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Psyche 4:335-338, 1883.

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PSYCHE.
CAMBRIDGE, MASS., 0CT.-DEC. 1885.
Communications, exchanges and editors* copies should be addressed to EDITORS OF PSYCHE, Cam- bridge, Mass. Communications for publication in PSYCHE must be profierly authenticated, and no anouy. m-ous articles will bepublished.
Editors and contributors are only resjonsible for the statements made in their own communications, Works on subjects not related to entomology will not ie reviewed in PSYCHE.
For rates of subscrii5twn and of advertising, see ad- vertisinff columns.
CLOSE OF VOLUME FOUR.
For two years past, reasons personal to the Managing editor have prevented the giving of that attention to the issue of PSYCHE which otherwise should have been expected. The concluding numeros of volume four appear, therefore, two years in arrears. Care has been taken, however, that no fault of anach- ronism should be committed in preparing the numeros for publication.
The form of the Systematic index adopted in volume two, and more perfectly elaborated in volume three, is regarded as of such ex- cellence in its features of general utility and extensibility, that it has been adhered to care. fully in this volume.
So far as seemed to be
practicable, every subject treated of in this volume has been included in the Systematic index under its appropriate designation, with references to the paragraphs of the Biblio- graphical record.
The Alphabetic index, as in previous vol- umes, contains references to every technical name of a genus or species of animals men- tioned by such name in the volume, with
references to the pages.
The volume is committed to the custody of the subscribers and the entomological public with the sincere hope that it may be found of permanent value.
B: Pickman Mann,
PROCEEDINGS OF SOCIETIES.
October-December 1885.1 PSYCHE. 335
CAMBRIDGE ENTOMOLOGICAL CLUB.
9 JAN. 1885.-The 107th meeting of the
club was held at 61 Sacramento St., Cam- bridge, g Jan. 1885. In the absence of the president, Mr. R. Hayward was chosen chair- man. On account of the lack of a quorum
the business of the annual meeting could not be transacted, and consequently the reports of the officers were deferred until the next meeting.
Mrs. A. K. Dimmock showed specimens of
a hymenopterous parasite, probably one of the pteromalids, from the eggs of Smerin- thus excaecatus; the egg from which the spe- cimens shown had been reared contained
over thirty of these minute parasites.
[See
PSYCHE, Apr.-June 1885, v. 4, p. 282.1
Dr. G: Dimmock exhibited his collection
of North American cicindeZidae, and made some remarks upon the species and their dis- tribution.
13 FEE. 1885. - The 108th meeting was
held at 19 Brattle St., Cambridge, 13 Feb. 1885, the president, Mr. S : H. Scudder, in the chair. The annual address of the retiring president was delivered. The annual reports of the secretary and of the treasurer were read, and the secretary made a special report upon the condition of the library. [Abstracts ofthese reports, except the last, are appended to the report of this meeting. The address of the retiring president is published in PSYCHE, Jan.-Mar. 1885, v. 4, p. 245-250.1
The presi-
dent's address gave rise to much discussion of fossil insects, participated in by all the persons present.
Dr. G: Din~mock stated that Hetwodon
ċ´platyrJtimis the so-called " hog-nose snake," eats Caloftenus femur-ritbrum, fragments of these insects having been found abundant in the excrement of one of these snakes taken in northern Connecticut last fall.
The popu-
lar name of this species of snake in western New England is " puff-adder " or " flat-headed adder."
Dr. G: Dimmock showed a box of fine




