16 



publication. At the close of his remarks he expressed his anxiety that describers of 

 Noctuids should refer particularly to those parts on which generic characters are based. 



Prof. A. J. Cook, of the State Agricultural College, Lansing, Mich., gave an account 

 of recent investigations in Apiculture. Among many interesting facts he stated that if 

 the wings of the virgin queen be clipped, or the entrance to the hive be so contracted 

 that she cannot fly forth, or, again, if she be reared where there are no drones, she will 

 not be sterile, but from her eggs only drones will be produced ; that the fate of the 

 drones in a hive depends on the prosperity of the colony — with a rapid increase of bees 

 and honey they are safe, but if there is a period of adversity in these respects, unless 

 caused by the loss or sterility of the queen, they are speedily destroyed by the workers ; 

 that worker bees are imperfectly developed females ; that bees possess and employ the 

 sense of smell, and that they have a good knowledge of locality. In answer to a question 

 from Dr. Morris respecting the alleged robbery of fruit by bees, whether they will not 

 perforate ripe fruits if starved for a time, Prof. Cook replied that he had not tried 

 starvation, but he had placed punctured grapes before bees and found that they would sip 

 the juice with zest, but when he replaced the fruit with sound specimens they did not 

 attempt to touch them. 



Mr. Scudder then exhibited some illustrations of rare fossil insects, prepared for 

 publication in Dr. Hayden's report, and a large volume of • lithographed plates, coloured 

 drawings, etc., of Diurnal Lepidoptera in all their stages, which he had had made to 

 illustrate his proposed great work on the Butterflies of North America. 



Mr. J. D. Putnam, of the Davenport Academy, presented some notes on the North 

 American Galeodes (Solpugidce), and exhibited specimens in illustration. 



The Rev. H. C. McCook, of Philadelphia, gave a most interesting lecture on the life 

 history of the honey ants of the Garden of the Gods, Colorado, and illustrated it with 

 specimens of the insects and a great number of very large water-colour drawings. He 

 described fully the chambers excavated by the ants, the insects themselves in all their 

 forms, their nocturnal habits, and their feeding upon the saccharine juice exuded from 

 the galls of the scrub-oak. He stated that the workers are undeveloped females, and that 

 the honey-bearers are a changed form of the worker major with a greatly enlarged crop, 

 in which they store the honey. Mr. McCook has not yet committed his observations to 

 writing, but, we understand, that he will eventually publish them in the proceedings of 

 the Academy of Natural Sciences at Philadelphia. It is impossible to give here even a 

 synopsis of the vast amount of information that he afforded upon this interesting subject. 



Prof. Riley remarked, in connection with this subject, that many galls secrete saccha- 

 rine matter, and that sometimes the gall-insects themselves are entrapped in it ; that the 

 ants probably get their honey also from the species of Coccus that frequents the scrub-oaks 

 of Colorado ; and that almost all species of ants are able to expand their abdomens when 

 necessary. 



Dr. Haldeman observed that the reason why hills were constructed by some ants and 

 not by others was probably because some might have the proper materials conveniently at 

 hand and others not. He urged Entomologists to domesticate ants in order to study their 

 habits, most of which are as yet very imperfectly known. 



Mr. Bassett stated that' very many species of galls are infested by ants ; that he has 

 observed a gall on scrub-oak swarming with ants, and with Cetonia Inda and other honey- 

 loving insects. 



Dr. John L. LeConte, of Philadelphia, Pa., read a paper on a collection of Coleoptera 

 obtained from a few hickory twigs. Some hickory trees on a friend's estate, near Phila- 

 delphia, were observed to be diseased, and therefore cut down. Some of the twigs were 

 sent to him, and from them he obtained no less than twenty-two species of Coleoptera. 

 He expressed a strong hope that some competent Entomologist should prepare a list of the 

 insects that infest forest trees, and that it should be appended to the report about to be 

 issued by the U. S. Commission on Forestry. 



Dr. Morris stated that he also had obtained a considerable number of species of beetles 

 from twigs. 



Mr. Haldeman said that the hickory was more infested with insects than any other 



tree. 



