I am asked to write for the Can. Ent. a paper on breeding butterflies, and on taking observations of the larval stages, and I comply with pleasure, hoping that what I shall say may be the means of inducing some collectors to cultivate this field. There are many local collections of butterflies in Canada and the United States, and a few general North American collections, more or less complete. But their owners are mostly satisfied with mere collecting and accumulating specimens of the imago. Very few know anything of the larval and other stages of the butterflies, unless of some of the common species. And where anything is known, very little is given to the world. Some collectors, however, have also been breeders of butterflies, sphinges and moths on a large scale. As for example, our friends, John Akhurst and Professor Julius E. Meyer, of Brooklyn, each of whom could fill a good-sized volume, if they would relate one half of what they know on these subjects. Such an one was the late William Newman, of Philadelphia, who lived to a good old age, and had spent his spare hours for many years in collecting and breeding lepidoptera. But none of these gentlemen have published a line that I am aware of, and the entomological world is not much the wiser for their private experience. So that practically here is a great field almost unworked.

During the years 1882-4, large branches of young pear trees in Cambridge, Mass., were killed by pear-blight. The next year other branches were affected and killed, and finally the whole tree succumbed. All trees had been in good and healthy condition. The branches were more or less densely covered by a Coccid, determined by Prof. J. H. Comstock as Chionaspis furfurus (A. Fitch), described and figured in his Report for 1880, p. 315, pl. 17, f. 1. The Professor thinks it much more probable that the branches were killed by the Scolytid (directly to be mentioned) than by the Coccids, and I believe this opinion is justified by the fact that other pear trees and apple trees near by are also covered by the same Coccid and are nevertheless in a healthy condition.

Since I came to this island, a couple of seasons ago, I have made a practice of capturing any insects that came in my way, and I have sometimes made an expedition purposely in pursuit of such prey. The result is an accumulation of about one thousand species of all orders, which probably represents not more than five per cent. of our insect population.

As my favorite studies are in another department of Zoology, I have neither the inclination nor sufficient knowledge to work out all this material myself, but with the help of entomologicai friends, resident, alas! sadly, too far off, I am gradually making progress with the naming of my captures, and I propose, with your permission, to publish from time to time in the Canadian Entomologist, lists, with notes, of the species that have occurred to me. I hope that this will be both useful and interesting to Eastern entomologists, as I notice that hardly more than one half of the insects I have already identified are named in the recently published check list of Messrs. Brodie & White, and many of them will prove, I think, new to science.

One day on my late visit to Ridgeway, a party of four went on an entomological excursion by boat to a place about four miles west, called Point Abino. After taking a survey of the situation and lightening our lunch basket, we went to work. Each had his specialty; one desired beetles, another butterflies. Seeing Myrmelion on the wing, I turned my attention to the Ant Lions. I did not succeed in securing many of them, for although the funnel-shaped pits of the nymphs were in surprising numbers, very few of the mature insects were to be seen, it being probably a little too early for them. I captured but four specimens, one obsoletus, and three of what was kindly determined for me by Dr. Hagen, of Cambridge, Mass., as Myrmelion abdominalis Say, whose figured-gauze wings are charming objects seen through a lens. The slight acquaintance I have with them has been acquired during my visits to Ridgeway, none of them having ever been seen about Hamilton so far as I know. Mr. J. Pettit secured an obsoletus while he was collecting at Grimsby, but I think he never got a second, although no doubt they were there to some extent, but probably very scarce. Fine loose sand is evidently a necessity of their existence in any locality, and I would suppose comparative seclusion; both of these they have in perfection at Point Abino.

Lepisesia flavofasciata, Barnst.—Very rare, taken in the hottest part of the day, on lilac and apple blossoms; also on Amelanchier Canadensis.

Hemaris diffinis, Boisd.—Common on Tartarian honeysuckle and lilac, in the middle of the day.

Hemaris gracilis, G. & R.—Quite rare, found on the same flowers and at the same time as H. diffinis, and also flies about sunset.

Hemaris thysbe, Fabr.—Very common, flying in company with H. diffinis.

Amphion nessus, Cram.—Quite common in company with the last named species.

On July 5th, 1884, several larvæ of this species were handed me by a neighbor, who had found them feeding on Asclepias quadrifolia gorwing in the yard. They were just ready to pass the last moult, evidently leaving the plant for the purpose of moulting; some of them being found on a fence attracted the notice of the person finding them. As found they were .55 of an inch long; body brownish balck, each joint with eight tubercles from which project tufts of hairs. Those from the four dorsal, on joints 2 and 3, are long and black, part of those on joint 4 are white; the posterior three joints also supporting long tufts. The dorsal tufts between these are ochre colored, about a third as long as the anterior or posterior, and bend towards the centre from each side. the lower tufts on the anterior part of the body are gray, the rest balck. Head black.

