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THE INSECT BOOK

The iNsircT Book.

Plate I.

Plate I.
BEES AND ANTS

fiG.
I.

2.

3-
4-

5-
6.

7-

lo.
II.

12.

14.

J5-

FIG.

Evania appendigaster 16.

Discolia nobilitata 17.

Discolia bicincta 18.

Camponotus pennsylvanicus 19.

Sphaerophthalma ferruginea 20.

Myzine sexcincta^ 21.

Discolia dubia 22.

Camponotus pennsylvanicus 23.

Sphaerophthalma occiden- 24.

talis $ 25.

Myzine sexcincta $ 26.

Dielis plumipes 27.

Chrysis parvula 28.

Sphaerophthal na occiden- 29.

talis <? 30-

Cerceris clypeatus 31.
Cerceris nigrescens

Chrysis smaragdula
Colletes hyalinata
Pseudoplisus phaieratus
Astatus sayi
Apis mellifica
Melissodes
Xylocopa virginica
Megachile latimanus
Bembex spinolae
Ceratina dupla
Bombus ternarius
Halictus flavipes
Epeolus remigatus
Bombus pennsylvanicus
Bombus americana ?
Bombus americana ^

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6;>L

THE INSECT BOOK

A POPULAR ACCOUNT OF THE BEES,
WASPS, ANTS, GRASSHOPPERS, FLIES
AND OTHER NORTH AMERICAN
INSECTS EXCLUSIVE OF THE
BUTTERFLIES, MOTHS AND BEETLES,
WITH FULL LIFE HISTORIES, TABLES
AND BIBLIOGRAPHIES

BY

LELAND O. HOWARD, Ph. D.

rORMER CHIEF OF THE DIVISION OF ENTOMOLOGY, U. S. DEPARTMENT OF AGRICULTURE

Garden City New York
DOUBLEDAY, DORAN & COMPANY, INC.

1937

t^

n

COPYRIGHT, igOI, 1923, BY

DOUBLEDAY, PAGE & COMPANY

ALL RIGHTS RESERVED, INCLUDING THAT OF TRANSLATION

INTO FOREIGN LANGUAGES, INCLUDING THE SCANDINAVIAN

PRINTED IN THE UNITED STATES

AT

THE COUNTRY LIFE PRESS, GARDEN CITY, N. Y.'

INTRODUCTION.

The story of the development of the literature concerning
American insects is of remarkable interest. While we have had
no great literary masters like Huber, Fabre, or Maeterlinck to cele-
brate in immortal prose the marvels of insect life, we have had such
an army of workers in the fields as no other country has ever known.
The results of their devoted labors are so scattered in innumerable
annals, bulletins, reports, and proceedings, that it requires the ser-
vices of a bibliographer to bring them all to light. But fortunately
there are a few treasured volumes in which men and women of
training and vision have brought together in a form readily to be
understood by the layman the more important results of these re-
searches of the specialists.

In this limited treasury of insect literature Doctor Howard's
Insect Book has long held an important place, and it is fortunate
that this popular edition is being published to diffuse more generally
our knowledge of the life histories of the interesting insects of which
it treats. That the record should be written by the man who has
been the chief inspiration and guide in our advancing knowledge is
a hazard of good fortune for which we all may be duly grateful.

The time has long since passed when within the compass of a
single book one could tell the story of existing knowledge of insect
lives as it was told nearly a century ago in the classic pages of
"Insects Injurious to Vegetation" by Thadeus William Harris.
This volume, which has been the first text book of generations of
students, covered all the orders and told most of what was then
known of American Insects — a feat which was possible only be-
cause of the limitations of that knowledge. Doctor Howard has
wisely eliminated from his scheme of treatment two of the most
important orders — one of the Beetles and the other of the Moths
and Butterflies— in order to give fuller information concerning the
others. And, fortunately, among these others are many of the most
curious and interesting forms of insect life. In some of these
groups the author has long held unchallenged preeminence as our
leading specialist. And so it happens that he is able to give to
many pages of this book the vividness of description and directness

Introduction

of Statement possible only to the original observer. To his keen-
ness of vision he has added a wonderful knowledge of the literature
of the subject and a willingness always to give generous credit to
other investigators.

It seems strange that a people so boastfully practical as we
Americans take pride in being should permit tiny creatures to rob
us of billions of dollars worth of property and kill directly or in-
directly great numbers of our population. We pay little or no at-
tention to the subject in the education of our youth. During the
last quarter century the attention of teachers and pupils in our
schools when turned toward nature has been chiefly focused —
through books — upon the larger forms of animal life no longer gen-
erally available for direct observation, to the complete neglect of
even more wonderful creatures probably living within the confines
of the school yard. And so it happens that the San Jose Scale can
sweep through the country and destroy millions of fruit trees or the
Gypsy Moth Caterpillars can bring death to forests and orchards
with almost no attempt on the part of the general public to prevent
the damage.

It is sincerely to be hoped that in the near future educators
will realize to an increasing extent that any adequate programme
of school work involves a broad conception of the relation of each
child to his environment. A knowledge of Nature should be a
fundamental part of his school experience and should be as broad
and vital as possible. Every one knows that young children have
an instinctive interest in all living things, both plants and animals.
For generations the schools have been doing practically nothing
to give children an opportunity to develop this instinct by experi-
ence with living things during their school course. This is true
to a very great extent to-day, although every one acknowledges
that one of the great reforms in modern education was started by
Froebel, when he devised the kindergarten as the basis of children's
education, and the main idea of the kindergarten was that each
child should have real experience with living things.

There is abundant reason for believing that the point of view
of the nature work in the lower grades should be that of direct ac-
quaintance— making through sense impressions and motor reac-
tions. The more extended such an acquaintance the better,
provided sufficient attention is given that all the images be firmly
fixed in the pupils' minds. Pupils come to the kindergarten and

Introductioa

lowest primary grades at an age when activity is their most im-
portant characteristic, and they have an instinctive interest in the
activities of insects, birds and higher animals.

When pupils pass from the primary to what for convenience
we may call the intermediate grades— about the fourth and fifth
years of school— it seems desirable to change decidedly the point
of view. The activity now should have some purpose to which the
pupils will respond. In my experience these years are the ones
in which to center the nature work on various phases of gardening
—flowers, vegetables, grains, fruits, trees— and to correlate such
gardening activities with language, drawing, arithmetic, geography,
reading, and other studies. From a set of garden plots one can
take up a great variety of special topics which will be of vital in-
terest, none of which is likely to be of more importance than that
of the economic relations of insects. The child who finds a host
of little creatures destroying his precious crops has an intensive
interest in learning the life story of each pest and the methods of
preventing its injuries. Before he studies the subject very long
he will find that no insect lives for itself alone, but that rather it
has numberless relations with other forms of living things. For
a boy or girl to get this great fact definitely in mind is a real educa-
tional experience and few books ever written are more likely to
help in such an achievement than this one by Doctor Howard.
For the relations of insects to one another depend largely upon the
fact that they live so freely at the expense of their fellows. Nearly
every injurious insect has a host of predaceous and parasitic enemies
which tend to keep it in subjection, and a knowledge of these ene-
mies is necessary for the successful control of the pest itself.
Numerous life histories are here recorded of these little creatures
that prey upon their kindred and the intricate stories of their lives
are more wonderful than many an imagined fairy tale. A great
naturalist once said that the devices by which flowers are modified
for purposes of cross fertilization are more intricate than the mind
of man could invent and certainly one who studies the lives of in-
sects soon concludes that the adaptations to existence shown by
these tiny beings are still more marvelous.

It has often happened that acquaintance with the intricate
devices by which insects conduct their lives is helpful in the prac-
tical working out of problems or controlling the injuries of plant-
feeding species. A notable example of this has recently come to

Introduction

light through the researches of some of Doctor Howard's associates
upon the parasites of such pests as the Gypsy and Brown Taif
Moths. Among the most interesting of these parasites are certain
flies called Tachina flies. It was supposed that the life histories
of the various species of these flies were similar and that the mother
fly simply deposited an egg upon the skin of the caterpillar, the egg
hatching into a tiny larva that burrowed through to the inside of
the host and there lived until the latter died. But it was found
that this life history would not fit the facts in the case of some of
these parasites imported from foreign lands. A careful study of
the literature of the subject showed that a Japanese Entomologist
named Sasaki had made a curious discovery in regard to a Tachina
parasite of the silk worm in the Orient. He found that in this
case the mother fly laid the eggs upon the leaves of the food plant
and that these eggs were swallowed by the silk worms with the leaf
particles and hatched into larvae within the bodies of the worms.
Here they developed until they killed their hosts, and themselves
changed to chrysalids to change later to adult Tachina flies.
Thinking that some such habit might prove true of these gypsy
moth parasites, Dr. C. H. T. Townsend made a careful study of
the subject and discovered that this same habit held good in the
case of the imported Tachinids. As a consequence he was able
to trace the obscure life histories of other flies and to develop meth-
ods of distributing and colonizing the parasites which were of great
practical use.

Probably history will record that one of the greatest achieve-
ments in Doctor Howard's long career as Government Entomolo-
gist has been the working out of practical methods of such natural
control of injurious insects. He has sent his agents all over the
habitable globe in search of the enemies of various pests and he
has had a host of workers actively colonizing them in many parts of
America. The results have already been of incalculable value,
with the prospect that in the future this method will become one
of the most useful ways in which the injuries of destructive insects
may be generally prevented.

While the study of the discoveries already made by others is
of greatest value and interest to everyone, the chief zest in the
pursuit of knowledge by the human mind is found in the learning of
facts never known before. One of the notable features of this book
is that it not only gives typical life histories in nearly all of the

Introductioo

groups considered, but that it also points the way to new discoveries
in the cases of many insects whose hfe stories have yet to be com-
pletely told. For nearly a generation the author has been in com-
mand of a small army of investigators whom he has been directing
in just this sort of discovery, so it is not strange that his leadership
in this field should be of great valueito the readers of this book.

To the general reader, as well as to the pupils in the schools and
their teachers, the stories of insect lives will be of special interest;
but to the serious student who wishes to undertake the study of
certain groups, the synoptic tables given in the following pages will
prove most helpful guides. They are the charts which each
voyager must consult in attempting to sail through the intricate
seas of insect nomenclature and they will lead into safe havens in
which to classify the treasures of his collections. It is fortunate
that in the Bureau of Entomology at Washington and the National
Museum with which it is so closely connected, there should be
specialists in all the leading orders of insects, many of whom have
helped in the making of these synoptic tables. The references to
the literature of each important group will also prove of much as-
sistance to those interested in further study of the subject, while
the chapter on collecting and preserving insects will prove a source
of help and inspiration not only to the beginner but also to many
of longer experience.

It seems certain that this new issue of one of the most valuable
books in the admirable series of the Nature Library will be widely
welcomed by the American public. Its authoritativeness and the
mechanical perfection of its illustrations and general make-up com-
bine to give it an enviable position upon the select list of worth-
while books upon popular science.

Clarence M. Weed.
State Normal School,
Lowell, Massachusetts,

Aug. 18, 1922.

IX

TABLE OF CONTENTS

PAoa

Introduction • ^

List of Plates xix

List of Text Illustrations xxi

Order Hymenoptera *

Table of Suborders and Superfamilies .... 2

The True Bees (Superfamily Apoidea) ... 4

Life History of a Bumble Bee (Bombus fervidus) . 12

Wasps '^

The Solitary Wasps (Superfamily Sphecoidea) . . 18
Life History of a Digger Wasp (Sphecius spectosus

Say.) 22

The Social Wasps and Their Allies (Superfamily

yespoidea) 25

Typical Life History }}

Life History of a Parasitic Wasp (L(Blius trogoder-

matis) 34

The Ants (Superfamily Formicoidea) ... 37

Typical Life History 48

The Proctotrypoid Parasites (Superfamily Proctotry-

poidea) 49

The Gall-Flies (Superfamily Cynipoidea) ... 53

The Chalcis Flies (Superfamily Chalcidoidea) . . 56
Life History of a Chalcis Fly ( Euplectrus comstocki

How.) 57

The Ichneumon Flies (Superfamily Ichneumonoidea) 61
Life History of an Ichneumon Fly ( Pimpla inqui-
sitor) 64

The Horn-Tails (Superfamily Siricoidea) ... 69

Life History of a \\ovn-l 2a\ ( Phylloecus integer) . 71

The Saw-Flies (Superfamily Tenthredinoidea) . . 73
Life History of the Pear Slug ( Eriocampoides

limacina) 7^

The True Flies (Order Diptera) 79

51680

Table of Contents

Page

Table of the Higher Groups 83

The Crane Flies (Family Tipulidce) .... 94

Life History of a Crane Fly ( Bittacomorpha

clavipes) 95

Families Dixidce and Sienoxenidce .... 97

Mosquitoes (Family Ciilicidce) .... 98

Life Histary of a Mosquito (Culex pungens) . 104

The Moth Flies (Family Psychodidce) . . . 108

The Midges (Family Chironomidce) . . . no

Life History of a Midge {Chironomiis minutus) in

IhQ GaW-GndXs {¥iim\\y Cecidomyiidce) . . . ii)

Life History of a Gall-Gnat ( Cecidomyta legumini-

cola) n 5

^\mg\isGx\2Xs>{?2cm^y Mycetophilidx) . . . w]

The March Flies (Family Bibionidce) . . . n9
The Black Flies and Buffalo Gnats (Family Simulii-

dce) 120

Life History of a Black Fly ( Similium pictipes) . 121
Families Orphnephilidce, Blepharoceridce and Rhy-

phidce 124

The Snipe Flies (Family LeptidceJ . . . . 126

Soldier Flies (Family Strattomyiidce) . . . 128

Family Acanthomeridce 130

The Gad-Flies or Horse-Flies (Family 7^^a«/^^^ . 131

Life History of a Gad-Fly (Tabanus atratiis) . 132
The Small-Headed Flies and the Tangle-Veined Flies

{?ami\\es, Acrocerid(^3iX\d. Nemestrtnid(^) . . 134

Families Mydaidce and Apioceridce . . . . 136

The Bee-Flies (Family Bombyliidce) . . . . 137

Life History of a Bee-Fly (Systoechus oreas) . 138
The Window-Flies and Stiletto Flies (Families See-

nopinidce and Therevtdce) . . . . 139

The Robber Flies (Family Asilidce) .... 141
The Dance Flies and the Long-Legged Flies (Families

Empididce and Dolichopodidce) . . . 144

The Spear-Winged Flies (Family Lonchopteridce) . 146

The Hump-Backed Flies (Family Phoridce) . . 147

Life History of the Ant-Decapitating Fly (Apoce-

phalus pergandei) 147

Table of Contents

The Fiat-Footed Flies and the Big-Eyed Flies

(Families Platypeiidcv and PipunciilidcB)
The Syrphus-Flies (Family Syrphidcv)
The Thick-Headed Flies (Family Conopidce)
The Bot-Flies (CEstridcv)

Life History of a Bot-Fly ( Hypoderma lineata)
The Tachina Flies (Family Tachinidce)
The Nimble Flies (Family Dexiidce)
The Flesh Flies (Family Sarcophagidce)
The House Fly and Its Near Relations (Family

Muscidce) ....

Life History of the House Fly (Musca domes-

iica)

The Anthomyia Flies (Family Anthomyiidce )

The Dung Flies (Families Scatophagidce and Het-

eroneuridce)

Families Helomy:{idce, Phycodromidce and Sciomy-

:{idce)

Families Sapromyiidce, Lonchceidce and Orialidce
The Fruit and Gall Flies (Family Trypeiidce) .
Families Mtcrope{tdce, Sepsidce, Psilidce and Diop

sidce

The Salt Water Flies (Family Ephydrtdce)
The Grass-Stem Flies (Family Oscinidce)
The Little Fruit Flies (Family Drosophilidce) .
Families Geomyiidce, Agromyiidce and Borboridce
The Bird-Ticks (Family HippoboscidceJ
The Bat-Ticks (Family NycteribiidcB)
Fleas (Order Siphonaptera)

Life History of the Cat and Dog Flea (Pulex
serraticeps)
The Caddis-Flies (Order Trichoptera)
Table of Families ....
Family Phryganeidce
Family Limnephilidce
Family RhyacophU'.dcB
Family Hydropiilidce
Family Sericostomatidce .
Family Leptoceridce
Family Hy dropsy chidce .

FAGB

49
50
54
55
55
58
62

63
66

67
71

73

74

75
77

79
82

83
85

87
88

90
91

93
95
97
98

99
200
201
202
203
204

Table of Contents

Pa«b

The Scorpion Flies (Order Mecoptera) .... 206

Family Panorpidce 307

Life History of a Scorpion Fly ( Panorpa rufes-

cens) 207

The Lace-Winged Insects ^Order Neuroptera) . . 209

Table of Families 210

The Dobson and Its Family (F.»mily Sialidce) . . 211

Life History of the Dobson (Corydalis cornuta) 2\2

The Snake-Flies (Family Raphidiidce) . . . 216

The False Rearhorses (Family M7////s/)/V/^^ . . 217

The Dusty-Wings (Family Coniopterygidce) . . 218

The Ant-Lions (Family Myrmeleonidce) . . . 219

The Aphis-Lions (Family Hemerobiidce) . . . 221
The Golden-Eyed Lace-Winged Flies (Family Chry-

sopidce) 222

Life History of the Golden-Eye (Chrysopa

oculata) 224

Plant-Lice, Scale Insects, True Bugs, Etc. (Order Hemip-

tera) 226

Table of Suborders 227

Suborder Homoptera 22%

Table of Families 229

The Harvest Flies or Cicadas (Family Cicadidce) . 231
Life History of the Seventeen- Year Locust

(Cicada septendecim) .... 2}^
The Lantern Flies and Their Allies (Family Fulgori-

dcB) 235

Life History of the Frosted Lightning Hopper

(Ormenis pruinosa) 236

The Tree Hoppers (Family Membracidce) . . 237
Life History of the Buffalo Tree Hopper {Ceresa

bubalus) 239

The Frog-Hoppers or Spittle Insects (Family Cerco-

pidce) 241

The Leaf-Hoppers (Family Jassidx) . . . 243
Life History of a Leaf-Hopper ( Deltocephalus

inimicus) 245

The White Flies or Aleyrodids (Family AleyrodidcB) 246

Life History of a White Fly (Aleyrodes citri) . 247

Scale Insects (Family Coccidx) .... 350

xiv

Table of Contents

Life History of the Oyster-Shell Bark-Louse of

the Apple (Mytilaspis pomorum) . . 255

The Jumping Plant-Lice or Flea-Lice (Family Psyllidce 259
Life History of the Pear Tree Psylla ( Psylla

pyricola) 260

Plant-Lice (Family Aphididce) .... 262

Life History of the Hop Plant-Louse (Phorodon

hnmuli) 265

The True Bugs (Suborder Heteroptera) .... 269

Table of Families . 270

The Water Boatman (Family Corixidce) . . . 273

The Back Swimmers (Family Notonectidce) . . 275

The Water Scorpions (Family Nep/dcv) . . . 276

The Giant Water Bugs (Family Belostomatidce) . 278

The Creeping Water Bugs (Family Naiicoridce) , 280

The Toad Bugs (Family Galgultdce) . . . 281

The Marsh Treaders (Family Umnobatidce) . . 282

The Water Striders (Family Hydrometridce) . . 283

Life History of a Water Strider ( Hydrometra

lineata) 285

The Flower Bugs (Family Anthocoridce) . . . 287

The Bed-Bug Family (Family Cimictdce) . . 288

Life History of the Bed-Bug ( Ciniex lectularius) 289

The Shore Bugs (Family Saldidce) . . . . 291

The Thin-Winged Bugs (Family Henicophalidce) . 2()2

The Assassin Bugs (Family Rediiviidce) . . . 293

Life History of the Wheel-Bug (Arilus cristaius) 294

The Ambush Bugs (Family Phymatidce) . . . 297

The Flat Bark-Bugs (Family Aradidce) ... 298

The Lace Bugs (Family Tingiiidce) .... 299

Life History of the Hawthorn Lace-Bug {Cory-

thuca arcuaia) 300

The Leaf-Bugs (Family Capsidce) .... 301

Life History of a Leaf-Bug ( Pcecilocapsus

lineatus) 302

The Squash-Bug and Its Allies (Family Coreidce) . 304

Life History of the Squash-Bug ( Anasa tristis) 30$
The Cotton Stainer and Its Allies (Family Pyrrhoco-

ridx) 307

sv

Table of Contents

paos

Life History of the Cotton Stainer (Dysdercus

suturelhis) 308

The Stilt Bugs (Family Berytidce) .... 309

The Chinch Bug Family (Family Lygmdce) . . 310
Life History of the Chinch Bug (Blissus leucop-

terus) 311

The Stink-Bugs and Their Allies (Family Tentato-

midce) 313

Life History of a Stink-Bug (Podisus cyaneiven-

tris) 314

The True Lice (Suborder Anoplura) 316

Thrips (Order Physopoda) 318

Grasshoppers, Katydids, Crickets, Etc. (Order Orthop-

tera) 320

Table of Families 322

The Walking Sticks (Family Phasmidce) . . . ^2}
Life History of a Walking Stick {Diapheromera

femorata) }2}

Rear-Horses or Praying Mantids (Family Mantidce) 326
Life History of a Rear-Horse ( Siagmomantis

Carolina) 327

Cockroaches (Family BlattidcB) .... 329
Short-Horned Locusts or True Grasshoppers (Family

AcridiidcB) ^^2

Life History of a Grasshopper (Melanoplus at-

lanis) 334

Long-Horned Grasshoppers (Family Locustidce) . }}6
Life History of a Katydid ( Microcentrum retin-

ervis) 339

The Crickets (Family Gryllidce) . . . . 341

Earwigs (Order Euplexoptera) 345

Bird Lice (Order Mallophaga) 347

Table of Families 349

The Book-Lice and Their Allies (Order Corrodentia) . 350

White Ants (Order Isoptera) 353

The Stone Flies (Order Plecoptera) 361

Dragon Flies (Order Odonata) }6}

Table of Families 369

Damsel Flies 370

Family Calopterygidct 370

XTl

Table of

Contents

Family Agrionidce

• • •

PAG«

True Dragon Flies

.

