Ly- cicna, 9. Druce, H. Lepidoptera Heterocera, vol. ii, pp, 593-622, 15. Dyar, H. G. Life history of Margarodcs flegia Cr., 4. Id. A new Zygaenid from Arizona;* Preliminary notes on the larva? of the genus Arctia, (>. Elwes, H. T. Cyanfiis pseudargiolus Boisduval and LeConte, 4. Frohawk, F. AV. Remarkable appearance of Vanessa io during snow, O. Gibson, A. The electric light as an at- traction to moths, 75. Grote, A. K. Note on Gortyna erepta, 4. 480 ENTOMOLOGICAL NEWS. [May, Id. Diphyletism in the Lepidoptera, 9. Heath, E. F. Notes on captures of Lepidoptera, 4. Hulst, G D. Some new species of Geo- metridae,* 4. Janichen, R. The slimy dampness of the larval body before going into the pupal condition, 84, Mar. 8 Kolller, F. The scent-scales of the genus Lyccena examined as regards their phylogeny, 3 pis , 89, Heft 2. Lymaii, H. H. Notes on a few butterflies from the Yukon, 4. Melntosh, W. The butterflies of New Brunswick, The Noctuidae of New Brunswick, Bulletin Natural History Society of New Brunswick, xviii, St. John, 1899. Rec'd April 9, 1900. Mercer, W, F. The development of the wings in the Lepidoptera, 5 pis., 6. Moffat, J. A. The wing structure of a butterfly, i pi., 75. Schllltz, O. See the General Subject. Snyder, A. J. The Argynnids of North America, 127 --Soper, G. A. The capture of butterflies by birds, Nature, London, Mar. 22, 1900. Spengel, J. W. Papilio asterias aberr. Ca/verleyi, a supplementary remark, 89, Heft 2 Staudiiig'er, O. A new Heliconius form, 45, Lep. Heft. Strecker, H. Lepidop- tera, Rhopaloceres and Heteroceres, Indigenous and Exotic. Supple- ment No. 3. Reading, Pa., U. S. A., 1900. Printed for the Author.* Pp. 15-37, containing a list of types in the author's collection. Swain- soii, E. M. Notes on larvae of [Jamaican] Lepidoptera, 6. Tutt, J. W. Migration and dispersal of insects : Lepidoptera, 21. Webster, F. M. Some notes tin the larval habits of the gray hair-streak butterfly Uranotes melinns Hubn.), 75. Weed, C. M. See Economic Ento- mology. Wright, AV. G. Anthocharis flora, 4. HYMENOPTERA. Bethime, C. J. S. Some observations on a bumble-bees' nest, 75. Chapman, F. The hexagonal structure formed in cooling beeswax in relation to the cells of bees, 11. Coupin, H. The Chalcidomas, fig., 79, Mar. 10 - Dyar, H. G. On the larvae of Atomacera and some other sawflies,* 6. Friese, H, New exotic parasitic bees, 41 Hervey, E. W. Honey Guides, Gardeners' Chronicle, London, Mar. 31, 1900 Robertson, C. Some Illinois bees,* Transactions, Academy of Science of St. Louis, x, 2, Feb. 21, 1900. Wasnianii, E. J. The guests of ants and termites [transl.], i pi , 21 ; See also Coleoptera. Scudder, S. H. Catalogue of the Described Orthoptera of the United States and Canada. Reprinted from Vol. viii, Proceedings of the Davenport Academy of Natural Sciences. 1900. 101 pp., 3 pis. A very important and most useful, synonymic and bibliographical catalogue, followed by an appendix of descriptions of eleven new species belonging to genera new to the United States. These are illustrated in the plates. The catalogue "contains the names of 856 species, divided among the families as follows : Forficulidae, 14 ; Blattido?, 32 ; Mantidae, 17 ; Phasmidae, n ; Acrididae, 524 ; Locustidae, 194 ; Gryllidae, 64." The first three and a half pages, from which this extract is taken, contain a 1900] ENTOMOLOGICAL NEWS. 481 comparison of the Orthopterous faunae of America North of Mexico and Europe, and in conclusion state that the present work is a companion to- the same author's "Guide to the Genera and Classification of the North American Orthoptera found north of Mexico" (Cambridge, E. W. Wheeler, 1897). " By the aid of the two it should now be found possible for everyone having a fair access to the literature to study and arrange his own collections with comparative ease. This has not hitherto been the case, and I trust that these works may stimulate the study of our Orthoptera, which are as yet very imperfectly known." Notes and News. ENTOMOLOGICAL GLEANINGS FROM ALL QUARTERS OP THE GLOBE. I HAVE taken today (February aSth) a specimen of Lyccena sonorensis, which I think is worthy of mention. On the right side the wings are of a first-class J 1 , a brighter blue, smaller orange spot, less black markings, and no sign of orange on hind wings. The left side is of an extra fine $ , each side representing a different sex so perfectly that I cannot tell which is the better half. Under the glass the body looks more like a tf. I watched the specimen some time before taking it, thinking it was de- positing eggs, but think now I was mistaken in that. Expanse one inch. C. VV. HERR, Pasadena, Cal. I WOULD like to record the capture, by Mr. A. Ronke, in this city, last July, of a beautiful aberration of Papiho turnusg. This specimen agrees in the main with the one recorded by Dr. James Fletcher, an illustration and description of upper side being given in Can. Ent., Vol. xxi, p. 204, 1889. The specimen is in fresh condition, but the right fore wing is damaged by not having fully expanded along inner margin. In compara- son with Dr. Fletcher's record, some minor differences are apparent, as follows : On upper side of fore wings the yellow oblong patch inside end of cell is only about one-half as wide. Five faint, small patches of yellow scales along outer margin, from apex to space between second and third median neruvles, is all that represents the distinct marginal rows of spots shown in Dr. Fletcher's illustration. Hind wings, above, lack the black patch inside end of cell, and the only indication of a red cloud or patch, is that of the eye-spot at anal angle, which is distinct and normal. Beneath, the black suffusion covers the same space as on upperside of both fore and hind wings. At outer margin of fore wings an indistinct yellowish suffused band, broadest at apex, replaces the usual spots of P. tnnms J\ but on hind wings the normal spots are present, except that the usual patches of reddish orange scales inward from the broad mar- ginal band are placed by the black suffusion. The colors of this insect are bright and contrast strongly, and the markings are symmetrical. I have never seen the same bright velvety black in P. glaucus $ , even in 482 ENTOMOLOGICAL NEWS. [May, ireshly emerged specimens that I have bred. I think this extreme form of P. turnus $ should have a distinctive name, and Dr. Fletcher having, so far as I am able to ascertain, first brought it to the notice of the ento- mological world, I propose that it be known as Papilio turnus ab. Jletcheri. In view of the different opinions of authorities recorded at various times, as to the advisability, or otherwise, of naming varieties and aberrations, it is more than probable that some will not be in accord with me. With due respect for the opinions of all others, I think that all will agree that it will be something new to science when all authorities, pro- fessors and others interested in Entomology become of one mind on this .subject. S. T. KEMP, Elizabeth, N. J., March 16, 1900. Doings of Societies. A meeting of the Entomological Section of the Academy of Natural Sciences of Philadelphia was held March 22iid, Mr. Philip L/atirent, Director, in the chair, twelve persons being present. The Secretary announced the death of Mr. Andrew Bolter, a correspondent of the American Entomological Society, who was elected August 14, 1865, and died March 18. Dr. Calvert said the collection of Odonata gathered in Bolivia by Mr. W. G. Gerhard and purchased from Mr. A. S. Weeks, was particularly welcome and interesting. The genus Thore was well represented in species, many of them being new to the col- lection. Dr. Skinner exhibited examples of the three-color process of illustrating insects and explained the method of producing them. The same speaker exhibited the coleoptera he had collected in Colorado and Utah. Mr. Liebeck spoke of the species of interest in the collection, specially mentioning Gaurotes crcssoni, Corymbitcs mornlus and breweri, Cincindcla longilabris var. laurentii. Saxinis (represented by Saneia ) was said to be subtropical in distribution. Three species of Acmceodera were taken, oniata, variegata and pidchclla. Lcp- iura aspcra is a Northwestern species. A tenebrionid, Ctrl ve- nom's dilaticollis, was considerably out of its ordinary range, being a California species. A specimen of Homoptera cditsa rar. lunata was exhibited by Mr. Laurent which had been accidentally denuded of most of its scales in a symmetrical manner. Mr. W. R. Reinick was elected a member. DR. HENRY SKINNER, Recorder. 1900] ENTOMOLOGICAL NEWS. 483 A meeting of the American Entomological Society was held Feb. 22d. Dr. P. P. Calvert, president, in the chair, ten per- sons present. Dr. Calvert called attention to a publication, by Kruger, on " Insect Wanderings Into Germany and America." The preface was read and also extracts from the body of the work. Dr. Skinner exhibited specimens of Argynnis nifofris tcerulescers, recently described by Dr. Holland. This is a variety of the female, the males being identical. Dr. Smith made an examination of the gentalia of nitocris from Arizona, and one of the specimens he had received from Dr. Holland, which came from Mexico, and pronounced them different. Dr. Skinner also stated that he had found considerable variation in the same species of Nisoniades. Mr. Laurent said he had found much variation in these characters in Pamphila peckius. Mr. Reinick stated that he had found much variation in Lachno- sterna, and many specimens could not be placed at all. Dr. Calvert stated that organs that are much used are likely to vary, and that in the Odonata these characters were not con- sidered as valuable for specific separations as formerly. DR. HENRY SKINNER, Secretary. At the March meeting of the Feldman Collecting Social, held at the residence of Mr. H. W. Wenzel, 1523 South Thirteenth street, thirteen members were present. A letter from E. Lewis Reene, regarding collecting in Central America, was read. Prof. J. B. Smith gave a resume of the genera and species in the former and coming editions of the hiseets of New Jersey. In the Hymenoptera the greatest increase was shown, 645 species having been added to the number in the earlier list. The value of structural differences in the definition of genera was discussed by Messrs. Smith and H. \Yenzel. Dr. H. Skinner stated that he is opposed to the wholesale making of genera which had been carried on of late. He re- ferred to the careless way in which genera have been described and said a comparison with the fanua of the world should be made before launching forth so-called new genera. Prof. Smith referred to the difficulties in the wav of system- 484 ENTOMOLOGICAL NEWS. [May, atists in attempting