I -
, -
.
••
ENTOMOLOGICAL NEWS
AND
PROCEEDINGS
OF THE
ENTOMOLOGICAL SECTION
OF THE
ACADEMY OF NATURAL SCIENCES
OF
PHILADELPHIA.
VOLUME XXVIII, 1917.
PHILIP P. CALVERT, Ph.D., Editor. E. T. CRESSON, JR., Associate Editor.
HENRY SKINNER, M. D., Sc. D., Editor Emeritus.
ADVISORY COMMITTEE :
EZRA T. CRKSSON J. A. G. REHN.
PH!LIP LAURENT H. W. VVKNZEL.
PHILADELPHIA :
ENTOMOLOGICAL ROOMS OF
THE ACADEMY OF NATURAL SCIENCF.S.
LOGAN SQUARE.
1917.
The several numbers of the NEWS for 1917 were mailed at the Phila- delphia Post Office as follows :
No. 1 — January December 30, 1916
" 2— February Februarys, 1917
" 3— March February 28
" 4— April March 31
" 5— May May 2
" 6— June June 1
" 7— July July3
" 8— October September 29
1 9 — November November 1
The date of mailing the December, 1917, number will be announced in the issue for January, 1918.
PRESS Of
P. C STOCKHAUSEN PHILADELPHIA
I
I
! ' JANUARY, 1917.
ENTOMOLOGICAL NEWS
Vol. XXVIII. No. 1.
Henry Shimer J828-J895.
PHILIP P. CALVERT, Ph.D., Editor. E. T. CRESSON, JR., Associate Editor.
HENRY SKINNER, M.D.,Sc.D., Editor Emeritus.
ADVISORY COMMITTEE:
KZKA T. CRESSON. •• A.. G.
PHILIP LAURENT. ERICH DAKCKE. H. v
PHILADELPHIA:
THE ACADEMY OF NATURAL SCIENO LOGAN SQUARE.
Entered at the Philadelphia Post-Office as Second-CI
ENTOMOLOGICAL NEWS
published monthly, excepting August and September, in charge of the Entomt>
logical Section of The Academy of Natural S ences, Philadelphia,
and The American Entomological Society.
ANNUAL. SUBSCRIPTION, $2.OO IN ADVANCE.
SINGLE COPIES 24 CENTS.
Advertising Rates: Per inch, full width of page, single insertion, $1.00 ; a dis- count of ten per cent, on insertions of five months or over. No advertise- ment taken for less than $1.00 — Cash in advance.
All remittances, and communications regarding subscriptions, non-receipt of the NEWS or of reprints, and requests for sample copies, should be addressed to ENTOMOLOGICAL NEWS, 1900 Race Street, Philadelphia, Pa. All Checks and Money Orders to be made payable to the ENTOMOL'OGICAL
NEWS.
complaints regarding non-receipt of issues of the NEWS should be pre- sented within three months from date of mailing of the issue. After that time the numbers will be furnished only at the regular rate for single copies.
|g?°Address all other communications to the editor, Dr. P. P. Calvert, 4515 Regent Street, Philadelphia, Pa., from September isth to June isth, or at the Academy of Natural Sciences from June isth to September isth.
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 reception. ENTOMOLOGICAL NEWS has reached a circulation, both in numbers and circumference, as to make it necessary to put ''copy" for each number into the hands of the printer four weeks before date of issue. This should be remembered in sending special or important matter for a certain issue. Twenty-five "extras," without change in form and without covers, will be given free, when they are wanted ; if more than twenty-five copies are desired, this should be stated on the MS. The receipt of all papers will be acknowledged. Proof will be sent to authors for correction only when specially requested. :
SPECIAL NOTICE TO AUTHORS
Owing to increased cost of labor and materials, only one or two plates will be published in each issue of the NEWS, except where authors furnish tie necessary blocks or pay in advance the cost of making blocks at the rate (for 1917) of $2.00 per line-engraving, 6£ by 4 inches, or #4.00 per half-tone, 6^ by 4 inches. When the cost of the illustrations falls below these rates, the differ- ence will be refunded to the author. Blocks furnished or paid for by authors will, of course, be returned to authors after publication.
The printer of the NEWS will furnish reprints of articles over and above the twenty-five given free at the following rates : Each printed page or fraction thereof, twenty-five copies, 15 cents; each half tone plate, twenty-five copies, £0 cents; each plate of line cuts, twenty- five copies, 15 cents; greater numbers of copies will be at the corresponding multiples of these rates.
PIN-LABELS ALL ALIKE ON A STRIP, 3-POINT TYPE
Pure white Ledger Paper, 30 characters or less, 25c. per 1000. Additional characters 1c each
per 1000. No charge for blank lines. Trimmed— one cut makes a label. All kinds of Printing.
C. V. BLACKBURN. 12 PINE STKEET, STONEHAM, MASS., U. S. A.
ENT. NEWS, Vol. XXVIII.
Plate I.
OTTO HEIDEMANN.
(PHOTOGRAPH BY J. H. PAINE, U. S. BUREAU OF ENTOMOLOGY.)
ENTOMOLOGICAL NEWS
AND
PROCEEDINGS OF THE ENTOMOLOGICAL SECTION
THE ACADEMY OF NATURAL SCIENCES, PHILADELPHIA.
VOL, XXVIII.
JANUARY, 1917.
No. i,
CONTENTS:
X — Otto Heidemann j
Rich— Zonocerus elegans ( Orth. ) 2
Knight — New and Noteworthy Forms of North American Miridae ( Hem ) 3
Williamson — Correction of the Specific Name of a Dragonfly (Odon.) S
Kennedy— Notes on the Penes of Dam- selflies (Odon.) 9
Dunn— A Simple Method of Identifying the Anopheles Mosquitoes of the Canal Zone ( Dip. ) 14
Girault— New Chalcid Flies from Mary- land ( Hym.) 20
Weiss — Some Unusual Orchid Insects > ( Hem., Lep., Dip., Col.) 24
Ottolengui — The Distribution and Syn- onymy of Autographa vaccinii Hy. Edw. (Lep.) 29
A Collecting Trip in Colombia 32
Wirtner— A new Genus of Bothynotinae, Miridae ( Heter. ) 33
Kipley— Notes on the Feeding Habits of Adult Chrysopidae I NVnr. ) js
Parshley — A Species of M;u n.tnicheli- ella Found in New England ( 1 lem. , Anthocoridae) 37
Editorial — The News for 1917
Questions and Answers 40
Weiss and Dickerson — Psyllia buxi in New Jersey ( Homop. ) 40
The O. B. Johnson Entomological Col- lection |i
Tillyard— Phylogeny of Ant-lions ( Neu. ) 4^
Entomological Literature
Review — The Lepidopterist
Doings of Societies— Amer. Ent. Soc.
(Orth., Col.).....- (5
Newark Ento. Soc. (Lepid., Hynu-ii.,
Coleop. ) '. 46
Entomological Section, Aca<l. Nat Sci. Phila. (Dipt., Lepid., Orthup., Coleop. ) 47
Otto Heidemann.
(Plate I)
We give in this number a portrait of the well-known Hemipterist, Otto Heidemann, for many years a member "f the United States Bureau of Entomology, and Honorary Cus- todian of Hemipicra in the National Museum, who died Xo- vembef 17, 1916, after an operation at the Homeopathic Hospital in Washington, D. C.
Heidemann was born in Magdeburg, Germany, on Septan - ber i, 1842. He learned the art of wood-engraving and prac- ticed this profession in Leipsic, Vienna, Munich, Stuttgart and Berlin until 1873, when he came to this country and '-.tab lished an engraving office in Baltimore. Tn 187^ he moved hi- office to Washington and in the following years furnished many illustrations for various Government publication-. In 1880 he entered the office of Captain G. \\ heeler's Gcographi
2 ENTOMOLOGICAL NEWS. [Jan-> '17
cal Survey west of the looth Meridian and in 1883 was ap- pointed engraver in the U. S. Department of Agriculture. From this time his work became known in Entomology and a large number of excellent illustrations of economic insects, published by the Department are the work of Mr. Heidemann.
With the development of photo-engraving his art ceased to be useful and in 1898 he obtained a position as assistant in the Bureau of Entomology becoming a specialist in Hemiptera, the study of which he had taken up only half a dozen years before, under the guidance and inspiration of his friends Al- bert Koebele, E. A. Schwa rz and Theodore Pergande.
Although he thus began his entomological studies when he was well beyond fifty years of age, he applied himself with such zeal to the science, that he became known all over the world as an authority on Hemiptera.
Heidemann was a member of the Entomological and Bio- logical Societies of Washington, and of the American Asso- ciation of Economic Entomologists ; he was a charter member of the Entomological Society of America and a Fellow of the American Association for the Advancement of Science. He was elected President of the Washington Entomological So- ciety for two consecutive years 1909, 1910.
His entomological writings number about 35 titles.
Mr. Heidemann is survived by his wife, Mrs. Mica Heide-- mann, well known as a sculptress and as a maker of insect
models.
X.
• ««> '
A Further Note on Zonocerus elegans (Orth.).
[Since the publication of the article on this grasshopper in the News for November, 1916, pages 420-421, the following has been received.!
There is usually one generation a year, but a partial second one, con- sisting of a few individuals reaching the last nymphal instar, is found in favorable years and a few localities. The first instar nymphs appear from the middle of September onwards, being plentiful early in Octo- ber. The five nymphal stages are completed by January I. The differ- ence here noted is due to my previous observations covering only one season and that an exceptionally favorable one. — S. G. RICH, Adams .Mission Station, Natal, South Africa.
Vol. XXviii] ENTOMOLOGICAL NEWS. 3
New and Noteworthy Forms of North American
Miridae (Hemip.)*
By HARRY H. KNIGHT, Ithaca, New York. In working over considerable miscellaneous material in the family Miridae the writer has found a few species that are of particular interest and takes occasion to present part of his findings in the present paper.
Sericophanes ocellatus Renter.
While studying Miridae in the collection of the United States National Museum the writer found two specimens bearing the label, "Texas Belfrage" which evidently represent original type material of this species. These specimens came from the C. V. Riley collection and no doubt were acquired from Mr. Belfrage at a time when that collector sent material to various entomologists and museums. Dr. Renter described the genus Sericophanes and the single species ocellatus in his paper of 1875, "Capsinae ex America boreali in Museo Hol- miensi asservatae descriptae ab" (Ofversight af Kongl. Veten- skaps-Akademiens Forhandlingar, 1875, No. 9, Stockholm), from an assemblage of North American Hemiptera collected by Mr. Belfrage and which in some way were acquired by the Stockholm Museum. It was this wholesale shipment of North American Hemiptera to European specialists in the early days that resulted in the description of many of our species. This loss of types to American students has made it difficult to always name our species accurately and some may never be known with certainty until comparison is made with the type specimens.
The following notes are taken from a study of the above type material and are given here for comparison with the north- ern species described below :
$. Length to tip of membrane, 2.6 mm.; length of pronotum .43 mm., width at base .71 mm., apex .37 mm.; head, width across tin- • .60 mm., width of vertex .25 mm.; color of head, thorax, legs and al>-
*Contribution from the Department of Entomology of (.'"null Uni- versity.
4 ENTOMOLOGICAL NEWS. [Jan., 'lj
domen, yellowish brown, or "dilute cinnamomeus" of Renter. The ocellate spot on the clavus and the pruinose bands across the corium) are quite similar to noctuans but the ground color is lighter.
Dr. Renter, 1910, placed the genus Sericophanes in his di- vision Cremnoccphalaria, a group having the claws destitute of arolia. Perhaps Dr. Renter had poor material from which to work since the present writer finds after observations on
Fig. i. — Sericophanes noctuans. showing the claws and type of arolia.
Fig. 2. — Largidea davisi, tarsus and claws, showing type of claws and absence of arolia.
several specimens with the aid of the binocular microscope that the claws bear free arolia with converging tips (fig. i). This type of arolia places the genus close to Pilophoriis and Ceratocapsus and in the tribe Orthoiylim of Mr. Van Duzee's recent tables.
Sericophanes noctuans new species.
Larger and darker colored than ocellatus. but otherwise bearing a close resemblance.
$. Length, 3.6 mm. Head: width across the eyes .71 mm., width of vertex .28 mm., length .45 mm., height at base .37 mm. ; eyes large and coarsely granulated, height .43 mm., dark purplish brown in color ; jiiLiae. lorae, and tylus reddish brown, the jugae showing red most plainly; vertex dark chestnut like the pronotum, smooth shining, ca- rina nearly horizontal and turning forward at each side to meet the eye, slightly depressed bordering the carina; base of the tylus with a prominent hair at each side. Rostrum scarcely attaining the posterior margin of the hind coxae, yellowish brown, basal segment dark brown, the apex blackish.
Antennae: segment I, length .25 mm., yellowish brown, with three or four prominent hairs on the inside; TT, length 1.25 mm., yellowish brown, slightly darker toward the apex : IIT, length .88 mm., dark fus- cous to blackish, brownish at the base ; IV, length .60 mm., slightly flat- tened, dark purplish to blackish ; all the segments with very fine pale pubescence.
Vol. XXVlii] ENTOMOLOGICAL NEWS.
Pronotum: length .57 mm., width at base .88 mm., apex .37 mm.; dark chestnut or blackish, smooth, shining, strongly declivitous, devoid of calli, collar narrow but distinct, lateral margins of the disk indis- tinct, rounded. Scutellum same color as the pronotum, basal 1 prominent, strongly sloping backward, sharply cut away at each side; apical lobe small, moderately arched and rounded at the sides, very finely tranversely rugose. Sternum dark chestnut, shining; lobe of the metasternal orifice projecting laterally very strongly.
Hemclytra : width at tip of corium .91 mm., across the middle only .77 mm.; clavus dark chestnut brown on the basal half and tip, golden brown bordering the scutellum, pruinose on the exterior basal half; apical half of the clavus with a cream colored spot which extends laterally to the margin; corium dark velvety brown, the cuneus and inner apical angles of corium with dark golden brown ; base of corium, a narrow band across the middle, and exterior half of the apex, prui- nose; sparsely covered with golden hairs; cuneus poorly defined from the corium inside of the fracture, scarcely deflected ; membrane evenly clouded, pale across the basal half of the large cells and bordering the apical one-third of the cuneus.
Legs : fore coxae yellowish brown like the femora, darker at the very base; middle coxae dark brown; hind coxae pale, brownish at the base; femora dark yellowish brown, anterior pair paler; tibiae dark brown; tarsi pale brown, the apex and claws blackish.
Venter: long and slender, noticeably flattened on the basal half, first two segments yellowish brown, beyond this dark chestnut to blackish, shining; genital claspers small.
Described from 9 $ $ , June 22 to Aug. 10, Batavia, New York, all of which came to the light in the writer's laboratory ; i cJ , July 2, McLean, New York.
Type : $ , Aug. 8, Batavia, New York ; author's collection.
Mr. C. P. Alexander reports having seen this species flying up in large numbers from the grass after sundown, llra- chypterous and macropterous females of what is doubtless this species rather than the occllatits from Texas, are well de- scribed by Prof. Osborn (Proc. Iowa Acad. Sci., V, p. j^S, 1898) ; the nymphs and adults found occurring on gras-\ ridges.
Clivinema regalis new species.
Bright orange red with blackish hemelytra, antennae and liln structurally quite similar to villosa but differing greatly in sixe and color, the pubescence without prominent recurved tips. Claws
6 ENTOMOLOGICAL NEWS. [Jan., '17
at the base, destitute of arolia, similar in structure to villosa. Prono- tum with an apical gibbosely convex area, stricture apparent only at the sides from which an impressed line extends to the rear margin of the calli.
$. Length 5.7 mm. Head: width across eyes 1.05 mm., width oi vertex .54 mm., length .51 mm., height at base .60 mm. ; pale pubescent, vertex convex, ecarinate ; orange red, tylus and a transverse impres- sion at the base black, sutures and eyes blackish, vertex usually with two longitudinal fuscous to blackish rays. Rostrum scarcely attaining the posterior margin of the sternum, blackish, the first two segments mostly reddish.
Antennae: segment I, length .43 mm., width .14 mm., blackish, some- times with reddish ; II, length 2.05 mm., width .14 mm., quite uniform- ly thickened, black, thickly clothed with short black hairs; III, length .60 mm., slender, width .06 mm., black, only a few hairs with very fine pubescence; IV, length .40 mm., similar to III.
Pronotum: length 1.42 mm., width at base 1.99 mm., apex .80 mm., height at apex .91 mm. ; bright red or orange red when faded ; disk shallowly punctate, more or less transversely rugose ; calli apparent as impressed ovals, usually black, shining, joined at the side by an im- pressed line leading to the anterior angles, thus defining the arched apical portion or gibbosely convex hood ; coxal cleft extending high as the lateral margin of the disk, separated from the above impressed line only by a thin lateral projection. Scutellum bright red, pubescent, strongly convex, arched, with a broad median longitudinal impression. Sternum red, side pieces covered with a white flocculent wax-like ma- terial, often present in greater degree along the full length of the body.
Hemclytra : greatest width 2 mm., black, shining, somewhat trans- lucent, roughly wrinkled, covered with long erect pale pubescence. Membrane evenly clouded with fuscous, except a pale spot at the apex of the cuneus, veins dark fuscous.
Legs : bright red, shining, apices of the femora and a longitudinal bar or row of dots on the under side, blackish ; tibiae and tarsi black.
V enter : red, pale pubescent ; genital claspers blackish, dextral clasper small, sinistral clasper long and slender, quite similar to that in Largi- dea rubida and davisi.
9 . Length 5.6 mm., width 2.5 mm., more robust than the male ; sec- ond antennal segment more slender, thickest at the apex ; vertex with two longitudinal black rays ; the femora more so and the posterior margins of the abdominal segments and surrounding the ovipositor, blackish ; entire body above and below coated with the white flocculent wax like material.
Described from 3 5 5 and 3 $ 9 , July 21-28, 1914, El
Vol. XXVlii] ENTOMOLOGICAL NEWS.
Paso, Texas, collected by Dr. J. Chester Bradley, who re- marks: "Females were plump and very sluggish; collected from a shrub on the open mesa, possibly an Ocatilla which was in leaf at that time, on the side of Alt. Franklin not far outside the city limits of El Paso."
Type : $ , July 28, El Paso, Texas, J. Chester Bradley ; Cor- nell University collection.
Largidea davisi new species.
Resembles grossa in size and color but differs widely in the form of the antennae and the length of the rostrum; dark fusco-rufus brown, head and body covered with heavy pale yellowish pubescence, more or less matted and depressed. Length 6 mm.
9. Head: width across eyes 1.28 mm., width of vertex .77 mm., length .51 mm., height at base .80 mm.; impunctate, darker than color of the body, the vertex and sutures about the tylus, blackish; base of tylus clearly denned, a short narrow longitudinal pit at the base simi- lar to that in rubida; a prominent fovea just above the base of each antenna, vertex ecarinate, head shorter and more compressed as com- pared with rubida. Rostrum extending only slightly beyond the pos- terior margin of the fore coxae, or to the middle of the sternum ; the same in both sexes.
Antennae: segment I, length .31 mm., greatest thickness .14 mm., dark rufus-brown, the apex and base blackish; II, length 1.28 mm., being exactly the width of the head, or less than the length of the prono- tum, greatest thickness .14 mm., fusiform, not flattened as in grossa or with depressions of any kind, thickly clothed with dark brown hairs, a few bristles intermixed, rich rufus-brown to wine color, darker toward the apex ; III, length .37 mm., with dark fuscous ; IV, .37 mm., same color as III.
Pronotum : length 1.59 mm., width at base 2.19 mm., apex 1.14 mm., dark fusco-rufus, the polished hook-shaped line about the calli, black; calli as in rubida, typical of the generic characters; disk behind the calli coarsely, deeply and closely punctate, more finely punctured be- fore the calli; lateral margins sharply denned as in rubida. Scutellum roughly transversely, rugose along a slightly silicate median line. Sternum with longitudinal median impressed line, opaque beneath with a few scattered pubescent hairs, shining at the sides and with matted pubescence.
Hcmclytra: greatest width, 9, 2.5 mm., $, 2.1 mm.; clavus, corium. and cuneus uniformly colored dark reddish brown, inclined to wine color in the more translucent parts; membrane evenly shaded with fuscous, veins darker tinged with reddish; closely covered with tine
ENTOMOLOGICAL NEWS. [Jan., '17
and shallow punctures ; clothed with short oppressed yellowish pubes- cence.
Legs : dark fuscous brown, femora with a longitudinal row of dark spots beneath, not visible in certain lights ; tarsi blackish, the basal segment flattened beneath and extending well under the second seg- ment (fig. 2).
Venter: mostly dark grayish brown, blackish on the posterior mar- gin of each segment; spiracles conspicuous, appearing as sunken black spots ; rather long and prominent pale yellowish pubescence.
$ . Similar to the female only more slender : length 5.7 mm. The antennae and character of the first tarsal segment do not differ from those of the female, though the length of the second antennal segment (1.28 mm.) is slightly longer than the width of the head (1.14 mm.) across the eyes. The male genital forceps are quite similar to those of rubida thus not affording good specific characters but on the other hand showing generic relationship.
Described from a male and three females, Sept. 24, 25, Promised Land, Long Island, New York, collected by Mr. William T. Davis and Mr. G. P. Engelhardt. I have also seen a half dozen other specimens from the same locality.
Type : 9 , Sept. 24, Promised Land, Long Island, New York, Wm. T. Davis ; author's collection.
The writer has studied Uhler's type specimen of (Clivinc- ma) rubida in the National Museum collection and was unable to distinguish from it Colorado specimens which were later determined as marginata by Mr. Van Duzee. It is evident that the character of the antennae and the length of the rostrum cannot be taken as generic characters but only as specific, since these differ in each of three species. The form of the pronotum and particularly the character of the calli and basal segment of the tarsi appear to be distinctive of the genus Lar- c/idea.
Correction of the Specific Name of a Dragonfly (Odon.).
Metalcptobasis brysonima Williamson, Proc. U. S. Nat. Mus. Vol. 48, 1915, p. 602. On September 4, 1916, Dr. Calvert wrote me that in the Kew Index he found no generic plant name Brysonima, but a Byrsoni- ma, and in Pittier's list of Costa Rican plants two species of Byrsonima are recorded. Under date of October 9, he writes me that he believes a correction of the specific name of the dragonfly is permissible under Article 19, Intern. Rules Zool. Nomenclature. This correction is here- by proposed and the name changed from Metaleptobasis brysonima to Metalcptobasis byrsonima. — E. B. WILLIAMSON.
Vol. XXVlii] ENTOMOLOGICAL NEWS. 9
Notes on the Penes of Damselflies (Odonata).
No. 2. The Close Relations inter se of the Hawaiian Agrionines. By CLARENCE HAMILTON KENNEDY, Cornell University.
(Plates II and III.)
In my first paper* I discussed a genus (Acanthagrion) in which the various forms comprising it were so close in color and structure that many had been considered but varieties un- til a study of the penes showed each form to be a good species structurally, for the penes of the various species were remark- ably different.
In this paper I wish to discuss a group, the Hawaiian Agri- onines, in which just the opposite relation holds. In venation, color, size, and in the structure of the male claspers the Ha- waiian Agrionines differ radically among themselves but the penes throughout are the same type.
This opportunity came recently while in Philadelphia when I had the privilege of examining the penes of nineteen species and varieties of Hawaiian Agrioninae. These were a series of specimens collected by Dr. R. C. L. Perkins, and given by him to Dr. P. P. Calvert. In all cases the determinations are those of Dr. Perkins and so probably agree with his published articles. f Lack of time prevented an examination of the specimens other than of the penes. As the number of speci- mens was small, in some cases there being only a single male or female, an attempt to study the specimens with a view to possible grouping would have been inadvisable as Dr. Perkins' own studies of this group show great ranges in variation in many of the species.
Ever since I first looked over the list of Hawaiian Odonata, I had been skeptical that twenty-four species of damselflies, the entire damselfly fauna of this isolated region, should be comprised in but two genera. Later, when I first glanced at the box of specimens on which this study is based, I felt cer- tain that there were at least three genera and probably more.
*Ent. News, xxvii, 325-330, July, 1916.
t Fauna Hawaiiensis. Vol. I, p. clxxv. ; Vol. II, pp. 63-77, 693-696. R. C. L. Perkins.
IO ENTOMOLOGICAL NEWS. [Jan., '17
The large red forms with the richly veined wings, appeared at first sight more than generically distinct from the various small dark species and my interest and surprise increased steadily as I examined species after species and found throughout almost identical penes. The study of the penes but confirms the opinions expressed by McLachlan* and Per- kins that in spite of their diverse forms these Hawaiian species of Agrionines are so closely related inter sc that it is questionable whether they should not remain as a single genus.
