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Entomological News 



VOLUME IX, 1898. 



HENRY SKINNER, M. D. 
PHILIP P. CALVERT, Ph.D., Associate Editor. 



Advisorv Committer : 

Ezra T. Cihssdh. Chahlbs A. Blakk. Chariks 

Philip Laurent. Wilicam J. Fox. Charles W. Joh 



PHILADELPHIA : 

Entomological Rooms ok 

The Academy of Natural Sciences, 

logan square. 

1898. 



LIBRASY OF THE 
LELAND STANFORD JR. UNIVEmVf. 

MAR 30 1901 



INDEX TO VOLUME IIX. 



THE GENERAL SUBJECT. 

American En torn. Society, 31, 53, 

79, 157, 184, 202, 262. 
Bible, Insects mentioned in the 224 
Chestnut trees and Balaninus . 126 
Doings of Societies 31, 53, 79, 10 1, 

126, 183, 157, 207, 229, 262. 
Early Entomological Publica- 
tions in the U. S 48 

Economic Entomologists, As- 

sociation of 220 

Economic Entomology 69, 91, 119, 

200, 220, 255. 
Editorials 26, 45, 68, 90, 118, 149, 

173, 199. 218, 254. 
Entomological Collections of U. 

S. National Museum . . .73 
Entomological Literature 28, 49, 74, 

98, 121, 152, 176. 203, 226, 257. 
Entomological Section, A. N. 

S. 31, 54, 126, 183, 202, 231. 
Feldman Collecting Social 31, 55, 

79, 102, 127, 157, 229, 262. 

f Grafting insects 152 

Herbarium pest, A .... 15 
Horn, G. H., Resolutions on 

death of 27, 32, 53 

Insect-catching plant .... 169 
Lady's ear, Beetle removed 

from a 151 



Notes and News ?7, 47, 72, 96, 120, 

150, 174, 201, 224, 256. 
Obituary : 

Behrens, J 128 

Candeze, E 208 

Grey, W 32 

Horn, G. H I 

Kellicott, D. S. . . 128, 160 

Lintner, J. A 129 

Patterson, J. P 104 

Taschenberg, E. L. . . .80 
Osage orange injured by wood 

borers » 33 

Packing of insects 149 

Peach tree pest. An important 255 
Petroleum as an insecticide . 200 
Physiological species .... 6 
Quarantine against injurious in- 
sects 91, 119 

Specimens of Natural History 
in the foreign mails ... 45 

Utah revisited, etc 18 

War, Effect of on Entomology. 173 
Wyoming [Insects of] . . . 18 

ARACHNIDA. 

A. from Alaska 16 

Lycosa vulpinUy Habits of . .131 
Phlegmacera bryantii* ... 16 
Phyloptid peach tree pest . . 255 



Letters to the News 25, 48, 96, 97 a Spiders, Names of some com- 



Loaning specimens .... 90 
Mailing insects, On. . . 218,254 
Measurements, Entoni. . . .117 
Mexico, Collecting in the Tierra 

Caliente 146 

Montana, Injects of .... 18 
Mt. Washington, Insects of .251 
Newark Entomological Society 

80, 104, 128, 159, 231, 263. 
Newspaper Entomology 175, 202, 

224, 225. 



mon 141 



COLEOPTERA. 

Alaudes singularis 
Anchomma costatum . 
Anophthaltnus . . . 
Arizona, C. of . . . 
Casnonia ludoviciana 
Cephaloidae, Studies in 
Chalcolepidius tartarus 
Chlcenius purpuricollis 



151 

151 
202 

80 

193 
238 

157 



* After generic or specific names indicates that such are new. 



11 



INDEX, 



Cicindela larvae, Habits of . . 207 
Coccinellids, Massing of . . .117 
Colorado desert, C. of . 195, 235 
Conotrachelus fissunguis . . 263 

Cychrus tnimus 151 

" stenostomus . .103, 262 

'* viduus 175 

Cyrtophorus verrucosus . . .176 

Dorcaschema spp 33 

Drachylis* 193 

" simu/ans* . . . .195 
Epicauta cinerea monstrosity .161 

Lebia abdominalis 32 

Linodendron rugosum ... 47 

Longevity of C 158 

Microhapla porcata .... 32 

Monstrosity, A 161 

Obrium rubidutn 175 

Opatrinus notus 127 

Panagaeus fasciatus .... 262 
Phyllopertha horticola . . .151 
Pleocoma behrensii .... 47 
Pyractomena luctifera . . .158 
Recollections of old collecting 

grounds . 22, 39, 81, 195, 235 
Rio Grande valley, C. of lower 22, 

39. 81. 

Sericea spp 117 

Srnodicum cucujiforme . . .175 
Sphceridiufn scarbcBoides . .172 
Sponidium* 193 



Tenebrionides mauritanica. 

Typitium* 

Xyleborus affinis. Identity of 
Xylophaga abdominalis . . 

COLLEMBOLA. 

Gnaihocephalus aureo-fascia- 
tus* 



158 
193 
3 



Hippoboscidae 231 

House-flies, Habits of . . .219 
LipochcBta texensis* . . . .168 
Longurio testaceus .... 229 
Maritime D. of Texas . . . 167 
Melanostoma glacialis* . . . 17 
Ospriocerus, Synopsis of . . 37 
" ventralis* ... 37 

Pennsylvania, D. new to . . 208 
Rhagoletis tibicola * ... 69 
Sargus elegans and debilis , 103 
Syrphidae from Alaska ... 17 

Syrphus bryantii* 17 

Tabanus abdominalis and exul 126 

" marilimus* , . . .167 

Texas, D. of 167 

HEMIPTERA. 

California, New Coccidae from . 185 



Kermes cocker elli* . . 
" nigropunc talus* 
Lecanium, tnagn^liarum * 
Phlepsius five nn. spp. . 
Pulvinaria rhois * . . . 
San Jos^ scale .... 



HYMENOPTERA. 

^Agaposlemon sublilior* . 

texanus 
y Agenia archilecla . 
/Anaslalus pearsalli * 
f Andrena tnarics 
^ " prunorum* 
rhodura * 



n 



185 

186 
145 

65 

186 

95 



27 

27 

47 

24 
121 

172 



. 171 

J 58 pAugochlora humeralis . 158, 230 

L Burrows of H.. . 158, 208, 230 

' Colletes compacla 158 



■' .^ 



DIPTERA. 

Alaska, Syrphidae from 
Chaetotaxy, A study in 
Cynomyia ainericana * 
" elongala* . 

hirla* . . . 




Eriocera, Variation in 
Hermetia i Hue ens . 







216 '9 



Crahro salicis 115 

Egg parasite 24 

'jFoxia* 187 

f Foxia pacifica* 187 

17 ^Hemihaliclus* 216 

105 '^Miscophinus* 187 

105 f *' threenn. spp. 188, 189 

106 J ► Miscophus from Florida . . .184 
166 „ Mutillidae of N. Am., Notes . 
229 ' on 14. 56 

57 ^Perdila woolonce* 215 



♦ After generic or specific names indicates that such are new. 



INDEX. 



in 



/ Philanthus punctatus, i , , i^i 
7 Sand wasps, Two new genera of 187 
J Trypoxylon albitarse . . . .127 

^ ** politutmndneglec- 
turn 261 

? Wasp, Habits of 47 

LEPIDOPTERA. 

African Heterocera, New West 11 

Anace melaleuca * 13 

Anthocharis genutia . , . .127 

Aquatic larvae 55 

Argynnis atlantis . . . 230, 263 
Arizona, L. of . . . . 57, 112 

Callidryas eubule 230 

Cannibalism of Cerura . . .225 
Carphoxera ptelearia ... 15 

Caterva catenaria 224 

Ceratomia catalpce 262 

Colias CcBsonia . . ... . .173 

Cossula tnagnifica 214 

Daremma catalpce . . .231, 233 
Distribution of Rhopalocera in 

New Hampshire 42 

Egg stage of moths, Length of 150 
Etnprctia stitnulea .... 264 
Eudamus lycidas^ Food of 89, 174, 

225. 
Florida, L. of . . . 96, 128, 174 

Grapta comma 224 

Hesperocharis, Two nn. spp. .215 

Hypopta anna* ..214 

Inguromorpha slossonii . . .213 

Insect grafting 152 

Larvae on railroad track ... 26 
Lasiocampa medusa * ... 13 
Leucarctia acrea eggs . . . 203 
Mamestra laudabilis .... 263 

picta 120 

Nine nn. spp. 240-251 

Migrations 117 

Missouri, L. of . . . 34, 143, 189 
Neominois tidingsii and diony- 

sius 151 

Pamphila ethHus 163 

hobomoky Food of .174 

tnetea 174 

Paonias astylus 232 



(( 



(( 



it 



II 



Papilio cresphontes . . . .173 

Pieris oleracea 254 

Plusia formosa 159 

Prodenia commeUnce . . . .232 
Pseudosphynx tetrio at sea . . 27 
Pyrameis carye var. muelleri*. 38 
Pyrgus tessellata . . . 130, 263 
Sannina {Sanninoidea) exiti- 

osa 79f 1^4 

Schinia arcifera . . . 232, 264 

Setting-block for L 162 

Smerinthus astylus^ Egg para- 
site of 24 

Sphinges, Missouri . . . .189 
Sphingidae, Notes on American. 134 

Sphinx luscitiosa 104 

Subterranean pupae. To rear . 88 

Syneda graphica 174 

Syntomoides seminigra* . .11 

" xanthopleura* . 11 

Syntofnis efulensis* .... 12 

** kerri* 12 

Tame butterfly, A 224 

Tasema nox* 12 

Thee la telca 1 74 

Theretra arpi* 135 

Vanessa antiopa 121 

MYRIOPODA. 

Poly xenus pug etensis* . . .192 

ODONATA. 

Agrion^ Classification of . . 72 

Cannibalism 184 

Circulation of blood .... 79 

Coi'dulia shurtleffi 184 

Enallagma cardenium . . .183 

** divagans 184 

First filling of tracheae with air 73 

Gomphus spicatus 184 

lowan 7 

Ischnura ex striata . . . .72 

" kellicotti* . . 209, 211 
Maine, O. of . . . . 59, 85, in 

Nehalennia posita 127 

Ophiogofnphus anomalus* . . 60 
Somatochlora elongata var. nti- 
nor* 87 



♦ Afier generic or specific names indicates that such are new. 



IV 



INDEX. 



ORTHOPTERA. 

Neotettix* 138 

•* rotundafrons* bol- 

teri* 139, 140 

Neotettix bolivari n. nom. . .139 
Schistocerca atnericana , . . 262 
Tenodera sinensis . 144, 170, 263 
Tettigiae, Genera of N. Am. . 137 

AUTHORS. 

Ashmead, W. H. . . . 24, 187 

Baker, C. F 65, 121 

Banks, N 16, 141 

Barner, M. C 224 

Barrett, O. W 146 

Blandford, W. F. H 3 

Britton, W. E j 73 

Bruce, D 152 

Calvert, P. P. 7, 28, 45, 49, 73, 74, 

87, 98, 121, 152, 160, 176, 203, 211, 

226, 257. 

Casey, T. L 116, 193 

Cockerell, T. D. A. $6, 27, 96, 115, 

120, 121, 145, 171, 215. 

Cook, A. J 117 

Coquillett, D. W, 37 

Doane, R. W 69 

Dodge, G. M 89, 225 

Dury, C 202 

Dyar, H. G. . . . 163, 213, 214 

Ehrhorn, E. M 128, 185 

Elrod, M. J 7 

Eustis, H. W 88 

Fall, H. C 238 

Fenyes, A 151 

Fischer, E. R 224 

Fiske, W. F 42 

Fletcher, J 67 

Fox, W. J. 14, 49, 80, 103, 128, 159, 

202, 208, 230, 261, 263. 

Gillette, C. P 169 

H..F 



J. 



97 



H.. W. R 26 

Hall, F.J. ...... .143 

Hancock, J. L 137 

Harvey, F. L. . . . 59, 85. 216 

Hoeg, C 174 

Holland, W.J u 

Hopping, R 47 



Hough, G. de N. . . . 105, 165 

Houghton, C 173 

Howard, W. R 97 

Jacobs, E 170 

Johnson, C. W. 17 

Johnson, W. G 255 

Kellogg. V.L 15 

Kincaid, T. ....'.. . 192 

Kircher, G 264 

Klages, E. A 176 

Knab, F 219, 256 

Kunze, R. E 57, 112 

Laurent, P 33. M4 

Letcher, B 38 

Moore, F., Jr 120 

Murtfeldt, M. E 72 

Newcomb, H. H 121 

Pearson, A. W 72 

Pilate, G. R 130 

Robertson, C 6 

Rowley, R. R, . . . . 34, 189 

Sargent, A. B 131 

de Saussure, H 145 

Schaus, W 96, 134, 215 

Schmitz, T. H 32, 56 

Schwarz, H. . . . . . ... 162 

Skinner, H. i, 26, 27, 31, 55, 68, 79, 

90, 102, 118, 120, 127, 149, 157, 

173, 174, 184, 199, 218, 229, 231, 

254, 262. 

Slosson, A. T 251 

Smith, J. B. 69, 91, 95. 114, 119. 200, 

220, 240, 255. 

Smith, H. H 151 

Snyder, A. J 18 

Soule, C. G J 18, 150 

Strecker, H 13 

Titus, E. G 203 

Townsend, C. H. T 167 

Wadsworth, M 11 1 

Webster, F. M 48, 160 

Weidt, A. J. 26, 80, £04. 159, 224. 

225, 232, 264. 

Welles, C. S 233 

Wickham, H. F. 22, 39, 47, 48, 81, 

195, 235. 

Willjanjson, E. B 209 

Wolcott, A. B 161 



♦ After generic or specific names indicates that such are new 



Ent. News, Vol. IX. 



Or. QEORQE H. HORN. 



ENTOMOLOGICAL NEWS 



AND 



PROCEEDINGS OF THE ENTOMOLOGICAL SECTION 

ACADEMY OF NATURAL SCIENCES, PHILADELPHIA. 



Vol. IX. 



JANUARY, 1898. 



No. I. 



CONTENTS: 



Dr. George H. Horn i 

Blandford — The identity of Xyleborus 

aflfinis, with some synonymical notes 3 

Elrod— Iowa Odonata 7 

Holland— Descriptions of new West Af- 

ricati Heterocera 11 

Strecker— Lasiocampa medusa 13 

Fox— Notes on the Mutillidae of N. Am. 14 

Kellogg — Carphoxera ptelearia 15 

Banks— Arachnida from the Malaspina 

Glacier, Alaska 16 



Johnson — Notes and descriptions of 

new Syrphidae, etc 17 

Snyder— Utah revisited, etc 18 

Wickham — Recollections of old col- 
lecting grounds 22 

Ashmead —An egg-parasite, etc 24 

Editorial 25 

Notes and News 27 

Entomological Literature 28 

Doings of Societies 31 



Dr. GEORGE H. HORN. 

George Henry Horn was born in Philadelphia, April the 
7th, 1840, and died at Beesley*s Point, N. J., November the 24th, 
1897. He had an apoplectic stroke in December, 1896, which 
caused hemiplegia, from which he did not recover, and he was 
at the sea-shore for the benefit of his health and of this partial 
paralysis when the end came. 

He was a graduate of the Philadelphia High School, from 
which he received the degrees of A. B. and A. M., and in 1861 
received the degree of M. D. from the University of Pennsyl- 
vania. From 1862 to 1866 he was in the service of the United 
States, being surgeon in the 2nd Infantry, California Volunteers, 
Department of the Pacific, serving in California, Arizona and 
New Mexico, where he collected extensively in entomology. 
Until within the last few years of his life he practiced medicine, 
his specialty being obstetrics, in which branch he was an expert, 
not infrequently being called in consultation in difficult cases. 
Much of his scientific work was done at night during time stolen 
from sleep and after the day's cares and professional engage- 
ments were over. The days were never long enough, and this 
close application to work and devotion to science may have been 
a factor in shortening his life. 



2 ENTOMOLOGICAL NEWS. [January, 

His entomological work was concerned almost exclusively with 
the Coleoptera, his first paper being entitled ' ' Descriptions of 
Some New North American Species in the Cabinet of the Ento- 
mological Society of Philadelphia," published in the "Proceed- 
ings of the Academy of Natural Sciences of Philadelphia,'' in 
i860. Seven species new to science were described and figured. 
In all over one hundred and fifty papers were contributed to the 
proceedings and transactions of learned societies, his last contri- 
bution being an important one on the Coleoptera of Baja Cali- 
fornia, published in the '* Proceedings" of the California Academy 
of Sciences for 1895. 

After the death of Dr. John L. LeConte in 1883, Dr. Horn, 
who was a worthy successor, was elected President of the Amer- 
ican Entomological Society and Director of the Entomological 
Section of the Academy of Natural Sciences. These two offices 
he held at the time of his death. He was Professor of Ento- 
mology at the University of Pennsylvania since 1889, but did not 
teach or lecture there, the position being an honorary one. 

Among scientific bodies the following may be mentioned as 
having conferred special honors on him. He was elected a corre- 
sponding member of the Boston Society of Natural History in 
1893; ^^ honorary member (one of twelve) of the Entomological 
Society of Belgium; an honorary member (one of ten) of the 
Entomological Union of Stettin; an honorary member (one of 
eleven) of the Entomological Society of France, of the Russian 
Entomological Society, and of the Feldman Collecting Social 
of Philadelphia. At its commencement in March, 1897, ^^^ 
Western University of Pennsylvania, at Pittsburg, conferred on 
him the degree of Sc. D. He was a Secretary and Librarian of 
the American Philosophical Society (Philadelphia) at the time 
of his death. In 1866 he joined the Academy of Natural Sciences 
of Philadelphia, held the office of Corresponding Secretary for 
fourteen years, and was a member of the Council and of the 
Finance and Publication Committees for long periods of time. 

Dr. Horn was a patient and untiring worker, and his loss will 
be keenly felt in the institutions in which he served as an officer 
so long and efficiently. The entomological world has lost a 
shining light and American Coleopterology its greatest votary. 
As a systematic coleopterist he probably did not have a superior 
in the world. His large collection of beetles was considered the 



1898.] ENTOMOLOGICAL NEWS. 3 

finest extant in the field he cultivated. It, with his library and 
five thousand dollars for the care of the former, he willed to the 
American Entomological Society. The portrait here presented 
was the one he considered the best, and is the one he wished 
perpetuated. His memory will always be cherished by those 
whom he was ever willing to aid by advice and assistance in their 
scientific studies. An extended biography will appear later in 
the "Transactions of the American Entomological Society." 



•o- 



THE IDENTITY OF XYLEBORUS AFFINIS, WITH SOME 

SYNONYMICAL NOTES. 

By W. F. H. Blandford, London, England. 

In his admirable paper on "The Ambrosia Beetles of the 
United States" (U. S. Dept. Agr. Bull. 7 (N. S.), pp. 9-30) Mr. 
H. G. Hubbard refers to a matter of some economic importance, 
the doubtful identity of X. affinis Eichh., with the West Indian 
* * sugar-cane borer' * and its distribution in North America. As 
this has been a vexed question (see Proc. Ent. Soc. Wash, iii, 
p. 171), and, as I have been concerned with the identification of 
the borer, I desire briefly to reply to Mr. Hubbard's statements 
that my determination ' ' made from the females only cannot be 
reliable," and that "the sugar-cane borer is very probably a 
distinct and as yet unnamed species, the introduction of which 
into the United States is greatly to be feared. It cannot be iden- 
tical with X, affinis^ which is common in the Southern States, 
yet has never been known to attack sugar-cane." 

That the *' sugar-cane borer" is X. affinis I have not the least 
reason to doubt. In my original report on it, it was thus identi- 
fied by the description alone (though that is unmistakable), but 
the name affinis, in deference to another opinion, was there 
treated as a synonym of the older X. perforans WoU. {kraatzi 
Eichh.). In a later " Report on the Destruction of Beer- casks, 
etc.," London, 1893. which Mr. Hubbard has perhaps over- 
looked, I pointed out that the range of the typical form of X, 
affinis is exclusively neotropical with the exception of Mauritius, 
and that of X, perforans is chiefly palaeotropical, but that inter- 
mediate examples were before me from the West Indies and 
Ceylon; also that the material I had examined included typical 



4 ENTOMOLOGICAL NEWS. [January, 

examples of both sexes of X, affinis labeled by Eichhoff and in 
the Brussels Museum. (I now possess some by exchange and have 
seen others of Eichhoff' s own series). 

The question at issue has been not the identity of the * * cane- 
borer" with X, affinis, which has been controlled by repeated 
comparison of the two sexes with Eichhoff' s types, but the iden- 
tity of that species with X. perforans Woll. Since 1893 the 
examination of some hundreds of specimens leaves me more 
strongly than before of opinion that a separate name may well be 
retained for each form, although one cannot always satisfactorily 
refer individuals to one or the other. 

The published evidence leaves the occurrence of X, affinis in 
the United States doubtful. In the posthumous paper translated 
by Mr. Schwarz (Proc. U. S. Nat. Mus. xviii, pp. 605-6 ic, 1896) 
Eichhoff, writing to Riley in 1892, says: **what X, pubescens 
Zimm. is, remains for the present unknown to me, since among 
the specimens which you send me as such I believe I can distin- 
guish three species, viz., X, affinis Eichh., X, inermis Eichh., 
and a third one." Now, inasmuch as a series of N. American 
Scolytids had been sent to Eichhoff, this seems conclusive until 
it is recollected that in the same year examples of the cane-borer 
were sent from the West Indies to Riley and identified at Wash- 
ington with X, pubesce7is. Were these included in the series 
forwarded to Eichhoff, and did his recognition oi X, affinis refer 
to them ? 

No examples of X. affinis from anywhere north of Mexico, 
where it is common, have yet reached me, and a series of X. 
pubescens sent by Prof* A. D. Hopkins are all referable to X. 
inermis. Possibly this latter species, which has not been found 
in Central America, has by some means become regarded as A". 
affinis, and is the one referred to as such by Mr. Hubbard. 

Whatever the cane-borer's name is, the evidence of its distri- 
bution drawn from existing collections points to its being neo- 
tropical and having occurred throughout the West Indian islands 
long before it was noticed to attack canes. I cannot accept the 
suggestion (Proc. Ent. Soc. Wash, iii, p. 171) that it was im- 
ported in ribbon-cane from Ceylon, because I have never seen 
its typical form from Ceylon, though I have examined many 
Scolytids from that island. Nor is any damage to canes recorded 
therefrom. 



1898.] ENTOMOLOGICAL NEWS. 5 

A parallel case has occurred in Java, where Xyleborus destruens 
Blandf., has taken lately to riddling cacao trees. These have 
long been cultivated there, and the beetle, a large and well- 
marked species, can be no new importation, because I possess 
specimens taken years ago in Java and Gilolo by Wallace. 

A diseased condition of the canes, favored by the accumulation 
of fermenting trash, was probably the cause of the West Indian 
outbreak, and X, affinis may yet be common in the Southern 
States without destroying canes, provided that they are not in a 
condition to invite its attacks. 

Much has been made of the difficulty of identify ing the females 
of this ^roup, and they have been said to be indistinguishable. 
As Eichhoff's work was done on the females alone, either that 
statement is overdrawn, or he divided and characterized a mass 
of identical examples. For its size, Xyleborus is really one of 
the easiest of Scolytid genera, and even this group presents no 
very great difficulty so far as the identification of the majority 
of examples is concerned ; most of Eichhoff ^s species can be 
made out by the descriptions alone. The real difficulties are 
those of delimitation, which spring from the existence of indi- 
viduals bridging over the not very wide gaps between allied 
forms, and are such as are met with in most large genera of the 
Animal Kingdom. 

The publication of Eichhoff's paper, just referred to, has an- 
ticipated several of the synonyms of North American Scolytids 
which I have noted at different times. There are, however, one 
or two points to be added hereon. 

It is known that some of Zimmermann^s and LeConte*s names* 
(Tr. Am. Ent. Soc, Sept., 1868) clash with others of Eichhoff 
published in 1868 in the '* Berliner Entomologische Zeitschrift, " 
and the latter have been regarded as prior both by Eichhoff 
himself and by Mr. Schwarz. This is incorrect; reference to p. 
xi, or to the original wrappers of the * * Zeitschrift' * for 1868 
shows that pp. 177-312, which include Eichhoff' s descriptions, 
were not published till March, 1869. 

Therefore, the names Hylastes opaculus Lee. , H, scabripenyiis 
Zimm., and Pityophthor^us pullus Zimm., should be retained. 

The generic names Tomicus Latreille (1807 nee 1802) and Xy- 
loterus Er. (1836) should give place to Ips De Geer (1775) and 



6 ENTOMOLOGICAL NEWS. [January, 

Trypodendron Steph. (1830) respectively, with which they are 
coterminous. 

As has been pointed out by Eichhoff, his name Pterocyclon^ 
(1868), should replace Monarthrum Kirsch (1866). The latter's 
diagnosis is absolutely the same as that of Corthylus Er. , in which, 
too, a species of Pterocyclon was included. Erichson, Kirsch 
and LeConte are alike incorrect in stating the funicle to be one- 
jointed instead of two-jointed in these insects. Ferrari's sub- 
genus Cosniocorynus is wrongly characterized by LeConte and 
has no North American representative. 

Hylastes {Hylurgops) pinifex Fitch, is distinct from the Euro- 
pean H. decmnanus, differing in the thoracic punctures of two 
sizes, the more rugose interstices and the longer and stouter 
bristles of the elytra. 

Crypturgus atomus Lee. This has been regarded as identical 
with C pusillus Gyll. Specimens received from Prof. A. D. 
Hopkins appear to be distinct, having the punctuation finer and 
the ground sculpture different; but a more extensive comparison 
is desirable. 

Tomicus p/astographus hec, = T, integer F.ichh. Californian 
examples sent by Mr. Ricksecker and corresponding with Le- 
Conte* s description conform to Eichhoff 's type. 

Tomicus cacographus Lee. = T, grandicollis Eichh. 

Xylocleptes concinnus Mann. With Eichhoff, I should refer 
this to Tomicus^ or rather ips. The structure of the mouth- 
parts is not that of a Xylocleptes^ but of a Tomicus, with which 
genus its habits associate it. 

Pityophthorus lautus Eichh. Specimens forwarded by Prof. 
Hopkins under this name do not correspond with Eichhoff' s 
description. I conjecture them to be P. bisulcatus Eichh. , be- 
cause they differ from the European P, micrographus L. precisely 
as P, bisulcatus is stated by Eichhoff to do . 



Physiological Species. — Does Prof. Cockerell hold that species exist 
which differ from other species only in physiological characters ? If so, 
why does he not mention a single case and give the evidence ? If not, why 
does he use term physiological species ? To me his article in the Decem- 
ber News is not very clear. — Charles Robertson. 



1898.] ENTOMOLOGICAL NEWS. 7 

lOWAN ODONATA. 

By Morton J. Elrod, University of Montana. 

For several years the writer has been permitted to spend the 
month of July in Des Moines, Iowa. At intervals when other 
duties could be laid aside rambles were taken along the Des 
Moines and Raccoon Rivers in search of specimens. At this 
season of the year the water in these rivers is usually clear and 
shallow. As a consequence many species of fine Unios were 
secured. Lepidoptera and Odonata were the only insects sought. 
As no previous record has been made of collections of dragon- 
flies from this locality, the publication of the following list of 28 
species, which by no means represents the Odonate fauna of the 
State, may be useful, and may serve those students of the State 
who are working upon this group of insects. Of this list at 
least 16 have not before been recorded from Iowa, though they 
are in some cases reported from adjoining States. It is also to 
be noted that many common forms, e.g., E, civile, are absent 
from the list. Other collectors may later report these, or at least 
some of them, from the State. 

It may be appropriate to add that all the species mentioned in 
the list are in the writer's collection. Specimens reported from 
Clinton and Sabula were collected by J. S. Faaborg, 

[I have taken the liberty to add to Prof. Elrod' s notes records 
of a few species of Odonata collected for me, in 1889, by Miss 
Alda M. Sharp, of Gladbrook, Iowa, who labeled them *'Tama 
Co., Iowa '* Such additions are enclosed in brackets. — Philip 
P. Calvert.] 

I. Calopteryz macnlata Beauv. 

In July, 1893, this species was quite abundant along a small 
rivulet a half mile north of Drake University. It was in a 
wooded, hilly region that had not as yet been much used for 
pasture. The season was rainy, and every other day I visited 
the place, securing each time quite a number. In 1894 ^^ season 
was quite the opposite of that of 1893, and the ravine had dried 
up. In 1895 I did "ot visit the place. In 1896 it was overrun 
with stock, and no maculata could be found. During the month 
of July, 1897, I secured a dozen or more at Dunreath, Iowa, 
some thirty miles from Des Moines. 

[One $ June 21, one 9 June 28 **on blackberry bushes in 



8 ENTOMOLOGICAL NEWS. [January, 

garden/* one 9 June 29 **on currant bushes in garden^'* Tama 
Co., la., Miss Sharp.] 

2. HetflBTina americana Fab. 

At the dam of the city waterworks in the Raccoon River and 
along the river above the dam, among the willows, taken in 
numbers in July, 1893 and July, 1894. ^^ was fairly abundant. 
I also saw numbers of this species at Webster City along the 
Boone River in July, 1896, but as I had no net none were taken. 

3. Lestes forcijiata Ramb. 

I have a dozen-and-a-half specimens taken in July, 1896. 
They were secured near a small artificial pond; although I have 
hunted inthese same regions in previous years, I have no speci- 
mens save those taken at the time mentioned. 

4. Lestes nngnicnlata Hag. 

Abundant; I have specimens taken July, 1892, June 29, 1893, 
Aug. 4, 1896, and July 12, 1897. During the wet season in 1893 
I was able to take many specimens at a single sweep, in the grass 
near artificial ponds. 

5. Argia apicalis Say. 

This is the only Argia taken in the several years over which 
these observations were made. A half dozen of these were secured 
during July of the past season at Des Moines. They were rare 
along the bank of the Raccoon River, flying among the grass 
and weeds, quite difficult to take. 

6. Anomalagrion hastatum Say. 

In July, 1896, I tried the place where L, unguiculata had 
formerly been taken so abundantly. The pond was drained, 
though there was a little water, much mud, and a good deal of 
wire grass. In this grass I found about a dozen specimens oi A, 
hastatum Say. This extends its distribution westward. It has 
also been taken abundantly at Bloomington, 111. 

7. Ischnnra verticalis Say. 

From Fulton, 111. , Sabula and Des Moines, Iowa. It does not 
seem to be as common as one would suppose. 

8. Enallagma ebria Hag. 

About a dozen specimens, June 29, 1893. As this species has 
been recorded from Missouri it is not surprising that it is found 
in Iowa. 



1898.] ENTOMOLOGICAL NEWS. 9 

9. BnaUagma liageBt Walsh. 

Fairly abundant, some twenty specimens having been taken. 

10. Enallagma fischeri Kell. 

Not common, a half dozen being the entire number taken, 
from Des Moines. 

11. Enallagma signata Hag. 

A broken specimen from Clinton, la., taken June, 1897. 

12. HehaHimla Irene Hag. 

A half dozen specimens, taken in same locality as A. hastatum 
Say, in 1893, and a single immature 9 from Clinton, la., in June, 

1897. 

13. Oemphng amnicola Walsh. 

A single female, collected in July, 1892, at Des Moines. 

14. Gompling Tastns Walsh. 

Three specimens from Clinton, la., taken in June, 1897. 

15. Anaz jnning Drury. 

This large *' spindle'* is quite abundant, a small surface pond 
at Dunreath, some thirty miles from Des Moines yielding a large 
number of specimens Aug. 4, 1896. They were caught in copu- 
lation and in act of oviposition. Specimens are in my collection 
sent from Clinton. 

[One % , Tama Co., Miss Sharp.] 

16. Tramea lacerata Hag. 

A single female, taken at Clinton, May, 1896. 

17. CeUthemis eponina Drury. 

A siqgle female from Clinton. 

18. PUthemis trimacnlata De Geer. 

Abundant; a small pond of stagnant water affording good 
collecting. 

[One % July 29, ** flying over still water,'* one 9 June 28, 
** blackberry in garden," Tama Co., Miss Sharp.] 

19. IdbeUnla pnlchella Drury. 

Nine specimens, taken Aug. 4, 1896, at Dunreath. These 
were taken along the railroad, among, the bushes, and were quite 
wary. There were numerous small ponds of water, and likewise 
numerous kingbirds, Tyrannus tyrannus, I could see no drag- 



lo ENTOMOLOGICAL NEWS. [January, 

onflies of any kind near any of the ponds where these birds were 
to be observed.* I have also specimens from Clinton. 

[Two $ July 29, " flying over water," ** on grass overhanging 
water/' Tama Co., Miss Sharp.] 

20. Libellnla basalis Say. 

Rare. The only specimen I secured was* a male, captured in 
the weeds in the bottom of Des Moines River, some thirty miles 
from the city. I have another female from Clinton. 

21. Ubellnla qnadrimacnlata L. 

Two from Sabula, la., June, 1897. This seems to be a rare 
species. In nine years' residence in Illinois I did not see a single 
specimen, though Mr. C. C. Adams has one or two. In eight 
seasons while at Des Moines I have not seen a specimen. 

22. Pachydiplaz longipennis Burm. 

Not common, fiv^ specimens being the total number collected, 
four taken Aug. 4, 1896, at Dunreath, la.; one at Clinton, la., 
June, 1897. 

23. Mesothemis Bimplicicollis Say. 

A few specimens, taken from Sabula, la., June, 1897. 

24. Diplaz corrnpta Hag. 

This widely distributed species is represented in my collection 
by three specimens, taken at Dunreath, la., Aug. 4, 1896. 

25. Diplaz rnbiciindiila Say. 

var. assimilata Uhler. 

Quite common in August, 1892, but none taken after that, 
though they are undoubtedly to be had. 

[Three $ eight 9 July 12 '* dry meadow," three S. five 9 
July 15 **wet meadow near standing water; " Tama Co., Miss 
Sharp.] 

26. Diplaz obtrusa Hagen. 

Four specimens, sent me from Clinton, la. 

27. Diplaz Yicina Hag. 

Not common; I have only a few specimens, taken in Aug., '93. 

28. Lencorhinia intacta Hag. 

A single male from Sabula, la. 

* According: to a note by J. L. Hersey, quoted in the " Canadian Entomologist" for 
April, 1873, p. 160, dragonflies are a favorite food for kingbirds.— P. P. C. 



1898.] ENTOMOLOGICAL NEWS. II 

DESCRIPTIONS OF NEW WEST AFRICAN HETEROCERA- 

Paper I. 

By Chancellor W.J. Holland, Ph.D., LL.D., F.Z.S., etc. 

When starting for a short visit to Europe last May, I succeeded 
in finding a few moments' time in which to hastily gather to- 
gether some five score of specimens from my collection of African 
Lepidoptera, which I had reason to think new to science, and 
took them with me. I found time in the midst of other duties 
to pay a number of visits to the British Museum and the Royal 
Museum in Berlin, as well as to inspect a number of collections 
in private hands, which are rich in African material. As the 
result my opinion as to the nondescript character of most of the 
species was confirmed, and I propose from time to time, as I chance 
to have leisure, to publish descriptions of these things, possibly 
accompanied by illustrations, if I shall find time to prepare the 
latter. The types are all in my collection. 

Family SYNTOMID^E. 

Genus STNTOMOIDES^ Hampson. 

1. S. zanthoplenra sp. nov. J*. — The wings are marked exactly as in 
S, puncticincta Holl. ('Tsyche,'* January, 1893), but the species in hand 
may at once be distinguished by the totally different markings of the body. 
The front is pale yellow, almost white, the collar and patagia are orange- 
yellow, the top of the thorax is black. The abdomen is orange-yellow, 
with a black dorsal line beginning on the third segment from the thorax, 
on which, as well as on the fourth segment, it is extended down on either 
side to the line of the spiracles, as a saddle-shaped mark. This dorsal 
line is narrow on the remaining segments of the abdomen, and disappears 
wholly before reaching the anal extremity. The underside of the thorax 
and abdomen is grayish yellow. The legs are black, marked with yellow- 
ish rings. Expanse 25 mm. 

Habitat — Efulen, Bul6 Country, Cameroons (coll. A. C. Good, 

Ph.D.). 

2. 8. semilligra sp. nov. $ . — The forewings are marked as in S, leugalea 

*In '^Psyche" for January and February, 1893, ^ described a number of West African 
Syntomidae, referring them to the genus Syntomis, In so doing I was following well-estab 
lished precedents. After the descriptions had been prepared and published I received 
the first volume of Sir George F. Hampson's work on the Lepidoptera of India, and 
found that he bad erected a new genus, Syniomoidts^ for the reception of a number of the 
forms hitherto placed by authors in Syntomis. His arrangement is certainly natural, and 
I desire to state that of the species named by me at the time referred to, the following 
will naturally come under his genius Syntomoides : — S. leugalea^ elasson, elaehista^ misera' 
bilis^ punctieincta^ UimacU^ goodiiy nutlingeri^ cytogasttr^ Uucerythra^ erenophylax and 
eybelUtex, 



12 ENTOMOLOGICAL NEWS. [January, 

Holl. ("Psyche," January, 1893), but the dark markings are somewhat 
broader and heavier. The hindwings have the costal margin and the 
whole outer half broadly black, leaving only a relatively small translucent 
spot on the inner margin. The body is black. The front is white. 
There is a narrow ring of white on the .abdomen back of the thorax. 
The pectus and the anterior segments of the abdomen on the underside 
are accentuated with white lines. Expanse 21 mm. 

Habitat, — Efulen, Bul6 Country, Cameroons (coll. A. C. Good, 
Ph.D.). This is a well-marked and distinct species. It is, so 
far as I know, not as yet represented in any European collection. 

Genus STNTOHIS 111. 

3. S. kMTi sp. nov. (^. — The anterior wings recall .S. leucogastra Holl. 
(*' Psyche," January, 1893), but the white subapical spot and the white 
spot in the cell in S. kerri are small, whereas in 6". leucogastra they are 
relatively large. The secondaries are marked with three white semi- 
translucent spots near the base, whereas in 5". leucogastra the secondaries 
are solidly black. But the strongest points of difference between the two 
species are found in the markings of the abdomen. The abdomen in 
both species is black, but in leucogastra the anal extremity is heavily 
tipped with bright orange, whereas in kerri it is narrowly tipped with 
dark crimson. The underside of the abdomen in leucogastra is broadly 
and conspicuously white, in kerri it is uniformly deep black. The pectus 
and legs in leucogastra are orange ; in kerri they are black. Expanse 
24 mm. 

Habitat, — Cameroons (coll. Kerr). 

4. S. efolensis sp. nov. 9 .—The body, the antennae and the legs are 
black. The anterior segments of the abdomen are marked laterally upon 
their edges by short lines of metallic green. The primaries are black, 
glossed in certain lights with green. There is a large quadrate hyaline 
spot at the end of the cell and the intraneural spaces on the disc are pale 
semi-translucent green. The secondaries are heavily bordered on all 
sides with black, leaving an elongated hyaline spot in the middle of the 
wing below the cell. Expanse 32 mm. 

Habitat, — Efulen, Bul6 Country, Cameroons (coll. A. C. Good, 
Ph.D.). This is a very distinct species. 

Family ZYG^NID^. 

Genus TASEMA Walker. 

5. T. noz sp. nov. (^. — This obscure little moth is black, with a green- 
ish reflection in certain lights. The antennae are minutely tipped with 
white. There is nothing more to be said after having located it in the 
proper genus, as was kindly done for me by Sir George F. Hampson. 
Expanse 20 mm. 

Habitat, — Cameroons (coll. A. C. Good, Ph.D.). 



1898.] ENTOMOLOGICAL NEWS. I3 

Family ARCTIIDiE. 

Genus ANACE Walker. 

6. A. melalenca sp. jiov. ^, — Antennae with a white shaft and pale 
brown pectinations. Front, collar and patagia pale red ; thorax and 
abdomen luteous ; and extremity of abdomen tipped with slaty gray. 
The lower side of the thorax and abdomen whitish ; legs white, with the 
tibiae of the anterior pair margined in front with gray. The anterior 
wings are white, lightly laved toward the base with yellowish. The costa 
is narrowly edged with slaty gray, as far as the middle, and the whole 
outer half of the wing is marked with the same color, the inner line of 
demarcation sweeping around in a graceful curve from the middle of the 
costa to the inner margin before the outer angle. The secondaries are 
white, laved with yellowish on the inner margin and at the base. The 
wings on the under side are marked as upon the upper side. Expanse 
24 mm. 

Habitat, — Cameroons (coll. Kerr). 

o 

LASIOCAMPA MEDUSA n. sp. 

By Dr. Herman Strecker. 

I received about a year since from Mr. Max Albright, of the 
Soldiers* Home, Los Angeles County, California, a female Lasio- 
campa (or Gloveria as the American authors have it) ; it. was 
raised from the larva and is different from arizonensis or any of 
the Mexican species known to me. It expands four inches; the 
thorax and primaries above are very dark smoky gray, basal part 
of wings and thorax heavily furred, the mesial part a shade paler, 
minute white hairs are sprinkled over the whole surface; a small 
white discal spot, as in arizonensis and other species; inferiors 
and abdomen almost as dark as the primaries, but more brownish 
in tint; under surface of all wings almost uniform dark brown 
with a sprinkling of white hairs, most noticeable towards the 
costal margins; abdomen darker and also with the sprinkling of 
white hairs. This insect is larger than any of the American 
sp)ecies known to me, and will be easily known by its deep, almost 
black color and lack of ornamentation, except the discal spot as 
well as by its general heavy appearance. The wings are much 
less pointed apically than in arizonensis and broader in propor- 
tion to their length, the abdomen is much longer, extending far 
beyond the inferiors. I know of but this one example which 
was sent to me along with the cocoon and pupa case from which 
it emerged. 



14 ENTOMOLOGICAL NEWS. [January 

jlotes on the Mutillidae of North America. 

By William J. Fox. 

Through the courtesy of Mr. Samuel Henshaw 1 have had the oppor- 
tunity of examining Blake's types of Psamtnotherma ajax, Mutilla floH- 
dana and M. trisignata, all described as occurring in Florida. As to the 
first-mentioned species it has always been placed in our lists with doubt; 
and a comparison of the type with the description of Psantmotherma 
Jlabellata Fabr., shows that it is identical with that species, whose home 
is Africa. 

On glancing at M. floridana and trisigndta it was at once obvious that 
these species were strangers to our fauna. By the aid of Radoszkovsky 
and Sichel's **Essai d'une Monographic des Mutilles de I'ancien Conti- 
nent," M. floridana is found to be the European M. maura Linn^, while 
M. trisignata is referable to M. arenaria Fabr., also of Europe and Africa. 

A written label attached to the specimens in question reads as follows: 
** Harris from Doubleday Fla?" The facts that they came from Double- 
day, a European collector, and that the locality given is queried, are in 
themselves evidence that the specimens never came from Florida. It 
seems remarkable that one should give a positive locality for a species 
when such does not exist. 

Mutilla rutilans and thoracica of Blake, and M. peculiaris Cresson, 
differ at once from the females of the other species of Mutilla, in having 
the thorax divided into two parts, whereas in Mutilla (including SphcB- 
rophthalma Blake) the thorax of the female is solidified at least on dorsal 
surface into one piece. Mutilla rutilans is either a new genus, or the 
female of Brachycistis^ of which only males are known. I would refer 
it to Brachycistis, notwithstanding that the medial tibiae are two-spurred, 
whereas in the male they are one-spurred. In M. thoracica we have the 
long-sought American representative of the female Myrmosa^ which, in 
addition to the divided thorax, differs from Mutilla in having distinct 
ocelli. M. peculiaris is a Chyphotes, and has recently been redescribed 
as Chyphotes mirabilis by Mr. Cockerell. 

The thorax of female, and armature of abdomen of male, permit the 
division of the Mutillidae into two subfamilies, one having the thorax ( $ ) 
of one piece and male with abdomen supplied with two appendages at 
tip ; these forms constitute what may be termed the Mutillinae, of which 
there is but one vast genus, Mutilla (— Ephuta, Sphcsrophthalma^ Pseu. 
domethoca, Photopsis, s. s.). The remainder of our genera, Myrmosa^ 
Methoca, Chyphotes and Brachycistis, constitute the second subfamily, in 
which the thorax is divided into two or more parts in the female, and the 
tip of male abdomen is supplied with a stout, up-curved spine or hook, 
or unarmed {Myrmosa). This latter subfamily I regard as analagous to 
the Thynnidae, of which no North American representatives were hereto- 
fore supposed to exist. 

These notes are preliminary to a revision of our Mutillidae, in which 
the matter will be treated at greater length. 



1898.] ENTOMOLOGICAL NEWS. 1 5 

Carphoxera ptelearia Riley. — Herbarium Pest. 
By Vernon L. Kellogg, Stanford University, Calif. 

Last November (1896) Prof. W. R. Dudley, of this university 
(Stanford), discovered that several papers of herbarium speci- 
mens in his collection were infested by small Geometrid larvae 
and turned over to me a number of these papers. The plant 
specimens were in open cases and unpoisoned. This month (May) 
imagines have appeared from the papers revealing the pest to be 
Carphoxera pteleai^ia described by Riley (" Insect Life," 1891, 
vol. iv, p. 108) as the representative of a new genus of Geometrid 
moths, and referred to occasionally since. 

From the papers given me by Prof. Dudley I have been able 
to get eggs, larvae and imagines. All of the stages were described 
by Dr. Riley and need no further special mention. The duration 
of the larval period was not determined by Riley, but in his ac- 
count it is stated that " larval life extends in some cases certainly 
over a period of three months." The larvae, under my notice, 
were practically full sized when found, Nov. 6, 1896, but they did 
not pupate until April and May, 1897. Nor was this long period 
one of inaction. They moved about over the specimens in the 
papers feeding all through the Winter, though the feeding was 
far from voracious. How many weeks or months had elapsed 
between hatching and time of discovery of the larvae cannot 
even be guessed at, but evidently the insect has a larval life of at 
least eight or nine months. 

The results of the insect's presence in Prof. Dudley's herbarium 
are distinctly in evidence, and the pest will have to be reckoned 
with in western herbaria. Dr. Riley found the insects in the 
herbaria of the Department of Agriculture at Washington, but 
confined to plant specimens from Southern California and Arizona, 
except in one instance. The habit of Carphoxera of feeding on 
dry and dead vegetation is, as pointed out by Riley, almost unique 
among the Geometridae, but one other instance of it, shown by 
a European species, being recorded. Dr. Riley suggests the 
probability that Carphoxera * ' normally feeds on the dead or dry 
plants of Mexico and adjacent arid regions, and that it has simply 
adapted itself to the somewhat similar conditions prevailing in 
herbaria." 

The infested papers in Prof. Dudley's herbarium represent 



1 6 ENTOMOLOGICAL NEWS. [January, 

many different species of plants, the Compdsitae and Labiatae 

seeming to furnish specially acceptable food for the pest. No 

Eastern specimens were in the infested herbarium, so that no 

special confirmation of Dr. Riley's observation that only Western 

specimens are attacked is derivable from the condition of Prof. 

Dudley's herbarium. 

o 

ARACHNIDA FROM THE MALASPINA GLACIER, ALASKA. 

By Nathan Banks. 

THERIDID.^. 
Erigone sp. 

One specimen (?) not determinable from this sex. 

LYCOSIDiE. 
Lycosa f oinosa Em. 

Canadian Spiders 1894. 

One specimen ( 9 ) appears to be this species, but differs in 

having a distinct yellowish mark or mterrupted band on all of 

the femora, and the anterior pair have another yellow mark on 

the outside near the tip. The epigynum is perhaps a little 

narrower than Emerton figures it ; the eyes are as he describes 

them. 

Pardosa grcenlandica Thor. 

Spiders from Greenland 1872. . 

One specimen ( 9 ) is close to the L, sinistra form described 

from Colorado. 

PHALAGIDiE. 
Phlegmacera bryantii n. sp. 

Length 2.5 mm., femur IV 2.4 mm. — Blackish, abdomen rather paler, 
especially at the tip; clothed on the venter with stiff, erect, black bristles, 
those on coxae and mandibles longer ; palpi with short stiff hairs ; cepha- 
lothorax smooth ; eye- tubercle rather low, very broad, large eye each 
side ; mandibles large ; third joint of palpi nearly as long as width of the 
cephalothorax, cylindrical ; fourth a little longer, of same size ; fifth not 
half as long as fourth ; clavate. Trochanters slightly tuberculate ; (first 
and second pairs of legs lost), femur and tibia III with two false articula- 
tions, femur and tibia IV with five or six false articulations, numerous on 
metatarsi and tarsi, abdomen short, broadly rounded at tip. 

One specimen (9), July 4, 1^97 ; collected by Mr. H. G. 
Bryant, in honor of whom the species is named. It differs from 
both of our known forms by its darker color, broader eye- tubercle, 
and false articulations in the posterior femora. 



1 898.] ENTOMOLOGICAL NEWS. 1 7 

NOTES AND DESCRIPTIONS OF NEW SYRPHID^ FROM 

MT. ST. ELIAS, ALASKA. 

By Chas. W. Johnson. 

The following Syrphidae were collected by Mr. H. G. Bryant 
during his explorations on Mt. St. Elias, in the Summer of 1897. 
By a strange coincidence the six specimens collected represented 
as many species, two of which are apparently new. Mr. M. D. 
Hunter, in his interesting paper (" Can. Ent./' June, 1897, page 
121), reviews the Syrphidae of Alaska, and records twenty spe- 
cies; the following increases the number to twenty-three: 

Syrpbns protritns Osten Sacken. 

Great Malaspina Glacier, Mt. St. Elias, June 22. Described 
from California. Collected by Prof. L. L. Dyche near Cook's 
Inlet (Hunter). 

Syrphns ombellatanim Schiner. 

Great Malaspina Glacier, Mt. St. Elias, June 16. * * In snow, 
altitude 1300 feet." Also collected by Prof Dyche. White 
Mountains, N. H. (Osten Sacken). 

SyrphiiB genicnlatos Macquart. 

Great Malaspina Glacier, Mt. St. Elias. June 22. Not before 
recorded from Alaska. Newfoundland (Macq.). White Moun- 
tains, N. H. (Osten Sacken). 

Syrphns bryantii n. sp. 9 • 

Length 7.5 mm. Eyes minutely pilose, front dark greenish, shining, 
with an arch of black above the antennae, vertex black, shining, both 
front and vertex sparsely covered with black hairs, face of a uniform 
bright yellow, shining, with a few minute black hairs on the sides, tuber- 
cle very prominent, cheeks slightly extending upward along the facial 
orbits and the entire oval margin black, shining ; occiput greenish black 
with yellow pile, mouth-parts unusually large, antennae black, lower edge 
of the third joint brownish black, base entirely surrounded by yellow. 
Thorax and pleurae greenish black with long yellowish pile ; scutellum 
bright yellow, lateral angles black. Halteres yellow. Abdomen deep 
black, pile on the first, second and third segments yellow, on the fourth 
and fifth black, longest on the sides of the first and second, the bright 
yellow cross bands the same as Syrphus umbellatarutn; venter yellow with 
obsolete blackish markings on the posterior edge of the third and fourth 
segments. Legs yellowish, basal half of the anterior and middle femora 
and the tarsi black, posterior femora (except the apical third), a medial 
band on the tibiae, and the tarsi black. Wings with a slight brownish 
tinge, stigma brown. 

I* 



1 8 ENTOMOLOGICAL NEWS. [January, 

Great MelaspiLn^ Glacier, Mt. St. Elias, June i6, 1897. **In 
snow, altitudeii30o feet." Respectfully dedicated to its dis- 
coverer, Mr. H. G. Bryant, of Philadelphia. 

Platychims peltatns Meigen. 

Great Malaspina Glacier, Mt. St. Elias, June 22 ; Sitka (Loew). 
A widely distributed species, Northern Europe, White Moun- 
tains, N. H., New York, Pennsylvania, Colorada. 

Melanostoma glacialis n. sp. cT- 

Length 6 mm. Face greenish, shining, uniformly and densely covered 
(except the tubercle) with a grayish pollen. Tubercle prominent, black, 
shining, frontal and vertical triangle, black, with long blackish pile; 
occiput with grayish pile, antennae entirely black, mouth parts brown. 
Thorax dull black, with large black pile somewhat brownish on the 
anterior portion ; scutellum an obscure yellow, stained with brown, which 
becomes black at the lateral angles, pile long, black. Abdomen narrowly 
ovate, black ; opaque, with prominent grayish pile, longest on the sides, 
hind border of the fourth and the fifth segment shining, near the middJe 
of the second segment on each side is a small round yellow spot, third 
and fourth segments with a large ovate, yellow marking at the anterior 
angles, reaching the lateral margins, those on the fourth somewhat 
smaller than those on the third, posterior margin of the fourth narrowly 
margined with yellow. Legs black, apical portion of the femora and* the 
base of the tibiae of the anterior and middle legs yellowish. Wings hya- 
line, with a slightly grayish tinge, stigma an obsolete yellow. 

Great Malaspina Glacier, Mt. St. Elias, June 22. Resembling 

M. cceruUscens Will, in abdominal markings but readily separated 

by the opaque black ground color. 



UTAH REVISITED; WYOMING AND MONTANA.-Part II. 

By Prof. A. J. Snyder. 

From Ogden, Utah, northward, no stops were made until we 
reached Beaver Canon, Idaho, or, as the place is now known, 
*' Beaver." From this place some tourists travel northeast by 
wagfon to Yellowstone Park. 

The country in the near vicinity reminded me of the rolling 
land of South Dakota, but the hills are larger and one need not 
travel far to find the country mountainous. 

The Wood Bro's sheep ranch has a station some six miles out, 
to which one of their men invited us. 

I have seen few places more productive of butterfly life. It 
was almost impossible to advance for there were hundreds of 



1898.] ENTOMOLOGICAL NEWS. 1 9 

insects of many varieties all about us — Argyn'nids, Pamphilas, 
Lycaenas, Satyrids, Coenonymphas, etc. Most of the species, how- 
ever, were the same as those common to Utah. Soon, however, 
the ground became higher and on crossing one of the high 
knolls a gray butterfly sprang up, almost resembling a grasshop- 
per in its quick motions. It darted about and then dropped into 
the grass. Others of the same kind were soon started and after 
some careful maneuvering my first Hipparchia ridingsii was 
safely landed in the cyanide jar. On these grassy round-topped 
hills many of this species were found, but the sport much resem- 
bled jack-snipe hunting, and I longed for a gun and some harm- 
less kind of ammunition with which to pepper the wily insects ; 
ridingsii often lights on bare spots of ground, but the gray color 
of its wings blends so well with the soil and dry grass that it is 
very hard to see. Its habit of folding the primaries within the 
secondaries and occupying the smallest possible place and even 
tumbling over on one side so as to almost lie flat on the surface, 
resembles C. chryxus. Like that species, also, it not infrequently 
alights on bare rocks. This species was not seen elsewhere until, 
on the road from Livingston to Yellowstone Park, one darted up 
in front of my horse only to alight in the dust and formed so 
tempting a prize that I dismounted and captured it. 

Soon we came to a deep, well-wooded gully, probably one- 
quarter mile in width, and, while crossing this, a little brownish 
black insect started up from a small grassy glade, and after a 
rapid chase over logs and brush the first specimen of Cceno- 
nympha haydenii was being examined. 

While dinner was preparing, a little search near camp resulted 
in the capture of several more haydenii. After dinner, with our 
friends, the ranchers, we collected on the higher ground back of 
camp and secured a number of fine insects. Argynnids were 
probably most abundant, and the most common species was 
eurynome, A few leto were taken and examples of several other 
species or varieties. 

During the afternoon we worked our way back to Beaver, col- 
lecting en route, and on passing their metroplis again spent some 
time with the Hipparchias, 

Mr. Wood and his men urged us to make our home at their 
camp while in the vicinity. Never has it been my fortune to be 
more generously entertained or made so welcome among strangers 



20 ENTOMOLOGICAL NEWS. [January, 

as was our visit to these gentlemen whose life is one of hardship 
in a sparsely settled region. Only three days were spent in this 
vicinity, but enough to convince us that collectors might spend 
a longer time there to the great advantage of their cabinets. 

After leaving Beaver, our next stop was Butte, one of the 
greatest if not the greatest of the mining camps in the United 
States. This great city is as barren as the crater of a great vol-, 
cano, without a sign of vegetation — neither living tree nor blade 
of grass. Butte is no place for an entomologist, and that night 
we started eastward — bound for Yellowstone Park. 

In our opinion, the proper way to see ** The Wonderland of 
America'* is to go there with an independent ** outfit.'* To see 
the most and succeed best, especially from a collector's stand- 
point, one should have saddle ponies and be able to follow the 
various remarkable trails where it is impossible to take wagons. 
Almost any kind of an outfit may be secured at Livingston or 
Bozeman, and from the former the distance to the Park is only 
fifty-three miles. 

After hiring three ponies (two saddle and one pack animal) 
we were ready for butterflies or scenery and soon found both. 

News of sickness at home, unfortunately, shortened our trip 
and prevented our doing full justice to either the insects or sights. 

Along the road to the Park, Cleome integrifolia "wzs abundant, 
and on the flowers were numerous Pamphilas — uncas being the 
most common species. In a meadow we found many of the 
common Satyrus^ var. olympus. Grass and flowers are plentiful 
in the Park, as are also the butterflies ; although we saw many 
species common to the Rocky Mountains region, no remarkable 
captures were made until we entered Hayden Valley, Aug. ist. A 
storm had just passed. Suddenly the sun shone out brightly 
and butterflies were everywhere. We immediately dismounted, 
and although both our nets had been ruined by accidents we 
spent a most interesting hour in the wet grass collecting with a 
piece of a net. C. haydenii and E, epipsodea were everywhere 
about us. Coenonymphas were common and a few Argynnids 
were seen. A single Erebia sofia was taken here — the only one 
seen during the trip. While busy capturing insects a small herd 
of elk walked out of the timber not far away and watched us 
with curious eyes, alternately feeding and stopping to view us 



1898.] ENTOMOLOGICAL NEWS. 21 

until our mounting frightened them back into the forest. We 
longed for weeks in this beautiful valley but it could not be. 

Even in the geyser region we found butterflies, and several 
were captured near the Riverside Geyser while waiting for an 
eruption. Several Chrysophanus mariposa were taken in the 
Upper Geyser Basin. Argynnis heUna was found flitting along 
the road alighting in moist places in the neighborhood of the 
lower falls of the Yellowstone. A single Euptceeta claudia was 
taken beside the road. Two Chionobas jutta and a single Melitcea 
editha were also captured. Thecla scepium was common near 
Mammoth Hot Springs. 

Although we ascended no high mountains, Chionobas chryxus 
was seen several times. Satyrus charon was abundant. Several 
Argynnis monticola and a pair of what seems to be the var. pur- 
purascetis, Hy. Edw. fell to our lot. A few Argynnis eurynorne 
were taken. 

In conclusion, the author wishes to record an opinion :— My 
observations lead me to believe that eurynmney ar/onis and arge^ 
form a single species, and absolutely intergrade. I have captured 
about 800 eurynorne and have studied specimens from Utah and 
British America, also some of the intermediate points (Yellow- 
stone Park and Idaho). Of the unsilvered form called artonis, 
I have captured over 150 examples. These two forms I have 
taken in coitu % arionis and 9 eurynorne; and 9 artonis and % 
eurynorne. I have seen specimens only partially silvered and 
resembling both artonis and eurynorne. In my collection are 
specimens of arge % from Oregon which seem to correspond 
exactly with Mr. Strecker's description of this variety, and I 
have males from Utah which are certainly arge, and others which 
intergrade into the typical eurynorne. I have never seen a 9 
which positively belonged to the var. arge^ but have noted a de- 
cided variation in the females of the so-called eurynorne. If 
these so-called species naturally interbreed, and if all the inter- 
grades have been found as I have proved, it only remains to de- 
termine positively the result of this interbreeding and the ques- 
tion is absolutely solved. 

Mr. Frederick Knab reports the capture of Anisolabis maritima at 
Bridgeport, Conn. 

* To these may be added, in all probability, macaria^ clio, opis and bischoffi. — Ed. 



22 ENTOMOLOGICAL NEWS. [January, 

RECOLLECTIONS OF OLD COLLECTING GROUNDS. 

II.— THE LOWER RIO GRANDE VALLEY. 

By H. F. WiCKHAM, Iowa City, Iowa. 

The region about Brownsville. Texas, is one of great interest, 
but only lately has it been explcfred entomologically with any 
degree of care. Within the past two years, however, the country 
has been visited and worked by Prof. Townsend, Mr. Schwarz 
and the writer.* Its most striking feature is perhaps to be found 
in the little jungles or "oases" of tropical vegetation, supporting 
corresponding insect faunae, these small areas being compassed 
around by the ordinary flora and fauna of southern Texas. 

It is by no means ready of access, since a visit implies either a 
long trip by steamer from New Orleans or Morgan City, or a 
cross-country stage ride of some i6o miles from Alice The 
latter has the advantage of convenience since the stages are run 
daily, while the steamer dates are about ten days apart. 

The writer made the trip by stage, reaching Brownsville on 
the evening of June 20th. A heavy rain had laid the dust and 
refreshed the country so that the broad prairies which alternate 
with patches of chaparral were gorgeous with many blossoms. 
But little time was had for collecting along the road, the thirty- 
six hours of travel consumed in covering the distance being 
broken only by such short stops as were necessary to change 
horses and to eat a hasty lunch. Nevertheless, a few observa- 
tions were made. Cicindela redilatera abounded in swarms near 
rain puddles; Canthon Icsvis was busily rolling balls about in 
sandy spots. In the mesquite scrub might now and then be seen 
a fine specimen of a great black Longhorn, Stenaspis solitaria; 
these, however, disappearing before reaching: El Sawz. A short 
stop at Santa Gertrudes, the first relay station out of Alice, was 
the occasion of some rejoicing over the capture of a fine example 
of Eleodes ventricosa, one of the largest species of the genus, 
remarkable for its obese form and shining surface. 

No towns are passed through en route, the road running across 
great ranches thousands of acres in extent. An occasional Mex- 
ican hut is about the only sign of human habitation, . except at 
the small settlement of El Sawz and Arroyo. Arrived, finally, 

* Cf. Proc. Ent. Soc. Wash, iv, p. 2; Trans. Texas Acad, of Sci., 1895; and Bull. Nat. 
Hist. State Univ. of Iowa, iv, pp. 96 et seq. 



1898.] ENTOMOLOGICAL NEWS. 23 

at the journey's end it was a pleasure to meet a fellow- entomolo- 
gist in the person of Prof. C. H. Tyler Townsend, who had 
already been in the field for some months. His aid in securing 
accommodations and readily given information as to the collect- 
ing grounds were of material advantage and greatly appreciated. 
He had already located many of the little tropical oases — if we 
may give them that name — and had made large and interesting 
collections in the interests of the Division of Entomology at 
Washington. 

As a result of the explorations carried on, many species not 
hitherto recognized as inhabitants of the United States must be 
added to our lists. A few of these may be mentioned here, the 
remainder will be referred to in the author's report on the Cole- 
optera of this valley.* 

A number of Cicindelidae were met with, the most interesting 
of which occurred at Point Isabel along the extensive beaches 
and salt mud-flats in that neighborhood. C. severa, iogata, cir- 
cumpida and pamphila all inhabit this little strip of sea-coast in 
company with some more familiar forms. C, pamphila is re- 
markable, from the fact that the elytra exhibit much the same 
range of variation in ground color as that displayed by the better 
known C speraia. 

Among the Carabidae, mention should be made of the occur- 
rence of Calosoma aurocindum Chaud., a species resembling our 
common scrutator^ but a little smaller' and of a brighter clearer 
green with less pronounced elytral striae and broader, flatter in- 
terspaces. It is a Mexican form and will probably not be found 
much to the north of Brownville. A large colony of the hitherto 
very rare Pogonus texanus was exposed on turning over a pal- 
metto log lying on a broad mud flat at the Point. A number 
disappeared at once into seams opened by the sun, but quite a 
supply was secured. In heavy thickets where the vines made 
their closest tangles. Agra oblongopundata Chev. was occasion- 
ally beaten from some thick mass of foliage. It is an outre look- 
ing insect of slender form, the prothorax elongate, nearly conical, 
the narrow elytra deeply punctured in rows. The original lo- 
cality was Vera Cruz, Mexico. Micragra cenea is another hitherto 
extra limital species ranging through Central America to Brazil. 
It is a small greenish or black-bronzed insect, something like 

*> Now publishing in the " Bulletin of Natural History,'* State University of Iowa. 



24 ENTOMOLOGICAL NEWS. [January, 

Metablettis in form, occurring on vines. Several specimens of a 

new Lebiide (^Euprodus iexanus Wickham) were obtained, chiefly 

in sweepings or by beating. Callida pundulata Chaud. , was 

beaten from jungles in company with C planulata and Pinaco- 

dera pundigera, A single specimen of Anatrichis oblonga was 

found on the river bank. This has hitherto been represented by 

a single example. 

o 

^n Egg Parasite of Smerinthus astylus Drury. 

By William H. Ashmead. 

Assistant Curator, Department of Insects, U. S. Nat. Mus., Washington, D. C. 

I have recently received, for identification, from Mr. R. F. 
Pearsall, of Brooklyn, N. Y., three specimens of a beautiful little 
chalcid, reared from the eggs of Smerinthus astylus Drury. 

This chalcid proved to belong to the subfamily Eupelminae, in 
Motschulsky's genus Anastatus (= Anttgaster Walsh) and to be 
quite different from the several other species described in our 
fauna. I have, therefore, named it in honor of the discoverer 
and submit the following description : 

/Anastatag pearsalli sp. n. 9.— Length 2.5 mm. Blue-green; the scutel- 
lum, middle lobe and the elevated lateral lobes of the mesonotuin and the 
face, including the frons, bronze-green ; scape, lobe in front of tegulaj, 
apex of pronotum and the legs, with the exceptions to be noted, ferru- 
ginous ; anterior and hind caxae metallic-blue; anterior femora and tibiae, 
except knees and hind legs, except tarsal joints 2 to 3, which are yellow- 
ish white, dark brown or fuscous; the middle tibiae and the tarsal joints 
I, 2 and 5 brownish; front wings fuscous, with the basal one-third and 
two triangular spots opposite each other, the points of which almost meet 
and form a band just beneath the marginal vein, whitish hyaline ; abdo- 
men blue-black, with a white band at apex of first abdominal segment. 

i%^.— Brooklyn, N. Y. 

Described from three female specimens, bred Aug. 20, 1897, 
from eggs of Smerinthus astylus Drury, by Mr. R. F. Pearsall. 



In the Entomological Srction. Professor. — "What has become 
of Bugs ? Wasn't he studying with the class last year ?" 

*' Ah, yes; Bugs— poor fellow — a fine student, but absent minded in the 
use of benzine in cleaning specimens — very. That discoloration on the 
ceiling— notice it ?" 

"Yes." 

"That's Bugs." 



1898.3 25 



ENTOMOLOGICAL NEWS. 

[The Conductors of Entomological Nkws 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 Oontrlbtttors.— 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 ctrcumfei- 
ence, as to make it necessary to put " copy" into the hands of the printer, for each number, 
three weeks before date of issue. This should be remembered in sending special or im- 
portant matter for 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 de^red. The receipt of all papers will be acknowledged. — Ed. 

■ ~ 

Philadelphia, Pa., January, 1898. 

A LETTER TO THE NEWS. 

"I suppose I am one of a fairly numerous class who make the 
collection of insects a pastime and not a very serious study — 
* mere collectors* I suppose we should be called. Nevertheless, 
what we see we know, and if we never get far beyond the ento- 
mological A B C it is not so much because we do not care to, as 
it is because business and other cares which * will not down' are 
too tyrannical. All we know must come from observation, and 
we haven't much time for that — the literature of our hobby is 
scarce and expensive, and over our heads as well. 

** What we want in a periodical is the relation of the experi- 
ences of others of our class. If some fellow has a * sugar' which 
he finds attracts more Catocalae than any other he has tried we'd 
like to know his recipe. We'd like to hear of another's expe- 
riences in rearing the more common species — perhaps the suc- 
cessful method of one will show another how he failed. We 
want to read of various methods of preserving pupae over Win- 
ter. We would like descriptions of the perfect insect in cases 
where species differ enough from each other to make a written 
description of any value, and we want these things not once in a 
while, but every month. If we ' mere collectors' could have 
two pages a month devoted to us we would gladly take our 
chances on getting something of value out of the rest of the 
issue. Of course you can't bother to edit and publish a paper 



26 ENTOMOLOGICAL NEWS. [January, 

for the benefit of one or two individuals; but it seems to me that 
if you wil.l publish something each month that may be of interest 
to the merest tyro, you might enlarge your sphere of usefulness 
and add to the income of the News " — W. R. H. 

We are perfectly willing to adopt the suggestions of our cor- 
respondent; in fact such has long been our desire and we have 
made every effort to get just such communications. We even 
went so far as to send out printed circulars soliciting articles of 
the kind mentioned — but they came not. It can't be expected 
that the editors should write such articles each month as they 
also have matters to attend to that wont '*down" and the time 
they devote to the journal is stolen from their own work. Now, 
W. R. H. we believe belongs to a large class of our subscribers 
and we turn the matter over to them to remedy, and await the 
result with much interest. 



On November 4th, after a day's collecting, I had occasion to walk along 
the Erie Railroad track at Woodside, N. J., on my way home. I saw 
several larvae of Spilosoma Isabella crawling along on the inside of the 
iron rail, evidently looking for a place tb cross over the track. I thought 
nothing of it until I saw some larva of Arctia arge which I took, and 
from that time on I kept my eyes on the rails. At a rough guess I must 
have passed at least 200 larvae during the walk of about a half of a mile 
S. Isabella were the most numerous. I took the following: fifteen Arctia 
arge? four Arctia nais, three Spilosoma rubricosa and three different 
specimens of Agrotis, I had occasion to pass along the same place 
again a week later but did not see a sign of a larva. — A. J. Weidt, 
Newark, N. J. 

(Philanthus punctatus var. cockerelli T>unvimgt Ent. News, 1896, p. 69. 
— Mr. Dunning gives no locality for this variety; the type specimens cited 
were from Las Cruces, New Mex., August 24 and September 3, the latter 
on flowers of Solidago canadensis. I have been comparing our Mesilla 
Valley punctatus (which frequents the flowers of Chilopsis and Sisym- 
brium as well as Solidago^ and appears as early as April 16) with speci- 
mens of typical punctatus taken by Mr. Robert Knetsch at Terra Cotta, 
111., and I find that our insect (var. cockerelli) constantly differs by the 
pale markings (light yellow to white), almost clear wings (with, however, 
a dusky apex), narrower head in the (j^, and eyes closer together at the 
top in both sexes. It seems to be a good subspecies at least, but Mr. 
Dunning's diagnosis should be modified to include all our specimens — 

T. D. A. COCKERELL. 



1898.] ENTOMOLOGICAL NEV/S. 27 

Notes and News. 

ENTOMOLOGICAL GLEANINGS FROM ALL QUARTERS 

OF THE GLOBE. 

A PICTURE for the album of the American Emomological Society has 
been received from Andrew Bolter. 

An ant which Sir John Lubbock, the English naturalist, has kept for 
observation many years died recently, whereupon the "Indian Mirror" 
published an obituary notice of his aunt. 

In the collection of the late Dr. Geo. H. Horn there was a specimen of 
the large motli {Pseudosphynx tetrio Linn.) which bore the following 
label:** Large moth reached ship * Eammoor ' Saturday, Feb. nth, 1888, 
at sea about two hundred miles from shore." — Henry Skinner. 

Whereas, we have learned with infinite sorrow and regret of the death 
of Dr. George H. Horn, of Philadelphia. 

Resolved^ By the Newark Entomological Society, in special meeting, 
November 28, that Entomological Science, particularly in Coleoptera, 
has sustained a most serious loss, that the Society has lost a well-wisher, 
and many of its members a personal friend. 

Resolved^ Also that this expression of our sorrow be spread upon the 
minutes of the Society, that a copy be sent to Entomological News 
for publication, and that another copy be sent to the personal representa- 
tives of the deceased. 

(Signed) John Angelman, ^ 

Ed. a. Bischoff, >- Committee. 
John B. Smith, j 

I Note on Agapostemon texanus. — Mr. Robertson, in his recent ex- 
cellent account of the common species oi*Agapostemony gives to texanus 
a very wide range — from the Atlantic to the Pacific. It seems desirable 
to ask how uniform it is throughout this territory. I have before me six 
examples from Washington State (one from Olympia, June 29; five from 
Pasco, May 25), all collected by Mr. T. Kincaid; and while they agree 
with texanus in almost every particular (including the punctures of the 
mesothorax), they are very easily separated from typical texanus (as 
found in New Mexico) by the much more finely sculptured base of the 
metathorax. The radiating wrinkles, which in true texanns are very 
large and distinct, are much smaller, more numerous, and less separated 
from one another. There is even a feebly indicated triangular enclosure. 
As the difference indicated is quite constant in a series, I propose to call 
j the Washington form A, subtilior n. sp. or subsp. Mr. Kincaid sent with 
the A. subtilior eighteen examples of A. radiatuSy all from Pasco. Mr. 
Robertson gives that species as west to Dakota only. The Pasco exam- 
ples are larger and bluer than the Illinois form of radiatus. — T. D. A. 
Cockerbll, Mesilla, New Mex. 



28 ENTOMOLOGICAL NEWS. [January, 

Entomologica.1 Literature. 



Under the above head it is intended to note such 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, unless monographs, or con- 
taining descriptions of new genera, will not be noted. Contributions to the anatomy, 
physiology and embryology of insects, however, whether relating to American or exotic 
species, will be recorded. The numbers in heavy-laced 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. 



4. The Canadian Entomologist, London, Ont., Dec, '97. — 5« Psyche, 
Cambridge, Mass., Dec, '97. — 10. Nature, London, '97. — 21. The En- 
tomologist's Record, London, Nov. 15, *97. — 22. Zoologischer Anzeiger, 
Leipsic, No. 543, Oct. 2r, *97. — 24. Berliner Kntomologische Zeitschrift, 
xlii, I and 2, Nov., '97. — 36. Annales de la Soci6t6 Entomologique de 
Belgique, xl, 9, Brussels, Nov. 15, '97. — 47. The Zoologist, London, 
Nov. 15, '97. — 48. The International Journal of Microscopy and Natural 
Science (3), viii, 3^. London, Oct., '97. — 40. Termeszetrajzi Fiizetek, 
XX, 4. Budapest, Nov. i, '97. 

The General Subject. — Bethe, A. Comparative researches on 
the functions of the central nervous system of Arthropods, i pi., Pfluger's 
Archiv fur Physiologie, Ixviii, 10-12. Bonn, Oct. 29, '97. — Biro, L. 
Biological observations in New Guinea, 24. — C ockerell,T. D. A. A 
curious case of protective coloration, 6. — H e y m o n s , R. Remarks on 
Verhoeff's views on the abdominal appendages of insects, 22,— Poul- 
ton, E. B. Mimicry in butterflies and moths, lO, Nov. 4, 11. — R af- 
fray, A. Occurrence of blind insects in South Africa. Transactions, 
South African Philosophical Society, ix, i. Cape Town, 1897. — St. 
George, V. laValette. On sperm- and egg- formation in the silk- 
worm {Bombyx mori), 3 pis. Archiv fiir mikroscopische Anatomic, L, 4. 
Bonn, Nov. 15, '97. — S u f f e r t , E. Effect of the blood monad (Baci/lus 
prodigiosus) on insects, 24, Sitzungsberichte. — V. Insects and flowers. 
Revue Scientifique, Paris, Nov. 6, '97. 

Bconoinic Entomolog'y. — Anon. Asclepias curassavica as an in- 
sectifuge, Bulletin of Miscellaneous Information, Royal Gardens, Kew, 
No. 130, Oct., '97. — Anon. Useful insect products, 10, Dec. 2. — Cha- 
pais, J. C. Some insects to be combatted, Naturaliste Canadien, xxiv, 
ID. Chicoutimi, Queb. — C outagne, G. Summary report on the work 
done at the Sericulture Station of Rousset-en-Provence in 1896-97. Bul- 
letin Soci^t^ Nationale d'Acclimatation de France, Paris, Oct., '97. — 
D e p r e z , V. Principal insects injurious to tobacco of the Semois, figs., 
36. — Dubois, L. On a bacterium pathogenic for the Phylloxera and 
for certain Acarines, Comptes Rendus, L' Academic des Sciences, Paris, 
Nov. 15, '97. — Fletcher, J. Evidence before the Select Standing 
Committee of the House of Commons on Agriculture and Colonization 
Session of 1897. Printed by order of Parliament [Ottawa, Can.] ; Re- 



1898.] ENTOMOLOGICAL NEWS. 29 

port of the Entomologist and Botanist 1896, figs. Annual Report on the 
Experimental Farms for the year 1896. Ottawa, 1897. — Krueger, F. 
The San Jos6 scale, a new danger for German fruit culture. Gartenflora, 
Berlin, Nov. 15, '97. — L ounsbury, C. P. Report of the Government 
Entomologist for the year 1896, figs. Cape of Good Hope Department 
of Agriculture. Cape Town, 1897. — Mayet, V. The cochineal of the 
vines of Chile {Margarodes vitius Giard), Anales de la Sociedad Cien- 
tifica Argentina, xliv, 4. Buenos Aires, Oct., '97. — Morgan, H. A. 
Report of the Entomologist, figs., Bulletin of the Agricultural Experiment 
Station, (2) No. 48. Baton Rouge, La., '97. — Newstead, R. Kermes 
variegatus Gmelin 9 : a Coccid new to Britain, Entomologist's Monthly 
Magazine, London, Dec, '97. — Pearson, L. and Warren, B. H. 
Diseases and enemies of poultry. [Pennsylvania] Dept. of Agriculture, 
Bulletin No. 17, Harrisburg, 1896. — S. Destructive animals, general con- 
siderations on their appearance and their destruction. Wiener lllustrierter 
Garien-Zeitung, Nov., '97. 

Myriapoda and Arachnida.— S i 1 v e s t r i , F. Description of new 
species of Myriapods of the Royal Museum of Natural History of Brus- 
sels, figs., 35. — T r o u e s s a r t , E. On the Acarine of blacking and on 
that of wine, Comptes Rendus, Soci^t^ de Biologie, Paris, Oct. 30, *97. 

Orthuptera and Neuroptera — Burr, M. The stridulation of 
Orthoptera, 47.— J^ordas, L. The salivary glands of Pseudoneurop 
tera and Orthoptera. Archives de Zoologie Experimentale ei Generale 
(3) V, 2. Paris, .1897. — Sa ville-Kent, W. Remarkable termite 
mounds of Australia, lO, Nov. 25. — Zimmer, C. The facetted eyes 
of the Ephemeridse, 2 pis. Zeitschrift fiir wissenschaftliche Zoologie, 
Ixiii, 2. Leipsic, Nov. 12, '97. 

Uemiptera. — Cockerell, T. D. A., and Quaintance, A. L. 
A new Lecaniutn on magnolia from Florida,* 5. — C o o 1 e y , R. A. New 
species of Chionaspis,* 4. — Distant, W. L. Stridulation and habits 
of Cicadidae, 47. — H a n d 1 1 r s c h , A. On the systematic position of the 
Hemipterous genus Phimophortis Bergroth, figs., Verhandlungen, k. k. 
zoologisch-botanischen Gesellschaft, Wien xlvii, 8, Nov. 10. '97. — King, 
G. B., and Tinsley, J. D. A new ant-nest Coccid,* figs., 6. — Mar- 
shall, G. A. K. Stridulation of Cicadidae in Mashunuland, 47. — 
Montandon, A. L. New Hemiptera of the collections of the Mu- 
seum of Paris, Bulletin du Museum d'Histoire Naturelle, Paris, '97, 4.— 
Renidall, P. Stridulation of Cicadidae, 47.— U h 1 e r , P. R. Contri- 
• butions towards a knowledge of the Hemiptera-Heteroptera of North 
America— No. 1.* Transactions, Maryland Academy of Sciences 1897, 
Baltimore. 

Coleoptera. — Bel on, R. P. Remarks on the genus Euryptera 
Serv. of the group Lepturidae and description of a new species from 
Bolivia, 35.— Blatter, P. Study of the histological structure of the 
accessory glands of the male apparatus of Hydrophilus i pi. Archives 
d'Anatomie Microscopique i, 3. Paris, Nov. 10, '97.— Heyne, A. Die 



30 ENTOMOLOGICAL NEWS. [January, 

exotischen Kaefer in Wort und Bild. 7. u. 8. Lieferung. Verlag von 
Ernst Heyne in Leipzig, 1897, 4 colored pis. — Keen, J. H. Three in- 
teresting Staphylinidae from Queen Charlotte Islands, figs., 4. — Pic , M. 
First Supplement to my list of Anthicidae-addenda, 35. — S c h a u f u s s , 
C. Bark-beetle studies — i, 24. 

Diptera. — Becker, T. Dipterological studies — v, i pi., 24. — 
Dahl, F. PuHciphora, a new flea-like genus of flies, 2^. — Towns- 
end, C. H. T. Diptera from the Mesilla Valley of the Rio Grande in 
New Mexico — i, 6. 

Lepicloptera. — B a c o t , A. On the development and probable origin 
of certain ocellated spots in the larvae of Lasiocampa quercus and Odo- 
nestis potatoria, 21. — B o w e 1 1 , E. W. W. On the scales of European 
Zygaenides, i pi., 21. — Bull, J. The fluctuation in numbers of seden- 
tary species of Lepidoptera with some criticisms suggested by the list 
recently issued by the Protection Committee, 21.— Chretien, P. The 
first stages of Tortrix grotiana; Le Naturaliste, Paris, Nov. 15, '97. — 
Da vis, W. T. Notes on Staten Island butterflies, Proceedings of the 
Natural Science Association of Staten Island, vi, 11. New Brighton, N. 
Y., Nov. 13, '97. — Donitz, W. Preservation of larvae in gelatine, 24, 
Sitzungsberichte. — D ii b e r g . North American and Asiatic species of 
Argynnis, 24, Sitzungsberichte. — Dyar, H. G. The larvae of two 
Saturnians; Note on larvae of Gyncephora groenlandica and G. rossii; 
Note on Cydosiinae, 6. — E 1 w e s , H.J. and Edwards,]. A revision 
of the Oriental Hesperidae, 10 pis. (4 in colors). Transactions. Zoological 
Society of London, xiv, 4, Oct., '97. — French, G. H. Preparatory 
stages of Pyrgiis tessellata, 4.— Grot e, A. R. On the value of larval 
characters. 21.— H a m p s o n , G. F. On the classification of the Chr>'- 
sauginae, a subfamily of moths of the family Pyralidae,* figs.; On the 
classification of the Thyrididae — a family of the Lepidoptera Phalaense, 
figs., Proceedings of the Zoological Society of London, 1897, part iii, Oct. 
I, '97. — Hanham, A. W. A list of Manitoba moths, 4. — Hogg, J. 
The so-called jumping bean of Mexico, 3 pis., 48.— Langdale, A. 
Strange pairing of butterflies, 47.— Lyman, H. H., and Winn, A. 
F. Notes on Grapta interrogationis Fabr., 4. — Nagel, W. A. On 
the taste organ of butterflies, figs., 22.— P o u 1 1 o n , E. B. See General 
Works. — P r o u t , L. B. On the genus Oporabia (cont. ) ; The Geometrid 
family Amphidasydae, 21.— S c u d d e r , S. H. Dates of issue of some 
of Boisduval's works, 5.— S o u I e , C. G. Notes on unusual food-plants, 
etc. . 5. — S tevenson, C. Vanessa milberti, 4.— U 1 e , E. Symbiosis 
between an Asclepias aiid a butterfly (transl. from Berichte der deutschen 
botanischen Gesell. xv), Journal of Botany. London, Nov., '97. 

Hymenoptera,— Cockerell, T. D. A. On the generic position 
of some bees hitherto referred to Panurgus and Calliopsis* 4.— F e r - 
ton, C. Habits of gastrilegid Hymenoptera, Feuille des jeunes Natu- 
ralistes. Paris, Nov. i, '97.— For el, Dr. A. Ants' nests 2 pis. (trans- 
lated from Neujahrsblatt Naturforsch. Gesell. Zurich, 1893), 48 ; On the 



1898.] ENTOMOLOGICAL NEWS. 3I 

habits of the ants of tropical America, 36. — Fox , W. J. Contributions 
to a knowledge of the Hymenoptera of Brazil, No. 3. Sphecidae (sens. 
lat.), Proceedings of the Academy of Natural Sciences of Philadelphia, 
1897. — Karawaiew, W. Preliminary communication on the internal 
metamorphoses of ants, 22. — K i n g and T i n s 1 e y . See Hemiptera. 
— K o n o w , F. W. Systematic and critical revision of the Siricid tribe 
Oryssini, 49^; On wood wasps, Entomologische Nachrichten, xxiii, 20. 
Berlin, Oct. ; '97. — P a r k i n , J. A bee's movements in a room, lO, Nov. 
4. — Sch., S. The orchid wasp {Isosmna ore hida arum) Naturwissens- 
chaftliche Wochenschrift. Berlin, Nov. 21, '97. — S chmiedeknecht, 
O. The Ichneumonid genus Hemiteles with a review of the European 
species, 49. 

