PSTCHE. 
PSYCHE. 
CAMBRIDGE, MASS., OCT.-DEC. 1881. 
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PROCEEDINGS OF SOCIETIES. 
CAMBRIDGE ENTOMOLOGICAL CLUB. 
(Continued from p. 245.) 
11 Fes. 1881.—74th meeting (continued). 
Mr. W: Trelease described his observations 
of the manner in which a male and female 
Cicada approached each other. The male 
remained stationary until the female, attrac- 
ted by his stridulation, flew to him and 
alighted in a position facing him. The male 
then walked past the female until the two 
were back to back. Mr. S: H. Scudder said 
that prior to the copulation of the sexes of 
Argynnits atlantis, the male follows the fe- 
male half way in her rear, so that the bodies 
of the two overlap side by side. The female, 
in moving, makes a quick start forward for 
a few steps; then the male does the same. 
Mr. Trelease recorded the capture of Az- 
thidium cognatum in Maryland, near the 
Potomac River. This species had not hith- 
erto been observed north of Georgia. He 
then gave an account of his observations on 
the number of times in succession that Vespa 
maculata can give a poisonous sting. He 
hired a negro boy to allow himself to be 
stung at ten cents a sting. Taking the wasp 
between his fingers, Mr. T. pressed her first 
upon the back of the boy’s left hand, then upon 
the right arm, then upon the lower lobe of the 
right ear, and then upon the left ear. In 
277 
each case the wasp inflicted a poisonous sting 
so that the wound became swollen; and as 
the powers of neither the wasp or the boy 
seemed to diminish as rapidly as the contents 
of the experimenter’s purse, the experiment 
was discontinued. In Mr. T.’s opinion the 
sting is not stiff enough to pierce the skin of 
the inside of the finger tip, so that the wasp 
may be picked up with impunity. Mr. G: 
M. Dimmock said he had observed in a sim- 
ilar case that a second puncture with a wasp’s 
sting did not cause so much swelling as the 
first. Mr. Trelease said that the sting of 
Stizus was not nearly so severe as that of a 
bee. 
Mr. S: H. Scudder exhibited a cast of the 
first paleozoic insect ever found. This was 
found at Coalbrookdale, Eng., about 1833, 
and was described by Audouin as Corydalis 
brongniartit. It wasstudied anew by Swinton, 
who called it Grydlacris. 
11 Mar. 1881.—7s5th meeting. Prof. J: H: 
Comstock exhibited drawings and photc- 
graphs of drawings intended to be used in 
illustration of the forthcoming report of the 
Entomologist of the U. 5S. Department of 
agriculture, upon the insects injurious to the 
orange, and particularly upon the cocczdae. 
He also gave an account of the work of his 
division, and the plans and principles on 
which he carried it on. 
Mr. S: H. Scudder exhibited a copy of a 
recent work by Dr. Jousset de Bellesme on 
the functions of the balancer or haltere in 
diptera, and gave some account of the con- 
tents of the work. He also exhibited a proof 
sheet of one of the plates in the forthcoming 
numero of Edwards’ Butterflies of North 
America, illustrating the varieties of Satyrus 
alope, and communicated the request, in 
behalf of Mr. Edwards, that any person hav- 
ing remarkable varieties of this species would 
send specimens immediately to Mr. Edwards, 
so that he might figure them. The next 
plate to which Mr. E. will devote his atten- 
tion is that of Satyrus nephele. 
Mr. Scudder spoke of his experiences in 
finding museum pests (Azthrenus varius) in 
old boxes which had not been used for many 
years, and had been cleaned frequently. This 