The figs, i to 38 show, better than I can describe, the uni- formity in structure throughout this group. Probably it ex- tends to those Hawaiian species in which the penis has not yet been examined. t This form of penis is peculiar among agrio- nine penes in that the third or apical segment is offset, or at- tached subapically to the second segment. The apical lobe has an apical, sagittal cleft, which in all but three species is at least half the length of the lobe in depth. All have the inter- nal soft fold, but in all the terminal soft fold of segment two is lacking, unless it is homologous with that part of the apex of segment two which lies beyond the insertion of segment three. All degrees of spininess exist from no spines to a com- plete row along each side of the shaft.
The following classification is that of Perkins^ and is based on the male appendages as the most constant character :—
Group i. xanthomclas, pacificinn, nigrohamatum.
Group 2. oresitrophnm, or abates, Icptodcmas, calliphya.
Group 3. koelense, asteliae, amaurodytnm, cndytnin, adytum.
Group 4. ncsiotes.
Group 5. oahucnsc.
Group 6. dcccptor, vagabundum, kauaicnse, molokaicnsc, jugontin.
Group 7. oceanicum, blackburni, hetcrogamias.
This does not include calvcrti or williamsoni the relation- ships of which species Perkins does not indicate.
*Ann. and Mag. Nat. Hist. (5), Vol. 12, p. 240.
t While studying the collection in the Museum of Comparative Zoology, Cambridge, Mass., I was able to examine molokaiense and the fallax and waianacanum varieties of amaurodytum. These all have the typical form of penis for this group.
JFauna 1 Javvaiiensis, Vol. II, p. 694.
Vol. XXviii] ENTOMOLOGICAL NEWS. II
In this paper I have used Megalagrion for these Hawaiian forms. The genus Megalagrion was established by McLach- lan* for blackburni and oceanicum, with blackburni the type of the genus. Perkins later described ketcrogamias and con- sidered it a close relative of these. He also pointed out that certain individuals of species in Group 6, especially of kaiiai- cnse, showed the venational characters of Megalagrion, thus preventing the use of this generic name to set off these three with the richly veined wings from the other Hawaiian forms. Perkins placed the entire group in the old genus Agrion, now Coenagrion. Studies of the penes in these forms show that the genus Coenagrion can probably be broken up and that these Hawaiian species are a compact group quite distinct from the other groups. As Megalagrion has been used for some of these Hawaiian species, it will then become applicable to the entire series of Hawaiian Agrionines as I have used it.
I had hoped that the penes more than the other characters might give some clue to the relationship and probable origin of this group. The penes do show that these Hawaiian Agrion- ines in spite of the great range in their appearance and struc- ture are a compact group and undoubtedly have been derived from some single ancient immigrant that had strayed into the islands. It lines the Odonata up with what is already known about the birds (Drepanidae), the land snails (Achatinellidae) and those orders of insects in which there are large endemic genera with apparently diverse but really closely related spe- cies. These strange groups have probably in each case been derived from some single ancestor which has strayed into the islands in the remote past.
More difficult is the origin and probable relationship of this ancestral Agrionine. A study of the penes in the species listed by Kirby as Coenagrion shows that the extra-Hawaiian forms fall into at least two groups, the group of which puella is the type (see figs. 39, 46-49) and the group of which llndenii is the type (see figs. 40-45). As lindcnii has been given generic rank by Navasf as Cercion lindcnii, probably Cercion can be
*Ann. and Mag. Nat. Hist. (5), Vol. 12, p. 237. fBroteria 6, p. 55, 1907.
12 ENTOMOLOGICAL NEWS. [Jan., '17
applied to the other three species figured as having penes simi- lar to that of llndcnii. I have so used it, though I should have compared these species in other characters had I had time. A good series of intermediate forms exists in the genus Cocna- grion between the puella penis and such penes as are shown in figs. 46-49.
Of the two groups represented by lindenn and puella re- spectively, the penes would seem to indicate relationship of the Hawaiian Megalagrions with Cercion rather than with Cocna- grion of the puella group. This agrees with McLachlan's ob- servation* that the Hawaiian forms seemed more like lindenn than any of the other Eurasian species. As the American Coenagrions have penes which are aberrant forms of the puella type, this agrees with what is thought concerning the origin of the other peculiar Hawaiian genera : that these are not North American in origin.
My first paper showed that too much dependence cannot be put on penile characters alone, nevertheless a study of these in this case has thrown an interesting side light on this Hawaiian problem.
EXPLANATION OF PLATES II AND III.
Drawings of the penes of Megalagrion, Cercion and Coenagrion, being ventral and lateral views of the last two segments. Figs. 1-2. Megalagrion pacificum (McLachlan). Northwest Koolau Range, Oahu, Hawaiian Islands; 1500 ft. elevation. April, 1901. R. C. L. Perkins coll.
Figs. 3-4. Megalagrion xanthomclas (Selys). Honolulu, Oahu, Ha- waiian Islands. Nov., 1900. R. C. L. Perkins coll. Figs. 5-6. Megalagrion leptodemas (Perkins). Northwest Koolau Range, Oahu, Hawaiian Islands; 1800 ft. elevation. April, 1901. R. C. L. Perkins coll. Figs. 7-8. Megalagrion amaurodytum var. pclcs (Perkins). Hawaii,
Hawaiian Islands, 1901. Koebele coll. Figs. 9-10. Megalagrion calliphya (McLachlan). lao Valley, Maui,
Hawaiian Islands. 1902. R. C. L,. Perkins coll.
Figs. 11-12. Megalagrion calliphya var. microdemas Kilauea, Ha- waii, Hawaiian Islands. July, 1903. R. C. L. Perkins coll. Figs. 13-14. Megalagrion cudytum (Perkins). Lihue, Kauai, Hawaiian Islands ; 1000 + ft. elevation. R. C. L. Perkins coll.
*Ann. and Mag. Nat. Hist. (5), Vol. 12, p. 240.
ENT. NEWS, VOL. XXVIII.
Plate II.
20
PENES OF HAWAIIAN AGRIONINAE. -KENNEDY.
ENT. NEWS, Vol. XXVIII.
Plate III.
45
PENES OF HAWAIIAN AGRIONINAE. -KENNEDY.
Vol. XXVlii] ENTOMOLOGICAL NEWS. 13
Figs. 15-16. Megalagrion dcceptor (McLachlan). Oahu, Hawaiian Islands. Koebele coll.*
Figs. 17-18. Megalagrion blackburni McLachlan. Halealau, Hawaiian Islands. June, 1903. R. C. L. Perkins coll.
Figs. 19-20. Megalagrion occanicum McLachlan. Northwest Koolau Range, Oahu, Hawaiian Islands; 1500 ft. elevation. April, 1901. R. C. L. Perkins coll.
Figs. 21-22. Megalagrion heterogamias (Perkins). Makaweli, Kauai, Hawaiian Islands ; 2000 ft. elevation. Feb., 1897. R. C. L. Perkins coll.
Figs. 23-24. Megalagrion ragabundum (Perkins). Lihue, Kauai, Hawaiian Islands. R. C.. L. Perkins coll.
Figs. 25-26. Megalagrion oahuense (Blackburn). Northwest Koolau Range, Oahu, Hawaiian Islands; 1500 ft. elevation. R. C. L. Perkins coll.
Figs. 27-28. Megalagrion koelense (Blackburn). Honolulu Mts., Ha- waiian Islands; 1800 ft. elevation. Dec., 1901. R. C. L. Perkins coll.
Figs. 29-30. Megalagrion astcliae (Perkins). Honolulu Mts., Oahu, Hawaiian Islands, 2000 ft. elevation. July, 1900. R. C. L. Perkins coll.
Figs. 31-32. Megalagrion nigrohamatum (Blackburn). West Maui Mts., Maui, Hawaiian Islands. Oct., 1896. R. C. L. Perkins coll.
Figs. 33-34. Megalagrion nigrohamatum var. nigrolineatum (Per- kins). Northwest Koolau Range, Oahu, Hawaiian Islands; 1500 ft. elevation. R. C. L. Perkins coll.
Figs. 35-36. Megalagrion hawaiiensc (McLachlan). Palolo Valley, Oahu, Hawaiian Islands. May, 1912. R. C. L. Perkins coll.
Figs. 37-38. Megalagrion nesiotes (Perkins). Kilauea, Hawaii, Ha- waiian Islands. July, 1903. R. C. L. Perkins coll.
Fig. 39. Coenagrion puclla (Linn.). From male in coll. of E. B. Wil- liamson. No data except July 27, 1907.
[*The specimen from which this drawing was made is not typical dcceptor, but differs in having1 the inferior appendages almost as long as the superiors, more strongly curved dorsad in the apical half so that the upper margin of the inferiors is almost a (concave) semi- circle. The dilated part of the superiors is not as much as half the length of the appendages and is a little higher, proportionally and rela- tively, than in other specimens. There are four, not five, antenodal cells and less black on the body generally than called for by McLach- lan's description. These color and venational differences may be but individual variations, judging from other Hawaiian species, but whether the differences above mentioned for the appendages are explicable in the same way, I am unable to decide, having too few specimens. — P. P. CALVERT.]
14 ENTOMOLOGICAL NEWS. [Jan., '17
Figs. 40-41. Ccrtion lindenii (Selys). From male in coll. of E. B.
Williamson. "K. J. Morton coll., May I, 1912." Fig. 42. Ccrcion quadrigcrum (Selys). From male in coll. of Dr.
P. P. Calvert. Only datum is "Japan." Fig. 43. Ccrcion sp. From male in coll. of Dr. P. P. Calvert.
"Japan, Chic. Exhib. No. 1397." Figs. 44-45. Ccrcion (?) sp. From male, with damaged abdominal
appendages, in coll. of Dr. P. P. Calvert. "Madagascar. From
Rene Martin." Figs. 46-47. Cocnagrion angulattim Walker. From a male in coll. of
E. B. Williamson. Coll. and det. by Dr. E. M. Walker. Figs. 48-49. Cocnagrion cacrnlesccns (Fonsc.). From male in coll. of
E. B. Williamson. "From K. J. Morton. Sebdon, Algeria, June
23, 1904."
_. » .
A Simple Method of Identifying the Anopheles Mos- quitoes of the Canal Zone (Dip.).*
By L. H. DUNN, Entomologist, Board of Health Laboratory, Ancon, Panama Canal Zone.
The purpose of this article is to endeavor to supply a long- felt want and present a simple method of identifying the more common types of Anopheles mosquitoes found in the Canal Zone, and it is to be hoped that it may prove to be useful to those for whom it is intended, sanitary inspectors, medical men, and others interested in sanitary work.
The anti-malarial work on the Canal Zone is of sufficient importance to make it necessary that all those engaged in sanitary work should be able to identify the Anopheles com- monly encountered, and especially should be able to differen- tiate those that are known to be malarial carriers from those that are not.
Each species of the Zone Anopheles has some characteristic markings peculiar to itself that make it easy to identify when they are once known, and provided the specimens are not too badly mutilated. Mosquitoes that have been in flight for some time before capture, or have been bred out from larvae and left in a breeding jar for several days before an attempt at
*Read before The Medical Association of the Isthmian Canal Zone, September 16, 1916.
Vol. XXVlii] ENTOMOLOGICAL NEWS. 15
identification is made, are often broken and rubbed sufficiently to remove many of the scales, and to lose some of the color markings that help to simplify identification, and are more dif- ficult to identify.
As far as I have been able to ascertain eleven species of Anopheles have been found in the Canal Zone up to the pres- ent time. Seven of these species are commonly found in this region. The remaining four species are seldom encountered. The seven common kinds are placed in the following list according to their abundance on the Canal Zone at the pres- ent time : Anopheles albunanns Wiedemann, tarsi metadata Goeldi, pseudopunctipennis Theobald, malefactor Dyar & Knab, arg \riiar sis Desvoidy, apiciinacnla Dyar & Knab, ciseni Coquillett.
The four species not commonly found are: Anopheles gor- gasi Dyar & Knab, critz'n Dyar & Knab, punctimacula Dyar & Knab, f rands c anus McCracken.
Seasonal changes exert an influence on the abundance of the different species and the relative numbers of the Ano- pheles at certain periods of the year may not conform with this list, but it has been taken from the average for the whole year, from both the larvae received at the Laboratory for identification, and from the hand catches of adults in quarters that are sent in daily, from all towns and army posts in the Zone, to be identified. For example, A. eiseni that nearly al- ways breeds in tree-holes and hollows in rocks and other places of like nature, is few in numbers even during the middle of the rainy season, but may not be found even in what seem to be its favorite localities even after a long search dur- ing the latter part of a dry season when very little rain has fallen and its habitual breeding places are dried up.
I have attempted to construct the following table in such a manner that it provides a simple method for determining the adult Anopheles found in the Canal Zone, and as far as pos- sible have avoided all entomological nomenclature so that it may be readily understood by those who are not .familiar with the anatomy of mosquitoes.
l6 ENTOMOLOGICAL NEWS. [Jan., '17
Table for the Identification of the common species of Canal Zone Anopheles.
i — Hind legs with white feet 2
Hind legs long and dark colored without white feet or white
markings A. pseudopunctipemns
Hind legs without white feet, but with white band at middle of
leg (white knee) A. eiscni
Hind legs without white feet but with all three pairs of legs covered with white spots and narrow white bands (having a
freckled appearance) 3
2 — White feet with a narrow black band near the end 4
White feet without a narrow black band near the end,
A. argyritarsis 3— With black spot, or patch of black scales, at extreme, or apical,
end of wing A. apicimacula
Without a black spot, or patch of black scales, at extreme, or
apical, end of wing A. malefactor
4 — Female with tip, or apical end, of palpi white, separated from a narrow white band by a wide black band. The separating black band is more than twice as wide as either the white tip
or the proximal white band A. albimanus
Female with tip, or apical end, of palpi white, separated from a wide white band by a narrow black band. The separating black band is less than half as wide as either the white tip or the proximal white band A. tarsimactilata,
But one specimen of A. gorgasi has been found on the Isth- mus so far, and during the five years that I have been at the Laboratory I have not received any specimens of either A. punctimacula or A. crnzii in either the larval or adult forms. A. franciscanus is so few in numbers that it is prac- tically nil, therefore owing to the fact that these four species are so seldom encountered I have not included them in the foregoing table, as doing so would only make the table more difficult for a beginner to understand, and in this case not in- crease its value for practical work.
Anopheles pseudopunctipennis.
A few words of explanation may serve to assist in verify- ing the identifications of the different species as made by this table. Beginning with A. pseudopunctipennis , which is about the easiest to identify, it can be seen that it is the largest of the seven species of Anopheles, and has very long legs. All
Vol. XXVlii] ENTOMOLOGICAL NEWS. I?
the legs are used to support the body while at rest, with all feet on the resting surface. This species is easily identified by the long hind legs devoid of any white spots or bands, and without white feet. Each joint has a small yellow spot at its union with the following joint, and these spots should not be mistaken for white bands. Another identifying mark of this species is a light gray stripe on the back, or thorax, extending from the head to the abdomen. This begins as a very narrow stripe between the eyes and widens as it extends backwards until the posterior end becomes nearly as wide as the thorax. The palpi are dark brown with two narrow bands and tip of light yellow. The light-colored tip is separated from the proximal light band by a dark band about as wide as the light tip. The palpi somewhat resemble those of A. albimanus in the arrangement of the bands, but there is a difference in their width and A. pscudopunctipennis has light yellow bands while A. albimanus has white. The principal features of A. pscudo- punctipennis are that there are no white markings on the legs, and none of the feet are white.
Anopheles eiseni.
The next species to be easily identified is A. eiseni. It is smaller than A. pseudopunctipcnnis and can be differentiated from that species by having a white band near the middle of each hind leg. The feet and middle pair of legs are dark with no white markings. The single broad white band on each hind leg and dark feet makes this mosquito easily separated from all the other species having white feet or spotted legs. The wing borders of this species are dark-colored except for two white spots at the tip, or apex, of the wing. The palpi are dark except for the apical third, which consists of two white bands, or rather one white band and a white tip, separated from each other by a narrow black band one half as wide as either of the white ones.
Anopheles malefactor ct apicimacula.
The next group in order of simplicity of identification is composed of those whose legs are covered with narrow white bands and small white spots and have the appearance of being
1 8 ENTOMOLOGICAL NEWS. [Jan., '17
covered with white freckles. This speckled-legged group con- sists of two species, A. malefactor and A apicimacula, and can be easily separated from the other five species of common Anopheles of the Canal Zone by their speckled legs. Both of these mosquitoes are quite pretty and are almost identical in appearance and can only be separated from one another by the wing markings. A. apicimacula has a large black spot, or patch of black scales, at the upper portion of the tip, or apex, of the wings, and this deep black spot easily separates this species from A. malefactor, which does not have this deep black spot but has a few small scattered groups of black spots taking its place. There is also a difference in the arrange- ment of the black and white spots along the veins of the wings, but to anyone not accustomed to identifying mosquitoes this diversity may not be readily noticeable, and the difference between the decoration on the tip of the wing is the best means of separating the two species: the large black spot in A. apici- macula and the few small scattered groups of black spots in A. malefactor. It is rather difficult to distinguish between these two species when the specimens are very badly rubbed and many of the wing scales removed.
Anopheles argyritarsis, albimanus et tarsimaculata.
The next and last and most important group from a medi- cal standpoint is the white-footed group which consists of three species, A. argyritarsis, A. albimanus, and A. tarsimacu- lata. These three mosquitoes are readily separated from the other four common Anopheles by the fact that each of these three species has white feet on the hind legs. A. argyritarsis can be readily distinguished from the other two species by its hind feet which are snow white without any narrow black band near the end. The palpi of A. argyritarsis and A. albi- manus are very similar. A. albimanus and A. tarsimaculata both have white hind feet, but in both species there is a nar- row black band near the end. This black band is separated from the apical end of the feet by a narrow white band of nearly the same width as the black band. The similarity of the feet markings in these two mosquitoes makes it necessary
Vol. XXVlli] ENTOMOLOGICAL NEWS. 19
to separate the two species by the markings on the palpi. As shown in the foregoing table the difference between the mark- ings of the palpi is in the arrangement of the black and white bands. The white markings of A. albimanus can be plainly seen with a small lens and they consist of a white tip, or apex, and two narrow white bands. The white tip is separated from the nearer white band by a wide black band more than twice as wide as either the white band or tip. This nearer white band is separated from the second white band by an- other black band about as wide as the first black band. In A. tarsimaculata the palpi have a wide white tip and one wide white band and another narrower one. The wide white tip is separated from the nearer wide white band by a narrow black band less than half as wide as either the wide white band or tip. This nearer wide white band is separated from the sec- ond white band, which is a narrow one, by a wide black band much wider than the wide white band.
These two species seem to be very closely related to each other and the only practical difference between them is in the arrangement of the bands on the proboscis. Some specimens when caught as adults may have the proboscis so badly rubbed that they may be almost entirely denuded of scales. These are very difficult to identify as it is the scales of different colors that give the color markings on the proboscis, but the differ- ence in fresh specimens can be so readily seen that a glance at the proboscis is all that is required to separate the two species.
All of the markings that I have described are so distinctive and well-defined on fresh unrubbed females that they are ob- vious to an untrained observer, and after they have been seen a few times are easily remembered. The best plan for a be- ginner is to acquire experience by identifying bred out speci- mens before starting on those that have been caught in flight.
This method of identification only pertains to the seven com- mon species and does not provide for the classification of the uncommon species or for any new species that may make their appearance in the Canal Zone. These encounters are liable to occur but seldom if at all. After a little experience one be- comes so familiar with the markings of the common types that any new varieties can easily be detected.
2O ENTOMOLOGICAL NEWS. [Jan., ' ' IJ
New Chalcid Flies from Maryland (Hym.)«
By A. A. GIRAULT, Glenndale, Maryland. CARLYLEIA new genus.
Female : — Like Parasecodclla Girault but the marginal vein is somewhat longer than the submarginal, the postmarginal and stigmal veins are nearly equal, distinct, moderately long, the former a little longer, the stigmal with a distinct neck and ovate club ; the antennae are inserted a little below the eyes, near the mouth-border and the club is solid and scarcely wider than the funicle ; the distinct propodeum is noncarinate (of uniform length or nearly so, its minute spiracle about central, or a little caudad of middle) ; the abdomen bears a very short petiole, is pointed conic-ovate, produced beneath, longer than the thorax, excluding the ovipositor which is extruded for a third of the abdomen's length.
Otherwise the same but the mandibles bidentate. Parap- sidal furrows complete, distinct. Axillae scarcely advanced. Caudal tibial spur single. Marginal cilia of fore wing a little longer than normal (that is, not extremely short). Body slen- der. Coxae large. Prothorax conical.
This group is somewhat anomalous but because of its hab- itus, noncarinated propodeum, venation and the ciliation of the fore wing and the paucity of teeth in the mandibles, I think it is correctly placed among the Omphalini. The sub- marginal vein is distinctly broken.
Carlyleia marilandica new species. Genotype.
9. Length, i.oo mm., excluding the ovipositor. Metallic blue green, the fore wings lightly infuscated throughout except for a more or less obscure, clear space across from the break of the submarginal vein ; legs white except all of cephalic coxa and femur and the middle and caudal femora (except at each end). Antennae black, the scape yel- lowish white except above at apex. First ring joint smallest; funicle I somewhat longer than wide, slightly shorter than the pedicel, 4 quad- rate; club without a terminal nipple, about three-fourths the length of the funicle. Head subglabrous. Thorax very densely scaly, the scutel- lum smoother. Scutum with scattered, prostrate setae, the scutellum with not more than four.
Vol. XXviii] ENTOMOLOGICAL NEWS. 21
Described from one female captured in the woods, May, 1916 (Glenndale, Maryland).
Type: — Catalogue No. 20296, United States National Mu- seum, the female on a tag, the head and a caudal leg on a slide.
Aprostocetus marilandicus new species.
9. The same as whitmani but a third smaller, the antennae are wholly white except the bulla and proximal third each of the scape and pedicel, the third club joint dusky at apex; otherwise the same. Types compared.
Described from two females from the woods, Glenndale, Prince George County, Maryland, April.
Types: Catalogue No. 20300, U. S. N. M., the two females together on a tag, their heads on a slide.
This new species is like Neomphaloidella scmilongifasciata and Ar. pulchriventris of North America, purple species with a more or less yellow abdomen, margined with purple, the legs with the dark color more abundant from caudad to cephalad, thus similar to a number of Australian species of Tetrasti- chini and Eupelminae.
Chrysocharomyia eleganta new species.
$. Length, 1.30 mm. Abdomen conic-ovate, somewhat longer than the thorax.
Dark metallic blue, the legs and antennae concolorous except knees, tips of tibiae, cephalic tibiae except for two obscure cincti, one near knee, the other at the middle, three proximal tar sal joints and the scape except above at apex. Venter of abdomen suffused with yellow- ish.
Mandibles acutely tridentate but the ventral side of the third tooth denticulate. Ring joints subequal. Pedicel a third longer than wide at apex, shorter than any following joint by far; funicle i longest of the rlagellum, two and one-quarter times longer than wide, slightly lon- ger than club 2; funicles 2 to 3 subequal, each nearly twice longer than wide or 3 subequal to club i and a little shorter than 2; terminal spine of club distinct, not half the length of its joint.
Fore wings with a nearly complete smoky fascia across from the stigmal knob and which fades caudad of middle, and with a small round smoky spot against the marginal vein a short distance proximad of its middle. Marginal vein elongate, the postmarginal distinctly longer than the stigmal, the latter with a short neck and an ovate club. Marginal fringes of the fore wing distinct, short.
22 ENTOMOLOGICAL NEWS. [Jan., 'if
Body densely scaly, the scutellum with a seta on each side before apex, the propodeum only with a delicate carina laterad of the spiracle. Parapsidal furrows complete but sutured cephalad only.
One female, Glenndale, Maryland, from the woods, June 24, 1916.
-Type : Catalogue No. 20356, U. S. N. M., the female on a tag, a wing, caudal tibia and the head on a slide.
Achrysocharis divina new species.
Female : — Length, 0.75 mm. Differs from the genotype in having the scape moderately convexly dilated ventrad, plainly compressed.
Metallic green and densely scaly punctate; legs and antennae white except the coxae, middle femur at base, middle tibia just below the knee, caudal femora and tibiae, pedicel except at apex beneath, funicle i, apex of funicle 2, clubs 2 and 3, and the blotched scape which is metallic at proximal third of ventral margin and at distal third (or the apex broadly). Head pale yellow excepting the occiput (except nar- rowly across at vertex), a broken metallic line across face just above the antennae and a second convexed and broken line through the an- tennae ; also a more or less distinct spot near the eye on upper face, minute setae (few) of vertex from dusky dots.
