﻿164 
  JOURNAL 
  OF 
  THE 
  WASHINGTON 
  ACADEMY 
  OF 
  SCIENCES 
  VOL. 
  12, 
  NO. 
  6 
  

  

  Program 
  

  

  R. 
  C. 
  Shannon 
  : 
  Notes 
  on 
  the 
  classification 
  of 
  the 
  Syrphidae. 
  

  

  This 
  classification 
  is 
  based 
  on 
  external 
  characters 
  of 
  the 
  adults. 
  Ten 
  

   subfamilies 
  are 
  recognized 
  and 
  practically 
  all 
  the 
  characters 
  used 
  to 
  define 
  

   them 
  are 
  here 
  used 
  for 
  the 
  first 
  time. 
  The 
  most 
  notable 
  feature 
  in 
  the 
  paper 
  

   is 
  the 
  definite 
  separation 
  of 
  the 
  Syrphinae, 
  containing 
  the 
  aphidophagus 
  

   forms, 
  from 
  the 
  other 
  subfamilies. 
  

  

  Dr. 
  J. 
  M. 
  Aldrich 
  expressed 
  himself 
  as 
  much 
  gratified 
  with 
  Mr. 
  Shan- 
  

   non's 
  work 
  on 
  the 
  Syrphidae. 
  He 
  stated 
  that 
  previous 
  classifications 
  of 
  the 
  

   family 
  have 
  been 
  based 
  on 
  what 
  might 
  be 
  called 
  traditional 
  characters 
  which 
  

   give 
  an 
  unnatural 
  grouping 
  of 
  the 
  genera. 
  

  

  L. 
  O. 
  Howard 
  : 
  Extracts 
  from 
  Ferton's 
  review 
  of 
  Fabre's 
  work. 
  

  

  Doctor 
  Howard 
  stated 
  that 
  he 
  had 
  recently 
  carefully 
  translated 
  two 
  arti- 
  

   cles 
  from 
  the 
  French 
  relating 
  to 
  J. 
  H. 
  Fabre. 
  The 
  first, 
  which 
  was 
  an 
  en- 
  

   thusiastic 
  eulogy, 
  was 
  published 
  by 
  BouviER 
  in 
  the 
  Revue 
  generale 
  des 
  Sci- 
  

   ences 
  pure 
  et 
  appliquees, 
  26^ 
  Annee, 
  22: 
  634-639. 
  Paris: 
  30 
  Nov., 
  1915; 
  and 
  the 
  

   second 
  was 
  a 
  critical 
  estimate 
  of 
  the 
  character 
  and 
  work 
  of 
  Fabre 
  by 
  Ch. 
  

   Ferton 
  published 
  in 
  Revue 
  Scientifique, 
  16-23, 
  September. 
  1916 
  — 
  leading 
  

   article. 
  Doctor 
  Howard 
  read 
  abstracts 
  from 
  the 
  latter 
  article 
  in 
  order 
  to 
  

   show 
  the 
  members 
  of 
  the 
  society 
  the 
  true 
  estimate 
  of 
  Fabre 
  that 
  is 
  held 
  among 
  

   the 
  best 
  scientific 
  men 
  of 
  France, 
  especially 
  those 
  best 
  fitted 
  by 
  their 
  work 
  to 
  ap- 
  

   preciate 
  at 
  their 
  true 
  worth 
  the 
  reported 
  observations 
  of 
  the 
  Hermit 
  Naturalist. 
  

  

  The 
  translations 
  will 
  be 
  bound 
  and 
  placed 
  in 
  the 
  library 
  of 
  the 
  Bureau 
  of 
  

   Entomology 
  at 
  the 
  end 
  of 
  the 
  series 
  of 
  the 
  published 
  works 
  of 
  FabrE. 
  

  

  Mr. 
  S. 
  A. 
  RohwER 
  expressed 
  the 
  opinion 
  that 
  from 
  the 
  point 
  of 
  actual 
  ob- 
  

   servations 
  Fabre's 
  work 
  does 
  not 
  equal 
  that 
  of 
  the 
  Peckhams 
  or 
  the 
  Raus. 
  

