162 



The tiiird strange appearance was swarms of flies about an inch long and big as the top of 

 a man's little finger, rising out of spigot holes in the earth, which cat the new-sprouted leaves 

 from the tops of the trees without other harm, and in a month left us. 



LAPHRIA CANIS Will.: A correction. 



On pa^e 43 of the present volume of Insect Life the statement is 

 made that Laphria canis Will, was very abundaut in Michigan in May, 

 1886. The writer has since felt that this statement admitted of doubt, 

 as the habits of the fly there described are unquestionably those of 

 Bibio albipennis, which was, in all probability, the species under obser 

 vation. The specimen of Laphria canis which I sent to Dr. Williston 

 for determination was taken some months afterward from among* alco- 

 holic specimens of flies, and believed at the time to be one of the indi- 

 viduals that had been so numerous in the spring, but in this I fear that 

 I was deceived. Laphria canis should, of course, be recorded for Michi- 

 gan, on the authority of one specimen of uncertain date of capture, de- 

 terminedby Dr. Williston.— T. Townsend. 



ENTOMOLOGICAL SOCIETY OF WASHINGTON. 



October* 3, 1889. — Fifty-fifth regular meeting. Prof. James Fletcher, Entomologist 

 to the Dominion of Canada, was elected a corresponding member of the society. 



Dr. Fox made some remarks on "Malformations in Spiders," exhibiting two speci- 

 mens {Epeira sclopetaria $ , and Dictyna sp. $ ), in which one or more of the eyes were ab- 

 sent. He also exhibited a table showing the relative position of the eyes as normally 

 found in different families of spiders. The subject was further discussed by Dr. Marx. 



Mr. Schwarz then read a communication from Dr. G. H. Horn on the food-habits 

 of a rare Cerambycid beetle (Coenopceus palmer i), which lives in its early stages in the 

 stems of Opuntia bernardina. These food-habits are the more remarkable from the 

 fact that all the other known species of this group (Acanthocinini) live beneath the 

 bark of dying or dead trees. Mr. Schwarz also read a note on the peculiar flight of 

 a specimen of the flying locust, Dissosleira Carolina, while observed to be pursued by 

 an English sparrow r its flight, in escaping the bird's attacks, veering directly up or 

 down, but never to one side; and presented for record an observation on Chalybion 

 cceruleum, a blue wasp, which in catching the spiders that form its prey, pretends to 

 be caught in their webs arrf easily captures them when they appear. These papers 

 were discussed by Dr. Marx and Mr. Ashmead. 



Mr. Townsend read a paper on so ne interesting flies from Virginia, noticing and 

 exhibiting specimens of: Holcocephala abdominalis, to Say's description of which he 

 made some additions; four species of Trichopoda (T. radiata Loew, T. t hirtipes F., T. f 

 ciliata ¥., and T. sp.), two of which have not been recorded for this locality; and 

 Pallopttra snperba Loew, with some notes on its habits. 



Dr. Marx read by title a revision of Hentz's Spiders of North America. The meet- 

 ing then adjourned. 



Wm. H. Fox, M. D., 



Recording Secretary. 



c 