372

Family Gomphidce

372

Family Cordulegastridce. .

.

313

Family /Eschnidce

.

314

Family Cor dull dee

.

315

Family Libellulidce

,

376

May Flies or Shad Flies (Order Ephemerida)

377

Spring-Tails and Fish-Moths (Order Thysanuri

0 .

380

Suborder Cinura

. }Si

Family Lepismaiidce .

. 382

Family Japygidce

. 384

Family Campodeidce .

. 384

Suborder Collembola .

. 385

Family Aphorurid(^ .

386

Family Poduridce

386

Family Entomobryidce

. 387

Family Symnthuridm

388

Family Papiriidce

388

Collecting and Preserving Insects

389

Collecting Apparatus

389

Points on Methods of Collecting Different

Orders

394

Collecting Aquatic Insects .

395

Rearing Different kinds of Insects

396

Killing and Preserving Insects .

401

Preparing Insects for the Cabinet

401

Bibliography

405

»vtt

LIST OF PLATES

Plate I. Bees and Ants .... Frontispiece

Facing Pagb

Plate II. Bees . . . . . . . • >6

Plate III. Bees I7

Plate IV. Wasps 20

Plate V. Wasps and Bees 26

Plate VI. Wasps 27

Plate VII. " 38

Plate VIII. Wasps, Ants and Ichneumon Flies . . 39

Plate IX. Ichneumon Flies and Chalcis Flies . . 42

Plate X. Saw-flies and Horn-tails .... 43

Plate XI. Ichneumon Flies 4^

Plate XII. Wasps 47

Plate XIII. True Flies ....... 58

Plate XIV. " " 59

Plate XV. " " , « 70

Plate XVI. Neuropteroid Insects ..... 7»

Plate XVII. Saw-flies and Horn-tails . , , , 82

Plate XVIII. Saw-flies ...-.«» 83

Plate XIX. True Flies 94

Plate XX. " " 95

Plate XXI. " " 106

Plate XXII. " " 107

PlateXXIIl. " " '>8

Plate XXIV. Neuropteroid Insects 119

Plate XXV. " '30

Plate XXVI. Cicadas and Leaf-hoppers . . .131

xix

List of Plates

Plate XXVII.
Plate XXVI 1 1.
Plate XXIX.
Plate XXX.
Plate XXXI.
Plate XXXII.
Plate XXXIII.

Plate XXXIV.

Plate XXXV.
Plate XXXVI.
Plate XXXVII,
Plate XXXVI II
Plate XXXIX.
Plate XL.
Plate XLI.
PlateXLII.
Plate XLI 1 1.
Plate XLIV.
Plate XLV.
Plate XLVI.
PlateXLVII.
Plate XLVI 1 1.

Neuropteroid Insects
Bugs, Leaf-hoppers and Cicadas
True Bugs ....

Miscellaneous Orthopetra
True Bugs ....

Facing Page
. 132

. 132

• 133

. 134

. 135

Long-horned and Short-horned Grass-
hoppers 146

Long-horned and Short-horned Grass-
hoppers . , . . . .147

Short-horned Grasshoppers or True Locusts 1 58

159
Miscellaneous Orthopetra . . .170

Short-horned Grasshoppers or True Locusts 171

Dragon flies 182

" " 183

Short-horned Grasshoppers or True Locusts 194

Dragon Flies 195

" " 206

" " 207

" " 266

" " 267

" " 278

" " 279

XX

LIST OF TEXT ILLUSTRATIONS

3-
4-
5-
6.

7-

Fig.
Fig.
Fig.
Fig.
Fig.
Fig.
Fig.
Fig.
Fig.
Fig.
Fig.
Fig.
Fig.
Fig.
Fig.

Fig.
Fig.
Fig.

Fig-
Fig. 20.
Fig. 21.

Fig. 22.

Fig. 2^.
Fig. 24.
Fig. 25.
Fig. 26.
Fig. 27.
Fig. 28.
Fig. 29.
Fig. 30.
Fig. 32.
Fig- 33-

Head and tongue of worker bee

Heads of queen and drone

Queen cells and worker brood of honey bee

Queen of the common honey bee

Legs of different bees

Legs of different bees

Sphecius speciosus carrying Cicada to its burrow

Adult Cicada bearing eggs of Sphecius

Larva of digger wasp in Cicada burrow

Same, spinning its cocoon

Immature stages of the digger wasp

Cocoon of same

Polistes pallipes

Polistes rubiginosus .

Odynerus flavipes and its nest in a spool

Tiphia inomata

Chrysis sp.

Laelius trogodermatis

Goniozus sp. parasitic on larvae of codling moth

Solenopsis xyloni

Crematogaster lineolata

Monomorium minutum

Tetramorium caespitum

Ants at play

Pelecinus polyturator

Baeus americanus

Cynips spongifica

Diastrophus nebulosus

Pachyneuron micans

Chalcis ovata .

Larvae of Euplectrus comstockii

Pupae of same

PACK

4

5

7

7
8

9

23
23
24
24
24

25
25
26

3«
31
3'
55
3(>

n
38
39
40
46
50
51
53
^4
56
57
58
58

List of Text Illustrations

Fig.

34.

Fig.

35-

Fig.

36.

Fig.

37-

Fig.

38.

Fig.

39-

Fig.

40.

Fig.

41.

Fig.

42.

Fig.

43-

Fig.

44.

Fig.

45-

Fig.

46.

Fig.

47-

Fig.

48.

Fig.

49-

Fig.

50.

Fig.

5'-

Fig.

52.

Fig.

53-

Fig.

54-

Fig.

55.

Fig-

56.

Fig.

57-

Fig.

58.

Fig.

59-

Fig.

60.

Fig.

61.

Fig.

62.

Fig.

63.

Fig.

64.

Fig.

65.

Fig.

66.

Fig.

67.

Fig.

68.

Fig-

69.

Fig.

70.

Fig.

71.

Fig.

72.

Fig

73-

Adult of same

Thalessa lunator

Same

Polysphincta dictynae

Pimpla inquisitor

Same, early stages ,

Same, cocoons

Tremex columba

Cephus pygmaeus

Phylloecus integer .

Cimbex americana .

Nematus similaris .

Nematus marylandicus

Eriocampoides limacina (Pear Slug)

Pachyrrhina sp.
Anopheles punctipennis
Culex sollicitans
Anopheles maculipennis

" larva and Culex larva
" pupa and Culex pupa

Psorophora ciliata

Culex pungens

Chironomus larva

" plumosus

Cecidomyia trifolii .
Diplosis resinicola
" pyrivora
Cecidomyia leguminicola
Sciara tritici
Bibio albipennis
Simulium meridionale
" invenustum

ornatum

Pag«

59
62

63

63

64

65
67

70

70

7>
74
75
75
76

77
77
78
94
98

99
100
1 01
102
103
104
105
106
no
III

"3
114

114

H5
117
119
120
121
121
122

I2J

Fig. 74-
Fig- 75-
Fig. 76.

Fig. 77-
Fig. 78.
Fig. 79-
Fig. 80.
Fig. 81.
Fig. 82.
Fig. 83.
Fig. 84.
Fig. 85.
Fig. 86.
Fig. 87.
Fig. 88.
Fig. 89.
Fig. 90-
Fig. 91-
Fig. 92.
Fig. 93.
Fig. 94-
Fig. 95-
Fig. 96.
Fig. 97-
Fig. 98.
Fig. 99-
Fig.
Fig.
Fig.
Fig.
Fig.
Fig.
Fig.
Fig-
Fig.
Fig.
Fig.
Fig.
Fig.
Fig.

00.

01.
02.
03.
04.
05.
06.
[07.
108.
[09.

10.

1 1.

12.

•3-

Chrysops fugax

Tabanus atratus

Anthrax fiypomelas

Systoechus oreas
( < <<

Scenopinus fenestralis
Erax bastardi .

" apicalis
Mesograpta polita
Eristalis tenax .
Rat-tailed maggot
Oestrus ovis
Hypoderma lineata
Winthemia quadri-pustulata
Euphorocera claripennis
Compsomyia macellaria
Lucilia caesar .
Calliphora erythrocephala
Sarcophaga sarraceniae
Haematobia serrata .
Morellia micans
Stomoxys calcitrans
Musca domestica
Homalomyia brevis .
Pegomyia vicina
Scatophaga furcata .
Chaetopsis aenea
Trypeta signalis
Sepsis violacea
Piophila casei .
Nemopoda minuta .
Hippelates plebejus .
Gaurax anchora
Drosophila ampelophila
Sphaerocera subsultans
Olfersia americana .
Melophagus ovinus .
Nycteribia sp. .
Pulex serraticeps
Sarcopsylla gallinacea

xzitt

List of Text Illustrations

PAGB

>3i

132

137

138
138

139
141
142
150

152

>55
156
158

159

163

163

164

165

166

167

167

168

171

172

J 73

175

177

179

180

180

183

184

185

187

188

189

190

191

193

List of Text iiiustrationg

Fig.

114.

Caddis fly and larva.

195

Fig.
Fig-

115.
116.

Nest of Hydropsyche
Hydropsyche sp. (larva) .

204
204

Fig.

117.

Corydalis cornuta .

213

Fig.

118.

(( (<

214

Fig.

119.

Chrysopa plorabunda

222

Fig.

120.

" oculata .

223

Fig.

121.

<( ((

225

Fig.

122.

Cicada septendecim

231

Fig.

123.

(work)

231

Fig.

124.

(eggs)

2^2

Fig.

125.

(work)

233

Fig.

126.

(larva)

234

Fig.

127.

Helicoptera sp.

235

Fig.

128.

Scolops sulcipes

235

Fig.

129.

Otiocerus coqueberti

235

Fig.

130.

Ceresa taurina

237

Fig.

131.

t< < <

238

Fig.

132.

Enchenopa binotata

238

Fig.

133-

Archasia galeata

239

Fig.

134.

Ceresa bubalus

239

Fig.

J35-

<< ((

240

Fig.

136.

Monecophora bicincta

241

Fig.

137-

Proconia undata

. 243

Fig.

138.

Thamnotettix clittelerius

■ 243

Fig.

139.

Erythroneura vitis .

• 244

Fig-

140.

Aleyrodes citri

246

Fig.

141.

< ( (<

248

Fig.

142.

Diaspis pentagona .

250

Fig.

143.

( < < (

. 251

Fig.

144.

(( (<

. 251

Fig.

145.

" rosae .

. 252

Fig.

146.

Lecanium nigrofasciatum

. 252

Fig.

147.

Dactylopius citri

. 253

Fig.

148.

" longifilis

. 2^3

Fig.

149.

Pulvinaria innumerabilis

. 254

Fig.

150.

Mytilaspis pomorum

• 255

Fig.

151.

( ( (<

2'y6

Fig.

152.

Chionaspis furfurus

. 257

Fig.

»53-

Pachypsylla venusta O. 5

).

• 259

List of Text Illustrations

Fig. 154.

Pear tree Psylla

260

Fig- >55-

(( < ( < <

261

Fig. 156.

1 < ( ( ( i

261

Fig. 157-

Nectarophora (destructor) pisur

n

262

Fig. 158.

Phylloxera vastatrix

263

Fig. 159.

< ( < <

263

Fig. 160.

• •' <<

264

Fig. 161.

<< (<

264

Fig. 162.

Phorodon humuli

266

Fig. 163.

<< (<

266

Fig. 164.

ti ft

267

Fig. 165.

<< ((

267

Fig. 166.

(( <<

268

Fig. 167.,

Corixa interrupta Say

273

Fig. 168.

Notonecta undulata

275

Fig. 169.

Nepa cinerea

276

Fig. 170.

Ranatra fusca

277

Fig. 171.

Ambrysus signoreti

280

Fig. 172.

Galgulus oculatus .

281

Fig. 173.

Hydrometralineata

282

Fig. 174.

Gerris (Hygrotrechus) remigis

Say

283

Fig. 175.

Rheumatobates rileyi

284

Fig. 176.

Triphleps insidiosus

287

Fig. 177.

/Eciacus hirundinis

. 288

Fig. 178.

Cimex lectularius (young)

289

Fig. 179.

<< it

290

Fig. 179a

Henicocephalus culicis .

292

Fig. 180.

Conorhinus sanguisuga .

• 293

Fig. 181.

Reduvius personatus

. 293

Fig. 182.

Rasahus biguttatus

. 294

Fig. 183.

Melanolestes abdominalis

. 294

Fig. 184.

Milyas cinctus

. 294

Fig. 185.

Emesa longipes

. 295

Fig. 186.

Arilus cristatus

296

Fig. 187.

Phymata wolffi

. 297

Fig. 188.

Aradus robustus

. 298

Fig. 189.

Gargaphia angulata

. 299

Fig. 190.

Corythuca arcuata .

. 299

Fig. 19 «•

" (eggs)

300

Fig. 192.

Piesma cinerea

30Q

List of Text Illustrations

Fig.

19).

Halticus uhleri

302

Fig.

194.

Poecilocapsus lineatus

. 303

Fig.

195.

Leptoglossus phyllopus

304

Fig.

196.

Metapodius femoratus

304

Fig-

197.

Corizus hyalinus

• 305

Fig.

198.

Leptocoris trivittatus

305

Fig.

199.

Anasa armigera

306

Fig.

200.

Largus succinctus .

307

Fig.

201.

Dysdercus suturellus

308

Fig.

202.

Myodocha serripes .

.

. 310

Fig-

203.

Nysius angustatus .

• 311

Fig.

204.

Blissus leucopterus

311

Fig.

205.

< ( ((

. 312

Fig.

206.

< ( <<

. 312

Fig.

207.

Murgantia histrionica

313

Fig.

208.

Euschistus variolarius

313

Fig.

209.

Corimelaena pulicaria

314

Fig.

210.

Brochymena annulata

■ 314

Fig.

211.

Stiretrus anchorage

• 315

Fig.

212.

Pediculus capitis

. 316

Fig.

213.

Thrips tritici .

. 318

Fig.

214.

Diapheromera femorata .

>

. 324

Fig.

215.

Stagmomantis Carolina

326

Fig.

216.

" (eggs)

. 328

Fig.

217.

Periplaneta americana

. 329

Fig.

218.

Ectobia germanica, different stages

. 330

Fig.

219.

Periplaneta orientalis " "

• 331

Fig.

220.

Melanoplus devastator .

332

Fig.

221,

Schistocerca americana .

332

Fig.

222.

Romalea microptera

333

Fig.

223.

Melanoplus spretus, laying eggs

334

Fig.

224.

Orchelimum vulgare, and eggs

336

Fig.

22^).

Song note of Cyrtophyllum concavum

331

Fig.

226.

Microcentrum retinervis . . . .

33^

Fig.

22'].

Day song of Scudderia angustifolia

339

Fig.

22']a.

Night "

339

Fig.

22S.

Gryllus assimilis

341

Fig.

229.

" domesticus

341

Fig.

230.

Anabrus simplex

342

Fi«.

''^J-

3ong note of the mole cri

cket

342

List of Text Illustrations

Fig. 2}2. Song note of the field cricket

Fig, 2}}. Day song of the snowy tree cricket

Fig. 234. Night

Fig. 235. Song of the cave cricket

Fig. 2}6. Forficula sp.

Fig. 237. Menopon biseriatum

Fig. 238. Goniocotes abdominalis

Fig. 239. " dissimilis

Fig. 240. Atropos divinatoria

Fig. 241. Termes flavipes, male and female

Fig. 242. " " false queen, workers and

Fig. 243. Plathemis lydia

Fig. 244. Lepisma domestica

Fig. 245. " saccharina

Fig. 246. Lepidocyrtus americanus

Fig. 247. " " side view and e

Fig. 248. The hand net frame

Fig. 249. The Sanborn net frame .

Fig. 250. Beating net or sweeping net .

Fig. 251. A good hand net

Fig. 2^2. Small water dip net

Fig. 2^}. A fumigator ....

Fig. 254. A good haversack .

Fig. 255. The umbrella and its mode of use

Fig. 256. The Riley breeding cage

Fig. 257. The Comstock improved base for breeding case

Fig. 258. A good simple aquarium

Fig. 259. Pocket cyanide bottle

Fig. 260. Spreading board for Lepidoptera

Fig. 261. insect mounted on cardboard triangle

Fig. 262. Triangle punch

Fig. 263. Points for mounting insects

Fig. 264. The Marx tray for alcohol specimens

. 34^

• 343
. 343
. 344

. 345

. 347

. 348

• 349
. 350

• 353
soldiers 354

• 3(^3
382

. 383

. 386

nlarged parts 387

390

390

390

391
39'
392

393
393
396

397
400
401
402
402
402
403
403

ntll

THE INSECT BOOK

ORDER HYMENOPTERA

This great order of insects, which contains the bees, wasps,
ants, gall-flies, saw-flies, ichneumon-flies and related forms is
unsurpassed in interest by any other group of animals. It is a
very large order, and comprises nearly 30,000 described species;
but the enormous number of undescribed species, particularly of
the smaller parasitic forms inhabiting tropical regions and other
out-of-the-way localities would probably swell this number to
more than 300,000. To indicate the work still to be done in this
order it is safe to say that a day's collecting in Central Park, New
York, almost under the windows of the great American Museum
of Natural History, or in Logan Square, Philadelphia, within 200
yards of the Academy of Natural Sciences, would result in the
capture of a number of species new to science. But the size of
the order is its least important and interesting feature. The very
great variation in habits and life history, the wonderful social
organization of the bees, ants and some wasps, the seeming mar-
vellous intelligence of these creatures, the remarkable adaptations
of structure to environment, the extraordinary interrelations and
interdependencies of species seen with the members of the
parasitic families, the strange vital phenomena of sex-abortion,
of virgin birth or parthenogenesis, and the wonderful plant de-
formations brought about by the gall-makers, unite to render the
Hymenoptera a field of study of never-ending interest.

