178 THE CANADIAN ENTOMOLOGIST. 



litterally stripped the leaves from these plants, preferring them apparently 

 to thistles. Other butterflies had been scarce. 



Prof Osborn said in Iowa butterflies had been unusually common. 



Mr. Underwood said he had found butterflies unusually common in 

 Central N. Y, turims especially, but for five weeks spent in Conn, every- 

 thing was scarce excepting cardui. 



Prof Fernald said in the first part of the season insects were very 

 rare. Butterflies alone appeared about as common as usual, turjius 

 unusually common ; cardui had been rare until this summer, when it was 

 common. Last season Mrs. Fernald had collected both at sugar and at 

 flowers cultivated because of their attraction to insects, and flowers had 

 proved most productive ; this season the reverse has been the case. 



Mr. Mann, referring to a remark made that cold winters were favorable 

 to insect life, said that seemed to be the generally accepted theory now, 

 and appeared borne out by facts. 



Mr. Aaron said that everywhere insects are reported as exceedingly 

 scarce. His brother from Texas so writes ; from Florida, Arizona and 

 California come the same complaints. The remarks on the abundance of 

 cardui reminded him of a saying of Mr. Ridings that he was always afraid 

 of a season in which cardui was common, for then nothing else would be 

 found, 



Mr. Smith said he believed cold winters favorable to insect life, but 

 this year there was not only a cold winter, but there were several very 

 severe frosts late in spring, one as late as June I4th-i5th; it was rather 

 these late frosts that were to be blamed for the dearth of insect life. On 

 Cape Cod insects were unusually rare ; in Vermont, where hundreds of 

 good insects were last year taken at sugar, scarcely one fourth the number 

 of common forms were this year found. 



Dr. Hoy said that in his vicinity, far north as it is, he has taken many 

 insects usually considered southern — more than were taken on the east of 

 the lake. There seems to be a northern extension of the thermal line on 

 the west of the lakes. Last season he found four specimens of the black 

 variety of turnus ; before only a single specimen had been found. 



Mr. Saunders had never known this black variety to occur in Canada. 



Dr. Merriam had found turnus in the central Adirondack region nearly 

 as far north as Racine, three to four thousand feet above the sea. There 

 were often hundreds at puddles, and among them many of this black 

 variety. 