Doings of Societies. 



A regular stated meeting of the Entomological Section of the 
Academy of Natural Sciences was held November i8th, Mr. E. 
T. Cresson presiding. Mr. Herman Hornig presented two 
imagos, one chrysalis and two larvae of Boletotherus bifurcus, 
Mr. Philip Laurent exhibited some fine photographs showing the 
destructive work of ants in chestnut and cherry wood. Mr. 
Robert Reif was elected an Associate. 

The following gentlemen were nominated for officers for the 
new year : 

Director^ George H. Horn. 

Vice- Dire dor y C. S. Welles. 

Treasurer, E. T. Cresson. 

C^servator, | ^ ^^^^^^ 

Recorder^ ) 

Secretary, W. J. Fox. 

Publication Committee, \ ^^y* J"",^"^^"' 

( J. H. Ridmgs. 

Henry Skinner, M.D., 

Recorder. 

A business meeting of the American Entomological Society 
was held November i8th. Nominations of officers were made 
for the year 1898. 

Henry Skinner, Secretary pro tern, 

Philadelphia, Dec. 14, 1897. — A stated meeting of the 
Feldman Collecting Social was held at the residence of Mr. H. 



32 ENTOMOLOGICAL NEWS. [January, 

W. Wenzel, 1509 S. 13th Street. Meeting called to order at 9 
P.M., Vice-president Castle in the chair. Minutes of the pre- 
vious meeting read and approved. 

The chairman announced to the members the death of one of 
the Social* s honorary members, Dr. George H. Horn, which 
occurred on Nov. 24, 1897, upon which the following resolution 
was presented : ' * The Feldman Collecting Social having learned 
of the death of Dr. George H. Horn, one of its honorary mem- 
bers, be it 

Resolved^ That it is the sense of this meeting that science has 
thereby lost one of its brightest lights and American Coleopter- 
ology its foremost savant, and 

Resolved, That we herewith express our deep sorrow at the 
loss ot our friend and fellow member, whose death leaves an 
irreparable gap in the science of Entomology. 

Mr. H. W. Wenzel read a communication from Mr. Ottomar 
Reinecke, of Buffalo, N. Y., dated Dec. 11, 1897, in which he 
states he has forwarded for presentation to each Coleopterist of 
the Social a set of four specimens of Glycobius speciosus, each 
being accompanied by a picture of himself. 

Mr. Fox readi&ome notes on^utillidae. which will be published 
in full in the News. 

Mr. H. W. Wenzel mentioned that, on November 20th, his two 
sons, Harry and Elmer, had captured in the Philadelphia Neck 
Lebia abdominalis in numbers, the species not having been taken 
before in this locality; also stating that on the same date Micro- 
hapia porcata was taken: a great variety of species being found 
as the weather was very mild at the time. 

It was moved by Mr. Fox that Mr. Wenzel be requested to 
convey the thanks of the Social to Mr. Ottomar Reinecke for 
his generous remembrance of the Coleopterists of the Social. 

No further business being presented the Social adjourned to 
the annex at 10. 10 p. m. 

Theo. H. Schmitz, Secretary. 



OBITUARY. 

William Grey, gardener to the late Hon. Erastus Coming, died at 
his home, Corning Farm, Albany, N. Y., Nov. 25th last, 69 years of age; 
deceased was a well-known collector of Lepidoptera for many years and 
leaves his collection of many thousand specimens to his son Robert, who 
is also interested in the same field. 



Entomological News for December was mailed December i, 1897. 



r. News. Vol. IX. 



OSAGE ORANGE INJURED BY WOOD BOFtEfiS. 



ENTOMOLOGICAL NEWS 

AND 

PROG^EDINGS OF THE ENTOMOLOGICAL SECTION 

ACADEMY OF NATURAL SCIENCES, PHILADELPHIA. 

Vol. IX. FEBRUARY, 1898. No. 2, 



CONTENTS: 



Laurent— Osage Orange injured by 
wood borers 33 

Rowley — Intereiting collecting near 
home 34 

Coquillett— -Synopsis of the Asilid genus 
Ospriocerus 37 

Letcher— Variation of Pyrameis carye 38 

Wickham — Recollections of old collect- 
grounds 39 



Fiske — Notes on the distribution o( 

Rhopalocera of New Hampshire.... 42 

Editorial 45 

Notes and News 47 

Entomological Literature 49 

Doings of Societies 53 



OSAGE ORANGE INJURED BY WOOD BORERS. 

By Philip Laurent. 

In the suburban parts of Philadelphia the Osange Orage is ex- 
tensively used in forming hedges around fields and gardens, and 
for this purpose it excels all other plants, as aside from its fine 
appearance it forms an almost impregnable barrier against tres- 
passers. 

It was on July 4, 1895, that I first had my attention called to 
the number of Dorcaschema wildii and alternatum that were in- 
festing a certain hedge near my home at Mt. Airy. In the course 
of an hour's time, with the aid of my friend, Mr. Horace Rodd, 
I secured seventy- five wildii and about twice that number of 
alternatum. During the following Winter I secured from this 
hedge — which was about one hundred yards in length — two sec- 
tions from the limb of a tree, each section being about four feet 
in length and from three to ^st inches in diameter (see Plate II). 
On arriving home I cut the sections into smaller ones and placed 
them in the breeding cage. The first beetles niade their appear- 
ance on June 18, and from that time until the middle of July 
they continued to emerge. Nearly all the specimens proved to 
be alternatum, only one or two wildii making their appearance. 
Two specimens of Neoclytus erythrocephalus also emerged. la 
all thirty-eight specimens emerged. 



34 ENTOMOLOGICAL NEWS. [February, 

Prof. Riley, in the "American Entomologist/* vol. iii, p. 270, 
states that the larvae of wildii and alternatum no doubt feed in 
the roots of the plant. I admit, not without a doubt, however, 
that this may be true as far as the larvae of wildii is concerned, 
but it will not apply to the closely allied species alternatum^ as 
my observations go to show. 

Miss Mary E. Murtfeldt, in "Insect Life," vol. v, p. 155, 
states that the larvae of wildii bore the older wood of the tree, 
and I am very much inclined to accept this statement as being 
correct, for if we examine the trunks of the trees in an old hedge 
we will often find them to contain many large borings, such as 
we would suppose the larvae of wildii would make. Messrs. 
Webster and Mally, of Ohio, have reared Cyllene pictus from the 
Osage Orange (sec Bulletin No. 9, New Series. U. S. Depart- 
ment of Agricultuie), but as yet this beetle has not been found 
on the Osage Orange around Philadelphia; furthermore, in my 
experience, Cyllene pictus only attacks the dead or dying trees. 
I therefore think it more than likely that the large borings ob- 
served in the trunks of live Osage Orange trees are made by the 
larvae of Dorcaschema wildii. 

The specimens figured in the plate were cut from the sections 
mentioned in the fore part of this article. 



INTERESTING COLLECTING NEAR HOME. 

By R. R. Rowley, Louisiana, Mo. 

It is gratifying, this hot weather, to have one's collecting 
ground not far from the front door. There is a little enclosure 
of two or three acres just across the street and when I tire of 
other employment I scale the fence and wade into the weedy 
jungle. There are patches of Croton capitatum here and there, 
and I come away laden with eggs, larvae and pupae of Ancea 
andria. In the past three weeks I have collected over two 
hundred well-grown larvae of this butterfly. True, some have 
died, but I have already ten imagoes, besides the fifty-five pupae 
hanging in my boxes and nearly a hundred larvae still feeding. 
This is a most hardy insect, well protected from its enemies in all 
its stages by mimicry, and rarely affected by parasites. Some 
grown " worms," when ready to suspend, turn black and hang. 



1898.] ENTOMOLOGICAL NEWS. 35 

head down, a putrid mass. Some pupae are deformed, but not 
more than one finds in nature. Like the larvae, putrid pupae 
occur, but thev are few in number. The natural enemies of an- 

dria may attack it in the eg|^, but the loss even here is small in 
my experience. 

In the three weeks' collecting in this pasture I have yet to 
see the first imago flitting about the plants. In fact, I haven't 
seen a single butterfly of this species inside the inclosure, save a 
few specimens just escaped from the pupae. It takes over twenty- 
four hours to pupate after the larva of andria suspends. A 
short time after suspension the caterpillar has almost converted 
itself into a circle, the head nearly touching the extremity of the 
abdomen. 

About three-quarters of an hour prior to pupation the sus-, 
pended larva begins a slight motion that is mostly perceptible 
near the head and is up and down, with but little lateral move- 
ment. The extremity of the abdomen becomes whitish and there 
is a slight slipping forwai^d of the newly formed pupa within. 
On each side of the second thoracic segment of the larva at this 
stage is a large, oblong dirty colored blister, but what purpose 
these serve is unknown to the writer. As the motions of the 
larva continue the skin may be seen to be loosening and the pupa 
within alternately expanding and relaxing in the effort to burst 
the larval skin. The splitting begins on the dorsal side of the 
second segment and extends forward and backward as the ante- 
rior part of the pupa is forced out. The weight of the pupa and 
its motions soon free it from the larval skin. Just as the slit in 
the skin begins the larva straightens itself out. The ventral side 
of the skin not tearing retards motion on that side so that the 
ventral creases of the pupa are able to hold on to the old larval 
skin till the cremaster is free and finally well fastened to the white 
silk button above. It is interesting to see the pupa in the act of 
attaching itself to the silk button. It requires great muscular 
exertion, and if at first he doesn't succeed he tries again and 
again. After the hooks are fast a vigorous circular movement 
of the pupa knocks the larval skin down, and motion, except an 
up and down one to shorten the chrysalis, ceases. The hardening 
and coloring processes require some hours longer. 

In general outline, the larva of andria reminds one some- 
what of Eudamus. Its chrysalis, though much smaller, is not 



36 ENTOMOLOGICAL NEWS. [February, 

unlike that of Archippus, The imago is the dead-leaf butterfly 
of North America and with its wings erect defies detection, as 
the pupa, under its shelter of green leaves, escapes the notice of 
its enemies. The young larva of andria, with its perch made 
of excretory matter, allies the insect to Limenitis disippus, while 
its case-making gives it a kinship to the Papilios, 

The seed of Croton capitatutn is a hemispheric nut and fur- 
nishes food for a small black weevil, a slender, long-snouted 
fellow, that doubles himself all up like a possum when you dis- 
turb him. I have taken numbers of these small beetles in the 
early morning on the fruit heads, but hidden in the abandoned 
leaf cases as the day grows warmer. 

Just inside a neighbor's fence is a small bunch of milkweed, 
and this has furnished a score of Danais archippus larvae. From 
the pupae of a number of these, maggots of a dipter escaped by 
*'glue" threads to the bottom of the box where they pupated 
and later emerged as flies. 

One archippus pupa fell, as it was " born' ' without a cremaster. 
The posterior extremity of this pupa was well formed, a smooth 
black dot taking the place of the anchor. This peculiarity of 
structure was probably due to the diseased condition of the larva. 

Over on the hill, a few hundred yards away, are walnut trees 
that furnish larvae of luna and juglandis, while from the papaw 
bushes, on the side, I have taken the caterpillars of Papilio ajax 
and the hawk Dolba hylcBus. 

To the south, a quarter of a mile, is Noix Creek bottom, and 
there numbers of Terias lisa, Nathalis iole and Callidryas eubule 
are found sipping at mud or flitting about the low weeds at mid- 
day. On the iron- weed blossoms are the Papilios: cresphonteSy 
turnus, iroiluSy philenor and ajax, while along the dusty road 
is Junonia coenia flies. 

A rare butterfly in this county is Melitcea phceton, but a single 
specimen having been taken here, so far as I know. On the 
Hinkston Creek, in Boone County, early last June, I found this 
butterfly fairly common. 

Mr. Dodge reports a single specimen each of Terias mexicana 
and Feniseca tarquinius from near Louisiana. 

Along the C. A. & St. L. R. R. track, halfway between the 
creek and home, the low willow bushes have given me thirteen 
fine larvae of the Sphinx, Smerinthus geminatus and many young 



1898.] ENTOMOLOGICAL NEWS. 37 

caterpillars of Limenitis disippus, while from the trailing wild 
grape vines I have obtained a dozen magnificent achemon 
** worms/' 

The full grown larva of Philampelus retires to the stem of the 
plant after feeding at night and may be found by lifting up the 
vine. 

The larva of ajax^ feeding on the big leaves of the papaw, 
makes no retreat for itself, but rests on the underside of the 
foliage. The caterpillar of troilus is always to be found on the 
upperside of the leaf of sassafras in a silken case made by draw- 
ing the edges of the leaf together. The habits of turnus are 
similar to those of troilus. The full grown larvae of cresphontes 
are to be found on the body of the bush, near the ground, feed- 
ing wholly at night, perhaps. I have taken the latter on the hop 
tree and prickly ash. 

o 

SYNOPSIS OF THE ASILID GENUS OSPRIOCERUS. 

By D. W. Coquillett, Washington, D. C. 

The following table contains all the species, of Ospriocerus 
known to occur in this country north of Mexico. Rhadamanthus 
Loew and minos O. S. are unknown to me in nature ; ceacides 
Loew is a synonym of abdominalis Say. The latter name is not 
preoccupied in this genus, and there is, therefore, no necessity 
for replacing it with aacus, proposed by Wiedemann. 

1. Abdomen largely yellow 2. 

Abdomen wholly black minos O. S. 

2. Venter of abdomen wholly black 3. 

Venter largely yellow ; black, the entire abdomen except the first seg- 
ment, base of the second and the genitalia, yellow ; in the female 
the apex and sometimes the underside of the last segment is black; 
pulvilli and bases of tarsal claws yellowish, all hairs and bristles 
black except the short hairs of the abdomen, which are chiefly 
yellow ; wings blackish, with a strong purplish reflection ; length 
20 to 23 mm. Arizona. Three males and two females. 

ventralis n. sp. 

3. Sides of abdomen destitute of a row of black spots 4. 

Sides of abdomen each marked with such a row rhadamanthas Loew. 

4. Hind comers of the second and following two or three segments of 

abdomen, at least ventrally, whitish pollinose entrophns Loew. 

Hind corners of second and other segments of abdomen destitute of 

whitish pollen abdominalis Say. 



38 ENTOMOLOGICAL NEWS. [February, 

VARIATION OF PYRAMEIS CARYE Hubner. 

By Beverly Letcher, San Francisco. 

Pyrameis carye n. var. maelleri. — Varies from typical carye in extension 
of fulvous markings at expense of black on primaries and the replacing 
by white of the blue and to some extent the black on secondaries. Pri- 
maries: apical white spots develop into dashes extending more or less to 
outer margin of wing, with the exception of the broad marginal band, 
which is black, and the inner margin and base of wing, which are dusky; 
the entire wing below the median vein is bright fulvous. Secondaries: 
the black encircled blue spots become white, or bluish white, the encir- 
cling black sometimes disappearing; the submarginal interrupted band is 
wanting. 

It is only within the last few years that any variation in this 
species, the commonest of our day flyers, was noticed by the 
writer. Previous to that time it had been considered the em- 
bodiment of constancy. I had, it is true, taken in the Fall of 
1892 a remarkable ''sport,'* but its like I never expected to see 
again. This specimen was forwarded to the late Mr. Neumoegen 
and without doubt is still with his collection. 

Sometime after this Mr. Ammon of this city, now deceased, 
pointed out to me in his collection two of the same form; then 
Mr. Rivers showed me at the University of California a specimen 
somewhat damaged, having been gathered in by hand. Later 
Mr. G. T. O. Mueller called my attention to three which he had, 
and last Fall I was fortunate enough to take another myself. 

While this form is very rare, it is still found with such fre- 
quency as to entitle it to a name. Whether it is a remarkable 
case of ''aberration,** ia number taking the same form, or an 
example of the evolution of a true variety time only will tell. 
Mr. Mueller has several intergrades showing variation from typi- 
cal carye to this form in two directions. In the first, there is the 
gradual restriction of the black of the primaries and extension 
of the red without change on the secondaries; in the other the 
blue spots of secondaries are replaced by white with but slight 
change in the markings of the primaries. 

With the exception of one, all of these variations have been 
taken late in the Fall. 



Ent. Kewb, Vol. IX. 



PVRAMEIS CARVE Ai 



1898.] ENTOMOLOGICAL NEWS, 39 

RECOLLECTIONS OF OLD COLLECTING GROUNDS. 

By H. F. WiCKHAM, Iowa City, Iowa. 

m.— THE LOWER RIO GRANDE VALLEY (Continued). 

Water beetles were only superficially collected, chiefly by 
dragging out great masses of algae from sloughs and thus secur- 
ing the beetles which became entangled in them. Several Hydro- 
philidae were obtained by simply stirring up the mud near the 
banks and picking out the floating specimens of Helophorini 
and Hydrobiini. One Dytiscid which seems to deserve especial 
mention is Eretes sticticus. It inhabits, besides certain portions 
of the southwestern United States, also Europe, Asia, Africa, 
Oceanica, South and Central America. 

Several interesting species belonging to various small families 
of Clavicorns were obtained. Anisosiida setiata was beaten 
from **sea oats** on Padre Island, a low sandy strip lying off 
Point Isabel, the port of Brownsville. The sand here was so hot 
that spiders or ants shaken from the plants died in a few seconds, 
going through the contortions exhibited by an insect which falls 
on a hot stove. I found that an Oxacis frequenting these same 
** sea-oats** took flight so quickly on being disturbed that it 
was a matter of some difficulty to capture more than a small 
percentage of those falling into my net ; but by closing the mouth 
of the bag and holding it flat on the sand they were soon over- 
come by the heat and rendered nearly helpless and could then 
be picked out with no trouble. Near the town Coccinella abdo- 
minalis was found abundantly ; Chilocorus cacti was met with 
occasionally and three species of Scymnus: collaris, cinctus and 
terminatus were among the contents of the beating net. Quite 
a colony of Epipocus cinctus was discovered on a polyporoid 
fungus growing close to the ground on a dead tree trunk, and 
several of them had strayed out among the dead leaves near by. 
This insect is not uncommon in Southern Texas, and I have else- 
where described the curious larva which is found in the same 
situations as the beetles. Languria Icsta feeds on Argemone 
tnexicanay and numbers may often be beaten from a single plant. 
Cryptorhopalum balteaium frequents the blossoms of mesquite. 
Two species of Teretriosoma^ chalybeum Horn and cornigerum 
Chevr., were found under bark or else in the beating net after 
working under dead vines. 



40 ENTOMOLOGICAL NEWS. [February, 

In the Serricorn series some of the more conspicuous forms 
only will be spoken of The beautiful phosphorescent Elaterid, 
Pyrophorus physoderus, was rather rare at the time of my visit, 
though probably more abundant in proper season, Chrysobothris 
octocola was moderately abundant on huisache^ Collops viitatus 
was common near the river and about the margins of the sloughs 
(or resacas as they are locally termed), while a pair of C. baliea- 
tus was seen on the great alkali flats between Brownsville and 
the sea. Fence posts of native leguminous wood, were badly 
infested by Sinoxylon sericans and beating tangled thickets was 
certain to produce plenty of 6*. dinoderoides which came no doubt 
from dead twigs and branches. Amphicerus punctipennis was 
found boring in the solid wood and occasionally just under the 
bark of hiiisache, while Polycaon obliquus and plicahis were 
attracted to light. Two specimens of Elasmocerus terminatus 
were captured, one in my room, another by beating. Ckrus 
abruptus was rare, C quadrisignatiis more common, the latter 
chiefly about yuccas or under loose bark. Chariessa vestita, one 
of our most beautiful insects, with violaceous upper surface and 
sanguineous abdomen was twice seen running about on fence 
posts in the hot sunshine. One Cregya vetusfa and several C, 
oculata were taken by beating tangles of vines and bushes. A 
great number of Rhipidandrus ' peninsiilaris (described from 
Lower California by Dr. Horn), inhabited a polyporoid fungus, 
boring through it like some species of Cis. 

Lamellicorns were few; Canthon Icevis was abundant along the 
stage line, especially in sandy spots, but much less common at 
Brownsville. C ebenus occurred farther up the river at Laredo, 
while a single C. simplex was found in July. ChcBridium hisieroides 
put in an appearance occasionally. Onihophagus cribricollis: was 
found in small numbers under dung in the pastures attached to 
Fort Brown. Atcenius abditus and strigaius, Aphodius vitiatus^ 
ruricola and lividus all came to hand at times, but nothing large 
or fine was seen with the exception of Strategus julianus, a 
single specimen of which flew across my path, to its own 
destruction on the evening preceding my departure. 

Cerambycidae were tolerably numerous and several forms prove 
to be new, either to science or to our fauna, while others are 

* A thorny leguminous tree, belonging to the group of Mimosas. It is abundant near 
Brownsville. 



1898.] ENTOMOLOGICAL NEWS. 4 1 

very rarely seen in American collections. Achryson surinamum 
occurred once, Eburia ovicollis often — both at light. Elaphidion 
moestum inhabits thickets and is to be obtained by beating tangles. 
A single example of E. irroratum was taken from a leguminose 
tree on the high barren ' ' yucca ridges. * * Ibidion exclamationis 
Thoms , was captured once. Piezocera serraticollis was found 
in the same thickets as Elaphidion mcestum — it is a very curious 
looking creature of a shining chestnut color and with broad 
flattened antennae which give it a characteristic appearance. Phy- 
ion pallidum 2iTid^Euderces reichei vt^ve, together, beaten from the 
vines which seem to overgrow most of the hedges and bushes 
along the roadsides. Cyllene crinicomis was tolerably abundant 
on a certain fence, evidently ovipositing in the huisache posts. 
Every time I passed the place I got a few, and sometimes half a 
dozen might be seen at once. They are wary and rather hard 
to catch, flying at a slight alarm; Neoclytus luscus and erythro- 
cephalus each occurred once. A remarkably fine example of 
Monilema ulkei was found under a fallen yucca trunk hi^h upon 
the ridges toward the Gulf. It seems to be the second specimen 
known from the United States and is easily recognized by the 
pretty pattern of whitish pubescence ornamenting the upper sur- 
face. Ataxia crypta was rather common, especially in the cotton- 
fields ; Aporataxia lineata rather rare in the thickets ; Ecyrus 
fasciatus is another jungle haunter, and by its coloration bears a 
most deceptive resemblance to a bit of mouldy wood, though 
Desmiphora mexicana (of which a single specimen was beaten 
from a vine covered hedge) is even more deceiving by the irregu- 
lar outline communicated by a covering of hairs in crests and 
lines of white, gray and brown. Dorcasia cinerea looks like a 
slender broken twig — I found it on cotton chiefly, but once on 
Solanutn. Oncideres texana breeds freely in huisache, and on 
the same plant I got one magnificent specimen of the hitherto 
unique O. pustulata, described from Laredo. Mecas pergrata 
and M, inomaia were both met with, but rarely. In the wooded 
river bottom back of Fort Brown two specimens oi Amphionycha 
amcena and one of A. flammata var. ardens were beaten into my 
net. Several of the above-mentioned Longhorns have only 
lately been described in the works of Hamilton and Linell. 



42 ENTOMOLOGICAL NEWS. [February, 

NOTES ON THE DISTRIBUTION OF RHOPALOCERA OF 

NEW HAMPSHIRE. 

By W. F. FiSKE. 

The following notes are additions to those published in the 
News for October, 1896. Since those were written there has 
passed two collecting seasons, one of which was spent in Web- 
ster and the other in Durham. Webster is situated near the 
center of the State a few miles west of Concord. Durham is 
about fifty miles to the southeast, and is situated on an arm of 
the sea. The difference in the insect fauna of the two localities 
is great, considering their proximity, but may easily be explained 
to a great extent by the difference in the snowfall between the two 
localities. In Durham, owing to its proximity to the sea, much 
of the Winter precipitation, which falls in the form of snow in the 
interior, takes the form of rain, thus depriving hibernating in- 
sects of the necessary shelter. The following is a brief account 
of some of the more noticeable differences. 

All the large species of Argynnis were comparatively scarce 
in Durham. This is especially true of idalia. The small species 
were not so much affected. Melitcea phceton and M, harrisit 
were about equally common in both localities, but P, nydeis, so 
common in Webster, did not occur at all in Durham, and tharos 
was more abundant in the latter place. Vanessa milbertU one 
of the more common butterflies inland and known to occur there 
in its usual numbers, was at the same time so rare in Durham 
that not a single specimen was seen in the course of a season's 
collecting. Limenitis arthemis was only represented by one speci- 
men in Durham, the place occupied by that species in Webster 
being taken by Ursula, which is rare, if not unknown there. The 
form Proserpina seems to be about equally common in both locali- 
ties, but there is no dividing line between it and ursula, Safyrus 
alope was very common in Durham, but there was no trace of 
nephele in any specimens seen or taken. Neither Debts port- 
landia nor Neonympha canihus was seen. Thecla strigosa was 
fairly common, but titus, calanus and acadica were all wanting. 
Of the early Spring forms, henrici and augustus were very scarce, 
and niphon was but little more common. At the same time in 
Webster niphon was in its usual abundance, and henrici and au- 
gustus were more common than I ever saw them before. I could 



1898.] ENTOMOLOGICAL NEWS. 43 

find no suitable locality for Chrysophanus epixanthe in Durham, 
so that its absence was no occasion for remark. C thce^ which 
is one of the greatest rarities in Webster, appears not uncommon 
on the salt marshes in Durham. Pamphila otho egeremet^ though 
fairly common in Webster, was really abundant in Durham, but 
P, bitncuula and manataaqua were both absent. P. hianna was 
quite common in Durham, though I never met with it in Web- 
ster. Besides P, hianna I took the following species for the first 
time in Durham : Thecla smilacis^ several specimens in May; 
Junonia ccenia, one seen August 24th, in fine condition; another 
taken September 14th, slightly worn; Terias lisa, b. perfect fe- 
male, August 15th; Nisoniades ludlhus^ or what I take to be 
this species, was quite common, though in poor condition, in a 
locality where its food-plant {Aquilegia) grew in abundance, on 
May nth. 

The following species were taken or seen for the first time in 
Webster during the season of 1896 : Lyccena scudderi, sl single 
female in poor condition, June 6th; Meganosioma ccssonia, sev- 
eral specimens seen during the month of June. Unfortunately 
none could be taken, but there can be no doubt as to their iden- 
tity. I think that this is the first time that either of the above 
species have been recorded from New England. Papilio phiknor. 
a single example in perfect condition was taken in Webster by 
Mr. C. F. Goodhue early in May; Euptoieta claudia, one speci- 
men, July 7th. 

During the first week in August, 1897, ^ ^^^ ^^ opportunity 
to collect in Pittsburg and Stewartstown, N. H., and the adjacent 
portions of Canada. As might be expected the insect fauna 
differed much from that at Durham. With the possible excep- 
tion of Colias philodice, Satyrus nephele was the most common 
butterfly. It swarmed on the flowers of golden rod in company 
with Argynnis myrina in almost incredible numbers, but not one 
alope was seen, and only one or two that showed any signs of the 
yellow band in the form of a yellowish cloud around the eye- 
spots. Argynnis ailantis and A, aphrodite were both common 
on golden rod, but no cybele were seen. It appeared to be rather 
early for the Graptas, but several f annus and one or two each 
oi progne and comma "w^x^ taken. A single ^raa725' was seen, 
but escaped my net by a very narrow margin. Pieris rapce 
was extremely abundant everywhere, and oleracea appeared not 



44 ENTOMOLOGICAL NEWS. [February, 

rare, but had an unpleasant habit of turning up unexpectedly in 
the most inaccessible places. One of the greatest surprises await- 
ing me was the occurrence of several fresh examples of Pam- 
phila mystic. This species is one of the most common skippers 
in the southern parts of the State, where it is double brooded, 
the first brood appearing the last of May and first of June, and 
the second the very last of August or first of September. This 
last brood is very scattering in numbers, not more than three or 
four being seen in any one season, in great contrast to the large 
numbers appearing in May and June. It is very rarely that a 
specimen of the early brood lingers into July, and the first record 
which I have of the appearance of the second brood is August 
24th, and the greater part of those that I have seen have been in 
September. The occurrence in the north of fresh specimens and 
in considerable numbers on the first of August denotes an en- 
tirely different life-history, and further information on this sub- 
ject would be of interest. Other butterflies seen were: Argynnis 
bellona, scarce ; Phyciodes tharos, common ; Vanessa antiopa. 
Pyrantels atalania, P, hunter a, Limenitis disippiis, Neonympha 
canthuSy Chrysophanus hypophlceas^ Papilio asterias, Pamphila 
peckius, fresh; P, cernes, badlyl worn. The day-flying molhs 
were numerous, among them being: Lycomorpha pholuSy com- 
mon ; Scepsis fulvicollis, one; Ctenucha virginicay common; 
Rynchagrotis chardinyi, common ; Hydroecia nictitans, Feltia 
subgothica, Cameades redimacula and several other noctuids 
which fly by night. Plusia bimacula was quite common, flying 
up out of the grass when disturbed. Rynchagrotis chardinyi 
was the most common moth on the flowers of Eupatorium pur- 
pureum in the evening. It was in poor condition, but scores of 
specimens could easily have been taken on one little patch of 
the herb. 



A Memorial Meeting, commemorative of Harrison Allen, M.D. and 
George H. Horn, M.D., was held in the library hall of The Academy of 
Natural Sciences of Philadelphia, on Friday evening, December 31, 1897. 
Addresses were made by Dr. E. J. Nolan, S. N. Rhoades, Dr. D. G. 
Brinton and Prof. J. B Smith. Dr. Henry C. McCook was to have 
delivered an address, but was prevented from being present by illness. 
The Entomological Society of Washington appointed Mr. Wm. H. 
Ash mead a delegate to represent I hat society at the meeting. 



1898.] 45 



ENTOM OLOGICAL 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 Oontrlbutors.— 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 circumfei- 
ence, as to make it necessary to put " copy'' into the hands of the printer, for each number, 
three weeks before date of issue. This should be remembered in sending special or im- 
portant matter for 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., February, 1898. 

specimens of Natural History in the Foreign Mails. 

Those who were interested in the attempt to secure a reduction 
of postage on specimens of Natural History in the international 
mails, to which we have referred in the numbers of the News 
for October, 1893 (p. 266), February, 1894 (P- 42), and March, 
1897 (p. 55), may desire to have a somewhat fuller statement of 
the success attained in May last, than was contained in the news- 
papers at the time. The references just given are all concerned 
with the labors of a Committee, appointed by the Academy of 
Natural Sciences of Philadelphia, September 5, 1893, ^o secure 
the admission of specimens of natural history to the mails of the 
Universal Postal Union as samples of merchandise and under the 
rates therefor— one cent for every two ounces. In December 
last, this Committee made its final report to the Academy and 
was discharged. Its report stated {inter alia) : 

Your Committee have now but to make its official report of the generally 
well-known fact that the proposed modification as regards Natural 
History specimens was adopted at the Washington Congress of the 
Universal Postal Union in May last. The adoption of this modification 
is referred to by the Superintendent of Foreign Mails of the U. S. 
Post Office, Mr. N. M. Brooks, in his Report for the fiscal year ended 
June 30, 1897, and dated Washington, Oct. 13, 1897. The reference is 
as follows: Alluding to the work of the Universal Postal Congress, Mr. 
Brooks says (p. 7), '*The following are, however, matters of general 

interest or importance which it may be well to mention, viz.: 

(4) Natural History specimens are admitted at the rate and under the 



46 ENTOMOLOGICAL NEWS. [February, 

conditions applicable to samples of merchandise." The same Report 
contains the full text of the convention concluded by the Congress, and 
on page 42 contains the paragraph in question (chap, iii, art. xvii, parag. 
5) as follows: "There are likewise admitted at the rate applicable to 
samples, articles of natural history, dried or preserved animals and 
plants, geological specimens etc., which are not transmitted for a com- 
mercial purpose, and which are wrapped in conformity with the general 
stipulations concerning samples of merchandise. *' The rate for samples 
is fixed at 5 centimes for every fifty grams, that is i cent for every two 
ounces. According to art. 28 of chapter i, this Convention is not to be 
put into execution until January i, 1899. 
Your Committee has, therefore, fulfilled its labors and congratulates the 
Academy that the end aimed at in the first circular [see the News for 
October, 1893, p. 266] issued by the Academy has been completely 
achieved. This result is the more gratifying in view of the predictions 
of failure freely expressed when your Committee entered upon its 
labors. It would, of course, be presumptuous to claim that the Acad- 
emy's endeavors have been more than one of the factors in this achieve- 
ment, but in such an international matter every such factor is of great 
importance. 

It may not be amiss to add here, for the benefit of our readers, 
further extracts from the above quoted Convention of the Univer- 
sal Postal Union contained in Mr. Brook's Report pp. 27 et seq. 

" Packets of samples of merchandise may not contain any article having 
a salable value; they must not exceed 350 grams [12.35 Avoirdupois 
ounces] in weight, or measure more than 30 centimetres [ii.S inches] in 
length, 20 centimetres [7.87 inches] in breadth, and 10 centimetres [3.93 
inches] in depth, or, if they are in the form of a roll, 30 centimetres [11.8 
inches] in length and 15 centimetres [5.9 inches j in diameter." (chap, i, 
art. 5, sect. 5). 

*' It is forbidden: First, to send by mail: {a) samples and other articles 
which, from their nature, may prove dangerous to the postal employees, 
soil or injure the correspondence; (d) explosive, inflammable or danger- 
ous substances, animals and insects, living or dead, excepting the cases 
provided for in the Regulations of detail.'** (chap, i, art. 16, sect. 3). 

The conditions which must be observed for the transmission of samples 
of merchandise remain as before — the packages to admit of easy inspec- 
tion, not to " bear any manuscript other than the name or the social posi- 
tion of the sender, the address of the addressee, a manufacturer's or a 
trade-mark, numbers of order, prices and indications relating to weight 
and size, as well as 10 the quantity to be disposed of, or those which are 
necessary to precisely indicate the origin and nature of the merchandise," 
while articles of glass, liquids, oils, fatty substances and dry powders must 
be packed to prevent their damaging, or escaping into, the other contents 
of mails (chap, lii, art. xvli). 

* The ''Regulations of detail and order for the Execution of the Convention'* form 
chapter iii, from which the most important— to naturalists— of our preceding quotations 
is taken. 



1898.] ENTOMOLOGICAL NEWS. 47 

Notes a.nci News. 

ENTOMOLOGICAL GLEANINGS FROM ALL QUARTERS 

OF THE GLOBE. 

Photographs for the album of the American Entomological Society 
have been received from William L. W. Field and Charles C. Adams. 

We have received one dollar for the News from Station E, Brooklyn, 
N. Y., January 3rd. Will subscriber please send his name and address? 
— Eds. 

Habits of a Wasp. — A small blackish wasp { Amenta architecta Say), 
was noticed at Iowa City, Iowa, July 27th, dragging off a spider ( Trache- 
las tranquilla Hentz) about one-fourth longer and much heavier than 
itself. The legs of the spider had been bitten off at the junction of the 
coxae and trochanters in order, no doubt, to render the body more easy 
to handle. The wasp dragged it by straddling the corpse and grasping 
it with her jaws near the tip of the ventral surface of the abdomen, thus 
allowing only the hard cephalothoracic dorsum to touch the ground and 
reducing the friction to a minimum. Both specimens are deposited in the 
National Museum and, through the kindness of Mr. F. W.* True, the 
names were furnished by Messrs. Ashmead and Banks. — H. F. Wickham. 

Reading the editorial note in the October number of ihe Entomo- 
logical News on "Late Collecting" I could not help thinking what a 
foreign sound to me there was in the expression "net and cyanide jar 
will be put away for future use." Here the cyanide jar is never in disuse. 
On sunny days, be the month December, January or June, butterflies and 
dragonfiies are to be found, to say nothing of the beetles, of which there 
is always a daily quota for the cyanide bottle. In connection with this I 
would mention the capture of a specimen (flying) of Pleocotna behrensii 
on December i6th, not a weather-beaten specimen at the tag end of life, 
but a bright one just emerged. I would also record the finding of Lino- 
dcndron rugosum at an elevation of 3500 feet in dead trunks of Alnus 
rhombifolia. This is about two hundred miles south of its known south- 
ern limit I believe. — Ralph Hopping, Kaweah, Tulare Co., California. 

There is a character in this city of pronounced German origin, who is 
an enthusiastic entomologist. Nearly every evening he may be seen with 
his net in hand, looking for favorable specimens of the insect world. His 
favorite places are against screen doors and windows, within the glare of 
the electric lights, where he secures many specimens. Thursday evening 
a crowd of bystanders who were watching his operations saw him sud- 
denly stoop down and grab at something on the floor. He gave a sharp 
exclamation and jumped back. He put his boot on the object and crushed 
it, then commenced suckhig his thumb very solicitously. Joe Cramer, 
one of the spectators, said it must have been a scorpion. An exclama- 
tion of pain passed over the entomologist's face as he exclaimed, *' I 
found dot out."— Phoenix, Ariz. 



48 ENTOMOLOGICAL NEWS. [February, 

Anent the letter from ** W. R. H." I was thinking only a few days ago 
that the News seemed to run more to decsriptive matter than formerly 
and wondered if this change was made purposely or because of lack of 
any other sort of material. Maybe. I am wrong in thinking that there is 
any change. I have not looked over the old numbers to see if I am right 
or not. Even now I always find more pleasure in reading of someone's 
experiences in the field or an account of the habits of even common 
insects than in the perusal of heavy descriptions of species or quarrels 
over the taxonomic value of a spine or a wing vein. Of course all these 
things have to go in to make up a journal which will appeal to all classes. 
But I wonder after all what do the '* mere collectors ** want? I started 
out in the collecting of insects with no more literature than a "continued 
story" entitled : "Rambles after Insects," which appeared in an English 
magazine brought over with us when we first landed on the shores of 
America. I didn't know where to get anything else nor what to ask for 
even, yet it wasn't long before I was using a borrowed copy of LeConte's 
"Classification" and taking instructions as to mounting and collecting 
from Packard's "Instructions" published by the Smithsonian Institute. 
I well remember how pleased I was with my copy of Say's "Entomology" 
which represented my savings for a long time. Then one of my friends 
sent me a sample copy of " Entomologica Americana " and, through cor- 
respondence with those whose names I saw, I finally got some slight idea 
as to how things were done. — H. F. W. 

Entomologists in general, and lepidopterists in particular, may be 
interested in learning that the little son of the late Rev. Dr. A. Good, 
who was his father's companion and aid in collecting the many species of 
West African Lepidoptera, descnbed by Dr. Holland, now resides with 
his widowed mother in Wooster, Ohio, and is fast developing into an 
enthusiastic and careful collector. Though but a boy of 12 or 13 years, 
he has already collected and carefully mounted nearly all of the common 
flutterflies and moths, occurring in his vicinity, and otherwise shows an 
aptitude that is surprising. He has very evidently imbibed or inherited 
from his father a love of entomology, and it seems to me that an encour- 
aging word from older lepidopterists would not only have a beneficial 
effect and be well bestowed, but also in future that they may have reason 
to feel gratified at having done so. Such may address Albert Good, 
Wooster, Ohio.—F. M. Webster, Wooster, Ohio. 

Prior to 1800 the entomological papers published in the United States 
numbered not more than half a dozen; and it is worthy of note that not a 
single description of a new species of insect appeared in print in this 
country until after the above date, although several naturalists in Europe 
had been for some time describing and naming insects sent to them by 
collectors in the New World. The following are all the papers published 
in the United States on entomological subjects before 1800. that the 
present writer is aware of. In the Transactions of the American Philo- 
sophical Society, held* at Philadelphia, for promoting useful knowledge. 



1898.] ENTOMOLOGICAL NEWS. 49 

vol. i, 1769-177 r, there is a paper entitled, " Observations concerning the 
Fly- Weevil, that destroys the Wheat ; with some useful Discoveries and 
Conclusions, conceminj< the propagation and progress of that pernicious 
Insect, and the Methods to be used for Preventing the destruction of 
Grain by it. By Colonel Landon Carter, of Sabine Hall, Virginia, com- 
municated by Colonel Lee, of Virginia.'* Pp. 208-217. Following this 
paper is a report on the "Same Subject, by the Committee on Husbandry.** 
Pp. 218-224. Pages 224-230 are taken up with observations on the native 
Silk Worms of North America, by Moses Bartram, which was read before 
the Society March 11, 1768. A letter of economic interest is printed on 
page 243, and is entitled, ** Extract of a Letter from Mr. Peter Miller, of 
Ephratah, to Mr. Charles Thomson, on the time of sowing" pease, so as 
to preserve the Crop from being Worm-eaten.** A second edition of this 
volume is dated 1789. Volume II of the same publication, dated 1786, 
contains one article relating to entomology ; it is entitled, '*The whole 
Process of the Silk-Worm, from the Egg to the Cocon (sic), communica- 
ted to Dr. John Morgan, Physician at Philadelphia, in two Letters from 
Messrs. Hare and Skinner, Silk Merchants in London, July 27, 1774, and 
February 24, 1775." Pp. 347-366. In 1799, Benjamin Smith Barton, M.D., 
published his *' Fragments of the Natural History of Pennsylvania.'* 
Of this work but one part seems to have been issued; this is devoted 
primarily to the birds of Pennsylvania, but there are also observations on 
other animals. The concluding pages contain some notes on noxious 
insects. It is of interest to know that all these pap)ers were published in 
Philadelphia. — W^illiam J. Fox. 



Entomological Literature. 



Under the above head it is intended to note such 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, unless monographs, or con- 
taining descriptions of new genera, will not be noted. Contributions to the anatomy, 
physiology and embryology of insects, however, whether relating to American or exotic 
species, will be recorded. The numbers in h«*avy-£aced 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. 



4, The Canadian Entomologist, London, Ont., Jan., '98. — 5. Psyche, 
Cambridge, Mass., Jan., '98. — 6. Journal of the New York Entomological 
Society, December, '97. — 8. The Entomologist's Monthly Magazine, 
London, Jan., '98. — 9. The Entomologist, London, Jan., '98. — 11. The 
Annals and Magazine of Natural History, London, Dec, '97. — 12. 
Comptes Rendus. L'Academie des Sciences, Paris, '97. — 13. Comptes 
Rendus. Societe de Biologie, Paris, '97.— 15. Biologia Centrali- Amer- 
icana, part cxxxviii, landon, Nov., '97.-22. Zoologischer Anzeiger, 
Leipsic, Dec. 13, '97. — 25. BoUetino dei Musei di Zoologia ed Anatomia 
Comparata d. R. Universita di Torino, 1897. — 36. Transactions of the 



2* 



50 ENTOMOLOGICAL NEWS. [February, 

Entomological Society of London, 1897, pt. iv, Dec. 16. — 50- Proceed- 
ings of the U. S. National Museum, xx, Washington, '97. — 51. Novitates 
Zoologicae, iv, 3. Tring, England, Dec. 3, ^97. — 52. Transactions of the 
S. African Philosophical Society, x, i. Cape Town, '97 —53. Transac- 
tions and Proceedings of the New Zealand Institute, xxix, Wellington, 
June, '97. — 54. Journal of the Royal Horticultural Society, xxi, 2. Lon- 
don, Dec, *97.— 55. Le Naturaliste, Paris, '97.-56. Mittheilungen der 
schweizerischen entomologischen Gesellschaft, x, t. Schaffhausen, Nov., 
*97- — 57. Ergebnisse der Hamburger Magalhaensischen Sammelreise 
herausgegeben vom Naturhistorischen Museum zu Hamburg, ii, '97. — 
58. Revista Chilena de Historia Natural. Fundada el 1° de Octobre, 
1897. Director i Redactor: Carlos E. Porter. Colaboran di.stinguidos 
especialistas nacionales i estranjeros. Valparaiso. This is a new journal 
of which two numbers have reached us, those for October and November, 
1897. It proposes to deal with the fauna, flora, geology and mineralogy 
of Chile, and particularly of the province of Valparaiso, to publish original 
papers and bibliographical notices on biological subjects, to facilitate ex- 
change of specimens of natural history and to form a taste for such studies 
in Chile. In the number for November it is announced that the Revista 
will hereafter also be the organ of the Museo de Valparaiso. 

The General Subject.— The Zoological Record, volume the Thirty- 
Third. Being Records of Zoological Literature relating chiefly to the 
year 1896. Edited (for the Zoological Society of London) by David 
Sharp. London. Printed for the Society; .... 1897. Arachnida, Myrio- 
poda and Prototracheata by A. W. Brown, Insecta by D. Sharp.— [Be - 
thune, C. J. S.] James Fletcher, portrait, 4. — Dixey, F. A. Sum- 
mary of Dr. Standfuss' experiments on hybridization, 36, Proceedings; 
Mr. Merrifield's experiments on the relation of temperature to variation, 
figs., Nature, London, Dec. 23, '97. — F leischmann, A. Lehrbuch der 
Zoologie. Nach morphogenetischen Gesichtspunkten bearbeitet. Spezi- 
eller Teil: ii, Die Wirbellosen Tiere. Wiesbaden, C. W. Kreidel's Verlag. 
1898. — Goe Idi, E. A. Noteworthy mimicry in a Brazilian spider of the 
genus Cyclosa, i pi. Zoologische Jahrbiicher, x, 5, Jena, Nov. 26, '97. — 
[Henshaw, S.] George Henry Horn, 5.— J o u t e 1 ^/ a/. [Brief notes] 
see Proceedings of the New York Entomological Society for 1897 in 6. — 
Morse, A. P. Pacific coast collecting, 5. — P h i s a 1 i x , C. Antago- 
nism between the venom of the Vespidae and that of the Viper, the first 
a vaccine against the second, 13, Dec. 4. — P 1 a t e a u , F. How flowers 
attract insects— experimental researches, parts iv, v, i pi. Bulletins de 
I'Academie royale de Belgique (3), xxxiii, 9-10, it, Brussels, '97. — Por- 
ter, C. E. Data on the Arthropods of the province of Valparaiso, 58, 
Nov.; Id. and Edwards, A. [same], 58, Oct. — Tutt, J. W. Some 
considerations of natural genera, and incidental references to the nature 
of species, Proceedings South London Entom. and Nat. Hist. Society, 
'97. — Webb, S. A freak of nature: Lasiocafnpa trifolii [andromor- 
phous female], 8. 



1898.] ENTOMOLOGICAL NEWS. 51 

Economic Entomologry.— B o r d a g e , E. On two Lepidoptera 
injurious to sugar-cane in the Mascarene islands, 12, Dec. 20. — D r u r y » 
W. D. Garden insects, 54. — ^J o h n s o n , C. W. Some of the injurious 
insects of Pennsylvania, 3 pis. Annual Report of Dept. of Agriculture 
[Pennsylvania] for 1896. Harrisburg, Dec, '97.— Lamb, S. C. The 
treatment of insects and fungi in the United States, 54. — L ou n s b u r y , 
C. P. Gas treatment for scale insects. Treating of the operations of the 
Horticultural Board's fumigating outfit, the applicability of the fumigation 
process in Cape Colony, and embodying a full description of the equip- 
ment necessary for fumigation with hydrocyanic acid gas. Report to the 
Horticultural Board by the Government Entomologist. Cape Town, 
June, 1897. — Maskell, W. M. See Hemiptera. 

Arachuida. — Berlese, A. Acari Myriapoda et Scorpiones hu- 
cusque in Italia reperta. Ordo Cryptostigmata (Sarcoptidae). Portici 
Sumptibus auctoris (Annis 1882-1897), 190 pp., 15 pis. — Goeldi, E. A. 
See General Subject. — ^J o u r d a i n , S. On the development of Trom- 
bidium holosericeutn, 12, Dec. 6. — Maskell, W. M. On some tick- 
parasites of the Kiwi, i pi., 53. 

Myriapoda.— At t ems, C. Myriapods, figs., 57.— Giard, A. 
Echinospora labbei a new polysporic coccidium from the digestive tube 
of Myriapods, 13, Dec. 18. — de Saussure, H. Natural History of 
the Myriapods, atlas 12 col. pis. in Histoire Physique, Naturelle et Po- 
litique de Madagascar, etc., publi^e par Alfred Grandidier, 44e fascicule. 
Paris, 97. 

Apterygota and Neuroptera. — S c h a f f e r , C. Apterygota, 3 pis. 
[Collembola and Thysanura], 57. — McLachlan, R. Litnnophilus 
affinis at sea ten miles from land, 8. 

Orthoptera.— Bordage, E. On the tetrameric regeneration of the 
tarsus in Phasmidae (transl. from CR. Acad. Sci. Paris), 11. — Giglio- 
T o s , E. Orthoptera collected in Darien by Dr. E. Festa iii— Acrididae 
— Gryllidae, 25, No. 301, Aug. 20; Orthoptera [from the] voyage of Dr. 
A. Borelli to Bolivia and the Argentine Republic, 25, No. 302, Aug. 31, 
— Hutton, F. W. The Stenopelmatidae of New Zealand, 2 pis., 53. 
— deSaussure, H.andPictet, A. Orthoptera,* pp. 321-328, 15. 
— Scudder, S. H. Revision of the Orthopteran group Melanopli 
(Acridiidae), with special reference to North American forms* [421 pp., 
26 pis., 30 genera (18 new), 277 species (115 new)], 50 ; Brunner's genus 
Metaleptea^ 5. — Zoubowsky, N. Note on the egg-laying of the 
Acridiodea. Annuaire du Mus^e Zoologique de I'Academie Imperiale 
des Sciences de St. Petersburg, 1897, No. 3. 

Hemiptera. — B r e d d i n , G. Hemiptera, i pi., 57.— C o c k e r e 1 1 , 
T. D. A. A new Orthezia* 4 ; New insects from Embudo, New Mexico,* 
11, — Howard, L. O. See Hymenoptera. — Kirkaldy, G. W. Re- 
vision of the Notonectidse; part i. Introduction, and systematic revision 
of the genus Noionecia* 36; Notes on aquatic Rhynchota, No. i, O, 
— Maskell, W. M. Further Coccid notes: with descriptions of new 



52 ENTOMOLOGICAL NEWS. [February, 

species, and discussion of points of interest, 5 pis., 53. — M ontandon» 
A. L. Hemiptera cryptocerata: revision of the subfamily Limnocorinae* 
25, No. 297, June 11. — Tinsley , J. D. Two new species of Crthezia* 
figs., 4. — Townsend, C. .H. T. Locality and food-plant catalogue 
of Mexican Coccidae, 6, 

Coleoptera.— Bland ford, W. F. H. Coleoptera,* vol. iv. part 
6, pp. 169-176, 15. — B o i 1 e a u , H. Description of a new Lucanid, figs., 
^B» — L ^ c a i 1 1 o n , A. Preliminary note on the germinal layers of the 
Coleoptera, 12, Nov. 29; 13, Nov. 27.— Lin ell, M. New species of 
Coleoptera of the family Chrysomelidae with a short review of the tribe 
Chlamydini,* 50. — P ^ r i n g u e y , L. Descriptive catalogue of the Co- 
leoptera of South Africa. Part iii, Paussidae, 2 pis, 52. — Planet, L. 
Note on a case of Tetratology observed in a large Prionid, fig., 55. — 
R a f f r a y , A. Descriptive catalogue of the Coleoptera of South Africa 
— Part iv. Pselaphidaj, 2 pis., 52. — Schoch, G. Supplement V to 
the genera and species of my Cetonid collection, 56. — S t i e r 1 i n , G. 
Coleoptera helvetica, pp. 577-624, 50. — Thomas, F. On a gall-eating 
weevil and a control experiment in researches on insect injury to plant:} 
(Coprolysis), Entomologische Nachrichten, xxiii, 23. Berlin, Dec, '97. — 
Webster, F. M. Notes on various species of Coleoptera, i pL, 6. — 
Wickham, H. F. The Coleoptera of the lower Rio Grande Valley 
i. Bulletin of the Laboratories of Natural History of the State University 
of Iowa, iv, 2, Iowa City, Dec, '97. — Xambeu, Capt. Habits and 
metamorphoses of insects (Longicorns) (cont.), L'Echange Revue Lin- 
n^enne. Lyon, Dec, '97. 

I>iptera. — Austen, E. E. Notes on the Oestrine parasites of 
British deer, 8. — Brown, B. Two new species of Asilids from New 
Mexico.* Kansas University Quarterly (A), vi, 2. Lawrence, Kans., 
April, '97. Rec'd Jan. 3, 1898. — Coquillett, D. W. On Cuterebra 
emasculatory with descriptions of several allied species,* 4. — M ial 1 , L. 
C. and Sh el ford, R. The structure and \\iQ-}n\s\.ory o^ Phalacrocera 
replicata^ 4 pis., with an appendix on the literature of the earlier stages 
of the Cylindrotomina by Baron C. R. Osten Sacken, 36. — 
Townsend, C. H. T. Diptera from the lower Rio Grande or Tamau- 
lipan region of Texas — i,* 6.— v an derWulp, F. M. Diptera,* vol. 
ii, pp. 361-368, pi. ix, 15. — Webster, F. M. Notes and observations 
on several species of Diptera, 4. 

Lepidoptera. — A n o n . Anosia plexippus in Australia, 5. — B e u - 
tenmiiller, W. On the two species of Eudcsmonia, 2 pis . 6 — B u t - 
ler, A. G. A revision of the species of butterflies belonging to the 
genus Teracolus Swains, (cont), 11. — Dognin, P. New Heterocera 
from Loja and environs (Ecuador), Annales de la Soci^t^ Entomologique 
de Belgique, xli, 11, Brussels, Dec. 10, '97. — Druce, H. Lepidoptera 
Heterocera,* vol. ii, pp. 417-424, pis. Ixxxi-ii, 15. — Dyar, H. G. Notts 
on the larva of Lagoa pyxidifera, 6 ; The life-histories of the New York 
slug caterpillars — xii, i pi. 0; A generic revision of the Lachneidae 



1898.] ENTOMOLOGICAL NEWS. 53 

(Lasiocampidae), 4; Microcoelia diphtheroides Grote, 4. — Edwards, 
W. H. Notes upon Sphinx cataipcB at Coalburgh, W Va., 4; Further 
observations on Papilio bairdii Edw.. 4- — Fenn , C. et al. On keeping 
pupae through the Winter, Entomologist's Record, London, Dec. 15, '97. 
— God man, F. D. and Sal v in, O. Lepidoptera Rhopalocera, vol. 
ii, pi. xc, 15. — Grote, A. R. An attempt to classify the Holarctic 
Lepidoptera by means of the specialization of the wings. Part i. The 
day-butterflies, 6 ; The changes in the structure of the wings of butter- 
flies, 36. — I ngenitzky, L On the life-history of Psyche (Epichnop- 
ieryx) helix Sieb., 22. — R i p p o n , R. H. F. Icones Ornithopterorum: 
a monograph of the Rhopalocerous genus Omithoptera or bird- wing but- 
terflies. Published by the author, London. Parts 8-1 1, rec*d Dec. 17, 1897. 
— R othschild,W. On some new butterflies and moths, 51. — S c h a u s , 
W. New species of Geometridae from tropical America,* 6. — S o u t h , 
R. Heliothis armigera, 9.— Urech, F. Experimental results of the 
constriction of soft pupae of Vanessa urticce acoss the wings, 22. — 
Warren. W. New genera and species of Thyrididae, Epiplemidae and 
Geometridae, from South and Central America and the West Indies, in 
the Tring Museum, 51. — W ebb, S. See General Subject. 

Hymenoptera. — A n d r ^ , E. Synopsis of the Mutillidae of France, 
Feuilles des jeunes naturalistes. Paris, Jan. i, '98. — C o c k e r e 1 1 , T. D. 
A. See Hemiptera.— Dyar, H. G. New sawflies (Tenth redinidae) 
with descriptions of larvae,* ft. — Friese, H. Monograph of the bee 
genus Panurginus (Nyl.) (Palaearctic forms), 56. — Howard, L. O. 
A new parasite of the harlequin cabbage bug,* 4. — M a r c h a 1 , P. Con- 
tribution to the study of the embryonic development of the parasitic 
Hymenoptera, 13, Dec. 18. — Marshall, T. A. Supplement to Bra- 
conidae in Species des Hym^nopteres d' Europe and d'Algerie fond^ par 
Edmond Andr^ et continue sous .... Ernest Andr^, 6oe fascicule, 
Paris, Oct. I , *97. — P h i s a 1 i x , C. See General Subject. — T a y 1 o r , G. 
W. Note on Trigofialys canadensis Hargtn., 4. 



Doings of Societies. 



The regular annual meeting of the American Entomological 
Society was held December 23, 1897, the Vice-President, Dr. 
P. P. Calvert, in the chair. The reports of the various officers 
were read, received and filed. During the year volume xxiii of 
the Transactions of the Society, containing 496 pages and 14 
plates has been completed. Of volume xxiv there has been 
printed 320 pages and i plate. The chairman announced the 
death of the late President of the Society, Dr. George H. Horn, 
on November 24, 1897. Dr. Skinner offered the following minute: 
* ' The American Entomological Society hereby records its deep 



54 ENTOMOLOGICAL NEWS. [February, 

sense of the great loss it has sustained in the death of Dr. George 
H. Horn, a member for thirty-seven years and its president for 
the last fourteen years. It gratefully acknowledges the lustre 
which his attainments and honors reflected upon this Society by 
his connection with it and the benefits which his learning and 
liberality conferred. It rejoices in the successes which he attained, 
and cherishes the memory of his labors, which form so large a 
part of the progress of Entomology in America.'* Mr. Ridings 
spoke of his early acquaintance with Dr. Horn, dating back 
forty years. Mr. Liebeck remarked on his personal acquaintance 
and help from the deceased. Dr. Skinner said the medical 
education of Dr. Horn had been of advantage in his study of 
the structure of insects. Mr. Welles and Dr. Calvert spoke of 
his personal kindness and willingness to assist the younger 
entomologists in their studies. 

On motion the above minute was adopted and ordered to be 
entered on the minutes of the Society. 

The following gentlemen were elected to serve as officers for 
the year 1898 : 

President, Rev. Henry C McCook, D.D. 

Vice-President, Philip P. Calvert, Ph.D. 

Treasurer, Ezra T. Cresson. 

Recording Secretary, Henry Skinner, M.D. 

Corresponding Secretary, W. J. Fox. 

Curator, Henry Skinner, M.D. 

Librarian, W. J. Fox. 

r E. T. Cresson, 

Publication Committee, X C. F. Seiss, 

( B. H. Smith. 
James H. Ridings, Secretary. 

A meeting of the Entomological Section of The Academy of 
Natural Sciences was held December 23, 1897, Vice-Director 
Welles presiding. The chairman announced the death of the 
Director of the Section, Dr. Geo. Horn, on November 24, 1897, 
at Beesley's Point, N. J Mr. Chas. Liebeck handed over to the 
Section two species of Coledptera, probably European, Hadrus 
alpinus and H. carbonarius, presented by the late Dr. Horn. 
Same gentleman also presented a Rhynchophorid beetle, also a 
European species, which had been found in a can of Schultz 



1898.] ENTOMOLOGICAL NEWS. 55 

powder. Election of officers being in order the following were 
elected to serve for the year 1898 : 

Director^ Chas. S. Welles. 
Vice- Director y Philip Laurent. 
Treasurer y E. T. Cresson. 
Conservator, Henry Skinner. 
Secretary, W. J. Fox. 
Recorder, Henry Skinner. 

Publication Committee, \ x *tt tC- ,- ' 

( J. H. Ridings. 

Dr. Henry Skinner, Recorder. 



Philadelphia, Jan. ii, 1898. — A stated meeting of the Feld- 
man Collecting Social was held at the residence of Mr. H. W. 
Wenzel, 1509 S. 13th Street. Owing to President Griffith's ab- 
sence, who is at present visiting at Phoenix, Ariz., the annual 
address was necessarily omitted; it is, however, expected that 
he will forward a written address to be read at the next meeting. 

Prof. Smith called attention to some of the common scales 
found in New Jersey, consisting of the oystershell scale, San Jos6 
scale, tulip scale and scurfy scale, twigs covered with the above- 
named varieties put up in glass tubes, the openings being patched 
with cotton to prevent moulding, were given to the Social for 
presentation to the local collection of the Academy of Natural 
Sciences. 

Prof Smith also exhibited some aquatic lepidopterous larvae 
found in Dreer's nurseries, Riverton, N. J., describing the in- 
sect's destructive work on water plants in that locality. The 
speaker stated that the eggs were deposited on the underside of 
the leaves, the larvae cutting pieces from pads of lilies, with which 
they cover themselves while feeding, finally pupating on the 
stems beneath the water, so that when the moth finally emerged 
it was compelled to pass through from one to four inches of water 
before reaching the open air. All stages of this peculiar insect 
were shown, the species being unknown to him. Continuing he 
gave an interesting account* of an experiment in grafting lepid- 
opterous pupae, which resulted in the production of some curious 
monstrosities. The experiment was made with some of the large 

* Abstract of a paper read at the meeting of The American Society of Naturalists at 
Ithaca, N. Y. 



56 ENTOMOLOGICAL NEWS. [February, 

species of moths, the speaker mentioning that the success of the 
procedure depended greatly on getting pupae of the same age, 
so that they would mature at the same time; even though this 
precaution was observed, the mortality reached about eighty 
per cent. The pupae were first thoroughly chilled, then quickly 
cut with a sharp knife, when the desired part of one pupae was 
soldered on to another (which had been likewise prepared) by 
means of melted paraffine which was in readiness. 

Prof. Smith also brought a series of Orthoptera to the Social 
for presentation to the local collection of the Academy. 

\Mr. Fox called attention to a S specimen of the genus Mu- 
tilla, in which the wings are rudimentary. Although all females 
so far known in the Mutillidae are wingless, and males rarely so, 
the existence of a specimen with rudimentary wings had not so 
far been recorded as far as was aware. As he had seen only a 
single specimen of the species in question, it was not possible to 
say whether the abbreviated wings were a specific or an individual 
characteristic. It is certain, however, that the specimen men- 
tioned represents a species distinct from those so far known from 
the United States. 

Mr. Johnson mentioned the capture of a specimen of Hermetia 
illucens by Mr. Harry S. Viereck in Philadelphia, September 3, 
1897, which species is common to the Gulf States and West 
Indies. 

Mr. Wenzel presented to the balance of the members, who 
were not included in the lists of coleopterists so kindly remem- 
bered by Mr. Ottomar Reinecke, at the last meeting, a picture 
of the said gentleman bearing his compliments for each one, for 
which each recipient desires to extend his sincere thanks to Mr. 
Reinecke through the medium of the Entomological Nev/s. 

There being no further verbal communications the chairman 
declared the meeting open to consider nominations and elections 
for officers to serve for the ensuing year, when the following 
names were presented : 

President, David M. Castle, M.D. 

Vice-President, Charles W. Johnson. 
Secretary, William J Fox. 

Treasurer, Henry W. Wenzel. 

There being no opposition the secretary was instructed to cast 
a ballot in favor of the nominees, upon which the election was 
made unanimous. A vote of thanks was then tendered the 
retiring secretary, complimenting him on the faithful discharge 
of his duties during his term of office. 

No further business being presented the meeting adjourned to 
the annex. Theo. H. Schmitz, Secretary, 



Entomological News for January, 1898, was mailed December 31, 1897. 



Ent. News, Vol. IX. 



A NEW TRYPETEO. 

EXPLANATION OF FIGURES. 
Fig. 1. — EhftKoletia ribieola n. sp. 9 - Fi)t- *■ — Larva. 

" 2.— Ovipositor and sheath. " 5.— First tv 

" 3. — External genitiilift of mala. '■ 6.— Pupa. 



ENTOMOLOGICAL NEWS 



AND 



PROCEEDINGS OF THE ENTOMOLOGICAL SECTION 

ACADEMY OF NATURAL SCIENCES, PHILADELPHIA. 



Vol. IX. 



MARCH, 1898. 



No. 3. 



CONTENTS; 



Kunze—Raraeaves of the insect fauna 
of Arizona 57 

Harvey — Contributions to the Odonata 
of Maine 59 

Baker — Five new species of Phlepsius.. 65 



Editorial 68 

Economic Entomology 69 

Notes and News 72 

Entomological Literature 74 

Doings of Societies 79 



RAR>E AVES OF THE INSECT FAUNA OF ARIZONA. 

By Dr. R. E. Kunze, Phoenix, Ariz. 

Having for nearly two full seasons collected in Arizona, I wish 
to place on record a few of the good finds allotted to a passionate 
collector under sometimes very trying circumstances. The season 
never closes in S. Arizona; Coleoptera are found every month 
of the year. Whenever a longer breathing spell is at hand I will 
more fully describe the insect fauna and flora of this sun-kissed 
land. 

I will briefly refer to memorized notes, the vast amount of all 
material collected precluding detailed account, except for a little 
biological work. Of Sesiidae found >ne only in San Francisco 
Mountains, saw another of same species on flowers of Withia 
spec, which I failed to net. This Autumn found what appears 
to be a Sesiid^ beaten off a shrub, Hymenoclea manogyray the 
arrow weed of bottoms; in all, two examples were secured early 
in November. Of Sphingidae, rare in S. Arizona, took at light 
in June, 1897, one % Dilophxmoia obscuray and a S Diloph, ellOy 
middle of September. In July, 1896, took an Hemaris cyno- 
glossum near Prescott, and several more at headwaters of Has- 
sayampa River, near Senator Mills. One of these taken on 
Mount Union, head of this river, at 8600 feet elevation, near its 



58 ENTOMOLOGICAL NEWS. [March, 

peak on flowers of Monarda fistulosa or horsemint. A single 
example of a three-winged Smerinthus, form astarte, found on 
Mount Humphrey, Flagstaff, July, 1897, and on^ ophthalmicus , 
perfect % , taken in Phoenix at light. * Sphinx chersis, found in 
but two or three examples, S. Arizona. Triptogan^ var. occi- 
dentalis, not uncommon. 

Of Syntomidae took Anatolmis fulgens, that scarlet gem of the 
mountains of Coconino County. Pericopidae were represented 
by Gnophcela hopfferi and Melanchroia inconstans, both visiting 
flowers of Withia spec, a plant resembling Elecampane^ and 
Rudbeckia laciniata, or Thimbleweed of San Francisco Moun- 
tains; all taken in bright sunshine. Of Arctiinse took a few 
Emydia ampla at light in Yavapai County, and Arctia var. ari- 
sanensiSy in Southern and Central Arizona. A fine arctian so 
much like Eupseudosoma floridum, taken at light in September 
in Phoenix. That rare Halisidota ambigua, taken in two exam- 
ples; one in Yavapai County, in 1896, and the other in Coconino 
County, 1897, at light. Arachnis picta not uncommon in Central 
Arizona. 

Liparidae furnished me one of Artaxa ingenita, taken at light 
in Yavapai County, and now in collection of Mr. J. T. Mason, 
Denver, Col., and Mr. D. Bruce informed the writer that only 
one other had been taken in this country, belonging, as it does, 
to the Mexican fauna. I labor under the impression that I have 
put away another poorer specimen taken this Autumn at same 
locality. It is saffron -colored, size of Orgyia antiqtia % . 

Notodontidae furnished two surprises — now in the hands of 
Prof A. S. Packard for determining; one a Datana no v. spec, 
bred from a gregarious larva found on Quercus emoryi early part 
of August, 1896, in Yavapai County, the imago of which bears 
a resemblance to D, ministra of eastern United States, so Mr. 
Chas. Palm, to whom I sent all pupae, informs me. The larva is 
jet black, covered by long, fine white hairs all over its body. 
The other is Cerura nivea, in last synopsis accredited as a variety 
of Cinerea of the East. I bred from ova of two different females 
and obtained a number of fine cocoons. The larvae of both 
moths are exactly alike in coloration, size and ornamentation — 
are unlike those of Cinerea excepting in first and second stages. 
In its third and fourth stages this larva more resembles that of 
C. muliiscripta. One of the females was almost immaculate. 



1898.] ENTOMOLOGICAL NEWS. 59 

excepting a fine black spot between veins of external margin of 
primaries, and the other bred from showed a few black markings 
on primaries nearcosta and basal parts. My notes taken of this, 
a true species, will soon be made public. 

Of rarer Saturniidae, obtained one T, polyphemus var. oculeUy 
in July, 1896, and two others in August, 1897; all three imper- 
fect. This variety is heavily overlaid with black scales, especially 
on primaries. The best example is in Mr. Mason's collection, 
and others in possession of Prof Packard for comparative study. 
Of Hyperchiria pamina, obtained only four or five larvae and 
cocoons in two years from Yavapai County. 

Bombycidae furnished me with several undetermined examples. 
Gloveria arizonensis I took in two examples in central Arizona; 
also a Heteropacha sp. which Mr. D. Bruce did not recognize. 

Of Cossidae, Mr. Bruce thinks I collected a new species, re- 
sembling a Hypopta and quite small, now in the hands of Prof 
Packard for determining. It was taken in Maricopa County, '97. 

Of Geometridae, took four new species, 1896, in central Arizona, 
one of which, a Spodoptera, Dr. G. D. Hulst, named after its 
collector. 

Of Noctuidae, dare not speak; a large catch, season of 1897, 

has not been examined for lack of time Heterocera are better 

represented here than Rhopalocera, and on account of intense 

heat numbers of the latter are much localized; some even betake 

themselves, much as we do, to the shady side of the bush to 

escape a broiling sun. 

(To be continued.) 



CONTRIBUTIONS TO THE ODONATA OF MAINE.-III. 

By F. L. Harvey, Orono, Maine. 

(Continued from Ent. News, vol. iii, Nos. 4 and 5, 1892.) 

Tribe I.— AGRIONINA. 
Subfamily i. — Calopterygin^. 

1. Oalopteryz macnlata Beauvois. 

Farmington (Miss Furbish), S. Lagrange (Harvey). 

2. C. aeqiiabilis Say. 

Orono. June 17, 1897 (Bartle and Florence Harvey), Auburn 
(E. D. Merrill), Foxcroft and S. Lagrange (Harvey). 



6o ENTOMOLOGICAL NEWS. [March, 

This species was rather common this season. The teneral 
males are without the black tips to the wings. 

54. Hetserina amerlcaiia Fabr. 

Chemo Stream, Bradley, Sept. 23, 1897 (E. D. Merrill). A 
single headless male found on the shore below a fall. We have 
never seen this species before in Maine. This is the most eastern 
locality known. It has been taken in western Maine 

Subfamily 2. — AoRiONiNiE. 

55. Amphiagrion sanciom Burm. 

Orono, June 10 and 18, 1892; Bradley, July 8, 1897 (Harvey); 
Frog pond, Orono, June, 1897 (Bartle Harvey). 

8. Enallagma hagenl Walsh. 

Rangeley (Miss Furbish), Foxcroft (Harvey). 

56. E. calverti Morse. 

Orono, June 28, 1897 (Florence Harvey). 

57. Nebalennia posita Hag. 

Orono, July 12, 1897, over Pienobscot River (Bartle Harvey). 

9. N. Irene Hag. 
Westbrook (Ricker). 

58. Erythromma conditum Hag. 

Chemo Stream, Bradley, July 8, 1897; not common (Harvey). 

13. Lestes nngnicnlata Hag. 

A single $ , N. W. Carry, head of Moosehead Lake, Aug. 26, 
1897 (Harvey). 

59. L. nncata Kirby. 

Over road June 28, 1897, Orono (Bartle Harvey). Many fe- 
males but few males. Some of the males lacked the yellow 
humeral stripe, others had the mid-dorsal carina yellow. 

60. L. congener Hag. 

A single 9 Aug. 26, 1897, N. W. Carry, head of Moosehead 
Lake (Harvey). 

Subfamily 3.— Gomphin^. 

61. Ophiogomphos anomalns n. sp. (PI. v, fig. i). 

Length 42 mm.; abdomen 30 mm.; hind wing 24 mm. Black with 
bright yellow colors. 

Frons yellow, separated from clypeus by a black line. Clypeus and 
ante-clypeus yellow; black bands running across the post-clypeus to the 



1898.] ENTOMOLOGICAL NEWS. 61 

suture of the ante-clypeus dividing it into three yellow areas. The black 
bands continue along the suture of the ante-clypeus to the outer edge of 
the labrum, between the labrum and ante-clypeus, down the middle of 
the labrum and along its lower edge dividing the yellow of labrum into 
two areas. Base of mandibles and occiput yellow. Antennae and vertex 
black. The top of vertex straight and bearing on the crest black cilia. 
The face and vertex clothed with dark hairs. The basal joint of the 
antennae with a narrow yellow line on the upper edge. Back of head and 
.eyes dark. 

Prothorax black; an anterior narrow line and two small median spots 
yellow. Thorax bright yellow; mid-dorsal stripe wider below, divergent 
above and joining the ante-humeral behind; ante-humeral and humeral 
stripes (separated below for half their length by a yellow line) and a 
double, interrupted stripe on the middle of the side, black. The humeral 
stripe joins the one on the side anteriorly. 

Wing hyaline, pterostigma brown; membranules very narrow and pale 
yellow; triangles not crossed and slightly angled at the origin of the cross- 
vein between the two upper discoidal areolets. Arculus straight, the 
sectors separated, and the spaces above and below equal. 

Legs black, the lower surface of the femora lighter, hind femora with 
numerous short spines. 

Abdomen black, with a mid-dorsal and a lateral yellow stripe involving 
the base of all the segments. The stripe on the dorsum of segments 3-9 
narrow, on 8 club shaped, on 9 square, on 10 round, with a point behind. 
The stripe extends the whole length of the dorsum of i and 2. The 
lateral stripe conspicuous on 7-10. The spots on 9 and 10 involve the 
whole length of the side. That on 9 notched above and resembling a 
letter C. The yellow on the side of 10 extends along the sutures at the 
base of the superior appendages. Segments 7-10 dilated, greatest width 
at base of 8 (2.5 mm.) 

Superior appendages black, a little longer than 10, broad at the base, 
the outer edges straight and parallel, the inner divergent, ending in a blunt 
point. Under surface bearing numerous tubercles arranged in irregular 
longitudinal rows, seven or eight of which appear as minute teeth in 
profile view. 

Inferior appendage light colored, stout, grooved on the outer sides 
near the base, the outer half abruptly curved upward meeting the superior 
appendages one-third from the end. 

Described from a single male taken June 15, 1892, at Orono, 
along the border of woods, by F. L. Harvey. Female unknown. 

Mr. Calvert makes the following comment on this species : 
' ' This male agrees with the characters given by Baron de Selys 
(Comptes Rendus, Ann. Soc. Ent. Belg. 1879, p. 64) for Ophio- 
gomphus excepting the branches of the inferior appendage, which 
are strongly upcurved in their apical half, as in Erpetogomphus^ 



62 ENTOMOLOGICAL NEWS. [March, 

instead of at the apex only, as in typical Ophiogomphus^ This 
species is, therefore, to this extent, intermediate between the two 
genera named with stronger affinities to OphiogomphusJ*^ 

62. Gomphns scndderl Selys (PI. v, figs. 6-8). 

(^ (hitherto unknown). — Length 58 mm., abdomen 43 mm., hind wing 
35 mm. Black, fuscous and greenish yellow. 

Frons greenish yellow with a black band on the lower edge above the 
articulation with the clypeus. Yellow of the post-clypeus divided mto 
three areas by a black patch each side of the middle; ante-clypeus black. 
Labrum yellow, with anterior border black. Base of mandibles and 
labium greenish yellow; vertex and antennae black. The basal joints of 
the antennae with a yellow ring on the distal end. Occiput greenish yel- 
low, the crest slightly convex and armed with black hairs. Rear of eyes 
pale. 

Prothorax unicolored. Thorax fuscous, mid-dorsal carina black and 
prominently crested in the middle. The narrow anterior transverse stripe 
(interrupted at the mid-dorsal carina) and the narrow ante-humeral stripes 
(much divergent below), greenish yellow. Sides of thorax with three 
yellow stripes, the anterior best defined, the dark stripes alternating at 
the first and second lateral sutures. Three greenish yellow spots on dor- 
sum between the wings. Underside of anterior femora pale. Hind 
femora with numerous short bristles. 

Wings hyaline, pterostigma 4 mm., brown; ante-cubitals 15-16, post- 
cubitals lo-ii. All triangles and basal spaces free from cross-veins. 
Arculus angled, the spaces below and above the union of the sectors equal. 
Outer side of triangle straight. 

Abdomen black. Segments 7, 8 and 9 much dilated. Eighth segment 
nearly 7 mm. wide. Segments 3-10 with basal yellow rings, those on 8, 
9 and 10 reduced to sutural lines. An acute, triangular, mid-dorsal, basal 
spot on the eighth segment and a smaller spot with an obtuse angle on 
the basal dorsum of the ninth. Dorsum of i and 2 with narrow yellow 
stripes. Auricles and a round spot behind them on the sides of 2 yellow. 
A lateral yellow line, faint on segments 4-6, but prominent as large basal 
spots on 7, 8 and 9. 

Superior appendages black, stout, longer than 10, very divergent at tip, 
where the acute points are 3 mm. apart and considerably wider than the 
breadth of 10. On the inferior surface, in their apical third, are about six 
low, broad crenules seen by microscope in profile view. 

Inferior appendage brown, nearly as large as the uppers, flattened at 
the base and excavated above, more widely divergent in the middle than 
at either end, wider in the middle than the superior appendages and 
equally divergent at the tip. The ends turned upward and approaching 
the superior appendages. Both appendages armed with bristles. 

Nearly related to Gomphus fraiemus^ but much larger, abdo- 



1898.] ENTOMOLOGICAL NEWS. 63 

men more dilated, and also with a dorsal basal spot on ninth 
segment, and the superior appendages have several crenulae on 
the inferior apical third. 

Described from a single male taken Aug. 25, 1897 (by F. L. 
Harvey), over Russell Stream, a tributary on the East Side of 
the West Branch of the Penobscot River, two miles above North- 
east Carry near the head of Moosehead Lake. 

25. Gomphns nsvins Hagen (PI. v, figs. 2-5, 9, 10). 

(^ (previously unknown).— Length 34-37 mm.; abdomen 25-27 mm.; 
hind wing 19.5-21.5 mm. Greenish yellow and black. 

Frons, clypeus and labrum greenish, with the sutures separating them 
more or less black, the black extending in a narrow line nearly half way 
across the centre of the labrum. Vertex and occiput black, the latter 
with a small yellow spot behind, and its straight hind margin with long 
black hairs. Eyes greenish. Apex of first joint of the antennae on the 
inside yellow. Rear of head black. 

Prothorax black with two minute yellow dots on the middle of the 
dorsum and a narrow yellow line on the anterior border. 

Thoracic dorsum black, excepting a transverse anterior, and two isolated 
ante-humeral stripes which are greenish yellow; the transverse anterior 
stripe interrupted by the mid-dorsal carina; the first ante-humeral stripes 
are oblong in form and divergent anteriorly. The second ante-humeral 
stripe, when entire, narrowed in the middle; when broken, the upper half 
is sometimes reduced to a small superior spot; to have this stripe entire 
is the exception. Sides greenish yellow. Black bands on the humeral 
and first and second lateral sutures. The metastigma black. The 
underside of the thorax and the coxae yellowish green. 

Legs black. Interior median surface of the femora of the fore legs 
greenish. 

Wings hyaline. Costa greenish yellow; pterostigma black, 3 mm. 
long on the hind wing; ante-cubitals 11, post-cubitals 8. 

Abdomen black, marked with yellow as follows : segment i with a 
narrow mid-dorsal stripe, a transverse stripe on posterior end of dorsum 
and lower half of side. Segment 2 with a mid-dorsal stripe, arrow-shaped, 
with the point backwards, the auricles and a patch behind them next the 
genitalia. Segment 3 with lateral proximal spots which may be contin- 
uous over the dorsum forming basal rings, or interrupted, leaving basal 
dorsal spots. The dorsal markings may be obsolete, especially on 4-6. 
Segment 10 unspotted. Suture between 8 and 9 yellow on dorsum. The 
spot on side of 8 conspicuous, larger than on the other segments, extending 
to the middle above and the whole length on the lower border. The 
ventral edge of all the segments pale colored. Segments 3-7 slender, 
widening to the apex of 8, which is 2 mm. broad, then narrowing to 10, 
which is 1.5 mm. broad. 



64 ENTOMOLOGICAL NEWS. [March, 

Superior appendages yellowish white, with a narrow black band on the 
base as far as the inferior tooth. About the same width for one-third of 
the length, then abruptly narrowed from the outside to slender points, 
which are turned outward and upward at the ends; from the base curved 
outwards until, at one-third the length, the two are wider than the loth 
segment, then curving inwards, and at the apex outwards and upwards. 
An inferior obtuse tooth at one-third of the length from the base. 

Inferior appendage dark brown, lighter above, the tips and base black, 
three-fourths as long as the superior appendages; bifid about one-half the 
length; the outer edges parallel and widest at the base, narrowing from 
the inside to blunt, upturned tips, which approach the superior appendages 
and are equally divergent; sinus open. In profile view, curved down- 
wards in the basal third, then gradually upwards to the apical third, which 
curves rapidly upwards. Both appendages clothed with hairs, those on 
the upper pale, those on the lower dark. 

? . — The females are soniewhat variable. Of three specimens before me 
two have the second ante-humeral stripe entire, but narrowed in the mid- 
dle; the other has the stripe interrupted in the middle, the upper part pale 
and hardly half so long as the lower. One of those with the full humeral 
stripe lacks the yellow dorsal spot on the 8th segment. The back of the 
vertex yellow, and also a triangular space on its front. The suture be- 
tween the frons and nasus is black only at the outer angles. The sides 
of abdommal segments i and 2 and the basal half of 3 yellow, also the 
sides of 7-9 yellow with black in the upper anterior part. 

Described from forty specimens taken at Chemo Stream below 
the bridge at the old mill, Bradley, Me., July 8, 1897, by F. L. 
and Bartle Harvey. 

The specimens were flying up stream, and were nearly all taken 
from a small rock six inches out of water, upon which they 
would almost invariably alight by preference, although there were 
several other rocks apparently equally favorably situated. It is 
hard to take them on the wing as they fly very close to the water. 
The whole day was occupied in watching the stream by the writer 
and his son. Only three females were seen. One pair was taken 
in copula. My son spent the whole of the following day at the 
same place on the stream and did not see a single specimen. 
Two or three specimens were seen the last of July over swift 
water on Birch Stream in Greenfield, about eight miles from the 
other locality. The male of this species previously unknown is 
now represented by many more specimens than the female. 



1898.] ENTOMOLOGICAL NEWS. 65 

FIVE NEW SPECIES OF PHLEPSIUS. 

By C. F. Baker, Ala. Polytechnic Inst. Auburn, Ala. 

Plllepsins dentatns n. sp. c?.— Length 7 mm. Form oi humidus. Head 
broader than thorax; vertex rather strongly angulate before, nearly as 
long as half the width between eyes, or three-fifths the length of the pro- 
notum; disc distinctly broadly depressed, anterior edge acute; front broad 
above, rapidly narrowing to clypeus, an eighth longer than wide, about 
two and a half times the length of the clypeus, sides obtusely angled just 
below antennal pits, then broadly shallowly incurved above; pronotum 
sparsely punctured on posterior half, slightly incurved behind; width little 
less than two and one-fifth times length. Elytra slightly narrowed toward 
tips. Color pale fulvous. Head and thorax thickly irrorate with deep 
fulvou*, leaving a few very small lighter areas. Elytra whitish, veins light 
brown, with several more or less extensive very pale fulvous clouds in 
three indistinct transverse bands; irrorations sparse and weak; fore and 
middle femora imperfectly biannulate with fulvous. Abdomen above and 
below somewhat darker. Plate subtriangular, produced at tip in a narrow 
projection as long as rest of plate; valves longer than entire width across 
base, sides rounded below, contracted at upper two- thirds, tip flaring and 
curved, the inner extremities each with a short, inwardly bent, dark 
brown tooth. 

Described from one male in the Uhler collection. It was taken 
on the Delta Railroad, eight miles northeast of Baltimore. This 
species diflfers from any other American Phlepsius in the form of 
the male genitalia. 

