OF WASHINGTON. 129 



the interesting distribution of the terrestrial Mollusks of 

 Jamaica. There are many more land shells in Jamaica than 

 in North America, and many peculiar genera are common to the 

 West Indies and Central America. On the Island itself almost 

 every mountain and valley has its limited fauna. This is the case 

 with Hayti and others of the West Indies which are mountainous 

 in their character, and, in fact, it is characteristic of all old 

 established archipelagoes, like the Philippines for instance. Mr. 

 Hubbard stated that the land shells of Jamaica have been studied 

 with particular care. When he visited the Island 20 years ago 

 the study of land shells was almost the only department of natural 

 history, aside from botany, which was receiving attention. 

 Therefore the shells have become much better known than other 

 elements of the fauna. The fauna of Hayti, however, is much 

 less known. Dr. Gill said that Mr. Hubbard was quite right, 

 and that the impetus to the study of land shells in Jamaica was 

 originally given by Mr. C. B. Adams, an American naturalist 

 who visited the Island about 1 854-^5 , and whose enthusiasm 

 was caught by a number of resident observers. Hayti, more 

 over, has been much better explored by naturalists than is gener 

 ally supposed, while the Molluskan fauna of Cuba is even better 

 known than that of Jamaica. 



Mr. Hubbard presented the following paper : 



THE OVIPOSITION OF MELITARA PRODENIALIS WALKER. 

 By H. G. HUBBARD. 



The depredations of this Phyticid moth upon cacti of the genus 

 Opuntia have had for several years an exceptional interest to me, 

 as I have under observation in my garden at Crescent City, Fla., 

 a considerable number of species of these interesting plants, and 

 owing to the attacks of the larvae of Melitara many of the more 

 delicate species, including most of our native Floridian Opuntias, 

 cannot be grown successfully in that locality. I have observed 

 that our most widely distributed species, Opuntia vulgaris, is 

 so much subject to their attacks that large clumps of the plant 

 are rare in the interior of Florida, and are to be found only near 

 the coast or upon small islets in the inland lakes. And thus a 

 plant which would otherwise probably form one of the most strik 

 ing objects in the flora of the State is held in check and reduced 

 to insignificant clusters and scattered isolated pads which are sel- 



