12 



; both at sugar and at flowers cultivated because of their attraction to insects, and flowers 

 "had proved most productive ; this season the reverse has been the case. 



Mr. Mann, referring to a remark made that cold winters were favorable to insect 

 life, said that seemed to be the generally accepted theory now, and appeared borne out 

 by facts. 



Mr. Aaron said that everywhere insects are reported as exceedingly scarce. Iiis 

 brother from Texas so writes ; from Florida, Arizona and California come the same 

 .complaints. The remarks on the abundance of cardui reminded him of a saying 

 of Mr. Ridings that he was always afraid of a season in which cardui was common, for 

 then nothing else would be found. 



Mr. Smith said he believed cold winters favorable to insect life, but this year there 

 was not only a cold winter, but there were several very severe frosts late in spring, one as 

 late as June 14fh-15th ; it was rather these late frosts that were to be blamed for the 

 dearth of insect life. On Cape Cod insects were unusually rare ; in Vermont, where 

 hundreds of good insects were last year taken at sugar, scarcely one-fourth the number of 

 common forms were this year found. 



Dr. Hoy said that in his vicinity, far north as it is, he has taken many insects usually 



. considered southern — more than were taken on the east of the lake. There seems to be a 



northern extension of the thermal line on the west of the lakes. Last season he found 



four specimens of the black variety of turnus ; before only a single specimen had been 



found. 



Mr. Saunders had never known this black variety to occur in Canada. 



Dr. Merriam had found turnus in the central Adirondack region nearly as far north 

 as Racine, three to four thousand feet above the sea. There were often hundreds at 

 puddles, and among them many of this black variety. 



Prof. Fernald reported the capture in Maine of a suffused form, partially yellow and 

 part black. 



Dr. Hoy asked whether all the food plants of P. ajax were known. He has found 

 ■perfectly fresh specimens, and no pawpaw within 200 miles of the place. The butterfly 

 is often common, but he has never found the food plant of the larva. 



M v. Larkin had noticed at his station, south of Syracuse, that insects were unusually 

 scarce. The potato beetle even was very rare — not found at all in some fields. He had 

 ooticecl thai: when they have winters that kill wheat, then usually the apple crop is good 

 and there are few insects. 



Mr. Aaron said, in reply to Dr. Hoy's query, that ajax would feed on either spice- 

 wood or upland huckleberry, as well as pawpaw. 



Dr. Hoy said they had the huckleberry, not the spice-wood. 



Mr. Osborn said he had seen ajax in Iowa where they had neither pawpaw nor the 

 huckleberry, and he thoi 2 i -wood. He also reported a statement from Sioux 



City that there, Chrysochus auratus was so common that they were crushed under foot on 

 the streets. Was not this unusual ' 



Mr. Mann said in Is he had seen them piled in great heaps upon the stones. 



Mr. Saunders said Hyphantria ti-.-ior had this season been found in great abundance 

 on all kind of trees. Pi had been sent from one locality in West Ontario, where 



it was so common on currants that fears had been entertained for the crop. No great 

 damage had l>een clone, however. 



Mr. Graef exhibited some species of Lepidoptera, rare, or typical of recently 

 sribed for, 



On motion, I _ - Ijourned to Monday, Sept. 8, at 2.30 p.m., same place. 



Sept. 8th, 1884. Pursuant to adjournment, the Club met at 2.30 p.m., President 

 Moir: - he minutes of the previous meeting were read, corrected and 



led. 



Prof. Martin exhibited some insects imbedded in copal, all representing types of post- 

 mall Hymenoptera and Diptera, hut some Coleoptera, Lepidop- 



and Heuiiptera. The specimens were obtained by seekers of the resin of which copal 

 varnish is made, not far from the sea coast, a little north and south of the equator. The 

 same sort at gum is now found on growing trees, but soft, and not i^ood for varnish, used 



