1894-] ENTOMOLOGICAL NEWS. 137 



types are no longer in existence. Furthermore, the genus is a 

 large one; it has already become unwieldy, and it requires divi- 

 sion, for convenience sake, if nothing else. Hitherto, however, 

 there have been no characters discovered which will satisfactorily 

 serve this purpose. In my attempt at the elucidation of our own 

 species, in the "Transactions" Amer. Ent. Soc. xii, p. 64, I was 

 tempted to separate three by an anomalous peculiarity in the 

 neuration, but forbore to do so for reasons which seemed to be 

 important. Mr. Coquillett has, however, recently used this char- 

 acter to define his genus Efferia* in which he has located two 

 of these species and described three new ones. But these new 

 species themselves add still another objection to the acceptation 

 of his genus. It makes comparatively little difference how far 

 we divide genera, provided natural relationships are not disturbed. 

 In the present case we have characters which show decided re- 

 lationships ignored, and species brought together which have 

 their nearest allies in different groups of Erax, as it now remains 

 with Mr. Coquillett' s species removed. In E. anomalus, one of 

 the species included in Efferia, a striking character is the pilosity 

 of the abdomen, which is, as I described it, "parted down the 

 middle and combed outwards," a character found only in Candida 

 among the other species of Efferia, but which does occur in va- 

 rious other species of Erax, E. stamineus for instance. Again, 

 in certain species of Erax, E. jiibatus for example, we find an 

 equally remarkable development of the hair of the mesonotum, 

 which is developed "mane-like" along the middle. This char- 

 acter occurs in only one of the six species with three submarginal 

 cells, E. rava Coq. Furthermore, should the genus be accep- 

 table, it would be better to use the name Eichoichcmus, proposed 

 for it by Bigot, with Erax flavianalis Macquart (Dipt. Exot. 

 Suppl. iii, p. 1 86, pi. ii, fig. i2a, not 13) as its type. 



A Scotchman who wanted to sell some bees inserted the following ad- 

 vertisement in the local paper: " Extensive sale of live stock, comprising 

 no less than 140,000 head, with an unlimited right of pasturage." New 

 York Tribune. 



* " Canadian Entomologist," xxv, p. 175. 



