Article beginning on page 32.
Psyche 6:32, 1891.

Full text (searchable PDF)
Durable link: http://psyche.entclub.org/6/6-032.html

The following unprocessed text is extracted from the PDF file, and is likely to be both incomplete and full of errors. Please consult the PDF file for the complete article.

8 2 PSYCHE. [February 1891.
thoracic and metathoracic wings, a pair of prothoracic wings, bearing much the same relation to the others as the mesothoracic tegmina of tropical Phasmidae bear to their -
metathoracic wings.
They are short subtri-
angular lobes having a well defined basis which is narrower, sometimes much nar-
rower, thanthe parts beyond, and from which course three or four radiating nervules. Al-
though on these individuals these parts
spread laterally like the wings behind them, and are sometimes so broad at base as to ap- pear at first sight rather as lateral iobes of ,
the prothorax (especially in an English car- boniferous insect described by Woodward, which Brongniart also places here) M.
Brongniart believes that they were movable and could be extended backward along the body, so as to cover the base of the mesotho- racic wings.
As to the question which nat-
urally arises, whether these members are to be regarded as atrophied organs and therefore presuppose a progenitor equipped with three pairs of fully developed and similar thoracic wings, M. Brongniart prefers to wait for fur- ther paleontological facts. One recalls in this connection the disc~ission between Haase and Cholodkovsky in the Zoologischer an- zeiger, Nos. 235, 239 and 244.
A HINT FROM EMBRYOLOGY.-Mr. Wm.
M. Wheeler has enriched entomology by a
very interesting and suggestive paper on the appendages of the first abdominal seg- ment in insect embryos (Trans. Wisc. acad. sci., v. 3, pp. 87-140, pi. 1-3). Besides his own observations on Phyllodromia, Peri-
planeta. Mantis, Xiphidium, Cicada, Zaitha and Sialis, he gives a r6sum6 of the observa- tions of others and discusses the probable original[function of these appendages among the ancestral insects when they must have extended to postembryonal- life. Showing that in view of their origin from the ectoderm they must have been either respiratory or- gans, sense organs, or glands, he reviews the arguments for each hypothesis pro and con and concludes in favor of the last; he is fur- ther inclined to regard them as having
probably been odoriferous glands and his ingenious arguments in favor of this view will be found of interest to all entomologists. He proposes for these organs, which he notes to have been found only in the Heterometab- ola, the name of Adenopodia, a name which demands the acceptance of the glandular hy- pothesis. Considering the variety that he shows has already been found in the nature of the adenopodia, a fruitful field of investi- gation is opened, in which there is plenty of room for many worker?,
KOLBE'S INTRODUCTION to the study of
insects is slow in publication. Begun early in 1889, it was to be completed in six or seven small monthly parts. The fifth part has just appeared and the second of the twelve divi- sions of the book isnot half finished, so much more extensive is our author's performance than his promise. The present part (pp. 225- 272) deals with the mouth-parts of the suck- ing insects and the structure 'of the wings. In the former, under the bibliography of the Lepidoptera, we miss reference of any kind to either of Edward Burgess's papers, the most important ever published. in the latter there is no reference to Saussure's paper on the folding of the wings of cockroaches, but there will be found a good account of Adolf s views. There are 23 wood-cuts in the text of this part, mostly original.
DR. ANTON FRITSCH of Prag, has recently
described in Vesmir, a popular Bohemian
journal of natural history,the case of a caddis fly from the permian formation, and it may be regarded as the oldest indication of the Phryganidae yet brought to light.
EGGS OF LYCAENIDAE-Doherty of Cincin-
nati has carried the study of the eggs of eastern Lycaeninae so far as to propose, in the Journal of the Asiatic Society of Bengal for 1889, four divisions to the Theclini, based principally upon characteristics drawn from Ps\&e 6 032-13 (pre. 1901) hfp //psyche aitclub org/#6-0012 htd



================================================================================

[February 1891. ~ 6 ' ~ ~ ~ ~ . 33
the egg, though he points out several accom- panying features in the adult.
They are as
follows :-
Egg large, tubercular, indentations obscurely hexagonal . . . . . . . . . . A-phnaeus group. Egg similar, not tubercular. .Loxura grout. Egg small, tubercular, indentations sharply cut, usually trigonal . . . . Thecia grozi'p. Egg small, spiny, indentations
sharply cut
tetragonal . . . . . . . . . . . Arkofila gyouy. PROCEEDINGS OF SOCIETIES.
CAMBRIDGEENTOMOLOGICAL CLUB.
10 February, 1888.-The 135th meeting
was held at 61 Sacramento St.
Mr. S. Hen-
shaw was chosen to preside, and Mr. G.
Dimmock chosen secretary pro tern.
Mr. Roland Thaxter of Cambridge, Mass.,
was elected to active membership.
Mr. J. H. Emerton read his address as re- tiring president, having been unable to be present at the January meeting. The ad-
dress was entitled " The study of species and the study of cells" (see Psyche, v. 5, p. 77-78).
Mr. C. W. Woodworth exhibited his col-
lection of North American Cicadidae, which contains all the described species. Numer- ous notes were given upon the distribution and other peculiarities of each species. Mr. J. H. Emerton showed mites taken
from a lizard and made some remarks upon their peculiarities.
Mr. Emerton also showed drawings of the
cribellum and calamistrum of various species of Ciniflonidae. These organs are used by these spiders for curling their web to make it sticky. He also showed drawings of the feet of certain species of spiders.
Mr. S. Henshaw showed a fine specimen
of a vegetable parasite (Sphaeria) from a New Zealand species of Cossus or Hepialus. Dr. H. A. Hagen spoke of the early stages of the Odonata and especially of a pupa
skin of a large Libellula from China that he had lately examined. In this species the palpi did not meet, but each had five or six teeth comparable to a comb. Otherwise the insect belongs near Macromia, and this pe- culiarity of an earlier stage furnished the text for a discussion of how far position in classification should be governed by the earlier stages of animals and how far by adult characters only. The discussion was partici- pated in by several members.
g March, 1888.-The 136th meeting of the
Club was held at 61 Sacramento St. Mr.
J. H. Emerton was chosen chairman.
Mr. S. H. Scudder invited the Club to hold its meetings hereafter at his laboratory, and offered shelf room for its library; both offers were accepted with thanks.
Mr. J. H. Emerton spoke of Mr. McCook's
observations on the habits of Mygale heiitzii while kept in confinement (see Psyche, v. 57 P- 55)-
Dr. 13. A. Hagen said that a specimen of Ixodes in his possession, taken from the ear of a man in July, 1887, was still living, though it had been without food for a pe- riod of nearly eight months.
Mr. S. H. Scudder showed a series of
maps giving the distribution of New Eng- land butterflies, and called attention to some curious points in the range of several species.
Mr. C. W. Woodworth described retractile processes on the abdominal segments of the larva of Craesus latitamus. and suggested that they were probably defensive in func- tion. Discussion on similar organs fol-
lowed.
Dr. H. A. Hagen spoke of the larva of
Glyptus sulcatus found in the nests of white ants in south Africa.
13 April, 1888.-The 137th meeting of the Club was held at 156 Brattle St. Mr. S. H. Scudder was chosen chairman.




================================================================================