OF WASHINGTON, VOLUME XIV, 1912. 65 



We ran into a swarm of May flies about ten miles above the junction 

 of the Guadalupe and San Antonio rivers at about 3 p. m. They were 

 clinging to the overhanging trees and as the boat would brush against the 

 trees, distrubing the flies, clouds of them would flutter in the air. Great 

 patches of them would fall into the river and thousands would light on 

 the boat. This condition continued until we reached Tivoli, on the west 

 bank of the river, in Kefugio County, where we tied up for the night. 

 We sailed 11 or 12 miles by the river through the flies. The deck in places 

 was slippery from stepping on their bodies and the sides and parts of the 

 boat not swept by passing tree tops were covered with them, in places 

 so close together as to obscure the color of the wood. 



Next morning, May 25, I arose at daylight and there appeared to be 

 a heavy fog over the river. As daylight increased I observed that the fog 

 was May flies. The wind was very light and they were all flying upstream. 

 The swarm filled the river space from timber to timber and from water 

 surface to about 8 feet high. The current threw the dead ones to the center 

 of the river, where they formed a broad gray streak of drift. By 7 :30 

 a. m. the bulk of the swarm had lit on the overhanging trees, until they 

 bent the limbs and obliterated the natural color of the tree trunks. 



These fragmentary notes are presented merely because 

 they may be of use when taken in connection with others 

 that may be presented. No adequate explanation of the 

 great abundance that has been noted occurs to the writer. 

 All that can be said is that they show a very remarkable 

 ability on the part of insects to survive very adverse climatic 

 vicissitudes. 



Mr. Knab stated that on a visit to South Carolina, in early 

 August, he had observed a most remarkable abundance of 

 the larva? of a buprestid leaf-miner, undoubtedly Brachys. 

 It was at Swansea, 20 miles south of Columbia, in the sand 

 region of the central part of the State. The predominating 

 trees in that region are the oaks and these all showed an 

 abundance of the brown blotch-mines on the leaves. So 

 abundant were they that the aspect of the landscape was 

 transformed, many of the trees appearing as if dying. On 

 some trees every leaf was infested, and frequently there were 

 two or three larvae in one leaf. He had sent a quantity of 

 leaves containing larvae to the Bureau of Entomology, but 

 they were not reared. 



Dr. Howard said that while the problem of the increase 

 of the species mentioned after such remarkably dry seasons 

 is a complicated one, it is obvious that such conditions of 



