In the February Canadian Entomologist, page 38, Prof. C. F. Baker contributes an article on Ledra perdita, A. and S., in which he attempts to identify the insect described by Amyot and Serville under that name with my Centruchus Liebeckii. Those authors describe their species from an admittedly inaccurate figure, the original type having been destroyed. They state that their species is from Northern America. [See note.] Van Duzee states (fide Baker) that perdita is from Pennsylvania, on what authority I do not know, and Prof. Baker decides that because Van Duzee gives that State as the habitat of the insect, and my species having been described from the same commonwealth, they must be identical. As there is no proof beyond the dictum of Van Duzee that Ledra perdita is from Pennsylvania that point may be dropped until we hear further from him. He is too careful a student of our Homoptera to be guilty of confusing a Membracid with a Ledra.

Represented by A. confusa, Say, the only Canadian species of the group Atimioides. Aside from the structural peculiarities given in the table of genera, it may be characterized by the blackish colour and the punctate surface clothed with rather long yellowish pubescence, which is irregularly disposed so as to leave abraded smooth spots. The elytra are broader than prothorax, truncate at tip. Length, .33–.40 inch.

A few days ago I received a letter from Mr. A. V. Thomsen, Chicago, giving a new food plant for Papilio Asterias. But I can give it best by quoting part of Mr. Thomsen's letter. He says:

“Having made a very interesting observation in my study of Lepidoptera, I herewith enclose the notes regardin; the same. Aug. 26, '97, I received from Mr. Higgins, in charge of Dept. of Hardy Perennials and Wild Flowers, Lincoln Park, four larvæ of Papilio Asterias, nearly full-fed.

This genus is easily recognized among its neighbours by the fact that the eyes are divided by a deep emargination into an upper and a lower portion, these parts being connected only by a narrow band from which the granulations or lenses have been lost. The Canadian T. cinnamopterrum, Kirby, is brown, the wing-covers often much lighter than the head and thorax; the entire body is pubescent. Length .50–.70 inch. The head and thorax are slightly shining, distinctly punctured, the punctures regular, usually close but distinctly separated. Elytra opaque or extremely feebly shining. Sculpture much finer than that of the prothorax. The sexes differ especially in the somewhat shorter antennæ and the broader and more strongly rounded prothorax of the female. The species occurs on or under bark of pine logs.

Easily recognized by the very short elytra which are divaricate and separately rounded at apex, about equalling the prothorax in length. M. bimaculatus, Say (fig. 23), is somewhat variable in colour, but is ordinarily black except a large testaceous blotch on each elytron. The thorax is rather broad, roughly punctured, the sides irregularly rounded, Length, .20–.32 in. Usually found on flowers, but has been bred from hickory, maple, ash, and dogwood.

At the request of Dr. James Fletcher, I am writing a few notes to accompany the three figures which have been made at his instance, and kindly presented by him. They represent three Staphylinidæ taken by me at Massett, on the Queen Charlotte Islands, and were prepared under the direction of Mons. A. Fauvel, the well-known specialist in that order, to whom also I am indebted for the determination of the beetles themselves.

Egg. —Pale green, almost globular; very similar to that of Everyx myron, but smaller. Young larvæ collected at Greenwood Lake, New Jersey, June 25th. Length, 1 mm.

Stage I.—Pale apple-green, with numerous minute white dots and a narrow white subdorsal stripe along each side, beginning at the anterior part of the first segment and running to the base of the caudal horn, which is black, and brown at the base. Length, 9 mm. Moulted June 28th.

♀.—Length 9–11 mm.; not as stout as Cockerelli, Dun.; a few gray hairs on face and cheeks and on under side of thorax, hair bands on seg. 2–3–4, seg. 5–6 covered with hair growing rufous towards tip, legs and venter with sparse rather longer hairs; black except a T-shaped mark resting against upper edge of clypeus, spot on tegulæ, tubercles, and four anterior knees which are pale yellow. Head subquadrate, broader than high, venter witlr fairly deep, not close, punctures; clypeal and sub-ciypeal punctures larger and shallow, mandibles piceous; antennæ black at base, growing brownish towards tip, 1st jt. flagellum not as long as 2nd and 3rd combined. Mesothorax deeply and closely punctured; scutellum with large, coarse punctures; post-scutellum not smooth, shining; metathorax with a smooth, shining spot on upper lateral angles, closely and finely punctured, a narrow suture extending upwards. Abdomen finely and closely punctured; venter with large shallow punctures. Wings subhyaline, much darkened outwardly (very much more so than in Cockerelli); stigma and nervures ferruginous, a light spot before the stigma.

