ENTOMOLOGY. 861 



of tannin to which was added enough sulphate of iron to give the 

 mixture a black color. The mixture was heated to 50° C. and then 

 left on the cover glass for 25 minutes. The cover glass without wash- 

 ing was then plunged into a solution of 1 per cent potassium hydrate 

 for 5 minutes. It was then washed in water and stained by the aid of 

 heat with a soda anilin solution of fuchsin and finally stood in water. 

 The stain thus obtained is instable and works with difficulty on cocci 

 forms and on old cultures. The organism is an aerobic, at least with 

 ordinary media. It develops well only in the absence of oxygen, but 

 the growth is never luxuriant. The temperature limits are between 20 

 and 30°. Its virulence seems to vary with the chemical constitution of 

 the soil and with atmospheric conditions. 



In 12 lots of phylloxera experiments 2 lots were placed in the ground 

 as control experiments, 8 were placed in earth in potatoes and sown 

 with the organism, and 2 were placed on a lot of blotting paper. In 1 

 or 2 days the insects on the twigs of the last 2 lots were all dead. At 

 the end of 5 days few living insects were found in the 8 lots, while in 

 the control experiment plenty of them were found after the lapse of 7 

 days. 



Report of the entomologist, L. Brunek (Nebraska st„t, ];d. Agr. Rpt. 1896, pp. 

 105-138, figs. 35). — This consists of notes, descriptive ami otherwise, on the common 

 or injurious grasshoppers of Nebraska, with observations as to remedies. The lat- 

 ter portion of the paper is formed by a list of the short-horned grasshoppers occur- 

 ring in the State. 



Contributions to experimental entomology, E. Fischer (Illus. Ztsclvr. Ent., : 

 (1897 1, No. 14, pp. 689-695, pi. 1). — Experiments in which l'an< ssa antiopa, V. aberratio 

 arteritis, and V. aberratio hygiosa wire subjected to cold are described. 



Species or subspecies, T. 1>. A. Cockerell (Nature, 56, No. 1452, //. 391). 



Revision of the European and related species of the Ichneumonid genus 

 Pimpla, O. Schmikdekxeciit (Illus. Wchnschr. Ent.. .' (1897), Xos. 32, pp. 506-511; 

 33, pp. 525-528; 34, pp. 539-543; 36, pp. 571-576; 37, pp. 589-591; 39, pp. 618-6:.'; 

 40, pp. 033-038). 



The braconid genus Meteorus, <». Schmiedeknecht (Illus. Wchnschr. Ent., '.' 

 (1897), Nos. 10, pp. 150-154, figs. 5; 11, pp. 173-175 ; 1 ?, pp. 184-190; 13, pp. 204-207; 

 14, pp. 221-223; 19, pp. 208-30.'). 



Diptera from the white sands on the Tularosa plains of southern New Mex- 

 ico, I, C. H. T. Townsexi) (Psyche, 8 (1897), Xo. 259, pp. 138-140). — Paragua bicolor 

 testacem, P. tibialis, and Zodion fulvifrons abdominale all on flowers of Aster parvi- 

 florus. 



Diptera of the Organ Mountains in southern New Mexico, I, C. H. T. Town- 

 send (Psyche, 8 (1S97), No. 258, pp. 126-128). — A brief description is given of the 

 following, with the altitudes at which they were caught: Eupeodes volucris, 5,000 ft., 

 on flowers of Melampodium cinereum ; Zodion sphndens, 5,000 ft., on Zinnia grandiflora : 

 Zodion fulvifrons, 5,500 ft., on Pedis papposa ; Belvoaia bifasciata, 5.600 ft. 



The Coleoptera of the lower Rio Grande Valley, H. F. Wickham (Bui. Lab. 

 Nat. Hist, state Univ. Iowa, 4 (1897), Xo. 2, pp. 96-115).— Species of Cicindelidae, 

 Caribida\ Haliplida-. and Hydrophylida- are noted. Only a score of specimens 

 peculiar to Mexico were obtained, and these were found in a cotton field near 

 Matamoras. 



Winter case arrangement for bees, P. S. Ortox (Amer. Bee Jour., 37 (1897), No. 

 20, p. 305). — A winter case costing about $3.50 and holding 10 two-story, 8-frame, dove- 

 tailed hives is described. It is 13 ft. long, 21 ft. wide, and 21 ft. deep. The hives 



