March, 1902.] PROCEEDINGS OF THE SOCIETY. 55 



PROCEEDINGS OF THE NEW YORK ENTOMO- 

 LOGICAL SOCIETY. 



Meeting of December 17, 1901. 



Held at the American Museum of [Natural History. Not having a quorum 

 present an informal meeting was held. 



Dr. E. C. Van Dyke made a few remarks on the Cychrini. He spoke of the 

 fact that his studies had led him to the conclusion that too much stress was laid upon 

 the male tarsal structure and that such things as color, the shape of the thorax, shape 

 of the elytra, etc., were in many cases not even of specific value. The whole group 

 needs revision but the time is not quite ripe for it, because we have not yet enough 

 material. When it is revised, however, he thought that the various subgenera would 

 have to be done away with, inasmuch as they did not represent true relationship. 

 Bearing upon this latter point he stated that he had looked over a number of the 

 European species of Cychrus, all of which were supposed to belong to the primary 

 subgenus Cychrus itself, with $ tarsi no more dilated than were those of the 9 . He 

 found that in a number the $ tarsi were very perceptibly broader than the 9 tarsi and 

 that one species from the Caucasus, C. ccneus var. siarki, had males with tarsi about 

 twice as broad as were those of the 9 or as broad as is the case with most of those 

 now placed in the subgenus Brennus. C. merkeli and C. idahoensis two closely 

 related species and undoubted members of the subgenus SpJu^rodenis were though, 

 to be almost as closely related to C. marginatus, a member of the subgenus Brennus 

 as they were to their companions C. regularis, C. relichis and C. canadensis. The 

 members of the cristatus group of Brennus were thought to be more closely related 

 to Cychrus through C. angulatus, than they were to many of those with which they 

 were placed. 



Such species as C. miimis and C. punctiilatus, undoubted relatives, in spite of 

 differences in $ tarsal structure, were also thought to be much more closely related to 

 the cristatus group than to any other. 



Speaking about gradations of tarsal and thoracic structures he mentioned the 

 fact he had seen a complete gradation from the true angusticollis through C. vetu- 

 tinus and longipes to opacus, in this regard proving beyond a doubt that all three 

 of the latter were nothing more than races or at most varieties. The same thing, he 

 thinks, will be found to exist in the species of the andtewsi group. Hentphillii and 

 rickseckeri will also probably have to be placed much closer together than they are 

 at present. 



At the conclusion of his remarks Dr. Van Dyke exhibited a few interesting 

 species of the genus, among them the true cristatus with bluish margin to thorax and 

 elytra; the opaque black species foi'merly called such but will have to be given the 

 name, C. reticulatus Mots., and also Mr. Casey's very interesting incipiens. 



Meeting of January 7, 1902. 

 Held at the American Museum of Natural Histor}'. President Beutenmiiller in 

 the chair. Eight members and one visitor in attendance. 



Mr. Kearfott, as chairman of the Field Committee, reported of the outings 



