called out mentions of similar experiences 
from Dr. H. A. Hagen and others. Mr. B: 
P. Mann said that he had no apprehension 
of being unable to free any intested collection 
from pests. It is necessary, however, to de- 
vote frequent attention to the collections. 
8 Apr. 1881. — 76th meeting. Mr. S: H. 
Scudder exhibited proofs of nearly twenty 
plates of engravings of fossil insects, pre- 
pared for one of the forthcoming volumes 
of Hayden’s Geological and geographical 
survey of the territories. Nearly all the 
original drawings were made by Mr. J. H. 
Blake, and the lithographing was all done 
in Sinclair’s establishment at Philadelphia. 
All but the first ten plates represented fossils 
from Florissant. Mr. Scudder stated some 
of the preliminary conclusions, in regard to 
the venation of the wings, to which he had 
arrived, as a result of his study of fossil 
insects. 
13 May 1881.—77th meeting. Mr. S: H. 
Scudder exhibited plates containing figures 
of fossil species of Termes, and remarked 
upon the structural features of the species. 
A communication was read, from the 
Middlesex Institute, of Malden, Mass., an- 
nouncing the formation and organization of 
the Institute. Mr. E: P. Austin gave notice 
of an expedition which he was about to make 
in Arizona and adjacent regions, primarily 
on business, but collaterally with attention 
to the insects to be found. 
Mr. S: H. Scudder called attention to a 
paper on the Westphalian species of Doxacia, 
in the Jahresbericht der zoologischen Section 
des westfialischen Provinzial-Vereins fur 
Wissenschaft and Kunst, for 1875. 
14 Oct. 1881.—78th meeting. Mr. W: Tre- 
lease was elected acting secretary for the re- 
mainder of the year, in the absence of Mr. 
B: P. Mann. : 
Mr. S: H. Scudder spoke of a series of 
articles by himself, which was to be pub- 
lished in PsycHeE, on the anatomy of the im- 
mature stages of butterflies, mentioning some 
particulars of larval structure which confirm 
the growing belief, drawn from the study of 
PSY OQHE: 
the imago, that the swallow-tails [ papilio- 
nidae| should be placed near the bottom of 
the scale in classification, near the skippers 
[hesperidae}|, instead of at the head, where 
Linnaeus placed them. Remarks by Dr. E: 
L. Mark led to a discussion of several struc- 
tural peculiarities of lepidoptera, especially of 
organs found by Mr. Scudder near the anus 
of the female pupa of Dazazs, and not men- 
tioned by Mr. E: Burgess in his Anatomy 
of Danazs archipfpus; these organs recall the 
odoriferous organs mentioned by Burnett in 
his translation of Siebold’s Comparative 
anatomy, as occurring in Argyznzs and other 
genera. 
A question by Mr. F: Gardiner, jr., led to 
remarks by Dr. E: L. Mark on the defensive 
organs of Brachinus and other insects. 
Dr. E: L. Mark spoke of the value of the 
larvae of Corethra for demonstrations of the 
anatomy of insects, owing to their great 
transparency. An incidental advantage men- 
tioned is the existence of a very extensive 
literature upon the subject. 
Mr. S: H. Scudder read a letter from Prof. 
J: H: Comstock concerning an aquatic lepi- 
dopterous larva, belonging to the genus 
Arzama. This larva has been found in New 
York and in Florida; it lives in the petiole 
of the pond-lily [Mymphaea odorata], and is 
able to remain under the water for a half-hour 
or longer. 
Mr. W: Trelease showed an undescribed 
Chionaspis, found on Sfartina stricta, at 
Wood’s Holl, Mass. These insects were said 
to thrive on plants partly submerged in salt 
water at every high tide, and when collected 
were wet with salt spray! The coccid had 
been referred to Prof. J: H: Comstock. 
Mr. S: H. Scudder showed larvae of Scéa- 
ra, which had been sent from Natick, Mass., 
by Mr. W: Edwards. They unite in some 
way and form a compact body twelve to fifteen 
decimeters long, and as large as a man’s 
thumb. They move slowly in a snake-like 
manner. When an attempt is made to lift 
the chain it breaks, but it reunites if the ends 
are placed together. 
