OF WASHINGTON. 73 



Bureau of Entomology, U. S. Department of Agriculture, were 

 elected active members. 



The president referred to the fact that there were present 

 two foreign entomologists from widely separated parts of the 

 world, and requested them to favor the Society with an account 

 of their work, Mr. W. W. Froggatt, of Sydney, New South 

 Wales, responded by telling of the conditions in Australia. 

 He stated that he was detailed by several of the Australian 

 States on a trip around the world in search of information on 

 economic entomology, especially in regard to fruit flies. He 

 referred to the various scientific societies and museums in 

 Australia, among societies mentioning in particular the Lin- 

 nean Society of New South Wales, founded and richly en- 

 dowed by William MacLeay. The AlacLeay Museum is still 

 the largest and best in Australia. In most of the States there 

 are field naturalist societies which greatly assist in developing 

 interest in entomology. Speaking of the various entomologists 

 he mentioned Mr. Blackburn as one possessing an excellent 

 collection, especially in Coleoptera. The insect fauna of Aus- 

 tralia, although varied, is isolated and mostly peculiar, this 

 being partly dependent on the abundance of eucalypts in the 

 flora. Gall insects are especially abundant, mostly in the 

 families Coccidse, Psyllidae, and Thripidse. Many insects are 

 to be found on certain flowers, and he instanced the buprestid 

 genus Stigmodera, forty species of which could be taken on 

 flowers in the neighborhood of Sydney. The hymenopterous 

 fauna presents many anomalies ; there are no Bombidse, but 

 many other bees ; the sawflies are largely of the genus Perga ; 

 ants are abundant, and several of them are very pugnacious. 

 He emphasized the difference between the fauna and flora of 

 Australia and that of New Zealand ; many of the remarkable 

 genera of the latter country are not found in Australia. 



Mr. Schwarz, in discussion, interrogated Mr. Froggatt in 

 regard to the faunal regions of Australia. Mr. Froggatt ex- 

 plained the difference between East and West Australia by 

 the geological history of the country. Doctor Gill referred to 

 the fact that most of the fishes living in the fresh waters of 

 Australia are not true fresh water fishes, but allied to the 

 neighboring marine genera and species. 



