OF WASHINGTON. 35 
and it was so that he hung with his head just out of water, with a large 
part of the body immersed. The insects climbed to the highest point, and 
were trying to get their daily meal off of the naked parts in or near the 
mouth. This gave me opportunity to collect a good many at once. 
3. In a smaller box is saved the chrysalis of a worm I found among the 
Beech Aphids, and, as I thought, eating them. But after I brought down 
the twig low enough to see certainly what he was doing he became rest- 
less, and, after capture, ate nothing that I certainly saw, but soon changed 
to present form. 
In regard to the latter insect, Mr. Howard stated that, accord- 
ing to Mr. Lugger, the caterpillar is that of Feniseca tarquinius, 
and that he (Mr. Lugger) had bred the species during several 
seasons at Baltimore, having found the larva always among Aphids 
on beech trees. 
Prof. Osborn read a paper of which he has submitted the fol- 
lowing abstract : 
OBSERVATIONS ON CERTAIN SPECIES OF HEMIPTERA. Hemiptera were 
unusually abundant in Iowa during the fall of 1885, and certain species, 
which have as a rule been scarce or seldom noticed, were so plenty as to 
be quite noticeable. 
Corynocoris distinctus abundant on blossoms of Golden rod (Solidago); 
Alydus eurinus on Red clover (Trifolium pratense}; Jalysus spinoms on 
Squash vine {Cucurbita}; Anthocoris insidiosus more common than usual, 
on a variety of plants ; Phylus angulatus very plenty on Solidago, espe- 
cially at Fairfax, la. ; Miris sp. quite abundant ; Blissus leucopterus, not 
destructive, at Ames, la. ; Calocoris rapidus very plenty on Red clover 
leaves and blossoms, likely to become of economic importance; Lygus 
lineolaris about as common as usual ; Phymatn crosa common. Speci- 
mens of r? and 9 exhibited ; the the day after being pinned captured a 
fly, and its method of piercing this insect was described, while the specimen 
showed the manner of holding. Acholla multispinosa abundant on Solidago 
blossoms ; Cicada tibicen more abundant than usual ; Ceresa bubalus 
plenty, infesting a variety of plants; Publilia conc.ava occurred in great 
numbers on leaves of Hclianthus perfoliatus ; Brochymena arborea and 
annulata common in the Mississippi valley; specimens of Loxaflavicollis 
from Florida bring the range of that species into the United States. 
Mr. Lugger spoke of the peculiar life-habits of Mesites sub- 
cylindricus and Platypus flavicornis : 
The former I found in immense numbers in the roots of the Old-field 
Pine (Pinus tceda, L). This pine grows very abundantly upon the sandy 
and barren soils of the southern part of the peninsula of Maryland and 
Virginia, and usually close to the shores. The pine roots in which I 
