EGG.—Long, narrow, fusiform, thickest in the middle, tapering about equally to either end ; the two ends nearly equal, small, blunt, the upper one rounded ; the sides marked by many low, narrow, longitudinal ribs, about 30 in number ; in shape much resembles egg of Colias Philodice, but the ribs are more numerous and less prominent, and there are no cross striæ. Color, when first laid, greenish-yellow; after a few hours turning to red. Duration of this stage in midsummer 2 to 3 days.

Eudamus Electra, n. sp.

Size of small Nisoniades Juvenalis. Primaries narrower than in Eudamus Pylades Scudd. ♀, more rounded on the costa, and more oblique on the hind margin. Secondaries rounded, not prolonged at the anal angle as in E. Pylades, nor excavated opposite the cell as in most of the Nisoniades.

General color dark brown, approaching that of E. Pylades ; the fringe concolorous with the terminal portion of the wings, a little paler at their tips.

Crambus sericinellus Zeller.

I am indebted to Professor Fernald for specimens of this species from Maine. It appears in two forms ; one in which the thorax and fore wings are pure satiny white, which, from Prof. Zeller's description and a specimen sent him for identification, is the typical sericinellus ; the other, in which the white is somewhat faded, having a slight yellowish or fuscous cast.

Among our native forest trees, none, unless it is the oak, suffer more from the depredations of insect enemies than the pine. Distributed as it is—from the Arctic to the Tropics—climatologically speaking, it becomes a prey to every conceivable form of insect life.

In 1860 Dr. Clemens described this pretty moth in the Proceedings of the Academy of Natural Sciences, Philadelphia, and since then it has been written on by Mr. P. Gennadius in the American Naturalist for January, 1874, and in the same year by C. V. Riley, in his 6th Missouri Report. It is well figured in the accompanying cut figure 6 (after Riley), in all its stages; a shows the larva, b the cocoons exposed by removal of the bark, c the moth, and d the chrysalis.

About three years ago I commenced the study of the “featherwings,” with the intention of preparing at some future time a monograph of the North American species of this family. While adhering to my original intention, I have decided to so far modify it as to publish in advance certain new species which have accumulated on my hands, and I am induced to this course the more because it may be a considerable time before sufficient material will have been obtained to justify me in publishing my general paper.

Cynips Q. pomiformis, n. sp.

Globular, polythalamous galls, sessile on the twigs of Quercus Agrifolia, much resembling small round apples except that the apex is not depressed as is usuaily the case in this fruit. Size from one to two inches in diameter. Color various shades of brown, depending upon the degree of exposure to the sun. The smoothish surface sometimes with a few small, hard, scattered wart-like points.

Among the generally accepted canons of nomenclature is the rule that if a description includes two or more species, it shall be valid for neither as against subsequent authors who discriminate the forms properly.

While all of us may not be willing to push this rule to its limit and reject the first name altogether, it certainly is a wholesome restriction against a custom which has prevailed in some quarters, notably in France, of making loose and indefinite descriptions, waiting until some more careful writer has separated one of the forms as distinct and named it, and then declaring that the latter was the species really intended by the indefinite description, thus at one stroke of the pen creating a synonym and finding a new species to be named.