Hymenopterous parasite.— On April 13th, 1906, chrysalis No. 112 gave birth to an ichneumon fly, which Mr. D.B. Yound has kindly identified for me as Anomalon pseudargioli.

Everyone interested in the study of insect life eagerly awaits the apporach of spring. It is at that time, probably more than at any other, that the keenest interest is shown in the subject by the majority of our collectors. How often, however, one begins enthusiastically in spring to collect insects of all kinds, becomes fascinated with the work and within a very short time gathers together a collection worthy of some notice; but, frequently, as the season advances, the interest begins to lag and soon something else takes the attention and the subject is dropped.

At every turn, since beginning my studies in the aquatic Hemiptera some four years ago, my attempts to verify some observation have been balked by the extreme meagreness of the information on the subject running all through the field of entomological literature. This lack is far more noticeable with reard to the immature stages of the Cryptocerata and of the aquatic and semi-aquatic forms of the Gymnocerata.

1. Aradus concinnus, Bergr.— Female: Fifth ventral segment as long in the middle as at the sides, with a transverse obtuse-angulated keel a little in front of the almost straight middle part of the apical margin, this keel at the ends coalescing with the apical margin, apial angles of the segment reaching a little beyond the slightly rounded apical margin of the middle part of the sixth ventral segment, which is broader than long, apical angles of this segment nearly reaching apex of second genital segment, which does not project behind apex of abdomen and is half as long as the transverse first genital segment, this more than twice as broad at base as at apex, apical gential segment, this more than twice as broad at base as at apex, apical genital lobes shortly prominent beyond apex of abdomen, somewhat distant interiorly, inner margin rounded, apical margin oblique, notched before the middle, dorsal gential segment broadly rounded at apex.

In the Annales of the Belgain Entomological Society (Vol. 50, pp. 30–6, Feb. 2, 1906). my friend Mr. Schouteden has added a considerable number of genera and species to my list, extending it to 1906.

The number of omissions, even before 1905, is so large, comparatively that it demands some explanation from me.

I am glad that Dr. Dyar has given us a note on the Euchœca comptaria problem, and that up to certain point he supports my view.

Without a doubt, he is right in insisting that the type species of Nomenia must be called 12-lineata, Packard.

An inexcusable blunder was committed by me some years ago. On page 791, Proc. U.S. Nat. Mus. XXVI, for 1903, I described an insect under the name Psinidia sclciforns, var. amplicornis. For the word sulcifrons the specific name fenestralis was intended, and should be subsituted throughtout the description.

Palpi and front dark gray, with a plentiful intermixture of brown scales. Thorax dark fuscous. Abdomen above dark gray, beneath lighter gray.

Fore wing: ground colour gray, but almost entirely obscured by blackish-brown scales.

The basal area is darkened by about four parallel wavy fuscous lines; the space between the basal and intradiscal lines is paler and crossed by two dark lines parallel with the basal.

In Chap. X of the Descent of Man, Darwin says that when the male of Gryllus campestris is chirping, “first one wing is rubbed over the other, and then the movement is reverse.” I have carefully observed several hundred males of our native Gryllus, and it seems to me that one tegmen (“wing”) is always uppermost. This is, at first sight, a very minor point, but it leads to some rather interesting thoughts.

Among the fossil insects collected at Florissant, Colo, by Judge J. Henderson and Dr.F. Ramaley, of the University of Colorado, is a species of Corixidæ, represented by numerous individuals. It occurred, as Judge Henderson informs me, in the first railroad cutting east of Florissant, a little above the middle of the seciton there exposed. The shale containing the speciments is very much lighter than that in which the other Florissant fossil insects seen by me are imbedded, and it is believed to belong near the top of the series.

The 109th meeting of the Toronto Branch was held in the Provinical Museum on March 20th.

The event of the evening was a paper by Dr. Brodie, entitle “Insect Intelligence,” in which attention was drawn to some classes of insects which seemingly exhibit an unusal amount of brain develpment in the will-power shown in the deliberate selection of ways and means. This was followed by a discussion, in which Dr. Abbott gave some interesting examples from personal observation of the skillful way in which insects adapt themselves to abnormal conditions.

Since the printing of the Tenth Annual Report of the Minnesota Entomologist in December, 1905, about 75 additional species of Diptera captured in that State have been named, representing the following families:

Agromyzidæ, Anthomidæ, Bibionidæ, Cecidomyidæ, Chiromonidæ, Culicidæ, Dolichopodidæ, Drosophilidæ, Empidæ, Ephydrid0, Geomyzidæ, Helomyzidæ, Leptidæ, Lonchopteridæ, Muscidæ, Mycetophilidæ, Ortalidæ, Oscinidæ, Pipunculidæ, Psilidæ, Sapromyzidæ, Scatophagidæ, Sciomyzidæ, Sespsidæ, Simuliidæ, Syrphidæ, Tachinidæ, Trypetidæ.

Cydia grindeliana, sp. nov.—Antennæ blackish brown, with short greenish cilia. Labial palpi light greenish yellow, tipped with black. Head and thorax light greenish yellow. Fore wings light straw-coloured, overlaid and streaked with light greenish yellow, and in some specimens with light olive. Costal edge from base to apex with short black and silvery-white strigulæ. Ocellus light shining yellow, edged anteriorly and posterioly by narrow perpendicular silvery-metallic lines, and containing three short black dashes, two on the anterior margin and one of the apical margin; above this is a small area, thickly mottled with dark brown scales, and the whole is surronded by a narrow silvery line.

Recurvaria pinella, new species.—Antennæ dark purple, with silver-white annulations. Second joint of labial palpi black, with apex and a large spot on the inner side silvery white; terminal joint white, with a narrow black annulation on basal half. Face white, indescent, sprinkled with darker scales. Vertex and thorax dark purple. Fore wings dark purple, sparsely sprinkled with lighter scales. From basal fourth of costa to basal third of the dorsal edge is a thin, very indistinct and ill-defined oblique white fascia.