to make a comparison with exotic forms. Collections of foreign insects are scarce and not very complete in America, which makes comparisons almost impossible. He did not agree with Dr. Skinner that a genus should have a certain number of species, as many valid genera are founded on single species. Dr. Skinner believed that too many genera lessened the utility of classification, and the nearer w r e approach to specific names, which is done by division of species into genera, the nearer we come to doing aw r ay with the binomial system, as in the future specific names alone would be sufficient. Mr. Johnson staied that as the work of classification in the various orders is carried on in different lines he did not believe the work done in the Diptera would have any bearing on that in other orders. Dr. Skinner referred to the use of the costal fold as a generic distinction in the Hesperidae, and stated that if this character- istic is used he believed all with it should go in one genus and those without it in another, instead of erecting many genera with and without this fold. Prof. Smith said this characteristic is a sexual one, and that no genus should be founded without knowing the characters of both sexes. The subject was further discussed by Messrs. Johnson and Smith. Mr. H. W. Wenzel gave the results of collecting from a dead tree trunk at Merchantville, N. J. Specimens of Batrisiis glo- bosus and Ischalia costata, had been found. WILLIAM J. Fox, Secretary. OBITUARY. It is with sorrow and regret that we announce the death of Mrs. Louise Fitz Randolph Gilbert, of Plainfield, N. J. Mrs. Gilbert was interested in the Lepidoptera, and had an excel- lent collection. Having congenial tastes, Mrs. Gilbert and Mrs. F. O. Herring worked together in natural history. The deceased was an intellectual and charming woman, and her loss is keenly felt by a large circle of friends. o of ft a H 'S. W o CD =) QC LU O cc < Q. O I- o cc Q. ; ^ * 1 : . -4' ,'. KNT. \i:ws. V,,l. XI. PROTOPARCE RUSTICA, LARVA AND PUPA. PI. XI ENTOMOLOGICAL NEWS AND PROCEEDINGS OF THE ENTOMOLOGICAL SECTION ACADEMY OF NATURAL SCIENCES, PHILADELPHIA. VOL. XI. JUNE, 1900. No. 6. CONTENTS: Smyth Larval Stage of Protoparce rustica Fabr 485 Snow and Mills Destructive Diplosis Coquiilet New Sceiiopinidse 500 Osborn A Neglected Platymetopius.. 501 Skinner&Satterthwait Tineid Larva soa of the Monterey Pine 489 Editorial 504 Oslar Habits and Capture of /Egiale 495 ! Entomological Literature 505 Ehrman Capture of Platynus cauda- Notes and News 509 tusLec.,and Platynus larvalis Lee 499 Doings of Societies 512 The Larval Stage of Protoparce rustica Fabr. By ELLISON A. SMYTH, Jr., Blacksburg, Va. Although Protoparce rustica is well known in the moth state, there has been, so far as I can ascertain, no figure or descrip- tion of the larva, since the fairly good figure and meagre description given by Abbott in Vol. I, pi. 34 of "Abbott & Smith's Lep., Georgia." Prof. John B. Smith, in his mono- graph of the Sphingidse, makes a similar statement, adding that Burmeister gives a brief original description from Brazilian specimens. Duncan's description and plate in Naturalists' Library, Vol. Ill, Clemen's description, and all others that I know of are copied from Abbott & Smith's plate. This is my apology for presenting, through the kind medium of the " NEWS, " the figures of three stages of the larva, with descriptions of the larva and egg. Several times in the farther South I have found the mature larva of rustica, but last Sum- mer a number w T ere obtained here, in Montgomery Co., Va., and from these the water-color sketches were made by the author, from which sketches the plate here given has been prepared, showing the larva in three stages, and the pupa. Fig. 6 486 ENTOMOLOGICAL NEWS. [June, A, larva half grown before last moult ; fig. B, full grown after last moult ; fig. C, full grown, two days before pupation ; and fig. D, pupa. The larva found last Summer, several of which were full grown and a number about half grown, were taken feeding on common sunflower (Helianthus annuus}. The older speci- mens ate the coarse leaves down to the leaf stalk, leaving only short portions of the coarser veins. They seemed to feed at all hours of the day, when well grown their weight causes them to hang back downward from the leaves; the approxi- mation of the ends of the oblique lateral stripes on the central dorsal line was very protective in pattern, and the first were found only b}- their excreta, tho' I must have passed daily so close under them as to almost brush them with my head, the sunflower on which they were feeding being just at the en- trance of my garden gate. After careful search I found one egg, which failed to hatch. It was laid on the upper side of a sunflower leaf, was four millemetres in lateral diameter, ver- tical diameter a little less, being a flattened hemisphere in shape, somewhat rounded underneath, depressed slightly above in centre, and was of a clear transparent yellow-green. The full grown larva, in the height of its developement after last moult, is five and a half inches long when fully extended, depth, dorso-ventrally, five-eights of an inch. Head rounded; dark clear green; two clear blue stripes from summit of centre of head in front diagonally down to basal outer corners of head. First three segments yellowish green, lighter above, with two dorso-lateral lines composed of whitish yellow tubercles tipped with brown; these extend to beginning of fourth segment. A dorsal greenish blue-white line along centre of first four seg- ments. Remaining segment shade from light pea-green (after quite yellow) down to dark clear blue-green below. From the line marking the beginning of the fourth segment and from a point opposite the stigma of that segment, an oblique yellow white band, sharply cut, runs to near the top and rear of fourth segment, continued on over fifth segment, and ending in center of top of sixth, where it becomes nearly parallel with its fellow from the other side; after entering fifth segment this 1900] ENTOMOLOGICAL NEWS. 487 "band changes to pinkish white, fainter on top of sixth; on its whole length it is sharply faced above with dark blue-purple (varying in some specimens to blue-brown) which fades into the light white-green of dorsum. The remaining six lateral oblique lines, are, mutatis mutandis, similarly arranged, only that the yellow band is brighter and wider and the dark facing above is more distinctly red-purple, than in the first line. The last of these lateral oblique bands, the seventh, ends at the base of the caudal horn, into the under portion of which the yellow band fades. Between and under each of these seven lateral bands, starting at beginning and near top of the last segment which each band covers, is a greenish parallel line converging with its fellow from the other side on the dorsum. Caudal horn clear yellow-green covered with yellow dark- tipped granulations. Anal lap edged with clear yellow-green. The oval stigmata whitish buff, thinly edged with black, with black central line. Rim of prolegs yellow, hooks black. True legs buff, black jointed. A central greenish blue interrupted dorsal line for whole length of body. The half-grown larvae are of a clearer yellow above the m?r-colored oblique lateral bands and abruptly blue-green below the whitish yellow underfacing of same. These lines appear distinctly elevated, like ridges, up to the last moult. Several days before pupation, the blue-green of the body becomes a yellow-green and all the colors and markings less distinct, the purple of the lateral stripes becoming a dirty green- blue, and fading into colors above it, not sharply cut as in earlier stage, and the larva becomes much stouter and some- what shorter. My larvae descended to the bottom of an 8 inch layer of sifted earth in the cage, each making a compact broadly elliptical cell, about four by two and one-half inches; the earth in the cell-wall being so firmly pressed together that the cell retained nearly its whole shape when the earth was turned out of the jars. The pupae that I obtained varied from two and 7-10 inches to three inches in length, and from 7-10 to ^ inches in greatest diameter (at far end of wing). The "tongue case" is very 488 ENTOMOLOGICAL NEWS. [June, stout, with a pear-shaped swelling at the free end, which presses against the median ventral line about y% of an inch from anterior extremity of pupae, being much shorter and stouter actually and in proportion to that of either Carolina or celeus. Along its sides, the ' ' tongue case ' is coarsely and deeph r marked with alternate, sharp file-like elevations and depressions. The color is shining black-brown. Abbott gives the food plants as chionanthus, privet, and lilac, all of the olive family. I have twice found the full- grown larva on heliotrope, one of the Borraginaceae, and have good evidence that they feed also on the crape myrtle (Lager- strcemia, one of the L/ythracese), and, as above stated, have taken in numbers, from the egg up to full-grown larva, on Hclianthus animus, thus giving it a wide range of food plants. The moth is not uncommon here, and is often taken at dusk on honeysuckle; though it is by no means abundant. It comes also to light, and I have taken fine specimens in my hall- way, attracted by the electric light. In South Carolina I have taken it abundantly on blossoms of " jimsoii weed ' ( Datura strain - oniu-ni). On the wing, it is readily distinguishable from P. cdcns by its larger size and more stately movements, lacking the quick, restless, darting flight of cclcus; while the readily discernable white spaces aud maculations as well as its larger size, distinguished it easily from the more uniformly colored and smaller P. Carolina, which resembles it more in manner of flight. A $4O-DOLLAR BUTTERFLY. Entomologists went to Convent Garden from all parts of the country, says the London Globe, when the celebrated collection of butterflies and moths made by the late Samuel Stevens r F. L. S., F. E. S., was sold by his nephew, the well-known auctioneer. Mr. Stevens had continued his work of collecting, breeding and buying for sixty years, and many specimens are already historic, having come from other noted collections. The prices established a record. The "large copper" butterfly, long since become extinct, always attracts bidders, but , given for an exceptionally fine male, creates a record, and even for one of the females 6 55. was bid. A specimen of the common " painted lady" also fetched ^8 ; while another of the same species cost its buyer 6 los. A handsome "red admiral," which is perhaps nearly as often seen as the "small tortoisesheli," was sold for 5 los , while a "pea- cock" with twenty eyes on