32 



Mr. J. B. Smith read a paper on " The Specific characters of the genus Arctia." 

 (Published in full in Entom. Amer. vol 3, p. 109.) 



The date of the first meeting for next year was then discussed, experience having 

 shown that the first meeting of the Club, as now held on the day preceding the general 

 meeting of the Association, was generally poorly attended and the President's address 

 read to almost empty benches. After some discussion it was resolved to hold the first 

 meeting of the Club in future at 9 a.m., on the first day of the meeting of the A. A. A.S. 



On Friday, August 12th, Prof. Riley gave a short account of the discovery of the 

 female of Phengodes. He also spoke on Pronuba, and its connection with the pollination 

 of the Yucca ; and on a new species of Lecanium found on the Austrian pine in Wisconsin. 

 The asparagus bettle (Crioceris asparagi), he finds is extending south, having been 

 observed in Fairfax County, Virginia. During the present year there has been a most 

 remarkable swarming of the butterfly Apatura celtis in the Southern States. These 

 migrations generally take place in the autumn, but this was in the Spring. The only 

 way of accounting for it is that the conditions were unusually favourable for their 

 hibernation and development. 



Dr. Lintner spoke of the alarming increase of the Larch Saw-Fly (ffematus erich- 

 sonii). He gave a history of the dates and places at which it had been heretofore 

 observed, and the injury it had done. 



On July 7th it was reported to him from St. Lawrence Co., N. Y. where it appeared 

 on three Tamaracks growing in a door-yard. About 10th July they appeared in count- 

 less hosts completely covering the trees so that the end of a finger could not be placed 

 on a branch of one of them without touching one or more of the worms. They also 

 covered apple and maple trees and shrubbery, but ate nothing but Tamarack. 



About the same time examples of the larva were received from Otsego Co., taken 

 from the European Larch. The pupa? were found after July 12th under moss some little 

 distance from the trees. It has done considerable damage also in Hamilton County in 

 the Adirondack region. Every Tamarack for miles around was entirely stripped, and 

 looked as though the fire had been through it. Dr. Packard says the attack is not fatal 

 to the trees, and near Lake Pleasant early in August he observed the Tamaracks putting 

 out new buds. The larvae were attacked by a Podisus allied to modestus, and the pupa? 

 were eaten by ants. In Europe the species seemed to be kept in check pretty well by 

 its parasites, and it has never been destructn r e there. 



Prof. Riley said we can hardly hope with Dr. Packard that the attack will not be 

 fatal to the trees. When he went over the ground in Maine with Dr. Packard this 

 spring, many trees were already dead. 



In the evening a very pleasant party met at Mr. Graef's residence in Brooklyn where 

 the evening was spent in examining Mr. Graef's collection and discussing the merits of 

 the collation provided. 



On Monday, 15th, Mr Emerton read a paper by Prof. L. M. Underwood, on 

 "The Literature of the North American Spiders," reviewing the work thus far done in 

 the Arachnidce. 



Mr. Smith made some remarks on the paper mentioning the work being done by 

 students of the group and that the U. S. National Museum was accumulating a very 

 fair collection in the class. He also defended the practice of describing species as justi- 

 fiable under some circumstances in stimulating or exciting interest, and claims that 

 nothing is so discouraging to beginners as a lot of material which is unnamed and 

 unnameable until some one monographs the whole. 



Mr. Emerton said that he intended to continue his work on the New England 

 spiders, and will keep his types, at least until the work is all done. He was opposed to 

 hasty descriptions, and to hasty identifications of old species where there is nothing to 