Phlepsius pnlchripennis n. sp. 9 .—Length 5.5 mm. Small and slender, 
form more nearly of irroratus. Head slightly broader than thorax; ver- 
tex obtusely angulate, length half of the width between the eyes, or half 
the length of the pronotum; disc gently convex, anterior edge obtusely 
rounded onto the front; front rather long and narrow, a half longer than 
wide, two and three-fourths times the length of the clypeus, sides nearly 
straight; pronotum obscurely wrinkled on posterior three-fourths, nearly 
straight behind, width about two and one-sixth times the length. Elytra 
distinctly narrowed towards the tip. Color sordid cinereous. Head more 
or less irregularly smutted with blackish; pronotum with a few scattenng 
irregular brown markings. Elytra milky white and veins brown, except 
a large portion of costal cell, which is transparent and without super- 
numerary veins or markings, the supernumerary veins moderately nu- 
merous elsewhere; three black spots on apical half of costa, one in mid- 
dle basal cell, and one on clavus next the clavus next the claval suture ; 
reticulations very unevenly distributed and confined mostly to median 
portion of elytra, being largely wanting along commissural margin and 
costa; fore and median femora biannulate with brown. Last ventral seg- 
ment as long as broad; hind margin shallowly trisinuate. 



66 ENTOMOLOGICAL NEWS. [March, 

Described from two females, one collected at Opelousas, La., 
by Mr. G. R. Pilate, and one at Auburn, Ala., by myself. This 
is the only known northern representative of a group of Phlep- 
siids mostly confined to tropical and subtropical America. There 
are a number of undescribed species of this group in Mexico and 
Central and South America, all showing a strong resemblance. 

Phlepsins pusillns n. sp. 9.— Length 5 mm. Small, but robust. Head 
slightly broader than thorax; vertex obtusely angulate, width between 
eyes about two and one-third times its length, the length about one-half 
that of pronotum; disc slightly depressed, nearly flat, anterior edge some- 
what obtuse, not at all thin and acute ; front short, and very broad 
throughout, two-sevenths longer than wide, two and one fourth times 
longer than clypeus, broadly slightly bulging at antennal cavities; pro- 
notum finely, sparsely punctured and obtusely wrinkled on posterior half, 
hind margin nearly straight; width little more than two and one-fourth 
times the length. Elytra short and broad, but little exceeding abdomen, 
scarcely narrowed towards tips. Color pale fulvous. Face washed with 
heavier fulvous, leaving numerous lighter dots ; vertex and pronotum 
irregularly irrorate. Elytra white, with very few distmct supernumerary 
veins; rather evenly, finely irrorate with brown, some darker dots along 
commissural margin and apex of costa; dorsum and vicinity of notch on 
last ventral segment blackish. Legs irregularly marked with dark ful- 
vous. Last ventral segment large, twice length of preceding, nearly 
truncate behind, with a large median notch. 

(^. — Like the female, except venter darker. Plate triangular, as long 
as preceding segment ; valves once and a half the length of plate, sides 
gently curved to an obtuse point. 

Described from two specimens in the Uhler collection, one 
collected September 25 at Caton's Bush, two miles southeast of 
Baltimore, Md. ; the other, September 20 at Odenton, sixteen 
miles southeast of Baltimore. This is one of the smallest of the 
more typical Phlepsiids. Ovatus has the head narrower than 
the pronotum. Uhleri belongs to the group including j/rt?^/ and 
Eutettix seminuda. 

Phlepsins occidentalis n. sp. $. — Length 6 mm. Short and broad. 
Head slightly broader than thorax; vertex obtusely angulate, length at 
middle but little less than half width between eyes, or about two-thirds 
of the length of the pronotum; disc depressed, anterior edge somewhat 
compressed, but not thin and acute. Front broad above, narrowed rapidly 
to clypeus, about one-fourteenth longer than wide, two and one-fifth times 
as long as clypeus, sides slightly bent outward at antennal cavities; pro- 
notum obscurely wrinkled and finely sparsely punctate posteriorly, hind 
margin nearly straight; width two and a half times the length. Elytra 



1898.] ENTOMOLOGICAL NEWS. 67 

rather short, scarcely narrowed towards tip. Color cinereous. Head 
and thorax irrorate with fulvous, the latter sparingly, the face with nu- 
merous light dots. Basal angles of scute! fulvous. Elytra whitish, 
sparsely and subobsoletely irrorate with brown, most distinctly so at ex- 
treme apex; fore and middle femora indistinctly biannulate with fulvous. 
Last ventral segment twice the length of the preceding, very slightly 
broadly produced at the middle, with a median notch, the lateral angles 
prominent, obtuse; portions of hind margin blackened. 

Described from a single female in the Uhler collection. It was 
collected in Washington Territory. It is nearer to humidus and 
nebulosus than to any other species, but differs widely from these 
as described above. 

PlllepsillS mimas n. sp. (^, — Length 6.5 mm. Form and size nearly of 
texanuSy somewhat more slender. Head slightly broader than thorax; 
vertex short, very bluntly angulate, disc convex, though slightly trans- 
versely depressed behind, broadly rounded onto the front; length at mid- 
dle slightly less than a third of width between eyes; front broad, length 
once and a tenth its width, twice and four-fifths the length of clypeus; 
clypeus somewhat broader than usual at base; pronotum finely, sparsely 
punctured on posterior three-fourths, hind margin very shallowly, angu- 
larly emarginate; width little less than twice and one-third the length. 
Elytra somewhat narrowed towards the apex : excepting a few in costal 
cell, the supernumerary veins are wanting. Color pale cinereous. Face 
finely confluently dotted with fulvous; vertex and pronotum coarsely ir- 
rorate with fulvous. Elytra milky white, with the irrorations, except 
sparingly along costa and apex, broken up into fine dots, something as in 
puncHscriptus. Several small darker spots along claval commissure and 
costa towards apex. Wings infuscate apically; fore and middle femora 
each with one distinct brown annulus near the apex, hind tibiae with dark 
tips. Abdomen somewhat darker above and below; some brown blotches 
on mesopleurae. Plate large, triangular, the valves extending its length 
beyond it; valves with numerous stout white bristles, the sides incurved 
before the narrow, strongly divergent tips. 

Described from a single specimen from the Uhler collection, 
taken October 11 at Odenton, sixteen miles southeast of Balti- 
more. This species is nearest texantis, from which it differs in 
coloration and structure of genitalia. Texanus is more robust 
and darker. Its resemblance to puncUscriptus is but superficial, 
the structure of the head widely separating it from that species. 



Dominion of Canada — Department of Agriculture.— I am de- 
lighted to notice that the magazine still continues to be of such high 
quality. I do not know what your arrangements are for paying for plates, 
but figures of new species similar to the exquisite work on Plate III of 
Pyrantels carye in the present volume would, I know, be acceptable to 
many entomologists besides me. — ^James Fletcher. 



68 [March, 



ENTOM OLOGICAL 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 Oontrlbutors.— 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 circumfei- 
ence, as to make it necessary to put " copy'' into the hands of the printer, for each number, 
three weeks before date of issue. This should be remembered in sending special or im- 
portant matter for certain issue. Twenty-five "extras" without change m 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., March, 1898. 

THE DISTRIBUTION OF ENTOMOLOGISTS. 

The subscription list of the News suggests to us some inter- 
esting points for study in relation to entomologists in this country 
and Canada. It appears that entomology has grown from certain 
centres of interest, irrespective of population, although popula- 
tion is doubtless also a factor to a certain extent. As an illustra- 
tion, the States that produced Say, Harris Walsh and Fitch show 
for Pennsylvania 83 subscribers, Massachusetts 63, Illinois 47 and 
New York 88. The South and far West, except California, show 
a lack of interest due to want of centres or starting points and not 
lack of population. Wherever one person begins the study 
others sooner or later follow in the good work. Indiana, a 
populous State, shows but 6 subscribers. Delaware, Maryland 
and the District of Columbia give but 26, and most of these are 
in the city of Washington. The New England States, excepting 
Massachusetts, show little interest in comparison; Maine having 
9 subscribers, New Hampshire 6, Vermont 2, Rhode Island 6 
and Connecticut 19. Some States in the West show a surprising 
lack of interest; Nebraska, for instance, furnishes 2 subscribers, 
Dakota 2, Idaho 2, Montana 4, Nevada i. The States that do 
not believe in the News, or who have no entomologists, are 
Wyoming and South Carolina. California shows the results of 
the work of some of its well-known entomologists of the earlier 
years as its subscribers amount to 41. Canada gives 27 and 
Europe but 31. Instead of having a subscription list of 550 it 
should be twice that many and we could then make the News a 
journal of which to be proud. 



1898.] ENTOMOLOGICAL NEWS. 69 

DEPARTMENT OF E60N0MIG 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. Joh 
B. Smith, Sc.D., New Brunswick, N.J. 



A NEW TRYPETID OF ECONOMIC IMPORTANCE. 

By R. W. DoANE. 

(Washington Agricultural College and School of Science.) 

Since the publication of Loew's Monograph, two new species 
belonging to the genus Rhagoleiis have been described; one R. 
zephyria Snow, in Kan. Univ. Quar. ii, 164; the other R, for- 
mosa Coquillett, in Canadian Entomologist, xxvi, 71. These 
with the species described herewith make six species belonging 
to this genus, which may be separated by the following table 
based principally on the wing markings. 

With three cross-bands and two spots; the first spot between apices of 
first and second veins, the second in apex of first posterior 

cell formosaCoq. 

With four cross-bands. 
First and second cross-bands connected posteriorly. 
Second and third cross- bands not connected anteriorly. 

tabellaria Fitch. 
Second and third cross-bands connected anteriorly. 

Length 3.5 to 4.5 mm pomonella Walsh. 

Length 2.5 to 3 mm zephyria^ Snow. 

First and second cross-bands converging, but not connected posteriorly. 
With a brownish spot at tip of vein three . . cingnlata Loew. 
With no such spot rlbicola n. sp. 

Rhagolotis ribicola n. sp. cJ^ $ . — Black, head and its appendages yellow- 
ish, a dark blotch on the vertical triangle. Last joint of the antennae 
very slightly concave on dorsal side, anterior comer rather sharp; moder- 

* I have not seen this species, and can find nothing in the description of ztphyria that 
is not true to a greater or less extent of pomonella. As the depth of coloration varies 
considerably in both species, little dependence can be placed on this character. I have 
one specimen of pomonella from Massachusetts in which the hyaline space between the 
second and third cross-bands reaches the fourth vein, and in which the fourth band fills 
out the tip to as great an extent as in Mr. Snow's figure of zephyria. The description of 
zephyria was drawn up from three males from Southern California. Two other specimens 
are mentioned from the same locality in which the cro88>veins are more approximate, in 
fact just as they are in pomonella^ so that the difference in size seems to be about the only 
thing that would separate the species, and as this is subject to considerable variation in 
both instances it would seem that zephyria is not a distinct ^ecies. 



70 ENTOMOLOGICAL NEWS. [March, 

ately deep furrows for the reception of antennae; proboscis and palpi 
short; bristles black, three facial pairs convergent, the ocellar pair strongly 
proclinate, the two fronto-orbital and the vertical pairs strictly reclinate. 

Thorax shining black with four rather broad, longitudinal, whitish lines 
on dorsum, the outer pair longer and narrower than the inner pair; scu- 
tellum except the base and sides, halteres, and a line running from the 
humeri to the base of each wing, light yellow; the thoracic and four 
scutellar bristles black. 

Abdomen shining black, posterior border of segments two, three and 
four with a rather broad band of white; sixth segment of male small, 
partially or wholly concealed beneath the fifth; seventh segment of female 
a little longer than sixth, flattened or slightly concave, ventrally; sheath 
of ovipositor and ovipositor reddish brown; the sheath cylindrical and 
covered with fine triangular scales; ovipositor dagger shaped; a few short 
black marginal bristles on last three segments. 

Legs clay-yellow; posterior and middle coxae and femora except tips, 
black; anterior femora with only a little black. Wings hyaline, marked 
with four brown cross-bands, the first is somewhat oblique and runs from 
the humeral vein to the sixth longitudinal vein, along which it gradually 
fades out beyond the posterior basal transverse vein; the second is much 
broader, nearly perpendicular, begins on the costa between the tips of the 
auxiliary and the first longitudinal vein and extends across the middle of 
the fifth longitudinal vein, fading out before reaching the posterior mar- 
gin of the wing; the third is nearly parallel with the second, not quite as 
broad, runs over the posterior cross-vein, and reaches the posterior mar- 
gin just behind the tip of the fifth longitudinal vein; the fourth band is 
oblique, completely united with the third on the costal border and reaches 
the posterior border at the tip of the fourth longitudinal vein; first longi- 
tudinal vein with very short black bristles ; the anterior cross-vein is 
a little more oblique and very sligh»ly curved; anal cell not drawn out to 
a point. Length ^ 3.5-4. mm.; ? 4-4.5 mm. 

Many males and females from eastern and western Washington 
and western Idaho. The marking on the wing closely resemble 
Figure 11, Plate X, Loew's Monographs, Part III, but the spot 
at the tip of vein three is wanting, the first cross-band reaches 
farther down on vein six, the second fades out gradually a little 
nearer the margin than is indicated in Loew's figures. The 
posterior basal transverse vein forms almost a right angle at its 
union with the fifth longitudinal vein, thus cutting the anal cell 
off squarely. In Loew's figure these veins form an obtuse angle 
at their junction and the anal cell is drawn out to a point. This 
species also diflfers from the description of R, cingulata in having 
the four light stripes on the thorax and in having more black on 
the femora. 



1898.] ENTOMOLOGICAL NEWS. 7 1 

It will be noted that in the description we have referred to the 
male as having six abdominal segments and the female as having 
seven. A careful examination of several species, together with 
Prof. Harvey's remarks on Epochra canadensis (Report Maine 
State College 1895, p. 123), has led us to adopt this view. Of 
course what Loew called the first segment is made up of the first 
and second, closely united; the third, fourth and fifth are always 
easily distinguishable and more or less similar in appearance 
throughout the different genera of this family; the fifth segment 
of the male is, however, in some species more elongated and 
conical; the sixth segment of the male is always small and par- 
tially or wholly concealed underneath the fifth; a careful exami- 
nation, however, cannot fail to reveal it. In the female the sixth 
segment is similar to those preceding it, but the seventh is, in 
many species, more or less elongated, conical, or flattened, and 
often of a different color than the other segments. This is usually 
referred to as the ovipositor, or as the first segment of the ovi- 
positor. Of course if we consider the ovipositor as being made 
up of modified abdominal segments and we certainly must in this 
group at least, it is not a matter of any great importance how 
many of these segments we call abdominal segments and how 
many of them shall be referred to as the ovipositor, but it seems 
as if the use to which the respective segments are put should 
decide this. As the seventh segment takes no part in making 
the puncture, and, as in some species (^R. rtbricola, R. pomonella 
and others), it differs very little in appearance, shape or structure 
from the segments which precede it, we see no reason why it 
should be any longer referred to as the ovipositor, or as a part 
of the ovipositor. Retracted within the seventh segment is the 
sheath of the ovipositor, and within this the ovipositor proper. 
When not in use these are telescoped within the seventh segment 
so that ordinarily little or none of the ovipositor is visible. 

The female of Rhagoletis ribicola when depositing her eggs 
behaves in much the same manner as the female of Epochra cana- 
densis as described by Prof. Harvey. It is interesting to note, 
however, that after the ovipositor is withdrawn from the berry 
she often turns round and sips up the small drop of juice that 
flows from the puncture. 

This species is* of considerable economic importance in this 
State (Washington) as each year the larvae destroy much of the 



72 ENTOMOLOGICAL NEWS. [March, 

fruit on the cultivated currant and gooseberry. The adults are 
most abundant late in June, when they may be found in consider- 
able numbers around currant and gooseberry bushes. The eggs 
are deposited in the berries in which the larvae feed until full 
grown, of course destroying the berries, and usually causing 
them to drop to the ground. There is but a single generation 
each year, the insect passing the Winter in the pupa state in the 
ground or underneath rubbish under the bushes. In a bulletin, 
soon to be issued by this Station, the life-history of this insect is 
given in detail under the popular name of the Dark Currant Fly 
to distinguish it from the other currant fly (^Epochra canadensis) 
which also occurs quite abundantly throughout the State. 



Notes and News. 

ENTOMOLOGICAL GLEANINGS FROM ALL QUARTERS 

OF THE GLOBE. 



Pictures for the album of the American Entomologicel Society have 
been received from Charles F. Goodhue, Webster, N. H., and Charles 
C. Adams, Urbana, 111. 

Your journal is indispensable to working entomologists, either in 
applied or purely scientific fields, and I find the pages devoted to notes 
on Entomological Literature very convenient for reference. — Mary E. 

MURTFELDT. 

The volume of News for 1897 was duly received. The eight volumes 
of the News form the most valued portion of my entomological library. 
They are valuable for reference, entertaining to read, and pretty to look 
at.— A. W. Pearson. 

Odonata. a Synonym and the bearing of its discovery on the 
CLASSIFICATION OF AoRiON. — An examination of some material from 
Mexico, recently collected by Mr. Otis W. Barrett, has shown me that the 
species which I described as Ischnura ex striata (Proc. Calif. Acad. Sci. 
— 2 — iv, p. 493, 1895) is specifically identical with Agrion denticolle Bur- 
meister, the type of which latter exists at Halle, Germany, where I have 
studied it. Denticolle is referred by Baron de Selys to the genus Neha- 
lennia, a genus belonging to that section of the ** grand genre Agrion*' 
in which the females have no apical ventral spine on the eighth abdominal 
segment. Ischnura belongs to the section in which such a spine is pres- 
ent. There is no doubt that the female type of /. exstriata possesses 
this spine, nor is there any reason for disbelieving that the females of den- 
ticolle seen by de Selys lacked it. Burmeister's type, which de Selys did 
not see, has a suggestion of such a spine, while among Mr. Barrett's 
specimens are some females with, others without, this spine. I have no 



1898.] ENTOMOLOGICAL NEWS. 73 

hesitation in stating that exstriata Calvert is specifically identical with 
denticoUe Burm., but it is evident that this discovery breaks down the 
only general distinction separating the two groups of genera represented 
by Ischnura and Nehalennia respectively. I find, moreover, that in /. 
verticalis Say, /. perparva Selys and /. cervula Selys female individuals 
of one and the same species exist which have this spine absent, extremely 
small or quite distinct. — Philip P. Calvert. 

Odonata. The first filling of the TRACHE^ii: WITH AIR. — ^Within 
half an hour after hatching from the egg, the young larva of Sympetrunt 
{Diplax) vicinum Hagen — ^and the same is true for Libellula quadriniacu- 
lata L. and Orihetni^n cancellatum L., as I observed at Jena, in June, 
1896, — makes its first moult. Previously its tracheae, though visible, con- 
tain no air. In watching some larvae of vicinum execute this first moult 
recently (January, 1898), I observed that air first appears in the tracheal 
system, in the thoracic portion of the right, main, dorsal trachea and 
flows thence both forwards into the cephalic, and backwards into the ab- 
dominal tracheae, consequently filling the tracheoles of the rectal tracheal 
gills at a measurably later period. I believe that this observation is new, 
at least for the Odonata. I regret that I could not determine precisely 
where the air enters, nor how, nor whether the air which early appears 
in the left, main, dorsal trachea enters independently, or from branches 
connecting it with the right dorsal trunk. 1 hope that detailed statements 
may appear later. — Philip P. Calvert. 

News of the Department of Insects, U. S. National Museum. — 
The collection of insects of the U. S. National Museum is rapidly increas- 
ing. A great donation, the details of which have just been completed, is 
the large Hubbard and Schwarz collection of Coleoptera. This is one 
of the first collections of Coleoptera in the United States. It comprises, 
from 10,000 to 12,000 species brought together by Messrs. Hubbard and: 
Schwarz during the last twenty-five years. It has especial value from its 
fine condition and accurate labelling, affording possibly the best source 
of information regarding geographical distribution. This collection adds 
about 3000 species to the collection of Coleoptera of the Museum. It 
contains a moderate number of types, but a large number of co-types of 
the species described by LeConte and Horn. It also contains some ex- 
otics, notably a good collection of West Indian micro-Coleoptera, and is 
practically unique in its large series of coleopterous larvae and pupae in 
alcohol. 

The death of Mr. M. L. Linell, in the spring of 1897, was a severe blow 
to the Department, .but a re-arrangement has been eflfected by which an 
excellent working force has been secuied. The Department has been 
extremely fortunate in attaching to it Dr. Harrison G. Dyar. Since the 
departure of Dr. John R. Smith there has practically been no lepidopterist 
in Washington, and Dr. Dyar*s advent is especially welcome. He has 
entirely re-arranged the collection of Lepidoptera and has deposited ia 

3* 



74 ENTOMOLOGICAL NEWS. [March, 

the Museum his own large collection of some 15,000 specimens. The 
force as at present constituted is L O. Howard, Honorary Curator; Wm. 
H. Ashmead, Assistant Curator and Custodian of Hymenoptera ; Har- 
rison G. Dyar, Custodian of Lepidoptera ; E. A. Schwarz, Custodian of 
Coleoptera; D. W. Coquillett. Custodian of Dipiera ; and R. P. Currie, 
Aid. 

For a Department which has bought no large collections, the Depart- 
ment of Insects is rich in type material. The catalogue shows the exist- 
ence of over 4000 types in the different orders. 

Recent accessions of special value are a collection of European bees, 
representing all of the genera known except one; the Hubbard material 
in all orders recently collected in Arizona; the African material collected 
in Liberia by Cook and Curne; the African and Siamese material col- 
lected by Dr. W. L. Abbott; a collection of Coccinellidae and Psyllidae 
made by Albert Koebele in Japan, Australia, China and Mexico; a col- 
lection of parasitic Hymenoptera made by the same collector in the coun- 
tries above indicated; a very large collection of Japanese insects in all 
orders presented by the Imperial University of Tokio through Professor 
Mitsukuri; the T. A! Williams collection of Aphididae, comprising over 
800 slides of forms collected in the Northwest. Smaller donations are 
constantly being received from collectors and specialists and the number 
of those received in the course of the year form very important additions 
to the collection. 

The facilities for the preservation of specimens have been very con- 
siderably increased, several hundred of the permanent glass-covered 
drawers having been added. 



Entomological Literature. 



Under the above head it is intended to note such 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, unless monographs, or con- 
taining descriptions of new genera, will not be noted. Contributions to the anatomy, 
physiology and embryology of insects, however, whether relating to American or exotic 
species, will be recorded. The numbers in heavy-Caced 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. 



4. The Canadian Entomologist, London, Ont., F'eb., '98. — 5. Psyche, 
Cambridge, Mass., Feb., '93.-7. U. S. Department of Agriculture, Di- 
vision of Entomology, Washington; publications of, '97. — 9- The Ento- 
mologist, London, Feb., '98.— 11. The Annals and Magazine of Natural 
History, London, Jan., '98.— 15- Biologia Centrali-Americana, London, 
part cxxxvii. Sept., part cxxxix, Dec, '97.^-19. Horae Socielatis Ento- 
mologicae Rossicae, xxxi, 1-2, St. Petersburg, '97. — 22. Zoologischer 
Anzeiger, Leipsic, '98. — 38. Wiener Entomologische Zeitung, xvi, 10, 



1898.] ENTOMOLOGICAL NEWS. 75 

Dec. 25, '97; xvii, i, Jan. 25, '98.— 40. Societas Entomologica, Zurich- 
Hottingen, '98.— 41. Entomologische Nachrichten, Berlin.— 45. Deut- 
sche Entomologische Zettschrift, '97, ii, Dresden, Jan. 12, '98.-47. The 
Zoologist London, Jan. 15, '98.-59. Sitzungsberichte, Gesellschaft der 
naturforschenden Freunde, Berlin, '97. — HO. Anales del Museo Nacional 
de Buenos Aires, v, '96-'97.— 61, Natural Science, London, Jan., '98. — 
02. Konglige Svenska Vetenskaps-Akademiens, Stockholm. — 63. 
'Fauna.' Verein Luxemburger Naturfreunde, vii, '97. — 64. Annalen 
der k. k. Naturhistorischen Hofmuseums, xii, i, Wien, '97. 

Tlie General Subject.— Insect World : A Monthly Magazine. 
Edited by Y. Nawa. Gifu, Japan. Appears on the 15th of each month, 
vol. i, No. I, on Sept. 15, '97; No. 4, Dec. 15, '97. Wholly in Japanese. 
— CI ay pole, A. M. Some points on cleavage among Arthropods, i 
pi.. Transactions American Microscopical Society, xix, Buffalo, Dec, '97. 
— C omstock,J. H. and Needham, J. G. The wings of insects, i, 
figs., American Naturalist, Boston, Jan., '98. — Daguillon, A. On a 
leaf Dipterocecidium of Hypericum perforatum^ figs., Revue Generale 
de Botanique, x, 109. Paris, Jan. 15, '98.— Day, G. O. Anew setting- 
board, figs., 9.— Eimer, G. H. T. and Fickert, C. Orthogenesis 
der Schmetterlinge. Ein Beweis bestimmt gerichteter Entwickelung und 
Ohnmacht der natiirlichen Zuchtwahl bei der Artbildung. Die Entste- 
hung der Arten. II Theil. Zugleich eine Erwiderung an August Weis- 
mann. Leipzig, Verlag von Wilhelm Engelmann, 1897. Pp. xvi, 513; 
235 figs.,- 2 pis. This volume is [the second part of the author's ** Entste- 
hung der Arten auf Grund von Vererben erworbener Eigenschaften nach 
den Gesetzen organischen Wachsens." We cannot — at present at least — 
attempt to review this volume, but it is almost obligatory to indicate its 
contents: General Introduction, on definitely directed development (Or- 
thogenesis) and on impotence of Darwinian selection in the formation of 
species; So-called germinal selection — criticism and reply; Origin of the 
similarity to leaves among butterflies; The most important directions of 
the development of butterflies, types of marking and pseudo-mimicry; 
Directions of the development in single families of butterflies and further 
[considerations] on mimicry; Directions of the development of the Het- 
erocera and Microlepidoptera ; Generalities on Mimicry in butterflies; 
Regular and varied stages of marking and color in the different wing- 
surfaces of day butterflies; Preponderance of one sex (male and female 
preponderance). Sexual Dimorphism, Sexual Selection, Origin of orna- 
mentation; External, especially climatic influences as causes of the forma- 
tion of species of butterflies; Experiments on the artificial action of heat 
and cold on development; Summary of the important results. Conclusion 
and Special Remarks, List of figures, author and subject indexes. — 
Emery, C. Instinct, intelligence and speech, Biologisches Centralblatt, 
Leipsic, Jan. i, '98. — Fin n , F. Contributions to the theory of warning 
colors and mimicry. No. iii. Experiments with a Tupaia and a Frog. 
Journal, Asiatic Society of Bengal, Ixvi, ii, 2. Calcutta, Aug. 13, '97. — 



76 ENTOMOLOGICAL NEWS. [March, 

G a h a n , C. J. Dipeltis, a fossil insect ? figs., 61. — H e y m o n s , R. 
Composition of the insectan head, 59, No. 7. — Marlatt, C. L. A 
brief historical survey of the science of entomology with an estimate of 
what has been, and what remains to be accomplished. Annual address 
of the President for the year 1897. Proceedings, Entomological Society 
of Washington, iv, 2. '98. — Morse, A. P. Pacific coast collecting, ii. 
5. — Schlechtendal, D. H. R. The galls '.Zoocecidia;) of German 
vascular plants, ii, Jahresbericht, Verein fiir Naturkunde, Zwickau '95, *96. 
— Smith, J. B. George H. Horn. Science. N. Y., Jan. 21, *98. — 
Trimen, R. Mimicry in insects, Nature, London, Jan. 27, '98. — Ver- 
hoeff, C. Still some words on segmental appendages of insects and 
myriopods, 22, Jan. 10. — Wiskott, M. Lepidopterous hermaphro- 
dites and abnormalities of my collection [two papers], 3 pis., 45. 

Economic Entomology.— Abstracts of some recent papers, 7, Ex- 
periment Station Record, ix, 3-5. — [Bergholz, L.] Destruction of 
Locusts [in Natal], Consular Reports, Ivi, 209, Washington, Feb., '98. — 
Card, F. W. Observations on the codling-moth, figs., Bulletin 51, U. 
S, Agricultural Experiment Station of Nebraska, Lincoln, Dec. 20, '97. — 
D e c a u X. Carpocapsa pomonana^ 63. — H o w a r d , L. O. The gipsy 
moth in America: a summary account of the introduction and spread of 
Porthetria dispar in Massachusetts and of the efforts made by the State 
to repress and exterminate it, 7, Bulletin No. 11, new series.— J a bio- 
n o w s k i , J. Directions for destroying the halmfly ( Chlorops tceniopus)^ 
Rovartani Lapok, v, i, Budapest, Jan., *98. — Lindau, G. On a cater- 
pillar disease observed in the Berlin Botanical Garden, Verhandlungen, 
Botanischen Vereins der Provinz Brandenburg, '97, Berlin. — Smith, J. 
B. The San Jos^ scale and how it may be controlled, Bulletin J25, New 
Jersey Agric. Exper. Station, New Brunswick, N. J., Nov. 27, '97. 

AracUnida. — Cambridge, F. O. P. — Arachnida Araneidea, vol. 
". PP- 9-40. pis. i— ii, 15, pt. 137. — Cambridge, O. P. Arachnida- 
Araneidea, vol. i, 2 pis., pts. 137, 139, 15«— L 6 nnberg, E. A revision 
of the Linnean type specimens of scorpions and pedipalps in the zoolog- 
ical museum of the University at Upsala, 11. — Marshall, G. A. K. 
Spider versus wasp, 4-7, — Piersig, R. Hydrachnid forms from the 
heights of Tatra, 22, Jan. 10. — Pocock, R. L Stridulation in some 
African spiders, figs., 47, — Simon, E. Arachnida collected in Terra 
del Fuego by M. Carlos Backhausen (2nd memoir), 60. — T rouessart, 
E. Mode of topographic distribution of the Entomostraca and marine 
Acarina on the coasts of France and description of Acaromantis squilla 
Trt. Memoires, Soci^t^ Nationale des Sciences naturelles et mathema- 
tiques de Cherburg xxx, '96-'97. 

Myriapoda.— S i 1 V e s t r i , F. Chilopods and Diplopods from the 
voyage of Dr. E. Festa to Ecuador and neighboring regions, i pi., Bolle- 
tino dei Musei di Zoologia ed Anatomia comparata, R. Universita di 
Torino, No. 305, Oct. 18, *97. 

Apterygota.— Heymons, R. Formation and structure of the 



1898.] ENTOMOLOGICAL NEWS. 77 

alimentary canal of lower insects, 59, No. 7. — L ie-Pettersen, O. J. 
Norwegian Collembola, 2 pis. Bei^ens Museums Aarborg for 1896, 1897. 

Orthoptera.— rPo r d a s , L. The digestive apparatus of the Orthop- 
tera — morphological, histological and physiological studies of this organ, 
and its importance for the classification of the Orthoptera. Annales des 
Sciences Naturelles-Zoologie (8), v, 1-3. Paris, Oct., *97-Jan , '98. — 
Dominique, J. Orthopterological notes: On the development of the 
wings in the genus Nemobius^ Parthenogenesis and parasitism in Bacillus 
gallicus. Bulletin, Soci^t^ des Sciences Naturelles de I'Ouest de la 
France, vii, 3. Nantes, Sept. 30, *97. — Giardina, A. First embry- 
onic stages of Mantis religiosa^ Monitore Zoologico Italiano viii, 12. 
Florence, Dec., '97. — H a n c o c k , J. L.- The food-habits of the Tettig- 
*dae, Entomologist's Record, London, Jan. 15, '98. — Kulwiec, C. v. 
Th.e skin glands of Orthoptera and Hemiptera-Heteroptera, figs., 22, 
Jan. 24. — Rodzianko, W. See Diptera. — deSaussure, H. and 
Pictet, A. Orthoptera,* pp. 305-320 pt. 137; 329-345, pl- xvi, pt. 139, 
15. — S cudder, S. H. The Acridian subfamily Mastacinae in the United 
States, 5. 

Xeuroptera. — L. H. East Prussian ant-lions, 40, Feb. r. 

Hemiptera. — Baker, C. F. Four new species of Phlepsius* 4. 
— Berg, C. Contribution to the study of the Hemiptera of Tierra del 
Fuego, 60. — Bergroth, E. A new Tingid ; New or little known 
American Aradidae;* On some American Capsidae, 38, xvii, i.— C h a m - 
pi on, G. C. Rhynchota Heteroptera vol. ii, pp. 1-32, pis. i, ii,*15, 
pt. 139. — Cholodkovsky, N. On root^lice, figs. [In Rus<;ian], 19. 
— Fowler, W. W. Rhynchota Homoptera, vol. ii, pl. xii, 15, pt. 137. 
— M o r d wi 1 k o , A. On the biology and morphology of the plant-lice 
[In Russian], 19. — Osborn, H. and Ball, E D. Studies of North 
American Jassoidea,* 6 pis. Proceedings Davenport Academy of Natural 
Sciences, vii. Davenport, Iowa, Jan., *98. — Tins ley', J. D. An ants* 
nest Coccid from New Mexico,* fig., 4. 

Coleoptera. — B lackburn, T. Revision of the genus Paropsis, ii. 
Proceedings, Linnean Society of New South Wales, '97, pt. i, Sydney, 
Sept. 17, *97. — Blandford, W. F. H. Coleoptera, vol. iv, pt. 6, pp. 
153-168, pl. vi, pt. 137, pp. 177-184,* pt. 139, 15.— Faust, J. Revision 
of the genus Episomus Schonherr, 19, — G r o u v e 1 1 e , A. Note on the 
Pelonomus pubescens Blanch, and simplex Berg, and description of some 
new Dryopidae and Helmidae, 60. — H o p k i n s , A. D. On the history 
and habits of the "wood engraver" ambrosia beetle, Xyleborus xylo- 
graphus (Say), X. saxeseni (Ratz.)— with brief descriptions of different 
stages, 2 pis., 4. — Luja, E. Cetonia aurata in ants' nests, 03. — 
R e i 1 1 e r , E. The species of the coleopterous genus Notiophilus Du- 
meril of European and neighboring lands, 41, Dec, '97 ; Review of the 
known species of the coleopterous genus Scleropatrum Seidl. of the 
palaearctic fauna, 38, xvii, i. — Wickham, H. F. The Coleoptera of 
Canada: xxviii. The Cerambycidae of Ontario and Quebec, figs., 4. 



78 ENTOMOLOGICAL NEWS. [March, 

I>iptera. — D a h 1 , F. Puliciphora^ a new flea-like genus of Diptera 
(transl. from Zool. Anz.), !!• — Mik, J. On gall-flies, i pi., 38y xvi, 
ID. — R o d z i a n k o , W. On the parasitism of the larvae of Rcese/ia an- 
tiqua Meigen in the interior of the larvae of Forficula totnis Kolenati. 
[In Russian] 19, — van der Wulp, F. M. Diptera, vol. ii, pp. 345- 
360, pt. 137; pp. 369-376,* pt. 139. 15» 

Lepidoptera.— Berg, C. Description of three new Lepidoptera 
in the collection of the Museo Nacional de Buenos Aires, 3 figs.; On the 
geographical distribution of Ophioderes materna L.; Lepidopterological 
communications on twenty-five South American Rhopaloctra, 60« — 
Butler, A. G. A revision of the Pierine butterflies of the genus Terias 
from the old world, 11, — D a v i d so n , et al. [Extract]. Butterfly life 
in the tropics of India, 5. — Druce, H. Lepidoptera Heterocera, vol. 
ii, pp. 409-416, pis. Ixxix, Ixxx, pt. 137, pp. 425-440, pis. Ixxxiii, Ixxxiv,* 
pt. 139, 15. — Dyar, H. G. The larvae of the Australian Eucleidae (An- 
nual address of the retiring president of the Cambridge Entomological 
Club, 14 Jan'y, '98), 5. — Godman, F. D. and Salvin, O. Lepid- 
optera Rhopalocera,* vol. ii, pp. 441-448, 15, pt. 137. — Grote, A. R. 
The classification of the day butterflies — i, i pi., 61. — Han ham, A. 
W. Notes on collecting "at light,*' 4.— Hofmann, O. Three new 
Tinean genera, figs., 45. — H o 1 m g r e n , E. Studies on the morphology 
of the testes and of cortical male genital organs of the Skandinavian 
Macrolepidoptera, 9 pis. [In Swedish] 62, Handlingar, xxvii, 4, '95. — 
Pauls. To produce summer broods [of Lepidoptera], 40, Jan. 15. — 
deRocquigny-Adanson,G. . Retarded butterflies. Revue Scien- 
tifique, Paris, Jan. 15, '98. — Schultze, L. S. Experimental researches 
on native Macrolepidoptera, Naturwissenschaftliche Wochenschrift. Ber- 
lin, Jan. 30, '98. — Sommer, C. Sciaphila osseanaScwsx, niveosana 
Packard, 45. — S taudinger, O. Some new species and varieties of 
butterflies, 45« — Walsingham, Lord and Durrant, J. H. Re- 
vision of the nomenclature of Microlepidoptera, Entomologists* Monthly 
Magazine, London, Feb., '98. — Wiskott, M. See General Subject. 

Hymenoptera. — Adlerz, G. Myrmecological studies, iii: To- 
mognathus sublcsvis Mayr. i pi. [In Swedish] 62, Bihang, xxi, iv, 4, 
'96. — C holodkovsky, N. Contributions to a monograph of the 
conifer-lice \^Cherfnes\ chaps, v-vii, 6 pis., 19. — Cocker ell, T. D. A. 
Panurginus clypeatus^ 4; Synopsis of the North American bees of the 
genus Nomia* 9.— Kohl, F. F. Eremiasphecium^ a new genus of 
Hymenoptera, family Sphegidae, 64, — Konow, F. W. Two new 
Siricidae and some palaearclic Tenth redinidae, 41, Dec, '97; Systematic 
and critical revision of the Sawfly tribe Lydini, 64 ; Further contribution 
to the synonymy of the Tenthredinidae, 38, xvi, 10, xvii, i. — Kriech- 
baumer. Dr. The genus Joppa* 41, Jan., '98. — Luja, E. See 
Coleoptera. — M a r s h a 1 1 , G. A. K. See Arachnida. — S tadelmann, 
R. Anatomical study of a hermaphrodite of Dendrolimus fasicatellus 
(M^n.), 69, No. 8. 



1898.] ENTOMOLOGICAL NEWS. 79 

Doings of Societies. 



A special meeting of the American Entomological Society was 
held Jan. 27, 1898, Dr. Calvert, vice-president, presiding. Mr. 
Stanley T. Kemp presented a specimen of Euphanessa mediana 
Slosson, new to the collection, from Anglesea, N. J. Dr. Cal- 
vert read a biography of the late Dr. Horn, which will shortly 
be published in the Transactions (American Entomological 
Society). Same speaker exhibited some larvae of dragonflies 
hatched in the house and he thought the circulation of the blood, 
which could be well seen, might prove of interest to the mem- 
bers. The single blood vessel or aorta was described as well as 
the character of the blood and the corpuscles. Although the 
legs of the larvae are long, the corpuscles do not go beyond the 
bases of the legs. The difficulty of observing the dorsal blood- 
vessel in imagos was mentioned. Mr. Johnson stated that in 
going over the literature of the Syrphidae he had found a num- 
ber of list names which were not now recognized in the literature. 
Among them was Bacca keenii Will, which is the tarchetius of 
Walker. This name keenii was given in the local list published 
by Keen, a Philadelphian, in the Canadiain Entomologist in Au- 
gust, 1884. Dr. Skinner called attention to an illustrated journal 
of entomology published in Japan in the language of the country. 
Mr. Liebeck called attention to a curious mailing box for insects. 
It was pasteboard, and was supported from the inside by a double 
wooden gallows-like arrangement. 

Henry Skinner, M.D., Secretary, 

At the last meeting of the Feldman Collecting Social held on 
February 8, at the residence of Mr. H. W. Wenzel, 1523 S. 13th 
St., Phila., the address of the retiring President, Dr. H. G. 
Griffith, was read by the Secretary. It dwelt on the value of 
fraternity and good-fellowship among entomologists, and on the 
loss to science in general by the petty jealousies and unfriendli- 
ness of co-laborers in that field. Prof. Smith exhibited sketches 
illustrative of structural details of the peach -borer, Sannina 
exitiosa. The antennae differ in the sexes, and possess at the 
base an ear-like sensory organ, the first and second joints being 
modified for its accommodation. Variation in the scaling of 
individuals was shown, and the presence of jointed mandibles 



8o ENTOMOLOGICAL NEWS. [March, 

was dwelt on as an unusual character. In the female the maxil- 
lary palpi are 2-jointed, in the male 3-jointed; the presence of 
these palpi was apparently not before noted in the Sesiidae. The 
difficulty of inducing the sexes of this species to mate was men- 
tioned, and although eggs were laid within twenty-four hours 
after the insect emerged from the pupa, none were fertilized. 
The females possess eight ovarian tubes, each containing about 
sixty eggs. Mr. Wenzel remarked on the apparent seldomness 
• of copulation in the peach-borer. Dr. Skinner spoke on the 
extensile structure of the club of antenna of butterflies, espe- 
cially in regard to a species of Argynnis^ in which a telescoping 
of that part was noticed. He presented to the Social on behalf 
of Mr. Geo. B. King, of Lawrence, Mass., a series of microscop- 
ical slides containing coccids from ant's nests. He also referred 
to the care of specimens from pests, etc. Napthaline is fatal to 
pests if the boxes be perfectly tight; otherwise it is likely to be 
ineffective. 

Mr. Aaron mentioned the efficacy of bisulphide of carbon in 
destroying pests. The fumes will kill all stages but the egg. 
He further spoke on the habits of Neoclytus erythrocephalus and 
Elapkidion. Discussed by Messrs. Smith, Johnson and Laurent. 

Mr. H. Wenzel reported the ^capture of thirty specimens of 
Casnonia ludoviciana at Camden, N. J., on January 29; also two 
larvae of probably Pyradomena luci/er, 

Mr. S. Frank Aaron was nominated for membership. 

Wm. J. Fox, Secretary. 

The following officers were elected at the meeting of the Newark 
Entomological Societv held January 9th: 
President, A. P. Schleckser. 
Vice- President, H. H. Brehme. 
Treasurer, Simon Seib. 
Secretary, A. J. Weidt. 
. Librarian. John Engelman. 
Curator, A. P. Schleckser. 

A. J. Weidt, Secretary pro. tem. 



OBITUARY. 

Ernst Ludwig Taschenberg, Professor of Entomology in the Uni- 
versity at Halle. Germany, died Jan. 19, 1898. He was born in 1818, and 
published on Economic Entomology and on the ttymenoptera. 



Entomological News for February was mailed January 31, 1898. 



Fig. 1. 



Fig. 



Fig. 3. Fig. 4. Fig. 5. 



Fig. 



Fig. 7. 



Fig. 10. 



THE ODONATA OF MAINE m»tvej). 

(See page 8}.( 

EXPLANATION OF PLATE. 

Riliht Bills view nf Ophiogomphaa anomatus Fl»:. 5.— Ventral view of G. nmriiu Bamn % X^- 

a.ap. % X 10- " 6.— Doreal viewof C. ■leiirfdmSelTB i X^' 

Ventral view of Gompliui BJemw Hugeo " 7.— Ventral view of fi, .'toirfdm Sel.vB ? X*- 

P X 8. " 8.— LeftBicieviewof«.«(!urfrfm9elyB J, X*- 

Uft Bide view of O. nffi<i<(s Hacen ? X 8. " B.— Left side view of G. «ami« HsKeu ^ X S- 

Dorsal view of G. nteriim Hagen 9X8. " 10.— Dorsal view of G. na-nm Uaeeii I X S- 



ENTOMOLOGICAL NEWS 



AND 



PROCEEDINGS OF THE ENTOMOLOGICAL SECTION 

ACADEMY OF NATURAL SCIENCES, PHILADELPHIA. 



Vol. IX. 



APRIL, 1898. 



No. 



CONTENTS: 



Wickham— Recollections of old collect- 
ing grounds 81 

Harvey — Contributions to the Odonata 

of Maine 85 

Enstis— Notes on Editorial 88 

Dodge — Food of Eudamus lycidas 89 



Editorial 90 

Economic Entomology 91 

Notes and News 96 

Entomological Literature 98 

Doings of Societies loi 



RECOLLECTIONS OF OLD COLLECTING GROUNDS. 

By H. F. Wickham, Iowa City, Iowa. 

IV. — The Lower Rio Grande Valley (concluded). 

Chrysomelidae are quite numerous in these regions, but most 
of them rather inconspicuous. A few specimens of Megascelis 
texana Linell, an insect looking something like a small Lema^ 
bright greenish above, testaceous or sometimes slightly greenish 
beneath, the elytral suture and margin brownish yellow, were 
found in the heavy thickets. With them dwelt Lema lebioid^s 
Linell, easily recognized by its reddish yellow color, and the 
elytral pattern, consisting of a lafge square scutellar spot and a 
longitudinal stripe which begins at the humerus and broadens 
obliquely towards the suture and apex, the latter of which it does 
not regich. The black color of the coxae and side pieces of the 
meso- and metathorax mentioned in Mr. Linell* s description is 
not constant. Some are almost unicolorous beneath. Anomcea 
muiabilis was commonly seen feeding on mimosas, but became 
much rarer toward the end of my stay. Eurypcopa lecontei was 
rather seldom met with, chiefly on low bushes growing in sandy 
spots. Chlamys memnonia Lac. fed on mesquitey and was by no 
means uncommon both at Brownsville and Point Isabel. Exema 
conspersa was beaten from various weeds, where it might be seen 



82 ENTOMOLOGCAL NEWS. [April, 

lodging in the axils of the leaves for all the world like the excre- 
ment of some caterpillar; indeed, so close is this resemblance 
that, when not wishing to spare time to examine the things closely 
nor to wait for them to move, I have often practiced the plan of 
slightly pinching the suspicious object between my thumb and 
forefinger. If it then crushes it is not an Exema, otherwise it 
may be one — and goes into the collecting bottle. Griburius 
larvatus feeds on mesqiiite in July, but I did not find it common. 
In the genus Cryptocephaliis I got trizonatus Suffr. on Cassia^ 
also numerous examples oi fulguraius^ defedus and mutabilis on 
vine -covered bushes, while a ie'w ptimilus were obtained on shrubs 
on the open prairie. Diachus chlorizans, a remarkable pretty 
little insect with yellow body and metallic-green wing covers was 
found among the vines. Typophorus viridicyanea was taken 
abundantly at Laredo under a morning-glory, while at Browns- 
ville it seemed quite rare. Several specimens of Chrysomela dis- 
rupta came from a plant which I take to be an Ambrosia, Pla- 
giodera thymaloides §tal was tolerably plentiful on quite a variety 
of plants throughout the whole length of my stay. It differs 
widely in facies from our other members of the genus being about 
the size and form of Thymalus fulgidus, testaceous, pronotum 
with a dark median stripe, elytra piceous, slightly metallic, with 
yellowish outer margin. The thoracic punctuation is fine and 
sparse, deeper and coarser at the sides, and there is a well-marked 
lateral fovea about equidistant from the side and hind margins. 
The elytra are distinctly subseriately punctured; legs testaceous, 
tarsi blackish toward the tip. Diabrotica balteata swarmed on 
flowers almost everywhere, in the fields and along the roadsides. 
Among the Halticini, Homophcela interjectionis was rather com- 
mon ; CEdionychis texana occurred once. Disonycha j-vittata 
fed in numbers on willows; D. crenicollis on Aster spinosus. 
Disonycha varicornis makes a departure from the usual food 
habits of this genus in feeding on a cactus — Opuntia leptocaulis — 
often swarming on these plants. Haltica burgessi was abundant 
at one spot out in the thorny chaparral, but I never met with it 
elsewhere. Of Odontota gracilis I took one specimen without 
any blue on the sides of the elytra. The Cassidini are well rep- 
resented i six species having been thus far identified from the 
Brownsville material while others, unknown, still remain. Cas- 
sida pallidula was seen feeding on Solatium; C. nigripes was 



1898.] ENTOMOLOGICAL NEWS. 83 

beaten from vines in the government pasture, along with Copto- 
cycla aurichalcea and C exiensa, C, boiivouloirii was confined 
to the more tropical jungles and may be readily told from our 
other species by the small size and curious coloration. Cabinet 
specimens are yellowish, the antennal tip piceous, while on the 
upper surface of the body a broad black line describes a nearly 
circular figure extending forward onto the base of the thorax and 
backward somewhat less than two-thirds of the length of the 
elytra. Inside of this figure three black spots are usually s^en; 
one common, anteriorly, and behind these a pair, one on each 
side of and close to the suture. In life the surface is golden; 
this is true also of another Coptocycla, of large size, found in the 
same situations and referred by Dr. Horn to C leprosa Boh. In 
this the color of cabinet specimens is yellowish except the an- 
tennal tips and the sides of the thoracic segments, which are 
dusky. The elytra are strongly elevated at base, forming a 
sutural and a humeral gibbosity, while from about the middle of 
the side margin a raised line runs diagonally up to meet the su- 
tural elevation. The insect reaches a length of nine millimeters 
and is by no means rare. 

The Tenebrionidae were not numerous in species, though cer- 
tain forms were very abundant — for example, Eleodes seriata and 
a ParatenetuSy both of which were beaten from herbage. I never 
noticed this habit of climbing plants strongly developed in other 
EleodeSy though it is no uncommon thing to see E, hispilabris 
and E, extricata in bushes on the plains of New Mexico and 
Arinona. Of E, tricostata I met with a single dead specimen at 
Point Isabel and no other species of the genus occurred to me 
near Brownsville. Two Ancedus cribratiis Dej. and longicornis 
Champ., both new to our fauna, were found amongst rubbish in 
the government reservation. Arrhenopiita ferruginea was de- 
tected boring in polyporoid fungi with Rhipidandrus. Talanvs 
langtirinus was quite abundant in thickets and numbers might 
be obtained by beating. Helops farcius was shaken from mes- 
quite trees. Pyanisia tristis Casteln. (new to our fauna) was 
found under logs near a resaca in the woods. It may be distin- 
guished from P. opaca by the rather deeply bisinuate base of the 
prothorax. 

The remaining Heteromera are mostly inconspicuous or well- 
known species, though a few are of interest. Listronychtis pili- 



84 ENTOMOLOGICAL NEWS. [April, 

ferus Champ. , is a very abundant species, being found on her- 
bage in the thickets and less frequently on the more open ground. 
It is active and takes flight very readily if disturbed. Polypria 
crux-rufa is new to our lists, and is provisionally referred to the 
family Melandryidae by Mr. Champion in the * ' Biolpgia Centrali- 
Americana.'' I took one specimen at Brownsville, and I think 
Prof. Townsend got another. It is recorded from various points 
in Central America, ranging from Mexico to Nicaragua. The 
insect is about eight millimeters long, blackish, the abdomen, 
legs, antennae and elytra yellowish, though not of equal depth 
of color. The ely tral suture is marked with a dark stripe, some- 
what dilated at base and apex and crossed by a transverse post- 
median band. The color of these markings seems to vary; 
Chevrolat describes them as being rufous in his specimen; Cham- 
pion says they are piceous on the edges, while in my example 
they are entirely piceous. Pyrota tenuicostatus Duges {dubitabilis 
Horn) was noticed in great numbers by Prof. Townsend early in 
the season, but being late I only got one. Epicauta tarsalis fed 
in small swarms on mesquite. 

The Rhynchophora abound in species, most of which are, for 
the present, indeterminate. Coleocerus marmoratus was observed 
on mesquite and huisache; Anthonomus ligatus on Aster spinosus, 
Anthonomus grandis^ the destructive cotton weevil, was at work 
in the fields. Cylas formicarius, a sweet-potato pest, was seen 
but once. Several rare Scolytidae and Anthribidae were beaten 
from dead twigs, but as they are small, and no definite record of 
food-plant can be given, they need no further mention here. 

Returning about the last of July — the trip to Alice was made 
without entomological results en route. However, a passing in- 
terest was aroused by the driver losing his way during the night, 
most of which was consequently spent in driving aimlessly over 
the wide prairies. Only daylight and the intervention of a Mex- 
ican cowboy sufficed to set him right after he had retraced much 
of the distance back towards Brownsville. From Alice the rail- 
road was called into service, and a short stop at Laredo served 
to show that the fauna there was characteristic of the arid Sonoran 
zone. 



A PHOTOGRAPH for the album of the American Entomological Society 
has been received from Charles A. Blake. 



1898.] ENTOMOLOGICAL NEWS; 85 

CONTRIBUTIONS TO THE ODONATA OF MAINE.-III. 

By F. L. Harvey, Orono, Maine. 

(Continued from p. 64, vol. ix.) 

Remarks, — We have never seen the types of G. ncevius, nor of 
G, albistylus. The single 9 taken in 1890, and the three taken 
this season, came from the same locality, and have been referred 
to G. ncBvius Hagen by Mr. Calvert and myself. The males 
taken this season certainly belong to the females taken, as they 
were captured the same day at the same locality, and one in 
copula. Both the males and females are variable in size, depth 
of color and markings. We cannot escape the conviction that 
G, ncBvius and G. albistylus belong to the same variable species. 
Mr. Calvert, who shares this opinion, says: **I have gone over 
your specimens again and compared them with the descriptions 
and with the data of variability mentioned in your letter. I now 
incline strongly to the opinion you suggest, viz. , that G, ncevitis 
and albistylus are specifically identical. ' ' 

Selys says of G, navitis: " Tres semblable a V albistylus mais 
beaucoup plus petit. " As we have specimens that nearly agree 
in measurement with those mentioned and find the size quite 
variable in the males, the distinction of size would seem a trivial 
one. Again, G, albistylus was described from a single 9 from 
Maine and ncsvius from a few females from Pennsylvania. The 
material was entirely inadequate to show variability. For the 
present we leave the species distinct, as our females agree more 
nearly with the description of G, naviuSy but if the future shows 
that these forms should be merged then G. navius Hagen would 
have to be dropped and the species will be known as G. albistylus 
Hagen, as this name has priority. Should the arrangement of 
Needham be adopted then the form would be Gomphus {Lanthus 
Needham) albistylus Hagen. 

63. Oompliii8 spicatns Selys. 

Taken July, 1896, in a pasture near Orono; also June 26, 1897, 
at S. Lagrange over a brook (Harvey). Both specimens were 
females. One specimen had the outer triangle of both of the 
hind wings crossed by a single vein. 

22. 0. ezillg Selys. 

Common in wood-roads at S. Lagrange, June 26, 1897 (Har- 
vey). 



86 ENTOMOLOGICAL NEWS. [April, 

42. 0. brevis Selys. 

Chemo Stream, Bradley. A scarce species, flying with G. 
ncBvius and Hagenius brevistyhis over swift water. Two males 
July 8, 1897 (Harvey). 

43. 6. abbreviatns Hagen. 

June 26, 1897, S. Lagrange. Along wood-roads. A single 
pair in copula. A scarce species (Harvey). 

Subfamily 4. — ^schnin^e. 

16. Anax Janias Drury. 

Aug. 15, 1897, Orono (Bartle Harvey). This was reported in 
a previous article from a specimen in the University collection. 
Several specimens were seen during August and September over 
grass and grain fields. 

17. Basiasschna Janata Say. 

Western Maine (Miss Furbish). S. Lagrange (Harvey), 
Westbrook (Ricker), 1897. 

18. JEschna constricta Say. 

W. Maine (Miss Furbish). 

41. Boyeria vinosa Say. 

Penobscot River at N. E. Carry, Birch Stream, Sunk Haze, 
Greenfield and Orono. This species is a night-flyer, at least it 
is on the wing in the late twilight. Several specimens were taken 
about the home and sheds in spider-webs. Along streams they 
show a preference for falls, dams and sluices. Rather common 
during August and September. 

Subfamily 5. — Cordulegasterin^e. 

45. Oordnlegaster diastatops Selys. 

A single $ taken at Sunk Haze Stream, Greenfield, in Au- 
gust, 1893. It is scarce in this part of Maine. 

Subfamily 6. — CoRDULiNiE. 

64. Somatochlora elongata Scud. 

August, 1892, fifteen miles at sea ofl* Scoodic Point. This 
specimen, a % , came aboard of our yacht and lit on the main 
sail. It seemed wearied, and was easily taken (Harvey). 

65. S. elongata var. minor Calvert's MS. 

Bradley, July 8, 1897, over a small brook in a meadow (Har- 
vey). This form was referred to Mr. Calvert, who named it as 



1898.] ENTOMOLOGICAL NEWS. 87 

above, and said : ** It is a MS. and collection name of my own as 
I have never been able to find any previous name for this form .'** 

28. Neorocordnlia Uhleri Hag. 
Western Maine (Miss Furbish). 

29. Tetragonenria cynosura Say. 

Rangeley (Miss Furbish). 

6^. Cordnlia Shnrtleffi Scud. 

A single % taken July 6, 1897, over a small pond in Colburn's 
pasture near Orono (Bartle Harvey). 
46. Didymops transversa Say. 

Rangeley (Miss Furbish), Foxcroft July 7, and S. Lagrange 
June 26 (Harvey). 

Subfamily 7. — Libellulin^. 

34. Lencorhinia prozima Calvert. 

This was reported in a previous paper from a single broken 
specimen in the University of Maine collection, but it proves to 
be an abundant species. Fully fifty specimens were taken over 
small ponds during June and July by the writer and his son, 
Bartle Harvey. The bloom on some males extended to the sixth 
abdominal segment. One male had, on the basal half of the 
dorsum of segments 4-7, a narrow yellow line. On two males 
these lines were wanting on even 6 and 7. On two males the 
bloom extended on to the fifth segment. The bloom is not con- 
tinuous on the segments affected, but there are bare places that 
show as black spots. 

35. L. intacta Hag. 
Westbrook (Ricker), 1S97. 

36. Diplaz rabicnndnla. 

S. Lagrange, June; N. W. Carry, Aug. 26, 1897 (Harvey); 
Rangeley (Miss Furbish). 

32. Ltbellnla eznsta Say. 

Westbrook (Ricker), 1897. 

• p. S. — The chief characteristics of *' var. Minor*' compared with its nearest allies, 
elongata Scud, and IValshii Scud., are the absence of an inferior, transverse orange band 
on the frons connecting the pale spots of the genae ; vertex and nasus entirely metallic 
green; occiput black; yellow of the mesepimeron an oval spot; dorsum of 10 and the 
superior appendages black throughout ; the latter similar to those of ^/^it^a/a, but having 
(in addition to the two external, lateral, subbasal teeth seen when the appendages are 
examined from above) a third, larger, subbasal, inferior tooth at a level between those of 
the two lateral teeth ; inferior appendage two-thirds as long as the superiors. Abdomen 
30.5, hind wing 33. Maine, as above; Franconia, N. H., by Mrs. A. T. Slosson. I have 
also a male and a female from Sherbrooke, Quebec, by TAbbe Begin, which are interme- 
diate, to some extent, between IVaUhii and minor.^^. P. Calvert. 



88 ENTOMOLOGICAL NEWS. [April, 

31. L. 4-iiiaciilata L. 

Rangeley (Miss Furbish). 

33. L. pnlchella Drury. 

Reported from a specimen found in the University of Maine 
collection, but since found in great abundance over ponds and 
rivers. About Orono (Harvey), Auburn CE. D. Merrill) and 
Westbrook (Ricker). 

Remarks, — Species reported for the first time in this article 
are numbered from 54 to 66. The numbers lower than 54 refer 
to species reported in Ent. News, vol. ii, Nos. 3 and 4, 1891, 
and in vol. iii, Nos. 4 and 5, 1892. This article includes thir- 
teen species not before reported from Penobscot waters. Several 
of these have been collected by my son, Bartle Harvey, my 
daughter, Florence Harvey, and by Mr. E. D. Merrill, of the 
Junior Class in the University of Maine. We have included for 
locality specimens taken by Miss Kate Furbish, in Western Maine, 
and by Mr. P. L. Ricker at Westbrook, Me. 

The remarkable finds are the males of Gornphus ncsvius and 

Scudderi ^r^viousXy unknown and a new species of Ophiogotnphus. 

o 

NOTES ON EDITORIAL 

By H. W. EusTis, Minneapolis, Minn. 

The editorial in response to W. R. H. in the January, 1898, 
News leaves the impression that perhaps I am one of your list 
of subscribers who ought to contribute some article in the hope of 
benefiting others of our '* numerous class." Hoping the appre- 
ciation of my effort will be evidenced by the subsequent appear- 
ance of many valuable papers I herewith offer a few suggestions : 

Use corrugated board instead of cork. It is cheaper and 
better. By using two thicknesses the pins are held at four points. 

How to get g(3 per cent, results from subterranean pupa, — In a 
wooden box bore several holes the size of a broom-stick on each 
side about two inches from the bottom, taking pains to get them 
well opposite. Through these holes put broom-sticks and then 
gradually cover with wet earth, packing hard as- you proceed. 
Four or five inches of earth is sufficient. Now withdraw the 
sticks and after placing your pupae in the tunnels thus left cork 
up both ends and you have your insect in a cell just like the one 
he made, except that he has company. Keep in a warm room 
for early results, or a cold one if you intend to breed. Sprinkle 
once a week and occasionally allow to dry. 

I should be pleased to describe to any collector a little collect- 
ing box which fits the pocket, enabling me to carry home one 
hundred butterflies in **the pink of perfection.'* 



1898.] ENTOMOLOGICAL NEWS. 89 

FOOD OF EUDAMUS LYCIDAS. 

By G. M. Dodge, Louisiana, Mo. 

On Aug. 5, 1897, I h^id been walking in the woods and seated 
myself upon the grass to rest with hands clasped around my 
knees. Soon a Eudamus lycidas alighted on my hand. It 
moved over the tip of my thumb with quick sidling motions and 
I soon noticed that its proboscis was thrust back under its body. 
I then saw that it was feeding upon a fluid which it ejected from 
the tip of the abdomen. It would deposit a small drop and im- 
mediately begin to take it up as rapidly as possible. When the 
drop had been absorbed the insect would change its place a little 
by stepping to one side, sometimes only moving the hind legs, 
and at once repeat the ejecting and feeding process. It evidently 
changed its place so that it might deposit the liquor on a dry 
spot where it would not spread out and be lost before it could be 
secured, as it would have done on a surface already moistened. 
After taking a number of drops of this peculiar form of nourish- 
ment it flew away. I followed and saw it alight on a leaf where 
it remained quietly at rest without attempting to feed, doubtless 
digesting its dinner. 

I returned to my former place, and, assuming the same posi- 
tion, the butterfly soon returned and perched upon my sleeve. 
Here it remained for some time, constantly feeding as before, and 
as the- little drops stood up in a half globular form upon the dry, 
white surface, I could seq that they were quite clear, with a 
slightly yellpw or amber tinge. Then it finally flew away and 
returned no more. I hardly think that this butterfly was an 
entomological Edison who had discovered this unique method 
of feeding. The selection of a dry place for each succeeding 
globule must have been from the dictation of instinct, and such 
instinct could only have come from a long line of ancestors who 
manipulated their food in a similar way. 

Can it be that butterflies distil the crude nectar which they 
gather from various sources, finding suitable food only in the 
refined product ? 



'• Why did the fly fly ?" '• Because the spider spied her." 



90 [April, 



ENTOM OLOGICAL 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 circumfei- 
ence, as to make it necessary to put " copy'' into the hands of the printer, for each number* 
three weeks before date of issue. This should be remembered in sending special or im- 
portant matter for 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, 1898. 



LOANING SPECIMENS FOR STUDY. 

This is a subject with which societies, institutions and individ- 
uals frequently are obliged to contend. The object of our study 
should be to advance its interests, and from this standpoint the 
best use that can be made of specimens is to have them studied 
and put in scientific order. One man says: ** The types in Phila- 
delphia might as well be in Central Africa unless they are loaned 
for study." Space will not permit us to discuss this subject at 
any length. Now, what is our experience — the experience of 
thirty years. Some of the loaned material comes back in good 
order. Some comes back ruined, with such a mixture of heads, 
abdomens and legs that only on insect resurrection day might it 
be possible to make an allotment of these parts. Some never 
come back at all, as they are actually stolen. It seems that there 
are comparatively few entomologists in America who know how 
to pack insects for shipment, and many others seem to know 
almost nothing about physics, as packing on two sides of a box 
seems to content them. Knowing these facts it is almost impos- 
sible to discriminate among systematic workers. 



Too SMART FOR THE CITY FOLKS. — "Me an' the boys was workin' 
'roun' the bee-hives, when one of them there dressed-up city gals comes 
up to the fence an' she sez : 'You have a nice ape-e-ary, sir.' 'No, 
maam,' sez I. * I haven't no ape-e-ary— all the apes there is 'roun' here 
comes from the city,' sez I." — Harper's Weekly, 



1898.] ENTOMOLOGICAL NEWS. 9 1 

DEPARTMENT OF EG0N0MI6 ENTOMOLOGY. 



Edited by Prof. JOHN B. SMITH, ScD., 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. 



Quarantine Against Injnrions Insects.— This question is perhaps the most 
interesting and important in economic entomology to-day. Not only have 
several States passed laws which require the inspection of all plants in- 
troduced within their borders before they can be delivered to the pur- 
chaser, or in lieu thereof a certificate which is supposed to show that they 
have been inspected where grown and found free from injurious insects or 
plant diseases; but there has been also introduced in both branches of 
Congress a bill which provides for the exclusion of foreign fruits and plants^ 
unless accompanied by a similar certificate, or until they have been in- 
spected at certain ports of entry to be designated by the Secretary of 
Agriculture. Of course all these acts are in restraint or regulation of 
commerce and only justifiable on the ground of necessity. It seems per- 
fectly clear that, after fruits or plants enter the boundaries of a State, they 
become subject to its police regulations. It seems also clear that in so 
far as the laws of a State require extra territorial action they are void. It 
is for that reason that the power of Congress has been invoked to secure 
legislation that shall be uniform. The desirability of restricting the dis- 
tribution of plant pests is unquestioned; but it is by no means so certam 
that the measures proposed will accomplish the result aimed at. 

In the first place, the question of diseases. Any one who has any 
knowledge whatever of plant diseases knows that some of them may 
exist for a considerable time in a latent state awaiting only favorable con- 
ditions to develop. It is also known that some diseases can be only dis- 
covered in certain stages of the plant's growth, and that when the leaves 
are off, indications of peach yellows or peach rosette are practically indis- 
coverable, except in very bad cases. Diflferent causes also produce similar 
results; thus starvation of a plant or an attack ot root lice may produce 
an appearance similar to the yellows, and it may require microscopic 
examination to determine the question; hence an inspection that will 
enable a man to say that a block of trees is or is not free from disease is 
b^ no means a simple affair and not one that can be settled in the nursery 
in all cases. 

Putting that aside for the present let us see how the insect question 
stands, and leaving aside also the question of interstate commerce, let us 
consider the question of the possibility of excluding injurious insects from 
foreign countries. In his exceedingly interesting address before Section 
F, at the Detroit meeting of the A. A. A. S., the vice-president, Dr. Le- 
land O. Howard, handled the question of the spread of land species by 
the agency of man with special reference to insects. He showed, most 



92 ENTOMOLOGICAL NEWS. [April, 

interestingly, that a very considerable number of insects are annually in- 
troduced which do not gain a foothold, and a moment's consideration 
makes it certain that this must be so. It is the experience of every one 
who has frequented docks where foreign ships unload that a considerable 
number of foreign insects are found there. Dr. Lugger, when at Balti- 
more, made a very interesting collection of such species; while in New 
York City and in Brooklyn I have seen a number of insects so taken. 
Practically, none of these species have gained a foothold here, and it is 
probable that many more than we have any record of have been intro- 
duced into this country and have died. 

In California there is a very rigid quarantine, established with the in- 
tention of preventing the introduction of foreign injurious insects. The 
quarantine officer. Mr. Alexander Craw, is a gentleman thoroughly fitted 
for the duties of his position and as little likely to let an insect slip in as 
any person known to me. He has a very interesting series of insects 
found on plants intended for California, and it illustrates what has been 
excluded; but it does not furnish one particle of proof that any of these 
insects, if they had been allowed to land, would have established them- 
selves and become troublesome. 

There are in the United States at the present time a number of insect 
pests that were introduced from foreign countries: some of them trouble- 
some in their native home, others not particularly so. Could they have 
been excluded by the inspection which is provided for in the act of Con- 
gress, to which reference has been made ? One of them is the Hessian 
fly. It is an insect which passes a portion of its life in a ** flax-seed'* 
stage concealed in straw, and it might be introduced under present com- 
mercial conditions at almost any time from an infested district. Could 
it be kept out by the proposed inspection system ? This provides only 
for the inspection of plants and fruits; but straw is neither a plant nor a 
fruit, and therefore not subject to inspection. Straw is used for packing 
in a great many cases; it is used in covering bottles, in protecting plants, 
and for a variety of different purposes. The inspector would have no 
right to open packages containing straw only, and straw would come in 
practically without any inspection. Therefore, any insects which could 
maintain life in the stems of such dried grasses as are used in packing 
would come into this country absolutely without hindrance. There is a 
wide open gate, therefore, for all creatures that may live or be concealed 
in or under plants of that character. The Hessian fly, it seems to rate, 
could easily be introduced into this country in spite of the quarantine or 
inspection provided by this act. 

The pear midge is an insect not so long a resident of this country, and 
which was introduced in nursery stock originally imported into Connec- 
ticut. It has done considerable injury in Connecticut, New York and New 
Jersey, and there has been a very heavy money loss on the part of many 
growers. We have learned to control it; but the question is, could it have 
been excluded and this money loss prevented by the inspection ? The 



1898.] ' ENTOMOLOGICAL NEWS. 93 

pear midge winters underground in a little silken cocoon which is very 
inconspicuous. In order to make certain that every stick introduced from 
abroad does not contain the cocoons of midges it would be necessary to 
remove every particle of soil from the roots. The cocoon in its entirety 
is not over an eighth of an inch in length and may be concealed in any 
little pellet of earth. In fact, the cocoon is surrounded with particles of 
earth, which render it almost indistinguishable. Does any one claim that 
it is possible to safely inspect thousands of pear stocks that are introduced 
annually in such a way as to make certain that not a pellet of the earth 
adhering to the roots contains a cocoon ? No sign of the appearance of 
the midge can be detected upon the plant itself. If present at all it will 
be in the soil. Now, of course, the imported stocks do not contain any 
great bundles of earth; but in the angles formed by the roots there always 
is more or less soil attached and more than enough to shelter the insect 
under consideration. I do not think that any inspection can be sufficiently 
thorough to exclude any insect of this kind. 

Another species, recently introduced and still spreading, is the Wood 
Leopard Moth, Zeuzera pyrina^ also called the Imported Elm Borer. It 
is an insect which is creating havoc with the shade trees in several Eastern 
cities around New York, and which, on Long Island, is causing serious 
injury to orchard trees as well. It requires the constant effort of the ento- 
mologist to the Department of Public Parks in New York City to keep 
the insect down in that city and wagon loads of wood are cut each winter, 
because they contain borers ; nevertheless many trees are killed. In 
Jersey City and Newark the trees along entire avenues have been de- 
stroyed ; not only elms, but maples and other varieties. Could this in- 
sect have been kept out by the system of inspection now proposed ? The 
caterpillar of the Wood Leopard Moth has the habit of crawling from 
place to place when it gets tired of one situation. It does not, even in 
all cases, remain in the tree on which it has been feeding when it is ready 
for pupation. Mr. Southwick once upon a time brought in an infested 
stick and the larva disappeared from it. Later on, when the moth emerged, 
he discovered that it had bored into the wood work of a window casing 
and had pupated there. The insect may have been introduced into this 
country in the woodwork of almost any box, barrel or crate, and not 
necessarily on a living plant at all. In fact, the chances are all against 
its having been introduced on a living plant. The probabilities are that 
it came in with some sticks of wood used on the steamers for packing* or 
other purposes. Every living plant and every fruit on that steamer could 
have been inspected and passed and yet hundreds of pupae of the Wood 
Leopard Moth might have been in the sticks or planks that were used in 
the packing or for other purposes and that were thrown away as useless 
on the dock. I do not believe that any system of inspection would have 
excluded this borer. Certainly not that which is confined to living plants 
alone. 

Also a comparatively recent introduction is the Sinuate Pear Borer. 



94 ENTOMOLOGICAL NEWS. [April, 

This was introduced on pear stocks from France into Union County, N. 
J. It has killed hundreds of trees, and if we have succeeded in checking 
its progress, at present, the danger was for a time a real one. Could this 
insect have been excluded by inspection? In the first place it works only 
beneath the bark of the tree. It makes no opening outwardly and the 
young borer produces practically no effect upon the appearance of the 
bark. There was nothing on the outside of these trees to indicate the 
presence of a borer underneath the bark. How could it have been dis- 
covered unless the bark of each tree had been actually cut into, and how 
could one be sure that the portion actually cut would reveal the presence 
of a borer if one existed ? I claim that it would be impossible to discover 
insects of this kind by any method of ordinary inspection. The Sinuate 
Borer could come in in spite of the inspection provided by the act of Con- 
gress. In fact, this illustrates a class of cases: Insects that work between 
the bark and wood of young trees in such a way as to cause no outward 
sign, simply, cannot be discovered by ordinary inspection. 

According to an amendment adopted at the request of the florists — 
florist's plants are exempt from inspection and from the requirements of 
a certificate: but are florist's plants not likely to introduce injurious in- 
sects? Roses are florist's plants; the brown-tail moth, which recently 
appeared in destructive numbers in Massachusetts, is said to have been 
imported on rose plants. I do not know how true this is, but it is quite 
possible. Take a variety of lepidopterous insects that winter in the pupa 
state or in cocoons; some of them so closely resemble the bark ot the 
trees that it requires the closest kind of examination to see them. Others 
conceal themselves under loose bits of bark. Can any inspection be suffi- 
ciently thorough to make it certain that some little angle among the roots 
or among the branches does not contain the cocoons of some Tortricid or 
Tineid ? Moss and similar material is used in packing plants, and every 
one who has ever collected insects knows that moss shelters an enormous 
number during the hibernating period. Will it be possible to so examme 
the packing material around the plants as to make certain that no insects 
are there ? I doubt whether any package of plants would be found en- 
tirely free from insects, and if not free are they to be excluded or treated ? 
How can we tell whether a given insect will live in this country or will not ? 

Consider the horn-fly, which has caused great alarm throughout the 
United States and a considerable money loss as well. Could that have 
been excluded ? It does not come within the purview of the act at all. 
Only plants and fruits are to be examined, and there is nothing that would 
act as a bar to the introduction of creatures like this horn-fly. 

Root maggots would be almost indiscoverable in many instances, and 
in the winged stage could not always be destroyed, even if they were 
recognized, because flies have a habit of getting out of reach in a very 
exasperating way. In fact, the possibilities of importation under modem 
commercial circumstances are so great that I do not believe it possible to 
exclude injurious insects except, possibly, scales. It is always the spe- 



1898.] ENTOMOLOGICAL NEWS. 95 

cies that is least looked for that becomes domesticated here. And how 
easy it is to overlook thmgs is illustrated in Massachusetts, where, in the 
very domain constantly covered by the Gypsy Moth workers, the brown- 
tail moth succeeded in establishing itself, and becoming a serious pest, 
was entirely unnoticed. 

The Secretary of Agriculture is empowered under the act to accept a 
certificate from foreign authority in lieu of the inspection provided for, 
but here we have this point: How can a foreign entomologist, looking 
over nursery stock, tell what is under ground? How can he tell what 
root lice may be working at the roots ? No nursery is free from all in- 
sects, and there are sure to be in every foreign plantation a number which 
are never harmful there. They are things the entomologists are used to 
and pay no attention to; yet those very insects may be the ones which 
become most harmful here if they were introduced. A certificate could 
be given by such an inspector that no dangerously injurious insects had 
been found, and it might be perfectly true; but insects introduced under 
such a certificate might become dangerously injurious in this country and 
the certificate would carry the plants in without any question at this port. 

Another question arises, and that is, would those certificates be accepted 
in all States, and could their acceptance be compelled ? I doubt whether 
a foreign certificate would land a plant or fruit in the purchaser's hand in 
California without inspection. In California the county inspectors do not 
always accept each other's certificates, and I am strongly inclined to be- 
lieve that Mr. Craw would hesitate a long while before accepting a Japanese 
certificate that the plants contained in that case were free from injurious 
insects; yet if he did not he would be in direct conflict with the federal 
law. Is the game worth the cost? 

The bill carries an appropriation of one hundred thousand dollars. In- 
spectors are to be appointed at ports of entry and to make examinations 
of nurseries. I believe that these examinations are to be made without 
cost to the nurserymen. Why ? Why should the United States be com- 
pelled to pay for giving a nurseryman a commercial rating ? I fully admit, 
as already stated, the desirability of checking the spread of diseases and 
insects, but I must confess that I am entirely skeptical as to the usefulness 
and effectiveness of the proposed national legislation. J. B. Smith. 

The San Jose Scale. — I have just read Dr. J. B. Smith's excellent disser- 
tation on this subject in the Report of the New Jersey Station for 1897, 
and desire to make a few observations: 

1. Since I wrote the bulletin on the San Jos^ scale and its allies, Mr. 
Craw has two or three times found Aspidiotus perniciosus on trees from 
Japan. For example, a plum* tree which arrived Jan. 25, 1898, was in- 
fested by this and Diaspis atnygdali. 

2. I consider it probable that the scale is a native of the more or less 
elevated forest regions of Japan, not of the sea-coast. The scales found 
near sea-level in Japan seem to be oriental tropical types, with very little 
of the palaearciic element indeed. The enemies of scale insects found 



96 ENTOMOLOGICAL NEWS. [April, 

at the lower levels might not be at all effective against the San Jos^ scale; 
and we do not know yet whether is is a fungus, a Chalcidid, a beetle, or 
what — that we have to look for. Hence I do not think it likely that any 
valuable enemy of the scale — supposing to exist — will be obtained unless 
a trained entomologist spends some months in the country. 

3. As to the desirability of sending an entomologist to Japan, I think 
it admits of no dispute. Japanese Coccids, etc., are continually being 
sent to this country, and it is of the highest importance to obtain a know- 
ledge of their habits and parasites, quite apart from the San Jos6 scale 
question. If any one goes I shall be glad to supply him with information 
about Japanese Coccids. and if he can stop here on his way he can see 
them for himself and go over the whole subject in detail. 

4. In the United States the scale is by no means uniformly destructive^ 
as has been known for some time. In the Mesilla Valley, N. M., the San 
Jos^ scale has existed for a number of years in several orchards, and 
while it will kill trees, if left alone, it spreads very slowly, and is quite 
readily controlled if one is on the lookout for it. Very few points in New 
Mexico have been found infested, and it is now practically only injurious 
at Las Cruces. Thus, with us it is a second-class pest; while, on the other 
hand, the Codling Molh is much more troublesome than in the North- 
eastern States. 

5. Some A. perniciosus on plum from Canada, sent by Mr. Fletcher, 
were much infested by a red-brown, moniliform fungus, not observed in 
fruit. Thus, it appears that there may be a second, and more Northern, 
fungus which attacks the scale. 

T. D. A. CocKERELL, N. M. Agric. Exp. Station. 



Notes and Ne^vsrs. 

ENTOMOLOGICAL GLEANINGS FROM ALL QUARTERS 

OF THE GLOBE. 

I COLLECTED during December at Miami, Florida, two species new to 
our lists of Rhopalocera. Of The da telea Hew. I caught two males; 
this small species, already known from Brazil, Central America and 
Mexico, is one of the most beautiful species, and I presume few are ac- 
quainted with it. Of An(Ba portia Fab. I took about twenty specimens 
in no way differing from those in the British Museum here, and which are 
from the island of San Domingo. I found Thecla acts Dru. and T. mar- 
tialis H. S. quite abundant, the former in the pine forests, the latter on 
the Cags and alortg the bay shore. Just after Christmas I took Victorina 
steneles and Titnetes eleucha. Of the Heterocera I found a number of 
species known previously from tropical America only. The Hesperidae 
are not yet identified, there being five or six species quite new to my 
collection. — W. Schaus, Twickenham, England. 

Extract from a Letter to the Editors. — "Can't you find a few 
of those beginners there in the East who have the nerve to contribute to 



1898.] ENTOMOLOGICAL NEWS. ^7 

the News ? Most of us chaps out here (the Western States) are beginners 
and would also like to hear a familiar voice now and then. Personally, 
however, I would object to cutting anything out of the News to make 
room for " tyro" matter, with the possible exception of matter not rela- 
ting to strictly United States insects. I do object very seriously to seeing 
the News filled up with descriptions of African, European, Alaskan, and 
other insects we will possibly never see and which, it appears to me, 
should go into "Transactions." Such articles as those by Prof. A. J. 
Snyder are much appreciated by the tyro. 

Purely artificial tables to assist the collector in placing his species would 
be very acceptable additions to articles treating of a limited group. Every 
time one of your great entomologists die I groan involuntarily because I 
regret to see heads go out of existence taking with them so much know- 
ledge, much of which might have been given to us in little paragraphs of 
hints. It does seem that the more one knows the harder it is to get any- 
thing intelligible out of him. Everything must be technical in proportion 
to his reputation. Technicalities have done quite as much to mystify as 
to enlighten. I am not in favor of work so popular as to be inaccurate, 
but this endless terminology is quite discouraging. But I suppose these 
sentiments are not those of scientists, so we will say no more." — F. J. H. 

Mr. Editor— **H. F. W." wonders what the "mere collectors" want. 
Well, I presume there are no two who want just the same things. Just 
at present there is one in my immediate vicinity who wants to know (i) 
the duration of the ^^^ stage of luna, cecropia^ Columbia, imperialism 
Polyphemus and S. bisectal (2) if larvae which, in nature, feed on large 
trees will, in confinement, do as well on small trees four or six feet high 
of same species ? (3) if pupee which have been kept all winter packed in 
moss need to be taken from the moss and placed in dirt before they 
emerge? (4) if cases made from pine or resinous woods will cause speci- 
mens kept in them to turn greasy ? and (5) what is the appearance of 6*. 
bisecta ? He thinks he has the pupae of some of that species which re- 
sulted from larvae found feeding on Pinus regida, but is not sure. 

For years I have been finding the larvae oi luna feeding on white birch, 
and not knowing to contrary supposed that to be a well-known food-plant 
of the species, but I am told recently that such has not been known to be 
the fact, so I give this information for what it may be worth. 

Would not the mere collector be pleased to have a standard cash price 
authoritatively fixed for each species ? As it is now, one man says aste- 
rias^ for instance, is worth ten cents, while another rates it at twenty-five, 
with others setting it at fifteen and twenty. It seems to me that if uni- 
formity in this matter could be brought about, it would greatly facilitate 
the makmg of exchanges. — W. R. Howard, Belfast, Me. 

We would be pleased to have our readers send us answers to these 
questions for the benefit of all. Of course the answer to question 2 is 
yes. To questions 3 and 4, no. — Eds. 



4* 



98 ENTOMOLOGICAL NEWS. [April, 

Entomological Literature. 



Under the above head it is intended to note such 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, unless monographs, or con* 
taining descriptions of new genera, will not be noted. Contributions to the anatomy 
physiology and embryology of insects, however, whether relating to American 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 arti- 
cles 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 
parenthesis. 

4. The Canadian Entomologist, London, Ont., March, '98. — 5. Psyche, 
Cambridge, Mass., March, '98.-7. U. S. Department of Agriculture, 
Division of Entomology, Washington; circulars, second series. — 10. Na- 
ture, London, '98. — 11. The Annals and Magazine of Natural History, 
London, Feb., '98. — 16. Biologia Centrali- Americana, part cxl, London, 
Jan., '98. — 21. The Entomologist's Record, London, Feb. 15, '98. — 22. 
Zoologischer Anzeiger, Leipsic, '98. — 36. Annales, Soci^t^ Entomo- 
logique de Belgique, Brussels, '98. — 46. Deutsche Entomologische Zeit- 
schrift, '97, heftii, Berlin, Dec, '97. — 61. Natural Science, London. Feb., 
'98. — 65. La Feuille des jeunes Naturalistes, Paris, March i, '98. — 66. 
Naturwissenschaftliche Rundschau, Braunschweig, Feb. 26, '98. — 67. 
Entomologiske Tidskrift, xviii, i Feb. 27, '97, 2 Sept. 25, '97, 3-4 Jan. 19, 
'98, Stockholm. 

