Nov., '04] ENTOMOLOGICAL NEWS. 313 



Doings of Societies. 



Minutes of meetings of Brooklyn Entomological Society, 

 held at the residence of Mr. Geo. Franck, 1040 DeKalb Ave., 

 Brooklyn, N. Y. 



March 5, 190^. — Twenty-one persons present, the Presi- 

 dent in the chair. Discussion as to the correctness of Dr. T. W. 

 Harris' statement in " Insects Injurious to Vegetation," that 

 the larvae of Darapsa myro?i bite off the stems of grapes 

 through stupidity or disappointment. Messrs. Doll and Franck 

 had never observed this habit in any of the hundreds of larvae 

 bred by them. Mr. Pearsall suggested that possibly, as the 

 larvae approached maturity they required the more substantial 

 nourishment which the woody stems provided. Mr. Weeks 

 had had larvae which, on failure of supply of fresh leaves, 

 would nibble at the stems or even gnaw unripe grapes, and 

 suggested that it was due to an intelligent purpose, as the 

 stimulation of the growth of the vine and foliage by the prun- 

 ing of the fruit. Professor Smith cited Professor Lintner's 

 statement that the larvae of N. leiicostigma had been observed, 

 at Albany, N. Y., gnawing off tender stems bearing leaf 

 clusters. This was not a common practice, and there was no 

 explanation of the cause. Dr. Zabriskie and Prof. Smith 

 had each observed a larva, possibly a Rhynchophorid, boring 

 in the petioles of maple leaves, with the result that they fell 

 prematurel}-. 



Prof. Smith further stated that in his investigations into the 

 life history of certain mosquitoes he had found the eggs hatch- 

 ing and larve active in water covered with ice, and that few 

 persons realized how active insects were during the winter 

 months, many rare species being available for capture early 

 in that season. 



April 2, igoj. — Twenty-one persons present, the Vice-Presi- 

 dent in the chair. Mr. J. R. de la Torre Bueno was elected 

 member. 



Mr. Weeks read a paper upon ' ' Theory of the Origin and 

 Evolution Productive of the Brilliant colored Bands upon the 

 Secondaries of Moths of the genus Catocala,'' in which the 



