166 Journal New York Entomological Society, ["^^o'- -^^I- 



ated in the males, so that it became sometimes impossible to place unique 

 females, of which several remained unnamed in his collection. As Mr. 

 Schaeffer's results will later be published in full in the Bulletin of the Brook- 

 lyn Institute, it is only necessary here to refer to his complete revision of the 

 genus Temnochila (formerly Trogosita) in which the variety nyenta, named 

 by Mr. Dow in honor of our Society, becomes raised to specific rank ; and 

 the differences in structure, color, punctuation, etc., observed in the forms 

 occurring in our different faunal regions are minutely described. In closing, 

 Mr. Schaeffer spoke briefly of the Ostomini and said the species Ostoma 

 oblonga and grossa should undoubtedly be stricken from our lists, the records 

 upon which they had originally been included being unreliable. 



Discussing Mr. Schaeffer's remarks on the law of priority, Mr. Leng said 

 it seemed to him that the law which protected the specific name virescens and 

 the generic name Temnochila because they were the first to be applied, should, 

 in consistency, be invoked to protect the family name Trogositidae because it 

 in turn was the first to be applied as a name for the family ; and he added 

 that he believed the greatest opposition to the strict application of the law 

 of priority came from those who, like Prof. Bradley, of Cornell, felt obliged 

 to protest against such changes in established family names, though they 

 were in sympathy with the law in other respects. 



Mr. Schaeffer replied that it was customary to make family and tribal 

 names derivatives of the oldest generic name contained therein, whereby they 

 necessarily changed when the discovery of the prior description of the genus 

 necessitated a change in its name ; moreover, a desirable accordance with 

 European practise was thereby attained. However, he admitted that Tro- 

 gositidae was in fact the first name to be applied to the family in question. 



Mr. Dow exhibited a collection of the genus Dynastes. calling attention 

 to a new form from Prescott, Ariz., differing from grant ii and tityus in having 

 the cephalic horn simple like tityus and the thoracic horn forked like grantii, 

 and added that an examination of over 300 specimens failed to show any 

 intergrading forms. 



Mr. Schaeffer said that variations of this nature were not unusual in 

 Dynastini, and had not been regarded as worthy of names heretofore. Differ- 

 ences even greater had been simply referred to as (^ major and (^ minor. 



Mr. Dow spoke of the environment and adaptations of Temnochilidae, 

 giving also some interesting facts as to derivation of specific names in this 

 family. Thus the first specimens being discovered in a cargo of grain from 

 Morocco led to the specific name niauretanica and the generic name Trogosita 

 meaning " gnawer of grain " though we know now that grain-eating larvae 

 constitute the actual food. Later Mr. Dow quoted Chittenden as authority 

 for a statement that such carnivorous larvae could in a case of necessity 

 subsist on the grain itself. The name virescens also Mr. Dow said had no 

 connection with color, but referred to the long sparse setae of the mentum 

 suggesting to the author the first growth of hair on the adolescent human 

 chin. In respect of habits, Mr. Dow divided the family into three groups, the 

 first semi-cylindrical in form, adapted to enter burrows, to feel their way in 



