PROCEEDINGS OF THE ACADEMY AND AFFILIATED 



SOCIETIES 



ENTOMOLOGICAL SOCIETY OF WASHINGTON. 



3 2 6th meeting. 



The 326th regular meeting was held at the Cosmos Club, Dec. 4, 

 1919, with Pres. Sasscer in the chair, and 31 members and 5 visitors 

 present. 



Officers elected for 1920: President, W. R. Walton; First Vice- 

 President, A. B. Gahan; Second Vice-President, A. G. Boving; Re- 

 cording Secretary, R. A. Cushman; Editor, A. C. Baker; Corresponding 

 Secretary-Treasurer, S. A. Rohwer; Members at Large of Executive 

 Committee, A. N. Caudell, A. L. Ouaintance, and E. R. Sasscer. 

 S. A. Rohwer was nominated as a vice-preident of Washington Acad- 

 emy of Sciences. 



program. 



Wm. ScHAUS, Collecting in the American Tropics. 



Mr. Schaus told in a most interesting way of his experiences during 

 his many years of collecting in South and Central America. He de- 

 scribed most vividly the plant and animal life of the tropical forest, 

 his description of night in the jungle being most impressive. 



In the discussion on this paper, Mr. Caudell spoke of insects as food, 

 especially of the grasshoppers and caterpillars used by the American 

 Indians. He also told of a mantid that is found in Texas and Brazil 

 but has not been found at points between. Dr. Aldrich spoke of the 

 stenoxenid fly, Stenoxenus johnsoni Coq., described from the Delaware 

 Water Gap, that has since been found only in Costa Rica. Mr. Schwarz 

 stated that there are only two spots in the United States where tropical 

 species occur, southern Florida and Brownsville, Texas; and told of 

 some of his experiences collecting in those localities and in the tropics, 

 comparing the faunas of the regions. Dr. Howard commended Dr. 

 Schaus highly on his paper. 



Under the heading of Notes and Exhibition of Specimens, Dr. Hop- 

 kins exhibited a sweet potato mined by a scolytid beetle. Platypus 

 compositus Say, which ordinarily breeds in hardwoods. The galleries 

 in the specimen already contained a growth of the ambrosia fungus. 

 Another and undescribed species of barkbeetle, he stated, had also 

 been found attacking sweet potato. 



Retiring president Sasscer then presented to President-elect Walton 

 a gavel made of two pieces of wood beautifully engraved by the bark- 

 beetle Leprosinus aculeatus Say. This had been made by Mr. H. W. 

 Clark and presented by him to Dr. Howard, who in turn presented it 

 to the Society. President Walton then took the chair. 



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