1899] ENTOMOLOGICAL NEWS. 39 



OD both sides. Tibire of all more or less infuscated. Ovipositor 

 i-ather long and slender, as long or longer than the bodr, a little 

 curved uear the base. Antennae i-ufous, becoming infuscated api- 

 cal ly. 



Length of body, male, 24-27 mm., female, 20-28 mm.; of fasH- 

 gium, male, 1.4 ram., female. 1.6 mm.; of prouotum, male, 7.2 mm., 

 female, 6.7-7 mm.; of tegmina, male, 33 mm., female, 28-36 mm.; of 

 hind femora, male, 19 mm., female, 19-21 mm.; of ovipositor. L9.5 

 31 mm. 



Habitat. — Xew Jei-sey, Philadelphia uetk. Pa. (J. B. 

 Smith); Marjland, Virginia (Brimer) ; Virginia (Pergande). 



This insect approaches the C. gladiator Redtenbacher in the 

 length of its ovipositor and wings, but differs from it in other 

 respects. It is too small for C. dissimiUs Serv. and has to 

 short hind legs to be placed with C. retiisus Scudder, while C. 

 obtusus Burmeister seems to be an insect with a much shorter 

 ovipositor. Described from 14 specimens. 



PHYSIOLOGICAL SPECIES AGAIN. 



JoHX H. LoYELL, Waldoboro, Maine. 



In an editorial in The Xews for Xovember, 1897, the editor 

 tells of a strange tune sung (?) by a Cicada along the Jersey 

 shore, and raises the querj- : "Is there such a thing as physi- 

 ological species?" In the December number Prof. Cockerell 

 expresses his belief in such species and advises naturalists to 

 be on the watch for them, while in the succeeding issue Mr, 

 Robertson asks why the term physiological species is used and 

 requests examples. 



Let us broaden the question to include all animal and plant 

 life, and ask: "Do systematists ever constitute species on 

 physiological charactei-s alone ?' ' Unquestionably they do 

 and numerous instances can readily be given. Prof. Farlow, 

 than whom we can have no better authority, says in his recent 

 article on " The Conception of Species '' : " ^Ve cannot fail to 

 notice the increasing tendency among cryptogamic botanists to 

 give more and more weight to physiological characters in lim- 

 iting their species." " One who takes up the recent descrip- 

 tive works on Uredinacete is surprised to see the number of 

 species which depend on physiological characters.*' "The 

 tendency to split up species on physiological grounds becomes 

 more and more marked." "The explanation is to be sought 

 in the fact that descriptive botany in certain groups of plants 



