April, '12J .SPHEXoPIlUltUS DI,SCU8SION 1U9 



would accumulate knowledge more rapidly than by the methods we 

 are now using. I realize, of course, the danger of doing too much 

 theorizing. I should say that it would be very unwise to pul^lish 

 these speculations in our bulletins, except probal)ly the technical 

 bulletins, but that to furnish them to our journals, which are for 

 entomologists only, might materially advance our science. 



President F. L. Washburn: The next paper will be read by 

 ]\Ir. R. I. Smith. 



THE CORN BILL BUG (SPHENOPHORUS CALLOSUS) 



By R. E. Smith, West Raleigh, N. C. 

 {Withdrawn for piihlication elseichere.) 



President F. L. Washburn: Any discussion of this paper by 

 Mr. Smith? 



T. J. Headlee: I would like to ask Doctor Smith whether, in 

 the course of his breeding work, he took into consideration the effects 

 of temperature and moisture? 



R. I. Smith: I have kept no records of that, but anticipated that, 

 in working up the results, I would have access to the Weather Bureau 

 records, which were kept within a mile and a half of where I worked. 

 West Raleigh, North Carolina. I didn't keep any records myself. I 

 knew at the time that cjuestion was coming up, and they ought to have 

 been kept, but I wasn't in a position to do it. 



F. ]\I. Webster: With reference to Mr. Smith's paper, I would 

 only call attention to the fact that Sphenophorus callosus is naturally 

 a swamp inhabiting insect. Moisture appears to be an important 

 factor in its development, as we fiiid it destructive almost, if not 

 entirely, in the lowlands. 



We. of course, knew that Mr. Smith was working on this problem 

 as well as ourselves, so that we have worked together as best we could. 

 The difference in the situation under which Mr. Smith worked and 

 under Avhich we were working is this, that while ^^ery much of his 

 work of was necessity carried on indoors, our investigations have 

 been almost without exception, carried out in the fields. For this 

 reason, we did not think best to withold the results of our investiga- 

 tions for pul)lication until we had gone over the same ground covered 

 by ]Mr. Smith. Our publication went to press some time ago, and I 

 cannot on the spur of the moment recall all of the matter it contains, 

 l)ut I do not think that where our work has overlapped there is any 

 material difference between the results obtained. 



There is one point with reference to this species that is too interesting 



