This new raspberry pest has been discussed in detail in Bulletin 126, issued in February, 1897, from the Cornell Agricultural Experiment Station. The life-history and habits of this Anthomyiian are fully illustrated in the Bulletin. At the time the Bulletin was written; however, the name of the insect had not been determined. In April, 1897, I reared several more of the flies and sent some to Mr. D. W. Coquillett at Washington. He soon reported that the insect was a new species of Phorbia, and sent me the following technical description of the fly, which he had drawn up from the specimens I sent him.

At the request of Prof. T. D. A. Cockerell, through correspondence with Prof. Fernald, I was induced to take up the study of the genus Chionaspis, and Prof. Lull the genus Pulvinaria. Prof. Fernald prepared and sent out a circular letter to all entomologists whose addresses could be obtained, in this and other countries, and personal letters were also sent to the leading coccidologists, asking for as many species as possible to aid in the preparation of monographs of these two genera. The result has been most gratifying, for already a very large amount of material has been received.

The earliest use of the term Arctiidæ is referred by Dr. Packard to Leach (1815). This is antedated by Hübner's Tentamen terms, Hipocritæ and Hypercompæ. The latter is unavailable, as Hypercornpa becomes a synonym. I do not find any plural terms for the family before Hübner.

The interesting new species of water-bug described below was received some time ago from Abbé P. A. Bégin, of Sherbrooke, Canada. It was captured swimming on a fresh-water stream some little distance above Sherbrooke, and is of more than ordinary interest, from the fact that it belongs to the genus Halobatopsis, Bianchi, a genus not yet recognized in the North American fauna, and only recently characterized, being based upon the South American Halobates platensis, Berg., also a fresh-water species.

Egg.—Diameter, .02 inch. Blunt conical, height about the same as the diameter; ridged with about 30 longitudinal striæ, with shallower cross striæ. Colour pale green. Duration of this period six days.

Young Larvæ.—Length, .08 inch; cylindrical; head somewhat cordate, two-thirds the width of the body; the anterior part of joint 2 about one-half the diameter of the head, the posterior part as wide as joint 3; each joint back of 2 with four low transverse folds besides the very narrow fold at each end of the joint. Colour pale greenish with a white sheen; piliferous spots concolorous; hairs erect, forked to about the middle, the forks curving back towards the body anteriorly and posteriorly.

Ordinarily the tribe Camponotidæ can be separated from the other tribes of ants by its habit of having cocoon pupæ in which their young go through their transformation period; whereas those of the (so-called) aculeate genera remain naked and do not spin a cocoon, it will appear, however, if diligent search be made, that several species of this tribe (Camponotidæ) do have naked pupæ, mixed with their cocooned ones, Latreille seems to have been the first to discover that Formica fusca, L., had naked and cocoon pupæ. He could not, however, understand why this should be, and indeed it remains one of the dark mysteries of the present day. So far as I am aware no other species of ants have been listed, other than Formica fusca, L., having this habit. During my researches in the study of the ants of Massachusetts, I have found that other species have acquired the same habit. And to satisfy myself that no mistake was made on my part in the determination of the larva, cocoon or imago, I sent samples of them to my friend and coworker, Mr. Ernest Andra, of France, for his opinion, and at the same time enquired of him if any of the ants of Europe had been discovered with naked and cocooned pupæ, other than F. fusca.

Early in May of the present year (1897) the Pasadena Science Club sent three of its members on a month's general collecting trip to certain of the Santa Barbara islands lying off the coast of Southern California. While none of the members of the expedition were, strictly speaking, entomologists, a considerable experience in collecting, combined with some preliminary instruction, enabled them to devote intelligently a portion of their time to the collection of insects, more especially of the Coleoptera.

