﻿APR. 
  19, 
  1922 
  proceedings: 
  entomological 
  society 
  215 
  

  

  similar 
  seasonal 
  history 
  of 
  the 
  weevil, 
  Dorytomus 
  inaequalis, 
  the 
  larvae 
  of 
  

   which 
  feed 
  in 
  the 
  catkins 
  of 
  cottonwood. 
  

  

  S. 
  A. 
  Rohwer: 
  Injurious 
  and 
  Beneficial 
  Cynipid 
  Galls. 
  

  

  Mr. 
  Rohwer 
  discussed 
  the 
  various 
  types 
  of 
  galls 
  with 
  especial 
  reference 
  

   to 
  their 
  relation 
  to 
  human 
  welfare, 
  and 
  told 
  of 
  their 
  use 
  in 
  the 
  arts 
  and 
  of 
  the 
  

   investigations 
  conducted 
  during 
  the 
  war 
  into 
  the 
  possible 
  substitution 
  of 
  

   American 
  galls 
  for 
  the 
  ordinary 
  galls 
  of 
  commerce. 
  Lantern 
  slides 
  of 
  many 
  

   galls 
  were 
  shown. 
  

  

  Dr. 
  A. 
  D. 
  Hopkins 
  spoke 
  of 
  a 
  gall 
  with 
  deciduous 
  grain-like 
  cells 
  which 
  

   are 
  much 
  eaten 
  by 
  poultry 
  and 
  which 
  analysis 
  shows 
  are 
  much 
  more 
  nutri- 
  

   tious 
  than 
  wheat. 
  It 
  is 
  known 
  as 
  "black 
  oak 
  wheat." 
  

  

  340th 
  meeting 
  

  

  The 
  340th 
  regular 
  meeting 
  of 
  the 
  Society 
  was 
  held 
  May 
  5, 
  1921, 
  in 
  Room 
  

   43 
  of 
  the 
  new 
  building 
  of 
  the 
  National 
  Museum, 
  with 
  President 
  Walton 
  pre- 
  

   ;siding 
  and 
  20 
  members 
  and 
  1 
  visitor 
  present. 
  New 
  members: 
  PerEz 
  

   Simmons, 
  Bureau 
  of 
  Entomology, 
  Washington, 
  D. 
  C. 
  

  

  Program 
  

  

  A. 
  B. 
  Gahan: 
  Phytophagous 
  Chalcids. 
  

  

  This 
  was 
  a 
  list 
  compiled 
  from 
  literature, 
  of 
  the 
  phytophagous 
  Chalci- 
  

   doidea, 
  not 
  including 
  the 
  fig 
  insects, 
  and 
  discussion 
  of 
  the 
  probable 
  evolution 
  

   of 
  the 
  phytophagic 
  habit. 
  

  

  The 
  speaker 
  showed 
  that 
  phytophagy 
  was 
  now 
  said 
  to 
  occur 
  in 
  six 
  differ- 
  

   ent 
  families 
  of 
  chalcid-flies, 
  viz., 
  Agaonidae, 
  Callimomidae, 
  Eurytomidae, 
  

   Encyrtidae, 
  and 
  Eulophidae. 
  Seed 
  Chalcids 
  and 
  joint-worm 
  flies 
  are 
  not 
  

   the 
  only 
  phytophagic 
  forms. 
  Certain 
  species 
  are 
  definitely 
  stated 
  to 
  be 
  

   gall-makers 
  and 
  others 
  are 
  said 
  to 
  bore 
  in 
  plant 
  tissue 
  much 
  as 
  do 
  certain 
  

   Coleoptera, 
  Diptera, 
  and 
  Lepidoptera. 
  The 
  list 
  of 
  food 
  plants 
  is 
  a 
  varied 
  

   one 
  embracing 
  such 
  widely 
  separated 
  botanical 
  groups 
  as 
  Leguminoceae, 
  

   Pomaceae, 
  and 
  coniferous 
  trees. 
  Many 
  species 
  are 
  distinctly 
  economic. 
  

  

  Not 
  only 
  are 
  the 
  phytophagous 
  forms 
  distributed 
  through 
  several 
  families 
  

   but 
  in 
  many 
  cases 
  they 
  apparently 
  do 
  not 
  offer 
  even 
  minor 
  group 
  charac- 
  

   ters 
  by 
  which 
  they 
  may 
  be 
  separated 
  from 
  parasitic 
  forms. 
  Phytophagous 
  

   species 
  of 
  the 
  genus 
  Eurytoma 
  can 
  be 
  separated 
  specifically 
  only 
  with 
  great 
  

   difficulty 
  from 
  those 
  known 
  to 
  be 
  parasitic. 
  Several 
  other 
  genera 
  contain 
  

   both 
  plant 
  feeding 
  and 
  parasitic 
  forms. 
  The 
  phytophagous 
  species 
  belong 
  

   almost 
  exclusively 
  to 
  groups 
  in 
  which 
  a 
  large 
  percentage 
  of 
  the 
  related 
  para- 
  

   sitic 
  forms 
  breed 
  in 
  host 
  larvae 
  which 
  are 
  concealed 
  in 
  plant 
  tissue, 
  as 
  for 
  

   example, 
  gall-makers. 
  

  

  The 
  speaker 
  stated 
  that 
  the 
  ancestors 
  of 
  the 
  Chalcidoids 
  were 
  undoubtedly 
  

   plant 
  feeders 
  and 
  that 
  parasitism 
  was 
  a 
  subsequent 
  development. 
  Unless 
  

   one 
  believed 
  that 
  they 
  arose 
  from 
  a 
  source 
  entirely 
  separate 
  from 
  that 
  of 
  

   other 
  insects 
  and 
  at 
  a 
  later 
  date 
  it 
  is 
  impossible 
  to 
  conceive 
  of 
  their 
  always 
  

   having 
  been 
  parasitic. 
  Phytophagy 
  as 
  found 
  in 
  the 
  group 
  today, 
  however, 
  is 
  

   believed 
  to 
  be 
  a 
  comparatively 
  recent 
  specialization. 
  That 
  this 
  is 
  probably 
  

   true 
  is 
  demonstrated 
  by 
  the 
  fact 
  that 
  although 
  the 
  Chalcidoids 
  are 
  apparently 
  

   a 
  plastic 
  group 
  exhibiting 
  very 
  numerous 
  and 
  slightly 
  specialized 
  forms, 
  

   phytophagy 
  is 
  not 
  confined 
  to 
  any 
  particular 
  group 
  or 
  groups 
  but 
  occurs 
  

   sporadically 
  throughout 
  the 
  whole 
  superfamily. 
  If 
  phytophagy 
  had 
  long 
  

   existed 
  it 
  is 
  to 
  be 
  expected 
  that 
  it 
  would 
  have 
  resulted 
  in 
  structural 
  differen- 
  

  

  