Dec, 1907 ] Book Notices. 243 



name. M. herickii, which is intended for the species previously de- 

 scribed by us as M. septenfrioualis, is again heralded forth as a new 

 species, although previously described in the Entomologist. Mr. 

 Theobald's original diagnosis was based on some remarks made by 

 Herrick in Entomological News, and it appears that he never has had 

 a specimen before him. In the present work the species is credited with 

 a new, purely imaginary character, a bicolored caudal tuft. The 

 paper published by us on the genus Megarhinus in September of last 

 year and which puts the diagnosis of the species on a more tangible 

 and concise basis is wholly ignored. Instead, hopeless confusion is 

 created by attributing new characters to the old species. Thus M. 

 longipes Theob., which was originally described from a single female 

 with banded tarsi, is now diagnosed with " tarsals unhanded " and M. 

 portoricensis von Rod., which is based on a single male without abdomi- 

 nal tufts, is now stated to have the " caudal tufts steel-blue and white. ' ' 



The subfamily Culicinfe contains 63 genera and the author remarks 

 ' ' some mor&'have been added since this went to press. ' ' Ociileomyia, 

 with the eyes 'large and fused in the mid line, and Rachionotomyia, 

 with a large backwardly projecting process on the scutellum, are 

 evidently strongly marked forms, worthy of generic rank ; but the 

 others, separated on scale and palpal characters, are weak, artificially 

 separated groups, and are for the most part not valid genera. In the 

 genus Janthinosoma, our identification of posticata Wied. is, we be- 

 lieve, correct, as Dr. Howard has examined the type and there is 

 nothing in Wiedemann's original description to contradict our under- 

 standing of the name. The confusion is entirely due to Mr. 

 Theobald's misapprehension of the term "tarsus." The new name 

 coquilletti Theob. will stand as a synonym of posticata. The name 

 terminalis Coq. will have to stand for the form misidentified as posti- 

 cata by Theobald. Coquillett's original description of varipes is 

 quoted, but our correction from a reexamination of the type is not 

 noticed. The new name i-rtrcz is proposed for inusica Say (not Leach). 

 We had previously made the same substitution. The variety jamai- 

 censis, described as new, was previously named echinata by Dr. 

 Grabham. 



Under Desvoidea, a whole page is occupied with photographs of 

 the head and anal end of the larva of D. obturbans. It is unfortunate 

 that every character of value is completely obscured in the mount, and 

 the illustrations are worthless. Vndi&x Stegomyia^ Theobald recognizes 



