January — March 1SS5. 



PSYCHE. 



243 



Several species of microlepidopteia which 

 are still undeternjined are very abundant on 

 Bctula alba, about Cambridge, Mass. Among 

 them may be mentioned a case-bearer (? 

 Colcophora~), a species having a ridged co- 

 toon (^'i Bucculatrix), a species the larva of 

 which has a case made of successive rings of 

 leaf-epidermis arranged in the form of a cor- 

 nucopia, and a large leaf-miner belonging to 

 some genus allied to I^ilkocollctis; the larvae 

 of the last two species are found very late in 

 tlie season, just before the leaves are de- 

 stroyed by the frost. 



Opi'rofhtera boreatit Hiibn. (Samml. 

 europ. schmett.. Spanner, 1796, fig. 413-414). 

 Kaltenbach (Pflanzenfeinde, 1S72, p. 599) 

 gives Beiiila and Faults as food-plants of this 

 species. Packard (Mon. geom. moths, 1S76, 

 p. 199) quotes Newman's description of the 

 larva of this species. 



Rhcumaptera hasiata Linn. (Syst. nat.. 



175S. ed. 10, p. 527). Schmiedlein (Naturges. 

 deutsch. schmett., 1805, p. 101-102) describes 

 the larvae of this species, which he states 

 live socially upon birch between the leaves 

 which they spin together. Packard (Mon. 

 geom. moths, 1876, p. 165-166) quotes New- 

 man's description of the larva, in which it is 

 stated to feed upon Betiila alba and Myiica 

 gale. Kaltenbach (Pflanzenfeinde, 1S72. p. 

 413 and 599) compiles authorities for the fol- 

 lowing additional food-plants of this species; 

 Rhododendron hirsutum, Salix, and Vacciii- 

 turn uh'g'ittosum. A larva of this species, taken 

 on Betula alba, at Belmont, Mass., 4 Aug. 

 1SS3, pupated 14 Aug., and appeared as imago 

 17 May 18S4. This is one of the species of 

 lepidoptera seen in swarms in parts of the 

 White Mts., N. H., where specimens were 

 taken from S-14 July 1S74 in the greatest 

 abundance. 



^To be continued . ) 



.SYSTEMATIC POSITION OF THE GENUS APIOCEBA. 



BY DANIEL WILLI.VM COQUILI-ETT, ANAHEIM, (AL. 



Ill the Berliner eiitom, zeitschrift foi' 

 18.S3, |>. 287-294, Baron Osten Sacken 

 gives Ills reasons for placing the genns 

 Apiocera among the a.'^ilidae. I am strong- 

 ly ofthe opinion, however, that its proper 

 phice is among the therevidae — an opin- 

 ion which the following facts woiilil 

 a])pearto fnlly justify. 



In the Monographs of the diptera of 

 North America, part 1, p. 22 and p. 24, 

 Dr. Loevv defines the families f(.s(7Mae and 

 llierevidae in the following words : 



^'■Asilidae. — Three liasal cells mnch 

 piolonged. Third longitudinal vein of 

 the wings furcate, the two intercalary 

 veins always present. Tliird joint of the 



antennae simple ; under lip forming a 

 horny sheath; enipodinm similar to a 

 horny bristle." 



•^Therevidae. — Tliree basal cells much 

 prolonged ; the two intercalary veins 

 l)resent ; third longitudinal vein furcate. 

 Antennae with a terminal style of varia- 

 ble form, sometimes wanting. No em- 

 podium. Under lip fleshy," 



In many of the larger therevidae the 

 empodium. or third pulvillus, is present 

 in the form of a slender bristle. The 

 only character of importance, therefore, 

 whereby either of these families maj' be 

 distinguished from the other is the struct- 

 ure of the under lip or proboscis, which 



