90 ENTOMOLOGICAL SOCIETY 
the beach 16 species of Coleoptera were found, of which number only 3 
(a Trichopteryx, an unknown Aleocharid, and Blapstinus opacus) do not 
seem to occur north of Cape Florida. The bulk of the fauna is represented 
by the species living in or on the trees of the semi-tropical forest. There 
is, therefore, on the island of Key West (and, I may add, also on the other 
Keys and on the shores of Biscayne Bay, south of Miami river), a very strik- 
ing scarcity of predaceous, rhypophagous, and coprophagous Coleoptera 
and an equally striking preponderance of certain phytophagous families. 
Among the latter, the Rhynchophora are by far the best represented fam- 
ily in the number of species as well as specimens; the Cerambycidce fol- 
low next; the Ptinidce occupy the third place ; the various bark-inhabiting 
families of the Clavicornia are fairly represented, while the Elateridce, 
Buprestidce, phyllophagous Scarabceidcea.nd C/irysomelidce^re. represented 
only by a very small number of species. 
During a stay of five da} s on the island the whole of which time could 
not be devoted to entomological excursions 129 species were found living 
in or on the forest trees. An analysis of this fauna shows that 36 species 
thereof are of general distribution in the more southern portion of the 
United States ; 70 are not found north of Florida, and 52 represent the 
" semitropical fauna." Of Rhynchophora 36 species were found ; of Ceram- 
bycidce 18, and otPtinida 13 species. Of the whole number, more than one- 
fourth are species hitherto not known to occur in the United States. Some 
are no doubt undescribed, but since the food-plants are all, or nearly all, of 
West Indian origin, most of the species are either described from the West 
Indies or will no doubt be found to occur in that region. 
Before adjournment the following shorter communications were 
made : Dr. Riley spoke on the large collection of American Cole- 
optera of the late Mr. G. D. Smith, of Boston, Mass., which is 
still offered for sale ; Mr. Ulke, on the peculiar features of the col- 
lecting season of the present year ; Mr. Schwarz, on the great 
usefulness of naphthaline in preserving and protecting collections 
of insects in the South ; and Mr. Howard related the wanton de- 
struction by children of Wheel-bugs (Prionidus cristatus) and 
their larvae which had stationed themselves on a fence to inter- 
cept the Hyphantria larvae crawling along the fence. 
AUGUST 4, 1887. 
Seven persons present. President Howard in the chair. 
Dr. Marx made some additional remarks regarding the types of 
the Scorpionidcz described by Wood. As stated at a former 
meeting (see p. 64) ten of these are preserved in the U. S. Na- 