As a group the Hymenoptera are distinguished from other
insects by the following points: Their metamorphoses are com-
plete, their mouth parts are mandibulate, and in most families
formed for biting, although in the bees they are so modified as
to form a sort or proboscis, and the females are furnished with
an extensile sting or ovipositor. All have four wings, of which
the hind pair is smaller. The wings are membranous, usually
transparent, bear no scales, and are divided by veins or nervures,
as they are inappropriately and misleadingly called, into a com-
paratively small number of cells.

On account of the great diversity of form and structure
which exists within these limits, the Hymenoptera have long

Order Hymenoptera.

been divided into many families and subfamilies. Mr. W. H.
Ashmead of the United States National Museum, whose great
work on this order has placed him at the head of all living
authorities on the Hymenoptera, has recently given us as the
result of his prolonged studies an arrangement of this enormous
complex of forms into ten super-families, and for the sake of sim-
plicity our consideration of the order will follow his classification
at the risk of some slight temporary confusion in the minds of
those familiar with other general works on insects. The corre-
spondence between physical structure and habits and mode of
life, however, is so marked in the Hymenoptera, that these
structural super-families are really habit super-families as well.

Economically considered the Hymenoptera as a whole is a
beneficial group in its relation to man. Aside from the honey
industry dependent upon the honey bee, thousands of the
parasitic forms destroy noxious insects, very many forms are of
the utmost importance as cross fertilizers of trees and plants,
and certain galls have a distinct value in commerce.

In the different aspects of the study of this great group
there is room for a small army of workers.

TABLE OF SUBORDERS AND SUPER-FAMILIES.

Suborder HETEROPHAGA, Ashmead. Abdomen much nar-
rowed at its attachment to the thorax. Larvae legless.

Suborder PHYTOPHAGA, Latreille. Abdomen broad at its
attachment to the thorax. Larvae with legs.

Heterophaga.

Underside of last segment of the abdomen not divided
longitudinally; the sting or ovipositor, when present,
always issuing from the tip of the abdomen i

Underside of last segment of the abdomen divided; ovipos-
itor issuing some distance before the tip of abdomen;
trochanters always two-jointed 5

I — Pronotum not extending back to the tegulae 2

Pronotum extending back to tegulae, or the latter are absent. 3

2

Order Hymenoptera

2 — Tarsi dilated or thickened; hairs of head and thorax feath-
ery Super-family Apoidea

Tarsi slender; hairs on head and thorax simple

Super-family Sphecoidea.

} — Trochanters always one-jointed, (except in the family

Trigonalidae. ) 4

Trochanters two-jointed (except in the family Pelecinidae,)
Super-family Prociotrypoidea.

4 — Petiole, or first segment of abdomen simple, without swel-
lings; winged forms with well-developed tegulae

Super-family yespoidea.

Petiole with one or two swellings; winged forms without or

with imperfectly formed tegulae.. Super-family Formicoidea.

5 — Front wings with the marginal vein, if present, linear, never

large or stigmated 6

Front wings with a stigma; the marginal vein usually large

and stigmated Super-family Ichneiimonoidea,

6 — Pronotum extending back to the tegulae

Super-family Cynipoidea.

Pronotum not extending back to the tegulae

Super-family Chalcidoidea.

Phytophaga.

Tibiae of forelegs with one apical spur

Super-family Siricoidea.

Tibiae of forelegs with two apical spurs

Super-family Tenthredinoidca*

THE TRUE BEES

(Super-family Apoidea)

This great group, comprising about five thousand species, in-
cludes all of the true bees, both the honey-gatherers which have
social communities and live a strict community life, and the

solitary bees. We
have already seen
in thetable of super-
families that the
hind feet of these
insects are dilated
or thickened, and
that the hairs of the
head and thorax are
feathery. These pe-
culiar feathery hairs
are found only
in the true bees,
which also differ
from other Hymen-
opteraby the pecu-
liar modification of
the mouth - parts
which are length-
ened into a struc-
ture which is almost
like a proboscis.
It is a very conspic-
uous organ and is
fitted in many of
them for probing
deep flowers and
for gathering nec~
tar. The mandi-
bles or upper jaws

Fig. I. — Head and tongue of worker honey bee.
( Redrawn from Cheshire.)

The True Bees

play no part in this proboscis-like structure, which is composed
entirely of lower lip and lower jaws, both greatly lengthened.

The esffs of all bees are laid in cells of one kind or another in
which the larvae develop. Sometimes they are fed by the adult

Fig. 2. — Head of A, queen ; B, drone of honey bee (From Cheshire.)

bees and sometimes a supply of food is stored in the cell so that
after the tgg is laid and the cell is completely closed the mother
has no more responsibilty for the growth and development of her
offspring.

It is among the higher and more specialized bees that we see
for the first time the extraordinary community life which is de-
veloped among them and certain other Hymenoptera, such as
certain social wasps and ants, and practically nowhere else, ex-
cept among the so-called white ants or Termites, which belong
to quite a different order. With the social bees we find a most
perfect communism ; each individual works for the good of the
community, and thus only indirectly for its own ends.

In the evolution of this community life strange things have
happened. There has come to be a class of individuals which
are practically sexless, and are called neuters or workers. These
individuals do the mechanical work of the community. They
are really structurally females in which the development of the
sexual organs has ceased at a certain point. They are undevel-
oped and infertile females. The other two sexes are represented,
but the number of true females, or queens as they are called, is
small, only a sufficient number being found to supply eggs for
the perpetuation of the community. The males are aptly termed
drones, since ihey are drones in comparison with the active and

The True Bees

hard-working neuters or workers. Their function in the com-
munity is simply to fertilize the queens at the proper time, and
then they are of no further use in the world.

The Apoidea are now subdivided into no less than fourteen
fullfledged fiimilies. These include the Apidae, or true honey
bees, the Bombidae, or bumblebees, the solitary bees of the
Anthophoridae, the cuckoo bees of the family Nomadidae, the
small carpenter bees of the family Ceratinidae, the large carpenter
bees of the family Xylocopidae, the mason, leaf-cutting and
potter bees of the family Megachilidae, the parasitic bees of the
family Stelidae, the sharp-tongued burrowing bees of the family
Andrenidae; the blunt-tongued burrowing bees of the family
Colletidae, and others.

The habits of the bees of these diverse families vary greatly,
and most of the characteristics which they have in common have
already been referred to. All, from their flower-visiting habits,
are of great importance in the cross fertilization of plants, and
without their aid the health of the plant world would suffer and
its infinite variety would hardly have been achieved.

The most famous of all bees is naturally the common honey
bee, an importation from Europe, not a native, which by the
hand of man has become a true domesticated animal. The life
history of this creature has been so often written about and may
so easily be learned by consulting any encyclopedia or standard
general work of reference that it does not seem necessary to de-
scribe it in detail here. The methods of bee culture in use admit
of ready study of its economy.* In this brief summary of the
general characteristics of bees we shall, therefore, confine our-
selves to the wild and less known forms. A bumblebee has been
selected for the typical life history, and little need therefore be
said of the large and important family to which that species be-
longs, except to state that bumblebees now occur in most parts
of the world, and that they are especially abundant in temperate
and even boreal regions, large numbers inhabiting far northern
localities where they abound in the brief artic summer, and where
they live a short but extremely busy life on account of the
crowding together of the flowering periods of sub-polar plants.

*One of the strongest bits of descriptive writing known to me is Tolstoi's de-
scription of a queenless bee hive, in " War and Peace," where he likens Moscow on
the approach of the French army to a hive deserted by the queen bee.

6

The True Bees

The solitary bees of the family Anthophoridae are in general
thickly clothed with hair, and many of them burrow into the
earth, forming tunnels in which they form earthern cells, storing

them with a supply of pollen
and honey upon which the
egg is laid and the cell is then
closed.

Much good work can be
done in the way of accurate
observation upon the members
of this group ; the length of
the larval life, duration of the
egg stage, and other points
have not been accurately fol-
lowed out, although some of
the European species are fairly
well known. Certain species
bore into wood instead of en-
tering the earth, or they oc-
cupy old burrows of some
carpenter bee. There are cer-
tain curious parasites of these
bees, and the life of one of
them has been studied by the English observer Newport.

The cuckoo bees of the family Nomadidae without exception
live parasitically in the nest of other bees, and have undoubtedly
originated from other bees through
different lines of descent — probably
from those of the group just men-
tioned. As their parasitic habits
would prepare us to learn, their legs
are without the scopa for the car-
riage of pollen, and their life is
practically that of the cuckoo, the
female laying her eggs in cells al-
ready prepared by some more in-
dustrious and conscientious bee,
and her larvae living at the ex-
pense of the offspring of the cell- pig. 4.— Queen of the common
maker. honey bee. (From Benton.)

Fig. 3. — Queen cells and worker brood of
honey bees. (From Benton.)

The Trae Bees

Curiously enough, these bees seem to be on perfectly good
terms with their hosts, visiting flowers in their company and
visiting their burrows as unconcernedly as though they were the
result of their own labors. Emerton has observed that there is
frequently enough food for the larva of the cell-maker and the

Fig. 5. — Legs of different bees: A, Apis; B, Melipona; C, Bombus.
(From Insect Life.)

larva of the cuckoo bee, and that they both thrive and issue as
adults simultaneously. This cuckoo life is found with bees of
certain other groups, and will be referred to later.

The rather smooth and active little bees of the family Cera-
tinidae, which have been termed small carpenter bees, are ex-
tremely interesting creatures, and are generally metallic blue,
blue-black or bright green four-winged flies, not hairy, and are
very active in the summer time. They bore tunnels into the
stems of pithy plants and form their cells in these burrows.
They are very commonly found in brambles. The cells are lined
with a delicate silky membrane and are separated from one an-
other by mud partitions. The common Ceratina diipla is a
familiar example. With this bee the cells are filled with a paste
of honey and pollen upon which the larvae feed. The trans-
formation to imago occurs in the latter part of July or during
August

From the cells of this bee two very remarkable parasites have
been reared by the Rev. J. L. Zabriskie, namely Diamorus ^abris-
hii, Cres., and Axima labriskti, How.

8

The True Bees

The large carpenter bees, however, do not confine them-
selves to the stems of plants. Their burrows are so large that
they are frequently made in the dead trunks of old trees and com-
monly in lumber, and even in the joists of buildings. The
commonest of the large carpenter bees in this country is Xyloco-
pa virgijiica. This large black-bodied bee, as big as the biggest
bumblebee, but with a flatter and less hairy abdomen, bores
symmetrical tunnels into solid wood, choosing in civilized regions
fence posts and boards. The burrow is a half-inch in diameter,
and runs horizontally across the grain for about the length of the
insect's body, and is then turned downward at right angles and
runs with the grain from twelve to eighteen inches. In this bor-
ing the bee progresses at the average rate of about half an inch
a day, occupying at least two days in digging the first portion
against the grain of the wood. After the burrow is once com-
menced, their persistence in returning to continue the work, in spite
of all obstacles, is very remarkable. One of these indefatigable bees

Fig. 6. — Legs of different bees : a, Anthophora ; b, Melissodes ; c, Perdita;
d, Nomada; e, Agapostemon ; f, Nomia. {From Insect Life.)

once Started a burrow in a lintel over the front door of the writer's
house in Georgetown. She was repeatedly driven away, was
struck with a broom a number of times, and finally ceased from
her labors only because kerosene was squirted at her through a
syringe with accurate aim. It was the hand of death alone which
released her from her work.

9

The True Bees

The tunnels generally run in opposite directions from the
opening, and sometimes other galleries are made, one parallel
with the other, using a common opening.

While we may admire the industry of the carpenter bee in
doing all this hard work for its young, it is not averse to an easy
thing, and will use the same burrow over again, and if an old
deserted burrow can be found which was made the previous
summer, or even several years previously, it is preferred to the
drudgery of making a new one. Moreover, there are other bees
which will pre-empt the deserted burrows of the carpenter bees.

After the tunnels are prepared the cells are made and sup-
plied with pollen. With the species under consideration the
cells are about seven-tenths of an inch long, and are separated
from each other by partitions which are made up of a single
flattened band of sawdust and fine chips glued together and
rolled up into a flat partition about four layers deep. The side
forming the bottom of the cell is concave and smooth, while the
other side is flat and rough.

Even about the common carpenter bee there is much yet to
be learned, and a careful series of studies carried through an en-
tire season cannot fail to show novel facts.

The mason bees of the family Megachilidae (sub-family
Osmiinse) derive their name frcm the manner in which they
construct small earthen cells under stones, in the burrows of
other bees, in decaying wood, in deserted snail shells, in old
galls, and elsewhere. These bees show a great diversity of
habit. Their cells are constructed of sand, earth or clay mixed
with pebbles and wood scrapings, but glued together so firmly
that they are smooth inside. Ten to twenty of them are usually
found together, and each one contains a store of honey and pol-
len, for the larvse, of which only one is found in each cell.

One of these bees (Ceratosmia (Osmia) lignivora Packard)
has been shown by Dr. Packard to be a true wood-borer. He saw
it make a tunnel three inches long in maple wood, the tunnel
containing five cells and the partitions being made of wood
chippings.

The leaf-cutting bees of the same family are common crea-
tures whose habits are extremely interesting. They derive their
name from the fact that they cut pieces out of the tender leaves
of various trees with which to form their cells. The leaf-cutters

The True Been

are found in all parts of the world and look much like bumble-
bees. The pieces of leaf which they cut out very neatly are
either oblong or circular, the former being used for the sides and
the latter to cover the end of the cell. The burrows which they
use vary greatly in situation. Some burrow into the ground,
others into soft wood, while others make use of chance tunnels.
I have seen them in accidental auger holes, and in lead pipe, and
once knew the nozzle of an old pump to be packed full of cells.
According to Professor Putnam, a single female observed by him
took twenty days to complete and provision a series of cells un-
der a board. He found there were thirty cells in nine rows of
varying numbers. An estimate of the number of bits of leaf used
in the construction of these thirty cells amounted to more than a
thousand.

The potter bees of this same family construct small globular
cells of earth and attach them to the stem of a plant.

The parasitic bees of the family Stelidge live, like the No-
madidae, in the nests of other bees, choosing indifferently the
cell of almost any kind of bee, no matter what its situation. No
observations on any of the American species have been recorded,
and here is an interesting field of study.

The habits of the European species Stelis minuta have been
observed with some care. It was found to be parasitic in the
nest of one of the mason bees, a female having laid her egg in
the cell after it was partly filled by the mason bee. Unaware of
the presence of the parasitic egg, the mason bee continued her
work, and after nearly filling the cell deposited her own egg on the
top of the food mass, closing the cell with a partition, and begin-
ning another one above. The Stelis larva hatched a little earlier
than that of the mason bee, and both began to feed, the parasite
larva from below and the mason bee larva from above. Unfor-
tunately for those who are interested in the triumph of right and
justice, the latter grows very slowly while the parasite larva
grows more rapidly, and gradually worked its way upward
through the food mass, thus approaching the mason bee larva.
In the words of Riley's summary of this tragic performance "the
crisis finally comes — ^the Stelis larva encounters the Osmia larva ;
a short but deadly combat ensues ; the Osmia larva is easily
overpowered and killed by the much larger and stronger parasite,
and its body is devoured by the latter within one or two days."

The True Bees

The sharp-tongued burrowing bees form a very large groups
with many common species which fly actively through the sum-
mer. The cells as a rule are made in burrows or tunnels in the
ground or in hard clay banks. Andrenavicina, according to Em-
erton, digs a straight tunnel into the ground for a depth of several
inches or more with short oblique galleries branching off from it.
The earthen cells lined with mucus are filled with pollen and
honey. This is all done in the latter part of April and early in
May. The larvse are full grown in less than five weeks, and the
adult bees issue all through July and August. To this group be-
long the beautiful little bees of the genus Halictus, which are
often metallic in color. They dig branched tunnels to a depth of
from six to ten inches and are semi-gregarious in habit, a great
many of the burrows often being found close together. Emerton
has studied the habits of H. parallelus, and states that this bee
has two generations each year.

The blunt-tongued burrowing bees live much like those bees
which we have just mentioned, constructing their burrows in hard
clay soil or in the cracks in stone walls, but the bees of the allied
lamily Prosopidse which have been called by Ashmead the
obtuse-tongued carpenter bees, burrow into the twigs of bramble,
elder and other shrubs, in which after extracting the pith, they
construct their cells filled with pollen and honey. The Prosopi-
dse used to be considered parasitic, but the English observer.
Frederick Smith, discovered their true habits a good many years
ago. Mr. R. C. L. Perkins has recently stated, however, that
some of the Hawaiian bees belonging to his genus Neoprosopis
are genuine parasites.

Life History of a Bumblebee

(Bombus fervidus Fabr.^

in our generalization on the habits of the true bees we said
little about the bumblebees, preferring to let this typical life
history speak for itself The bumblebees belong to the group of
social bees, although their communities are by no means as large
or as perfect as those of the domesticated honey bee, nor in fact
is the differentiation of the worker class so marked as with the
honey bee. The workers, in fact, more nearly resemble the

The True Bees

females and have few of the structural peculiarities which are so
evident with the workers of the honey bee. The bumblebee
worker stings severely and this fact makes the close study of their
community life rather difficult. It is comparatively easy, however,
to study a bumblebee's nest. Marlatt, in the Proceedings of the
Entomological Society of Washington, tells how the boys in
Kansas avoid the stings and gather the honey. He said that they
(and he was one of them) were led to rob these nests more from
the excitement caused by the danger of being stung than to secure
the honey, which, in fact, was not only rank and unpalatable but
in the early fall, during the haying season, was small in quantity.
The method followed was to take a one-or-two-gallon jug, such
as is commonly used to carry water to haymakers, fill it partly
with water and place it, with the cork removed, within two or
three feet of the nest. The bees were then thoroughly aroused
by beating the nest, immediately after which the brave boys re-
moved themselves hurriedly to a safe distance. The enraged
bees would swarm out and begin flying about in widening circles
to discover the enemy. The jug would at once attract their at-
tention and numbers would fly about it and over its open mouth,
which, by reason of the air set in motion by their wings, would
give an answering roar to their angry humming. Excited beyond
measure by this noise, the bees would fly at the mouth of the jug
and one after another would pop into it — the noise produced by
those within still further attracting those without — until all had
entered. A second disturbance of the nest would serve to draw
out and dispose of any of the remaining fighting worker-bees,
after which the robbing of the nest was easy. After robbing the
nest the water and bees in the jug were emptied out on the
ground and the bees, although apparently drowned, would soon
recover and start off to found new colonies which other boys
would probably rob. In later years when Mr. Marlatt became
interested in the collection and study of insects this method was
employed with unvarying success in the examination of bumble-
bees' nests in order to secure parasites and the guest insects
which inhabit these nests. This method seems to be a discovery
of the western farm-boys, since the writer, although he robbed
bumblebees' nests in central New York when a boy was never
ingenious enough to invent such a capital method of avoiding
stings.

'»3

The True Bees

Bombus fervidus, also called Bombus borealis, is a species
which is common in Canada and the northeastern United States
with something of a southern and western range and is a fairly
typical bumblebee. At the approach of winter the old colonies
fail, the workers and the drones, or males, die and only a few
fertilized females remain alive. These hide themselves away in
protected places, pass the winter in a torpid condition and when
spring comes each one starts out to found a new colony. She
collects moss or grass and pollen, seeks some depression in the
field and begins a waxen cell under the grass or moss. Old
nests of field mice are frequently used for this purpose. In this
cell, which is stored with honey intermingled with a small
quantity of pollen, is laid an egg and the formation of another
cell begins at once. Along in July the nest will be found to con-
tain a queen with a large number of workers of various sizes, as
well as eggs and larvae in all stages of development. Interesting
observations upon this species have been made by Mr. F. V.
Coville, who, although a famous botanist, ought to have been an
entomologist, judging from his study of this insect. The precise
duties of the different sized workers, according to this observer,
are not evident but in general the larger ones attend to the mend-
ing of the covering of the nest and to the bringing in of honey,
while the smaller ones for the most part do the inside housework,
the wax patching and the nursing of the young. He never saw
this nursing, as a matter of fact, done by a large or even a medium-
sized bee. The eggs are laid several together in cavities in a
mass of wax in which, however, are many pollen grains. The
larvae after hatching remain encased in a shell of wax and soon
become separated each from the other by a waxen wall. Here
they are fed by a mixture of pollen and honey supplied them by
a worker. One of the smaller workers, which Coville has called
the nurse bees, collects nectar and then pollen, preparing the
mixture, and then goes to one of the larvae, which lie in circular
form in their chambers, and injects the brownish, fluid mixture
through a small opening previously made, usually by another
worker. This is greedily eaten by the larvae. Whether the larvae
of both females and workers are fed in the same manner and with
the same mixture could not be decided, but it is known that in
the honey bee the different kind of food influences the size and the
function of the bees, a special food being used to develop queens.