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borings which had been sent to him from
Springfield, Mass., with an inquiry a.6 to what produced them. They had been found
in a house, deposited in dark places beneath furniture, in large masses.
Upon examina-
tion of the debris, empty cocoons and pupal skins were abundant, which under the micro- scope were readily seen to be those of some species of sat, probably Formica fennsylvu- &a, which has been known previously to
attack woodwork of buildings.
Dr. G: Dimmock showed a specimen of
Ceratafia that had been taken in an office in Boston, Mass.
Abstract of Seerefay'$ Refort, 13 Feb. '85. By G : Dimmock.
The present is the with meeting of the
Club.
Since the last annual (or @th) meet-
ing, held 12 Jan. 1884, four active members have been elected, seven have withdrawn
from membership, and two have forfeited
336 l'syck?i?. [October-December 1885.
their membership by continuous neglect to pay the annual fees. The club has continued it6 policy of electing no new associate mem- bers. Mr. F. G. Sanborn, an associate mem- ber, has died during the year. An obituary notice of him was published in PSYCHE,
Aug.-Sep. IS&+, v. 4, p. 305. The number of active members is now twenty-seven, and
the number of associate members forty-nine. During the year 18% the club held nine
meetings, with an average attendance of four persons. Valuable and interesting cornrnu- nications were presented at each meeting. The Club's publication, PSYCHE, has steadily gained favor, and the list of exchanges with scientific societies and valuable periodicals has increased, thus bringing the club prom- inently before the entomologists of the world. The wide distribution of the membership of the Chb, while adding to its importance, has not been compatible with large personal at- tendance at the meetings. The advantages of larger attendance show the advisability of increasing the number of active members, who will be able to come to the meetings in person.
Abstract of Treasurer's Ref ort, 13 Feb. '8s By I3 : Fickman Mann.
Open accounts have been kept separately
with escli volume of PSYCHE, or the years to which each corresponds. The account for
volume one shows a deficit of $19.05; that for volume two, $339.89; and that for the years 1880 to 1882, inclusive, a balance on hand of $3+5g. No further expenditure6
will be incurred on these Recounts, and those- for volumes one and two will be met as re- ceipts come in from the sale of copies or from other sources. Expenditures and wr- rent receipts on account of volume four 6 till continue.
The estimated deficit on this ac-
count is at least $245.00. Especial efforts have been made to determine what debts due to the Club, for subscriptions, may be con- sidered good for collection, and the sending of PSYCHE has been discontinued to all per- sons unreasonably in arrears. The principal of the permanent publication fund amounts to $270.39. [The Treasurer's report was
duly audited and approved.]
13 MARCH 1885.-The 109th meeting was
held at 61 Sacramento St., Cambridge, 13 March 1885. In the absence of the president, Mr. T. W: Harris was chosen chairman.
The secretary stated that Mr. J: G :Jack, of Chateauguay Basil;, P. 0, Canada, had withdrawn from membership, by letter dated 2 March 1885.
Dr. G: Dimmock showed some microscop-
ical slides to illustrate the structure of the different kinds of stigmata in insects.
to APRIL 18Ss.-The 110th meeting was
held at 19 Brattle St., Cambridge, to April 1885, the president, Mr. S : H. Scudder, in the chair.
Mr. R. Hayward spoke of a trip which he
proposed to take to southern Colorado, in company with Mr. F: C. Bowditch, the corn- ing summer.
Mr. S : H. Scudder
called attention to cer-
tain peculiarities of the venation of the wings of fossil cockroaches, and made some corn paxisons of the tertiary neuroptera of Europe



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October-December xS35.1 Psrc
HE. 337
and North America.
This was followed by
a general discussion of fossil insects.
8 MAY 1885.-The u ith meeting was held
at 19 Brattle St., Cambridge, 8 May 1885, the president, Mr. S: H. Scudder, in the cliai r.
Mr. S: H. Scudder read some extracts
concerning mosquitoes and their abundance, from notes which he had
made in 1860 while
traveling about Lake Winnipeg and
upon
the Saskatchewan River. Some discussion
followed, upon mosquitoes and other dipte- rous pests of similar habite.
Mr. S : H. Scudder announced the death of Dr. Hendrik Weyenbergh, well known as a
naturalist and entomological writer from Hol- land, who had chosen the Argentine Republic as a. field of labor.
He died while upon a
visit to his native country.
Dr. G: Dimmock explained a method .
which he had devised for advantageously
utilizing sale-catalogs of books in prepar- ing subject bibliographies, thereby saving much writing.
12 Joss 1885. -The 112th meeting was
held at 19 Brattie St., Cambridge, 12 June xSSg. the president, Mf. S: H. Scudder, in the chair.
Mr. R. Hayward read a paper upon the dis- tribution of insects in the White Mountains of New Hampshire, in which he called at- tention to the existence of four tolerably dis tinct faunae in these mountains. The first- which he called alpine, is restricted to the summits of the higher mountains; the sec- ond, which he termed sub-alpine, is confined to the neighborhood of the timber-line; the third occupies the greater part of the country below, and is the ordinary fauna of northern New England ; while the fourth ia confined to the immediate vicinity of the larger river- bottoms, and is essentially identical with that of eastern MassachuseUB. Mr. Hay-
ward's paper led to considerable discussion. Dr. G : Dimmock described the life-history of Sjhuerulit~ia hbi, a nematod which ie parasitic in humble-bees (BomSus), as it has been elucidated by
Dufour, Lubbock,
Schneider, and Leuckart. Specimens of S. iiodi were shown; these were taken 10
June 1885, in Cambridge, Mass., by Dr.
Dimmock, who believed this to be the Srst record of their occurrence in America.
[See
Amer. nut., Jan. 1886, v. 30, p. 73-75] A brief discussion upon S$/nieru&ctria, and upon other subjects, followed.
9 OCT. 1885.-The i 13th meeting was held at 61 Sacramento St., Cambridge, g Oct.
1835, the president, Mr. S: H. Sciidder, in the chair.
Mr. E. F. Ladd, of the N. Y. Experimental station at Geneva, N. Y,, communicated,
through Mr. B : P. Mann, some observations made by him in the fall of 1884, on the life- , habits of Gelechia cerealella, which was found to have completely infested the collec- tion of corn in the museum of the station. , Hundreds of moths emerged dairy, and it be- came necessary to burn much of the collec- tion while the remainder was packed in boxes and treated to bisulphide of carbon [CS*]. An examination seems to .show that the
larvae feed only upon the deposit of starchy matter in the kernel. Larvae we? not found in the varieties of sweet corn, in which the starch ie distributed throughout the kernel, but they were found, frequently two and oc- casionally three in a kernel, in the flint corn. in which the starch is deposited in a mass, In pairing, the moths remained together
75 minutes. One moth laid thirty-six eggs, in two pa-tcliee of 17 and 19, which hatched in seven days, from a to 9 November. The eggs were at first milky white, showing an orange tint at the end of twenty-four hours, and gradually becoming deep orange at the end of thirty-six hours. They were laid, on the bottom of a dish, in threes, touching at the ends.
Dr. G : Dimmock described the method
adopted by him in rearing coccinellldae, and a brief account of the life-history and
habits of these insects.
Dr. G: Dimmock noted the excessive abun- dance of a species of apMdidae on a few
maples on North Avenue in Cambridge. SO




