624 



SCIENCE 



[N. S. Vol. XXXIII. No. 851 



The November-December number of the 

 Hungarian entomological journal — Rovartani 

 Lapoh — is a jubilee number in honor of Alex. 

 Mocsary, for his forty years' service in the 

 Hungarian National Museum. Most useful 

 is a list of his numerous publications. A list 

 of species (65 in all) that have been named in 

 his honor is given, to which various friends 

 add new species in all orders in this number 

 of the journal. 



Mr. 0. C. Ghosh has published an account 

 of the life-history of a neuropterid fly — Grace 

 filipennis.* These delicate insects are but 

 little known, and a figure of Savigny had long 

 done duty as the only known larva of the 

 family. The larva of Grace is very similar to 

 that of Savigny, with a large Ghrysopa-like 

 head and jaws and an extremely slender pro- 

 thorax; the abdomen broad and flat. They 

 live in houses in India, and feed on silver-fish 

 and bed-bugs. The pupa is formed within a 

 spherical cocoon; the larval stages last for 

 nearly a year, and the adult appears for only 

 a few days in April. 



Dr. E. Mjoberg is the author of a long 

 article on morphology and classification of 

 the biting and sucking lice.° A number of 

 species are described as new, mostly from the 

 old world, and several new genera. One, 

 Neahcsmatapinus, is made for Hwmaiopinus 

 sciurapteri Osborn. He concludes that both 

 Anoplura and Mallophaga should be included 

 with the Psocidse in the Corrodentia, as three 

 subequal groups; the Anoplura more closely 

 related to the Mallophaga than either to the 

 Psocidse. A useful bibliography is appended. 



Carl Heneich has published a large paper 

 on German plant -lice which will be of use to 

 our students of these insects.' He divides the 

 family into the usual six tribes, but appears 



*Journ. Bombay Nat. Hist. Soc, 1910, p. 530. 



^"Studien iiber Mallophagen und Anopluren," 

 ArUv f. Zoologi, Vol. VI., No. 13, 296 pp., 5 pis., 

 1910. 



" ' ' Die Blattlause, Aphidid®, der Umgebung 

 von Hermannstadt, mit einem Index und Figuren- 

 erklarung, " Verh. Mitt. Sieheni. Ver. f. Natur- 

 wissensch. eu Hermannstadt, LIX., pp. 104, 1 pi., 

 1910. 



to be unfamiliar with some of the recent 

 generic changes. 



Dr. N. J. KusNEzov brings up cases of prob- 

 able viviparity in certain pierid butterflies of 

 northern Russia.' In examining the anatomy 

 of certain pierids {C alias) he found fully 

 developed larvae in the lower part of the ovi- 

 duct, and no chlorion around them. These 

 larvse were bent double, with the head toward 

 the aperture. He therefore concludes that at 

 least sometimes the larvse are born alive, or at 

 least so far advanced that the eggs hatch very 

 soon after deposition. The reason for this 

 intrauterine development of the embryo he 

 believes is the short season in the northern 

 localities. Two species of Tineids have been 

 recorded as viviparous. 



Nathan Banks 



SPECIAL ARTICLES 



y PROTECTIVE ENZYMES ' 



In this preliminary paper the authors will 

 bring together the results which thus far show 

 some important relations and reactions car- 

 ried out by certain protective enzymes of 

 fruits. This work originated in the efforts of 

 one of us (Cook) to determine the toxicity of 

 tannin. It is well known that tannin is one 

 of the most abundant of plant products, and 

 it has been repeatedly stated that it occurs in 

 green fruits. Although the work referred to 

 above gave very definite results on the toxicity 

 of tannin, it became evident that there was 

 some factor or factors in the living fruit 

 which had not been taken into consideration, 

 making it necessary to attack the problem 

 from the biochemical standpoint. 



Pomaceous fruits were most satisfactory for 

 our purpose, although the fruit of the tomato 

 and other plants were also used. As the work 

 progressed many difSculties presented them- 

 selves, such as the uncertain and more or less 

 unreliable methods for quantitative deter- 

 mination of tannin. 



' " On the Probable Viviparity in some Danaid, 

 i. e., Pierid Butterflies," Hor. Soc. Ent. Ross., 

 XXXIX., pp. 634-651, 1 pL, 1910. 



^ By permission of the Delaware Agricultural 

 Experiment Station. 



