Egg—Spherical, a little flattened at base ; color greenish-yellow. Duration of this stage four to five days.

Young Larva—Length .1 inch ; near the end of the stage .28 inch, and then cylindrical, greatly thickened from 3 to 6; after 6, tapering to 12, then thickening to end, the back and sides after 6 a little incurved; 2 has a thin square ridge and on each curve of same a thick fleshy process, longer than others on body, thickly beset with straight hairs; there are two rows of similar processes, sub-dorsal, smallest on the narrow segments, colored as the segment they stand on, those on 12 and 13 considerably larger than any others except on 2 ; besides the subdorsal rows, are two dorsal, running the whole length of body, and one row on side, another along base ; all these are small, simple tuberculations with hair on end; color of body brown-yellow marked with white ; a white band, not very clearly defined, especially on its lower edge, passes along the side of segments 3 to 8, turning up on 8 to edge of dorsum, the two extremities there not quite meeting; 12 and 13 are white; under side greenish-brown ; feet and legs same ; head obovoid, a little depressed at top, smooth, shining, color yellow-brown, a shade darker than body. To 1st moult about 4 days.

This insect appears in the perfect or moth state (fig. 9) during the latter part of June. When its wings are expanded it measures from one inch to one inch and a quarter across. The fore wings are dark brown on the inner margin and grayish on the outer margin with a dot near the middle, a spot near each angle and several longitudinal streaks along the hind margin dark brown. The hind wings of the male are brownish or dirty white, those of the female dusky brown; the body is light brown, the thorax of a darker shade.

Mamestra trifolii, Esp.

Length when full grown 1.10 inches. In shape and appearance very much like the larvæ of Agrotis lubricans. Color uniforn grass green marked as follows : a rather broad substigmatal line of creamy white, having at times a slightly pinkish tinge ; a dorsal line of dark green. There is no trace of a subdorsal line except that the place of that line is a very little lighter on the first three joints when the larva is crawling. Stigmata narrowly edged with black. Head rather small, a little paler than the body. Piliferous spots very small.

Œdematophorus lugubris, n. s.

Front of head and palpi very dark fuliginous, the vertex slightly lighter. Form of palpi as in O. Baroni. Antennæ dotted above with white and blackish scales, tawny brown beneath. Thorax color of vertex. Abdomen slender, with scales slightly raised at extremities of joints, dark fuliginous brown, rather copiously sprinkled with black scales.

On Saturday morning the Entomological Sub-section was again in session, when the following papers were read :

The Egg Case of Hydrophilus triangularis, by C. V. Riley; on the Oviposition of Prodoxus decipiens, and also one on the Cocoon of Gyrinus by the same author. Following these a paper was presented by B. P. Mann, entitled, Suggestions of Co-operation in Furthering the Study of Entomology; and another by C. V. Riley, on New Insects Injurious to American Agriculture.

Crambus sericinellus Zeller.

I am indebted to Professor Fernald for specimens of this species from Maine. It appears in two forms ; one in which the thorax and fore wings are pure satiny white, which, from Prof. Zeller's description and a specimen sent him for identification, is the typical sericinellus ; the other, in which the white is somewhat faded, having a slight yellowish or fuscous cast.

There occurs in certain orange groves in southern California a species of Aspidiotus which infests the bark, leaves and fruit of the orange and which from the extent of its ravages has created great alarm. This insect is popularly known by the fruit growers of that section as the red scale, although this name does not well describe its color.

One year ago I gave at the Boston meeting of the Association for the Advancement of Science the results of some experiments in the use of London purple to destroy the codling moth larva, and bisulphide of carbon in fighting the cabbage maggot and squash borer. These experiments have been repeated the present season, and with results no less favorable than those reported one year ago. I think it is an established fact that the methods recommended are valuable. They not only seem reliable, but they promise to be the cheapest and most desirable modes that can be made practicable on all occasions.

Cynips (Q. Californica, n. sp.

Galls: Polythalamous, sessile on the branches of the Californian White Oak (Quercus Hindsii ?) Sub-globular, but varying much in form and size. A common form is what may be termed balloon-shaped, the upper part perfectly globular, the lower tapering more or less to the sessile base. They often occur of a long compressed oval form: these are placed longitudinally on the branch and the length is two or three times their breadth or thickness.

