SECRETARY'S REPORT 43 



ward down the Mentawai Islands south of Sumatra as far as Mega. 

 Unfortunately, a break in the drive shaft occurred about 60 miles 

 southeast of Padang, cutting the cruise short by about 2 weeks. How- 

 ever, there was obtained in the areas visited a representative collection 

 of mollusks in which new records and range extentions already have 

 been noted. 



Associate curator Joseph P. E. Morrison completed a manuscript 

 describing new species of the families Hydrobiidae, Pyramidellidae, 

 and Mactridae, from Louisiana. 



Dr. J. F. Gates Clarke, chairman of the new Department of Entomol- 

 ogy, accompanied by Mrs. Clarke, visited the island of Rapa (Austral 

 group) in French Polynesia from the beginning of September to mid- 

 December. A large collection of Microlepidoptera and other insect 

 groups was obtained, including 760 specimens reared by Mrs. Clarke. 

 Also, the food plants of more than half of the approximately 75 

 species collected were ascertained and immature stages of all reared 

 species were preserv^ed. This is the first time that such information 

 has been available for these small moths. A preliminary examination 

 of the Microlepidoptera from Rapa suggests a close relationship with 

 those in New Zealand and the Indo- Australian area. 



In June Dr. Clarke spent 5 days on Mount Magazine in the Ozark 

 National Forest of the Ouachita Mountains, Ark. The nearly 3,000 

 specimens he collected, of which 1,222 are Microlepidoptera, help fill 

 a gap in the national collection. 



Dr. Clarke completed a paper on the genera Orsotricha and Pali- 

 norsa of the families Gelechiidae and Oecophoridae, respectively. 



Associate curators of Lepidoptera Don R. Davis and W. Donald 

 Duckworth made a joint collection trip from early July to mid- August 

 to a hitherto poorly collected area in northeastern Mexico that extends 

 along the main highway south from Nuevo Loredo and eastward to 

 the Gulf coast between Tampico and Tuxpan. Interest centered pri- 

 marily on the microlepidopterous families Prodoxidae and Stenomidae 

 with the result that much larval material was collected and many new 

 records acquired. The total collection, including representatives of 

 other insect groups, amounts to approximately 25,000 specimens. 



From mid-April to the end of May, Dr. Duckworth again went into 

 the field, this time to Barro Colorado Island, Panama. Through the 

 help of Mrs. Duckworth another 25,000 specimens were collected here. 



Dr. Davis completed a revision of the subfamily Prodoxinae and 

 Dr. Duckworth completed several papers dealing with the large family 

 Stenomidae. 



In July associate curator of Lepidoptera William D. Field made a 

 28 -day collecting trip for Rhopalocera through the mountains of New 

 York and New England. Large series of several species of butterflies 



