Apatela mœsta,n. var.

A very distinct from of the European Ieporina, Linn., dark gray, fully as dark as Canadensis, Smith & Dyar, which it much resembles; but the basal line is broken and the transverse posterior line is dentate as in leporina.

All of the Hymenoptera described in this paper were received from Father W. A. Stanton, Who captured them in the Observatory Garden at Manila, P. I.

Family X.—Stelididæ Cœlioxys, Latr.

œiCœlioxys Manilœ, new species.—♀. Length 6.5mm. Black; the cheeks, temples, clypeus and the fae upwards to the front ocellus, the mesopleura, sternum, coxæ, metathorax, and the apical margins of the ventral and dorsal abdominal segments, clothed, rather densely, with a whitish pubescence, sometimes tinged with yellow; there are also triangular spots of a yellowish pubescence on the anterior and posterior margins of the mesonotum and on the base of the scutellum; the head and thorax are rather coarsely, closely punctured, opaque, while the abdomen is shining, although distinctly punctate, the puncutures sparse and separated; the pygidium is bi-impressed at apex with a short median carina separating the impressions, the punctures being coarser and closer in the impressions or towards apex; the mandibles medially and the legs are red, the femora beneath and the tibiæ outwardly being clothed with a short, fine, dense, whitish pubescence.

Measurements: Length of body, ♂ 26.5 mm., ♀ 29 mm.; of pronotum, ♂ 7.5 mm.; ♀ 6.7 mm.; of hind femora, ♂ 20.5 mm., ♀ 21.5 mm.; of tegmina, ♂ 41 mm., ♀ 46 mm.; of ovipositor, 32 mm.

This is a very common insect in Ontario, ranging northward about far as Muskoka and the Bruce Peninsula. It frequents fields, vacant lots and roadsides, which resound at night with the incessant monotonous song, during late summer and autumn.

Scudder describes this song as composed of a succession of sounds like “chwi,” emitted at the rate of about five per second. He states that it stridulates only at night or during cloudy weather, but I have occasionally heard it in bright sunshine, in the afternoon. It is the most easily approached of all our locustarians while thus engaged, and is in fact difficult to find in any other way; hence the females are but seldom seen.

This genus contains the common large black field crickets and the house cricket, which has been introduced into this country from the Old World. But three species have been taken in Ontario. All of these are dimorphic as regards wing-length, the shor-winged from being the normal one in the field crickets, the long-winged form in the house cricket.

This subfamily includes the common field and ground circkets, and is represented in Ontario by two genera, Nemobius and Gryllus. These may be separated as follows:

a. Small species, last joint of maxillary palpi twice as long as the one preceeding; hind tibiæ furnished with long movable spines; first joint of hind tarsi unarmed above, or with one row of small teeth. Nemobius.

Noctua dislocata, n. sp.— Ground colour bluish, ash-gray, marked and more or less suffused with reddish. Head gray, tending to reddish on the vertex; palpi deep brown at the sides. Thorax mouse at fawn gray or reddish, immaculate. Primaries in a general way are gray to the middle of the wing and reddish beyond; but they may be an even reddish-gray throughout. All the normal maculation is present, but not contrasting. Basal line geminate; but the outer line is obscure and only the inner is dark brown and obvious. T. a. line narrow, brown, single, preceded by a narrow paler line, just a little outcurved between the veins and a little outcurved as a whole.

I submit herewith descriptions of 3 species and 3 varieties of Canadian diurnal Lepidoptera, speciments of which have been in my collection for many years, and of which a continued study convinces me that it is wise to characterize them for the benefit of other students of Canadian butterflies. It is possible that some of these may be only local races, but they are so constant that I believe them to be well worthy of recognition. In describing these forms, I have endeavorued to compare them with their nearest allies, as a description, even when accompained by a plate, is more intelligible when a new form can be compared with a well-known standard.

In Part I. of this paper Professor Jas. S. Hine has given a list of the Diptera of British Columbia in all the families except the Syrphidæ. While connected with the Minnesota University Seaside Station at Port Renfrew, on Vancouver Island, during ghe summers of 1901 and '02, the present writer paid especial attention, as far as time permitted, to the collection of Syrphids, hence the list of species in this family is much more complete than in other families which were picked up incidentally.

