In January of this year Mr. A. H. Kirkland sent me specimens of a scale insect he had taken from Prunus mume at the Arnold Arboretum, Jamaica Plain, Mass., which on examination proved to be Diaspis amygdali, Tryon. A little later Mr. Kirkland sent me more specimens which he had taken from Prunus subhirtella at the Arboretum. Specimens of the scale were sent to Dr. L. O. Howard, who confirmed my identification, stating also that he had asked Mr. Coquillett to examine the specimens and had received the report that he could find no difference between them and Diaspis amygdali. The infested trees came from Japan, the Prunus mume in the spring of 1894 and the Prunus subhirtella in the spring of 1897.

This fine plum-coloured beetle–superficially resembling Cychrus marginatus—was taken by me in 1896, and kindly named for me by Captain Casey, whose description of it, published in his Coleopterological Notices, No. VII, page 334, I take the liberty of transcribing below for the benefit of Canadian students who may not see Captain Casey's books. The beetle occurs sparingly, under loose bark or under logs on the gournd, along the mainland of British Columbia from Fort Simpson to Rivers Inlet, and probably farther, if sought for. I have never met with a specimen on the Queen Charlotte Islands.

Kermes pubescens, Bogue, n. sp.

♀ scale spheroidal, 3½ mm. in diameter, 3 high; pointed and grooved beneath; covered all over with short straggling whitish pubescence. Colour rather light brown, with more or less obscure and suffused dark brown bands marking the obsolete segments. Surface shining, with minute concolorous speck, but no dark spots or pits.

In the year 1889, Mr. Henry Tryon, Assistant Curator of the Queensland, Australia, Museum, in a report on the insect and fungus pests, published as report No. 1, by the Department of Agriculture of Queensland, pp. 89-91 describes a species of scale insect found on the peach, as the White Scale, Diaspis amygdali (fig 7). and reported its occurrence both at Brisbane, Queesland, and Sydney, New South Wales. Although described as the White Scale, the author continually refers to it as the peach scale, in his paper, and the latter name has been adopted in America for the species. Of its habits Mr. Tryon states that: “At first its presence is betrayed by small white spots or patches on the bark of the smaller branches; but as the insect increases these soon become in many places confluent, and the individual scales overlap one another, or are contorted by being squeezed together closely, or even appear to lie one over the other, and where the male scale insects crowd together these spots present a more finely chaffy appearance. As it will occur quite up to the tips of the branches, the complete destruction of any tree subjected to the attack of the peach scale, and owing to it, is only a matter of time. When already in patches on the branchlets prior to the formation of the leaves and fruit, in early spring, it does not hinder their formation; the leaves are green as usual, the fruit sets, but is soon retarted in its growth and shrivels up”. Writing me under date of November 7th 1897, however, Mr. Tryon has this to say of its present condition in Queensland: “This Coccid is far from being generally distributed in Queensland, and nowhere have I observed it to act very prejudicially to the trees that it attacks.

Macrophya flavicoxae, Nort.

Head light brown, almost orange on the vertex, a little dot at occiput, eye in a black spot; width, 1.8 mm. Body greenish white, not shining, a dusky black dorsal stripe and a very distinct velvet-black lateral one, broken into two square patches situated on the third and fifth annulets, connected by smoky shadings. The spots are broken up posteriorly and absent on joint 13. Dorsal band greenish black. Segments neatly annulate, feet on joints 6–12 and 13; anal plates immaculate. Towards the end of the stage the segments are faintly orange banded in the middle (on second and third annulets), the anal flap broadly orange.

Mancipium brassicœ.—Dr. Chapman writes me that certain specimens of this common species examined by him showed the very short veinlet III. 3+4. This veinlef constantly diminishes in size, progressing towards the tip of the wing to finally vanish, through many forms fo the Pieridœ. I had indeed expected it to be occasionally prersistent in brassicœ, although my preparations did not show it. It has disappeared in Pontia daplidice, in Nathalis iole, and strange to say in that curious and now isolated Pierid, Gonophlebia paradoxa. This variability, in one and the same species, is interesting because it follows the general evolutionary direction of the changes in the venation. Always the radial branches in the Pierids and other groups tend to diminish in number. Always the disintegration of the Media advances, until it finally disappears, as a system, from the surface of the wing (Rothschildia, Samia, Potamis, etc.). A parallel case to that of brassicœ is offered by Copismerinthus ocellata. In some specimens of this Hawk Moth, vein IV, is still thrown off from the cross vein of the hind wings, instead fo the Radius, which it has usually ascended to beyond the cell. We must regard these as instances of generalization in the individual, of a reversion to what was formerly the rule and is now becoming, by slow degrees, the exception.

