49 



never under any circiimstiinces could it have been anef^j:!^ parasite. He 

 bad probably })ut liis willow leaf in a ])ill box and had later found the 

 parasites in the box. He did not examine the leaf carefully for traces 

 of a leaf miner or he would never have sent in the record. 



Where the parasite is reared from a j;all or from a twig burrowed by 

 some other insect it often happens that it is assumed to be parasitic 

 upon the gall maker or upon the most abundant twig borer. Such an 

 assumption should never be made without a complete statement of the 

 facts and without the most careful examination of gall and twig, to see 

 whether they were not inhabited by other insects either as inquilines 

 or parasites, or in the case of twigs as perhaps unnoticed borers. 



Instances like these might be multiplied, but this will suffice to indi- 

 cate the absolute necessity, first, of extreme care in forming conclu- 

 sions, second, of detailing ail circumstances which may possibly have 

 led to error. It is only by such careful work as this that we cau ever 

 arrive at proper conclusions concerning the group habits of parasites. 

 Our present published records are full of error and require a most care- 

 ful sifting of evidence, which in many instances cau no longer be 

 obtained. The most heterogeneous and unlikely errors in many genera 

 are published, and the discriminating work is of extremely slow accom- 

 plishment. 



Mr. Fletcher stated that he had seen an Ichneumon ovipositing upon 

 a glume of wheat upon which there was no insect. 



Mr. Dorau stated that he had reared a parasite from Bruchus scutel- 

 laris. 



Mr. Howard stated that this parasite was probably an uudescribed 

 species of Mr. Ashinead's genus Bruchophagus. 



Mr. Osborn presented the following paper: 



REPORT OF A TRIP TO KANSAS TO INVESTIGATE REPORTED DAM- 

 AGES FROM GRASSHOPPERS. 



By Heubekt Osborn, Amen, Iowa. 



In accordance with instructions received July 24, to visit and report 

 on grasshopper injury in western Kansas, I started the following 

 morning for Kansas and improved every opportunity on the way to 

 learn of grasshopper injury. The following account is in advance of a 

 report prepared for Dr Itiley. At Des iVIoines, where I waited a few 

 hours for the Kansas City train, I went through a large number of Kan- 

 sas papers, kindly placed at ray service in the office of the State Register 

 and Iowa Homestead, without, however, getting any information ex- 

 cept assertions in some i)laces that there were no hoppers in Kansas. 



From a gentleman lately through Arizona I learned of the appearance 

 of considerable uumbers in that Territory, and the expectation that 

 these might be travelling eastward. At Kansas City I was equally 

 7911— No. 1 4 