Before describing these interesting little crickets which have been neglected or overlooked so long in this country, it becomes necessary to enter somewhat into details. The group being one not often written upon, or the specimens often met with, they are therefore rare to collections. Prior to this account but two authentic notices of their capture in the United States have appeared, viz., the one referring to a specimen taken in Georgia by H. K. Morrison, and the other a reference to the present described species, one from the vicinity of Washington D. C., and the other from the Pacific coast, at Portland, Oregon, the former of which is herewith figured (fig. 4), a representing the female, and b the male. This is undoubtedly the largest Myrmecophila known, being fully 4 m. m. in length, while the largest European species measures nearly one fourth less.

My office duties prevent me, unfortunately, from going afield during almost the entire month of July in each year, and perhaps a few notes on my last ramble, 29th June, may interest the inexperienced, and indicate some of the insects to be found at this time. The special aim of this ramble was to visit a grove of hickories, Carya amara, and investigate the insects occurring in these trees, but I desired also to obtain Coleoptera and Hymenoptera, especially sawflies.

My outfit consisted of a flat beating-net constructed so as to be folded up snugly when not in use; a sweeping-net on a folding pocket-ring; a bottle containing coarse sawdust, with a morsel of cyanide for beetles; a wide-mouthed bottle lined with blotting paper, and having some cyanide in a cavity in the cork, for Hymenoptera, Diptera; a couple of boxes for larvæ, and last, but not least, a note-book and pencil. The day is favorable, the sun shining hotly, yet tempered by a slight breeze.

I have received from that indefatigable explorer and naturalist, Mr. W. G. Wright, of San Bernardino, several examples of Lycœna Dœdalus, ♂ ♀. Up to this date the ♂, as described by Dr. Behr, has been unknown to me personally, and by all recent list makers has been set down as a synonym of Icaroides, Bois. Its female is Aehaja, Behr., also put down as a syn. of Sœpiolus, or rather es one of the dimorphic forms of the female of that species.

Mr. Wright made the ascent of one of the lofty mountains in that region, and says: “Saw nothing on the way up, except that at the camping halfway place were a few of these Lycœnœ and a Grapta. Next day, on going up to the high crest, it was a little cloudy, but not very cold (50° probably), yet not one butterfly was seen during the entire day, though I stayed on the crest, 11,550 feet, several hours.

Head light green, around which is a ring of bright fine yellow granulations. Body light green whitish at the dorsal region; a whitish subdorsal line on each side running from caudar horn to third segment, also a dorsal green line running from caudal horn to 3rd segment, where they both become indistinct. Under side and legs chocolate brown, prolegs brack, with a narrow white band near base. Caudal horn thin, slightly curved forward, flanked at base with bright yellow. Stigmata on first, and from third to tenth segments, dark blue. Length about two inches. Larva finely granulated with white. It is found from middle of June to end of July. Of these, some of the earliest larvæ will, after pupating, hatch within about two weeks, (the balance staying over till next spring) which will deposit their eggs and also grow to maturity towards the latter part of September; so that the larvæ may be found almost continually from June to October. The eggs are small, round and green, and hatch in about ten days; they are found on the under side of the leaves of Symphoricarpus, Lonicera (different species), and Triosteum perfoliatum, its food plants.

EGG.—Sub-conic, truncated, the top convex, the upper part from one fourth to one third the length marked by low vertical ribs, about 24 in number; below these the surface is shallowly and irregularly indented; top similarly indented, convex; color when laid yellow green. Duration of this stage about five days.

At the time when my Catalogue of the Tortricidæ was published, I was inclined to believe that Cacœia transiturana Walk., and C. obsoletana Walk., were the same species, for they were taken in the same localities, and only females of the former and males of the latter species were to be found in collections.

Prof. Forbes has recently sent me two examples for determination, which he bred from two lots of leaf-rollers on the strawberry, in Illinois, and from each lot he obtained males and females, all the males being obsoletana, and all the females transiturana. We may, therefore, consider the question settled by Prof. Forbes, and these two insects are only the two sexes of our species, which should be known as Cacœcia obsoletana Walk.

Dr. Hagen, in his paper on the genus Colias, recently published, discussing the species described by Mr. Wm. H. Edwards under the name of C. Christina, comes to the conclusion that it is merely a variety of C. Edwardsii, which he regards as only a form of C. Interior, Scud., including also under the latter name. Emilia, Astrœa, Scudderi, Alexandra, Occidentalis, Harfordii and Laurentina.