40 



Mr. Howard gave an account of some recent experiments made under Dr. Riley's 

 direction at Washington, with kerosene emulsion as a remedy for white grubs, the larva? 

 of Allorhina nitida. He stated that the grass had died over large areas of the affected 

 lawn, and the soil was full of the grubs. The affected portion was treated with kerosene 

 emulsion, diluted fifteen times with water, and applied with an ordinary watering-pot ; 

 the ground was then kept saturated tor some days with ordinary water from a hose. A 

 month afterwards on digging into the part treated, the grubs were found to have descended 

 sixteen inches into the soil, and all had died. In the untreated parts the larva? were all 

 alive, and only two or three inches below the surface. There was no injurious effect upon 

 the grass, even when the emulsion was only diluted half as much. He considered that 

 the experiment was entirely successful. In the discussion that followed, it was evident 

 that this remedy is much too expensive for adoption on a large scale, and could only be 

 of practical use on a lawn or plot of land of special value. Dr. Peabody stated that Prof. 

 Forbes had found the kerosene emulsion entirely successful against the common white 

 grub (Lachnosterna), but as its application cost at the rate*of about $100 per acre, it was 

 far too expensive for ordinary purposes. 



The Club met again at 3 p.m. Mr. Fletcher gave an account of his expeditions to 

 Nepigon, Lake Superior, in search of the eggs of butterflies. Very little is known, he 

 stated, regarding the early stages of many of our diurnals ; of even so common a species 

 as Pamphila cernes they were unknown. In 1885 Prof. Macoun, of the Geological Survey 

 of Canada, collected specimens at Nepigon of a new butterfly which was named after him 

 by Mr. W. H. Edwards as Ghionobas Macounii; in 1886 and 1887 Mr. Fletcher went to 

 Nepigon in search of this insect, travelling about 1,500 miles on each occasion, but with- 

 out success. This year he went again early in July, accompanied by Mr. S. H. Scudder, 

 of Cambridge, Mass. ; on the first day after their arrival they caught five males ; the next 

 day nine females were caught and caged ; from these they obtained about 250 eggs. The 

 egg is larger than and quite different from that of C. Jutta, which has been found near 

 Quebec and bred by Mr. Fyles. Mr. Fletcher also obtained eggs of Jutta at Ottawa and 

 reared the larvte from them ; the eggs were laid on July 1st and hatched on the 16th ; 

 those of Macounii were laid on the 12th and hatched on the 27th. At Nepigon he and 

 Mr. Scudder obtained the eggs of 14 species out of 16 that they caged. He then gave a 

 full and most interesting account of the methods of capturing, caging and treating butter- 

 flies in order to obtain their eggs, and mentioned that he had received very valuable infor- 

 mation and aid from Mr. Scudder in the matter. The simplicity of the apparatus 

 employed deserves mention. " Cages for all small species can be made in a few minutes 

 by cutting off the top and bottom of a tomato can and then fastening a piece of netting 

 over one end, either by slipping an elastic band over it or tying it with a piece of string. 

 The female is then placed in it over a growing plant of the species that the larva? are 

 known to feed upon. These cages had answered well for all the skippers which fed on 

 grass, and the small Argynnides. For such species as lay their eggs on the foliage of 

 shrubs or trees bags had to be tied over living branches, care being taken that the leaves 

 were not crowded up, but that they should stand out freely so that the female could lay, 

 if such were her habit, upon either the upper or lower side, or on the edge of the leaves. 

 In this way eggs were obtained of Nisoniades icelus and Papilio turnus. Another cage 

 for insects which lay upon low plants, and which is easily constructed, is made by cutting 

 two flexible twigs and bending them into the shape of two arches which are put one over 

 the other at right angles with the ends pushed into the ground ; over the pent-house thus 

 formed a piece of gauze is placed, and the edges are kept down either with pegs or earth 

 laid upon them. This kind was useful for larger insects than could be placed in the 

 tomato cans. In these eggs of C. Alacounii, Colias eurytheme, etc., had been secured." 

 {Entorri. Americana, iv. 159). Mr. Fletcher then described the habits of a number of the 

 species collected, referring especially to those already mentioned and to Pyrameis huntera, 

 P'lmphila hobomnk, Mystic and cernes, Carter ocephalus mandan, Colias interior, Argynnis 

 ■vialis, Myrina and bellona, Nisoniades persius, Fenesica tarquinius, etc. He also 

 exhibited living larva; of C. Mandan, P. hobomok and mystic and living imagines of C. 

 eurytheme which had emerged since his arrival in Cleveland. At the close of his address 



