DEPARTMENT OF INSECTS. 379 



Webster, of the Indiana Experiment Station; David Bruce, of Brock- 

 port, New York; John Dallas, of Fairfield, Connecticut, and C. R. 

 Orcutt, of San Diego, California. 



(2) The arrangement and selection of material to be sent to specialists 

 for determination. This is a very important item in the routine work 

 of the department and occupies a great deal of time. It has been the 

 policy to assist both specialists and the Museum itself 1>.\ sending col- 

 lections in particular groups to specialists who happen to be just at the 

 time working upon them. Thus the entire undetermined material in the 

 Myriapoda was selected out, carefully listed, and sent to Mr. C. II. 

 Bollman, of Bloomington, Illinois, during August. A large portion 

 of the month of October was also spent iu collating the Curator's notes 

 on the lepidopterous family Pyralidse, in collecting the biological 

 material in this family, and in selecting a nearly complete series for 

 Prof. IT. C. Fernald, of Amherst, Massachusetts. The material in the 

 Halticid genera (Edionyehis and Disonycha was brought together and 

 sent to Dr. George IT. Horn, of Philadelphia, who is working up the 

 genera of the Halticuhe. Advantage was taken of the occasion to 

 look over and rearrange the material in other genera of the family. 

 Again, during April the Staphylinid material in certain genera was 

 carefully selected out and forwarded to Capt. T. L. Casey, of New York 

 City, for study, as he is engaging himself with this group of beetles. 



(3) The work of arranging in permanent shape all the reference or 

 reserve collection. This is a matter of extremely slow accomplishment. 

 The re-arrangement of the Coleoptera mentioned in the last annual report 

 of this department has been continued, and, proceeding from the family 

 Cicindelhke there mentioned as having been completed, the very large 

 family Carabidse has been entirely re-arranged, occupying sixty-eight 

 boxes in the reserve collection and eighteen double boxes in the dup- 

 licate series. A beginning has been made with the succeeding families 

 of water beetles, beginning with the Dytischbe. In addition to this 

 work, which has occupied most of Mr. Lin ell's time, Mr. Lawrence 

 I'.i iiner, entomologist to the Nebraska Experiment Station, during a 

 visit to Washington in November, spent a number of days in working 

 over the the Orthoptera of the collection, naming many of the hereto- 

 fore-undetermined species and adding a number of his type species. 

 Dr. S. W. Williston, of New Haven, also visited Washington during 

 May, and devoted some little time to work upon the Diptera in the col- 

 lection. 



(4) The actual care of the collection; its disinfection and preservation 

 from iusect pests. This is a matter of considerable time. Twice or 

 three times a year every box of the hundreds now upon the shelves 

 must be carefully examined, disinfected with bisulphide of carbon or 

 benzine in case the work of mU8eum pests is discovered, and the naptha- 



line cones used as preventives renewed. The entire collection was thus 

 carefully gone over twice during the past year and was found iu most 

 admirable condition. 