14

The True Bees

The larvae when full grown spin a silk cocoon and transform
to pupae, in which stage they remain from two to three weeks
and then transform to perfect bumblebees. The bees emerge
from the cocoon after gnawing a lid about its apex. As soon as
the bee has left, the other workers cut away the upper half of the
cell and remove the debris, and the part which is left furnishes a
receptacle for nectar and honey as it is brought into the nest.

In early August, all the bees up to this time having been
workers with the exception of the original queen, females, or
queens, and males, or drones, begin to emerge. Within a few
days both sexes leave the old nest and do not return.

The method adopted by Coville for the study of this species
is an easy and convenient one and is worthy of description. A
box about three inches deep and large enough to contain a nest
(a good-sized cigar-box will do) was provided with a glass cover
and a small hole was cut in the side. In this box in the early
summer a nest taken from the field was placed and the aperture
was closed for a day. The box was then fitted in below a
window-sash so that the bees could come and go on the outside
without annoying the observer, who remained in the room. In
collecting the nest, which had been found during the day, the
observer started for the field just before dark, after all the bees
were in, provided with a cigar-box, a bottle of chloroform, a pair
of forceps and a gauze-covered, wide-mouthed bottle. He
approached the nest, poured a little chloroform over it, waited
until the humming had ceased, opened the top of the nest, picked
out the bees with the forceps and put them in the bottle, the
nest with the "comb" being placed in the cigar-box. The bees
revive after being placed in the permanent box, and the chloro-
form, if used moderately, does not kill the larvae.

The study of the life of a colony of bumblebees will be found
to be a very interesting one, especially if observations are made
upon the parasites and guest insects, or inquilines, which are
frequently found in these nests. Many interesting points as to
unimportant habits, especially as they bear upon the question of
inherited instinct or intelligence, may be observed in this way.
For example, these bees are very cleanly in their habits. Their
faeces are always deposited in a particular place outside the nest.
Some of the guest bees frequently found in bumblebee nests
belong to the genus Apathus, or Psithyrus, as it is now called.

15

The True Bees

These bees resemble bumblebees so closely that it is difficult to
distinguish between them and they live apparently in perfect
harmony with bumblebees, but are lazy and use the food of the
industrious bumblebees, both when adult and when in the larval
condition. Bumblebees resent the introduction of one of these
guest bees into their nest, but the intruder seems to have very
pleasant manners for the alarm and resentment occasioned by his
or her presence soon dies away and an amicable relationship
succeeds. Whether the guest bee and its larvae consume so
much food (they undoubtedly bring in some themselves) that
they endanger the health of the colony of bumblebees is a dis-
puted point. The old idea was that they ate so much that the
young bumblebees were starved to death, and it was upon this
supposition that the writer in his youth wrote the following lines
which perhaps will be accepted rather on account of their apt-
ness to the present topic than on account of their rhythmical
merit:

Oh ! an Apathus sat on a Chrysanthemum
A-cleaning her antennae,

And she little thought of the Pyrethrum
That would take her life away !

And there she sat, a-taking a rest,

And smiled in a satisfied way,
For she'd laid ten eggs in a Bombus nest

And there'd soon be the de'il to pay.

For her offspring dear, her very first brood,

Would hatch in a very short time,
And no trouble she'd have a storing up food,

For she worked on the Cuckoo line.

Her young would hatch ere the young bumblebees,
And the young bumblebees would die.

When the young Apathi would live at their ease
And fatten like pigs in a sty !

So she sat in the sun, this wicked old bee,

And scratched her tibiae.
And chuckled inside in lazy glee

At the business she'd done that day.

But the Chrysanthemum on which she sat

Belonged to a neat old maid.
Whose plants were her pride (next to her cat),

And that day she was out on a raid
i6

Plate II.
BEES

FIG.

1. Bombus terricola^

2. Bombus moderatus

3. Bombus nevadensis

4. Bombus bimaculatus $

5. Bombus terricola ?

6. Bombus affinis

7. Bombus sonomae

8. Bombus bimaculatus $

9. Bombus bifarius

10. Bombus vagans

11. Emphoropsis miserabilis

12. Bombus fervidus

13. Bombus improbus

14. Apathus insularis

FIG.

15-
16.

»7-
18.
19.
20.
21.
22.

Bombus californicus
Anthophora smithii
Anthophora edwardsii
Eusynhalonia edwardsii
Synhalonia atriventris
Amegilla marginata
Antiiophora occidentalis
Psithyrus laboriosus
2^. Psithyrus citrinus

24. Anthedon compta

25. Xylocopa aeneipennis

26. Xylocopa orpifex

27. Xylocopa texana

The Insect Book.

The Insect Book.

^^

<^

/■^

Plate III.

BEES

FIG. FIG.

1. Xenoglossa pruinosa 20.

2. Andrena reflexa 21.

3. Andrena vicina 22.

4. Megachile inimica 23.

5. Megachile brevis 24.

6. Halictus lerouxii 25.

7. Eutechnia taurea 26,

8. Paranomia nortoni 27.

9. Megachile poUinaris 28.

10. Coelioxys 8-dentata 29,

11. Agapostemon radiatus 30.

12. Megachile infragilis 31.

13. Osmia distincta ^2.

14. Agapostemon splendens 33.

15. Paranomia nortoni 34.

16. Melissodes bimaculata 35.

17. Melissodes pennsylvanicus 36.

18. Osmia canadensis 37.

19. Cerceris venator 38,

Larra analis
Larra tarsata
Oxybelus 4-notatus
Tachytes distincta
Xylocopa micans
Tachytes validus
Ericrocis fumipennis
Nysson plagiatus
Melissodes belfragei
Xylocopa arizonensis
Anthophora abrupta
Philanthus solidagus
Nomada bicincta
Philanthus ventralis
Cerceris compacta
Psithyrus variabilis
Bombus morrisonii
Bombus morrisonii
Philanthus punctatus

The True Bees

Against Aphids and slugs, with a Buiiach-gun

Filled with Peters & Milco's best,
And seeing the Apathus, just for fun,

She dusted her yellow vest.

How the cheat kicked as she fell on the ground!

And how she did buzz and hum!
But she never got well — she never ' ' came round " —

Her fraudulent life was done.

* * * *

From this little tale can a moral be drawn —

How the bumblebee loafs not a bit;
But works all day from the earliest dawn,

And thus 'scaped the death dealing hit?

This moral is good, but please don't forget

Those eggs that the Apathus hid !
The Bombus is working and slaving yet,

But it's all for the other one's kid !

t?

WASTS.

The Solitary Wasps.

(Super-family Sphecoidea.)

To this group belong nearly all of those insects which are
known as the solitary wasps, in contradistinction to the social
wasps which form communities and live in nests, usually con-
structed of a paper-like substance, and lead very much the same
socialistic life which we see in the social bees. The solitary
wasps, in the main, form burrows, just as do the solitary bees,
construct cells within their burrows and in the cells provide food
for their larvae. This food, however, is not the pollen and honey
mixture which is found in the cells of the solitary bees, but it is
other insects which have been stung and paralyzed by the mother
wasp. To this super-family belongs a large assemblage of forms
which comprise twelve large families, the habits of all being
rather similar.

Nothing can be more fascinating than the study of the habits
of the solitary wasps and no more readable book on a natural
history topic was ever prepared, not even excepting the famous
Natural History of Selbourne or the general volume of Kirby and
Spence's Introduction, than that entitled, "On the Instincts and
Habits of the Solitary Wasps," by George W. and Elizabeth G.
Peckham, of Milwaukee, published as Bulletin No. 2 of the Wis-
consin Geological and Natural History Survey. The Peckhams,
already noted for their interesting work on the habits of spiders,
and attracted to the study of solitary wasps probably through
observing these creatures carry off spiders to stow away in their
cells for their young have spent many summer days inclose obser-
vation of these industrious, active and most intelligent creatures
and have described their observations in the most charming style.
They have entered into the lives of the solitary wasps and have
shown them to be as interesting in their way as the much-more-

18

Wasps

written-about bees and ants. Their ingenuity in capturing their
prey, the care with which they conceal their burrows, the differ-
ent individuality among members of the same species, and more
astonishing than all, the actual use of improvised tools by these
creatures, and many other points which the Peckhams have
brought out and described make one wish to drop all other oc-
cupations and immediately begin the study of the solitary wasps.

The active little wasps of the family Oxybelidae are known
in Europe to burrow in the sand and to provision their nests with
flies. European writers state that they do not paralyze the flies
by stinging as with most other digger wasps, but that they crush
the thorax just beneath the wings so as to destroy the great nerve
ganglia at that spot. The Peckhams found one of our American
species, Oxybelus quadrinotatus, burrowing in the sand and
storing flies after the burrow was completed. There were some-
times a dozen flies in the same nest and all had the thorax
crushed. This little wasp carries its prey by clasping the head of
the victim with the third pair of legs, and flying thus, with the
whole body of the fly sticking out behind her, she presents a re-
markable appearance.

The wasps of the family Crabronidae are usually larger, but
still are rather small insects. They burrow in sand and clay and
many of them make their burrows in wood — in palings, posts,
stumps and decaying logs. They store in their cells a great
variety of insects. Xylocrabro (Crabro) stirpicola was found by
the Peckhams to fill its cells with different kinds of flies. Others
store spiders and plant lice. The interesting observation was
made by the Peckhams on the species just mentioned that it works
at night and that "her manners were an agreeable contrast to
those of the wasps that we had been watching through the day.
The feverish excitement of their ways seemed quite in keeping
with the burning heat of noon, while Crabro's slow and gentle
movements harmonized perfectly with the long shadows of
evening." One specimen was seen to work industriously for
forty-two hours, toiling from three in the afternoon on July 27,
through that night and the day and night following until nine
o'clock on the morning of the 29th. ' ' Surely, " say the Peckhams,
"she takes the palm for industry, not only from other wasps but
from the ant and bee as well." Her burrow was thirty-nine cen-
timeters in length and was made in the stalk of a raspberry or

19

Wasps

blackberry. The species which belong to the genus Trypoxylon
and its close allies as a rule make use of the burrows of other in-
sects. They sometimes store the insects which they collect in
the deserted cells of a mud-dauber, and sometimes in the small
round holes made by wood-boring beetles in old trees. Many
of the species seem to store up plant lice but others capture and
paralyze different kinds of spiders. There is a very important
wasp which belongs to this group which does not occur in the
United States but which 1 am trying to introduce. This is the
Ampulex which preys upon cockroaches. A correspondent in
Mauritius, D'Emmerez de Charmoy, of the museum at Port Louis,
has promised to send me some of these creatures alive. He states
that they enter the houses and prey upon the domestic cockroach.
Perkins, quoted by Sharp, says that in West Africa cockroaches
are stung by these wasps and placed in confinement in some such
spot as a keyhole and in one case one was apparently prevented
from afterward escaping by the wasp carrying some heavy
nails into the keyhole. Rothney, also quoted by Sharp, says,
" 1 saw two or three of these wasps (A ruficornis) collar a pe-
culiar cockroach by the antennae and lead it off into a crack in
the bark, but as the cockroach reappeared smiling each time I
don't know what was up."

Numbers of other most interesting forms occur here, but
those interested must go to the Peckhams' book and to Ashmead's
Interesting paper entitled, " The Habits of the Aculeate Hymen-
optera," published in Psyche, January to May, 1894, and to the
papers referred to by the latter author.

The genus Ammophila contains some of the most interesting
forms in this family, and the habits of one or more species have
been described in the most interesting way by the Peckhams, by
the late William Hamilton Gibson, and Dr. S. W. Williston, and
by Mr. Theodore Pergande. These are the insects which use
tools. Their burrows are deep in the earth and are carefully con-
cealed by the insertion of a stone, over which dry earth is scraped.
When the female returns with a caterpillar, (and she travels un-
erringly to this concealed burrow for a long distance,) the earth
and stone are removed, the caterpillar is carried down into the
burrow and the mouth is once more concealed until another
caterpillar is brought. The solicitude exhibited by the maternal
wasp for fear her burrow may be discovered has been vividly

Plate IV.

WASPS

FIG
I.

2.

3-
4-

Poecilopompilus interruptus
Monobia quadridens
Hemipogonius alienatus
Odyneius capra
Odynerus campestris

6. Hemipogonius fortis

7. Ancistrocerus capra

8. Eumenes fraternus

9. Vespa borealis

10. Ceratopales bipunctatus

11. Polistes metricus

FIG.

12. Polistes annularis

13. Vespa vulgaris

14. Sceliphron cementarius

15. Ammophila gryphus

16. Ammophila interrupta

17. Vespa Carolina

18. Sphex ichneumoneus

19. Pompilogaster aethiops

20. Priononyx atrata

21. Sphecius speciosus

22. Chlorion coeruleum

The Insect Book,

Plate IV.

Wasps

described by all of the authors above mentioned. When the
burrow is complete the female wasp has been observed to use a
stone as a tamping iron to pack the earth into the mouth of the
burrow. This is the tool use referred to. Dr. Williston states
that he feared to publish his observation at first, since he might
not be believed. Pergande noticed that after the burrow was
completed and filled the mother wasp revisited the spot oc-
casionally to satisfy herself that everything was secure against in-
truders and to make surety doubly sure by placing additional dis-
guising objects over the already disguised burrow mouth.

It was in their study of one of the Ammophilas that the
Peckhams noticed a very distinct personality among the females
which they watched at work. This personality was not of in-
dividual appearance but of such mental attributes as careful
painstakingor carelessness and industry or laziness. One seemed
to hurry tremendously and spent no time on non-essentials.
Another was an artist, working for a long time on the closing of
her burrow, arranging the surface with scrupulous care and
sweeping away every particle of dust to a distance. Still another
went to the extreme in carelessness, carrying the caterpillar in a
very careless way and making a nest which was a very poor
affair. Still a fourth was "the most fastidious and perfect little
worker of the whole season, so nice was she in her adaptation of
means to ends, so busy and contented in her labor of love, and
so pretty in her pride of her completed work." In fact, they seem
to have almost as much individuality as human beings and the
result of these observations has a strong bearing on the discussion
of instinct. Fabre, the French entomologist, who studied the
same insects, considered that they were inspired by automatic-
ally perfect instincts which can never have varied to any ap-
preciable extent from the beginning of time. Deviation from the
regular rule, he thought, would mean extinction. The Milwaukee
authorities, however, found that variability was the one unmis-
takable and ever present fact, and this variability existed in every
particular, in the shape of the nest and in the manner of dig-
ging it, whether it is left closed or open, in the manner of
stinging the prey and of crushing it, in the manner of carrying
the victim, in the way of closing the nest and in the condition
produced in the victim by the stinging, some dying and others
living for a long time, though nearly motionless. All this varia-

Wasps

bility the Peckhams got from the study of nine wasps and fifteen
caterpillars!

The mud-daubers of the genus Sceiiphron (formerly and in
most books placed in the genus Pelopaeus) are among the most
interesting members of this super-family. They build their nests
of plain mud in sheltered places under the eaves of barns or even
in the attics of houses. The food supply with which the cells
are stored consists almost invariably of spiders, as many spiders
being packed into one cell as the cell will hold. A single egg is
laid upon the last spider packed in and the larva eats rapidly, con-
suming the abdomen of the spiders first and subsequently the
rest of their bodies, eating both dead and living spiders. After
the egg is laid and the nest closed up new cells are constructed
by the same female.

A curious observation has been made by Schwarz in the
Washington parks and gardens. He found that one of the
Sphegid wasps — Chalybion coeriileum — was engaged in captur-
ing a certain kind of spider which hid itself so carefully that it
K'as most difficult to find. Instead of spending her time in fruit-
less searching the wasp would entangle herself in the web of the
spider when the latter would immediately dart out from her
/liding place, thus exposing herself to the wasp who would
easily free herself from the web and chase the spider to its retreat.

Life History of a Digger Wasp

(Sphecius speciosiis Say.^

This large and ferocious wasp, which is in fact the largest
wasp in what may be termed the eastern central states, that is
to say, from southern New Jersey southward, is very abundant
in Maryland, and Virginia and the mid-western states in the
month of July, digging great burrows, usually in clayey soils, and
storing in them for food the large dog-day Cicada, harvest-fly or
lyre-man, or annual Cicada ( Tihicen pruinosa Say). During the
latter half of July, when the note of the Cicada is filling the air with
its vibrations, this big wasp is often seen flying about the trees from
which the song comes. Suddenly the regular note of the har-
vest-fly ceases and in its stead a distressing, discordant cry will

WasfW

Fig. 7. — Sphecius speciosus Say carrying

a Cicada to her burrow.

(From Insect Life.)

be emitted. The wasp has caught its victim and with a quick
sting has paralyzed it and thrown it into a comatose condition

from which it never recovers.
'"^ In this preliminary struggle
often both the wasp and its
victim fall to the ground and
then the wasp begins the la-
borious task of dragging its
prey back up the tree strad-
dling it with its long legs,
although the Cicada is bigger
than the wasp, and working
sometimes for an hour or more
until it reaches a height from
which it can fly obliquely
down to its nest at some dis^
tance away. In Washington,
the dryer and more elevated portions of the lawns, especially
slight terraces along the sides of roadways, are preferred by this
wasp for its burrows. Damp earth
causes the Cicadas to mould after
they have been stored in the burrow.
The burrow itself consists of a
gently sloping entrance extending
for about six inches, when ordina-
rily a turn is made at right angles
and the excavation is continued for
six or eight inches farther, ending
in a globular cell an inch and a half
in diameter. Frequently a r umber
of branches leave the main burrow
at about the same point, each ter-
minating in a round cell. Each of
these cells contains, along in Au-
gust, one or two Cicadas, and in
those cells which contain two the
larva of the wasp acquires a larger
size, and, as the female wasp is a
great deal larger than the male, Riley thought that one Cicada is
required as food to develop a male and two to develop a female.

33

Fig. 8. — Adult Cicada bearing egg

of tiie digger wasp, at a.

(From Insect Life.)

Wasps

Fig. 9. — Cicada in burrow of Sphecius, with full-
grown larva of digger wasp feeding.
(From Insect Life.)

The delicate, white, elon-
gate egg of the wasp is
laid under the middle leg
of the Cicada and when
it hatches the larva sticks
out its head and begins
at once to draw nourish-
ment from between the
segments of its victim.
The tgg hatches in two
or three days and the

larva attains full growth in a week, or a little more. It feeds

entirely from the outside

and when full grown spins

a white silken cocoon which

is finished at the expiration

of two days. The word

silken is somewhat mis-
leading, since it is mixed

with much earth. When it

is finished, about a dozen

curious, porelike openings

are seen in the side oi the

cocoon, the function of

Fig. 10.-

-Larva of digger wasp spinning its
ocoon. (From Insect Life.)

Fig. II. — Sphecius speciosus: a, larva; b, pupa from below;

c, same, from side — natural size; d, head of larva;

<f, labium of same ; f, maxilla of same —

enlarged. (From Insect Life.)

24

Wasps

Fig. 12. — a, cocoon of Sphe-
cius — natural size ; b, en-
larged section of pore.
(From Insect Life.)

which can only be surmised. Possibly
they are for the respiration of the larva
before it transforms to pupa and it re-
mains in the cocoon unchanged through
the winter, transforming to pupa only
the following spring and shortly before
the appearance of the true insect. When
the adult hatches it gnaws its way out of
the cocoon and so on up through the
burrow to the surface of the ground, thus
accomplishing its life-round in a full year.
This big digger wasp is very abundant
in mid-summer throughout the southern
states. It stings severely, and, it is per-
haps needless to say, should be avoided.

