May 1, 1903.] 



SCIENCE. 



ro5 



it was stated that possibly Salmo oquossa, 8. 

 oquossa marstoni, and S. alpinus aureolus 

 might prove to be different forms of one 

 species. F. A. Lucas. 



ENTOMOLOGICAL SOCIETY OF WASHINGTON. 



The 176th regidar meeting was held on 

 March 12, 1903, fifteen members and three 

 visitors present. Mr. W. D. Kearfott, of New 

 York City, was elected a corresponding mem- 

 ber, and Messrs. H. E. Burke and J. L. Webb, 

 of the Bureau of Forestry, TJ. S. Department 

 of Agriculture, active members. 



Mr. Busek announced that a collecting ex- 

 cursion to Bladensburg had been planned for 

 the 26th of March. 



Mr. Ashmead exhibited two wasps from 

 Trong, Lower Siam. The first, Vespa dory- 

 loides Saussure, superficially resembles the 

 male of Dorylus, a genus of large ants. It ap- 

 pears to possess characters which differentiate 

 it from Vespa and justify placing it in a new 

 genus. The other specimen belongs to the 

 genus Ischnogasier. This genus, though 

 classified with the Eumenidse, a family com- 

 posed mostly of forms which are solitary in 

 habit, is nevertheless said to be represented in 

 India by social species. Mr. Ashmead showed, 

 also, a specimen of the large Japanese wasp, 

 Vespa mandarinia Smith, now placed in Thom- 

 son's genus Vespula. 



Dr. Dyar presented a short paper entitled 

 'Notaon Cranibus offectalis Hulst and Allied 

 Forms.' A specimen from New Mexico, con- 

 fused with offecialis, is described as a new 

 species of Evetria. 



Mr. Barber read a letter written from Cuba 

 by Mr. E. A. Schwarz, containing much 

 interesting entomological matter. Dr. 



Howard stated that Mr. Schwarz had found 

 what may prove to be the original food plant 

 of the cotton-boll weevil (Anthonomus grandis 

 Boheman), namely, the wild 'kidney cotton' 

 {Gossypium hrasiliensef) 



Dr. Hopkins read extracts from letters re- 

 porting a recent very destructive outbreak of 

 the ' pine bombyx ' (Dendrolimus pini Lin- 

 naeus) in the redwood forests in Norway. Un- 

 til the past season the moth has not occurred 



there in sufficient numbers to cause serious 

 damage since the outbreak of 1812 to 1816. 



Dr. Dyar reported some early dates for the 

 hatching of -mosquito eggs. Eggs of Culex 

 canadensis in his possession had hatched on 

 the 9th of March, while at Lahaway, New 

 Jersey, Mr. J. Turner Brakeley had found 

 larvae under the ice in February. 



Mr. Banks showed a nest of the ' purse-web 

 spider' (Atypus ahhoti Hentz) which he had 

 found at Falls Church, Virginia. The species 

 is rare here, though known as far north as 

 Massachusetts. 



Dr. Dyar presented a paper entitled ' New 

 North American Lepidoptera, with Notes on 



Mr. Busck showed specimens of a buff and 

 gold colored form of the codling moth (Gydia 

 pomonella Linnaeus), describing it as simpsonii, 

 new variety. 



Mr. Currie read a paper on ' The Odonata 

 (dragonflies) Collected by Messrs. Schwarz and 

 Barber in Arizona and New Mexico.' This 

 collection, he stated, contained twenty-four 

 species and two varieties. One species, an' 

 Ischnura, proved to be new. 



Under the title ' Some Remarks on Japanese 

 Hymenoptera ' Mr. Ashmead commented upon 

 the Japanese species in the U. S. National 

 Museum. The Aculeata, he said, belonged 

 mostly to described species, but in the Para- 

 sitica there were probably 150 new species. 

 He believed there were in the neighborhood of 

 500 described Japanese Hymenoptera. 



EOLLA P. CURRIE, 



Recording Secretary. 



PHILOSOPHICAL SOCIETY OF WASHINGTON. 



The 564th regular meeting was held Feb- 

 ruary 28, 1903. 



Mr. C. G. Abbot presented an elaborate 

 approximate method for the quadrature of 

 the circle, recently furnished by a correspond- 

 ent of the Smithsonian Institution. 



Mr. C. F. Marvin then spoke on ' The Seis- 

 mograph.' He said the first instruments were 

 crude and effective. The earthquake in 

 Japan in 1880 led to the formation of a seis- 

 mological society (among the fijst members 

 of which were two of our own members. 



