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Psyche 4:92, 1883.

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PSYCHE.
CAMBRIDGE, MASS., SEPT.-OCT., 1883.
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PROCEEDINGS OF SOCIETIES.
LISSEAN SOCIETY OF LONDON.
15 FEE. 1883.-Mr. J. Jenner Weir exhibit- ed a perfect hermaphrodite butterfly (Ly- caena icarus,) and a blue male and a brown female of the same species for comparison. The hermaphrodite in question possesses two spotless blue wings on the iefl, and two spot- less brown wings on the right, thus being intermediate in color between the two sexes. A paper was read on the manna insect of
South Australia, by J. G. Otto Topper. This contains observations on the insect in ques- tion. and on the peculiar saccharine substance derived from and deposited on various species of ETicalypius trees.
I MARCH 1383.-Mr. Alfred W. enn nett
read a paper "On the constancy of insects in their visits to flowers."
He stated as a eum-
mary that the different classes of insects show very great difference in this respect. Butter- fiies 6ho.w but little constancy except in a few instances ; but they would appear to be guided to a certain extent by a preference for par- ticular colors. The diptera exhibit greater constancy, though by no means absolute. A much greater degree of constancy is mani- fested by the n-//Ate: and this becomes all but absolute in the hive-bee. It is an inter- esting circumstance that this constancy ap- pears to increase in proportion to the part performed by the insects in carrying pollen from flower to flower. A much larger num- ber of observations is however needed in or- der to determine with certainty any general law ; and especially a careful microscopic ex- aminationof the pollen attached to the pro- bo~cia, mandibles, legs. and under side of the abdomen and thorax. As respects preference for particular colors, the lepidoptera observed paid 70 visits to red or pink flowers, 5 toblue, 1s to yeilow, 5 to white ; the diptera g to red or pink, 8 to yellow, 20 to white ; the hy- menoptera 303 to red or pink, 126 to blue, 11 to yellow, 17 to white.
There followed a communication "On the
rnethodic habits of insects when visiting flowers" by Mr. R. M. Christy. The author records in detail the movements of 76 insects while engaged in visiting 2,400 flowers. He tabulates the results and concludes that in- sects possess a decided preference for a num- ber of successive visits to the same species of flower, although this is not invariably the case. Most of the observations were made on bees, which seem to perform the fertiliza- tion of at least one-half of all the flowers fertilized by insects in this country. Butter- flies as a rule seem to wander p~rp06ele$~l+V in their flight, nevertheless some species, in- cluding the ftitillaries, are fairly methodic. The author believe6 that: it is not by color atone that injects are guided from one flower to another of the same species, and the sense of smell is suggested. Bees, he avers, have poor sight for long distances but good sight for short distances. Of 55 humble-bees
watched, 26 visited blue flowers ; it of the bees were methodic in their visits and 5 not so : 13 visited white flowers; ; were methodic and 8 not so : 11 visited yellow Rowers ; 5 were methodic and 6 not ao : 28 visited red flowers ; 7 were methodic, g nearly'so, and 13 not so. Mr. Christy inclines to the opinion (though admitting paucity of data) that beee in a



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Skptember-pctoher 1883.1
I,. '-{
/ PSYCHE.
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flight from- their ^ nest confine their visits ex- clusively or principally to only one species of plant. I a
, u j MARCH 11883.+Prof. T. S. Cobbold read a paper '$0-n Simondsia faradoxu and on its probable affinity- with Sfhaeyularia bombi." 19 'APRIL 1883.-Rev, A. I$. {Eaton gave a digest of an extensive,jmonograph of the e^>&emefrt'da\e,' or .msc@iesi Part I. In this'the subject ia)prefaced by the historical accounts. the secretary. He details what he i-aw in what may be termed ithe swarming of a nest. -Selected from Zod. ameiifer.
, ' LONDON'LETTER.
EAST DUT,WICH- LONDON,
-JULY 6th; 1883.
Perhaps the most. interesting information to American entomologists is that relating , and his tieys of the-group generally; the to the progress of Godman and Salvin's - genera are3 defined, and a tabular conspectus' great work-the, "Biologia Centr-ali-Ameri- of the present known species indicated.\ cans.". This has now appeared with most
,7 JUNE 1883. -A short record of observa- commendable punctuality during the last tionsi on the white ants (termites) of .Ran- three years. and the following is an abstract , , goon. by Dr. Robert Romania, was read by of its progress to date.
Nr. of spe- New spe- New gen.
Nn ofspe- Number P~ges
. Subject's. . Authors. cies elm- cies des- era des- picite,. cies of letter- merated. cribed. crihed. figured. figures. pre;,\. t1 COLEOPTERA:
. , Adephdga i H. W. Bate^ -812 240 -7 1 - 7 '~75 1175 216 .L j 1, D. Sharp ; 417 2.82 ? 7
14 66 .,66 192
Serricornia \' I C.O. Waterhouse : 88 3.6 I , 40 , 40 32 Malacoderinata H: S. Gorham 498 29.5 13 9 -208 ,221 192 Longico'rnia I 1% W. Bates- 837 -276 24 1.; 258 269 224 1 Phytoph'aga -.M. Jacoby ; 736 ^43 1 . ; '350 374 264 : LEPIDOPTERA:
; Rhopalocefa :God.~han &Salvin $05 29 ; 7 26 222 404 264. Heterod6rai -i . :.H. Druce. 2 90 - - 5 - - 2 . ,14 ? .i 24
~RHYNCHOTA :
Hieterofo'tera 1 W. L. Distant
574
11% 9
21 464 513 232
I , Homoptera, W. L. Distant
56
20 -
3 142 42 24
To this may be added the'first hpneno-1
the many families and some order'sof insect< pteral contribution ofMr. P. Cameron, which I which have not as yet been commenced. My
has just appeared.
This fauna includes the
own contribution devoted to the lrhynchota whole of Mexico and .extends as far south has only just reached 'the rawae, but it has 1 .as the Isthmus of Darien.
Some idea ;as to
already dealt with some matters of interest the extent of the 'work remaining to be to Nearctic entomologists. such as the dis- ,completed, can be gathered from ,observing covery of the "Chinch Bug," B/issus lenco-



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