THE CANADIAN ENTOMOLOGIST. 33 9 



Species at VVooster, Ohio, wlieie it had for several years been excessively 

 abundant, even up to the latter part of August and early September of 

 last year, 1899. This abrupt termination of the period of activity was at 

 the time attributed to the effect of a parasitic species, Ichneiites, sp. ?, 

 which had in the meantime become also excessively abundant. 



Although the purslane has grown luxuriantly and is unusually abun- 

 dant this year, so much so that gardeners are complaining bitterly of its 

 abundance and vigour, up to September but a single female Schizocerus 

 has been observed, and but a single instance of the work of the larvae 

 noted, though the writer has searched most carefully for both during the 

 entire season. In fact, it was hoped this year that the full life-history of 

 the species might be carefully gone over again and completely studied, 

 but this has unexpectedly been rendered impossible. 



BOOK NOTICE. 



The Argynnids of North America. — To Mr. Arthur J. Snyder 

 we are indebted for a paper published in the Occasional Memoirs of the 

 Chicago Entomological Society, Vol. I., No. i, 1900, on the much-vexed 

 question of the Argynnids of North America. 



The author follows Doubleday, Westwood, Edwards, Elwes and others 

 in rejecting the division of the group, made by some systematists, into the 

 two genera, Argynnis and Brenthis, as he considers this division based on 

 " hair-splitting distinctions." In referring to the range of the genus, he is 

 not quite correct in saying that the group is wholly unrepresented in the 

 tropics, as one species, A. Hanningtoni, was collected near Mount 

 Kilimanjaro, in tropical Africa, by the lamented Bishop Hannington, 

 and was dedicated to his memory by Mr. Elwes. 



The author states that he " has on several occasions taken the sexes 

 of different species in coitti, and from personal observations satisfied 

 himself that the Argynnids are polygamous in their habits," and a little 

 further down he says, " Artonis and Eurynome cohabit, also Eurynome 

 and Clio. The same is undoubtedly true of several other species." 



Surely this is a railing accusation to bring against these unfortunate 

 creatures who have never had it explained to them that they are really 

 different species and should behave as such, and certainly shows a 

 sublime faith in the infallibility of the authors who have named these 

 forms as distinct to which the reviewer, possibly because he was born on 

 St. Thomas's day, has never been able to attain, 



