OF WASHINGTON. 5 



the year 1904. Upon motion by the Society to increase the mem 

 bership of the Publication Committee, the Chair appointed, in 

 addition to the present members, Mr. D. W. Coquillett and Mr. 

 Otto Heidemann. 



In the absence of Mr. Coquillett the annual address of the 

 President was then read by the Recording Secretary. 



ANNUAL ADDRESS OF THE PRESIDENT. 



A BRIEF HISTORY OF NORTH AMERICAN DIPTEROLOGY. 

 By D. W. Coqyii.LETT. 



In searching for a topic that promised to be of some interest 

 to the members of this Society, it occurred to me that perhaps a 

 brief history of the science of Dipterology as it applies to this 

 country might not be wholly devoid of interest, the more so as 

 nothing of this kind has been attempted within recent years. 



In so far as this science affects our fauna, it had its inception 

 in the year 1763; in that year the immortal Linne described a 

 single Dipteron from Pennsylvania under the name of Asilus 

 astuans, a species now placed in the genus Erax. Not only 

 was it the first member of this order from our fauna to be hon 

 ored with a name and description, but it also enjoys the distinc 

 tion of being the first Dipteron described from any country outside 

 of Europe. 



The time extending from the year above mentioned down to 

 the present may be conveniently divided into three epochs. The 

 first of these was terminated by the advent of the first published 

 description of a North American Dipteron by an American 

 author; this occurred in the year 1817, when the equally im 

 mortal Thomas Say published a description of a single new 

 species of Diptera, likewise from Pennsylvania, under the name 

 of Diopsis brevicornis^ for which he later erected the new genus 

 Sphyracephala. This first epoch, covering a period of 54 

 years, witnessed an even dozen foreign writers describe new 

 forms of Diptera from the United States. Among these are such 

 noted authors as Linne, Fabricius, De Geer, Drury and Olivier. 



The second epoch comprises the time from the appearance of 