The General Subject,— A c k e r m a n n , K. Animal bastards: 
summary of the observations on bastardy in the animal kingdom with 
references to the literature thereon; xxxii Abhandlungen und Bericht des 
Vereins fiir Naturkunde zu Kassel, '97. — C a p p e r , S. J. A short sketch 
of entomological serial literature in Britain, 21. — Cocke rell, T. D. 
A. The insect visitors of flowers in New Mexico-i, Zoologist, London, 
Feb. 15, '98. — C o m b e s , P. The distribution of insects according to 
altitude, Le Naturaliste, Paris, Feb. 15, '98. — Com stock, J. H., and 
Needham, J. G. The wings of insects — ii. American Naturalist, 
Boston, March, '98. — D i x o n , W. A. Insusceptibility of insects to poison, 
10, Feb. 17. — Hampson, G. F. Protective and Pseudo-mimicry, 10, 
Feb. 17. — Heymons, R. Remarks on Verhoeff 's 'Still some words 
on segmental appendages of insects and myriopods,' 22, Feb. 21. — 
Moffat, J. A. Some insects, rare in Canada, taken at Hamilton by 
Mr. James Johnston, 4. — Mortimer, C. H. Lively halves of a bi- 
sected insect, Entomologist's Monthly Magazine, London, March, '98. — 
Potter, H. B. Insusceptibility of insects to poisons, lO, March 3. — 
P o u 1 1 o n , E. B. Protective mimicry and common warning colors, 10, 
Feb. 24. — R e h . The influence of man on the distribution of terrestrial 
species, especially insects, Naturwissenschaftliche Wochenschrift, Berlin, 



1898.] ENTOMOLOGICAL NEWS. 99 

Feb. 27, '98. — V. S e i I e r , C. K. Escherich on the exuvial hairs of in- 
sects after their change of function, Centralblatt fiir Physiologie, Leipsic 
and Vienna, Feb. 5, '98. — S tevenson, C. The labeling of entomo- 
logical specimens, 4. — T r i men, R. The President's address: Obituary 
-Mimicry in Insects, Transactions, Entomological Society of London, 
*97. pt V, Feb. 2, '98. — Ve rhoeff, C. Some words on the European 
cave ^una, 22» Feb. 14. 

Economic Entcnuologry* — Chittenden, F. H. The two-lined 
chestnut borer (Agrilus bt/tneafus Weber), figs., 7, No. 24, July 14, '97. — 
Howard, L. O. The Mexican cotton-boll weevil in 1897, 7, No. 27, 
Dec. 31, *97; The box-elder plant bug {Leptocoris triviitatus Say), figs., 
7« No. 28, Jan. 8, '98.^ o h n s o n , W. G, Answers to queries and notes 
on insects injurious" in mills, xviii [cockroaches], figs.. American Miller, 
xxvi, p. 201, March i, '98; See Diptera.— Kerremans, C. Discoui'se 
on Economic Entomology, 35, xli, 13, Feb. 15.— K oningsberger, J. 
C. First review of the injurious and useful insects of Java, Mededeelin- 
gen uit 'sLands Plantentuin, xxii, Batavia — s'Gravenhage, '98. — Lam pa, 
S. [Report of the Entomologist for 1896] (in Swedish), 67» i. — M a r 1 a 1 1 , 
C. L. The buffalo tree-hopper (Ceresa bubalus F.), 7, No. 23, May 10, 
'97; The ox warble {Hypoderma lineata Vill.), 7, No. 25, July 19, '97; The 
pear slug, figs., 7, No. 26, Aug. 28, '97. — Slingerland, M. V. The 
Codling-moth, figs., Bulletin 142, Cornell University Agric. Exper. Station, 
Ithaca, N. Y.. Jan., '98. — Smith, J. B. Report of the Entomological 
Department of the New Jersey Agricultural College Experiment Station 
for the year 1897. Trenton, N. J., 1898. Pp. 395-492, figs. 

.^raehnida. — Cambridge, O. P. Arachnida Araneidea,* pp. 
233-240, 15* — Hansen, H. J., and Sorensen, W. The order Pal- 
pigradi Thor. (Koenenia niirabilis Grassi) and its relationship to the other 
Arachnida, i pi., 67, 3-4. — Lonnberg, E. Scorpions and Pedipalpi 
of the Zoological Museum, University of Upsala; On the geographical 
distribution of Scorpions and Pedipalpi (both in Swedish), 67, 3-4. — 
P i e r s i g , R. The Hydrachnidae of Germany (cont.), 8 pis., Zoologica, 
heft 22, lieferung 3, Stuttgart, '97. — Simon, E. Descriptions of new 
Arachnids of the families Agelenidae, Pisauridae, Lycosidae and Oxyo- 
pidae,* 35', xlii, i, Feb. 26. 

Myriopoda. — S i 1 v e s t r i , F. Preliminary note on the morphology 
of the Diplopoda, Atti della Reale Accademia dei Lincei, anno ccxcv, 
Jan. 2, '98. Rome. 

Thysanura. — F o 1 s o m , J. W. Descriptions of species of Machilis 
and Seira from Mexico,* i pi., 5. 

Orthoptera.— B 1 a t c h 1 e y , W. S. Some Indiana Acrididae— iv,* 4. 

— de Saussure, H., and Pictet, A. Orthoptera* pp. 345-368, pis. 

xvii, xviii, 15, 

Neuroptera.— K. J. T. Porter on Trichonympha and other parasites 
of the Termites ( Tertnes flavipes), 66. — W a s m a n n , E. Termites of 
Madagascar and East Africa, 2 pis., Abhandlungen, Senckenbergischen 
Naturforschenden Gesellschaft, xxi, i, Frankfurt, '97. 



lOO ENTOMOLOGICAL NEWS. [April, 

Hemiptera. — Baker, C. F. Athysanella, a new genus of Jassids,* 
5. — C h a m p i o n , G. C. Rhynchota Heteroptera* vol. ii, pp. 33-48, pi. 
iii, 15. — Cocker ell, T. D. A. Notes on the Coccidae, a family of 
Homoptera, with a table of the species hitherto observed in Brazil, figs. ; 
Further notes on Coccidae from Brazil, Revisto do Museu Paulista, ii, S. 
Paulo, Brazil, '97; Two new scale-insects quarantined at San Francisco,* 
5.— Mar la tt, C. L. See Economic Entomology. — Schwarz, E. A. 
The periodical cicada in 1897, 7, No. 22, May i, '97. 

Coleoptera. — Aurivillius, C. New or little-known Coleoptera 
Longicomia, i pi., 67, 3-4. — Bland ford, W. F. H. Coleoptera,* 
vol. iv, pt. 6, pp. 185-216, 15, — Chittenden, F. H. See Economic 
Entomology. — Davis , W. T. Notes on beetles preserved with Wicker- 
sheimer's solution. Proceedings of the Natural Science Association of 
Staten Island, Feb. 12, '98. — Gorham, H. S. Coleoptera* vol. vii, pp. 
241-248, 15.— J a c o b y , M. Descriptions of some new species of Dory- 
phora, Entomologist, London, March, '98. — Linell, M. L. A new 
species of Aegialites^* 4. — P i c , M. Synoptic study of the Longicorn 
Coleoptera of the genus Cortodera Muls., 65. — R e i 1 1 e r , E. Analytic 
revision of the Coleopterous genus Microdera Esch., 45. — Verhoeff, 
C. On the coloring of the Coleopterous nymphs and imagos, Verhand- 
lungen d. k. k. zoologisch botanischen Gesellschaft in Wien xlvii, 10, Jan. 
31, '98. — Wasmann , E. A new Xenodusa from Colorado with a table 
of the species of Xenodusa* figs. ; On the biology of the Lomechusa 
group; A new myrmecophilous Silphid genus from Costa Rica,* 45. 

I>iptera. — Becker, T. Contributions to the Dipterous fauna of 
Nova Zembla, Annuaire, Mus^e Zoologique de I'Academie Imperiale des 
Sciences de St. Petersburg '97, No. 4. — B engtsson, S. Contribution 
to the knowledge of the larvae of Phalacrocera replicata L., 4 pis. [In 
Swedish], Acta Universitatis Lundensis, xxxiii, 1897. — C o q u i 1 1 e 1 1 , D. 
W. On the Dipterous genus Eusiphona, 4. — ^J o h n s o n , W. G. Notes 
on the Morelos orange fruit- worm, Proceedings, Entomological Society 
of Washington, iv, 2, Jan. 6, '98. — Try bom, F. Tracks of Tipulid- 
larvae on sand beaches (in Swedish), 67, i. — W andolleck,B. Is the 
phylogeny of the Aphaniptera discovered? 22, Feb. 21. — Wheeler, 
W. M. A new genus of Dolichopodidae,* figs. Zoological Bulletin i, 5, 
Boston, Feb., '98. 

liepidoptera* — A urivillius, C. Remarks on the Lepidoptera 
described by J. Chr. Fabricius from Danish collections, 67, 3-4. — But- 
ler, A. G. A revision of the butterflies of the genus Ixias, 11. — 
D r u c e , H. Lepidoptera Heterocera* vol. ii, pp. 441-448, pis. ixxxv- 
ixxxvii, 15 ; Description of some new species of Heterocera, 11. — 
Dyar, H. G. On the value of larval characters, 21; Description of a 
new species of Arctiidae with a table of the species of Idalus* 5. — 
Grote, A. R. The classification of the day-butterflies (concl.), i pi. 
61.— Hanham, A. W. Notes on collecting "at light" fcont), 4.— 
Lyman, H. H. A rare aberration of Vanessa aniiopa, i pi. 4. — 



1898.] ENTOMOLOGICAL NEWS. lOI 

P e y r o n , J. On the developmental stages of Cheimatobia species, i pi. 
(in Swedish), 67, 2.— R enter, E. On a new classification of the Rho- 
palocera, i pi., 21. — Turner, A. J. The Xyloryctidae of Queensland, 
Annals of the Queensland Museum, No. 4, Brisbane, '97. 

Hymenoptera. — A n d r ^ , E. Synopsis of the Mutillidae of France 
(cont), 05. — Aurvillius, C. A new Swedish egg parasite, i pi. (in 
Swedish), 67, 3-4. — Beth e, A. Ought psychical qualities be ascribed 
to ants and bees?, figs., 2 pis., Pfliiger's Archiv fiir Physiologie, Ixx, i 
and 2, Bonn, Jan. 29, '98. — C o c k e r e 1 1 , T. D. A. Some bees of the 
genus Megachile from New Mexico and Colorado,* 11; Cockerell, 
T. D. A. New and little-known bees,* 4, — H a n s t e i n , R. v. C. Ver- 
hoeff on the life-history of the genus Halictus, 66. — ^Janet, C. The 
habits of ants. Revue Scientifique, Paris, Feb. 19, '98. — K i e ff e r , A b b 6. 
Cynipides in: Species des Hym^nopteres d'Europe et d*Algerie fond6 
par Edmond Andr^ et continue sous Ernest Andr6. 6 1 e fascicule. Paris, 
Vve Dubosclard, Editeur. Jan. i, '98, 2 pis. — Latter, O. H. Wasps 
[temperature and moisture], 61. — Marlatt, C. L. See Economic 
Entomology. — W asmann,E. A new Eciton guest from North Caro- 
lina, fig., 45* 

Doings of Societies. 

A meeting of the American Entomological Society was held 
February 24th, Dr. Henry C. McCook, president, in the chair. 
Dr. McCook acknowledged his election as president and thanked 
the Society for the honor conferred upon him which he highly 
appreciated. Mr. Wm. J. Fox read letters from the following 
persons acknowledging their election as Corresponding Members 
of the American Entomological Society: L. O. Howard, Wash- 
ington, D. C. : Herbert Osborn, Ames, Iowa; Samuel Henshaw, 
Cambridge, Mass. ; H. H. Behr, San Francisco, Cala. ; John B. 
Smith, New Brunswick, N. J. ; Osbert Salvin, Haslemere, Eng- 
land; W. J. Elwes, Colesbome, England; Ernest Andr6, Gray, 
France. The death of Herr Heinrich Ribbe was also announced 
by the Corresponding Secretary. Mr. Herman Hornig presented 
some slides representing the histology of insects. Dr. Calvert 
stated that Mr. Henshaw' s bibliography of Dr. Horn had been 
received. Dr. Horn had proposed 154 genera, of which 140 
had been retained; 1582 species had been described, of which 
number 1497 had been retained; of the 85, 35 were varieties and 
50 synonyms. The same gentleman read letters from Dr. David 
Sharp and Mr. G. C. Champion, giving a summary of the work 
of the late Dr. G. H. Horn. Dr. Calvert also read a letter from 



I02 ENTOMOLOGICAL NEWS. [April, 

Mr. Herman Hornig, stating that the caterpillars of the larger 
Bombycidae store up food for use in the chrysalis state, which 
they gradually use up as they near the imago or perfect condi- 
tion. Dr. Calvert killed some chrysalids in hot alcohol and split 
them into halves — these showed the black substance to which 
Mr. Hornig alluded. It lies in the middle portion of the alimen- 
tary canal and is dark green, almost black and very hard. It 
consists of food in conjunction with some excretory substances, 
and is covered by a membrane, probably the remains of the lar- 
val alimentary canal. The speaker is studying the subject still 
further. Mr. Hornig said the substance was much less in bulk 
in the advanced stage of the chrysalis, which led him to think 
that the chrysalis actually lived on the substance. Dr. Calvert 
said that Lownes refers to a similar substance in the pupa of the 
blow-fly, as the yellow body. Dr. McCook mentioned that in 
the cocoon-spinning Formicidae there is found an excretory sub- 
stance in the anal end of the cocoon. The same thing occurs in 
other Hymenoptera, such as bees and wasps. Mr. Fox exhibited 
three sheets of a work from the library of Dr. Horn, entitled 
Monographia Amaroideum by Zimmerman, which was probably 
the second copy known. Dr. D. M. Castle was elected a member 
of the Society. Henry Skinner, M.D., Rec, Secretary, 



At the meeting of the Feldman Collecting Social held on 
March 8, 1898, at the residence of Mr. H. W. Wenzel, No. 1523 
S. 13th Street, Philadelphia, Mr. Seiss reported the presentation 
of 108 specimens of local Orthoptera to the Academy of Natural 
Sciences of Philadelphia in the name of the Social. 

Prof. Smith read a paper on "Quarantine against Injurious 
Insects." The same speaker also read a note on the San Jos6 
Scale by T. D. A. Cockerell. (Both articles are in this number 
under Economic Entomology.) 

Dr. Skinner admitted the force of Prof. Smith's argument^ but 
believed that inspection would exclude many injurious insects 
if not all. It is not certain that pests brought from abroad will 
not become acclimated. 

Prof. Smith stated that among all the imported insects which 
have become pests in this country there is not one which could 
have been excluded by inspection. The history of the bill now 
before Congress was given by the same speaker. 



1898.] ENTOMOLOGICAL NEWS. IO3 

Mr. Johnson exhibited a series of Sargus elegans Loew col- 
lected at Opelousas, La., and in New Jersey. The differences 
between the sexes were noted, ^lar^w^ ^^^z7^> Walker is prob- 
ably the same and has priority. 

Mr. A. Hoyer showed a moth caught flying on March 7, 1897. 
Prof. Smith identified it as Xylina antennata^ a hibernating 
species. 

Mr. H. Wenzel recorded the capture of Cychrus sienostomus 
on Feb. 26, 1898. He also exhibited a Carabid allied to Zoophium^ 
and which he had not been able to identify. It is not in Dr. 
Horn's collection, and was captured along the river front with 
numerous Tekphanus velox. 

Dr. Skinner referred to the appointment, by the city, of a for- 
ester, one of whose duties was purported to be the extermination 
of the tussock-moth, and spoke of the careless way in which the 
work has been carried on. He had seen city employees spraying 
trees while the moth is in the ^gg state. 

Mr. Aaron reported the examination of meal made from insect 
eggs from Mexico and the clothes moth, Tiniella biselliella was 
found therein. An ear of corn infested by SUoiroga cerealella 
was shown, and a series of Bruchus ^-maculatus. He referred 
to Prof. Smith's communication, and asked if the Gallerucella 
luteola could not have been excluded by legislation. 

In reply Prof. Smith said it could not have been introduced in 
the larval or pupal stage, but perhaps in the imago. This also 
applies to asparagus beetles. He also stated that many Tineids 
infest insect boxes and attack the antennae of specimens eating 
off the hairs. 

The question of legislation against insect pests was further 
discussed by Messrs. H. Wenzel, Aaron, Skinner and Smith. 

The secretary exhibited a new species of Mutilla from New 
Jersey, Philadelphia and Florida. Also referred- to the % of 
M. grandicepsy which has abbreviated wings. The specimen 
exhibited at the January meeting, with the same characteristic, 
is perhaps the % oi M. waco. 

Dr. Skinner made some remarks on variation caused by geo- 
graphical distribution and altitude, and remarked on the absence 
of definite explanation of the subject. 

Mr. S. Frank Aaron was unanimously elected a member. 

William J. Fox, Secretary. 



I04 ENTOMOLOGICAL NEWS. [April, 

A regular meeting of the Newark Entomological Society was 
held at the Turn Hall Feb. 13, 1898, with twelve members present 
and President, A. Schleckser presiding. As agreed upon at the 
last meeting each member brought a series of the genus Hy- 
drcecia, which was poorly represented, as some of the members 
had but from three to six species. 

Prof Smith explained the cause of the rarity of this genus, 
saying that the moth does not fly very much and is not attracted 
to light, with a few exceptions, also that the larvae bore in the 
stems and roots of various plants, such as the sunflower, thistle, 
etc. He urged the members to collect the larvae where possible. 

Mr. Brehme read an article on the transplanting of the larva 
of Sphinx luscitiosa, a very local species. He said : The larva 
of Sphinx lusciliosa, a very local species, has of late years been 
found in but one place in the vicinity of Newark, N. J., and that 
spot is now being built up rapidly." I began to transplant the 
larva in other localities where its food-plant (willow) was plentiful 
early in June, 1887. In July I visited the places that I left the 
young larvae and I found that they had made just as good head- 
way as in the old place. I intend to do no collecting in the places 
where I transplanted the larvae for three years in order to give 
them a chance to get a good start. To my knowledge the species 
is moving further north, as in the years 1887, '88 and '89. I found 
the larvae plentiful about a mile south of the present locality, and 
since then more were found there, although the place has never 
been built up. Last season I found a few about a mile further 
north. 

Mr. Doll remarked that the larva of S, luscitiosa was common, 
locally, in the vicinity of Brooklyn. 

Mr. Geo. Kircher proposed Mr. Herman Erb as a candidate 
for membership. 

The genus Callimorpha will be represented at the next meeting 
for study and comparison. 

No further business on hand the Society adjourned to the annex. 

A. J. Weidt, Secretary, 



OBITUARY. 

Prof. John P. Patterson, President of the Cleveland (Ohio) Natural 
History Society, died of apoplexy on Feb. 2, 1898. Mr. Patterson was 
the leading spirit of the society, and under his management it grew and 
prospered. He was an active and enthusiastic collector and will be greatly 
missed. The deceased was born in Virginia in 1835. 



Entomological News for March was mailed February 28, 1898. 



Ent. News, Vol. IX. 




STRUCTURAL PECULIARITIES OF SANNINOIDEA EXITIOSA S.y. 



ENTOMOLOGICAL NEWS 



AND 



PROCEEDINGS OF THE ENTOMOLOGICAL SECTION 

ACADEMY OF NATURAL SCIENCES, PHILADELPHIA. 



Vol. IX. 



MAY, 1898. 



No. 5, 



CONTENTS: 



Hough— Two new American species of 
Cynomyia, etc 105 

Wadswortb— Fourth addition to the list 
of Dragonflies, etc iii 

Kunze— Rarse aves of the insect fauna 
of Arizona 112 

Smith— Notes on some structural pecu- 
liarities of Sanninoidea exitiosa. ... 114 



Casey— Entomological measurements... 116 

Editorial ug 

Economic Entomology 119 

Notes and News 12a 

Entomological Literature 121 

Doings of Societies 126 



TWO NEW AMERICAN SPECIES OF CYNOMYIA -A STUDY 

IN CH>ETOTAXY. 

By Garry deN. Hough, M.D. 

CjmomjUi aiBMictna no v. sp. — Length seven to thirteen millimeters. 
Thorax blackish blue, opaque, with six faint whitish poUinose cephalo- 
caudal stripes (two achrostical, two dorso-central and two humeral) best 
seen with very oblique illumination. Abdomen dark metallic-green to 
violet, often a brilliant metallic- violet, frontal vitta brown to black: geno- 
vertical plates (sides of the front) and genae (that part of the side of the 
face which is dorsad the transverse impression of the face and ventrad 
the insertion of the antennae) of silky lustre, their color varying, accord- 
ing to the incidence of the light, from a rich brown to a shining brownish 
yellow; buccae (that part of the side of the face and head which is ventrad 
the transverse impression of the face and ventrad the eye) black, except 
the anterior half, which varies, according to the incidence of the light, 
from black to a ferruginous red; antennae black to brown, with base of 
third joint and apex of second yellowish red to yellow; palpi reddish yel- 
low. Abdomen of male hairy, as in the European Cynomyia mortuorum 
L., the prominent hypopygium very densely beset with soft black hair, 
the two terminal chitinous hooks often quite prominent. Wing, antenna 
and chaetotaxy shown on plate; tegulae white to pale brown. Legs black, 
anterior and posterior thighs have their lateral surfaces quite thickly 
clothed with long, tine, black hairs. 

I have 244 specimens, male and female. This species has a 
very wide distribution, my specimens being from Canada, Massa- 



I06 ENTOMOLOGtCAL NEWS, [May, 

chusetts, Pennsylvania, Georgia. Louisiana, Indiana, Colorado, 
S. Dakota and Illinois. It is found mostly in early Spring and 
late Fall. The larva feeds on putrefying animal matter. 

I have four specimens of a Cynomyia from Greenland which I 
refer, with a doubt, to this species. They are imperfect, but 
seem, on the whole, a little more like C mortuorum thah ameri- 
cana; possibly they represent a new species. The following 
points clearly distinguish this species from C. morluoruta: The 
face of americana is brownish yellow, that of mortuorum golden- 
yellow, and in the latter the yellow color extends much further 
caudad on the bucca, viz., to or beyond the caudal border of the 

CYNOMYIA AKERlCANA.JTOJ.si _ 



eye. The antenns of americana are darker in color than those 
of mortuorum. The occipital hair (nearly the whole occiput of 
Cynomyioe is beset thickly with soft hair and not with regularly 
arranged bristles) is white in americana. yellow in mortuorum. 
The hypopygium and its termmal hooks are of moderate size in 
americana, very large in mortuorum, and on this account the 
abdomen of mortuorum seems more elongate. The normal 
chEetotaxy is identical, except that americana has two posterior 
achrostical ni aero ch seise, mortuorum but one. 

Cynomyia elongala nov. sp,— Length twelve to fourteen millimeters. 
Resembles americana so much that I shall limit my description mainly to 
pointing out the differences between the two. Front of male one-fourth 
the width of the he.id, in americana one-fifth. According to- the inci- 
dence of the light the color of the frontal vitta varies from dark brown to 



1898.] 



ENTOMOLOGICAL NEWS. 



IC7 



golden-yellow, that of the geno-vertical plates from light brown to golden- 
yellow, and that of the genae from reddish brown to golden-yellow; buccae 
black (anterior half golden-yellow in some lights), their beard black; the 
antenna has the second joint and the base of the third yellowish red, 
almost of an orange color, the rest of the third has a light brown ground 
color in the male (darker in the female) and the whole of the third is 
thickly white pollinose. In the male the third antennal joint is decidedly 
more slender than in americana. The thorax is rather longer in propor- 
tion to its width than in americana; its chaetotaxy is alike in the two spe- 
cies, except that elongata has a small anterior intra-alar macrochaeta and 
both my female specimens have three anterior and three posterior achros- 
tical macrochsetae (each of my males has two anterior achrosticals; one 
has one, the other two posterior achrosticals). The abdomen in all my 
specimens is green and has a slight, but distinct white pollinose coating, 
much more than I have ever observed in americana; its hairs are coarser 
and less numerous, and the lateral macrochaetae more appressed than in 
americana; each abdominal segment is longer in proportion to its width 
than in americana. The hypopygium is less densely hairy than in ameri- 
^anay but its terminal hooks are of about the same size as in that species 
(far smaller than in morfuorum). The long hair on the outer surface of 
the fore and hind thighs is shorter and less dense than in americana. 

Two males and two females. One of the males and one of the 
females are mounted on the same pin, whence I infer that they 




(arNowYiA 



ELONG^A 



JWUiSP. 



s 




^yere taken in copula; their locality label says So. Dakota, Sep. 
19th; I received them from Prof. J. M. Aldrich. One female 
(also from Prof. Aldrich) bears label, Brookings, So. Dakota. 
One male, from Prof. W. M. Wheeler, is labeled Torrey's Lake, 
Wyoming. 

While most dipterists are aware that individual variations in 
chaetotaxy occur, I do not think that any observations have been 



I08 ENTOMOLOGICAL NEWS. [May, 

published showing the frequency and character of these variations. 
In my 244 specimens of Cynomyia americana 44, or 18 per 
cent, show some variation. The variation is of three kinds: i, 
deficiency in size of a macrochaeta; 2, absence of a macrochaeta 
normally present; 3, presence of a macrochaeta normally absent. 
Two individuals show both the second and third kinds of varia- 
tions, no others had more than one abnormality. Leaving out 
these two we find that in the remaining 42 the abnormality was 
unilateral in 23, bilateral in 19. When bilateral the correspond- 
ing macrochaetae on the two sides of the body were always the 
ones concerned. 

There were eleven specimens in which there seemed to me to 
be a deficiency in the size of a macrochaeta. The third anterior 
dorso-central was always the one affected. In one male the ab- 
normality was on the right side; in four males and one female on 
the left side; in one male and four females on both sides. Five 
of the specimens were unusually small: male 7 mm., male 7.5 
mm., female 8 mm., male 9 mm. and male 9 mm. This macro- 
chaeta is always the smallest of the dorso-centrals. The amount 
of variation from the normal size differed much in the different 
individuals and in some cases seemed to be compensated for by 
the increased size of a macrochaeta on the cephalic surface of the 
thorax which is nearly or quite in the line of the dorso-centrals. 
Similar variation in the size of the third anterior dorso-central 
occurs in the genera Calliphora and Lucilia, 

Absence of a macrochaeta normally present occurred in twelve 
individuals (4.9 per cent). Of course, it is possible that in some 
cases the macrochaeta had been originally present and had been 
broken off, but I was unable, with a magnifying power of twenty 
diameters, to discover any indication that it had ever been pres- 
ent. Two specimens which showed the presence of macrochaeta^ 
normally absent as well as the absence of macrochaetae normally 
present will be separately considered. The other cases that fall 
under the present head were as follows : 

Third anterior dorso-central absent; one male and two females. 
First left anterior dorso-central absent; one female. 
Second right posterior achrostical absent; one male. 
Second left posterior achrostical absent ; two males. 
Second pair posterior achrostical absent ; three males. 



1898.] ENTOMOLOGICAL NEWS. IO9 

The occasional absence of the third anterior dorso-central or, 
to put it in other words, its reduction to such a size as to make 
it indistinguishable from the other hairs of that region, would be 
expected by one who had studied the eleven specimens of the 
first group wherein there was a deficiency in the size of this mac- 
rochseta. In regard to the absence of one or both of the second 
posterior achrosticals I would say that throughout the Mu6cidae 
(sens, strict.) I have found that the number of pairs of achrostical 
macrochsetae is usually a specific character, although sometimes 
variable, and that in Cynomyia mortuorum (as far as my limited 
amount of material enables me to determine) there is but one pair. 

Presence of macrochaetae normally absent was observed in 
twenty-three cases (9.4 per cent), two of which showed also ab- 
sence of macrochaetae normally present and will be separately 
considered. The abnormalities observed in this group were : 

A third right anterior achrostical present; one male and one 

female. 
A third left anterior achrostical present ; one female. 
A third right posterior achrostical present; two males and one 

female. 
A third left posterior achrostical present ; one female. 
A third pair of posterior achrostical present; one female. 
A small pair of anterior intra-alar, right one half the size of 

the left; three females. 
A third left posterior intra-alar, about a quarter as large as the 

second; two females. 
A third pair of posterior intra-alars; two males and two females. 
A second left marginal scutellar ; one male and one female. 
A second left discal scutellar; two females. 

The presence of a third anterior achrostical on one or both 
sides I have also observed in the typical Calliphorae, and it is 
present in both my female specimens of Cynomyia elongata. The 
third pair of posterior achrosticals occurs in my females of Cyn, 
elongata^ and is always present in the typical Calliphorae. The 
anterior intra-alar is present in all my specimens of Cyn, elongata 
and in all the Calliphorae and nearly related genera. The third 
posterior intra alar is normal in an undescribed species of Calli- 
phora^ of which I have numerous specimens, and is occasionally 



no ENTOMOLOGICAL NEWS. [May, 

present in Calliphora vomitoria and erythrocephala. Two mar- 
ginal scutellar macrochaetse are normally present in Calliphora 
and some related genera. Two discal scutellar are occasionally 
seen (as an abnormality) in Calliphora and many other Muscidae 
(sens, strict.) 

Two individuals, out of the 244, presented both absence of 
normal and presence of abnormal macrochaetse. These were : 

A female with a third pair of anterior achrosticals whose second 
left posterior achrostical was absent. She had, however, a very 
small achrostical on the left side in the position occupied by the 
third posterior achrostical when that is present. 

In one male the left apical scutellar was absent. The left mar- 
ginal did not have its usual direction, but that of the absent apical. 
There were three left and two right discal scutellar instead of the 
normal one left and one right. One of the left was much the 
largest and seemed, like the marginal, to be trying by its direc- 
tion to make up for the absent apical. This was the only specimen 
in which any macrochseta had other than its normal direction. 

Omitting this monstrosity from further consideration I would 
submit the following conclusions : 

1. In Cynomyia americana there is very little variation in the 
size or number of the macrochaetae of the thorax and scutellum. 

2. Variations in size affect only the third anterior dorso- central. 

3. It is very rare for any macrochaeta normally present to be 
absent, except the third anterior dorso-central and the. second 
posterior achrostical. 

4. When a macrochaeta, normally absent, is present we find 
that it is, in eleven individuals out of twenty-two, one that is 
normally present in all the typical species of Calliphora; that in 
six other individuals it is one which is normally present in one 
species of Calliphora and occurs occasionally in others; that in 
the other five individuals it is an abnormality, which is also found 
in various species of Calliphora. 

5. The presence in three females of an anterior intra-alar is of 
especial interest, because it is present in all my specimens of 
Cyn, elongata (although in them rather a small macrochaeta) and 
because it is always present, as far as my knowledge extends, in 
Calliphora and' the genera closely related thereto. 

6. The females of Cyn. elongata have, like all the typical Cal- 
liphorae, three posterior achrosticals. 



1898.] ENTOMOLOGICAL NEWS. Ill 

7. All the Cynomyiae have the lateral post-humeral macrochaeta 
laterad the presutural macrochaeta, as do also Calliphora and all 
its near relatives. The American, like the European species of 
Cynomyia^ agree with Calliphora, too, in having the lower tegulae 
hairy. 

8. From all the above I conclude, with Girschner, that from 
the standpoint of chaetotaxy, Cynamyia belongs to the Muscidae 
(sens, strict.) being more closely related to Calliphora, Lucilia, 
etc., than to Sarcophaga. 



Fourth Addition to the list of Dragonflies (Odonata) of 
Manchester, Kennebec County, Maine. 

By Miss Mattie Wadsworth. 

(Sec Ent. News, vol. i, pp. 36. 55 ; vol. ii, p. 11; vol. iii, p. 8 ; vol. v, p. 132.) 
No. 106. Lestes vigrilaz Hag. 

1895. July I, one % on marsh. 
No. lOe. Lestes Inequalis Walsh. 

1897, ]^^^ 29, one % on marsh. 
No. lOd. Lestes conerener Hag. 

1891, July 20. one % over Snake Pond. 
No. 25. Somatochlora walshii Scud. 

The 9 of this species has not previously been recorded from 
this locality. 

i897» June 24, one ? near woods. Four males also taken since 
my last report: — 1895, June 20, two males over marsh; 1897, 
July 6, 12, one' each day over marsh. 

No. 25a. Somatochlora linearis Hag. (probably) 

1897, July 27, one 9 over marsh. 
No. 306. Neurocordulia obsoleta Say. 

1897, July 5, one % in pasture near woods. 

All new species were identified by Mr. P. P. Calvert. 

Sixty- two species and an undetermined Enallagvia have now 
been taken in this locality, all within a radius of two miles, and 
all by myself. The season of 1897 brought an abundance of 
dragonflies and great obstacles to their capture, as all marshes 
were covered with water until August, and all other hunting 
grounds were very wet and muddy. Notwithstanding these diffi- 
culties fifty species were captured, the largest number recorded 
in one season. 



112 ENTOMOLOGICAL NEWS. [May, 

RAR>E AVES OF THE INSECT FAUNA OF ARIZONA. 

By Dr. R. E. Kunze, Phoenix, Ariz. 

(Continued from p. 59, vol. ix.) 

Nymphalidae furnished a few fine species. Of D. archippus^ 
var. fumosus^ several were secured. D, berenice, van strigosa^ 
is not uncommon. Agraulis vanilla I saw in isolated examples. 
Argynnis nausicaa is the only species seen, and took it in Yav- 
apai County, upper Hassayampa, in several localities on flowers 
of Monarda fitulosa, Melitcea minuta found in small numbers on 
flowers of a species of Aster and Mountain Mint, in Coconino 
County, some on highest peaks of 12,860 feet altitude, in alpine 
zone. Grapta zephyrus, took two examples in central and 
northern Arizona. Synchlce lacinina, saw only two or three. 
JLimenitis hulstiiw'wh its mesial white spotted line of secondaries, 
flew in company with D, Berenice in S. Arizona. Limenitis 
Ursula^ var. arizonensis^ devoid of fulvous spots on upper surface, 
flew sparingly in canyons of central Arizona, sometimes in com- 
pany with Heterochroa calif ornica. It always had a weather eye 
on its pursuer and usually flew high. Lim, eros, var. obsoleta^ 
should be stricken from the check list; Mr. Wm. H. Edwards 
does not recognize it any more. A want of sufficient and good 
material to describe from caused him to give two names to the 
same lepidopter, and he informed the writer that the name hulstii 
must stand for it. Took very few Apatura leilia on flowers of 
Prosopis julijlora or mesquite, in Pima County, and* saw less 
here in Mariposa County, sipping on willows. Lemonias palmerii 
feeds on flowers of mesquite in S. Arizona. Lent, nais^ in Yav- 
apai County, is found on flowers of Ceanoihus fendleri near 
watered mountain localities. Lyccenas occur in valleys, and 
more so on mountains, always more abundant near a streamlet. 
Thecla in similar localities; T, halesus sparingly on desert buttes. 
Pieris beckeri, took a few poor examples of it on Mt. Humphrey, 
some near snow fields, others on the peak, from 11.5CO to 12,860 
feet altitude. Anthocharis pima on high altitudes of Pima and 
Maricopa Counties. Have also met isolated specimens flying 
across desert. It is hard work climbing peaks for such beauties. 
Of Terias gundlachia, came across two examples late in No- 
vember or early in December this season, when I went without 



1898.] ENTOMOLOGICAL NEWS. II3 

net to the desert for Coleoptera. Believe it was the first time the 
net was not at hand. 

Of other Papilionidae noticed a few Catopsilia spec, of a lemon- 
yellow, like eubule, but without markings on reverse side. It 
had one ocellus, or rather discal spot on secondaries; devoid of 
any other color or marking, I failed at first to secure any, taking 
it for eubuie^ and after securing a couple failed to see more. It 
could not have been agarithe; saw only two Meganostoma casania, 
Papilio daunus occurred on mountains of central and northern 
Arizona, flying high in the canyons. Papilio asteroideSy I took 
two or three in S. Arizona on high peaks, although I saw one 
flying in the vicinity of Phoeffix this Autumn within town limit. 
Noticed a single specimen of Papilio bairdii feeding on flowers 
of Wild Bergamot neaf Flagstaff", but could not capture the 
prize. In Yavapai County took two examples of the large, 
whitish Pyrgus ericetorum on flowers of Alfalfa, A few other 
Hesperidae fell to my lot, which are at best local and rare: Ni- 
soniades afranius, Pholisora ceoSy Nis, pacuvius, one Erycides 
spec, and a number still undetermined. For naming I am under 
obligations to Messrs. Wm. H. Edwards, D. Bruce and Dr. H. 
Skinner. 

Little time left to mention many of the rarer Coleoptera, the 
bulk of which it will take years to fully determine, as my first 
year*s collecting has taught me. In Yavapai County I secured 
that rare green-bronzed Plusiotis iecontei mostly in pine woods. 
Likewise the formidable looking Dynastes grantii, a hercules of 
Arizona, seeking mountain canyons for its habitat. In the pines 
of same localities of central Arizona occur the large Longicorn 
beetle, Ergates spicula. While here in S. Arizona we find Den- 
irobrachus geminatuSy which seems to affect old stumps of Cot- 
tonwood, and also taken at light. On sap of Willows one finds 
here the blue and white Elaterid, ChalcoUpidius webbii, and in 
the soft rotted tissue of the giant of our desert, Cereus giganteus 
that rare, black Hololepta cactii. Tenebrionidae are found in 
many species here, so are Meloidae, Melolonthidae, Carabidae, 
Staph ylinidae, Cerambycidae, Curculionidae, and many other 
families. All of my Coleoptera are in the hands of Mr. Charles 
Palm, of New York. After one is affected with the collecting 
fever of Arizona, it is well nigh impossible to give it up. As Pat 
would say: It is a •* taking disease." 



114 ENTOMOLOGICAL NEWS. [May, 

NOTES ON SOME STRUCTURAL PECULIARITIES OF 
SANNINOIDEA EXITIOSA Say. 

By John B. Smith, Sc.D. 

In the course of my economic studies on the peach borer I 
took occasion to examine a considerable series of specimens for 
structural peculiarities among the adults. While nothing of any 
very striking importance was discovered there were a number 
of interesting facts observed that I considered worthy of being 
figured, and these appear on Plate VI. First of all the differ- 
ences in the size and character of the scaly vestiture of the wings 
and body attract attention. At a, is a series of scales drawn by 
means of the camera lucida to exactly the same scale, and this 
will give an idea of the enormous range in size as well as In 
shape. The differences in sculpture are also well marked and 
while in some cases the longitudinal striations only are noticeable, 
in others a truly reticulated surface seems to be present. The 
arrow-shaped tufts at the end of the male abdomen are prominent 
and well known. It is not so well known that at the base of the 
last segment in the female there is a brush of hair ordinarily 
lying close to the body like a pencil, but capable of being ex- 
panded at the will of the insect. This is shown at k, on the 
plate. Giving this the usual interpretation we may take it to be 
a scent organ, or **duftapparat.*' The virgin female soon after 
emergence from the pupa fixes herself at rest, elevates the ab- 
domen, projects the ovipositor with the genital organs directed 
downward, the tufts expanded and awaits the male. Actual 
copulation was not observed, the males for some reason or other 
ignoring the females entirely, in captivity. The antennae show 
considerable differences between the sexes. In the female the 
joints are not furnished with tufts of hair on the inner side as is 
the case in the male, but the joints seem to be thicker and toward 
the tip have somewhat the appearance of a series of bowls set 
one into the other. This is shown at b and c on the plate; the 
corresponding structure of the male being shown at d. At the 
base of the antenna the differences between the male and female 
are yet more marked, and yet here the greatest modification is 
found in the female. At e and f these points are brought out 
and special attention is called to the occurrence of a sensory fovea 
marked s in the female. This is on the basal segment of the 



1898.] ENTOMOLOGICAL NEWS. II5 

antenna and is in the form of a considerable opening covered by 
a tight, drum-like disc. A series of sensory punctures is found 
at the base of the second segment and just above the sensory 
fovea there is an excavation which leaves that structure entirely 
free. Joint 3 is peculiarly modified so that a considerable open- 
ing appears between joints 2 and 3, the upper edge of joint 2 
being ridged. This ridging is overshadowed by an expansion 
of the third joint, and on the third, fourth and fifth segments 
there are numerous sensory pittings. In the male the large 
sensory fovea is present, but hardly as well developed as in the 
female. There are no sensory punctures on the second segment, 
and while the edge is ridged above, yet the third segment is not 
modified in the same way as in the female. These points can 
be brought out by comparing the figures already cited. It is 
probable that this fovea is auditory in function. In the mouth- 
parts there is little that is of especial interest. The labial palpi 
are well developed in both sexes, though the labium is confined, 
as usual, to a small triangular plate. The mandibles are well 
developed, and are moveable, as shown at h for the female. The 
maxillae differ quite strongly in the sexes at the base, and par- 
ticularly is this trueiof the maxillary palpi. The female at i and 
the male at j on plate illustrate these differences. In the female 
the maxillary palpus is 2-jointed, the basal joint very large and 
thick, the terminal joint of moderate size and much more slender. 
In the male the palpus is 3-jointed, the basal joint comparatively 
small, the second with a prominent lamellate expansion which is 
clothed with rather long hair; the terminal joint is plate-like and 
a little scoop-like in shape. Comparing the two, the maxilla in 
the female is larger than that in the male and better developed, 
which may be due perhaps to the fact that the female, as a whole, 
is the larger insect of the two. No trace of lacinia is present in 
the specimens, so far as I have examined them, but the well- 
developed maxillary palpi and the division of the basal parts of 
the maxilla assign a comparatively low place in the scale of de- 
velopment to this insect. Further descriptive details seem un- 
necessary and reference is made to the plate for a better under- 
standing of the structures just referred to. 

Crabro salacis (Ckll.). 
Syn. Ammoplanus salicis Q\i\\.^ Ann. Mag. Nat. Hist., April, 1897,/ 

p. 402, $. — T. D. A. COCKERELL. 



Il6 ENTOMOLOGICAL NEWS. [May, 

ENTOMOLOGICAL MEASUREMENTS. 

By Thomas L. Casey. 

The dimensional measures published by the writer up to the 
present time have been obtained by a simple scale and the unaided 
eye, fractional parts of the unit being estimated. The most con- 
venient unit, even for division into tenths, has proved to be the 
single millimeter. Very lately, however. Prof. W. A. Rogers, of 
Waterville, Me., has ruled for me several scales in half millime- 
ters on thin glass for use as a micrometer, being laid for this pur- 
pose upon the diaphragm within the eye-piece. The value of a 
division of this micrometer with the i>^-inch objective I find to 
be .12 mm. It occurred to me. to measure some types with this 
micrometer in order to practically compare the results with those 
given, for example, in my recent monograph of the Scydmaenid*ae 
(Col. Not. vii). The only three types which happened to be at 
hand at the time were those mentioned below; they were sepa- 
rated from my cabinet for a special purpose and without reference 
at all to a revision of their estimated dimensions, and may there- 
fore be regarded as a fair average of all the measures given in 
the monograph. The differences between the lengths and widths 
as observed by the unaided eye and scale, and the true dimen- 
sions as taken from the micrometer are as follows : 

Length 
Obs. True. 
Noctophus schmitti ... 2.1 2.16 
Eutheia americana ... i.o 1.08 
Ver aphis capitata ... 1.25 1.34 

It seemed difficult at first to account for the virtually constant 
personal equation, which is evident at once from these results, 
until it occurred to me that in measuring with the scale and 
unaided eye, the scale could never be brought quite into the plane 
of the insect to be measured, but was always nearer to the eye 
by a very small but sensible distance, and therefore seen under 
a larger visual angle than the object; the dimension of the latter, 
as thus obtained, was therefore, of course, relatively too small 
by an amount corresponding to the difference in distance from 
the eye of the scale and insect. This amount is practically .06 
mm., and it would be safe to increase all measurements hitherto 
given by the writer by this amount, but in future I shall use the 
micrometer for insects under 2 mm., or thereabout, in size. The 



DiFF. 


Width. 


DiFF. 


niin. 


Obs. 


True. 


niin. 


—.06 


0.78 


0.84 


— .06 


—.08 


0.38 


0.44 


— .06 


—.09 


0.5 


0.56 


— .06 



1898.] ENTOMOLOGICAL NEWS. II7 

moral of it all is that sensible error may frequently arise from 
apparently trivial and wholly unsuspected causes, for in practice 
I have always been careful to place the scale as close as practi- 
cable to the object. 

With the micrometer scale described above it is the easiest 
possible thing to measure accurately the minutest detail of an 
insect, the value of a division with the ^-inch objective being 
.059 mm., a tenth of which can be readily estimated. I find, for 
example, the diameter of the minute reticulations of the elytra 
in a small Discoderus before me to be .012 mm., or .2 of a divi- 
sion. In a truly scientific description a correct procedure would 
demand a statement of the actual dimensions of all the parts, 
exactly as in describing the skull of a mammal. The descriptions 
which we give to-day will probably be considered absurd a few 
centuries hence. 



I READ with interest the article — vol. viii, p. 49 — regarding the massing 
of Coccinnelids on the summit of Moscow Mt. Idaho. Here in Los An- 
geles County, California, I have often seen two species of Lady-bird 
beetles : Megilla vittigera and Hippodatnia anibigua so clustered that 
they could be gathered by the pint. I ^believe they cluster to protect each 
other from the cold. It is their wont to seek crevice or cranny and in 
betaking themselves to forked branches or space between sheathing blade 
and slim of palm, they have touched and learned bf and enjoyed the 
warmth, and so the habit of piling up as we frequently see them here. 
The cold nights here, so in contrast to the warm sunny days, I think may 
have gendered this habit. 

Since coming to California. I have witnessed one exceeding migration 
of our common thistle butterfly, Vanessa {Pyrameis) cardui. This cos- 
mopolite was flying all day in great flocks and all in one direction. I saw 
one such migrating flight, if such it may be called, of the common milk 
week butterfly, also a cosmopolitan species, Danais archippus, in Michi- 
gan. The numbers in that case were very great, but not comparable to 
the one of the other species seen here in Southern California. 

There is another insect that fairly swarms here in this section each 
season. It may well be called the prune beetle, as it often entirely defo- 
liates whole prune orchards. It is Serica mixta. Its handsome con- 
gener, Serica fimbriata^ is larger, comes earlier, but in far less numbers. 
It is well that the latter comes late in August and September, else it would 
do serious harm. In habits and appearance it reminds one of the May 
beetle, Lachnosternafusca, of the East in miniature. — A. J. Cook. 



ii8 [May, 



ENTOM OLOGICAL 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 Oontrlbutors.— 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 circumfei. 
ence, as to make it necessary to put " copy" into the hands of the printer, for each number, 
three weeks before date of issue. This should be remembered in sending special or im- 
portant matter for 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., May, 1898. 

I am in constant receipt of letters telling how much interest 
in caterpillars, pupae and imagos is felt by the boys and girls of 
some of the poorest schools in large cities and asking for infor- 
mation about rearing and collecting for these poor children. I 
have done what I could to supply cocoons, pupae and chrysalids, 
but of course have not been able to send half enough to * * go 
around." Would it be amiss to ask readers of Entomological 
News to save common kinds — in the pupal state — and send them 
to me for distribution in the Autumn ? It seems as if any col- 
lector would be willing to spare a few specimens for the benefit 
and pleasure of these children who have very few opportunities 
of collecting for themselves. I will gladly distribute any sent me in 
such wise that they will be of much use and give great pleasure. — 
Caroline G. Soule, 187 Walnut St., Brookline, Mass. 

An excellent work could be done in this way, as we are in- 
formed that in some large cities school children never see a patch 
of green or any natural history objects. In New York there are 
many children who have never been to Central Park. In one 
school a dead mouse created great interest among the children. 
Large museums frequently have duplicate mammals, birds and 
plants that are useless, and we know no better way to utilize them 
than to send them to the public schools. An interest in ento- 
mology could be readily created among children in the way sug- 
gested by our correspondent, and we hope she will receive many 
specimens for distribution. — Eds. 



1898.] ENTOMOLOGICAL NEWS. II9 

DEPARTMENT OF EG0N0MI6 ENTOMOLOGY. 



Edited by Prof. JOHN B. SMITH, ScD., New Brunswick, N. J. 

Papers for this department are solicited. The^- should be sent to the editor, Prof. John 
B. Smith, Sc.D., New Brunswick, N.J. 



Qnaraatine Against In|iirioas Insects.—Prof. Smith's article in the April 
News contains much that is true and appropriate, but if I rightly under- 
stand the spirit of it, I think it is partly mistaken. Without attempting a 
general discussion of the intricate problems involved I wish to present a 
few facts and arguments : 

1. As to the plant diseases, due to fungi or bacteria, it is quite true that 
they could not usually be detected at the port of entry. The proper pro- 
cedure would be to ascertain which districts in foreign countries from 
which we receive plants are infested by troublesome fungi, etc., and then 
to prohibit the importation of all plants front thence which could bear the 
diseases in question. For example, the grape vines in Jamaica are much 
affected by a rust-fungus {Uredo vitis), which is not now found in the 
United States vineyards. In my opinion Jamaica vines should not be 
brought to the United States at all. 

2. Similarly with various insects. The oranges from the districts in 
Mexico where the Trypetid orange worm prevails should be altogether 
prohibited, for example. 

3. It is, therefore, clear that, in order to effectually exclude many kinds 
of pests, it is of the utmost importance to have a full knowledge of their 
habits and distribution in foreign countries. This knowledge is not only 
needed for this purpose, but also to help us to deal with them should they 
become established here. Too little attention has hitherto been given to 
this phase of the subject, and we are still extremely ignorant of the insect 
pests of many regions from whence plants are continually imported. 
There ought to be a trained entomologist working on these lines on behalf 
of the United States in Mexico and the West Indies, and another in China 
and Japan. 

4. Prof. Smith evidently does not appreciate the Californian quarantine 
work at its proper value. There is excellent evidence to show that with- 
out it the State of California would become much more badly infested by 
Coccidae than at present. That several of the species, at least, would 
become established is shown by the fact that they have here and there 
passed the boundary lines and formed good colonies, which have been 
duly exterminated by the county authorities. To take only one species, 
Diaspis amygdali is continually being found on plants from Japan, and 
would unquestionably have overrun Southern California had not suitable 
measures been taken. Eastern experience has shown that this would 
almost certainly have been a very serious matter for the State. 

5. It is, of course, quite true that many pests infest florists' plants, and 
to exclude these from the action of the law would be a serious blunder. 



I20 ENTOMOLOGICAL NEWS. [May, 

rendering the quarantine operations nearly useless. The worst scale- 
insects are nearly all feeders on a number of different plants, including 
ornamental ones. Sometimes, also, scales supposed to be confined to 
ornamental plants will unexpectedly attack fruits and other crops. Thus, 
Apidiotus dictyospermi Morgan, is common on green-house palms, but 
Dr. Howard has just sent me quantities of it on fruit and leaves of orange 
and twigs of peach, found by Mr. Koebele at Oaxaca, Mexico, Aug. 20, 
1897, and Cuautla, Mexico, 1897, — at the latter place only on orange. 

6. I entirely disapprove of the clause in the bill referred to — leaving the 
inspection to foreigners. It ought, unquestionably, to be done at the 
United States ports; or when abroad, by agents of the United States 
government. 

The various interstate regulations are still, I think, in a more or less 
experimental stage, but I am very strongly of the opinion that the utility 
of inspection and quarantine at the ports of entry has been amply demon- 
strated by the Californian officers. — T. D. A. Cockerell. 

COMMENT BY THE EDITOR. 

Mr. Cockerell and myself are in practical accord. The only difference 
is, that I talked to what was proposed; he is talking to what should be. 
His first three points hinge on the appointment of an expert in foreign 
countries and that is good policy. It is the policy pursued by Germany, 
which led to the exclusion of American fruits, etc., to prevent the impor- 
tation of the San Jos^ scale. Under 4 Mr. Cockerell is unquestionably 
right when he confines himself to scale insects. Scale insects are pecu- 
liarly easy of discovery, because of the fact that they are confined to the 
plants, and, as a rule, not capable of being transported, except on the 
plants that they infest. Aside from scale insects there is no telling how 
many foreign insects were imported into California and have died out 
naturally. On 5 and 6 there is no difference of opinion. 

It may be well to note that Mr. Craw has taken a very strong stand in 
the same direction in a recent issue of the " Los Angeles Times." 



Notes and News. 

ENTOMOLOGICAL GLEANINGS FROM ALL QUARTERS 

OF THE GLOBE. 



A Picture for album of the American Entomological Society has been 
received from C. Few Seiss. 

I have found feeding on beach, pea and smart-weed, what I take to be 
the larva of Mamestra picta. This larva has been called the zebra cater, 
pillar by Dr. Melsheimer on account of its stripes. The larva of Papilio 
philenor I have found on cultivated Aristolochia, and have reared eigh- 
teen very pretty chrysalids, some of them being bright sulphur-yellow. 
The peculiar case-bearing larvae of Perophora melsheimerii were taken 
on oak last Fall and the larvae are now hibernating in their cases. — I. 
Foster Moore, Jr., Bridgeport, Conn. 



1898.] ENTOMOLOGICAL NEWS. 121 

Andrena MARii«:. — Mr. C. Robertson, Trans. Acad. Sci. St. Louis^ 
1898, p. 47, says that A. sphecodina is probably a synonym of marice. 
This is certainly riot the case, as apart from the constant difference in the 
color of the (j^ abdomen, the ? is also different. Mr. Dunning sent me 
a 9 marics from Ames, Iowa, on Gooseberry {^E. D. Ball), and I noted 
that it came near to sphecodina, but was a little larger and stouter, with a 
more closely punctured abdomen, and the hind tibiae and basal joint of 
tarsi wholly dark. The abdomen is punctured much as in genevensis. — 

T. D. A. COCKERELL. 

As an enthusiastic entomologist it gives me great pleasure to announce 
the opening of the season here in Massachusetts. To-day (March 13) I 
captured a very fair specimen of Vanessa antiopa which was disporting 
itself by the roadside near my home in Dorchester. I was, of course, 
delighted to see this harbinger of Spring which gives such promise of the 
better days to come when I can be out with my net pursuing my hobby 
(Lepidoptera) to my heart's content. This is the earliest capture in this 
vicinity that has come to my knowledge and thinking the fact worth re- 
cording I have written to you. Until I hear to the contrary I shall claim 
the distinction of having.taken the first butterfly in the vicinity of Boston 
this year. — Harry H. Newcomb. 

In Reply: — A note in a recent bulletin by Prof. Gillette necessitates 
notice from me for the reason that it questions my honor as a conscientious 
scientific worker. Those who know me personally will understand that 
there must be too good sides to the question. I shall open up no public 
discussion of the matter, as this almost invariably results in a bandying 
of personalities which is burdensome alike to reader and journal, and in 
no way adds to the sum of scientific knowledge. Any one enough inter- 
ested in the matter to address me will be given a view from a distinctly 
different standpoint than that taken by Prof. Gillette, and one which, in 
simple justice, is entitled to equal consideration. — C. F. Baker, Auburn, 
Ala. 



Entomological Literature. 

Under the above head it is intended to note such 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, unless monographs, or con- 
taining descriptions of new genera, will not be noted. Contributions to tne anatomy, 
physiology and embryology ot insects, however, whether relating to American 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 arti- 
cles 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 
paienthesis. 

1. Proceedings of the Academy of Natural Sciences of Philadelphia, 
1898. — 2« Transactions of the American Entomological Society, Phila- 
delphia. — 4, The Canadian Entomologist, London, Ont., April, '98. — 
5. Psyche, Cambridge, Mass., April, '98. — 6. Journal of the New York 

5* 



122 ENTOMOLOGICAL NEWS. [May 

Entomological Society, March, *98. — 7. U. S. Department of Agriculture, 
Division of Entomology, Washington; publications of, '98. — 8. The En- 
tomologist's Monthly Magazine, London, April, *98. — 9. The Entomolo- 
gist, London, April, *98. — 11. The Annals and Magazine of Natural 
History, London, April, '98. — 12. Comptes Rendus. L*Academie des 
Sciences, Paris. '98. — 17. Sitzungsberichte der koniglich preussischen 
Akademie der Wissenschaften zu Berlin, '97. — 35. Annales, Soci^t6 En- 
tomologique de Belgique, xlii, 2, Brussels, Mar. 19, '98. — 38. Wiener 
Entomologische Zeitung, xvii, '98. — 41. Entomologische Nachrichten, 
xxiv, Berlin, Feb., *98. — 44. Verhandlungen, k. k. zool.-bot. Gesellschaft 
in Wien. — 65. Feuille des jeunes Naturalistes, Paris, April-May, '98. — 
68. Science, New York, '98. — 69« Bolletino d. Societa Italiana Ento- 
mologica, xxix, 1-3, Florence, Sept.- 10, '97. — 70. Journal, Institute of 
Jamaica, ii, 5, Kingston, Dec, '97. — 71. Proces-Verbaux des seances, 
Soci^t^ des Sciences Physiques et Naturelles de Bordeaux, '97. 

The General Subject,— A bafi-Aigner, L. On the causes of 
butterfly pigmies, figs. [In Magyar], Rovartani Lapok, vi, 3. Budapest, 
March, *98. — Balbiani, E. G. On the conditions of sexuality in the 
plant lice [Aphidse], observations and reflections, L*Intermediare des 
Biologistes. Paris, Feb. 20, '98. — Bethune, C.J. S. Professor J. 
Hoyes Panton, obituary, 4.— -Cocker ell, T. D. A. The insect fauna 
of Cinchona, 70. — Fletcher, J., Harrington, W. H., and Simp- 
son, W. Report of the Entomological Branch 1897, Ottawa Naturalist, 
April, *98. — Hutchinson, H. Collecting at night, 4. — Massee,G. 
Revision of the genus Cordyceps (transl. by R. Ferry), 3 pis. Revue My- 
cologique, Toulouse, April, '98. — P e r e z , J. Some effects of mechanical 
actions on the development of non-fertilized eggs of the silk-worm, 71. 
— R o u 1 e , L. L' Anatomie Compar^e des Animaux bas^e sur I'Embry- 
ologie. . . . Avec 1202 figures dont la plupart originales. Paris, Masson 
et Cie, 3898. 1971 pp., 8vo., 2 vols. Arthropods in vol. ii. — Ruhmer, 
G. W. The transitions from Araschnia levana L. to van prorsa L. and 
the amount of cold employed in the experiment, 41, 3. — S to 1 1 , O. Zur 
Zoogeographie der landbewohnenden Wirbellosen. ISfit 2 Tafeln. Berlin. 
R. Friedlander & Sohn 1897; 8vo., pp. 114. — Willey, A. On Peripa- 
tus novcB-britannics n. sp., 11. 

Economic Entomology. — Abstracts of recent articles in Experi- 
ment Station Record ix, 7, 7. — Boyer, J. Struggle agamst injurious 
insects in California, figs., La Nature, Pari§, March 12, '98.— [C has trey, 
H.] The tsetse- fly, Revue Scientifique, Paris, Mar. 26, '98. — Chitten- 
den, F. H. The fruit-tree bark beetle {Scolytus rugulosus Ratz.) figs., 
7, Circular 29, Second Series; The tobacco flea-beetle {Epitrix parvula 
Fab.), figs.; On insects that affect asparagus, figs.; Notes on cucumber 
beetles, figs.; Notes on the strawberry weevil, its injuries and bibliogra- 
phy, 7, Bull. 10, n. s. — Craig, C. F. The transmission of disease by 
the mosquito, figs.. New York Medical Journal, Mar. 19, April 2, *98. — 
DelGuercio, G. On the larvae mining in young pears and on the 



1898.] ENTOMOLOGICAL NEWS. 1 23 

times and means best adapted to limit their diffusion, i pi., 69. — G o u 1 d, 
H. P. Notes on spraying and on the San Jos6 scale, Bulletin 144, Cor- 
nell University Agric. Exper. Station, Ithaca, N. Y., Jan., '98. — Howard, 
L. O. The fig-eater, or green June-beetle {Alhrkina nitida L.), figs.; 
Further notes on the house-fly, 7, Bull. 10, n. s.; The San Jos^ scale in 
1896-1897 (map), 7, Bull. 12, n. s.; Recent laws against injurious insects 
in North America, together with the laws relative to foul brood, 7, Bull. 
No. 13, new series. — Hunter, W. D. Destructive locusts in 1897, 7, 
Bull. 10, n. s. — Kr tiger, F. Further on the San Jos6 [scale] question, 
Gartenflora, Berlin, March 15, '98. — Marlatt, C. L. The peach twig- 
borer {Anarsia lineatella Zell.), figs., 7, Bull. 10, n. s. — Matsumura, 
M. Two Japanese insects, injurious to ft^uit, figs., 7, Bull. 10, n. s.— 
Quaintance, A. L. Some strawberry insects, figs. ; Three injurious 
insects: bean leaf-roller [^Eudamus proteus L.], corn delphax [Deiphax 
maidis Ashin,'}^ canna leaf-roller \^Hydrocampa cannalis Femald ms.],* 
3 pis. Bulls. 42, 45, Florida Agric. Exper. Station, Deland, Fla., March; 
'98. — Smith, J. B. The peach-borer (5iz««i«<7/i/^a ^^iV/<75a Say). Ex- 
periments with hydraulic cement, figs.. Bulletin 128, New Jersey Agric. 
Exper. Station, New Brunswick, N. J., Feb. 2, '98.— S ted man, J. M. 
See Lepidoptera. — Wachtl, F. A. Cephaleia lariciphtla n. sp., a new 
enemy of the larch {Larix europcea DC), 38, 3, Mar. 31. — Weed, C. 
M. Dept. of Entomology, figs., in Ninth Annual Report, Bulletin 48, 
New Hampshire Agric. Exper. Station, Durham, N. H. Nov., '97. — 
Zehnter, L. The sugar-cane borers of Java, figs., 7« Bull. 10, n. s. — 
See many short notes by various writers, 7, Bull. 10, n. s. 

Aracbnida. — D u e r d e n , J. E. Identification of the ticks of Jamaica, 
70. — H o 1 1 a n d , W. J. Concerning ticks, 4.— W a s m a n n , E. Cap- 
ture of ants by Theridiutn triste Hahn, Zoologischer Anzeiger, Leipsic, 
Mar. 21, '98. 

Myriopoda. — Cook, O. F. A revision of tropical African Diplo- 
poda of the family Strongylosomatidae, Proceedings, U. S. National Mu- 
seum, No. 1 137, Washington, *98. — Heymons, R. Communications 
on the segmentation and structure of the Myriopoda, figs., 17, Oct. 21. 
— Ken yon, F. C. A peculiar glandular structure found in a Mexican 
Diplopod, 68, Feb., 18. 

Orthoptera. — Blatchley, W. S. Two new Melanopli from Les 
Cheneaux Islands, Michigan,* 5. — H eymons.R. On the organization 
and development of -5aa7/«j rossii Fabr., figs., 17, Mar. 18. — v. K i m a - 
k o w i c 2 , M. Abdominal fangs of the Forficulidae, Verhandlungen und 
Mittheilungen des Siebenbiirgischen Vereins fur Naturwissenschaften zu 
Hcrmannstadt, xlvi, 1897. — Scudder, S. H. The Alpine Orthoptera 
of North America, 4 pis., Appalachia viii, 4, Boston, March, '98. — Wal- 
ker, E. M. A new grasshopper from Ontario,* 4. 

Keuroptera* — Calvert, P. P. Odonata (Dragonflies) from the 
Indian Ocean, and from Kashmir, collected by Dr. W. L. Abbott, figs., 
!• — C ockerell, T. D. A. Chrysopa punctinervis McL. , 9.— C u r r i e, 



124 ENTOMOLOGICAL NEWS. [May, 

R. P. New species of N. American Myrmeleonidae, i.* 4. — Kempny, 
P. Contribution to knowledge of the Plecoptera, figs., 44, 1898, i. Mar. 5. 

Hemiptera. — Baker, C. F. — Some new Bythoscopinae with notes 
on others,* 5. — Balbiani, E. G. See the General Subject. — Car- i 

penter.G. H. A new marine Hydrometrid, i pi.,* 8, — Cocker ell, 1 

T. D. A. Three new Coccidae of the subfamily Diaspinae,* 5- — Cock- 
eirell, T. D. A., and Tinsley, J. D. On a new wax-producing in- 
sect found in Jamaiea,* 70.— Coo ley, R. A. New species of Ohio- 
naspis and notes on previously known species,* 4. — Gillette, C. P. 
A few new species of Deltocephalus and Athysanus from Colorado, figs.; ] 

List of original types of species in the superfamily Jassoidea now in the ' 

collections of the Colorado Agricultural College and Agricultural Ex- 
periment Station, Bull. No. 43 of same, Fort Collins, Col., Mar., '98-.*- 
H op kins, A. D. The periodical cicada in West Virginia, figs., map, 
4 pis. ; Bulletin 50 West Virginia Agric. Exper. Station, Morgantown, W. 
Va., Jan., '98.— Joh nson, W. G. Notes on the external characters 
of the San Jos^ scale, cherry scale, and Putnam's scale, 4. — Mon tan- 
do n , A. L. Hemiptera cryptocerata,* 44, xlvii, 7, Oct. 7, *97.~Ne w- 
stead,R. Observationson Coccidae (No. 17), figs., 8. — Quaintance, 
R. See Economic Entomology (strawberry insects). — Smith, J. B. 
The mouth-parts of the Rhyngota, 68, Mar. 18. — Webster, F, M. 
Some recent additions to the insect fauna of Ohio, figs., 4. 

Coleop^tera. — du Buysson, H. Boxes for raising larvae of Cole- 
optera, figs., 66. — Champion, G. C. A list of the Lagriidae, Oth- 
niidae, Nilionidae, Petriidae, Melandr>'idae, Pedilidae (part), Pyrochroidae 
and Mordellidae supplementary to the * Munich * Catalogue, 35. — C h i t- 
t e n d e n , F. H. See Economic Entomology.— E scherich, K. Con- 
tribution to the morphology and classification of the Coleopterous family 
Rhysodidae, i pi., 38, 2, Feb. 28. — Howard, L. O. See Economic 
Entomology.— de Lapouge, G. Rearing larvae of Carabids, 06-— 
Pic, M. General list of the Coleoptera Heteromera of the genus Ma- 
cr atria Newm. or Macrarthrius Lafert^. 35; Synoptic study of the Lon- 
gicorn Coleoptera of the genus Cortodera Muls., 05.— R e n g e 1 , C. On 
the periodic casting oflf and regeneration of the entire mid-gut epithelium 
of Hydrophilus, Hydrous and Hydrobius, i pi., Zeitschrift fur wissens- 
chaftliche Zoologie, Ixiii, 3, Leipsic, Mar. 29, '98.— Rosenberg, W. F. 
Some new species of Coleoptera in the Tring Museum,* Novitates Zoo- 
logicae, v, i, Tring, Mar. 15, '98. 

Diptera,— B a k e r , C. F. Notes on Siphonaptera. with descriptions 
of four new species,* 6.— C holodkovsky.N. On some rare para- 
sites [Gasterophilus] in man [in Russian], Travaux, Soci^t^ Iniperiale 
des Naturalistes de St. Petersbourg, Comptes Rendus, xxviii, i Sept. '98. 
— C o q u i 1 1 e 1 1 , D. W. Notes and descriptions of Oscinidae,* 6 ; On 
the habits of the Oscinidae and Agromyzidae reared at the U. S. Dept. of 
Agriculture; The buffalo gnats, or black flies, of the United States,* figs., 
7, Bull. 10, n. s.^F rauscher. The Tief Collection of Diptera, Carin- 



1898.] . ENTOMOLOGICAL NEWS. 1 25 

thia, Ixxxviii, i, 1898. — M i k , J. Dipterological notes (2), x, 38, 2, Feb. 
28. — S nyder,Mrs. A. J. Trypeta solidaginis, 4. — T ownsend, C. 
H. T. Diptera from the lower Rio Grande Tamaulipan fauna of Texas, 
ii.* 6. 

£iepidoptera« — Butler, A. G. A review of the species of the 
genus Hebomoia^ a group of Pierine butterflies; Descriptions of some 
new species of butterflies of the subfamily Pierinae, 11. — Dyar, H. G. 
Genus Euschausia [for Schausia Dyar, preocc], 4; The life-histories of 
the New York slug caterpillars, xiii, xiv, i pi.; New American moths and 
synonymical notes,* 6. — F ruhstorfer,H. Morpho metellus richardus 
nov. subspecies, 41, 4.— G i 1 1 e 1 1 e , C. P. Colorado Lepidoptera, Bull. 
No. 43, Colorado State Agric. Coll. Exper. Station, Fort Collins, Col., 
Mar., '98. — Grote, A. R. An attempt to classify the Holarctic Lepid- 
optera from the specialization orthe wings, Part ii, The hawk and em- 
peror moths, 2 pis. ; Reply to Dr. Dyar*s note, 6. — H e a t h , E. F. Mani- 
toba butterflres, 4, — Holland, W. J. Notes on Lepidoptera, O. — 
Linden, M. v. New researches on the development of the scales, 
colors and color-patterns on the wings of butterflies and moths, Biolog- 
isches Centralblatt, Leipsic, Mar. 15, '98. — Marlatt, C. L. See Eco- 
nomic Entomology. — M o o r e , F. Lepidoptera Indica, pt. xxix. London, 
L. Reeve & Co., '97. Rec'd Apr. 11, '98. [vol. iii, pp. 97-112, pis. 223- 
230, Nymphalinae].^Ottolengui, R. A new Bombycid,* 4.— P a n - 
ton, E. S. The life-history of some Jamaica Hesperiidae, figs., 70. — 
Perez, J. See the General Subject. — Quaintance, A. L. See 
Economic Entomology. — Reuter, E. On a new classification of the 
Lepidoptera (cont.), Elntomologist*s Record, London, Mar. 15, '98. — de 
Rocquigny-Adanson, G. Altitude of the habitat of Satumia 
Pyri ScYixQ., 66«— Schulz, O. Some Lepidoptera of gynandromor- 
phous form, Societas Entomologica, Zurich-Hottingen, Apr. i, '98.— 
Stedman, J. M. The frmged-wing apple-bud moth (Nothris? mali- 
gemella n. sp. ),* Bulletin 42, University of the State of Missouri, College 
of Agriculture and Mechanic Arts, Agric. Exper. Station, Columbia, Mo., 
April, '98.— W e b s t e r , F. M. Notes on the development of Drasteria 
erechtea Cramer, 2 pis., fi« 

Hymenoptera.— A n d r 6 , E. Synopsis of the Mutillidae of France 
<cont.), 65.--Carriere, J., and Burger, O. The developmental 
history of the wall-bee (Chalicodoma muraria Fabr.) in the egg, 13 pis.. 
Nova Acta, Abhandlungen, Kaiserl. Leop -Carol. Deutschen Akademie 
der Naturforscher, Ixix, 2, Halle, 1897. — Cockerell, T. D. A. Notes 
on some bees of the genus Andrena from Hartford, Conn., 4; Further 
notes on Andrena* 9.— Davis , G. C. A review of the Ichneumonid 
subfamily Tryphoninae,* 2, xxiv, 3, Sept., and 4, Dec. *97. — Dim mock, 
G., and Ashmead, W. H. Notes on parasitic Hymenoptera, with de- 
scriptions of some new species,* Proceedings, Entomological Society of 
Washington iv, 2, Feb. 19, '98.— F o x , W. J. The species of Psen inhabit- 
ing America north of Mexico,* 2, xxv, i, April, '98 ; Contributions to a 



126 ENTOMOLOGICAL NEWS. - [May, 

knowledge of the Hjrmenoptera of Brazil, No. 4. Thynninae and additions, 
1. — H o w a r d , L. O. A new egg-parasite of the periodical cicada,* 4. — 
J a n e t , C. On the morphological limits of the rings of the integument and 
on the articular membranes in Hymenoptera at the imago period, t2yjan. 
31. — K e n y o n , F. C. The daily and seasonal activity of a hive of beeS, 
fig., American Naturalist, Boston, Feb., '98. — K o n o w , F. W. Systematic 
and critical revision of the Siricid tribe Siricini, 38, 3, Mar. 31. — K r i e c h - 
baumer, Dr. The genusyb/^a (concl.), 41, 2. — Marchal, P. An 
example of dissociation of the egg: the cycle oi Encyrtus fuscicolliSy 
Comptes Rendus, Soci^t^ de Biologie, Paris, Feb. 26, '98 ; The dissocia- 
tion of the egg into a great number of distinct individuals and the evolu- 
tion cycle in Encyries fuscicolliSy 12, Feb. 28. — Perez, J. On a new 
form of buccal apparatus of Hymenoptera, 71. — Q uaintance, A. L. 
See Economic Entomology. — R e b e r , D. The enemies of the honey- 
bee in the animal and plant worlds, Bericht, St. Gallischen Naturwissens- 
chaftlichen Gesellschaft '95-' 96. 1 897. — R obertson, C. Cockerell on 
Panurj^usand Calliopsis^ 4:, — T o s i , A. Biological notes on Apiariae, 60» 



Doings of Societies. 



A meeting of the Entomological Section of the Academy of 
Natural Sciences of Philadelphia was held March 24th, Mr. C. 
S. Welles, Director, presiding. Twelve members were, present 
and Dr. John B. Smith, of New Brunswick, N. J., visitor. Dr. 
Calvert stated that a student at the University of Pennsylvania 
had been interested in chestnut growing, and ^^as under the im- 
pression that isolated trees were less likely to be troubled by 
Balaninus larvae. Dr. Calvert said he would take advantage of 
the presence of Dr. Smith to ask his opinion on the subject. 
The latter said a single tree standing alone would be likely to 
escape, but it would be of no advantage to plant a grove with 
the trees wide apart. The speaker further said the best way to 
prevent Balaninus injury is to gather the chestnuts as soon as 
they fall to the ground and send them to market, or else put them 
in a tig:ht receptacle and kill all larvae that come from the nuts. 
Mr. Wenzel said his experience had taught him that isolated 
trees always produce an abundance of all kinds of insects. Dr. 
Calvert also asked if Adalia bipunctata ever injured vegetation. 
Dr. Smith replied that he did not believe the species in question 
ever injured plants. Mr. Johnson exhibited specimens of Tabanus 
abdominalis and exul. The principal character distinguishing 
the species is that the posterior cell is covered in abdominalis and 
open in exuL In two specimens the posterior cell was open in 
one wing and closed on the other, thus showing apparent running 
together of the species. Prof Smith said variation was always 
to be expected in venation. Dr. Calvert said differences in vena- 



1898.] ENTOMOLOGICAL NEWS. 1 27 

tion on the two sides of the body in the Odonata were not un- 
common, and the characters of the majority of specimens would 
decide the value of the characters. The same speaker called at- 
tention to a paper on the Odonata of Maine by Prof. F. L. Har- 
rey, in the current number of Entomological News, stating 
that the male sex of Gomphus ncevius, previously unknown, was 
described therein, and exhibited both sexes of this species, as 
also the types of Somatochlora ehngata Scud., var. minor ^ de- 
scribed in a foot-note to the same. Dr. Calvert also reported 
the capture of Nehalennia posita (March 24th) in the green- 
house of the University of Pennsylvania. Dr. Smith asked if 
variation of moment occurred in the male genitalia of dragonflies. 
Dr. Calvert said in the American species he had not noticed va- 
riation of consequence, but in some European species consider- 
able variation had been found. Dr. Smith said that in the 
Noctuidae the genitalia were unvariable, while in the genus Lach- 
nosterna the special value of studying the genitalia had been well 
illustrated. A number of good species had been confused before, 
a study of the genitalia had been made. A vote of thanks was 
tendered Mr. Geo. B. King for his gift of slides showing various 
insects. Dr. D. M. Castle was elected a member of the Section. 
^ ' Dr. Henry Skinner, Recorder, 



At the meeting of the Feldman Collecting Social held on April 
1 2th, Mr. H. Wenzel, on behalf of Prof. Smith, extended an 
invitation to the members to attend the April meet of the Newark 
Entomological Society to be held in New Brunswick April 24, 
1898. 

Mr. Bland exhibited specimens of Opatrinus, notus taken at 
Manayunk, on March i6th, and showing variation in marking 
and punctuation. 

Dr. Skinner, on behalf of Mr. Hornig, recorded the capture 
of Anthocaris genutia on April 3d, quite an early date for this 
species. 

Mr. Aaron exhibited a nest of common mud dauber, Sceliphron 
cementaritis. His attention had been called to this nest in the 
field, because it had apparently been perforated in several places 
and the perforations then filled with a clay of a different color 
from that composing the body of nest. He had reared a Tr^ 
poxy ion albitarse from it and found, further, the larva ofan 
Osmia^ evidently parasitic on TrypoxylonAzx^^, The same 
speaker exhibited a drawing of Anther cea yamamai, which pro- 
duces the wild silk of Japan. It is not subject to manv diseases, as 
is the case with the silk worm of the United States, Bombyx mori, 
and the speaker believed the introduction of Anthercea into the 
United States would be successful, inasmuch as the climatic con- 
ditions of the southern United States and Japan are known to be 
quite similar. Anthercea feeds on oak. 



128 ENTOMOLOGICAL NEWS. [May, 

Dr. Skinner referred to the record in April number of Ent. 
News by Mr. Schaus of the occurrence of the tropical Thecla 
telea at Miami, Florida, and spoke of the beauty of the species. 

The secretary recorded the capture of a specimen of Mega- 
cilissa yarrowi in Florida by Mrs. Slosson. It had only been 
recorded from the southwestern United States. 

Dr. Skinner described the method of emergence of Actias 
luna from the cocoon. The cocoon is softened by an acid liquid 
excreted by the moth and is then perforated by a serrated spear- 
shaped attachment on the costa. In reply to Mr. Aaron he said 
these attachments are covered by dense hair in the emerged in- 
sect, but are easily observed on removing the hairs. 

William J. Fox, Secretary, 

Newark Entomological Society, March 13, 1898, Mr. Herman 
Erb and Mr. O. Buchholz were elected members. The order 
for the meeting was an exhibit of the species of Callimorpha^ 
all the members bringing their entire collections of this genus. 
The largest collection, showing the finest series, was shown by 
Mr. J. Doll. Prof. Smith showed a series illustrating typical 
forms of all the species and made blackboard sketches illustrating 
typical wing-forms and markings and showing how the variations 
were derived in each typical form. In comparing the collections 
it was found that Mr. Angleman had a species which differed 
from all that -had been previously described and which was de- 
clared by Professor Smith to be new. Examples of this species 
were found in several collections, but in such a way as to make 
them appear parts of other series. The series in Mr. Angleman*s 
collection showed that the type of maculation was different from 
that of any other species. Mr. Angleman stated in this connec- 
tion that the form was the common one in the region in which 
he had been in the habit of collecting and was what he had taken 
most abundantly. He further stated that in 1894 he took at 
light, in Newark, specimens of Euphanessa meridiana Slosson, 
and the species had been in his collection ever since. The special 
topic assigned for the April meeting was the genus Ardia, 

OBITUARY. 

James Behrens, who was one of California's early collectors in Lepid- 
optera, died on March 6th at San Tos^ at the age of 74. He was born 
in Liibeck, Germany, on June 30, 1824. Although he did not collect in 
late years he took a great interest in the progress of entomology. His 
fine collection he sent to Liibeck a few years ago and it is now in the 
Museum of Liibeck. — Edw. M. Ehrhorn. 

Dr. D. S. Kellicott, Professor of Zoology and Entomology in the 
Ohio State University, at Columbus, Ohio, died April 13th, at his home 
in that city. ___^^__^__^^_^___^_^.^.^_ 

Entomological News for April was mailed March 30, 1898. 



Ent. News, Vol. IX. 



JOSEPH ALBERT LINTNER. 



ENTOMOLOGICAL NEWS 

AND 

PROCEEDINGS OF THE ENTOMOLOGICAL SECTION 

ACADEMY OF NATURAL SCIENCES, PHILADELPHIA. 



Vol. IX. JUNE, 1898. No. 6. 



CONTENTS: 



Joseph Albert Lintner 129 

Sargent— Some observations on the 

hunting spider, Lycosa vulpina 131 

Schaus — Notes on Am. Sphingidae 134 

Hancock — The species of the new genus 



Hall— Some rare butterflies, etc 143 

A species of Orthoptera 144 

Cockerell — A new scale-insect, etc 145 

Barrett— Collecting in the T. Caliente.. 146 
Editorial 149 



Neotettix, etc *. 137 Notes and News 150 

Banks— Concerning the names of some Entomological Literature 152 

common spiders 141 I Doings of Societies 157 

JOSEPH ALBERT LINTNER. 

It is with sorrow and regret that we announce the death of 
Prof. Lintner on May 5th at Rome, Italy. 

** Joseph Albert Lintner, Ph.D., of German descent, was 
a son of Rev. George Ames Lintner, D.D., who was born in 
Minden, Montgomery County, N. Y., in 1796, was graduated 
from Union College in 18 17, and was pastor of the Lutheran 
churches of Schoharie, Middleburg and Cobleskill for many 
years. Prof Lititner was born in Schoharie, February 8, 1822^ 
attended the Jefferson Academy; was graduated from the Scho* 
harie Academy in 1837 and spent ten years in mercantile pursuits 
in New York city, where he also prosecuted his studies under the 
Mercantile Library Association. He contributed scientific arti- 
cles to the Tribune and other newspapers, and returning to Scho- 
harie in 1848, engaged in mercantile business. In 1853 he began 
a collection of insects, and in i860 removed to Utica, where, for 
seven years, he manufactured woolen goods. Meanwhile, he 
had steadily pursued his scientific studies, for which he had a 
natural taste and unusual capacity. In 1868 he became zoological 
assistant in the State Museum of Natural History at Albany; in 
1880 he was appointed, by Governor Cornell, State entomologist; 



130 ENTOMOLOGICAL NEWS. [June, 

in 1883 he was placed on the scientific staff of the Museum, a 
position he held until his death. He has written about one thou- 
sand papers on scientific subjects, published twelve Annual Re- 
ports on the Injurious and other Insects of the State of New 
York, and was widely recognized as one of the foremost ento- 
mologists of the world His services in the interests of agricul- 
ture and allied pursuits have been of great value to both the 
State and Nation. He was a forceful speaker, an accomplished 
writer, and a man of not only high scientific, but of rare per- 
sonal attainments. In 1884 the Regents of the University of the 
State of New York conferred upon him the honorary degree of 
Ph.D. He was president of the Entomological Club of the 
American Association for the Advancement of Science, and the 
Association of Economic Entomologists, two years each, has 
been president of the department of natural science in the Albany 
Institute since 1879, and was a member of the American Ento- 
mological Society, the Entomological Society of Washington, 
D. C, the Entomological Society of Ontario, Canada, the New 
York Academy of Science, the Buffalo Society of Natural Sci- 
ences, the Cambridge Entomological Club, the Academy of 
Natural Sciences of Davenport, Iowa, the Oneida Historical 
Society, the Kansas State Horticultural Society, the New York 
State Agricultural Society, the Mus6e Royal d' Histoire Naturelle 
de Beige, Soci6t6 Imperiale des Naturalistes de Moscou, and 
Soci6t6 Entomologique de France, and since August 21, 1873, 
fellow of the American Association for the Advancement of 
Science. For twenty-five years he was editor of the entomo- 
logical department of the *' Country Gentleman.'* October 2, 
1856, he married Frances C, daughter of Hon. Holmes Hutch- 
inson, of Utica, N. Y. Their children are George A., of Minne- 
apolis, and Charles H. (deceased), of St. Paul, Minn., and Mary 
C. and Laura B., of Albany, N. Y.'* 



Years ago when I collected Lepidoptera in this locality I never saw a 
specimen of Pyrgus tessellata anywhere. On coming back here this Fall 
the first thing that attracted my attention were specimens of tessellata 
flying along the sidewalks and in our back yard; they seemed to be quite 
common. — G. R. Pilate, Dayton, O. 



1898.] ENTOMOLOGICAL NEWS. I3I 

Some Observations on the Hunting Spider, Lycosa vulpina.^ 

By Miss Annie B. Sargent. 

<Communicated to the Naturalists' Field Club, University of Pa., Nov. 12, 1897.) 

Among the hunting spiders found in the niountains of the 
central part of Pennsylvania, Lycosa vulpina is one of the largest. 
It excavates burrows or trenches under rocks and stones and 
sometimes under fallen trees. In the Spring this spider is espe- 
cially conspicuous because of the large yellowish-white egg-ball 
which it carries suspended from its spinnerets. 

