54 Journal New York Entomological Society. [Vol. xvi. 



some of the smaller Diptera. In one family (Dolichopodida;) the typical males are 

 remarkable in the character of the lengthened and narrow face as well as the modified 

 fore legs and tarsi. The males in copulating clap these widened tarsi over the eyes 

 of the females. Another family of Diptera (Empididse) which live in the mountains 

 and the northern woods, flying in swarms, execute a peculiar dance, which is different 

 in the different species and may be represented diagrammatically. 



Mr. Harris related how a number of years ago while living at Saratoga Springs, 

 N. Y., where the winters were cold and the spring season late, he had put a freshly 

 emerged female of Promethia moth on a Syringa bush some time early in May and 

 in a short time found a male moth had been attracted by the female. It being much 

 too early for these moths to hatch out of doors in that locality Mr. Harris could not 

 account for its appearance. 



Mr. Schaeffer spoke of an instance where a great many male Promethia moths 

 had been attracted by placing the female cocoons outside. Mr. Dickerson mentioned 

 a similar case of the attraction of male moths by the female cocoons. 



Mr. Engelhardt told how one ingenious man had fed his ducks at Glendale, 

 L. Is., by attracting swarms of male Promethia moths by imprisoning the female in a 

 box on the ground. 



Mr. Schaeffer told of seeing the male Mutilla in Arizona clasping the female 

 and flying with her upon the bushes to copulate. 



Mr. Dickerson stated that Dr. Raleigh had liberated marked male and female 

 Promethia moths several miles apart in Chicago and that they found each other clear 

 across the city. 



Mr. Barker spoke of finding the nymphs of certain locusts in coitu quite common 

 in southern Arizona. Mr. Engelhardt had seen the same thing in Utah. 



Mr. Engelhardt and Mr. Doll while in Utah had exposed the female of a moth 

 (Myrn/thrus tibialis) and attracted thereto one hundred and fifty males. 



Professor Wheeler exhibited a small collection of ants which Mr. Schaeffer had 

 collected in Brownsville, Texas, and southern Arizona. Though small the collection 

 was of interest because it contained six species new to the United States and four 

 species new to science. 



Mr. Matausch exhibited some excellent pencil drawings of Membracidse. 



Mr. Beyer exhibited a collection of Cleridre many of which were rare. He spoke 

 briefly of their habits. 



Mr. Zabriskie exhibited some Hymenoptera, the more important of which were 

 Pompilus atrox, male and female, and Pompihts sp. with a large spider which it had 

 killed and was dragging to its nest. To show an interesting phase of insect study he 

 read an extract from "Wasps, Social and Solitary" by George and Elizabeth 

 Peckham. 



In connection with the extract read by Mr. Zabriskie, Mr. Schaeffer related an 

 account of a combat which he witnessed in Texas between a tarantula and one of 

 these large wasps. 



Meeting of March 19, 1907. 



Held at the American Museum of Natural History. President C. W. Leng in 

 the chair with eleven members and four visitors in attendance. 



The librarian, Mr. Schaeffer, read a list of exchanges recently received as 

 follows : 



