64 
PSYCHE 
[June 
I\Ir. Jolinson showed a box of rare Di])tera, most of them from the southern 
|iart of Mass. 
j\Ir. Frost exhibited a specimen of Cicindela purpmrn, variety (uiduhonii, a 
l)Iack form not recorded, so far as he knew, from New England or the eastern part 
of the U. S. It was taken in Octol)cr, 1904, at Framingliam, Mass., and was tlie 
only one in about five hundred s])eciniens taken during that year. lie showed a 
green form of jjurpurra a])])roaching the wc.stern variety gmininca, and a .s])eeimen 
of C. .•irufellarh, variety unicolor, an immaculate aberration taken among a large 
number of the variety rugifrons at Framingham, Mass. He also showed a s])ecimen 
of Prinnu-i porulari.t from the same locality, and one of Sfromatium puhcxccnx taken 
at light in Bedford, Ma.ss., by Iv. W. Swett. 
4'he 256th regular meeting was held at the usual jdace on Tuesday evening, 
March 19, 1907, with Bresident Newcomb in the chair and nine members and one 
visitor present .... 
Mr. Johnson spoke of the summer meeting in Boston of the Entomological 
.Society of America, and read a letter from Professor J. II. Comstock in regard to it. 
.Suggestions for entertaining the .Society were discussed by the members. 
Mr. Field gave a very interesting talk on the subject of Experimental Entomol- 
ogy. He reviewed .some of the recent literature of the subjeet, aud exhil)ited a 
number of books. Mr. Field commented on the frequent use made of insects in the 
investigations of biologists, and the important contributions to entomology made 
by scientists who did not call themselves entomologists. 
President Newcomb started a discu.ssion of mimicry in insects, arguing that the 
oft-qnoted mimicry of Anoxia plexippnx by Limenitix archippux is a fallacy. lie 
had exj)erimcnted by feeding ])lexi]ipus to a golden robin and also to blue jays in 
captivity, and said that these birds had shown no hesitation about eating the in.sect. 
.Several members expressed a doubt that the attacks of birds upon butterflies were 
sufficiently frequent to bring about such a ca.se of mimicry. 
Mr. .lohnson exhibited a specimen of a wingle.ss Tipulid, Chionca vaJga Harris, 
taken by Mr. Emerton on the snow at Jackson, N. II.* 
Mr. Sampson spoke of the tenacity of life of lepidopterous larvae under certain 
conditions. He had recently .sent eggs of llemilcuca maia to Arizona, and they had 
hatched soon after arrival. Then they were returned, and having no food for them 
he placed them in a cold room, where the last one died at the end of three weeks. He 
also told of a larva of Anfoineris hndicyi that had lived five weeks after the last moult 
without any food, and died without |)upating. 
See Psyche, XIV, p. 41, April, 1907. 
