﻿AUGUST 
  19, 
  1922 
  PROCEEDINGS 
  : 
  ENTOMOLOGICAL 
  SOCIETY 
  337 
  

  

  would 
  be 
  14,633 
  and 
  would 
  average 
  about 
  six 
  species 
  to 
  a 
  genus. 
  Using 
  the 
  

   Genera 
  Insectorum 
  for 
  the 
  cuckoo 
  wasps 
  in 
  the 
  same 
  way, 
  Mr. 
  Rohwer 
  

   thought 
  that 
  his 
  estimate 
  for 
  this 
  group 
  was 
  unnecessarily 
  conservative 
  as 
  

   judged 
  from 
  the 
  basis 
  of 
  the 
  index, 
  and 
  that 
  there 
  must 
  be 
  at 
  least 
  1,800 
  valid 
  

   names 
  of 
  this 
  group. 
  He 
  pointed 
  out 
  that 
  it 
  was 
  very 
  difficult 
  to 
  determine 
  

   what 
  was 
  a 
  valid 
  species, 
  but 
  from 
  the 
  standpoint 
  of 
  taxonomic 
  study 
  syn- 
  

   onomy 
  made 
  but 
  little 
  difference 
  as 
  for 
  all 
  revisionary 
  work 
  it 
  is 
  important 
  to 
  

   take 
  all 
  synonyms 
  into 
  account. 
  He 
  noted 
  that 
  according 
  to 
  his 
  estimate 
  

   the 
  number 
  of 
  described 
  Hymenoptera 
  has 
  practically 
  doubled 
  since 
  Dalla 
  

   Torre's 
  catalogue 
  and 
  that 
  in 
  addition 
  to 
  this 
  the 
  classification 
  of 
  the 
  Hymen- 
  

   optera 
  has 
  undergone 
  changes 
  which 
  make 
  it 
  difficult 
  if 
  not 
  impossible, 
  for 
  

   students 
  to 
  find 
  the 
  names 
  given 
  them 
  in 
  the 
  catalogue. 
  He 
  presented 
  these 
  

   facts 
  to 
  show 
  the 
  great 
  need 
  for 
  a 
  new 
  catalogue 
  of 
  the 
  Hymenoptera. 
  

  

  Mr. 
  Rohwer 
  closed 
  his 
  remarks 
  by 
  stating 
  that 
  he 
  believed 
  90,000 
  would 
  be 
  

   a 
  conservative 
  estimate 
  for 
  the 
  number 
  of 
  described 
  species 
  of 
  Hymenoptera, 
  

   and 
  to 
  be 
  conservative 
  he 
  would 
  multiply 
  this 
  by 
  three 
  so 
  as 
  to 
  get 
  a 
  good 
  

   estimate 
  of 
  the 
  total 
  number 
  of 
  species 
  in 
  the 
  world. 
  This 
  would 
  give 
  a 
  

   total 
  of 
  270,000. 
  A 
  table 
  was 
  presented 
  showing 
  the 
  number 
  of 
  species 
  in 
  

   the 
  various 
  groups. 
  

  

  Diptera. 
  Dr. 
  Aldrich 
  stated 
  that 
  he 
  based 
  his 
  estimates 
  on 
  the 
  catalogue 
  

   of 
  the 
  Diptera 
  of 
  the 
  world 
  dated 
  1902-1910, 
  which 
  represents 
  about 
  nine- 
  

   sixteenths 
  of 
  the 
  species 
  at 
  this 
  time, 
  or 
  about 
  44,000 
  species 
  described. 
  

   After 
  comparing 
  several 
  genera 
  as 
  to 
  species 
  old 
  and 
  new 
  he 
  estimated 
  that 
  

   about 
  five 
  times 
  this 
  number 
  would 
  be 
  a 
  fair 
  estimate, 
  or 
  220,000 
  species 
  de- 
  

   scribed 
  and 
  undescribed 
  for 
  the 
  world. 
  

