6 ENTOMOLOGICAL SOCIETY 



appears to warrant. The main, and almost the only article of 

 any length, based upon original research, so far as I can find, is 

 by Edward Saunders in the Transactions Entomological Society of 

 London for 1878. This author examined the hairs of one or 

 more species of almost all the genera of British Aculeate Hyme- 

 noptera, but none of the Terebrantia. He found that, without 

 exception, members of the Anthophila alone possessed branched 

 or plumose hairs, and he later used that character in classifica 

 tion. 



As to the use of these branched hairs there seems to be con 

 siderable doubt. Mr. Saunders suggests that they are of use in 

 gathering pollen. As they are characteristic of pollen-gathering 

 groups they are, doubtless, of use in that connection, but that 

 their only use is for gathering pollen is not proved. If such 

 were the case we would scarcely expect to find branched hairs 

 present on parasitic species, such as those of the genus Nomada, 

 or absent from the special pollen-collecting portions of the body 

 of some pollenizing species, such as the posterior tarsus of the 

 honey bee. But Coburn states that the explanation of these hairs 

 being pollen-collecting hairs is so plausible as to exclude all other 

 hypotheses. The same author mentions the members of the genera 

 Ceratina and Prosopis as being without hairs. This is disputed 

 by Saunders, who claims that .they do possess a few hairs which 

 retain the character of being branched. 



Besides Saunders and Coburn the presence of branched or 

 plumose hairs in the Hymenoptera has been mentioned by Reau 

 mur, Smith, Dimmock and others, but the article by Saunders 

 seems to be the only one of considerable length or importance. 

 Dimmock has given an interesting discussion of the scales of 

 Coleoptera in Psyche for 1883. He found, as previously pointed 

 out by Fisher, that branched scales or hairs occur only in the 

 Scarabasida?. 



Mr. Benton said that the branched and twisted hairs on the 

 thorax of bees are necessary for collecting pollen, as the bees 

 twist and turn ; whereas the hairs on the legs are used only 

 for combing and brushing that pollen off. 



Dr. Dyar called attention to the different dates of hatching 

 of hibernated mosquito eggs according to the species. Eggs of 

 Culex canadensis and Culex atropalpus had hatched in March, 

 while those of Culex triseriatus were just hatching then (mid 

 dle of. May). These eggs had been deposited at various dates 

 during the summer of 1902. 