The Social Wasps and their Allies.

(Super-family Vespoidea.)

All of the social wasps belong to this super-family, and there
are also brought into it a number of solitary wasps, as well as
the so-called cuckoo flies of the old family Chrysididae, and some
strange insects that were formerly
placed in the parasitic family Proc-
totrypidae, but which are now
made a family by themselves under
the name Bethylidae. There are
other parasitic groups in this super-
family, and it also contains the
curious creatures known as cow-kil-
lers, cow-ants, solitary ants, or velvet
ants of the family Mutillida^, which
have solitary habits, but closely re-
semble the true ants. All these forms, differing however widely
in habit, feed for the most part in their early stages upon other
insects or upon the remains of other insects. The only exception
is a small group found mainly in tropical regions, which may be
termed the honey wasps, of which the old Polistes mellifica of
Say,, which comes from Mexico, is an example. All of these

25

Fig. 13. Polistes pallipes.
(After Comstock.J

Wasps

honey wasps are now brought together into one genus, which is
called Nectarinia.

The true social wasps, nearly all of which in the United
States belong to the Genera l^espa and Polistes, form communi-
ties much like those of the social bees. Their communities,
however, are not so perfect and are not so persistent as are
those of the true honey bee or of the ants, but resemble more
nearly those of the bumblebee. There is a form known as the
worker, just as with the social bees, and the workers here, as in
the other cases, are undeveloped females. Here also, as with
the social bees, these undeveloped females or workers may lay
eggs which invariably produce males or drones.

Most of our social wasps make paper combs and nests.
They are in fact the original paper-makers, and it is quite within
the possibilities that the paper-making idea in the human species

was gained from
the observation 0/
these insects. Their
paper, however,
is made from wood
pulp — a late de-
velopment in the
human scale of in-
genuity. They are
particularly fond of
scraping the frayed
wood fibre from old weatner-beaten fence boards and from the
sides of old unpainted buildings. These wood fibres are macer-
ated with their saliva, and a pasty wood pulp is thus formed with
which the nests are constructed.

In our consideration of the preceding group of wasps, we said
something about individuality among these creatures and its in-
fluence upon theories of instinct. In the social wasp also at least
one observation seems to show that individuals in the face of an
emergency previously unknown to the species readily adapt
themselves to new conditions. This observation was made by
Miss Mary E. Murtfeldt, of Kirkwood, Mo., who found that in a
vineyard where the grape clusters were inclosed in paper bags to
prevent destruction by insects the social wasps found that the
damp and rotting paper bags were perfectly adapted to their nest-

26

Fig. 14.

-Spring nest of Polistes rubiginosus.
f After Riley.)

FIG.
I.
2.
3-
4-

5-
6.

7-
8.

9-

lO.

II.

12.

14.

15-
16.

»7-
18.

19.

Plate V.
WASPS AND BEES

Crabro singularis
Agapostemon texanus
Andrena melliventris
CoUetes thoracica
Epeolus lectus
Crabro interruptus
Andrena texana
Epeolus concavus
Solenius scaber
Coelioxys dubitata
Nomada modesta
Melissodes rustica
Epeolus donatus
Xestocrabro 6-maculatus
Megachile frigida
Nomada maculata
Melissodes suffusa
Epeolus lunatus
Pseudocrabro chrysarginus

FIG.
20.
21.
22.

23-

24.

Megachile xylocopoides
Nomada belfragei
Melissodes obliqua
Sphecodes dichroa
Anthidium interruptum

25. Megachile mendica

26. Nomada grandis

27. Melissodes perplexa

28. Larra americana

29.
30.

31-
32.

33-
34.
35-
36.
37.

Anthidium palliventris
Megachile bucephala
Microbembex monodonta
Melissodes menuacha
Anthidium zebratum
Monia apacha
Megachile pruina
Bembex obsoleta
Melissodes confusa

38. Monia heteropoda

The insect Book.

1^1

kj^

t

^^^

'^^

^Y^

1^

W\

\

The Insect Bikik.

Plate VI.
WASPS

FIG.

1. Notogonius nigripennis

2. Rhinopsis canaliculatus

3. Priocnemis nuperus

4. Agenia mellipes

5. Lyrodon subita

6. Trypoxylon albitarse

7. Trypoxylon albopilosum

8. Trypoxylon texensis

9. Trypoxylon politum

10. Solenius interruptus

11. Pompilus ferrugineus

12. Odynerus conformis

13. Odynerus megaera

14. Odynerus dorsalis
i=. Odynerus tigris

16. Masaris occidentalis

17. Ancistrccerus unifasciatus

FIG,

18. Vespa sulcata

19. Odynerus fulvipes

20. Odynerus austrinus

21. Masaris texensis

22. Masaris texensis
2}. Vespa diabolica
34. Vespa germanica

25. Vespa Carolina

26. Odynerus annulatus

27. Vespa maculata

28. Polistes pallipes

29. Polistes exilis

30. Vespa vidua

31. Polybia cubensis

32. Polistes rubiginosus

33. Polistes bellicosus

34. Polistes americanus

Wasps

building operations, and they thus used this paper already pre-
pared rather than to take the trouble of manufacturing their own
wood-pulp paper. This was a good thing for the wasps, but
unfortunate for the vineyardist.

It is more difficult to study the economy of the social
wasps than that of either the hive bee or ants. As most of the
species are very irritable and possessed of venomous stings, it re-
quires considerable tact and courage to investigate their habits
closely.

The size of the communities varies at the season when they
are largest, and according to the species, from a few individuals
to many hundreds. In one large nest I counted 1,135 cells, and
since, as will be shown, the worker cells are used two or three
times in the summer, the colonies become very strong. This
count was made with the large bald-faced hornet (Vespa macu-
lata) but in some of the smaller wasps or yellow-jackets, like
l^espagermanica, the cells are even more numerous. In one nest
of the latter species, Mr. Marlatt tells me that he carefully esti-
mated that it contained about fourteen thousand cells.

These communities of the social wasps, unlike those of the
hive bee and of ants, but like those of the bumblebees, have only
a temporary existence. On the approach of winter the males
and workers perish and the fertile females crawl into such pro-
tected situations as crevices in walls or under the bark of trees
and there pass the winter in a dormant state. At the opening of
spring each surviving female founds a new colony. At first she
performs the duties of both queen and worker; a small nest is
made, eggs are laid in it, and when the larvae hatch they are fed
and cared for by the queen until they reach maturity. This first
generation is composed entirely of workers. They relieve the
queen of the duties which belong to them and from this time forth
her only duty is to lay eggs. Sometimes she assists in the care
of the young but not in the construction of the nests.

The essential part of a wasp's nest consists of a comb formed
of hexagonal cells similar in form to the cells of a honey-comb.
It differs, however, in several important respects from that of the
hive bee: The material of which it is made is paper instead of
wax; the comb consists of a single layer of cells instead of two,
and the cells are usuallv vertical instead of horizontal. In some
species the nest consists of a single comb with one or more stems

27

Wasps

holding it in place. In others the comb is enclosed in a spherical
envelope of paper with a small opening at the bottom. In the
more complicated nests there is a series of combs placed one be-
low the other, and the whole is enclosed in a case made of many
thicknesses of paper. The nests are enlarged by adding cells to
the edges of the combs, and room is made for these new cells by
removing the inner layers of the envelope; the portion removed,
however, not being wasted, but chewed up again by the wasps
and added to the outside. The nests are suspended from
branches of shrubs and trees or from fences and roofs. Some of
the smaller species build their nests in the ground and under
stumps. In each cell of the comb an egg is laid. Owing to
the position of the comb, when the larva hatches it is suspended
head downwards in each cell and holds its place while young by
means of a glue and when old by its enlarged head end, which
completely fills the open part of the cell. They are constantly
nursed by the females and workers, and are fed with a brownish
fluid which is prepared by the workers or females and consists
of the juices of fruits and the remains of other insects which have
been chewed up. When it gets full grown the larva spins a
silken cocoon, the lower end of which serves as a cap to the
cell, and then it transforms to a pupa. After the adult wasp is-
sues the cell is cleaned out by the workers, and is used again by
the queen, and, as the whole period from the laying of the egg
to the emerging of the full-grown wasp is about a month in the
northern states, a comb made early in the season serves for
several successive generations.

As a rule the males and queens are not developed until
toward autumn. At this time larger cells are made for the re-
ception of the eggs which are to produce these forms. Thus if a
large wasp nest be examined it will be seen that the top combs
contain smaller cells and all of the same size, while the lower
combs contain larger cells. This habit which the social wasps
have of beginning at the top and building downward was what
suggested to Gulliver's Laputan philosopher that they should be-
gin by building the garrets of every house first of all and then
gradually working down to the lower stories and the cellars.

The most notable of the social wasps in the United States is
the bald-faced hornet (Wespa maculata) above referred to. It
builds the enormous paper nests commonly seen attached to the

28

Wasps

branches of the trees. The great yespa crabro or hornet of Eng-
land and Europe, which is the species most commonly referred
to in English books of reference, was accidentally imported into
this country many years ago and established itself in the vicinity
of New York City. 1 believe it was first discovered there by Mr.
James Angus. It has since spread and multiplied very slowly, and
is not known to occur very far from the place where it was origi-
nally discovered. It is rarely found in parts of Long Island and
New Jersey. There is also an unconfirmed report of its establish-
ment near Charleston, S. C. This wasp, which is more yellow
in color, builds preferably in the trunks of old trees.

The smaller yellow-jackets (yespa germanica and K. cuneata)
build their nests above ground, in or beneath stumps or stones,
and in excavations in the open ground. The underground nests
are frequently very large, sometimes more than the size of a half-
bushel basket. Access to these nests is gained by a single (rarely
two) small opening which leads directly from the center of the
nests. The loose paper covering is not as tough and thick as
that with the big hornet.

These large underground nests may be exterminated, when
their location is discovered, by pouring in a little bisulphide of
carbon. The time of the application, however, should be chosen,
and it should be after dusk; otherwise there is great danger of
being stung. The colonies in the large hornets' nests are rather
easily destroyed about nightfall by drenching them with a bucket
of kerosene. This should be done late rather than early, because
just at dusk a few late-returning workers will " raise Cain " over
the destruction of their home.

The other common social wasps found in this country belong
to the genus Polistes. They are the long-bodied, black wasps
with folded wings and slender abdomens. They are frequently
found in houses in the autumn looking for places to pass the winter.

The nest of the Polistes wasps consists of a single comb
without any envelope. They are found commonly in country
barns, and are also attached to bushes and to the lower surfaces
of stones which are slightly raised from the ground. They are
generally horizontal in this country, but European species build
their combs vertically. Polistes feeds upon caterpillars and also
vegetable material as well, and its habits in other respects are
very much like those of the other social wasps.

29

Wasps

Mr. F. H. Chittenden tells me that he thinks one of these
Polistes wasps was responsible for the destruction of the cabbage
caterpillars in the center of a large cabbage field neai Washington
last summer. The wasps would hover about a plant and then
alight and walk about it, but finding nothing would continue to
the next plant, and so on to the next. In the sunny center part
of the field the cabbage caterpillars were exterminated, but in the
shady portions next a patch of woods they were present in great
numbers. Wasps do not see well. They find their prey more
by a sense of touch than by a sense of sight, and as they prefer
the sunshine they unconsciously ignored the abundant caterpillars
in the shade.

There are tropical social wasps, most of them belonging to
the genus Polybia, which build enormous nests. It is said that
the nest of a Ceylonese wasp reaches a length of six feet, and
with a common South American form the paper is so thick and
hard that it resembles thick pasteboard, while the outer layer is
so fine in texture that one can readily write upon it with ink and
a fine pen.

The solitary wasps of this super-family, although differing in
structure, resemble greatly in habits the solitary wasps of the
super-family Sphegoidea. There is one large family known as
Pompilidae, of which we have many representatives in this coun-
try. All of these wasps whose habits are known prey upon
spiders. More than a hundred species occur in the United States,
and most of them dig burrows in the ground, some of them,
however, using readily natural burrows and those of other
insects. Some of them dig their burrows before they catch their
spiders, and others catch the spiders first; and one species has
been seen to carefully hang its spider on the branch of a plant
where it would not be disturbed by ants while the burrow was
being made, occasionally visiting it in the intervals of work to
find out whether it was safe. The habits of several Pompilids
have been studied by Mr. and Mrs. Peckham. There is a famous
wasp of this family which in the Southwest is known as the
tarantula-killer.

The wasps ot the family Eumenidae are known as potter-
wasps, and store up caterpillars, saw-fly larvae, and the larvae
of beetles. They form globular cells of clay or sand which are
attached by a small pedestal to some twig. They are filled full

30

Wasps

15. — Odynerus flavipes and its nest in a
spool. (After Riley.)

of caterpillars in just the same way that the mud-daubers fill their
cells with spiders, and a single tgg is placed in each cell. Prof.
O. T. Mason says that cer-
tain beautifully shaped In-
dian vessels and baskets
have precisely the form of
these cells, and he thinks
the observant aborigines
may have deliberately cop-
ied the insect design.

There is an interesting
genus in this group known
as Odynerus. These are
small active wasps, usually with one or more yellow bands.
They were probably originally borers, but are most adaptive

in their selection of places in
which to make their cells.
They use the old burrows of
different bees and wasps, and
are fond of using old mud-
daubers' cells. Ashmead found
one species in Florida making

Fig. 16. — Tiphia inomata. f After Riley.) .^ n • ^l 1 i ru- r

^ ^ ' ^ '^ ^ Its cells in the lock of his front

door, and in old holes in a board fence and in old oak galls.
Walsh found one building its cell in the cavity of a discarded
spool. These wasps also sting caterpillars
and store them in their cells.

The insects of several of the families,
although resembling in general appearance
the other wasps, are probably parasitic in
their habits. These are the Sapygidae, the
Scoliidae, the Myzinidae, the Tiphiidae, all
well represented in this country, and the
curious Thynnidse of Australia, South America and Africa. By
parasitic we mean that their larvae feed upon or within the living
insects instead of such as have been paralyzed by the sting of the
parent, or which are already dead. The Tiphia wasps are para-
sitic upon the big white underground grubs which are the larvae
of the May beetles or June beetles, and the larva of Scolia has
been found in Europe within the body of another beetle, and

31

Fig. 17. — Chrysis sp.
fA/ter Packard.)

Wasps

Ashmead has found an American Scolia preying upon the larva
of still a third beetle.

The so-called solitary ants, of the family Mutillidae, are very
common in portions of the United States. Most of them are
clothed with hair, which is frequently bright-colored — in some
of them being bright red — and on account of the velvety appear-
ance which this hair gives them they are sometimes called velvet
ants. In this group there is admirable opportunity for the study
of life histories, since comparatively little is known about the
way these insects live. They are no doubt parasitic in the nests
of bees, and in Europe one species is known to live in the larval
state feeding upon the larvae of a bumblebee. Schwarz, in this
country, reared one of them from the cells of a burrowing bee,
Riley another from the cells of another burrowing bee, and
Davidson from an anthophorid bee.

Many strikingly beautiful insects belong to the family Chrys-
ididae. They are called cuckoo flies by the English writers, and
goldwespen, or gold wasps, by the Germans. The colors are
usually brilliant metallic green or blue, and the abdomen is fre-
quently tipped with red. The larger species reach the length of
half an inch or more, but the commoner forms in the United
States are small insects, seldom reaching three-eighths of an inch
in length. They are rather stout-bodied insects, and are readily
distinguished from the slender wasps of the preceding groups.

Careful studies of the economy of any of our North American
species are greatly needed. Walsh reared Chrysis cceriilans from
the cells of one of the potter wasps ( Eumenes fraterna), and Ash-
mead has seen one of them entering the burrows of a Trypoxylon,
while he reared two species from the cells of a mud-dauber and
one from the cells of an Odynerus. They are, therefore, either
parasites or guests in the nests of wild bees and wasps, and are
probably parasites rather than inquilines. In Europe some species
of the genus Cleptes are true parasites on saw-fly larvae. There
is a curious confusion sometimes in an Odynerus cell, for a Try-
poxylon will enter one carrying its own store of food with it, and
closing the entrance against the return of the female Odynerus;
then comes along a Chrysis and lays an egg, from which hatches
a larva which devours the stores of the Trypoxylon. The larva
of the cuckoo fly is said to transform without cocoon to a pupa,
and in this state to pass the winter.

32

Wasps

The parasitic family Bethylidae, which Ashmead has trans-
ferred from the Proctotrypoidea to the Vespoidea, is a group of
small insects. The family Trigonalidge, now placed here, but
formerly placed near the Ichneumon flies, is also parasitic ; they
live parasitically in the nests of Polistes and Vespa, agreeing in
habits with the Snpygidae.

The Bethylids are all, so far as we at present know, parasitic
upon caterpillars and upon beetle larvae, usually upon very small
larvae. Haliday, the Irish entomologist, many years ago, wrote
an interesting account of the parasitism of some little Tineid larvae
by a species of Bethylus; but in this case the parasite was observed
to drag its little caterpillar victim into a hole in a reed. Possibly
this fact had much to do with the original suggestion, which came
from Haliday, that the Bethylidse should be placed nearer the
wasps than with the true parasitic Hymenoptera. In the typical
life history which follows, however, we will see that members of
this family are true parasites.

Typical Life History

As has just been shown, the habits of the insects of this great
group are so diverse that no one life history could be considered
as in any way typical of the whole group. As a matter of fact,
the proper and complete study of no one American species has as
yet been made. Many of these insects are everywhere to be
found, and life histories of surpassing interest and of much novelty
await the first careful person who will care to devote the necessary
time to this study. Of course a great deal is known about the
general economy of our social wasps and interesting studies have
been made by the Peckhams and others on some of the solitary
wasps which belong to this super-family, as well as to the Sphe-
coidea; but it is the parasitic forms, especially of the Scoliidae,
Myzinidse and Tiphiidae, which offer great opportunities. So do
especially the Mutillidae and the Chrysididae. Of one of the Bethy-
lidae, 1 am fortunately able to give some account, since it has been
studied with care in my laboratory by Mr. August Busck, from
whose unpublished notes the following interesting story is drawn.

