296 ENTOMOLOGICAL NEWS [XXXI, '2O 



The Entomological Society of America will hold its annual meeting 

 December 27 and 28. 



The meetings of the American Association of Economic Entomologists 

 will immediately follow those of the preceding society. 



The tnirty-eighth annual meeting of the American Society of Natural- 

 ists will begin on December 30; a symposium on "General Physiology" 

 will be offered that afternoon and the annual dinner that evening. 



The annual meeting of The Ecological Society of America will be held 

 December 28 to 31, the annual dinner on the evening of the 28th. 



Coleoptera Associated with Pleurotus ostreatus. 



This fungus, commonly known as the oyster mushroom, appears to be 

 more attractive to insects than any other member of the family Agarica- 

 ceae and for that reason it is desirable to call attention to it. It is an 

 edible species and occurs from spring until late fall, either singly or in 

 clusters on the limbs or trunks of dead or living trees. Patterson and 

 Charles (U. S. Dept. Agric. Bui. 175, p. 13) give the following brief de- 

 scription by which it may be recognized, "cap either sessile or stipitate, 

 shell-shaped or dimidiate, ascending, fleshy, soft, smooth, moist, in color 

 white, cream, grayish to brownish ash; stem present or absent (if present, 

 short, firm, elastic, ascending, base hairy); gills white, decurrent, some- 

 what distant, anastomosing behind to form an irregular network. Cap 

 3 to 5 inches broad; mostly cespitose, imbricated." 



A related species, Pleurotus sapitus, upon which were found only a few 

 species of Coleoptera, resembles ostreatus closely but is distinguished by 

 its lilac-tinged spores. 



As shown by the following table, 26 species are listed representing 10 

 families. Those species marked with an asterisk were taken on a single 

 specimen of Pleurotus ostreatus by Mr. K. F. Chamberlain at Cornwall, 

 Connecticut, June 27. 



According to the table, the Tenebrionidae and Staphylinidae appear to 

 be the best represented families. The Staphylinidae are commoner on 

 gill fungi than on polypores but the Tenebrionidae are equally at home 

 on either polypores or agarics. All of the species listed, except those 

 belonging to predaceous groups such as the Carabidae and Histeridae,. 

 are probably fungus eaters. 



CARABIDAE: Pterosticlius luciiblandus Say.* SILPHIDAE: Necrophonts 

 pustulatus Hersch.* STAPHYLINIDAE: Staphylinus maculosus Grav.,* 

 Oxyporus vitia.us Grav., 0. lateralis Grav., 0. major Grav., 0. stygi'usSay. 

 EROTYLIDAE: Tritoma thoracica Say,* T. flavicollis Lee.* MYCETOPHA- 

 GIDAE: Mycetophagus flexuosus Say,* M. melsheimeri Lee.,* M.puncta- 

 tus Say.* HISTERIDAE: Hister abbreviatus Fab.,*H. interniptus Beauv.* 

 NITIDULIDAE: Nitidula bipunctata Linn.* Phenolia grossa Fab.* Ips. 

 quadrigiMatus Oliv.* Cyllodes biplagiatus Lcc. CISIDAE: Rhipidtunlnis 



