Scudder.] 96 



rous concretions in Illinois, recently described by Professor 

 Dana, in the American Journal of Science,* under the names 

 of Miamia and Hemeristia, together with similar ones, to 

 show the distinctions between the different families of Neu- 

 ropterous insects, based upon the neuration of the wings 

 alone. 



He pointed out, by means of these, how it was possible in the ease 

 of Hemeristia, where portions of four completely overlapping wings 

 were all that were left to us, to decide whether the upper or under 

 surface of the wings was presented to our view ^ whether the right or 

 the left wing overlapped the other, and to which of the four wings 

 each of the numerous nervures and cross-veins belonged, and thus to 

 reconstruct the complete wing as a basis to determine the relation of 

 the insect to other neuropterous types. 



He endeavored further to show, by a cortiparison of the mode of 

 neuration in these two fossil fonns with that of the different families of 

 Neuroptera now living, that they each belonged to a distinct family, to 

 which he applied the names of Palasopterina and Hemeristina. By 

 certain characters they were alhed to those families which are now 

 generally grouped under the name of Pseudoneuroptera ; and, by cer- 

 tain others, to the Keuroptera proper, in reality exhibiting a synthetic 

 neuropterous type, in which are combined characters which hitherto 

 had been known only as belonging to distinct groups. The other parts 

 of the insect, in the only specimen which has much of the body besides 

 the wings remaining, exhibited in a similar manner, characters bor- 

 rowed from families belonging some to one, some to the other, of these 

 two great groups. 



Mr. Scudder also referred to the discovery of fossil insect remains 

 even older than these, and the oldest, he believed, yet discovered any 

 where, obtained from Devonian strata in New Brunswick, by iVIr. C. F. 

 Hartt, which exhibited similar synthetic relations, and represented, in 

 some cases, still additional families of Neuroptera. 



Dr. Bryant remarked that he had seen an Arkansas Fly- 

 catcher which had been shot in Plympton, Me., in October, 

 which was more remarkable than even the case of the thrush 

 before mentioned, since the fly-catcher was a young bird not 

 over two or three months old. 



Drs. C. W. Swan and H. F. Damon, and Messrs. Isaac Y. 

 Chubbuck of Roxbury and J. H. Clapp were elected Resi- 

 dent Members. 



* Vol. XXXVII. p. M. Jan. 1864. 



