206 Journal New York Entomological Society. [Voi. v. 



Prof. D. S. Martin spoke on insect inclusions in fossil renins. He stated that 

 many years ago he was an insect collector and collected in what is now the heart of 

 the city. He said the subject of fossil insects had been well studied in Europe, and 

 that the resins and insects had been found in many geological epochs. The resins 

 being an excellent preserving medium, the insects were usually in good condition. 



Fofsil resins begin to appear in the Cretaceous but insects are not found in them ; 

 it is only when we come to the Eocene that insects begin to appear in the resins. 

 The resin is a product of Pinus succinefera. He gave a history of the formation and 

 'ts distribution and said that the African resins are of the latest Tertiary or (Quaternary, 

 and are found near the equator, that copal is not so hard as amber, and that Zanzibar 

 is very rich in insects, but that they have not been well studied. The Zanzibar 

 gum is found thirty to forty miles from the present beach, and is from a tree called 

 Tricolobiuni zanzibariense which still grows in Zanzibar, and as the tree is a beach 

 lover, it shows that the sea has receded that much. 



Fossil resins, he said, are also found at the Magdallen River in South America- 

 Professor Maitin exhibited many specimens, which included beetles, flies, ants, 

 and bees, some like the Termes (white ants) were like these still found in the West 

 Indies. After discussion, adjournment. 



Meeting of May iS, 1S97. 



Held at the American Museum of Natural History. 



President Palm in the chair. Fourteen members present. 



The Auditing Committee reported the accounts of the Treasurer as correct. 



Dr. G. H. Horn presented four of his recent papers on Coleoptera to the 

 Society. 



Mr. Beu^enmiiller e.xhibited a number of hybrid moths, among which were 

 crosses between Actjas liina and seleiw, P. ceanothi and cecropin, P. glovert and 

 cccropia, P. gloveri and Columbia. He also showed the cocoons of the hybrids 

 vhich partook of the characters of both parents. 



Dr. Dyar gave a few notes on his studies of the larvee of sawflies, and called at- 

 tention to their large thorai ic and small abdominal feet, just the opposite to the Lepi- 

 di-iptera. He said they were subject to dipterous and hymenopterous parasites in the 

 hame proportion as the Lepidoptera but of difierent species. He also spoke of the 

 sctK and their arrangement, but had not carried his studies to completion. 



Mrs. A T. Slosson gave a few notes on her winter collections at Biscayne Bay 

 and Miami, Florida, and said that the llora and fauna were entirely diill'erent to those 

 of Lfcke Wtrth. 



Dr. Prime gave a graphic description of the environs of Miami, I'lorida, and 

 mentioned that there was a solid foundation of coral covered by vegetable mould in 

 the hollows, and that the solid land extends along the coast in a strip about four miles 

 wide, the bay being on one side and the everglades on the other ; insect life is con- 

 lined to this narrow strip and to the rows of keys that extend along the coast three to 

 five mdes from the main land. He gave an amusing example of landscape gardening 

 around the hotel, which was to cut down every tree, shrub and bush to the ground, 

 leaving a barren clearing surrounded by virgin foiests. 



