on the shore of Lake Ontario, a few miles west of Charlotte. The 

 bodies of the dead and dying insects formed quite a perceptible 

 ridge along the water line, while among the debris, just out of 

 reach of the waves, thousands had crawled and were drying their 

 wings on the sticks and stones ; a great many other insects of all 

 orders were also present (apparently overtaken and drowned by 

 a violent storm that occurred the night before), but Argillacea 

 outnumbered the whole by more than a hundred to one. 



A few days later Argillacea appeared in profusion in the 

 orchards and gardens in the district. The insect is said to be in- 

 jurious to peaches in the South ; it is interesting to know that 

 here in the North it still retains its hking for that fruit. I cap- 

 tured thirty-two individuals one evening on four bruised peaches, 

 and I also found it in abundance sucking the juices from ripe 

 pears ; hundreds could be shaken from grape vines during the 

 day time ; the proprietor of a vineyard in the neighborhood 

 assured me that they severely injured his grape crop by sucking 

 the ripe fruit. I met with it every mild evening until December. 

 Even at this late date their fondness for fruit was indicated, as I 

 found them on rotten apples. — David Bruce, Brockport, N. Y. 



Early Butterflies in California. — In a letter recently 

 received from Mr. M. G. Wright, of San Bernardino, California. 

 He says : " The season opened here very finely. On February 

 5th I took twenty-seven examples of Lepidoptera ; February 

 I2th, three examples ; February 20th, thirty-two examples; March 

 1st, eighty-three examples ; March 5th, fifty-six examples ; March 

 loth, seventeen examples. Since this date the weather has been 

 very cold and wet, so that I have taken very little." 



Xylina cinerea. 



If Professor Riley will refer to Bulletin U. S. Geolog. and 

 Geogr. Survey of the Territories, vol. v., p. 201, he will find why 

 Professor Grote regards X. Cinerea as=X. Anten7iata, Wlk. 

 This paper was possibly overlooked by the authors of the Brook- 

 lyn Check List. I will add that the Noctuids which I took with 

 me to Europe for comparison were sent to me for that purpose 

 by Prof. Lintner. I have long been familiar with X. Cinerea, and 

 the specimen sent to me by Prof. Lintner was in good condition, 

 as was also the type of X. Antennata. I compared them carefully, 

 and there is no doubt of their identity. — C. H. Fernald, Orono, 

 Me. 