32

Wasps

Life History of a Parasitic Wasp

(Lcelius trogoderniatis Ashm.y)

When Mr. Busck was making some studies for me in the
summer of 1897, on the life history of the tussock moth, he made
the interesting discovery that the egg masses of this famous shade-
tree defoliator were sometimes eaten by the larvse of certain der-
mestid beetles which are ordinarily known as museum pests,
feeding upon skins and furs, stuffed birds and pinned insects, and
which, although known to feed upon dead and dry animal matter,
were hardly to be suspected of eating living animal matter. But
we found (and this is by the way) that these museum pests were
really destroying the sound eggs of the tussock moth. This in-
terested us so much that egg masses with dermestid larvae were
brought into the insectary for most careful observation. Then it
was found that with the dermestids had also been brought in a
most interesting parasite which proved to be Lcelius irogoderma-
tis — a Bethylid. The Laelius is a little, black, slender, active, four-
winged fly; and the female, when it finds one of these dermestid
larvae, at once jumps upon its back and clings firmly, in spite of
the struggles of the victim. As soon as the poor beetle larva quiets
down a bit, Lselius places herself crosswise over the thorax and,
curling her abdomen around under the side, inserts her sting just
behind the second or third pair of legs, paralyzing the dermestid
instantly, the sting apparently having entered one of the large
thoracic nerve ganglia. Then the parasite relaxes its hold and
begins pulling the legs and hairs of its victim with its mandibles,
its antennae vibrating in a contented manner. The pulling of the
legs is evidently an attempt on the part of the parasite to see if
the stinging has done its work with perfect effect. Having satis-
fied herself by all sorts of tests that the paralysis is complete, she
proceeds to lay an egg, attaching it to the skin of the dermestid
on the under side of the body, first pulling out the hairs carefully
so that the tgg can be firmly attached to the skin. If in the course
of this operation, or even before the tgg is laid, another dermes-
tid larva comes within her range of perception, she leaves the
first victim, mounts and stings the second, or even a third or a
fourth, each time testing the completeness of the paralysis with
the utmost care. Before attaching the egg she thrusts her sting
into the spot several times, apparently making an orifice through

34

Wasps

which the larva, after hatching, can thrust its head, or which it
can at least enlarge easily so as to insert its head. The egg is
oval, soft, translucent, about a third of a millimeter long, apparently
has no peduncle, and is not very firmly attached to the skin of the
dermestid. From one to six eggs are laid upon a single victim.
In a few days the larvae hatch, yellow in color and very indistinctly
jointed. Immediately on hatching, their mouths are closely ap-
plied to the skin of
the paralyzed der-
mestid and they be-
gin to grow, not so
rapidly as thesome-
what similar Eu-
plectrus, which will
be described in a
succeedingchapter,
but still rather rap-
idly, reaching full
growth in from ten
to fourteen days.
When full grown,
a group of these
larvae with their
heads inserted at
a central point, look not unlike the petals of a curious
flower growing out of the shriveled dermestid larva. When
only one Laelius larva occurs upon a host it sometimes enters the
sucked-dry skin and spins its cocoon within it, but generally the
white, rather loose, silken cocoons are spun outside the skin of the
dermestid, which shows large holes where the parasitic larvae have
been at work. After the cocoon is formed the larva remains within
it, motionless, for ten days or more, finally transforming to a white
pupa with red eyes. This white color changes gradually to black
and in eight to ten days further the adult fly issues from the end
of the cocoon through a ragged hole. The entire life duration of
a generation, in the summer-time, is from thirty to thirty-five
days and the insect passes the winter as a larva in its cocoon, the
cocoons of the winter generation being firmer than those of the
summer brood and darker in color. Mr. Busck observed that a
female will paralyze all dermestid larvae with which it comes in

35

Fig. 1 8. — Lcelius trogodermatis : dennestid larva
at right, showing eggs of parasite; full-
grown parasite larva; at left ; adult
parasite in centre (original).

Wasps

contact, but it does not use them all for egg-laying. The sting
does not kill the dermestid larva but simply paralyzes its motor
nerves. It remains alive, as is evident from the fact that its ali-
mentary canal continues to work and excreta are emitted from the
anus. In spite of all the precautions taken by the mother Laelius to
assure herself of the complete paralyzing of her victim, occasionally
this is not complete and after a few days the dermestid larva molts.
In such cases, of course, the eggs of the parasite perish. Mr.

Busck found the phenomenon
of parthenogenesis to occur
with this insect, a virgin female
in one instance having laid
eggs which hatched and the
larvse were reared to the adult
condition, all of the individu-
als, as was quite to be ex-
pected, being males. The
volume of the eggs laid by a

Fig. iq. — Goniozus sfi., a parasite of the . , j. , . . . ,^

Codling moth. (A/ier Mariatt.) smgle female IS surprismg. It

lays more than twice its bulk
in eggs. The female drinks water greedily and possibly takes
other food. In confinement it will perish if left without water.

An undescribed Bethylid of the genus Goniozus in Kansas
has a similar life history, according to Popenoe and Mariatt, but
this one is of greater economic importance since it attacks the
larvae of the codling moth — the worm so commonly found in
apples. Just such a cluster of parasitic larvse as is described above
was found by Mariatt upon an apple-worm in the interior of an
apple.

3<5

THE ANTS

(Super-family Formicoidea.)

All of the true ants belong to this group. They are all very
characteristic in appearance and there are very few other insects
which can be mistaken for them, except possibly the so-called
cow-ants, or velvet ants, of the family Mutillidae (super-family
Vespoidea), or the so-called white ants, which belong to an
entirely different order and which really should not be called ants,
\f popular names are to coincide at all with scientific classification.
The true ants, however,
as shown in the synoptic
table, are readily distin-
guished from all other
Hymenoptera, aside from
their general and more
characteristic appear-
ance, by the one or two
swellings on the petiole
of the abdomen.

We have seen with
the bees and with the
wasps that while some
species are social and live
in communities, others
are solitary in their habits.
With the ants, however,
it is different; all species

ig. 20. — Solenopsis xyioni. (After McCook.)

live in communities and are social insects. Social life with certain
of the ants is carried to the greatest extreme known in nature.
The differentiation into different castes or forms of individuals of
the same species is carried to a much higher extent than with the
bees and the wasps. We have seen, with the bumblebees, the
beginning of a separation into two classes of workers, that is to

37

The Ants

say, there are large workers and small workers which have dil-
ferent functions in the community. With the ants this becomes
almost the rule and when we consider all ants we find that there
may be eight distinct castes, not all in the same individual species,
though five may occur in the same species. There are not only
the ordinary winged males and the ordinary winged females, the
large workers and the small workers (workers major and workers

minor, as they are termed), but
with certain species there is a well
developed and well adapted caste
which does the principal fighting
for the community and which is
known as the soldier. The
workers, as with the bees, are
simply infertile and undeveloped
rir-giirtr females. They never have wings.

1 ^^m^ /fv f^^^x The true females have wings, but

after the nuptial flight they are
discarded and only at certain
times in the year are winged in-
dividuals seen in an ant com-
munity. The true workers, when
examined as to their internal anat-
omy, seem to differ principally
from the true females in that they
lack the receptaculum seminis.
There are, however, with certain
ants forms which never have
wings and which in the female
sex possesses a receptaculam
seminis, and there are correspond-
Fig. 2i.-Cremastogaster4ineolata. '"g wingless males, that is, males
(After Mc Cook.) which never develop wings.

These are, then, sexually competent males and females, neither
of which ever develop wings. This adds two more structural
forms to the possible number of forms in a community, and they
are called ergatoids. This is a term which will come more fre-
quently into use and should be mentioned. It applies to both
sexes, but the females are said to be ergatogynous and the males
are said to be ergatandrous. The eighth possible form occurs

.18

Plate VII.

WASPS

FIG.

FIG.

I.

Isodontia philadelphica

12.

2.

Xenoglossa pruinosa

13-

3-

Monedula Carolina

14.

4.

Bembex fasciatus

15-

5.

Ammophila vulgaris

16.

6.

Priononyx thomae

17-

7-

Ammophila pictipennis

18.

8.

Ammophila luctuosa

19.

9-

Ammophila gracilis

20.

10.

Ammophila pruinosa

21.

n.

Arachnophoctonus tropicus

22.

Pompilus maurus
Sophropompilus ingenuus
Arachnophoctonus atrox
Entypus americanus
Priocnemis flammipennis
Isodontia tibialis
Mygnimia ustulata
Pompilus philadelphicus
Sphex pennsylvanicus
Pepsis formosa
Salius magnus

The Insect Book.

The Insect Book.

Plate VIII.

Plate VIII.
WASPS, ANTS AND ICHNEUMON FLIES

FIG.

1. Mutilla 4-guttata

2. Dasymutilla zelaya

3. Sphaerophthalma sackeni

4. Sphaerophthalma fenestrata

5. Sphaerophthalma orcus

6. Sphaerophthalma simillima

7. Sphaerophthalma cypris

8. Myzine namea $

9. Photopsis imperialis

10. Sphaerophthalma macra

11. Brachycistus idiotae

12. Tiphia inornata

13. Myzine namea ?

14. Photopsis imperialis

15. Sphaerophthalma auripilis

16. Brachycistus castanea

17. Discolia lecontei

18. Myzine obscura

19. Nomiaephagus sanborni 9

20. Nomiaephagus sanborni $

21. Mutilla ornata

FIG.

22. Elis xantiana

23. Odontomachus haematodes

24. Pogonomyrmex barbatus

25. Elis 4-maculata

26. Formica integra

27. Formica integra

28. Pogonomyrmex transversum

29. Labidus mexicana

30. Atta fervens

31. Camponotus m.elleus
)2. Camponotus melleus
}). Iphiaulax eurygaster

34. Phasgoneura sulcata

35. Atta fervens

^6. Amphibolips confluens

37. Hemiteles thyridopterygis

38. Thalessa nortoni

39. Glyptomorpha ligatus

40. Labidus sayi

41. Helcon ligatus

42. Trogus exesorium

The Ants

exceptionally and seems to be intermediate between female and
worker.

The community life of ants and their industry, thrift and sup-
posed foresight have been the subject of observation and comment
since the earliest times. The biblical references are familiar to all
and the old ideas are well formulated in part in La Fontaine's
charming fable of the Grasshopper and the Ant. Milton, Prior and
many other poets have sung praises of the ant, and it is safe to
use the trite expression and say that it is "fabled in song and
story." In "The Royal Dream Book," an English north-country
chapbook, it is said that "to dream of ants denotes that you will
live in a great town or city, or in a large family, and that you will
be industrious, happy, well-married and have a large family."

The ants form a
very largegroup.
More than two
thousand species
have been de-
scribed. Sharp
estimates that
there are prob-
ably five thou-
sand species in
existence. There
is a marked uni-
formity of struc-
ture as well as of Fig. — 22. Monomonum minutum.

habits in this great group and the systematic workers have so far
made only eight families, of which the Camponotidae, or common
stingless ants, and the Myrmicidae, or stinging ants, are the most
familiar examples to persons living in the more northern United
States. Representatives of the curious ants of the family Pon-
eridae occur in the Southern States.

Many stories have been told of the supposed intelligence of
ants, but perhaps it will not be out of place to tell one more which
has not been published. In one of the greenhouses of the
Department of Agriculture at Washington, a medium-sized black
ant occurred in considerable numbers, attracted by the presence of
plant lice and mealy bugs upon the hothouse plants. As is well
known, ants are especially fond of the nectar secreted by these

39

The Ants

insects. A number of years ago some Liberian cofTee-trees were
started in the greenhouse. On the under side of the leaves of these
coflFee-trees, there exist at the bases of certain of the leaf ribs some
very minute, nectar-secreting glands. The ants soon found this
out and sipped the nectar. Then the idea occurred to some clever
ant that these nectar glands would be the best places in the world
for mealy bugs to live and grow fat and they would in conse-
quence secrete a great deal more nectar then they would if they
lived on other parts of the leaf. But the nectar glands were too
small to accommodate even one good-sized mealy bug. So, the
word was passed around and the ants gnawed the edges of the
gland and enlarged it so that it would accommodate a good-sized
mealy bug, which was carried to it. Doubtless to the delight of

the ants, the result was as we
may imagine it to have been an-
ticipated. The mealy bug thrived
exceedingly. The gland was
enlarged still further and a whole
family of mealy bugs was raised
in the same hole. Thus a cus-
tom grew up and many such
greatly enlarged glands were
found after a few months. Here
was an ant, then, apparently tak-
ing advantage of an opportunity
which was new not only to the
experience of the individual, but
new to the experience of the race,
and if we adopt the most reason-
able of the definitions of instinct here seems to have been dis-
played positive intelligence of a high order.

In all of these stories of the seeming intelligence of ants and
of bees, and of other insects as well, it must be remembered that
we are running a great risk in our interpretations for the reason
that we make them from a human standpoint, that is to say, that
we consider these insects as though they had human person-
alities. The observer and the narrator inject their own personal-
ities into the subjects investigated and in fact they use words
which carry with them meanings which may not be warranted
by the facts. This fact is brought out strongly by the German

40

Fig. 23. — Tetramorium caespitum.
(After Marlatt.)

The Anta

writer Bethe, who wrote, in 1898, on the psychological qualities
of ants and bees. He shows, for example, that while we see, all
we know about bees and other insects is that they are influenced
by the light and that it would be most unscientific to say that
they do anything as highly psychical as seeing until it is proved.
Some of the peculiar and apparently highly intelligent things which
ants do, such as recognizing the enormous number of members
of the same colony and fighting instantly members of other
colonies, and such as finding their way to their own nests and to
food supplies and communicating intelligence of the location of
food supplies from one to the other, have been carefully tested
by this author who concludes that he can find nothing in the phe-
nomena exhibited by bees or ants to prove the existence of any
psychical quality. " They learn nothing, but act mechanically in
whatever they do, their complicated reflexes being set off by
simple physiological stimuli."*

It is interesting to note in passing that Bethe's conclusions
were anticipated for a number of years by the famous American
naturalist, Samuel L. Clemens (Mark Twain). If any reader does
not believe this let him consult Chapter XXII of a "Tramp Abroad".

No one who has read Bethe's account of how ants find their
way by ant-traveled paths and how easily they are lost when
but a very short distance from the path, can help thinking of Mark
Twain's inimitable "chapter in natural history" which also wakes
a responsive chord in the mind of every one who has attempted
to see intelligence and design in the movements of the isolated
ant. "During many summers, now, 1 have watched him," says
Twain, "when I ought to have been in better business, and I
have not yet come across a living ant that seemed to have any
more sense than a dead one. * * * j admit his industry, of
course ; he is the hardest working creature in the world, — when
anybody is looking, — but his leatherheadedness is the point I
make against him. He goes out foraging, he makes a capture,
and then what does he do ? Go home .? No, — he goes anywhere
but home. He doesn't know where home is. His home may
be only three feet away, — no matter, he can't find it. He makes
his capture, as I have said; it is generally something which can be
of no sort of use to himself or anybody else ; it is usually seven times

* Albrecht Bethe, Archiv. f. d. Ges. Phys. LXX. 15. 100. January, 1898.
A Review by Caswell Grave, American Naturalist, Vol. XXXII, pp. 437-439.

41

The Ants

bigger than it ought to be; he hunts out the awkwardest place to
take hold of it; he lifts it bodily up into the air by main force,
and starts; not toward home, but in the opposite direction; not
calmly and wisely, but with a frantic haste which is wasteful of
his strength; he fetches up against a pebble, and instead of going
around it, he climbs over it backwards dragging his booty after
him, tumbles down on the other side, jumps up in a passion,
kicks the dust off his clothes, moistens his hands, grabs his prop-
erty viciously, yanks it this way, then that, shoves it ahead of
him a moment, turns tail and lugs it after him a moment, gets
madder, then presently hoists it into the air and goes tearing
away in an entirely new direction; comes to a weed; it never
occurs to him to go around it, he must climb it; and he does
climb it, dragging his worthless property to the top — which is
as bright a thing to do as it would be for me to carry a sack of
flour from Heidelburg to Paris by way of Strasburg steeple;
when he gets up there he finds that is not the place; takes a cur-
sory glance at the scenery and either climbs down again or
tumbles down, and starts off once more — as usual in a new di-
rection. At the end of half an hour he fetches up within six
inches of the place he started from and lays his burden down * * *,"
After continuing this charmingly aimless work for some time and
meeting another ant and fighting him about nothing, "each starts
off in a different direction to see if he can't find an old nail or some-
thing else that is heavy enough to afford entertainment and at the
same time valueless enough to make an ant want to own it."

Wasmann has just published some important observations in
which he shows that ants of the genus Lasiits appear to deter-
mine direction only by paths previously traveled by members
of the same community and which they distinguish by the
sense of smell located in the antennae, but that certain ants of the
genus Formica proceed directly to the desired point without fol-
lowing paths, using apparently sight as the directing influence.
Some little understood sense of orientation, however, may lead to
this result and such a sense of course would be instinctive.

The community life of ants seems almost perfect. It has been
likened to a perfect republic where each works for the good of
the whole community, each having his appointed work, laboring
constantly for the good of all, and each ready to sacrifice himself
for the good of all. Most of the writings on the habits of anti

42

Plate IX.
ICHNEUMON FLIES AND CHALCIS FLIES

FIG. FIG.

1. Thalessa atrata lo.

2. Xylonomus stigmapterus ii.

3. Thalessa lunator 3 12.

4. Thalessa lunator ? 13.

5. Eremotylus texanus 14.

6. Chalcis mariae 15.

7. Chalcis ovata 16.

8. Ophion macrurum 17.

9. Anomalon apicale

Pimpla conquisitor
Melanobracon simplex
Pelecinus polyturator
Tetrachonochora insolens
Ichneumon curtator
Ichneumon seminiger
Ichneumon malacus
Exetastes scutellaris

The Insect Book.

Plate IX

The Insect Book.

Plate X

Plate X.

SAW-FLIES AND HORN-TAILS

FIG.

FIG.

I.

Cimbex americana

15-

Monophadnus bardus?

2.

Lophyrus prattii

16.

Nematus erichsonii

3-

Lophyrus abbotti

17-

Dolerus aprilis

4-

Cimbex americana

18.

Lyda luteicornis

5-

Trichiosoma triangulum

19.

Cladius isomera

6.

Bactrocerus pallimacula

20.

Hylotoma scapularis

7-

Harpiphorus fascicula

21.

Panrurus pinicola

8.

Zarsea inflata

22.

Janus integer

9-

Pteronus ventralis

23.

Tremex columba 5

lO.

Dolerus arvensis

24.

Urocerus albicornis

1 1.

Strongylogaster apicalis

25-

Xiphydria albicornis

12.

Schizocerus zabriskei

2(i.

Oryssus terminalis

13-

Monophadnus bardus 6

27.

Tremex columba?

14.

Pteronus ribesii

The Ants

deal with European species. Little is known of an exact nature
about the full details of the life history of any one species which
inhabits the northern half of the United States. Random notes
and occasional observations have been published, but a thorough,
conscientious study of all of the aspects of the life of one of our
commoner forms is still to be made. Even the little red ant of
households ( Monomohum pharaonis), or the pavement ant
(Tetramoriuni ra'spifiimj, or the common black carpenter ant
(Camponotus peniisylvanicus), or any of the common species of
Lasius or Formica, afford subjects for investigation which may
everywhere be found and which should be studied through one or
two years by some careful observer willing to record all that he sees.
There need be no great interruption from the weather, since
colonies of ants can be studied to advantage indoors. Sir John
Lubbock, in his charming book entitled, "Ants, Bees and
Wasps," carried such colonies along for several years. He kept
in captivity, in fact, about half of the British species of ants, as
well as a considerable number of foreign forms, and for several
years he had generally from thirty to forty communities under
observation. He found that the most convenient method was to
keep them in nests consisting of two plates of common window-
glass about ten inches square, and at a distance apart of one-tenth
to one-fourth of an inch, in fact, just sufficiently deep to allow
the ants freedom of motion, with slips of wood around the
edges, the intermediate space being filled up with fine earth.
The nests were kept covered over, except when under actual
observation, since ants very much dislike light in their nests.
On one side a small door was left. These glass nests were either
kept in shallow boxes with loose glass covers, resting on baize,
which admitted enough air, or on stands surrounded either by
water or by fur with the hairs pointing downward. Some of
the nests were arranged upon stands. Comstock tells how the
habits of ants can be studied in a school-room by establishing a
colony in an artificial nest. His arrangement practically follows
that of Sir John Lubbock. He takes two pieces of window-
glass ten inches square, a sheet of tin eleven inches square and a
piece of plank one and one-fourth inches thick, twenty inches
long and at least sixteen inches wide. He cuts a triangular piece,
about an inch long on its two short sides, from one corner of one
of the panes of glass. From the sheet of tin he makes a tray

43

The Ants

three-eighths of an inch in depth. On the upper surface of the
plank, a short distance from the edge, he cuts a deep furrow.
This furrow is i^ept filled with water in order to prevent the
escape of the ants. The tin tray is placed on the plank, within
the furrow, the square pane of glass is laid in the tray, and along
the edges of the glass are laid four strips of wood about a half
an inch wide and a little thicker than the height of the ants to be
kept, then a layer of fine earth is placed in, and the pane of glass
of which one corner has been cut off is laid on the strips of wood,
and the whole is covered with something which will keep the
nest dark.

