358 PROCEEDINGS: ENTOMOLOGICAL SOCIETY 



Most of the discussion consisted of questions, Captain Gibson's an- 

 swers to which are incorporated in the above summary of his remarks. 



KoTiNSKY, Jacob : The ftmdaniental factors of insect evolution. (A 

 translation). This paper was a translation from the Russian of Chet- 

 verikov. The author advanced the theory that the development of 

 insects has been from large to small, supporting this idea by paleon- 

 tological evidence. This was contrasted with the development of mam- 

 mals, the mammoth forms of which reached their greatest development 

 and died out, the present forms having developed from smaller forms. 

 He found the reason for this contrast in development lines in the dif- 

 ference in the skeleton, the exoskeleton of the insects combined with 

 their small size having protected them from their enemies and permitted 

 the development of the tremendous numbers that exist. 



In the discussion that followed it was pointed out by Mr. RohwER 

 that iust as at present it is the largest insects of a region that are col- 

 lected first and the smaller forms later, so it is with fossil insects. Up 

 to the present most of the fossil forms discovered are large, but that 

 there were minute contemporary insects is shown by the Florissant de- 

 posits, from which many very minute forms have be6n taken. Mr. 

 BuscK expressed the opinion that in the Lepidoptera the primitive forms 

 are as a rule small. Dr. Baker commented on the effect of climatic 

 conditions and abundance of food supply in the determination of the 

 sexes of insects, and stated that the size of insects can be reduced by 

 limitation of food supply. Mr. Marlatt suggested that perhaps the 

 different conditions of air, water, and soil in ancient times tended to 

 produce animals of immense size. 



R. A. Cushman, Recording Secretary. 



