ENTOMOLOGICAL NEWS. 



PHILADELPHIA, PA., NOVEMBER, 1916. 



How Knowledge of Insects Grows. 



We have been looking up the literature on the natural his- 

 tory of Costa Rica recently, with results which, we hope, will 

 appear shortly in another place. A couple of incidents in our 

 search may be not inappropriately mentioned in our monthly 

 editorial. In 1901 Prof. Cockerell wrote of the scale insect, 

 Aspidiotiis articidatns, that it was the first Coccid reported 

 from Costa Rica, "not one Costa Rica record" in the Bioloy'm 

 Centrali- Americana. The passing of the years enabled him 

 and a coadjutor to describe, in 1915, a new species, Eriococcits 

 costaricencis, from twigs of / 'accininin with much black fun- 

 gus, Mt. Irazu, Costa Rica, 11,300 feet, and to add the com- 

 ment that this form "comes from the highest altitude yet 

 known for a Coccid." 



The Volcano Irazu has a crater nearly a mile in diameter, 

 containing in turn daughter- and grand-daughter-craters, all 

 inactive for many years. Its great bowl is mist-filled for much 

 of the time and as a result is often gaily decked with flowers 

 and inhabited by a variety of insects. There is no reason why 

 scale-insects should not thrive there and these two bits of his- 

 torical entomology afford but one more instance of our lack 

 of knowledge of much of insect life. 



Questions arid Ans^wers. 



The NEWS invites those having any entomological questions which they wish 

 answered to send such in for publication urder this heading, and also invites 

 answers from its readers or others to these questions. Questions and reiilii - 

 should be as brief as possible and the Editors reserve the right not to publish 

 any of either class which seem to them objectionable nr inappropriate. Those send 

 ing in contributions to this department will please indicate whether they wish 

 their names or merely one or more initials to appear in connection with their 

 communications, but all such must be accompanied by the full name and address 

 of the writer for the information of the editors. 



ANSWER TO QUESTION No. i (October, 1916, News, p. 371). The 

 matter of mounts for insects such as mentioned by "C" in the last 

 "Xews" interests me. That I approve of protective mounts is un- 

 doubted, as I have long practiced the placing of types of fragile in- 

 sects in mounts for their protection. But the best mounts for the 



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