2i8 ENTOMOLOGICAL NEWS. [September, 



balmy air of Summer, the drone of the bee and the lazy sail of the grace- 

 ful butterfly. A feature of the work is the full treatment of life-histories, 

 so far as tiiey are known. Attention is called to the lack of knowledge 

 on this point in regard to so many species. Systematic work has ad- 

 vanced to such a position that there will be more time to devote to biolo- 

 gical studies, and the great awakening of interest in Entomology will in- 

 duce more persons to take up the neglected aspects of the study. We do 

 not believe any one in America was so well qualified to undertake such a 

 work as Dr. Howard, and we do not see how the work could have been 

 better done, considering the time devoted to its preparation and the diffi- 

 culty of selecting subjects for treatment. Few people, not entomologists, 

 realize the vastness of the study and the number of kinds of insects. 



We would like to go into detail in regard to the work, but space will 

 not permit. The work is necessary in the library of every entomologist, 

 and we can also say that we hope it may find its way into every home in 



America. — H. S. 



•»-'^^-» 



Notes and. Ne\?vs. 



ENTOMOLOGICAL GLEANINGS FROM ALL QUARTERS 

 OF THE GLOBE. 



Attached to the bases of the under side of the tibiae of the first pair 

 of legs of Platysainia cecropia 'J, we find a peculiar organ or process. 

 It seems to be attached by a small joint, and the process points upward 

 and outward. It is over an eighth inch in length and wing-shaped, the 

 inner side being curved and the outer straight. It is a secondary male 

 sexual character. What is it named and what is its function? — Henry 

 Skinnhr. 



The advantages for the study of insects afforded by the Biological 

 Laboratory of the Brooklyn Instute of Arts and Sciences, at Cold Spring 

 Harbor, Long Island. — The region of Cold Spring Harbor affords re- 

 markable facilities for the study of insects, owing to the great variety of 

 the plants to be found there, and to the topographical features of the 

 landscape. 



Large areas are covered with hard- wood forests, interspersed with iso- 

 lated clusters of pine or other coniferous trees, and there are also wide 

 open meadows in every state of preservation. Some covered with weeds 

 and thistles, the favorite haunts of diurnal insects ; while others are 

 grassy or partially covered with young trees, affording excellent feeding 

 grounds for larvae. 



The region of Cold Spring Harbor is especially remarkable, however, 

 for its variety of hill and valley, and for the abundance of fresh water 

 streams and ponds, as well as salt and brackish marsh land. Altogether 

 a similar area containing greater varieties of envrionmental conditions 

 could hardly be found. One may collect along the sandy, muddy or 