Length ♀ 13 mm.; ceph. 5 mm. long, 3.5 mm. wide; patella plus tibia IV. 6 mm. long. Cephalothorax red-brown, darkest around head; mandibles dark red-brown; legs and palpi yellow-brown, lighter at tips; sternum dark red-brown; abdomen nearly black above, with faint indications of a light median streak, in the base of which is a black spear-mark; venter dark gray; spinnerets yellow. Posterior row of eyes straight, broader than anterior row; P. M. E. round, separated by their diameter, nearer to each other than to the larger P. S. E.; A. M. E. about half their diameter apart, and slightly nearer to the A. S. E. than to each other. Legs quite long, no spines above or below on tibia I., and none above on tibia IV.; thick scopulas to all tarsi and metatarsi (except IV.). Sternum broad; the abdomen long and narrow; the upper spinnerets distinctly two-jointed and much longer than the lower pair, the second joint more than twice as long as wide. The epigynum shows a rounded cavity, slightly longer than broad, broader behind than in front, the anterior portion paler than the rest; there is a median septum which in the fore part is narrow, but quite suddenly broadens at the middle and then tapers to the broadly rounded tip.

I remember about ten years ago to have taken several large specimens of a Grapta, probably G. interrogationis, but they were lost without being identified. I saw no more of the species until August, 1895, when I took a fine example of the form Fabricii. It proved to be the forerunner of a “wave” of the species, and from that date until frost a number were seen, perhaps in all twenty or more, but all but two of them were of the form Fabricii. This spring I watched the hibernating butterflies closely, hoping to obtain a fertile female and rear a brood of larvæ, but although there were many G. comma and j-album, and a few progue and faunus, on the wing throughout April, I did not observe one interrogationis amongst them. By the middle of May the other species of Grapta had disappeared, or were represented by a few specimens worn almost beyond recognition.

Stoll figures the moth of two species of Sibine. He also figures two larvæ of Sibine, but, owing to the unfortunate confusion into which his labels must have fallen, they are not attributed to the right imagines, but to two species of Dioptidæ. After Stoll, Sepp also illustrated two species of Sibine, with their larvæ correctly shown. One of Sepp's species is the same as one of Stoll's, the other is different in both larva and moth. This gives three species of the genus known in both larval and mature states, assuming only that the larva which Stoll figures as micilia (228 G.) really belongs to the moth nesea, which I think is probably the case.

Miss Murtfeldt's interesting discovery of this leaf-mining Pyralid suggested to me the inquiry as to how far the setæ of the larva had been affected by this unusual habit. The leaf-mining Tineids have tubercles iv. and v. remote, while all the Pyralids that I have seen have these tubercles united. I was interested to learn how far fixed this Pyralid character is, especially as the setæ have been studied in but a few microlepidoptera.

Examples of the emphasized importance of larval life better than that furnished by the subfamily Gomphinæ of Odonata are few even among insects. The nymphs live under the sediment (mostly organic debris) which falls to the bottom of ponds and streams. They are aquatic burrowers which live at such slight depth that their anal respiratory orifice is never beyond the reach of clean water. This thin stratum, which forms their home and which they only leave to transform, is one of great biologic richness. In it they have found room for development in enormous numbers and necessity for extreme specialization. They are, at least when well-grown, among the more powerful members of its teeming hidden population. The imagoes emerge, flit about under cover for a few days, lay their eggs and die. They emerge largely by daylight and are subject to great decimation of numbers at this time, and are sought later by numerous powerful enemies. The females which live to oviposit lay a very large number of eggs. A female of Gomphus fraternus laid for me in a watch glass of water over 5,000 at one time. The imagoes of the ancient genus Gomphus are regarded as a race of weaklings. Their nymphs, on the contrary, are splendidly equipped for the battle of life. And it is to the perfection of their adaptation that the prevalence of Gomphines with us is due.

