At different times considerable attention has been paid to the general darkening in colour of our British insects, compared with Centrall European and with American forms. In Britian, many species become much darker(some absolutely black) on various parts of the West Coasts of Ireland and Great Britian, and, as a general rule, the more humid districts produce the darker specimens, e.g. Acronycta (Viminia) euphorbiœ var. myricœ, Xylophasia polyodon vars. infuscata and nigra, Viminia rumicis var. salicis, etc.

Heterochroa californicaButler.

Egg.—Nearly spherical, flattened a little at base; covered with hexagonal elevated reticulations, from the intersections of which arise short spines. Colour uniform leaf-green, with a silvery lustre; width 1.5 mm. Laid singly at the tip of a leaf on the upper side. Duration of this stage eleven days.

On page 92 of the Bulletin U.S.N. Museum, No. 28, Prof. Smith says: “Mr. Butler says argur is the type of Graphiphora, Ochs., in which case the application of the name to the Taeniocampa series by Mr. Grote would be unwarranted.” I never fixed the type of Ochsenheimer's genus Graphiphora. What I did was to fix the type of Hübner proposes the name in the Tentamen for gothica, which, as it is the only species given, is therefore the type. Afterwards, in 1816, Ochsenheimer, 4, 68, includes ravida and 16 species not seperable from Agrotis.

Erebia Ethela.

Male.— Expands 1.5 inch.

Upper side dark brown; both wings have a common extra-discal band of red-fulvous elongated spots, on primaries six, filling the interspaces from lower branch of subcostal to submedian, the second and third from the top a little longer than the others, these last being equal; at the end of the cell a small fulvous patch. Secondaries have five spots, the fifth being in second median interspace, the space three equal, sub-oval, the fourth about half the size of the third, and the fifth still smaller; fringes of both wings concolored.

Limenitis lorquinii, Boisd.

Egg,—Nearly spherical, the base flat; covered with elevated reticulations from the intersections of which arise short spines. The depressions between the reticulations are rounded. Colour pale green with a silvery lustre. Diameter .9 mm. Laid singly at the extreme tip of a leaf on the upper surface.

In introducing this subject it is my intention to speak shortly upon the various species of Locusts which have appeared in injurious numbers within the territorial limits to be designated with each species. Some of these species have covered a vast area of territory, and have caused extensive injury from time to time, while others have appeared over limited areas only, and have caused but slight injuries; but yet these have been sufficient to necessitate their mention amongst the destructive species of the country. Taking them altogether, we have exactly twelve destructive locusts within the territory designated.

Datana perspicua.—Egg: In general shape subpyriform; flattened at base and top, depressed centrally at vertex, the usual black spot small and indistinct, situated at the bottom of the punctiform depression; the whole surface punctured. Colour white, the lid-like top of a somewhat brighter white. Width .9 mm., height .8 mm. The egg is of the type of D. major, but resembles the type of D. ministra in coloration by possessing a discolorous lid-like top. This is the part of the shell eaten by the yound larva in hatching. Laid in masses of varying numbers on the under side of the leaves of the food plant.

It seems incredible that creatures as highly organized as the ticks and mites should be able to live for months and even years without food, and, in the case of some of the former, are capable of surviving even a prolonged immersion in a somewhat acrid fluid.

As an illustration of this remarkable vitality I wish to call attention to the case of two species that have come under my observation during the past year.

Entomologists will be interested to learn of the occurrence of a near relative of the Horn Fly, HŒmatobia serrata, in the middle of the great cranberry swamps of Northern Minnesota. These vast low areas extend for hundreds of square miles in the vicinity of the Lake of Woods. They are the favored home of the American moose, and the hope of obtaining some specimens of this animal for the museum of the University of Kansas led Professor L. L. Dyche of that institution to traverse these dangerous marshes. Professor Dyche has recently returned after remaining for over three months in the very centre of the swamps, camping upon the occasional sand ridges which cross the region; and to him I am indebted for specimens of a new HŒmatobia.

In describing C. retecta and C. flebilis, it appears from Mr. Hulst's statements, that I included certain dark shaded specimens, one or more or retecta, under flebilis. Mr. Hulst says:-“The typical specimens in Phila. cover both species.” This may be true, as also that Mr. Strecker figures a dark shaded retecta as flebilis. I have not his work. But there is not doubt in my mind as to what was flebilis, and there is no excuse for Mr. Hulst's renaming my species as luctuosa.

Egg.—Diameter, .03 inch; height, .03 inch; blunt conic; smooth. When first deposited white; after a few days yellow. Duration of this period, five days.

Young Larva.—Length, .07 inch. Cylindircal; head a little larger than body; six rows of tubercles bearing long hairs. Colour of body and hairs white; head black; a geminate black spot on top of joint 2. Duration of this period, three days.

Platynus crenistriatus, Lec. I took a speciment of this interesting little beetle (fig.1) here late in October, at the foot of a stump. It is not unlike in October, at the foot of a stump. It is not unlike in appearance certain small Pterostichi but may be at once distinguished by having the elytral margin behind sinuate and simple, without the interruption and route fold usually seen in Pterostichus. It seems to me to be, in fact, one of those less specialized forms still exhibiting characters in common with some species of that genus.

The following brief list of food plants of Bombycidæ and Noctuidæ, not included in the recently issued catalogue of Mr. Henry Edwards, may be of some interest to persons engaged in rearing Lepidoptera. When not otherwise stated the insects have been found and reared, or reared from the eggs by myself, and were mostly collected at Kittery, Maine:-

Bombycidæ

Egg.—Oval; pale apple green, smooth shining; slightly flattened above and below. Width, 2 mm.; height, 1.50 mm.

Clemens, in his Synopsis of North American Sphingidæ, p. 182 (Journ.Ac. Nat. Sci., Phil., 1859), describes the egg as being “smooth, white, with an equatorial reddish-brown band, having a slender central white line.” All the eggs, about one hundered and fifty in number, which I examined were entirely green, with no indications whatever of the bands mentioned by Clemens.

In the late publication of the Department of Agriculture on “Foresttree Imsects” three species are mentioned as affecting the trunk of Pyrus americana, viz: The round and flat-headed apple-tree borers and an unknown longicorn larva. I have recently found two additional species fully as injurious as those mentioned. These are Podosesia syringœ and Zeuzophora semifuneralis.

In reference to Mr. Harrington's remarks on Rhynchites bicolor, I may say that it has been taken at Hamilton regularly for quite a number of years, never very plentiful but not considered rare. I always obtained my specimens when beating second growth oak and hickory. There are wild rose bushes in that locality, but I do not remember ever beating a rose bush; if I had known enough I might have found it more abundantly.

On Dec. 14, 1890, I secured from the upper Piney Branch region (District of Columbia) a small quantity of swine dung that had been dropped in the edge of open woods, and seemed to be old enough to contain with probability larvæ or puparia of Diptera. This was placed in a large glass jar, with a few inches of sand in the bottom, occasionally moistened and kept in a moderately cool room in the house. The dung was soon noticed to be full of larvæ which in a short time crawled out of it entirely, cluseterd on the inside of the glass, or worked themselves down into the sand, manifesting a considerable migratory instinct, no doubt induced by the moisture and mild tempearture.