This family is restricted to the paper-making wasps, all social species living in large communities and having three distinct sexes, female, worker and male, thus agreeing with the social bees, the Apidæ and Bombidæ, and with many ants, Dorylidæ, Myrmicidæ, Formicidæ, etc.

In some species, too, like the ants, there appear to be two forms of the worker.

Deceived by their habits, for structurally they are widely separated, Westwood and Packard thought the social wasps were allied to the Apidæ, and in their scheme of classification have placed them next to the bees, with which they having nothing in common.

As Mr. Grote has done me the honour to make certain criticisms on some of my recent papers, I would ask space for a brief reply.

In regard to Gortyna Ærata,I have no doubt that it has an alternative food-plant, but possibly it may never be discovered. Mr. Bird has made the same point, that as burdock is an introducted species it could not be the original preferred food-plant of any American species. But, while I admiit that an introduced species could not be the original food-plant of an American insect, I see no reason why it should not be the preferred food since its introduction, just as Doryphora Decemlineata prefers the potato to its original food-plant.

Melanoplus Browinii, sp. nov.– General colour brownish fuscous. Head slightly prominent, witht the occiput elevated a little above the pronotum and with a black postcular stripe; interspace between the eyes no broader than the basal segment of the antennæ' fastigium moderately declivent and deeply sulcate except above, where it is biseriately punctate. Eyes large and somewhat prominent, distinctly longer than the infraocular portion of the genæ. Antennæ long, in the male as long or longer than the posterior femora. Pronotum equal in the anterior portion, but quite noticeably expanding on the metazona, truncate anteriorly, posteriorly obtuse angulate, the angle rounded; lateral lobes marked with a more or less interrupted black stripe which is continuous with the postocular stripe of the head. Median carina distinct only on the metazona, which is shorter than the prozona. Prosternal spine suberect, pyramidal, apically acuminate.

In the following pages I have included descriptions of a few new genera and species of mites that have been in my possession for some time. Several of the genera are for the first time recorded in America. A note is added on two species of Trichotorsus. Of the two new genera, the Liroaspis is a very remarkable form, and funds its nearest allies in certain tropical species.

Trombidum granulatum, n. sp.– Bright blood red, the legs are clothed with scale-like hairs, those on the basal joints are white, elsewhere they are red, except on the apical joint of leg I., which is mostly white; the palpi and mouth-parts are mostly white, but reddish toward the trip. The body is covered above with rounded elevated granules, subequal in size and height; on the under side they are more scarce and there are some short red hairs. The body is hardly twice as long as broad, broadest at humeri, slightly constricted over base of the third legs, and broadly rounded behind; the dorsal outline at juncture of head and abdomen shows very little depression; on the cephalic part there is a median grove, and each side are two sessile eyes.

In the preparation of my Catalogue of the Coccidæ I was not able to find where Illiger had proposed or described the genus Lecanium, although Burmeister in his handbook of Entomology, Vol. II., p. 69 (1835), used this genus, giving Illiger as the authority. Burmeister described the genus and placed under it hesperidum, Linn., and several other species. My husband, Prof. C. H. Fernald, wrote to Mr. Theodore Pergande, inquiring if he could give me any information whether Illiger had really published this genus, and if so where it could be found.

In the Annales Soc., Ent. de France, LXIX., p. 171, P. Marchal publishes an article entitled “Sur un nouvel Hyménoptère aquatique, le Limnodytes gerriphagus, n.gen., n. sp.”

Mr. Marchal is to be complimented on his discovery and observation of the habits of this very interesting insect, but it is deeply to be regretted that the generic name which he has chosen is preoccupied, hence it becomes widely known. The name Limnodytes was employed by Dumeril and Bibron in their “Erpétologie généralem“ Vol. VUUU., 1841, p.510, for a genus of salamanders, hence I propose in its place the term Tiphodytes, nov. name.

Silpha Coloradensis, n. sp.– Form of inæqualis, but more elongae, black, except the tip of the abdomen, which is orange-rufocus; above clothed with short black hairs. Head densely punctate, the punctures regular over the greater part of the surface, those in front of the inter-antennal line smalll and less distinct; occipital transeverse impression deep; labrum short, broadly emarginate; antennæ black, club four-jointed, the last three joints pubesecnt, the terminal one longer, compressed, tip sinuately rounded. Thorax about one one-half times as broad as long, narrowed anteriorly, sides broadly arcuate in front, more suddenly so behind, basal lobe slightly and very broadly emarginate. Surface somewhat irregular, densely and very regularly punctate, sides somewhat flattened. Scutellum slightly concave, densely puncutred. Elytra as wide as the thorax and fully twice as long, the sides nearly parallel, outer margins distinctly reflexed, apices conjointly rounded, but sinuate externally, punctuation less dense than that of the thorax, each puncture with a recumbent hair.

During the winter of 1900–1901 the larvæ of this pretty Grapholithid were rather abundant at Ottawa, hibernating in the heads of. mdlein (Verbascum thapsus). Full-grown specimens were collected by the writer and Mr. C. H. Young in April, which pupated in the office on and about the 25th April, the first moths appearing on the 11th May, and the last specimen emerging on the 22nd May.

These larvæ were found in the seed-pods, and had been feeding onthe seeds; numbers were present in the same head, As far as the writer knows, this is the first record, at least in Canada, of the caterpillars feeding on mnllein. Dr. Horvard writes that Mr. Coquillett has reared the species from Stachys palustris, and Mr. Coquillett from a species of flag. He adds: “It evidently has several food-plants, and sometimes it does injury to plants after they have been pressed for the herbarium.”

Holcaspis Arizonica, n. sp.– Gall globular, 9 mm. diam, pale ochreous, not shiny, attached to the base of the petiole of a leaf of Quercus Arizonica, Sargent. There is a projecting point next to the place of insertion. Within, the gall is brown, fibrous, moderately dense, at least dithalamous.

Fly emerging April 19, two females. Body 3½ mm. long, wings 3⅔mm; antennæ 2 mm., 15-jointed, joint 3 considerably the longest. Length of joints in μ: (3·) 360, (4·) 240, (5·) 200, (15·) 170. The joints, especially the apical ones, with fine longitudinal ridges, between which are rows of minute punctures. Head ferruginous; thorax and abdomen piceous; margins of mesthorax, and two spots on scutellum, dull ferruginous; legs bright ferruginous; anterior tibiæ with an apical projection' anterior tibial spurs bent; claws of all the legs falciform, with a large triangular basal tooth.