OF WASHINGTON. 75 been bred by Sichel from the same host, and named and labeled by Dr. Arnold Foerster. Doctor Howard stated that three stations have been established in Russia and one in France for feeding gipsy and brown-tail moth larvae in numbers in order to attract parasites to them. Doctor Howard then exhibited and explained an extensive series of photographs showing many of the interesting points along the journey. The following papers have been presented and accepted for publication : A PRELIMINARY REVIEW OF THE CLASSIFICATION OF THE ORDER STREPSIPTERA. By W. X) WIGHT Pierce. Having practically completed the manuscript for my paper entitled " A monographic revision of the Order Strepsiptera Kirby " I am particularly desirous of paving the way for the classification therein proposed by publishing a brief synopsis of the general character of that classification. The order was established by Kirby in 1813 and has subse-quently been shifted from one position to another by various writers. The group has been placed in the Hymenoptera, Diptera, Coleoptera, and Neuroptera, and has been given ordi-nal value under the names of Rhipidoptera, Rhipiptera, and Rhiphiptera. The usual position has been to rank the group as the family Stylopidse in the Coleoptera Heteromera. This is obviously false, for the Strepsiptera are all isomerous. The Tertiary genus Mengea points out clearly the divergence of the group at that time and gives a strong basis for ordinal rank. The system of hypermetamorphosis, which is far more complicated than in any other order, the highly developed nervous system, the reduction of the prothorax, and many other characteristics, prove its claim to the highest rank. The proofs are given in detail in the forthcoming paper. Order STREPSIPTERA Kirby, 1813. An order of hypermetamorphic endoparasites with highly specialized reduction of certain functional organs, great spe-
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