34 THE CANADIAN ENTOMOLOGIST 



The Sarcophagies of North America. Sarcophaga a?id Allies 

 in North America. By J. M. Alclrich. Memoir of the 

 Thon as Say Foundation of the Entomological Society of 

 America. Lafayette. Ind., 302 pp., 16 pis. (Published 

 November 30, 1910.) 



This attractive volume constitutes the first Memoir cf the 



Thomas Say Foundation of the Entomological Society of America, 



and it is peculiarl}' appropriate that it should be the work of the 



Editor cf the Foundation. At the Columbus meeting of the 



Entomological Society of America in December, 1915, a standing 



committee was established under the name of "The Thomas Say 



Foundation," the purpose of which is "for the publication of works 



of a monographic or bibliographic character on tlie insects of North 



Am.erica." The establishment of this Foundation is the outcome 



of a proposal made to the Society in 1913 by Mr. Nathan Banks. 



As its success must depend on the financial assistance it receives 

 from those interested in its publications, it is to be hoped that 

 generous support will be forthcoming from all who desire to assist 

 in the production of a series of monographs on American entomology 

 somewhat similar to the well-known monographs of the Ray Society. 



Dr. Aldrich could not have selected a more desirable group 

 for monographic treatment than the Sarcophagid?e. Entomologists 

 have been confronted for some time with the almost hopeless task 

 of identifying the species of this group of flies, the discovery of 

 whcse diverse habits has demonstrated how important they are 

 from biological and economic standpoints. The flies are larviparous 

 and the habitats of the larvae range from decomposing animal 

 substances and excrement, to the bodies of warm-blocded verte- 

 brates. They appear to show an interesting transition from the 

 habit of devouring dead insects to parasitism upon living ones. 



Only those who have endeavored to identify the species of 

 Sarcophaga will appreciate the difficulty of using the old descrip- 

 tions, and Dr. Aldrich (and with his work we would couple the ex- 

 cellent work of Dr. R. R. Parker in the same group) has endeavored 



