Vol. XXvi] ENTOMOLOGICAL NEWS. 239 



damaged in transit, and the female, now in the collection at the Acad- 

 emy of Natural Sciences of Philadelphia was exhibited.* 



Orthoptera. Mr. P. W. Whiting described experiments per- 

 formed upon Chortophaga z-iridifasciata. This grasshopper, as is well 

 known, occurs in two color phases, green and brown. The males are 

 almost exclusively of the brown phase, green males being very scarce. 

 Females occur in both phases quite commonly. Experiments were 

 performed at the Bussey Institution of Harvard University by mating 

 brown with brown and green with green, also by cross-matings. This 

 produced all brown individuals irrespective of the parentage. The con- 

 ditions under which the young were reared were hot and dry. Later 

 the environmental conditions were tested, and it was found that damp- 

 ness produced green individuals. In a few cases brown individuals 

 were shifted to green after an ekdysis. Green individuals always 

 shifted to brown when conditions were hot and dry. At the Univer- 

 sity of Pennsylvania the conditions have been better controlled by 

 means of constant temperature rooms, and here it is found that cool- 

 ness and dampness produce green individuals, while heat and aridity 

 produce brown individuals. The lighter browns apparently are a step 

 in the direction of the green since dark brown individuals become 

 lighter before they turn green. The work of Dr. Nabours shows that 

 pattern is hereditary. His experiments were performed upon Para- 

 tetti.v texanus. Nomotettix apparently has the same color patterns as 

 Paratettix texanus. It is intended to investigate these shortly. Mr. 

 Rehn said work in the field corroborated Mr. Whiting's experimental 

 studies. 



Lepidoptera. Mr. Laurent exhibited a series of specimens of 

 Hyphantria cunea (the fall web-worm moth) in which the maculation 

 of no two specimens was alike. Specimen No. i was pure white with- 

 out a spot, while in specimen 16, the maculations were so numerous 

 that they gave the anterior wings a blackish appearance. In the ma- 

 jority of the moths the posterior wings were immaculate, only a few 

 showing any maculations. The speaker stated that the caterpillars 

 did not always remain in the first web, increasing the size of the web 

 until the caterpillars became full grown, but that often part of them 

 left the first web-like nest and spun a new one some distance from the 

 old one. From one-fourth to one-half of the caterpillars often de- 

 serted the old web. Mr. Williams exhibited mounts of the genitalia of 

 Eumaeus atala. He said he had found a retractile brush between the 

 genitalia and the last abdominal segment. This brush is apparently 

 made up of modified scales. It is a male secondary sexual character. 



HENRY SKINNER, Secretary. 



* This record has also been published by Mr. E. L. Pierson, Proceed- 

 ings of the Thoreau Museum of Natural History, Middlesex School, 

 Concord, Mass., Vol. I, p. 41, Feb. 28, 1915. ED. 



