200 Staten Island Association of Arts and Sciences 



It should be stated that Diplotaxis has long been known as a 

 difficult genus and errors in determination are not to be won- 

 dered at. 



One source of wonder or surprise to me in working with Prof. 

 Fall's paper has been that after the results Prof. Smith obtained 

 by examining the genitalia of the allied Lachnosterna Fall should 

 have apparently made little effort to confirm his classification by 

 their help. He says on page 5 : 



" Secondary sexual characters are not entirely wanting, but 

 with a few exceptions they are of such a nature that it is rarely 

 possible to determine the sex of a single specimen, and even in 

 a considerable series containing both sexes, they can rarely be 

 separated with certainty. . . . The male genitalia are quite simple 

 as far as examined, while in the female they are entirely mem- 

 braneous and therefore useless for comparison. I have therefore 

 not attempted systematic dissection, but leave this phase of the 

 subject for the student who has the material and the time for its 

 investigation." 



For the Staten Islander who wishes to follow an interesting 

 investigation the field is open and this paper will have fulfilled 

 its object if it merely draws attention to a long neglected group. 

 It is possible that subcostata, densicollis, languida, rufa, and even 

 undescribed species may be added to our list as the result of such 

 investigation ; and it is desirable that an easy means of distin- 

 guishing sex be found. 



