26 B.C. ENTOMOLOGICAL SOCIETY 



of Meloe and of a characteristic strepsipterous insect. Not only, too, 

 are the parent tribes of gall-making insects abundant in the Tertiaries, 

 but their galls as well have been found." 



Following is a brief outline of our knowledge of fossil insects as 

 culled from Folsom (9j : 



Phryganeidae. Abundant remains in the Tertiaries. It is a remark- 

 able fact that a larval case has been found in amber, which seems to 

 point to the arboreal habits of the species, quite rare today. Adult 

 fossils are very abundant at Florissant (Tertiary Lake Basin). In 

 Auvergne, the so-called industrial limestone, two or three yards thick 

 over a wide area, is supposed to be composed chiefly of the cases of 

 larvae of this family. 



In the Mesozoic epoch some wings have been found in the lower 

 Purbeck, and similar wings in the Lias. A tube of a supposedly Phry- 

 ganeid larva has been found in the Cretaceous of Bohemia. The palae- 

 ontological evidence does not appear to supply any information regarding 

 the theory that the Phyrganeidae are allied to the early conditions of 

 the Lepidoptera. 



Acridiidae. Have never been found in amber, probably owing to 

 their strength and size. Few fossil remains are known and these do 

 not extend further back than the Mesozoic. Several forms found at 

 Florissant. Brojg-niart has found some representatives at Commentry in 

 the Carboniferous strata (Palaeacridiidae), which are said to be abun- 

 dant in this epoch. 



Forficulidae. Occur in the lower Lias of Aargau and Jurassic in 

 Eastern Siberia, but the forms are not well preserved. They are 

 common in the Tertiary formations, as in the Lower Miocene beds at 

 Florissant. 



Ephemeridae. The palaeontological record of this family is both 

 rich and remarkable. Several forms are preserved in amber. The 

 family is represented in the Tertiaries (Florissant), Jurassic, Devonian 

 and Carboniferous, all more or less akin to our existing Ephemeridae. 

 All evidence points to the fact that our fragile, short-lived may-flies 

 appear to be, as Scudder says, the lingering fragments of an expiring 

 group. 



Perlidae. Occur in amber. Eocene (Isle of Wight) ; Miocene 

 (Europe) ; Jurassic (Siberia) ; Carboniferous (Commentry). 



Sialidae. Found in Tertiary and Mesozoic. The red sandstones of 

 Connecticut have yielded a larval form of Sialid (Scudder), which is the 

 oldest larva known (Mormolucoides articulatus). From the Carbon- 

 iferous of Illinois several specimens have also been disinterred. 



Termitidae. Very abundant in Tertiary times, when the genera 

 appear to have been much the same as at present. In Mesozoic strata. 



