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SUMMER NUMBER 9 
march until the main army is met. On June 8 they were noted 
in greatest numbers along the coastal sections of eastern Florida 
and on June 9, 10 and 11 millions of them were noted by travelers 
coming from Nassau, Bahama Islands, fluttering above the Gulf 
Stream heading southward. 
It would be extremely interesting to understand the purpose 
of such migrations: where the butterflies come from, that is, 
how far north do they begin to gather and migrate and where 
is the place for which they are headed. Is it Cuba, or South Amer- 
ica, or do most of them become exhausted and consequently a 
prey to fish in their journey over the ocean? 
But little is known in regard to the food plants of the cater- 
pillars of these butterflies. They may feed on some wild species 
of plants related to the cabbage and mustard. Noting that so 
many appear from the Everglades, it is not unlikely that some 
native host growing in that section of the state is responsible 
for the breeding of great numbers. 
THE PROPER NAME AND DISTRIBUTION OF THE FLORIDA 
FLOWER THRIPS* 
J. R. WATSON 
In the literature on Florida insects prior to 1913 our flower 
thrips was not distinguished from the northern species F'rank- 
liniella tritici (Fitch), then called Huthrips tritici Fitch or 
Thrips tritici Fitch. For instance, Quaintance in Bulletin No. 42 
of Fla. Agric. Exp. Sta. refers to a thrips damaging strawberries 
at Lake City under that name. But his Figure 4, from a micro- 
photograph, shows the second antennal segment with sufficient 
clearness to prove that it belongs to Morgan’s bispinosa. Further- 
more the known distribution of tritici in Florida would make it 
very improbable that it was the dominant species attacking 
strawberries as far south as Lake City. 
In 1913. Morgan, (Proc. U. S. Nat. Mus. Vol. 46, p. 10) de- 
scribed Huthrips tritici bispinosa from four females taken at 
Dade City. As distinguishing characters he named: (1) the 
color, ‘“‘pale yellow shading to gray on sides of head and abdo- 
men.” (He does not mention any orange color probably because 
he described alcoholic specimens.) ‘‘Tip of abdomen not darker 
than remainder of body.” (2) “Tip of second (antennal) seg- 
ment raised dorsally and bearing two exceptionally heavy dark 
*Paper presented at the May meeting of the Society. 