Fore wings distinctly bifasciate, the first fascia from the apex of the marginal vein along the mesal side of the stigmal, flat-bow-shaped and fading toward the caudal margin, the second nearly straight but with wavy margins, across near apex (at middle, about its own width from apex). Marginal fringes of fore wing between a fifth and a sixth of the greatest wing width, the stigmal vein slightly longer than the postmarginal.
Cheeks moderately long, the mandibles 4-dentate. Flagellum clothed with scraggy hairs ; funicle i a little longer than the oval pedicel, sub- equal to 2, the club joints a little more slender, the terminal nipple dis- tinct, not as long as the joint bearing it. Parapsidal furrows distinct, complete.
One female, June 14, 1916, from a field of weeds, Prince George County, Maryland.
Type : Catalogue No. 20320, U. S. N. M., the female on a slide.
SPALANGIOLAELAPS new genus.
Nearly related to Apterolaelaps Girault but differs as fol- lows : There is no arcuate carina on the face ventrad of the antennae, the carina separating the scrobes is at ventral third
Vol. XXviii] ENTOMOLOGICAL NEWS. 23
only, the mandibles are 4-dentate, there is no cross-suture on the scutellum, the neck of the propodeum is more distinct while the abodmen is subsessile, the petiole transverse-linear. Moreover, the antennae are 13-jointed with one ring-joint, the club 3-jointed. Maxillary palpi 4- jointed. Pronotum quad- rate.
Spalangiolaelaps argenticoxa new species. Genotype.
$ . Length, 2.50 mm. Honey yellow, the coxae silvery-white, the caudal tibiae fuscous, the apex of the abdomen, a spot between the tegula and the axilla, a large area dorso-laterad just before middle of segment 2 of the abdomen (fuscous), caudal margin of that segment broadly, pedicel and rest of flagellum, save funicles I to 2, black.
Head densely scaly-punctate, the lower face convergently striate. Pedicel nearly thrice longer than wide, distinctly shorter than funicle i, the latter subelongate, thicker distad or subclavate, four times longer than wide, a third longer than 2, 6 quadrate, 7 subquadrate.
Thorax cross-reticulated scaly, the scutellum and axillae finely long- striate. Four long black bristles across pronotum caudad, two on cau- dal scutum, one on the axilla laterad, four on the scutellum at the middle, arranged in a semi-circle; long black setae on the vertex (8). Propodeum between the spiracles long-striate, the spiracle round, cen- tral. Parapsidal furrows as in Uriolaclaps yet touching the scutellum.
Fore wings about twice the size of the posterior wings, both small, longer than wide.
Abdomen delicately scaly, distad of segment 2.
From one female, Hillmead (Glenndale), Prince George County, Maryland. Captured by sweeping the foliage of oaks and other trees of various species in the woods, June 4, 1916.
Type: Catalogue No. 20305, U. S. N. M., the female on a tag, the head and a caudal tibia on a slide.
Miscogaster ungutta new species.
9 . Similar to flora but somewhat smaller and the middle tibiae also are metallic purple. Also, the short abdominal petiole is white. Other- wise the same. Mandibles 4-dentate.
One female, Glenndale, Maryland, from the woods, June 4, 1916.
Type: Catalogue No. 20313, U. S. N. M., the female on a tag, the head and caudal tibiae on a slide.
24 ENTOMOLOGICAL NEWS. [Jan., '17
Some Unusual Orchid Insects (Hem., Lep., Dip., Col.)-
By HARRY B. WEISS, New Brunswick, New Jersey.
(Plates IV and V.)
The following notes relate only to unusual insects which have been found associated with orchids growing in New Jer- sey greenhouses. Biological information concerning such species accumulates slowly, especially when one is forced to study them in greenhouses, where material as a rule is ex- ceedingly scarce and the plants too valuable for unlimited ex- perimentation.
Two of the species mentioned herein are new, having only re- cently been described by Mr. G. C. Champion, in the Ento- mologist's Monthly Magazine for September, 1916, page 200. These are the weevils Cholus cattleyae and Diorymellus laevl- margo. Inasmuch as the above mentioned publication is readily accessible to entomologists in America, it was not thought necessary to reprint the descriptions which Mr. Champion so kindly drew up at my request.
Tenthecoris bicolor Scott (Hemip.).
This blue and red member of the family Miridac is occa- sionally met with in New Jersey greenhouses where orchids are grown and has been taken at various times by inspectors examining orchids from South America. It is a common oc- currence to find the leaves of Cattlcya orchids imported from Brazil covered with irregular, white spots one or two millimetres in size, due to the abstraction of chlorophyll by this bug. (Plate IV, fig. 3). As a rule it is never abund- ant enough in greenhouses to do much damage, although it has been known in the past to occur in numbers sufficient to seriously weaken and disfigure the orchids. It is incorrectly known to many orchid growers as the "Brazilian thrips."
The adult lives underneath the leaves of infested plants and both the nymphs and adults puncture the leaves and suck the juices. Cattleyas are especially subject to attack and Laelias and Sophronitis often show the characteristic spotting of the leaves. The following brief description from an account in
Vol. XXVlii] ENTOMOLOGICAL NEWS. 25
the Gardeners' Chronicle for May 16, 1908, p. 313, by Mr. F. Denis, will enable one to identify this species.
Tcnthccoris bicolor Scott 1886, synonym Euritotarsus orchidcarum Renter 1902.
Head, pronotum and external edge of upper wings of a pronounced brick red color; thorax and rest of upper wings, bright blue; antennae and legs, yellow ; upper side of body and antennae covered with fine short hairs ; head conical in front with well developed eyes ; antennae more than half as long as the body. Pronotum constricted, with a deep ridge in the centre of the constriction. The under part of the body is of a reddish-yellow. The length excluding antennae, 4 mm., the breadth rather less than 2 mm.
Castnia therapon Koll. (Lep.).
This is a rare insect in orchid houses occurring only in a very limited way. The large, pinkish white larva of this species bores through the rhizome and up into the bulb, doing, of course, considerable damage. Oncidhnn crispum, Cattleya labiata and Catasctum spp. are the recorded food plants. Brief mention is made of this species together with a figure of the adult in Seitz's Macrolepidoptcra of the World, vol. VI, p. 12, plate 7, a, which gives Brazil as its native home. It is undoubtedly imported every year or so in orchids from Brazil and never becomes permanently established in the orchid house, as the adult is too large and showy to escape attention.
ParalleloJiplosis cattleyae Moll. (Dip.).
This species known as the Cattleya midge is another rather rare insect. The larval stages are passed as yellowish-white maggots near the tips of the roots resulting in unsightly swell- ings, which disfigure the roots and check growth, sometimes causing them to turn black and die. According to Dr. E. P. Felt, who gives a brief account of this species in the N. Y . State Museum Bulletin 180, p. 89, each gall may contain from one to seven maggots, each in a cavity by itself. Orchids im- ported from Guatemala often have the roots badly disfigured by these swellings. (Plate IV, fig. i).
Eucactophagus graphipterus Champ. (Col.). (Plate V, fig. i.)
This interesting and large member of the family Cctlandri- dae is a native of Costa Rica and the U. S. of Colombia. It
2.6 ENTOMOLOGICAL NEWS. [Jan., '17
feeds chiefly on such plants as Oncidium oblongatum, Lycaste, Odontoglossum and various other species having large soft pseudo-bulbs. The adult, which is about 17 mm. long and 7 mm. wide and characteristically marked, gnaws large irregular depressions in the pseudo-bulbs and also feeds on the bases of the leaves, usually cutting them off more or less completely. (Plate IV, fig. 4.) Sometimes they feed rather openly on the leaves, but as a rule they can be found lurking at the base of the plant. The larva lives in the pseudo-bulb and excavates quite a large cavity, destroying much of the interior and pav- ing the way for decay. Pupation also takes place in the pseudo-bulb. The body of the adult is quite hard, it being al- most impossible to pierce it with an ordinary pin unless con- siderable force is exerted. That they can endure long fasts
J O
is evident from the treatment, which they sometimes receive at the hands of unfeeling workmen in orchid houses, who tie strings to their legs and hang them up for weeks at a time finally taking them down and killing them in disgust because they persist in remaining alive.
Acypotheus (Baridius) orchivora Blackb. (Col.). (Plate V, fig. 3.) It is not unusual to come across this representative of the family Baridac and indications of its work in Dcndrobium or- chids growing in various greenhouses in northern New Jersey. It is a typical, little, dull black weevil about 3.5 mm. long, hav- ing the snout and legs thickened, the thorax wider than long and rounded on the sides to the hind margin. The elytron is convex and broadly rounded to the apex. The head is finely punctured, the thoracic dorsum more coarsely pitted and the elytra marked with parallel punctured striae, the ventral sur- face and legs also being finely pitted. It was described by the Rev. T. Blackburn in the Transactions of the Royal Society of South Australia, 1900. Mr. Walter W. Froggatt in Misc. Pub. No. 751 from the Agricultural Gazette of N. S. Wales gives a brief account of this species and figures an adult. He states that the insects were bred from the pseudo-bulbs or thickened leaf stalks of Dcndrobium canaliculatum and gives the following descriptions of the larva and pupa.
Vol. XXviii] ENTOMOLOGICAL NEWS. 27
Larva— short, thickened, wrinkled and curled in burrow when at rest; head chestnut brown, lightest in center where it is bisected by two darker lines, arcuate on hind margin; jaws black, antennae and palpi reddish brown.
Pupa— Pale yellow with black eyes; tip of snout and spines on ab- domen reddish brown, wing-pads dark colored at tips; dorsal surface of head smooth, bearing a few scattered hairs; thorax broad showing a depression on either side and a central suture; abdomen tapering to extremity, each segment furnished with a spine on either side with anal one bearing two and a number of spiny hairs at apex; surface shows several fine hairs upon head with two longer ones above eyes; snout and legs curled downward, wings folded down forming a pad on either side.
This insect was evidently introduced into New Jersey green- houses in orchids imported from some tropical country of the Eastern hemisphere and while it is not by any means common, it is not unusual to collect a specimen or two by diligently hunting through a house of Dendrobiums. During the middle of the day the beetles seem to prefer to rest in the curled, basal portion of the leaf, where a considerable part of their feeding takes place. In New Jersey, Dcndrob'mm findlayanum and D. crystallinum seem to be attacked more than other spe- cies as I have found entire specimens of these plants com- pletely riddled by the larvae.
Diorymellus laevimargo Champ. (Col.). (Plate V, fig. 4.)
This little, black, shiny fellow, which is only 2 mm. long and i mm. wide and also a member of the Barldae, is sometimes excessively abundant in orchid houses feeding on Cattleyas and Dendrobiums. Cattlcya mossiae and C. speciosissinm have been the ones particularly subject to attack. In addition to feeding on the leaves, pseudo-bulbs and flower stalks, the orchid-growers credit this beetle with doing considerable damage to the flowers and unopened flower buds. Plate IV, figure 2 shows the somewhat hard discolorations and spots, usually at the tips and edges of the petals and sepals, which surround the feeding punctures. I have been informed that a somewhat similar-looking injury follows improper ventilation and watering. Such markings of course make the flowers un- salable or reduce their value. The beetles can be found, some-
28 ENTOMOLOGICAL NEWS. [Jan., '17
times crawling slowly over the plants, but usually in the curled up, basal part of the leaf or in the sheath surrounding the flower stalk. Advantage is taken of this habit by the orchid-grower who sometimes sends a man daily through the house to hunt out raid destroy them. Up to the present I have been unsuccess- ful in my search for larvae and pupae and know nothing con- cerning the early stages. Mr. G. C. Champion writes that the eight known species of Diorymclhis are all from Central America and that this new species is related to D. octostriatus and D. 12-striatus.
Cholus cattleyae Champ. (Col.). (Plate V, fig. 2.)
This attractive species, which belongs to the Curculionidae, is about ii mm. long, 5 mm. wide, black and characteristically marked with white and has been found as a rule associated only with Cattleya gigas, but other species are sometimes in- jured. Its feeding habits are somewhat similar to those of Eucactophagns graphlpterus except that the damage is done higher up. The surface of the pseudo-bulb is irregularly chewed and the leaves punctured with large holes, the tissue surrounding these punctures finally turning black and becom- ing hard and dead. From information received from orchid- growers and my own observations, I am inclined to believe that the larval and pupal stages are passed within the pseudo- bulbs, as coleopterous larvae have been taken from these bulbs and they often contain large cavities and exit holes. Mr. Champion states that this species is allied to C. forbesi Pasc., from Ecuador, found among orchids and that two allied forms occur in Central America, these being C. nigromaculatus and C. nitjronotatns. Caltleya gigas comes from Colombia which is undoubtedly the home of this species.*
Diaxenes dendrobii Gahan (Col.).
This species, known as the Dendrobium orchid beetle, at-
*Since the above was written, Mr. H. S. Barber has examined my specimens and finds that two species are confused. One is Cholus cattleyae and the other has been identified tentatively by him as Cholus forbesii Pascoe. In view of this, the notes under Cholus cattleyae apply equally well to ? Cl>.t>hts forbesii as both were found together.
ENT. NEWS, Vol. XXVIII.
Plate IV.
*
UNUSUAL ORCHID INSECTS.-WEiss.
ENT. NEWS, VOL. XXVIII.
Plate V.
R.S.R
UNUSUAL ORCHID INSECTS -WEISS.
Vol. XXviii] ENTOMOLOGICAL NEWS. 2<J
tacks Dendrobiums, Cattleyas and Laelias. The larvae feed in the tissue of the pseudo-bulb and sometimes mine it so com- pletely that only the outer skin is left, while the beetles attack the foliage, pseudo-bulbs and roots. All stages, together with injured orchids, are figured in the Gardeners' Chronicle for July 24, 1897, by R. Stewart MacDougall. In the same article, an allied species, Dia.vencs taylori, is also mentioned. As far as I know neither of these species has been found in New Jersey.
EXPLANATION OF .PLATES.
PLATE IV.
Fig. i — Galls of Paralcllodiplosis cattlcyac on orchid roots. Fig. 2 — Sepals of Cattlcya mossiac injured by Diorymcllns laevimar</o
Champ. Fig. 3 — Leaf of Cattlcya sp. showing discoloration due to feeding of
Tcnthccoris bicolor. Fig. 4 — Leaves of Oncidium oblongatum eaten at bases by Eucacto-
phagus graphiptcrus.
PLATE V.
Fig. I — Eucactophagus graphiptcrus Champ. Fig. 2 — Chains cattleyac Champ. Fig. 3 — Acypothcus orchivora Blackb. Fig. 4 — Dioryinellus laevimargo Champ.
The Distribution and Synonymy of Autographa vaccinii Hy. Edw. (Lep.)«
By RODRIGUES OTTOLENGUI, New York City. By way of a foreword I desire to state that after a lapse of fourteen years I am once more engaged in a study of Aiito- grap]\.a and Allied Genera (see Journal New York Entomolog- ical Society, June, 1902). I hope in the near future to pub- lish another monograph, this time illustrated with colored plates. To this end I already have colored drawings of all North American types in the British Museum, obtained through the courteous co-operation of Sir George Hampson. Also, about thirty colored drawings from my own material have thus far been completed by that wonderfully accurate
30 ENTOMOLOGICAL NEWS. [Jan., 'l/
artist, Mrs. Wm. Beutenmuller, who is at work on the other North American species.
I would much appreciate the assistance and co-operation of American collectors and museum curators, not only in sup- plying specimens (for which I will gladly pay liberally in cash or exchange), but for information as well. The first in- formation requested is in regard to vaccinii. If any collector or museum is in possession of this species, taken elsewhere than above timber line on Mt. Washington or neighboring peaks, I would give much for the privilege of examining the same.
In using the term Antographa as the generic name I am not at present denying Sir George Hampson's substituted term Syngraplia. I am simply using the term at present familiar to American collectors.
Antographa vaccinii was described by Harry Edwards (Entomologica Americana, Vol. II, p. 170, 1886). It was dis- covered by Mr. Roland Thaxter on Mt. Washington, and he also found and reared the larva on a species of Vaccinium, whence the name. In his description Edwards points out the similarities and difference between his new species and ii-aurcinn. What did he mean by u-aureum f
I first collected on Mount Washington in 1890. I also dur- ing that same summer collected at Jefferson, New Hampshire, which is in the valley. I collected on Mount Washington and about Twin Mountain for several successive summers there- after. My material was identified and named at that time mainly by comparisons made for me by Mr. Edwards and Mr. Neumoegen.
At that time the Grote Check List was in common use, in which vaccinn does not occur, but u-aureum Boisd. does occur, the order being u-aureum, mortuormn, ocioscripta, which was exactly as I placed them in 1902, with only slight rearrange- ment, viz., rcciangnla (syn. mortuorum} alias, octoscripta. Alias here replaces u-aureum because I decided that it does not fit the description of u -our cum, the name, however, which it was carrying in all Atlantic Coast collections. Hence my
Vol. XXviii] ENTOMOLOGICAL NEWS, 31
denominating it "alias," it having passed under an assumed name as it were.
There is little doubt that "alias" is what Edwards had in mind when comparing his new species with u-aurcum.
Prof. J. B. Smith tells us (Bulletin 44, U. S. Nat. Mus., p. 255) that the type of vaccinii is with Mr. Thaxter. This I believe is true, that type being at present at Cambridge, if I am not mistaken. But there is also a type in the Edwards collection, labeled correctly Mt. Washington.
Sir George Hampson lists this (Cat. Lep., vol. XIII, pp. 424-5) as Syngrapha u-aurcum, giving vaccinii as a synonym.
I do not wish to discuss the validity of this synonymy at the present time further than to state that u-aureum was de- scribed from Dalecarlia, a Swedish locality.
Hampson gives the distribution as follows : Canada — Nova Scotia. U. S. A. — New Hampshire, Mount Washington ; New York, Adirondack Mts. Alpine, Grote.
Prof. Smith in his Bulletin says : Mt. Washington, Adiron- dack Mts., Nova Scotia.
Dyar in his catalog says : North Atlantic States.
It is my own opinion that vaccinii has never been taken else- where than above timber line on Mt. Washington or some other contiguous range. Personally I have collected on Mt. Washington and in the adjacent valleys at least during four seasons. I have always been able to take vaccinii at proper season above timber line. I have captured other Autographas on the summit, but never a vaccinii below it. Mrs. Annie T. Slosson, who, perhaps, has collected in this region more thor- oughly and more constantly than any other collector, tells me that her experience has been similar.
Whence then the statements that vaccinii has occurre'd in Nova Scotia and in the Adirondack's? I have spent fifteen summers in the Adirondack's and never saw a vaccinii there.
I believe that we have here a case of false identification. For example, only recently I examined the specimens in the American Museum Collection in New York, mainly the Ed- wards collection. Under vaccinii I found four specimens, the
32 ENTOMOLOGICAL NEWS. [Jan., '17
labels reading Mt. Washington, Adirondack Mts. and" one other locality, which I do not recall. The point is that the Mt. Washington specimens were vaccinii, one labeled "type." The Adirondack specimen was my alias, formerly labeled u-aurcum in American collections. The other specimen was octoscripta, the four specimens representing three species.
I may add that I have found exactly similar confusion of these species wherever I have looked over collections, with rare exceptions.
That is why I ask collectors to report to me if anyone has vaccinii from any locality other than the Presidential Range in New Hampshire. In case anyone has such a specimen, I should wish not only to hear of it, but to see it.
It has been said of some authors that they would not be able to recognize their own species if locality labels were re- moved. The converse seems to be true in this group.
In the American Museum in New York last spring I found a series which I declared were mixed. I separated them into angulidens and e.rcelsa. After so separating them, I exam- ined the locality labels. All that I had called angulidens were labeled Colorado and all the e.vcclsa bore the label Laggan. Excelsa, however, was taken by myself in the White Moun- tains. But if anyone has angulidens from any region out- side of Colorado, I should be glad to see the specimens. Sim- ilarly I would like to see sackeni from any locality other than Colorado, or snowi from any locality other than New Mexico. If anyone can confirm or disprove the above views, I should be indebted if he will correspond with me.
A Collecting Trip in Colombia.
Mr. E. B. Williamson, of Bluffton, Indiana, the well-known student of the Odonata, left his home on November 25 for a trip in Colombia, South America, where he will devote his energies to collecting his favorite insects. A card dated December 4 announced his arrival in Panama, where he expected to remain until the 7th. His plan is to return home in March.
Vol. XXVlii] ENTOMOLOGICAL NEWS. 33
A New Genus of Bothynotinae, Miridae (Heter.).
By M. WIRTNER, Monte Casino, Covington, Kentucky.
NEOBOTHYNOTUS new genus.
This, our first American genus of Bothynotinae may easily be recognized by examining the membrane which is pilose above and below.
Male oblong, female oval, or ovate in the short-winged fe- male. Head subvertical, pilose, short, behind the exserted eyes, constricted, immarginate ; vertex wide, somewhat con- vex ; clypeus slightly elevated, separated at base from the f rons, base on a line drawn between the antennal pits ; lorae discrete ; gula short, subhorizontal. Eyes medium, prominent, distinctly remote from the apex of the pronotum. Antennae inserted on a line drawn between the center of the eyes, strongly pilose, the basal joint incrassated, as long as or slightly longer than the width between the eyes ; second longer than the third and fourth united, or three-fourths as long as the basal width of the pronotum, or a trifle shorter than the pronotum and the scutellum united, becoming (especially in the female) slightly thicker towards the apex. Rostrum reaching the intermediate coxae, the first joint passing the apex of the prosternum.
Prosternum triangular, sides straight and raised, its xyphus marginated ; orifices of the metapleura tuberculose. Prono- tum trapeziform, collar raised, hairy, posteriorly convex, towards the apex strongly declivous, basal width almost twice its length, or three times its apical width, deeply closely punc- tured ; calli confluent at the disc forming an arc, shining, smooth. Scutellum triangular, hairy, the base covered, mi- nutely transversely wrinkled, a carina beginning at the apex and disappearing in the depressed middle of the base.
Hemelytra rugose, hairy, lateral margins ampliated, in the male semipellucid, opaque in the female; subcosta entire, forming an embolium, cubitus also complete; the hairy cuneus and the membrane much deflected ; membrane of the male very long, of the short-winged female reaching the end of the abdomen, biareolated, distinctly pubescent above and below.
34 ENTOMOLOGICAL NEWS. [Jan., '17
Feet pilose, posterior femora reaching the apex of the ab- domen, no thicker than the others. Tarsi: first joint longest, the second shortest. Claws without arolia but armed with a strong basal, acute tooth.
Neobothynotus modestus n. sp., type of the genus.
Body brown in the male, in the female piceous, shining. Head, pros- ternum, first joint of the antennae and the base of the second joint, the stricture, sometimes the base of the calli rufous. Head smooth, hairy, its width twice that of the eye ; clypeus piceous. Ros- trum in the male testaceous, in the female nigropiceous, the second joint the longest, as long as the second joint of the antennae. Antennae, apex of the second joint piceous, in some females both the first and the second joints are nigropiceous, the slender third and fourth soiled white, the third longer than the fourth.
Pronotum deeply, closely punctured, hairy, brown in the male, in the female nigropiceous, calli (base always) piceous, stricture rufous. Scutellum deeply impressed at base, hairy, piceous.
Hemelytra rugose, minutely punctate, a row of more evident punc- tures on the subcosta, claval suture and on the commissure, the color the same as that of the pronotum and of the pilose cuneus. Membrane smoky, iridescent, rugose, pubescent above and below, its length in the male longer than the basal width of the pronotum, in the ma- cropterous female as long as, and in the short-winged female three- fourths as long as the basal width of the pronotum; apex of the large cell wide, at the short round angle of this cell there are signs of two very short open apical veins ; a white spot on the membrane below the cuneus.
Abdominal segments of the male rufous edged with black, in the female almost or entirely piceous.
Legs of the male testaceous, of the female sometimes entirely nigro- piceous, the basal acute tooth of the claws about one-third the length of the claw. One short-winged female is entirely piceous excepting the top of the head and the stricture.
Length : male 5 mm,, female 4 mm., short-winged female 3.8 mm.
Captured in September at Greeensburg, Pennsylvania, with
the sweepnet in Col. Huff's park. It is also found in Illinois.
Described from twelve specimens in the college collection.
Type: A male, Greensburg, Pa., in St. Vincent College coll.,
Beatty, Pa.*
The male of this species strongly resembles in color and general shape Renter's figure (I, plate IV, vol. V, Hem. Gymn. Europae) of Bothynotus pilosus Boh.