EGG—In shape are oblate spheroid, somewhat pointed at base, and little truncated and depressetl at summit ; marked by many horizontal striæ, and longitudinally by 18 or 20 narrow, prominent ribs, which proceed from base and terminate, some of them irregularly, at about four fifths the distance to summit, while eight, increasing gradually in prominence, end abruptly at the rim of the summit ; these long ribs are cut on either side by grooves perpendicular to the surlace of the egg ; they are also frequently deflected somewhat from a direct line; color pale green. Duration of this stage about 4 days.

If there is one thing more than another that fills the brain of an amateur Entomologist with despair, when he first makes the acquaintance of the long lists of largely incongruous and incomprehensible names that he is expected to master, it is the utter absence of anything in the system of nomenclature tending to show the relations of various forms to each other, or of varieties to the parent or more abundant form.

This long promised and lately issued book wants little that the skill of artizan or the genius of artist can furnish. The Entomological brotherhood—those lovers of the net and flask, who, gentler than the historic angler, impale not even a worm until it has become insensible to pain—they and the general public will find some store of delightful reading within its pages.

429. Plusia rectangula Kirby.—Expansion of wings 1½ inch. Taken in Canada by Dr. Bigsby.

Body cinereous, underneath whiter. Antennæ testaceous ; thorax crested ? as the scales are mostry rubbed off this cannot however be positively asserted; wings incumbent ; primaries with a subcrenate edge ; inclining to ash-colored, clouded with black, with a subramose rectangular somewhat silvery spot, extending from near the base to the middle of the wing; between which and the apex is a narrow white wavy band, edged with black; and still nearer the margin a zigzag transverse black line; the secondary wings are plicatile, cinereous, and dusted at the apex with brown.

As elsewhere stated, the species formerly described by me as Gracilaria purpuriella is G. stigmatella Fabr. In the Natural History of the Tineina, vol. viii., p. 35, Mr. Stainton gives the following account of it: “The larva feeds in and upon willows, sallows and poplars. On the white poplar I have had an opportunity of observing the mine of the young larva, which is a small blotch not very unlike the mine of a Lithocoletis larva. (Italics my own.)

In the spring of 1880, while collecting Coleoptera, I secured a ♀ of a large species of Chalcid belonging to the genus Smicra, which is apparently unknown to the scientific world.

The specimen was captured on an oak shrub, in close proximity to an empty polyphemus cocoon. Could it have hatched from it ? This is not improbable, as Prof. C. V. Riley's Smicra mariœ was bred from this moth, and other species of the genus are known to be parasitic upon the larvæ of our larger moths.

The above is the title of a paper received from the author, and published in the Proceedings of the Zoological Society of London (February 15th, 1881), in which his Lordship characterizes three new genera : Phryganeopsis—one species, P. brunnea; Aræolepia—one species, subfasciella; and Euceratia—two species, castella and securella. He also describes as new Calantica polita, Plutella interrupta, P. albidorsella and P. vanella; Cerostoma falciferella, C. cervella, C. sublulella, C. dentiferella, C. canariella and C. frustella; Depressaria sabulella, D. argillacea, D. arnicella, D. klamathiana, D. posticella, D. nubiferella, D. parilella and D. umbraticostella; Menestia rubescens ; Glyphipteryx regalis, G. californiæ, G. bifasciata, G. unifasciata and G. quinqueferella, and Heliodines extraneella.

Hadena perpenoa, n. s.

♂. Eyes naked ; tibiæ unarmed ; abdomen tufted ; size moderate. Apparently allied to Indirecta and Cinefacta, but darker colored, with a certain resemblance to Mamestra Atlantica or Vicina. Concolorous dark wood brown ; lines faint. The usual markings. A dash connects the claviform with the t. p. line.

I send you a few specimens of an insect which I have found parasitic on the larvæ of P. cardui. For several successive summers I have reared a number of these caterpillars, with which our thistles in most seasons abound. I observed variations in size and color of the larvæ found feeding on the same plant, which led me to suppose that they might not belong to the same species.