14 ENTOMOLOGICAL NEWS. [January, 



The Department is at present in excellent condition. It contains a very- 

 great amount of material in all orders, and in many directions surpasses 

 any collection in the country. Among others the following are of espe- 

 cial interest: 



The large collection, in all orders, of the late Dr. C. V. Riley. All of 

 the material gathered during the past eighteen years by correspondents, 

 field agents, and the office staff of the Division of Entomology, U. S. 

 Department of Agriculture. Part of the collection of the late Asa Fitch. 

 The large collection, in all orders, of the late G. W. Belfrage. The col- 

 lections in Lepidoptera and Coleoptera made by Dr. John B. Smith down 

 to 1889, together with the types of the Noctuidse since described by Dr. 

 Smith. The collection of Lepidoptera of the late O. Meeske. The col- 

 lection of Lepidoptera of G. Boyer. The collection of Coleoptera of M. 

 L. Linell. A part of the collection, in all orders, of the late H. K. Mor- 

 rison. The collection of Diptera of the late Edward Burgess. The type 

 collection of Syrphidae made by Dr. S. W. Williston. The collection of 

 Ixodidae of the late George Marx. The collection of Myriapoda of the 

 late C. H. Bollman. Sets of the neo-tropical collections of Herbert 

 Smith. The collection of Hymenoptera of \Vm. J. Fox. The collection 

 of Tineina of VVm. Beutenmiiller. The large Japanese collection, in all 

 orders, of Dr. K. Mitsurkuri. The African collections, in all orders, of 

 Dr. W. L. Abbott, Wm. Astor Chanler, J. F. Brady, the last "Eclipse" 

 expedition to West Africa, and of several missionaries. The large col- 

 lection from South California of D. \V. Coquillett, in Coleoptera, Hy- 

 menoptera, Lepidoptera and Orthoptera. The Townend Glover manu- 

 scripts and plates. In addition to this material there are minor Cv llections 

 which have been the result of the work of government expeditions, or 

 are gifts from United States Consuls and many private individuals. 



This enormous mass of material is being cared for by the active and 

 honorary force of the Department, and the perpetuity of the collection is 

 assured. The National Museum building is fire-proof, and this, together 

 with the fact that it is a national institution, renders the Department of 

 Insects a good place for the permanent deposit of types by working spec- 

 ialists in entomology. The policy of the Museum at large, with regard 

 to the use of its collections by students is a broad and liberal one. Stu- 

 dents are welcome in all departments, and every facility is given to sys- 

 tematists of recognized standing. — L. O. Howard. 



In the Century Dictionary, under Chrysops, there is an error that would 

 be misleading to any one not familiar with Diptera. Three figures are 

 given with the following explanation: " i. Female of common cleg {Chry- 

 sops ccecutiens); 2 and 3, other species of same genus (all natural size)." 

 Now, number i is not C. ccecutiens, but a Hcematopota, probably H. plu- 

 vialis, a species almost identical with our H. americana. Number 2 is 

 C. ccecutiens, and number 3 is Tabanus bovinus. All are European spe- 

 .cies. The figures are good and readily referable to the above species 

 >which I have in my collection. There is also a statement in the generic 



