Sept., I902.] Proceedings of the Society. 175 



of 74 West 119th St., and Mr. John D. Sherman, of 148 East iSth St. Mr. 

 Beutenmuller proposed the name of Mr. E. L. Graef, of 58 Court St., Brook- 

 lyn, as an active member of the society. 



In view of the resignation of Messrs. Watson and Comstock from the 

 field committee, the president appointed Mr. Davis and Mr. .Toutcl to act in 

 that capacity. 



Mr. Seifert spoke on the subject of " The Larvs of Heliothis rhexia and 

 Lygranthcecia rivulosa." He stated that Ambrosia arteinesiafolia is a very 

 common weed near New York city; according to the nature of the soil, the 

 branches and leaves of the plant are subject to much variation in color. This 

 latter may be said also of the more southern Linaria canadensis. Ambrosia 

 artcmisicufolia is the food-plant of Lygranthcecia rivulosa. The larva feeds 

 only on the sterile flowers of the long racemes from August to about the 

 middle of September. The head of the larva is rather prominent, mandibles 

 well developed, thoracic segments wider than the head, abdominal ones taper- 

 ing slowly toward the anal end. The larva is not smooth, tubercles black, 

 conspicuous; sets weak; it adapts itself to all the color shades of the 

 racemes, from purplish to brown and different shades of green. The cater- 

 pillar, when resting, often assumes a sphingid-larva-like attitude and singu- 

 larly most obvious with the green varieties. They have short, oblique, lateral 

 stripes running from anterior to posterior. The larvae prefer sandy soil, bury- 

 ing themselves rather deep into the ground, forming a cell to pupate in. The 

 moth appears in July and August. 



The larvae of Heliothis rhexia were found in numbers during April and 

 May at Island Grove, Florida, feeding on the unripe capsules and the buds 

 of Linaria canadensis. Females were found depositing eggs at the end of 

 March and beginning of April, the imagoes being already on the wing the 

 latter part of May and beginning of June. The larvae also adapt themselves 

 in regard to color to the slender, variable flowering stems ; the sterile shoots 

 being procumbent. The variability of the larva extends from green and brown 

 shades to almost scarlet. 



With some of the varieties of both species it is very difficult to distinguish 

 the larva of both, even the heads of the larvae varying in color with each 



species. 



The larvre of both these species are day feeders, the L. rivulosa larvae 

 being much suoject to the attacks of dipterous parasites while the larvae of 

 H. rhexia are a coveted prey for a large blue-winged Hymenopteron and fierce 

 Hemiptera, which are fairly swarming within the pinkish fields of Linaria 



canadetisis. 



Mr. Schaeffer spoke on " A Collection of Coleoptera made Last Year in 

 Brownsville, Texas, by the late Ottomar Dietz." He said, although Mr. Dietz 

 did not consider the material quantitatively or qualitatively as good as he 

 expected, there are among the material quite a number of interesting species, 

 some of which are entirely new to science, while others are described as only 

 likely from that locality and others described from Mexico, but new to our 

 li.st. 