  

  Coleoptera. 
  — 
  Mr. 
  Barber 
  said 
  that 
  comparative 
  figures 
  indicating 
  the 
  number 
  

   of 
  species 
  of 
  beetles 
  had 
  been 
  hastily 
  gotten 
  together 
  but 
  might 
  offer 
  a 
  basis 
  

   for 
  an 
  estimate. 
  In 
  regard 
  to 
  the 
  fauna 
  of 
  the 
  United 
  States 
  the 
  very 
  con- 
  

   servative 
  Henshaw 
  list 
  of 
  thirty-seven 
  years 
  ago 
  numbered 
  9238 
  species, 
  

   which 
  was 
  raised 
  to 
  11,256 
  by 
  the 
  still 
  very 
  conservative 
  third 
  supplement, 
  

   appearing 
  ten 
  ^'-ears 
  later. 
  This 
  number 
  has 
  grown 
  steadily, 
  reaching 
  18,644 
  

   (including 
  the 
  Stylopidae) 
  by 
  the 
  close 
  of 
  1918, 
  according 
  to 
  the 
  Leng 
  list 
  

   which 
  reflects 
  a 
  slightly 
  more 
  liberal 
  standard 
  of 
  specific 
  differentiation. 
  

  

  In 
  regard 
  to 
  the 
  world 
  fauna 
  we 
  can 
  at 
  present 
  only 
  compare 
  the 
  number 
  of 
  

   species 
  listed 
  in 
  certain 
  families 
  in 
  the 
  Gemminger 
  and 
  Harold 
  (Munich) 
  

   catalogue 
  of 
  about 
  fifty 
  years 
  ago 
  with 
  corresponding 
  families 
  that 
  have 
  been 
  

   listed 
  in 
  the 
  Junk 
  catalogue 
  within 
  the 
  last 
  twelve 
  years. 
  A 
  table 
  of 
  fifteen 
  

   families 
  out 
  of 
  more 
  than 
  a 
  hundred 
  usually 
  recognized 
  families 
  of 
  beetles 
  

   showed 
  an 
  average 
  increase 
  of 
  151% 
  in 
  about 
  forty-five 
  years. 
  If 
  this 
  is 
  

   representative 
  of 
  the 
  entire 
  order, 
  the 
  77,008 
  species 
  of 
  Coleoptera 
  enumerated 
  

   in 
  the 
  Munich 
  catalogue 
  should 
  now 
  be 
  increased 
  to 
  about 
  200,000. 
  

  

  To 
  base 
  an 
  estimate 
  of 
  the 
  existing 
  unknown 
  species 
  upon 
  this 
  estimated 
  

   figure 
  of 
  the 
  known 
  forms 
  would 
  be 
  mere 
  guesswork 
  and 
  if 
  one's 
  field 
  exper- 
  

   ience 
  is 
  limited 
  to 
  our 
  own 
  fauna 
  is 
  apt 
  to 
  fall 
  far 
  below 
  the 
  reality. 
  For 
  

   comparison, 
  the 
  speaker 
  was 
  one 
  of 
  a 
  group 
  of 
  half 
  a 
  dozen 
  active 
  collectors 
  

   paying 
  special 
  attention 
  to 
  the 
  fauna 
  of 
  Plummer's 
  Island 
  and 
  vicinity 
  

   (near 
  Washington, 
  D. 
  C), 
  but 
  their 
  combined 
  efforts 
  covering 
  about 
  ten 
  

   years 
  recorded 
  only 
  about 
  1300 
  species 
  of 
  beetles, 
  while 
  six 
  weeks 
  of 
  collecting 
  

   by 
  Mr. 
  Schwarz 
  and 
  the 
  speaker 
  in 
  the 
  humid 
  forests 
  of 
  Guatemala 
  in 
  1906 
  

   produced 
  about 
  an 
  equal 
  number 
  of 
  species, 
  a 
  large 
  percentage 
  (probably 
  

   quite 
  25%) 
  of 
  which 
  were 
  represented 
  only 
  by 
  unique 
  examples, 
  and 
  although 
  

  

  