Though the larvæ and life-histories of several species of the Chrysomelid genus Donacia have been described more or less fully by European entomologists, I have been able to find but one such note in American entomological literature. In 1877 Dr. A. S. Packard gave a brief description of the larva and life-history of Donacia cincticornis, Newm., var. proxima, Kby., in the report of the U. S. Geological Survey for that year (p. 806), together with figures of the larva and cocoon (Pl. LXX., figs. 17–19) which he found on the roots of Nuphar advena.

Gastrophilus epilepsalis, n. sp.

Larva: Length, 1-12 inch; of the shape shown in the accompanying figure (Fig. 30), with twelve joints besides the head, or thirteen joints; head rounded, with two brown-black hooks, the side view of the cut showing only one of them; head a little longer than broad, rounded; the first incisure with a patch of bristles below the hooks, but not anywhere else; incisures 2 and 3 without bristles; incisures 4 to 12 armed with several rows of minute bristles, all very short except those on 12, pointing backward; joint 13 rounded. Extending back from the hooks and of the same colour, only in places paler, is a marking that seems to be a chitinoid support for the hooks, beneath the cuticle. Colour a dirty yellowish white.

In nearly all of our books relating to beneficial insects, published within the last twenty years, there is almost sure to be found, some where, the figure of a larva tragically devouring a smaller larva, the larger having been originally figured as that of Harpalus caliginosus. Although attention has for some time been called to the fact that the larva thus figured really belongs to another species, the true H. caliginosus being as yet unknown, yet the use of the figure in its old application still goes on. The carnivorous habits of the beetle itself, however, have been pointed out by Dr. Lintner, in his Twelfth Report, p. 209, where it is recorded as feeding on the army worm, and in Insect Life, p. 228, Vol. VII., as feeding upon grasshoppers. The writer has also observed it preying upon other insects. For this reason, notwithstanding its known fondness for seeds and grain, it has been looked upon, generally, as a beneficial species, its known vegetable food consisting either of seeds of no economic value, or the amount of grain being too small to be taken into consideration.

The Pyralid genus Dichogama has not yet been reported from United States territory on the mainland, but at least three species occur in southern Florida. The following notes were made on the larva of one of them, D. Redtenbacheri.

Stage II. (?)—Head flat before clypeus high, mouth pointed; luteous, ocelli black; width .4 mm. Body a little flattened, translucent, yellowish, a geminate lateral brown stripe. Cervical shield large, colourless, brown dotted on the tubercles and on lateral edge; anal plate small, not marked. Tubercles small, brown; setæ long, stiff, pale. Skin sparsely granular; segments scarcely annulate.

On the 14th June, at one of the excursions of the Ottawa Field Naturalists' Club to Cumberland, Ont., I was fortunate enough to find beneath an elm tree (Ulmus americana), a full-grown larva of Grapta J.Album, of which the following is a description:

Length, one and one-half inches. Shape slightly fusiform, gradually tapering to the end from fourth segment. General colour, a delicate glaucous green, or white washed with green—with black spines, which from the size of the body appear to be rather sparsely distributed. The three dorsal series of spines black, springing from a bright yellow field, which is three times the diameter of the base of the spine.

Hydrœcia rutila, Gn.

This was the next discovery of the season, and as work in former years had never unearthed more than one new larval condition per seasou, it became evident 1899 was being especially fortunate. We may well say unearthed, as it was actually necessary to do considerable digging to get at these fellows, so far down were they in roots below the surface. The preferred food-plant is Solidago sempervirens, a plant particularly local to the Atlantic seaboard, and it was naturally supposed we had to deal with an insect thus restricted in its range. Other things conspired to get ideas rather elevated, for it was not known, of course, before the moth appeared what species the larva might prove. There seemed an unusual feature in that among the numerous stems arising from one root cluster, when one was found infested, there would surely be two examples—no more, no less—found in the bunch. This happened in every case, and occurs so often as to lose the aspect of being any coincidence. Many times but one larva would be found at first; further searching, however, always disclosed a mate. Burrowing well down in the roots, they still have quite an extended gallery high up in the stem.

In re-examining the old slide from which the figure of venation (Can. Ent., XXV., 214) accompanying the original description of this genus was made, I see distinctly three internal veins in the hind wings. It would appear as if one of them must have been obliterated by the balsam in the fresh mount, or else an error of observation was made. The correction refers the genus to the Pyralidæ and, according to Hampson's classification, to the Epipaschiinæ, where it appears allied to the Indian genus, Cœnodomus, Wals. (Hamps. Trans. Ent. Soc., Lond., 1896, 467.) I would not lay any stress on the apparent presence of the accessory cell in Dyaria. Vein 10 runs so closely approximated to the stalk of 6–9 that it is impossible to be sure whether there is a true anastomosis toward the tip or not in the single specimen mounted.

Deltocephalus apicatus, n. sp.—Head and pronotum yellow; scutellum and elytra reddish fuscons, the latter with hyaline apex. Length to tip of elytra, ♀ and ♂, 3 mm.

Vertex about as long as width between the eyes, margin rounded, apex prominent; front with sides nearly parallel to below the antennæ, then curving sharply to the base of the clypeus; clypeus slightly narrowed to tip. Pronotum, width more than twice the length, lateral margin short, posterior margin straight. Elytra passing the abdomen, with fully formed apical areoles (macropterous), or reaching only to tip of abdomen, with the apical areoles very much abbreviated.