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338 PSYCHE. [October-December 1885
abundant were these insects that, especially under one tree, the drops of their sugary secretion made the sidewalk beneath con- stantly appear as if there had just been a light shower.
On account of this shower of
sugary material the upper sides of the leaves of the trees had the appearance of having been varnished.
Mr. S: H. Scudder reviewed C : Bron-
gniart's Fossil insects of the primary forma- tions, and showed the proof-sheets of the first half of his contribution to Zittel's Handbook of paleontology. The portion, of which proofs were shown, treated of the
inyriopoda, the arachnids, and part of the insecta, and was abundantly illustrated. 13 Nov. 1885.-The 114th meeting was held at 61 Sacramento St.,Cambridge, 13 Nov.1885. Dr. G : Dimmock exhibited a collection of bred coccinelltdae, among which were many varieties bred from a single pair of CoccineZla novemnotatu.
Mr. R. Hayward showed a few specimens
of several coleoptei-a collected by him in southwestern Colorado during the past sum- mer. Among them were Avz$hizoa insolens
and a specimen of Nebria trifaria. The
Nebria showed a curious monstrosity, the tarsi of the right anterior leg being trifur- cated. In all other respects it was a normal specimen.
Mr. F. S. Child spoke of a specimen of
A~gynnis idalia which he had taken in Barn- stable co., Mass., exhibiting remarkable col- orational variation. He also mentioned the occurrence, in the autumn of 1883, of Euffoi- eta claztdia at Magnolia, Mass.
I I DEC. 188.5.-The I 15th meeting was held at 19 Brattle St., Cambridge, 11 Dec. 1885. On motion of R. Hayward a vote of thanks was tendered unanimously to Mr. S: H.
Scuddei- for the use of the office of Science for club meetings during the past two years. Mr. S : H. Scudder reviewed a recently
published paper by Prof. Felix Plateau, en- titled " Recherches expirimentales sur la vision chez les insectes" (Bull. Acad. soy. Belgique, 1885, ser. 3, v. 10).
The chief ob-
ject of Prof. Plateau's researches was to dis- cover if insects could distinguish the shape of objects.
Mr. S: H. Scudder made some remarks
upon the cockroaches (blattariae) of the mesozoic period, and exhibited six chromo- lithographic plates of New England butter- flies. The plates gave rise to considerable discussion on different species of New Eng- land butterflies.
Mr. P. S. Abbot noted the capture of Ezi- 'ptoieta claudia and Jmonia coeilia at Old Orchard Beach, Maine, in 1882.
Mr. B : P. Mann communicated (through
the secretary) two notes accompanied by
specimens. The first was concerning a dig- ger-wasp (Stims) and a cicada (Cicada) : '' In regard to the cicada and wasp there is nothing new to say. They were caught in the house, the wasp bringing the cicada in its legs as Stizus is known to do. The cicada seemed to be dead when picked up from the floor where the wasp had dropped it upon finding itself hemmed in by the walls and window panes." The other communication was concerning a butterfly, Eudamus tityrus, and will be pub- lished in PSYCHE.
Dr. G : Dimmock showed a large larva of
some species of oestridae ( ? Cuterebra emas- culator'), which had been sent to him by Mr. Leroy H. Sykes, of Suffield, Conn. This
larva was taken by Mr. Sykes, about 20 Sept. 1884, from beneath the skin of a chip-squirrel (Tadas sthatus) just at the right of the median ventral line, near the unlbilicus. Mr.
Sykes thinks the squirrel was a castrate. Dr. G : Dimmock explained an apparatus
by which he was enabled to rear insects in gases of different kinds 01- in determinate pro- portions of gases and air.
Dr. G : Dimmock described the way in
which the red mites that were so abundant about Cambridge this year produced the fine, light colored lines upon leaves of clover, grass and other plants. Leaves which had been marked by these mites were shown.
Dr. G ; Dimmock mentioned certain
habits
of Corixa and Notonecta. .




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