*An allotype I will send to Philadelphia and a paratype to the Car- negie Museum, Pittsburgh, Pa.
Vol. XXviii] ENTOMOLOGICAL NEWS. 35
Notes on the Feeding Habits of Adult Chrysopidae
(Neur.).
By L. BRADFORD RIPLEY, Dep't. of Entomology, University of
Illinois, Champaign, 111.
All of the statements that I have been able to find concerning the feeding habits of adult Chrysopidae agree that "in the adult stage the insects feed little, or not at all."1 This quota- tion, from Dr. J. B. Smith, refers to the genus Chrysopa. Howard informs us similarly that the adult C. oculata "does not feed,"2 and Wildermuth, in his recent paper on the Cali- fornia Green Lacewing Fly,3 states that "neither sex has ever been noted by the writer to feed in the adult stage, even when food was offered, and doubtless all of the lacewing flies take little or no food in this period of their existence."
In the summer of 1916, in Glastonbury, Connecticut, the writer had occasion to keep in confinement many adults of C. oculata for the purpose of procuring eggs for embryological studies. The observation of these insects has afforded con- clusive evidence contradicting this prevalent statement.
A large scarlet aphid common in New England, on the stems of Golden Glow (Rudbeckia laciniata), having been ni- troduced into the cage, the smaller specimens were vigorously attacked by the chrysopids. The prey was grasped in the man- dibles by the end of the abdomen, the juices sucked and the skin completely eaten. One female, while under observation, ate three aphids in rapid succession, but refused more food. These adults also drank from drops of water. When apple leaves were put in the cage, the insects ran over them rapidly, with their heads almost touching the leaves, as if searching for small insects or eggs.
Adults of both sexes, soon after being collected, or a few hours after feeding, \vere often observed to discharge black pellets from the anus, which appeared to be animal matter, as
1 John B. Smith, Sc.D., Economic Entomology, p. 74.
2 L. O. Howard. Insects, p. 225.
3 V. L. Wildermuth, California Green Lacewing Fly. Journal of Agricultural Research, Vol. 6, No. 14, 1916.
36 ENTOMOLOGICAL NEWS. [Jan., '17
viewed with the microscope, so finely ground and digested, however, that no tissue was distinguishable.
After a few days of confinement without food or water, fe- males invariably died a premature death, with many eggs in the abdomen unlaid, whereas fed females usually laid all, or nearly all, of their eggs.
Unfed females were observed to extract eggs from their own abdomens with their mandibles, and to devour them rapidly one after another. The performance of this operation by one in- dividual was witnessed three times in less than one minute. Only those insects which had been confined without food and water for a few days were seen to resort to this source of nutri- ment. In several instances, females were seen trying to extract eggs in this manner without success, the eggs being, presum- ably, too far within the vagina to be reached by the mandibles.
Since this egg-eating habit is displayed only by unfed individ- uals, it is concluded that hunger is the chief stimulus to this reaction. Scarcity of food for adult Chrysopidae may have been of sufficiently frequent occurrence in the past to account for the development of the preservative instinct exhibited by the females, of eating the eggs. This instinct, however, does not permit the insect to subsist on its own eggs until its abdo- men is emptied of them, as evidenced by the fact of death by starvation with many eggs still in the abdomen. The rate at which eggs are available for extraction by the mandibles is not sufficient to satisfy the demands for nutriment ; however, when food is scarce, this egg-eating habit is doubtless of great preservative value in allowing the females to subsist from one meal of insects to another.
To summarize: (i) Adults of both sexes feed upon small- er, soft-bodied insects, drink water and discharge solid excre- ment. (2) Unfed females die of starvation, leaving a large portion of their eggs unlaid. (3) Females on the point of starvation eat their own eggs, extracting them from the abdo- men as frequently as they are available — a preservative in- stinct.
Thus Chrysopidae are of even greater economic importance
Vol. XXviii] ENTOMOLOGICAL NEWS. 37
than has been known, since the useful work of the notoriously predaceous larva is supplemented by the predaceous work of the adults. In the struggle for existence, however, the posi- tion of this family is decidedly less advantageous than formerly supposed, inasmuch as, not only the larval food, but also the amount of food available for the adult insect, is an important factor in determining the number of individuals.
A Species of Macrotracheliella found in New England (Hemip., Anthocoridae).
By H. M. PARSIILEY, Bussey Institution, Harvard University.
While examining not long ago some unmounted insects be- longing to the Boston Society of Natural History, I found an Anthocorid bug unlike anything I had previously seen. I sent it with some other doubtful specimens to Mr. O. Heidemann, who returned it without comment as "Macrotracheliella sp.," another instance of my friend's well-known acumen and will- ingness to give others the benefit of his great knowledge of the Hemiptera. This genus was founded by Champion in the Biologia1 to contain a new species, M. laevis, of which he had examples from Mexico and Panama. The occurrence of a very closely related species in New England is one of those troublesome facts of distribution which every now and then arise to. confront us with our profound ignorance of what is or has been really going on, notwithstanding our theories of zones, soils, land-bridges, and so forth.
The specimen at hand agrees in every particular with Cham- pion's generic diagnosis but differs from M. laevis in certain characters of specific value. For those who do not have ac- cess to the Biologia it may be of service to present the chief characters .of the genus, especially as it has not been reported hitherto as occurring in the Nearctic region.
MACROTRACHELIELLA Champion.
Anterior lobe of pronotum narrow and conical forming a continuous outline with the elongated cylindrical basal part of
1Biol. Cent. -Am., Ins., Rhynch. II., p. 322, Tab. 19. figs. 21, 22, 22a.
3& ENTOMOLOGICAL NEWS. [Jan., '17
the head, apical collar present ; eyes distant from the front of the pronotum ; rostrum short, not reaching the front coxae. Embolium narrow, linear ; membrane with only one vein, situated near the inner margin. Mesosternum greatly de- veloped, convex, with a short anterior carina ; metasternal ori- fices long, curved forward, reaching the lateral and anterior borders of the metapleurae. Legs slender, the femora some- what thickened. Body oblong, shining, clothed with sparse hairs. Wing-cell with a hamus.
This genus belongs to the Anthocorinae and should be placed before Anthocoris which is easily distinguished from it by the much less elongate head and pronotum and the 4-veined membrane. Triphleps contains smaller species with 3-veined membrane.
Macrotracheliella nigra sp. nov.
Shining black, third antennal segment narrowly yellow at base, tarsi dark brown, paler beneath. First antennal segment not quite reaching apex of head, second about twice the length of the first, enlarged in apical half, third somewhat longer than the first, fourth missing. Pro- notum impressed just within the slightly knobbed lateral angles, pos- terior lobe convex, very finely punctate, declivous, meeting the im- punctate horizontal anterior lobe in a sharply defined transverse line. Scutellum convex and finely punctate basally, the apical half strongly depressed, flat, transversely rugose, acute at apex. Hemielytra very obscurely punctate, the corium longitudinally convex, the cuneus de- flected and slightly concave ; membrane extending beyond apex of ab- domen, brown, narrowly pale along lateral half of cuneal margin and at the inner basal angle. Clothed above and below with very sparse erect hairs, legs and antennae sparsely pilose, the pubescence of the tibiae finer and close. Length 2.5 mm.
Holotype 9 , Chilmark, Massachusetts, 14 Aug., 1911 (J. A. Cushman), in the collection of the Boston Society of Natural History.
Closely related to M. laevis Champ., to judge by the de- scription and figures, but differs from that species in having the third antennal segment pale only at base and the hemiely- tra entirely black while the first and second antennal segments are shorter. (In the type specimen the fourth antennal seg- ments have been broken off) .
ENTOMOLOGICAL NEWS.
PHILADELPHIA, PA., JANUARY, 1917.
The News for 1917.
The rising cost of living and of everything else has begun to affect the NEWS but we shall not let it affect our subscribers if it be possible to avoid doing so. We shall not raise our sub- scription price or reduce the number of pages as long as our many present friends stand by us. We think we have been giv- ing as much (or more) in return for the annual sum of two dol- lars as any other entomological journal in the world and we don't propose to fall behind our past record in this respect. On the other hand, to run into bankruptcy would defeat the very objects for which the NEWS exists and it therefore seems advisable to adopt the following precautionary measure. We shall limit the number of plates in each issue to one or two, except where authors supply the blocks for the plates accom- panying their articles or pay for making blocks. This may mean that illustrated papers may be somewhat retarded in their publication, but the ways to secure earlier appearance are ob- vious.
We take this opportunity of reminding our contributors of the desirability of carefully considering the limitations under which reproduction of drawings and of photographs can be made. When these are to be reduced in size in order to come within the dimensions of an average NEWS plate (6l/2 by 4 inches), it must be remembered that the details of drawing or of photograph must be so far apart that, when brought nearer together by the necessary amount of reduction of the whole plate, they will still be far enough apart to be distinct. This also involves the distances of the various figures on the same plate from each other. Also, since all the figures on a given plate are reduced at once and made into a single block, all the figures must be on such a scale as to bear the same amount of
39
4O ENTOMOLOGICAL NEWS. [Jan., '17
reduction. If a plate must be printed from several blocks its cost is increased, for several blocks are more expensive than one single block whose area is equal to the sum of the several. A little careful measurement of the "copy" and cal- culation will often save much time and disappointment in the appearance of the published illustrations.
Drawings can usually be reproduced in zinc, but drawings with fine details and photographs require copper, which at present costs twice as much as zinc. All drawings must be made with jet black ink, not the common bluish writing ink which will not photographically reproduce. A half-tone, which is the form in which photographs are reproduced, ordinarily shows the background of the photograph, hence if several pho- tographs are associated side by side to form a plate and their backgrounds are of different shades of color, this difference shows also in the half-tone when printed and produces a dis- pleasing effect. All cutting away of backgrounds or any manipulation necessary to remove imperfections in the photo- graph is only done at additional charge.
Questions and. Ans^vers.
The NEWS invites those having any entomological questions which they wish answered to send such in for publication under this heading, and also invites answers from its readers or others to these questions. Questions and replies should be as brief as possible and the Editors reserve the right not to publish any of either class which seem to them objectionable or inappropriate. Those send- ing in contributions to this department will please indicate whether they wish their names or merely one or more initials to appear in connection with their communications, but all such must be accompanied by the full name and address of the writer for the information of the editors.
QUESTION No. 3 — Green geometers usually lose much of their color in the relaxing jar. Can this be avoided and how? I would like to hear from Lepidopterists on the subject. — G. C.
Notes and News
ENTOMOLOGICAL GLEANINGS FROM ALL QUARTERS OF THE GLOBE.
Psyllia buxi Linn, in New Jersey (Homop.).
During the summer of 1916 adults of this species were taken at Springfield, Rutherford, East Orange and Riverton on boxwood plants growing in nurseries. The plants on which they were found were old and well established, having been imported a number of years ago, so there is no doubt about the species being established in New
Vol. XXVlii] ENTOMOLOGICAL NEWS. 41
Jersey. The curled condition of the foliage due to larval activities is quite a common occurrence on boxwoods imported from Holland and it was undoubtedly introduced from this country. It is probably also established in other parts of New Jersey, especially on estates where boxwood hedges and plantings are common and surely must occur in other Eastern States too, inasmuch as it has been mentioned at differ- ent times in the News Letters of the Federal Horticultural Board as being found on imported boxwoods. Considering its method of over- wintering, it is evidently being introduced more or less regularly every time imported boxwoods are received in this country.
In Smith's "Cat. Ins. of N. J.," p. 109, can be found the following note : "Psylla buxi Linn. An imported species on Buxus scmpen'ircns, which has been found in Jersey City." This does not however lead one to assume that it is established in New Jersey. In Van Duzee's Check List of the Hemiptera of America, North of Mexico, it is not recorded.
A brief account of Psyllia buxi in Holland and its importance as a pest can be found on page 176 of Vol. I, "Ziekten en Beschadigingen der Tuinbouwgewassen" by M. Van Den Broek en P. J. Schenk. This article states that adults appear in May and June depending on the temperature and locality and that later about the time the plant has formed new buds for next season, each female lays from one to three eggs on the leaves at the tips of the branches. These hatch before- winter and the nymphs which are covered with a white, waxy sub- stance hibernate under the buds in the axils of the leaves. When the buds develop in the spring, the whitish masses covering the nymphs are readily seen. The injury resulting from the activity of the nymphs consists in a curling of the1 leaves so that they resemble little cups or hollow hemispheres.
In New Jersey adults were taken about the middle of July and also in August and the tips of the branches of many plants showed the characteristically curled leaves. According to the Dutch authors, good results were obtained in the way of control by spraying in the spring with a 7.5 per cent, of soluble carbolineum emulsion. As far as is known, no remedial measures have ever been attempted against this insect in New Jersey. In fact, many persons have assumed that the peculiar curling of the leaves is characteristic of boxwoods and cer- tainly no great disfigurement takes place provided the infestation is slight.
H. B. WEISS & E. L. DICKERSON, New Brunswick, N. J.
The O. B. Johnson Entomological Collection.
Orson Bennett Johnson, professor emeritus of zoology in the Uni- versity of Washington, has given the university his valuable entomo- logical collection. — Science, Nov. 3, 1916, p. 635.
42 ENTOMOLOGICAL NEWS. [Jan., '17
Phylogeny of Ant Lions (Neur.).
There has heen a general agreement in looking upon the Nymphidae, a small family confined to Australia, as representing the probable type from which the Myrmeleonidae have been developed. But this agree- ment is not, so far as I can ascertain, based on any definite evidence, but merely on a general impression of the Myrmeleonid-like appear- ance of the well-known Nymphcs myrmeleonidcs Leach. We now have definite venational evidence to go upon, and we may say at once that it fully establishes the claim of the Nymphidae to be regarded as the remains of the ancestral group from which the Myrmeleonidae have sprung, the course of evolution being marked by gradual reduction in the general density of venation, in the size and prominence of the pterostigma and in the length of the antennae (which become stouter and clavate) and by a change from a wandering (probably nocturnal), carnivorous larva, with omnivorous tastes, to a sedentary, pit-dwelling, ant-feeding form. — R. J. TILLYARD. (Condensed from Proceedings, Linn. Soc. Nciv South Wales, 1915, pt. 4, pp. 743, 745. 1916.)
Knto mo logical Literature.
COMPILED BY E. T. CRESSON, JR., AND J. A. G. REHN.
Under the above head it is intended to note papers received at the Academy of Natural Sciences, of Philadelphia, pertaining to the En- tomology of the Americas (North and South), including Arachnida and Myriopoda. Articles irrelevant to American entomology will not be noted; but contributions to anatomy, physiology and embryology of insects, how- ever, 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.
All continued papers, with few exceptions, are recorded only at their first installments.
The records of papers containing new species are all grouped at the end of each Order of which they treat. Unless mentioned in the title, the number of the new species occurring north of Mexico are given at end of title, within brackets.
For records of Economic Literature, see the Experiment Station Record, Office of Experiment Stations, Washington. Also Review of Applied En- tomology, Series A, London. For records of papers on Medical Ento- mology, see Review of Applied Entomology, Series B.
4 — The Canadian Entomologist. 5 — Psyche. 9 — The Entomol- ogist, London. 10 — Nature, London. 47 — The Zoologist, London. 68 — Science, New York. 102 — Proceedings, Entomological Soci- ety of Washington. 143 — Ohio Journal of Science, Columbus, Ohio. 153 — Bulletin, American Museum of Natural History, New York. 198 — Biological Bulletin, Marine Biological Laboratory, Woods Hole, Mass. 240 — Maine Agricultural Experiment Station, Orono. 251 — Annales, Sciences Naturelles, Zoologie, Paris. 285 — Nature Study Revue, Ithaca, N. Y. 313 — Bulletin of Entomologi- cal Research, London. 324 — Journal of Animal Behavior, Cam- bridge. 394 — Parasitology, Cambridge, England. 421 — Report, State Entomologist on the Noxious and Beneficial Insects of Illi-
Vol. XXVlii] ENTOMOLOGICAL NEWS. 43
nois, Urbana. 447 — Journal of Agricultural Research, Washington. 450 — Apuntes de Historia Natural, Buenos Aires. 457 — Memoirs of the Coleoptera by Thos. L. Casey, Washington. 478 — Miscel- laneous Publications, Museum of Zoology, University of Michigan. 540 — The Lepidopterist. Official Bulletin, Boston Entomological Club.
GENERAL SUBJECT. Bcdkin & Cleare— Notes on some ani- mal parasites in British Guiana, 313, vii, 179-90. Brown, K. B.—
Microtechnical methods for studying certain plant-sucking insects in situ, 68, xliv, 758-9. Turner, C. H. — Literature for 1915 on the behavior of spiders and insects other than ants, 324, vi, 383-99. Ramsay, E. P. — Hints for the preservation of specimens of natural history, 32 pp. (Australian Museum, Miscel. Pub. No. 5).
PHYSIOLOGY AND EMBRYOLOGY. Hoy, W. E., Jr.— A
study of somatic chromosomes. 1. The somatic chromosomes in comparison with the chromosomes in the germ cells of Anasa tristis, 198, xxxi, 329-63.
MEDICAL. Dunn, E. R. — Mosquitoes and man again, 68, xliv, 788-90.
ARACHNIDA, ETC. Levy, R.— Contribution a 1'etude des toxines chez les araignees, 251, Ser. X, i, 161-399. Robinson, H. W. — Some species of tick infesting polecat and otter [Bibliog. no- tice], 47, 1916, 399.
NEUROPTERA, ETC. Harrison, L.— The genera and species of Mallophaga; 394, ix, 1-156. Williamson, E. B. — Directions for collecting and preserving specimens of dragonflies for museum purposes, 478, No. 1, 15 pp.
HEMIPTERA. Baker, A. C.— A synopsis of the genus Cala- phis [2 n. sps.], 102, xviii, 184-89. Baker & Turner — Rosy apple aphis, 447, vii, 321-44. Cushman, R. A. — The native food plants of the apple red-bugs, 102, xviii, 196. Van Duzee, E. P. — Note on genus Hyoidea, 5, 1916, 141.
Osborn & Drake — Some new sps. of nearctic Tingidae [7 n. sps.], 143, xvii, 9-15.
LEPIDOPTERA. De Gryse, J. J. — The hypermetamorphism of the lepidopterous sapfecders, 102, xviii, 164-8. Heinrich, C.— On the taxonomic value of some larval characters in the L., 102, xviii, 154-64. Lathy, P. I. — A new South American Papilio, 9, 1916, 241-2. Reiff, W.— Lepidopterological items from Massachu- setts, 540, i, 3-5. Wolley-Dod, F. H. — A change of synonymy in Xylomiges, 4, 1«J1G. 367-8.
44 ENTOMOLOGICAL NEWS. [Jan., ' IJ
Bartsch, R. C. B.— Two new forms of Catocalae, 540, i, 3. Beu- tenmuller, W. — Description of a new sesiid, 4, 1916, 372. Busck, A. — Descriptions of new No. American micro L. [l n. g., 15 n. sps.], 102, xviii, 147-54. Eastman, W. F. — A new form of Catocala pura, 540, i, 2. Gibson, A. — A n. sp. of tortrix of economic importance from Newfoundland, 4, 1916, 373-5. Swett, L. W.— New species of Geometridae from California, 450, i, 5-6 (cont.).
DIPTERA. Howard, L. O. — A curious formation of a fungus occurring on a fly, 102, xviii, 196-7. Hutchison, R. H. — Notes on the larvae of Euxesta notata, 102, xviii, 171-77. Knab, F. — Egg- disposal in Dermatobia hominis, 102, xviii, 179-83. Metcalf, C. L. — Syrphidae of Maine, 240, Bui. 253. Walton, W. R.— The tachinid genus Argyrophylax, 102, xviii, 189-92. Webb & Hutchison— A preliminary note on the bionomics of Pollenia rudis in America, 102, xviii, 197-9. Weiss, H. B.— Monarthropalpus buxi in N. J., 5, 1916, 154-6.
Brues, C. T. — A remarkable n. sp. of Phora (Trineura), 4, 1916, 394-5. Parker, R. R. — Sarcophagidae of New England, III, Sarco- fahrtia ravinia, new gen. and sp., 5, 1916, 131-9.
COLEOPTERA. Allard, H. A.— The synchronal flashing of fire- flies, 68, xliv, 710. Barber, H. S. — A new sp. of weevil injuring orchids, 102, xviii, 177-9. Craighead, F. C. — The determination of the abdominal and thoracic areas of the cerambycid larvae as based on a study of the muscles, 102, xviii, 129-46. Forbes, S. A. — Life history and habits of the northern corn root-worm (Diabrotica longicornis), 421, xxviii, 80-86. Frost, C. A. — Collecting notes and random observations of the Maine C., 4, 1916, 381-90. Hyslop, J. A. — Pristocera armifer parasitic on Limonius agonus, 102, xviii, 169-70. Sell, R. A.— Ways of the western flower beetle, 285, xii, 332-4.
Casey, T. L. — Further studies in the Cicindelidae [many new]; Some random studies among the clavicornia [many new], 457, vii, 1-34; 35-292. Wickham, H. F. — A new brachyelytrous trogositid beetle from Colorado, 5, 1916, 146-8.
HYMENOPTERA. Bradley, J. C.— Taxonomic notes on Aga- thinae (Braconidae), 5, 1916, 139-40. Gray, H. St. G.— Scarcity of wasps, 10, 1916, 209. Middleton, W.— Notes on Dianthidium ari- zonicum, 102, xviii. 193-5. Wells, M. — Literature for 1915 on ants and myrmecophils, 324, vi, 400-406. Wheeler, W. M. — Note on the Brazilian fire-ant, Solenopsis saevissima; An anomalous blind worker ant, 5, 1916, 142-3; 143-5. Williams, L. T.— Notes on the egg-parasites of the apple tree tent-caterpillar (Malacosoma ameri- cana), 5, 1916, 148-53.
Vol. XXVlii] ENTOMOLOGICAL NEWS. 45
Cockerell, T. D. A. — Some California bees [3 new], 4, 1916, 391-3. Girault, A. A. — A new genus of omphaline Eulophidae from N. America [1 n. sp.], 9, 1016, 249-50. Rohwer, S. A.-- -Notes on the Psammocharidae described by Provancher, with descrip- tion of a n. sp., 4, 1916, 369-72. A new bee of the genus Dianthi- dium, 102, xviii, 192-3. Viereck, H. L. — New sps. of the bee genus Andrena in the American Mus. of Nat. History [4 new], 153, xxxv, 729-32.
THE LEPIDOPTERIST : Official Bulletin of the Boston Entomological
Club.
Volume One, number one (four pages) of this publication has ap- pleared. The editor is Rudolf C. B. Bartsch, Roslindale, Massachusetts. The price of subscription is thirty-five cents a year. The last publica- tion devoted to Lepidoptera exclusively was "Papilio" and it died about thirty-three years ago. "The (Boston) Club has one feature which is new to entomological societies of this country. After each regular business meeting the Club holds an auction sale of specimens belonging to various members. A ten per cent, commission is charged which is placed in the treasury of the Club." Can you imagine such a thing in Boston! The Club advocates the publication of a priced catalog of lepidoptera to facilitate exchange among collectors. The editor appears to be the president of the "Kato Kalo Co.," which deals in the Catacolae of the world. A new species and several new varieties are described, but the dominant idea of the Club and the journal seems to be com- mercialism. There may be a place in the sun for a new journal of this kind which will appeal to the beginner and the collector and we will watch the experiment with interest. If something is not done for the embryo entomologist there is danger that the veterans may die off much faster than the ranks are recruited. The activities of our older ento- mological societies are too profoundly scientific to encourage or interest the tyro, who is to become the scientific entomologist of the future. — H. S.
Doings of Societies.
American Entomological Society.
Meeting of October 26, 1916, in the Academy of Natural Sciences of Philadelphia. Dr. Henry Skinner, president, in the chair. Eleven per- sons present.
Dr. W. J. Holland and Dr. W. L. Abbott were elected to resident membership.
Mr. Rchn made some interesting remarks on the Arizona field work of the past summer carried on by Dr. F. K. Lutz and himself, in the in- terests of the Academy and of the American Museum of Natural His-
46 ENTOMOLOGICAL NEWS. [Jan., '17
tory. Several particularly interesting ranges of mountains in southern Arizona were visited and examined for general entomological material, but particularly for certain Lepidoptera and Orthoptera. The results were quite satisfactory and much information and evidence relative to the distribution and occurrence of insects were secured. The re- marks were illustrated by a map of the region visited.
These remarks led to a discussion on night collecting with light, and Dr. Skinner mentioned collecting Sphingidae in Cuba late at night or early in the morning when the insects became chilled and in this con- dition on walls, etc., could be easily bottled, and thus perfect speci- mens secured.