its wings went for 5. ENTOMOLOGICAL NEWS. 489 The Destructive Diplosis of the Monterey Pine. By W. A. SNOW and HELEN MILLS, Stanford University, California. PREFATORY NOTE While the late W. A. Snow was en- gaged as assistant and instructor in entomology at Stanford Uni- versity, he discovered and began the careful study of a new species of Diplosis which was vigorously attacking the Mon- terey Pines growing on the campus and in the neighborhood of the University. The Monterey Pine (Pinus radiata Don. and the Monterey Cypress (Cupressus macrocarpa Hartw.) are the conifers most abundantly used as ornamental trees in the grounds and parks of the residents of the San Francisco peninsula. The new Diplosis is the most formidable pest which the Monterey Pine has to struggle against, and it is still a question, despite the beneficial activity of certain para- sites of the midge, whether the pest may not succeed in killing many of the splendid trees of the region. The pest is ex- tremely abundant, thousands of trees being attacked, and most of the infested trees harboring myriads of the insects. Mr. Snow began his observations in November, 1897, and continued them until March, 1899. Since that time Miss Helen Mills, student in the department, has continued the study of the pest. Mr. Snow's long-continued careful obser- vation and study of the insect, resulted in the nearly complete working out of its extremely interesting life history. With characteristic thoroughness Mr. Snow extended his work to include a valuable compilation of facts regarding the already known pine midges of this country and Europe. He also interested a botanist, Mr. Cannon, assistant in the University, in the character of the deformation of the plant tissue, and a careful study was made by Mr. Cannon of the pathologic phenomena in the growing buds and needles due to the pres- ence of the irritating and food taking pest ( an account published elsewhere). Mr. Snow's sad death (by drowning in San Francisco Bay, Oct. 10, 1899) leaves unpublished any reference at all to this last undertaking in his career as a student of entomolosrv. In fairness to his memorv and in fair- 49 ENTOMOLOGICAL NEWS. [June, ness to entomologists there should be published some adequate account of this last investigation. But the editing of the mass of notes at hand is a task I am, at present, unable to under- take. The best I can do is to offer this briefest abstract of the life history of the hew pest together with a description of it, re- vised by Dr. S. W. Williston. In making this abstract Miss Mill's notes have been also referred to, and the drawings were made by her. VERNON L. KELLOGG. In the fall of 1896 certain of the Montery Pines (Pin us ra il- ia ta Don.) on the campus at Stanford were noticed to have their needles shortened and swollen at the base. The injury appeared to be such as might have come about through a sudden retarding of the growth of the needles. In the Autumn of 1 897 the injury to the pines was widespread and very noticeable. Examination of the stunted and swollen needles revealed Cecidomid larvae lying at the bases of these needles, and the injury was definitely traced to them. The first adults were obtained in the laboratory Jan. 12, 1898, from affected branches brought to the laboratory a month before. The adults were found to be an undescribed species of Diplosis related to the already known half dozen species of Diplosis known to attack the pine trees of Europe and America. The eggs (fig. i, e) are smooth and elliptical, and light yellow in color changing to orange-yellow as the embryo de- velopes within. The female moves about over a terminal bud attempting at intervals to thrust her long flexible ovipositor in between the scales. When successful she deposits from 2 to 24 eggs in mass. The ovipositor is sometimes bent like a bow by the efforts of the insect to force apart the scales of the buds. Not infrequently females would be found caught and held by the pressure of the scales on the ovipositor. The egg stage is about two weeks. The female dies soon after oviposition. The larvae (fig. i, 1) immediately after issuing from the eggs make their way into the basal part of the bud and remain in there. The body is broadly elliptical and reddish yellow in color and when full grown is from i mm. to 1.5 mm. long. The breastbone (fig. i, b, b), well chitinized in the older 1900] ENTOMOLOGICAL NEWS. 491 stages, is not visible in newly-hatched specimens. None of the abdominal segments bear nipple-like spiracles. The skin is covered with fine spinules. When ready to pupate the larva usually spins a thin oval cocoon. Sometimes it does not. The larvae pupate within the deformed buds. The duration of the larval stage is ten or eleven months. The pupae (fig. i, p) are of the same general color as the larvae, the thoracic region of the body being darker. The body is covered with cuticular spinules as in the larva. The breathing-tubes are non-segmented and are slightly folded over at the top. The duration of the pupal stage is three or four weeks. Adult. Diplosis pini-radiatae n. sp. Male (fig. 2). Antennae slender, a little shorter than the body, yellow or brownish yellow, the basal and terminal joint darker ; basal joint large ; second joint smaller, more globular, sessile ; remainder of antennae with twenty-four spheroidal dilatations, the terminal one more conical, and with a suture separating the minute terminal joint ; petioles slender, about as long as the dilatations proximally, proportionally a little longer distally ; the swellings decrease in size uniformly and gently, each with a verticil of black hair and a circle of shorter, yellowish looped filiments more dis- tally. Head deep brown or black. Mesonotum dark reddish brown or blackish, somewhat whitish pruinose, and with three rows of dusky hairs. Pleurae above, and the scutellum reddish. Abdomen obscurely reddish brown or black, with rather long, blackish hairs. Legs yellow or yel- lowish, with close-lying, for the most part, black hairs, and longer, chiefly white hairs, especially upon the tibiae and tarsi ; tip of tibiae and tarsi usually brownish. Wings greyish hyaline, with blackish hairs along the costa, and a fringe of longer dark hairs along the posterior margin. The first vein terminates near the middle, the third at the extreme tip of the wing, the latter strongly convex ; origin of third vein indistinct ; wings rather slender. Female (fig. 3. ). Basal joints of antennae as in the male, the twelve dila- tations are more elongate cylindrical, the petioles much shorter; the dilatations are more slender distally and show here slight constrictions. Mesonotum usually less deeply colored, the upper part of the pleurae and ihe scutellum yellow or yellowish. Abdomen red, the basal segments above obscurely marked with brown or black hair, loose, abundant and long ; ovipositor usually protruding about as far as the length of the body. Five males and five females, No 232, Leland Standford University, June, 1899. 49 2 ENTOMOLOGICAL NEWS. [June, There seems to be but one generation a year. Adults begin to issue about the middle of January and continue to appear until the first of March. Egg-laying proceeds all through this time, and old larvae and pupae may also be found all through this period (no larvae towards the end of the period). The eggs hatch in about two weeks and these larvae lie in the bases of the fascicles of needles all through the Summer and Autumn and early Winter not pupating until December. The adults issue in a few weeks and the life cycle is rebegun. The character and extent of the injury caused by the insect make of it a serious pest. The number of larvae lying in the bases of the fascicles is sufficient to completely stunt and de- form all the needles of the fascicle. On a single tree three- fourths of the fascicles may be thus injured. This practical denudation of the tree may be repeated several times. It is simply a matter of how many such denudations the tree can withstand. Plate XII, made from a photograph of an unat- tacked branch and a seriously attacked branch, shows better than words can explain the effective character of the pest's injuries. Fortunately several natural enemies of the pest are at work, and in many places have done much to dissipate the threatened danger. Polygonotus diplosidis, previously found as a parasite of Diplosis pini-inopis O. S. (scrub-pine in Ne\v Jersey), and a mite very like Pcdiculoidcs ventricosus (referred to by Marlatt as an efficient agent in the destruction of the eggs of Cicada}, are both doing good work. The mite feeds on eggs, larvae and pupae indiscriminately. It attaches itself by its mouth-parts and forelegs to a larva and clings to it until the death of the larva. The usual predaceous insects, such as the larvae of Heinerobiits and Chrysopa, the larvae and adults of sev- eral Coccinellids and the nymphs of certain Reduviidae are all to be found on the pines and probably help in fighting the pest. The Ruby-crowned Kinglet has been observed to eat many of the midges. The birds pick off the females while they are on the buds ovipositing. The pest is not confined to the Monterey Pine (Pi)nis radiafa] , but has been taken from the following species of Phi us : tuber- ENT. NEWS, Vol. XI. PI. XII. \ D, FLORIS PINI RADIAT/E. E, EGGS. L, LARVA. BB, BREST-BONE. M, LARVAL MOUTH-PARTS. p, PUPA. A, MONTEREY PINE, NORMAL. B, MONTEREY PINE, INJURED. ENTOMOLOGICAL NEWS. 493 culata, innricata, sabiniana, conlteri and syircstris. Finns sylvcs- tris is au European species and is attacked in Europe by three species of Diplosis, viz.,/?. Pint, brachyntera&a&signata. But all of these pines are attacked but slightly compared with radi- ata. As regards the geographical distribution of the pest, it has been found abundantly at Stanford University, at Menlo Park (a village only two miles away), and in small numbers at a number of other places on the San Francisco peninsula and in the Santa Clara valley. But its center of distribution is evi- dently the extensive groves of Monterey Pine on the Stanford ranch ( University campus) and neighboring extensive grounds of the residents of Menlo Park. In the Golden Gate Park at San Francisco apparently the same species of Diplosis w r as found in February and March, 1897. Man}'- specimens of eggs, larvae, pupae and adults were obtained and examined but, strangely, there was no shorten- ing or swelling of the needles of the attacked fascicles, although the needles turned yellow. The larvae were situated always near the base of the needles. The characteristic deformation of the needles on the affected trees at Stanford was always present whatever the species of pine. But here in Golden Gate Park, 35 miles