10. Arphia sulphurea, Fabricius.

Gryllus sulphureus, Fab. Species Insectorum, I., 369 (1781).

Acrydium sulphureum, Palisot de Beauvois. Ins. d'Afr., et d'Am., 145 (1817).

Œdipoda sulphurea, Burm. Handbuch, II., 643 (1838).

Locusta sulphurea, Harr. Ins. Inj. to Veg., 177 (1862).

Tomonotus sulphureus, Sauss. Rev. et Mag. de Zool., XIII., 321 (1862).

Arphia sulphurea, Sauss. Prodromus Œd. Ins., etc., 71 (1884).

This species is one of the earliest to appear in the spring, making itself conspicuous on the wing by its bright yellow wings and rattling stridulation. It is quite common about Toronto in open, sandy, uncultivated lands, especially where these are scattered with low bushes and scrubby trees. I have never seen it about Lake Simcoe, though there are spots there which would apparently make a suitable home for it.

I never had seen the imago of this species until the present year, and never saw the larva before 1896. Mr. Bruce tells me that it is a common species in parts of the Southern States, and that the eggs are laid in clusters, and the caterpillars are gregarious. In this paper I give simply my own observations. Early in August, 1896, I was asked what caterpillars were defoliating in Catalpa trees at Charleston, W. VA. It was said that some trees were completely stripped. I was unable to answer the question, as no caterpillar was shown to me. On my return home, I looked at my own Catalpa trees, and the first one that I happened on gave me a score or more of larva, one or two on a leaf, on the lower leaves of the tree. These larvae were three to four inches long, and evidently had passed their last moult. One young tree, perhaps ten feet in height, with a top six feet in diameter, had been completely stripped of leaves. I found a single caterpillar of Catalpœ on it, to shown what had done the mischief. I put the larvæ into a large flowerpot trvo-thirds filled with earth, and got, in a few days, some forty pupæ. Supposing these would go over to next year, I buried a few, and sent the rest to Mr. Bruce. In about two weeks he discovered that the imagoes had come out of his pupæ, and on examining mine the same result appeared.

Dr. L. O. Howard, who is preparing a general article on the subject of insects affectin tobacco, for the Year Book of the U. S. Department of Agriculture for 1898, has called my attention to a plant louse feeding upon tobacco plants grown on the grounds of the Department, which he wishes to mention specifically in his article, and since it is a new species, at his request, I submit for pulication the following description.

I had been familiar with this undescribed species since 1897, and had found it on the grounds of the Department of Agriculture in smaller colonies on Rumex crispus, Leucanthemum vulgare, Forsythia viridissima, and also on the leaves of the apple, pear, and egg-plant. Specimens have also been received from Mt. Holly, Md., where they were reported to feed in immense numbers on the tomato plant.

♀—Length 6.5 mm. Form of cinereus: Head narrower than pronotum. Vertex distinctly angulate, a little longer than half width between eyes or half the length of pronotum; nearly flat, slightly broadly depressed on either side, the edge distinctly compressed. Front a half longer than wide, nearly two and a half times the length of the clypeus, sides rather strongly incurved at antennal sockets. Clypeus gradually enlarged towards the truncate tip, its length once and a half the width at tip, Width of pronotum nearly two and a half times the length, surface neither punctured or wrinkled.

Since the publication of the above work several additional forms have been examined, the result of which is recorded herewith. Dr. S. H. Scudder kindly presented to the National Museum co-types of his Tachina theclarum, and of many of the species described in his work on the Butterflies of New England; in every case these conform to the positions assigned them in my Synopsis.

At the time of establishing this genus, in my recent revision of the Tachinidae, I had only two specimens before me; in both of these the wings are bent backward in such a manner as to prevent a critical examination of the longer calypteres, but as the specimens otherwise agree quite closely with the Tachinid genus Gymnophania, I concluded to place the present genus next to it. The recent examination, however, of a perfect specimen from Mr. Charles Robertson, of Carlinville, Illinois, reveals the fact that the lower calypteres are extremely small, being, in fact, rudimentary, and this genus must therefore be transferred from the Tachinidae to the super family Aclyptrata. In all the essential characters it agrees rvith the family Agromyzidae, and its proper place is evidently in the vicinity of the genus Desmometopa, from which it will be readily recognized by the strongly convex front and the excessively long, bristle-like proboscis.

