igoi] ENTOMOLOGICAL NEV/S. 6l 



Doings of Societies. 



The twelfth regular meeting of the Harris Club was held at 

 36 Court Street, on Friday evening, December 21, 1900, Mr. 

 Newcomb presiding. A most interesting paper on h3'brid 

 Lepidoptera, contributed by Miss Emily L. Morton, of New- 

 burg, N. Y. , was read by the Secretary. Specimens of hybrids 

 were shown by Messrs. Low, Field and Newcomb, and the 

 latter spoke at some length on the subject of hybridity. It was 

 voted to resume discussion of this subject at the next meeting. 



Some interesting notes sent in by members of the Montreal- 

 branch of the Entomological Society of Ontario were then read. 



The meeting closed with the unanimous election of Miss 

 Morton to honorar}^ membership W. L. W. Field, Secretary. 



At the December meeting of the Feldman Collecting Social, 

 held at the residence of Mr H. W. Wenzel, 1523 South 13th 

 Street, fifteen persons were present. 



Mr. P. Laurent referred to a former communication on damage 

 to cabbages by the supposed lar\-ae of Pieris rapes, but more re^ 

 cent observations had shown that possibly the damage was due 

 to larvae of Phisia brassiccs. 



Mr. Schwarz spoke of recent investigations on the Blasto- 

 phoga in connection with the fig industr}^ of California. A 

 considerable crop of Smyrna figs had been produced and the 

 experiments were in every way successful. The Blastophaga 

 cannot develop in flowers of the female fig, but live on those of 

 the male tree. The fertilization of the fig was described : ' ' The 

 insects emerge from the male figs in March, and deposit their 

 eggs in a new generation of male flowers which shortly have 

 an abundance of pollen which covers the insects. At this 

 period the female flowers are ready for reception of pollen 

 which is carried therein by the insects in their efforts at ovipo- 

 sition. ' ' Photographs of the operation were shown. 



Owing to climatic differences at Fresno and Niles, four gen- 

 erations of the insect occurred at the former place and but two 

 at the latter in one season. The insect was introduced from 

 Europe in 1899 by the U. S. Dep. Agric. , prior to which time 

 the California tree owners apparently did not know that it was 

 necessary for the fertilization of the figs. 