distant from Stanford, the Monterey Pines, although attacked by apparently the same pest, do not sho\v the deformation. [One of Mr. Snow's notes touching the identity of the flies from the two places is : " March 2 ; Golden Gate Park flies issuing in laboratory ; they look for all the world like our Diplosis here. Don't understand this.] There are several species of Diplosis which attack the needles of various species of pine in this couiitiy and Europe. These are Diplosis brachyntera, D. signata and D. pini on the European Pin us syircstris; D. pini-inopis on the Jersey or scrub pine, Finns inopis ; D. brachvntcroides, also on P. inopis, and D. pini-rigida- on the American pitch pine, P. rigida. Diplosis pini differs from our Monterey Pine species in that .the larva bears upon its back two rows of setiferous fleshy proc- esses or caruncles. They do not cause gall-like swellings at the bases of the needles. The joints of the male antennae are double and the ovipositor of the female is short. This Euro- 494 ENTOMOLOGICAL NEWS. [June, pean species and another, Diplosis pini-maritimce, and the American Diplosis pini-inopis Osten Sacken (which that author says may be the same as D. pint}, pupate out upon the needles in a resinous cocoon. The Montery Pine fly never pupates out upon the needles and its cocoon is made of the fibres and is spun by the insect. Diplosis brachyntera of Europe has upon the back of its larva ' ' Dornwarzchen ' ' or thorn papillae. The larva live be- tween the needles which are stunted but not swollen at their base, and pupation takes place in the ground. In these points it differs from the present insect. Diplosis brachynteroides O. S. is described only from the deformations produced by the larvae which, though on the east- ern scrub pine, are similar to those on the Monterey Pine, except that the needles strongly diverge, which they are not caused to do in the present case. To his rather inadequate description Osten Sacken adds the supposition that the larvae pupate in the ground, since he saw some individuals caught in a spiders' web apparently as they journeyed toward the ground. The European Diplosis signata is distinctly different from our species, and it will be sufficient to say that the antennae of the male are composed of alternate single and double joints. Dr. Packard's description of his Diplosi pini-rigida: from the pitch pine of the Northeastern States is drawn very vaguely, but it undoubtedly strongly resembles the present species. The chief differences are apparently as follows : In Packard's species the larvae lie between the two inner needles of the whirl while the third or outer needle is frequently not swollen. The larvae ascend to the terminal buds before pupation and there construct a cocoon of the pitch which exudes from these buds. ' ' His statement that there are two broods may be disputed, I believe. In his description he has mistaken the origin of the third vein for the cross vein." -(SNOW.) MR. H. K. BURRISON will go to the Yellowstone Park this Summer to collect. He states that he was compelled to pay duty recently on some butterflies and the New York Custom House classified them as "a non- enumerated manufactured article" and asked twenty per cent duty but finally accepted ten per cent. ENTOMOLOGICAL NEWS. 495 Some Notes on the Habits and Capture of Aegiale streckeri Skinner. :;: By ERNEST J. OSLAR, Denver, Colorado. Owing to very little being known of the habits of this inter- esting and beautiful species of sgiale and of its rarity in col- lections, I thought it would be of interest to readers of ENTO- MOLOGICAL NEWS to give a few facts in regard to its character- istics and environments, which the writer had the pleasure of observing in the past season during a three months collecting tour in the southwest corner of Colorado. I found it extremely difficult of approach and capture, in fact, it was without exception the most difficult of all diurnals that it has ever been my lot to tackle. I found it an utter impossibility to capture it in the hot mid-day sunshine, owing to its continuous very swift flight, circling around a large area, which it seemed to delight in keeping up for hours, pausing for a few seconds once in a great while to rest on a rock, and before one could get within striking distance it would shoot up again like a sky-rocket, emitting a peculiar snapping-like sound similar to a large species of black underwing grasshopper that is found throughout the the Rocky Mountain region. Another difficulty attending its capture was the rough nature of the locality in which it made its haunts, being on the slope of a steep foothill, covered with small rocks and boulders, cacti, yuccae and sage brush, that led up to the top of what is called the Florida Mesa, situated twenty miles east of Durango, Colo- rado. By exercising a little patience and keeping myself out of sight in the shade of a large sage brush, from which I could observe their movements, I was rewarded by the discovery of two important facts, which materially aided me in making their capture. The first thing that attracted my attention was, that only the males were on the wing during the hot sunshine, and the females remained concealed in the shade, settled with closed wings on the main stem of the sage brush during the day, and only flew when disturbed, and then only to a short distance to alight on another sage brush. * See ENT. NEWS, Vol. xi, pi. 2, Fig. 27. 496 ENTOMOLOGICAL NEWS. [June, To capture them in that position was an impossibility, for not only did you run the risk of ripping your net all to pieces, but loosing your quarn' in the bargain. I had been told by a celebrated collector, who has made annual trips to this State for a number of years, that he had once taken A. yucca, var. coloradenszs , without any trouble, "by getting up in the early morning before sunrise, when he found them clinging to the stem of the yuccae asleep ; all he had to do was to pick them off with his finger and thumb and put them in his killing bottle. Profiting by such information, I undertook to try it myself, so taking blankets and supplies along I camped on the spot for three days and nights, where I had previously located streckeri. I may add, right here, the scheme did not work at all in this instance, but I was rewarded for my trouble in another unex- pected way. \Yhat I did discover, however, proved conclusive^ that A. streckeri in habits is as much a moth as a butterfly. While sitting quietly by my camp-fire waiting for water to boil to make coffee, the sun having not long gone over the L,a Plata range in the dim distance, my attention was drawn by a loud humming sound that seemed to come from all around me. Upon investigation, to my great astonishment, I saw numbers of 2 strekcri flitting in and out and among the sage brush and yuccse, each bent upon seeking a suitable yuccae plant to deposit her eggs on. Even at this late hour of the day I found them very alert and wary, and they seemed readily able to detect my presence and avoid me whenever I attempted a move to make a capture. I found the most successful modus operand! to adopt to effect their capture was to follow one cautiously as it flitted from one yuccse plant to another and get up to it as near as possible so as to be within striking distance the moment it paused on the spine of a yuccae to deposit its egg. During the process of egg laying its wings still continued to be in motion similar to a hawk moth, and it took but a few seconds to deposit its single egg. It would then detach itself suddenly from the yuccae with a snapping sound and continue its search for another suitable ENTOMOLOGICAL NEWS. 4Q7 yuccae and which it seemed to be very particular and fastidious in choosing. I noticed it always selected a small and young- plant that grew apart by itself from the larger groups or clumps of yuccae. I may add, I continued to hunt and capture specimens until it became too dark to see them, but long after I had returned to camp I could hear them humming around me, proving, beyond doubt, they are as much nocturnal as diurnal in their habits. I first discovered strekeri on May 27, 1899, but it was evident they had been out some time prior to that date, the first lot taken being all more or less battered and worn, but the second time I visited the spot, which was a week later, a fresh crop of perfect specimens was then just out. I continued the visits weekly till first week in July ; by that time all had disappeared. I found it difficult to secure perfect specimens after netting them, as once in the net they made a tremendous fight for liberty. In bottling them in the ordinary way while in the net, the method applied to all the Hesperidae, I found useless, as by the time the cyanide had taken effect the specimen was worthless. After experimenting with a number of things for quick killing, I found the most effectual and the method giving the best results, was to have in readiness a small glass syringe charged with sul- phuric ether. By cornering the specimen as quickly as pos- sible the syringe could be used, which instantly gave the speci- men its quietus ; a strongly charged cyanide bottle did the rest. It w r as by accident I came across A. streckcri, the first speci- men I secured had been run over by a buggy and was a 9 , it had evidently straj-ed away from its haunts, for it was five miles away from where I afterwards found them in quantities, and only at the one spot. After sending it on to Dr. Skinner for identification, he wrote me, " I had struck a mighty good thing, and that very few collectors had streckcri in their col- lections, and only one 9 was in any collection." Such a statement practically proves that A. streckcri is noc- turnal, at least the females are. I never took or saw a male in the evening, and no one I presume ever thought of looking for the species in the evening, hence this accounts for the fact that 498 ENTOMOLOGICAL NEWS. [June, only one female had been taken. In my case, the greater number of specimens I took and saw were females. This is another illustration and proof that clinches the saying, " that nothing is rare when you know when and where to find it." The species of the genus sEgiale are, without doubt, ex- tremely local, which certainly cannot be accounted for by lack of food plant, as the soap weed or yuccae is to be seen in quan- tities throughout this State, yet it is only in widely separated spots that the genus sEgiale occurs. WE have recently had a pleasant visit from Mr. August Busch of The U. S. Dept. Agric. who was studying specimens in the Coll. of the Amer- ican Entomological Society. PROF. W. G. JOHNSON, of College Park, Md., states that his article in the May NEWS on certain