66 THE REPORT OF THE No. 19 



NOTES ON THE OCCUERENCE OF LACHNOSTERNAS IN 1908. 

 By J. D. Evans, Trentoiv. 



During the past nearly forty years the writer has collected Coleoptera 

 and paid particular attention to the Lachnosternas, (commonly known as 

 May Beetles or June Bugs), but a dozen or so specimens would be the maxi- 

 mum number taken in any one season and more often the number could 

 readily be counted on the fingers of one hand. Fusca was considered the 

 common species, but Dr. J. B. Smith separated and named others in the 

 family or group fusca viz. arcuata, insperata and duhia. Since then it has 

 been found that fusca is quite uncommon, the common species being 

 insperata and duhia and the manner of separating these two species as given 

 by the late Dr. Jno. Hamilton is the presence or absence of a tuft of hair 

 on the head next to and between the eyes, in some specimens this tuft of 

 hair may be much abraded. 



The Lachnosternas were very numerous, this season the writer took 

 168 specimens either at lighted windows or in the trap, of which 91, or 

 more than one-half of the number were fusica. The females of insperata and 

 duhia are quite common, being usually about one-third of the number of 

 the males, but with fusca it is very different, for the writer has never seen 

 a female fusca among a large series taken at Trenton, Belleville, Sudbury 

 and Ottawa and not until this season when one female only was taken as 

 against 90 males. Ciliata is another species a few specimens of which are 

 taken almost yearly, but yet the female has never been seen by the writer. 



The number of specimens taken of each of 'the species throughout the 

 season, being from 17th May to 6th July, is as follows : Insperata, 44 males, 

 10 females; duhia, 5 males, 14 females; fusca, 90 males, 1 female; ciliata, 

 4 males; total, 168. 



In connection with this it might be mentioned that Lachnosternas 

 occurred in large numbers this season at Gardenville and Wellington in 

 Prince Edward County, where they have been very destructive to roots of 

 strawberries, potatoes and other plants and in the imago state both at 

 Trenton and Gardenville they were guilty of stripping off leaves from shrubs, 

 raspberry canes and other fruits. 



APPARATUS FOR COLLECTING SMALL ARTHROPODS 

 TERRESTRIAL AND AQUATIC. 



By Tennyson D. Jarvis, 0. A. College, Guelph. 



In the February number of the "Entomological News", Vol. XVII., 

 Dr. L. 0. Howard, of the Bureau of Entomology, Washington, described 

 an apparatus, devised by Dr. Berlese, of Florence, Italy, for collecting 

 small Arthropods and in great quantities. Being much interested in the 

 study of Acarids our Department immediately had made an apparatus simi- 

 lar in structure. From it we got excellent results and a short time after- 

 ward we devised a machine for collecting aquatic insects and Acarids. We 

 have found both collecting traps highlv satisfactory. In the terrestrial 

 trap Arthropods have been taken from many orders, but the largest numbers 

 have been received from the Acarina, Araneida and Thysanura. 



5a EN. 



