Hemichroa americana, Provancher.

(The alder saw-fly).

Descirbed as a Dineura, but the lanceolate cell is contracted in the middle, not petiolate. The second recurrent nervure is received very near the end of the second submarginal cell, almost at the intersection of second and third submarginal cells.

C. Mus, nov. spec.

♂. Head palpi and thorax whitish gray. Antennae brown, with whitish stems. Abdomen gray, intermixed with black hair. Primaries dark gray, with veins indicated more or less by white. A broad blackish transverse band between two whitish lines, which are slightly toothed at intersections of veins. Basal space whitish, with black tings along costa. Fringes gray, with brown accentuations at termius of subcostal and median veins. Secondaries dark chestnut-brown, fading into whitish tinges along anal margin and in basal space. A faint, whitish mesian line. Fringes gray and brown alternating.

In 1874 I proposed the generic term Eucopteocnemis for the Heliophobus fimbriaris of Guenée, Noct. I., 172. whose statement that the species had two terminal spines on the anterior tibiæ rendered its reference to the genus Heliophobus of Boisduval imporbable. In reality our species appears not congeneric with the European Heliophobus hispidus. At the time of proposing the genus I had no material.

With the expecitons of Mallophora ardens, Macq., and M. fulviventris, Macq., neither of which have been identified, the following table contains all the species belonging to this genus at present known to occur in America north of Mexico.

The family Japygidœ has representatives in almost all parts of the world. Nearly a dozen species have been descirbed, the majority of which are from Europe. The species are local and rare, and not usually found north or south of about 40° of latitude. Only a single genus is known—Japyx.

Phyllodesma Dyari n. sp.—General apperance of the palest sienna or yellowish-ochre. Thorax and patagia thickly clothed with short hair of a uniform pale tone, the abdominal covering similar, but longer and finer, which gives to it a slightly silky appearance.

♂. Anterior wings with the anal angle deeply emarginate; three lines of dusky spots cross the disc ending near the costa, these being lines rather than bands.

No. 3123 is Ophiderma flava, Godg.

No. 4416 is the type of Thelia cratægi. Fh.

No. 1875 is the type of Ceresa brevicornis, Fh. The brief description given by Fitch is correct, but not sufficiently complete. Good characters are present for separating it from its congeners.

Vein la of primaries present; median 4-branched; vein 8 of secondaries arising from the subcostal, more than half the length of cell from base; ♂ antennæ pectinated to the tip.

Expanse of wings, 26 mm. Head, palpi, thorax and fore wings dullochre-yellow. The palpi are darker on the outside, and the subcostal, median and veins 5 to 10 are white. A stripe of lead-coloured scals extends from the base of the wing just above and parallel to vein 1 to the outer cross line, and a similar stripe occurs between this and the hind margin. Two lines cross the wing. The first is dark brown, and arising from a point a little before the middle of the costa forms an outward angle very near the costa and an inward angle on the subcostal vein, then a second outward angle is formed at the end of the median vein and from this point the line runs more or less distinctly across to the middle of the hind margin.

The following fragmentary contributions to a knowledge of a few of the destructive insects of this most interesting State are given here, not so much on account of their present individual value, as for the purpose of drawing attention to the riches in store for the entomological worker who may drift within its borders. In new countries travellers, in passing through, blaze or bark a tree here and there along the way to guide those who may follow after. These notes may be but blazes, but if they prove of aid to others in the future, they will have served their mission.

In the following pages I describe the new Bracondis bred by Prof. A. D. Hopkins, of the West Virginia Agricultural Experiment Station, as recorded by him in Insect Life, Vol. IV., pages 256 to 259.

Eggs laid July 9–10. Round, considerably flattened at base, honey-yellow, shining, under a microscope very slightly and irregularly pitted, of an inch in diameter.

Hatched July 17–18, egg period eigth days.

Young larva—Length, about one-tenth of an inch. Head brown, rather lighter below. Body, dull greenish-yellow, with lead coloured warts and long hairs of a brown colour.

Among the first insects which I found upon my arrival in the Mesilla Valley of New Mexico, in March, 1891, was a small sawfly. My notes on this species were made as follows at the time:-

March, 1891.—Specimens of a small yellowish and brownish sawfly were found quite abundant flying everywhere from middle to last of March. They were not found on any plant, but their numbers make it probable that they will turn up as injurious to some plant.

P. tolteca, nov. sp.

♂. Antennae light brown. Eyes black. Head, prothorax and thorax snowy white. Tegulae snowy white, with black hairy centre band, connecting it with the black haired abdomen, just like in T. velleda, Stoll. Abdomen metallic black, clothed with long hair and long drawn out analtuft. The latter intermixed with white hair. Primaries dark slate, especially in the interspace formed by a marginal and double central transverse line as well as along costa and internal margin. Veins white. A lunulate white discal spot, and whitish tinges around it.

Sparrow Lake is an expansion of the Severn river, situate a little south of lat. 45° and east of 80° longitude. Gelogically, this part of Ontario belongs to the Laurentian formation, and that of a very rugged type. The southwest side of the lake, where these coleoptera were taken, save in a few spots among the rocks, is wholly uncultivated and uncultivable to the Georgian Bay, a distance of from 20 to 30 miles. Till recently it sustained an immense forest growth, mostly pine, which has now disappeared, and has been succeeded by a dense and almost impenetrable jungle of briars and bushes of many deciduous species.

Some year ago I received a small collection of diptera from San Domingo, made by Mr. F. Frazar, a list of the species of which it is composed I herewith give. Hitherto scarcely two score species have been recorded from the island.

During a recent visit to the city of Washington, through the kindness of Prof. C. V. Riley and his courteous assistants, I had the pleasure of examining typical exmaples of some of the Membracidæ described by Dr.Asa Fitch, the labels being in Dr. Fitch's own handwriting. Each specimen is numbered to agree with those given in the doctor's manuscript note-books, now in the possession of Dr. Riley and the Boston Society of Natural History.

The following table contains all the species of Thereva known to me as occurring in this country north of Mexico. Thereva tergissa, Say. (corusca, Weid.), and T. crassicornis, Will (non Bellardi), belong to Psilocephala.

An interesting species of Hypopta has been sent to me by Mr. T.D.A. Cockerell, from Las Cruces, New Mexico. It appears to be undescribed.

Elevations in Vicinity of Laggan.—Altitudes near Laggan have in some cases been very incorrectly stated. In “Appleton's Canadia Guide-Book; Western Canada,” published 1892, the altitude of Louise Lake (Emerald Lake of the Geological Survey) is given as one thousand feet above Laggan, and the elevation of Agnes Lake is stated at three thousand five hundred feet above Laggan. Such statistics are worse than useless.