88 ENTOMOLOGICAL NEWS [Mar., '19 



Doings of Societies. 



Feldman Collecting Social. 



No meeting was held in October owing to the epidemic of influenza. 



Meeting of November 20, 1918, at the residence of Wm. S. Hunt- 

 ington, 1006 N. 64th St., Philadelphia ; eleven members present ; Presi- 

 dent H. W. Wenzel in the chair. 



Coleoptera. Mr. Harbeck said a man in Trenton, New Jersey 

 had complained to him of his war garden being ruined by a large 

 "bug" coming from the ground at night in great numbers, and when he 

 had examined specimens, found them to be Lucanus damn Thunb. 

 Mr. Wenzel said there was no doubt but there was something in the 

 garden to attract them, and they were not merely digging in the ground. 

 Mr. H. A. Wenzel said they had found mazama LeC. in the west in 

 early morning, running along the trails looking for a place to hide. 

 Mr. H. W. Wenzel said that in July and August he had noticed great 

 numbers of Cotinus nitidus Linn, and some weeks later, while cutting 

 the grass, he had seen what he at first had mistaken for an ant hill. 

 When this pile of dirt was pushed aside, quite a large hole was dis- 

 closed, and he then took a steel wire with a hook on one end which 

 he inserted in the hole twelve or fourteen inches, and after turning 

 a few times, drew out a large Scarabaeid larva. Many of these were 

 found later. Some he Avas unable to hook and he came to the con- 

 clusion that these burrows had lateral galleries at the bottom. Dr. 

 Castle exhibited a phial containing many larvae and pupae of PopilUa 

 japonica Newm. from Riverton, New Jersey. Mr. Laurent reported the 

 capture at Mt. Airy, Philadelphia, Pa., of Lehia tricolor Say on 

 October 5, Tachinus limbatus Melsh. on September 4, and the intro- 

 duced species, Sphaeridiiim 2-pusfulatum Fabr. On October 19. 



Orthoptera. Mr. Laurent mentioned that for many years he 

 had reported the large mantis, Paratenodcra sinensis Sauss. as c )m- 

 mon, but this year, for the first time, it was scarce, though the nymphs 

 were quite plentiful during June and July. 



Diptera. Mr. Hornig stated that this year the first mosquito 

 larvae were found March 27, and the last November 14. — Geo. M. 

 Greene^ Secretary. 



OBITUARY 



Benjamin Hayes Smith, a collector of Coleoptera, died at 

 his residence, 4704 Chester Avenue, Philadelphia, on Novem- 

 ber 25, 1918. He was born in Upper Darby, Delaware County, 

 Pennsylvania, May 7, 1841, son of Dr. George Smith and Mary 

 (Lewis) Smith. Dr. Smith was a prominent physician and 

 citizen of the county and was especially active in the Delaware 