XXIX. The Œdemeridae and Cephaloidae of Ontario and Quebec.

The family Œdemeridæ is of small extent, only five species, representing four genra, being recorded from the region under discussion. None of our species are very samll and two of them at least often reach a size sufficient to render them readily noticeable. With the exception of Nacerdes melanura, which frequents houses, wharves, lumber piles and shipping, they are to be found on bushes and trees or else under boards in wooded districts.

Wings hyaline, unmarked……………… 3.

Wings brown along the costa, the small and the posterior crossveins; body and its members, except the wings, yellow, antennal arista brown, second joint of hind tarsi sometimes black; three pairs of dorso-centrals, one of acrostichals, and two sternopleural macrochætæ……………2.

Costa and apex of wing, from the base to beyond apex of fourth vein, broadly bordered with brown, which is widely separated from the brown of the crossveins; second joint of hind tarsi yellow, third antennal joint oval, one and one-third times as long as wide, arista with a scarcely perceptible pubescence. Length, 3.5 mm. Chiric Mts., Ariz. A female specimen collected May 31, 1897, by Mr. H. G. Hubbard. Type No. 4082, U.S. Nat. Museum. Hubbardii, n. sp.

While experimenting two years ago with the leaf Crumpler and the Leaf Folder, a gentleman asked me to visit his apple orchard, some two miles distant, and to observe the destructive work of what he supposed was the Leaf Folder. The orchard had been in bearing for several years and covered sixty acres. The apple trees had at that time just shed their blooms (petals) and the adjacent orchards appeared green, while the infested one was very conspicuous, appearing as if a fire had swept through it.

March 14th, 1898.—During the last two or three weeks, I have received inquiries from Georgia, Iowa, Kansas, and Canada, regarding the structural external character of the San José scale (Aspidiotus perniciosus), Cherry scale (A. Forbesi), and Putnam's scale (A. ancylus). I present, therefore, a few notes on these species, which I hope may be of some use to my fellow workers.

Dr. Hulst describes the species and X. longula in May Can. Ent., p. 119. The National Museum has a long series of these (225 specimens), very variable, but doubtless representing only a single species. In spite of the label, I am of the opinion that Dr. Hulst's types are not American specimens. Some bear a printed label “Alaska” and “Coll. C. V. Riley”; others have a written label “Behring Island, Alaska” and others “Behring Island.” I think the whole series were collected by Dr. Stejneger at Behring Island, which is one of the Commander Islands off the coast of Kamchatka, and has in general an Asiatic fauna. It is unfortunate that these seductive little “Alaska” labels were used on the specimens.

This group was recognized as a sub-family by Newman as early as 1834, and as a distinct family by Haliday in 1839. It is represented at present by a single genus, Oryssus, Latr., which is apparenrly the stem from whence some of the parasitic Hymenoptera originated; i. e., the Megalyridae, Stephanidae, etc.

I have now, however, the pleasure of indicating below another genus, indigenous to Africa.

Although comparatively few species are described in the group, it yet appears to be widely distributed, species having been found in North, Central and South America, Europe, Africa, Asia and Aru, in the Malay Archipelago.

Paleacrita longiciliata, n. sp.

Expands 26 mm. Palpi dark fuscuous; front very broad, dark fuscous, slightly tufted; antennae fuscous gray, subpectinate, the fascicles of hairs fine, silky, very long, some six to ten times diameter of stem; thorax dark fuscous gray; abdomen dark fuscous. Fore wings, costa strongly arched, apex quite pointed, inner angle rounded whole wing narrow and lanceolate; colour light fuscous, generally washed over with dark fuscous, with numerous black atoms, especially on the veins, making them linearly blackish; also apically and in small indistint shadings across the wing light gray, also light gray shading at ends of veins at margin; marginal points intervenular, blackish; fringe long; fuscous gray, and light gray; hind wings even fouscous, veins darker; fringe long, dark fuscous. Beneath even fuscous on all wings about colour of hind wings above, veins darker, the fore wings with a sprinkling of dark fuscous atoms.