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THURSDAY MORNING, SEPTEMBER 1st. 



The meeting was called to order by the President at half-past 9 o'clock. 



The Rev. T. W. Fyles gave an account of a gall that he had found upon a White 

 Aster {Diplopappus umhellattcs). Mr. Fletcher in commenting upon it expressed the 

 hope that Mr. Fyles would be able to work up its life history completely. 



A paper by Mr. H. H. Lyman, of Montreal, on a " Trip to Mount Washington in 

 New Hampshire" was then read by the President (see p 32.) 



Mr. Fletcher described some of the many difficulties which beset the entomologist 

 in his efforts to rear larvae from the egg to the imago state. An interesting discussion 

 upon galls was then entered upon, in which most of the members present participated. 



The President, Dr. Bethunb, gave an account of his observations of insect life in 

 Bermuda during the month of March last. He stated that he was most struck by the 

 remarkable absence of insects of all descriptions. Not a single butterfly was to be seen 

 and only one or two moths ; after a diligent search under stones, etc., the only beetle that 

 he found was the red and black Dung-beetle so common in Canada {Aphodins fmetarins), 

 which he found in some cow droppings in a pasture field. Cockroaches (Blatta Ameri- 

 cana), were abundant, having been brought, no doubt, in ships to the islands ; a much 

 larger species, £. Maderensia. was also occasionally seen. The common wasp (Polistes 

 Canadensis), was found making its comb, without any protecting nest, on the leaves or 

 branches of trees ; honey bees were numerous and several species of ants, but no other 

 Hymenoptera were observed. Mosquitoes and house-flies were common but not suffi- 

 ciently numerous to be annoying, and several kinds of spiders. Great complaints were 

 made of the difficulty of growing peaches on the islands owing to the attacks of an insect ; 

 in " Insect Life," vol. iii, p. 6, this is stated to be the maggot of a Dipterous fly [Ceratitis 

 capitata, Wied.) The fruit was observed in all stages of growth at the same time, but 

 none were in perfection except a few that had been protected with gauze netting. The 

 flv is said to attack oranges also, but this fruit has been virtually exterminated in the 

 Bermudas by a Scale-insect (Chionaspis citri), which was accidentally introduced in a ship- 

 load of oranges some years ago. Through the kindness of the Rev. W. G. Lane, Dr. 

 Bethune had obtained three specimens of Sphinx moths, which he exhibitad, viz. : 



(1) Chcprocampa tersa Drury, found also in the Southern States and West Indies; 

 this beautiful hawk-moth is distinguished by its graceful shape and long pointed body ; 

 it is of a light-brownish yellow colour, the hind wings being black with a marginal row of 

 wedge-shaped yellow spots. The larva is said to feed on Button-weed {Siyerviacoce. glabra.) 



(2) Phlegethontius (Sphinx) cingulata. Fab., a large grey hawk-moth, with the hind 

 wings shaded with rose colour and five spots of the same colour on each side of the 

 abdomen. It is found in the West Indies and northwards. The larva feeds on the 

 Sweet potato and Convolvulus. (3) A large White Sphinx, probably S. tetrio, which was 

 taken by Mr. Douglas HoUis in his garden at Hamilton, Bermuda. One of the greatest 

 pests to farmers and gardeners on the Islands is the " Broken-tail Snail " (Rumina 

 decollata, Linn,) which has a singular elongate spiral shell with the smaller end abruptly 

 truncate. It seems to swarm everywhere and is very destructive to vegetation. 



Mr. Moffat presented a paper on " The power of insects to resist the action of 

 frost" (see p. 35.) 



The following insects were exhibited by Mr. Fletcher : 



1. Liparocephalus brevipennis, several specimens. This is an extremely rare Staphy- 

 linid, which had V)een received among other varieties from Rev. J. W. Keen, of Massett, 

 Queen Charlotte Islands. The opinion was expressed that this and the other described 

 species of the genus L. orbicollii^ were merely color varieties of one species. 

 Specimens differing in color had been named under both names by Lieut. Casey, U.S.A., 

 but he said he thought that they were probably identical, and this opinion was also 

 concurred in by Dr. John Hamilton, to v.'hom some of Mr. Keen's specimens had also 

 been sent. Previous to Mr. Keen's collection these two species were only represented by 

 the unique types. 