Orthoptera. — Mr. Laurent exhibited nymphs, adults and egg- masses of Paratenodcra sincnsis, and read a paper by Prof. W. Loch- head in the Report of the Entomological Society of Ontario for 1914, page 64, speaking of the writings of Jean Henri Fabre, from which he quotes statements regarding the Praying Mantis (probably Mantis re- ligiosa). Paratcnodera sincnsis female, as observed around Philadel- phia, does not differ from what Fabre states for Mantis rcligiosa. On September 2oth Mr. Laurent placed a female in a large cage along with three males. Within five minutes a male copulated with the fe- male, and before the day was over the "husband" paid for his rashness with his life. The female ate the entire insect excepting the two hind legs and wings. From the 20th of September until the I4th of Octo- ber she devoured six husbands — when she died without laying eggs. Although there were at all times from three to six males in the cage, yet the female only molested those that copulated with her. In the vicinity of Philadelphia the eggs of sincnsis hatch about the middle of May. By the end of August the majority of the insects are fully de- veloped, and from then on to about the 2Oth of October mature speci- mens can be captured. These remarks were followed by discussion by Messrs. Wenzel, Hornig, Skinner and Ilg.
Coleoptera. — Mr. Wenzel exhibited a specimen of typical Mci/ctra z'ittata and a very large specimen supposedly of this species lately received from the Hueco Mountains, New Mexico, northeast of El Paso. — ROSWELL C. WILLIAMS, JR., Recording Secretary.
Newark Entomological Society.
Meeting of November 12, 1916, held in the Newark (New Jersey) Public Library. Pres. Buchholz in the chair and twelve members pres- ent. Mr. A. Goerner of Jersey City was elected a member.
Lepidoptera. — Mr. Rummel exhibited Apatura ccltis from Ha- gerstown, Maryland, VI-29 and Apatnra clyton from Arlington, New Jersey, VIII-4, and spoke of his experience with and of the secretive habits of the adults of the latter species. He also mentioned finding
Vol. XXVlii] ENTOMOLOGICAL NEWS. 47
thousands of the larvae on hackberry during October and later in the season under foliage at the bases of the trees. He exhibited hundreds of second stage larvae which he had collected at Arlington. Mr. Weiss showed two species of Geometridae which had been captured by the sticky nectar of the mosquito plant, I'incctoxicum japonicum. and also dried specimens of the plant.
Hymenoptera. — Mr. Weiss spoke of finding the European saw fly, Diprion simile Hartig, in New Jersey this past summer, and of its injury to pines and exhibited a male and a female.
Coleoptera. — Mr. Weiss exhibited two orchid weevils new to Xew Jersey, these being Acypotheiis orchirora Blackb., and Diorymcl- lus laevimargo Champ., both being injurious to greenhouse orchids, the latter species only recently having been described by Champion. — HARRY B. WEISS, Secretary.
Entomological Section, The Academy of Natural Sciences,
Philadelphia.
Meeting of November 23, 1916. Nine persons present. Mr. R. C. Williams, Jr., Vice-Director, presiding.
Mr. McAtee, of Washington, D. C., spoke of his interest in work- ing up the local fauna of that vicinty.
Diptera. — Mr. Hornig reported the finding of fresh pupae of the house fly on the 20th of this month which he considered noteworthy in view of the prevailing cold weather.
Lepidoptera. — Mr. Ilg exhibited some specimens of the lo moth which he said are emerging now in his room. He said that birch was the food plant of these moths. Dr. Calvert called attention to a com- munication by Dr. Carpenter in the Proceedings of the Entomological Society of London (for 1915, pages Ixix-lxxii) relative to his obser- vations in South Africa of birds eating butterflies. The birds seem- ingly preferred the Lycaenidae to the Pierinae. Mr. McAtee spoke of his investigation of birds as agents in the destruction of insects. He stated that, although there seems to be conclusive proof that birds eat butterflies, the quantity consumed evidently cannot materially affect their survival. He further stated that according to his observations a species is never exterminated by its natural enemy.
Orthoptera. — Mr. Rehn made a few interesting remarks on the auditory foramina found on the cephalic tibiae of Tettigoniidae and Gryllidae, with particular reference to the external development of the same found in certain genera of the Gryllotalpinae. The features separating Gryllotalpa and a new genus related to the same were dis- cussed and material illustrative of this exhibited. Mr. Rehn said in answer to a question that the function of the so-called auditory organs has not been definitely determined. A lengthy discussion followed as
4& ENTOMOLOGICAL NEWS. [Jan., '17
to the correlation of certain characters such as size of the stridulating apparatus and ocelli in short and long wing forms of Orthoptera; also regarding the correlation of the size of the eyes and the habits of animals in relation to light and darkness.
Meeting of December u, 1916. Eleven persons present. Director Philip Laurent presiding.
Coleoptera.— Mr. Laurent exhibited a collection of twenty-six species of Coleoptera and a number of other insects that he had col- lected in molasses traps during the past summer. The traps consisted of jelly glasses containing about an inch of molasses, which were sunk in the ground so that the tops of the glasses would be level with the surrounding surface; about an inch and a half above the top of the glass a flat stone or piece of wood was placed so as to keep out the rain. The speaker stated that few collectors ever tried this way of collecting. The principal beetles that fall victims to the traps are Carabidae.
Mr. Hebard spoke of his experience with molasses traps in collecting insects, especially Orthoptera. He mentioned a time while collecting in New Jersey, during the migration of the army worm when his traps were so filled with specimens of this species that he had to give up his quest for Orthoptera. He further stated that sinking these traps at various places having diverse environments resulted in interesting captures and showed that certain species are more confined to certain lo- calities or habitats than is generally realized. The speaker also stated that he has tried to find specimens of some of the species caught in such traps, by making thorough search over a large area around the traps, looking under stones, pieces of wood, etc., but never has had any success. He said that this method of collecting, viz., with molasses traps, does not seem to be satisfactory in the tropics. General discus- sion followed principally on the apparent abundance of one sex of a species while the other sex is seldom or never seen.
Mr. Williams called attention to some passages in "The Nightside of Japan," by Fujimoto, which describes the interest Japanese take in the song of insects ; a society has been formed in Tokyo for hearing insects sing, the "Mushi-Hanachi-Kai" (Meeting of Setting Insects Free).
The following officers were elected for the year 1917: Director, Philip Laurent ; Vice-Director, R. C. Williams, Jr. ; Treasurer, E. T. Cresson ; Conservator, Henry Skinner; Secretary. J. A. G. Rehn ; Recorder, E. T. Cresson, Jr. — E. T. CRESSON, JR., Recorder.
The number of Entomological News for December, 1916, was mailed at the Philadelphia Post Office December 6, 1916.
The Celebrated Original Dust and Pest-Proof
METAL CABINETS
FOR SCHMITT BOXES
These cabinets have a specially constructed groove or trough around the front lined with a material of our own design, which is adjustable to the pressure of the front cover. The cover, when in place, is made fast by spring wire locks or clasps, causing a constant pressure on the lining it) the groove. The cabinet, in addiiion to being abso- lutely dust, moth and dermestes proof, is impervious to fire, smoke, water and atmos- pheric changes. Obviously, these cabinets are far superior to any constructed of non- metallic material.
The interior is made of metal, with upright partition in center. On 'the sides are metal supports to hold 28 boxes. The regular size is 42i in. high, 13 in. deep, 18j in. wide, inside dimensions; usually enameled green outside. For details of Dr. Skin- ner's construction of this cabinet, see Entomological New*. Vol. XV, page 177.
METAL INSECT BOX has all the essential merits of the cabinet, having a groove, clasps, etc. Bottom inside lined with cork; the outside enameled any color desired. The regular dimensions, outside, are 9x 13x2i in. deep, but can be furnished any size.
WOOD INSECT BOX.— We do not assert that this wooden box has all the quali- ties of the metal box, especially in regard to safety from smoke, fire, water and damp- ness, but the chemically prepared material fastened to the under edge of the lid makes a box, we think, superior to any other wood insect box. The bottom is cork lined. Outside varnished. For catalogue and prices inquire of
BROCK BROS., Harvard Square, Cambridge, Mass.
WARD'S
Natural Science Establishment
84-102 COLLEGE AVENUE. ROCHESTER, N. Y.
As successors to the American Fntomolo- gical Co., of Brooklyn, N. Y., we are the sole manufacturers of the genuine Schmitt insect boxes and the American Entomological Co.'s insect pins. Cata- logue No 30 of Entomological Supplies free upon request.
North American and exotic insects of all orders furnished promptly from stock. Write for our special lists of Lepidop- tera and Coleoptera.
Our live pupae list is now ready. Let us put your name on our mailing list for all of our Entomological circulars.
Ward's Natural Science Establishment
FOUNDED 1862 INCORPORATED 189Q
When Writing Please Mention •• Kntomilogical New*."
K-S Specialties Entomology
THE KNY-SCHEERER CORPORATION
Department of Natural Science 404-410 W. 27th St., New York
North American and Kxotic Insects of all orders in perfect condition Entomological Supplies Catalogue gratis
INSECT BOXES— We have given special attention to the manufacture of insect cases and can guarantee our cases to be of the best quality and workmanship obtainable.
NS/3065— Plain Boxes for Duplicates— Pasteboard boxes, com- pressed turf lined with plain pasteboard covers, cloth hinged, for shipping specimens or keeping duplicates. These boxes are of heavy pasteboard and more carefully made than the ones usually fotmd in the market.
Size 10x15% in Each $0.35
NS/3085 SizeSxio^in Each .25
NS/3ogi — Lepidoptera Box (improved museum style), of wood, cover and bottom of strong pasteboard, covered with bronze paper, gilt trimming, inside covered with white glazed paper. Best quality. Each box in extra carton.
Size 10x12 in., lined with compressed turf (peat).
Per dozen 5.00
Size 10x12 in., lined with compressed cork.
Per dozen 6.00
Caution: — Cheap imitations are sold. See oar name and address XTS /mat
in corner of cover.
(For exhibition purposes)
NS/3I2I — K.-S. Exhib'tion Cases, wooden boxes, glass cover fitting very tightly, compressed cork or peat lined, cov- ered inside with white glazed paper. Class A. Stained imitation oak, cherry or walnut.
Size 8xnx2>£'in. (or to order, 8%xio%xa% in.) $0.70
Size i2xi6x2K in. (or to order, 12x15x2% in.) 1 .20
Size 14x22x2% in- (or to order, 14x22x2% in.) 2.00
Special prices if ordered in larger quantities. NS/3I2I
THE KNY-SCHEERER CORPORATION
DEPARTMENT OF NATURAL SCIENCE. 6. LAGAI, Ph.D., 404 W. 27th Street, New York, N. Y.
PARIS EXPOSITION : PAN-AMERICAN EXPOSITION
Eight Awards and Medals Gold Medal
ST. LOUIS EXPOSITION : Grand Prize and Gold Medal
ENTOMOLOGICAL SUPPLIES AND SPECIMENS
North American and exotic insects of all orders in perfect condition.
Single specimens and collections illustrating mimicry, protective coloration.
dimorphism, collections of representatives of the different orders of insects, etc.
Series of specimens illustrating insect life, color variation, etc.
Metamorphoses of insects.
We manufacture all kinds of insect boxes and cases (Schmitt insect boxes, Lepidoptera boxes, etc.), cabinets, nets, insects pins, forceps, etc..
Riker specimen mounts at reduced prices. Catalogues and special circulars free on application.
Rare insects bought and sold.
FOR SALE— Papilio columbus (gundlachia/ius), the brightest colored American Papilio. very rare, perfect specimens $1.50 each ; second quality $1.00 each.
When Writing Please Mention "Kutomologieal News."
P. C. Stockhausen. Printer, 53-55 N. 7th Street, Philadelphia.
FEBRUARY, 1917.
ENTOMOLOGICAL NEWS
Vol. XXVIII. No. 2.
FEB9
Henry Shimer J828-J895.
I
PHILIP P. CALVERT, Ph.D., Editor. E. T. CRESSON, JR., Associate Editor.
HENRY SKINNER, M.D., Sc.D., Editor Emeritus.
ADVISORY COMMITTEE:
ZZRA T. CRESSON. J. A. G. REHN.
PKU.IP LAURENT, BRICH DAECKK. H. W. WENZHt,.
PHILADELPHIA :
THE ACADEMY OF NATURAL SCIENCES, LOGAN SQUARE.
Entered at the Philadelphia Post-Office as Second-Class Matter.
ENTOMOLOGICAL NEWS
published monthly, excepting August and September, in charge of the Entomo- logical Section of The Academy of Natural Sciences, Philadelphia, and The American Entomological Society.
ANNUAL SUBSCRIPTION, $2.OO IN ADVANCE.
SINGLE COPIES 24 CENTS.
Advertising Rates: Per inch, full width of page, single insertion, $1.00 ; a dis- count of ten per cent, on insertions of five months or over. No advertise- ment taken for less than J>i.oo — Cash in advance.
All remittances, and communications regarding subscriptions, non-receipt of the NEWS or of reprints, and requests for sample copies, should be addressed to ENTOMOLOGICAL NEWS, 1900 Race Street, Philadelphia, Pa. All Checks and Money Orders to be made payable to the ENTOMOLOGICAL
NEWS.
9
complaints regarding non-receipt of issues of the NEWS should be pre- sented within three months from date of mailing of the issue. After that time the numbers will be furnished only at the regular rate for single copies.
IgT'Address all other communications to the editor, Dr. P. P. Calvert, 4515 Regent Street, Philadelphia, Pa., from September isth to June isth, or at the Academy of Natural Sciences from June isth to September
SPECIAL NOTICE TO AUTHORS
Owing to increased cost of labor and materials, only one or two plates will be published in each issue of the NEWS, except where authors furnish the necessary blocks or pay in advance the cost of making blocks at the rate (for 1917) of $2.00 per line-engraving, 6J by 4 inches, or $4.00 per half-tone, 6J by 4 inches. When the cost of the illustrations falls below these rates, the differ- ence will be refunded to the author. Blocks furnished or paid for by authors will, of course, be returned to authors after publication.
INDO-MALAYAN LEPIDOPTERA.
100 Named, Perfect Specimens, in papers, in 40 or more different species. $4.00 post free.
ERNEST SWINHOE
4 Gunterstone Road, West Kensington, London, England
EXOTIC LEPIDOPTERA
LARGE CATALOGUE (60 PAGES), POST FREE
ERNEST SWINHOE
4 Gunterstone Road, West Kensington, London, England
PIN-LABELS ALL ALIKE ON A STRIP, 3-POINT TYPE
Pure white Ledger Paper, 30 characters or less, 25c. per 1000. Additional characters 1c each
per 1000. No charge for blank lines. Trimmed— one cut makes a label. All kinds of Printing.
C. V. BLACKBURN. 13 PINE STREET, STONEHAM, MASS., U. S. A.
ENT. NEWS, VOL. XXVIII.
Plate VI.
•
OMUS CUPREONITENS-BLAisDELL AND REYNOLDS.
ENTOMOLOGICAL NEWS
AND
PROCEEDINGS OF THE ENTOMOLOGICAL SECTION
THE ACADEMY OF NATURAL SCIENCES, PHILADELPHIA.
VOL. XXVIII. FEBRUARY, 1917.
No. 2.
CONTENTS:
Blaisdell and Reynolds— A New Omus
(Coleop ) 49
Cockerell — Entomology at the United
States National Museum 55
Emerton — Spiders in the Adirondacks
( Araneina ) 59
Shinji— New Aphids from California
(Hem., Horn.) 61
de la Torre Bueno — New York Scolopo-
stethi (Family Lygaeidae : Heter.) 65 Fall — A New Genus and Species of Bu-
prestidae (Col.) 68
Griggs — Return of Animal Life to the
Katmai District, Alaska 70
Huguenin — A New Catocala Net 71
Felt — New Indian Gall Midges ( Dip. ).. 73 Editorial — The Convocation Week
Meetings— A Retrospect 77
Questions and Answers 78
Hiser — Erebus odora and its Larvae in
Iowa ( Lep. ) 79
Advances in Knowledge of Fossil In- sects 80
Laurent — Collecting Insects by the aid of Molasses Traps (Col.)... 81
Skinner — Some Synonymy in the Hes- peridae ( Lep. ) 82
Dolley— The Rate of Locomotion of Va- nessa antiopa (Lep.) in different luminous intensities and its bearing on the "continuous action theoiy " of orientation 83
Entomological Literature 83
Review: Aldrich's Sarcophaga and Allies 86
Doings of Societies — Entomology at the
Convocation Week Meetings 87
Feldman Collecting Social (Coleop.,
Lep., Dipt., Hvmen., Streps. Orth.) 94 Newark Entomological Society (Lep., Hemip., Coleop.) 9
A New Omus (Coleop.).
By F. E. BLAISDELL, SR., and L. R. REYNOLDS, San Francisco,
California.
(Plate VI)
A recent collecting trip to Humboldt County, California, brought to light several very interesting facts and what is be- lieved to be a new species of Out us, which may be denned as follows :
Omus cupreonitens, n. sp.
Elongate, glabrous, deep black and shining; lustre varying from cupreous to glossy black.
Head moderate, as wide as the pronotum, or slightly narrower ; eyes feebly prominent; interocular region adjoining the clypeal base promi- nent and convex, polished, very sparsely punctulate and feebly rugu- lose at its periphery, and defined laterally by distinct frontal impres- sions ; remaining frontal region irregularly and moderately coarsely rugulose, the upper part of each frontal impression exhibiting a dis- tinct vertiginous spot when viewed vertically from above, the adjacent rugulae being concentrically arranged ; supraorbital rugulae parallel ;
49
5O ENTOMOLOGICAL NEWS. [Feb., 'l/
clypeus usually glabrous or with a few obsolete rngulae laterally; labrum almost truncate to feebly lobed at middle, the angles being sub-prominent and narrowly rounded ; mouth parts nigropiceous ; an- tennae reaching beyond the prothoracic base and moderate in stout- ness.
Pronotum a little wider than long, sides feebly arcuate anteriorly, thence almost straight and converging to the base, bead fine and not quite entire at base, not interrupting the sub-marginal groove, the propleura visible posteriorly when viewed from above ; disc convex, feebly so in the central area, strongly so laterally and apically, less so before the basal angles, sub-apical and sub-basal transverse impres- sions distinct, median longitudinal line distinct and more or less im- pressed and quite obsolete beyond the transverse impressions, surface vermiculately rugulose, rugulae in the apical area somewhat longi- tudinal and somewhat obsolete ;' apex transverse ; base transverse and very feebly bisinuate.
Propleura feebly and more or less transversely rugulose. Lateral plates of the prosternum obsoletely rugulose, the rugulae crinkly and transverse. Prosternum glabrous.
Elytra oval, to slightly oblong oval, about one-third longer than wide, sides evenly arcuate and sub-parallel in the middle third ; humeri not angulate, broadly rounded or obsolete; sides more or less oblique in apical third and arcuately converging to the obtusely rounded apex, marginal bead rather fine ; disc moderately convex, irregularly punctu- ate, punctures moderate and sub-equal throughout, well separated and equally distributed ; nine to eleven setigerous punctures more or less impressed and visible to the naked eye, surface microscopically reticu- late.
Epipleura glabrous at base, elsewhere obsoletely crinkled.
Mcso- and metastcrna glabrous shining. Mesothoracic side plates obsoletely rugulo-strigulose ; metathoracic side plates more or less longitudinally strigulo-rugulose.
Pemora sparsely and feebly sculptured.
Abdominal surface glabrous and shining.
Male. (Fig. i.) — Fifth ventral segment deeply emarginate at middle, sinus evenly rounded at the bottom, as wide as deep, depth equal to about one-third of the segment, lateral lobes evenly rounded from within and at apex. First three joints of the metatarsi equal to the length of a metafemur. In the type (Fig. i) the humeri are inter- mediate between those of Fig. 3 and Fig. 2(9 Type).
Female. (Fig. 2) — Fifth ventral segment ogival at apex — sides quite straight and converging to form the very narrowly rounded apex.
Measurements: $. Total length, 15.0 mm.; of elytra, 7.75 mm.; width, 4.5 mm. Length of pronotum, 3.0 mm.; width, 3.5 mm.
?. Total length, 15.5 mm.; of elytra, 8.5 mm.; width, 5.0 mm. Length of pronotum, 3.0 mm. ; width, 3.6 mm.
Vol. XXVlii] ENTOMOLOGICAL NEWS. 51
Habitat. — Humboldt County (shore of Humboldt Bay near Arcata), California. Collectors, Blaisdell and Reynolds. Num- ber of specimens studied 150.
Types in the collection of F. E. Blaisdell. Co-types in both the authors' collections.
It requires considerable courage to describe a new Omus, when so many are being described and founded on what are ostensibly intraspecific variations of known species.
The unique habitat of cupreonitens makes it of especial in- terest. It appears that general habitus when studied in a large series is a more reliable criterion than details, which vary in degree to such an extent in intraspecific forms as to be truly misleading.
Diagnostic Characters. Cupreonitens has a form more like calif ornicus than any other, while the elytral sculpturing is that of audouinl; the pronotal rugulosity is not like that ob- served in calif ornicus, but less dense and coarser. In colora- tion it is said to resemble vandykei.
The type of vandykci was found by Dr. Walter Horn in the Rivers collection. Prof. Rivers had labeled it submetaUicus, and it is the only known specimen, having been collected in middle Oregon. Mr. F. W. Nunenmacher has collected other specimens in Humboldt County, that have been referred to this species, but we believe doubtfully. There is before us a specimen collected at Dyerville, central Humboldt County, and in the Fuchs collection ; it was obtained from Essig, who re- ceived it from Dr. Horn, if it is correctly labeled. It is not the same as cupreonitens. Calif ornicus and cupreonitens are coastal species, and in all probability have the same ancestry. Vandykei from central Oregon is related to audonini, orc- gonensls and humeroplanatus, the latter being abundant in Humboldt County (Green Point Ranch).
We do not propose to study species of Oinus from uniques or from series of ten or twenty, but from series of fifty and up- ward. Each series must be collected in a single geographical area.
52 ENTOMOLOGICAL NEWS. [Feb., 'l/
DETAILS OF THE HABITAT OF CUPREONITENS.
The series constituting the present study was taken on the clay banks of Humboldt Bay, and separated by a dike and re- deemed marshes from the main land. The species lives in the transitional area between high water mark and the dike above mentioned. The highest elevation of the transitional area is 'not over five feet above sea level and consists of the irregular clay dumpings of a dredger, the inland side of which is over- grown with swamp grass, millefoil and a few weeds. The first specimens were taken from beneath logs and boards left by high tide. Trechus ovipcnnis, Anisodactyhts californicus and Bcnibidia were their companions. Many specimens were caught running over the bare clay banks, both when the sun was shining and when the weather, was cloudy. They were taken in the greatest numbers on the intermediate and drier levels, from beneath boards and by digging the matted grass apart. Larval burrows were everywhere abundant on the in- land side of the clay dumps. Twelve larvae were dug out of a piece of bank twelve inches square. The larvae are to be sent with others of the Blaisdell collection to the University of Il- linois, where they will be studied. It is hoped that some defi- nite relationships will be determined in this way.
Let it be carefully noted that the present species is founded upon the study of a series of one hundred and fifty specimens. Such a series shows the extremes of the specific aggregate. All the specimens were taken in the same area, which was about one- fourth of a mile long and twenty-five feet wide and as described above. The variations included in the series are analogous to those exhibited by similarly large series of other species taken in any one geographical area.
A species studied in this way can have its limitations more understandingly worked out. The authors' collections include large series of californicus, sequoia-rum, edivardsii, blaisdcUi and ambiguus; some of the series of the same species are from different geographical regions or areas and exhibit identical variations, with some one particular intraspecific phase pre- dominating. These series' show beyond all cavil that many of
Vol. XXviii | ENTOMOLOGICAL NEWS. 53
the recently described species are nothing more or less than the extremes, sports or aberrations belonging to well-known specific aggregates. When the last word shall have been spo- ken— if that occurs before evolution has had time to act- probably two-thirds of the fifty-two described species and vari- eties will fall into synonymy as forms (intraspecific variations) ; the remaining one-third will be species with their subspecies or races.
Before drawing this paper to an end it will be worth while —and helpful to the susceptible — to study some of the intra- specific variations or forms.
MEASUREMENTS OF THE EXTREMES OF CUPREONITENS.
Smallest Male. Total length, 14.0 mm. ; of elytra, 8.0 mm. ; width, 4.3 mm. Length of pronotum, 3.0 mm.; width, 3.2 mm.
Largest Male. See type.
Smallest Female. Total length, 14.0 mm. ; of elytra, 7.0 mm. ; width, 4.3 mm. Length of pronotum, 3.0 mm. ; width, 3.3 mm.
