154 



existence of an Entomological Society on the other side of the Atlantic should be 

 generally known to the entomologists of Europe, 



" It does not appear from these ' Proceedings ' when the Entomological Society of 

 Philadelphia was first started. In the Report of the Secretary for 1861 we read that 

 'the cabinet was commenced in January, I860,' which is fourteen months befoie the 

 earliest meeting recorded on the second page of the ' Proceedings,' at which ' the 

 Committee appointed to revise the Constitution and By-Laws prior to procuring a 

 Charier made their final Report.' However, it appears from the by-laws that the 

 common seal of the Society was to bear the words ' Founded 1859.' It is interesting 

 at the very time when we are called upon to decide the question of the dispersion of 

 our own collection to notice how energetically this young Society is engaged in the 

 task of forming a collection. Thus we read that ' the contributions to the cabinet 

 during the past year have been both numerous and valuable. In Coleoptera there is 

 an increase of 620 species, 8885 specimens during the past year; in Lepidoptera an 

 increase of 198 species, 2169 specimens; in Diptera an increase of 75 species, 235 

 specimens,' &c. ; 'as a whole the interest manifested by the members in building up 

 the collections of the Society has been exceedingly liberal and enthusiastic. The 

 cabinet was commenced in January, 1860, and since then 3678 species have been 

 presented.' 



" The library of the Society, we are informed in the same Report, ' now contains 

 129 volumes and pamphlets,' and the Society numbered in December, 1861, '53 mem- 

 bers and 27 correspondents.' 



"In the report of the Recording Secretary for 1862 we find an increase to the col- 

 lection of 1514 species, and an increase to the library of 344 volumes and pamphlets, 

 including a number of rare and valuable works, and the Society numbered in Decem- 

 ber last 65 resident and 48 corresponding members. 



" In the papers already published, 51 pages are devoted to Coleoptera, 4 to Neu- 

 roptera, 83 to H^menoptera (45 of which are occupied with a paper by Osten-Sacken, 

 on the Cynipidse of the North-American Oaks), 53 to Lepidoptera, 22 to Hemiptera 

 and 22 to Diptera. 



"Amongst the coleopterous papers are two short papers on the habits of some cole- 

 opterous larvae and pupae, by G. H. Horn ; one with descriptions of fourteen larvae of 

 Norlh-Ameiican Coleoptera belonging to genera the preparatory states of which had 

 not, to the knowledge of the writer (Baron R. Osten-Sacken), been made known 

 before ; one with descriptions of four new North-American Coleoptera, by Dr. Horn ; 

 andone with descriptions of nine supposed new species of Cerambycidee, by J. H. B. 

 Bland. 



" Among the hymenopterous papers are the elaborate treatise (already mentioned) 

 on the Cynipidse of the North-American oaks and their galls, by Baron R. Osten- 

 Sacken, and two with descriptions of (seven and six) new species of TenlhredinidaB, by 

 E. Norton. 



" Amongst the lepidopterous papers are four by Dr. Clemens, of which three are 

 devoted to Micro-Lepidoptera, and one contains a Synopsis of the families of the Hete- 

 rocera. The first paper on Micro-lepidopterous larvae furnishes a good introduction 

 to the successful study of those insects; a description is given of the modes of feeding 

 of the larvae of the genera Coleophora, Liihocolletis, Aspidisca, Nepticula, Ornix and 

 Calastega, the number of species of which Dr. Clemens gives the habit of the larvaa 

 in these genera being 7, 2, 2, 14, 1 and 3. The last-named genus is probably, bow' 



