44 REPORT OF NATIONAL MUSEUM, 1908. 



pine Islands, and other localities, descriptions of which have been 

 published in the Proceedings of the Museum, were received from 

 Stanford University. Mr. A, Alfaro, director of the National 

 Museum of Costa Eica, donated some 40 specimens from Costa Kica, 

 and Dr. J. C. Thompson, U. S. Navy, a fine lot of si:)ecimens from the 

 Tortugas Islands. The Bureau of P'isheries transmitted a large and 

 choice collection from Maine, Alaska, and elsewhere, including tyi:)es 

 and cotypes of new species. A collection of Formosan fishes was 

 purchased. 



The number of fishes catalogued during the year was about 20,000, 

 the receipts from the Bureau of Fisheries alone amounting to many 

 thousands. A large proportion of the specimens was transferred to 

 jars and labeled, the type specimens, marked with the customary'' 

 red labels, being added to the type series. The specimens stored in 

 tanks were overhauled, the duplicates separated out and new lists 

 of the contents prepared. Good progress was made with the card 

 catalogues of both the type and regular reserve series. Mr. B. A. 

 Bean, the assistant curator, continued his study of the fishes of Flor- 

 ida, the large collection from that region being brought together for 

 this purpose. A considerable number of species was added to the 

 faunal list, and some apparently undescribecl species were detected. 

 Mr. Bean also spent some time in working up a collection of Costa 

 Rican fishes. 



Insects. — The number of insects received during the year amounted 

 to about .53,000, of which the U. S. Department of Agriculture 

 transmitted 600 European parasitic Hymenoptera identified by Mr. 

 O. Schmiedeknecht ; about 1,150 named Coleoptera from Europe and 

 Java obtained from Mr. A. L. Montandon; about 4,200 Lepidoptera, 

 700 mosquitoes, and 3,000 miscellaneous insects collected by Mr. F. 

 Knab ; about 2,000 mosquitoes and 4.000 miscellaneous insects secured 

 in Panama by Mr. A. Busck, and about 4,000 Hymenoptera collected 

 near Washington, District of Columbia, by Mr. H. H. Smith. 

 Among the other accessions one of the most important consisted of 

 about 4,770 identified Coleoptera and 750 Hemiptera and Hymenop- 

 tera, presented by Mr. F. D. Goclman, of London, being a part of the 

 material gathered for the j^ublication Biologia Centrali-Americana. 

 Mr. William Schaws added to his previous large donations about 

 8.200 Lepidoptera. chiefl}' from Costa Rica. A collection of 275 

 mosquitoes, including several new species from Panama, was con- 

 tributed by Mr. A. H. Jennings of Ancon, Canal Zone. The Wash- 

 ington Biologists' Field Club presented about 800 specimens from 

 Plummer's Island, INIaryland. 



General work on the collection of insects was mainly confined to 

 the Lepidoptera and Coleoptera. a large number of the former and 