Largest Female. Total length, 17.0 mm. ; of elytra, 10.0 mm. ; width, 5.5 mm. Length of pronotum, 3.75 mm. ; width, 4.2 mm.
SPECIMEN SHOWING THE GREATEST AMOUNT OF VARIATION AS REGARDS ELYTRAL SCULPTURING.
Female. — Total length, 14.5 mm.; of elytra, 8.1 mm.; width, 5.0 mm. Length of pronotum, 3.0 mm.; width, 3.2 mm. The setigerous punctures of the elytra are more noticeably im- pressed and subfoveate, eleven in number on each elytron and arranged in two rows. This specimen would without doubt be described as a new species if separated from the aggregate. As a control an abundance of intermediates are at hand.
In numerous specimens the setigerous punctures are not im- pressed and therefore not visible without a hand lens. The visible subfoveate punctures by no means represent all of the setigerous punctures, especially those of the humeral and apical regions.
In cupreonitens the mental tooth is recurved, narrow and deeply grooved, and variable as regards those characters. The largest female has the lateral bead of the pronotum meeting the basal bead and interrupting the basal sub-marginal gromr so that it does not pass on to the basal border of the propleura.
54 ENTOMOLOGICAL NEWS. [Feb., '17
In the smallest male the marginal bead does not join the basal bead and the submarginal groove at base passes continu- ously onto the basal border of the propleura. Similar inquiry into the variations of the other species shows the same varia- tions in specimens caught in the same geographical area. The list includes californicus, dcjeani, sequoiarum, Iccontcl and ambiguus.
VARIATIONS IN OMUS BLAISDELLI.
The male has the mental tooth subacute, surface plane, and recurved as usual. In the females the mental tooth is stouter, more rounded at apex and the surface is plane. Variation: tooth less recurved and distinctly truncate at apex. The lat- eral marginal bead of the pronotum joins the basal bead in all the specimens at hand.
MEASUREMENTS: Smallest Male. Total length, 16.0 mm.; elytra, 9.8 mm. ; width, 4.8 mm. Pronotum. — Length, 3.2 mm. ; width, 4.0 mm.
Largest Male. Total length, 18.0 mm. ; elytra. 10.5 mm. ; width, 6.0 mm. Pronotum — Length, 3.8 mm. ; width, 4.1 mm.
Smallest Female. Total length, 19.0 mm.; elytra, n.o mm.; width. 5.5 mm. Pronotum — Length, 3.5 mm. ; width, 4.5 mm.
Largest Female. Total length, 21.0 mm.; elytra, 12.0 mm.; width, 6.1 mm. Pronotum — Length, 4.0 mm.; width, 5.1 mm.
The above measurements have been made from specimens, selected from a series of twenty-two specimens that were col- lected on the same one-fourth acre of land (Davis Meadow, near Glencoe, Calaveras County, California) bordering a small meadow and sparsely covered by bull-pines. They were living absolutely under the same environment. Seven of the speci- mens have no humeri, and fifteen specimens have broadly rounded humeri. In the seven, the lateral elytral border passes directly and obliquely backward from the elytral base. One male has very nearly the form of augusto-cylindriciis, and the elytra are just slightly wider than the pronotal base. The seven without humeri are undeniably like inter me dius. Inter- mediates connect the two extremes. Such are the variations presented by a small series in which there can be no doubt of specific identity. No mention is made of a similar series taken two miles distant, for if the two series were mixed there might
Vol. XXviii] ENTOMOLOGICAL NEWS. 55
be reasonable ground to argue that two different races or spe- cies were involved. Similar series of cdivardsii, sequoiaruni, audouini, Iccontei, hunter oplanatus and cupreonitens tell the same story. The extremes of a specific aggregate are hetero- types. The specific aggregate of californicus includes vcrmicu- latns and sculptilis, as well as several intraspecific forms that have escaped description.
EXPLANATION OF PLATE VI.
Omus cupreonitens n. sp. Fig. i, male type, humeri moderate and rounded ; Fig. 2, female type, humeri broadly rounded ; Fig. 3, male, an intraspecific variation, humeri obsolete ; Fig. 4, an average female. Figs. 3 and 4 more highly magnified than Figs, i and 2.
Entomology at the United States National Museum.*
By T. D. A. COCKERELL, Boulder, Colorado. Several years ago, when going over the early correspond- ence of Spencer F. Baird at the Smithsonian Institution, I came across the following interesting letter, addressed to Dr. John Iy. LeConte, of Philadelphia:
November 20, '58. DEAR JOHNNY :
You may as well return Vesey's bugs when done with, to be kept here with his other collections. I don't believe there is another speci- men here which you have not seen from the western territories. I hope the new Entomological Circular we are about distributing will stir up the insects generally.
Yours ever,
S. F. BAIRD.
Vesey was John Xantus de Vesey, generally known in ento- mological literature as Xantus, who collected beetles, along with many other things, in Lower California. Dr. Horn (Proc. Calif. Acad. Sci., 1894) stated that the collections were made in 1859 and 1860, but we have evidence here that LeConte re- ceived specimens as early as 1858. Such species as C\miato- dcra xanti Horn and Pachybrackys .vanti Crotch commemo- rate the Xantusian labors in this direction.
*Read at the meeting of the Entomological Society of America, New York, December 27, 1916.
56 ENTOMOLOGICAL NEWS. [Feb., '17
Further contributions from the western territories were de- scribed by LeConte in 1859, in his work on "The Coleoptera of Kansas and Eastern New Mexico," published by the Smith- sonian Institution. Even in these early days it was recognized that the detailed facts were to be used synthetically, and the paper just mentioned contains a colored plate, illustrating the Entomological Provinces of North America.
A Catalog of the described Coleoptera of the United States, prepared by Melsheimer, and revised by Haldeman and Le- Conte, was published by the Smithsonian Institution in 1853. A new edition, by LeConte, appeared in 1863.
Other activities could be mentioned, but the above will suf- fice to recall the beginnings of entomology in the National Mu- seum. Following the custom of the Smithsonian Institution, which is continued to this day, co-operation with students and institutions in various parts of the country was sought, and the then small resources were made to go as far as possible.
Thirty years later than Baird's letter to LeConte, I was in active correspondence with the Washington entomologists, at that time under the leadership of C. V. Riley. I recall my amazement at the kindness shown to an unknown student in the far West, at the numerous and valuable publications sent out free of charge. The story of American economic ento- mology has been told by Dr. Howard and others. Much of it is fresh in the minds of most of us, and it is not necessary to go into details. The point we are interested in at this moment is, that the great development of the practical side of ento- mology led to a corresponding development of its purely scien- tific aspects, of insect biology and classification. The Na- tional Museum, securing the co-operation of the Department of Agriculture, and depending on the staff of that Department, was able to build up a collection of first-class importance. Up to the • present moment this dependence has continued, and comparatively little of the entomological activity in the Museum is under the jurisdiction of and supported by the Museum proper. This is not a unique situation but represents a common trend in American scientific affairs. Thus in the Museum a
Vol. XXV'iii] ENTOMOLOGICAL NEWS. 57
large part of the work on fossils and molluscs is done by offi- cials of the U. S. Geological Survey ; in the universities and schools researches are carried on by those who are primarily paid to teach. It is a wise policy to interpret the laws govern- ing economic activities liberally, so as to include, or at least permit, work which, though not directly economic, forms the basis of the designated undertakings.
Having visited the National Museum at intervals, dating back to the time when entomology occupied cramped quarters in the building, I have witnessed with pleasure and admiration the great developments which have taken place. These devel- opments, however, have tended to increasingly tax the re- sources of the institution, and to-day it is impossible to keep all the collections in good order and up to date. Many of the men are so keenly interested that they work overtime, far into the night or on holidays ; but in the nature of the case it is im- possible for them to keep pace with the accessions and the developments of the science in all its ramifications. Being nearly all employed ostensibly as economic workers, working for the Department of Agriculture, injurious insects and cor- respondence relative to them naturally take precedence, and more purely scientific activities tend to be crowded to the wall.
Fully recognizing the necessity and wisdom of the form of development which has brought the entomological division of the Museum up to its present high standard, I venture to sug- gest that we must in the future, perhaps in the near future, pass to another stage of departmental evolution. Ideally, the Museum has functions resembling those of a library in many respects. It is the business of the curators, first of all, to ar- range and classify the collections, and make them available to those who can use them to advantage. The Department of Agriculture has long ago developed its library facilities, instead of depending on the various workers to do library work. Even the Bureaus have their libraries. It would be entirely to the advantage of the Bureau of Entomology to have the care of the entomological collections taken off its hands, and assumed by the Museum. It would be advantageous to the Museum,
58 ENTOMOLOGICAL NEWS. [Feb., 'l/
from the standpoint of administration, to have control under a unified system. There is no possible reason why, under such an arrangement, the economic workers should not have the fullest use of the materials, whenever they required them, and the Museum would of course continue to profit enorm- ously by the labors of the Bureau men.
Under Museum administration, every phase of the science would receive consideration, and each group of insects would have its own museum curator. Great developments would follow, which could not very well occur under economic aus- pices, stretching the law to the utmost. For example, the Museum is extremely deficient in exotic insects, especially those of the Old World. There are of course large exotic collections, notably the neotropical Lepidoptera donated by Schaus ; but when we come to compare the exotic collections as a whole with those of the British Museum, the comparison is humili- ating.
Without going into further details, I venture to suggest the appointment of a committee of this society to inquire into the subject and report a year hence. The first question is natur- ally that of ways and means. It would be necessary to secure a suitable grant from Congress, and in order to do that, ento- mologists would be called upon to press the matter in as many places and at as many times as opportunity offered. This they could or would only do if convinced of the importance and justice of their cause. It is easy to say that no museum, in any part of ,the world, has yet been able to deal thoroughly with its entomological materials. Even the British Museum has cabi- nets full of accessions, sorted only down to the major groups. Yet it seems reasonable to urge that in view of the great and increasing importance of entomology, and in view of the posi- tion of the United States in the world, we ought certainly to bring our national entomological collections up to a standard which will fairly correspond with our great resources and repu- tation for intelligence. '
I have recently had occasion to review certain phases of English nineteenth century history. It is curious to read to- day the discussions over the problem of popular education, held
Vol. XXviii] ENTOMOLOGICAL NEWS. 59
at a time when church schools were endeavoring to cope with the education of the masses, without even appreciating the magnitude of their task. If some of the really great and good men who opposed public education could now come to life in the United States, and see the vast expenditure of money on universities and schools of all grades, they would indeed be amazed. What we take now as a matter of course and of ne- cessity, would then have seemed ultra-chimerical. So, I be- lieve, the support given to science in future days will compare with what we now regard as large expenditures. With faith and imagination there is no telling what developments may be
possible.
— • <»» • —
Spiders in the Adirondacks (Araneina). By J. H. EMERTON, Boston, Mass.
In August last I joined a party of entomologists from Cor- nell University in an exploring visit to the neighborhood of Mt. Whiteface in the Adirondacks of northern New York. A large variety of entomological specialties were represented and three of us, Prof. C. R. Crosby, Mr. S. C. Bishop and the writer, devoted ourselves to spiders. The party assembled during August 2Oth at Wilmington, twelve miles northeast of Lake Placid, and began the sweeping of bushes and turning over logs around the village. The following day Prof. Crosby and I went to Wilmington Notch and spent the day sweeping the roadside and sifting the leaf mold in the maple woods at an elevation of 1600 feet. Most of the spiders found are known in other parts of the State and in Vermont and New Hamp- shire. Among them are the following: Ccratinclla hietabilis. atrlccps and brunnea, Caseola herbicola, Lophocarcunin sini- plc.r and longitarsus, Microneta viaria and cornupalpis, Diplo- slyla brcris, Bathyphantes zebra, Cicnrina brevls and Cryphoe- ca iiiojitana. In the bushes were Thcridion inontaninn and aurantium, Drapctisca socialis, Epeira aiujnlata and corticaria, Hyptioles cavatus.
On the third day we went up Mt. Whiteface. The lower part of the mountain has been cut and burned and we did nothing until we reached the spruce forest at a height of 3000
60 ENTOMOLOGICAL NEWS. [Feb., 'l/
feet, and here as in the White Mountains we found Linyphia ncarctica on the small spruce and balsam trees and with it the more widely diffused Tlieridion montamtm, and nearer the ground Tlieridion se.rpunctatum. At about 4000 feet we spent much time sifting the moss which grows thickly on the decay- ing stumps, and the species here were the same as at a similar elevation in the White Mountains — Tlieridion se.rpunctatum, Pedanostcthus fnscns, Lophocarenum castanemn, Lophocare- iinm (Ttncticns) armatns, Tmcticus montanus, bidentatus and truncahiSj Amaurobins tibialis and Gnaphosa bru mails. The rarer Tmcticus microtarsus and Nematogmiis drassoides were also found. Above the trees at 4500 feet were Pardosa un- iata, muscicola and lutcola. We camped two nights on the mountain and continued collecting near the summit and on the way down. Another day was spent at Wilmington along the lumber roads east of Mt. Whiteface, ascending gradually from 1000 feet at the village to 2500 feet in the undisturbed forest on the northern side of the mountain. The way passed first through open and partly cultivated country and here we found such familiar spiders as Theridion diffcrens and inura- rium, Linyphia phrygiana, marginata and variabilis, Hclophora insignis, Pardosa tachypoda and Dcndryphantcs flai'ipcdcs. In the clearing at the highest part of the road were Tlieridion montanum, Linyphia ncarctica, Diplostyla nigrina, Amaurobiits borealis and Liocraninn calcaratum.
After leaving Wilmington we spent a day at Saranac on the boggy shores of one of the ponds. Here were Epcira stri.r, corticaria and prornpta, the two species of Argiopc, Sing a variabilis, Tctragnatha (Eucta) caudata and Sittacus palnstris. The black and white bog variety of Epcira labyrinthca also occurred on low plants around the edge of the bog, several having, as in the bogs in Maine, large conical nests containing the cocoons of eggs. Throughout the trip search was made, in the small conifers, for Tlieridion zclotypitui, which extends across Canada as far south as Sherbrooke and Ottawa, but it was not found. Altogether no species of spiders were col- lected, six of which need further study and may be described as new.
Vol. xxviiij
ENTOMOLOGICAL NEWS.
61
New Aphids from California (Hem., Horn.).
By G. O. SHINJI, Berkeley, California.
(Plate VII)
Thomasia californiensis n. sp.
Alatc 1'ii'iparons female. — General color orange to salmon-red. Length of body excluding style, 2.6 mm. ; greatest width of abdomen, 1.2 mm. Wing expansion, 5 mm. Head broader than long, dusky. Eyes red, prominent. Beak short, dusky, not reaching the second coxa as in apterous forms. Antenna dusky except yellowish basal part of
10
Figs, i-io, Thomasia californiensis n. sp. I, winged viviparous fe- male; 2, apterous viviparous female; 3, first, second and third joints of the antenna of apterous viviparous female; 4, 5, 6, the antcnnal joints of the adult alate viviparous female; 7, cauda of the apterous form; 8, cauda of the alate individual; 9, cornicle of the alate female; 10, cauda of the apterous viviparous female.
62 ENTOMOLOGICAL NEWS. [Feb., '17
III, provided with rather few, but very long, bristle-like hairs ; III with about 18 circular sensoria. Length of antennal joints: III, .6 mm.; IV, .5 mm.; V, .3 mm.; VI, .2 mm.; spur or filament, .4 mm. Prothorax wider than long, dusky. Meso- and metathorax also dusky. Middle and hind legs black except orange basal one-third of the femur. Basal one-half of femora and tibia of the front leg orange, the remaining part dusky. Length of femora: front, 1.3 mm.; mid- dle, i.i mm.; hind, 1.7 mm. Abdomen of red-salmon color, with dark dorsal bands. Hairy throughout body. Cornicle black, wider at base than at apex. Style black with a few long hairs.
Apterous viviparous female. — General color salmon-red to orange. Length of body, 2.8 mm. Greatest width of abdomen, 1.6 mm. Head the color of body, broader than long. Beak beyond the second coxal cavity, tip dusky, remaining part salmon-red. Antenna shorter than body ; article III, salmon-red, provided with bristle-like hairs on a row facing outside ; IV and V, mostly dusky, but with a smaller num- ber of bristles each; VI, including filament, dusky. Length of anten- nal joints: III, ./ mm.; IV, .4 mm.; V, .3 mm.; VI, .2 mm.; filament, .4 mm. Prothorax slightly dusky, wider than broad. Meso- and metathorax also slightly dusky. Abdomen salmon-red, with a black, transverse band on each of the segments. Cornicles black, base de- cidedly wider than at the apex. Style dusky, somewhat rounded and provided with hairs. Legs slightly dusky, except at the joints.
Host plant — Acer macrophylla.
Locality — University of California campus, Berkeley, Cali- fornia.
Date of Collection — April 5, 1915. Types at the University of California.
Myzocalis essigi n. sp.
Alatc viviparous female. General color pale. Length of body, ex- clusive of style, 1.65 mm. Greatest width of abdomen .65 mm. Wing expansion 2.3 mm. Head broader than long, pale, width between the eyes .25 mm. Tip of beak slightly dusky. Antenna pale except at the joints of III, IV, V and most of VI including spur which are dusky. Length of antennal joints: III .6 mm, IV .4 mm, V .3 mm, VI .2 mm, filament .19 mm. Article III with 6 to 7 circular sensoria. Prothorax pale, .5 mm. long and .32 mm. wide. Mesothorax pale, width .55 mm. Metathorax also pale. Legs pale except dusky tarsi with claws. Abdo- men pale with 4 large, long, blunt tubercles on first and second seg- ments. Cornicles black, somewhat constricted near the middle. Style distinctly constricted, pale. Anal plate deeply and beautifully bifur- cated, pale. Wings hyaline.
Nymphs are beautifully shaded with green and pale.
Vol. XXVlii] ENTOMOLOGICAL NEWS. 63
Locality — University of California campus. Berkeley, Cali- fornia. Date of collection, April 5, 1915, and also June 15, 1916. Host plant — Qucrcus sp.
Note. — Absence of any dusky spots about the thorax and dusky color of the cornicle distinguish this species from its relatives, such as M. discolor, M. bcllus, M. quercifolia and others.
This species is named after Professor Essig, who has en- couraged and in many ways helped the writer in the study of this group of insects.
Myzocalis woodworthi n. sp. (Plate VII).
Alate viviparous female. General color light green. Length of body excluding cauda 1.2 mm. Greatest width of abdomen .5 mm. Wing ex- pansion 3.1 mm. Head broader than long, width, including eyes, .35 mm., pale. Tip of beak slightly dusky. Antenna dusky. Length of ar- ticles : III .55 mm., IV .4 mm., V .3 mm., VI .2 mm., spur, 2 mm. Num- ber of sensoria on antennal joints: III, 28; IV, 14; V, 12; VI, 4. Pro- thorax nearly as wide as head, width, .5 mm., length, .3 mm., pale. Meso- and metathorax pale with muscle lobes amber. Mesothorax with a pair of large spines. Width of mesothorax .4 mm. Femora and tibia pale, tarsi dusky. Abdomen pale, with dusky dorsal bands. Bands or mark- ings of this species fade somewhat in mounted specimens. Dorsal tu- bercles on the first and second abdominal segments present as in M. essigi. Cornicles dusky, about .13 mm. long. Style constricted at base. Anal plate distinctly and deeply bifurcated.
Nymphs with checkered dorsal marking on the abdomen as in M. cssiyi, yl/. maiirci and M. passani.
Locality — University of California campus, Berkeley, Cali- fornia. Date of collection — June 20, 1916. Host plant — Qucr- cus sp.
This beautiful aphid is named in honor of Professor Wood- worth, of the University of California, with whom the writer has enjoyed studying for more than eight college years.
What seems to me M. hyalinus Mon. has been recently col- lected by the writer in this locality, although the spur is almost subequal to the base ; it may be a local variation. The writer has never had an opportunity of seeing any true form of M. hyalinus . This species agrees with Monell's description in sev- eral points.
64 ENTOMOLOGICAL NEWS. [Feb., 'l/
Myzocalis hyalinus Mon. (?).
Alate viviparous female. General color pale. Length of body exclusive of style 3.2 mm. Wing expansion 3.5 mm. Head pale, width between the eyes .3 mm. Eyes prominent, black. Beak short, tip slightly dusky and lying between the first and the second coxa. Antenna pale except dusky rings near the joints of III, IV, V and VI including spur. Ar- ticle III provided with about 6 large circular sensoria near the base. Prothorax pale, smallest width .4 mm., greatest width, which is nearer to mesothorax, .7 mm., length .4 mm. Mesothorax pale, with muscle lobes orange ; width, .95 mm. Legs with dusky spot at the base of tibia, tarsi dusky, rest pale. Abdomen pale, very much inflated. Cornicles pale, slightly longer than wide at base, somewhat constricted at middle, length about .1 mm. Style pale, tip rounded, with spines about .25 mm. long. Anal plate pale, deeply bilobed, provided with long spines.
Nymphs. — As far as the writer's observations go, nymphs of this spe- cies were not shaded with green as in the case of related species.
Locality — University of California campus, Berkeley, Cali- fornia. Latest date of collection — July 28, 1916. Host— Querms sp.
The writer has had opportunities to examine several hun- dreds of Aphid species, but never observed such a numerical variation as presented in this species. The following measure- ments obtained with specimens collected on the same day at one and the same niche will illustrate this statement :
Numerical variation in M. hyalinus Mon. in millimeters.
Specimen No. i No. 2 No. 3 No. 4
Length of body including style 3.7 2.9 2.4 1.75
Width of abdomen 1.4 1.3 .9 .8
Wing expansion 3.5 3.6 3.2 3.5 .
Length of antennal joint III 95 .9 I. .8
Length of antennal joint IV 7 .9 .8 .6
Length of antennal joint V 6 .75 .6 .5
Length of antennal joint VI 27 .35 .25 .29
Filament 27 .40 .25 .23
Thus in my specimen the spur is not absolutely longer than the base. I am not as yet sure whether this is true liyaliuus Monell or not.
EXPLANATION OF PLATE VII.
Figs, ii to 18, Myzocalis ivoodrvorthi n. sp. n, Alate viviparous fe- male; 12, nymph; 13 to 16, the antennal articles of the alate viviparous female; 17, cauda, 18, cornicle of the alate viviparous female.
ENT NEWS, Vol. XXVIII.
Plate VII.
MYZOCALIS WOODWORTHI-SHiNJi.
Vol. XXviii] ENTOMOLOGICAL NEWS. 65
New York Scolopostethi (Family Lygaeidae : Heter.).
By J. R. DE LA TORRE-BUENO, White Plains, New York.
SCOLOPOSTETHUS Fieber Fieber, 1861, Eur. Hem. 66 and 188; Horv. 1893, Rev. d'Ent. 238.
The genus Scolopostcthits of the family Lygaeidae was es- tablished by Fieber in his Europaischen Hemiptera, in the dichotomy. In the specific keys it was further defined and six species were separated. It belongs in the subfamily RJiy- parochrominae (Stal), V. D. Check List, or Aphan'mae of the European authors; and to the tribe Lethiini (Stal) V. D. (recte Lethaeiini), or Drymini of the Europeans, and follows our southwestern genus Hsuris Stal in the lists, or Cryphula Stal in our local fauna, being the last of the family Lygaeidae in Van Duzee's arrangement. This, by the bye, differs mark- edly from Oshanin and other European authorities, in whose arrangement it follows Eremocoris, its most similar neighbor.
The Lygaeidae (or MyodocJiidae) form a very extensive family, being the third in number of species after the Mlrldae and the Pentatomldae, in this order. All have a very distinctive aspect, from the gaily colored species of Lygaeus to the gray and sober Nysius. They fall into a number of well-defined divisions recognized as subfamilies and tribes. The ApJianinac (Pachynierlnae, Rhyparochromlnae} are distinguished by hav- ing the sutures of the second and third abdominal segments more or less curved toward the connexivum which they do not reach, a sharp character separating them from all other sub- families. The Lethaeiini are separated from the remaining tribes of the subfamily by having no regular lateral lamellar pronotal expansion except at the middle, and the pronotum much narrowed anteriorly.
In Scolopostcthns the head is triangular, anteriorly acumi- nate, the first antennal joint going beyond its apex ; the eyes do not quite touch the pronotum ; the rostrum reaches the in- termediate coxae, the pronotum is trapezoidal, sometimes nearly square, depending on the wing development ; the lateral mar- gins sinuate, laminate ; the incrassate anterior femora have a
66 ENTOMOLOGICAL NEWS. [Feb., '17
single long spine, followed by a series of shorter ones at least to its base and sometimes to its apex.