The specimen about to be described was captured early in 
May, bearing its egg-ball. In captivity it was provided with a 
box resembling, as nearly as possible, the mountain home it had 
just left. For several days the spider roamed restlessly about 
trying to find a way of escape. If flies were put into the box 
they were devoured, but abundance of food and apparently com- 
fortable quarters did not suffice to make her contented. After 
several days I was dismayed to find the spider tearing the egg- 
ball open. The eggs were scattered, and the restless searching 
for an opening continued. Whether the eggs were unfertilized 
and the spider's instinct impelled her to destroy the ball, or 
whether it was the time when she would ordinarily have freed the 
young spiders is difficult to say. A sense of her captivity may 
have come into play here in some degree. However, she con- 
tinued to pry into the cracks of the lid, ever looking for a way 
out, for ten days more, and then something far more important 
began to occupy the spider's time. She dug a burrow right down 
through the dry grass and earth, slanting it slightly toward the 
sun. Whether the object was to admit the sun or not is a ques- 
tion, for in the wild state all the burrows I have seen are entirely 
away from access of sunlight. Another noticeable feature about 
this burrow was that it had no protection whatever above it, al- 
though there were plenty of large stones in the box. The box 
was covered with glass, but it seems curious that the spider should 
realize sufficient protection in this. 

After the burrow was finished the spider went through a most 
interesting performance in one corner of the box. She turned 

* A brief bibliography for the Lycosidse, including some titles on habits, is given by Mr. 
J. H. Emerton in Proceedingi of the Connecticut Academy of Arts and Sciences vol. vi, 
/p. 482. 



132 ENTOMOLOGICAL NEWS. [June, 

around in a circle as if her body was fastened to the ground by a 
pivot touching her spinneret down to the ground at intervals. 
It became evident after a few circles that she was drawing out a 
strand of silk and fastening it down with every touch. This pro- 
cess was continued until quite a mat was made, when the whole 
thing was taken up and carried down the burrow. What went 
on in the burrow I do not know, but the next morning the mouth 
was sealed with a film of web. About three days later, in the 
morning, I found the spider standing in the mouth of the burrow 
twirling, with the hind legs, a brand new egg-ball in the sun. After 
some time she went down again and before the day was done a 
new film was made. From this time on I saw the spider at ir- 
regular intervals. She would stay sealed up in the burrow for 
two days or more, then in the morning — always in the morning— 
the film would be rudely torn away and the spider would stand 
motionless holding the ball in the sun or twirling it with her hind 
legs. Again, she walked about the box, took a drink of water, 
or ate a fly before returning to the burrow. She frequently 
detached the ball and, holding it in her jaws, made a sort of 
"shirred** ridge around it. What this process was for I could 
not make out. She may have been making the fastenings firmer, 
or she may have been testing the eggs in some peculiar fashion. 
After about a week of these proceedings the spider went into the 
burrow and remained sealed up for three or four days. One 
morning after this she issued forth to take a drink of water with 
her back literally crowded with tiny white spiders. After a short 
time she went into the burrow with her family and, as usual, was 
seen no more that day ; but the burrow was not sealed. She 
came out every day after this and caught flies in spite of her 
family burdens. The little spiders had no share in these meals, 
but seemed to thrive notwithstanding. At this stage the glass 
was accidentally pushed off" and the spider escaped. Several 
days later she was recaptured, but the little ones were gone ex- 
cept six. These I put into pill-boxes. Each spider had a box 
to itself. The boxes were partly filled with earth, and all were 
covered with a sheet of glass. They were fed on the tiniest flies 
to be found, at first, and grew rapidly, casting their skins at in- 
tervals. Before each moult they stopped eating for a day or two, 
built a little shelter of web and earth against the side of the box, 
and under this the skin was cast. At no other time did they 



1898.] ENTOMOLOGICAL NEWS. 1 33 

attempt to make a nest of any kind. They never ate their skins, 
as many insects, and even some of the vertebrates do. Mean- 
while, the mother spider made a new burrow and hatched a sec- 
ond brood. These were not quite so numerous, and as the Sum- 
mer was nearly spent I did not save any of them. The mother 
began one more egg-ball after this, but when it was only partly 
done she gave it up and spun no more. 

Of the six I had saved, three died and one escaped before they 
had outgrown the pill-boxes. One survivor was kept through 
the Winter and the next succeeding Summer, when I gave it its 
freedom. Having been raised in a box this spider never tried to 
get out, and did not seem to be aware of when the lid was off. 
When finally I let it go I had to poke it out of the box, and then 
it acted as if it were in a new country, feeling its way along 
through the grass then stopping to rest. Spiders that were cap- 
tured in the adult state always ran very briskly when they regained 
their freedom. 

In the matter of catching flies this spider was an acrobat, and 
I am sure could detect motion at a distance of at least two inches. 
There was one particular corner in which I always put the flies 
and if the spider was hungry it could see those flies coming 
through the hole and came up to seize them, as they came in, 
almost out of my fingers. I have seen it clinging to the top of 
the box and the instant a fly passed beneath, it dropped down 
right side up and caught its victim. Never once did I see this 
spider miss its mark. It did not spring until it was sure, but it 
never miscalculated. If the spider had eaten nothing for several 
days it would catch flies at long distances and in the most awkward 
positions. It would catch them in succession, too, until it held 
three in its jaws at the same time. If it was not very hungry it 
did not catch flies until they came within easy range. Some- 
times, when the spider was fasting, a fly might walk over its legs 
and cause it to twitch them out of the way, but it would not 
catch the fly. One time I placed a large ichneumon-fly in the 
box. The spider stole up to it and barely touched it with the 
tip of its foot, as a cricket would feel with its antennae, then 
waited; the ichneumon moved and the spider touched it again. 
But the spider went no nearer and would not seize the ichneumon, 
although it flew right against the spider. The spider evidently 
appreciated something not to its taste in the ichneumon and this 



134 ENTOMOLOGICAL NEWS. [June, 

would go to show that the spider is guided by something more 
than the mere motion of a smaller creature in selecting its food. 
I noticed also that the older spider did not like metallic-green 
flies. She would not eat them unless very hungry indeed. On 
several occasions she dropped them uneaten, although usually 
they flew about the box unnoticed. That mere motion plays a 
large part in recognizing food, however, is evident from the fact 
that often when I moved my finger back and forth over the glass 
the spider came up to that place evidently expecting flies. That 
the spider followed the motion of the flies at times was also evi- 
dent, for I have seen it elevate or lower its head in the direction 
of the fly, turn its entire body around as the fly moved, and in 
some cases follow it. On one occasion no flies were to be had, 
and finally I decided to try raw meat. As long as the meat 
merely lay in the box the spider would not touch it, but when I 
put a thread through it and swung it back and forth the spider 
rushed out and seized its supposed prey. The meat once in its 
jaws the spider deigned to eat it. After a few days, however, 
it refused to eat meat. I then offered it cooked meat and even 
bits of hash which satisfied it for a few days more, when I suc- 
ceeded in obtaining some flies. 

Me^^hile the mother spider was unmistakably growing old. 
She could not catch flies unless they were very close, and even 
then she frequently lost her hold of them. Her jaws seemed to 
have lost all their power and gradually stiflened, until finally she 
made no attempt to catch flies. Her legs and body came to have 
a shriveled, dried appearance, and she walked unsteadily, rolling 
from side to side. Her faculties were failing just as surely as 
they do in higher animals, and one morning I found her stiff* to 
the last degree and dead. 



NOTES ON AMERICAN SPHINGID>E.-n. 

By William Schaus. 

The following notes are in continuation of a paper published 
in Ent. News vol. vi, p. 141. 

Theretra epaphas. 

Cheer, epaphus Bdv., Sp. Gen. Het. i, p. 267, 1875. [1881. 

Cheer, cyrene Druce, Biol. Cent. -Am., Lap. Het. i, p. 11, T. i, f. 5, 
Theretra drucei Kirby, Cat. Lep. Het. p. 658. 



1898.] ENTOMOLOGICAL NEWS. I35 

My attention was drawn to the above synonymy by Mons. C. 
Oberthur, who compared Boisduval's type with the excellent 
figure in the Biologia. 

Theretra neoptolemiis. 

Sphinx neoptolemus Cr., Pap. Exot. iv, t. 301, fig. F, 1780. 
Cheer, irilineata Walk., Cat. Lep. Het. B. M. xxxi, p. 30, 1864. 

I can see no reason for separating Walker's species from T, 
neoptolemus, 

Theretra isaon. 

Cheer isaon Bdv., Sp. Gen. Het. i, p. 272, 1875. 
Theretra olivacea Roths., Nov. Zool. i, p. 77, 1894. 

My specimens of T, isaon, compared with type of Boisduval, 
agree with the description of Z! olivacea, 

Tberetra pistadna. 

Philampelus pistacina Bdv., Sp. Gen. Het. i, p. 199, 1875. 
Choer. jocasta Druce, Ann. Nat. Hist. (6), ii, p. 237, 1888. 

Of the above species I have a specimen compared with both 

types. 

Theretra aglaor. 

C. aglaor Bdv., Sp. Gen. Het. i, p. 275, 1875. 

C libya Druce, Ent. Month. Mag. xiv, p. 249, 1878. 

C. /i^/ia.Druce, Ent. Month. Mag. xiv, p. 249, 1878. 

C, libya is certainly the same as C aglaor ^ and in the B. M. 
collection the specimen labeled as C. Icelia by Mr. Druce is in- 
separable from the specimen which he has labeled as C libya, 

Theretra arpi sp. nov. 

Head and thorax olive-brown; a white line in front of the antennae; 
patagiae laterally streaked with white; a reddish brown spot on collar, a 
similar spot on patagiae and some reddish brown shades posteriorly on 
thorax. Abdomen olive-green above, grayish below. Primaries light 
gray, heavily shaded with olive-green in the disc, and otherwise covered 
with greenish striae; an antemedial, geminate, dark green curved line not 
reaching the inner margin; a minute black point in the cell; three post- 
medial dark lunulate lines, followed by a row of points on the veins; an 
olive-green apical spot and a subterminal cluster of dark scales between 
5 and 6. Secondaries dark brown; the costal margin, the apical portion 
of the fringe, the inner margin narrowly, and a broad subterminal shade 
at the anal angle, yellowish; the subterminal shade somewhat suffused 
with olive-green. Exp. 66 mm. 

Hab, — Rio Janeiro. 



136 ENTOMOLOGICAL NEWS. [June, 

DilophoBota CBBOtnis. 

Sphinx (xnotrus Cr., Pap. Ex. iv, T. 301, C. 1780. [f. 4, 1865. 

(^ Erinnyis melanchoHca Grote, Proc. Ent. Soc. Phil, v, p. 77, T. ii, 

cT Anceryx janiphcB Bdv., Sp. Gen. Het. i, p. 131, 1875. 

9 Erinnyis cinerosa Grote, Ann. Lye. N. Y. viii, p. 201, 1867. 

9 Anceryx piperis Bdv., Sp. Gen. Het. i, p. 132, 1875. 
Much confusion has arisen from the careless identification of 
Cramer's figure, but the description accompanying the plate 
leaves no doubt as to the species represented, for attention is 
drawn to the color of the abdomen below, which is white with 
four black points on either side. In the species heretofore con- 
sidered as cenotrus, the abdomen below is brownish gray without 
any spots. For this latter form I propose the name of Dilopho- 
nota crameri; it is well described by Boisduval in his Sphingidae, 
p. 129, under the name of Anceryx oenotrus, D, crameri is 
found throughout tropical America and also occurs in southern 
Florida. 

Dilophonota domingonis. 

D. domingonis Butl., Proc. Zool. Soc. London, p. 258, 1875. 

D. festa H. Edw., Papilio ii, p. 11, 1882. 
The above names refer to the same species; it is abundant in 
Mexico and the sexes are more similar than is usually the case in 
this genus. This species has been considered a dark form of D. 
obscura=^rhcBbtis Bdv., but I have examined over a hundred 
specimens of each species without finding any intermediate forms; 
moreover, in D, obscura the sexes are quite different. I find the 
species of Dilophonota very constant in their markings, D. 
crameri alone showing some variability in the color of the mar- 
ginal areas of the primaries, the lines, however, remaining unal- 
tered. 

Isognathas scyron. 

sphinx scyron Cramer, Pap. Ex. iv, iv, t. 301, E, 1780. 
Anceryx pedilanthi Boisd., Spec. Gen. Het. i, p. 124, 1S75. 

On examination of the type I find Boisduval's species the % 
of /. scyron, 

Isognathas papays. 

Anceryx papayce Bdv., Sp. Gen. Het. i, p. 126, 1875. 

Isognathus laura Btl., Trans. Zool. Soc. London, ix, p. 601. 
PapaycB type is the 9 , laura type, the % of the same species, 
and both will no doubt prove to be a slight variety of 7. leachii 
Swains. 



Ent. NawB. Vol. IX. 




TETTIGIANS OF THE GENUS NEOTETTIX IH»nr. 



1898.] ENTOMOLOGICAL NEWS. 1 37 

THE SPECIES OF THE NEW GENUS NEOTETTIX WITH A 
KEY TO THE GENERA OF NORTH AMERICAN TETTIGI^. 

By J. L. Hancock. 

(See Plate VIII.) 

In the present notes are described several species of Tettigians 
of a hitherto unrecognized genus from the southern United States. 
I have, furthermore, outlined a table of the genera of Tettigiae, 
including therein the new genus Neotettix^ together with the 
three already known to occur within our borders. These are 
namely: Nomoteitix Morse, Neotettix gen nov., Paratettix Boli- 
var, and Tettix Charpentier. The species ol Neotettix are small 
in stature, in which particular they resemble Nomotettix, The 
wings are frequently abbreviated, and macropterous as well as 
brachypterous forms are represented among them without the 
apical process of the pronotum being much of it at all extended 
further backwards than the knee of the hind femora. These 
dimorphic phases of structure are not considered separately. It 
will be observed that Bolivar, in 1887, described a species in his 
Essai sur les Acridiens de la tribu des Tettigidae p. 246, as Tettix 
femoratus Scudder. That there is a discrepancy regarding the 
identity of the species seems fairly certain. A specimen which 
was identified by Prof. Bolivar as strictly this species was pre- 
viously kindly examined by Mr. Scudder, the author of the spe- 
cies, who informed me of a difference existing in the width of 
the vertex between the eyes as compared to the ox\%\vi2X femoratus. 
Partly on the strength of Mr. Scudder*s assertion : ** It is quite 
certain that the specimen you send cannot be that species from 
the width of the vertex between the eyes" and the knowledge 
gleaned from an examination of a considerable series, I have 
proposed the appellation Neotettix bolivari in deference to my 
distinguished colleague. The generosity of Mr. A. Bolter, of 
Chicago, who placed his collection of this group freely at my 
disposal made it possible to include two of the three species here 
described. One of these I take pleasure in naming in his honor. 
It is quite probable that the species described by Scudder as 
Tettix femoratus in "Transactions American Entomological So- 
ciety'' ii, p. 305, will, in the course of time, be restored, or as 
soon as sufficient material from Maryland, where the type came 
from, has been carefully studied. This species, of which the 



138 ENTOMOLOGICAL NEWS. [June, 

type is lost, undoubtedly belongs to NeotetHx, but being in doubt 
about its specific position in my table of species it is simply ap- 
pended at the end. 

Genera of TettigicB of North America, 

Anterior femora more or less compressed, carinate above; antennae 12-14 
articles Tettigis. 

1. (4) Pronotum with the front border anteriorly angulate produced,. 

median carina strongly cristiform, arched longitudinally, median 
lobule of posterior lateral lobe smalt; vertex in profile angulate 
produced Gen. i. Nomotetttz Morse. 

2. (3) Vertex in profile rounded anteriorly, a little advanced .in front of 

the eyes; frontal costa strongly forked; median carina of pro- 
notum distinctly elevated, more or less convexly curved longitu- 
dinally, not cristiform . Gen. 2. Neotettiz gen. nov. 

3. (2) Vertex equal to or narrower than one of the eyes, not produced 

in front of them, truncate anteriorly Gen. 3. Paratottiz Bol- 

4. (i) Pronotum generally not advanced upon the head to the eyes, 

median lobule of posterior lateral lobe usually well developed; 
vertex in profile anteriorly angulate, projecting beyond the eyes. 

Gen. 4. Tettiz Charp. 

Neotettiz gen. nov. 

Frontal costa strongly forked, median lobule of posterior lat- 
eral lobe of pronotum but slightly developed; vertex in profile 
rounded anteriorly, from dorsal view wider than one of the eyes. 
Pronotum advanced upon the head to the eyes, median carina 
elevated, more or less arched longitudinally, dorsal front margin 
truncate, or scarcely angulate, dorsum transversely tectiform or 
convexed; hind femora broad, rather stout. Species small, with 
antennae consisting of 12-13 articles. Type, Teitix femoratus 
Bolivar (not lettix femoratus Scudder). 

Members of this genus recall brachypterous forms oi ParatettiXy 
to which they seem to have a closer affinity than to either the 
Nomotettix or Tetiix series. The crown of the head is posteri- 
orly mammillate. Representatives can be distinguished from 
Paratetttx by the character of the vertex, which is wider than 
one of the eyes and is not truncate anteriorly. The Tettix group 
has one or two additional antennal joints, the pronotum is not 
advanced upon the head to the eyes, while the species comprising 
the Nomotettix group have the pronotum distinctly cristiform, 
besides the vertex in profile appears angulate anteriorly. Not 
the least important distinction is the sudden widening of the 



1898.] ENTOMOLOGICAL NEWS. 1 39 

frontal costa in Neoteitix, which, with the other characters we 
have shown, will separate, with little difficulty, its members from 
any of the others named. 

Key to Species of Neotettix, 

1. (2) Vertex in dorsal view with front border rounded, a little wider 

than one of the eyes Sp. i. N. rotandairons sp. n. 

2. (i) Vertex in dorsal view with the front border slightly con vexed, 

much wider than one of the eyes. 

3. (4) Pronotum strongly rugose, scabrous; frontal costa scarcely pro- 

tuberant Sp. 2. N. bolteri sp. n. 

4. (3) Pronotum granulate or arenose; frontal costa rather strongly pro- 

tuberant Sp. 3. M. bolivari nov. nom. 

Position? Sp. 4. N. femoratns Scud. 

1. N. rotandairons sp. nov. (Figs. 3, 3a, 3b, 3c, 3d, PI. VIII).— Slightly 
smaller than bolivari. Body granulate, or to a certain extent very little 
rugose; vertex not as broad as in bolivari^ barely wider than one of the 
eyes, the front border rounded, crown inconspicuously mammillale poste- 
riorly; frontal costa not so roundly protuberant, branches of fork about 
as widely separated; pronotum truncate in front, posterior process ter- 
minating acutely, reaching to or slightly overreaching apex of femora 
when considering dimorphic forms together; median carina toward the 
front slightly arched longitudinally, distinctly elevated; dorsulum trans- 
versely tectiform, not broad between the shoulders, humeral angles ob- 
tuse or sub-straight, lateral carina slightly present. Wings shortened, 
not quite reaching to, or passing a little beyond the apex of process. 
Elytra oval, rounded apically ; second femur with margins somewhat 
undate, posterior femora broad, rather stout. Length entire 9 mm. ; pro- 
notum 7.5-S mm.; post-femora 5.5 mm. 

Described from two females. Locality Jacksonville, Florida 
(Bolter). In one specimen the body is reticulated with fuscous, 
contrasting with yellowish white; dimorphism occurs in the wing- 
lengths. This species probably nearest resembles Z". femoratus 
Scud. 

2. M. bolivari nov. nom. (Figs. 2, 2a, 2b, 2c, 2d, PI. VIII).— Body granu- 
late; vertex much broader than one of the eyes, crown mammillate on 
each side posteriorly, front border slightly convex, rounding abruptly 
into sides, mid-carina disappearing posteriorly on the crown a little beyond 
the middle, in profile rounded, advanced but little in front of the eyes, 
continued unbroken with the frontal costa; frontal costa produced, seen 
n front strongly forked; pronotum truncate or scarcely angulate anteriorly, 
advanced upon the head to the eyes, apical process acute, extended 
backwards to posterior knee, dorsum rather sharply tectiform, median 
carina distinctly raised, slightly arched longitudinally, humeral angles 



140 ENTOMOLOGICAL NEWS. [June, 

obtuse. Elytra elongate. Wings slightly overreaching apex of process 
in macropterous examples, or sometimes but slightly developed in bra- 
chypterous forms. Length entire: $ 9-10 mm.; pronotum 7.5-8.5 mm.; 
post-femora 5.5-6 mm. cf 8 mm.; pronotum 7 mm.; post-femora 5 mm. 

Locality Opelousas, La., Tifton, Ga., North Carolina (Bolivar). 
T, femoratus Scud. , Bolivar Annales de la See. Entom. de Bel- 
gique, tome xxxi, p. 264, where an excellent description can be 
found. 

Described from seventeen specimens in author* s collection (pro- 
cured by G. R. Pilate). 

3. M. bolter! sp. nov. (Figs, i, la, ib, ic, id, le, PI. VIII).— Body small, 
rather stout, strongly rugose, scabrous; vertex much broader than one 
of the eyes, front broader, very slightly convex, mid-carina becoming 
obsolete posteriorly opposite middle of eyes, in profile very little pro- 
duced in front of the eyes, sub-rotundate, occiput rather protuberant 
above, mammillate, frontal costa not sinuate, considerably forked; pro- 
notum truncate anteriorly, process not reaching backwards as far as apex 
of posterior femora, obtuse at end, median carina of pronotum elevated, 
arched longitudinally, higher between the shoulders, dorsum transversely 
convex between the shoulders, strongly rugose, with conspicuous ex- 
crescences showing in transverse section or viewed in front, antehumeral 
carinas appearing very slightly, anterior lateral carinae in front short, 
slightly compressed. Elytra elongate, apex sub-acutely rounded. Wings 
undeveloped; middle femora with a row of minute swellings between the 
middle carinae, margins not undate, posterior femora broad cristate, rather 
short, with external pagina provided with strong diagonal rugose ridges 
between the middle carinae, between the superior margin and carinae with 
a curved row of sub-rounded rugose excrescences. Length entire: 9 
9 mm.; pronotum 7.8 mm.; post-femora 5.5 mm. 

Locality Jacksonville, Fla. (Bolter). Described from one 
specimen. 

• 4. N. femoratus Scud. — Vertex but little broader than one of the eyes, 
barely projecting in advance of them; the front scarcely rounded ; pro- 
notum reaching to the tip of the abdomen not including the ovipositor; 
median carina very prominent, slightly arched; surface arenose. Elytra 
small, well rounded, with shallow punctures. Wings not longer than the 
elytra; hind femora very broad and stout. Length 9.5 mm.; pronotum 
8 mm.; post-femora 5.2 mm.; elytra 1.6 mm. 

Locality Maryland. 

T, femoratus Scud. — Trans. Am. Ent. See. ii, p. 305. 
T, /emorata Scud. — Thomas, Synopsis Acrid, of N. Am. 1873, 
in Rep't U. S. Geol. Survey, p. 185. 



1898.] ENTOMOLOGICAL NEWS. I4I 

The type was formerly in the collection of the American En^ 
tomological Society but was lost, and the species has not since 
been recovered, so I am told by Mr. Scudder. 



EXPLANATION OF PLATE VIIL 

Fig. I. Neotettix bolteri Hanc. Fig. 2b. Same, front view. 

*' la. Same, dorsal view. ** 2c. Enlarged greatly. 

" lb. Same, front view head and " 2d. Head, dorsal view. [Hanc. 
pronotum. ** 3. NeotetHx rotundafrons 

Fig. ic. Enlarged greatly. ** 3a. Same, dorsal view. 






id. Head, dorsal view. ** 3b. Greatly enlarged, 

le. Posterior tarsus. ** 3c. Head, dorsal view. 



** 2. Neotettix bolivari Hanc. ** 3d. Posterior tarsus. 

2a. Same, dorsal view. 



(( 



CONCERNING THE NAMES OF SOME COMMON SPIDERS. 

By Nathan Banks. 

The replacement of modern and familiar specific names by 
those of an earlier period is one result of the application of the 
law of priority. Naturalists will doubtless always differ as to how 
closely this law shall be followed; whether in letter or in spirit. 
But the few cases to which I shall call attention do not, I think, 
require any defense. The works of De Geer and the papers of 
Lucas have always been accepted as of proper authority. 

Lucas, in a paper entitled '* Description d'une espece nouvelle 
d*arachnide appartenent au genre Argyope de M. Savigny,** 
published in the Ann. Soc. Entom. France, 1833, pp. 86-88, 
describes Argyope aurantia from the vicinity of Philadelphia. 
The description is sufficient to recognize our common species 
described by Hentz as Epeira riparia; and the excellent figure 
on plate v fully confirms this determination. Walckenaer and 
Koch have both described this species subsequent to Lucas, so 
that the synonymy of this species will be: 
Argiope anrantia Lucas. 

Epeira cophinaria Walck. 
Epeira ambitoria Walck. 
Nephila vestita Koch. 
Epeira riparia Hentz. 

Lucas, again in 1833, in a paper entitled * * Sur plusieurs Arach- 

nides nouvelles appartenent au genre Atte de M. de Walckenaer,'' 



142 ENTOMOLOGICAL NEWS. [June, 

also published in the Ann. Soc. Entom. France, 1833, pp. 476- 
482, described a Salticus variegaius from New Orleans. The 
description and figure evidently apply to Phidippus otiosus Htz. , 
well known from the Southern States. Koch, in Die Arachniden, 
placed the species in Phidippus^ and gave a better figure. This 
species will then be: 

Phidippus variegatns [ Lucas] . 
Salticus variegatus Lucas. 
Phidippus variegatus Koch. 
Attus otiosus Hentz. 

De Geer, in the seventh volume of his * * Memoires pour servir 
a THistoiredes Insectes/' published in 1778, described several 
spiders from Pennsylvania. 

Atanea mammeata De Geer, p. 318, pi. 39, fig, 5, is very 
plsLinly Argiope argentata Fab., which latter name has the pri- 
ority. It could hardly have come from Pennsylvania, but is 
known from the extreme southern parts of our country. 

Aranea rufa De Geer, p. 319, pi. 39, fig. 6, is evidently a 
Dolomedes^ and I think, without doubt, •/?. albineus of Hentz. 
Koch described it as Ocyale rufcs from Pennsylvania and Georgia. 
So this spider will stand as: 

Dolomedes rnia [De Geer] . 
Aranea rufa Koch. 
Ocyale rufa Koch. 
Dolomedes aldineus Hentz. 

Aranea undata De Geer, p. 320, pi. 39, ^%, 8, is our common 
Marptusa familiaris Hentz. It was described three times by 
Koch under the genus Marpissa; by Blackwall as a Salticus, and 
probably by Walckenaer. This species must now be: 

Marptasa undata [DeGeer]. 
Aranea undata De Geer. 
Marpissa undata Koch. 
Marpissa conspersa Koch. 
Marpissa varia Koch. 
Attus familiaris Hentz. 
Salticus sundevalli Blackwall. 

Koch, in vol. xiv, p. 78, of Die Arachniden, published in 
1848, described Mcsvia tibialis from Pennsylvania. This is 
plainly the Admestina wheeler i of Peckham, and should be 
known as: 

Admestina tibialis [Kochj. 
Mcevia tibialis Koch. 
Admestina wheeleri Peck. 



X898.] ENTOMOLOGICAL NEWS. 1 43 

Some Rare Butterflies for Northweet Missouri. 

By Frank J. Hall, Kansas City, Mo. 

The student of geographical distribution as well as the mere 
collector is always interested to hear of the rare species of a given 
locality. To know that it is always possible to run down a new 
species for one's own locality gives an increased interest in careful 
collecting. I don't believe that this city has been noted for careful 
naturalists, but we have a wonderfully rich insect fauna here and 
a handful of eager boys trying to land it in their cabinets. We 
consider the following species of butterflies among the rarities 
and invite any body to add to the number. 

Callidryas argante. — During September, 1895, the orange- 
colored male of this species was taken from thistle blossom in 
company with eubule, which was exceedingly common that year; 
the condition of the specimen was excellent. The next year, on 
September 20th, I took a female specimen of the same species 
and at the same place; the specimen was a dirty white with darker 
shades along the middle of both wings, and was not in so good 
condition as the male. During this season (1897) no specimens 
of eubule were seen. 

Terias mexicana, — On the 3d of September, 1894, a single 

male specimen was taken on a street in this city. The specimen 

was somewhat frayed. No more examples were seen until this 

year (1897), when a specimen was taken on the blossom of the 

golden-rod. It was a female, and was in poor condition. The 
species may be instantly recognized by the sharp anal angle, 
which gives to the species a tailed appearance; unique among 
our yellow butterflies. 

Eresia texana. — On Oct. 24, 1897, I took from the blossom 
of Aster a perfect female specimen of this species. Not a blemish 
exists, so far as can be seen, hence I am persuaded that the speci- 
men emerged in this locality. For the benefit of the tyro I may 
say that the species looks very much like Phyciodes at first sight, 
but is darker and has a curved excavation on the outer margin 
of the fore-wings, and is ornamented with pure white, rectangular 
spots; on the hind wings occurring in a row of six, quite square 
and close together, forming a band across the center of the wing. 

Phyciodes carlota. — Three specimens of the species have been 
taken here. The first specimen taken May 10, 1896, in a meadow 
and was alone; the last two were taken in company with nydeis 
from the blossom of cone-flower in September, 1897. Condition 
of the September specimens very good. 



144 ENTOMOLOGICAL NEWS. [June, 

A SPECIES OF ORTHOPTERA. 

[Plate IX represents a species of Orthoptera captured in Phila- 
delphia. We have received the following information in regard 
to it:] 

To the News: — At your request I furnish you with all the in- 
formation that I possess concerning the capture of the large 
mantis figured in this number of the News. The specimen was 
captured on the i6th of last October at Mt. Airy, Philadelphia, by 
my neighbor, Mr. Joseph Hindermyer, who found the insect 
resting on the upper* part of one of his tomato vines. Mr. H., 
not being familiar with the insect's harmless nature, was afraid to 
touch it, but at last managed to secure it in a paste-board box, 
in which condition it was brought to me. I found on dissecting 
the abdomen of the insect that it was a female. The eggs, which 
were oblong and of a whitish color, were contained in a glutinous 
mass, from which it was hard to separate them. 

Although a careful search was made in the vicinity in which 
the specimen was found, no others were discovered. 

Learning later that the native habitat of the insect was China 
and Japan, I made inquiry among those having nurseries and 
conservatories in the neighborhood where the specimen was cap- 
tured, regarding the importation of plants from the above-named 
countries. At the nursery of Thomas Meehan & Sons — the 
largest nursery in the vicinity of where the insect was captured — 
I was informed that they were constantly receiving plants from 
all parts of the world, so that it is more than likely that the in- 
sect was introduced through this channel. 

Philip Laurent. 



' * I have examined youf fine photographs of Hierodulida. 
There is no doubt that it is the Tenodera sinensis Saussure, from 
China and Japan. 

" It is certainly very interesting that this large species has been 
transported to the United States. I suppose the bag of eggs has 
come over pasted on the leaves or on the branches of a Japanese 
plant. It is curious that it has supported the change of climate, 
for the Tenodera are only from the hot countries. It is, though, 
a question if the species will stand your winters. I suppose there 
must be many other specimens living in the neighborhood of the 



1898.] ENTOMOLOGICAL NEWS. I45 

place where your specimen has been captured. One ought to let 
them live, to see if they will multiply. It is a useful insect, de- 
stroying the bed plant-insects and not at all noxious to vegetation. 

* * The same sort of transport was effected from North Australia 
to the hot-houses of Kew, England. The CylindrodeSy sort of 
Gryllotalpa, was found in those hot-houses making great ravages 
in the large herbaceous plants in which it makes canals and holes. 

* * I received also from Java our Gryllotalpa vulgaris, certainly 
transported to Java in the earth of some pots of plants. 

* * In the Hymenoptera those transports are frequent only by 
the ships, e. g,, in 1854 our large Vespa crabro vfdiS caught for 
the first time in North America, and now several of our wasps 
have invaded the United States; they were not known at the time 
of Say who first gave a good account of the United States 
Hymenoptera. 

" I shall have your photographs placed in our museum with a 
notice explaining what they are. 

* * If you occupy yourself with Orthoptera I should be indebted 
to you if you could send me a numerous set of the small Gryl- 
lidae called Tridactylus or Xya, of which I could not well make 
out the American species." 

Dr. H. deSAUSSURE. 



A NEW SCALE-INSECT OF THE GENUS LECANIUM. 

By T. D. A. CoCKERELL, Mesilla, N. Mex. 

Lecaniiiiii magnoliarani n. sp. 9-— Scale, 8 mm. long, 4^ wide, 2%, 
high, elongate-oval, dark brown, the subdorsal area irregularly marked 
with black or blackish; dorsum bluntly keeled; surface granular, little 
shiny, with low wart-like protuberances at intervals, reminding one of the 
skin of certain slugs of the genus Veronicella ; marginal area obscurely 
radiate by darker lines, but not plicate. Removed from the twig the 
scale leaves a white oval mark, the secretion abundant in the middlt, and 
forming a very distinct outline where the margin of the scale was, but not 
indicating the place of the stigmatal incisions; 9 antennae 8-jointed, long 
and slender. Formula 3 (451) (28) 67; 4 about ^ length of 3, 2 hardly 
over half as long as 3, 6 very much shorter than 5, 2 with a pair of long 
bristles near the end, 5 with a long bristle not far from the end, 8 with 
several bristles; another example has 4 not over % length of 3, 8 short, 
decidedly shorter than 2, 5 not quite so long as 4; formula 3 (41) 52 (86) 7. 
Legs long and unusually slender, coxae and trochanter each with a bristle 

6* 



146 ENTOMOLOGICAL NEWS. [June, 

near the end, coxae a little longer than trochanter; tibia at least as long 
as femur, tarsus about three-fifths length of tibia; claw small; tarsal digi- 
tules short, not extending as far as those of claw; claw digitules filiform, 
but with tolerably large knobs. Dermis chitinous, with scattered round 
gland-spots, which are most numerous and largest near the margin; anal 
plates of the same color as the dermis, not darkened; marginal spines 
small and entire; a short distance from the margin are numerous small 
tubular glands; newly hatched larva very pale yellowish, with a slightly 
translucent dorsal line, appearing dark when the 'insect is on a dark 
ground; no true markings. 

Hab. — Numerous on bark of twigs of deciduous magnolia in 
Japanese nursery at San Jos6, Cal., June 12, 1897 (E. M. Ehr- 
horn). Presumably introduced from Japan. It is a species of 
Eulecanium; from armeniacum it differs in the young as well as 
the adult; the scale is something like berberidis^ but the antennae, 
and especially the legs, are quite different; it is also rather like 
genista, but differs in the antennae. The species has been alluded 
to in ** California Fruit Grower," July 3, 1897, p. 5. 



COLLECTING IN THE TIERRA CALIENTE. 

By O. W. Barrett. 

All Mexico is divided into two parts: open barren upland, hot 
and damp lowland. An imaginary line may be drawn along the 
Atlantic slope of Central America from north to south and 500 
feet above that line is temperate, while 500 feet below is tropical 
climate. The mesa is not a desert, neither is the tierra caliente 
a jungle in toto, but they are vastly different regions. 

The aspect is more varied in the low country — reedy, swampy 
areas alterating with primeval forest and chaparral wastes. From 
May to October the rivers rise and transform the broad grassy 
plains along their banks into shallow lakes: and the forests be- 
come dark, steaming hot-houses. During the Winter months, 
or dry season, a part of the flora dries up and Nature rests as 
much as she can. 

Can the collector work during the rainy season ? By spread- 
ing his specimens in the sun every day or two and wrapping the 
boxes in oil-cloth at night with plenty of naphthaline he can save 
a good per cent, of the collected material; yet mildew and the 
accursed ants will get in somehow. Where storage is such a 



1898.] ENTOMOLOGICAL NEWS. 1 47 

momentous question in remote regions the tendency is to pack 
too closely, which favors decay among the larger specimens. 

What of the '* hosts of insects?'* I have traveled for hours 
up and down the rivers and walked for miles through the forests 
without seeing more than ^ very few insects (except the ubiqui- 
tous mosquitoes, of course). Along the larger rivers there is a 
small (?) insect fauna. In the depths of the forest where it is so 
•dark that bats may often be seen flying at noon — collecting is 
naturally dull. But let the insect-hunter find some dark dell with 
a deep malarious pool and plenty of flowering shrubs about and 
he feels more enthusiastic, especially if there is twenty grains of 
quinine in him; there he may find game. Also, there game may 
find him; numerous species of ants give him samples of various 
solutions of formic acid ; vipers and tree -snakes may give him an 
opportunity to test his latest snake-poison antidote; seven beau- 
tiful species of mosquitoes keep him busy; the tabano \^Tabanus 
sp. ?] bites hard; the various chaquistas bore deep; the rotodor 
makes an itching blood-blister; ticks stick to the death; the 
^arapato begins to dig her den (under the nails) : and the moya- 
•cuil (human Oestrid) lays the larvae which at once proceed to 
•establish themselves in his flesh for at least two weeks as * * howl- 
ing reminders'* that ** There's a purpose in pain, else it were 
hellish." 

The collector cannot begin work to good advantage before 
ten o'clock a. m. In the forest the atmosphere is usually very 
sultry during the middle and latter part of the day. About two 
•o'clock in the morning the air gets cooler; then the stridulation 
of the Orthoptera becomes less violently obstreperous and, toward 
sunrise, ceases altogether. Exposure to direct sunlight is said to 
be very dangerous during the Summer months; not sunstroke, 
but various forms of malarial fever being the result. The tem- 
perature rarely gets above 100° F. ; but it is the humidity that 
tells on the active collector. Rainy days are rare. Two or three 
inches of rain may fall in as many hours. In the densest forest 
where the sun never shines (because of the numerous leafy 
**behucos" which interlace the tree-tops) the collector may con- 
tinue his search for Hemiptera or Formicidae while the rain roars 
harmlessly above him. The air retains a marked hydrogenous 
odor for several hours after a heavy rain; the humidity penetrates 



148 ENTOMOLOGICAL NEWS. [June, 

all boxes and un-paraffined corks, and thus mold is sure to grow 
wherever there is **dead'' air. Indeed, I doubt whether tin- 
cases could be used with any success for the storage of specimens. 
Leather leggings give protection from palm-thorns and snake- 
teeth, but when a few ants crawl beneath them — well, they must 
come off at once. It is almost impossicle to cross a moving army 
of ants without suffering thereby. 

Water is usually all right if it runs. Fruits are dangerous un- 
less well cooked. An intolerable itching beginning at the ankles 
and spreading over the body lasts for a few weeks after entering 
"la tierra caliente;'* unless the condition of the blood is very 
good it amounts to much more than a ** heat rash.'* Bilious, 
intestinal, and malarial diseases are the most common. The 
dangers from poisonous plants and insects, " tigres*' and ** In- 
dios" may be overestimated, but the collector would be fool- 
hardy to go about without his revolver. 

Although the country has many faults there are many things 
about it to gladden the heart of the would-be entomologist. 
There the brilliant Morpho peleides flits about the tree-tops, the 
Ithomias hover on gaudy wings in the sunshiny vistas, and per- 
chance a royal Caligo floats across the forest path and folds its 
purple vesture upon the trunk of some rough -barked tree before 
the very eyes of the collector — safe in its mimicry. Huge flies, 
mighty Cerambycidae ; beautiful Odonata, like the lazy Megalo- 
prepus ccsrulescenSy and ferocious Hymenoptera; they are there, 
and it is a wonderful thing to live there with them and get ac- 
quainted with them all. It is truly a great thing to live in the 
tierra caliente, in the * * rich faunal region' ' where one can see the 
species actually alive and in their proper environment, fresh and 
[occasionally] entire and ** at their best." However, it is a great 
thing to see the same specimens {i, e, , the perfect ones) arranged 
over the white paper of a cabinet; to have a bed to sleep upon 
and something to eat; to live without fever and within reach of a 
physician. 

Idealization is an excellent thing in its place — in magazine 
articles, for example; but it wilts in the desert places and cannot 
thrive in a tropical forest. 



1898,] 149 



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 Oontrlbutors.'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 circumfet- 
ence, as to make it necessary to put " copy" into the hands of the printer, for each number, 
three weeks before date of issue. This should be remembered in sending special or im- 
portant matter for 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, 1898. 

PACKING OF INSECTS. 

We think that it will be necessary to publish in the News an 
article on packing insects for shipment by mail or express for the 
benefit of professors of entomology, experiment station ento- 
mologists, beginners and others. We receive many packages 
of insects here and have a good opportunity of finding out how 
little some of our good friends know about the subject. Occa- 
sionally a box arrives by mail without any covering or packing 
whatever, and then we fasten a handle to it and give it to the 
baby for a rattle The sender in this case certainly has faith. 
Next comes a box with packing on two sides. The fellow that 
sends this kind reminds us of the ostrich who sticks his head in 
the sand and thinks he can't be seen. Another variety is the 
kind with sufficient space between the outer and inner box, but 
the packing has evidently been hammered in with mallet and 
chisel. The fellow that sends this kind is evidently not a physi- 
cist. The commonest mistake of all is to have much waste space 
in the inner box. Don't send a few specimens in a box that will 
hold fifty, as the smaller the box, as a rule, the greater its safety. 
There are really few people in America that understand the fine 
art of properly packing insects for shipment. We will publish 
an article on this subject in a subsequent issue. 



I50 



ENTOMOLOGICAL NEWS. 



[June, 



Notes and News. 

ENTOMOLOGICAL GLEANINGS FROM ALL QUARTERS 

OF THE GLOBE. 



A REPLY to Mr. W. R. Howard's query.— The length of the egg-stage 
of T. luna and other moths. In looking over my notes of life-histories 
I find the following, which may interest some of your readers : 

Length of egg-stage. 



promethea 








12 days. 


luna 








12 * 




polyphemus . 








12 * 




cecropia 








13 * 




itnperialis 








■ 13 ' 




regalis . 








16 * 




rubicunda 








13 ' 




stigma . 








15 * 




A. torrefacta . 








13 * 




A. biguttata . 








6 ' 




A. drexellii . 








8 ' 




N. gibbosa . 








6 * 




A, virgo. 








12 * 




A. nais . 








II * 










ist brood 2d brood 


S. exccscatus 






8 lo days. 


S. astylus 






II 8 ** 


S. myops 






. 15 


D. hylcsus . 






8 
ist brood 2d brood 3d brood 


E, tnyron 






7 9 6 days. 


T, abbottii . 






6 


//■. affinis 






7 


E. harrisii . 






II ** 


D. lineata 






6 


S. kalmicB 






36 


D. undulosa 






8 


C, amyntor . 






6 


C juglandis 








8 7 


<( 



Different broods have varied. I also find that Miss Eliot and I have 
found luna on white birch more than on any other tree. 

Mr. Howard will find that larvae need no ** trees" at all. If he will 
keep them in tightly closed tin boxes, with twigs and leaves, they will 
thrive well. I have described this process fully in an article written for 
teachers and published in " Primary Education'* for March, 1898. In 
Massachusetts I think asterias chrysalids would be dear at five cents. In 
New Hampshire and Vermont I am sure they would. — Caroline G. 
SouLE, Brookline, Mass. 



1898.] ENTOMOLOGICAL NEWS. 151 

Fourth International Congress of Zoology. — The Reception 
Committee has issued a circular containing particulars with regard to 
lodgings and other accommodation at Cambridge during the meeting in 
August next, and giving other information as to the railway fares from 
various parts of the Continent, and other arrangements for the Congress. 

The circular is accompanied by a reply-form, to be filled up and returned 
to the Secretaries by any member of the Congress who wishes rooms to 
be taken for him. 

These circulars have been sent to all who have already informed the 
Reception Committee that they hope to be present at the meeting, and 
will be sent to other Zoologists who apply to the Secretaries of the Re- 
ception Committee, The Museums, Cambridge, England. 

A Beetle Removed from a Ladv*s Ear. — May 19, 1897, Dr. A. S. 
Daggett, of Pittsburg, Pa., removed from the external ear of a German 
lady a beetle nearly one-half an inch long; it was in the auditory canal, 
close to the drum, and it was enclosed in a dense plug of wax. The 
drum was ulcerated, with considerable surrounding congestion. The lady 
did not know that she had an insect in her ear. The specimen, which 
was referred to me, was a mere shell, the soft parts having been dissolved; 
it was, however, perfectly recognizable, and it agreed with the European 
species Phyllopertha horticola Linn. (Scarabaeidae). The determination 
was made by direct comparison of specimens from Switzerland. The 
species, so far as I know, does not occur in this country. The lady has 
not been in Europe since August, 1893, consequently this large beetle 
must have been in her ear at least three years and nine months; perhaps 
much longer. — Herbert H. Smith. 

Interesting captures. — The morning of Feb. 10, 1898, I found here, 
near the bed of a small mountain stream, in a grassy, damp situation on 
the lower surface of a stone a specimen of the curious blind Tenebrionid 
Alaudes singularis Horn. The beetle was in the society of a small black 
ant with black abdomen and reddish brown thorax and head. The ants 
and the Alaudes were absolutely motionless, benumbed by the rather cold 
morning air, and it was only after some minutes of scrupulous searching 
that I discovered the minute beetle adhering to the lower surface of the 
stone. It feigned death even in the cyanide bottle quite a long time for 
his small size. Under the same stone was a specimen of Anchomma 
costatum Lee. 

During the month of January I have taken on the banks of the above- 
described streamlet on meat hidden by me under stones, chips and leaves 
about two dozens of Cychrus mimus Horn. More than the half of the 
specimens were females. — A. Fen yes, M.D., Pasadena, Cal. 

Notes on Neominois ridingsii and dionvsius. — Dionysius exists at 
just the same altitude as ridingsii, so the differences are not the effect of 
altitude. Ridingsii is very abundant everywhere around the city of Denver; 
even in the city in grassy places. This elevation is from five to six thou- 
sand feet; it also occurs up to eight thousand feet, and probably higher. 



152 ENTOMOLOGICAL NEWS. [June, 

Glenwood Springs, Garfield County, Colorado, where dionysius is abun- 
dant is just the same elevation as Denver with this difference: Denver is 
a gradual elevation of the plains, while Glenwood is a depression in the 
mountains worn by the rapid rivers. Ridingsii is found in the short 
grass, dionysius on sandy and stony desert tracts, always sitting on the 
hot sand of the trails, and, when started, flying on the bare rocks either 
down to the riverside or the side of the cliflfe above for a few minutes, 
then back to the hot dusty tracts. Both species occur at Salida, their 
habits and habitat still keeping distinct. This place is over seven thou- 
sand feet in altitude. Here I have taken dionysius in a volcanic patch, 
barren and desolate, and ridingsii on the grassy meadow watered by the 
little Arkansas River. — David Bruce. 

"j Insect Grafting. — A discovery which may lead to important re- 
sults has been made by Mr. Henry E. Crampton, Instructor in Biology in 
Columbia University. Mr. Crampton has been studying the works of a 
German scientist named Born, and has made a practical test of some of 
his theories, with extraordinary results. He has experimented on the 
embryo of the butterfly at the period of its existence when it lies inactive 
in its cocoon, after its life as a caterpillar. Every one has seen the g^rub 
spinning its delicate nest on a leaf or twig, and entering it, as into a grave, 
remaining there eatin^^ nothing and apparently dead for a few weeks, and 
then emerging from it a beautiful creature with wings. Mr. Crampton 
collected a number of these cocoons and operated on their insensible 
occupants. He found that he could cut the comatose creatures in half 
and join the half of one to the half of another without affecting the life 
of either. The chrysalids so joined accomplished the usual period of 
their retirement and emereed from it as two butterflies, with wonderful 
combinations of colors and organisms, apparently none the worse for the 
operation which had been performed. Prof. Smith, of the New Jersey 
Experiment Station, who has made the facts of Mr. Crampton's work 
known, believes that the discovery will constitute an era in biological 
science. The principle has an endless variety in possible forms of afjpli- 
cation and may eventually reach to higher orders of life. The possiliility 
of continuing two natures in a single living organism being once demon- 
strated, scientists will perceive how far-reaching may be the effects of 
such experiments." — Christian Herald. 



Entomological Literature. 

Under the above head it is intended to note such 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, unless monographs, or con- 
taining descriptions of new genera, will not be noted. Contributions to the anatomy, 
physiology and embryology of insects, however, wheiher relating to American 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 arti- 
cles 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 lact is indicated in 
parenthesis. 

4:. The Canadian Entomologist, London, Ont., May, '98.-5. Psyche, 
Cambridge, Mass., May, '98.-8. The Entomologist's Monthly Magazine, 
London, May, '98.-9. The Entomologist, London, May, '98.— 14. Pro- 



1898.] ENTOMOLOGICAL NEWS. 1 53 

ceedings of the Zoological Society of London, '97, part iv, April i. *98.— 
21. The Entomolog:ist*s Record, London. April 15, '98.-22, Zoolog- 
ischer Anzeiger, Leipsic, April 4, *98.--36. Transactions, Entomological 
Society of London, '98, pt. i, April 20. — 41. Entomologische Nachrichten, 
xxiv, 5, Berlin, March, *98.— 64. Annalen d. K. K. Naturhistorischen 
Hofmuseums, xii, Vienna, '97. — ^72. Transactions, Kansas Academy of 
Science xv, Topeka, '98.-73. Archives de Zoologie Experimentale et 
Generale (3), v, 3, Paris, '97. — 74. Naturwissenschaftliche Wochenschrift, 
Berlin, April 24, '98. — 75. Twenty-eighth Annual Report, Entomological 
Society of Ontario, Toronto, '98. 

The General Subject.— A Text- Book of Entomology including 
the Anatomy, Physiology, Embryology and Metamorphoses of Insects for 
use in Agricultural and Technical Schools and Colleges as well as by the 
working Entomologist By Alpheus S. Packard, M.D., Ph.D , Professor 
of Zoology and Geology, Brown University, Author of " Guide to Study 
of Insects," *' Entomology for Beginners," etc. New York. The Mac- 
millan Company, 1898. 8vo, pp. xvii, 729; 654 figs. Received from the 
publishers through John Wanamaker. Price I4.50. 

For some years past we have been expecting a new edition of Prof. 
Packard's '• Guide," but the present work is something entirely different. 
Nothing like it, in its scope, has appeared in English since Newport's 
article on Insecta in 1839, while in other languages the only comparable 
works, during the same period, have been Graber's ** Insecten," 1877, and 
Kolbe's " Einfuhrung," 1893. No one or two men could, out of their own 
experience, produce such a work, so that we are here given a summary of 
the labors of several generations of anatomists, physiologists and embry- 
ologists upon insects, and treated from the standpoint of morphology, 
of comparative anatomy and physiology. The first part, entitled * * Mor- 
phology and Physiology," deals with the position of Insects in the Animal 
Kingdom (pp. 1-26), the External (pp. 27-210) aud the Internal (pp. 211- 
514) Anatomy. The Second Part, on Embryology (pp. 515-592), is stated 
to be based oh Korschelt and Heider's Lehrbuch. The Third Part (pp. 
593-708) treats of the Metamorphoses. At the end of each section 
dealing with some special structure or function, following the model set 
by the German text-books, a bibliography is given with this improvement 
— that the entries are arranged chronologically. Needless to say these 
add immensely to the value of the book. The illustrations, whose wealth 
is indicated above, show signs of the improvement gradually appearing 
in English text-books, relieving them of the charge of inferiority com- 
pared with those in German. Being, from the nature of the case, chiefly 
a summary and a compilation, the value of the work must depend on the 
thoroughness with which this has been done. Few are in a position to 
judge of the degree of this thoroughness in the various groups, and we 
cannot therefore express an opinion on this point. Specialists will per- 
haps detect some omissions as, for example, any reference in the text to 
Ris' researches on the proventriculus of Odonata, or the statement, re- 



154 ENTOMOLOGICAL NEWS. [June, 

produced from Wheeler (p. 355), that the embryonic number of Malpighian 
tubules in Ephemeridea and Odonata has not been ascertained. In the 
latter group the number is three, as first stated in the News for June, 
1895, p. 181, and subsequently expressly confirmed by Heymons, who 
also gives two as the number in embryonic may-flies. Yet these may be 
hypercriticisms, and the Text-Book is indispensable to scientific ento- 
mologists, forming a welcome complement to Dr. Sharps* '* Insects'* in 
the Cambridge Natural History.— P. P. Calvert. 

B e t h u n e , C. J. S. Sketch of James Fletcher, portrait, 75- — H o w - 
ard, L. O. On the entomological results of the exploration of the 
British West India islands by the British Association for the Advancement 
of Science, 75. — K n u t h , P. How do flowers attract insects ? Botan- 
isches Centralblatt 1898, No. 15, Cassel.— Moffat, J. A. Protective 
resemblances, 75. — Obituary, Johnson Pettit, 4. — Poult on, E. B. 
Theories of mimicry as illustrated by African butterflies; Protective 
mimicry as evidence for the validity of the theory of natural selection. 
Report of the British Association for the Advancement of Science, To- 
ronto meeting of 1897, London, '98, and 21. — R obertson,C. Flowers 
and insects, xviii. Botanical Gazette, Chicago, April, '98. — S t r i c k 1 a n d, 
T. A. G. Further notes on the direct photographic enlargement of ento- 
mological specimens, with description of a new apparatus, 8. 

fjconomic Cntomology. — Anon. The pernicious Aspidiotus, Re- 
vue Scientifique, Paris, April 23, *98. — Barrows. The present* status 
of the San Jos6 scale in Michigan, 75. — Bethune, C. J. S. Some 
household insects, figs. ; Notes on the season of 1897, figs., "75. — B r i 1 1 o n, 
W. E. Insect notes of the season. Twenty-first Annual Report, Connec- 
ticut Agric. Exper. Station for 1897. Part iv. New Haven, '98. —Chre- 
tien, P. Natural history of Ennychia fascialis Hb., Naturaliste, Paris, 
April 15, '98. — Dearness, J. Annual address of the President: The 
insects of the year, figs. , 75. — D iscussionon temperature experiments 
as affecting received ideas on the hibernation of injurious insects, 75. — 
Fletcher, J. The San Jos6 scale, figs., 75. — Harrington, W. H. 
Notes on the insects of the year 1897, figs., 75.— Hopkins, A. !> 
The periodical Cicada in West Virginia, figs., map, 4 pis. Bulletin 50, 
W. Va. Agric. Exper. Station, Morgantown, W. Va., Jan., '98. — H u a r d , 
V. A. The Hemiptera in the Canadian Parliament; The plague of cater- 
pillars on the Saguenay, Naturaliste Canadien, Chicoutimi (Quebec), 
April, *98. — H u n t e r , S. J. Notes on injurious insects, 72. — Ke n y o n , 
F. C. Abstract of recent publications, Experiment Station Record ix, 
9, Washington, 1898. — K i r k 1 a n d , A. H. The work against the gypsy 
moth, 1897, 75. — Kr tiger, F. The San Jos^ scale question, figs., 74» 
— L i n t n e r , J. A. Twelfth Report on the injurious and other insects of 
the State of New York for the year 1896, 9 text figs., 15 pis., Fiftieth Re- 
port on the New York State Museum, Albany, '97. Rec*d May 7, '98. — 
Lowe, V. H. Inspection of nurseries and treatment of infested nur- 
sery stock. Bulletin 136, New York Agricultural Experiment Station, Ge- 



1898.] ENTOMOLOGICAL NEWS. 1 55 

neva, N. Y., Dec, '97; Plant lice: descriptions, enemies and treatment, 
3 pis., Bulletin 139 of the same.— Mar la tt, C. L. Notes on insecti- 
cides, 75. — Matzdorff, C. The San Jos^ scale, i pi., Zeitschrift fiir 
Pflanzenkrankheiten, viii, i. Stuttgart, April 2, *98. — [Description of a 
patented insect-catching tree girdle in the same journal.] — Moffat, J. 
A. The value of systematic entomological observations, 75. — N u 1 1 a 1 1 , 
G. H. F. In explanation of the r61e which piercing insects play in the 
distribution of infectious diseases, Centralblatt fiir Bakteriologie, Jena, 
April 16, '98. — Stedman, J. M. A new orchard pest, the fringed-wing 
apple-bud moth {Nothris f maligemmella)^ figs.* 4. 

Myriopoda. — Dubosq, O. On the sensory nervous system of 
Tracheates (Orthoptera, Chilopoda), i pi., 73. 

Arachnida. — Pocock, R. I. The nature and habits of Pliny's 
Solpuga, figs.. Nature, London, April 28, '98. — Simon, E. On the 
spiders of the island of St. Vincent, part iii,* 14. 

Orthoptera. — B o r d a s , L. The salivary glands of Pseudo-neurop" 
tera and Orthoptera (concl.), 3 pis., 73. — B r a n c s i k , C. Series of new 
Orthoptera, 3 pis., Jahresheft des naturwissenschaftlichen Vereines des 
Trencsiner Comitates, Trencsen, '98. — Br in d ley, H. H. On the re- 
generation of the legs in the Blattidae, 14. — D u b o s c q , O. See Myrio- 
poda.— F y 1 e s , T. W. The locusts of the Bible, 75.— L o c h a r d , W. 
A study of the Gryllidae (Crickets), figs., 75. — Lugger, O. Third 
Annual Report of the Entomologist of the State Experiment Station of 
the University of Minnesota to the Governor for the year 1897. St. Paul, 
'98. 297 pp., 187 figs. This is a monograph of the Orthoptera of Minne- 
sota. — Scudder, S. H. The Orthopteran group Scudderiae,* i pi.. 
Proceedings of the American Academy of Arts and Sciences, xxxiii, 15, 
April, *98. — W a 1 k e r , E. M. Notes on some Ontario Acridiidae, 4. 

Neuroptera.— B o r d a s , L. See Orthoptera.— C u r r i e , R. P. New 
species of North American Myrmelionidae, ii,* 4, — Schenkling- 
Pr^v6t . The life of Termites (cont.) Insekten-Borse, xv, 17, etc. Leip- 
sic, April, '98. 

Hemiptera. — Bergroth, E. Diagnoses of some new Aradidae, 
8. — C arpenter, G. H. Trochopus and Rhagovelia^ 8 — C h a m - 
p i o n , G. C. Notes on American and other Tingitidae, with descriptions 
of two new genera and four species,* 2 pis., 36. — C o c k e r e 1 1 , T. D. 
A. The Cottonwood snow-scale of Nebraska,* 4 ; A Mexican wax-scale 
in England, 9. — G erstaecker, A. On some noteworthy Fulgorinae 
of the Greifswald zoological collection, Mittheilungen, naturwissenschaft- 
lichen Verein iur Neu-Vorpommern und Riigen in Greifswald, 1896. — 
Gillette, C. P. American leaf-hoppers of the subfamily Typhlocy- 
binse,* figs.. Proceedings, United States National Museum, xx. No. ii38» 
Washington, '98. — H andlirsch, A. Monograph of the Phymatidae,* 
6 pis., 35 text-figs., 64,— H o p k i n s , A. D. See Economic Entomology. 
— K i r k a 1 d y , G. W. Notes on aquatic Rhynchota — No. 2, 9. 

Coleoptera. — G eorgevitsch,J. The segmental glands of Ocypus, 



156 ENTOMOLOGICAL NEWS. [June, 

figs., 22. — Knaus, W. Additions to the list of Kansas Coleoptera, 
72. — R e i 1 1 e r , E. Key to the European species of Pissodes^ 41. 

Diptera. — Eaton, E. A. Supplement to **A Synopsis of British 
Psychodidae," 8. — Harris, W. H. Note on the teeth of Diptera, figs., 
I pi., Report and Transactions Cardiff Naturalists' Society, xxix, '97. — 
Hough, G. de N. The Muscidae collected by Dr. A. Donaldson Smith 
in Somahland, Eastern Africa, figs., Proceedings, Academy of Natural 
Sciences, Philadelphia, '98, pt. i, May.— Johnson, C. W. Diptera col- 
lected by Dr. A. Donaldson Smith in Somaliland, Eastern Africa, figs., in 
the same. — v. Linden, M. On the discovery oi Puliciphora luci/era, 
74.— Townsend, C. H. T. Diptera from the Mesilla Valley of the 
Rio Grande in New Mexico, ii, 5.— W i 1 1 i s t o n , S. W. Notes and de- 
scriptions of Mydaidae,* T2. 

Liepidoptera.— B a c o t , A. The British Liparid moths (cont.), 21. — 
Bird, H. Notes on the Noctuid germs Hydroectay 4, — F y 1 e s , T. W. 
Notes on the season of 1897, figs, 75. — Gibson, A. A few notes on 
the season of 1897, fig., T5. — God man, F. DuC. and Salvin, O 
Descriptions of new species of American Rhopalocera, 36. — Grant, 
C. E. Notes on the season of 1897, figs., 75. — Grote, A. R. The 
wing and larval characters of the Emperor moths, 4 figs. Proceedings, 
South London Entomological and Natural History Society, *97. — How- 
ard, L. O. Additional observations on the parasites of Orgyia leucos- 
tigina^ 75. — H u 1 s t , G. D. Descriptions of new genera and species of 
the Geometrina of North America,* 4. — Lyman , H. H. On butterfly 
books, 75.— Moffat, J. A. Catocala illecta Walk., 4; Notes on the 
season of 1897, figs., 75.— O ttolengui, R. Metallic species of Basi- 
lodes and new species of allied genera, i pi.,* 4* — Poulton, E B. 
See General Subject (two papers). — Renter, E. On a new classifica- 
tion of the Rhopalocera (cont.), 21. — S cudder,S. H. A study of the 
caterpillars of North American swallowtail butterflies, i (altered from his 
Butterflies of the East. U. S. and Can.), i pi., 5. — S ted man, J. M. 
See Economic Entomology. — ^Tutt, J. W. Some results of recent ex- 
periments in hybridising Tephrosia bistortata and Z". crepusculana, 3tt. 

Hymenoptera.— B i g n e 1 1 , G. C. Oak galls, 8.— Dyar, H. G. 
Description of an unusual saw-fly larva belonging to the Xyelinae,* 5. — 
V. Ihering, H. The foundation of new colonies and fungus-gardens 
by Atta sexdens, fig., 22. — ^J anet, C. On a cavity of the integument 
of the Myrmicinae, serving to draw out a product of secretion, figs. 
Comptes Rendus, I'Academie des Sciences, Paris, April 18, '98. — 
Konow, F. W. The exotic Cephini, supplementary to my work on 
the palaearctic Cephini, 1896, 41; Systematic and critical revision of the 
saw-fly tribe Lydini, ii, 64. 



1898.] ENTOMOLOGICAL NEWS. 1 57 

Doings of Societies. 



• A meeting of the American Entomological Society was held 
April 28th, Dr. P. P. Calvert, vice-president, in the chair. Let- 
ters were read, acknowledging election to corresponding mem- 
bership, from James Fletcher, Ottawa, Canada; A. Handlirsch, 
Vienna, Austria; F. F. Kohl, Vienna, Austria. A letter from 
Dr. Henri de Saussure was read in relation to the finding of 

Tenodera sinensis at Philadelphia. Mr. Charles Liebeck reported 
finding one specimen of Chlcenius purpuricollis, and also a spe- 
cies of Bledius in the yard at his home. Dr. Skinner called 
attention to the interesting and valuable list of Colorado Lepid- 
optera recently published by Prof. Gillette in the Bulletin 43 of 
the Colorado Agricultural Experiment Station. The list is valu- 
able on account of the exact localities and dates of capture being 
given. Dr. Calvert exhibited some alcoholic specimens of 
Odonata from Lower California which he had taken to Cam- 
bridge, Mass., for comparative study — and these studies showed 
that in some instances species as listed by authors had been im- 
properly placed as to genera. The differential characters in the 
wing and leg structures were pointed out in the genera Dythemis, 
Brechmorhoga, Paltothemis and Macrothemis, The same speaker 
also made some remarks on the character of the new Text Book 
of Entomology by Dr. Packard. The following persons were 
elected Corresponding Members of the Society: Prof August 
Forel, Zurich, Switzerland; Dr. Gustav Mayr, Vienna, Austria; 
Sir John Lubbock, Kent, England; Prof. J. H. Comstock, Ithaca, 
N. Y. Dr. Henry Skinner, Secretary, 



At the meeting of the Feldman Collecting Social on May loth 
a letter was read from Dr. H. G. Griffith dated Phoenix, Ariz., 
May I, 1898, in which the collecting experiences of the writer in 
that region were described. The dryness of the past season and 
consequental scarcity of certain species were dwelt on, as well as 
certain social conditions of the region. A list of a number of 
his captures of Coleoptera was included. 

Prof. Smith showed plaster casts of the burrows of insects andl 
spiders. The casts are made by pouring liquid plaster of Paris 
nto the burrows which is allowed to harden and then carefully 



158 ENTOMOLOGICAL NEWS. [June, 

dug out. In ij>lletes compacta the burrows contain but one cell 
and extend 18 inches into the ground, ^ugochlora humeralis 
builds a burrow extending in one instance over 60 inches. At 
various places along the burrow offshoots or branches are put out 
which contain the cells, which are lined with clay and then stored 
with food. The present cells are evidently old and contained 
hibernating bees in many instances. 

Mr. H. Wenzel showed specimens oi Pyractomena lucifer^ and 
spoke of the light emitted by it, which exists in the pupa as well 
as in the larval state. 

The characteristics and food habits of Pyractomena were dis- 
cussed by Messrs. H. Wenzel, Smith and Aaron. The larvae 
are carnivorous and probably feed on snails. 

Mr. Johnson exhibited specimens of Xylophaga abdominalis 
bred from the larva which were found under the bark of decay- 
ing pine at Riverton, N. J. The specimens differ from Texan 
examples in the extent of red on the abdomen of the female. 
The llarva of Tabanus atratus was also shown, the larva and 
' pupa of a Tipulid^ and a larva of Stratiomyia, 

Mr. Aaron asked for information regarding the coleopterous 
larva which bores into chestnut lumber, whose perforations are 
similar to shot holes. 

Prof Smith referred to a recent paper on the subject by Prof 
Hopkins, of the West Virginia Agricultural College, and said 
the larva was probably Lymexylon, 

Mr. Aaron also inquired of the members regarding the lon- 
gevity of insects and mentioned a larva of Tenebriodes tnauri- 
ianica which he has had since October, 1897, and has apparently 
not grown whatever. 

Prof Smith mentioned the record of a species oi Pissodes which 
lived for two seasons and oviposited in two successive years and 
is still living. The wainscoting of a house in New Brunswick, 
N. J., has been infested by a beetle larva for at least three years. 

Mr. Aaron spoke on the longevity of cerambycid larva and 
cited Packard as authority for the record of larvae living for 24 
and 40 years. He questioned this record, and stated that there 
was a likelihood that the larva were more recently introduced 
into wood than had been supposed. 

The same speaker remarked on the stucture of the mud dauber 
wasp, Sceliphron cementarius^ after emerging from the pupa. 



1898.] ENTOMOLOGICAL NEWS. 1 59 

The abdomen and thorax are connected by thin membranes, 
probably to brace the immature body of the wasp. 

Prof. Smith suggested these membranes are remains of pupal 
skin. 

Mr. Aaron said another pupal skin is present in addition to 
this membrane. 

A vote of thanks was extended to Mr. G. B. King, of Law- 
rence, Mass. , for his donation of microscopic slides. 

Mr. H. Wenzel and Mr. Laurent were appointed a Committee 
on Field Meeting July 4, 1898. 

Wm. J. Fox, Seaetary, 



Regular meeting of the Newark Entomological Society was 
held April loth at Turn Hall at 4 p. M. with Vice-president 
Brehme in the chair. It was decided to hold the next special 
meeting at the laboratory of Prof Smith at New Brunswick. 
Mr. Rienecker presented a handsome collecting box, in the shape 
of a book to the Society, to be given to the member who brings 
the most candidates for membership from Jan. i, 1898, to Jan. 
I, 1899. 

Mr. Weidt exhibited a larva of a species of Sesia which he is 
breeding that had bored into the cork stopper of a small bottle 
in which it was kept since April 9th and is still alive at this 
writing, April 26th. 

Each of the members exhibited a series of the genus Ardia 
which was well represented, particularly in that of Mr. Angelman. 

Among the specimens brought by Mr. Erb was a Piusia/or- 
mosa taken in the vicinity of New York city. 

Mr. Kircher exhibited a pair of Hyperchiria io taken from the 
pupal cage in coitu, which he had mounted and spread as he 
found them. 

Mr. Weidt remarked that he found a pair of Lagoa crispata 
under similar circumstances Nov. 16, 1897; the weather was very 
cold and the pupae were kept in the attic. 

The next regular meeting will be held at Hemlock Falls, 
Orange Mountains, May 8th, which will be the first field meeting 
of the season. 

No further business- the meeting adjourned. 

A. J. Weidt, Secretary, 



l60 ENTOMOLOGICAL NEWS. [June, 

OBITUARY. 

Professor David Simons Kellicott was bom at Hastings Centre, 
Oswego County, N. Y., January 28, 1842, and died at his home in Co- 
lumbus, Ohio, April 13, 1898. In his boyhood his frail constitution and 
delicate health required him to spend much of his time out of doors, and 
it is to this, no doubt that in part at least, his love for nature may be 
traced. He graduated from Syracuse University with the degree of B. 
Sc, while the institution was yet known as Genesee College, teaching one 
year in southern Ohio, prior to his graduation. After graduating he 
taught one year in Kingston Normal School, Pennsylvania, after which 
he was connected for seventeen years with the State University at Buffalo, 
N. Y., being Dean of the College of Pharmacy, and also Professor of 
Botany and Microscopy. He came to the Ohio State University in 1888, 
where, for ten years, he has occupied the chair of Zoology and Entomol- 
ogy. At the time of his death he was General Secretary of the American 
Association for the Advancement of Science, President of the American 
Microscopical Society and Treasurer of the Ohio Academy of Science. 
He had served as President of the Buffalo, N. Y., Academy of Science 
and of the Ohio Academy of Science. 

Animal Parasites of Fishes and the Rotifera, from time to time, claimed 
considerable of Professor Kellicott's attention, but his entomological 
work won for him the admiration of the entomologists of America. 
Patient, conscientious, and utterly devoid of selfishness, he was one of 
the most kind and lovable men the writer has ever met. Faithful and 
just with his colleagues and the idol of his pupils, seeking patiently and 
industriously after the truth, he won esteem while living, and, in his 
death, he has left numberless friends to mourn his loss. If there was ever 
a man who deserved the reward — "Well done thou good and faithful 
servant," that man was David S. Kellicott; and the fruits of his labors on 
earth will stand as an enduring monument to his faithfulness among his 
fellow-men.— F. M. Webster. 

Especially will the American students of the Odonata feel the loss of 
Prof. Kellicott. To him is due the recognition of the distinctness of 
Enallagma geminata Kell. from E. divagans Selys, the description of 
E. fischeri Kell., and — of greater value — a very considerable number of 
observations on the habits and conditions of life, chiefly of the species 
recorded in his "Catalogue of the Odonata of Ohio," published in the 
Journal of the Cincinnati Society of Natural History for 1895, 1896 and 
1897. — Philip P. Calvert. 



Entomological News for May was mailed April 29, 1898. 



Ent. News, Vol. IX. 



PI. X. 




AN INSECT MONSTROSITY. 



ENTOMOLOGICAL NEWS 



AND 



PROCEEDINGS OF THE ENTOMOLOGICAL SECTION 

ACADEMY OF NATURAL SCIENCES, PHILADELPHIA. 



Vol. IX. 



SEPTEMBER, 1898. 



No. 7. 



CONTENTS: 



Wolcott — An insect mon^irosity i6i 

Schwarz— A setting block for Lepidop- 

tera ; 162 

Dyar— Life-history of Pam. ethlius.... 163 
Hough— A third American species of 

Cy aomyia 165 

Townsend— Some characteristic mari- 
time Diptera, etc 167 

Gillette — An insect-catching plant 169 



Jacobs— Tenod era sinensis ? 170 

Cockerell— A southern typeof Andrena 

in Connecticut 171 

Houghton— Sphaeridium scarabseoides 172 

Editorial 173 

Notes and News 174 

Entomological Literature 176 

Doings of Societies 183 



AN INSECT MONSTROSITY. 

By A. B. Wolcott. 

The figures given this month (PI. X) are drawn from a speci- 
men of Epicauta cinerea Forst taken at Hey worth, 111. , early in 
August and now in my collection at the Illinois Wesleyan Uni- 
versity. 

This beetle was crawling on a board-walk when first observed 
and its gait was extremely awkward and grotesque. The irreg- 
ular masses shown extending from the joints of tarsi are thick- 
ened considerably externally, somewhat granular and fully chit- 
inized; they are of a light gray color. Where these masses 
extend from one joint to another they cause that joint to be rigid; 
several of the tarsal joints and claws are also deformed. With 
the exception of the tarsi the specimen is normal. The figures 
will give a better idea of this tnonstrosity than many words; the 
different members are placed in the same position as they occu- 
pied in life, those at the top of the plate being the anterior feet. 

Mr. Lancaster Thomas will make further onslaughts on the Lepidop- 
tera of Cranberry, N. C. Argynnis diana is an old friend of his, and he 
always manages to get some fine examples. 



i62 ENTOMOLOGICAL NEWS. [September, 

A SETTING-BLOCK FOR LEPIDOPTERA. 

By Hermann Schwarz, St. Louis, Mo. 

Being aware of the difficulty which presents itself to almost 

every collector of Lepidoptera in finding a suitable block or board 

on which to spread his specimens, I herewith take pleasure in 



■R^.TL 



presenting a sketch of a block which 1 have found to answer the 
purpose to perfection. 

Fig. I shows a cross-section and top of the block. As will 



1898.] ENTOMOLOGICAL NEWS. 163 

be readily seen, the groove for the reception of the bodies of the 
specimens forms the center ; i shows the gimlet hole through 
which the pin passes; 2 is end of strip of wood to be placed at 
the bottom, as can be better seen in Fig. Ill, i. 

Fig. II represents the block with bottom open, showing the 
anatomy as it were. A groove a bit wider than the top one is 
cut directly underneath it, 3. Another groove yet wider than 
the last is cut as shown at 4; 2 are very thin pieces of cork about 
^y inch, thick glued over the gimlet holes. 

Fig. Ill shows the block with bottom closed^ that is to say 
with strip of wood, i, placed in position. The block should be 
made of .soft wood, such as poplar or basswood. By drawing 
parallel lines about ^ inch, apart across the block, as shown in 
Fig. I, the wings can be set even with greater exactness. 



LIFE-HISTORY OF PAMPHILA ETHLIUS Cr. 

By Harrison G. Dyar. 

Mrs. Slosson called my attention to some Hesperid larvae that 
were eating the leaves of Canna planted in the grounds of the 
Hotel Royal Palm at Miami, Fla. They were numerous, and at 
some points had considerably injured the appearance of the 
plants. We concluded that they must be P, ethlius, which 
proved to be the case. Mrs. Slosson asked me to describe them, 
and, with the help of Dr. Prime, I found all the stages, thus 
avoiding the necessity of slow breeding. The larva is the most 
transparent that I have seen. 

Egg. — Singly, scattered on either side of the leaf; almost per- 
fectly hemispherical, Hke a Notodontian ; white, opaque, not 
shining, with a delicate under tint of green, which gives place 
later to reddish. Surface minutely and densely white granular 
as in nadata; micropyle punctiform, depressed. Diameter i mm. ; 
height .6 mm. 

Stage I, — Forms two incisions in the edge of the leaf and 
bends over the included part by threads. Head rounded conic, 
black*brown, shining, not notched; width .55 mm. Joint 2 rather 
small, with a narrow, black, cervical shield. All else whitish 
translucent, green from the food; spiracle of joint 12 large and 
-conspicuous, whitish. Skin dull, not shining; setae not seen with 



164 ENTOMOLOGICAL NEWS. [September, 

a lens, scarcely under a half inch objective, but iv and v were 
made out as very rudimentary hairs in line and remote, simple, 
sharp pointed, not glandular. 

Stage IL — Rests in a portion of the leaf folded back. Head 
subconic, tapering above, with small vertical notch ; clypeus 
reaching halfway to vertex with side pieces; smooth, dark brown, 
the color reticulated, enclosing pale translucent dots; width i 
mm. Joint 2 small; a narrow, black, transverse, cervical shield. 
Body moderately thick, a little flattened behind, tapering before 
to joint 2; a subventral ridge; segments with five annulets poste- 
riorly. All very minutely and obscurely dark pilose. No anal 
plate, but a subdorsal paired dark seta. Transparent, no color, 
food green, tracheae whitish, distinct, their ramifications plainly 
showing. Venter not different; thoracic feet small, black. 

Stage IIL — Head dark brown, finely reticulated; width 1.4 
mm. Body as before, the minute pile dark. Skin transparent, 
the appearance dark green from the food ; spiracles conspicuous, 
a little elevated. Head small, cervical shield narrow, black; anal 
plate concolorous with body. Length 10 mm. 

Stage IV, — Head very small in proportion, 2.2 mm. wide, the 
larva over 30 mm. long; head high, narrowing above, slightly 
notched, pilose, dull glaucous brown, somewhat shining, the pile 
obscure. Body thick, tapering before and more abruptly behind, 
segments 7- or 8 annulate, annulet i very large; slightly shining, 
minutely black pilose, the pile from little black tubercles. Cervical 
shield narrow, transverse, black ; prespiracular tubercle black, a 
white spot below it. Thoracic feet small, black; anal plate thick- 
ened into a low pod, not pigmented. Body perfectly transparent, 
stomach within dark green; edges of dorsal vessel, sex glands 
(in S ) and tracheae yellowish white, the spiracle on joint 12 with 
dense radiating tracheae; subventral ridge and feet a little whitish, 
but no fat granules or any pigment. Appearance blackish green, 
but wholly from food and blood. 

Stage V, — Head rounded triangular, notched at vertex, small; 
white, caramel tinted, brownish at apex, a triangular black spot 
in apex of clypeus, a rounded spot on ocelli and jaws black; not 
shining, a little shagreened, pile obsolescent; width 3.6 mm. 
Body very large and thick, 50 mm. long, flattened at the large 
concolorous plate, tapering before to joint 2. Cervical shield 
obsolete, except a black dot at each side; spiracles large, white. 



1898.] ENTOMOLOGICAL NEWS. 165 

especially the one on joint 2. Thoracic feet of joint 2 black, 
the others white. Segments annulate behind, pile small, obso- 
lescent, tubercles whitish. Very transparent, the blood watery, 
the food in the stomach dark green. Stomach, dorsal vessel, 
tracheae of both skin and stomach, sex glands (the % elliptical, 
subdorsal, situated in joint 9, the 9 a slender oblique cord in 
joint 10) and the internal organs in general all plainly visible. 
A diffuse white subdorsal stripe of pigment on the skin; subven- 
tral fold narrowly whitish. A nearly white patch on each side 
ventrally of joints 11-12. Spiracle of joint 12 a little higher up 
than the rest, with short, densely radiating tracheae ; edge of 
joint 13 pilose, pale. The larva lives in one or more leaves 
united by silk. 

Pupa, — Formed in the resting place of the larva, held by a 
transverse loop and a band of silk for the cremaster. The cre- 
mastral band is attached at one end to the leaf, at the other to a 
transverse thread. Pupa slender, cylindrical, a little thickest 
through mesothorax, last two segments tapering. Eyes large, 
prominent; a long, thick horn arising between them, recurved a 
little at the tip. Cases reaching the third abdominal segment, a 
long slender tongue-case reaching back 21 mm. , or 5 mm. beyond 
the end of the cremaster. Legs of segments 4-6 represented by 
little patches of corneous scales. Three moveable incisures. Cre- 
master long, hollowed below at base with many terminal hooks. 
Pale green with white bloom, a curved blackish bar between the 
eyes ; horn dark red ; a set of black dots on abdomen in the 
normal position of tubercles i, ii and v of larva, a pair of dots 
on prothorax and one on metathorax subdorsally. Exactly, the 
abdominal black dots are thus: seg. i, tubercle ii; segs. 2 and 3, 
tubercles i and ii; segs. 4-6, tubercles i, ii and v; seg. 7, tuber- 
cles i and ii; seg. 8, tubercle ii, this spiracle obsolete, represented 
by a scar ; no tubercles behind seg. 8. Skin finely wrinkled, 
shagreened. Dimensions 40 x 7.5 mm.; length of horn 3 mm. 



A THIRD AMERICAN SPECIES OF CYMOMYIA. 

By Garry deN. Hough, M.D. 

In the Entomological News for May, 1898, I described two 
new American species of Cynomyia, In a small collection of 
Muscidae made by Mr. Trevor Kincaid on St. Paul's Island, 



i66 ENTOMOLOGICAL NEWS. [September, 

Alaska, last Summer, I found a third species, whose description 

follows : 
CynoiiiTU blrta nov. sp.; one male and one female. In size, color and 

proportions this species resembles very closely Cynomyia mortuorunt 
Linn. The male dif- 
fers from morluorum : 
(i) by its much longer 
and denser coating of 
hair on the thorax, ab- 
domen and legs, and 
(i) by the much smaller 
size of the two terminal 
chitinous hooks of the 
hypopygium. The fe- 
male may be distin- 
guished from that of 
taoriuorum {j) byhav- 
ingfourinstead of three 
maerochasts in the lat- 
eral row of the flexor 
surface of the hind 
tibix and {2) by the 
diseal macrochjets of 
the fourth abdominal 
segment being stouter 

Chslotaxy . . . That of the female differs from the normal 
ch^etotaxy of Cynomyia americana only in two points: (i) it has 
but two do rso- centrals in front of the transverse suture, and (2) 
it has but one achrostichal behind the suture. The thoracal 
macroch^etze of the male are more slender than in the other spe- 
cies of Cynomyia that I have seen, and this with the unusual length 
and density of the hair makes the cli^etotaxy of the male rather 
difficult to see. It does not, however, differ from that of the 
female except in having (i) an additional posthuraeral macro- 
chaeta laterad the presutural, (2) a very delicate third anterior 
dorso central, and (3) what is evidently an individual abnormality, 
viz., the presence of three marginal scutellar macrochaetas on the 
left side, while on the right side there is but one, as in the female. 

I think it highly probable that the cheetotaxy of the male will 
be found quite variable, because of its long, thick coating of 
hair, for in other Muscid^e, under similar conditions, I have 
usually found it variable. 



1898.] ENTOMOLOGICAL NEWS. 167 

Some Characteristic IWaritime Diptera from the South end of 
Padre Island, and the Adjacent Texas Coast.—I. 

By C. H. Tyler Townsend. 

In the Summer of 1895. during the month of June, the writer 
collected a few insects on the south end of Padre Island, which 
was visited on several occasions. This island belongs to the 
Antillean province, and to that fauna which should be known as 
the Mexican Maritime, The Diptera, especially, which occur 
here, bear a characteristic appearance indicative of the conditions 
of environment which surround them. They are mostly of a 
whitish or gray color, thus assimilating well with the stretches of 
sandy beach which they frequent. Some interesting species were 
collected here, as well as on the beach of the mainland. 

TABANID£. 

I. Tabanns maritimiis n. sp.— Length 10-10.5 mm. Differs from 7. 
psammophilus O. S. as follows : Face gray, with white hairs; palpi white; 
first two antennal joints pale yellowish, the third brownish with annulate 
portion darker. Thorax black, clothed with white hairs, and with three 
grayish white pollinose vittae. Abdomen evenly tapering to tip, blackish, 
hind edges of segments whitish yellow, the whole thickly clothed with a 
soft white pubescence. Legs pale yellowish, tips of tibiae slightly brown- 
ish, tarsi hardly so. Wings whitish, the stump of a vein near origin of 
upper branch of third vein is well marked in two of the specimens, being 
as long as the basal section of the branch, but in the other it is exceed- 
ingly short and barely perceptible; posterior cells all open, none of them 
narrowed ; halteres whitish yellow. Difference between the large and 
small facets of the eye is not marked, being gradual and slight, and the 
small facets cover an extensive areai along posterior orbit, the large facets 
being confined to the inner central portion of the eye. In life this species 
presents a uniformly white appearance, being almost exactly the color of 
the sand and drift-wood upon which it habitually rests. 

Three males, June 29, 1895, on logs and sand on beach, at 
south end of Padre Island, Texas. 

7! psammophilus was taken by Hubbard and Schwarz on the 
sea-beach of the Florida coast, at Fort Capron. Mrs. Slosson 
has recently taken it at Lake Worth, Florida (det. Johnson). 

It is quite possible that T, names Mcq. , described from Texas, 
is identical with the present species. But should this be the case, 
the name nanus is preoccupied, as already pointed out by Osten 
Sacken, and cannot be retained. The size, 4 lines (= 8 mm.), 
more nearly coincides with the present specimens than with 



1 68 ENTOMOLOGICAL NEWS. [September, 

psammophilus . The present species is certainly distinct from 
psammophilus in the character of the facets of the eye in the % , 
as well as in the other points mentioned. It should be stated 
that there is no distinct process at base of third antennal joint, 
there being nothing more than a slight swelling which hardly 
affects the symmetry of the basal portion. 

EPHTDRID£. 

