May 1S93.] 



PSYCHE, 



461 



NOTE ON ATROPHARISTA JURIN- 

 OIDES TOWNS. 



The following notes refer to an article by 

 Dr. Williston in Psyche, Vol. 6, p. 409, 

 March, 1893. 



In the first place Dr. Williston has not ex- 

 amined the types of this species. The types 

 are in my own collection, with the exception 

 of one $ which was sent to the American 

 Entomological Society. I have never identi- 

 fied or seen the specimens in Mr. Aldrich's 

 collection, ~though~I doubt not they are the 

 same. 



Upon examining|the^ $ , I find that the 

 hairs on the eyes are extremely faint, but can 

 be seen on close scrutiny. Upon examining 

 the eyes of the $ , I also find that, though still 

 more faint, some microscopic hairs can be 

 distinguished on inferior portions. There- 

 fore hairiness of the eyes is not a sexual 

 character here, but only the degree of hairi- 

 ness is. This is a very frequent sexual char- 

 acter in the Tachinidae, and the $ usually, if 

 not always, possesses it in the greater degree. 

 The eyes, however, of neither sex of this 

 species are hairy enough to be called so, and 

 therefore in my generic description I stated 

 the eyes to be bare (Trans. Am. ent. soc. xix, 

 92-3). Before describing the new genus 

 Atrofiharista, I read in Dr. Williston's de- 

 scription of Melanophrys that his genus had 

 the eyes thinly pilose (at least in the $), and 

 the third antennal joint 4 or 5 times as long 

 as the second; moreover, the fourth vein was 

 said to have a stump of a vein at bend. Atro- 

 pharista jurinoides has the eyes un noticeably 

 hairy, the third antennal joint in both $ and 

 $ hardly longer than the second, while the 

 fourth vein has either no stump whatever at 

 bend, or an extremely short one. I therefore 

 think that I was warranted in not referring 

 the present species to Melanophrys. 



I should state that I have recently received 

 two $ specimens of this species from Mrs. 

 A. T. Slosson, collected at Franconia, New 

 Hampshire. These show, in addition to the 

 silvery stripe from eye to antennae, a detached 



silvery marking at lower front corner of eye. 

 Upon examining the South Dakota $ , I find 

 this silvery marking more faintly represented 

 in it. This is the lowermost portion of the 

 broad silvery marking to be seen in the $ of 

 this species. Probably the $ of Melanophrys 

 flavipennis does not possess this, since its $ 

 does not possess the broad silvery marking 

 of the $ of the present species. 



C. H. Tyler To-vnse/id. 



Mould in Cabinets. 



Get some small, cheap Turkey sponges, as 

 free from large holes as possible, and cut 

 them into cubes of from one half to one inch 

 each. Take some long stout pins, and putting 

 two through one of the cubes of sponge, sus- 

 pend thus the latter in the drawer so that it 

 touches nothing but the pins. Then get 

 some of Calvert's No. 5 carbolic acid . . . 

 and a glass pipette; lift the carbolic by the 

 pipette, and put as much on the sponge as 

 this will hold without dripping. This will 

 completely prevent the increase of the fungus ; 

 and if the carbolic be renewed in two or three 

 months, and if the drawers are pretty tightly 

 closed, will kill what may be therein. The 

 carbolic should not be allowed to get on the 

 insects, but the vapor will be found to help 

 to keep them clean and bright by preventing 

 all forms of decomposition. . . . The tissues 

 of the insects in the drawers become after a 

 time, I believe, slightly carbolized, and then 

 mites and mould will not attack them. I use 

 it in all my boxes and drawers, and consider 

 it essential to the preservation of collections 

 containing very large insects by keeping the 

 atmosphere inside the drawers quite disin- 

 fected. (Ent. Mo. Mag. April, 1S93, p. 93- 

 94.) D. Sharp. 



PROCEEDINGS OF SOCIETIES. 



CAMBRIDGE ENTOMOLOGICAL CLUB. 



10 February, 1893. — The 176th meeting 

 was held at 156 Brattle St. Mr. S. Henshaw 

 was chosen chairman. 



