2,4 PROCEEDINGS S. I. ASSN. ARTS AND SCIENCES. [VOL. I 



over to Mr. William T. Davis, who submitted them to Mr. L. H. 

 Joutel of the American Museum of Natural History and to Mr. E. P. 

 Felt, State Entomologist. They both agreed that the markings repre- 

 sented insect borings of some kind, but did not care to commit them- 

 selves any further. 



Upon looking into the matter I soon ascertained that the literature 

 relating to fossil insects is quite extensive, and that it would require 

 considerable labor to ascertain whether it contains any reference to 

 borings identical with ours, but those who are interested in the subject 

 may find a popular article, signed "M. G.," entitled "Les Perforations 

 des Bois Fossiles" in La Nature, vol. vi, 1878, p. 112, figs. 1-6, in 

 which are illustrations of borings in fossil coniferous wood, by cole- 

 opterous insects regarded as probably belonging to the genera Tomicus 

 or Bostrichus, some of which are not unlike our specimens. Mr. 

 Samuel H. Scudder has also described several similar specimens from 

 Canada. {Cont. Canadian Palaeont., vol. ii', 1895, pp. 27-56, pis. ii, 

 iii, and Ibid., ii^, igoo, pp. 67-92, pis. vi-xv). In the first mentioned 

 contribution the author describes and figures a fragment of an elytron 

 under the namtf Hylobites cretaceus, from the Pierre shales of northwest 

 Manitoba, and says: "This is the second Cretaceous insect that has 

 been discovered in North America, the first being a Corydalites \_S. se- 

 cu7idus Scud.] from the Laramie beds of Colorado." The former is a 

 coleopterid, the latter a neuropterid. 



We are not yet able to report what kind of an insect it was that 

 made the borings in the Kreischerville lignites, but the rarity of any 

 indications of Cretaceous insects in America causes the discovery to be 

 of interest and worthy of record. 



Incidentally it may also be mentioned that nearly all of the Krei- 

 scherville lignites thus far critically examined prove to he coniferous, 

 and that most of the reported instances of fossil insect borings appear 

 to be in wood of that class. 



Mr. William T. Davis exhibited specimens of the Catalpa Sphinx and 

 its caterpillars collected at Lakehurst, N, J., and read the following 

 paper: 



The Catalpa Sphinx. 



Since 1899 the Catalpa Sphinx m3th {Ceratomix catalpxe Bdv.) has 

 been reported from widely diflferent parts of New Jersey, but as yet 

 it has not been detected on Staten Island. The caterpillars are gre- 

 garious, and as the name indicates are to be found on Catalpa trees. 