mites did not appear in print coincidentally with the mites. The mites are expected to reappear about June 9, 1900. Those wishing specimens of the mites will please take notice. BUGS CALLED OUT FIREMEN. A cloud of bugs was responsible for the calling out of the Trenton, N. J., Fire Department last night (May ist). The bugs were gathered around the steeple of the Fourth Presby- terian Church in such numbers and at such a distance from the ground that a passer-by mistook them for smoke and sent in an alarm. When the Fire Department arrived on the scene, Chief Allen, with the aid of a field glass, discovered the mistake, and the fire companies returned to their houses. Philadelphia Record, May 3, 1900. IDENTITY OF Hemaris tennis and Hemaris dijfinis. As soon as my Hemaris tennis emerge, I shall be ready with my notes on the identity of tennis and diffinis. I am sure that tennis, diffinis, uniformis, thysbe, are the same, in other words, that the Winter pupae, from mid-Summer larvae give the even-margined, whitish yellow tennis and eggs of tennis, give the late Spring and early Summer larvae, which produce in July, diffinis in all gradations from whitish, even-margined tennis to reddish yellow serrate diffinis, and also Strecker's forms, cethra. These are my observations for three years, which I confidently expect to see verified finally by my concluding test of last Summer's brood from eggs of typical diffinis in numbers (seventy odd), which should produce tennis this Spring. This last test is simply to verify and check the same observations of two former seasons, only it has been made with scrupulous care. The Spring and late Summer larvae show no differences in any particular, and the food plant is, of course, the same. Triosteum perfoliatnm, one of the Caprifoliacece. ELLISON A. SMYTH, JR., Blacksburg, Va. igoo] ENTOMOLOGICAL NEWS. 499 The Capture of Platynus caudatus Lee., and Platy- nus larvalis Lee-, in Western Pennsylvania. By GEORGE A. EHRMAN, Pittsburg, Pa. Dr. L/eConte, in his Descriptions of New Species of North American Coleoptera, Pt. i, published by the Smithsonian Institute, 1866, on page 7, describes Platynus caudatus, and he gives Western States as the habitat of this odd and rare beetle. Now what I would understand by this record would be that large expanse west of the Mississippi River. Or, if the student of geography wishes to restrict the area, those States west of the Rock} 7 Mountains or great divide ; but, be it what it will, I w r ill leave it for the reader to decide, and if Dr. Leconte is correct in the habitat of this species it certainly has a wide area of distribution. In referring to the late Dr. John Hamilton's catalogue of the Coleoptera of Southwestern Pennsylvania, page 350, the Doctor says: "One example, Jeannette, Pa.;' and again on page 379 of the same work he gives it in these words : ' ' One fine example of this rare species, etc., taken by Mr. H. Klages near Pittsburg." In these two passages the Doctor is mistaken, as I captured this specimen in one of my favorite collecting grounds Bird's Hollow, near Pittsburg. In refer- ing to my note book of 1891 I find the following entry : "Platynus sp ? Taken in a moist stony depression on the east side of Bird's Hollow. The specimen seems to be imma- ture, as it is very pale in color and the least touch dents the elytra. The species is very active, more so than any other species that I have met with in life." Furthermore, I brought the specimen home alive and kept it in captivity, for four days, thinking that by age it would become darker and harder. In this supposition I was mistaken. I then put it in my cyanide jar, after w r hich it w r as properly mounted with locality and date affixed. Not long after, I had an occasion to go to Allegheny and called to see Dr. Hamilton. I brought my doubtful Platynus with me and asked the Doc- tor for an explanation about the peculiarity of my odd Platynus. In looking it up the Doctor found that the species was lack- 500 ENTOMOLOGICAL NEWS. [June, ing in his collection. 1 then donated this rare insect to the Doctor's collection, as I knew he was working on a catalogue of the Coleoptera of Southwestern Pennsylvania. Before I left the Doctor's home that evening I knew the name of the odd as well as rare Platynus and promised the gentleman that I would keep a look out for more. So far I have found no other, nor do I know of any other person taking it here, and it still remains the only specimen in the Hamilton collection, which is now in the Carnegie Museum. Platynus larvalis L/econte. During my collecting in Brown's wood on July 31, 1899, I captured a fine specimen of this strange as well as rare beetle, and as far as the writer's knowl- edge is concerned it is the first specimen taken in this part of Pennsylvania. This species in life is far less active than P. caudatus, and though bearing a superficial resemblance to it, is entirely distinct. The specimen was found in a dryer situation where the soil was composed of dry leaves and leaf mould. New Scenopinidae from the United States. By D. W. COQUILLET, Washington, D. C. Our three genera separate as follows : 1. First posterior cell closed and petiolate, second submarginal cell at least three times as long as distance between apices of third vein and of its anterior branch ..... 2 First posterior cell open, second submarginal cell less than twice as long as distance, etc. . . . . . Scenopinus Latr. 2. Body short and robust, bearing numerous scales (type Scenopinus bulbosusQ. S.) Metatrichia n. gen. Body elongate and slender, destitute of scales Pseudatrichia O. S. Pseudatrichia unicolorn. sp. Black ; apices of knobs of halteres white, legs yellow ; apices of tarsi, of hind femora and both ends of hind tibiae brownish ; front polished ; mesonotum opaque, with rather coarse reticula- tions ; abdomen opaque, the first, fifth and following segments polished ; wings hyaline ; veins brown, last two sections of third vein subequal in length ; costal and subcostal cells brown, an elongate yellowish spot between apices of auxiliary and of first veins ; length 6 mm. L,as Vegas, N. Mex. (T. D. A. Cockerell, July 19), and Colorado. Two male specimens. Type No. 4711, U. S. National Museum. ENTOMOLOGICAL NEWS. 5OI Pseudatrichia griseola n. sp. Head yellow, opaque, gray, pruinose ; upper part of occiput and the antennae black ; proboscis and palpi yellow ; thorax black, opaque, densely gray pruinose ; the humeri and spots on the pleura yellow ; scutellum yellow, marked with a median brown vitta ; abdomen yellowish, subopaque ; knobs of halteres and the legs yellow- ish ; wings hyaline ; veins yellow ; last section of third vein less than one- half as long as the preceding section ; length 3 to 4 mm. Mesilla, N. Mex. (T. D. A. Cockerell, May 25, 1897), and L,os Angeles Co. , Cal. A pair from the latter locality, cap- tured by the writer, were resting on the bare ground like a Thereva. Two males and one female. Type No. 4712, U. S. National Museum. A Neglected Platymetopius. By HERBERT OSBORN, Ohio State Univer., Columbus, O. Platymetopius hyalinus n. sp. Elytra hyaline with dark points and fuscous bands arranged, one sub- basal, one median and one sub-apical. Face bright sulphur yellow, vertex, pronotum, and scutellum yellow with some infuscation or greenish washes. Length $ 5.5 mm.; $ 4.25 mm. Vertex acute, nearly twice as long as width at base, slightly less acute and produced in male, anteriorly depressed and with a conspicuous median impressed line running from base to tip. Front narrow, clypeus widening to apex, loras almost a half-circle, genae evenly rounded. Pro- thorax of usual form, sides short, posterior edge very slightly emarginate at center. Elytra hyaline, without veinlets or narrow lines, the nerves conspicuous, but one transverse vein between second and third sector. Color : vertex yellow, more or less infuscated, the females showing a yellow wedge anteriorly, the males with deeper infuscation but having a marginal and anterior median stripe lighter. Face clear yellow with a marginal fuscous line just beneath margin of vertex, the margin of cheeks becoming somewhat greenish. Prothorax greenish yellow with slight trace of fuscous anteriorly in $ and faint milky irrorations in $. Elytral nervures fulvous in 9 , paler in $. Three fairly distinct transverse bands of fuscous spots, one, midway on clavus and including first trans- verse vein consists of transverse fuscous spots behind which to tip of cell is a smoky patch. The middle band includes a distinct black point at tip of clavus and on the nodal vein. The subapical band includes the ante- apical transverse veins, the inner and outer of which are black, the fuscous points appearing in outer and middle anteapical cells in proximal part of three apical cells, those in the outer and middle apical cells forming a broken circle. Pectus black with yellow borders on coxal and pleural pieces. Abdomen above black on disk in female, with yellow border and 5O2 ENTOMOLOGICAL NEWS. [June, apex, in male black with marginal yellow spots. Beneath light yellow in female, black in male. Legs yellow with black points at base of spines. Genitalia: Female, last ventral segment veTy much produced, reaching nearly half the length of the pygofer, tapering to a rounded point. Pygofer broad with a black spot near apex and a few short yellow bristles. Ovipositor equalling pygofer, black, with pale tip. Male, valve triangular with an acute median tooth. Plates narrow elongate with the tips curving dorsad in two large hooks, which in normal position would be included between the edges of the pygofer. In all specimens in hand, however, the plates are bent backward on venter, exposing their inner face, and one specimen still in the position of com- plete coitus shows the plates caught upon the point of the greatly elong- ated female ventral segment and pushed over against the abdomen. In all specimens in hand it would appear that the position given the plates during copulation had been retained when the specimens were killed. Described from five females and four males collected in Washington, D. C., June, 1897, by M r - J- S. Hine, who states that they were very abundant upon an introduced species of maple. It seems strange that the species should have been so long overlooked if a native form ; and, as suggested by Mr. Hine, it may be an introduced species brought with some of the exotic plants. If so it would still Seem to have escaped the vigilance of the descriptive entomologist, as it can not be referred to any described species. How a little Tineid Larva lives on what is left of a big Cecropia Caterpillar. By HENRY SKINNER and ALFRED F. SATTERTHWAIT. Mr. H. W. Wenzel, while looking for Pselaphidae and