312 FERNANDUS PAYNE 



own observations, I cannot see how he can continue to maintain 

 this to be a fact applicable in all cases, especially so if he believes 

 the observations of others. 



Wilson has collected Thyanta eustator in New Jersey and in 

 the South and West. In the material from New Jersey there 

 are 16 chromosomes in both sexes and in that from the South 

 and West there are 27 chromosomes in the male and 28 in the 

 female. Mr. Van Duzee and Mr. Barber have studied the speci- 

 mens from the two localities carefully and fail to find any con- 

 stant specific differences. Among the Reduviidae, I have studied 

 five species of the same genus (Sinea) and find the number varies 

 from 28 to 30 in the males and 30 to 34 in the females. In the 

 family itself, so far as I have examined, the number varies 

 from 22 to 34. 



The attempt to make his hypothesis of general application 

 has led McClung to make some erroneous statements. From 

 his last paper ('14) I quote as follows: 



Gryllotalpa has been studied by Buchner, Payne, vom Rath, and 

 Voinov. Vom Rath ('91) reported at length on the spermatogonia of 

 this animal and his figures were widely copied, but it is very evident 

 that he was fundamentally in error regarding the most essential part 

 of his work. He announces 12 as the diploid number but the internal 

 evidence and the results of other investigators show that this is really 

 .the haploid condition. 



What this internal evidence is he does not mention. Again in 

 the same paper, he says, 



vom Rath ('91, '92, '95) has reported the process of maturation in 

 Gryllotalpa vulgaris, but, as stated in the discussion of the spermato- 

 gonia, his results are so evidently erroneous that it is profitless to 

 attempt a comparison between them and the findings of others. It 

 is only necessary to mention, to indicate the character of his work, that 

 he reported the diploid number of chromosomes to be 12 instead of 

 23, and that he entirely overlooked the prominent accessory chromo- 

 some. For these reasons his work will not be considered further. 



The fact that the spermatogonial number of chromosomes in 

 Gryllotalpa borealis is 23 is no reason for concluding that the 

 spermatogonial number in Gryllotalpa vulgaris is 23. While I 

 admit that vom Rath's figures are schematic and inaccurate, 



