The present is the first of a series of papers on the Tortricidæ of North America which the writer hopes to be able to prepare from the material now in hand, and collections that may be made hereafter by Entomologists in various parts of the country.

I was first led to the study of the Tortricidæ by the advice of Mr. A.R. Grote, who, with a generosity rarely met, placed his entire collection of Tortricids in my hands to work up, and further gave me his collection of European Tortricidæ for comparison, and loaned me his types for study. I fear I may never be able to make anything like an adequate return to this gentleman who has placed me under so great obligations.

Last summer, near the end of July, in skirmishing through a wood overgrown with White Snake-root weeds, I struck a large find of the Callimorpha interrupto-marginata moths, and collected some 50 specimens. Others collected as many more. The weeds were covered with their larvæ, of a bright yellow color, with a white lateral stripe, mottled along its upper edge with bright red, the anal end being also faced with red markings. The length about 1½inches. I collected altogether some 200 of them, but utterly failed to bring one to pupa. As they stopped feeding they were taken with a white scouring, leaving nothing but empty skins. Others tried them with like result. The bushes were also strung with their dead bodies. Still some must have escaped, as the brood this year was just as large. But the larvæ failed again to pupate. I think the fault is in the food plant, as cattle will not touch it, and such as are knocked off may take to other food and escape. Cannot some of your correspondents explain this?

The natural history of the interesting gall insects is still somewhat mysterious. A large number of observations have been made here and in Europe by prominent Entomologists; nevertheless, a careful study of the most detailed papers always gives the impression that something is still wanting to explain the various facts related by the authors. Among the Hymenopterous gall insects important progress was made in the discovery by the late B. Walsh of the dimorphism of C. q. spongifica and C. q. aciculata, the latter one a parthenogenetic species. But even here new observations are wanted to fill some gaps in the history of those species. Mr. W. F. Bassett, of Waterbury, Conn., draws my attention to the fact that in a letter in the Proc. Entom. Soc. Lond., April, 1873, p. xv., he “did state most emphatically his belief that all one-gendered gall flies were the alternate of a two-gendered brood from galls of a different form,”

The fact that Mr. Strecker has seen fit to misstate the circumstances under which this species was named has induced me to correct the impression he may have created as far as possible.

In the descriptional part (p. 30) we say : “We are indebted to Mr. J. W. Weidemeyer for the information respecting this singular little species, which, we believe, has not been hitherto described, while an excellent figure, shown us by Mr. S. Calverley, enables us to present the present description and to fix the species. It appears that Dr. Boisduval has etiquetted a specimen in his cabinet as Proserpinus Phaeton.”