Scyd- menidae, can't go by other natural histor) r objects, as his is a case of atavism. His father and grandfather were naturalists, and he has two sons enthusiastically following in their father's footsteps. While collecting these minute Coleoptera, he also collected for us a goodly number of a'cropia cocoons. Tlu >L cocoons were sorted over and divided into the heav}^ ones and light weight ones. The heavy ones contained living cecropia chrysalids and Opliion macntrnm cocoons, and the light ones larva killed by fungi, dipterous and hymenopterous parasites or by other causes. We were surprised to find in the inner 1900] ENTOMOLOGICAL NEWS. 503 cocoon of one of these light weight ones about ten cocoons of a Tineid. The cecropia cocoon was a fresh one and evidently spun last fall along with the other cocoons, which have since disclosed images of cecropia. It contained a dead cecropia larva on which the Tineid caterpillars had fed. It was covered w r ith silk and frass from the little micros. The little female Tineid was evidently able to tell that the big cocoon contained a dead giant on which her progeny could live and flourish, so she deposited her eggs at the small end of the cecropia cocoon and the little caterpillars on hatching either worked their way through the loose strands of silk at this place or else actually ate their way to the dead cecropia larva. After becoming full grown some of the Tineid larvae ate their way through the inner cocoon and spun up between the inner and outer cocoons of the cecropia. Several also perforated the outer cocoon evidently for the purpose of making an exit for the imagos of the Tineid. We reared a number of the little moth and sent one to Dr. W. G. Dietz who pronounced it to be Tinea fuscipunddla Haw. We also found another cecropia cocoon that had several of the micro cocoons in the dead pupa. SYNCHLOE LACINIA. The larvae of this species are very common in the Mesilla Valley, New Mexico, on Heliantluis annnus. For a long time I thought they would live on no other plant, but on Aug. 15, 1897, I found them on Helianthus cilia/is, and also a few on Xanthium canadense. On Aug. 23 of the same year, at Mesilla, I found a few larvae on Polypteris hookeriana. The species, therefore, has four known food-plants, all -compositse. The imago is preyed upon by the bug Phymatafasciata. Another sunflower insect, the beetle Copturodes cockerelli Casey, was found to occur also on Xanthium canadense at Mesilla. T. D. A. COCKERELL. THE UNIVERSITY OF ILLINOIS has fallen heir to the Bolter collection of insects, numbering approximately fifteen thousand species, represented by about seventy thousand specimens, besides thirty thousand duplicates not in the systematic collection. This collection, accumulated during the last fifty years by the late Andreas Bolter, a business man of Chicago, is remarkable for the excellence of the material and for the excellent care with which it has been prepared and arranged. It represents all orders of insects and North America in general, and contains also a considerable amount of exotic material. The gift was made by the executors of Mr. Bolter, in accordance with the terms of his will, conditional upon its maintenance as a unit, under the name of the " Bolter Collection of In- sects," in a fire-proof building. ENTOMOLOGICAL NEWS. [The Conductors of ENTOMOLOGICAL NEWS solicit and will thankfully receive items of news likely to interest its readers from any source. The author's name will be given in each case, for the information of cataloguers and bibliographers.] To Contributors All contributions will be considered and passed upon at our earliest convenience, and, as far as may be, will be published according to date of recep- tion. ENTOMOLOGICAL NEWS has reached a circulation, both in numbers and circumfer- ence, as to make it necessary to put " copy " into the hands of the printer, for each num- ber, three weeks before date of issue. This should be remembered in sending special or important matter for a certain issue. Twenty-five " extras," without change in form, will be given free, when they are wanted ; and this should be so stated on the MS., along with the number desired. The receipt of all papers will be acknowledged. ED. PHILADELPHIA, PA., JUNE, 1900. The collecting season is now well inaugurated and a few words on the proper methods of work may not be amiss. In- stead of collecting for the pleasure of seeing your captures neatly arranged in row r s in the cabinet, take up some problem in entomology and study it to a conclusion. There are many of our common species about w r hich we know 7 nothing of their earlier stages, and those persons living in the country could do excellent scientific work by studying and describing them. If each person would take up a season's w 7 ork of this kind the aggregate at the end of the Summer months would be surprising. The study of seasonal variation is also most interesting, and to do this intelligently all specimens should have accurate data on the pins. Another field of work is the study of geographical variation ; therefore collect large series and exchange with your friends and correspondents. Even common species may be forced to tell interesting stories in this respect. For in- stance, is not the Colias ph Hod ice of the East the same as the sulphur butterfly of the West, which goes under another name ? L,et each entomologist this Summer take up a season's w r ork and publish the result in the NEWS. CORRECTION. In the NEWS for May, 1900, page 455, under E. Calverti, third long primer line, read " bright blue females," instead of " males.'* Page 458, under 6". -inadidum add "a single teneral male." 504 ENTOMOLOGICAL NEWS. 505 Entomological Litera.tu.re. COMPILED BY P. P. CALVERT. Under the above head it is intended to mention papers received at the Academy of Natural Sciences of Philadelphia pertaining to the Entomology of the Americas (North and South). Articles irrelevant to American entomology will not be noted. Contribu- tions to the anatomy, physiology and embryology of insects, however, relating to Ameri- can or exotic species, will he recorded. The numbers in HEAVY-FACED TYPE refer to the journals, as numbered in the following list, in which the papers are published ; * denotes that the paper in question contains descriptions of new North American forms. Titles of all articles in foreign languages are translated into English; usually such articles are written in the same language as the title of the journal containing them, but when such articles are in other languages than English, French, German or Italian, this fact is indicated in brackets. 3. The American Naturalist, Boston, May, 1900. 4. The Canadian Entomologist, London, Out., May, 1900. 5. Psyche, Cambridge, Mass., May, 1900. 11. The Annals and Magazine of Natural History, London, April, 1900. 15. Biologia Centrali-Americana, London, pt. cliv, Mar., 1900, rec'd. May 8. 22. Zoologischer Anzeiger, Leipsic, Apr. 9, 1900. 35. Annales, Socie'te Entomologique de Belgique, xliv, 3, Brussels, Mar. 29, 1900. 36. Transactions, Entomological Society of London, 1900, pt. i, April 26. 4O. Societas Entomologica, Ziirich- Hottingen, April 15, 1900. 44. Verhandlungen, zoologisch-botanischenGesellschaft in Wien, 1, 2-3, April 5, 1900. 78. The Gardeners' Chronicle, London, 1900. 81. Biologisches Centralblatt, Erlangen, 1900. 128. Proceed- ings, Linnean Society of New South Wales, 1899, pt. iv, Sydney, April 7, 1900. THE GENERAL SUBJECT. Absoloii, K. Some remarks on the Moravian cave-fauna, 22. B. The odor of flowers and insects, Wiener Illustrirte Garten Zeitung, April, 1900. Cholotlkovsky, N. On the life cycle of the species of Chennes and the general questions connected therewith, 81, April 15. Cockerell, T. E>. A. The lower and middle Sonoran zones in Arizona and New Mexico, 3. Dmicker, G. Methods of Variation-statistics, 81, April i. Hamllirscb, A. The use of superfluous spermatozoa in the female insect, a notice of the latest work of A. Berlese, figs., 44. Plateau, F. New researches on the relations between insects and flowers : 2. The choice of colors by insects. Memoires, Sock'te Zoologique de France, xii, Paris, 1^99. Schiller- Tietz. The supposed parthenogenesis in the honey bee, Natur- wissenschaftliche Wochenschrift, Berlin, April S, 1900. Smith, J. B. See review, post. Walton, L. B. The basal segments of the hexapod leg, figs , 3. Wood, J. H. On the larvre, habits, and structure of Lithocolletes concomitella Bankes, and its nearest allies (cont.) : Biologi- cal aspects, Entomologists' Monthly Magazine, London, May, 1900. ECONO3IIC ENTOMOLOGY.. Alwood, W. B. Spraying the orchard, figs., Bulletin No. 100, Virginia Agric. Exper. Station, Blacksburg, Va., May, 1899, rec'd. May, 1900. Aiioii. Report of the Malaria Expedition to Sierra Leone, Nature, London, April 26, 1900. 506 ENTOMOLOGICAL NEWS. [June, Anon. The study of ticks and the diseases caused by them, New York Medical Journal, May 12, 1900. Beach, S. A. Lowe, V. H., and Stewart, F. C- Common diseases and insects injurious to fruits, tigs. Bulletin 170, New York Agric. Exper. Station, Geneva, N. Y., Dec., '99. Chittenden, F. H. Some insects injurious to garden crops, figs. Bulletin 23, new series, U. S. Depart. Agric. Division of Entomology, Washington, 1900. Cockerell, T. D. A. Some insect pests of Salt River valley [Arizona] and the remedies for them, Bulletin 32, Arizona Agric. Exper. Station, Tucson, Arizona, Dec., 1899. Felt, E. P. Insects injurious to forest trees. Extract from Fourth Annual Report of the Commissioners of Fisheries, Game and Forests of the State of New . York. 1898. 