Article beginning on page 206.
Psyche 4:206, 1883.

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I
CORRESPONDENCE.
NOTICE OF AS OMISSION FROM LECONTB'S
EDITION OF THOMAS SAY'S WRITINGS.- In
the Journal of the Academy of natural aei- ence of Philadelphisi. July 1817, v. I, p. 45- +S, Thomas Say* in an article entitled,
"Some account of the insect known by the name of Hessian fly, and of a parasitic insect that ikcds on it." describes Cecidomfia de+ PSYCHE.
for, and gives a short account of the habits of each species. This article is reprinted correctly in Lecon te's edition of Say's writ- . ings, v. 2, p. 6-7. On p. 63 of the Journal, for August 1817, however, just before the explanation ,to the plate, Say inserted a note wli ich Leconte overlooked and which is here republished, both as showing a curious mis- take made by Say, and to correct the omis- sion from the "Complete writings." Say
say\ :-
"I ihrgot to mention in its proper place that the parasitic insect, Ceraphron deslruc- tor, which is 60 coiniimnly mistaken for the Cecidomyia. after the business of propaga- tion is performed, throws* off its wings as a useless incumbrwce, in this respect resem- bling some species of the Gnera Formica, Termes, &c., to which it also bears some resemblance in point of form and itppear- mice; this- has led many to suppose that the Hessian-fly is in reality no other than a species of pissmire in its apteraus state. T. Sav."
Of course Say is mistaken in his statement that the wings were shed after copulation. It not uncommonly occurs among the pte-
romalinae that certain individuals (both male and female) have only rudimentary wings - mere pads which never become developed
into wings.. This is the case with the species under consideration! the relative propor- tion of the winged to the wingless individ- uals varying with the climate nnd the
season.
f^. 0, H07vflrd.
LIGHT.
I do not remember any published
accnunt of the attraction of diurnal lepidw ptera by Inmplight, except the note by Mr. S. H. Scndder in PSYCHE. v. I, p. 28 [Rec., 6591, but in two instances I have taken speci- mens of the eyed emperor (Afuiura lycaon, Fabr,) in thiii way. After ten o'clock of the evening of 20 August iSSs, a perfect, but not entirely fresh, specimen came in at the open window of my sitting-room and was captured with n butterfly net. The other example
referred to was taken earlier in the evening, hut after the lamps were Sighted. The close proximity of a hackberry tree (CeWs), on which the larvae feed, accounts for the pres- ence of these insects in the neighborhood, but does nut give us the key to their unusual nocturnal activity. Mary Eshr Martfeldt. -
PROCEEDINGS OF SOCIETIES.
20 Dec. 1883.~. . . Mr. J. Made Camp-
bell showed the web of a spider (Tegenaria gayonit) which had been spun in the centre of a pasteboard cylinder; the peculinrity being the manner in which the solid part of the web was medially swung; whereas in
this species of spiders it is more usually on the sides of objects.
17 Jan. 1884.- A paper was read by Mr. A. D. Michael on the "Hvpopus" question or
life history of certain Acarina.
From a care-
ful series of experiments arid observations he concludes that-true 'bHypopi" are not adult animals but only a stage or l~eteromorphous nymphs of Tyroglyf/;us and allied genera. Nor do all individuais become "Hypopi,"
which latter stage takes place dtiring the second nymphal ecdy sis. It seems a provis- ion of nature for the distribution of the species irrespective of adverse condition&. "Hypopi" are not truly parasitic nor confine themselves to any >articuiar insect. A new adult form described is called by the author Dis$ft+es liombi, and he believes there are other species of tlie genus Dsrmadicus bee- parasites adiniited to be adults, though it is unctrtain if they are identical with Dufoiir's Tryc&odactylus,-From J. Murie in Zool.
anaeipr.




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