2. Lipochaeta texensis n. sp.— Length 3 to slightly over 4 mm. Differs 
from the description of L. slossoncs Coq. as follows : Head is even 
broader than thorax. Clypeus projecting fully the length of face. Front 
nearly as wide as oral opening in one specimen, in the other somewhat 
narrower; scutellum in one specimen one-third, in the other fully one- 
half as long as thorax. Claws are distinct, slender, and a little elongate, 
but not large or stout. The third and fourth veins converge toward their 
tips, but not strongly so. This fly may prove to be inseparable specifi- 
cally from slossonogy but it will at least form a good variety, from its larger 
size, longer scutellum, etc. 

Two specimens, June 8, 1895. Taken on moist beach at south 
end of Padre Island. 

This is a sleek, densely whitish-pollinose, glossy ephydrid, of 
a very peculiar aspect. It occurred in large numbers on stretches 
of moist beach on the south end of Padre Island. The speci- 
mens were taken and observed just after a rain, and while a heavy 
wind was blowing. They flew up in numbers as one approached, 
but rose only an inch or so from the sand. The whole insect, 
save for the dorsal brownish pollinose portion, presents a marked 
whitish appearance, including the wings, so that it is very diffi- 
cult to detect it when alighted on the moist sand of the beach, 
the white and brown tints assimilating well with the colors of the 
beach. 

The Florida species has similar habits, and is doubtless a 
maritime or shore species. It is from Punta Gorda. 

The genus Lipochcsta, described recently by Coquillett for the 
Florida species (Ent. News, September, 1896), is truly one of 
singular aspect and anomalous position, though clearly allied to 
the Ephydridae. It is, however, totally different in several im- 
portant respects from that family as at present characterized. 
The excessively short face, greatly widened and enlarged oral 
cavity, the projecting clypeus showing in a wide semi-circle; the 
elongate, flattened, and widened head, wedge-shaped in profile; 



1898.] ENTOMOLOGICAL NEWS. 169 

the wide front, round eyes and minute antennae; all these taken 
together, with the absence of all bristles, give this fly from a 
front view a striking appearance, which can only be described as 
* ' frog-mouthed* * or " frog-faced. ' ' 

In the shape of the head, this genus bears a considerable re- 
semblance to Pteremis nivalis Haliday. The appearance of the 
head from above is almost exactly the same, but the profile view 
at once shows marked differences. 

The striking similarity in the maritime faunas of the south 
Texas and Florida coasts, indicated by such forms as Macrancy- 
his, Oxacis, etc. , among the Coleoptera, is thus seen to be borne 
out also by the Diptera in Tabanus maritimus and psammophilus^ 
LipochcBta^ etc. 



AN INSECT-CATCHING PLANT. 

By C. P. Gillette, Fort Collins, Colo. 

Any one who has attempted to collect the pretty blue flowers 
from Lactuca pulchella must have been annoyed by the disagree- 
able sticky exudation that covers the buds and stems near the 
flowers, and probably the latter were soon thrown away in dis- 
gust. This plant grows in great profusion along the railroad 
track near the college grounds at Fort Collins, where it vies with 
the entomological enthusiasts in the insect captures that it makes. 
In a few minutes* time this afternoon I noticed the following 
insects stuck fast, and for the most part dead, in the gummy 
exudation above mentioned : 



Hymenoptera. Coccinella g-notata 
Chalybion cceruleum " sanguinea 

Ambyletes subrtifus NcBtnia episcopalis 

Myrtnica lobicornis Scymnus sp. 

Formica fusca Trirhabda canadensis 

** integra Ellychnia corrusca 

Chrysis sp. Epicauta cinerea. 

Coleoptera. Odonata. 

Hippodainia convergens Lestes congener. 



it 



siniiata 



There were also several species of Diptera and parasitic Hy- 
menoptera as well as other species of ants that I did not know. 



170 ENTOMOLOGICAL NEWS. [September, 

Ants, ladybeetles and the Lampyrid above mentioned were spe- 
cially abundant. Probably the ants and ladybeetles were at- 
tracted by the green lice, a species of Nedarophora^ that are 
abundant on the plants. The lice and a Syrphus larva that feeds 
upon them seem to experience no trouble at all from sticking to 
the plant. A few Coccinellid larvse were also seen, but in every 
case they were dead and quite small. 



TENODERA SINENSIS? 

By Ella Jacobs, Philadelphia. 

While on a visit to Meehan's nurseries in Germantown, in 
March, 1898, a party of us found, on some low spruce and 
cedars, several curious looking specimens of what we were not 
sure. They looked like galls — they were hemi-spherical in shape, 
with a diameter of about \%. inch, the flat side up, curved side 
down. I cut one of these whitisb brown specimens open. It 
was rather tough, and contained a sticky fluid throughout. I 
was not sufficient of a scientist to discover what it was, so waited 
developments with the others. About the end of May, as I went 
to my office, the janitor greeted me with the pleasant news that 
my room was full of "bugs." Rather startled, I proceeded to 
investigate, and discovered several hundred insects on the wall, 
over pictures and desk. I examined closely and decided it was 
the fault of my unnamed specimen. I noticed that it was broken 
open in ridges; I placed it in a box and in an hour I saw several 
of the insects emerge. The curious part is, that these insects 
appeared to be the Praying Mantis. A visit to Dr. Skinner, at 
the Academy, confirmed this fact. 

It seems rather a coincidence to have found these in this lo- 
cality so soon after the report of Mr. Laurent's (see Ent. News, 
for June, page 144) find of a somewhat similar character. 

I greatly regret that we took all of the cases we saw, six of 
them, as I know now that their contents would have been a valu- 
able acquisition to the nurseries as these carnivorous insects would 
have eaten other insects injurious to the plants. Undoubtedly 
these Mantids must have been imported on some foreign plants. 

[The young mantids are not our Stragomantis caro!ina.—ED.] 



1898.] ENTOMOLOGICAL NEWS. 171 

A SOUTHERN TYPE OF ANDRENA IN CONNECTICUT. 

By T, D, A- CocKERELL, N. M. Agr. Exp. Station. 

(.Andrena rhodnra n. sp. $. — Length slightly over lo mm., stoutly built, 
black, with the abdomen and tarsi largely red. Head broad, the facial 
quadrangle* broader than long, its sides parallel; pubescence of head and 
thorax moderately long, but not very dense, dirty yellowish white, shin- 
ing; clypeus rather prominent, with strong, rather close punctures; basal 
process of labrum broad, rounded, subtruncate at tip, not emarginate; 
mandibles feebly notched within near the end; antennae black, flagellum 
tinged with dark brown beneath; mesothorax rather shiny, minutely tes- 
sellate, with sparse, but strong and very conspicuous punctures; scutellum 
similarly sculptured, but the punctures are aggregated in the median line 
and again at the sides; pleura quite closely punctured; meta thorax rather 
closely, but shallowly punctured; the enclosure indistinctly marked by a 
line only, minutely granular or rugose, only at the base slightly inclined 
to be plicate, produced to a point behind; the enclosure is duller than the 
sides of the meta thorax; tegulae very dark chestnut-brown, minutely lineo- 
lately sculptured. Wings with a strong reddish yellow tinge, subcostal 
nervure black, the nervures and the stigma ferruginous. Legs black, with 
pale pubescence, the first four tarsi largely, and the hind tarsi entirely, 
ferruginous; the hind tibiae are ferruginous at the distal end. Abdomen 
rather broad, shining; without hair bands, but with pale, glittering yel- 
lowish hairs on the fourth segment at the sides, and densely on the fifth, 
the anal fimbria pale yellowish, upper surface of abdomen minutely tes- 
sellate, with sparse, very feeble punctures. Color deep chestnut-red, the 
base of first segment, and the bases of all the segments broadly black, a 
black spot on each side of the second segment; venter reddish, largely 
suffused with black. 

Hab, — Hartford, Conn., June 2, 1895 (S. N. Dunning). 

The sculpture of the metathorax at once separates this from 
A, maricB Rob. From A, erythrogastra Ashm. {perezi Rob.) 
it will be readily known by the strong mesothoracic punctures 
and the strongly colored wings. 

A, rhodura is a very interesting species, quite alone among the 
forms taken in the New England States, but belonging to a series 
which becomes well developed in the southwest, with A, jessicce 
argetnonis^ prunorum^ mellea and casadcB, and extends far down 
into Mexico, as in A, discreta. It is, however, distinct from all 
these species, as might be expected from the widely different 
habitat. 

• The term '* facial quadrangle" is herewith proposed for the quadrangle formed by the 
facial margins of the orbits and imaginary lines drawn transversely connecting the upper 
and again the lower ends of the eyes. 



172 ENTOMOLOGICAL NEWS. [September, 

The following form shows the northern extension of the same 
type of Andrena in the Rocky Mountain region : 

lAndrena prnnoram Ckll. subsp. gillettei n. subsp. cf.— Length 11 mm.; 
smaller and more slender than prunorum; antennae more distinctly crenu- 
lated, entirely dark, without any ferruginous, even on scape; pubescence 
of head and thorax very pale yellowish instead of fulvous; femora black, 
with only the apex ferruginous; second and third abdominal segments 
wholly ferruginous, except a small, oval, black spot on each side of second, 
fourth segment ferruginous laterally at base; venter ferruginous, dusky 
at apex; clypeus lemon-yellow, with two black spots. Thorax wholly 
black. Abdomen closely and distinctly punctured, Wings dusky at apex; 
stigma ferruginous; basal process of labrum emarginate. 

Hab, — Fort Collins, Colorado, April 15, 1897 (C. P. Gillette, 

2468). 

o 

Sphsridium scarabseoides Linn. 

By C. Houghton, Potsdam, N. Y. 

This interesting species, which I first discovered here during 
the Summer of 1896, is now quite common in this section of the 
country. It may be confidently* looked for at any time during 
the months of June, July and August, provided one knows its 
habitat. Unless he does it is safe to say that he will know but 
little about the species, as I have never seen it anywhere except 
in one place, viz. , about the cow-droppings in the pastures. 

On any pleasant day during the three months above mentioned, 
should one take a position near some fresh droppings, he would 
probably soon see one of these beetles come flying rapidly across 
the pastures and, hovering for a second over the spot, suddenly 
bury itself in the soft excrement. With a stick or paddle it is 
an easy matter to locate them, but one needs to be quite expert 
with the pincers else he will soon lose his specimens, as it is a 
very agile species and burrows out of sight with astonishing 
rapidity. As soon as the droppings begin to dry up, it is useless 
to look for them therein, as they immediately leave for other 
places more to their taste. 

As an instance of their numbers in this locality, I might say 
that I have taken, during the course of a quarter of an hour, as 
many as twenty-five of these beetles from a single pile of drop- 
pings. 

Associated with them 1 have found the following : Aphodius 
fossor, Aph, prodroynus, Aph. fimeiarius, Aph i7iquinatuSy Aph. 
varicola^ Atcejiius cognahis, Onthophagiis hecate, Hister abbre- 
viatus, Cercyon hcEmorrhoidalis, Cleochara dimacuiata, Philon- 
thiis longicornis and various other species of Staphylinidae. 



1898.] 173 



ENTOM OLOGICAL 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 Oontrlbutors.^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 ip numbers and circumfei- 
ence, as to make it necessary to put " copy" into the hands of the printer, for each number^ 
three weeks before date of issue. This should be remembered in sending special or im- 
portant matter for 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., September, 1898. 

The Bfifect of the War in Relation to Entomology. 

Now that the United States will add to its territory the ques- 
tion arises what will entomologists do in the matter ? Undoubt- 
edly those in America will take a greater interest in the annexed 
countries and some that do not collect or have any regard for 
exotic insects at present may be induced by political reasons to 
do so. Our present faunal limit (America north of Mexico) is 
geographical, inasmuch as we include the country to the north 
of the United States to the Arctic Ocean. The proper plan for 
students to adopt, especially systematists, would be to ignore 
political and geographical lines and take up for study some genus, 
family, or order of the world. In this way the true relationships 
of genera and species may be properly understood. Work on 
geographical lines has caused an almost endless amount of trouble 
in generic relations and synonymy. We very much doubt whether 
our American lists will ever contain the names of Cuban, Porto 
Rican, Philippine or Hawaiian insects. 



On June 15th a specimen of Papilio cresphontes Fab., was taken here 
in the greenhouse. It was somewhat rubbed and faded, showing that it 
was not a fresh specimen, but the wings were unbroken. This is the first 
time I have seen the species since coming to New Haven, Ct., four years 
ago. P. philenor is very common in this locality. During June, 1896, I 
captured two specimens of Colias ccssonia Stoll., but have not observed 
it any other season.— W. E. Britton. 



174 ENTOMOLOGICAL NEWS. [September, 

Notes and News. 

ENTOMOLOGICAL GLEANINGS FROM ALL QUARTERS 

OF THE GLOBE. 

Mrs. Slosson has taken the female of Thecla telea Hew. at Miami, Fla. 

Anthocharis genutia has been plentiful this season at Westville, N. 
J., which Is only a few miles from Philadelphia. 

Prof. James Fletcher expects to take some fine things this season in 
the Rocky Mountains of Canada. We wish him great success. 

Pamphila metea evidently has quite a wide distribution. Dr. Scudder 
mentions various places in New England where it is found, and also cites 
New York and Wisconsin. Mr. Edwards, in addition to the other lo- 
calities, gives Texas and Colorado. The Colorado locality is based on 
the female described by Reakirt under the name riding sii. I have it 
from Missouri, and recently the Philadelphia collectors have found it in 
abundance at Clementon, N. J., where it is found on barren sandy patches, 
alighting on the sand and on the sand myrtle. The full life-history may 
be worked out this year. Syneda graphica is also very abundant at 
Clementon. — Henrv Skinner. 

Mr. Wm. J. Gerhard, of the Academy of Natural Sciences Philadel- 
phia, is studying our material in the Hesperidae of the world and arrang- 
ing them according to the most recent classification. He is not quite 
sure whether genera or species are in excess, and when he gets through 
he may have a genus for every species, as is the case in our Eastern Pa- 
pilios according to one of our esteemed New England friends. According 
to the ** Biologia'* we must put \^Eudamus) py lades and bathyllus in dif- 
ferent genera on the strength of the male sexual character, the costal 
fold, which is so common in the family. This question of genera, to say 
the least, is a very interesting one, and no man can tell where it may end. 
— H. S. 

Yesterday, when I was driving out in the country on professional 
business, a Pamphila sat down on the back of my left hand and began to 
feed in the same manner as is told by Mr. J. M. Dodge in Ent. News, 
vol. ix, p. 89. At first I thought it was drinking the sweat, but then I 
remarked that it curved its abdomen a little between the legs and ejected 
a fluid, upon which it fed. The wings were kept together all the time, 
and I was not able to identify it surely, but I believe it was a P. hobomok. 

Last Winter I found a cocoon of Cecropia on a hazel bush, and as it 
felt empty I opened it and found an Indian corn in it. How did it get 
there? Birds?.— C. Hoeg, Decorah, Iowa. 

Bug steals a diamond pin. — A monster bug robbed Jesse P. Van 
Doozer, of Evanston, of a $200 diamond scarf-pin Saturday night. Mr. 
Van Doozer is the famous former captain and coach of the Northwestern 



iSgS.] ENTOMOLOGICAL NEWS. 175 

University football team, and is now assistant postmaster at Evanston. 
How he happened to loose his pin is told as follows : As Mr. Van Doozer 
was returning from the Summer evening party at the Country Club Sat- 
urday night his attention was attracted by a particularly large specimen 
of the genus beetle. In college Mr. Van Doozer was an ardent student 
of zoology, especially of the branch technically named entomology, but 
known to the uninitiated as *'bugology " He still retains his studious 
habits, and this struck him as an unusually choice heteropterous hemip- 
terous specimen. With practiced dexterity he captured the mean-looking 
insect and carried it squirming to his room. As no pin was convenient, 
he stuck the monster bug to the wall for a moment with his diamond 
scarfpin. He turned to his bug collection and spent some time in rear- 
ranging it and making a place for his new acquisition. A lively buzzing 
drew his attention to the beetle, which had worked itself loose from the 
wall and began to circle about the room with the pin sticking through 
his body. Van Doozer made for the open window, but the great beetle 
was too quick for him. As it darted through the opening the sparkle of 
the stone added a new brightness to its sheen. The diamond scarfpin is 
still missing. — Newspaper, 

Cychrus viduus Dej. — This very handsome species, hitherto regarded 
as quite, rare, has been taken in numbers about Pittsburgh, Pa., during 
the season of 1897. Every collector who really searched for the spe- 
cies at the right time was rewarded for his labor. One of them took as 
many as ninety specimens in five days — an average of eighteen a day. 
How many this same party took since, the writer does not know, but from 
information received the number must have been considerable. 

In the opinion of the writer the best time to look for viduus is from 
about the 25th of July until the middle of September. The fact that 
most, if not all, of the captures above alluded to were made during this 
period is of itself sufficient evidence. The condition of the weather has 
much to do as regards the abundance or scarcity of the species, a wet 
season always being much better than a dry one. Whether or not the 
former actually produces more specimens than the latter the writer does 
not venture to say, but it is highly probable that it does; at any rate it 
drives them to the surface where they are nmch more likely to be found. 
The weather the past Summer was unusually favorable, as we had rain 
almost every day for about six or seven weeks beginning July 5th. 

I wish to place on record the following notes: 

Smodicum cucujiforme Kirby. — This species has been breeding for the 
past three years in some locust fence-posts which were entirely stripped 
of bark and set ten years ago. The beetles emerge from the latter part 
of June until the middle of July. 

Obrium rubidum Newm. — My collection contains one specimen of this 
very rare longhorn, which was bred from Robinia pseudacacia (locust), 
the beetle emerging May 3, 1894. Several other specimens which I have 
had were taken on locust trunks on as many different occasions. 



176 ENTOMOLOGICAL NEWS. [September, 

Cyrtophorus verrucosus Oliv. — ^This species also breeds in Rohinia 
pseudacacia and is not unfrequently taken on the living trunks during^ 
May and early June. Sometimes specimens are taken in April if the 
weather be quite warm.— Edward A. Klages, Crafton, Pa. 



Entom.ologica.1 Liter a.tiire.t 

Under the above head it is intended to note such 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, whether relating 
to American 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 pub- 
lished ; * 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 parenthesis. 



2. Transactions of the American Entomological Society, Philadelphia, 
XXV, I, '98. — 3. The American Naturalist, Boston, *98.^4. The Canadian 
Entomologist, London, Ont., '98. — 5. Psyche, Cambridge, Mass., 98. — 
6. Journal of the New York Entomological Society, June, *98. — 7. U. S. 
Department of Agriculture, Division of Entomology, Washington; pub- 
lications of, *98. — 8. The Entomologist's Monthly Magazine, London, 
*98. — 9. The Entomologist, London, *98. — 10. Nature, London, '98. — 
11. The Annals and Magazine of Natural History, London, 98. — 15* 
Biologia Centrali- Americana, pt. cxli, London, April, '98. — 21. The En- 
tomologist's Record, London, '98. — 22. Zoologischer Anzeiger, Leipsic, 
'98. — 24. Berliner Entomologische Zeitschrift, xlii, 3-4, July, '98.— 30» 
Memoires et Bulletins de la Soci^t6 Zoologique de France, Paris, '97. — 
32. Bulletin du Museum d'Histoire Naturelle, Paris, '98. — 35. An- 
nales et Memoires, Soci^t^ Entomologique de Belgique, Brussels. — 
36. Transactions, Entomological Society of London, '98, pt. 2, June 
29. — 38. Wiener Entomologische Zeitung, xvii, '98. — 40. Societas En- 
tomologica, Zurich- Hottingen, '98. — 44. Verhandlungen, k. k. zool.-bot. 
Gesellschaft in Wien, xlviii, '98.-45. Deutsche Entomologische Zeit- 
schrift, Berlin, '98, i, June. — 49. Termeszetrajzi Fiizetek, Budapest, xxi, 
1-2, Mar. ro, '98.-55. Le Naturaliste, Paris, '98.— 61. Natural Science, 
London, May, '98. — 66. Naturwissenschaftliche Rundschau, Braun- 
schweig, '98. — 76. Journal, Cincinnati Society of Natural History, xix, 
4, '98. — 77. Report, State Board of Agriculture on the work of extermi- 
nation of the gypsy moth, Boston, Wright & Potter Co., State Printers, 
Jan., '98. — 78. Gardeners' Chronicle, London, '98. — 79. La Nature, 
Paris, '98.— 80. Annali, Museo Civico di Storia Naturale di Genova (2) 
xviii. Rec'd Aug. 8, '98. — 81. Biologisches Centralblatt, Erlangen,7une 

t The Associate Editor is again indebted to Mr. W. J. Fox and to Dr. Skinner for 
caring for this department during his Summer vacation.— P. P. C. 



1898.] ENTOMOLOGICAL NEWS. 177 

i5» *98.— 82. Centralblatt fiir Bakteriologie, etc., Jena, *98.— 83. Notes 
from the Leyden Museum, xix, 3-4, Dec. 30, '97. — 84. Insekten-Borse, 
Leipsic, '98. — 85. Bulletin, Soci^t^ des Sciences naturelles de TOuest de 
la France, Nantes, viii, i, '98. 

The Greneral Subject. — d e Bruyne, C. Researches on the sub- 
ject of the intervention of phagocytosis in the development of Inverte- 
brates, 5 pis.. Archives de Biologie, xv, 2, Ghent, '98. — Calvert, P. P. 
A biographical notice of George Henry Horn (portrait), 2. — C o m s t o c k, 
J. H. and Needham, J. G. The wings of insects, iii, figs , 3, April, 
May, June. — Coupin, H. Flowers fertilized by bats and insects, 79, 
May 14. — [Dixey, F. A.] Hybridization, 9, July,— Garbowski, T. 
Brunner V. Wattenwyrs "Observations on the coloration of insects'*, 
81.— H anstein, R. v. [On recent work on facetted eyes], 66, May 
28. — Howard, L. O. The spread of land species by the agency of 
man ; with especial reference to insects, Proceedings, American Asso- 
ciation for the Advancement of Science, xlvi. — H owes, G. and Smith, 
W. W. Notes on Sphceria larvarum Westw., 9, June. — Kienitz- 
Gerloff. Prof Plateau and the flower-theory, 81.— v. Linden, M. 
Elmer's * Orthogenesis der Schmetterlinge* (cont.), 81. — M a r c h a 1 , P. 
Notes on an excursion in Algeria and Tunis, i pi., 30, Mem. x. See 
also Hymenoptera. — Needham, J. G. Outdoor Studies, a Reading 
book of Nature study (Eclectic school readings). American Book Co. 
New York, Cincinnati, Chicago, 1898 ; 90 pp., 88 figs. Chapters on galls, 
golden-rod insects, dragonflies, eye-spot markings and ant-lions. — Salz- 
n e r , A. Elmer's * Orthogenesis der Schmetterlinge', 84. June 30, July 
7, 14.— S c h a u f u s s . Symphily is broodparasitism, Naturwissenschaft- 
liche Wochenschrift. Berlin, July 1 7, '98.— S lingerland.M. V. Obit- 
uary of Dr. J. A. Lintner, 4, June.— Taylor, G. W. Entomology, 
notes for April in Vancouver Island, Ottawa Naturalist, June, '98. — Tu tt, 
J. W. Books from the American masters [Packard: Textbook, Scudder: 
Melanopli, Femald : Pterophoridae], 21, June 15. — Webster, F. M. 
Obituary o( Prof. D. S. Kellicott, 4, June.— Wheeler, W. M. Prof. 
Packard's Text-book of Entomology, Science, New York, June 17, '98. — 
W i c k h a m , H. F. List of insects collected by Mr. Frank Russell in 
the Northwest Territory, Canada. Iowa City, June, '98. Extract (pp. 
276-280), from * Explorations in the far North* by F. Russell. 

Economic !Eutoinology« — Anon. An enemy of the migratory 
cricket of the Argentine Republic, Bulletin, Soci^t^ Nationale d'Accli- 
matation de France. ' Paris, Jan., '98. — Anon. The pest and the ants, 
Revue Scientifique, Paris, May 14, '98.— For apiculture. The British 
Bee Journal, weekly, London, vol. xxvi, '98. — B a n k s , N. Bibliography 
of the more important contributions to American Economic Entomology. 
Part vi. The more important writings published between June 30, 1888, 
and December 30, 1896. Prepared under the direction of the Entomol- 
ogist, 273 pp., 7. — B e 1 1 a t i , M. and Q u aj a t , E. Influence of oxygen 
and of compressed air on the anticipated hatching of eggs of the silk- 

7* 



178 ENTOMOLOGICAL NEWS. [September, 

worm, Archives Italiennes de Biologic, xxix, i. Turin, '98. — Davey, 
F. H. Notes on the bulb-mite, figs. Journal, Royal Institution of Corn- 
wall, xiii, 2. Truro, '97. —Deb ray. Destruction of injurious insects, 
55, May 15, June 15.— Fef nald, C. H. Report of Entomologist; 
Arsenate of lead as an insecticide, 77. — For bush , E. H. Report of 
the Field Director, 77,— G. A. Bulb mite, 78, June 25.— G i 1 1 e 1 1 e , 
C. P. Colorado*s worst insect pests and their remedies, figs., Bulletin 
47, State Agricultural College Exper. Station, Fort Collins, Col., July, 
'98. — Ken yon, F. C. Abstracts of recent articles, 7, Exper. Station 
Record, ix, 10. — K h e i 1 , N. M. Fight between grasshoppers and a loco- 
motive, 84, June 23.— K i r k a 1 d y , G. W. An economic use for water- 
bugs, 8, Aug. — Kirkland, A^ H. Experiments with insecticides; 
Danger from the use of arsenate of lead, 77. — L e s n e , P. Description 
of the larva and nymph of Balanogastris kolce in kola nuts, figs., 32, 
No. 3. — L ounsbury, C. P. Report of the Government Entomologist 
for the year 1897. Cape of Good Hope. Cape Town: 1898. — Lowe, 
V. H. Cottonwood leaf beetle. Green arsenite. Bulletin No. 143. New 
York Agricultural Experiment Station, Geneva, N. Y.. April, '98.— M ar- 
ia tt, C. L. The periodical Cicada. An account "of Cicada septendecitn, 
its natural enemies and the means of preventing its injury, together with 
a summary of the distribution of the different broods. Bulletin No. 14 
new series, 7, 148 pp. 57 text figs, (including maps) and 4 plates (one 
colored). An extensive monograph whose contents are well summarized 
in the title. — McLachlan, R., R.M., Forbes, A. C. [Insect pests 
on forest trees] 78, June 25.— R. M. The present plague of insects, 78, 
June 18.— Slingerland, M. V. The quince curculio, figs.. Bulletin 
148, Cornell University Agricultural Experiment Station, Ithaca, N. Y., 
May, '98. — Smith, F. J. Arsenate of lead:, its manufacture and chem- 
ical composition, 77. — W e b s t e r , F. M. The importation of the San 
Jos^ scale, Aspidiotus perniciosuSy from Japan, 4, July. — Wood , E. W. 
and others. Report of Committee [on extermination of gypsy moth], 
77. — X ambeu, Capt. Habits and metamorphoses of Lycttis canal- 
iculatus Fab., 85- 

Arachnida. — B a n k s , N. Arachnida from Baja California and other 
parts of Mexico,* 5 pis.. Proceedings, California Academy of Sciences, 
{3) Zoology, i, 7, San Francisco, May 28, '98 ; Some new spiders,* 4, 
July. — Cambridge, O. P. Arachnida Araneidea,* pp. 241-248, 15. 
— Carpenter, G. H. The smallest of stridulating spiders, figs., 61« 
— C arruccio, M. On some morphological characters of Sarcopies 
minor Fiirstenberg, and on some little-known cases of scabious trans-, 
mission, i pi. Bolletino, Societa Romana per gli studi zoologici, vi, 5-6, 
*97. — K e n n e 1 , J. How do spiders draw their threads between distant 
objects? Sitzungsberichte d. Naturforscher Gesellschaft bei derUniver- 
sitat Jurjew (Dorpat), xi, 3, '98. — Kraepelin, K. On the Linnean 
species of the genus Scorpio, 22, July 18.--N e u m a n n , G. Revision - 
of the Ixodidae, ii, Ixodinae, figs., 30, Mem., x.— Piersig, R. Hy- 



1898.] ENTOMOLOGICAL NEWS. 179 

drachnidae of Germany (cont.), 17 col. pis. Bibliotheca Zoologica, heft 
22, iv, Stuttgart, E. Naegele. Rec'd June 27, '98.— Pocock, R. I. 
Descriptions of some new scorpions from Central and South America;* 
The scorpions of the genus Vcejovis contained in the collection of the 
British Museum,* 11, May ; Descriptions of some new scorpions from 
Ecuador, figs., 11, June; The Australian scorpions of the genus Urodacus 
Pet., 11, July. — W o 1 c o 1 1 , R. H. New American species of the genus 
Atax (Fab.) Bruz., figs.. Zoological Bulletin, i, 6, May, '98. 

Prototracheata.— B o u v i e r , E. L. New observations on Peri- 
paiuSy Comptes Rendus, PAcademie des Sciences, Paris, May 23, '98. — 
Camerano.L. A new species of Peripatus from Ecuador, figs., Atti 
R. Accademie d. Scienze, Torino, xxxiii, 5, '98 ; A new species of Peri- 
patus collected by Prof. L. Balzan in Bolivia, figs., 80. 

Myriapoda.— Brolemann, H. W. On a mysterious myriapod, 
Scolopendropsis bahiensis Brandt., 30, Bull. xxii. — S i 1 v e s t r i , F. Sys- 
tema Diplopodum ; Descriptions of some new Diplopods collected in 
upper Paraguay by Cav. Guido Boggiani, figs., 80. 

Orthoptera. — Bessey, C. A. and E. A. Further notes on ther- 
mometer crickets, 3, April. — B o 1 i v a r , L. New cavernicolous species 
of Blattid, voyage of L. Fea in Burma and neighboring regions, fig. , 80. 
— Bordage, E. Autotomy in the Phasmidae, figs., 79, May 28. — 
C o c k e r e 1 1 , T. D. A. The development of Mantis, 3, July. — M o r s e, 
A. P. Notes on New England Acridiidae, iv, Acridiinae, i, 5, Aug. — 
Scudder,S. H. A preliminary classification of the Tryxalinae of the 
United States and Canada, 5, July; The described species of Xiphidium 
in the United States and Canada, 4, July. 

Keuroptera.— Calvert, P. P. Burmeister*s types of Odonata 
(part), figs., 2 ; The Odonate genus Macrothemis and its allies,* Pro- 
ceedings, Boston Society of Natural History xxviii, No. 12, July, '98. — 
Kellogg, V. L. A problem in distribution [of Mallophaga], 5, Aug. 
— N e e d h a m , J. G. See the General Subject. — S chenkling- 
P r e V 6 t . From the life of Termites (cont.), 84, May 26 et seq. 

Heniiptera.— B ergroth, E. New Aradidae, 32, No. 3.— B o g u e, 
E. E. Two new species of Kermes from Kansas,* 4, July. — C h a m - 
p i o n , G. C. Rhynchota Heteroptera,* vol. ii, pp. 49-88, pis. iv, v, 15. 
— C o c k e r e 1 1 , T. D. A. Three new Aleurodidae from Mexico,* 5, 
June; Some new Coccidae of the subfamily Lecaniinae,* 9, June; New 
Coccidae from Mexico,* 11, June; Some new Coccidae.* II, July; Note 
on Aspidtotus greenii, 8, Aug. — C o u p i n . H. Natural history of the 
cicada, figs., 79, July 23. — H andlirsch, A. Two new Phymatidae,* 
figs., 44, July 21. — K i r k a 1 d y , G. W. A guide to the study of British 
water-bugs (aquatic Rhynchota), 9, Aug. — Kirkland, A. H. The 
species of Podisus occurring in the United States, i pi., 77.— M a r 1 a 1 1, 
C. L. See Economic Entomology. — M a r t i n , J. Catalogue of the spe- 
cies of Phymatidae (Hemip. Helen), of the Museum of Paris, 32, No. 3. 
— Melichar, L. Preliminary descriptions of new Ricaniidae,* 44, 



i8o ENTOMOLOGICAL NEWS. [September, 

July 21. — Montandon, A. L. New Hemiptera Heleroptera of the 
Museum of Paris, 32, No. 2. — Pa u 1 m i e r , F. C. Chromatin reduction 
in the Hemiptera, figs., Anatomischer Anzeiger, Jena, May 27, '97. — 
S u 1 c , K. Studies on Coccidse, ii [in Bohemian], 3 pis., Sitzungsberichte 
d. konigl. bohmischen Gesellschaft der Wissenchaften. Mathematisch- 
Naturwissenschaftliche Classe, '97, ii. — Van Duzee, E. P. A pre- 
liminary review of the North American Delphacidae,* Bulletin, Buffalo 
Society of Natural Science, v, 5, '97, rec*d June 15, *98. 

Coleoptera.— B I a n d f o r d , W. F. H. Coleoptera,* vol. iv, pt. 6, 
pp. 2 17-224, 15. — B r e n s k e , E. The Serica species of the earth mono 
graphically treated [Palaearctic region only], 24. — Burgess, A. F. 
Notes on predaceous beetles, 1897, 77. — Casey, T. L. Studies in the 
Ptinidae, Cioidae and Sphindidae of America,* 6. — Champion, G. C. 
A list of the .^gialitidae and Cistelidae supplementary to the ** Munich** 
Catalogue, 35, Mem. vi, '97.^-Dury, C. Coleopterological Notes. 
Faunal changes in the vicinity of Cincinnati, Ohio, 70. — Everts, J. E. 
Coleoptera Neerlandica. De Schildvleugelige Insecten van Nederland 
en het aangrenzend gebied. Deel I. 's Gravenhage. Martinus Nijhoff 
1898. 368 pps. 27 figs, [in Dutch]. — G r i m s h a w , P. H. On some type 
specimens [of Godart and Olivier] of Lepidoptera and Coleoptera in the 
Edinburgh Museum of Science and Art, i col. pi. Transactions, Royal 
Society of Edinburgh, xxxix, i, 1898. — Gestro, R. Materials for the 
study of the Hispidae, figs., 80. — Hens haw, S. The entomological 
writings of George Henry Horn (1860-1896). With an index to the 
genera and species of Coleoptera described and named, 2. — Horn, W. 
New species of Cicindelidae, 83 ; Revision of the Cicindelidae with espe- 
cial regard to variability and geographical distribution, 45, Beiheft. — 
Kerremans, C. Buprestidae of the voyages of M. E. Gounelle to 
Brazil,* 35, Mem. vi, '97 ; Synonymic study of the genus Chrysochroa, 
83.— Kolbe, H. J. A new genus of Cupesidae, Entomologische 
Nachrichten, Berlin, xxiv, 12, June, '98. — Kuwert, A. The Passalidae 
monographically treated, part ii, Novitates Zoologicae, v, 2. Tring, May, 
'98. — ^Jacoby, M. Descriptions of eight new species of South Amer- 
ican Chrysomelidae, 9, July. — ^Johnson, W F. and Carpenter, G. 
H. The larva of Pelophila, 36. — v. Lomnicki, J. R. Wing rudi- 
ments in Carabus; Erythropodism in running beetles, 22, June 2 — Pic, 
M. Description of new Coleoptera, 55, June 15; Xylophilidae (Coleop- 
tera Heteromera) of Brazil, 35, Ann., xlii, 6, June 25. '98. — Reitter. 
E. On the known and some new palaearctic species of Agapanthia, 38, 
4 and 5, May 31.— Schen kling, S. Revision of the Clerid genus 
Lemidia Spin, with descriptions of some new species, 45. — Sch warz, 
O. Descriptions of new Elateridae,* 45. — S e m e n o w , A. Symbolae 
ad cognitionem generis Carabus (L.), A. Mor, ii, Horae Societatis Ento- 
mologicae Rossicae, xxxi, 3, St. Petersburg, '98.- -Spaeth , F. De- 
scription of some new Cassididae with synonymic remarks, 44, 4, May 
27. — Szepligeti, V. Contributions to the knowledge of the species 



iSgS.] ENTOMOLOGICAL NEWS. l8l 

of Cheionus, 49. — W i c k h a m , H. F. On Coleoptera found with ants' 
iv, I pi., 5, June; The Coleoptera of Canada, xxix, the Oedemeridae and 
Cephaloideae of Ontario and Quebec, figs., 4, June; The beetles of 
S( uthern Arizona, Bulletins, Laboratories of Natural History, State Uni- 
versity of Iowa, iv, 3, Iowa City, June, '98. 

Diptera* — D a h 1 , F. On Puliciphora lucifera^ 22, May 2. — E a t o n, 
A. E. Supplement to "A Synopsis of British Psychodidae" (cont.), 8, 
June, July. — Koorevaar, P. Hypodenna bovis and its youngest 
larva, 82, June i. — M i k , J. Noteworthy relations between Desmome- 
iopa M-atrutn Meig. from Europe and Agrotnyza minutissima v. d. 
Wulp from New Guinea, 38, 4 and 5, May 31; Dipterological miscellany 
{2), xi, 38, July lo. — M inakata, Kumagusu. Notes on the Bu- 
gonia superstitions: the occurrence of Eristalis tenax in India, 10, June 
2. — Osten Sacken, C. R. Identification of two genera of Nemes- 
trinidae published by Bigot, together with some remarks on Dr. Wandol- 
lerk's paper on that family; Amalopsis Halid. (O. S.) versus Tricyphona 
Bergroth (not Zett.), 24,— S chneidemiihl. On the development 
of Hypoderma boviSy 82, July 15. — S t e i n , P. North American An- 
thomyidas,* 24, 

Lepidoptera. — B a c o t , A. Notes on hybrid Smerinthus populi- 
oceilatuSy i pi.; Notes on hybrids obtained by crossing Tephrosia bistor- 
/a/a with T, crepuscularia, 21, Aug. i. — Beu ten mii 1 1 er , W. Re- 
vision of the species of Euchloe inhabiting America, north of Mexico,* 
2 pis.. Bulletin, American Museum of Natural History, x, 13, New York, 
June 24, '98. — B u 1 1 e r , A. G. On the butterflies of the genera Leptopho- 
bia and Pieris^ 11, July. — C h a p m a n , T. A. Some notes on the pupal 
moult of Lepidoptera, 21, May 15; Some remarks on Heterogyna penella^ 
36; Some notes on the pupal moult of Lepidoptera, 21, Aug. i. — 
C o c k e r e 1 1 , T. D. A. A new Hemileuca* 5, Aug.— C r a m p t o n , 
H. E., Jr. Coalescence experiments upon the Lepidoptera, Biological 
Lectures delivered at the Marine Biological Laboratory of Wood's Holl, 
1896-1897.— D o gn i n , P. New Heterocera from Ecuador, 35, Ann., 
xlii, 5, May 24, ^98.— D r u c e , H. Descriptions of some new species of 
Syntomidae chiefly in the Oxford Museum, 11, May.— D u r y , C. Cal- 
lidryas eubule ; A butterfly new to Ohio; Tomato worm parasite, 76. — 
D r u c e , H. Lepidoptera Heterocera,* vol. ii, pp. 449-464, pis. Ixxxviii- 
xci, 15.— Dyar, H. G. The Epiplemidae the lowest Bombycids, figs., 
4, June; The life-histories of the New York slug caterpillars, xv, i pi; 
Description of larvae of Hemileucids from the Argentine Republic, 6 ; 
Six new or little-known larvae of Pterophoridae,* 5, Aug.— E 1 w e s , H. 
J. A revision of the genus Erebia, 30.— Fi eld, W. L. W. A con- 
tribution to the study of individual variation in the wings of Lepidoptera, 
Proceedings, American Academy of Arts and Sciences xxxiii, No. 21. — 
F r i n gs , K. Experiments with low temperatures in 1897, 40, June i, 
et seq.— Fritz e, A. The genus Hebomoia^ i pi., Zoologische Jahr- 
biicher, xi, Jena, May 2, '98.— F ruhstorfer, H. On a chief pleasure 



1 82 ENTOMOLOGICAL NEWS. [September, 

of the eyes named *Agrias', i pi., 24.— Griffiths, G. C. On the 
frenulum of the Lepidoptera, i pi., 36,— G r i m s h a w , P. H. See Co- 
leoptera.— G rose-Smith, H. Descriptions of new species of butter- 
flies from South America, 11, July.— G rote, A. R. The British Mu- 
seum catalogue of moths, 61 ; Classification of the Saturniades, 21y 
June 15; Specialization of the lepidopterous wing, the Pieri-Nymphalidae, 
Proceedings American Philosophical Society, Philadelphia, xxxvii, No. 
157.— H an h a m , A. W. Notes on collecting at bloom, 4, July.— H ill, 
W. H. F. Notes on some Victorian case moths, part i, i pi., Victorian 
Naturalist, Melbourne, May, '98.— H u 1 s t , G. D. Descriptions of new 
genera and species of the Geometrina of North America (cont.),* 4, 
June, July.— K i r k 1 a n d , A. H. Digestion in the larvae of the gypsy 
moth, 77.— M a r s h a 1 1 , G. A. K. Seasonal dimorphism in butterflies of 
the genus Precis Doubl., 11, July.— Mc C o r q u o d a 1 e , W. H. Horn- 
feeding larvae, fig., 10, June 9.— M o o r e , F. Lepidoptera Indica. Part 
XXX. London, L. Reeve & Co., '98. Rec*d June 27, '98. [Pp. 1 13-128, 
vol. iii, pis. 231-238. Nymphalinae, group Euthaliina].— Schaus, W. 
New species of Noctuidae from tropical America;* New species of Het- 
erocera from tropical America,* 6.— S c h u 1 1 z , O. Description of some 
gynandromorphous Lepidoptera, 24.— S cudder,S. H. A study of 
the caterpillars of North American swallowtail butterflies, ii, 5, June. — 
S e u r a t , L. G. Metamorphoses of Papilio daunus^ Memorias y Re- 
vista de la Sociedad Cientifica ** Antonio Alzate," xi, 1-4, Mexico, '98. — 
Smith, J. B. Notes on species of Noctua with descriptisns of new 
forms,* I pi., 6.— U r e c h , F. Some remarks on color alterations of the 
wing scales produced by girdling soft pupae of Vanessa urticce^ 40, June 
I.— Vers on, E. On the development of the digestive canal of the 
silkworm, ii, 22, July 18.— V o s s , T. On hermaphrodite Lepidoptera, 
84, June 23.— W alsingham, Lord. Descnptions of a new Mi- 
cropterygid genus and species and a new Eriocraniad species from N. 
America, i pi., 21, July i ; A review, with some critical notes of "The 
Pterophoridae of North America, C. H. Fernald,*' etc., 8, Aug. 

Hymenoptera.— A s h m e a d , W. H. Classification of the horn- 
tails and sawflies, or the sub-order Phytophaga, i, 4, June, July ; Thyn- 
nidae in the United States,* 5, Aug.— C o c k e r e 1 1 , T. D. A. New 
bees from New Mexico,* 4, June; Philanthus henricus^ 4, July; Synop- 
sis of the North American bees of the genus Stelis* 9, July; The North 
American bees of the genus Prosapis, 9, Aug.— Domin iqu e , J. 
Glance at the South American Melliferae in the Museum of Nantes, 85. 
— D u n n i n g , S. N. Monograph of the species of Aphilanthops in- 
habiting Boreal America,* 2 ; Notes on Philanthus* 4, June.— D y a r , 
H. G. On the larvae of certain Nematmae and Blennocampinae with de- 
scription of new species,* 6 ; Notes on some sawfly larvae, especially the 
Xyelidae, 4, July.— E nock, F. Aquatic Hymenopteron [breeding of 
Prestwichia\ 10, June 23 ; Notes on the early stages of Prestwichia 
aquaticay 8, July.— F o x , W. J. The species of Psen inhabiting America 



1898.] ENTOMOLOGICAL NEWS. 183 

north of Mexico,* 2.— Friese, H. New species of the bee genus 
Eulema Lep., 49.— v. Hanstein,R. A Bethe's "Can we ascribe 
psychical qualities to ants and bees ?", 66, June 18.— J a n e t , C. Notice 
on the scientific works presented to the Academie des Sciences in the 
competition of 1896 for the Thore prize. [On ants, bees and wasps], 94 
pp. Lille ; Morphological limits and musculature of the post-cephalic 
annuli of Myrmica rubra. Lille, '97, 8vo. ; Relations of the myrmeco- 
philous animals with ants, figs. Limoges, '97, 8vo. ; Apparatus for the 
observation of ants and myrmecophilous animals, i pi., 30, Mem., x; 
Parasites and mess-mates in ant-hills (transl. abstract), 61.— K o n o w , 
F. W. Synonymical and critical remarks on Tenthredinid species of the 
older authors incorrectly or not referred, 40, July i, 15.— March al, 
P. A new method of non sexual reproduction in Hymenopterous insects 
(transl. from C. R. Acad. Sci. Paris), 61.— M a r s h a U , T. A. Supple- 
ment to Braconidae, 3 pis., in Species des Hym^nopteres d' Europe d'Al- 
gerie fond^ par Edmond Andr^, continue sous Ernest Andr^, 62e fascicule, 
Paris, April i, '98.- Rober tso n, C. New or little-known North 
American bees,* Transactions, Academy of Science, St. Louis, viii, 3, 
Mar. 3, '98.- W a s m a n n , E. Thorictus foreli as ectoparasite of ants* 
antennae, 22, July 18. 



Doings of Societies. 



A meeting of the Entomological Section of the Academy of 
Natural Sciences of Philadelphia was held May 26th, Mr. C. S. 
Welles, Director, presiding. A cabinet of beetles was presented 
by Dr. J. Eckfeldt. Five new species of Mutillidae were pre- 
sented by Mrs. Slosson. Dr. Calvert exhibited a box of small 
Maniids collected near the city and made some remarks pn the 
egg-case in the genus. The same gentleman also exhibited some 
dragonflies collected by Mrs. A. T. Slosson at Miami, Florida. 
Enallagma cardenium % was collected for the first time in 
the United States ; the species was described by Selys from 
Cuba. Enallagma ccecum Hagen, from Jamaica, was mentioned 
as an allied species. E. pollutum, of Hagen, from Florida, is 
either very variable, or there are two species confounded under 
that name. Gomphus minutus 9 and other species were 
shown and interesting points mentioned. Mr. Johnson exhibited 
a mud wasp's nest, Odynerus sp. collected by Mr. C. Moore on 
the Altamaha River, Ga. Mr. Fox recorded a second American 



184 ENTOMOLOGICAL NEWS. [September, 

species of ^iscophus from Florida. Dr. Calvert spoke of the 
oviposition of gall-flies and mentioned seeing a gall-fly apparently 
in the act, but did not see any eggs go through the ovipositor. 

Dr. Henry Skinner, Recording Secretary, 



A meeting of the American Entomological Society was held 
June 23d, Dr. P. P. Calvert, Vice-president, in the chair. The 
Corresponding Secretary announced the death of the following 
correspondents of the Society : James Behrens, San Francisco, 
Cala. ; elected Oct. 14, 1872, died March 6, 1898. Johnson Pettit, 
Grimsby, Ont. ; elected Nov. 12, 1866, died Feb. 18, 1898. J. 
A. Lintner, Albany, N. Y. ; elected Nov. 10, 1862, died May 5, 
1898. Osbert Salvin, elected June 28, 1897, died June i, 1898. 
Dr. Calvert exhibited some dragonflies collected by Mr. C. W. 
Johnson on a recent visit to North Mt., Pa. : Cordulia shurtiejffii 
{= csnea L.), described by Scudder from Hermit Lake, Mt. 
Washington, was of special interest on account of being a cir- 
cumpolar species and this the first record of capture in Penn- 
sylvania ; Gomphus spicatus^ also new to Pennsylvania, never 
before having been found this far south ; and both sexes of 
Ophiogomphus rupinsulensis, Ischnura verticalis, a small drag- 
onfly was found at Kirkwood, N. J., feeding on Enallagma sp. 
which had just transformed from the larval condition and was 
thus helpless. Mr. Needham finds that in some species larvae 
are very abundant, but imagos scarce; facts like the above would 
account for Needham* s finding. Enallagma divagans, a some- 
what rare local species, was also found at Kirkwood. Dr. David 
Sharp, of Cambridge, England, was elected a correspondent. 

Dr. Henry Skinner, Recording Secretary. 



Entomological News for June was mailed May 31, 1898. 



ENTOMOLOGICAL NEWS 



AND 



PROCEEDINGS OF THE ENTOMOLOGICAL SECTION 

ACADEMY OF NATURAL SCIENCES, PHILADELPHIA. 



Vol. IX. 



OCTOBER, 1898. 



No. 8. 



CONTENTS: 



Ehrhorn— New Coccidae from Califor- 
nia 185 

Ashmead — Two new genera of sand 

wasps 187 

Rowley — Notes on Missouri Sphinges.. 189 
Kincaid — A new species of Polyxenus. 192 
Casey— Studies in Cephaloidse 193 



Wickhara — Recollections of old collect- 
ing grounds 195 

Editorial 199 

Economic Entomology 200 

Notes and News 201 

Entomological Literature 203 

Doings of Societies 207 



L 



NEW COCCID>E FROM CALIFORNIA. 

By Edw. M. Ehrhorn. 

Kermes COCkerelli n. sp. $. — Scale 5 mm. long 4.5 mm. broad and 4 
mm. high, deeply segmented, dorsum usually marked with black lines 
and spots along the sutures, some specimens not showing any. There is 
a broad, median, longitudinal groove, where the segmentation is obso- 
lete; on each side of this the segments are strongly gibbous. Color light 
brown, without any conspicuous black specks; derm, by transmitted light, 
brown with numerous oval glands, several large pustulae on body. An- 
tennae very small, 6-jointed, 3 very large, longer than the three following 
together; the others short, very little longer than 5, 4 shortest. Larva 
elongated oval, rather more than twice as long as broad, yellow, greatest 
breadth behind the middle of body. Eyes red, caudal tubercles quite 
large, each bearing one long bristle and three stout spines, one near 
bristle and one on the outer and inner margin of tubercle. On the ante- 
rior margin of the head are six bristles; the sides of the abdominal seg- 
ments are armed with stout, but not very long bristles. Antennae cylin- 
drical, 6-jointed, formula (36) (12) 45, last joint rounded at tip with several 
hairs, one very long;, rostral loop extending half way between base of 
third pair of legs and anal ring. Legs quite large, claw long and curved; 
tibia shorter than tarsus. 

Hab. — On twigs of Quercus iobata at Mountain View, Cal. 
Very miich parasitized by undetermined Chalcid, 



8 






i86 ENTOMOLOGICAL NEWS. [October, 

Kermes nigropunctatus Ehrhorn and Cockerell n. sp. $. — Scale 4.5 mm. 
long, 5.5 broad, nearly 4 high, not very pale ochreous, speckled all over 
with black, the black specks so small as to be readily overlooked without 
the use of a lens ; segmentation obscure, but discernible, the sutures 
slightly impressed and marked by more or less pallid transverse bands; 
an obscure median longitudinal depressed line; underside of scale where 
it touches the bark, flattened and entirely dark brown ; derm by trans- 
mitted light yellow with numerous round glands. Antennae small, 6- 
jointed, 3 very long, about as long as 4. 5 and 6 together; joints 2 and 4 
subequal and smallest. Formula 3165 (24). Larva oval, about one and 
a half times longer than broad, pink; greatest breadth about the middle; 
caudal tubercles large and distinct, each bearing a moderately long bristle 
and three stout spines, one on the outer and inner margin and one near 
bristle. Tne sides of the abdominal segments are armed with stout, 
short bristles. Antennse cylindrical, 6-jointed, formula 361 (45) 2 ; last 
joint rounded at tip with several hairs; joint 5 with a hair; rostral loop 
extending beyond third pair of legs; anal ring with six hairs. Legs stout, 
claw long and curved; tibia much shorter than tarsus. 

Hab, — Los Angeles, Cal., on twigs of Quercus, Collected by- 
Mr. Craw. 

The larvae were found in body of 9 . It is something like K, 
galliformis, but distinguished by tlie impressed sutures. It is 
much smaller and paler than K. gillettei, 

Polvlnarla rhois n. sp. 9 • — Found on limbs and underside of leaves 
single and in clusters. Length of 9 with ovisac about 9 mm., width 
about 3.5 mm.; scale brown, largely covered with white secretion, ovisac 
snow-white, distinctly grooved longitudinally, sometimes curved, some- 
times lifting scale off limb; scale shrunken, broadly oval, clay color, 9 
before forming ovisac something like Ler.anium hesperidutn, but more 
convex, reddish brown; anal plates distinct; dorsum covered with white, 
waxy secretion in rows, the mesal row has the largest secretions and they 
diminish in size as they approach the margin; edge of scale has short, 
simple hairs, in each anterior incision is a large spine with a short one on 
each side. Anal plates yellowish brown, longer than broad, forming a 
diamond when closed; two very small spines at tip; anogenital ring with 
six long hairs ; rostral loop reaching to middle pair of legs. Antennae 
8-jointed, formula 3 (124) 5867; joint 3 much the longest. Joints 2, 4, 5 
and 6 each with long hair, 8 with several hairs. Legs ordinary, coxa and 
trochanter very stout, tarsus half as long as femur; tarsal digitules long 
fine hairs with knobs; digitules of claw very stout, gradually widening to 
large knobs. Larva light yellow, fla'tish, elliptical,- about .5 mm. long. 
(^ scales small, oval, black, with numerous pale wart like prominences. 

Ha^. — On Rhus diversiloba at Mountain View, Cal. 



'^* - > "^^ * ^ .7 . ,' • t /<^ ' 



->. 



189S.] ENTOMOLOGICAL NEWS. 1 87 

TWO NEW GENERA OF SAND WASPS. 

By William H. Ashmead. 

(Assistant Curator Department of Insects U. S. Nat. Museunt.) 

Family NYSSONID.^. 

FOXIi n. g. 

Habitus of Nysson Latr. {sens, sir.), but differs as follows : , 
The second and third submarginal cells each receiving a recur- 
rent nervure, the first received by the petiolated second before 
its middle, the second received by the third at its basal one-third; 
forehead at middle with a tubercle or carina just above base of 
antennae; ventral segments 4-5 in $ with a lateral tooth, lateral 
margins of pygidium towards apex serrated; ventral segments 
4-6 in % with a lateral tooth, the pygidium at apex tridentate, 
the middle tooth minute, otherwise hind tibiae, scutellums, etc. , 
as in Nysson Latr. , but not Paranysson^ which I consider to be 
a distinct genus. 

Dedicated to my friend, the energetic young hymenopterist, 
Mr. Wm. J. Fox, of Philadelphia, Pa. 

<i) fozia pacifica n. sp. ^ 9 . — Length 6-6.5 i^ni. Head and thorax black, 
rugoso-punctate, the head, except vertex, collar, mesopleura and meta- 
thoracic spines clothed with a dense silvery pubescence; mandibles, hind 
legs, except coxae and abdomen, mostly rufous; four anterior legs except 
the anterior tibiae within and their tarsi and the middle tarsi, which are 
ferruginous, black ; the dorsal abdominal segments are narrowly mar- 
gined with white at apex, while the three or four apical segments are 
more or less black or blackish. 

Hab, — Los Angeles, Cal. Collected by D. W. Coquillett. 

Type No. 5017, U. S. Nat. Mus. 

Family LARRID^E. 

mSCOPHINnS n. %y^ 

Allied to Saliostethus Brauns, but the wings normal, the mar- 
ginal cell not triangular, but as in Miscophus^ subtruncate at apex; 
submedian cell shorter than the median; cubitus in hind wings 
originating beyond the transverse median; eyes large, extending 
to base of mandibles, slightly convergent above ; mandibles 
deeply excised beneath a little before the middle; maxillary palpi 
6-jointed, the first joint the shortest, the following rather long, 
subequal; labial palpi apparently but 3-jointed; clypeus not sepa- 



i88 ENTOMOLOGICAL NEWS. [October, 

rated from the face by a distinct suture, the anterior margin 
slightly arcuate, with a triangular emargination or incision on 
either side; antennae filiform, the scape clavate; ocelli normal, 
arranged in a triangle; occiput with a transverse furrow between 
the raised occipital margin and the base of vertex; metathorax 
fully as long as the mesonotum with a delicate median carina; 
tibial spurs long, i, i, 2; iibiae with a few black spines; anterior 
tarsi in 9 combed. 

Type Miscophinus laticeps, 

TABLE OF SPECIES. 

Black. 

Head not twice as wide as the thorax . . . .| 2. 

Head twice as wide as the thorax. 
Scape, pedicel, tegulae and legs rufous $ . . . . (i) M. laticeps. 
2. Abdomen black, the extreme apex of the second segment testaceous, 
ventral segments with a row of sparse, stiff black hairs at apical 
margins ; all coxae and femora above black, trochanters and 
rest of legs, and the scape, rufous . . . (2) M. califoniiciis. 
Abdomen mostly rufous, the two or three terminal segments obfus- 
cated or blackish ; legs, scape, pedicel, clypeus, mandibles, 
tegulae, ferruginous; prothorax brownish . . (3) M. texanns. 

(i) Miscophinns laticeps n. sp. $ .—Length 5 mm. Black, closely finely 
punctate, opaque; face, sides of collar and the meso- and metapleura sil- 
very sericeous; clypeus, mandibles, except tips and legs, rufous; tegulae 
and palpi paler; wings hyaline, the apical third fuscous. The head is 
unusually wide, twice as wide as the thorax; pronotum fully as long as 
the mesonotum; posterior face of metathorax transversely striate, with a 
median sulcus ; tibiae with some sparse black spines, their spurs long, 
black ; anterior tibiae with a sparse comb; transverse median nervure in 
front wings joins the median vein a little before the origin of the basal 
nervure; the marginal cell is only about two-thirds the length of the first 
submarginal, triangular petiolate, the petiole being as long as either side 
of the cell. 

Hab, — Sacramento Co., Cal. Taken in July by A. Koebele. 
Type No. 5018, U. S. Nat. Mus. 

(2) Miscophinns californicns n. sp. c^.— Length 4 mm. Structurally, 
resembles the former species, except the head is not nearly so wide; the 
silvery pubescence is denser on the face, on the lower part of the meso- 
pleura and on the front coxae; the first, second and third dorsal abdominal 
segments laterally at apex also show more or less of the silvery pubes- 
cence; scape, mandibles, except tips, and tegulae ferruginous ; all coxae 
and femora above black, trochanters and rest of legs rufous or ferruginous; 



1898.] ENTOMOLOGICAL NEWS. 189 

« 

anterior tarsi with rather short spines; tibial spurs black; extreme apex 
of second abdominal segment testaceous; wings dusky at apex. 

Hob, — Alameda Co., Cal. Taken in Sept. by A. Koebele. 
Type No. 5019, U. S. Nat. Mus. 

(3) Miscophinns tezanns n. sp. 9 .—Length 5 mm. In general appearance 
this species closely resembles M, californicus^ but the collar is brownish 
ferruginous, the clypeus, mandibles, scape, pedicel and legs ferruginous, 
the middle and hind coxae at base behind, dusky or blackish; abdomen 
mostly dark rufous, the two or three apical segments blackish, the ventral 
segments blackish toward their base; the venation is similar to the two 
previous species, except that the submedian cell is somewhat shorter and 
the petiole of the second submarginal cell is much shorter, being scarcely 
one-third the length of the side of the cell. 

Hab, — Bosque County, Texas. Coll. G. W. Belfrage. 

Type No. 5020, U. S. Nat. Mus. 

It may be well to state here that the type of Nysson f inenne 
Cr. is in the National Museum. Type No. 1714. As indicated 
by Cresson, it is not a true Nysson, but belongs to this group in 
the genus Nitelopsis Saunders. I cannot agree with Herr Kohl 
in suppressing this genus and merging it with Solierella Spinola. 
It forms a natural group between Scaphentes Handl. and Sylaon 
Piccioli. 



NOTES ON MISSOURI SPHINGES. 

By R. R. Rowley, Louisiana, Mo. 

Of all our hawk -moths the larva of Paonias exccBcaius is the 
most general feeder. In the Autumn of 1887 I experienced little 
difficulty in gathering together a great number of the caterpillars 
of this species, and while most of. them came from apple and 
plum, others were found feeding on tame cherry, apricot, elm, 
sugar-maple, willow, sycamore and oak. The species is double 
brooded here and the larvae may bq found from June to mid- 
October, surviving severe frosts. It is a hardy **worm*' and 
easily reared in bags or glass-jars, but suffers severely from the 
attacks of a small parasitic hymenopter whose cocoons we often 
see covering the whole body of the larva. There is some varia- 
tion in the color of the imagoes, but the handsomest form and 
one of our prettiest hawks is a large female, the red of the hind 
wing beautifully blending with a rose-colored forewing. 



190 ENTOMOLOGICAL NEWS. [October, 

Smerinthus geminatus is even more common than exccBcatus 
at times, and I have found the larvae abundant on Populus tretmi' 
hides and willow and sparingly on cottonwood and silver leaf. 
In searching for the eggs of this Sphinx on the underside of the 
leaves of aspen I was surprised to find many of them with pale 
pink blotches and occasionally entirely pink. Suspecting such 
eggs to have been attacked by some small parasitic hymenopter 
I was again surprised to obtain healthy larvae from them — perfect 
pupae and imagoes in time. The larva of Geminatus is more 
slender than that of exccecatus and somewhat smaller, but of two 
well defined types — one yellowish pea-green, the other blue- 
green. The larvae of all Smerinthoids occasionally have lateral 
rows of red spots or blotches not so well defined as in 6*. myops. 
Fully half the larvae of Geminatus, found on willow, have this 
character. 

I have noticed but little variation in the imagoes. Have never 
yet found a specimen with a single instead of a double blue pupil 
in the eye spot. The pupa is easily distinguishable from that of 
exccecatus, as it is almost black against the brown of that species. 

Smerinthus myops is rare with us, a single larva having been 
found by Mr. Ralph Sweet, of Curry ville. Mo., on wild cherry. 
The caterpillar has lateral rows of beautiful and distinct red spots. 
I have found some variation in the imagoes, especially the males. 

Neither 6*. astylus nor 6*. cerisii have been taken in Missouri 
by the writer, but the former might be sought for in the huckle- 
berry hills of Callaway County and the Ozark region south of 
the Missouri River. The larva of astylus feeds on low huckle- 
berry according to Miss Morton. 

Triptogon modesta is not uncommon with us, and the larva is 
found on cottonwood, silver-leaf and aspen. Mr. Sweet has 
handled great numbers of the larvae and has found them hardy 
and easily managed in muslin bags. The great size of the 
** worm" and its short caudal horn readily distinguish it. 

Cressonia juglandis is rather rare. I have found the larvae on 
walnut and hickory. Like 6*. geminatus the ** worm'* is of two 
types of color, yellowish green and blue-green. The body is 
long and slender, and the larval head long and sharp pointed. 
The pupa of this species differs much from all other Sphinx 
chrysalids, having a flattened, triangular appearance, posteriorly. 



1898.] ENTOMOLOGICAL NEWS. 19! 

Elema may be found on the pine ridges of southern Missouri. 
I have not found it here. 

I have not yet found Deidamia inscripta. The larva feeds on 
grape. 

Every X chcerilus is not uncommon about Curry ville. There 
are two seasonal broods. The imago is larger, but not more 
handsome than E, myron. The larva is found here on black 
paw ( Viburnum prunifolitirn) and snow-ball. Have never found 
it on other plants. It may be easily reared in bags on snow-ball, 
but is singularly subject to the attacks of a hymenopterous para- 
site, so much so that few of the first brood seem to escape. 

Of all our vine feeding hawks, Every x myron is the com- 
monest. Larvae may be found from early Summer to late Au- 
tumn, and are easily recognized by the swollen thoracic region, 
small head and caudal horn, absent in the mature larva of Phi- 
lampelus. There is a very noticeable difference in the color of 
the imagoes. In the Summer brood (from Summer larvae in 
June and July) many of the moths have the rust-red over both 
wings, more or less obscuring the otherwise olive-green of the 
Spring imagoes from Autumn larvae. 

Patient search has thus far failed to find Every x versicolor ^ 
though its food-plant, button bush, occurs along our streams. I 
am still sanguine of success. I feel sure it is among our hawks. 
The larvae of all our species of Every x pupate on the surface of 
the ground in loose cocoons of leaves, dirt and silk. 

I have taken the imago of Choerocampa tersa at light, but have 
failed to find the larva. It is said to feed on button- weed. Mr. 
Ralph Sweet once found an imago fresh from the pupa, near a 
prairie brook or slough, but a search for the food-plant proved 
fruitless. 

In 1886 the writer collected 25 larvae of Every x myron, 24 of 
Ceraiomia amyntor, 6 of Dolba hylauSy 40 of Paonias exccecatus^ 
20 of Daremma undulosa. In 1887, 106 larvae of Smerinihus 
geminatuSy 24 of Hemaris thy she, 12 of Every x chcerilus, 6 of 
Tfiptogon modestus, 36 of Daremma undulosa, 15 of Hemaris 
dijffiniSy 15 o{ Paonias exccecatus, 8 of Philampelus achemon. In 
1897, 12 larvae of Philampelus achemon and 13 of Smeriiiihus 
geminatuSy i Cressonia juglandis, 4 Dolba hylceus, and an un- 
known Sphinx from trumpet creeper. 



192 ENTOMOLOGICAL NEV/s. [October, 

A NEW SPECIES OF POLYXENUS. 

By Trevor Kincaid, University of Washington. 

In 1 82 1 Thomas Say described a diplopod from the Southern 
States to which he gave the name Polyxenus fasdculatus,^ Since 
that time the geographical range of this species has been con- 
siderably extended, but it has remained the sole representative 
of the suborder Pselaphognatha found within the limits of the 
United States, although at least one species has been recorded 
from the West Indies. 

During the past few years the writer has collected at various 
points in western Washington specimens of a small, hairy myri- 
opod belonging to the genus Polyxenus, A study of Say's de- 
scription of Polyxenus fasciculatus^ supplemented by specimens 
of the same supplied by Mr. Nathan Banks, showed that the 
Washington species was quite distinct from the form described 
by Say. In Polyxenus fasciculatus the antennae are short and 
clavate, whereas in the species described below these organs are 
elongate and filiform. In this respect the new form resembles 
the common European Polyxenus lagurus De Geer, as described 
by Bode.f 

Polyzenns pngetensls n. sp. — Color above yellowish white, the lateral 
portions of the dorsal segments and external margin of the head brown; 
ventral surface and legs pure white. Body narrow, sides of the dorsal 
segments parallel; head semicircular in outline, deflexed, the mouth -parts 
at postero-ventral margin ; antennae elongate, filiform, widely separated 
at base, arising from beneath the anterior margin of the head, composed 
of eight joints; first and second joints cylindrical and equal, third joint 
a little shorter, the succeeding four somewhat swollen in the middle, 
eighth joint only one-fourth as long as penultimate and bearing distally 
a group of four minute processes. Ocelli six on each side; two groups 
of five each are borne upon dark oval prominences in the middle of the 
lateral margins of the head; the sixth members lie in lobate, ventral ly- 
directed extensions of the main ocellar prominences, and are not visible 
from above. Vibrissae, two on each side, placed just anteriorly to the 
ocellar areas. Setae brownish, except terminal pencil, which is silvery; 
each of dorsal segments two to ten bears near its posterior margin two 
rows of oppositely-directed, serrated setae, the rows uniting externally, 
and the setae in this region being directed outwardly; on the first segment 
the setae are arranged in two irregular dorsal groups; from the middle of 
the posterior margin of the eleventh segment a loose tuft of long setae 

•Jour. Phila. Acad, ii, 108 (1821). 

t Zeitschr. fur d gesammte Naturwissensch. xlix, 1877. 



1898.] ENTOMOLOGICAL NEWS. .I93 

projects backward over the anal pencil; each lateral segment from two 
to ten is produced into an oval prominence from which projects a radiating 
fascicle of long setae similar to those forming the dorsal rows; the basal 
area dorsally, and the ventral surface of the head are glabrous, but the 
central-dorsal region is crossed by two transverse rows of setae, and the 
anterior region is thickly setate; a pair of setae is usually present on the 
occiput; anal pencil formed of two dense fascicles of long, slender, deli- 
cately-spined hairs that terminate distally in enlarged, recurved, fimbriated 
processes. Length of adult specimens 3.0 mm. 

Hab. — Western Washington. Usually found in damp places, 
beneath the bark of decaying logs, in moss, under dead leaves, 
etc. As a rule they are gregarious, and occur in colonies of 
considerable magnitude, but so far only females have been ob- 
served. 



STUDIES IN CEPHALOID^. 

By Thos. L. Casey. 

The very unexpected discovery of a remarkable divergence in 
tarsal and ungual structure, in a specimen from Placer County, 
California, recently sent to me by Mr. Fuchs under the name 
Cephaloon bicolor Horn, led me to investigate the material in my 
cabinet from a generic point of view, and to the conclusion that 
the genus Cephaloon, as heretofore known to us, is a complex 
of several genera having a strong family likeness among them- 
selves. These genera may be distinguished as follows : 

Tarsi slender, the penultimate joint unmodified, the claws nearly straight, 
arcuate at tip and pectinate within. 
Appendage of the tarsal claws broad and obtusely rounded at apex. 
Last joint of the maxillar>' palpi conical, the inner side but slightly 
shorter than the outer, the oblique apex short and straight ; an- 
tennae short, the last three joints broader, but not notably elon- 
gate Oepbaloon Newm. 

Last joint of the maxillary palpi with the inner side very short, the 
apex strongly oblique and arcuate; antennae longer and slender, 
the last three joints not notably enlarged or elongate, but differ- 
ing in form and color from those which precede . SponidilUII n. g. 
Appendage of the tarsal claws very slender, acutely pointed at tip; an- 
tennae very long and slender, the last three joints greatly elon- 
gated, but not at all broader Typitiiuii n. g. 

Tarsi stouter and shorter, the penultimate joint quadrate, feebly bilobed 
and densely pubescent beneath, the claws subevenly arcuate, not 
at all pectinate within and non-appendinulate . . DrtohyliB n. g. 



194 ENTOMOLOGICAL NEWS. [October, 

The genus Cephaloon has for its type lepturides Newm., which 
is distinguishable at once from any other species of the family by 
its short clavate antennae. It inhabits the lake regions of North 
America. 

The species of Sponidium are somewhat numerous, and are 
exclusively western, inhabiting the true Pacific coast faunal prov- 
ince. Those before me may be separated by the following char- 
acters from the female throughout : 

Eyes separated on the front by about their own width; antennae much 
longer than the head and prothorax together, the eighth joint but 
little longer than the ninth. Washington (State) . teniliconie Lee. 
Eyes separated on the front by very much less than their own width; an- 
tennae but little longer than the head and prothorax, with the 
eighth joint generally much longer than the ninth. 
Head shorter, the basal part, including the eyes, distinctly wider than 
long, the distance, from a vertical viewpoint, from the posterior 
limit of the eyes to the neck but little greater than the distance 
from the same point to the inner limit of the eye; prothorax but 
little longer than wide, broadly impressed along the middle ante- 
teriorly. British Columbia (Caraboo District) . . picetip Horn. 
Head more elongate, the basal part as long as wide, or vefy nearly; 
distance from the posterior limit of the eyes to the neck much 
greater than to the inner limit of the eye; prothorax distinctly 
longer than wide, generally unimpressed. 
Neck broader, as wide as the interantennal distance, the nuchal con- 
striction nearly straight across the dorsal surface. Idaho. 

omatnm Csy. 
Neck more slender, distinctly narrower than the interantennal dis- 
tance, the nuchal constriction strongly arcuate. 
Tempora straight; distance from the epistomal suture to the eyes 
almost as great as the length of the epistoma; body testaceous, 
the elytra black throughout. Coast regions of middle California. 

bicolor Horn. 
Tempora broadly and just visibly sinuate; distance from the epis- 
tomal suture to the eyes much less than the length of the epis- 
toma; elytra generally pale, with the suture narrowly blackish. 

Rocky Mountains versicolor Csy. 

A specimen oi versicolor, sent recently by Mr. Fuchs, is labeled 
** British Columbia (Caraboo District).** The species may pos- 
sibly extend along the Rocky Mountains as far to the southward 
as Colorado. 

Cephaloon ungularCy of LeConte, is the type and only species 
of Typitium; it is of unusually slender form and occurs in the 
northern Atlantic regions of North America. 



1898.] ENTOMOLOGICAL NEWS. 195 

The unique type of Drachylis may be described as follows 
from the female : 

Drachylis simnlans n. sp. — Form as in Sponidium bi color ^ but slightly 
broader across the humeri, rufo-testaceous throughout, the elytra and 
metasternum black; pubescence minute, pale, decumbent and dense as 
usual. Head elongate, broadly convex, minutely, closely punctulate, the 
eyes separated on the front by very nearly their own width; palpi and 
antennae missing in the type. Prothorax slightly elongate, of the usual 
campanulate form, with everted and acute basal angles; median line very 
feebly impressed near the middle; surface convex and minutely, closely 
punctulate. Scutellum rufous, rather pointed behind. Elytra three times 
as long as wide, two-fifths wider than the prothorax, the humeri slightly 
prominent, but rounded ; sides more rapidly convergent and rounded 
toward tip, the individual apices rounded; disc minutely, closely punctu- 
late, each elytron with two feeble, oblique ridges toward base ; suture 
minutely margined ; fifth ventral with a small, rounded notch at apex. 
Legs long and slender as usual, the tarsi short. Length 12.0 mm.; width 
3.1 mm. California (Placer County). 

The possession of thick and rather short tarsi, with absence 
of ungual appendage and pectination, renders this species pro- 
foundly different from the others of the family, and, in view of 
the extreme similarity to Sponidium bicolor in outward habitus, 
is indeed remarkable. The resemblance is so great as to have 
deceived Dr. Horn, who, upon cursory examination, placed the 
type example — kindly lent me by Mr. Fuchs — with typical indi- 
viduals of his bicolor from the coast regions of the State (Proc. 
Cal. Acad. Sci. 2, vi, p. 381). 

The general characters of the family have been given in some 
detail by the writer (Ann. N. Y. Acad. Sci. ix, p. 649). The 
paper of Dr. Horn, above referred to, was unknown to me at 
that time, and 1 am glad to find, from the types communicated 
by Mr. Fuchs, that there has been no confusion and redescription 
of species, the two described by me being amply distinct from 
those of Dr. Horn made known so short a time before. 



RECOLLECTIONS OF OLD COLLECTING GROUNDS. 

By H. F. WiCKHAM, Iowa City, Iowa. 

v.— THE COLORADO DESERT AND ITS ENVIRONS. 

Along the boundary between California and Arizona lies a great 
valley traversed by the lower Colorado River. It is elevated but 
a few hundred feet above sea- level and is bordered on each side 



196 ENTOMOLOGICAL NEWS. [October, 

by vast tracts of desert sand or hard-baked mud, with an occa- 
sional mountain chain raising jagged, irregular black peaks in 
the distance. The valley itself, in the immediate vicinity of the 
river, is more or less cut up by little sloughs or ditches, with a 
growth of willows along their banks, and the native Indians 
(Mojaves and Yumas) are able to produce crops of beans, melons 
and corn by irrigation. Except in close proximity to water the 
vegetation is of the dry, scrubby character peculiar to the south- 
ern part of our arid Sonoran region — the mesquite and screw- 
bean being about the only plants which can be said to attain the 
dimensions of trees. An occasional pond of alkaline water fills 
some depression, and during the driest weather wide stretches 
of mud lie between the banks marking the bed of the river and 
the edge of the stream itself. 

The heat of this low-lying area is very great, although the 
drying winds from the adjacent deserts reduce the humidity and 
thus lessen liability to sunstroke. Still, when one is collecting 
in the thickets margining the water's edge, where no breeze is 
stirring, the sweat pours off in streams at the least exertion. 
When in the open an umbrella should be used as a protection. 
I have no means of securing any official data as to temperature, 
but have seen the thermometer standing, during an August after- 
noon, at 120° in the shade. On another occasion I noticed that 
it indicated over 100 degrees in an adobe house, about sunrise — 
so it had probably not gone lower, in the building, through the 
night. 

The valley is crossed by the Southern Pacific Railroad at 
Yuma, and again by the Atlantic and Pacific at The Needles, 
about one hundred and fifty miles farther north, measuring di- 
rectly across country. At the time of my visit a steamboat plied 
between these and other points. Comparatively little of the 
population is white, the majority being Indians or ** greasers, ' * 
as the mixed-blood Mexicans are called. 

My first trip to the region was made in 1888, when, coming 
from the adjacent portion of Arizona, I arrived at The Needles 
early in August and remained for the few days necessary in 
making a cursory examination of the coleopterous fauna. The 
altitude, at the railroad station, is about five hundred feet. The 
river bottom is broad and grown up in places with weeds higher 
than a man's head. Hot winds, almost like draughts from a 



1898.] ENTOMOLOGICAL NEWS. I97 

furnace, come from the desert which rises in ridges to the west, 
and the rough pinnacles of The Needles Mountains lift — a black 
image of absolute desolation— to the southward. Not a prom- 
ising ground surely, nor one in which a collector might look for 
much physical enjoyment to offset any failings in luck. 

The season, also, was far advanced, but still the results of my 
stay were not to be despised. By rising before the sun I found 
it easy to get numbers of a fine green Buprestid, Gyascutus plani- 
costa. It was abundant on a common schrub with small, thick, 
glossy leaves, and a sticky surface. This bush grew in large 
patches on gravelly flats, out of reach of any freshet from the 
river. Before the sun warmed the beetles into activity their cap- 
ture was easy, but in the heat of the day it was almost impossible 
to approach them, since they took flight at such slight alarm. 
Beating bushes of other sorts brought me a great lot of Hemip- 
iychtcs belonging to an undescribed species. They are of a 
bleached appearance in common with some other beetles of this 
ill-favored spot. Ctenobium piumbeum occurred with it, and in 
the same company I noticed Cybocephalus calif omicus, Exocko- 
mus marginipennis, Hyperaspis lateralis and Coccinella abdomu 
nalis, LeguminoscB — the screw-bean and its kind — yielded some 
Tychius setosus and an Apion, which, I suppose, is venin'cosum. 

Search along the river banks and on the margins of standing 
pools in the bottom-lands was productive of some interesting 
forms. Cicindela tenuisignata was tolerably abundant on alka- 
line mud, not a very convenient place for working with a net 
since it soon becomes clogged up. Over the shores run dozens 
of the little ant-like Carabid, Ega Icetula, while in burrows, safely 
concealed, lie Clivina dentipes and Dyschirius analis, and these 
must be drowned out by flooding their dwelling. Under logs in 
damp spots I took Chlcenius ruficauda, easily recognized by the 
reddish elytral tips. In like situations occur Tecnophilus crocei- 
colliSy Tetragonoderus pallidus^ a number of Brachinus^ several 
Scarites subterraneus, of the small form called calif omicus, and 
one or two Thaipius hornii. Other species, mostly small and 
inconspicuous, are not wanting. On the edges of the water in 
a shallow well, such as the Indians make, I took a few Tetracha 
Carolina, In ponds water beetles were plentiful — Berosus sub- 
signatus^ B. infusca/uSy Trapisternus limbalis, Hydrophilus Irian- 
gulartSy Ochthebius lineatiis, Ccelambus medialis, Laccophilus 



198 ENTOMOLOGICAL NEWS. [October, 

mexicanus^ Coptotomus interrogatus and Cy bister explanatus, I 
have always thought this Cy bister seemed to move more lazily 
than any of our large northern water-beetles. 

Under ties and other railroad rubbish were to be found some 
very fine Tenebrionidae, notably Eleodes armata, Asida confluens 
and Cryptoglossa verrucosa; Notibius pube7'ulus and Euryme- 
topon rufipes were to be seen occasionally, but not in any num- 
bers. I had expected to find the family well represented here, 
but my hopes were unfulfilled, still it is quite likely that more 
might be taken during the Winter. Sphenophorus vomerinus 
(var. baridioides) was seen once, a small colony having head- 
quarters under a log near the river. Atcenius californicus was 
the only common Scarabaeid, though I came across two or three 
Orsonyx anxius and a Polyphylla cavi/rons. 

The most interesting task was catching the beautiful large 
click-beetle, Chalcokpidius webbii. This insect reaches a length 
of nearly an inch and a half, and is bluish with a broad cream- 
colored border. During the day it reposes on willows, usually 
too high up among the branches to reach by hand and the trees 
are too large to admit of the use of the umbrella or beating- net. 
In consequence it becomes necessary to climb for them, care 
being taken not to shake the trunk too much or the beetles take 
alarm and fly — first dropping a short distance — or else fall to the 
ground, where they are likely to be lost among the weeds. The 
more pains have to be taken because of the wasps building their 
nests in these same trees and they do not like intruders. Since 
few of the trunks are more than four inches or so in diameter it 
is no play to ascend them in a broiling sun. 

My entomologizing along the river did not attract so much 
attention from the Indians as might be expected, probably be- 
cause they have an inclination in that direction themselves. They 
pursue and catch the larger Acridiidae, presumably for use as 
food, since I noticed that they placed them in receptacles as if 
for preservation. As this catching of locusts was done by adults 
it can hardly be considered simply a sport. 

A rather remarkable effect of the extreme dryness of the air 
manifested itself during the preparation of insects after returning 
from the field. Usually, I empty a bottle of its contents at once 
and mount, or otherwise treat, the specimens at leisure, but here 
the hot winds dessicate them so rapidly that only a few could be 
exposed to the air at a time, otherwise those last handled would 
become brittle (in only a few minutes) and break at a touch. 



1898.] 199 



ENTOM OLOGICAL 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 circumfei- 
ence, as to make it necessary to put " copy" into the hands of the printer, for each number, 
three weeks before date of issue. This should be remembered in sending special or im- 
portant matter for 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., October, 1898. 

We must again remind some of our subscribers that it costs 
mone)'^ to publish the News and they cannot expect us to send 
it to them gratis. Indeed, it is dishonest to take a journal from 
the post-office and not pay for it. If you do not want the News 
frankly say so, and then we will know where we stand. We do 
not wish the News 10 share the fate of " The Brooklyn Bulletin," 
" Papilio" and ** Entomologica Americana," which are now 
memories of the past. One dollar a year is a small sum, and 
anybody who does not take one dollar's worth of interest in 
Entomology had better drop natural history. 

* * Before this meeting Papilio, so far as its present management 
was concerned, was doomed. An appeal to its subscribers, two 
months before, not for alms, but for money justly its due, had 
been answered by the receipt of the money owed it by three sub- 
scribers; in other words the princely sum of six dollars had been 
added to its treasury, though much over $150.00 was needed, 
and $2oc.oo was due," — Editor "Papilio" 4, 187, 1884. Then it 
died. Then came * ' Entomologica Americana" and existed 
awhile and then it died. Where is the fault ? What is the trouble ? 
Shall it be said of Entomological News, in the near future, 
and then it also died f 

The place of the lamented Dr. Lintner as entomologist of the State of 
New York has been filled by the governor by appointing to that position 
Mr. Mark Vernon Slingerland. 



200 ENTOMOLOGICAL NEWS. [October, 

DEPARTiMENT OF ECONOMIC ENTOMOLOGY. 

Edited by Prof. JOHN B. SMITH, ScD., 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. 



Crade Petroleum as an Insecticide. — The use of kerosene against insects 
naturally turned attention to other oils of the same class and to different 
grades of the same oil. Experiments were made, therefore, with a num- 
ber of them which have never been recorded, and as they all resulted in 
failures, probably never will be. The use of the crude petroleum was 
suggested to me by Mr. Lafayette T. Schanck, one of our Monmouth 
County fruit-growers, because he had employed it for many years in de- 
stroying lice on stock and for various garden insects. He claimed that it 
was as good an insecticide as kerosene and much less violent in its action 
on the subject, while kerosene would remove the hair from most of the 
animals to which it was applied, crude oil never did, but gave a better and 
cleaner coat, inducing a new and vigorous growth of hair on bare patches. 
His experiments on vegetation were too indefinite to quote, but there was 
enough in it to make me determine to try it if possible. In January I 
induced a grower to risk a row of dwarf pears, very badly infested with 
San Jos6 scale for dangerous experiments, and one of these trees was 
painted from the base to the tip of the twigs with crude petroleum. The 
application was as thorough as it could be made with a brush and the tree 
turned a dark chestnut-brown at once. A few days afterward an exami- 
nation on a bright sunny day showed the surface studded with drops of 
water that had condensed on it. Everything was penetrated by the oil 
and the tree was considered as hopelessly injured. The scales were simply 
soaked and great patches could be lifted up and removed without effort. 
In due season, however, this tree as well as those surrounding it showed 
the swelling leaf buds, and the foliage, as it developed, was even better 
and richer in color. Fruit buds were also developing normally, and there 
was nothing in the appearance of the tree to indicate that anything that 
could be considered an heroic application had been made. The twigs 
and all the wood, however, retained the oily appearance, on which a coat- 
ing of dust was now forming, so that the tree looked almost black. Fruit 
set normally and a fair crop; a little less perhaps than on some other trees» 
and there were a few dead spurs on the tree; but as this was one of the 
scaliest trees in the orchard, and as others, no worse, died in part or en- 
tirely, although untreated, it would be unsafe to charge this to the petro- 
leum. It was anticipated that the August sun would drive the oil into the 
tree and kill it, but even this was not the case, and up to the date of 
writing this tree is one of the most vigorous in the orchard, while the 
fruit is ripening normally, the pears — Duchesse — as perfect as any of their 
kind. The tree has made a better growth, with longer shoots, than any 



1898.] ENTOMOLOGICAL NEWS. 20I 

Other near by, and so far as appearance can be relied upon is perfectly 
healthy. The oil is yet apparent where it was applied, but beneath it the 

bark is perfectly normal. On the trunk and larger branches the bark 

which had become bound from the scale injury has split, and new, healthy 

bark is forming at the edges. Altogether, the tree looks as if it had 

received a new lease of life and seems in much better condition than ever 

before. 