This new genus somewhat resembles Philonix, Fitch (= Actaspis, Mayr), and agrees with it in having 14-jointed antennæ, but otherwise is quite different. The head, thorax and abdomen are highly polished, impunctate, the mesonotum being entirely without any trace of the parapsidal furrows, and in this character differing widely from all other of the agamous genera of the Cynipinæ. The absence of the parapsidal furrows being peculiar only to the sexual genera Neuroterus (Ameristus, Færster) and Dolichostrophus, Ashmead. The third joint of the antennæ is not quite as long as joints 1 and 2 or 3 and 4 united, joints 10–13 a little longer than thick, while the last joint is fusiform, a little longer than the penultimate. The scutellum has a depression across its base, but is without distinct foveæ, and is also not separated from the base of the mesonotum by a delicate grooved line; apically it is obtusely rounded, shagreened and somewhat densely pubescent. The mesopleura have a large, rather deep vertical femoral impression. The wings are represented by very short pads which do not extend beyond the apex of the metathorax or just reach to base of abdomen. The abdomen is about twice as long as the head and thorax united, polished, bare; the second segment dorsally occupies about half the whole surface; the third segment dorsally is not quite as long as segments 4 and 5 united; the segments 4–7 subequal; while the hypopygium terminates in a long, pubescent spine. The hind tarsi are as long as their tibiæ, the claws being simple.

A. labrosa is cited from Mexico by its describer, but I have not seen it from that country. Mr. Robertson sends it to me from Illinois. There are two species found in Texas, which may be expected also across the Mexican border. One of them is what passes for A. sumptuosa, Sm., in this country, and indeed agrees with Smith's description; but Col. Bingham finds that a co-type in the British Museum belongs to Section A above (spur minutely ciliate), while our insect belongs to Sect. B. It is just possible that the B. M. co-type is not identical with the true type of sumptuosa; if this is not so, our sumptuosa will have to be renamed. The other Texan species referred to was recorded by Cresson as A. lucidula, Sm., but it differs from that, and is referable to A. humeralis, Patton, of which it may perhaps constitute a geographical race.

The tall White Lettuce, Nabalus altissimus, Hooker, is a striking and graceful plant. At Quebec it is found in glades and on the edges of woodland roads. Its wand-like stems rise sometimes to the height of six feet, and end in panicles of greenish-white or pale straw-coloured flowers. The stems are hollow, but have a lining or inner coat of white downy pith, which in the summer is sometimes found to be broken with discoloured warts. Late in the fall, when the stems of the plant have become indurated and the pith has dried up, the warts are found to have developed into galls of the size, shape and colour of grains of hemp. I have found them in the stems from about six inches above the ground up to a height of three feet or perhaps more. Sometimes they appear in clusters, sometimes in rows, and sometimes singly at intervals. The proper inhabitant of each of these galls is a footless, spindle-shaped grub, one-eighth of an inch long. In colour it is like white wax, with the mouth organs brown. It is more pointed at the head than at the other extremity. It lies curled round in the gall.

A few specimens of Diptera were taken in the Yucatecan region, in April and May, 1896, by the writer. The present paper describes the new species. More material from that interesting fauna will doubtless be secured in time, and will form the subject of future papers of this series. For an account of the peculiar bio-geographical aspects of the Yucatecan fauna and flora, the reader is referred to the writer's second paper on the Bio-geography of the Southwestern U. S. and Mexico (Trans. Texas Acad. Sci., 1897).

The above species was described by me in the Proceedings of the U. S. National Museum, Vol. XIV., page 253, in my revision of the genus Mamestra. Recently Mr. Grote has questioned the distinctness of this species from olivacea. I could hardly credit this as being serious, and barely referred to the matter in the September, 1896, number, of the Canadian Entomologist, page 240. In the December number, page 301, Mr. Grote returns to this subject, and again suggests that circumcincta may be either olivacea or comis. He refers to the fact that the description resembles that of both the species cited by him, and brings in Mr. Beutenmüller to testify to the fact that my species closely resembles olivacea. Mr. Beutenmüller is not a specialist in the Noctuidæ, and not entitled to an opinion that would carry decisive weight. Furthermore, it was not fair to Mr. Beutenmüller to ask him to make the comparison without first referring him to my description. Mr. Grote speaks as if the statement that circumcincta, or its description rather — for he has never seen the species — resembles olivacea was an important one and a discovery of his own.