   He 
  questioned 
  if 
  the 
  good 
  that 
  Fabre 
  did 
  as 
  a 
  popularizer 
  of 
  entomology 
  

   would 
  outweigh 
  the 
  harm 
  that 
  he 
  did 
  to 
  the 
  science 
  by 
  his 
  bitter 
  antagonism 
  

   to 
  the 
  evolutionary 
  theory. 
  The 
  erroneous 
  determinations 
  of 
  species 
  made 
  

   by 
  Fabre 
  have 
  made 
  his 
  work 
  much 
  less 
  valuable 
  than 
  it 
  would 
  have 
  

   been 
  had 
  he 
  secured 
  correct 
  determinations 
  from 
  competent 
  authorities. 
  Mr. 
  

   Rohwer 
  stated 
  that 
  the 
  same 
  criticism 
  applies 
  to 
  some 
  extent 
  to 
  some 
  

   American 
  works 
  on 
  the 
  habits 
  of 
  wasps, 
  notably 
  that 
  of 
  Hartman 
  in 
  Texas. 
  

  

  Mr. 
  Snodgrass 
  was 
  inclined 
  to 
  overlook 
  the 
  inaccuracies 
  of 
  Fabre's 
  work 
  

   stating 
  that 
  in 
  American 
  entomological 
  literature 
  there 
  are 
  many 
  errors 
  as 
  

   bad 
  as 
  those 
  of 
  Fabre's. 
  He 
  cited 
  as 
  an 
  example 
  the 
  statement 
  that 
  the 
  

   tussock 
  moth 
  removed 
  the 
  hairs 
  from 
  its 
  back 
  by 
  means 
  of 
  its 
  mandibles 
  and 
  

   weaves 
  them 
  into 
  its 
  cocoon. 
  He 
  had 
  observed 
  the 
  method 
  by 
  which 
  these 
  

   hairs 
  are 
  removed 
  and 
  found 
  it 
  to 
  be 
  accomplished 
  by 
  a 
  revolving 
  motion 
  of 
  the 
  

   larva 
  in 
  its 
  cocoon, 
  by 
  which 
  the 
  hairs 
  are 
  rubbed 
  off 
  and 
  becoming 
  tangled 
  

   in 
  the 
  silk 
  of 
  cocoon 
  form 
  a 
  part 
  of 
  the 
  cocoon. 
  

  

  E. 
  D. 
  Ball: 
  Food 
  plants 
  and 
  adaptations 
  of 
  leaf 
  hoppers. 
  

  

  Treehoppers 
  exhibit 
  many 
  lines 
  of 
  adaptation 
  to 
  their 
  surroundings. 
  They 
  

   have 
  been 
  chiefly 
  famous 
  in 
  the 
  past 
  for 
  their 
  remarkable 
  and 
  bizarre 
  shapes. 
  

   These 
  curious 
  and 
  intricate 
  modifications 
  are 
  all 
  the 
  result 
  of 
  an 
  extraordinary 
  

   enlargement 
  of 
  the 
  chitonous 
  covering 
  of 
  the 
  pronotum. 
  These 
  horns, 
  

   spines, 
  balls, 
  warts, 
  or 
  foliaceous 
  prolongations 
  may 
  be 
  clipped 
  off 
  as 
  one 
  

   trims 
  the 
  finger 
  nails 
  without 
  in 
  any 
  way 
  injuring 
  the 
  insect 
  whose 
  body 
  is 
  of 
  

   normal 
  shape 
  and 
  proportion 
  down 
  at 
  the 
  base 
  of 
  this 
  hood. 
  One 
  South 
  

   American 
  species 
  at 
  least 
  appears 
  to 
  be 
  able 
  to 
  shed 
  without 
  difficulty 
  a 
  folia- 
  

   ceous 
  bulb 
  that 
  covers 
  its 
  back. 
  This 
  is 
  probably 
  a 
  protection 
  against 
  insec- 
  

  

  