Its chief characters are: the rostrum not going beyond the intermediate coxae and the first joint of the antennae not pro- jecting beyond the head by more than half its length, which distinguishes it from its most similar neighbor, Ercmocoris. It is separated on the other hand from Drymus by the nearly parallel body and the pronotum not so markedly trapezoid, it being strongly so in the latter.
On recorded distribution, Scolopostethns is essentially palae- arctic, 12 of its 16 species being peculiar to that region, of which ii are found in Europe. Of the remaining species, 2 are American or Nearctic ; I Maorian, from New Zealand, and 2 Oriental, from China and India. It is unwise, however, to place much reliance on this distribution, since the species are smaller members of an inconspicuous group little collected any- where, except in Europe, where entomologists abound and where collecting has been most intensive.
Four species are known from the United States — Scolo- postetlms thomsoni, also European and described thence; S. atlanticns and 5". diffidcns, described in 1893 by Horvath from the United States ; and S. tropicus, described by Distant in 1882 from Guatemala (as Ercmocoris}, and recorded by Van Duzee from "Pacif.," thereby meaning California, etc. ; Gil- lette and Baker, in Hemlptera of Colorado, record it thence.
No species of the genus was known from America, North or South, until Mr. E. P. Van Duzee recorded 6". affinis from the United States. In 1893 Horvath described 5". atlanticus and .S. diffidens in the Revue d'Entomologie, in his paper on American Scolopostethi, "Les Scolopostethus americains," in which he also noted the occurrence of the European S. thom- soni Reuter, 1875, on both sides of the Atlantic, and that S. affinis was European only, so far as known. Our species are separable by the following key :
I (?~) — Two erect hairs near ocelli: anterior femora with one large spine near middle, with smaller spines running from it to both ends S. thomsoni Reut.
Vol. XXVlii] ENTOMOLOGICAL NEWS. 6/
2 (i) — Without hairs near ocelli; anterior femora spined only to- ward apex from large spine.
3 (4) — Membrane grey; clavus with three rows of punctures,
S. atlanticus Horvath.
4 (3) — Membrane dark brown, marked with white; clavus with four rows of punctures, basally confused S. diffidcns Horvath.
Scolopostethus thomsoni Reuter (1875, Ann. S. E. F., 562) is a widespread species through Europe. With us it has been recorded by Horvath from Canada and California, and later by Barber in Insects of New Jersey (Smith), from Roselle Park, New Jersey, taken by sifting. In his Hemiptcra of Buffalo, Van Duzee states it is not uncommon among moss and rubbish in fence rows ; long- and short-winged forms were found hiber- nating together, in company with Blissus leucopterus; the young occurred in July. It is also known from Alaska.
Scolopostethus atlanticus Horvath (1893, op. c. 239) is seemingly the most abundant species about New York. Hor- vath recorded it from Massachusetts and New Jersey. In Journal New York Entomological Society it was recorded from White Plains, from clumps of tussock grass or sedge, at the base, in May, June and July. My last catch was in June of last year, when I collected 54 by sweeping the tussock sedge growing in a marshy spot. These individuals came from the flowers or seeds at that time, however. In May I also took it under a board on a dike running through a marsh or swale. The species is to be found overwhelmingly in the short-winged form; out of some 80 before me only five are fully winged. It also seems particularly prone to defective antennae, three specimens having three joints only on one or the other antenna, and one has both antennae 3- jointed. It seems that Costa founded his genus Tritomaccra on such a defective specimen, and it may be that we shall eventually call the genus under dis- cussion by this name.
I received this species from Colorado under the name Scolo- poscdis discoidalis, a member of the family Anthocoridae. New Mexico (Ft. Wingate) and Newfoundland (East Coast) are new records ex my collection.
Scolopostethus diffidens Horvath (1893, op. c. 240) is re-
68 ENTOMOLOGICAL NEWS. [Feb., '17
corded by him from Massachusetts and California ; Barber has found it in New Jersey (Lakehurst) ; and I took it in Am- herst, Mass., one long-winged and one short-, under leaves in May.
Very little indeed is known of these insects with us, so that it may not be amiss to note here the habits of the more col- lected and better known European species.
Scolopostethits pictus, according to Puton, is found in ants' nests ; Fieber states it is found under fallen leaves, under plants on grassy mounds on dikes ; Guerin and Peneau find it on lake shores in July, on willow ; Saunders took it in the Eng- lish Fens.
-S. affinis Schilling, Saunders reports as common in rubbish and as taken by sweeping nettles in summer ; Douglas and Scott say it is very common, especially under heath, nearly all the year through ; Guerin and Peneau find it common all year, in summer in the fields, on divers plants, in winter under moss ; Fieber records it on dry stony mounds, under Erica (heath).
These are typical of the habit of the other species ; all seem to be found under leaves or near damp places or on dry fields, some, indeed, in all three habitats.
A New Genus and Species of Buprestidae (Col.).
By H. C. FALL, Pasadena, California.
AMPHEREMUS. New genus.
Body narrow, subcylindric, mentum very strongly transverse, arcuate anteriorly ; labrum short, bilobed ; epistoma broadly sinuate. Antennal cavities rather large, separated by slightly more than one-third the total width between^ the eyes, upper margins oblique and slightly reflexed. Eyes moderate, their inner margins nearly parallel. Terminal joint of maxillary palpi widest at base, feebly conical, a little compressed, apex truncate,, preceding joints obconic, as wide as long. Antennae short, rather thick, serriform from the fourth joint, the serri- form ioints densely finely punctate and opaque inferiorly and apparently with very small intro-terminal sensory fossae.
Vol. XXviii] ENTOMOLOGICAL NEWS. 69
Prothorax cylindrical, not margined at sides except for a very short distance at the base angles ; base with a short, broad, sinuate, feebly reflexed lobe. Scutellum very short and broad, scarcely entering the elytral disc, its posterior margin broadly arcuate. Elytra narrow, parallel, a little wider than the thorax , side margins not serrulate. Prosternum broadly convex, more strongly so between the coxae, squarely truncate in front, in- tercoxal process slightly dilated behind the coxae, then gradu- ally pointed. Mesosternum deeply impressed or divided throughout its length, the impression or excavation occupied anteriorly by the tip of the prosternum, but open for a short distance posteriorly. Front coxae separated by about their own widths ; middle coxae slightly more distant. Metasternal epi- sterna moderately wide, about two and one-half times as long as wide. Hind coxal plates not much dilated internally, the posterior margin concave and only a little oblique.
Ventral segments 2-4 equal, first conspicuously and fifth slightly longer, sutures straight, the first fine but distinctly im- pressed.
Legs moderate, tarsi subequal in length to the tibiae, basal joint distinctly longer than the second, joints 1-4 lobed beneath; claws simple.
A. cylindricollis n. sp.
Cylindrical, convex, viridi-aeneous, elytra distinctly cuprascent, clothed thinly above and beneath with fine whitish pubescence, the hairs inclined on the elytra, a little longer and erect on the head and prothorax.
Head exactly equal in width to the prothorax, front convex, densely punctate and with two very small tuberculiform prominences at middle, between which is a slight impression. Antennae equal in length to the prothorax and attaining the middle of the latter; joints I and 3 mod- erately elongate, 2 and 4 shorter, 4 triangular, as long as wide, 5 to n transverse, their lower edges feebly then rapidly oblique to base.
Prothorax cylindrical, a little wider than long, sides straight and parallel from base to apex, disk a little more strongly convex antero- medially, and with a short ante-median impression; surface nearly evenly punctate, the punctures separated by their own diameters or rather more, the interstices polished ; hind angles not in the least carinate. Elytra a little wider than the thorax, parallel to apical third, apex ob- tusely rounded or subtruncate, surface rather densely punctate and vaguely finely striate, the punctures of the intervals similar to and much confused with those of the striae. Beneath rather closely punctate and
70 ENTOMOLOGICAL NEWS. [Feb., '17
finely pubescent, the punctures coarser at the middle of the prosternum, somewhat denser at the sides of the body, the posterior margins of ventral segments 2 to 5 smooth at middle ; last segment subtruncate at apex. Length 6.75 mm.; width 2 mm.
Described from a unique example of unknown sex taken by Mr. J. O. Martin at Palm Springs, California. Type in my col- lection.
The generic affinities of this rather remarkable species are not readily determinable by means of the table of tribal divi- sions as given in the LeConte and Horn Classification. The form is as slender as in many Agrili and the front may fairly be said to be contracted by the antennal cavities, yet the gen- eral facies and most essential characters absolutely forbid this reference. After a somewhat careful comparative study I am pretty well convinced that its place is between the group Chal- cophorae and Buprestes as now limited, and its nearest ally is perhaps the recently described Nanularia* of Casey, with which it seems to agree closely in antennal formation, and substan- tially in several other respects. The mesosternum and meta- sternum do not appear to be anchylosed between the coxae, neither is there apparent so distinct a cleft as in Nanularia. The palpi are unlike those of any of the genera of the Chalco- phorae or Buprestes and resemble more nearly the form in Acmaeodera. The punctuation is suggestive of Hippomelas, though not quite the same. The perfectly parallel-sided thorax with the merest vestige of a lateral margin at the extreme base is quite unique among our Buprestidae.
Return of Animal Life to the Katmai District, Alaska.
In the course of studies of the revegetation of the district devastated by the eruption of Katmai, under the auspices of the National Geo- graphic Society, some observations have been made on the return of animal life. The striking thing is that predaceous animals are returning before the return of herbivorous types. This is true of both mammals and insects. The area near the volcano was practically devoid of insect life three years after the eruption (1915), but was fairly swarm- ing with insects the year following. Most of these were predaceous, parasitic or coprophilous. The origin of these insects, their breeding places, and the reason for their sudden appearance are mysteries. They were ravenously hungry and many were dying from starvation. — ROBERT F. GRIGGS, Ohio State University (in Program of the Ecological Society of America, Dec. 27-29, 1916).
*Proc. Wash. Acad. Sci. XI, p. 172, 1909.
Vol. XXviii] ENTOMOLOGICAL NEWS. /I
A New Catocala Net.
By J. C. HUGUENIN, San Francisco, California.
Collectors of Catocala will undoubtedly be interested in a new net for their special use. My experience and difficulty in gathering these moths is, no doubt, shared by others, and I de- termined on perfecting a net that would obviate many difficul- ties and preclude the possibility of losing a good specimen.
As all CaYora/a-collectors are aware, many of these moths repose in crevices in bark quite out of reach of the collector. With the serrated rubber edge (D in the diagram) the ob- stacle offered by the breach in the bark, which provided a refuge for the moth, can be overcome. The flexible teeth of the net D enter all the uneven surfaces of the bark and a slight movement of the net is sufficient to cause the moth to fly. The teeth prevent the moth escaping along the crevices in the bark. The alternative is flight, and in so doing the moth enters the cyanide bottle through the paper funnel B where, owing to the peculiar construction, escape is impossible.
The maker of this net has been able to catch Catocalac with- out effort at a height of 12 to 14 feet from the ground.
The figure on the following page shows the construction ot the net so that only a few words are necessary in explanation.
A — cyanide bottle 2.y2 x 5 inches showing the position and style of paper funnel B.
B — Paper funnel made of light, stiff paper ; the funnel is glued to the interior of the cyanide bottle at the mouth.
C-— Light wire screen funnel through which the actions of moth can be observed.
D — Metal net frame, 6 inches in diameter, with serrated edge made of rubber, one and a half inch wide, teeth cut so that they will be about one inch long.
E — Light metal (galvanized iron) clasp entirely surround- ing the bottle to hold the bottle rigidly against the net.
ENTOMOLOGICAL NEWS.
[Feb., '17
I-I
Drawings illustrating A New Catocala Net, described on page 71.
Vol. XXviii] ENTOMOLOGICAL NEWS. 73
New Indian Gall Midges (Diptera).
By E. P. FELT, Albany, New York.
In an endeavor to discover plants in which Pachydiplosis oryzac Wood-Mason might breed in the absence of paddy (rice), various grasses bearing deformations similar to those produced by the above named midge were found on three dif- ferent grasses by Mr. Y. Ramachandra Rao and a number of flies bred out and submitted for study through Prof. T. V. Ramakrishna, Government Entomologist of the Agricultural College and Research Institute. Several new species obtained are described below and it is worthy of note that Orscolla cvnodontis Kieff. & Mass, was reared not only from Cynodon dactvlon but is also recorded as issuing in association with Pscudhorinoinvia fluvialis and Lasioptcra fhiitans, both char- acterized below. In addition, females of another species were obtained and it is probable that further rearings would result in the securing of other gall midges.
Lasioptera fluitans n. sp.
The specimens were received from T. V. Ramakrishna, Gov- ernment Entomologist, Coimbatore, India, under date of August 4, 1916, accompanied by the statement that they were reared from galls in Paniciim fluitans along with Pseudhormo- inyia fluvialis described below. The specimens were labeled 3, XII, '15, South India, Coimbatore, from Panicutn flnitans, Y. R. Coll.
<?. Length 1.5 mm. Antennae extending to the base of the abdomen, sparsely haired, dark brown; 18 segments, the fifth with a length equal to its diameter, the terminal segment narrowly to broadly oval ; face with a conspicuous patch of white scales. Palpi yellowish, the first seg- ment irregularly subquadrate, the second with a length nearly twice its diameter, the third a little longer than the second, more slender, and the fourth a little longer and more slender than the third. Mesonotum a shining dark brown. Scutellum dark reddish brown apically, yellowish basally, postscutellum dark brown. Abdomen almost black, with lunate submedian silvery spots on segments i to 5, the apex of the terminal segment yellowish. Wings hyaline, costa dark brown, the third vein uniting with the yellowish costal spot at the distal third; halteres mostly pale yellowish orange; coxae and femora basally yellowish orange, the
74 ENTOMOLOGICAL NEWS. [Feb., 'l1/
distal portion of femora, tibiae and tarsi a nearly uniform dark brown. Ovipositor nearly as long as the abdomen, a thick group of moderately stout, hooked spines at the base of the slender, sparsely setose, tapering lobes, the latter with a length nearly three times the width.
$. Length 1.5 mm. Antennae dark brown, sparsely haired, extend- ing to the base of the abdomen, the fifth with a length one-fourth greater than its diameter, the terminal segment narrowly oval. Palpi : first segment subquadrate, the second with a length twice its diameter, broader, the third a little longer and more slender and the fourth a little longer and more slender than the third. Colorational characters wanting; claws moderately stout, strongly curved, unidentate, the pul- villi as long as the claws. Genitalia : basal clasp segment rather short, stout ; terminal clasp segment long, swollen basally, subacute apically ; dorsal plate short, broad, deeply and triangularly emarginate, the lobes narrowly rounded distally; ventral plate long and tapering to a nar- rowly rounded apex ; harpes long, stout, tapering apically, with an irreg- ular quadrate tooth ; style long, slender, narrowly rounded distally.
Type Cecid. a2
Pseudhormomyia fluvialis n. sp.
The midge described below is provisionally referred to this genus and was received from T. V. Ramakrishna, Government Entomologist, Coimbatore, India, under date of August 4th. 1916. The species is stated by him to be very abundant locally, breeding on Panicum fluitans, a common grass in wet land areas, galls being found both in the terminal and the side shoots. The specimens were labeled No. i, 29, VII. '16, South India, Coimbatore, from Panicum fluitans, Y. R. Rao Coll.
$ . Length 3 mm. Antennae one-half longer than the body, rather thickly haired, yellowish brown; 14 segments, the fifth with the stems approximately equal, each with a length one-half greater than the diameter; the basal enlargement subglobose, the distal pyriform and with a constriction near the middle, each enlargement with a whorl of long, stout setae, the basal with one and the distal with two circtnnfili, the loops moderately long and thick ; terminal segment with the basal por- tion of the stem produced with a length five times its diameter, the distal enlargement shaped like a truncate cone, the length one-half greater than its diameter and apically with an equally long, moderately stout, fusiform appendage. Palpi : first segment subquadrate, the sec- ond narrowly oval, with a length nearly twice its diameter, the third twice the length of the second, slender. Mesonotum purplish brown, the submedian lines sparsely haired. Scutellum and postscutellum
Vol. XXviii] ENTOMOLOGICAL NEWS. 75
yellowish brown. Abdomen rather thickly haired, purplish brown, the genitalia yellowish. Wings hyaline, the third vein uniting with the margin well beyond the apex; halteres yellowish bas'ally, yellowish brown apically ; anterior coxae dark brown, the mid and hind coxae yellowish brown; legs a nearly uniform yellowish brown, the hind tarsal segments yellowish straw; claws moderately stout, strongly curved, simple, the pulvilli as long as the claws. Genitalia : basal clasp segment moderately stout and unusually long, the length being nearly three times the greater diameter and with an obtuse internal lobe near the basal half ; terminal clasp segment stout, slightly curved and with a length about thrice its diameter ; dorsal plate nearly divided, the lobes long and tapering to a narrowly rounded apex; ventral plate long, broad, constricted near the distal third and broadly rounded apically ; style long, slender.
2 . Length 3 mm. Antennae nearly as long as the body, sparsely haired, light brown ; 14 subcylindrical segments, the fifth with a stem one-fifth the length of the subcylindrical basal enlargement, which latter has a length five times its diameter, a distinct constriction near the basal third, whorls of long, stout setae basally and subapically and short-looped, circumfili near the basal third and apically, the latter con- nected by a longitudinal filum ; terminal segment reduced, tapering slightly distally, with a length about four times its diameter and apically a short, stout, subfusiform appendage. Palpi : first segment broadly oval, the second a little longer, more slender, and the third more than twice the length of the second and more slender. Mesonotum dark reddish brown to dark brown, the submedian lines almost naked. Scu- tellum and postscutellum yellowish brown, the abdomen sparsely haired, reddish brown, the segments narrowly margined posteriorly with yel- lowish brown, the eighth and ninth mostly yellowish brown. Wings hyaline ; halteres mostly yellowish brown. Coxae yellowish brown, the legs mostly a chestnut brown ; claws more slender than in the male. Ovipositor short, stout, the lobes broad, with a length about twice the diameter and tapering slightly to a narrowly rounded apex. Other characters practically as in the opposite sex.
Exuviae. Length 5.5 mm., mostly light yellowish brown; antennal horns long, narrowly conical; antennal cases extending to the base of the abdomen, the wing cases to the second abdominal segment and the leg cases of the first, second and third pairs extending to the third, fourth and fifth abdominal segments, respectively; the dorsum of each abdominal segment with a transverse, irregular row of stout, cbitinous, unidentate spines, the anterior ones approximately half the size of the posterior series.
Type Cecid. aj/77.
76 ENTOMOLOGICAL NEWS. [Feb., 'l/
Pseudhormomyia cornea n. sp.
The midges provisionally referred to this genus were received from T. V. Ramakrishna, Government Entomologist. Coim- batore, India, under date of August 4th, 1916, accompanied by the statement that they breed in a grass, Ischaemum ciliarc, the galls being formed mostly in the side shoots, and labeled No. 4, 2, VIII, '16, South India, Coimbatore, from Ischaemum ciliarc, Y. R. Rao Coll.
$ . Length 2.5 mm. Antennae nearly as long as the body, sparsely haired, light brown; -14 segments, the fifth having the stems each with a length one-half greater than the diameter, the basal enlargement subglobose, the distal strongly constricted and with a length over twice its diameter; whorls of moderately stout setae occur upon both enlargements and on the distal two circumfili, the loops being moder- ately long, stout, and rather numerous. Palpi : first segment irregular, subquadrate, the second irregularly oval, the third more than twice the length of the second, more slender. Mesonotum reddish brown. Scutellum and postscutellum yellowish brown. Abdomen yellowish brown, the genitalia yellowish. Wings hyaline, the third vein uniting with the margin well beyond the apex ; halteres yellowish. Legs mostly yellowish brown. Genitalia : basal clasp segment with a length two and one-half times its diameter and a distinct internal lobe near the basal half; terminal clasp segment stout, curved and with a length over twice its diameter ; dorsal plate long, broad, deeply and triangularly emarginate, the lobes tapering" mostly internally to a narrowly rounded, thickly setose apex; ventral plate long, broad, thickly setose: posterior margin narrowly rounded ; style stout, tapering to a narrowly rounded apex.
Q . Length 3 mm. Antennae nearly as long as the body, thickly haired, yellowish brown; 14 segments, the fifth with a stem one-third the length of the cylindrical basal enlargement, which latter has a length about four times its diameter ; low circumfili occur at the basal third and apically ; terminal segment with the basal part subcylindric and having a length four times its diameter; apically there is an irreg- ular, fusiform appendage about half the length of the basal portion. Palpi : first segment irregularly quadrate, the second as long as the first and the third twice the length of the second, slender. Mesonotum dark reddish, the submedian lines sparsely haired. Scutellum and postscutellum dark yellowish brown. Abdomen rather thickly haired, pale reddish, the terminal segments and ovipositor mostly yellowish ; halteres mostly pale straw; coxae and legs mostly dark straw: claws moderately slender, strongly curved, simple, the pulvilli as long as the claws. Ovipositor short, moderately stout, the lobes sparsely haired, narrowly oval and with a length two and one-half times the width.
Type Cecid. a2
ENTOMOLOGICAL NEWS.
PHILADELPHIA, PA., FEBRUARY, 1917.
The Convocation Week Meetings — A Retrospect.
All expected a series of large meetings at New York City during Convocation week, and expectations were fully realized. We have no figures showing the number of persons present at the sessions of the various societies, but elsewhere in this issue, page 88, we give a list of the titles of papers presented and some statistics for comparison with those of previous years. It is always the case that some papers are merely read by title, but there seems to be no reason to think that a pro- portionally greater number of authors and speakers were ab- sent when their names were called at New York than at other places in previous years. The total number of papers of ento- mological bearing is 139 as compared with the highest earlier total of 96 for the Philadelphia meeting of Convocation week, 1914. Floreat Entomologia!
On the social side are to be mentioned the common head- quarters of the Entomological Society of America and the American Association of Economic Entomologists at the Hotel Endicott, enabling many entomologists to meet each other out- side of the meetings, and conveniently situated for visiting the collections of the American Museum of Natural History. On Wednesday evening, December 27, the visiting entomologists were pleasantly entertained at supper, at the Museum, under the care of Dr. F. E. Lutz and the Entomological Societies of New York and Brooklyn. Following came the annual address of the Entomological Society of America, given in the same Museum by Professor T. D. A. Cockerell. His excellent resume on ''Fossil Insects" presented valid reasons why this field. of entomology should be cultivated to a much greater
77
78 ENTOMOLOGICAL NEWS. [Feb., 'l
degree than has ever yet been the case. This evening closed with an enjoyable smoker to visiting naturalists at the Aqua- rium, offered by the New York Zoological Society. There was the usual dinner of the American Society of Naturalists on Friday evening, December 29, at which Dr. Raymond Pearl gave an illuminating presidential address on the present status of natural selection. The same society held a session on Sat- urday morning, December 30, at Cold Spring Harbor, Long Island, and afterwards inspected the Eugenics Record Office and the Carnegie Station for Experimental Evolution, under the kind attention and hospitality of Dr. and Mrs. C. B. Da- venport, Drs. Blaikslie, Harris, Riddle, Banta and their asso- ciates.
The annual question of arrangement of the meetings of the Entomological Society and of the Economic Entomologists so that there shall be no important conflict between the interests of the two bodies came up again, accentuated by the large in- crease in papers on the Economic program. Hitherto, the programs of the two bodies have not overlapped to any great degree. It does not seem possible to maintain this condition of affairs any longer and one suggestion (which, we believe, we received from Dr. W. Riley), that the Section of Horticul- tural Inspection meet at the same hours as the Entomological Society, seems to offer a partial and not very objectionable way of solving the difficulties of conflicting meetings.
Questions and
The NEWS invites those having any entomological questions which they wish answered to send such in for publication under this heading, and also invites answers from its readers or others to these questions. Questions and replies should be as brief as possible and the Editors reserve the right not to publish any of either class which seem to them objectionable or inappropriate. Those send- ing in contributions to this department will please indicate whether they wish their names or merely one or more initials to appear in connection with their communications, but all such must be accompanied by the full name and address of the writer for the information of the editors.
QUESTION No. 4. — Can anyone advise me as to where I can have foreign specimens of Coleoptera, Lepidoptera and other orders of in- sects determined as to specific names? Alost of my material is from Japan. — HARRY L. JOHNSON, So. Meriden, Conn.
Vol. XXVlii] ENTOMOLOGICAL NEWS. 79
Notes and Ne\vs.
BNTOMOLOQICAL GLEANINGS FROM ALL QUARTERS OF THE GLOBE.