As to the scale — that has disappeared almost entirely. There were on 
September 14th perhaps two dozen scales on all the fruit on the tree, and 
there were a few on the new wood, but as all the surrounding trees are 
scaly and a scaly branch from a Standard partially overhangs the dwarf, 
these probably came on. A few larvae attempted to set on the oily twigs, 
formed the white scale and died. Not a single scale beyond this stage 
was found on any of the treated twigs. 

When it was realized that the Winter treated tree was not dead, but 
was even making a good start, about a dozen similar trees were sprayed 
with the crude oil when already leafed out and partially in bloom. The 
spraying was done from a wagon, one side being treated one day and the 
other several days later when the wind shifted. The spraying was very 
thorough each time, done with a McGowen nozzle and on each tree a few 
shoots near the centre were killed. The remainder of the trees developed 
normally and the fruit on September 14th was all that could be desired. 
The apparently stimulating effect of the oil was also noticeable here and the 
trees are now among the best of their kind instead of the poorest. The 
very worst infested trees were chosen for this experiment and the effect 
on the scale was all that could be desired. 

The largest experiment was on an orchard of 200 Ben Davis apples 
eight years out and in fine general condition. This entire orchard was 
sprayed with crude oil April 14 to 22, and was as fully loaded with apples, 
September lo, as any similar untreated trees in the vicinity. 

Other experiments need not be detailed here at present since my inten- 
tion is not to recommend the crude oil unreservedly, but to bring it to the 
attention of entomologists as offering a good chance for study. All my 
experience points to this as less injurious to vegetation than kerosene, as 
spreading even more thoroughly and as at least as good an insecticide. 



Notes and. News. 

ENTOMOLOGICAL GLEANINGS FROM ALL QUARTERS 

OF THE GLOBE. 



Mules in trousers. — George Finney, an express wagon driver, has 
clothed his mules' forelegs in trousers. In speaking of it he said that 
flies bothered the forelegs of a four-footed animal more than they did the 
hind limbs, and he, therefore, having some respect for the comfort of his 
faithful servants had made a pair of trousers to protect them from the 

8* 



202 ENTOMOLOGICAL NEWS. [October, 

pests. The trousers were supported by suspenders passed up over the 
backs of the animals. — Nebraska State Jownial, 

John Habberton states that mosquitoes are extremely frightened by 
dragonflies and will not come within yards of .them. He says that one 
or two dried dragonflies suspended from fine silk under the roof of an 
open porch infested by mosquitoes will scare all of the little pests away^ 
and they will not come back while the dragonflies are there. This, he 
says, he has tried with surprising results. It is a well-known fact that 
dragonflies are predatory and voracious insects, and that they subsist 
largely upon gnats, midges and mosquitoes, and it is but natural that the 
mosquito, who is a wise insect, should regard the "spindle," ** darning- 
needle" or dragonfly, as the small bird regards the hawk. 

Note on Anophthalmus. — A large series (175 specimens) of these 
interesting blind Carabids, collected in Mammoth Cave, Kentucky, by 
R. Ellsworth Call and myself, were of four species, viz. : 

A, tellkampfii Erich 80 

menetriesii Mots 91 

striatus Mots. (= interstitialis Hiib.) ... 3 
audax Horn i 



175 
Menetriesii is the most variable in size, and some specimens show 

traces of pubescence. Each of these species is easily separated from the 
others by the shape of the thorax. The type of audax was from Ronald- 
son's Cave, Kentucky. It has the thorax wider than long and nearly as 
wide at base as apex. It is a small species. This is, I believe, the first 
record of the occurrence of audax in Mammoth Cave. I searched the 
caves in Carter County, Kentucky, viz.: "Bat," "X," "Laurel" and 
"Saltpetre" Caves, but failed to find Anophthalmus in either of them. — 
Charles Durv, Avondale, Cincinnati, Ohio. 

There are at present 2864 volumes in the library of the American 
Entomological Society, including in volumes of pamphlets averaging 
fifteen titles to the volume. The various departments are represented as 
follows: Journals, 1436 ; Coleoptera, 389 ; General Entomology, 341 ; Le- 
pidoptera, 214; Economic Entomology, 122; Hymenoptera, 10 1 ; Dip- 
tera, 86 ; Miscellaneous, 61 ; Hemiptera, 49 ; Orthoptera, 40 ; Neuroptera, 
25. This represents an increase of nearly 100 per cent since 1888, when 
the total number of volumes was 1445. 

In the library of the Academy of Natural Sciences of Philadelphia there 
are 122 1 volumes, exclusive of journals, and 1188 pamphlets, devoted 
entirely to Entomology. The pamphlets form 77 additional volumes. 

While the books of one library are partially duplicated by the other, 
yet it is safe to say that the foremost collection of entomological books 
in America is to be found in the building of the Academy of Natural 
Sciences of Philadelphia, where both libraries are situated. — W. J. Fox. 



1988.] ENTOMOLOGICAL NEWS. 203 

May 14th a pair of Lcucarctia acrcea were captured in coitu on a plum 
tree. They were put in a breeding-cage, and on the 15th and i6th the 
female laid 72S eggs in three patches. One on the day of the 15th, one 
that night, and one the following day. They were laid in almost a square. 
The rows of eggs were closely placed beside each other, but scarcely 
touching, while the eggs in each row were apparently joined. In size 
about mm. and about globular shape; color lemon-yellow and darker 
to a deep yellow; changed fast with age to a deep blue before hatching. 
All hatched on the morning of May 30. 

May 28 a stem of dead plum was found containing 598 eggs, all in one 
patch and in five rows lengthwise of the stem. Commenced hatching 
May 30; thirty-three failed to hatch. In both cases the young larvae fed 
on the empty egg-shells first, cleaning them off to the sutface of the wood. 
They were afterward fed on plum and a number were grown to maturity. 
— E. G. Titus, Fort Collins, Colo. 



Entomologica.1 Iviterattire. 



Under the above bead it is intended to note sucb papers received at the Academy of 
Natural Sciences of Philadelphia pertaining to the Entomoloey 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, whether relating 
to American 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 pub- 
lished ; * 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 parenthesis. 



4. The Canadian Entomologist, London, Ont, '98. — 5. Psyche, Cam- 
bridge, Mass., Sept., '98.-7. U. S. Department of Agriculture, Division 
of Entomology, Washington; circulars, second series, '98. — 8. The En- 
tomologist's Monthly Magazine, London, Sept., '98. — II. The Annals 
and Magazine of Natural History, London, Sept., '98.— 13. Comptes 
Kendus. Societe de Biologie, Paris, July 30, '98. — 26. Appleton's Popular 
Science Monthly, New York, Sept., '98.— 40. Societas Entomologica, 
Zurich-Hottingen, '98. — 42. Journal of the Linnean Society, London, 
— 45. Deutsche Entomologische Zeitschrift, '98, I Lepidopt. Heft, 
Berlin, etc., Aug. 10. — 46. Tijdschrift voor Entomologie, xli, i. The 
Hague, July 30, '98.— 81. Biologisches Centralblatt, Erlangen, '98. — 
86a Annales, 86b Bulletin, Soci^t^ Entomologique de France, '96. 
Rec'd. Aug. '98. — 87. Revue Scientifique, Paris, '98.-88. Acles, So- 
ci^t^ Linneenne, Bordeaux, Hi, '97. — 89. Zoologische Jahrbiicher, xi, 5, 
Jena, Aug. 15, '98. — 90. Gartenflora, Berlin, '98. — 91. II Naturalista 
Siciliano (n. s.), ii, 5-8, Palermo, July 15, '98. 

The General Subject.— B e e c h e r , C. E. The origin and signifi- 
cance of spines : a study in evolution (cont.), figs., American Journal of 
Science, New Haven, Sept., '98. — Bignell, G. C. Photographic en- 



204 ENTOMOLOGICAL NEWS. [October, 

largements, i pi., 8. — B ordage, E. On the probable mode of forma- 
tion of the femoro-trochanteric suture in Arthropods, 13. — C o m s to c k, 
J. H. and Needham, J. G. The wings of insects, iii (concl.), Amer- 
ican Naturalist, Boston, Aug., '98.— Constant, A. Necrological no- 
tice of E. L. Ragonot (portrait and bibliog.), SOa, i, Dec, '96. — Fab re, 
J. H. A virus of insects, Annales des sciences naturelles, Zoologie, (8), 
vi, 4-6, Paris, July, *98.— H utton, F. W. A case of inherited instinct, 
Nature, London, Sept. i, '98.— Kiinckel d' Herculais, J. On the 
functions of the Malpighian tubules 86b.— L e o n i , A. M. On the odors 
exhaled by insects, 87, July 30.— Lubbock, J. On the attraction of 
flowers for insects, 42, Hot. xxxiii, 231, April i, '98.— Marchal. P. 
Remarks on the function and origin of the Malpighian tubules, 86b. — 
Mayet, V. Necrological notice of C. V. Riley (portrait and bibliog.), 
86a, 4, Dec, '97; A new function of the Malpighian tubules [Cerambyx'j, 
86b. — P e r e z . The attraction of flowers for insects, 88, Proces-ver- 
baux.— Weed, C. M. A game of hide and seek, figs., 26. 

ficonoiuic ^Entomology.— C hittenden,F. H. A new squash 
bug, 4, Sept.; The larger apple-tree borers, figs., 7, No. 32, July i. — 
Felt, E. P. Elm-leaf beetle in New York State, figs., 5 pis.. Bulletin 
New York State Museum, v, 20, Albany, June, '98.--Frank and K rii- 
ger, F. The European allies of the San Jos^ scale, 90, Aug. i. — 
Howard, L. O. Remedial work against the Mexican cotton -boll 
weevil, 7, No. 33, July i; House flies, figs., 7, No. 35, July ir.— de Jo- 
annis.J. Cornivorous larvae, 87, Aug. 13. — Kenyon,F. C. Abstracts 
of recent publications, Experiment Station Record x, i. U. S. Dep't 
Agric Washington, '98. — Klein, O. Vedalia cardinalis as opponent 
of Icerya Purchasi^ 90, Sept. i.— Marchal, P. On two new Cecido- 
myids living on the potato and on the Hedera, figs., 86b.— Maria tt, 
C. L. House ants, figs., 7, No. 34, July 6; The true clothes moths, figs., 
7, No. 36, July 18. — Mayet, V. Note on Margarodes vitium Giard, 
86b ; The scale-insect of the vines of Chili, Margarodes vitium Giard, 
86a, 3, May, '97. — Placzek, B. Protection of birds or of insects? 
Verhandlungen des naturforschenden Vereines in Briinn, xxxv, '97. — 
Vayssiere, A. Description of Pentaphis marginata Koch, an Aphid 
which attacks wheat, i pi., Annales de la Faculty des Sciences de Mar- 
seille, viii, '98. — Wilcox, E. V. The internal chicken-mite (Cytodites 
nudus vizioli), Journal of Comparative Medicine and Veterinary Archives, 
Philadelphia, August, '98. 

Arachuida. — Bouvier, E. L. On the oviposition and develop- 
ment of a Pseudoscorpionid, Garypus saxicola Waterh.; Rectification to 
the same, 86b. — B uysson, H. du. Observations on the results pro- 
duced by the sting of the Acarinae of the genus Argas, 86a, 2, April, 
*97- — van Hasselt, A. W. M. Catalogue of the Araneae found in 
Holland, 46. — 1 h 1 e , J. E. W. On the phylogeny and systematic posi- 
tion of the Pantopoda, 81, Aug. 15. — Michael, A. D. Report on the 
Acari collected by Mr. H. Fisher, Naturalist of the Jackson-Harmsworth 



1898.] ENTOMOLOGICAL NEWS. 205 

Polar Expedition, at Cape Flora, Northbrook Island, Franz-Josef Archi- 
pelago, I pi., 4:2, Zool. xxvi, 168, Nov. i, *97.— Nalepa, A. To 
knowledge of the genus Trimerus Nal., i pi., 89. — Pocock, R. I. 
The species of Scorpions of the genus Broieas^ 11. — Schenkling- 
Pr6v6t. Cave spiders, Insekten Borse, Leipsic, Aug. 25, '98, et seq. — 
Simon, E. Descriptions of new species of the order of the Aranea?, 
2 pis.* Sito^y 3, May, '97. — Trouessart, E. New genus and species 
of pilicolous Sarcoptidae (Chirodiscinae)* (two papers) ; E>escription of 
new species of marine Acarina (Halacaridae); On two new species and a 
new genus of psoric Sarcoptidae; On the classification of the {)lumicolous 
Sarcoptidae, 86b« 

Myriapoda. — Brolemann, H. W. List of Myriapods of the 
United States and principally of North Carolina, making part of the col- 
lections of M. E. Simon, 3 pis., Sito^, i, Dec, *96. — Heymons, R. 
On the developmental history of the Chilopoda, Sitzungsberichte, konigl. 
preuss. Akademie d. Wissenschaften, Berlin, Mar. 31, '98. 

Orthoptera. — Bordage, E. On the localizations of surfaces of 
regeneration in the Phasmids, 13. — B runner v. Wattenwyl. Or- 
thoptera of the Malay Archipelago collected by Prof. W. Kukenthal, 5 
pis. Abhandlungen, Senckenbergischen naturforschenden Gesellschaft, 
Frankfort, xxiv. 2, '98. — Giardina, A. On the nest of Mantis relig- 
ioso 91. — Morse, A. P. Notes on New England Acridiidae, iv, Acrid- 
iinae, ii, i pi., 5. — Rabito, L. On the origin of the middle intestine 
of Mantis religiosa, 91. — W a 1 k e r , E. M. A new alpine grasshopper 
from western Canada, i pi.,* 4, Aug. 

Neuroptera. — B a r r o i s , C. et al. Observations on the phenomena 
of flight of dragonflies, 86b. — Currie, R. P. New species of North 
American Myrmeleonidae, iii,* 4, Sept. — Haviland, G. D. Observa- 
tions on Termites, with descriptions of new species, 4 pis., 42, Zool. 
xxvi, 169; April I, '98. — M e u n i e r , F*. The fossil Agrionidae of the Mu- 
seums of Munich and Harlem, 3 pis.; Note on some insects pf the schists 
of Solenhofen, i pi., 86a, i, Dec, '96. — Williamson, E. B. Sep- 
tember dragonflies of Round and Shriner Lakes, Whitley Co.» Indiana, 
22nd Annual Report, Dep't of Geology and Natural Resources, Indiana, 
'97. Indianapolis, '98. 

Hemiptera. — Baker, C. F. Notes on Chlorotettix , with some 
new species,* 4, Aug.; On some new and anomalous Tettigoninae,* 5. — 
Blanc hard, R. On the scale-insects of the genus Orthezia Bosc , 
86a, 4, Dec, '97.— Cocker ell, T. D. A. Supplementary note and 
notice of a new Eriococcus* 4, Sept. ; The Coccid genus Solenophora 
in the United States,* 5. — C o o 1 e y , R. A. Diaspis amygdali in Mas- 
sachusetts, 4, Sept. — D i s t a n t , W. L. Descriptions of new species of 
Hemiptera-Heteroptera [Coreidae*], 11. — E h r h o r n , E. M. New Coc- 
cidae,* 4, Sept. — Klein, O. Icerya Purchasi, fig, 90, Aug. 15. — 
Tinsley, J. D. Some new species of Coccidae,* figs., 4, Aug. 

Coleoptera.— A n o n . A *' rain of beetles, " 40, Sept. i. — A n o n . 



2o6 ENTOMOLOGICAL NEWS. [October, 

W. Biedermann on the digestion of the larva of Tenebrio molitor, Nat- 
urwissenschaftliche Rundschau, Braunschweig, Aug. 27, '98. — Balbi, E- 
Deformities and monstrosities of Coleoptera, 91. — Belon, R. P. De' 
criplion of an unpublished Cerambycid of the group Disteniini, 86b. — 
F 1 e t i a u X , E. Note on the genus Fornax ^ 86b« — G adeaudeKer* 
ville, H. Sexual perversion in male Coleoptera, fig., 86b. — Gran- 
dis, v., and Muzio, G. On the process of assimilation of Calladium 
sanguineum Fabr. Archives Italiennes de Biologic xxix, 2, Turin, '98. — 
Grouvelle, A. Description of two Dryopidae of the genus Lutro- 
chus Er. with a general table of the species; Remarks on the nomencla- 
ture of the Dryopidae and of the Helmidae, 86b ; NitiduUdae, Colydiidae» 
Cucujidae and Parnidae, collected by M. E. Gounelle in Brazil, and other 
new American Clavicoms, figs * 86a9 2, Apr., '97; Clavicornsof Grenada 
and of St. Vincent (Antilles) collected by Mr. H. H. Smith and belonging 
to the Museum of Cambridge; Notes from the Leyden Museum, xx, '98. 
— Keen, J. H. A new Cychrinid,* 4, Aug. — Kerremans, C. Bu- 
prestidae of the voyage of E. Simon to Venezuela; Buprestidae collected 
in tobaccos by the care of M. A. Grouvelle, 86a9 i, Dec, '96. — L e s n e , 
P. Revision of the Coleoptera of the family Bostrychidae, i, figs , 2 pis., 
86a9 I, Dec, '96; Synonymic notes on the hypocephalic Bostrychidae, 
86b. — L e w i s , G. On new species of Histeridae and notices of others,* 
11. — Pic, M. Synonymic remarks on the Anthicidae of the United 
States ; Description of a Heteromerous Coleopter from Brazil, 86b. — 
Raffray, A. Description of new species of Pselaphidae from southern 
Brazil collected by M. E. A. Gold ; Synonymic notes on Pselaphidae, 
86a9 I, Dec, '96; New studies on the Pselaphidae and Clavigeridae,* 2 
pis., 86a9 2, April, '97. — Viturat, 1' Abb^, and Fauconnet, L. 
Analytic and methodic catalogue of the Coleoptera of Saone-et- Loire 
and the neighboring departments, Bulletin, Soci^t^ d'Histoire Naturelle 
de Autun, x, '97. 

Diptera. — B lanchard, R. Contributions to the study of parasitic 
Diptera, iii, 3 pis., %%2Ly 4, Dec, '97. — Chobaut, Dr. Observations 
on a dipter living on Ateuchus, 86b. ~C o q u i 1 1 e 1 1 , D. W. Additions 
to my synopsis of the Tachinidae,* 4, .Sept.— J a n e t , C. On the * filets 
arqu^s' of the antennae of Xylodiplosis^ figs., 86b« — K i e f f e r , J. J. On 
the 'filets arqu^s* of the antennae of Cecidomyidae, figs.; On the trans- 
formations of certain organs in the larvae of Cecidomyia, figs., 86b. — 
L e s n e , P. Habits of Limosina sacra Meig. (fam. Muscidae), phenomena 
of mutual transportation in articulated animals, origin of parasitism in 
Diptera 86b.— W andolleck, B. The Stethopathidae, a new wingless 
and haltereless family of Diptera, 2 pis., 89. 

Lepidoptera. — B a d e n o c h , M. T. D. The case moths, figs., 26. 
— Dyar, H. G. Concerning Xanthorhos glacialis Hulst, 4, Aug. — 
F ^ r ^ , C. Experiments on the sexual instinct of Bombyx^ 13. — F r u h - 
storfer, H. Monographic revision of the Nymphalid groups Sympha- 
dra and Adolias; Agrias aurantiaca Fruhst.; A. bolivensis^ i pi., 45. — 



1898.] ENTOMOLOGICAL NEWS. 207 

Gauckler, H. Experiments with low temperatures on Vanessa pupae, 
46-— Grot e, A. R. Note on the diurnals, 4, Aug. — Hulst, G. D. 
Descriptions of new genera and species of the Geometrina of North 
America,* 4, Aug. — L a t h y , P. L. A new species of Sphcenogona from 
Jamaica, 8. — Lucock, F. Food-plant of Euphanessa mendica, 4, 
Sept.— M o f f a t , J. A. Deidamia inscripta Harr. 4, Aug.— P i e p e r s , 
M. C. New observations on the flights of Lepidoptera, Natuurkundig 
Tijdschrift voor Nederlandsch-Indie, Ivii, Batavia and The Hague, ^98; 
The phylogeny of the colors of the Pieridae, Tijdschrift der nederlandsche 
Dierkundige vereeniging (2), v, 2-4, Leyden, June, *98.— Sta udinger, 
O. Some new South American forms of Papilio, 45.— T hierry-Mieg, 
P. Descriptions of nocturnal Lepidoptera, 86b.— Sykes, M. L. Nat- 
ural selection in the Lepidoptera, 8 pis.. Transactions, Manchester Micro- 
scopical Society '97, July 16, '98. 

Hymenoptera.— A s h m e a d , W. H. Classification of the horn- 
tails and sawflies, or the sub-order Phytophaga, iii, iv, 4, Aug., Sept. — 
C o c k e r e 1 1 , T. D. A. Note on a Chalcidid of the subfam. Encyrtinae, 
parasitic on Phenacoccus minimus* 4, Aug.; On some small bees from 
Arizona,* 4, Sept. ; The North American bees of the genus Prosapis 
(cont.), Entomologist, London, Sept., '98.— Emery, C. Ants of the 
genera Sysphincta, Proceratium, Macromischa, 86b,— Ferton, C. 
New observations on the instinct of gastrilegid Hymenoptera of France 
and of Corsica, i pi.; New observations on the instinct of the Pompilidae, 
88.— G o u n e 1 1 e , E. Transportation of earth effected by ants in Brazil, 
86b.— Gribodo, J. Notes on the biology of the Chrysidae, 86b.-- 
Joannis, J. de. On a new case of parasitism observed in Chrysis 
shanghaiensis .Sm , a Chrysid parasite of a Lepidopter, 86b.— K i e f f e r, 
J. J. Cynipidae in Andre's Species des Hym^nopteres d'Europe et d'Al- 
gerie, vii, 63e fascicule, Paris, July i, '98.— Konow, F. W. Synonymic 
and critical remarks on species of Tenthredinidae not, or incorrectly, re- 
ferred, 40, Aug. I, 15.— Langhoff er, A. Contributions to the know- 
ledge of the mouth-parts of Hymenoptera, i, Apidae, 81, Aug. 15.— Wa s - 
maun , E. First supplement to the ant guests of Dutch Limburg, with 
biological notes, 46; A new reflex-theory of ant-life, 81, Aug. i. 



Doings of Societies. 



At the meeting of the Feldman Collecting Social, Prof. J. B. 
Smith described the habits of the larvae of Cicindela generosa. 
Their burrows extend from 15 inches to 2 and 3 feet into the 
ground, and is a long, goose-necked affair opening into a pit, 
which serves as a trap for their prey. 

Mr. Wenzel said that the larvae of C. dorsalis tunnels a straight 
burrow. 



2o8 ENTOMOLOGICAL NEWS. [October, 

I Prof. Smith gave further results of his examination of bee-cells. 
Dipterous parasites had been found therein. Andrena^ of which 
three species had been observed, showed that each species has 
characteristic burrows. Some species extend their burrow for 
several feet and build a cell at the bottom, which is covered, and 
another one built further up, until the burrow is lined with nu- 
merous cells. The newly-hatched imago must, therefore, in 
some instances, dig a considerable distance before reaching the 
surface of the ground. 

Dr. Henry Skinner showed unidentified larvae from stems and 
leaf-petioles of sugar maple; it is very destructive, causing the 
leaves to fall in large numbers. 

Mr. C. W. Johnson exhibited Serocomyia bifasciata^ S. mili' 
taris, Brachyopa notata and a species of Helophilus from North 
Mountain, Pa., all of which were not recorded hitherto from 
Pennsylvania. The Helophilus may be H, porcus Walker. 

The date of meeting was changed from the second Tuesday to 
the third Wednesday of each month. 

William J. Fox, Secretary, 



OBITUARY. 

Ernest Candeze, M D., F. E. S., the learned monographer of the 
Elateridae, an accomplished entomologist and writer, died at Li^ge on 
June 30th, after a short illness from angina pectoris, in his 72nd year, 
deeply mourned by a large circle of personal friends. — EntonwlogisV s 
Monthly Magazine, 



Entomological News for September was mailed August 30, 1898* 



Ent. NBW8, Vol. IX. 




1-4 ISCHNURA VERTICALIS. 5-13 I. KELLICOTTI. 



ENTOMOLOGICAL NEWS 



AND 



PROCEEDINGS OF THE ENTOMOLOGICAL SECTION 

ACADEMY OF NATURAL SCIENCES, PHILADELPHIA. 



Vol. IX. 



NOVEMBER, 1898. 



No. 



CONTENTS: 



Williamson — A new species of Ischnura 209 
•Calvert — Further notes on the new 

dragonfly Ischnura Kellicotti 211 

Dyar — Inguromorpha Slossonii 213 

Dyar— A new Hypopta 214 

Schaus — Two new spicies of Hesper- 

ocharis 215 

Cockerel! — Another Yellow Perdita 215 



Harvey — A new Poduran of the genus 

Gnathocephalus 216 

Editorial 218 

Economic Entomology 220 

Notes and News 224 

Entomological Literature 226 

Doings of Societies 229 



A NEW SPECIES OF ISCHNURA. (Order Odonata.) 
By E. B. Williamson, Carnegie Museum, Pittsburgh, Pa. 

Iscliniira kellicotti n. sp. (J^. — Upper part of head and eyes, and antennae 
black ; postocular spots blue, large, rounded and not connected ; gense 
blue ; frons blue, black above and at the middle ; clypeus black above, 
blue below ; labrum blue, black at base ; head (except around the 
occipital foramen) and eyes below pale blue. 

Dorsum of prothorax black with the following blue : a transverse line 
on the anterior lobe ; two round spots on the middle lobe ; and the pos- 
terior margin of the posterior lobe. Propleuron blue. Thorax blue, 
black as follows : a wide mid-dorsal stripe ; a humeral stripe which 
widens suddenly just posterior to the mesinfraepistemum, which it 
covers ; a very narrow interrupted line on the posterior half of the first 
lateral suture ; a narrow stripe on the second lateral suture, widening 
anteriorly to cover the metinfraepisternum ; a line connecting these 
stripes posteriorly ; under parts dark. 

Wings hyaline ; antecubitals 2, postcubitals 8 ; pterostigma : of front 
wings black ventrally, d/ue dorsally with the inner angle black and the 
outer angle pale ; of hind wings pale brown. Legs black superiorly, 
blue and pale inferiorly. 

Abdomen above metallic or bronze black, with blue as follows : a wide 
apical ring on i ; a large cordate basal spot and a wide apical ring on 2, 
the extreme base and apex 0/ the segment black ; pale narrow inter- 



2IO ENTOMOLOGICAL NEWS. [November, 

rupted basal rings on 3-7 ; an apical ring widening into a quadrate 
median spot on 7 ; all of 8 excepting a very narrow basal ring ; all of 9, 
the blue narrowed at either side near the middle ; two small round basal 
spots on 10, and the extreme tip of the elevated posterior margin of the 
segment which is also blue underneath. Sides of i and 2 blue and black ; 
of 3-7 and 10 brownish and yellowish with blue tinges ; of 8 and 9 black 
bordered below with blue. Dorsal posterior margin of the tenth segment 
moderately elevated and produced, the apex scarcely bifid. 

Abdominal appendages black, resembling those of /. verticalis Say, 
but slenderer and longer. Superior appendages lamellate, sinuate, about 
half as long as the tenth segment, rounded triangular in form, the depth 
at base equal to the sides ; the upper, outwardly rolled half scimitar- 
shaped in profile, and lying above and outside of the upper process of the 
inferior appendage ; the lower, inwardly rolled half lying inside of the 
upper half of the inferior appendage. Inferior appendages longer than 
the superior ; the lower outer two-thirds produced into a slender process 
curving downwards, outwards and inwards, the extreme apex turned 
upwards and inwards and tipped with a small shining tooth ; the upper 
third produced upwards and backwards into a triangular lobe, about one- 
fifth as long as the lower process. 

$ . — Similar to the male. Frons not black at the middle ; postocular 
spots larger. Median lobe of prothorax with an additional small gemi- 
nate spot in the middle. Thorax the same ; wings hyaline ; antecubitals 
2, postcubitals 9; pterostigma on all the wings pale brown. Abdomen 
with the blue on i and 2 more extensive, on 2 the black is reduced to a 
triangular spot and narrow basal and apical rings ; the apical ring on 7 
not widened into a spot ; 8 wiih a basal oblong spot on either side of the 
median line, and a dome-shaped basal spot, the double apex directed 
anteriorly ; the blue on 9 much narrowed, the black extending across the 
dorsum basally ; 10 narrowly blue. Sides of abdomen darker than in the 
male ; 3 and 4 with a distinct, and 5 with an indistinct blue apical spot ; 
8 and 9 entirely black. 

Valves bluish, the apex and vulvular process light colored, extending 
beyond the tenth segment. Abdominal appendages pale. The ventral 
apical spine on the eighth segment is short and acute, less prominent 
than in /. verticalis Say. 

Length of abdomen cf ? 23 mm.; hind wing (^ 16 mm., 9 18 mm. 

Round and Shriner Lakes, Whitley County, Indiana : Sep- 
tember 2, 1897 ; June 7, June 24 and July 21, 1898. Named for 
Professor D. S, Kellicott, who first called attention to this species 
(footnote t to page 404 in * ' September Dragonflies of Round and 
Shriner Lakes, Whitley Co., .Indiana," by E. B. Williamson, 
Indiana Geological Report for 1897). 

This species has been taken in New Jersey by Mr. Calvert. 
He has kindly examined one of my male specimens, and it is by 



1898.] ENTOMOLOGICAL NEWS. 211 

his advice that I have referred the species to the genus Ischnura, 
I am doubtful about the female, described by the late Professor 
Kellicott in the footnote mentioned above, being an orange form. 
In that description the yellow rings on 3-7 are erroneously 
referred to as apical. 

The following variations in the color of males of this species 
may be noted. The relative amounts of blue and black on frons, 
clypeus and labrum are variable. The two spots on the median 
lobe of the prothorax may be absent. The mid-dorsal and 
humeral stripes may be widened until the included blue is 
reduced in width to one-third the humeral stripe. The black on 
the dorsum of 2 may be reduced to a transverse line, or, on the 
other hand, the cordate spot may be reduced to a geminate spot, 
and the apical ring be very much narrowed. On 7 the apical 
spot may be separated from the apical ring. The narrow basal 
rings on 3-7 are always pale, and frequently yellowish in color. 
On 10 the two round blue spots may be wanting, may be of 
unequal size in the same specimen, or there may be four present, 
the additional ones being placed posteriorly and laterally to the 
other two. A teneral male was dull yellow and black in color- 
ation, and had the pterostigma of all the wings pale brown. 

In the females there is great variation in segments i and 2, 
and 8 and 9 ; the dorsum of 8 and 9 may be entirely blue, 
narrowed at the middle on 8, and at the base on 9. 



FURTHER NOTES ON THE NEW DRAGONFLY ISCHNURA 

KELLICOTTI. (Odonata). 
By Philip P. Calvert. 

(Supplementary to the preceding paper by Mr. E. B. Williamson.) 

On August 28, 1898, at a pond about one mile east of Millville, 
New Jersey, where the road to Cumberland crosses the small 
stream known as Petticoat Branch, I observed a small dragonfly 
flitting a few inches above the water's surface from lily-pad to 
lily-pad. Its size and color suggested Enallagma geminatum, 
but, wishing to be sure, I captured an individual. Then I saw 
that I had a male Ischnura of a species unknown to me. I at 
once turned my attention to searching for the other sex, and in 
less than two hours had obtained six males, four black females 
and three orange females. So closely did they keep themselves 



212 ENTOMOLOGICAL NEV/s. [November, 

to the water and floating vegetation, that I was able to catch 
them only by dropping the net over each individual, sinking it 
below the water and withdrawing the insect with my fingers 
while it was still immersed. 

On my return to Philadelphia, Mr. Williamson*s paper on the 
Dragonflies of Round and Shriner Lakes was awaiting me. The 
brief footnote on an *' Enallagma sp. (?)", which he has quoted, 
seemed to apply to my orange Ischnura females. As the result 
of some correspondence to which this idea led, Mr. Williamson 
kindly consented to my request to send a description of the 
species, based on material more lately obtained by him, for 
publication in the News, with the understanding that I should 
supplement his paper with any additional notes which my New 
Jersey specimens might suggest. These notes follow : 

(^. — The two round blue spots on the median prothoracic lobe are 
absent in five of the six males. There is no apical blue spot on 7 in one 
male, while in four others it is represented by a pair of small, isolated 
spots. There are no basal spots on 10 in five males. One individual, 
apparently fully colored otherwise, has the pterostigma on all the wings 
pale brown. Abd. 19 mm., hind wing 13-12. 5 mm. 

Black 9. — The blue postocular spots are prolonged backwards and 
downwards on the rear of the head. The two round blue spots on the 
median prothoracic lobe are very small in one female, while the geminate 
spot on the same lobe is wanting in two females. There is no apical spot 
or ring on 7, nor spots on the sides of 3-5. Some variations in the mark- 
ings of 2 and of 8 and 9 are shown in PI. XI, figs. 10-13, but a great 
extent of black on 2 is not correlated with much or little black on 8 and 
9, and vice versa. Abd. 18. 5-19, h. w. 13.5. 

Orange $. — Like the black female but with orange replacing the blue. 
No geminate spot on the median prothoracic lobe. Very little^ dark color 
on the pectus. The black markings on 2 show the same variations as in 
the black 9 ; on 8 and 9 they are similar but of less extent, especially on 
9, although this may perhaps be due to immaturity. Abd. 18.5-20, h. w. 

13-14. 

<S 9 • — Front wings : postnodals 7-8 {^), 8-9 ( 9 ) nodal sector arising 
between the third and fourth or near the fourth. Hind wings : 5-7 post- 
nodals, nodal sector arising at the third or a little in front thereof. 

From the two previously known Eastern species of Ischnura, 
verticaiis Say and Ramburii Selys, Kellicotti diflfers : 

In both sexes by the greater extent of black on the rear of the 
head, by the wider black stripe on the second lateral thoracic 
suture, by the extent of the black markings on 8 and 9. 



1898.] ENTOMOLOGICAL NEWS. 213 

In the male by having the greater part of the upper surface 
of the pterostigma of the front wing blue, and by the shape of 
the terminal abdominal appendages, especially the hook-like 
form of the superiors (viewed from above, PI. XI, fig. 6). 

In the orange female by the presence of a black band on the 
humeral suture (absent in Ramburii orange 9 ), and the pre- 
dominance of black on the dorsum of 2 and 3 (orange in verticalis 
orange 2 ). 

The nearest ally of KelHcotti is verticalis Say. 

Explanation of Plate XI. 

Figs. 1-4. Ischnura verticalis Say, 5-13 /. KelHcotti Williamson, n. sp. 
I^^igs. I, 5. Right side of apex of male abdomens and appendages, x 40. 
Figs. 2, 6. Dorsal views of male terminal abdominal appendages, x 40. 
Fi§^- 3» 7- Right side of second abdominal segments, males, x 27. 
Figs. 4, 8. Right side of eighth and ninth abdominal segments, males, x 16. 
Figs. 9-11. Dorsal views of eighth and ninth abdominal segments, 9 of an 

orange female, 10 and 11 of black females, x 12. 
Figs. 12, 13. Right side of second abdominal segments, black females, x 18. 
The stippling shows the position and extent of the black markings. 
I-X denote abdominal segments. RS right superior, LS left superior, 
RI right inferior, LI left inferior appendages. All the figures are from 
camera lucida drawings made from the New Jersey specimens. 

o 

INGUROMORPHA SLOSSONII Hy. Edw. 
By Harrison G. Dyar. 

Seven years ago an article appeared in this magazine under 
the above heading, in which this species was referred to the 
synonymy. No one has questioned the conclusions there set 
forth; but about a year ago when rearranging the Cossidae of 
the National Museum I found both sexes of Cossula magnifica 
Bailey. The sexes are exactly alike as in Dr. Bailey's figures. 
This at once upset the accepted synonymy ; but I was not able, 
until very recently, to correct the matter fully, as I had no speci- 
men of slossonicB Hy. Edw. One has just been received collected 
bv Mr. H. Schwarz at the Rancho Hanover, State of Vera 
Cruz, Mexico. 

It appears that the two forms are not only specifically, but 
generically distinct, as the venation shows, and Inguromorpha 
will have to be restored to our lists. Mr. H. Edwards relied on 
Abbot's unpublished plates for authority in associating these 
moths as sexes of one species ; but in these same unpublished 



214 ^ENTOMOLOGICAL NEWS. [November, 

plates the author has associated together as sexes of one species 
Natada nasoni and Apoda redilinea, and has put the wrong larvae 
to several other species of Eucleidae, so that his authority is of 
little value. 

The species will stand thus : 

INGUROHORPHA BASAUS Walker. 

1856— G?5J«j basalis Walker, Cat. Brit. Mus., vii, 1523. 

1888 — Inguromorpha slossonii Hy. Edw., Ent. Amer,, iii, 183. 

1891 — X Cossula basalis Hy. Edw., Ent. News, ii, 71. 

Fore wings : vein i furcate at base, sinuate, joining vein ic for its outer 
fourth ; veins 2 to 5 about equally spaced, remote from base of cell ; 
6 below apex of cell ; 7 and 8 stalked from end of cell ; 9 from accessory 
cell; 10 from accessory cell, touching 11, which arises from middle of 
cell ; 12 from base. 

Hind wings : veins 2 to 5 as in fore wings, 4 and 5 from the same point ; 
6 and 7 close together at apex of cell ; 8 remote from 7, joined by a strong 
cross-bar at the end of the cell ; frenulum moderate. 

Legs short ; hind tibrae with apical spurs only ; <^ antannae bipectinated 

to the tip. 

OOSSULA HAGNOTGA Stecker. 

1876 — Cymatophora magnifica Streck, Proc. Ac. N. Sci. Phil., 151. 

\%^2— Cossula magnifica Bailey, Papilio, ii, 93. 

1891 — Cossula X basalis Hy. Edw., Ent. News, ii, 71. 

1894 — Cossula X basalis Neumoegen and Dyar, Journ. N. Y. Ent. Sc, 

ii, 163. 

Fore wings : vein i furcate, free ; veins 2 to 5 about equally spaced, 
remote from base of cell; 6 to 8 free, from the discal cell; 9 and 10. 
stalked from apex of accessory cell ; 11 from accessory cell ; 12 from base. 

Hind wings : veins 2 to 5 as on fore wings ; 6 and 7 from the apex of 
cell ; 8 remote from 7, free, stronger than 7, which fades out toward base. 

Legs moderate ; hind tibrae with both middle and apical spurs ; ^ 
antennae bipectinated to the tip. 

o 

A NEW HYPOPTA. 

By Harrison G. Dyar, 
Hypopta anna n. sp. — Lilacine gray, thorax and fore wings finely dotted 
with brighter scales : a distinct, narrow, bent white fleck at the end of the 
cell on discal cross-vein ; an obscure, broad, dusky shade crossing the 
wing just beyond the fleck, broadening and reddish tinged on internal 
margin ; a few blackish strigae, most distinct as double terminal dots on 
the veins, not forming reticulations. Hind wings dark ashen. Antennae 
dark, the shaft scaled in gray. Expanse 29 mm. 

One % , Miami, Florida ; type No. 4072 U. S. National Mu- 
seum ; kindly presented to the Museum by Mrs. A. T. Slosson. 
A second specimen is in Mrs. Slosson's collection. 



1988.] ENTOMOLOGICAL NEWS. 215 

TWO NEW SPECIES OF HESPEROCHARIS. 

By W. ScHAUS. 

Hesperocharis Jaliscana sp. nov. — Wings white in the c?, pale lemon 
color in the 9 ; the primaries with the apex and outer margin above vein 
3, suffused with black. Secondaries below bright yellow ; a crimson spot 
at the base ; a black spot below the cell ; a costal and subterminal row of 
angular smoky spots. Ex. 50 mm. 

Hab, — Guadalajara, Mexico. 

This species is allied to H, Crocea^ Bates, though very distinct. 

Hesperocharis paranensis sp. nov.— Wings white, tinged faintly with 
green ; the outer half of costal margin finely black. Minute triangular 
black spots at the apex and along the extreme outer margin between the 
veins on the primaries. Underneath primaries whitish ; the apex and 
costal margin yellowish ; some minute black marginal marks. Second- 
aries below yellowish ; a black point at the base, an antemedial, medial 
and postmedial irregular and angular black line broken by the veins; 
minute black spots in the extreme margin, between the veins. Ex. 35 mm. 

Hab, — Castro, Parana. 

This species is readily distinguished by its small size and 
broken lines on the secondaries below. 



ANOTHER YELLOW PERDITA. 

By T, D. A. CocKERELL, N. M. Agr. Exp. Sta. 

iPerdita WOOtons n. sp. ? . — Length about or nearly 6 mm. Resembles 
the 9 of P, luteola, but a paler shade of yellow (to correspond with the 
Mentzelia flowers). A little black pigment behind the middle ocellus ; 
and a short black stripe proceeding from each lateral ocellus, pointing in 
the direction of the centre of the eye. Hind margins of first two abdomi- 
nal segments more or less (sometimes hardly) infuscated. Hind tarsi 
black, middle and hind tibiae with a black stripe. Second submarginal 
cell broader at top than in luteola. 

Hab, — Five or six miles beyond Tularosa, New Mexico, on 
the road to the mountains, at flowers of Mentzelia multiflora or 
wrightii, end of August, 1897 (E. O. Wooton). * 



* Mr. S. N. Dunning has sent me four samples of Perdita wootona^ which he took at 
flowers of Mentzelia at Denver, Colo , July 20, 1897. The %, which is among them, 
differs from the 9 in the orange flagellum (without any black). The dot (instead of stripe) 
before the eyes, and the absence of the black stripes extending toward the eye from the 
lateral ocellus. The abdomen is more convex, and deeper yellow.— r. D. A. C. 



2i6 ENTOMOLOGICAL NEWS. [November, 

This pretty tree is named after Mrs. Wooton, who accompanied 
her husband on his recent collecting trip, and greatly assisted in 
getting together a set of New Mexico plants which will do much 
to advance the knowledge of the botany of this region. When 
P, luieola was discovered it seemed a remarkable instance of 
departure from the normal types of bee-coloration for protective 
purposes. The finding of P, beata gave us a second instance 
of the same sort, and now in P, wootonce we have a third. It 
remains, however, to discover a pure white species visiting white 
flowers ! 

I notice (Ent. News, 1897, p. 172,) that Mr. Robertson 
would refer my Panurgus lustrans to Halidus. I may as well 
publish the generic or subgeneric name, H^mihalictus , which I 
have had in MS for a long time. Hemi halidus has about the 
same relationship to Halidus that Mr. Robertson's Parandrena 
has to Andrena, In some of its characters it is like Ckilicola, 
Spinola, but it is evidently distinct. 



-o- 



A NEW PODURAN OF THE GENUS GNATHOCEPHALUS. 

By F. L. Harvey. 

Generic characters as given by Mr. Macgillivray. 

Gnathocephalns anreo-fasciatns sp. nov.— Body robust, broadest behind, 
pale purple, with the mesothorax and the last two abdominal segments 
pale orange, ornamented with beautiful tubercles, that are obtuse conical, 
becoming longer and more pointed on the posterior segments and armed 
with scattering long bowed, blunt pointed hairs, that curve backwards and 
are more abundant on the posterior segments ; head small, nearly round, 
narrower than the first abdominal segment, depressed at the sides, center 
bearing a raised pentagonal plate, one of the angles of which points 
between the antennae, the opposite side concave ; eye spots dark, extend- 
ing the whole length of the lateral sides of the pentagonal plate and 
located upon its sloping edge ; back of the central plate on the head is 
an oblong transverse ridge or plate extending to the first segment ; 
buccal cone stout, once and a half as long as the first antennal segment ; 
antennas short, stout, segments nearly equal, the first broadest, second 
slightly shorter with swollen sides, third and fourth about the same 
width, cylindrical, the terminal one slightly longer than the other seg- 
ments and obtusely rounded at the end, all segments armed with 
tubercles and hairs and curved outwards, suture between third and 
fourth segments obscure ; under side of abdomen and legs lighter, the 
under side of mesothorax, the second pair of legs and the ventral of the 
last two segments paler than the other portions, to agree with the corres- 
ponding lighter dorsal parts ; legs stout, short, no tenent hairs, armed 



1898.] 



ENTOMOLOGICAL NEWS. 



217 



with scattered bristles arranged in transverse rows. Claws short, fur- 
rowed beneath, swollen toward the base on the under side and armed on 
the edge with five bristles that increase in length outwards. A single claw, 
but at the base two tubercles the basal one longer and larger. See 
Fig. I, Furcula short, stout, manubrium broad at base, rounded between 
the dentes, dentes and mucrones together about equal to the manubrium, 
dentes curved outward then inward, cylindrical, plain, curved inward at 
the tips, as shown in Fig. 3. Length of longest specimens 1.5 mm. 






Fig. 3. 



Fig. I. Fig. 2. 

Measurements : — Total length 1.2 to 1.5 mm. ; Antennae .21 mm. ratio 
of joints 10:9:10:12 ; Buccal cone .08 mm., claw of foot .06 mm.; Furcula 
.26 mm., ratio of parts 3:2:1: nearly; Tubercles on sides of body about 
•005 mm.; Hairs on body of about .09 mm. 

Described from five specimens found on a decorticated log in low 
damp woods, Orono, Maine, September, 1897, by F. L. Harvey. 

Remarks, — A sluggish form that reminds one oi Aphoromma, 
They live in the worm holes of decaying fallen trunks. As 
soon as the log was turned over, they became restless and 
crowded toward the worm holes and several disappeared before 
I could catch them. The species is evidently scarce as I have 
collected these small insects for several years and never saw this 
species before. I have visited the locality several times and have 
never been able to catch any more. 

The species is easily recognized by the orange on the second 
and two posterior segments, giving the body a transversely 
banded appearance. 

Description of figures. — Fig. i shows the dorsal aspect of the 
insect enlarged about 40 times ; Fig. 2 represents the claw 
enlarged 637 times ; Fig. 3 the furcula enlarged 100 times. 



2i8 [November, 



ENTOM OLOGICAL 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 Oontributors.—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 circumfei- 
ence, as to make it necessary to put "copy'' into the handsof the printer, for each number, 
three weeks before date of issue. This should be remembered in sending special or im- 
portant matter for 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., November, 1898. 

On Sending Insects by Mail or Express. For Professors of Ento- 
mology, Specialists, Experiment Station Entomologists, Begin- 
ners and Others. 

We receive so many insects in a broken condition, especially 
those sent to the News for determination, that we think a few- 
words on packing and transportation will be appropriate. We 
also think we should receive some reward for our trouble in 
naming and not be compelled to drop the specimens in the waste 
basket. Never send pinned or spread specimens in a 
single box without an outer cover. Have the box which is 
to contain the specimens as light in weight as is consistent with 
strength ; a good plan is to glue little square uprights in each 
corner of the box, and these will help support the lid and will 
stand great pressure. Have the box lined with quarter-inch 
cork, compressed cork or yucca pith. Drive the pins well in ; 
should one heavy specimen become loose it will ruin all the rest. 
Have the box proportionate to the number of your specimens, 
and pin them as closely as you can without injury. This box 
should then be placed in a larger one and the space between the 
two filled all around with some springy material, such as hay, 
cotton, excelsior packing, etc., loosely packed in. Don't use 
an outer box without having sufficient space between it 
and the inner, as it is a waste of time and money and it will be 
useless. Don't pack the springy material so tightly between 
the boxes that it will do no good as a preventive of jarring. 



1898 ENTOMOLOGICAL NEWS. 219 

Don't have the boxes come in contact at any point. An inch 
and a half space between the boxes should be the minimum 
allowable. If the specimens are many and the box large, send 
by express. The outer box may be card-board. When send- 
ing Coleoptra with heavy bodies or large moths, always secure 
the body by a wisp of cotton, which should be put on as follows : 
Take a wisp the required length and tease it out about one- half 
inch in width, run the pin through one end and give it a couple 
of turns around the pin so that it holds tightly and lies close to 
the place where the pin issues from the thorax, then bring it 
around the end of the abdomen and fasten to the pin above by a 
couple of turns. If the bodies are very large, as in the Sphinges, 
a pin should be placed on either side of the abdomen to prevent 
them swinging around on the pin. Always remember if one 
becomes loose it ruins many, and * ' one fine, faultless specimen is 
worth no end of trash." Neuroptra, Odonata should always 
have a bristle passed through the abdomen into the thorax 
when fresh, otherwise they are almost always broken off in 
transportation. Always put your name and address in the inner 
box. (Reprinted in part from vol. 3, p. 41. 



Bitten by a foreign insect. — A trolley conductor may lose a foot as 
a result. John Gifford is confined to his home, in Stockton, with a very 
badly swollen foot, the result of a bite of a strange insect. Several days 
ago a number of foreign laborers occupied a trolley car of which Gifford 
was conductor. After they left, he says, he felt an itching on his foot. 
He found a small insect, which, one of the passengers said, was an Italian 
moth, which the people of Italy hold in great dread. No attention was 
at first paid to the bite until Gifford's foot became swollen as large as his 
head. Dr. Jerome Artz says the bite is a peculiar one, and fears there 
may be serious results. — Newspaper. 

One Summer morning I was awakened by the excited buzz of a large 
flesh-fly. On opening my eyes I was surprised to see her coursing madly 
about the room pursued by two houseflies. She circled about the room 
several times with the houseflies close behind her ; but when she finally 
alighted upon the window-pane they left her. This scene was enacted 
several times and thus had the appearance of a sport voluntarily indulged 
in on the part of the blow-fly. 

Some time after some honey-bees, whose hive had been disturbed, 
found their way into our rooms and to my surprise were set upon in the 
same manner by the houseflies and driven to precipitate flight. Can any- 
one explain this ? — Frederick Knab, Chicopee, Mass. 



220 ENTOMOLOGICAL NEWS. [November, 

DEPARTMENT OF EGONOMIG ENTOMOLOGY. 



Edited by Prof. JOHN B. SMITH, ScD., 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 meeting of the Association of Economic Entomologists at Boston, 
August 19th and 20th, was a very enjoyable occasion for those present, 
and among them were some who, like Dr. S. H. Scudder, are not fre- 
quent attendants. On the other hand, a number of those who, like Dr. 
Fletcher, had been regular attendants at previous meetings were unfortu- 
nately detained from this. 

The program was so well filled that it was necessary to hold an evening 
meeting on both days, although from this should be deducted an afternoon 
spent at and near Maiden as the guests of the Gypsy Moth Committee, in 
inspecting the work done in the direction of exterminating this moth. 

As an introduction to this pest, Mr. E. H. Forbush, the field director, 
made an interesting statement of the recent work of the Committee, which, 
as a report of progress, is very encouraging. There does not seem to 
remain any doubt of the fact that this insect can be actually exterminated; 
provided y and this provision is an exceedingly important one — sufficient 
funds are available just when and where needed. Every entomologist 
will readily see the importance of this, for with an insect that breeds as 
rapidly as this moth and has so few natural enemies, a year's neglect of 
one center may be sufficient to put back the final date of extermination 
for several years. It is an unfortunate thing that not once since the begin- 
ning of the work has there been appropriated the full sum asked for by 
the Committee, made available at the time when it was most needed. 
This has been unfortunate, because it has really increased the cost of the 
work by a very large per centage. A colony that could be cleaned out 
for a few hundred dollars one year, but is neglected because other colo- 
nies are more threatening, will cost as many thousands the year following. 
A number of the visitors at Maiden, who were familiar with the work of 
the Committee through its publications, were utterly astonished when the 
practical side was witnessed in operation. There was an opportunity to 
see the work done by the spraying machines, including the action of the 
" monitor" nozzle, devised by Mr. E. W. Ware, who is in charge of the 
mechanical department. The operation of burning over infested ground 
by means of a lighted oil spray was also witnessed. The guides in charge 
of this excursion gave the members an opportunity of viewing the worst 
infested spot, and most of them had their first opportunity of seeing living 
gypsy moths, a few late females being yet engaged in ovipositing. The 
work of this Committee is entitled to the highest praise, and it was the 
unanimous judgement of the members present that if those in charge of 
the work be given full swing and sufficient means to carry out their plans, 
the thing for which the Committee was created will be accomplished in 
the not too distant future. 

Incidentally it was possible to observe the eggs and larval stages of the 



1898.] ENTOMOLOGICAL NEWS. 221 

brown tail moth, which is also present at Maiden, and Prof. Fernald, in a 
paper read before the Association, gave a very interesting description of 
the way in which, during the Summer of 1897, this moth has spread over 
a considerable extent of territory. This spread is charged to a very 
heavy gale, lasting 2 or 3 days, which occurred exactly at the time when 
the moths were mating and most active, and the result of this distribution 
is a number of isolated colonies, which will be very difficult to discover 
for some time to come. The work of destroying this insect has also been 
saddled upon the Gypsy Moth Committee ; but without increasing the 
means at their command for doing it. Jf the writer may be allowed an 
opinion, this brown-tail moth is apt to prove considerably more trouble- 
some than the other imported pest. We have here a female that flies 
quite readily, and while the flight is not usually a very long one, still 
even a moderate wind may carry an impregnated female a considerable 
distance from the original colony, and this may result in the establishment 
of so many centres that are almost impossible to discover, that dealing 
with the insect by State authority will have to be abandoned. There is 
quite enough difference between these two species, the brown-tail and 
the gypsy moth, to change the prognosis on the question of extermination. 

Appropos of this same general matter, Mr. A. H. Kirkland gave some 
account of experiments with insecticides against the larva of these two 
moths. Practically the Committee is relying upon arsenate of lead as the 
most satisfactory insecticide, and their apparatus for and applying, leaves 
very little to be desired. 

One session was held jointly with the Society for the Promotion of Agri- 
culture, at which entomological papers of general interest were presented. 
An interesting paper from Mr. F. M. Webster was read by the Secretary, 
its writer being unfortunately absent. It dealt with the question of the San 
Jos^ scale in Ohio, and its general conclusions were decidedly encourag- 
ing. Mr. Webster has found that, practically, the whale oil soap is the 
most satisfactory remedial measure, and that in peach orchards it has had 
a double effect, not only killing the scale, but also preventing leaf curl, 
which during the early part of 1898 was so wonderfully prevalent. 

Mr. C. M. Weed recounted some very interesting observations on the 
food of the song sparrow, the object being not so much to discover the 
character of the food, but the number of limes that the parent birds 
carried it to the young. Nothing could be better calculated to bring out 
the importance of birds in controlling insects than observations of this 
kind, which indicated that an enormous number of insects were required 
to bring up a brood of even small birds. 

The writer of this note presented some thoughts on the question of 
quarantine against injurious insects, and how far it could be effective. It 
was pointed out that while it might be easily possible to exclude certain 
definite known species, a general attempt to exclude all insects that 
might become troublesome would be impractical. It was also pointed 
out that if the law provided for certificates to be given by entomologists 
of foreign countries there would be practically no protection, because of 
the number of insects that would necessarily escape observation made on 
growing stock only. 



222 ENTOMOLOGICAL NEWS. [November, 

The San Jos^ or pernicious scale was the subject for several communi- 
cations before the Association. Mr. W. E. Britton spoke of the scale in 
Connecticut and of its distribution there. Mr. R. A. Cooley, in a general 
paper on the scale insects of New England, brought in incidentally the 
distribution of this pernicious scale in Massachusetts. Prof. W. G. John- 
son gave a very interesting account of the effects of hydrocyanic acid gas 
as a remedy for this scale. The experiments made by him in Maryland 
with this gas have been absolutely successful, and a very large number 
of trees has now been treated and apparently cleaned completely by the 
use of this method. Aside from the first cost of the tents the fumigating 
method seems to be the cheapest and on the whole the most effective. 
Kerosene has been found thoroughly unsatisfactory in his experience. 
On this point the experience of Prof. Hopkins, of West Virginia, and 
Prof. Alwood, of Virginia, differed, for these gentlemen have found it 
possible to use kerosene satisfactorily under proper conditions. Prof. 
Johnson's results seem to stand alone in the very serious injury caused on 
a large variety of fruit trees. The writer's experience in New Jersey, 
where many hundreds of trees were treated during the winter of 1897-98, 
was that, except for young peach trees, nothing was harmed to any 
extent. 

New Jersey's contribution to this scale literature was a statement of the 
extent of the distribution of the scale in that State. It was pointed out 
that the area of infestation was relatively very small, and that practically 
there were only two or possibly three important centers of infestation. 
The maps usually published, showing the distribution of the scale in the 
United States, was unfair to New Jersey, because points of infestation 
are marked with such large spots that, while half a dozen of them will 
readily find a place in Ohio or Illinois, the same number would be suffi- 
cient to almost blot out New Jersey altogether. A map was shown giving 
the exact distribution of the scale so far as it was known at that time. 

Mr. A. F. Burgess showed a series of specimens of Adalia bipuncta and 
its variety humeralis, and detailed the records of breeding the variety 
from the normal form, and the results of breeding the variety upon itself 
and upon the parent form. 

Mr. E. P. Felt gave a very interesting record of the egg-laying habits of 
the elm leaf beetle, and also notes on the principle insects that had proved 
troublesome in New York State during the Summer of 1898. 

On the same line Prof. A. D. Hopkins presented notes on observations 
in West Virginia since the Buffalo meeting. A number of the matters 
brought up under these notes were discussed by the members present. 
One feature was indirectly brought out ; that is, that the entomologists 
are getting a grip on their states that enables them to keep posted in a 
general way as to what is going on in all parts of it. 

Dr. L. O. Howard called attention to some beneficial insects recently 
imported from abroad, and detailed some attempts that had been made 
to introduce parasites into new localities ; also the interesting discovery 



1898.] ENTOMOLOGICAL NEWS. 223 

of parasites in localities where their presence had not been heretofore 
suspected. Some "recent housefly and mosquito experiments" were 
also explained, and the details of a practical attempt to reduce the num- 
ber of houseflies in the vicinity of the United States Department of Agri- 
culture, and the number of mosquitoes on certain portions of Staten 
Island were given. There seemed to be an inclination to suggest that 
there was very little use in trying to exterminate the mosquitoes on 
Staten Island, unless those in New Jersey could also be included. The 
question was raised and not satisfactorily answered as to the habits of 
flight of mosquitoes. Under what circumstances do they fly ? How far 
may they fly, and are they likely to be carried by the wind : if so, what 
kind of wind is likely to carry them ? In other words, it seems as if there 
was yet considerable to be learned, even about so common and well 
known an insect as a mosquito. 

Incidentally, it may be remarked that there are mosquitoes in New Bruns- 
wick, and sometimes even a considerable number of them. At my own 
residence the piazza on the lower floor is practically uninhabitable with 
comfort on many evenmgs of the Summer ; but a balcony on the floor 
above is almost entirely free from their visitations, except when there is 
absolutely no air stirring ; and even then only occasional specimens rise 
to this height while dozens of them occur on the floor below. 

Another point that was brought out by Dr. Howard was that there are 
really two species of Pulvinaria on maples. One of these is confined to 
the twigs, the other inhabits by preference the leaves. The two species 
may not occur together on one tree ; but either or both may be present. 
Further, our knowledge of the actual life-history of this insect is not 
nearly so complete as has been supposed, and in view of the fact that two 
species have been mixed, the whole subject must be restudied. 

Prof. F. W. Rane spoke on the insect fertilization of musk-melons, 
mentioning a number of insects that visited the flowers of these plants, 
and giving some observations on the subject of the fertilization of this fruit. 

Mr. C. M. Weed presented a number of notes on tent caterpillars, 
adding a number of new facts concerning the habits of these insects. 

Prof. W. B. Alwood detailed some observations made on the life-history 
of the tomato-hawk moth and on the wooly apple louse. 

A number of papers were read by title only, because the time was too 
brief to admit of their being read in full, and so also the discussion of many 
of them was kept down for a similar reason. 

Finally, though not the least interesting, the address of the President, 
Prof. Herbert Osborn, must be mentioned. It will repay careful perusal 
when published, and its teachings merit the study and, I believe, the 
acceptance of the earnest and conscientious student. An abstract is 
hardly possible in this connection for it would be difficult to say what 
should be omitted. 

Altogether the meeting was a very successful and satisfactory one, and 
it brought out a number of young men who had not been heretofore 
known as attendants. 



224 ENTOMOLOGICAL NEWS. [November, 

Notes a.nd News. 

ENTOMOLOGICAL GLEANINGS FROM ALL QUARTERS 

OF THE GLOBE. 



Caterva catenaria. — Our town swarms with them — so many that it shut 
off the electric lights by filling up the globes. — M. C. Earner, D. D. S., 
Jersey Shore, Pa. 

They were all directed against the secretary of agriculture. The first 
advised him to experiment in his entomological division with crossing 
the lightning bug with the bee, in order that the busy insect could see to 
work at night. The second looked to the crossing of the centipede with 
the hog in order that the usual Populistic idea of finance might receive 
demonstration in loo hams to a hog. The third advised the budding of 
the strawberry plant with the milkweed so that strawberries and cream 
could be had in natural conjunction. — Neivspaper. 

A TAME BUTTERFLY. — I had been collecting on a very warm day in 
July, in the Orange Mountains, and had been perspiring freely, although 
I was in my shirt sleeves. Walking slowly through the open woods, I 
noticed a Grapta comma hovering quite near, which, at length, alighted 
on my shoulder ; out of curiosity I reft'ained from capturing it, but gently 
shook it off. Whereupon it flew a short distance, circled about me and 
alighted on the same shoulder. I was quite interested now as it was be- 
coming bolder, and it required a rapid movement of the arm to cause it to 
fly, only to return to the same arm. I made another move but more 
violent than at first to make it fly ; but after flying a short distance it came 
back for the last time and landed on my chest, where I watched it for 
some time, and noticed that it would unroll its tongue as though it were 
trying to sip. Was it attracted by the smell of perspiration. — A. J. 
Weidt, Newark, N. J. 

Insects mentioned in the Bible.— By careful study I find the 
beetles mentioned but once in the Bible and that is where the Lord spoke 
to Moses and Aaron "these ye may eat;" the gfiat also but once as 
Mathew tells us in 23d ; the ant is found twice in the Proverbs of Solo- 
mon, and the flea twice in the ist Book of Samuel ; the spider and 
palmerworm three times ; the industrious bee four times ; lice five times; 
fly and flies six times, also the cankerworm six times, being followed 
by the scorpion seven times ; then comes the moth and caterpillar as 
often as nine times ; while the grasshopper appears but ten times ; but 
the worm and worms is mentioned nineteen times ; while the locust 
beats them all with twenty-four. The mite is mentioned three times, but 
as money ; the worm is mentioned three times as an evil conscience, and 
the scorpion four times as a lash. — Eugene R. Fischer. 



1898.] ENTOMOLOGICAL NEWS. 225 

Larva of Centra multiscripta as cannibals. On June 13th I placed 
about twenty-five eggs of Notodonta stragula in a jar with some larva of 
Cerura multiscripta^ and on cleaning out the jar to put in fresh leaves a 
few days after, I found that all the eggs were hatched, but I found no more 
than six larva of A'', stragula. Were they eaten by the larva of C. multi- 
scripta? — A. J. Weidt, Newark N. J. 

Butterfly food. — Since publishing my notes upon the feeding habits 
of Eudamus lycidas^* I have had further opportunity to observe that 
species, and will add that it does not invariably move around while feed- 
ing,- as did the first that I saw. I have also seen Eudamus tityrus feeding 
in the same manner. It had settled upon a smooth, hard piece of ground, 
and seeing it curve the abdomen, I managed to get close enough to see 
the fluid ejected and eaten. The spieces are so closely allied that this was 
not unexpected. 

Dr. Hoeg's observation of what was probably hobomok doing the same 
thing, gives us reason to suppose that the whole group of Hesperidse 
manipulate their food in this manner. 

It was formerly believed that *' nectar" underwent a chemical change 
in the honey-sac of the bee, thus fitting it for food. It is said now, I 
think, that this is untrue, and that honey is made in the hive. But for 
lack of a better, this theory may be revived for our Hesperidae, and, 
perhaps, eventually for all lepidoptera. We may guess that they make 
honey, but being of a lower organization than bees, perform their work 
in a more primitive manner. 

Will not some chemists and microscopists take up the subject now and 
tell us what butterfly food really is and where it is kept ?— G. M. Dodge, 
Louisiana, Mo. 

The noted murderess commits suicide by eatiug spiders — a notorious 
career. — Cora Smith, the noted murderess confined for life in Anamosa 
Penitentiary, this State (Iowa), is dead. The prison authorities pronounce 
her death the result of eating spiders, with suicidal intention. She was 
24 years of age and in perfect health up to the time of her death. A 
handful of dead spiders in her handkerchief, obtained, it is thought while 
she was taking daily exercise, in the outer courts of the prison, was found 
in the cell beside her dead body. 

Her career in Iowa is notorious. Her mother several years ago had 
been convicted in Des Moines and sentenced to life imprisonment for the 
murder of her husband. Cora Smith, then an inmate of a house of ill- 
fame in Omaha, decided to confess that she alone committed the murder. 
In doing so she secured a life sentence, but failed to effect her mother's 
release. The latter's case was appealed and reversed so that she got a 
new trial, but she was again convicted and sentenced for life. Her case 
has been appealed a second time.f — Newspaper. 

♦ Page 89. 

t We would like to hear from those studying spiders, as we can't credit the above 
tale.-— Eds. 

9* 



226 ENTOMOLOGICAL NEWS. [November, 

Entomological Literatuire. 



Under the above head it is intended to note such 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, whether relating 
to American or exotic species, will be recorded. The numbers in heavy-fkced type 
refer to the journals, as numbered in the following list, in which the papers are pub' 
lished ; * 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 parenthesis. 



4. The Canadian Entomologist, London, Ont.. Oct., '98. — 5. Psyche 
Cambridge, Mass., Oct., '98. — 6. Journal of the New York Entomologi- 
cal Society, Sept., '98. — 8. The Entomologist's Monthly Magazine, Lon- 
don, Oct., '98. — 9. The Entomologist, London, Oct., '98. — II. The 
Annals and Magazine of Natural History, London, '98. — 21. The Ento- 
mologist's Record, London, Sept. 15, '98. — 22. Zoologischer Anzeiger, 
Leipsic, '98.-38. Wiener Entomologische Zeitung, xvii, 7-8, Sept 10, 
'98.— 40. Sodetas Entomologica, Ziirich-Hottingen, Sept. 15, '98. — 53. 
Transactions and Proceedings, New Zealand Institute, 1897. Wellington, 
June, '98. — 55. Le Naturaliste, Paris, Sept. i, '98.— 56. Mittheilungen 
der schweizerischen entomologischen Gesellschaft, Schaffhausen, x, 3, 
June, '98.-79* La Nature, Paris, Sept. 10, '98. — 84. Insekten Borse, 
Leipsic, Sept. 29, '98. — 86b. Bulletins, Soci^t^ Entomologique de France, 
Paris. — 87. Revue Scientifique, Paris, '98.^92. Illustrierte Zeitschrift 
fiir Entomologie, iii, 16, 17. Neudamm, Aug. 15, Sept. i, '98. 

The General Siibj ect.— B o u v i e r , E. L. On the geographical dis- 
tribution and evolution of Peripatus ; New observations on Peripatus 
(transl. from C. R. Acad. Sci. Paris), 11, Oct. — Donisthorpe, H. St. 
J. K. The Fourth International Congress of Zoology, 21. — Tutt, 
J. W. The migration and dispersal of insects : general considerations, 
21. — W asmann,E. The guests of ants and termites, 92, 16. 

Economic Entomology.— C hittenden,F. H. The striped cu- 
cumber beetle, figs. Circular 31, 2nd series, U. S. Dep't Agriculture, 
Washington, April 26, '98. — C o u p i n , H. The San Jos^ scale, figs., 79, 
Sept. 24. — Deb ray . The destruction of injurious insects, 55, Sept. i. 
— F o a , E. The poisonous ts^-ts^'fly, Bulletin, Societe Nationale d'Accli- 
matation de France, Paris, April, '98. — H a r i o t , P. The danger of im- 
portation of injurious insects into the United States, 55, Sept. i. — H o w- 
ard, L. O. Danger of importing insect pests, figs. Year Book, U. S. 
Dep't Agriculture for 1897. Washington, '98. — Jablonowsky, J. The 
San Jos^ scale [in Hungarian], Rovartani Lapok, Budapest, June i, '98. 
— ^J o h n s o n , W. G. Report on the San Jos^ scale in Maryland, and 
remedies for its suppression and control (116 pp., 22 figs.), Bulletin 57, 
Maryland Agric. Exper. Station, College Park, Md., Aug. '98. — [Man- 
son, P.] Malaria and the theory of mosquitoes, 87, Sept. 3. — Rede- 
m a n n , G. The apple roller Carpocapsa pomonanay injuries, habits and 



1898.] ENTOMOLOGICAL NEWS. 227 

means of destroying, 40. — R h o a d s , S. N. "Noxious*' or '*beneficial"? 
false premises in Economic Zoology, American Naturalist, Boston, Aug.^ 
'98. — S c h . , S. On the destruction of injurious insects, 84. — S i r r i n e , 
F. A. A spraying mixture for cauliflower and cabbage worms, 6 pis., 
Bulletin 144, New York Agricul. Exper. Station, Geneva, N. Y., Sept. 
'98.— Strachan, H. and McCorquodale, W. H. Larvae in antelope 
horns, Nature, London, Sept. 15, '98. 

Arachnida*— A c 1 o q u e , A. Spiders* silk, figs., 79, Sept. 17. — 
Banks, N. Three myrmecophilous mites,* 4; Some Mexican Phalan- 
gida, 6. 

Orthoptera,— C o c k e r e 1 1 , T. D. A. New North American in- 
sects.* 11, Oct. — H u 1 1 o n , F. W. The grasshoppers and locusts, Phas- 
midaD, Hemiptera, of New Zealand and the Kermadec Islands, i pi. (3 
papers), 53. — Morse, A. P. Notes on New England Acridiidae iv, 
Acndiinae iii, 5.--Walker, E. M. Notes on some Ontario Acridiidae 
(com.), 4, 

Neuroptera* — D avis, W. T. Preliminary list of the dragonfiies of 
Staten Island, with notes and dates of capture, 6.— v. Linden, M. On 
the life of caddis-fiies, figs. Naturwissenschaftliche Rundschau, Braun- 
schweig, Sept. 25, *98. — Mc Lac hi an, R. What is Libellula cenea 
Linn^ ? : a study in nomenclature, 8. — W a s m a n n , E. See the General 
Subject. 

Hemiptera. — Aleman, J. On a Mexican Aleurodes {A. dugesii 
Ckll. n. sp),* La Naturaleza, iii, x-2, Mexico, '98. — C o c k e r e 1 1 , T. D. A. 
A new Aleurodes on oak,* 4 ; A new scale insect found on barberry,* 4 ; 
The Coccidae of the Sandwich Islands, 9; See Orthoptera.* — Davis, 
W. T. The seventeen-year locust on Staten Island in 1898 ; The hickory 
tree Phylloxera at West New Brighton, Proceedings, Natural Science 
Association of Staten Island, New Brighton, N. Y. Sept. 10, '98.— 
G i a r d , A. On the scale insects of the genus Orthezia Bosc, 86b, '98, 
No. I. — Gillette, C. P. American leaf-hoppers of the subfamily 
Typhlocybinae,* 149 figs.. Proceedings, U. S. National Museum, No. 
1138, Washington, '98.— Hiieber, T. Synopsis of the German Capsi- 
dae iii, Jahreshefte, Verein fur vaterlandische Naturkunde in Wiirttemberg, 
liv. Stuttgart, *98. H u 1 1 o n , F. W. See Orthoptera. Lounsbury, 
C. P. Diaspis amygdali Tryon, 4.— M a s k e 1 1 , W. M. Further Coc- 
cid notes : with descriptions of new species and discussion of points of 
interest, 53.— Townsend, C. H. T. and Cockerell, T. D. A. 
Coccidae collected in Mexico by Messrs. Townsend and Koebele in 
1H97,* 6.— d e Varigny, H. The seventeen-year Cicada, 87, Sept. 1 7. 
Coleoptera.— B r a u n s , H. A new Dorylid guest of the mimicry 
type, fig., 38.— Esc he rich, K. On the life-history of Thorictus 
ForeliV^2ism. figs., 22, Sept. 5.— Fall, H. C. A correction [in Atta- 
ius], 4.— Felsche, F. Verzeichniss der Lucaniden, welche bis jetzt 
beschrieben sind. Leipzig, Ernst Heyne, 1898. 89 pp., 8vo.— G o r h a m , 
H. S. On the serricom Coleoptera of St. Vincent, Grenada and the Gre- 



228 ENTOMOLOGICAL NEWS. [November, 

nadines (Malacodermata, Ptinidae, Bostrychidae), with descriptions of new 
species, i pi.; On the Coleoptefa of the families Erotylidae, Endomychidae 
and Coccinellidae, collected by Mr. H. H. Smith in St. Vincent. Grenada 
and the Grenadines with descriptions of new species, Proceedings, 
Zoological Society of London, 1898, pt. ii, Aug. i.— Lea, A. M. Revision 
of the Australian Curculionidae belonging to the subfamily Cryptorhyn- 
chides, Proceedings, Linnean Society of New South Wales, '97, pt. iii, 
Sydney, Feb. 11, '98 (reed. Sept. 19).— Lesne, P. On the 'ferrier* of 
the larva of Cicindela hybrida L., fig., SOby '97, 17.— Schoch, G. 
Supplement VII to the * Genera and Species of my Cetonid collection,' 
56,— W e i s e , J. On new and known Coccinellidae, Archiv fur Naturge- 
schichte, Ixiv, i, 2, Berlin, Aug., '98. 

Diptera.— C o c k e r e 1 1 , T. D. A.* See Orthoptera.— C o q u i 1 1 e 1 1 , 
D. W. On the Dipterous family Scatophagidae * 6 ; A new Dipterous 
genus belonging to the Therevidae, 6.— [M a n s o n , P.] See Economic 
Entomology.— M i k , J. Some words on Dr. Wandolleck's Stethopathidae 
and a new wingless and haltereless Dipteron, i pi., 38,— Townsend, 
C. H. T. Diptera of the Organ Mountains in southern New Mexico,* 5. 

Lepidoptera,— C h a p m a n , T* A. The structure of the spiracles in 
Lepidoptera, 21.— C o c k e r e 1 1 , T. D. A.* See Orthoptera.— D r u c e , 
H. Descriptions of some new species of Heterocera from tropical 
America,* 11, Sept.— Dyar, H. G. Note on the larva of Melanomma 
auricinctariutn Grote, 4; A new Parasa with a preliminary table of the 
species of the genus,* 5 ; The life histories of the New York slug cater- 
pillars xvi, with certain additions and corrections, i pi.; Life-history of 
Calybia slossonicSy 6,- Feredey, R. W. A Synonymic list of the 
Lepidoptera of New Zealand, 53.— Fern aid, C. H. The Pterophori- 
dae of North America. Massachusetts Agricultural College, Jan., 1898. 
80 pp., 9 pis.— Fischer, E. Contributions to experimental Lepidop- 
terology vii, viii, 2 pi., 92, 16, 17. Grote, A. R, The position of 
Pseudopontia {Gonophlebid) ^ 21 ; Abbreviations of author's names, 4.— 
Kathariner, L. Are flying butterflies persecuted by birds? Biolo- 
gisches Centralblatt, Erlangen, Sept. 15, '98.— Kunze, R. E. Life-his- 
tory of the two forms of Cerura nivea, 6.— L a t h y , P. I. A new species 
of Terias from Haiti, 8.— Pierce, F. F. Recent investigations of the 
hair-pencils on certain male Noctuae, 8.— Pauls. Experimental zo- 
ological studies of Dr. M. Standfuss, 40.— Rebel, H. Dr. M. Stand- 
fuss' experimental zoological studies on Lepidoptera, 22. Sept. 19.— 
Ribbe, C. Introduction to the collecting of butterflies in tropical 
countries, 84, Sept. 29,'98.— S e i f e r t , O. Life-history of Feralia jocosa, 
6.— Strecker, H. Lepidoptera, Rhopaloceres and Heteroceres, Indi- 
genous and Exotic. Supplement No. i. Reading, Pa., U. S. A., 1898. 
Printed for the Author. (50 nn. spp. Noctuidae,* i n. sp. Apatura—^^^^^ 
types are all carefully marked in my collection," and a characteristic 
preface). 



1898.] ENTOMOLOGICAL NEWS. 229 

Hymenoptera.— A s h m e a d . W. H. Classification of the horn- 
tails and sawflies or the suborder Phytophaga, v, 4.— B eutenmiiller, 
W. Note on the nest of Vespa crabro, 2 pis., 6.— Cocker ell, T. D. 
A. The North American bees of the genus Prosapis (cont.), 9; See 
Orthoptera.*— Dufour, L. Bees and honeys, figs., 79, Sept. 10.— 
Dunning, S. N. Notes on Andrena* 4.— Escherich, K. See 
Coleoptera.— F r e y - G e s s n e r , E. Fauna insectorum helvetiae. Hy- 
menoptera (cont.). Fam. xvi, Apidae, 56.— Head ley, F. W. Bees 
and the development of flowers, Natural Science, London, Oct., '98. — 
Karawaiew, W. The postembryonal development of Lasius flavuSy 
figs., 4 pis. Zeitschrift fiir wissenschaftliche Zoologie, Ixiv, 3, Leipsic* 
Aug. 30, '98. — Kiaer, H. Review of the phytophagous Hymenoptera 
of arctic Norway, i pi., Tromso Museums Aarshefte 19, '98. — Konow, 
F. W. New Contribution to the synonymy of the Chalastogastra ; On the 
Tenthredinid tribe Lophyrini* (two papers), Entomologische Nachrich- 
ten, xxiv, 15-16. Berlin, Aug., '98; On the Tenthredinid genus Amasis 
Leach, 38 ; Synonymic and critical remarks on Tenthredinid species 
incorrectly, or not hitherto referred, 40 ; Analytical table for identifying 
the hitherto described larvae of the Hymenopterous suborder Chalasto- 
gastra, 92, 16, 17. — Stoll, O. To knowledge of the geographical dis- 
tribution of ants, 56. — W a s m a n n , E. See the General Subject. 



Lepidoptera, Rhopaloceres and Heteroceres, Indigenous and Exotic. 
Supplement No. i. By Herman Strecker, Reading, Pa., U. S. A. 
Printed for the author. 

This contains the descriptions of fifty new moths and one new butterfly. 
Next to the scientific interest of the paper we always look to Dr. Strecker 
for something racy in his remarks, and in the one page of preface we have 
this as in the days of yore. He was disappointed in an intended plate of 
the specimens and acknowledges he has joined the big band of sinners, 
dead and alive, who have published descriptions alone. If the gentle- 
man had made a good photographic negative, and from this a slightly 
underprinted bromide enlargement, and then retouched with india ink. 
and afterward reduced in the half-tone to natural size again, the result 
would have been excellent. No one would be more competent to do the 
slight retouching necessary than the author of this paper. — H. S. 



Doings of Societies. 

A meeting of Feldman Collecting Social was held September 
21, 1898. 

Mr. Johnson exhibited a specimen' of a species oi Eriocera 
in which the discal cell is absent from one wing. A specimen of 
E, spinosus showed an accessory discal cell in one wing. Lon- 
gurio testaceus was shown from Fairmount Park, Philadelphia. 

In reply to Prof. Smith, Mr. Johnson said pinning is probably 



230 ENTOMOLOGICAL NEWS. [November, 

the best method of preserving Tipulidae, although great care must 
be taken in handling them, because of their fragility. He did 
not prefer alcoholic specimens except for dissection. 

The preservation of the color of insects by alcohol and formalin 
was discussed by Messrs. Smith, Skinner, Johnson, Castle and 
Gerhard, the speakers agreeing that alcohol is the better of 
the two for this purpose. 

Dr. Skinner reported the capture of Argynnis atlaniis at North 
Mt., Pa. It had not before been recorded south of Catskills, 
N. Y. 

He also referred to the abundance of Callidryas eubule at 
Cape May, N. J., in spite of the absence of the supposed food 
plant of the insect from the region thereabouts. He had found 
on investigation that it feeds also on Cassia nictitans. It has 
been asserted that it hibernates in the chrysalis, but this seems 
doubtful, as he had seen the species ovipositing very late in the 
season, so that it could hardly reach the chrysalis stage by cold 
weather. He suggested the possibility of hibernation in the 
larval stage. 

Prof. Smith referred to a previous communication on Augoch- 
^ova humeralis. The burrow was described. Nests of broad 
cells lined with clay and surrounded by an air-chamber are put 
off at various places along the vertical burrow which may pro- 
ceed for several feet. The clusters of cells number from i to 11. 
The bees emerge about the middle of July and commence imme- 
diately to burrow, making a burrow entirely different from their 
parents in that instead of brood-cells they sent off from i to 3 
short burrows or * ' fingers ' * along the vertical section. The 
bees are single brooded. Adult bees had been found in the 
burrows in September preparatory to hibernation. All burrows 
found from May to July have brood- cells, but those built after 
July have not brood-cells, which shows, in the speaker's opinion, 
that the later burrow is made for hibernation only. The bright 
metallic color of the insect was commented on as being unusual 
for a species which spends the greater part of its life under- 
ground. 

The speaker announced the coming issue of a new edition 
of the List of Insects for New Jersey and asked for cooperation 
in its preparation from the members of the social. 

William J. Fox, Secretary, 



1898.] ENTOMOLOGICAL NEWS. 23 1 

A meeting of the Entomological Section of The Academy of 
Natural Sciences of Philadelphia was held September 22nd. 
Mr. C. S. Welles, Director, presiding. A number of blown- 
larvae of Daremma catalpcB were presented by Mr. Herman 
Hornig. Two boxes of Lepidoptra from Manchuria were pre- 
sented by Dr. A. D. Smith and the Farnum brothers. Dr. 
Calvert gave a summary of his paper on Burmeister's Types of 
Odonata, now publishing in the current volume of the Trans- 
actions of the American Entomological Society. Mr. C. S. 
Welles stated that he had been informed that many caterpillars 
were swarming on the catalpa trees near his home (Elwyn, Del. 
Co., Pa.), and some of them were nearly defoliated by what he 
subsequently identified as the larva of Daremma catalpce. He 
exhibited the imago, larvae and chrysalids of this moth and 
said it was a southern species and had not heretofore been 
noticed in this State in any such numbers, and if it continues to 
prove so destructive it may become a subject for the economic 
entomologist. Mr. Liebeck mentioned a locality in the heart 
of the city where the Ailanthus trees had been denuded of leaves 
by the larva of Callosamia cynthia. The Director spoke of Mr. 
Gerhard's journey to Bolivia and wished him bon voyage and the 
good wishes of the Section. The latter said he expected to go 
to Mollendo and then to La Paz, which would be his head- 
quarters. Lepidoptra would receive first attention, but other 
orders would not be entirely neglected. All the material will be 
sent to Mr. A. G. Weeks, Jr. Mr. Liebick referred to the bird- 
flies (Hippoboscidae) which he had collected for Mr. Johnson. He 
had found them on the American bittern and the night- heron 
only. They are flat and look like a winged tick and slip side- 
wise spasmodically when an effort is made to pick them up. 
They try to slip up in narrow spaces like that between a loose 
cork and the neck of a bottle. They fly with great rapidity and 
are found under the wing feathers. 