The general features of the community life of ants of the
commoner genera may be briefly summarized as follows : A
community is supposed to be founded by a single queen which
lays white or yellowish, elongate eggs, which hatch in two
weeks or more. The larvae are white, legless, helpless creatures
which, in the beginning of the colony, are attended by the queen
and which develop into workers. As the community grows,
egg-laying is continuous, new queens are born and these pair
with the males and lay eggs, the workers, as soon as they begin
to make their appearance, taking care of the larvae, feeding them
and carrying them about from chamber to chamber in order to
secure the suitable warmth and moisture. In different parts of
the community will be found larvae of comparatively similar size,
the smallest ones in one place, larger ones in another, and still
larger in another. These larvae have to be fed for a month or
more, according to the species, and when full grown transform
to pupae, sometimes naked, sometimes covered with a silken
cocoon. The cocoon is usually white, and is also carried about
to suitable places by the workers. When an ant colony is dis-
turbed the workers are seen scurrying about, carrying these
cocoons, endeavoring to carry them to a place of safety, and the
common idea is that these cocoons are eggs, but they are a great
deal larger than eggs. In three to four weeks the pupae emerge,
and in emerging from the cocoons they are helped by the
workers, which are said to take the greatest care of them,
unfolding their legs and helping them expand their wings.
The males die very soon as a rule, but the females and the
workers are very long-lived. Lubbock kept two queens for
more than seven years, and certain workers more than six.

44

The Ants

The life of an ant community is practically perpetual, thus
differing greatly from the community life of wasps and bumble-
bees. The nests vary greatly' in form. Some ants occupy gal-
leries and chambers in the ground. Others make extensive
galleries and chambers in decaying wood. Others build mounds.
Still others construct nests of a paste-like substance, and in
tropical regions there are extraordinary variations in the manner
in which nests are built and in the material which composes the
nests. The ants themselves feed upon a great variety of sub-
stances. Under natural conditions they are both carnivorous and
vegetable feeders, eating various plant substances, fruit, and other
insects, as well as the dead bodies of higher animals. They are
especially fond of the sweet sap of certain trees, and of the
secretions of plant lice, of scale insects, and of certain leaf
hoppers and tree hoppers. In an old community the number of
ants may be very great, extending high into the hundreds of
thousands, and it is a matter of common observation that while
the ants of one community are perfectly able to recognize other
members of the same community, no matter how great their
number, they also recognize at once and either resent or have
nothing to do with members of other communities, even of the
same species.

The battles of ants, the slave-making habits of certain species,
the extraordinary variety of the guest insects which are found in
ants' nests and their diverse functions in the community, the re-
lations of ants with plant lice and other insects which afford them
one of their articles of diet, have so often been described in other
works that it would be a vain repetition to dilate upon them here.
The strange facts connected with their agricultural pursuits, with
the occupation of mushroom-growing which is cultivated by cer-
tain species, the remarkable features of the lives of the honey ants
and, in fact, everything connected with ant economy offers most
fascinating reading, even to persons not especially interested in
nature.

The honey ants deserve more than passing mention, even
though they are found in this country only in the far West and at
high elevations. The peculiarity of these creatures is that one
form has the abdomen distended the size of a currant and entirely
filled with grape sugar, or " honey." The nest is a low, gravel-
covered mound about six inches in diameter and two or three

45

The Ants

inches high. The honey-bearers are found clinging to the roofs
of the chambers, a few inches under the ground, and seem to act
simply as cells for the storing of the sweet substance which is
collected by the active workers from the exudations of a gall
which is found upon a dwarf oak. In times of famine and in
seasons when the exudation is not forthcoming the honey-bearer
regurgitates the honey, drop by drop, and it is transferred to the
stomachs of the individuals in waiting. In other respects the
economy of the colony does not differ materially from other
species. There is practically with this insect a new caste of
workers which probably are not gradually transformed by the
distension of the crop and the expansion of the abdomen, but
which have some peculiar structure or form of the intestine and
abdominal walls which gives them a tendency to this change.

Fig. 24. — Ants at play. ( Redrawn from McCook.)

They become simply animated pantries for the use of the others
in time of want. Dr. H. C. McCook has written a charming
book upon this subject, which is entitled, "The Honey Ants and
the Occident Ants," and the same distinguished entomologist and
divine has written another book, entitled, "The Agricultural Ant
of Texas," which gives a most interesting account of the most
interesting ants found in this country, and which includes at the
same time many observations, scattered here and there throughout
the volume, on other ants to be found in the United States.

A word may well be said of the household ants. The little
red ant ( Monomorium pharaonis) has become thoroughly do-
mesticated, passing its entire existence in houses and having its
nests in the walls or beneath the flooring. The little black ant,
(Monomorium minuium), and the pavement ant of the Eastern
States (Tetramorium ccespitumj are also frequently found in

46

Plate XI.
ICHNEUMON FLIES

FIG. FIG.

1. Ichneumon wilsoni i6.

2. Cryptus americanus 17.
}. Lampronota americana 18.

4. Cryptus extrematis 19.

5. Ichneumon longulum 20.

6. Ichneumon w-album 21.

7. Exetastes fascipennis 22.

8. Ephialtes irrorator 23.

9. Cryptus nuncius 24,

10. Ichneumon unifasciatus 25.

11. Ichneumon flavizonatus 26.

12. Ichneumon divinator 27.

13. Exochilum mundum 28.

14. Exochilum mundum 29.

15. Thyreodon morio

Ichneumon coeruleus
Ophion bilineatum
Heteropehna tlavicornis
Enicospilus purgatus
Ichneumon viola
Labena apicalis
Ceratosoma apicalis
Paniscus geminatus
Arotes amoenus
Labena grallator
Compsocryptus caliptera
Opheltes glaucopterus
Anomalon curtum
Hoplismenus morulus

The Insect Book.

The Insect Book.

Plath XII.

Plate XII.
WASPS

FIG.

1. Chalybion texanum

2. Notocyphus texanus
}. Sphex texanus

4. Ceropales nigripes

5. Palmodes rufiventris

6. Sphex tenanus

7. Priononyx brunnipes

8. Sphex flavipes

9. Priononyx ferrugineus

10. Sphex belfragei

11. Priocnemis unifasciatus

12. Pepsis coerulea

13. Ceropales elegans

14. Entypus marginatus

FIG.

15. Pepsis marginatus

16. Pseudagenia bombycina

17. Sericopompilus cinctipes

18. Poecilopompilus navus

19. Pedinaspis laevifrons

20. Hemipogonius heiligbrodtii

21. Parapompilus contiguus

22. Priocnemis fulvicornis

23. Priononyx bifoveolatus

24. Batozonus algidus

25. Priocnemis terminatus

26. Salius texanus

27. Ammophiia robusta

The Ant3

houses. They are not so destructive to household effects as they
are annoying through their presence on articles of food. A friend
once told me a beautiful story of how he once bought a piece of
blackberry pie one night, in a dimly lighted railroad eating
house in a western town. He began to eat it and discovered an
acid flavor which he did not expect, and, carrying it to the light,
found it swarming with Mononion'iun pharaonis. This is not an
uncommon experience and simply indicates the countless num-
bers in which these little creatures occur sometimes in houses.
How to get rid of these ants is a difficult and serious question.
Their nests, occurring usually in walls, are hard to locate. Trap-
ping them with sweetened sponges afterwards soaked in hot
water is apparently sometimes almost hopeless on account of
their infinite number. Careful watching, however, will usually
show the crack through which most of them enter the pantry or
the dining room, and then squirting in kerosene with a large
syringe through this crack will often stop the incursions ; or, the
crack may be packed with cotton soaked in kerosene, driving it
in with a table knife.

Dr. William M. Wheeler has recently published some very
important studies of the peculiar ants of the family Poneridoe, as
they occur in Texas (Biological Bulletin, Vol. II., No. i, October,
1900). These ants make rather primitive nests and they seem
to be generalized creatures from a socialistic standpoint. They
do not seem to feed one another like the specialized ants, but they
have the same habits regarding the cleanliness of the individuals
and of the nests. Their larvae differ from those of other ants, as
do their eggs. They are not nearly so prolific as are other ants
and the feeding habits of the larvae are very remarkable. The
workers capture another insect, cut it into pieces and scatter the
pieces among the larvae, which insert their long necks through
the cut surfaces, feeding upon the juices of the recently killed
insect. Dr. Wheeler found that there is no such sharp distinction
between the sterile and the fertile female with the Poneridae as
with the more specialized ants. He finds an irregular polymor-
phism in both sexes. The workers have the same habit of
opening the cocoons and drawing out the pupae which are ready
to transform. Ten or a dozen workers were observed to gather
around a prematurely extracted pupa and lick it for hours.

One of the most interesting features of the study of ant colo-

47

The Ants

nies is the wonderful diversity of guest insects which are found
in them. Insects of several different orders may be found, in-
cluding beetles, grasshoppers, plant lice, bark lice and Thysan-
urans as well as mites. All these creatures play some part or
another in the economy of the community. Several are cared for
by the ants and furnish food through their secretions. Others
live at the expense of the ants, either as true parasites or as
partakers of ant food. Wasmann has long made a study of these
ant guests and his papers afford such fascinating reading that
they should be generally translated into English for the benefit of
persons engaged in nature study.

Typical Life History.

From the observations oi Dr. McCook on the agricultural
ant of Texas a nearly complete typical life history could be drawn
up, but the geographic range of this ant is so uncharacteristic of
the greater part of the United States that it does not seem wise
to devote the necessary space to such a treatment. The absence,
therefore, of a typical life history in such an abundant and com-
mon group as the ants will serve to emphasize, as strongly as
anything which has been said, the ease with which novel and
important observations can be made upon insects. It is the
earnest hope of the writer that some student will take up, for
example, the large carpenter ant, Camponotus pennsylvanicus,
study it most carefully and compare his observations with those
of European writers upon congeneric forms, although, as a
matter of fact, representatives of this particular genus are not
abundant in Europe. Whoever begins the careful study of this
large carpenter ant must first read Dr. H. C. McCook's interesting
paper entitled "Notes on the Architecture and Habits of the
Pennsylvania Carpenter Ant " published in Vol. V. of the Trans-
actions of the American Entomological Society, pp. 277-289.

48

THE PROCTOTRYPOID P^R^ SITES

(Super-family Proctotrypoidea.)

With the consideration of the insects of this group we fiist
meet with forms which were formerly grouped together in a sec-
tion called the Hymenoptera parasitica, the true parasitic Hymen-
optera. In the old system this included the families Ichneumonidae,
Braconidae, Chalcididae and Proctotrypidae. Other groups have
been added since, and entomologists now, following Ashmead,
consider the Proctotrypoidea, in spite of their invariably parasitic
habits, to be more closely allied to the Vespoidea and Cynipoidea
than to the Ichneumon flies and the Chalcis flies. This is un-
doubtedly true as to structure, and it will be remembered some
of the Vespoidea which we have just been considering are para-
sitic in their habits, while, as will be seen when we take up the
Cynipoidea, some of these insects too, although most of them
are gall-makers, are truly parasitic in their life.

How internal parasites live. — The development of the larvae
of those parasitic insects which live within the bodies of other
insects has been the subject of much speculation and some in-
vestigation. How these creatures breathe, nourish themselves,
move, cast their skins, and pass their excrement have been mooted
points. Cuvier thought that these larvae breathe by placing their
spiracles in relation with those of the insect in which they live.
Ratzeburg showed that some of them have a curious caudal
appendage with very thin walls, and this he thought acted as a
blood gill, oxygen being gained through its walls from the puri-
fied blood of the host insect. Boisduval concluded that they do
not take nourishment through the mouth; that they do not
breathe, and that they void no excrement, the larvae being analo-
gous to the foetus in mammals, which lives the life of the mother.
Newport described the larvae of certain Ichneumon flies as having
no anus, the rectum and its orifice being rapidly developed at the
final molt of the larvae. The older authors thought that these

49

The Proctotrypoid Parasites

larvae attack only the fatty tissues of the host, or that they nourish
themselves exclusively on the lymph.

Through the work of a recent French author, Seurat, we
now understand better how these internal parasites live. They
have very sharp jaws, and use them in order to pierce the tissue
of the host. The digestive tube has a very voluminous stomach
which is closed behind, and which serves as a storehouse for
food which is digested later. A small quantity of food digested
at once suffices for the immediate wants of the larvae. The void-
ing of the excrement takes place only in the interior of the
cocoon, the stomach not opening until the larva changes to
pupa. The parasite larva feeds upon the fat and blood and
the lymph, and in most cases devours everything except the skin
and the air vessels. It respects the viscera up to the last limit,
and only sacrifices them at the end. In the youngest of these

internal parasites the air
vessels have not ap-
peared, and they breathe
by absorbing oxygen
through the skin from
the blood of the insect in
which they live. The skin
o '^ is very delicate and the

Fig. 25.— Pelecinus polyturator. OXygen paSSeS through

(After Packard.) ^^y OSmOSis. A little

later the air vessels begin to appear and become very complicated,
branching all through the skin. The skin in fact appears as if
carpeted with an extremely rich network of fine breath-
ing tubes. In no place do these breathing tubes open through
the skin but the oxygen is absorbed into them through
the skin from the blood of the host. When the parasite leaves
its host its spiracles or breathing holes open, and the outside air
enters through them into the air vessels. Contrary to the old
idea, these internal parasites sometimes molt, and the cast skin
slips from the anal end of the body into the open space behind
it. A remarkable observation has been made by Marchal, who
states that a single Qgg of Encyrtus laid in the egg of a little
Tineid moth divides up into a great number of embryos which
develop into individual larvae in the larva of the host.

These remarks are general, and apply in a way to all of the

50

The Proctotrypoid Parasites

parasitic Hymenoptera. In the Proctotrypoidea a curious hyper-
metamorphosis occurs in certain egg parasites in which there are
three distinct forms of the larva of the same species, one form
resembling the little aquatic animals of the genus Cyclops.

The eggs of the Proctotrypoids are ovate, with a peduncle
at the end. Nearly all of the larvae live within other insects.
Very many of them live in insect eggs, undergoing their trans-
formations within these eggs, sometimes a half-dozen or more
being found within a single egg-shell. Still others live within
the larvDe or the pupae of insects, in which case they gnaw their
way out before spinning cocoons, or sometimes transform within
\he body of the host, in which case there is usually no cocoon,
the skin of the host giving ample protection. The insects of
one genus, Trichacis, develop in the nervous system of the larvae
of one of the little gall midges, while the larvae of another genus,
Polygnotus, develop in the diges-
tive tract of the same insect.

As just stated, many of them
develop in the eggs of other in-
sects, such as butterflies, moths and
true bugs, as well as grasshoppers.
Many times students interested in
rearing butterflies from the egg will
be disappointed, instead of hatching
out caterpillars to find numbers of
the extremely minute black four-
winged flies of the Proctotrypoid
genus Telenomus, which make their
appearance through minute perfora-
tions in the egg-shell. The eggs
of the mourning-cloak butterfly (Euvanessa antiopa) are espe-
cially apt to suffer in this way.

Other Proctotrypoids live in the larvae of gall-flies, gall-gnats,
of many kinds of flies, of butterflies and moths and beetles, and
in plant-lice, and the eggs of spiders, as well as of bugs, butter-
flies and moths. Some of the species (of the genus B(Bus) which
live in spider eggs are very curious, wingless creatures of
simple form.

The curious family Pelecinidae is placed in this super-family
by Ashmead, and it forms an exception to the remainder of the

51

Fig. 26. — Baeus americanus.
(Author's illustration.)

The Proctotrypoid J*arasiteS

insects with which it is thus associated from the fact that the
trochanters are not divided; that is to say, they appear to be
formed of but one segment. They are very curious creatures
with an extremely long and slender abdomen, and look like
Ichneumon flies. This elongation of the abdomen occurs only
in the female sex. The male has a more normal abdomen. In
their early stages they are probably parasitic upon the larvae of
beetles. Pelecintis polytiirator is our commonest species, and
Professor Forbes states that he has bred it from May beetle larvae.

52

THE GALL-FLIES

( Siiper-family Cynipoidea.)

To this group belong the true gall-flies, as well as certain
insects which are inquilines, or gall-fly guests, and also certain
forms which are true parasites. Although we call the Cynipoids
the true gall-flies, there are many other insects which make galls,
such as some of the two-winged flies of the families Cecidomyiidae
and Trypetidae, cer-
tain caterpillars, a few
Chalcis flies, and a few
beetles, as well as cer-
tain mites and scale
insects. Certain of the
oak galls formed by
Cynipoids were early
used in the manufac-
ture of ink, and later for
tannin, so that when
one speaks of gall-
flies these creatures
are always thought of.
They are small dark ^^e- 27 — Cynips spongifica. (Afur RUey.)

colored four-winged flies, at once distinguished from their close
allies by the venation of the wings and the structure of the thorax,
as pointed out in the analytical table.

Those which make galls lay their eggs in the tissues of the
growing plant, and the larvae when hatched feed upon the plant
cells and their contents. A very slight gall deformation may
result, but in the majority of cases there is a rapid growth of
plant-cells and a curious enlargement of variable shape which is
called a gall.

The nature of the gall has long been a disputed point. It
was at first thought that it was a purely vegetable growth and

The Gall-Flies

that the little grubs found within it were the result of spontaneous
generation. Later it was supposed that galls were caused by the
punctures of insects and the injection of a poisonous liquid.

With the true gall-flies,
however, the gall appar-
ently does not commence
to form until after the egg
hatches. It is supposed
that the larva secretes a
liquid which causes the
abnormal growth of the
plant, the plant cells
which are most active in
growth and subdivision
being directly affected.

The egg of the gall-
fly is slender, and has a
very long petiole which
is six to ten times the
length of the egg body,
and this is inserted by
means of a very long
curiously formed ovi-
positor. A good account
of the method of ovipo-
sition reported by Riley
from observations made
by Pergande will be
found in the Proceedings
of the Entomological Society of Washington (Vol. III. pp.
260-263).

Most of the Cynipoids make galls upon oak. Others, how-
ever, are found upon rose bushes. All parts of the plant are
affected — roots, stems, twigs and leaves, as well as leaf petioles.
In some galls but a single larva develops, while in others very
many develop. The oak galls of commerce are European galls,
but some of our native galls would undoubtedly be found to
possess commercial value through the quantities of tannin they
possess.

The origin of tannin in galls has been the subject of investi-

54

Fig. 28. — Diastrophus nebulosus.
fA/Wr Riley.)

The Gail-Flies

gation by Krnemer. He finds that gallic acid is formed at the ex-
pense of the starch during the chrysalis stage of the insect. With
the maturing of the winged insect, the gallic acid is changed to
tannic acid. The transformation of gallic acid into tannin is
accomplished by the condensation of two molecules of the for-
mer with the loss of one molecule of water.

Most of these insects are single-brooded and develop but one
generation in the year. Under unfavorable circumstances, how-
ever, this period may be greatly lengthened, and circumstances
are on record where the flies have emerged only after two or three
years. Certain moisture conditions favor the proper issuing, and
when these are lacking the development is retarded.

Some very curious alternations of generations occur among
these insects. Of certain species, and indeed of certain genera,
for years only the female sex was known, and it was afterward
discovered, first by Riley and afterward by Adler, that what had
been considered two entirely distinct forms were really the same
species, but that one generation included both sexes while the
alternate generation comprised only females which reproduced
parthenogenetically.

One of the most peculiar facts connected with the gall-flies
is that a particular part of the plant is always affected by the same
species, and that each species of the same generation always pro-
duces a deformation or gall of exactly the same character, so that
the gall alone identifies the species of insect, and in fact for a long
time generic and specific names were given to the galls before the
insects were named, the name subsequently being applied to the
insect itself.

The full development of none of the American gall-making
Cynipoids has been studied with the care which this subject should
have and doubtless there are many interesting and important facts
yet to be discovered.

The guest gall-flies closely resemble the true gall-flies, but
lay their eggs in galls already formed by the true gall-flies, their
larvae living upon the plant growth produced by the true gall-
fly larvae.

The parasitic gall-flies live as true internal parasites in other
insects, mainly plant lice and the larvae of dipterous insects.

About fifteen hundred species of this super-family have been
described.

55

THE CHALCIS FLIES

(Super-family CJialcidoidea.)

