OF WASHINGTON. 131 
21, no. 3, 24, no. 4, 44; vol. V, no. 2, 8, no. 3, 8, no. 4, n, 
(index vol. V, 69); vol. VI, no. i, 12, no. 2, 8, no. 3, 19. 
There are also reported to be on hand 2,841 authors' extras of 
various papers. Upon motion of Mr. Marlatt the Society 
voted not to break sets of the publications below the 200 
volumes. 
Mr. Ashmead exhibited some ants from Mr. Titus' col- 
lection from British Guiana and spoke a few minutes on the 
classification of the superfamily Formicoidea. He stated that 
while many writers had published articles on this great and 
complex group few had found, or at least had used, the really 
important and necessary characters. Among the authors who 
have written works of value he mentioned Mayr, Forel, 
and Emery. Dr. Ashmead has formed his classification 
on what he believes to be natural groups; of these groups he 
mentioned as examples the Cryptoceridae, which are all 
fungus growers, the Myrmicidae or harvesters, and the Dorylidae 
or driver-ants. 
Dr. Ashmead also reported the receipt of many more 
Hymenoptera from the Philippine Islands through Father 
Stan ton and Father Brown. Almost all of these were collected 
in the Observatory garden at Manila and represent many new 
species and several new genera. The number of species 
secured in so small an area gives some promise of what an 
enthusiastic and thorough collector should find in the remain- 
der of the Islands. 
Mr. Schwarz exhibited the work of a leaf -rolling weevil 
(Attelabus bipustulatus) taken at Plummer's Island, Md. He 
stated that he wished to call especial attention to the excellent 
manner in which the rolls and leaf were preserved. This 
work had been done by Messrs. Pratt and Titus by putting 
the fresh green leaf into fine sand and slowly drying it by 
heat. There were five rolls on one leaf, the arrangement of 
the rolls giving the appearance of a flower. 
In answer to queries on the subject Mr. Titus more fully 
explained the process of drying in sand and stated that there 
was much still to be learned about the preservation of colors ; 
some colors could be preserved by this method while some 