Dr. Henry Skinner, Recorder, 



A regular meeting was held by the Newark Entomological 
Society, Sunday, September nth, at 4 P. M., at Turn Hall. 
The following members were present : Messrs. Seib, Broadwell, 
Angleman, Bucholz, Weidt, Bishchoff", Erb and Bunsow. Vice- 
President Brehme presiding. Mr. Weidt reported a capture of 



232 ENTOMOLOGICAL NEWS. [November, 

35 specimens of Schinia arcifera in the Orange Mountains, 
August 28th, and remarked that it was locally common. Mr. 
Herman Erb exhibited a number of Paonias astylus larva almost 
full grown. Mr. Weidt remarked having taken the larva in June. 
Mr. Broadwell exhibited some snap shots taken at the field meet- 
ing in August. Mr. Weidt reported that Prodenia conimelinc^ 
was common at light in Newark, September 9th and loth. 

Mr. Herman Brehme read an article on rearing larva success- 
fully : After keeping the larvae in jars until two weeks old, I 
placed them in my new breeding cage, the top of which is made 
entirely of glass, and is 4 feet long, 15 inches deep and 14 inches 
wide. The bottom is made of wood, zinc lined, and is of the 
same dimensions as the top, excepting that it is 5 inches deep. 
In this bottom I put 4 inches of earth and spread manilla paper 
over the top to keep the cage clean. I then stick small branches 
of food plant in the ground and it keeps for a week. When the 
larva is full grown it crawls under the paper and pupates above 
the ground instead of burrowing it to it as is usually the case. 
Out of 125 larva of G. luscitiosa I have lost but three. 

The merits of different methods of breeding were discussed at 
some length by Messrs. Seib, Erb and Bucholz. 

Mr. Weidt proposed Mr. S. T. Kemp, formerly of Camden, 
N. J., who was unanimously elected a member. 

Meeting adjourned. 

A. J. Weidt, Secretary, 

The Newark Entomological Society visited the Brooklyn Insti- 
tute of Arts and Sciences Sunday, October 9th, at 2.30 P. M. 
Most of the members brought a box of insects to determine, and 
all were kept busy untill 4 P. M., when a short meeting was held 
in a room reserved for the Society by Mr. Jacob Doll, the 
Curator, at the Institute. President Schlicksor presided, with the 
following members present : Messrs. Brehme, Weidt, Broadwell, 
Kircher, Rienecker, Stortz, Kemp, Erb, Angleman and Seib. 
It was decided that the special meetmgs which were well attended 
last winter be continued. Mr. Geo. Kircher proposed Mr. Wm. 
Straub, of Astoria, L. I., who was unanimously elected. 

Meeting adjourned. 

A. J. Weidt, Secretary, 

N. B. — We now have 14 active and 3 passive members. 



ENTOMOLOGICAL NEWS 



AND 



PROCEEDINGS OF THE ENTOMOLOGICAL SECTION 

ACADEMY OF NATURAL SCIENCES, PHILADELPHIA, 



Vol. IX. 



DECEMBER, 1898. 



No. 10. 



CONTENTS: 



Welles — Destructive work of Daremma 
Catalpae 233 

Wickham — Recollections of old collect- 
ing grounds 235 

Fall — A new Chalcoleptdius 238 

Smith — Notes on the genus Mamestra 
Ochs., with descriptions of new 
species 240 



Slosson — Additional list of insects 
taken in Alpine region of Mt. 

Washington 251 

Editorial 252 

Economic Entomology 255 

Notes and News 256 

Entomological Literature 257 

Doings of Societies 262 



DESTRUCTIVE WORK OF DAREMMA CATALP>E. 

By Chas. S. Well :s. 

The readers of Entomological News will probably be inter- 
ested to know that there has appeared in our midst a new foe to 
one of our shade trees, the Catalpa bignioides, in the shape of a 
large sphinx, Daremma Catalpce Boisd. The Catalpa, though 
more suitable for planting on large lawns is, nevertheless, highly 
esteemed by arboriculturists as an ornamental shade tree on 
account of its large leaves, beautiful white flowers and peculiar 
cigar-shaped pods. 

Whether this pest, which menaces these trees with at least the 
destruction of their foliage, if not with permanent injury, has 
come to stay the future alone will divulge. The probability is 
that it has, though appearances are often deceiving. Many 
entomologists are well aware that the occurrence of an insect in 
large numbers one year is no criterion for the next, sometimes 
not even a single specimen greeting the eye. Now as to the 
actual facts in the case. One morning, in the latter part of 
August or the first of September, 1898, my man, returning from 
Media, informed me that he had seen large numbers of "worms,'* 



10 



234 ENTOMOLOGICAL NEWS. [December, 

as he called them, down by the "Blue Bridge" which crosses 
Ridley Creek, equidistant betweeen Media and Elwyn Station, 
Delaware County, Pa. From his description I felt sure they 
must be the larvae of some moth. I was soon on the spot, and 
found that his '* thousands" were no exagg^eration of the actual 
fact. Never in my life have I been permitted to see so many 
larvae of a large insect, except in one instance, and those were 
of the sphinx Deilephila lineata Fabr., which were present by 
the thousands upon the purslain in a large corn field in Illinois, 
which had not been thoroughly cultivated. 

I wish some of my entomological friends might have been 
with me on this present occasion to see the sight. Caterpillars 
everywhere, in every condition of molt ; caterpillars on the 
trunks of trees ; crawling over the dusty road ; on the herbage 
of whatever description, endeavoring to perfect their growth, so 
as to go into the pupal state, while other larvae, which had 
attained itheir maturity, were seeking places where they might 
enter the ground to undergo their change. This is a southern 
species, and, as I have by me no book of reference as I write, I 
cannot tell its exact habitat, but I should say from Florida north- 
ward to Washington city, perhaps Baltimore, and westward to 
Kansas, would be its natural limits. I have recently learned 
that some larvae of this moth were seen last year ; how much 
farther back its entrance into Pennsylvania can be traced I can- 
not say, neither can I speak, at this writing, of its life history 
from the ^%% to the imago, but I should judge some six weeks 
must intervene. There are evidently several broods of this 
insect, and the larvae were seen on the trees sometime after frost 
had set in. 

The scattering of these larvae, as above described, was due to 
the complete denudation of the trees, so they were obliged to 
seek food- plant elsewhere. Strange to say the trees, especially 
those near the creek, clothed themselves again with beautiful 
fresh foliage. The stripping off of leaves from the trees was 
noticed at points several miles distant from this locality, but the 
most complete defoliation was observed in this immediate 
vicinity. 

Through the kindness of my friend, Mr. Homer Hoopes, of 
Media, I am able to send you a photograph of one of these 
trees taken by him, showing how completely it has been 



1 898,] ENTOMOLOGICAL NEWS. 235 

despoiled of its leaves, and its peculiar appearance, with noth- 
ing but its long slender pods depending from its branches. It is 
said that, in the South, Catalpa trees are planted in order that 
the larvae may be obtained for bait. I would call attention to 
to this fact so that those who may be piscatorially inclined can 
take advantage of it. 



RECOLLECTIONS OF OLD COLLECTING GROUNDS. 

By H. F. WiCKHAM, Iowa City, Iowa. 

VI.— THE COLORADO DESERT AND ITS ENVIRONS (Concluded). 

At Yuma, where I stopped for a few days two years later, a 
number of the same features were noticed that marked collecting 
at The Needles, but some species were taken that I had not met 
with at the latter place. In the willow trees along: the river 
bottom I found considerable numbers of Chalcolepidius webbii 
and many specimens of a fine black and orange colored Long- 
horn, Dendobrias mandibularis. I think this Dendobrias must 
feed, as a larva, on willows, at least in those spots where the tree 
grows. The adults may often be seen pairing on the living 
trunks. Nevertheless, I have occasionally captured the beetles 
in the semi-desert regions of Arizona, far from water, and con- 
sequently distant from any willow trees. There is great variation 
in size, color and mandibular development, even in the same 
sex. Some males show scarcely any trace of the transverse 
post-median black band which is so characteristic of fully marked 
specimens. 

Some StaphylinidcB were obtained by throwing water on banks 
of pools or by rolling over pieces of wood in wet places. Among 
them I may enumerate Aclobius pcederoides, A, gratus, Stenus 
incultus, Cryptobmm arizonense^ Sunius similis, Trogophlceus 
dentiger, T. gilce and T. tantillus. Under bark I took Adelina 
leconieiy DUonta ornata and D, sulcata. On mesquit trees or on 
posts of this same wood were secured specimens of Chrysoboihris 
vctocola, Acmceodera gibbula and Polycesta velasco. A magnifi- 
cent Chrysoboihris atrofasciata was seen at rest on a bush and 
created quite a flutter of excitement until safely landed in my 
bottle. The Buprestidae are so active in very hot climates that 
they often escape after being located, and it is no easy matter to 



236 ENTOMOLOGICAL NEWS. [December, 

grasp them in a hurry if, as usual, the shrub on which the insect 
rests is a thorny one. 

Beating thickets in low-lying districts was not productive of 
many good things ; however, I took one or two Stenosphenus 
debilis in this way. So few Tenebrionidae were secured (by the 
usual method of rolling logs and ties in dry spots) that I refrain 
from any remarks on them, more particularly since those taken 
were not characteristic. So much collecting has been done in 
this vicinity by many a good entomologist that the fauna is com- 
paratively well known and no lack of records exist. 

A much less known region lies to the westward of Yuma, where 
the Southern Pacific Railroad crosses the desert proper and 
traverses for a long distance the dried- up bed of a salt lake or 
ancient sea. In some places this now lies not less than three hun- 
dred and sixty feet below the level of the waters of the Pacific. 
Near the northern rim of this great basin lies the station of Indio, 
fifty feet below sea level and surrounded by a sandy plain which 
rises into mountains at a distance of but a few miles. The sand 
forms curious little hillocks, apparently through being blown up 
against the stems of the bushes by the wind. As these bushes 
grow higher they are again partially whelmed by the sand and a 
repetition of this process finally results in the formation of a 
considerable dune. 

Since but a single day was spent here, only a cursory glance 
could be given the fauna. I saw specimens of Gyascutus plani- 
costa flying in the sun about the bushes, and got a large weevil, 
near Cleonus, about the roots of weeds near the railroad tracks. 
This weevil was new then, but has since been described by 
Captain Casey as Dinocleus wickhamii. My spoils from this 
vicinity also include Apristtcs laticollis, Nocibiotes gracilis and an 
Eupagoderes which seems to be varius. Among the Tene- 
brionid^ I got some Eurymelopon rufipes and Tribolium ferru- 
gineum chiefly from the floor of a pump-house, built over a well. 
The owner slept in the shelter and complained that the Eury- 
metopon bit him at night. His suspicions may, however, have 
been unjust. Eleodes armata was taken sparingly ; one or two 
Cerenopus concolor and Cryptoglossa verrticosa were captured 
under logs in the palm grove lying some six miles away at the 
foot of the hills. A single Hymenorus grandicollis is also num- 
bered among my victims. 



1898.] ENTOMOLOGICAL NEWS. 237 

The Mojave Desert is practically ''all of a piece'* with the 
Colorado. A day at the station of Mojave — which seems to 
have no excuse for existence other than the fact of being a junc- 
tion point for the Southern and the Atlantic and Pacific Railroads 
— resulted in an experience which, while interesting, was hardly 
pleasant. It is necessary, in making trips across these dry sands, 
to carry water for drinking, and every one is supposed to know 
this. But having packed up my canteen and sent it with other 
baggage to San Francisco, I foolishly started out without any 
liquid provision to visit a large clump of yuccas some seven miles 
away. All went well for a few hours, in fact until after eating a 
dry noon-day lunch, I felt no serious inconvenience and in order 
to make the most of the collecting delayed starting back until 
the need of water became too pressing to be put off any longer. 
The trouble began with the recrossing of miles of sand burning 
under a July sun. I reached the station late in the afternoon with 
a mouth like an oven and the power of speech almost gone. 
Quarts of water were needed to satisfy my thirst, and as I drank 
spots and blotches — some of them as large as a dollar and 
accompanied by an intense itching — appeared on my body, the 
result no doubt of an overheated blood. This was followed by 
weakness and discomfort lasting several days, and it is probable 
that only a system inured to ordinary exposure by weeks of hard 
work in similar regions saved me from serious consequences. It 
is to be hoped that this account may deter any collector, under 
whose eye it may fall, from falling into a similar error. 

The insects taken were not numerous. Several species were 
found on flowers or in bushes, among them Hyperaspis lateralis^ 
Hyperaspidius trimaculatuSy Coccinella franciscana, Phalacrus 
penicillatus, Hyppodamia ambigua, H, ^-signata, Listrus ferru- 
gineuSy Pristoscelis eiipthropus, Attains lobulatiis, Zabroies oblite- 
ratiis and Synertha imbricata. Under ties along the track or 
beneath fallen yuccas farther out on the plains I took Triorophus 
IcBvis, Eurymetopon convexicolle, Notibius puncticollis, Coniontis 
robusta, Eleodes dentipes and E, quadricollis. Amongst the 
yuccas were captured Rhagodera tuberculata, Colastus yucccB^ 
Trogosita virescens, CyncBus angustus, Esthesopus dispersus, 
Eupagoderes varius and one or two Scyphophorus yuccce. 
There was no chance to do any work along water-courses for the 
simple reason that none such exist. The adventure referred to 
prevented more than one day being spent here. 



238 ENTOMOLOGICAL NEWS. [December, 

Eastward of Mojave, about sixty miles, lies Barstow. A year 
before my above-related experience I had stopped off at the 
latter place for a day's work in the middle of August with some 
results in the way of entomological booty. A few pools of water 
were then to be found in the river-bed, giving one a chance at a 
somewhat more varied fauna and the few cottonwoods lining the 
banks also yielded some things. I took about twenty-five 
species of beetles, which may be mentioned as follows : Cnemi- 
dolus simplex, Laccophilus decipie^is, L. mexicanus, Deronedes 
. striatellus, Rhantus binotatus and Berosus pundatissimus in 
pools. Tecnophilus croceicolHs, Triorophiis Icsvis, Edrotes 
veniricosus, a Coniontis near opaca, Eurymetopon convexicolle, 
E. cylindricum, Eleodes quadricoilis, Ulus crassus, Blapstinus 
pubescens and Eucyllus vagans under logs and rubbish. O'cin- 
dela pacifica on a muddy flat. Epierus regularis, van vici7iuSy 
Hololepta populnea, - HesperobcBnus abbreviatus and a Cossomis 
from beneath cottonwood bark. Around roots of weeds a few 
Dinodeus molitor. On flowers, one Hippodamia convergens, one 
Pyropyga fenestralis and a lot of Nemognatha near apicalis. 



o- 



A NEW CHALCOLEPIDIUS. 

By H. C. Fall. 

Among a lot of Chalcolepidius web bit taken by me in July, 
1895, at Yuma, were two examples — % 9 — which appeared 
different from the rest of the catch, and were set apart for further 
developments. On examining a large lot of Chalcolepidius 
received the past summer from Phoenix, Ariz., by Dr. H. G. 
Griffith, many of the specimens were at once recognized as being 
like my Yuma pair, and renewed examination shows it not only 
to be quite distinct from webbii, but also from any of the de- 
scribed Mexican forms. As specimens are soon likely to be 
quite generally distributed, it deserves to be formally introduced, 
and this may best be done by comparing it with webbii, to which 
it bears a general resemblance. 

C. tartaras n. sp. — Generally smaller, more parallel and less convex 
than webbii, the border of white scales much narrower throughout. On 
the thorax this border does not encroach on the disk as is the case in 
well preserved webbii^ but is sharply limited within, and less than half as 
wide as the central darker area. On the elytra the white border is 
strictly marginal at base, but becomes submarginal behind the middle. 
The elytra are more strongly striate than in webbii, the striae punctured 



1898.] ENTOMOLOGICAL NEWS. 239 

toward the base. Sides of prothorax and abdomen beneath widely 
clothed with white squamiform hairs like those of the upper surface. 
Third antennal joint a little wider than in webbii; scutellum transverse. 
Length 21 — 31 mm. My series of webbii varies from 26 to 38 mm. 

The habits of the two species are apparently identical, both 
frequenting the willows which line the banks of the Colorado 
River and its tributaries, and among which they may be seen 
flying in the hot sunshine of midsummer. Some of the pleas- 
ures incident to their capture have already been alluded to by 
Mr. Wickham — Ent. News, October, 1898 — and are fully 
appreciated by the writer. 

The external sexual characters of Chalcolepidius are rather 
constant throughout the genus. LeConte does not mention 
them, but Cand6ze says that the % 's have the front tibiae and the 
last joint of the front and middle tarsi ciliate within. In addi- 
tion, it may be stated that the antennae are often obviously longer 
in the males, in which sex the last ventral segment is always 
rounded at tip, while in the female it is as constantly widely 
truncate and furnished with a dense brush of claviform hairs. 
This structure is remarkably like that in the 9 's of certain Cer- 
ambycid genera — Tragidion, Oxoplus and perhaps others — and 
though I have not seen it mentioned, is so obvious that it can 
hardly have escaped notice. In one group, including our 
smaragdinus and viridipilis the antennae are pectinate in the 
males. 

In all the S 's of tartarus which I have examined the ciliation 
of the tibiae and tarsi above mentioned is so feeble as to readily 
escape observation, and the species appears to be peculiar in 
this respect. 

Our six species are easily separable by the following table : 

Antannae of males not pectinate. 
Elytra brownish red. (Lower California). . . . rabripeimis Lee. 
Integuments black throughout. 
Thorax and elytra with white border. 

Body without or with very few white squamules beneath; elytra very 
freely striate. (Arizona, Southeastern California), webbii Lee. 
Body beneath densely clothed with white squamules at sides, elytra 
more deeply striate. (Arizona, Yuma, Phoenix), tartarus n. sp. 
Vestiture entirely olive green ; thorax quite deeply sinute imme- 
diately before the hind angles, which are therefore unusually 

prominent. (Arizona, Tucson) behrensii Cand. 

Antennae of males pectinate. 

Vestiture of body bright green, of legs deep blue. (Arizona). 

smaragdinus Lee. 

Vestiture of body and members entirely olive green. (Atlantic 

region, Texas) Tlridipilis Lee. 



240 ENTOMOLOGICAL NEWS. [December, 

NOTES ON THE GENUS MAMESTRA OCHS., WITH 
DESCRIPTIONS OF NEW SPECIES. 

By John B. Smith, Sc.D. 

Since the publication of my Revision in 1891, Proc. U. S. 
N. M., xiv, pp. 197-276, few new species have been described 
in this genus. A number of forms not properly referable to any 
described species have gradually accumulated, and on a careful 
review of the material I find it necessary to separate some that 
heretofore I had been inclined to hold together. Several species 
not known to me in 1891 have been since identified, and the 
genitalia of the males of some species have been studied for the 
first time. 

This accumulation of material and its renewed study indicates 
that my arrangement of the species must be in some respects 
modified. The character of the antennal structure is not so 
important as I believed at first and would, if strictly adhered to 
now, separate species closely allied. As it appears now, the 
change from shortly pectinated to simply ciliated is so gradual 
that no dividing line is possible, and the rearranged groups will 
in some cases contain forms with simple and with pectinated 
antennae. On the other hand, all the genitalic groupings have 
approved themselves, and I am inclined to attribute increased 
importance to this character in arranging the species of a large 
genus. 

There are yet in my collection and in some others, a few speci- 
mens, females or rubbed, which may be new. But these must 
await the arrival of more satisfactory material. 

Btomestra nngatis, n. sp. 

Ground color bluish ash gray over a somewhat obscure yellowish base, 
more or less powdery. Front with two blackish transverse bands. Collar 
with two obscure gray bands. Patagiae with a dusky submargin. Pri- 
maries with the median lines faintly marked on the costa only. S. t. 
line narrow, whitish, irregular, very close to outer margin, with outward 
teeth on veins 3 and 4, which reach the outer margin. The hne is 
inwardly shaded with deep blackish brown or black, most emphasized in 
in the sub-median interspace opposite the anal angle. A more or less 
broken black terminal line, beyond which is a whitish line at the base of 
the fringes. Edge of wing a little scalloped and a little drawn in before the 
anal angle. There is a short black basal dash, connected by brown or black 
scales with a moderate claviform which is pale ringed, the outer edge of 



1898.] ENTOMOLOGICAL NEWS. 241 

the ring emphasized by black and deep brown scales. A blackish streak 
extends along the median vein forming part of the inferior margin of the 
ordinary spots. The orbicular is elongate, oblique, and tends to or 
actually does fuse with the large kidney-shaped reniform. Both spots 
are incompletely outlined, a little paler, tending' to a pale defining line 
which is outwardly emphasized with black or brown scales. The blackish 
shade along the median vein extends a little beyond the lower angle of 
the reniform. Secondaries white, hardly soiled outwardly, veins a little 
smoky. A blackish terminal line is distinct from apex to vein 2 and is 
there lost before the anal angle. Beneath whitish, powdery, with a 
dusky terminal line. 
Expanse 1.75 inches = 44 mm. 

Hab. — Montana ; Nevada. 

Two male specimens in somewhat rubbed condition were 
given me by Mrs. F. O. Herring, of Plainfield, N. J., some time 
ago. I have had them associated with purpurissata and junci- 
tnacula until the present time though convinced of their dis- 
tinctness. 

I find now that we really have three closely allied, yet suf- 
ficiently distinct species of the purpurissata group. The type 
form is found in New England and the northeast generally and 
extends through Canada into British Columbia. It is of quite a 
deep bluish ash gray or purplish and the secondaries are smoky 
in both sexes. All the usual markings are fairly distinct. 

M, juncimacula is from the mountains of Colorado, Dr. 
Barnes having sent me several specimens taken at Glenwood 
Springs in August and September. I have listed this as a variety 
oi purpurrissata in which the ordinary spots are confluent ; but 
I find now that this character is not uniform and that at least as 
many specimens have the spots normally separated. On the 
other hand, a series of other differences prove its specific distinct- 
ness. The secondaries are much paler in both sexes, almost 
whitish at base ; the primaries are much brighter in color with 
reddish shadings and a decided tendency to lose the median 
lines, while the wings themselves are distinctly narrower and less 
trigonate. 

Finally, in nugatis, we have a distinctly smaller species, yet 
paler in color of primaries and with the secondaries white in the 
male at least. The forewings are as narrow as in juncimacula, 
with the outer margin yet more oblique and the apices yet more 
pointed. The median lines have disappeared and the wing has 



242 ENTOMOLOGICAL NEWS. [December, 

a strigate appearance which is aided by the black margined 
claviform ; a feature not. evident to the same extent in either of 
the other species. 

The antennae in all of the species are shortly pectinated and no 
obvious differences appear from such examination as was made ; 
but the structure of the male genitalia, which will be figured in 
another paper, bears out the conclusions reached from the super- 
ficial characters. 
Mamestra mystica n. sp. 

Ground color dark powdery ash gray with a bluish tint. Head with 
alternating dusky and paler transverse lines. Collar with a central black 
line, above which the tint is much darker than below it. The discal tho- 
racic cresting is dusky at tip and so are the tips of the abdominal tufts. 
Patagiae black marked at the base of the primaries. Primaries quite 
uniformly powdered, save that as a whole the costal region is somewhat 
darker than the rest of the wing ; this feature being most obvious in the 
male now before me. All the markings present, but not well defined. 
Basal line geminate, smoky, fairly well marked on costa, but obscure 
below. T. a. line geminate, smoky, the inner portion scarcely defined 
below the median vein, its course straight to that point, thence outcurved 
^o the submedian and again below it. T. p. line lunulate, geminate, 
smoky, the included space paler gray, only a little sinuate and as a whole 
parallel with the outer margin. A vague median shade line, most 
obvious between the ordinary spots and very slender below them. 
S. t. line pale, irregular, broken, defined by irregular black preceding 
blotches or spots which are the largest on the costa opposite the cell and 
in the sub median interspace. A series of interspaceal, black, terminal 
lunules, beyond which is a pale line at the base of the fringes. The 
claviform is small, concolorous, defined by black scales. Orbicular large, 
ovate, of the ground color, somewhat incompletely black-ringed. Reni- 
form large, kidney shaped, with a smoky outline, inwardly marked by 
paler scales and a more or less obvious dusky central lunule. Secondaries 
smoky, a little paler at the base, with a dusky, followed by a paler extra 
median line, a dusky discal lunule and a blackish line at the base of the 
fringes. Beneath, primaries dusky, terminal space pale powdered, with 
or without a dusky and paler extra-median line ; secondaries white, 
powdery, with a median line and dusky discal spot. 

Expands 1.80--1.90 inches = 45-47 mm. 

Hub. — Winnipeg, Manitoba. 

One male and one female from Mr. A. W. Hanham, who has 
other similar examples. The specimens were in excellent condi- 
tion when shipped, but suffered in transit. I was at first inclined 
to consider this a dark nimbosa^ but found afi:erward that this 
could hardlv hold. It is somewhat intermediate between that 



1898.] ENTOMOLOGICAL NEWS. 243 

species and imbrifera, but distinct from each by the dark ashen 
gray of the primaries as against the pale shade in 7iimbosa and 
the luteous shading in imbrifera. The markings are more nearly 
like nimbosay but better defined. In the structure of the male 
genitalia the species is nearer to imbri/era, but differs by the 
absence of the spoon-shaped clasper as well as in other minor 
details. 

Mamestra plicata n. sp. 

Ground color a dull, very powdery reddish gray or brown, almost fawn 
color, more or less suffused by black or smoky. Head immaculate, 
collar with two brown transverse lines and tipped with gray scales. 
Patagiae brown at the base of the wings and with a vague, darker sub- 
margin. Primaries with the maculation more or less obscured by the 
dark suffusion through the lower half of the wing, the costal region 
appearing paler by the contrast. There is a short black dash at base, 
above which the space is paler and from which a pale line is indicated to 
the inner margin. The basal half line is not obvious in my specimens. 
T. a. line geminate, narrow, with a broad, almost even outcurve, the 
defining lines slender and brown, the included space paler and a little 
wider, thus relieving the line. T. p. line slender, geminate, very evenly 
bisinuate and as a whole nearly parallel with the outer margin. The 
defining lines are narrow, even, smoky ; the included space paler than the 
ground color. S. t. line yellowish, distinct, forming the most obvious 
ornamental feature and margined with a few black scales. It arises from 
a paler apical patch and is only a little uneven in its course to the hind 
margin. A series of small black terminal dots on a waved terminal dark 
line. Fringes a little scalloped, with a pale line at base and cut with pale 
beyond the veins. The claviform is long, outlined with brown scales and 
extends nearly across the median space. Orbicular large, gray, irregu- 
larly oval, oblique, without obvious defining line ; but with a few black 
scales which emphasize the contrast of the gray spot. Reniform large, 
upright, a little constricted in the centre, a little paler than ground color, 
the lower portion filled with a dusky shade. It is outlined by black scales, 
within which is a pale annulus. Secondaries deep, even fuscous or 
smoky, the veins, a discal lunule and a terminal line yet darker brown. 
Beneath reddish gray, with coarse powderings and a large blackish discal 
spot on all wings. 

Expanse 1.40- 1.60 inches = 35-40 mm. 

Hub.: — Glenwood Springs, Colorado, in May; Dr. Wm. Barnes. 

One male, the smaller, and one female specimen are under 
examination. The description was mostly from the male, 
because in the female the blackish suffusion through the lower 
part of the wing obscured almost everything except the s. t. line. 



244 ENTOMOLOGICAL NEWS. [December, 

This line and the large discolored orbicular are the most promi- 
nent characters of the insect. 

The antannae of the male have the joints with short pointed 
teeth, which are furnished with tufts of stiff hair. The genitalia 
have the harpes simple, with oblique tip, inwardly fringed with a 
row of spinules. The clasper is double, arising from the middle 
of the harpes and consists of a short twisted, somewhat spatulate 
process, below which arises a longer, evenly curved, pointedclaw. 

In this character the new species agrees with gussata and 
segregata, which in turn are much more closely allied than I had 
suspected. It seems also that, either there is yet another species 
or the one now described has a considerable range of variation. 
A female specimen taken by Mr. Bruce in Garfield County, 
Colorado, at an elevation of 6000 feet expands 43 mm., and is 
therefore larger than any of the others. It is of a uniform fawn 
gray with red- brown shadings in the median space, and all the 
markings are well and uniformly written. There is none of the 
dark suffusion seen in the other specimens, but every detail of 
maculation agrees so far as they can be compared. It will 
require a male of this particular form to decide the question. 

Btomestra neoterica n. sp. 

Ground color dull, red-brown. Head and thorax without obvious 
markings, except that the patagiae may have a deeper brown submarginal 
line. Primaries with a brighter, rusty brown shading which may be 
visible all over the wing, over the basal and s. t. spaces only, or may be 
entirely wanting. All the markings present but somewhat obscured. 
Basal line short, black, geminate, carrying a few black scales to base from 
its termination in the submedian interspace. T. a. line geminate, 
obscure, the outer line blackish, the inner hardly deeper than the ground 
color ; well removed from base, its course as a whole with a very even 
outcurve. T. p. line rather evenly bisinuate, geminate, the inner portion 
a little darker, feebly lunulate, the line as a whole rather defined by the 
pale included space. S. t. line pale, very feebly marked, sometimes with 
yellowish scales, sometimes scarcely traceable ; in course a little irregu- 
lar. A smoky line is at the base of the concolorous fringes. A median 
shade line is vaguely marked on the costa only. Claviform more or less 
black marked, usually well defined and extending nearly across the 
median space. Orbicular ovate, somewhat irregular, outlined by black 
scales within which is a series of white scales which hardly form an 
annulus. Reniform moderate in size, concolorous or a little paler than 
the ground color, more or less completely black ringed and also with a 
ring of whitish scales, which may, however, be entirely absent. Secon- 
daries even dull fuscous. Beneath, primaries dull, smoky fuscous ; 
secondaries paler, powdery, with a broken outer line. 

Expanse 112-128 inches = 28-32 mm. 



1898.] ENTOMOLOGICAL NEWS. 245 

Hab, — Winnipeg, Manitoba. 

One male and two females from Mr. Hanham, all somewhat 
different in ground color. The male is a little the brightest, with 
a tendency to fawn. One of the females has evident mossy 
yellow scales along the s. t. and t. p. lines and in the basal space, 
while the other has a distinct reddish shading throughout, over 
which black scales are arranged so as to tarnish and give the 
wing a sordid appearance. 

The species closely resembles a small detracta throughout, and 
as such I was at first inclined to consider it ; but the uniform 
small size and vague dissimilarity led me to examine the sexual 
parts of the male which, while similar in type, proved very dif- 
ferent in detail. In this species the clasper is much longer, 
even, hook-like, with a pointed tip ; the harpes have the tip 
very much shorter and more abruptly bent, while the lower 
membraneous process is closely set inside with sharp-pointed 
conical processes. It is more than likely that other specimens 
from this same general locality are confused with detracta in 
collections, and I may be responsible for some of these mistakes. 
Btomestra intentata n. sp. 

Ground color varying from pale ashen to very dark fuscous gray, black 
powdered. Head without obvious markings. Collar with a somewhat 
vague median darker line and a darker tip. Patagiae with broken sub- 
marginal black lines. The disc is strongly powdered. Primaries with 
all the maculation broken and powdery, the median space with a yellow- 
ish suffusion which is most obvious in the submedian interspace. Basal 
line black, geminate, the included space whitish or with a yellow shading, 
well marked to the submedian vein. T. a. line geminate, the defining 
lines broken, black, included space whitish or yellowish, as a whole a 
little outwardly oblique, with moderate outcurves in the interspaces. 
T. p. line geminate, blackish or smoky, the inner part slightly lunulated, 
the outer even and followed by white dots on the veins ; included space 
with yellowish or reddish tint. As a whole the line is strongly bent on 
the costa over the reniform, then inwardly oblique* with a slight incurve, 
but practically parallel with the outer margin. S. t. line pale, somewhat 
contrasting, broken, irregular, and shaded on both sides with black or 
smoky. A series of black terminal dots. The fringes are paler, with a 
dusky interline and cut with smoky on the interspaces. There is a black 
median shade, fairly well marked on the costa and darkening the inner 
edge of the reniform ; then it becomes obscured to the submedian inter- 
space, where it reappears and remains distinct to the inner margin. The 
claviform is large, broad, dusky, extending about half way across the 
median space, which is luteous or red marked beyond it. Orbicular 



246 ENTOMOLOGICAL NEWS. [December, 

round, small, annulate with whitish and with a dusky central dot. Reni- 
form moderate in size, upright, a little constricted centrally, defined by 
black scales, within which is a whitish annulus which is incomplete above 
and below. Secondaries in the male white, with a dusky line at base of 
fringes and the veins a little soiled ; in the female dull smoky gray, 
darker, almost blackish outwardly — the fringes white. Beneath, male, 
primaries with disk smoky, terminal space whitish ; secondaries white 
with costal margin powdery ; female, primaries blackish with a geminate 
exterior line in which the included space is gray ; secondaries whitish, 
powdery, with an extra median smoky line and a smoky line at the base 
of the fringes. 

Expanse 1.16-1.32 inches ~ 29-33 mm. 

Hab, — Estes Park, Colorado, about 8000 feet. No. 2693, 
Coll. Agl. College. 

One male and two females are at hand : the male largest, pale 
ash gray, with white secondaries ; the females smaller, deep 
smoky gray, with dull, smoky brown secondaries. The con- 
trasts are unusually strong for this genus and the large size of 
the male compared with the female is also a little unexpected. 

The species belongs to the group laudabilis ; but the primaries 
are somewhat broader and a little more pointed than in the other 
species. The male antannae are simple, and the genitalia are 
almost exactly like those of incurva. In fact the differences are 
so small that I would consider them within the range of individ- 
ual variation if I could in any wise bring the species into accord 
superficially. The new species is, however, much larger, differs 
in wing form, has the secondaries of the female smoky instead 
of white and the primaries powdery instead of with smooth and 
even clothing. It adds another to those small forms which in a 
general way resemble olivacea. 

Mamestra mntilata n. sp. 

Ground color a pretty bluish gray, the primaries with yellow shades 
and powderings. Head inferiorly, palpi and breast, dark umber brown. 
Collar black tipped and with a smoky band above the middle. Thorax 
a little powdery. Patagiae with a short black line at the base of the pri- 
maries. Primaries with all the markings well defined, but not contrasting. 
Basal line black, geminate, reaching into the submedian interspace, to an 
ochre yellow shading. The costa is smoky to the t. a. line, else the basal 
space is clear, bluish gray. T. a. line geminate, the inner portion dusky 
and barely traceable, the outer black on the costa, forming a little out- 
ward angle on the sub-costal : below it is more smoky, a little incurved 
in the cell, then a little outcurved to the submedian and again below it. 
T. p. line geminate, strongly outcurved beyond the cell, then inwardly 



1898.] ENMOOTLOGICAL NEWS. 247 

oblique and with a little incurve to the inner margin within the outer 
third. The inner line is crenulated, fine, with outward teeth on the veins 
which reach the faint, smoky, even outer line. A partial series of white 
venular points follow this line. S. t. line yellow, powdery, incomplete, 
preceded by a distinct black shade on the costa and further marked by 
blackish powderings on either or both sides, elsewhere in its course. A 
few b^ack scales indicate a series of terminal lunules. The fringe is 
smoky, narrowly cut beyond the veins with very pale yellowish. A 
smoky median shade is marked on the costa, obliquely to the base of the . 
reniform : then it becomes lost in the ground color to re-appear on the 
internal margin. The entire median space is smoky, with yellow powder- 
ings beyond the reniform and claviform. Claviform concolorous, broad, 
outlined in black, extending half way across the median space. Orbicular 
large, round, of the gray ground color, outlined by black scales. Reni- 
form large, gray, kidney-shaped, outlined in black ; the line becoming 
very slender superiorly. Secondaries smoky, with the outer line and 
discal spot of the under side showing through. Fringes smoky at base, 
white at tips, the basal dark portion cut with white on the veins. Beneath, 
primaries smoky, with a vague outer line beyond which the wing is more 
powdery. Secondaries powdery, fusceous gray with a round dark discal 
spot and a smoky outer line. 
Expanse 1.40 inches = 35 mm. 

Hab. — British Columbia. 

A single male has been in my collection for some years await- 
ing a mate, and I have no memorandum of the original source 
of the specimen. The antennae have the joints a little marked 
and furnished with short soft hair, hardly to be called tufts. 

In its general appearance the species recalls cuneata, but is 
larger, much brighter in color and quite different in ornamenta- 
tion. The yellow, powdery, s. t. line through the blue gray 
ground should identify the species. 

The sexual species are somewhat imperfect, but indicate a type 
which does not agree well with any series. It certainly does not 
resemble cuneata in the least. The harpes are expanded at tip, 
the margin inwardly fringed with spines and the clasper consists 
of a long claw from a broad, somewhat flattened base. 
Mamestra cenrina n. sp. 

Ground color a fine mouse or fawn gray with a variable reddish suffu- 
sion. Head without markings. Collar black or brown tipped above 
a series of gray scales. Patagiae gray, edged with a dusky or blackish 
submargin. Primaries with all the usual markings present : as a whole 
the costal region is a little darker and the median space is distinctly more 
reddish brown. Basal lines geminate, obscure, extending to a very 
narrow, short, black basal streak in the submedian interspace. T. a. 



248 ENTOMOLOGICAL NEWS. [December, 

line geminate, the inner part vague, the intervalgray, the outer blackish 
and with an even, moderate outcurve. T. p. line geminate, brown, not 
strongly marked, outcurved over the reniform, then almost parallel with 
the outer margin. The inner line is narrowly lunulate, the outer puncti- 
form, the intervening space gray. Median shade vague, diffuse, out- 
wardly bent between the ordinary spots where it is darkest, then inwardly 
oblique to the inner margin. S. t. line pale, even or only a little irregular, 
marked by a preceding brown shade on the costa and a following 
blackish shade during the rest of its course. This dusky tint shades into 
the ground color before it reaches the margin. The s. t. line is slightly 
more emphasized opposite the anal angle, forming a vague paler lunule. 
There is a broken blackish terminal line and the fringes are also inter- 
hned with smoky. Claviform very small, outlined with black scales, and 
beyond it the median space may be a little more reddish in tint. Orbicu- 
lar moderate or large, oblique, ovate or sub-quadrate, outlined with 
darker or blackish scales within which is a paler annulus. Reniform 
large, kidney-shaped, paler than the ground color, outlined by dusky 
scales within which is a more obvious pale annulus. Secondaries fuscous, 
a little paler basally and with a vague trace of a median Ime. The 
fringes are paler, with a dark interline. Beneath gray, more or less 
powdery, with a variably evident discal line and spot on all wings. 
Expanse 1-1.20 inches = 25-30 mm. 

7^3.— Winnipeg, Manitoba. 

Two males and one female from Mr. A. W. Hanham, num- 
bered 297, 298, 299. This is a close ally to M. lustralis, of 
which it seemed at t'lrti, a small form. It is, however, a narrower 
winged species, coming nearer to meditata in this respect and 
with less well pectinated antennae. The markings, while much 
the same in all essential points, are less distinct. 

The sexual pieces of the male are much belter developed than 
in the older species, a small accessory clasper coming out from 
below the large, obtuse, heavy main structure. 

I think it more than probable that this species may be labelled 
lustralis in some collections, for I believe I have seen something 
very like this labelled * * North Dakota " in a collection recently. 

Mamestra naevia n. sp. 

Ground color dirty ash gray, with a smoky suffusion. Head blackish. 
Collar quite discolorous, yellowish gray, below a darker central line. 
Patagiae with a blackish sub-margin, the disc and edges gray-tipped. 
Primaries with the maculation obscured. Basal line geminate, traceable 
chiefly by the gray included shade, and reaching to a narrow, short, black 
basal streak. T. a. line geminate, evenly outcurved, blackish, the 
included space gray, very imperfectly defined. T. p. line geminate, 
smoky, the included space gray ; the inner line lunulate, the outer even ; 



1898.] ENTOMOLOGICAL NEWS. 249 

sharply bent over the reniform, then rather evenly oblique to the sub- 
median vein where there is another sharp outward tooth. Median shade 
feebly marked on the costa only and lost in the dusky shading between the 
ordinary spots. S. t. line narrow, pale, irregular, defined by a dark 
shading on both sides, which merges into the ground color in each 
direction : this shading is most obvious opposite the anal angle. A 
broken dark terminal line. The fringes have also a dark interline and 
are cut with dusky and pale. Claviform extending half way across the 
median space, black margined. Orbicular large, gray, oblique, oval, 
outlined by black scales and touching the t. a. line. Reniform large, 
upright, indefined, poUrdery, touching the t. p. line above and below. 
Secondaries smoky fuscous, with an indistinct discal lunule and a dusky 
line at the base of the fringes which are paler and have an almost white 
line at their base. Beneath gray, powdery, both wings with a discal 
spot and a somewhat crenulate outer dusky line. 
Expanse 1.20 inches = 30 mm. 

Hab. — Colorado, Bruce. 

A single male specimen in good condition has been in my 
collection for some time. It is also an ally o{ lustralis ; smaller, 
of the same general wing form, but with no trace of reddish or 
brown. There are a number of other minor differences in 
ornamentation, and the sexual pieces of the male are quite differ- 
ent : the clasper in this case being formed of a broad thick 
spatulate process. 
Mamestra ectrapela n. sp. 

Ground color a sordid fuscous gray, with more or less obvious whitish 
powderings. Head with a white line between the eyes ; collar with a 
white central band and white tips ; patagise with the disk gray and with a 
smoky or blackish submarginal line. Primaries with all the markings 
obvious, tending to become somewhat obscured. Basal line geminate, 
black, reaching to the sub-median vein on which a black patch fills the 
line : included space more or less white powdered. T. a. line geminate, 
the inner line scarcely defined, the outer broken, black or blackish, 
included space with paler powderings. In course it is upright and only 
broken by a slight inward angle on the submedian vein. T. p. line 
geminate, the outer portion narrow, smoky, not well defined ; the inner 
darker, marked with black scales below the cell and sometimes black 
marked throughout : the included space pale or whitish. As a whole the 
line has a strong outcurve over the cell, and is a little incurved below. 

5. t. line narrow, white, sometimes a little broken, irregularly marked by 
broken, smoky precedmg shades, which fill the s. t. space on the costa. 
It is modified into more or less sagilate marks between veins 2, 3, 4, 5 and 

6. The entire terminal space, except the apex, is a little darker, more 
powdery, cut by the paler veins. There is a series of blackish terminal 
lunules, and a yellow line at the base of the fringes, which are brown and 

10* 



250 ENTOMOLOGICAL NEWS. [December, 

cut with yellow. A median shade line is obvious on the costa ; but lost 
between the ordinary spots. The daviform is large, black-ringed and 
extends almost across the median space. The defining line is somewhat 
diffuse inwardly, so that nearly the entire spot is black filled. The 
orbicular is large, broadly oval, oblique, white ringed and powdery, the 
center being smoky. A somewhat paler shade extends below the 
orbicular, filling the median space to the claviform and lightening that 
part of the wing. The reniform is moderate in size, upright, kidney- 
shaped, defined by black and white scales, which are best marked on the 
inner border. There is a somewhat dusky shading along the inner 
margin to the t. p. line and, taken as a whole, the s. t. space gives the 
impression of being the palest part of the wing. Secondaries smoky, a 
little paler at the base, with a vague discal lunule. Beneath smoky gray, 
paler toward the base. Secondaries with the discal lunule well marked. 
Expanse 1,05 to 1.15 inches = 26.5 to 29 mm. 

Hab. — Agnes Lake, B. C, 6800 feet, August 21st, Mr. Bean. 
Garfield county, Colorado, 6000 feet, Mr. Bruce. 

The Colorado specimen is a male the other a female, and the 
male is the larger of the two, as well as by all odds the most 
brightly marked. The species has the wing form of ecfypa and 
the same general type of maculation ; but it is of a somewhat 
sordid, dull brown and has none of the bright contrasts that led 
Mr. Grote to call the Eastern form bella. The s. t. line shows a 
slight tendency to angulate on veins 3 and 4 ; but does not seem 
to form a complete W mark. 

Hamestra sntrina Grt. 

This species was unknown to me in 1891, and not until 1897 
did I get two male examples which I felt safe in identifying with 
this name. The first specimen was received from Dr. Barnes, 
taken in Yellowstone Park, Wyoming, July 8-15. and this 
agrees well with Mr. Grote' s comparative characterization. The 
second specimen was received from Mr. Dod, taken at Calgary, 
Canada, June 30th. 

In the male sexual characters the resemblance to cuneate is 
very slight and they come closer to quadraia of another series 
with which the insect has not the least superficial resemblance. 
The harpes are bent, the tip oblique and fringed with spinules, 
the clasper corneous, very stout and clumsy, somewhat scoop- 
shaped. 

Hamestra ingravfs Smith. 

Several specimens have been seen since the original descrip- 



r 



1898.] ENTOMOLOGICAL NEWS. 25 1 

tion was published, and I am not yet able to place the species to 
my satisfaction. The male genitalia do not closely resemble any 
other species, while yet not unlike several others in type. The 
harpes are very large, broad at base, abruptly narrowed toward 
the tip and somewhat bent, the tip itself small and with a fringe 
and pad of spinules inwardly. The clasper is double, and con- 
sists of longer, curved, pointed process beneath a shorter, 
stouter, beak-like structure. 



ADDITIONAL LIST OF INSECTS TAKEN IN ALPINE REGION 

OF MT. WASHINGTON. 

By Annie Trumbull Slosson. 

In the Summer of 1898 I made two visits to Mt. Washington, 
one in July when I remained two weeks, and another in August 
of a few days only. I captured many insects, and print here- 
with a list of 175 not included in former lists. I have been 
greatly aided, as usual, in the preparation o[ this list by Messrs. 
Coquillet, Liebeck, Ashmead, Banks, MacGillivray, Fernald and 
others. I am glad to acknowledge gratefully their assistance. 

ARAGHNID/E. Neuronla dossuaria Say. 

Aranes Goniotaulius pudicus I/a^'. 

^. , ... „ ' Neophylax concinnus McLach, 

Diplostyla n.gnna Wst. Chimarrha aterrima Hag. 



Microneta sp. 



? 



HEMIPTERA. 



Acarins. 

Trombidium sericeum Heteroptera. 

Lselaps sp. ? Miris affinis Rent. 

Poecilecapsus lineatus Fab. 

Pseadoscorpiones. . . goniphorus Say, 

Chelanops sanborni Hag. Dicyphus agilis Uhler. 

NEUROPTERA. ^'^"^"^ ^"^"^"' ^^^^ 
Psocus n. sp. ? Homoptera. 

Polymitarcys albus Say. Deltocephalus melsheimeri Fitch. 

Somatochlora forcipata Scud. Typhlocyba tenerrima H.-S. 

Libellula pulchella Drury. Aleurodes sp. 1 
Leucorrh.„iag,ac^Us^^^_^ LEPIDOPTERA. 

iniacta Hag. Heterocera. 

proxima Calvert. Crocota ferruginosa Walk. 

Chrysopa harrisii Fitch. Pyrrharctia isabella 6*. and A. 






252 



ENTOMOLOGICAL NEWS. 



[December, 



Gluphisia trilineata Pack. 
Acronycta impressa Walk. 
Rhynchagrotis rufipectus Moor. 
Catocala cerogama Gn. 
Teras americana Ferfi. 
Tortrix albicomana Clem. 
Penthina septentrionana Curt. 
Paedisca transmissana Walk. 
Phoxopteris discigerana Walk ? 
Incurvaria sp ? 
Gelechia sp. ? 
Gelechia sp. ? 
Pyralid gen. ? sp. ? 

DIPTERA. 

Sciophila n. sp. ? 
Mycetophila sigmoides Liv. 
Dynatosoma n. sp. ? 
Sciara sp. ? 

Chironomus viridis Macq. 
Limnobia n. sp. ? 
Cylindrotoma nodicornis O. S. 

n. sp. ? 
TipHla abdominalis Say. 
Pachyrrhina pedunculata Lw. 
Rhyphus alternatus Say. 
Tabanus trispilus Wied. 
Leptis hirta Lw. 
Scenopinus fenestralis Linn. 
*CEdalea n. sp. 
Empis luctuosa Kirby. 

** rufescens Lw. 
Rhamphomyia n. sp. ? 
Chrysotus sp. 
Saucropus n. sp. ? 
Chilosia pallipes Lw. 
Melanostoma millina Linn. 
Mesograpta marginata Say. 
Sphegina lobatta Lw. 
Crorhina armillata O. S. 
Clausicella tarsalis Coqu. 
Exorista helvina Coqu. 
Siphona geniculata DeG. 
Phorichaeta sequax Will. 
Thalaira leucozoma Panz. 
Lucilia sp. ? 



Pegomyia sp. ? 
Hyetodesia sp. ? 
Coenosia verna Fab. 
Blepharoptera biseta Lw. 
" fiaterna Lw. 

Sciomyra nana Fall. 
Tetanocera pictipes Lw. 
Drosophila transversa Fall. 
Elachiptera nigricornis Lw. 
Gaurax montanus Cog. 
Chlorops proxiina Say. 
RhicncESsa n. sp. ? 

COLEOPTERA. 

Carabite. 

Cymindis cribricollis Dej. 
Amara sp. 

DytiscidflB. 

Hydroporus americana Aube. 

HydrophilidflB. 

Cymbiodyta blanchardi Horn. 

StaphyliiiidaB. 

Falagria dissecta Er. 
Homalota lividipennis Mann. 

sp. 
Aleochara bimaculata Grav. 
Myrmedonia sp. 
Quedius fulgidus Fab. 
Xantholinus cephalus Say. 
Tachinus memnonius Grav. 

" nitiduloides Horn. 
Tachyporus scitulus Er. ? 
Bryoporus rufescens Lee. 
Oxytelus sculptus Grav. 
Trogophloeus subpunctatus Fauv. 

[MSS. 
Arpedium gyllenhalli Zetl. 
Homalium sp. 
Megarthrus americanus Sachse. 

Scaphidiite. 

Scaphisoma convex iim Say. 

PhalacridflB. 

Phalacrus seriatus Lee. 



• Genus new to America. 



1898.] 



ENTOMOLOGICAL NEWS. 



253 



OoccineUidae. 

Hippodamia 13-punctata Linn. 
Hyperaspis undulata Say, 
Scymnus americanus Muls. 

Cryptophagidae. 

Atomaria ochracea Zimnt. 
sp. 

NitidiilidflB. 

Ips confluent us Say. 
Nitidula bipustulata Linn. 

ElateridflD. 

Athous fossularis Lee. 
Corymbites fulvipes Bland. 

Gonunbycids. 

Microclytus gazellula Hald. 

CfarysomelidflB. 

Nodonota puncticollis Say. 
Plagiodera sp. 

AnthicidflB. 

Corphyra fulvipes Newm. 

Gnrcalionids. 

Hylobius confusus Kir by. 

CalandridflB. 

Carphonotus testaceus Casey. 

ScolytidflB. 

Pityophthorus materiarius Fitch. 

HYMENOPTERA. 
Tenthredinids. 

Cephaleia atrasomma Mac G. n. sp. 

" slossonia Mac G. n. sp. 

Bactroceros perplexus Cr. 
Pamphilius montana Mac G. n. sp. 
Strongylogaster tacitus Say. 

** pallicoxus Prov. 

Pcecilostoma albalineata Mac G. 

n. sp. 
Pcecilostoma maculata Nort. 
Emphytus inornatus Say. 

*' mellipes Nort. 

Tenthredo rufopectus Nort. 
semi rubra Nort. 
trinatus Mac G, n. sp. 
Kaliosphinga dohmii Tischb. 



(( 



<( 



«( 



«< 



t< 



<{ 



Pristiphora hyalina Mac G. n. sp. 
Pteronus mendicus Nort. 

*' tricolor Marl. 
Euura orbitalis Nort. 

CynipidflB. 

Ceroptres tuber Fitch. 

EyaniidaB. 

Aulacus abdominalis Cr. 

IchnenmoiiidflB. 

Ichueumon extrematatis Cr. 

livid us Prov. 

paralus Say. 

seminiger Cr. 

rufozonatus Prov. 
Phygadeuon pumilus Cr. 
Megaplectes blakei Cr. 
Exolytus concamerus Davis. 
Exochilum acronyctae Ashtn. 

** tenuipes Nort. 

Anomalon exile Prov. 
Mesochorus agilis Cr. 
Banchus superbus Cr. 
Exochus sp. ? 

Promethus elongatus Prov. 
Ephialtes occidental is Cr. 
Theronia flavescens Cr. 

StephanidflB. 

Stephanid gen. ? sp. ? 

BraconidaB. 

Bracon xanthostigmus Cr. 
Doryctes cingulatus Prov. 
Ascogaster nigripes Ashm. MS. 
Macroplitis hyphantiae Ashm. 
Aphidius washingtonensis Ashm. 
n. sp. 

ClialcididflB. 

Smicra albifrons Walsh. 
Megastigmus canadensis Ashm. 
Sympiesis nigrifemora Ashm. 
Chrysocharis albipes Ashm. 

ProctotrypidaB. 

Pantoclis similis Ashm. 
Proctotrypes flavipes Prov. 
Aclysta subaptera Ashm. MS. n. sp. 



254 [December, 



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 circumfei- 
ence, as to make it necessary to put " copy'* into the hands of the printer, for each number, 
three weeks before date of issue. This should be remembered in sending special or im- 
portant matter for 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., December, 1898. 

A Correction. — A direction given in the News for Novem- 
ber, p. 219, for sending insects by mail or express, requires cor- 
rection. It is that the bristle passed into the abdomen of Odo- 
nata should be passed through the head and thorax into the 
abdomen and not in the reverse direction, so as to avoid 
injuring or concealing the important terminal abdominal appen- 
dages. 

Another year has gone into the chrysalis state, and the News 
expects to emerge as a beautiful imago — a finer specimen than 
ever. We have some regrets — the people who have not paid for 
'97 — but we have many friends who appreciate our endeavors in 
their behalf. We have a few things to say to our friends and 
subscribers and they are as follows : Waste no time and at once 
fill in the blank form in this number and encourage us by send- 
ing your renewal of subscription promptly. Don't make out 
checks or money orders to the Academy of Natural Sciences, 
but to Entomological News. Put the correct address on the 
envelope — Entomological News, Academy of Natural Sciences, 
igth and Race Streets, Philadelphia. Also take notice that we 
cannot insert sale advertisements in the Exchange Column , as it 
is exclusively for free exchange notices. We wish all our friends 
a Merry Christmas and a Happy New Year. 



1898.] ENTOMOLOGICAL NEV/S. 255 

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. 



Preliminary Notes upon an Important Peach Tree Pest.— In September, 
1896, while inspecting the nurseries of Maryland, I found many peach 
trees dwarfed and stunted, and at first glance attributed it to the black 
peach aphis — Aphis prunicola Kalt. Later inspections proved conclu- 
sively that the trouble was not caused by that insect, but by some other 
creature. A lot of trees were examined in my laboratory and I discovered 
a minute mite (Phytophidae) working behind and in the buds. In nearly 
every instance the terminal bud had been destroyed, thus forcing the 
laterals. These in turn would grow for a short time and were then killed.. 
As a consequence, the trees were crooked, stunted and not salable, being 
less than three feet in height. They were, what I have termed, ** dog- 
legged" trees, on account of their very crooked condition. 

Over 125,000 peach trees were rendered worthless by the pest in this 
State in 1896 and '97. Not knowing of any reference to similar injury, I 
assumed the creature was new, especially in this country. Mentioning 
the matter to Prof. M. B. Waite, of the Division of Vegetable Pathology, 
U. S. Department of Agriculture, in his office, the Fall of 1897, I found 
that he had discovered the same pest several years ago, and had the 
original trees in his office upon which he made his observations ; but, at 
that time, had published nothing upon the subject. The credit of the dis- 
covery of this pest therefore belongs to Prof. Waite, and to him the spe- 
cies will be dedicated should it prove new. 

I have continued my observations this season, as Prof. Waite told me he 
did not intend studying its habits and life history. 

\ rom recent observations I am now thoroughly convinced that the mite 
is carried back to the nursery in buds. I have seen the same species, or 
one very closely allied, at work upon plum trees in the nursery row this 
season. It is also quite common in many old peach orchards and is 
doing much damage to buds upon bearing trees. I am at work upon 
remedies for its suppression and control, as it is of great economic im- 
portance, having seriously uijured more than a hundred thousand peach 
trees this season. I have in preparation a more extended article on the 
pest. — W. G. Johnson, State Entomologist. 

Md. Agr. Col., Oct. /, i8g8. 



C. F. Baker will leave Auburn, Ala., on Nov. i, 1898. He goes on a 
two years' leave of absence as held botanist to the Herbert H. Smith 
Exploring Expedition, which will be engaged in biological work in North- 
western South America. All letters and packages for him should be ad- 
dressed to St. Croix Falls, Polk Co., Wisconsin. 



256 ENTOMOLOGICAL NEWS. [December, 

Notes and. News. 

ENTOMOLOGICAL GLEANINGS FROM ALL QUARTERS 

OF THE GLOBE. 

"Sta. J," Cincinnatd, O., Oct. 3, '98. 
Eds. News : — 

I notice in Oct. '98 number some hints to subscribers which are 

doubtless timely, viz., that the News cannot be *'run on wind." This 

reminded me that it seemed quite a long while since I remitted. Please 

see if I am in your debt for the last year, or when my subscription will be 

again overdue. Always notify me when I owe anything, /don't want 

the News to die a premature death ! Charles Durv. 

Mr. R. E. Snodgrass, assistant in entomology in Leland Stanford 
Jr. University, sailed from San Francisco on November ist for the Galo- 
pagos Islands. Mr. Snodgrass will spend six months on the islands col- 
lecting insects and other animals for the entomological and zoological 
departments of the University. Mr. Snodgrass is accompanied by Mr. 
Edmund Heller, student in the department of zoology of the University. 

The latest pictures received for the album of the American Entomo- 
logical Society are from Philip Nell, Phila.; Dr. A. Fenyes, Pasadena, 
Cala.; Max Albright, Soldier's Home, Cala.; Andrew Bolter, Chicago; 
W. L. W. Field, Mass.; Chas. F. Goodhue Webster, N. H.; Charles 
C. Adams, Mass.; Chas. A Blake, Phila.; C. Few Seiss, Phila.; J. A. 
Lintner, N. York ; Wm. J. Gerhard, Phila. ; F. M. Webster, Ohio ; Otis 
E. Barrett, Vermont. We are always pleased to receive photographs of 
entomologists. Our collection is a remarkable one, and we desire to 
make it as complete as possible. 

During a visit to Hinsdale, Mass., on Aug. 21st, 22nd and 23rd, I was 
surprised to find Pieris oleracea quite abundant. They were in some 
numbers in a turnip field, together with the common P, rapes and I 
should judge were in the proportion of one to four or five of the latter. 
Unfortunately most of the specimens were damaged and only a very few 
good ones were secured. During my collecting here, in the Connecticut 
Valley, I have never been able to secure this species, though diligently 
looked for year after year. According to Dr. Geo. Dimmock it was quite 
common here before the advent of P. rapes. Scudder in his *' Butterflies 
of New England," speaks of the disappearance of P. oleracea from many 
localities where it was found before the introduction of P, rapes ^ and says 
it is now '* confined to the less cultivated and especially the hilly districts 
of New England." " I should be surprised to meet it elsewhere; and 
even in the recesses of the White Mountains 1 have never in recent years 
seen it at all abundant, or so common as P. rapes ^ Another species 
seems also to have entirely disappeared from this region since the intro- 
duction of P. rapes : P. protodice was regularly found here, according to 
Dr. Dimmock and sometimes abundant about Springfield, Mass. — Fred- 
erick Knab, Chicopee, Mass. 



1898.] ENTOMOLOGICAL NEWS. 257 

Entomologlca.1 Literature. 



Under the above head it is intended to note such 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 embr>'ology of insects, however, whether relating 
to American or exotic species, will be recorded. The numbers in heavy-faced tjrpe 
refer to the journals, as numbered in the following list, in which the papers are pub- 
lished ; * denotes that the paper in question contains descriptions of new North American 
forms. Titles of all articles in foreij^n 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 parenthesis. 



2. Transactions of the American Entomological Society, xxv, 2, Phila- 
delphia, Oct. *98. — 4. The Canadian Entomologist, London, Ont., Nov. 
*98. — 6. Psyche, Cambridge, Mass., Nov., '98. — 9. The Entomologist, 
London, Nov., '98. — 12. Comptes Rendus. L'Academie des Sciences, 
Paris, Oct. 24 '98. — 13. Comptes Rendus. Societe de Biologic, Paris, 
Oct. 22, *97. — 16. Biologia Centrali-Americana, London, parts cxlii, 
June, cxlii, Aug., '98. — 21. The Entomologist's Record, London, Oct. 
15. '98.-22. — Zoologischer Anzeiger, Leipsic, '98 — 34. Proceedings 
of the Iowa Academy of Sciences, v, Des Moines, '98. — 36. Annales, 
Soci^t^ Entomologique de Belgique, xlii, Brussels. — 36. Transactions, 
Entomological Society of London, '98, 3, Sept. 30. — 60, Proceedings 
of the U. S. National Museum, Washington, '98. — 51. Novitates Z60I0- 
gicae, V, 3, Tring, Aug. 15, '98. — 68. Revista Chilena de Historia Nat- 
ural, ii, 7-8, Valparaiso, July- Aug., '98. — 60. Anales, Museo Nacional 
de Buenos Aires.— 68. Science, New York, '98. — 84. Insekten Borse, 
Leipsic, '98. — 87. Revue Scientifique, Paris, *98.-r92. Illustrierie Zeit- 
schrift fiir Entomologie, Neudamm, Oct. 15, '98. — 93. Rendiconti, Reale 
Accademia dei Lincei, Rome, Oct. 2, '98, — 94, Das Thierreich heraus- 
gegeben von d. Deutschen zoologischen Gesellschaft, Berlin, '98. — 95. 
Memoires, .Soci^t^ Linn^enne du Nord de la France, ix. Amiens, '98. — 
96. Bulletin Trimestriel, Soci^t^ d'Histoire Naturelle de Macon [P'rance], 

'98. 

The General Siibj ect. — A n o n . Entomological subjects discussed 
at the International Zoological Congress, 1898, 21. — C a r r e t , A. M. F. 
Guillebeau and his entomological works. Revue Echange Linn^enne, Lyon, 
Oct., '98. — C 1 a y p o 1 e , A. M. The embryology of the Apterygota, Zoo- 
logical Bulletin, ii, 2, Boston, Oct., '98. — Com stock, J. H. and Need- 
ham , J. G. The wings of insects, iv, American Naturalist, Boston, Oct., 
'98. — Crampton, H. E., Jr. An important instance of insect coales- 
cence. Annals, New York Academy of Sciences, xi, ii, Aug. 13, '98. — 
G i e s b r e c h t , W. and Mayer, P. Arthropoda in Zoologischer Jahres- 
bericht fiir 1897. Berlin, '98.— H e n s h a w , S. The entomological writ- 
ings of George Henry Horn (i860- 1896) with an index to the genera and 
species of Coleoptera described and named, 2. — K e n y o n , F. C. The 
occurrence in great abundance of insects ordinarily merely common, 68, 
Oct. 21. — Knuth, P. Handbuch der Bliitenbiologie unter Zugrundele- 



258 ENTOMOLOGICAL NEWS. [December, 

gung von Hermann Miiller's Werk " Die Befruchtung der Blumen durch 
Insekten". I Band : Einleitung und Litteratur. Leipzig. W. Engelmann, 
1898. — 400 pp., 81 figs., I portrait. — Lyman, H. H. The freezing of 
insects, 4. — P o u 1 1 o n , E. B. Report of the Hope Professor of Zoology, 
Tenth Annual Report of the Delegates of the University Museum (for 
1897). Oxford. —Rebel, H. On the biological significance of color 
in the animal kingdom, Schriften des Vereines zur Verbreitung natur- 
wissenschaftliche Kenntnisse in Wien, xxxviii, '98. — R ousseau, E. 
Essays on the histology of insects, 35, 10, Oct. 29. — S t e i n e r , J. Die 
Functionen des Centralnervensystems und ihre Phylogenese. Dritter 
Abtheilung Die wirbellosen Thiere. Braunschweig, F. Vieweg & Sohn, 
1898. 154 pp., 46 figs. Insects and Myriopods, pp. 45-50, 85-87, ri6-i 18. 
Terre, L. On the physiological troubles which accompany the meta- 
morphoses of holometabolic insects, 13, — Tutt, J. W. Migration and 
dispersal of insects : Coccids and Aphides, 21, — W oodforde, F. C. 
The protective mimicry of insects, Annual Report and Transactions,. 
North Staffordshire Field Club, xxxii, Stafford, ['98]. 

Economic Entomology.— A n d r ^ , E. Acclimatation of wild silk 
worms — sericulture in the Maconnais region, i pi., 96, Mar. i.— Anon. 
Destruction of migratory crickets and grasshoppers, 87, Oct. 29. — A n o n . 
Insect powders, Bulletin of Miscellaneous Information, No. 143, Royal 
Gardens, Kew, Nov., *98. — Berlese, A. and Gustavo, L. Chermo- 
theca Italiana continens exsiccata, in situ, coccidarum plantis, praecipue 
cultis, in Italia occurrentibus, obnoxiarum. Fascicolo III. Species 51-75. 
Portici, 1898. — Bruner, L. The first report, of the Merchants' Locust 
Investigation Commission of Buenos Aires. Published in English and 
Spanish by the Commission. Buenos Aires, Mch. '98. Engl. edit. pp. 
X, 100. 28 figs, and i col. plate.— Cock ere 11, T. D. A. Two new Coc- 
cidae from Lagos, W. Africa, 9.— C r a i g , C. F. The transmission of 
disease by certain insects : ticks, bedbugs, ants, etc. New York Medical 
Journal, Oct. 22, '98.— D e b r a y . The destruction of injurious insects 
(cont), Le Naturaliste, Paris, Oct. 15, '98.— E nock, F. Insect blights 
and blessings. Journal, Royal Horticultural Society, London, Oct. '98.-- 
G a 1 , J. Influence of colored lights on the development of silk worms, 
87, Oct. 29. — G r a s s i , B. Relations between malaria and certain 
insects (mosquitoes), 93.— Ken yon, F. C. Abstracts of publications 
on entomology. Experiment Station Record, x, 2, Washington, '9J5. — 
Marlatt, C. L. The tenth annual meeting of the Association of Eco- 
nomic Entomologists, Boston, Mass., Aug. 19 and 20, 1898, 08, Oct. 28 — 
Redemann, G. Unfailing means of destroying the injurious wasp, 
Vespa vulgaris, Societas Entomologica, Zurich- Hottingen, Oct. 15, '98. — 
S c h . , S. The fight against the San Jos^ scale, Naturwissenschaftliche 
Wochenschrift, Berlin, Oct. 9, '98.— T r u e 1 1 e , M. and Anon. The 
San Jos^ scale [three notices], Bulletin, Soci^t6 Nationale d'Agriculture 
de France, Ivii, 6, Paris, '98.— W e e d , C. M. The winter food of the 
chickadee, figs. Bulletin 54, New Hampshire College Agric. Exper. Sta- 
tion, Durham, N. H. June, '98. 



1898.] ENTOMOLOGICAL NEWS. 259 

Arachnida.— C ambridge, O. P. Arachnida Araneidea,* pp. 249- 
256, 257-280, 15.— C h y z e r , C. and Kulczynski, L. Araneaj Hun- 
gariae secundum collectiones a Leone Becker pro parte perscrutatas 
Tomi II di pars posterior Zodarioidae, Agelenoidae, Drassoidae, Zoropse- 
oidae, Dysderoidae, Filistatoidae, Calommatoidae, Theraphosoidae. Buda- 
pestini, 1897. Pp. 147-366, pis. vi-x. [In Latin].— K r a m e r , P. 
Acaridae, i pi., Ergebnisse der Hamburger Magalhaensischen Sammel- 
reise, 3, '98. — Lonnberg, E. Still something on the Linnean species 
of the genus Scorpio^ 22, Oct. 24. — Marshall, G. A. K. Notes on 
the South African social spiders {Stegodyphus), Zoologist, London, Oct., 
*98.— Michael, A. D. Oribatidae, 15 figs., 94, 3 Lieferung Acarina, 
July.— Nalepa, A. Eriophytidae (Phytoptidae), 94, 4 Lieferung. Aca- 
rina.— T rouessart, E. On a new genus of plumicolous Sarcoptidae, 13. 

Protracheata and Myriopoda.— C a m e r a n o , L. On the trans- 
verse striation of the muscles of the mandibles of the Onychophori, Atti 
d. R. Accademia delle Scienze di Torino, xxxiii, i r, '98.— D u b osc q , O. 
On the blood globules and the carminate cells of Chilopods, Archives de 
Zoologie Experimentale, Notes et Revue (3), vi, I. Paris, '98.— P o r t e r , 
C. E. Introduction to the study of the Myriopods of Chile [in Spanish], 
58,— S i 1 V e s t r i , F. On the morphology of the Diplopods, 93. 

Orthoptera.— M o r s e , A. P. Notes on New England Acridiidae iv, 
Acridiinae iv, 5.— d eSaussure, H. and P i c t e t, A. Orthoptera *, pp. 
369^-400, pi. xix, 15. 

Neuroptera.— C a 1 v e r t , P. P. Burmeister's types of Odonata, i 
pi. , 2. — C u r r i e , R. P. New species of North American Myrmeleonidae* 
iv, 4,— H i n e , J. S. The North American species of the genus Bittacus, 
2 pis.. Journal, Columbus Horticultural Society xiii, 3, '98.— O shorn, H. 
The occurrence of the white ant Termesflavipes in Iowa, 34.— S c h e n k - 
ling-Prevot. The life of Termites Hi, Litterature and Classification, 
84, Oct. 6, 13 ; iv, Paleontological 84, Oct. 20. 

Hemiptera.— B a k e r , C. F. Notes on Jassini, with some new 
species*, 4. New Tettigoninae, with notes on others* 5.— Berg, C. 
Hemiptera of Tierra del Fuego, 60, iv, '95 and v, Oct. 8, '96, Descrip- 
tions of new Hydrometridae from the Argentine Republic, Commun. of 
id. Aug., '98. — Champion, G. C. Rhynchota Heteroptera*, vol. 
ii, pp. 89-120, 121-152, pis. vi-viii, 15.— Cocke re 1 1 , T. D. A. Two 
new species of Lecanium from Canada *, 4 ; See Hymenoptera.— K i n g , 
G. B. and Cockerell, T. D. A. A new form of Pulvinaria*, 5.— 
K i r k a 1 d y , G. W. On the nomenclature of the European subgenera of 
Corixa^ 9.— M ontandon, A. L. Hemiptera cryptocerata, family Nau- 
coridae, sub-family Limnocorinae *, Verhandlungen, zoologischbotanisch. 
Gesellschaft, Wien, xlviii, 7, Sept. 24, '98.— Osborn, H. Notes on Coc- 
cidae occurring in Iowa * ; Additions to the list of Hemiptera of Iowa, 
with descriptions of new species*, figs., 34. — Reed, E. C. Synopsis 
of the Hemiptera of Chile [in Spanish], 58,— Riibsaamen, E. H. 
Greenland Mycetophilidae, Sciaridse, Cecidomyidae, Psyllidae, Aphidae and 



26o ENTOMOLOGICAL NEWS. [December, 

Galls, 2 pis., figs., Bibliotheca Zoologica, heft 20, Lfg. 4, Stuttgart, '98, 
— T u 1 1 , J. W. See the General Subject. 

Coleoptera,— du Bois-Reymond,R. On the breathing of Dytis- 
r.us margifiaiis, Archiv fiir Anatomie u. Physiologie (Physiol. Abtheil.) 
^98, 4. Leipsic. Oct. 20.— Ha man n, O. The orgahs of smell on the 
antennae of Anopthaltnus, 22* Oct. 10 ; The olfactory organs on the 
antennae of the Silphidae ; [and] The sense organs (sense-cylinders) on the 
palps of the Silphidae, 22, Sept. 26.— H ens h a w , S. See the General 
Subject. — K . Escherich on the anatomy and biology of Paussus turcicus^ 
with a contribution to knowledge of the Myrmecophilae, Naturwissen- 
schaftliche Rundschau, Braunschweig, Nov. 5, '98. — Kuwert, A. The 
Passalidae dichotomically treated, ii, 51.— L e c a i 1 1 o n , A. Researches 
on the embryonic development of some Chrysomelidae, i pi., Archives 
d' Anatomie microscopique, ii, 2, Paris, Oct. 10, '98.— L i n e 1 1 , M. L. On 
the Coleopterous insects of the Galapagos Islands, 50, No. 1143. — 
Rupertsberger, M. Oviposition of Labidostomis humeralis Schneid. , 
92,— W a s m a n n , E. Thorictus Foreli again as ectoparasite of ants' 
antennae, 22, Oct. 10.— Xambeu, Capt. Habits and metamorphoses 
of insects. Annales, Soci^t^ Linn^enne de Lyon, xliv, '98. 

I>iptera.— C o q u i 1 1 e 1 1 , D. W. New species of Sapromyzidae*, 4. 
— d u R o s e 1 1 e . Note on the inconstancy of the conformation of the 
fourth posterior cell of the wing of the genus Thereva Latr., figs., 95. — 
Riibsaamen, E. H. See Hemiptera. 

Liepidoptera.— Andr^, E. Callosamia anguli/erav^r. of C, pro- 
methea, 96, June i; See Economic Entomology.— Anon, An experi- 
mental enquiry into the struggle for existence in Aglais urticce 21.— 
Bartlett-Calvert, W. Revised Catalogue of the Lepidoptera of 
Chile, 58.— B erg, C. Revision and description of the Argentine and 
Chilian species of the genus Tatochila Butl., 60, iv, '95; Description of 
three new Lepidoptera of the collection of the Museo Nacional de Buenos 
Aires, 60, v. May 8, '96 ; Lepidopterological communications on twenty- 
five South American Rhopalocera, 60, v. Apr. 20, '97.— Beuten- 
m ii 1 1 e r , W. Descriptive catalogue of the Bombycine moths found 
within fifty miles of New York <;:ity, 9 pis.. Bulletin, American Museum 
of Natural History, x, 17, Oct. 14, '98.— Chapm an , T. A. A review 
of the genus Erebia based on an examination of the male appendages, 1 2 
pis., 36,— C o c k e r e 1 1 , T. D. A. Note on the Pyraiid moths of the 
genus Pachyzancla, 5. — D o g n i n , P. New Heterocera from South 
America, 35,9, Oct. 5.— Druce, H. Lepidoptera Heterocera* vol. 
ii, pp. 465-480, 481-520, pis. xcii-xcv, 15.— F y 1 es , T. W. Taniocampa 
alia Gn. at Quebec, 4. — Gal, J. See Economic Entomology. — 
Hampson, G. F. The moths of the lesser Antilles* i pi., 36. — 
Jordan, K. An examination of the classificatory and some other 
results of Eimer's researches on eastern Papilios: A review and reply, 
51 ; Contributions to the morphology of Lepidoptera, i. The antennae 
of butterflies, 2 pis., 51.— K a r s c h , F. Is there a classification of recent 



1898.] ENMOOTLOGICAL NEWS. 261 

Lepidoptera on a phyletic basis? Entomologische Nachrichten, Berlin, 
Oct., *98.— Moore, F. Lepidoptera Indica, part xxxi. London: L. 
Reeve & Co., 1898. [Nymphalinae, vol. iii, pp. 129-144, pis. 239-246]. — 
R i b b e , C. Introduction to collecting butterflies in tropical countries, 
84, Oct. 6, 13.— S c h u 1 1 z , O. Gynandromorphous (hermaphrodite) 
Lepidoptera of the palaearctic fauna, 92.— S h a r p e , M. E. and 
Christy, C. On a collection of Lepidopterous insects from San 
Domingo* Proceedings, Zoological Society of London, '98, part iii, 
Oct. I .— W alsingham. Lord. Horn-feeding larvae. Entomologist's 
Monthly Magazine, London, Nov., '98. 

Hymeuoptera.— A shmead, W. H. Classification of the horn- 
tails and sawflies, or the sub-order Phytophaga (paper No. 6)* 4 ; Some 
new genera of bees*, 5.— Beth e, A. How do ants retrace their way ? 
87, Oct. 15.— Carpentier, L. Abnormal nervation of Tenthredinidae, 
figs., 95. — C o c k e r e 1 1 , T. D. A. A bright red parasite of Coccidae*, 
4. — Fox , W. J. Contributions to a knowledge of the Hymenoptera of 
Brazil, No. 5 Vespidae, Proceedings, Academy of Natural Sciences, 
Philadelphia, '98. — Howard, L. O. On some new parasitic insects of 
the sub-family Encyrtinae* 50, No. 1142. — ^Janet, C. On an unde- 
scribed organ serving to close the venom-reservoir, and on the mode of 
function of the sting of ants, 12. — Rudow. Relations of the sexes 
hi some Hymenoptera, 84, Oct. 27. — Seurat. L. G. On the respira- 
tory apparatus of the larvae of entomophagous Hymenoptera, 12. — 
Wasmann, E. — See Coleoptera. Weir, J. The herds of the yellow 
ant, figs.. Popular Science Monthly, New York, Nov., '98. 



A valuable paper by G. W. and E. G. Peckham, entitled *' On the 
Instincts and Habits of the Solitary Wasps," has just been issued by the 
Wisconsin Geological and Natural History Survey, forming Bulletin No. 
2 (Scientific Series No. i), of that department. While written in a popular 
way, the work is full of facts for the scientific worker. It is fully illustrated 
with 14 plates, the figures as a whole being rather well done ; but, strange 
to say, all specimens figured are given 13-jointed antennae— a male 
characteristic — while it is well known that the building and storing of 
nests is always or usually done by the female. How impossible for the 
male of Ammophila urnaria to sting a caterpillar as is shown on Plate 
IV, and on Plate V we find the male sex of the same species represented 
pounding down dirt over its (?) nest with a stone! Plate VII shows a 
male of Pompilus quinquenotatus digging a nest, an impossible or ex- 
tremely difficult operation for a male of that species. Aside from these 
artistic inconsistencies the paper is the most important relating to the 
habits of our wasps that has yet appeared. — W. J. F. 



Trypoxylon politum and T. neglectum have recently been raised from 1 
the same nest by the Rev. Richard Kraus, of St. Vincent Abbey, Beatty 
P. O., Penna., thus showing them to be sexes of the one species as had 
been suspected. — Wm. J. Fox. 



262 ENTOMOLOGICAL NEWS. [December, 

Doings of Societies. 

A meeting of the American Entomological Society was held 
October 27th, Dr. P. P. Calvert, Vice-President, in the chair. 
A vote of thanks was given to Mrs. Lewis Haehnlen for the pre- 
sentation of diplomas which the late Dr. Horn had received from 
various scientific societies abroad. Dr. Calvert gave an account 
of a journey he had made across New Jersey to Ocean City in 
search of species of Somatochlora, as these had been seen at 
Tuckahoe and near-by places. So far as species in this genus 
were concerned the trip was a failure, but a new species oi Ischnura 
was found which amply repaid for the journey.* Mr. Seiss asked 
the speaker if the fauna of the brackish ponds differed materially 
from that of the local fresh-water ponds. Dr. Calvert said there 
was no very decided difference. Mr. Seiss spoke oi Schistocerca 
americana being killed by flying against the statue of William 
Penn on the city hall tower. This is about 550 feet above the 
ground. 

Henry Skinner, M.D., Secretary. 



At the meeting of the Feldman Collecting Social held October 
19th, 1898, at the residence of Mr. H. W. Wenzel, 1523 South 
13th street, Philadelphia, fourteen members were present. Mr. 
Laurent spoke on the recent abundance of the larva of Cera- 
tomia catalpcB near Moore's Station in Delaware County, Pa. 
He had searched carefully for the variety mentioned by Mr. 
Koebele (^Brooklyn Bulletin, iv, p. 20), having white markings 
arranged so as to form two lines on the black dorsal stripe, and 
had found but three specimens approaching it. Photographs of 
catalpa trees completely defoliated by the larva were shown. 
The species had not before been recorded from the vicinity of 
Philadelphia. 

Mr. H. Wenzel recorded the capture of eight specimens of 
Cychrus stenostomus on October 8th in pairs, copulating. The 
speaker had only found Cychrii copulating late in the year. He 
also recorded the capture of a specimen of Panagaeus fasciatus 
on the same date. Mr. Laurent stated he had once found a pair 
of a species of Cychrus copulating early in the spring. He also 

*See last number of News, page 211. 



1898.] ENTOMOLOGICAL NEWS. 263 

referred to a previous communication by Dr. Skinner on the 
distribution of Argynnis atlantis, and recorded the capture of a 
specimen in Pike County, Pa. He had also recently taken four 
additional specimens of the Mantis Tenodera sinensis in nur- 
series at Germantown. The same speaker also reported that on 
October 2nd, Pyrgus tessellata had been taken abundantly at 
Woodbury, N. J., by Mr. L. Schneider. 

Prof. Smith exhibited newly hatched Conotrachelus fissunguis 
which had emerged early in October, thus proving that the 
species hibernates in the imago stage, -contrary to the belief of 
some coleopterists. The specimens transformed from the larva 
to imago stage within four weeks. 

Mr. H. Wenzel called attention to the unusually small size of 
the specimens and stated that he had never found a specimen of 
the species during Winter in spite of careful sieving in likely 
places. 

Prof Smith recorded the capture of Mamesira laudabilis in 
Cumberland County, N. J., on October 5th. It is a rare species, 
and, as far as he is aware, was not before recorded from New 
Jersey. 

William J. Fox, Secretary. 



A regular meeting was held by the Newark Entomological 
SDciety, at Turn Hall, Sunday, November 13th. Vice-President 
Brehme presided, with the following members present : Messrs. 
Broadwell, Seib, Bischoff, Angleman, Kircher, Rienecker, 
Kemp, Buchholz, Weidt, Brenson and Prof John B. Smith. 

Mr. Kemp exhibited the electric lamp he has adapted for night 
collecting. It would appear to be a convenient and reliable 
device for the purpose. Mr. Angleman and Mr. Weidt men- 
tioned having seen its efficiency in practical use. 

An invitation was received from Mr. Beutenmiieller to have 
the members attend the next meeting of the New York Entomo- 
logical Society. 

Prof Smith asked for the assistance of the members in fur- 
nishing him with data for the new list of Insects of New Jersey, 
and mentioned that in looking over Mr. Bischoff* s collection of 
Coleoptera, he found over loc species new to the New Jersey 
list. 



\ 



264 ENTOMOLOGICAL NEWS. [December, 

Mr. Weidt read an article on Schinia arcifera as follows : 

Notes on Schinia arcifera. 

On September 5th, 1897, ^ took about thirty specimens of 
►S. arcifera in an open field in the Orange Mountains, N. J. They 
were flying during the afternoon and were confined to a space 
of about two blocks. In their flight they closely resemble a bee, 
the motion of the wings being very rapid. The insect, however, 
flies slowly through, but never above the top of the high grass 
and flowers, unless disturbed. It was by accidentally seeing one 
alight on a flower that I discovered them at all. The specimens 
were badly rubbed and apparently had been flying for some time. 
Seven of the specimens taken were % and twenty-three were 9 • 
This year I took a perfect 9 at light in Newark, August 23rd, 
and the following Sunday, August 28th, I took another trip to 
the mountains with my friend Mr. Broad well, and from sixty to 
seventy specimens were taken, mostly fresh. Out of thirty-five 
specimens sixteen were 9 and nineteen were % . A live 9 was 
taken and kept in confinement, but died in a few days without 
laying eggs. The % has yellow secondaries with a broad dark-* 
brown band and in the 9 the secondaries are entirely dark. 
— A. J. Weidt, Newark, N. J. 

Prof. Smith remarked that they were borers and would not 

lay eggs in confinement. 

Mr. Kircher read an article on 

Empretia stimulea and its Natural Check by Parasites. 

On September 18th, 1898, I took about 100 larva of ^. stimulea 
at Greenville, N. J. They were full grown and appeared to be 
healthy. On arriving at home I placed them in a cage with 
their food plants. The following morning I found that most of 
the larva had left the food plant, apparently preparing to pupate. 
The next day I expected to see some cocoons, but was surprised 
to see about ten or more full of parasites. I removed the 
infected larva and left them until the next morning, when I found 
the same number of infected larva. By the following Sunday I 
had but few left and I went to the same place that I had taken 
the others and brought home 100 more, but with no better suc- 
cess. Out of over 2co larva I got but one cocoon. I noticed 
some verv small flies in the cage later. — Geo, Kircher, Jersey 
City, N. J. 

Prof. Smi:;h remarked on the importance of recording and 
taking the different species of parasites found on larva during 
the season. 

Meeting adjourned. 

A. J. Weidt, Secretary, 

Entomological News for November w^s mailed October 31, 1898. 



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