Erebus odora and its Larvae in Iowa (Lep.).
On July 3ist, 1915, a female Erebus odora was found resting on a screen door a mile and a half east of this town (Nevada, Iowa). It was rubbed some, but not badly. We have the moth in our collec- tion.
August I5th, 1916, we took another, a female also, three miles east of town where we were sugaring for Catocala. It had come to bait on an elm tree. This one was quite a fresh specimen. It was con- fined in a paper bag, and deposited over five hundred (500) eggs, whicli began hatching four days after being laid. The young larvae were offered leaves of Cassia marilandica, C. cliamaecrista, Honey and Black locust, A markka cancsccns, A. fruticosa and Kentucky coffee tree. They refused all but the last named. About two dozen ate leaves of the coffee tree and lived until past second molt, when they all died. Perhaps they had gone too long without food before beginning to eat and were in a weakened condition. It was a great disappointment to lose them at this stage, for they were a very interesting young family. They resembled young Catocala larvae greatly.
The egg was small, round and a dull, dirty blue color. Two days after, they were laid the young larvae showed through the shell, and two days later they hatched. When newly hatched the larvae were over a quarter of an inch long, very slender, and as lively as Cato~ cala ilia larvae, which they resembled very much. Body color brown, with four tubercles to each segment. These tubercles were black and large, almost obscuring the body color and making the larvae look quite black. Head was large and black. Six days later they passed first molt, were light brown, and from each tubercle extended a long, fine, dark hair. The underside was light and had the dark spots characteristic of all Catocala larvae. A week later they molted the second time, and were about three-quarters of an inch long. Body color the same, with fine, dark, wavy longitudinal lines. The fine hairs which sprung from each tubercle were three-eighths of an inch long and were stiff enough to stand erect. Over the eighth abdominal segment the two dorsal tubercles were very pronounced. Head black and underside almost white, with large black spots. One day after passing second molt they all died.
Since taking the moth two years in succession, two weeks apart, in practically the same neighborhood, and securing fertile ova from one. we wonder — Are they breeding here? — O. F. and J. S. HISER, Nevada, Iowa.
80 ENTOMOLOGICAL NEWS. [Feb., 'l/
Advances in Knowledge of Fossil Insects.
Our knowledge of the occurrence and distribution of insects in previous ages of the earth's history has been notably increased by a recent paper by Mr. R. J. Tillyard, Science Research Scholar in the University of Sydney, on "Mesozoic and Tertiary Insects of Queens- land and New South Wales." (Queensland Ceol. Surv. Publ. No. 253, Brisbane, 1916.) It deals with material collected during a number of years at Denmark Hill at Ipswich, Goodna near Ipswich, and St. Peter's, near Sydney, all in New South Wales and at Duaringa, Queensland. The Denmark Hill beds are referred to the Triassic, the St. Peter's claypits to the Jurassic, the Duaringa and Goodna deposits are of tertiary age, according to an account of the stratigraphical features by Mr. B. Dunstan, Chief Government Geologist, preceding Mr. Tillyard's descriptions.
The Denmark Hill beds, which have been known since 1890 to con- tain fossil insects, have yielded the most interesting of the specimens discussed in this memoir. They represent eight orders (Blattoidea, Protorthoptera, Coleoptera, Odonata, Mecoptera, Lepidoptera, Proto- hemiptera, Hemiptera), thirteen genera and twenty-two species, of which ten genera and seventeen species are new. The chief general re- sults are thus stated by Mr. Tillyard :
"i. Certain insect types characteristic of the late Palaeozoic in the Northern Hemisphere, and not found in the Mesozoic, are now shown to have had fairly close relatives in the Trias of Australia. Such types include Austromylacritcs [Blattoidea], Mesorthoptcron and Mesoman- tidion [both Protorthoptera].
2. The first known appearance of a true dragon fly [Mcsofihlcbia, n. gen.], with nodus and pterostigma, can now be assigned to the Trias, instead of the Lias. It was probably an Anisopterid.
3. A Panorpid (Mecoptera — \Mcsochorista n. gen.]) scarcely dif- fering from a form [Tacniochorista] still alive in Southern Queens- land, existed in the Australian Trias. This group has already been recorded from the Lias in the Northern Hemisphere.
4. A Lepidopterous insect, a fairly large moth [Dunstania n. gen.] is present in the Australian Trias. As the Lepidoptera have not until now been traced back beyond the upper Jurassic, this discovery is of great importance. Also, as this insect existed in a period long before that generally agreed upon when flowering plants first appeared
(Lower Cretaceous), it is an interesting question as to what it fed upon and what its mouth parts were like. [A list of the fossil flora as- sociated with the remains of the insects at Denmark Llill is given by Mr. Dunstan, p. 6, and consists of 13 species of ferns, 2 of cycads, I of Equisetales and 5 of conifers.]
5. A true Hemipterid (allied to the recent Jassidae) existed side by side with a large insect probably related to Huucrcon, and hence ref- erable to the Protohemiptera. Jassidae are known from the Lias of
Vol. XXVlii] ENTOMOLOGICAL NEWS. 8l
the Northern Hemisphere, hut the Protohemiptera did not survive be- yond the Permian.
6. The large gap in the Insect Record (Trias) is at last in pro- cess of being satisfactorily bridged over."
The dragonfly, Afcsofihlcbia antinodalis n. sp., is represented by a fragment, 21.5 mm. long, n mm. in greatest breadth, "of the greater portion of the distal half of the wing from a point on the radius about six cells proximad from the nodus, to a point just short of the wing- tip." Two of its most striking peculiarities are the "very great breadth of the wing in proportion to its length, and the close approximation [12 mm.] of the nodus to the pterostigma."
The moth, Dunstania pulchra n. sp., is described from an "almost perfect specimen of a left hind wing," 20 mm. long, with a greatest breadth of 11.5 mm. A footnote informs us of the subsequent discov- ery "of the narrower and more elongated forewing of this same spe- cies." The formation of the cells of the hind wing "appears to differ in very important points from anything known in the Lepidoptera to- day."
"The most striking point about the collection from St. Peter's is the occurrence of the gigantic Mcsotitan [Protorthoptera. n. gen.l, a form, which certainly links up the insect fauna of this locality with that of Commentry. Although the Giant Age of Insects ceased in the Per- mian as far as the Northern Hemisphere was concerned, yet at St. Peter's we have direct evidence that some at least of these forms lin- gered on far into the Mesozoic in Australia, existing side by side with far more highly specialized Coleoptera, and closely allied to present- day forms. The cockroach, Notoblattitcs, may also be classed as a representative of a very archaic group of Blattoidea, which attained their maximum development in the Northern Hemisphere, near the end of the Palaeozoic Age."
Of Mcsotitan giganteus, "the preserved portion of the insect meas- ures 125 mm. long by 146 mm. wide, and appears to represent only a small basal portion of the wings. The forewing when completed was probably at least eight or nine inches long and three wide at its broadest part. If this estimate is correct, this huge insect must have had an expanse of about twenty inches." The description and the figure are disappointing on account of the fragmentary character of the remains and we would prefer to reserve our opinion as to the size and character of this fossil until more complete specimens are at hand.
Collecting Insects by the aid of Molasses Traps (Col.).
My attention was first called to this manner of collecting some four years ago, by overhearing some one remark that certain parties had collected a large number of beetles of the genus Cychrus in the moun- tains of North Carolina by using molasses traps. I made my first attempt with fly-traps, in which I placed a small tray of molasses; later on, I tried half-pint milk bottles, but had little success with either.
82 ENTOMOLOGICAL NEWS. [Feb., 'l/
This year I used jelly glasses, and my efforts were crowned with suc- cess. The glasses were sunk in the earth with the tops level with the ground. About two inches above the glass a flat stone or piece of board was placed to keep out the rain. In each glass I placed about an inch of molasses. The dark New Orleans molasses seems to be the best to bait the traps with. In removing the insects from the traps I used a rather stiff, flat brush about a half-inch in width, with which I transferred the insects to a wide mouth bottle of alcohol. In the thirty-eight years that I have been collecting, I have turned over thousands of stones and logs, and raked over a few hay-wagon loads of dead leaves, and have only found eight specimens of Carabus scr- ratus, while my four traps in four weeks caught forty-six specimens. This is not an exceptional case, as in the same time I removed as many specimens of Cychrus stenostomus and Dicaclus dilatatus from the traps as I have found in twenty years. The Cychrus and Carabus have no membranous wings, so, not being able to fly, we seldom find them around the electric lights; but they manage to walk, crawl or stumble into the molasses traps.
Carabidae are the principal beetles attracted, but quite a number of beetles belonging to other families will be found in the traps, as well as many insects belonging to orders other than Coleoptera. In all the articles published on "Directions for Collecting and Preserving Insects" that I have consulted, little or nothing is mentioned about this way of collecting. — -PHILIP LAURENT, Philadelphia, Pa.
Some Synonymy in the Hesperidae (Lep.).
Nearly twenty-four years ago I described a Pamphila in the Strecker ".ollection and called it streckeri in honor of the owner of the specimen. I was told it was taken in Florida and had no reason at that time for doubting the correctness of the statement. As the species has not been found in Florida since, there is good reason for doubting the locality given for the type of streckeri, although it is not impossible that it may be found in that State. In the winter of 1914 I paid a visit to my friend Mr. Charles T. Ramsden, who lived on the San Carlos planta- tion near Guantanamo, Oriente, Cuba. While collecting a few miles from San Carlos I took two specimens of a Pamphila which reminded me of streckeri although I had not seen the latter for so many years. The two specimens were taken February nth. I sent a specimen of the Cuban species to Mr. W. J. Gerhard at the Field Museum, Chicago, to be compared with the type of streckeri, and he reported them to be the same. Also the description of streckeri agrees perfectly with the Cuban specimens.
The species was originally described under the name radians in 1857 and the synonymy is as follows —
1857. Hesperia radians Luc., Sagra, Hist. Cuba, p. <>50.
1881. Pamphila radians Gundl., Cont. Entom. Cubana, p. 151.
1893. Pamphila streckeri Skinner, Ent. News, p. 211.
We will know some day whether radians is found in Florida or con- fined to the West Indies.
HENRY SKINNER.
Vol. XXviii] ENTOMOLOGICAL NEWS. 83
The Rate of Locomotion of Vanessa antiopa (Lep.) in different
luminous intensities and its bearing on the "continuous
action theory" of orientation.
If orientation in light is dependent upon the stimulation of both retinas by equal amounts of light energy, as is held by Loeb and his "continuous action theory," butterflies should move more rapidly in bright light than in weak. To test this the rate of movement of ten specimens of Vanessa antiopa in each of two lights, one about 2000 times stronger than the other, was ascertained. They did not move faster in the bright light than in the weak, hut, on the contrary, 70 per cent, of the insects actually moved more rapidly in the weak light than they did in the strong. These results support those presented previously, which indicated that the orientation of Vanessa in light cannot be ac- counted for on the basis of Loeb's theory. Moreover, some positive evidence has been obtained in favor of the theory that orientation is dependent upon the time rate of the change of intensity, since the results of some experiments seem to indicate that Vanessa moves faster in intermittent than in continuous light. — W. L. DOLLEY, JR., Randolph- Macon College (in Abstracts of Proceedings, Amer. Soc. Zool., Dec. 27-29, 1916).
Kntomological Literature.
COMPILED BY E. T. CRESSON, JR., AND J. A. G. REHN.
Under the above head it is intended to note papers received at the Academy of Natural Sciences, of Philadelphia, pertaining to the En- tomology of the Americas (North and South), including Arachnida and Myriopoda. Articles irrelevant to American entomology will not be noted; but contributions to anatomy, physiology and embryology of insects, how- ever, 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.
All continued papers, with few exceptions, are recorded only at their first installments.
The records of papers containing new species are all grouped at the end of each Order of which they treat. Unless mentioned in the title, the number of the new species occurring north of Mexico are given at end of title, within brackets.
For records of Economic Literature, see the Experiment Station Record, Office of Experiment Stations, Washington. Also Review of Applied En- tomology, Series A, London. For records of papers on Medical Ento- mology, see Review of Applied Entomology, Series B.
4 — The Canadian Entomologist. 11 — Annals and Magazine of Natural History, London. 50— Proceedings, U. S. National Mu- seum. 51 — Novitates Zoologicae, Tring, England. 68 — Science, New York. 87 — Bulletin, Societe Entomologique de France, Paris. 92 — Zeitschrift fur wissenschaftliche Insektenbiologie. 153 — Bulle- tin, American Museum of Natural History, New York. 179 — Jour- nal of Economic Entomology. 189 — Journal of Entomology and
84 ENTOMOLOGICAL NEWS. [Feb., 'l/
Zoology, Claremont, Calif. 194 — Genera Insectorum. Diriges par P. Wytsman, Bruxelles. 322 — Journal of Morphology, Philadel- phia. 369 — Entomologische Mitteilungen, Berlin-Dahlem. 373— Contributions to the Natural History of the Lepidoptera of North America, by Wm. Barnes & J. H. McDunnough, Decatur, 111. 402 —University of California Publications in Zoology, Berkeley, Cal. 411 — Bulletin, The Brooklyn Entomological Society. 520 — Proceed- ings, British Columbia Entomological Society, Victoria. 541 — Archives Neerlandaises des Sciences exactes et Naturelles, La Haye. 542 — Proceedings, New England Zoological Club, Cambridge, Mass. GENERAL SUBJECT. Cook, A. S.— Obituary note by D. I,. Crawford, 189, viii, 169-70. Hamilton, J. A. — Entomology in the public school, 520, No. 9, 60-2. Holloway, T. E.— Moving lights versus stationary lights in phototropism experiments, 179, ix, 570-1. Melander, A. L. — The pronunciation of insect names, 411, xi, 93- 101. Petrunkevitch, A. — Morphology of invertebrate types, 263 pp., ill. (New York, The Macmillan Co., 1916).
PHYSIOLOGY AND EMBRYOLOGY. Baumberger & Glaser
-The rearing of Drosophila ampelophila in solid media, 68, xlv, 21-22. Payne, F. — A study of the germ cells of Gryllotalpa borealis and G. vulgaris, 322, xxviii, 287-327. Reeves, E. M. — The inheri- tance of extra bristles in Drosophila melanogaster, 402, xiii, 495- 515. Williams, F. X. — Photogenic organs and embryology of lampyrids, 322, xxviii, 145-208.
ARACHNIDA, ETC. Cockle, J. W.— Notes on the wood-tick (Dermacentor venustus), 520, No. 9, 53-7. Moles, M. L. — The growth and color patterns in spiders, 189, viii, 129-57.
NEUROPTERA, ETC. Walker, E. M.— The nymphs of the N. Am. species of Leucorrhinia, 4, 1916, 414-22.
ORTHOPTERA. Caudell, A. N.— Locustidae, subf. Saginae; subf. Hetrodinae; subf. Mecopodinae, 194, Fasc. 167, 10 pp.; Fasc. 168, 13 pp.; Fasc. 171, 31 pp. Bolivar, I. — Acridiidae, Pamphaginae, 194, Fasc. 170, 40 pp.
HEMIPTERA. Swellengrebel, N. H.— Quelques remarques sur la facon de combattre le pou des vetements, 541, iii, 1-31.
Hollinger, A. H. — The shell-bark hickory mealy-bug (Pseudo- coccus Jessica [l n. sp.], 4, 1916, 411-13.
LEPIDOPTERA. Barnes & McDunnough— Notes on Walker's types of Geometridae in the D'Urban collection; Synonymic notes on No. Am. Heterocera, 373, iii, 35-48; 157-200. Clark, B. P.— New American Sphingidae, 542, vi, 39-50. Jordan & Eltringham—
Vol. XXviii] ENTOMOLOGICAL NEWS. 85
Rhopalocera, Fam. Nymphalidae, Subf. Acraeinae, 194, Fasc. 169, 81 pp. Mabille & Boullet — Descriptions d'Hesperides nouveaux, 87, 1916, 243-7. Meyrick, E. — Heterocera. Fam. Glyphipterygidae; Fam. Heliodinidae, 194, Fasc. 164, 39 pp.; Fasc. 165, 29 pp. Roth- schild, L. — Notes on Amathusiidae, Brassolidae, Morphidae, etc., with descriptions of n. sps., 51, xxiii, 299-318. Stichel, H. — Beitrage zur kenntnis der Riodiniden fauna Sudamerikas, 1, 92, xii, 238-44. Watson, J. R. — Life history of Anticarsia gemmatilis, 179, ix, 521-28.
Barnes & McDunnough — New species of N. American L. [1 n. gen., many n. sps.]; Notes on No. Am. diurnal L. [l n. sp.], 373,
iii, 1-34; 53-152. Grossbeck, J. A. — Insects of Florida. IV, Lepidop- tera [many new], 153, xxxvii, 1-147.
DIPTERA. Dove, W. E. — Some notes concerning overwintering of Musca domestica at Dallas, Texas, 179, ix, 528-38. Hendel, F.— Beitrage zur systematik der Acalyptraten Musciden, 369, v, 294-99.
Malloch, J. R. — A key to the males of the anthomyid genus Hy- drotaea recorded from N. Am. [l n. sp.], 411, xi, 108-10.
COLEOPTERA. Benick, L.— Beitrag zur kenntnis der Megalo- pinen und Steninen, 369, v, 238-52. Borchmann, F. — Die gattung Colparthrum, 369, v, 228-37. Lameere, A. — Trois Prioninae nou- veaux, 87, 1916, 233-5. Marshall, G. A. K.— On new neotropical Curculionidae, 11, xviii, 449-69. d'Orchymont, A. — De la place que doivent occuper dans la classification les sous-families des Sphaeri- diinae et des Hydrophilinae, 87, 1916, 235-40. Verhoeff, K. W.— Studien ueber die organisation der Staphylinoidea, 92, xii, 245-9 (cont.).
Pierce, W. D. — Studies of weevils (Rhynchophora) with descrip- tions of n. gen. & n. sps. [l n. gen.; 1 n. sp.], 50, li, 461-473. Shaef- fer, C. — Two n. sps. of Cebrio, 411, xi, 107-8.
HYMENOPTERA. Bequaert, J.— On the occurrence of Vespa austriaca in the northeastern U. S., 411, xi, 101-7. Nininger, H. H. —Studies in the life histories of two carpenter bees of California, . with notes on certain parasites, 189, viii, 158-68. Smith, H. S. — The habits of leaf-oviposition among the parasitic H., 68, xliv, 925-6. Wheeler, W. M.— An Indian ant introduced into the U. S. (Triglypothrix striatidens), 179, ix, 566-9. Wolff, M.— Ueber die chalcidiergattung Chrysocharis, 369, v, 258-82.
Girault, A. A. — The N. A. sps. of Dibrachys with a note on Uriella; The occurrence of Neoderostenus in N. Am. [in. sp.]: An. gen. of omphaline Eulaphid chalcis-flies from Maryland ll n. g., 1 n. sp.], 4, 1916, 408-9; 409; 410. New sps. of parasitic II. [6 new], 411, xi, 111-3.
86
ENTOMOLOGICAL NEWS.
[Feb., 'i7
• ", <r '
.
•.
'
OPENING UP A NEW FIELD.
The Thomas Say Foundation of the Entomological Society of Amer- ica has certainly introduced a worthy and valuable addition to entomo- logical literature, namely, a revision entitled SARCOPHAGA AND ALLIES IN NORTH AMERICA, by J. M. ALDRICH. This work, appearing in octavo size, containing 302 pages and 16 plates, treats especially of the North American and also of some South American species of the Muscoid family Sarcophagidae sens, strict., containing the large genus Sarco- phaga. The American species of this dipterous family have been a taboo to all students, mainly on account of the numerous unrecognizable de- color and characters of its species, scriptions, of the scattered location of types, and of the similarity of
The present paper is a preliminary revision of the North American species. The family as limited here may be characterized as follows: Eyes bare; proboscis stout, short; palpi distinct; parafacials with orbital setulae ; arista plumose both sides on at least basal half. Scutellum with at most one pair of discal macrochaetae. Abdomen generally gray or silvery and tessellated ; the segments without discal macrochaetae. Fourth vein of wing subangularly bent and ending in the costa distinctly before apex.
This throws out some species that may very properly be placed in other allied families, or may have to be included when the limits of the family are more thoroughly understood. The author has been very consistent in the recognition of genera. Those not distinguishable in both sexes are not recognized as valid but are suggested as possible subgenera, although not treated as such in the present work. As the author says in his introduction : "A survey of the present status of the Muscoid Diptera indicates unmistakably that our present great need is not more genera, but a more complete knowledge of species. . . . One of the main objects of the present work is to make the identification of species as simple and certain as possible. . . . This object would inevitably be defeated by the erection of a considerable number of indistinctly separated genera." Let us hope that this family will not be invaded by the mathematical taxonomist with his generic formulae.
Of the sixteen genera included and treated, eight are new. Among these 145 species and varieties are distributed, of which 125 are placed in the genus Sarcophaga, and 101 of these are described as new. A few European species are recognized and the status of some previously described American species have been established. A case of the latter, Sarcophaga sarraccniae Riley, illustrates the value of establishing a single type for a species. The species are based primarily on the male sex, which offers very definite characters in the genitalia, but in most cases, however, the other sex is recognized where possible in the de- scriptions, and possesses many of the characters of the male which can be used as guides to the determination. It is unfortunate that the females are not so readily determined, but after the species have been
•
the to i seqi spa con1 A
sub: far
exci and
thosl
* .
•
Vol. xxviii]
ENTOMOLOGICAL NEWS.
definitely determined by the males, the other sex can be more intelli- gently studied and that will no doubt result in the discovery of some satisfactory characters of differentiation. The species of Sarcophaya are for convenience divided into eight groups which are fairly well defined. A table of species is given which is very practical, simple and explicit. Considering the obscurity in which the species of this family have been existing, the ease with which the species can be run out, even within at least two or three without considering the genitalia, seems almost incredible.
Another commendable feature is the consecutive numbering of all the species treated and giving the same number to all figures relating to each respective species. Although this adds some confusion to the sequence of the numbers appearing on the plates in the cases of the species not figured, this disadvantage is trivial in comparison to the convenience it gives in working with the paper.
As to adverse criticism, I do not care to enter this phase of the subject at this time. The excellency of the work in its usefulness will far outweigh its defects. I must say, however, that I do not approve of the typography of the paper. There is too much monotony in the style of composition as one turns over page after page. With a few exceptions there are no catchy divisions between the description, notes and habitat data. The method of citing habitat data might certainly be improved. The use of the parentheses is not consistent. Sometimes they may include the name of the collector or, again, may include the name of the town of a State. In working over the tables I noticed what is evidently a slip of the pen, on page 67. Table of species of Group A, I, should read: Middle femur with . . . (not Middle tibia with
. . ). The use of the term bristle is sometimes misleading. On the face the hairs may be described as bristles while in another species those of the same size and stoutness may be described as hairs. The same will apply in some cases to the hypopygium.
In conclusion I wish to express my appreciation of the work as a whole, and I trust the author will continue to give us this kind of work, which is certainly needed in other groups of the Diptera. — E. T. C, JR.
[The above mentioned publication may be secured by addressing Dr. K. D. Ball, Capitol Bldg., Madison, Wisconsin. Price, $3.00].
Doings of Societies.
Entomology at the Convocation Week Meetings. Following our custom for the preceding three years, we present below a list of the papers having any bearing on entomology entered on the programs of the American Association for the Advancement of Science and of the affiliated societies which met in New York City, December 26 to 30, 1916. Our reason for quoting these titles is to make
86 ENTOMOLOGICAL NEWS. [Feb., 'l/
OPENING UP A NEW FIELD.
The Thomas Say Foundation of the Entomological Society of Amer- ica has certainly introduced a worthy and valuable addition to entomo- logical literature, namely, a revision entitled SARCOPHAGA AND ALLIES IN NORTH AMERICA, by J. M. ALDRICH. This work, appearing in octavo size, containing 302 pages and 16 plates, treats especially of the North American and also of some South American species of the Muscoid family Sarcophagidae sens, strict., containing the large genus Sarco- phaga. The American species of this dipterous family have been a taboo to all students, mainly on account of the numerous unrecognizable de- color and characters of its species, scriptions, of the scattered location of types, and of the similarity of
The present paper is a preliminary revision of the North American species. The family as limited here may be characterized as follows : Eyes bare; proboscis stout, short; palpi distinct; parafacials with orbital setulae ; arista plumose both sides on at least basal half. Scutellum with at most one pair of discal macrochaetae. Abdomen generally gray or silvery and tessellated ; the segments without discal macrochaetae. Fourth vein of wing subangularly bent and ending in the costa distinctly before apex.
This throws out some species that may very properly be placed in other allied families, or may have