Early last July, while examining the collection of Prof. G. H. French at Carbondale, Ill., I saw for the first time a specimen of Catocala Sappho. Being espcially interested in this genus of the Noctuids, I was somewhat surprised to see for the first time so striking a species, and felt sure that I would have no difficulty in recognizing the species should I ever see another example.

Monodontomerus stigma (Fabr.).

M. viridæneus, Prov., Canada.

Common in New England. In the District of Columbia I have reared it from the cell of Militoma euglossoides, var. taurea, Say.

The genus Oligosthenus cannot remain separated, the fine dentitions of hind femora king more or less indistinct.

A frequent variety has no cloud about stigma. The abdomen varies in the amount of purple.

This tribes includes a number of species which are, as a rule, easily distinguished by the peculiar appearance given by their soft integuments and usually somewhat elongate form. A number of them are pubescent, while others, on account of the peculiar sculpture of the surface, are quite opaque, the effect on the eye being, at first glance, the same in each case. The elytra in our species are longer than the abdomen, the prothorax is margined, the antennæ approximate, inserted on the front, the hind legs with rather slender thighs, not fitted for leaping. It will be remembered in this connection that I consider the Halticini as a distinct tribe.

I have received beautifully fresh specimens of Argynnis atossa taken in the mountains near Tehachapi, Southern California, July 7th, 1895. The inner half of the superiors below is bright red, almost a blood red. The species was described by Mr. Edwards from a specimen taken by Mr. H. K. Burrison. It is quite distinct and ranks with diana, idalia and nokomis as one of our handsomest Argynnids.

Female.—Expanse I inch. Fore wings with the costa more straight from the shoulder to near the apex than in Numitor, in this respect approaching Thymelicus; apex rounded, but less than in Numitor; outer margin and hind wing rounded, much as in Numitor; antennæ reaching but little more than one-third the distance to apex of fore wings; palpi as in Numitor, but the third joint longer; abdomen surpassing hind wings, but less so than in Numitor; the whole insect more robust than Numitor.

Philanus spumarius, L. — From various localities in the New England States I have large series of the typical form of this species, and also specimens representing the well-marked varieties, leucocephala, L., and lineata, Fabr.

Philænus objectus, Uhl.— A portion at least of the material recorded under Lepyronia angulifera in the Prelim. List Hemip. Colo. belongs to this species. I have taken it at Fort Collins, Colo., and in the adjacent foothills, in May and June. The specimens from this locality are uniformly darker than the type.

Œdaspis-solidago atra.

Galls do not differ from those of Œ. polita, as described by Osten Sacken (Tr. A. E. Soc. ii., 301; 1869).

This is an addition to the list of gall-making Trypetas given by Osten Sacken in Psyche for April, 1880. I bred both sexes from Solidago galls, Sept. 8, 1875, in Connecticut.

The “jumping beetles,” or “flea beetles,” constitute the above subtribe, and are separated from the genuine Galerucini by the fact that the hind thighs are greatly enlarged and thickened for leaping. Most of the species are quite small, though a few are of moderate size for this family, and a considerable number of them are prettily coloured. They are of great importance from an economic standpoint, a number of them being quite injurious. The identification of some of the members of this group is attended with considerable difficulty, yet most of the genera have a peculiar facies, which, once grasped, renders the proper location of additional specimens tolerably certain.

The opprobrium cast on the lepidopterist has been that he did not study the anatomy of his specimens, but depended too much on maculation and colour. There has been much truth in the reproach, as there are few of us who would destroy a rare or unique specimen to examine the neuration. Fortunately the time has arrived when the neuration can be studied with the greatest ease and accuracy, and permanently rerecorded in a photograph, or, more strictly speaking, a radiograph. The anatomy of a living chrysalis may be studied without removing the cocoon, and also the internal anatomy of the thorax and abdomen can be fairly well seen, and in time the process may be improved for this work.

Having lately received from Mr. Friese, of Innsbruck, a number of European bees, I have been led to re-examine certain of our species, in order to determine their relationship to a number of old-world genera not supposed to occur in America. The result is extremely interesting, and seems to show that we have for many years been placing bees in genera to which they by no meaos belong. The following table may be used provisionally to separate the genera under discussion:

A. Tongue more or less short and broad, tapering at the end. (Andreninæ).

The following list includes forest and ornamental trees and shrubs, upon which the San José scale has been found breeding in Ohio. Nearly all of these have been found either by myself or my assistant, Mr. C. W. Mally, in sufficient numbers to indicate that the insect might thrive on any of them.