34 ENTOMOLOGICAL SOCIETY 



Europe. In view of this statement the discovery of the insect 

 in South Africa is very interesting, since from this country the 

 exports to Europe are very great. The insect is much more 

 liable to be carried to other parts of the world in earth around 

 the roots of plants than in any other way. There seems to be 

 strong reason for believing that it injures the roots of the vine. 



Mr. Schwarz asked whether the specimens of Margarodes 

 collected by Mr. Swingle in south Florida had been determined. 

 Mr. Howard said that the species seemed, from the encysted 

 form, to be identical with the one found in Jamaica, which, 

 however, was different from the St. Vincent species described 

 by Guilding as Margarodes formicarum. 



Mr. Schwarz exhibited two species of Rhynchophorous 

 Coleoptera to illustrate two modes of variation brought about 

 by different disposition and development of the scales. The 

 first species is Coleocerus marmoratus. Some specimens are 

 uniformly covered with large white scales, which, in other spec 

 imens, are replaced in spots by brown scales, which are usually 

 smaller than the white ones. These brown spots are quite con 

 stant in their position but vary greatly in extent. This mode of 

 variation is frequent among the Otiorhynchidae, e. g., in the 

 genera Epicaerus and Sciopithes. The second species exhibited 

 is an undescribecl Tychius, extremely abundant on dead twigs of 

 Prosopis full 'flora in southwestern Texas. Some specimens 

 have the elytra beautifully variegated with spots and lines com 

 posed of large white scales, the rest of the elytra being covered 

 with narrower and darker scales. In other specimens the elytra 

 are apparently much less scaly, the scales being grayish-white 

 and more or less hair-like. Between these scales a spongy mass 

 covers the surface of the elytra, and a high magnifying power 

 shows that this mass represents the large white scales in a col 

 lapsed or undeveloped condition. Mr. Schwarz explained that 

 in these specimens the development of the scales had apparently 

 been arrested and the surface of the pupa hardened before the 

 air had inflated the scales and before the coloring pigment had 

 entered the same. 



Mr. Schwarz also exhibited three species of CurculionidiE 

 which were bred in great numbers of specimens from the seeds 



