136 Journal New York Entomological Society. [Vol. xxv. 



by numerous specimens of adult, larva, pupa and drawings of genitalia, giv- 

 ing the story of his finding the larvje boring in the root of a plant locally 

 called rattlesnake weed. The species is to be called Papaipema eryngii. 



Mr. Dow read a paper, " The Plague of the Lice and the Plague of the 

 Flies," in which the passages of the Scriptures dealing therewith were care- 

 fully considered and compared with the various commentaries. 



Mr. Nicolay exhibited his collection of the genus Buprestis and spoke of 

 the differences and geographical distribution of the species striata and 

 impedita. 



Mr. Davis exhibited part of his Cicada collection, showing the new species, 

 Okanagana aurantiaca and Clidophleps astigma, and some allied species, ex- 

 plaining the differences between them. He also read a card from E. B. 

 Williamson. 



Mr. Clark spoke of the irregularity of the seasons by which, for instance, 

 Catocala tristis became less rare this year, while C. cava, usually common, was 

 seldom found ; and of the excellent results in catching Lepidoptera, Coleoptera 

 and Diptera with his trap lantern, consisting of a lOO-watt lamp kept burning 

 all night, with two openings into the room, one 3 ft. X 4^ ft. the other 

 smaller. 



A general discussion followed in which Mr. Davis told of having caught 

 Catocala tristis at Yaphank, Mr. Bird described the sugar trap he has used 

 with success and various receipts for making sugar mixture were given by 

 Messrs. Clark, Dow, Davis and Richardson, all agreeing that good molasses, 

 not corn syrup, was necessary and a small quantity of fusel oil, ethyl alcohol, 

 amyl acetate or asafcetida, beneficial. Mr. Richardson gave some data from 

 his experiments in attracting house flies, indicating that about 4 per cent, ethyl 

 alcohol was very good, but 10 per cent, a decided repellant. A discussion of 

 baited jars as traps for beetles followed by which it appeared that the same 

 sugar mixture worked well, though disappointing at times, and that other 

 substances, condensed milk, fish, etc., had also been used successfully ; Mr. 

 Davis pointed out that molasses had the advantage of preserving the speci- 

 mens to some extent. 



Mr. Dow closed the discussion with an account of the experiences he and 

 Mr. Engelhardt had at Claremont, N. H., under new arclights, particularly in 

 connection with a toad that lived under a nearby stoop by day and came 

 nightly to feast upon the insects. He averred that this toad became tame 

 enough to eat out of his hand, and would accomplish the eating of a Poly- 

 phemus moth by holding it with one foot while he folded the wings with the 

 other to reduce its spread. 



Meeting of February 20. 



A regular meeting of the New York Entomological Society was held at 

 8:15 P. M., February 20, 1917, in the American Museum of Natural History, 

 President Harry G. Barber in the chair, with 22 members present. 



