APR. 19, 1923 PROCEEDINGS: CHEMICAL SOCIETY 163 
together in the nests of the Tachys, or an egg-pods of grasshoppers, or on the 
honey, eggs and larvae of solitary bees; they search directly for their food, 
and keep to the ground and avoid direct sunlight, and in all of these genera 
the first instars look like small Staphylinid larvae. In the tribe Meloini 
and the entire subfamily Nemognathinae the first instars are mellivorous and 
reach the nest of their host-bee by grasping and clinging to its hair, when 
. they come in contact with it; they are active in broad daylight and are very 
specialized in shape. The peculiar adaptation shown in the excavation of 
nasals and the form and articulation of the mandibles were mentioned, as 
well as the remarkable breathing structures on the eighth abdominal segment 
of all the Nemognathinae. The second to sixth instars of the different groups 
were characterized; a special emphasis was laid on the different-behavior of 
the errant and the sedentary fourth instars, and the different ways were 
mentioned in which the cast skins of the fourth, fifth and sixth instars were 
manipulated and made use of by the insects. 
The terms ‘‘caraboid,’’ “scaraboid” and ‘“‘scolytoid’”’ larvae were explained 
and their history given; the terms, however, were not considered applicable to 
the stages of the Blister-beetles in general. 
The theory of Fabre and other authors concerning a hypermetamorphic 
development was presented and the objections to this theory and term by 
Riley and many modern entomologists were reviewed. In this connection 
an account was given of many cases of abnormal individual evolution in 
Blister-beetles. Several adaptations occurring in the pupae were mentioned. 
As to the exceedingly interesting biology of the adults the speaker referred 
to the works of Fabre, Beauregard and Cros, in which this subject was treated 
with great clearness and many details were described. 
Cuas. T. GREENE, Recording Secretary. 
CHEMICAL SOCIETY 
337TH MEETING 
The 337th meeting was held at the Cosmos Club Thursday evening, 
January 11, 1923. The retiring President, Dr. R. C. We.us, spoke on 
Chemistry of the sea, illustrating his talk with lantern slides. 
Doctor WELLs referred to recent progress in methods of sounding which 
yield data for calculating the volume and physical constants of the ocean. 
Its chemical composition has been widely studied and some thirty-two ele- 
ments have been detected in sea-water. The salinity is maintained at definite 
values in certain regions owing to the interplay of such forces as currents, 
evaporation, density, temperature, etc. To illustrate some of these relation- 
ships data on the water of Chesapeake Bay were presented in some detail. 
This investigation is being carried on jointly by the Geological Survey and 
the Bureau of Fisheries. The salinity of the Bay varies from about 6 in the 
latitude of Baltimore to 27 at the Capes, also generally increasing with 
depth. 
The speaker discussed among other things the origin of oceanic salts, the 
“age of the ocean,” and the salts that are successively deposited on evaporating 
sea-water. 
The gases in sea-water are of particular interest in connection with living 
things in the sea. Some of these gases show diurnal variation in concentra- 
tion, following the daily photochemical reactions in plants near the surface 
and along shores. A variation in pH value follows one in carbon dioxide 
content, etc. The carbon dioxide content is also fundamental in determining 
