176 Journal New York Entomological Society. 



nald has recorded it as being introduced into Massachusetts where it occurred 

 restricted to a very small locality. He spoke of the habit of the caterpillar of placing 

 its cocoon at the tip end of the branches where it was difficult to remove them without 

 breaking the branches. 



Mr. Zabriskie exhibited a parasitic hymenopteron, one of the Chalcididse similar 

 to those mentioned by Professor Wheeler as occurring with ants. This specimen was 

 taken by sweeping the herbage. 



Mr. Joutel exhibited a pamphlet written by Spinola in 1839 in which were 

 described and figured a few species of peculiar Coleoptera. 



Professor Wheeler exhibited some ants recently received from British Honduras col- 

 lected by Mr. Johnson — one species of which has very rarely been seen in collections. 

 Mr. Johnson had sent a large series of the driver ant. Professor Wheeler described 

 the habits of these ants. He told of their carnivorous food habit and how they moved 

 in great armies through the tropical forests devouring all insects and even larger 

 animals in their way. They move along just under the surface of the ground and are 

 consequently blind. They come to the surface of the ground and can be found 

 beneath stones, boards and leaves which may serve as a sort of roof to their galleries. 

 The differences between the individuals of the various castes were pointed out and 

 comparisons made between these and similar ants in other parts of the world. 



In answer to Mr. Leng's question as to how much territory they covered in their 

 migrations Professor Wheeler stated that that had never been determined as they were 

 rather mysterious in their habits. The males and females are so different that they 

 have been put in separate genera and even classified in separate families by Cresson. 

 The females are very rare. They have no wings and are very large bodied being 

 probably dragged along by the other members in their migrations. The workers have 

 a rank and nauseating odor while the males and females are sweet smelling. Further- 

 more these ants have more myrmecophiles than any other known ant, many of which 

 resemble the ant so closely that they have been overlooked. Among the mymeco- 

 philes most common are various species of Staphylinid?e which are not necessarily 

 mimetic in color but merely in form. 



Mr. Davis exhibited five local species of the large red ant belonging to the genus 

 Formica and remarked that four of them had been taken on Staten Island. He 

 spoke of the habits of each of these species. 



Mr. Watson exhibited specimens of the cynthia moth showing a peculiar aberra- 

 tion with a darker band along the outer margin of the wings. These were bred from 

 cocoons obtained in Bronx Park. Some specimens obtained in the same lot were 

 typical. 



Mr. Schaeffer slated that while in Brownsville, Tex., he and Mr. Doll had 

 brought back two or three thousand cocoons of a Bombycid moth [Agapema gaibina), 

 a large number of which hatched out in September and October, 1903, and every fall 

 since a diminishing number had hatched out and even yet a few are left which will 

 probably hatch out this fall. He asked if anyone could explain this. 



Mr. Davis suggested that that was a possible provision of nature for these to hold 

 over in this locality for a considerable time to wait for a suitable wet season for hatch- 

 ing out ; that they might even hold over for several years if the season was unfavorable. 



This led to considerable discussion as to the effect of cold, heat, moisture, etc., 

 in either retarding development or effecting the colors of the mature insect. 



