46 Journal New York Entoiniological Society. [Voi. xvii. 



Mr. Dow, of the conirnittee that arranged the dinner in honor of the fiftieth birth- 

 day of Professor J. B. Smith, reported that the occasion had been most successfully 

 celebrated. The report was accepted and the committee was discharged. 



The librarian, Mr. Schaeffer, reported the receipt of the following exchanges : 



Mittheil. d. Schweiz. Ent. Gesel., XI, No. 8. 



Anales del Museo Nac. de Buenos Aires, IX, Ser. 3, igo8. 



Verhandl. d. K. K. Zool. Bot. Gesel. Wien, LVIII, Nos. 6 and 7. 



Verhandl. Soc. Iniper. d. Naturalistes de Moscow, Nos. 1-3, 1907. 



Canadian Ent., XL, No. Ii. 



Insect World, XII, Nos. 9 and lo. 



New Species of Noctuidi« for 1908 — I, Notes on the species of Phseocyma, 

 Notes on the species of Rhynchagrotis, by J. B. Smith. 



Trans. Texas Academy of Sciences for 1907. 



Proceed. Calif. Acad. Sciences, 4th series. III, pp. I-40. 



Zeitschr. f. Wissenschaft. Insektenbiologie, IV, Nos. 8 and 9. 



Proc. Amer. Acad. Arts and Sciences, XLIV, Nos. I-5. 



Mr. Beutenmiiller read a paper on the North American species of AmpJiiboIips 

 and Holcaspis illustrated by pen and ink drawings and blackboard sketches. He 

 stated that the galls and adults of these two genera comprise the largest known 

 species of Cynipidse, and that their galls are very characteristic. The galls of the 

 genus Amphibolips may be divided into three groups as follows : ( I ) those with a 

 spongy substance internally {^A. confluens. longicornis, carolinensis, spinosa and 

 acuminata') ; (2) those with radiating fibers internally i^A. inanis, ilicifolia:, cinerea, 

 ccelebs, ci(nfo)-mis, melanocera, cooki vinA tinctoricv) ; (3) those with a uniform pithy, 

 compact substance internally (A. priiiiiis, gainesi, fuliginosa, palmeri and trizonata). 

 The galls of Holcaspis may be divided into two groups, (i) those with a more or less 

 free, central, larval cell i^H. globulus, omnivora,rubens, cinerosa, divricoria, bassetli, 

 trucksensis, sileri, spongiosa, ficigera, S7iccinipes, perniciosa and corallinus) ; (2) 

 those with radiating fibers [H. centricola, t?iactilipennis and brevipennata) . He also 

 spoke on the subject of galls in general from the botanical and entomological stand- 

 points, and stated that they are of considerable scientific importance in so far as their 

 morphological structure and origin are concerned. The origin and development of 

 insect galls, more especially on the oak, is a subject which has puzzled many eminent 

 scientists. It was first supposed by various naturalists that the Cynipids deposit simul- 

 taneously with the egg a drop of irritating fluid which causes the sap to flow and that 

 the formation of the gall is the result of chemical action. The two important factors, 

 however, at work in connection with gall formation, are the activity of the vegetable 

 sap and the influence of the animal agency. Botanically considered galls cannot 

 arise except when the living insect is in direct contact with the living cells which 

 exist in plants and are specially set apart for their growth and development, and in 

 order fully to understand the formation of gall structure recourse must be had to 

 section cutting as well as minute microscopical investigation. It has been shown 

 that the effect on the vegetable structure of the wound made by egg-laying does not 

 cause the gall, as that heals up and no gall formation begins till the larva is about to 

 escape from the egg. Adler discovered that as the larva grew and fed, the gall in- 

 creased in size, from which it may be inferred that galls (oak-galls) are the result of 

 the excitatory action of the larva in conjunction with the vitality of the vegetable cells. 



