OF WASHINGTON. 495 



s pecies of Phora in the south, when the food gives out even when 

 larvae are apparently not nearly full grown, they transform suc 

 cessfully, and the resultant adults are much smaller in size than 

 normal individuals. 



Dr. Gill said that he had noticed similar extraordinary varia 

 tions in size in the common house-fly, and stated further that Sal 

 amanders had been found to develop nore rapidly than usual in 

 pools which were drying up. He also referred to the relation 

 between reduction of heat and light, and retardation of develop 

 ment in the Amphibia and corresponding acceleration of develop 

 ment by the increase of heat and light, the same relation holding 

 in Pisciculture and elsewhere. He also referred to abortion in the 

 case of injury in the mammalia as bearing some relation to the 

 observations described by Mr. Howard. 



Mr. Hay said that he had noticed that when food was lacking 

 with crayfish or when they were thrown under normal condi 

 tions in large numbers in an aquarium profuse conjugation was 

 immediate result. 



Mr. Benton said that when a queen bee was about to be re 

 placed on account of exhausted vitality and failure to keep up the 

 stock, and the production of a new queen is already begun, she 

 will often " take a spurt" and in the last two weeks of her life 

 will lay great quantities of eggs. 



Dr. Gill remarked that the sexual appetite is frequently in 

 creased by under-feeding rather than by over-feeding. 



The final paper of the evening was by Mr. Dyar and was 

 entitled : 



ON THE SPECIFIC DIFFERENCES BETWEEN ALYPIA OCTO- 

 MACULATA FAB. AND A. LANGTONII COUP. 



By HARRISON G. DYAR. 



I am not aware that the male of Alypia langtonii has been 

 described. Since it is practically indistinguishable from Alypia 

 octomaculata, captured specimens are naturally referred to that 

 species, so that all specimens in collection under the label are 

 females. In the last published account of the species (Neumoe- 

 gen and Dyar, Journ. N. Y. Ent. Soc., II, 22, 1894), only the 

 female is described. I have given a description of the larva (Can. 

 Ent, 27, 278, 1895), and showed the differences between it and 

 that of Alypia octomaculata, which are considerable, as is evi- 



