1104 General Notes. [ November, 
ENTOMOLOGY. 
On THE PARASITES OF THE Hessian Fry1—The paper consists 
of a digest of a communication on the same subject now in press 
in the Proceedings of the U. S. National Museum. It gives the 
synonymy of Merisus destructor (Say), showing the difficulty that 
has been encountered in the past in properly locating it generi- 
cally. It then reviews what was known of the habits of the spe- 
cies by earlier authors and, on account of the insufficiency of pre- 
vious descriptions, gives a full and detailed description. The 
descriptions of Herrick, Fitch and Packard are shown to refer to 
this species rather than to any other so far known. The species 
never occurs in the apterous condition. 
Merisus (Homoporus) subapterus,n. sp., is then described and 
separated from destructor, the wingless specimens referred to by 
Say and Herrick under this last species being considered as be- 
longing to sudapterus. Subapterus is exceptionally winged. De- 
structor is, on an average, of smaller size, more uniformly metallic 
in color; has a flatter abdomen with yellowish spot at base; has 
the antennz similar in both sexes and either pale brown or black- 
ish brown; has the coxe metallic black, the femora brown or 
black except towards tip, the paler parts of the legs whiter than 
in subapterus, and does not, so far as we now know, occur in the 
apterous condition. 
Subapterus is, on the average, larger; of darker color and less 
metallic, with the flagellum of the antennz pale in the male and 
black in the female; the abdomen much more rounded and with- 
out the pale spot; the coxa, trochanters, femora and basal part 
of tibiæ honey-yellow. It occurs mostly in the wingless con- 
dition. 
The paper next treats of Eupelmus allynii French, showing that 
it is parasitic on both Jsosoma hordei and J. tritici, as well as on 
the Hessian fly. The polyphagic habit of this genus is then 
shown, and the experience of the author is given in breeding 
species from Lepidopterous eggs, from Orthopterous eggs, from 
Hemipterous eggs, from Cynipid galls, from Lepidopterous larvæ, 
from Coleopterous larvz and from free Cecidomyid larve. 
| Tetrastichus productus, n. sp., is described and the inference 
_drawn from the habits of the genus that it may be a secondary 
parasite. tai 
Platygaster herrickii Packard is then treated of with the conclu- 
sion that P. error Fitch is parasitic on some other insect and not 
on the Hessian fly. The statements of both Herrick and Profes- 
_ sor A. J. Cook are then considered in reference to the oviposition 
of this species in the eggs of the Hessian fly. The author, while 
isincli to oppose direct observations when asserted, eve? 
tof a paper read before the Am, Ass. Adv, Sci, at Ann Arbor, by C. V. 