4to., 23 pp., figs., 3 col. pis. Rec'd. April 30, 1900. Fernald , C. H. Report of the Entomologist, Twelfth Annual Report of the Hatch Experiment Station of the Massachusetts Agricultural Col- lege, Boston, Jan., 1900. Forbes, A. C. The elm-bark beetle \_Scolytns destructor], 78, March 17. Laurent, E. The employment of nicotine as an insecticide in agriculture. Bulletins, Societe" Nationale d'Agriculture de France, Ix, 3, Paris, Mar., 1900. Meiiegaux, A. On the " grasserie " [or "yellowing"] of the silk worm, 2 figs.; On a curious parasite of the silk worm (Ugimyia sericaricz Rondani), i pi. Bulletin Scientifique de la France et de la Belgique, xxxii, Paris, 1899. Rec'd. April 28, 1900. Ronsisvalle, M. On the morbid effects of Ixodidse on man, Atti della Accademia Gioenia di Scienze Naturali in Catania, Ixxvi, 1899. Smith, K. G. The tick fever parasite, 128. Webster, F. M. The clover root borer, Hylastes obscurns Marsham, fig., i pi. ; Bulletin No. 112, Ohio Agric. Exper. Station, Wooster, Ohio, Dec., 1899 "Wesche, \V. The earwig, 78, April 28. ARACHNIDA. Cambridge, F. O. P. Arachnida Araneidea, vol. ii, pp. 105-120* [Ctenidte Selenopidse, Heteropodidas], 15. MRIOPODA. Brolemanu, H. W. Myriopodological notes,. figs., 22. ORTHOPTERA. Blatchley, W. S. On the species of Nemo- bins known to occur in Indiana*, 5. Brumier von WattenwyU Orthoptera collected by the Belgian Antarctic Expedition, 35. NEUROPTEKA. Calvert, P. P. Odonata of New Jersey, see Smith, J. B., review, post. HE MtPTERA. Baker, C. F. American species of Macropsis (Jassidas)*, 5. Champion, G. C. Rhynchota Heteroptera, vol. ii, pp. 305-312* [Anthocoridce], 15. Cliitteiiden, F. H. [Gargaphia iingulata, Nectarophora destructor'}, See Economic Entomology. Cho- lodkovsky, N. See the General Subject Cockerell, T. D. A, Note on the pigments of the Coccid Chionaspis fnrfnra Fitch, Science, New York, April 27, 1900. Id. Four new Cocci the from Arizona, 4. Distant, W. L. Rhynchotal notes, iv. Heteroptera : Pentatominse (part.), 11. Id. Undescribed genera and species belonging to the Rhynchotal family Pentatomidas, i pi., 36. Fowler, W. W. Rhyn- ENTOMOLOGICAL NEWS. 507 chota Homoptera, vol. ii, pi. xvii, 15. Morse, E. S. A bubble- blowing insect \_Aphrophora], figs., Appletons' Popular Science Monthly, New York, May, 1900. Osborn, H. Homoptera of New Jersey, see Smith, J. B., review, post. Pergaude, T. Thysanoptera of New Jersey, see Smith, J. B., review, /to.?/. COLEOPTERA. Arrow, G. J. On pleurostict Lamellicorns from Grenada and St. Vincent (West Indies), 36. Bourgeois, J. Dascillidae collected by the Belgian Antarctic Expedition, 35. Brenske, E. Scarabaeidse collected by the Belgian Antarctic Expe- dition, 35. Carpeiitier, L. Hibernation of Coleoptera, Bulletin, Societe" Linneenne du Nord de la France, 317, Amiens, May, 1899. Chittemlen, F. H. {Systena blanda, Cerotoma trifurcata, Epictems imbricatus, Spermophagus pectoralis, Ceutorhynchus spp. , Lixus con- carus, Haltica ignita, Xylocrius Agassizii~}, see Economic Entomology. Cobelli, JR. Contributions to the biology of Lophyrus pini L., 44. Fairmaire, L. Heteromera collected by the Belgian Antarctic Expe- dition, 35. Lameere, A. Cerambycidae collected by the Belgian Antarctic Expedition, 35. Lea, A. M. Revision of the Australian Curculionidae belonging to the subfamily Cryptorhynchides, pt. iv, 128. Manger, K. Coleoptera in paraffin [for transportation, not recom- mended], 4O. Pic, M. New Pedilidae and Anthicidae, 44. Rous- seau, E. Carabidse collected by the Belgian Antarctic Expedition, 35. Sharp, D. Coleoptera, vol. ii, pt. i, pp. 585-608, pi. xviii* [Crypto- phagidse], 15. Wasmaiin, E. New Paussidae, with a biological sup- plement, 2 pis. Notes from the Leyden Museum, xxi, 1-3, Dec., 1899. AVeiizel, H. AV. Scydmaenidae and Pselaphidae of New Jersey, see Smith, J. B., review, post. D I PTEIl A . Cockerell, T. 1). A . Scriptotricha or Paracantha ? 11. Coquillett, D. W. Report on a collection of dipterous insects from Puerto Rico* ; Proceedings, U. S. National Museum, No. 1198, Washington, 1900. Jacobs. Diptera collected by the Belgian Antarctic Expedition, 35. Johnson, C- AV. Diptera of New Jersey, see Smith, J B., review, />CAS/. Melamler, A. L. A decade of Dolichopodidae*, fi-s., 4. Pantel, J. Thri.rioii halidayanitin Rond. Monographic essay on the external characters, the biology and the anatomy of a para- sitic larva of the group of the Tachinairia, 6 pis. La Cellule, xv, i. Lierre et Louvain, 1898. A great monograph of 290 quarto pages, dealing with the external morphology of egg, larva, pupa and adult (42 pp.). biology and etiology (34 pp.), and anatomy (240 pp.). LEPIDOPTERA.-Caspari, W. On Acronycta [eggs, larva], 4O. Chitteiideii, F. H. \_Monoptilota tntbilclla, Klasniopalpns //>- >n>^'//iis, Hellula undalis, Laphygma frugiperda, Sesia rut Hans.'} See Econom[c Entomology. Diotz, AV. G. Tineoidea of New Jersey, see Smith, J. B., review, />t?j/. Drut-e, II. Lepidoptera Heterocera, vol. i, pp. i-xxxii, vols ii and iii title-pages and contents, 5. Dyar, H. G. The larva of Enstixia pupula Hiibn., 4; Larvje from Hawaii, a correc- 508 ENTOMOLOGICAL NEWS. [June, tion, 4; Life histories of North American Geometridae, xi, 5. Fanvel, A. A. Walking cocoons, figs., La Nature, Paris, April 21, 1900. Gil>- SOii, A. Some interesting moths taken at Ottawa, Ottawa Naturalist, April-May, 1900. Grote, A. K. The descent of the Fiends, 4 pis., Proceedings, American Philosophical Society, No. 161, Philadelphia, Jan- uary-March, 1900. Lynian, H. H. An entomological muddle : a re- view [Ifypkantria cunea, congrua, antigone, textor'], 4. Moft'at, J. A. Hydroccia strainentosa, 4. Montgomery, T. H., Jr. On nucleolar structures of the hypodermal cells of the larva of Carpocapsa. i pi., Zoolo- gische Jahrbiicher, Abth. fiir Anatomic u. Ontogenie der Thiere, xiii, 3, Jena, April 10, 1900. HYMENOPTERA. Andre, "E. Thynnidae collected by the Bel- gian Antarctic Expedition, 35. Ashmead, W. H. Classification of the fossorial, predaceous and parasitic wasps, or the super-family Ves- poidea, 4. Id. Hymenoptera (in part) of New Jersey, see Smith, J. B., review, post. Brainier, J. C. Ants as geologic agents in the tropics, figs., Journal of Geology, viii, 2, Chicago, Feb. -March, jgoo. Koiiow, F. W. New contribution to synonymy of the Tenthredinidce, Wiener Entomologische Zeitung, xix, 4-5, May i, 1900. Scliiller-Tietz. See the General Subject. Tosquinet, J. Hymenoptera collected by the Belgian Antarctic Expedition, 35. Smith, J. B. Insects of New Jersey, a list of the species occurring in New Jersey, with notes on those of economic importance, 328 figs., 2 maps, 755 pp. 27th Ann. Rep. State Board of Agric., 1899 (Supplement). Trenton, N. J., 1900, A valuable list of this part of the fauna, preceded by 34 pp. on "Insects and their control," including a brief interesting chapter on development and a genealogical tree of the twenty-two orders recognized. Alphabetical indexes of the localities and individuals quoted, and of the families and genera represented, add to the accuracy and usefulness of the volume. No figures are new; they chiefly illus- trate species of economic importance. Much aid in the preparation of the book was furnished by various specialists, as indicated under the various orders (ante}. Statistics of the species listed are given on p. 701, according to which the total number is 8537, of which 1193 are Diptera, 1718 Hymenoptera, 1570 Lepidoptera, 2845 Coleoptera, 399 Homoptera, 340 Hemiptera, 144 Orthoptera, the other orders less than 100 each. The total exceeds, by 2439 species, Prof. Smith's similar list of 1890, and he predicts an equally great percentage of increase in the next decade. Dr. H. F. WICK HAM will take a collecting trip this Summer to the Pacific States. DR. F. E. BLAISDELL, of Mokelume Hill, Cala., started for Alaska on May loth and will not return until October. He expects to find some, fine insects in the North. IQOO] ENTOMOLOGICAL NEWS. 509 Notes and. Nexvs. ENTOMOLOGICAL GLEANINGS PROM ALL QUARTERS OF THE GLOBE. PROF. A. J. SNYDER expects to pass the Summer in Colorado collecting. MR. LANCASTER THOMAS will go to Cranberry, N. C., and keep his eyes open for species new to the locality. DR. A. FENVES, of Pasadena, California, will start on a collecting trip to the Atlantic coast on the first of June and will return to Pasadena in October. NOTES ON A FEW NORTH AMERICAN SPECIES LISTED AS NOCTUID^;. - In two letters, dated respectively, August 12, 1899, and April 7, 1900, Sir George F. Hampson sends the following notes on some species which stand in our present lists as Noctuidae. He.veris Enhydris Gro\.e=Ottolengttia reticulata Beutenm., belongs to the Thyrididae. Gyros Muirii, H. Edw., which I see you include in the Noctuidae is (teste specimens in Grote collection which agree with description) a Pyra\Q=Monocona rubralis Warr. ; v. my revision of Pyraustinae in Proc. Zool. Soc., 1899, p. 232. Lepidomys Irrenosa Guen., Noct. ii, p. 201 (1852) ; Smith, Cat. Noct., p. 315, is a Pyrale of the subfamily Chrysauginae and is the male of Chalinitis olealis Rag., Ann. Soc. Ent. Fr., 1890, p. 529 ; Hmpsn., Proc. Zool. Soc., 1897, p. 684. The forewing of the male has no costal tympanic vesicle as in the other species of the genus, but has an antemedial tuft of scales on median nervure, with a smaller tuft below it in the submedian fold. It differs from the female described by Ragonot in the forewing having the portions of the ante and postmedian lines, which are bent inwards to the costa, white ; the outer part of the tuft of scales on median nervure and the tuft in submedian fold white. Type New York in Mus. Brit. Pseudcraspedia melanosticta Hmpsn., Trans. Ent. Soc., 1898, p. 256, pi. xvii, f. 6, from St. Vmc&n\.=Acidalia basipunctaria Wlk., from Florida, is a Noctuid. It is a matter for congratulation that the British Museum material is undergoing critical study by so competent a worker as Sir George F. Hampson and we may now hope to eliminate the few remaining doubtful names that remain in our lists. J. B. SMITH. Stenomimits Pa//iihts BOH. On a flat-topped hill overlooking the beautiful Miami Valley in aill view of the Little Miami River, winding its serpentine course through fertile bottom lands, is situated one of the prehistoric burial places from which so many relics of a vanished race have been exhumed. On 'this spot nature has lavished her choicest treasures. Hugh o;ik and oilier trees, with a rank growth c>f smaller 510 ENTOMOLOGICAL NEWS. [June, vegetation, covers the spot so completely that few persons know of its existence. Here the "Kentucky Warbler" (O. formosa) and the "White-browed Warbler" (D. dominica albilora] find an unmolested nesting place. I have taken many rare insects of all orders here, partic- ularly Coleoptera. May u, 1900, while searching for minute beetles I lifted the loose bark from a freshly fallen oak log and found a colony of Stenoinimus pallidus that contained hundreds of this beetle. I picked out 120 in a few minutes. I have never before taken this curious little weevil, which is one of the smallest North American species. It is very slender in form and of pale brown color and might easily be mistaken for Bactridium, which was associated with it. Its larvae had eaten galleries through the decaying fibres of the inner bark CHARLES DURY, Cincin- nati, Ohio. NEW LIGHT ON THE BEE-GENERA MEGACILISSA AND MACROTERA. I have just received the following important information from Mr. W. F. Kirby of the British Museum: " Megadlissa supcrba Smith is a Chilian species, and - = Caupolicana fulvicollis Spin. Mr. Waterhouse and I have carefully examined Perdita halictoides and Macrotera bico/orSm\\\\ f and find that Smith's drawings of the dissections are quite accurate ; and that although Smith says the palpi of Perdita are wanting, and there is no trace of them in the specimen, yet they are included in his own figures, which is very odd. I find that Macrotera was obtained from Mr. E. P. Coffin in 1843, but I do not know from what part of Mexico. Perhaps this might be discovered by hunting through Westwood's publications." This shows that Megadlissa is a pure synonym of Caupolicana, as was suggested in Ann. Mag. Nat. Hist., Dec., 1899, p. 412.