Family, Orthosiidæ, Guén. Cerastis anchocelioides, Guén. Township of Montcalm, June. Geometrina.-Family, Ennomidæ, Guén. Hyperetis alienaria, Herr Sch. Endropia refractaria, Guén. Township of Montcalm, June. tember. Azelina Hubneraria, Guén. Locality not recorded. Family, Boarmidæ, Guén. Cleora limitaria, Walker, M.S.S., n. sp. Sixteen-Island Lake, May. "Fœm. Albida; palpi nigri, brevissimi, caput pallo superantes; alæ antice lineis quinque dentatis undulatis nigris, fasciis tribus fuscente cinereis, 3a posticè abbreviata, linea marginali e punctis nigris; posticæ gutta discali, lineis duabus, exterioribus indistinctis." Walker, M.S.S. "Female. Whitish. Palpi black, very short, rising very slightly above the head. Antennæ pale cinereous. Forewings with five dentated, undulating black lines, and three brownish-cinereous bands, the third abbreviated behind: the marginal line spotted with black. Hind wings with a faint discal spot, and two exterior indistinct lines. Length of the body 4 lines; of the wings 141 lines." Cleora diversaria, Walker. Township of Montcalm, June. distinctaria, Walker. Sixteen-Island Lake, Montcalm, May. Boarmia converzaria, Walker, M.S.S., n. sp. Township of Montcalm, June. (Description omitted). inordinaria, Walker, M.S.S., n. sp. Township of Montcalm, June. (Description omitted). cunearia, Walker, M.S.S., n. sp. Abundant, Sixteen-Island Lake, Montcalm, May. (Description omitted). divisaria, Walker, M.S S., n. sp. Township of Montcalm, June. (Description omitted). "? patularia, Walker, M.S.S., n. sp. Very numerous, Sixteen-Island Lake, June. (Description omitted). Family, Acidalidæ, Guén. Acidalia junctaria, Walker, M.S.S., n. sp. Locality not recorded. "Fam. Candida; caput antice nigrum; palpi brevissimi; thorax antice testaceus; alæ nigro subconspersæ, lineis duabus testaceis indistinctis obliquis." "Female. Pure white. Head black in front. Palpi very short. Foreborder of the thorax testaceous. Legs slightly testaceoustinged. Wings very minutely black speckled with two indistinct oblique testaceous lines. Length of the body 4 lines; of the wings 11 lines." Walker, M.S.S. Family, Caberidæ. Corycia hermineata, Guén. Township of Montcalm, June. Family, Macaridæ. Macaria? subapiciaria, Walker, n. sp. Locality not recorded. "Mas. Albida, gracilis; palpi breves, subascendentes; antennæ pubescentes; alæ fusco densè conspersæ, litura discali fusca, punctis marginalibus nigris; anticæ lineis quatuor fuscis diffusis indistinctis nigricante notatis; postica angulatæ." "Male. Whitish, slender. Palpi short, slightly ascending, extending very little beyond the front. Antennæ pubescent. Wings thickly speckled with brown; discal mark brown; marginal points black. Forewings with four diffuse and very indistinct brown lines, which are distinguished by some blackish marks, and end on the costa in four blackish spots; the adjoining spaces more white than the wings elsewhere. Hind wings with the exterior border angular. Length of the body 5 lines; of the wings 14 lines." Walker, M.S.S Family, Larentidæ, Guén. Melanippe propriaria, Walker, M.S.S., n. sp. Common, Sugar-bush Lake, Montcalm, June. "Fam. Nigra; corpus subtus albidum; palpi porrecti, brevissimi; anticæ fascia exteriore lata nivea apud angulum interiorem subfurcata." "Female. Black, slender. Body and legs whitish beneath. Palpi porrect, very short, hardly extending beyond the front. Forewings with a broad exterior upright snow-white band, which is slightly furcate by the interior angle. Length of the body 3 lines; of the wings 10 lines." Walker, M.S.S. Cosemia? palparia, Walker, M.S.S., n. sp. Locality not recorded. "Mas. Cinerea fusco-conspersæ; palpi porrecti, longi, compressi, pilosi; alæ anticæ fascia obscure fusca lata albido marginata, extus undulata, intus postice dilatata, linea exteriore indistincta angulosa obscure fusca, gutta subapicali punctisque marginalibus nigris, fimbria albo punctata." "Male. Cinereous, brown-speckled. Palpi porrect, long, compressed, pilose, extending rather far beyond the head. Forewings with a broad dark brown band which is undulating, whitish-bordered and slightly angular on the outer side, and is diffuse on the inner side, except hindward, where it is dilated and whitish bordered, and forms a prominent angle; space near the exterior side of the band whitish, succeeded by an indistinct zigzag dark brown line, which is accompanied by a brown spot on each border; subapical dot and marginal points black; fringe with white points. Hindwings with a blackish marginal line. Length of the body 5 lines; of the wings 14 lines." Walker, M.S.S. Cidaria lactispargaria, Walker, M.S.S., n. sp. Abundant at SixteenIsland Lake, May. "Mas. Pallide fusca; palpi brevissimi; alæ linea alba undulata informe incompleta nigricante notata, punctis marginalibus nigris; antice litura discali nigricante, linea interiore nigra undulata." "Male. Pale brown. Palpi very short. Abdomen and hind wings cinereous, brown speckled; the former with a compressed apical tuft. Wings with an undulating irregular, incomplete blackish marked white line, and with black marginal points. Forewings with the middle part somewhat darker, with a blackish discal mark, and with a black interior, irregular, undulating line. Length of the body 5 lines; of the wings 13 lines." Walker, M.S.S. Pyralidina. Family, Botydæ, Guén. Botys magniferalis, Walker, M.S.S., n.sp. June. Sugar-bush Lake, Montcalm, "Mas. Alba, subiridescens; palpi extus fusci; thorax fusco subconspersus; abdomen fusio fasciatum; alæ anticæ fusco variæ, maculis duabus magnis anticis fuscis, fimbria fusco inter lineata; postica fusco conspersæ." “Male. White, slightly iridescent. Palpi brown on the outer side. Thorax slightly speckled with brown. Abdomen with irregular dark brown bands. Forewings excepting the discal part mottled with brown; two large brown spots extending from the costa to the disk, the inner one narrower than the outer one and not half its length; fringe diffusedly interlined with brown. Hindwings irregularly speckled with brown. Length of the body 5 lines; of the wings 14 lines." Walker, M.S.S. Eubulea tertialis, Guén. This is the species mentioned at p. 95 of Volume V, as so abundant on Raspberry blossoms in July, at Bevin's Lake, Montcalm. NOTE.