PSYCHE. 
PSY CHE. 
JULY 1880. 
CAMBRIDGE, MASS., 
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PROCEEDINGS OF SOCIETIES. 
ENTOMOLOGICAL SECTION OF THE ACADEMY OF 
NATURAL SCIENCES, PHILADELPHIA, PA. 
| Abstract from the Monthly proceedings. ] 
10 Jan. 1879.—Dr. G: H: Horn exhibited a 
Callimorpha and a Heliconia from Costa Rica, 
which resembled each other so closely in form 
and color, “that either might haye been placed 
anong a number of specimens of the other, and, 
without a careful glance, would not be thought 
distinct.” As the group to which the Heliconia 
belongs is rarely or never attacked by birds, the 
mimicry belongs to the “protective” class. Dr. 
Horn gave reasons for thinking the idea of pro- 
tective resemblance had been pushed too far. — 
p. 2-3. 
14 Fes. 1879.— Type specimens of Catocala 
editha and C. walshii were presented to the Amer- 
ican Entomological Society by the author, W: H: 
Edwards. ... A collection of 63 genera, 142 spe- 
cies of rhopalocera and 17 genera, 27 species of 
heterocera, collected by the late W. M. Gabb, in 
Costa Rica, was exhibited. — p. 3-4. 
14 Marcu 1879. — Mr. E. T. Cresson described 
Parnopes edwardsii [see Proceedings for 9 May 
1879, p. 10], a new species of chrysididae, from 
California ; the genus had not hitherto been found 
represented in North America. Mr. C: A. Blake 
described Mutilla gabbii n. sp., from Costa Rica. 
Mr. ©. T. Cresson announced the completion of 
his Catalog of North American apidae, enumer- 
ating 45 genera and 724 species, of which 113 
species, principally from Mexico and the West 
Indies, are unknown to him; 601 species are 
89 
represented in the collection of the American 
Entomological Society, and 10 are in the collections 
of Belfrage and Gundlach. Mr. C: A. Blake 
stated that Catocala editha is the same as C. ama- 
trix ; he stated also that in the summer of 1878 
a Papilio cresphontes was captured near Philadel- 
phia, where it very rarely occurs. Mr. E. T. 
Cresson announced the death of F: Smith, of 
the British Museum.— p. 4-6. 
11 Apri 1879. — Mr. E. T. Cresson described 
Euparagia scutellaris, a n. g. and sp. of vespidae, 
from Nevada, belonging probably to the tribe 
masarinae ; and read descriptions of Trigonalys 
mexicanus, T. laeviceps and T. nevadensis, three 
new species, the former two from Mexico, and 
the last from Nevada. Dr. G: H: Horn reviewed 
the family mycteridae, advocating its union with 
melandryidae on the one hand and with pythidae 
on the other, and insisting on the greater im- 
portance of the sexual characters as the true 
means of specific distinction in the genera Myc- 
terus and Lacconotus. — p. 6-8. 
9 May 1879. — Mr. C: A. Blake described Pam- 
phila dukolum n. sp., from Costa Rica; Mr. E. T. 
Cresson described Oryssus occidentalis and Cleptes 
americana, from Colorado and Nevada, Oryssus 
mexicanus from Mexico, and Cleptes purpurata 
from Vancouver’s Island, four new species. Rey. 
H: C. McCook exhibited under the microscope 
thin sections of the mandibles of Pogonomyrmex 
barbatus, the agricultural ant of Texas, showing 
the loss of substance by wear on the sharp edges 
of the teeth. The same fact was also illustrated 
in the mandibles of Pasimachus and of other 
coleoptera, as well as in other members of the 
body exposed to wear. [See Psyche advertiser, 
May-June 1879, p. 9.] (To be continued.) 
REVIEW. 
Insect LIVES, or Born in prison, by Mrs. Julia 
P. Ballard, [see Rec., no. 1725] is a very attract- 
ively written account of the author’s experiences 
in raising a few butterflies and moths, and is well 
designed to interest children, or indeed older per- 
sons, in the subject, though in some particulars 
beyond the comprehension of children. It has 
the merit of accuracy and clearness, and is full 
of a delightful suggestiveness of the treasures 
in store for the young explorer who is led by it 
to try her own experiments. Bz PLM. 