During the summers of 1901–2, while at the Minnesota Seaside Station of Vancouver Island, Professor Raymond C. Osburn collected a number of Diptera, and during the these same seasons and the past summer Professor R. V. Harvey, of The Queen's School at Vancouver, British Columbia, collected in the same order. Since so little has been published on the Diptera of that province, we have thought that even a short paper on the Dipterological fauna would be of interest and probably of some value.

Within the past few weeks I have received from the Rev. J. H. Keen a number of fresh specimens of larvæ and pupæ of Ægialites Californicus, Mots., or as it has been called for years, Æ. debilis, Mann. These had been taken by Mr. Keen somewhere in the vicinity of his home at Metlakatla, B.C., and were especially welcome to me sice they gave an opportunity for the study of the early stages of a beetle whose position has always been considered problematical.

Frons smooth and rounded, with the scales inclining downward, not closely appressed, erect on the vertex; labial palpi ascending, the second segment with more or less separated scales beneath, recalling the genus Choreutis, third segment a little shorter, naked and somewhat pointed; maxillary palpi present; proboscis very short; eyes hemispherical; ocelli absent; antennæ not quite half the length of the costa, ciliate, the ciliæ nearly as long as the diameter of the shaft; thorax with a small tuft at the end above.

In my former paper a preliminary discussion of certain genera in Geometridæ made plain the need for a general rearrangement of this group. But this cannot be done as regards all of the species without much close study and comparison of types. Therefore, I venture at this time only to outline what seems to me the most rational method of arrangement into sub-families and genera—to include new material and to correct many errors in definition, and in some cases identification of generic types, as given by Dr. Hulst (Trans. Am. Ent. Soc., xxiii., 245, 1896). I claim nothing original in my work, for I consider the general scheme, as devised by Dr. Hulst, the best that can be produced, nor do I need to add to his introduction of it, as given in the article referred to, except to say that I am strongly in accord with him when he states that this family are most nearly related to the Noctuidæ. In my arrangement of genera I place, therefore, Paleacrita at the head of the series.

The number of types given for this species as 3,500 is erroneous. The correct number is 3,430, as the Kaslo specimens number 3,425, not 3,495 as incorrectly written. A species as common as this has naturally been often taken before, and I may state that it is generally known as T. furfurata, Grt., but incorrectly so.

Near Monument Creek, Colorado Spirngs, my wife and I recently came across an undetermined species of Artemisia, about three feet high, bearing many Cecidomyiid galls. The flies emerged these galls on April 2, and as the species is new, it is herewith described:

Diplosis Coloradella n. sp.—♂. Length hardly 2 mm. Head black; thorax black, reddish posteriorly mesothorax with rows of black bristles; legs reddish-brown, suffused with dusky; abdomen narrow, reddish passing into yellowish, with long lateral hairs, genitalia darker, terminal joint of forceps stout; wings with a very long fringe; first vein reaching costa about or very slightly below middle of wing; third vein reaching the margin at the apex of the wing, but the apex is subtruncate, rather bulging below, so that the most distal point seems a little below the end of the vein; fifth vein forked beyond its middle, but its distal half reduced to mere shadowy lines; antennæ reddish, 15 (2+13) jointed, joints cylindrical, slightly constricted in the middle, pedicillate with very long hairs, terminal joint subacuminate.

Andrena tranchandrenoides, n. sp.

♀ and ♂ 10 mm. Presumbaly from British Columbia. A very remarkable species, with ochreous pubescence and legs partly pale. If it were nor for the character of the antennæ, this would have to be placed in Trachandrena.

The first guide to the bees of the “Great Northwest” is presented in the hope that it will encourage the collection and study of these interesting insects in a region which is only now beginning to yiedl its treasures in this department of science.

The species are, in the main, arranged from generalized to specialized types; the groups follow one another, as in the recently proposed scheme of Mr. Charles Robertson, whose papers on the classificatios of bees have appeared, with few exceptions in this journal.