* It also confines the distinctness of Macrotera from Macroteropsis and Hypomacrotera, As for Perdita, Smith's figures of the palpi are drawn with dotted lines, and are undoubtedly hypothetical. Under the circumstances set forth in Ann. Mag. Nat. Hist., Dec., 1899, p. 315, it is evident that we shall for the present have to remain wholly uncertain as to what is genuine Perdita. T. D. A. COCKERELL, Mesilla Park, N. M., Feb. 2, 1900. A BEE-FLY FOUR YEARS IN THE LARVAL STATE. Is THIS A RI;CORD? In Volume I, Part 3, of the Proceedings of the Southern California Academy of Sciences may be found a short descriptive article on the habits and parasites of one of the most interesting bees of California, Authophora montana Cress. Its interesting habit of tower building is there illustrated and need not be further commented upon. Antho- p/iont inoufaiia, like many other species of mining bees, live in colonies, and may be found year after year occupying the same spot of ground. Each season the old shafts are cleaned out or new ones are sunk till the earth when turned over seems to be but a mass of clay cells of all ages. On the i5th day of July, 1895, I unearthed a number of cells of A. inon- - Mi'gacillissa yarrowi Cresson, 1875, will become Caupolicana yarrowi; but !/. thora- cica, Fox, and allied species, may have to be separated generically. ENTOMOLOGICAL NEWS. 511 tana, many of which were evidently affected by parasites of various kinds. In the article above referred to, I have stated that nearly half of them are affected by parasites, and subsequent observations but confirm the truth of my first conclusions. Ten of the parasitized cells, which I presumed were occupied by bee-flies, I preserved and put in a box to hatch out. That same season one Sphezropthalmia and one bee-fly hatched out. In 1897, two years after, one bee-fly pupated but soon afterwards died. The next season, thinking that the lack of the moisture naturally supplied them in their normal habitat was the cause of their continued quiescence, I kept moist blotting paper in the box ; but though the larvae were quite active and wriggled about the box none of them transformed. In the Autumn of that year I removed from Los Angeles to Clifton, Arizona, and brought the larvae with me. During the winter a few of them with- ered up and died, but in July, 1899, the remaining four, after a short period of pupation, safely emerged. These larvae were in my possession for full four years before hatching out. How long they had lain in the ground prior to my visit it is, of course, impossible to say, but one, at least, of these was found in a cell that was surrounded by the rootlets of grass of the preceding season. Probably the unnatural conditions under which these larvae were kept may have conduced to their long survival, but in any event the time appears to me a record one. In a paper already published in the ENTOMOLOGICAL NEWS on the habits of Anthidium consimile Ashm., and its long continuance in the larva state, I have suggested that this is probably a provision for ensuring the perpetuation of a race in a climate prone to continuous droughts. This may be another exemplification of the truth of this supposition. Two of the species hatched were sent to the U. S. Dept. of Agricul- ture at Washington and were examined by Mr. Coquillett, who found them to be Anthrax edititia Say, a common species in Southern Cali- fornia. ANSTRUTHER DAVIDSON, M. D., Clifton, Arizona. NOTES ON ANTHICID^;. What seems to be a new species of Stereo- palpus, nearly allied \Qguttatus Lee., occurs in Colorado. I have many specimens from various parts of the mountains ; it is very sparingly pu- bescent, and it is possibly gultatus with the spots shaded ; but it occurs in so many specimens that it is at least indicative of an undescribed spe- cies intermediate between guttatiis Lee. and pndnusiis Lee. In the gt-nus Anthicus the distinctions between formicarius Lai. and li/ic/iis Say seem rather dubious, depending largely upon the granulation of the thorax and punctuation of the elytra. I note two fuu- specimens of AuthicHs leconte Cham, from Gunnison, Col. Among Mr. Wickhanfs specimens from Brownsville, Texas, I note (11) Anthicus occidcntalis, Cham. ; (10) Anthicus droincdarius Lai. ; (72) Anthicus tpinicollis Laf. My specimens of the latter from Vera Cruz, Mex., are identical with the Texas examples ; provisionally I unite with it (60) and (236) varying somewhat, but not sufficiently to definitely establish a new species with- 512 ENTOMOLOGICAL NEWS. [June, out further research ; (131) I refer to Anthicus asphaltinns Cham.; (145) from Laredo, Texas, is Anthicus horridits Lee. ; the whole, excepting the last, forming quite an interesting little group of additions. Anthicus bigiittatus Lee., I note one example from the mountains of British Colum- bia, and another from the Williams River Valley, Col., as well as from Utah and California. Examples of a species, at present referred by me to Anthicus melancholicus Laf., occur here (Brookline, Mass.), not rarely in the nests of the large red and black ants. Anthicus is one of the many genera where large series of specimens from a wide range of terri- tory are an obsolute prerequisite to any rational understanding of the group. FRED. C. BOWDITCH. SOME notes about the weather and some butterflies in South Mississippi, from March, 1900 : March brought us some very fine weather ; from the 5th to the 8th the temperature ranged from 60 to 68, dropping down to 46 by the nth, gradually getting warmer again; by the 15th the mercury registered 66 again, when a sudden change set in on the i6th plunging down to 36 ; but it moved the day following, and by the igth the thermometer registered 64 again. The degrees of thermometer given is the morning temperature ; at noon the highest was 76, the lowest 48 degrees. The first warm spell in the beginning of the month, numerous Graptas sp. ? were observed. Never before have I seen so many Graptas, they all went westward without stopping, though on the nth I observed some on dewberry blossoms in my garden. I left them unmolested ; however, I was not inclined for a catch. At the same time a good many Papilio ajax were seen ; these seemed to be inclined to the contrary, they all seemed to go eastward. This seems to be very remarkable that one kind be in- clined one way and the other some other way. Some Danais and also Callidryas seem to be always present. From the skippers (Hesperidae) the soot-wing " Pholisora cutullus" shows up first. Phyciodes tharos and wood nymphs can now be seen. In my garden the phlox, verbenas and several other flowers are now in full bloom (roses are scarce yet). I noticed one Papilio palamedcs yesterday amongst the phlox. On the 25th I saw a beautiful Ancsa, the brightest I ever observed. I should say that if Vanessa atla?tta is entitled to be called Admiral, Anata portia is entitled to be called Cardinal. I succeeded in taking a specimen each of portia and andria in April, '99. C. FORKET, Ocean Springs, Miss. Doings of Societies. At the Febrtiary meeting of the Newark Entomological Society the regular routine of business was enacted. Mr. Ronke was proposed for membership and that is about all, except that each member brought specimens of Sesia, which were compared by the members. 1 900] ENTOMOLOGICAL NEWS. 513 A meeting was held in Turn Hall, Sunday, April 8, with eight members present. But little business of importance was transacted. President Kemp reported the capture of Acontia delccta at Elizabeth on July 7, 1899. It was decided to hold a field meeting at Hemlock Falls on the second Sunday in May. There being no further business the meeting adjourned. WILLIAM H. BROADWELL, Secrctarv. A special meeting of the Harris Club was held at 35 Court Street, Boston, on Saturday evening, March 3, 1900. Mr. A. H. Kirkland was unanimously elected to membership. Mr. Newcomb exhibted specimens of some of the rarer North Ameri- can Catocala, and also made some interesting remarks on the life-history of Thyridopteryx ephemerceformis. Mr. Weeks showed a large number pf butterflies secured by his collector in Bolivia, and invited the members of the Club to visit him at his house on March nth. The fifth regular meeting was held on the evening of Friday, March 23d. Mr. H. K. Burrison was unanimously elected to membership. Mr. Newcomb made some entertaining remarks on the subject of newspaper Entomology. Mr. Field spoke at some length on the colors of insects, and the physical principles underlying the effects observed. The same speaker afterward outlined some interesting problems in the distribution of An- thocharis genutia. A general discussion of methods employed in collecting about electric lights followed. W. L,. W. FlELD, Secretary. The sixth regular meeting of the Harris Club was held at 35 Court St., Boston, on Friday evening, April 20, 1900. With reference to the abnormally large cocoons of Attacus cecropia, which were discussed at the meeting held on February 1 6, Mr. Newcomb called attention to Dr. Skinner's investiga- tion of the correlation between the aspect of the cocoon and the sex of the inmate (ExT. NEWS, 1-19). Mr. Field re- marked that the cocoons in question were not of the ordinary female type, which is well known to collectors, but were much larger and more globular in shape. He quoted a letter recently 514 ENTOMOLOGICAL NEWS. [June, received from Mr. J. Alston Moffat, of London, Ontario, who is well acquainted with these " inflated cocoons," and has sug- gested that they may be spun only by parasitized larvae, since he had never known an imago to emerge from one. Several persons dissented from this view, stating that they had hatched female moths from ' inflated ' ' cocoons. All who took part in the discussion w r ere agreed on these points : ( i ) That the ' ' inflated ' cocoons belong to a distinct and rare type, always found in bushes near the ground, and never disclosing male images ; (2) That the cocoons of the female type described by Dr. Skinner also occur near the ground but are smaller and more uniform in shape ; (3) That cocoons of the "male type," found among the upper branches of trees and shrubs, occasionally shelter female pupae. Early insects already seen on the wing were reported by various members. Brcphos infans seems unusually common this year. Mr. A. P. Hall caught a female Gastropacha ameri-