MISCELLANEOUS OBSERVATIONS. 



BY EDWARD J. BURNHAM. 



During the autumn of 1899 the attention of the Section was called to two indi- 

 viduals of Doryphbra decemlineata, in which there was a marked deviation from 

 the type for this species, the third line of each elytron, in one specimen, being 

 supplanted by a distinct row of yellow spots, while in the other specimen the same 

 line was irregularly interrupted. The query suggested is whether this is a recent 

 variation, or whether it may be an instance of reversion to some ancient type in 

 which the elytra were spotted, the spots having gradually united to form lines, in 

 accordance with the theory now quite generally accepted with reference to the de- 

 velopment of stripes in the higher animals. It should be remarked that in both 

 specimens the rows of heavy punctures, which border the lines in the typical decem- 

 lineata, here unite at each interruption, thus more completely isolating each spot 

 or fascia. As the relative frequency of the occurrence of this variation is certain 

 to be of some interest, it is hoped that members of the Section will make careful 

 and extended observations during the coming season. 



In his paper on " The Distribution of Insects in New Hampshire," prepared 

 for Hitchcock's Geological Report, Prof. Scudder says of Labia minuta : " Smith 

 records the capture of a number of specimens of this earwig at Norway, Me., and 

 we may therefore conclude that it inhabits New Hampshire." Mr. Herbert E. 

 Richardson of this city found the insect in his stable in 1898, and again in 1899. 

 Prof. Scudder's inference was, therefore, correct. The earwig inhabits New 

 Hampshire, at least as far north as Manchester, but it is certainly rare. 



Gryllotalpa borealis belongs to the Alleghanian fauna, and probably does not 

 extend far into the zone of doubt dividing the two great provinces, but it is occa- 

 sionally found in Manchester. The four specimens in the Institute collection 

 were secured on the shore of a small pond near Mr. Isaac Huse's, in East Man- 

 chester, and an individual was found at Lake Massabesic in the summer of 1899. 



It is probable that Termes flavipes finds the northern limit of its range near 

 Manchester. Colonies were fairly abundant about the city during the season of 

 1899, and a few were observed near Sawyer's Pond in Hooksett, but careful search 

 by Mr. George W. Fowler failed to reveal a single specimen in Pembroke, a few 

 miles further to the northward. 



It is a significant -fact that boys, interested in the collection of butterflies, but 

 ignorant of theories relative to faunal areas, noticed long since that if the Spotted 

 Purple, Basilarchia astyanax, was desired, the collecting trip should be made to 

 the southward of Manchester, while if the Banded Purple, Basilarchia arthemis, 

 was the object of pursuit, it must be sought to the northward. It is probable 

 that the band of territory common to these two species, and within the limits of 

 which is to be found the hybrid, Basilarchia astyanax-arthemis, crossing New 



