OF WASHINGTON. 75 



with his back partly out of the water the young begin to appear. 

 The first thing seen after the rupture of the egg case is a pair 

 of beady black eyes. At the first appearance of the young the 

 male begins raising and lowering the wings, at the same time 

 going through a jerking manceuver at regular intervals. The 

 young insect is extruded from the egg by easy stages, the 

 hatching being accomplished in from seven to twenty-five 

 minutes. At birth the young bug is about 5 millimeters long 

 by 2 millimeters broad, of the purest white, rapidly changing 

 to a light straw-yellow and brown. In two or three hours at 

 most it is of the same color as the parent and, if prey be not 

 abundant, very likely feasting on its fellows. This latter trait 

 is evidently hereditary, since the parent often makes a meal of 

 its own offspring. 



These bugs disdain nothing for food that they can handle, 

 dead or alive. They often come to the surface for floating 

 insects, worms, moths, butterflies, dragonflies, grasshoppers, 

 crickets, caterpillars, etc., and after extracting all the nourish 

 ing properties cast the skins aside. Their migrations are made 

 at night. 



Mr. Burke stated that the range of this species extends up 

 into the eastern part of the State of Washington, and that there 

 its common name is " toe-biter," not " toe-pincher." 



APRIL 5, 1906. 



The 2O4th regular meeting was held at the residence of Dr. 

 Wm. H. Ashmead, 1807 Belmont avenue, N. W. President 

 Banks occupied the chair and the following members were 

 present : Messrs. Ashmead, Banks, Caudell, Currie, Hopkins, 

 Knab, Quaintance and Titus. 



By vote of the Society the Executive Committee was in 

 structed to take action relative to the storing of the publications 

 of the Society in some fire-proof storage building. 



Doctor Hopkins exhibited a drawing of the reproductive 

 organs of females of the genus Pissodes and explained the use 

 and mechanism of the spermatheca in these beetles. 



Doctor Hopkins showed also some hibernation cells of 

 larvae of the locust borer (Cyllene robinice Forst.) , a cerambycid 

 beetle. These are formed just beneath the outer corky bark 

 and in the outer portion of the living inner bark of the black 



