328 ENTOMOLOGICAL NEWS. [July, 'l2 



wooded islands. Much of the swamp is a sphagnum bog, whence the 

 Indian name, originally spelled "Ouaquaphenogaw," meaning "tremb- 

 ling-earth." 



The personnel of the party consists of Professors C. R. Crosby 

 and J. Chester Bradley, Dr. A. H. Wright, Messrs. M. D. Funkhouser, 

 M. D. Leonard, A. R. Cahn and S. C. Bishop of Cornell University, 

 and E. Lee Worsham, State Entomologist of Georgia. Dr. Wright and 

 Mr. Cahn will give their attention to the vertebrates, and Mr. Cahn 

 also to collecting fleas and Mallophaga. An extensive series of blood 

 smears will be made, for the detection of blood-parasites. The other 

 members of the party will devote their attention to insects, especial 

 attention being given to aquatic forms. The party expect to remain 

 in the swamp from eight to ten weeks. 



COLLECTING IN TROPICAL AMERICA. As foreshadowed in the NEWS 

 for November, 1911, page 423, Messrs. A. F. Porter and John M. 

 Geddes have enjoyed about, eight months collecting in the tropics. 

 "We touched at St. Thomas, St. Croix, St. Kitts, Antigua, Barbuda, 

 Guadeloupe, Dominica, Martinique, St. Lucia, Barbados and then 

 down to the main land of South America in British Guiana. We col- 

 lected usually two weeks in each of the islands and secured some nice 

 things. As a whole the islands proved very unproductive in Lepi- 

 doptera, but when we got out into the bush in British Guiana, we were 

 indeed surprised at the great numbers of moths taken at night by 

 light. We used an auto headlight and several lamps and would secure 

 from 50 to 300 specimens on a single evening, or rather all night, for 

 we usually worked all night long. Butterflies were not so plentiful, 

 but the difference in species was very gratifying. I had no sickness 

 of any kind during my entire trip and never spent such an enjoyable 

 outing and collecting trip before. It is wonderful the different number 

 of species one will take on a good night at light. On one of my best 

 nights, I, myself, took 304 specimens and out of that number 267 were 

 different species and besides Mr. Geddes secured about the same 

 number of specimens, but I did not look over the material to see 

 how many new species he could add to my list of different species. 

 In all I think we took probably 10,000 specimens during our trip and 

 if one is looking for exciting and interesting collecting, let him go to 

 British Guiana." A. F. PORTER. 



SCARCITY OF EARLY INSECTS. Insect life here this year is wonder- 

 fully scarce. I have a large trap in which I have taken many hundreds 

 of insects that come to light. I have set it thirteen evenings in April 

 and three times in May and have captured absolutely nothing. To-day 

 it is fairly warm and I have taken a score or so of wild bees and a 



