Some time ago Dr. Uhler was kind enough to lend me the types of C.pluto for study in connection rvirh some aliied material from the National Museum. This new material, while generically distinct, is so closely allied to Cochlorhinus in many ways, and at the same time possessing more nearly the typical Acocephaline characters, that it is now possible to assign this unique genus to an approximately correct position in the group,and give its characters from a comparative standpoint.

It is apparentiy a rare form, as the three original females taken more than twenty-five years ago are the only known specimens of the species. To make this nondescript form more accessible to the workers in the group, and as a basis for the comparisons in tlie descriptions that follow,it has been thought best to give a comparative description of the genus and species, and also a figure of the type, together with its more important details.

Since the publication of my last contribution on the Massachusetts Cocciæ, in 1899, no iess than 34 other species have been found to inhabit Mass., some of which appear to be of recent introduction and new to the United States; and while the larger portion has been recorded from other States, we have found several interesting new species hitherto not known to science. I have abandoned in part the citation of the geographical distribution and many of their food-plants, as time will not permit me to consult some of the literature. I have included an additional check-list and the Bibliography. In the original check-list several species are listed whose names have since been changed as follows.

“Ecology,” as it is coming to be universally considered, is the science of cause. It is constantly asking “Why?” and not until we can answer “because,” have we solved a problem in Ecology. It is the capping stone of the other branches of biological investigation. Morphology describesan organ or character; physiology shows us how it works and what it does; ecology, building on these, tells how and why the character or organarose. It, then, must be considered as more than the o1d Natural History. Although the value of the latter cannot be overestimated, more must sooner or later be done.

Hammaniella relativa, n. sp. – Face and dorsum subopaque. punctured, front opaque, the pleura more shining, longitudinal raised line on metapleura distinct, terminated abruptly, the mesothorax not appearing sharply truncate. The longitudinal medial lines on metanotum converging.

♂–Length 14 mm. Clypeus with a few punctures, somewhat shining, transversely impressed, anteriorly though not strongly. Face closely punctured, front opaque. Cheeks impunctate on the eye margin,otherwise with distinct, small, separated punctures, shining malar space punctured, opaque. Dorsulum almost opaque, the punctnres tolerably small, closely arranged. The scutellum more strongly punctured. Mesoplenra shining, with well separated, to smaller closer punctures. Metanotnm with converging, crude, longitudinal medial carinæ becoming obsolete before the apical margin, transverse carina strong. Metapleura separated from the metanotum by a distinct raised line, which stands out prominently, being margined on each side by a more or less distinct channel.

My friends have not always forgotten me, but have occasionally sent me live Saturnian chrysalids, spun up no doubt with the intention of the insect to emerge in America. Instead, the poor deluded creatures appeared as months in my German room, allowing me to deceive myself for the moment that in my German room, allowing me to deceive myself for the moment that I was at home. Cynthia, promethea, cecropia, polyphemus, io and even imperialis, came out as in America. The only difficulty I had was with my few cocoons of luna, the moths in some cases failing to expand their wings. But, if my memory does not fail, this accident happens also more especially with luna in the breeding cage at home. Amont the examples which emerged here is one small male, expanding 78 mil., which is the most curious example of the species I remember to have seen. The wings are almos prefectly expanded, a little unevenness of the costa of the right primary, which is somewhat concave, and a slight crumpling of the costal region of both secondaries, are traces of retarded development; the “tails” are fully out.

We have lately studied the mouth-parts of a number of species of Bombus, both American and European, and adding our results to those obtained by Radoszkowski (1877) we find as follows :-

(1)Taking the first joint of the labial palpus of the ♀ as an index of the length of the mouth-parts (it is especially convenient for accurate measurement), we find that the longest-mouthed species is B. Gerstackeri, from the European Alps (our examples were collected by Friese at Engelberg), a species known to be the exclusive visitor of Aconitum lycoctonumin that region. The Aconitum (Knuth, Blütenbiologie, Vol. II., p. 53, fig.20) has the hood enormously produced, and is adapted only to bees with extremely long tongues.

This species was described in the Proceedings of the Entomological Society of Washington, Vol. III, p, 144, 1895, and the author stated: “I offer herewith a description of this species, being solely tempted thereto by the interest attached to its life-history; for, as far as I am aware, there is no other Scolytid known which normally develops within the cones of pine trees.” Possibly since that time a similar habit may have been observed in regard to other members of the Scolytidæ, but I cannot recall any reference to such observations. The beetle in question was first collected by me on May 24, 1884, and its capture was quite accidental. Mr. Fletcher and myself had that day visited a grove of white pines on the Gatineau, a few miles north of Ottawa, with the special object of collecting the somewhat rare little butterfly, Thecla Niphon, of which we succeeded in capturing several good specimens.

During my last week of collecting in the Huachuca Mts., Cochise Co., Arizona, I found, Aug. 11th, 1899, eighteen Datana larvæ on a Manzanita bush (Arctostaphylos glauca) or Western bearleaf. This larva was not known to me, and therefore I was anxions to send it to theartist who made the figures for Prof. A. T. Packard's “Bombycine Moths.” To all appearance the larvæ were nearly full-grown, and I had a negative taken of them by an ornithologist camping near by, so as to have a memento left in case they should transform before reaching their destination. Cloudy rveather and drizzling rain late in the day made it difficult to obtain a good picture. I had to mail the insects early the next morning from Fort Huachuca, which is 12 miles from Ramsey Canyon, and further delay was hazardous.

Cryptophyllaspis Rübsaameni , n. sp.— ♀. Orange, oblong, caudal end sunken, overlapped at the sides by lobiform projections; no circumgenital glands; anal orifice broad-oval, about 17 μ long, and distant about 39 μ from the bases of the median lobes; lobes and squames formed just as in C. occultus and of the general type of Aspidiotus cyanophylli; three pairs of lobes, not even the median ones darkened in the least; median lobes slightly notched on each side; squames narrow and pointed, strongly fringed, beyond the third lobe are three double squames, each having the appearance of two squams united at the base; interlobular incisions with thickened edges, of the Diaspidiotus type; two rows of dorsal glands, not very numerous, on each side of the caudal end; spines small.

I was much interested by Mr. Lynran's careful paper on a species of Gortyna, boring in burdcck. If aerala, Lyman, is a good American species it shoutd have an alternative food plant, since the burdock is imported from Europe. From Mr. Lyman's detailed statements, the distinction from necopina is assured. The differentiation form nitela is not so clearly given.

With regard to nitela, Mr. Lyman is quite correct, that Guenée first describes nebris and then nitela; and in my catalogue of 1874 I give the two as distinct species in the above order of their description. But in my Buffalo Check List of 1875 I place nitela first; and in 1882 I retain this sequence and record nebris as a variety of nitela. But I am not agreed with Mr.Lyman that nebris, the white-spotted type, represents the original form the species. I think the whit filling in of the ordinary spots a specialization, therefore a variation from the original form of the species.

Among the ways I find that one can study the changes in the insect fauna of a iocality as years go on is to occasionally go back to some such section where one has years ago been familiar with the insects to be found there and note the number of new comers or, possibly, the passing of some of the old ones, though these last are by far the less numerous of the two.

Recently, while on a visit to my old home in De Kalb county, Northern Illinois, the insects of which I was pretty well acquainted with twenty years ago, but with which I have known little since that time, I was most unexpectedly met with complaints of the Buffalo carpet beetle, Anthrenus scrophulariæ, unheard of there until within a few years, and which I never captured there myself.