18780 281 [Scudder. 



Mr. George W. Bond read a paper on the Origin of the 

 Merino Sheep, in which he claimed the Arabian as the ances- 

 tral stock of that race. 1 



Section of Entomology. January 23, 1878. 

 Mr. J. H. Emerton in the chair. Six persons present. 

 The following papers were presented : — 



Kemarks on Calliptenus and Melanoplus, with a Notice 



of the Species found in New England. By Samuel H* 



Scudder. 



The genus Calliptenus was founded by Serville in 1831 in his Revue 

 Me'thodique under the name Calliptenus, 2 with three species, Acryd- 

 ium sanguinipes, A. italicum and A. morio, each being placed as a 

 representative of a distinct subdivision. In 1838 Burmeister, and in 

 1839 Serville himself, retained C. italicus alone in the genus, and it 

 therefore became its type. 



Until within a few years, all authors who have treated of the 

 American species placed by Burmeister in this genus, or of their con- 

 geners since described, have referred them to Calliptenus, if they 

 have separated them at all from Acridium. In 1873 Dr. Stal in his 

 admirable Recensio Ortliopterorum first pointed the differences which 

 exist between the European Cat. italicus and the North American 

 species which had been referred to that genus, and the closer con- 

 nection of the latter with Pezotettix. Our common C . femur-rubrum 

 was placed by him in a subgenus of Pezotettix which he termed 

 Melanoplus. Without considering the intimate relationship which 

 undoubtedly exists between Melanoplus and the true Pezotettix, it 

 will be enough at the moment to assume that the great variety of 

 forms in this country in either group, will necessitate our separating 

 them under distinct names even should they prove as closely allied 

 as Stal's arrangement would indicate. For the assistance of Ameri- 

 can students the characteristic differences of structure between 



1 This paper will be found in full in Bull. National Assoc, of Wool Manufactur- 

 ers, Vol. viii. 



2 On orthographic grounds, Burmeister afterwards changed the name to Calopte- 

 nus ; but Erichson more properly wrote it Calliptenus, in which he is followed by 

 Stal. 



