A new solpugid from California

314 ENTOMOLOGICAL SOCIETY

out.

A

discussion followed,

introduced by

^{this note}

on

the re

semblance between

the Pacific

fauna and

that of

Europe, and

various explanations^forthe _similarity

shown were

_suggested.

The

first

paper was _{by Mr.} Ashmead, and was

entitled

u Some Remarks on

the Characteristics that Distinguish ^die

Families

of

Ants." The author

stated that

he had

separated the antsinto

seven

distinct families, ^fiveof

which had been

_previously

recognized

^assubfamilies,

and two were new

divisions. It

was

stated that thecharacters of the males, especially the genitalia,

were

particularly satisfactory,

enabling

^the

prompt

^{reference of}

specimens, but

^{that in the}

females and workers

the characters

were

less satisfactory.

The _paper was

illustrated

with

sketches

showing

^structure,

and examples

^{of the}

^seven

^families

were ex

hibited.*

The _paper was

discussed

by ^Messrs. Banks and

Pratt.

The

lattercalled attention to theuse of

Cephalotes

^{in Brazil as} food.

The second paper was by Mr. Banks, and was

entitled^:

A NEW SOLPUGID FROM CALIFORNIA.

By NATHAN BANKS.

Several years

ago Dr. A. Davidson,

^of

Los _Angeles,

Califor nia, sent

me

a small collection of

spiders,

and among ^them

^a

pretty^little

Solpugid. While _studying some Mexican

_species recently ^I

took

occasion to

examine

^this

_form,

_and,

on

its

prov

ing^to

be new, drew up

^the

following

description^:

Cleobiscalifornica,^n. sp.

Length

9

mm.,

^head 1.7

mm.

_long,broad 2

mm.,

^mandibles[plus^fin ger] 2.5

mm.

_long.

Head

yellowish, blackishon _posteriorsides,eyes on a black spot; mandibles _yellowish, the _fingers reddish; palpi pale, a broaddarkbandonthe middle of the metatarsus; legs pale,^allbut the firstpairinfuscatedabove on the femora,tibiae, and metatarsi;

abdomen

rather purplish, paler^{at base, a}mediandarker_stripe notdistinct. Front border of headcurved, but not as

much

as in

some

otherspecies; the eyes small, nearly twicetheir diameter _apart; median groove not very distinct; mandibles _{long, thefingers}long and ^slender,the upper one^has threeteethof nearly equal size,between the outertwoisasmaller one, and basadof the inneronethere areseveral on thefond of thejaw; ^the lower_fingerhas a large tooth near _base,thena

much

smallerone at its foot,and beyond ^isamedium-sizedtooth_;beyond ^{thislastthereareseven} denticles,giving thefinger a serrateappearance

when

seenfrom the_side;

*

The

_paperwillbe published elsewhere.

OF WASHINGTON. 315

themandibles are clothed with _stiff,reddish bristles; the_legsand _palpi areof the usual shape,and clothedwithmoderately short hairsand

some

spines; the triangularpiece atbase of venterhasadepressed area on its

posteriorpart,broadest behind, andits margin each ^{sideterminated} by^a deepindentation.

One _specimen, Los _Angeles,

California

[Davidson].

^{It is} easily distinguished

by

^{the serrate}

appearance

^{of the}

lower

_finger

[which does

^not

occur

in

any

^other species],

and by

the coloring of the _palpi.

Discussion followed by ^Messrs. Ashmead, Banks, and

^Marlatt relating

more

particularly^tostructuralcharacteristics

commented on by

^the

^author

of the paper,

and

particularly the value of the

man-

dibularteethofinsects in classification,

Mr. Ashmead _speaking

of theuseofthischaracteristic intheclassification of ants

by

^old

au

thorities_;

and

the modification or

wear

of theteeth in old _speci

mens was

also

noted and

the

important

modification

which wear sometimes

effects in the case of cicada larvae

two

or three years after

moulting was

described

by Mr.

^Marlatt.

The

third

paper was _{by Mr. Dyar,} and was

entitled:

DESCRIPTIONS OF THE LARVAE OF FIFTY NORTH AMER

ICAN NOCTUID^E.

By ^{HARRISON G. DYAR.}

The Noctuid

larvaehere described are

from

thecollectionof the

U.

S.

National Museum, ^and

^{are those of}

^which

descriptions

have

not

been

_previously

published

^to

my knowledge.

Unless otherwise

stated, the

head

is

rounded, almost

^as

high

as

wide, moderately

bilobed, the

clypeus reaching about

^half

way

to the vertex; slightly retracted

below

_joint 2. Cervical shield indistinct,notcornified.

Body

cylindrical,

abdominal

feetequally

developed on

joints 7 to 10

and

₁₃; joint 12 _not,or

but

_slightly, enlarged.

Tubercles normal,

single, ^iv

behind

the _spiracle,

about

_equally distant

from

iii

and

v or nearer to iii than to v.

The

longitudinal ^lines are the dorsal, situated centrally

on

the back,

unpaired

^; the subdorsal, half

way ^between

^{the dorsal}

^and

the _spiracles, paired^; the _lateral,

halfway between

^{the subdorsal}

and

the _spiracles, not

touching

^{the latter; the} suprastigmatal or stigmatal, just

touching

the tops of the spiracles or partly enclos ing

them and occupying

^{all the}

space between

the lateral

and

substigmatal lines; the substigmatal

running below

the _spiracles

and

_enclosing their

lower

_portion.

The

_ordinary linesare the