50 THE REPORT OF THE No. 19 



Great strides are being made in the study of the insect fauna generally, 

 but more especially has attention been directed of late to some of the, hereto- 

 fore, most neglected orders, the Orthoptera and Diptera coming well to the 

 front, particularly the last mentioned, which has been recently catalogued by 

 Prof. J. M. Akhich of tTie LTniversity of Idaho, the species now numbering 

 8,300 as H gainst 2,500 catalogued in 1878 by Baron Osten Sacken and follow- 

 ing closely, numerically, the Coleoptera and Lepidoptera. 



Among many other assiduous workers in the field on this continent who 

 are doing good work, adding largely to the knowledge regarding their several 

 specialties, may be mentioned Dr. J. B. Smith in the Noctuidse, Eev. Geo. 

 W. Taylor in the Geometridae, and Mr. W. D. Kearfott in the Micro-Lepid- 

 optera. 



We are deeply indebted to a large number of the American specialists, 

 among whom may be mentioned Dr. L. 0. Howard, Dr. Harrison G. Dyar, 

 Mr. D. W. Coquillet, Dr. W. H. Ashmead, Dr. Henry Skinner, Mr. E. P. 

 Yanduzee, and Prof. H, P. Wickham, for their many patient and self-sacri- 

 ficing acts in examining and naming species in the various orders for the 

 Canadian collectors and students. 



Much literature on entomological subjects has been produced during the 

 past year, but foremost among them may be classed "American Insects," by 

 Prof. V. L. Kellogg, of Leland Stanford, Jr., University, which is profusely 

 illustrated with colored plates ana figures in the text and provides a very 

 valuable work for the use of nature observers, natural history students, and 

 of general readers. Also in this category may be added "A Synonymic Cata- 

 logue of the Erycinidae of the World," by Levi W. Mengel of Reading, Penn. 



We are sorry to learn that our worthy Past-President and genial and in- 

 defatigable worker. Prof. W. Lochhead, is about to withdraw his valued serv- 

 ices from the Ontario Agricultural College to become the Entomologist at the 

 new Agricultural College at St. Anne's, Que., which has been founded by Sir 

 Wm Macdonald, but although he may be somewhat further removed geo- 

 graphically, still we hope to always have his presence at our meetings in the 

 future and counsel in matters pertaining to the welfare of the Society, and 

 help and assistance in time of need. We have no doubt that his successor. 

 Prof. Sherman, a student under Prof. Comstock, and of much experience, will 

 prove to be the right man in the right place, and carry on the work at the 

 College in the same thorough and painstaking manner as has been done under 

 the rpfrime of his predecessor. 



The passing season has been, so far as 1 am aware, and from my own ex- 

 perience and observation, a very poor one for insects, generally speaking very 

 wet, somewhat similar to the two last preceding seasons. Consequently insect 

 life in many ways has not flourished. The forest tent caterpillar {C. disstria) 

 seemingly has disappeared entirely and the presence of the Fall webworm 

 {H. textor) very rarely seen. 



The County of Prince Edward and the surrounding district has been 

 noted in the past for large crops of high grade pease, but of late years the 

 Pea-weevil {B. pisi) has been so destructive that the crop has been almost 

 ruined. A great warfare has been waged against this insect pest through the 

 iiistruinentality of the leading members of this Society, to wit, the active 

 workers in this department at the Central Experimental Farm at Ottawa and 

 the Ontario Agricultural College at Guelph. For about two years the pea 

 crop was almost eliminated from the farming community with the hope that 

 the shortness of the food plant would wape out the pest. This apparently has 

 come to pass, for this year again a very large acreage has been sown, resulting 

 in a most bountiful crop with very little, if any, ill effects from the weevil. It 