-The new species mentioned above without descriptions, will probably be described in the British Museum Catalogues of the Geometrina now publishing. The following three species of Neuroptera were determined for me at the British Museum : Polystachotes nebulosus, Fabr. (sticticus, Buin.) and Osmylus validus, Walker. This fine insect is very numerous in August in the present district, and also about Montreal near water. It flies at all hours of the night, often dashing into one's face, and with its large soft, gauzy wings communicates a very unpleasant sensation, especially to a solitary watcher by a lonely camp fire in the backwoods. It closes its wings and falls head foremost to the ground immediately it strikes against any object, and remains motionless for a few seconds before again taking wing. It is much attracted to light. Hermes maculatus. Common, flying by day in July the whole way up the Rouge. I have also taken it at Sorel, and it occurs in the Eastern Townships. It generally hovers over the water. Panorpa subfurcata. Observed at Bevin's Lake, Montcalm; Huckleberry Rapids, De Salaberry; and Hamilton's Farm; July to September. Although the Diptera are so very numerous, not only in species but in individuals, that they are without exaggeration the worst evils of back-woods life, witness the various species of "Deer-fly" (Tabanus), Golden-eye (Chrysops), "Black-fly" (Simulium), Mosquito (Culex), and "Sand-fly," all of which are more or less annoying. I am sorry to say I collected but a few specimens some of which were destroyed and most of the others I have been unable to determine. The Hymenoptera collected will be noticed elsewhere. Exeter, Devonshire, June 2nd, 1860. ARTICLE IV.—On the occurrence of Freshwater Shells in some of our Post Tertiary Deposits. By ROBERT BELL. (Presented to the Natural History Society of Montreal.) The various deposits described in the following paper are of different ages and have been formed under very different circumstances, but are arranged under the same head for the sake of convenience. MONTREAL. Early in the spring of 1858 I accompanied Mr. D'Urban, who has done much for the cause of Natural History in Canada, on several excursions to collect fossils at the localities in the vicinity of Montreal where drift shells had been discovered. In examining the sides of Mr. Peel's clay pits, which are excavated in the 120 feet terrace, we discovered a few specimens of Limnæa caperata, Say, in place, in a thin layer of sand immediately above the Leda clay and more than three feet below the surface of the ground, which is level at the place. In the same bed with these fresh water shells Saxicava rugosa, Tellina grænlandica, Mya arenaria, Mya truncata and Mytilis edulis are associated; and in the clay immediately underlying it Leda Portlandica was found, but not in any abundance. About the same time that this Limnæa was found at Mr. Peel's brick yard, I received a fine specimen of Limnæa umbrosa, Say, from Sir Wm. Logan, who obtained it from the thin bed of sand at the same locality. A Cyclas and L. umbrosa were found by Dr. Dawson amongst marine shells thrown out of a ditch on Logan's Farm.* I have collected specimens of the latter at the same place and believe them to be contemporaneous with the marine shells. I might mention that the ponds on the highest part of Montreal Mountain, about 700 feet above the level of the sea, teem with Limnæa umbrosa and L. caperata, besides numerous other species of our common fresh water Gasteropods. Ponds, with all these species living in them, may have existed in the same situation when Montreal Mountain was an island in the sea which covered the surrounding plain, and from them the rills running down its sides may have carried the specimens found in the sand which was then being deposited around its base. GREEN'S CREEK. Green's Creek enters the Ottawa in the Township of Gloucester, on the south side, about ten miles below Ottawa City. Here, the Leda clay has afforded a larger number and more interesting variety of fossils than at any other locality. At low water, which is generally in the month of September, the shore of the Ottawa for about two miles from the mouth of the creek upwards, is strewn with nodules of all manner of curious shapes washed from the base of the steep bank of clay which rises from high water mark. In looking over the collection of nodules from this locality in the Museum of the Geological Survey, I found two specimens of Limnæa stagnalis, one of our commonest living species. Both had been partially filled with clay, now a hard stone, while they still retained their original shape. With the exception of the splendid Limnæa megasoma, which inhabits the Ottawa valley, this is the largest species in Canada. It was called L. jugularis by Say, but is identical with the European L. stagnalis. One meets with these shells in almost every warm marsh or pond on the south side of the Ottawa, and it is interesting to know that their progenitors lived in this country while the Leda clay was being deposited and a deep sea covered their present abode. • Canadian Naturalist, vol. iv. p. 36, vol. 11, p. 422. |