154 ENTOMOLOGICAL NEWS. [May 



who is leading in the race in this ccmntry, and we predict that it 

 won't be long before the gentleman will be the leading authority 

 of the world in his specialty. I must now refer to 'my youug 

 friend,' as a Washington man puts it -he is young in years, but a 

 perfect terror on new species of Hymeuoptera, which he claims, of 

 course, are all good. We also predict a great future for him; he 

 may be young in years now, but will soon be a grey-beard in 

 science. We have another lepidopterist who finds any species of 

 butterfly in North Carolina you may mention, and the object of his 

 life is to prove we have but a single species in America, and that it 

 is found in but one place in the world, and that place is Cranberry. 

 It is always customary to speak of your neighbors; what shall we 

 say of our great collecting ground, Jersey and its State Entomolo- 

 gist? I said Slate Entomologist It does not follow that a State 

 Entomologist is necessarily an entomologist, but Jersey, is the proud 

 possess >r of an entomologist, and an entomologist is one who has a 

 broad guage knowledge of insects, and also of the economy of in- 

 sects. The best compliment I can pay our friend from ''Spain'' is 

 to say that entomologists are scarce. It does not follow from whatl 

 have said that these are the only good men we have in the societies 

 mentioned. Those to whom I have alluded may be more con- 

 picuous by reason of their fondness for the " annex " or other rea- 

 sons, but space and time do not permit me to mention all, but they 

 are equally great." \VILLIAM J. Fox, Secretary. 



A mealing of the Entomological Section of the Academy of 

 Natural Sciences was held March 23d, Mr Laurent, Director, pre- 

 siding. Eleven persons were present. Dr Calvert stated that he 

 had recently been studying some galls found in the roots of the 

 poison ivy. Some of the roots and galls were preserved in a flower 

 pot and some were placed in alcohol. From these latter a number 

 of dipterous larvre were taken. Some of the live galls were 

 opened and two flies found. A living fly was also reared from the 

 galls. There were also found some small Hymeuopterous insects, 

 presumably Chalcids. These were parasitic on the flies The flies 

 belong to either Cecidowyia or Mycetophilfl.. Mr. C. W- Johnson 

 exhibited specimens of the family Acroceridae. All of these insects 

 are extremely rire, the speaker having taken only but two or three 

 specimens. Very little is known of their life habits. Those known 

 are parasitic on spiders or their cocoons. Dr Skinner spoke ot the 

 possibility of flies carrying the ch.olera bacillus and quoted as fol- 

 lows from an article by the late Dr. John A. Ryder : 



" Suppose a case; imagine a cholera victim upon street or any- 

 where else vomiting; the flies present are attracted and drink 

 until sated, and have their feet and mouth parts wetted with the 

 vomit containing the germs. They then perhaps fly out in the 

 street, take a place on a horse-car, ride several miles, dismount, fly 



