Insects and
Spiders

An extensive exhibit has been installed in the Hall of Insects, which consists of representative specimens illustrating the insect fauna of the northeastern United States. Pages from the "Field Book of Insects," by Dr. Lutz, are used as labels for this exhibit, and by this unique method the value to the student is greatly increased. Coöperation with specialists outside of the Museum has been continued with mutual advantage, especially in the case of the New York Entomological Society, which has charge of the Collection of Local Insects. The collections at large are in better condition than ever before, and their growth during the last year has been greater than the average of 50,000 per annum for the last decade. The staff have been unusually successful in caring for the current accessions, and in the prosecution of their researches. Dr. Bequaert has continued his services as a temporary assistant. Mr. A. C. Kinsey, of the Bussey Institution, has devoted considerable time to the arrangement of the cynipid wasps and the characteristic galls made by them, especially on oaks and roses; his important papers concerning these insects and the curious alternation of generations in their life history will be published in the Bulletin. Mr. Carl Heinrich, of the United States Department of Agriculture, spent three weeks at the Museum arranging the Kearfott Collection of Microlepidoptera which the Museum acquired several years ago, partly by purchase and partly by gift. In general, these are the moths whose larvæ roll leaves or live inside the substance of leaves or stems. This collection contains a great many type specimens, but, aside from that feature, its importance in facilitating the work of identifying subsequently received material is its completeness, as indicated by the fact that, in the family Olethreutidæ, it contains 485 of the 533 species listed from the United States. The collection was received in a somewhat confused condition, but Mr. Heinrich's work makes it available for use.

Field Work

Curator Crampton, after a brief period of field-work in the Yosemite Valley during the early summer, proceeded to the Society Islands in Polynesia, for the purpose of completing certain field investigations on variation, distribution and evolution in the case of the land mollusks of the genus Partula. Work was carried on mainly in Moorea, an island near Tahiti, with results far beyond expectation in their value and significance. The volume dealing with the Moorean species and their progressive evolution under natural conditions is nearing completion. Dr. Lutz took the field in the prosecution of the survey west of the 100th meridian, a line of work that was initiated in 1916 by studies in the vicinity of Tucson, where there are mountains somewhat isolated by plains of the Lower Sonoran faunal area. This year nearly three months were spent by Dr. Lutz in Colorado, who obtained material from a number of localities ranging from typical Upper Sonoran plains to the snow line. This work was made possible partly by the generosity of Dr. Pearce Bailey; and Dr. Lutz had the volunteer assistance of Messrs. Herbert F. Schwarz and Pearce Bailey, Jr. More than 23,000 specimens were secured, and these have all been mounted and will soon be ready for study. In our chosen field of the West Indies, through the generosity of Mr. B. Preston Clark, Mr. Watson is engaged in supplementing the work done by Mr. Grossbeck in Jamaica. As Mr. Grossbeck's collecting was done in early spring and Mr. Watson visited Jamaica in December, we are certain to secure most interesting additions to our material from this island, which is, to some extent, the key to the problems concerned with distribution in the West Indies. Mr. Arthur Jacot spent a month during the summer in field-work in the vicinity of New York, collecting an extensive series of the marine and fresh-water Mollusca from characteristic localities of the neighborhood.

Research and Publication

Unusual success has been attained in the field of research, both on the part of members of the departmental staff and also by collaborators who have generously given their time and energy to working up collections belonging to the Museum. The Curator has made substantial progress on the second volume of the series dealing with evolution in the genus Partula. Mr. Miner has continued his work on the bibliography and synonymy of the myriapods and has also virtually completed a paper on a fossil representative of the group. Dr. Lutz, with the coöperation of Professor Cockerell, has completed a notable work on the taxonomy and distribution of the higher bees of North America. Dr. Van Name has continued his investigations on the ascidians of the West Indies. Mr. Mutchler has coöperated with Dr. Lutz in compiling an extensive annotated list of the type specimens of insects, other than Lepidoptera and ants, in the Museum collections. Mr. Watson has made progress in his studies on Lepidoptera. The record of completed researches, as given below, is most noteworthy; the papers already published and now in press deal mainly with the Congo Collections, and in some cases with the material obtained by the Crocker Land Expedition, although several others are listed. The accomplishment, as regards papers published in the Bulletin for 1919 or ready for publication, is as follows:

C. P. Alexander, "Tipulidæ of the American Museum Congo Expedition," in press; F. C. Baker, "Mollusca of the Crocker Land Expedition to Northwest Greenland and Grinnell Land"; F. C. Baker, "Fresh Water Mollusca from Colorado and Alberta"; N. Banks, "Neuroptera, Panorpata and Trichoptera collected by the American Museum Congo Expedition," in press; W. S. Blatchley, "Insects of Florida. Va. Supplementary Notes on the Water Beetles"; T. D. A. Cockerell, "Some Neotropical Bees," in press; J. W. Folsom, "Collembola from the Crocker Land Expedition, 1913-1917"; T. H. Frison, "Report on the Bremida Collected by the Crocker Land Expedition, 1913-1917"; R. A. Hoagland, "Polychatous Annelids from Porto Rico, the Florida Keys