1899] ENTOMOLOGICAL NEWS. 145 



it is not safe to be too dogmatic. It would seem most probable that 

 the winged forms are the more primitive, and the brachypterous 

 forms the derivatives, and while it is possible that prairie fires may 

 have had something to do in preventing- the development of 

 brachypterous races in the west, I can hardly see how they could be 

 a primary factor since it appears to me more a matter of adaptation 

 to constant or inconstant food supply. 



His discussion of the experiments with fungous diseases of the 

 chinch-bug and their utility is very candid, and on the whole ap- 

 pears judicious. He might have cited numerous other experiments 

 indicating the effect of their use, none however, having the cer- 

 tainty of an experiment under absolute control.as such experiments 

 are practically out of the question in a case of this kind. With his 

 presentation and conclusions the practical farmer ought not to be 

 too strongly encouraged to expect immediate and complete relief 

 by this method nor will he feel that the method is entirely worth- 

 less. HERBERT OSBORN. 



GERMAN physiology isattacking the intelligence of the ant. Pro- 

 fessor Bethe, of Strasburg, thinks he has found a purely material 

 reason for their recognizing each other. He cleansed the ants taken 

 from one hill in a solution of alcohol, dipped them in a decoction 

 made of ants from another hill, and placed them in thestrange hill. 

 They were not attacked as strangers, even when of different color 

 and conformation. On the other hand, ants treated in this manner 

 when put back in their own hills were not recognized by their 

 tribe, but at once attacked and killed. Professor Bethe infers from 

 this that ants must give out some liquid whose odor guides them 

 and that each colony must have its own peculiar smell. Ban, 

 Francisco Examiner. 



I NOTE (to my horror; that in the article on Calliphorinae in 

 March NEWS, page 63, I omitted one of the most important char- 

 acters that defines the group. 



Lateral post humeral bristle situated laterad the prexntnr<il 



GARRY DE N. HOUGH. 



A TRAP FOR COLEOPTERA. - As some requests have been made for 

 hints on collecting, I send the following note, not remembering to 

 have *eeu it in print, and it may be new to some. 



Many beetles of the family Siaphyliuidae seem to be very fond of 

 the sap of the buvli, and may be taken in numbers by smearing 

 leaves thickly with it, placing them in a sheltered place, preferably 

 beside the birch stump, from which the sap exudes and coverinir 

 with chips to keep out the rain. 



Look sharp when you uncover the heip for Trichopterygidas of 

 which there will undoubtedly be some specimens, or better still 

 throw the mass on a sieve over white paper. Go over the whole 

 mass carefully and you will have your reward. 



