152 PROCEEDINGS OF THE ACADEMY OP 



obtained from another gall and differed, as males usually do, in size and color 

 from the females. 



Another, perhaps more serious objection, may be made. If the males of 

 the genera, hitherto thought agamous, exist, how does it happen that Hartig, 

 with the abundant material in his possession, did not have a single one of 

 them ; it seems that if he had had but one, lie would not have pronounced 

 those genera agamous. To this I answer that he may have possessed males of 

 this description, but have located them in other genera. Hartig's classifica- 

 tion, in his paper on Cyiiipidiz, is a mere outline, as he intended to publish 

 some time a more detailed monograph. This not having been done, the defi- 

 nitions of his genera, as they stand now, are altogether insufficient, and in 

 most cases I have been unable to make them out. Still I can easily conceive 

 that he might have placed the female of C. con/luens in one genus, and what 

 I take to be its male in another. 



However, be it as it may, the only material point in the present case is to 

 know whether the male which I reared from the spindle-shaped gall is spe- 

 cifically identical with the females obtained from the common oak-apple. 



My belief of their identity is based upon their exact similitude in everything 

 except those characters which usually distinguish the males from the females, 

 (as size, color, length and number of joints of the antennae). This similitude 

 alone would perhaps not be conclusive, if the characters of the species, as 

 already remarked, were not rather uncommon and sufficiently striking to 

 facilitate its immediate recognition. The thorax is deeply cribrose, two lon- 

 gitudinal, parallel, somewhat indistinct carinse begin at the collare, and stop 

 before the middle of the thorax ; two other carinse converge towards the scu- 

 tellum ; the scutellum is also deeply sculptured and has two foveje at the 

 basis ; the wings are conspicuous by a brown spot near the areolet and by 

 some peculiarities of the neuration ; the subcostal, for instance, becomes obso- 

 lete just before reaching the anterior margin, the veins surrounding the areo- 

 let have a peculiar shape, etc. All of which are exactly reproduced in the 

 male and female specimens in question. The male has 15, the female 13-jointed 

 antennas ; the former is smaller, more slender and much darker in color than 

 the latter. 



The supposition of the identity of these insects is finally strengthened by 

 their galls occurring on the same tree, the red oak, having been found in the 

 same localities, and the perfect insect being hatched at the same season. 



A glance at the specimens would, I have no doubt, convince any entomo- 

 logist, conversant with the Cynipidse, of their specific identity. Not being 

 able, however, to convey a demonstration of the same force by means of a 

 mere description, and being sufficiently aware that a fact so novel and so ex- 

 traordinary as the production, by the sting of the same insect, of two alto- 

 gether different forms of galls, according to the sex of the egg or of the future 

 larva, cannot be admitted in science without further inquiry, I offer the above 

 statement as a mere suggestion for future research. 



July 9th. 

 Vice President Vaux in the Chair. 



Twelve members present. 



The following papers were presented for publication : 



"Descriptions of certain species of Diurnal Lepidoptera, found with- 

 in the limits of the United States and of British America/' by Wm. H. 

 Edwards. 



" On Cyprinus corporalis, Mitchell, referring it to the genus Semo- 

 tilus, Iiafinesque/' by Charles C. Abbott. 



[July, 



