240 ENTOMOLOGICAL SOCIETY 



fauna : (i) a representative of a South American genus, 

 characterized by having but two eyes ; and (2) a puzzling 

 species, the affinities of which he pointed out. It resembles an 

 Epeira, but it is altogether different in generic characters. 



The corresponding Secretary read a note by Mr. Wm. D. 

 Richardson, Fredericksburg, Va., corresponding member of the 

 Society, as follows : 



NOTES ON LEMA SAYI. 



BY WILLIAM D. RICHARDSON. 



Harly in June of this year a single specimen of Lema sayi 

 was swept from low herbage near a pine wood about two miles 

 south of Fredericksburg, Va. ; on July i6th two specimens 

 were noticed on Blder. August 5th they became quite com 

 mon and increased in abundance until late in the month when 

 protracted rains caused them to nearly disappear, but they re 

 appeared with the clear weather that followed in September,, 

 and were observed as late as October 3d. Owing to their great 

 activity, and from the further fact that they would alight on 

 any convenient object after being disturbed, the discovery of 

 the food-plant was difficult. Besides this, the bank of the 

 ditch where the beetles occurred abounded in a great variety of 

 plants, many of which showed evidence of depredating insects. 

 August 1 9th, however, the larvae were found in several stages of 

 development on Commelyna virginica, the leaves of which had 

 many holes eaten in them by the imago. The eggs are 

 deposited singly in the folds of the central leaf enclosing the 

 flower stalk ; they hatch in three or four days ; the larvae are 

 pearly white with a black spot on the top of the second seg 

 ment ; they eat down into the soft stalk, rarely extending their 

 burrows more than 50 mm. The mouth of the burrow is 

 always surrounded by excrement as the larva backs to the top 

 of its burrow and ejects its faeces outside. A few larvae (nearly 

 grown) were found without burrows, having just commenced 

 eating the crown of fresh plants ; these always had^a zig-zag 

 band of excrement covering about a third their width and 

 extending to the head. The color and marking of the larvae 

 does not vary with age, and when fully grown the larvae are 

 about 7 mm. long. I did not succeed in securing pupae. 



Mr. Schwarz said that Lema sayi was one of our most un 

 common species and that it had been found by Mr. Ulke many 

 years ago near Washington, since w r hich time it has never been 

 seen here. From Mr. Richardson's observations it would ap- 



