Vol. XXVlii] ENTOMOLOGICAL NEWS. 8l 



the Northern Hemisphere, hut the Protohemiptera did not survive be- 

 yond the Permian. 



6. The large gap in the Insect Record (Trias) is at last in pro- 

 cess of being satisfactorily bridged over." 



The dragonfly, Afcsofihlcbia antinodalis n. sp., is represented by a 

 fragment, 21.5 mm. long, n mm. in greatest breadth, "of the greater 

 portion of the distal half of the wing from a point on the radius about 

 six cells proximad from the nodus, to a point just short of the wing- 

 tip." Two of its most striking peculiarities are the "very great breadth 

 of the wing in proportion to its length, and the close approximation 

 [12 mm.] of the nodus to the pterostigma." 



The moth, Dunstania pulchra n. sp., is described from an "almost 

 perfect specimen of a left hind wing," 20 mm. long, with a greatest 

 breadth of 11.5 mm. A footnote informs us of the subsequent discov- 

 ery "of the narrower and more elongated forewing of this same spe- 

 cies." The formation of the cells of the hind wing "appears to differ 

 in very important points from anything known in the Lepidoptera to- 

 day." 



"The most striking point about the collection from St. Peter's is the 

 occurrence of the gigantic Mcsotitan [Protorthoptera. n. gen.l, a form, 

 which certainly links up the insect fauna of this locality with that of 

 Commentry. Although the Giant Age of Insects ceased in the Per- 

 mian as far as the Northern Hemisphere was concerned, yet at St. 

 Peter's we have direct evidence that some at least of these forms lin- 

 gered on far into the Mesozoic in Australia, existing side by side with 

 far more highly specialized Coleoptera, and closely allied to present- 

 day forms. The cockroach, Notoblattitcs, may also be classed as a 

 representative of a very archaic group of Blattoidea, which attained 

 their maximum development in the Northern Hemisphere, near the 

 end of the Palaeozoic Age." 



Of Mcsotitan giganteus, "the preserved portion of the insect meas- 

 ures 125 mm. long by 146 mm. wide, and appears to represent only a 

 small basal portion of the wings. The forewing when completed was 

 probably at least eight or nine inches long and three wide at its 

 broadest part. If this estimate is correct, this huge insect must have 

 had an expanse of about twenty inches." The description and the 

 figure are disappointing on account of the fragmentary character of 

 the remains and we would prefer to reserve our opinion as to the size 

 and character of this fossil until more complete specimens are at hand. 



Collecting Insects by the aid of Molasses Traps (Col.). 



My attention was first called to this manner of collecting some four 

 years ago, by overhearing some one remark that certain parties had 

 collected a large number of beetles of the genus Cychrus in the moun- 

 tains of North Carolina by using molasses traps. I made my first 

 attempt with fly-traps, in which I placed a small tray of molasses; 

 later on, I tried half-pint milk bottles, but had little success with either. 



