OF WASHINGTON. 333 



Mr. Benton exhibited a bee impaled on a thorn, and dis 

 cussed once more the question as to whether such impalements 

 may be brought about by any other cause than the shrikes. In 

 his opinion certain bees are thus impaled by being driven against 

 thorns by the force of the wind. He showed that in a locality 

 near his house (Berwyn, Md.), the shrikes do not occur; that 

 the bees are all impaled upon one side of a locust tree, and that 

 this side of the tree is in the direction of the strong north winds. 

 The subject of the impalement of insects was discussed at length. 

 Mr. Johnson spoke of the habits of the southern shrike which he 

 had studied most carefully in Maryland, and upon which subject 

 he proposes to present a lengthy paper at a near meeting of the 

 Society. In his opinion insects found impaled are nearly always 

 the result of the work of this bird. Apropos to the reason for 

 the habit of the shrike in impaling insects and other animals, Dr. 

 Gill said that he considered it a remnant of a providential instinct 

 like the burying of bones by dogs, and like the storing of un 

 necessary honey by bees in the tropics. Mr. Ashmead corrobo 

 rated Mr. Johnson's observations on the shrikes from his own 

 experience in Florida. Mr. Johnson said that in his experience 

 insects impaled by shrikes were very firmly fixed, the thorn ex 

 tending clear through the body, whereas the specimen exhibited 

 by Mr. Benton was but slightly pierced by the thorn, this fact 

 lending color to Mr. Benton's theory that the insects had been 

 blown against the thorn. Mr. Patten said that the impaling habit 

 of the shrike was supposed to be due to the fact that the feet ot 

 this bird are weak, and that its food was impaled in order that it 

 might be held firmly while the bird was eating it or tearing it to 

 pieces. The subject was further discussed by Messrs. Howard, 

 Marlatt, and Pratt 



Mr. Howard presented the following note : 



BUTTERFLIES ATTRACTED TO LIGHT AT NIGHT. 

 By L. O. HOWARD. 



At 9 o'clock on the evening of June 6, 1893, in West Wash 

 ington, D. C., the writer caught a fresh male specimen of Eu- 

 damus tityrus which had flown into the lighted room and estab 

 lished itself on a white curtain. Upon investigation he found 

 that the observation was novel for this species, and published a 



