Sept., 1912.] Proceedings of the Society. 221 



Meeting of May 7, 1912. 



A regular meeting of the New York Entomological Society was held May 

 -, 19 12, in the American Museum of Natural History, at 8.15 P. M., President 

 Dr. Raymond C. Osburn in the chair and 15 members present. 



Mr. Pollard announced that a memorial meeting in honor of the late 

 Prof. John B. Smith would be held on May 28, under the auspices of the 

 Staten Island Association of Arts and Sciences, at which the members of the 

 Society were invited to be present. 



Mr. Engelhardt spoke of " Early Spring Collecting " illustrating his 

 remarks by specimens collected at Central Park, Long Island, this spring. 

 He said in part : 



The Long Island prairie or so-called Hempstead plains finds its eastern 

 limit at Central Park, L. I., from there on continuing east begin the typical 

 pine barrens. The prairie is the region visited by Wm. T. Davis during the 

 fall of 1911, when he secured the unusual record of Tetracha virginica. 

 This region can be reached within one hour from either Brooklyn or New 

 York and combining as it does prairie and pine barren, it ought to receive 

 special attention from collectors during the present season, for the original 

 prairie is fast yielding to cultivation. The following condensed enumeration 

 represents part of the captures made during April, 1912 : 



Some of the Coleoptera collected on dead pines were: Boros unicolor, 

 under bark, April 7, still hibernating and in clusters of five or six ; Coxelus 

 guttnlatiis, three specimens; Rhizophagus cylindriciis, two specimens; Hister 

 parallelus, Platysoma lecontei, Plegaderus transferstis, these three Histers, 

 especially the last named, exceedingly numerous ; Dicerca obscura, var. lurida, 

 Alaus my ops, Corymbites cylindriformis, Callidium an ennatum, Hypophloeus 

 parallelus, common ; Batrisodes globosus, Tyrtis hiimeralis, etc., etc. The 

 following were swarming about a pine cut during the winter or late fall, 

 Hylobius pales, Pissodes strobi, Dendroctonus terebrans, Hylurgops glabratus, 

 Phlccosimtis dentatus, Tomicus calligraphus, Rhagium lineatum, Dinoderus 

 cribratus, etc. L'nder bark of young oaks injured by wood fires, Lcemophlaeus 

 btgut atus, L. adustus, L. convexulus, Litargus se.vpimctatus, Sacium lunatum, 

 etc. Other miscellaneous beetles Ditoma pinicola, Clems quadriguttatus, 

 Epurea erichsoni. Serica tricolor. Valgus squamiger, Bruchus nigrinus, Notoxus 

 monodon, Melanophthalma prnnila, Tomarus pulchellus, Orsodachna atra, var. 

 vittata, common on pussy willows, Dorytomus brevicollis on catkins of 

 poplar, Xanthonia decemnotata, Crepidodera rufipes beaten from Pine, Rhino- 

 niacer pilosus, etc. 



Diptera and Hj-menoptera : Large numbers collected on pussy willows. 

 Among Diptera the Syrphidse and Tachinidse were especially well represented. 

 Among Hymenoptera especially bees of various families. Four specimens of 

 the large syrphid Criorhina verbosa were secured. Zelima nigra, another 

 Syrphid, was obtained ex pupa. The lar^se live under bark of decaying pine 

 trees. They were very numerous ; the first adult emerged April 20. Mr. 



