— 228 — 



Mr. Aiii^elnian exhibited a specimen of Prionidus cristalns iciiown as the "wheel 

 bug," tlien occLining in tiie New Jereey peach orchards. 



Mr. Doll exhibitetl a hermaphrodite >pecimen oi Callosamia promelhta, the right 

 pair of wings and the right antenna being those of the Q and the left of the (^ except 

 a lectangular blotch or break on the secondary disclosing the marking and coloration 

 of the y. The maculation of the Q prevailed beneath. 



Mr. Weeks read a paper entitled " H(jw to catch battel flies," indicating the 

 method of capiurnig them intact by the use of a large net and appropriate cyanide 

 jar. After general discission the niettin^' adjourned. 



* * 



October i, 1889. — Meeting at Bruoklyn Institute. 16 persons present. Presi- 

 dent Ca>ey presiding. Messrs. H. S. Woodman, Julius E. Meyer, VV. C. Wood and 

 Rev. J. L. Zabri-.kie were elected members of the Entomological Department. Mr. 

 Weeks stated the percentage of certain lepidopterous hirvre destroyed by Tac/iina, so 

 far as his experience went, to be about 66. Prof. Smith noted the remarkable spread 

 ihxi ye-AY oi Fhytonoiniis puiii talus ; the reported locahties in New Jersey in which 

 the 17-year locust had appeared ; the increase of Sitones kispidii/iis, upon clover 

 roots, and the importation of a cattle fly, and also related his experience in collecting 

 from the surface of water during the process ot flooding a cranberry bog. Insects in 

 great numbers of many species appeared where nothing was previously visible. 

 Podurids covered the surface so densely that Staphy/inidir, ScydmanidtE, Fselaphidce, 

 Carabidic, Coccinellidcv, and other families were supported by them. A favorable 

 wind finally lilevv the floating mass to an angle in the shore where it gathered in a 

 heap and rendered collecting easy and profitable. Mr. Palm expressed his opinion 

 relative to collecting in Northern Germany. Dr. Zabriskie had observed Corixa at- 

 tracted by light and entering the room through a window screen. Mr. BeutenmuUer 

 had taken what he supposed to be Eiiphcuu-ssa miridiana, natural habitat Elorida, 

 and also described the difference between the larva; of Ca/losaniia angiilifera and C. 

 prouu'thea. Capt. Ca-ey gave blackboard illustrations showing the structural differ- 

 ences of the secondary sexual characters of Steniis and Eiuvsthetus, a specimen of 

 which latter Mr. Weeks exhibited. Prof. Smith commented upon the importance of 

 sexual characters as a basis of determination. Adjourinnent 



* * 

 * 



Novembers, 1889. --Meeting at Brooklyn Institute. 17 persons present. Pre- 

 sident Casey presiding. Minutes of October meeting approved. The following 

 persons were elected to membership in this department : H. S. Harbeck, N. Y. City; 

 H. F. Wickham, Iowa City, la. ; John Akhurst, Brooklyn ; George E. Ashby, 

 Brooklyn, and Col. Nicholas Pike, Brooklyn. 



Mr. Neumoegen opened scientific discussion by reading descriptions and exhibit- 

 ing specimens of Parnassius smintheus, var. nanus ; Arclia dieckii n. sp., British 

 Columbia ; Ira gundlachiana n. sp. S. E. Cuba ; Sphingicainpa bisecta, var. nebulosa, 

 n. var., and Iloraniajalapensis n. sp. of Mexico, and further exhibited (^ and 9 

 specimens of Ornithoptera victoria from the Solomon Isles, Armandia thaitina and 

 liddalii, and other rare species of exotic Lepidoptera. Discussion by Messrs. Graef, 

 Hulst and Smith. 



Mr. Smith continued scientific discussion by presenting a proposed revision of the 

 North American Agrotids based upon structural differences. 



Discussion by Messrs. Graef, Hulst, Hooper, and Smith. 



A. C. Weeks, Ric. Sec. 



