13 



only for the purposes of adulteration. The true gum in which these insects were found 

 was obtained in districts where the trees had long been extinct, and was found only by 

 digging. All the species were post-tertiary forms, and he had especially noted types of 

 Cleri. 



The specimens, which were very clear, were handed to the members for examinatipn. 



Dr. Horn said that the Coleoptera all represented existing generic types : 1. Carabid, 

 allied to Callida ; 2. Chrysomelids, 2. Clerids, Clerus ocymatodera ; 2. Longicorns, allied 

 to Glytus aud Leptura, and an Elaterid much like one of our species of Cardiophorus. 



Mr. Smith said the Lepidoptera were all of very recent types ; one specimen was 

 almost surely a Mamsstra. The Hemiptera were also very like species known to him, and 

 at least one Dipteron represented a very common Muscid type. 



Prof. Lintner gave some notes of observations made during the past year. 



Orc/yia leucostigma, else very common and destructive at Albany, was this season- 

 very rare, and did no damage. Usually they defoliated the elms and horse chestnuts, 

 and sometimes when a heavy storm came on so many were destroyed that they became 

 offensive. This rarity is explained by a severe frost which occurred in spring just as the' 

 larva? were hatching. 



An interesting note came from Prof. Cook, of Michigan, where thousands of a Noc- 

 tuid larva created fears for crops. The larva was bred, and proved to be Agrotis Jennica f 

 usually considered rather a rare insect So common were they that they were called the" 

 black army worm. 



Prom Jamestown, N. Y., an Hemipterous insect, Podisus eynica, has been received, 

 and it was there observed destroying the currant worm in numbers. Its variety, P. brae- 

 teata Fitch., was associated with it. 



Prom the vicinity of Rochester Lygiis lineolaris has been recorded as injurious to" 

 young peas, piercing and blotching them, a fact not previously noted. 



At Geneva, N. Y., Poecilocapsus lineatus has seriously injured gooseberry plants. 

 stinging the branches at tip so that they died off two or three inches downward. 



In Coleoptera, the Cloverdeaf Beetle has spread westward, and has nearly reached 

 the western limits of the State. Some three years since it was recorded from Yates and 

 adjoining counties, and since has spread rapidly ; moreover, a new habit has been acquired. 

 i.e., it now has attacked beans. The insect is Phytonomus punctatus, an imported species. 



The Asparagus Beetle, Crioceris asparagi, has made its appearance at Geneva, IST. Y„ 

 Heretofore it has been confined pretty closely to the sea shore, and though known for 

 many years on Long Island, it has never before manifested any tendency to spread. 



From Sycamore, Oswego Co., an interesting attack of Otiorhynchus ligneus was 

 reported : there a house which for four years had been closed, was opened and found 

 swarming with these beetles ; they were everywhere, and in many rooms nearly a quart 

 was swept up. What did they feed on 1 There was nothing eatable in the house ; they 

 had been recorded as feeding on the roots of strawberries, but what they could find in the 

 house puzzled him. 



The Elm-leaf Beetle, Galerucella xanthomelaena, has been very destructive in Long 

 Island and in West Chester, many of the noble elms being so entirely stripped that their 

 death is expected. Nothing entirely new has presented itself during the year. 



From Mexico had been received specimens of seed, probably of a Euphorbia, known- 

 as the jumping seeds. The seeds apparently are formed in a pod, three in one inclosure. 

 When placed on a hard surface they begin a series of the most erratic movements, tumb- 

 ling from side to side, and sometimes making leaps of an inch or more. Inclosed in the 

 seeds is a white, somewhat flattened larva, and the seed itself, a mere shell, is lined with 

 reddish silk. Westwood has raised the larva to maturity and found an insect very closely 

 allied to Carpocapsa pomonella, which he called C. saltitans. At 'about the same time 

 Mr. Lucas, in France, also received the insect, and not knowing of Westwood's work, 

 re-named the species. The entire life history of the species is not yet known ; it is sup- 

 posed that the insect deposits its egg on the young seed, and the larva, when very small, 

 makes its way into it. No trace of an opening was now visible. Westwood and Lucas 

 report the insect as obtained in February, but only a few days ago a specimen was caught 

 flying in the room. The curious thing is the close resemblance to our C. pomonella, which 