This group of parasitic Hymenoptera is probably the largest
in number of species of any of the corresponding Hymenopterous
groups. It is a well defined and well limited group structurally
speaking and comprises undoubtedly many thousands of species.
Only a small proportion of the species have as yet been described.
As a rule the insects are so small that they attract no attention from
the average collector and the paucity of our specific knowledge
of the group possibly arises from this fact. The writer was the
first entomologist in America to undertake the systematic study of
the Chalcidoidea and he and his colleague, Mr. Ashmead, have

had the field practically to
themselves for the past 20
years. In the course of this
time, however, we have
described many hundreds
of species and have learned
many interesting facts about
the strange life histories and
relationships with other in-
sects, many more of which
remain to be noted by care-
ful observers. Almost all
of the forms are truly parasitic, the exceptions being certain gall-
making species belonging to the genus Isosoma and its allies and
possibly the seed inhabiting species of the genus Megastigmus.
Nowhere in nature is there a more marked example of the co-
relation between structure and habits than occurs in this family.
This co-relation descends to the relation between the parasites and
their hosts so that it is possible for an experienced person on
seeing a new species of Chalcis fly to tell precisely what kind of
an insect it will be found to be parasitic upon. For example, the

56

Fig. 29. — Pachyneuron micans, How.
(Author's illustration.)

The Chalcis Flies

species of the genus Copidosoma are always parasitic witiiin naked
caterpillars. Those of the genus Bothriothorax are always para-
sitic in small dipterous larvae. The economic importance of the
group is great. They are the most effective parasites of many of
our most injurious insects. For example, in a certain year in the

Fig. 30. — Chalcis ovata, Say. f Author's illustration. J

cotton fields of Northern Florida 95 per cent, of the eggs from
which would have hatched the voracious cotton caterpillar were
killed by the minute C\\di\dd\d^2Lr2iS\itJ'richogramma pretiosa.

Life History of a Chalcis Fly

(Euplectrus comstockii, Wo^n.)

It goes without saying that the full life of the internal-feeding
parasites of this group is very difficult and practically impossible
to follow so long as they are within the body of the host insect.
In our earlier consideration of the super-family Proctotrypoidea
we have given some general remarks upon the development of
all internal-feeding parasitic Hymenopterous larvae, and those re-
marks will apply in general to the Chalcis flies. There are some
of them, however, whose larvae do not feed internally. These are
especially those which are parasitic upon the larvae of gall-making
insects. If a gall be cut open, it is quite likely that there will be
found within it the larva of a Torymus (one of the Chalcis flies)

57

The Chalcis Flies

Fig- 32

Larvae of Euplectrus comstockii,
on cotton caterpillar.
(Fourth Report U. S. Ent. Com. J

feeding externally upon the gall making larva, and there is a quite
large group known as the Elachistinae which are parasitic upon
caterpillars, the larvae of which feed also outside the skin of the
host insect. It is one of these which has been selected for our
typical life history. It was studied in the summer of 1878 in the
cotton fields of Alabama by Mr. E. A. Schwarz, but it has a north-
ward spread and is parasitic upon caterpillars of certain Geomet-
rid moths — measuring worms.

The adult parasite, which is a little black, shiny, four-winged
fly and which, when seen under a strong lens has a number of

strong, dark colored bristles
upon its back, lays its eggs
to the number of from three
to fifteen in a group upon
the middle of the back of
the wriggling caterpillar.
Each egg is brown in color,
almost black before hatching, is elongate oval, strongly convex
above, and somewhat flattened beneath. The individual eggs
although laid in a group are sufficiently separated from each
other to allow for the development of the larvae. They hatch
about two days after being laid. The delicate egg shell splits
longitudinally in the middle of the back and discloses the white,
grub-like parasite larva, which gradually works the egg shell more
and more down the sides of its body where it remains visible as a
black line for some hours. As soon as the grub has freed its head
from the egg shell it pierces the skin of the victim, and thereafter
remains stationary with its head buried. As soon as it has
fairly begun to feed, the white color .changes to a bright bluish
green, and the spiracles and the con-
strictions between the segments are
readily seen. The growth of this larva
is extremly rapid. In fact, we know
of no insect larva which has a more
rapid development. In midsummer it
reached full growth in three days from
the time of hatching. In September
this larval growth took four days. When full grown the para-
sitic grubs crowd each other, and if there are five or more of them
on a caterpillar they form a semi-globular lump of very striking

58

Fig. ^T,. — Pupae of Euplectrus

comstockii. fFrofn Fourth

Report U. S. Ent. Com.)

Plate XIII.
TRUE FLIES

FIG.

1. Physocephala tibialis (Conopidae) Atlantic States

2. Chrysopila ornata (Leptidae) Atlantic States

3. Psorophora ciliata (Culicidae) U. S.

4. Pyrgota undata (Ortalidae) Eastern half of U. S

5. Empis ravida (Empidae) N. H.

6. Musca domestica (Muscidae) Cosmopolitan

7. Helicobia quadrisetosa (Sarcophagidae) D. C.

8. Bittacomorpha clavipes (Tipulidae) U. S.

9. Pyrgota valida (Ortalidae) Northeastern U. S.

10. Camptoneura picta (Ortalidae) U. S.

11. Morellia micans (Muscidae) Eastern U. S.

12. Sarcophaga sarraceniae (Sarcophagidae) Eastern U. S.

13. Calobata lasciva (Micropezidae) Southern U. S., W. I., S. A.

14. Tetanocera plumosa (Sciomyzidae) Northern U. S., Brit. Am.

15. Phormia terraenovae (Sarcophagidae) Northern U. S.

16. Calliphora erythrocephala (Sarcophagidae) N. A., Eur-

17. Pachyrhina ferruginea (Tipulidae) N. A., Mex.

18. Bibio albipennis (Bibionidae) Northeastern U. S.

19. Scatophaga stercoraria (Scatophagidae) N. A., Eur.

20. Lucilia caesar (Sarcophagidae) N. A., Eur.

21. Cynomyia cadaverina (Sarcophagidae) Eastern half U. S.

22. Bombyliomyia abrupta (Tachinidae) N. A., Mex.

23. Odontomyia binotata (Stratiomyidae) Western half U- S.

24. Olfersia americana (Hippoboscidae) U. S.

25. Trichopoda pennipes (Tachinidae') N- h., Mex
20. uonia capitata 5 (iachiniaaej in. j\., Mex., Eur.

27. Echinomyia algens (Tachinidae) Northern N. A.

28. Panzeria radicum (Tachinidae) U. S. Eur.

29. Ocyptera carolinae (Tachinidae) N. A.

30. Gastrophilus equi (Oestridae) N. A., Eur.

31. Gonia capitata ? (Tachinidae) N. A., Mex., Eur.

32. Jurinia metallica (Tachinidae) Southern U. S., Mex.
}). Archytas aterrima (Tachinidae) N. A., W. j_

34. Hypoderma lineata (Oestridae) N. A., Eur.

35. Tabanus lineola (Tabanidae) U. S., Mex.

36. Chrysops niger (Tabanidae) Eastern half N. A.

37. Chrysops vittatus (Tabanidae) Northeastern U. S.

38. Tabanus costalis (Tabanidae) Atlantic States

39. Cuterebra buccata (Oestridae) Eastern U. S.

40. Tabanusamericanus(Tabanidae) Southeastern U. S.

41. Tabanus lasiophthalmus (Tabanidae) Eastern N. A.
43. Tabanus atratus (Tabanidae) Eastern U. S., Mex.

The Insect Book.

Plate XIIl.

The Insect Book.

Plate XIV.

Plate XIV.
TRUE FLIES

FIG.

1. Anthrax fulvohirta (Bombyliidae) Eastern U. S.

2. Anthrax alternata (Bombyliidae) Eastern U. S.

3. Systoechus vulgaris (Bombyliidae) Northeastern fourth U. S.

4. Anthrax hypomelas (Bombyliidae) Eastern half U. S.

5. Exoprosopa fasciata (Bombyliidae) Eastern half U. S.

6. Bombylius major (Bombyliidae) N. A., Eur.

7. Anthrax sinuosa (Bombyliidae) U. S.

8. Exoprosopa caliptera (Bombyliidae) Western half U. S., Max.

9. Anthrax tegminipennis (Bombyliidae) Northeastern fourth

U. S., Can.

10. Laphria canis (Asilidae) Northeastern U. S.

11. Spogostylum simson (Bombyliidae) U. S., S. A.

12. Dioctria albius (Asilidae) Northeastern U. S.

13. Laphria pubescens (Asilidae) Northern U. S.

14. Erax aestuans (Asilidae) N. A., W. J.

15. Laphria sericea (Asilidae) Eastern U. S.

16. Dasyllis flavicollis (Asilidae) Eastern U. S.

17. Asilus orphne (Asilidae) Eastern U. S.

18. Deromyia sp. (Asilidae)

19. Dasyllis posticata (Asilidae) Atlantic States

20. Asilus sericeus (Asilidae) Eastern U. S.

21. Mallophora orcina (Asilidae) Southeastern U. S.

22. Proctacanthus milbertii (Asilidae) Eastern half U. S.

23. Mallophora orcina (Asilidae) Southeastern U. S.

24. Proctacanthus philadelphicus (Asilidae) Eastern U. S.

The Chalcis Flies

appearance. Usually their growth is uniform. A retardation in
the development of individuals in the group results in death.
When full grown they turn white and relax their hold.

The poor caterpillar, which up to this time has shown no signs
of being affected, except by its sickly yellowish color and by its
very slow growth, collapses and dies as soon as a single one of the
parasitic larvae withdraws, and the same fate overtakes those
parasitic maggots which are at the time less advanced in their
development. If one of the larvae be removed by hand, Schwarz
found, both the victimized worm and the remaining parasites
quickly dry up. After the larva turns yellowish white and relaxes
its hold on the caterpillar, it works its way around underneath the

Fig. 34. — Euplectnis comstockii, How. Adult.
(From Fourth Report U. S. Ent.Com.)

belly of the host and spins a series of silk threads attaching the
caterpillar, which is now a mere empty skin, to the leaf. Then
the parasitic larvae take their places side by side across the under
side of the caterpillar skin, fasten it for nearly its whole length to
the leaf, spin a little more loose silk of yellowish white color, and
transform to pupae. This silken web does not form a series of
cocoons since it is so loose that the black pupae can plainly be
seen between its strands. The caterpillar skin protects these
pupae just as a roof would do. After first transforming, the pupa is

59

The Chalcis Flies

dark yellow, but soon becomes black, especially on the head and
abdomen. In from three to eight days the adult parasite emerges.
Just think what a speedy development this means ! — two days
for the egg stage, three days for the larval stage, and three days
for the pupal stage — an entire generation in eight days. Even
the prolific and rapid-breeding house fly cannot beat this. It is
altogether the shortest development of any Hymenopterous para-
site that has been studied, and it is due to this great rapidity of
development of this parasite, together with the abundance of
certain other parasites, that the famous cotton caterpillar of the
South, an insect which used to damage the cotton crop annually
to the amount of fifteen millions of dollars, is periodical in its attacks
and while very abundant some years is very scarce in other years.
During the summer when Mr. Schwarz studied the species in
Central Alabama he found that there was an almost complete
destruction of the caterpillars in the early part of October, and that
this destruction was principally due to this parasite.

60

THE ICHNEUMON FLIES

( Super-family Ichneumonoidea.)

Until quite recently this great group comprising what are
popularly known as the Ichneumon flies* was considered by
entomologists to form but a single family — the ichneumonidae,
but Ashmead has justly decided that the group is of super-family
rank, and in a recent paper has carefully worked out the genera
of the world, recognizing no less than 1,140 distinct genera, very
many of which inhabit the United States. The species of the
Ichneumonoidea are without exception parasitic upon other in-
sects, and for the most part upon insects which are injurious to
vegetation. Caterpillars are especially subject to the attacks
of the Ichneumon flies. In his paper upon the Hymenopterous
parasites of North American butterflies, published as a chapter in
Mr. Scudder's great work "The Butterflies of the Eastern United
States and Canada," the writer has described a large number of
Ichneumon flies which lay their eggs in butterfly larvas, and
which issue as adults either from the caterpillars or from the
chrysalids. One of the most frequent disappointments met with
by collectors of butterflies in trying to rear to the adult condition
the larva of some interesting or rare species is the ultimate
realization of the fact that some Ichneumon fly has laid her eggs
in the rare specimen before it was captured. Not only do larvae
of butterflies and moths suffer from the attacks of members of
this group, but also beetle and fly larvae and more rarely the
larvae of other orders. They are on the whole distinctly bene-
ficial insects, and as will be shown in the detailed life history
which follows, they may be responsible for the absolute saving
of great damage to the shade trees of our cities as well as to agri-
cultural crops by their widespread destruction of injurious insects.

* Both the scientific and the popular names of this group were derived from
the name of the so-called Egyptian Ichneumon or Pharaoh's rat, which devours
the eggs and young of the crocodile and was held sacred by the ancient Egyptians.
The applicability of this title to the group under consideration is due to the
parasitic habits of the Ichneumon flies.

6x

Fig- 35- — Thalessa lunator. (From Insect Life.)
62

Fig. 36— Thalessa lunator. (From Insect Life.)

Fig- 37-— Polysphincta dictynae, a parasite of spide
(Author's illustration.)
63

The Ichneumon Flies

Life History of an Ichneumon Fly

(Pimpla inquisitor, Say.^

«

This important but widespread parasite of caterpillars

occurs in California, Texas, Iowa, Illinois, Missouri, Ohio, New
York, New Hampshire, Massachusetts, Virginia, District of
Columbia, and is probably to be found in all parts of the United

Fig. 38. — Pimpla inquisitor ; a, b, c, larvae at left ; e, male abdomen.
( Author^s illustration.)

States except possibly in the very coldest portions. It is para-
sitic upon a large number of different kinds of larvae of moths
feeding upon such concealed spinners as the tent caterpillar of
the orchard and the army worm of the forest (Clisiocampa
americana and C. disstria) and upon certain stalk borers and gall
makers, leaf folders and certain of the larger leaf miners. It is by
far the most abundant of the parasites of the white marked tus-
sock moth (Orgyia leucostigma), a famous shade tree enemy of
the northeastern United States. The adult Pimpla is shiny black
in color and has a wing spread of, on the average, three-quarters
of an inch, the length of its body being about one-half an inch,
but it varies greatly in size, the adults issuing from well fed larvae
exceeding these measurements and under-fed specimens trans-
forming into much smaller adults. Upon the tussock moth
caterpillar and upon the army worm of the forest the female
Pimpla will lay her eggs when the larvae are full grown or just after

64

The Ichneumon Flies

they have spun their cocoons, the latter time being seemingly
preferable. When either species is abundant their newly spun
cocoons are the rallying points of large numbers of these Pimplas.
One of the females after running about for a few seconds will
suddenly thrust its ovipositor through the cocoon into the body
of the caterpillar which will writhe with pain. The Pimpla,
however, will remain apparently undisturbed and push its ovi-
positor in to its full extent, remaining motionless in this position
for about five minutes during which time the abdomen is slightly
moved in a peristaltic manner as if forcing the eggs out and down
through the ovipositor. She will then turn round, take a step or

Fig. 39. — Pimpla inquisitor ; b, c, eggs ; d, larvas ; e, cocoons.
(Author's illustratiori.)

two, and finally give the caterpillar what is apparently a coup
de grace with two or three thrusts in quick succession. Some-
times the same operation is repeated. The eggs are not thrust
into the body of the caterpillar when the latter is enclosed in its
cocoon but sometimes are to be found loose between the cocoon
and the caterpillar and sometimes not firmly attached to the skin
of the caterpillar standing upright on end. The eggs are elon-
gate, somewhat wider af one end than the other, pure white in
color and perfectly smooth appearing highly polished. The
average length is one mm., and the greatest width about one

65

The Icnneumon Flies

and eight-tenths mm. The duration of the egg state must be
very short and is probably only a matter of but a few hours.
After hatching the Pimpla larvae when at work upon a just spun
up tussock moth caterpillar feed externally upon the body of the
caterpillar, the mouth-parts closely applied to the skin and in fact
obviously sucking blood through a minute orifice. Their growth
is rapid and there is no perceptible casting of the skin. In mid-
summer the larvae will become full grown in four days, when they
are nearly ten mm. long, by three mm. in greatest diameter, fusi-
form in shape, and slightly curved. The color is yellowish white.
They soon begin spinning cocoons. These cocoons, at first white
and afterward turning gradually to a pale yellow brown, becoming
much the same color as the cocoon of the tussock moth, are
denser in structure and are composed of a considerably finer
quality of silk. They are long oval in shape and are closely
applied together adhering so firmly that it takes some little force
to separate them. They are applied side by side and so closely
that their oval outline becomes more or less angular at the point
of application. Two days after the spinning of the cocoon in
midsummer the larva changes to pupa and adults issue some-
times as early as six days later, making the entire life round of the
species about fifteen days.

It sometimes happens that a tussock moth caterpillar is stung
when it is just on the point of transforming, but in such a case the
transformation to pupa is occasionally accomplished. The re-
cently formed pupa is also occasionally stung. Contrary to the
general rule holding when caterpillars are eaten out by the Pimpla
larvae the latter seem to feed within such pupae and evidently to
spin their cocoons within the caterpillar's pupa skin so that one
will frequently find an apparently perfect pupa of the tussock
moth within its cocoon which, however, contains four or five
cocoons of the Pimpla packed close together and completely
filling it.

The number of Pimpla larvae nourished by a single tussock
moth caterpillar varies from one to ten, with perhaps an average
of three or four. This is the case in the summer time, but in
the autumn more are found. Ten or fifteen in a single cocoon
are not unusual at this time of the year, while in one case the
writer has seen twenty-three male Pimpla cocoons in a single
cocoon of the tussock moth. This particular cocoon mass was

66

The Ichneumon Flies

cross-sectioned and is shown at c in the accompanying figure.
When fall comes and the feeding and breeding season is past, all
living individuals of this particular parasite will be found snugly
packed away in the larval state within the bodies of some host
insect and the winter is passed by them mainly in the larval con-
dition in their cocoons. With the approach of spring, however,
they transform to pupae and about the time when the young
host caterpillars begin to hatch from their eggs the adult para-
sites emerge ready for the summer's campaign.

In this act of emerging it is interesting to notice that as with
many other parasitic Hymenoptera and in fact with many other
insects the males as a rule issue before the females and wait with
impatience for the companionship of the fair sex. From one lot
of cocoons studied by the writer in the spring of 1896, forty-nine
males issued between March 3d
and iith before a single female
put in an appearance. On March
13th and 14th a single female
issued each day; on the 17th
eight more; on the i8th three
more; on the 19th fourteen more,
and on the 20th twenty more.
In the meantime the number of
males issuing had rapidly fallen ^^s- 4o-C°';°T .?f ^™P'^ ^"'l'''^'*°^-

" ^ ■' ( Author s tlliistratton. J

off and they eventually ceased

to make their appearance. The number of members of both

sexes was approximately equal.

A curious fact may be noticed concerning the cocoons from
which these early spring individuals issued, that is to say, the
over-wintering cocoons. We have seen that an entire generation
may be produced in a space of fifteen days in midsummer, but,
of course, in colder weather the development is slow and the time
may be much extended. Again, in the absence of proper host in-
sects the females may live for several weeks without having oppor-
tunity to deposit their eggs. The midsummer cocoons are rather
fluffy and although more closely spun than are the cocoons of the
tussock moth caterpillar, they are still rather loose and the outer
silk in particular is loosely spun. With the over-wintering co-
coons, however, it is at once noticed that they are of a closer,
tougher and more parchment-like consistency. There is less of

67

The Ichneumon Flies

the loosely spun silk with the individual although more of this
loose silk surrounding the whole mass in any given host cocoon.
Thus it seems as though the parasitic larvae in preparing for the
winter appreciated the degree of cold which they would have to
experience and wisely prepared for it by making their habitations
thicker and tighter against the inclemencies of the weather.

As abundant and hardy as this species seems to be it does
not escape the attacks of enemies of its own. Certain soldier-
bugs have been seen to capture the adult females of the Pimpla
when they were engaged so assiduously in egg-laying that they
were blind to their surroundings. This is not surprising since
one can approach them during this process so closely as to be
able to study them well with a small hand lens. Then, too,
secondary parasites have been reared from their cocoons, that is
to say, internal parasites of their own, and still more strange to
relate, Hymenopterous parasites of these secondary or hyper-
parasites have also been reared from the Pimpla cocoons. An
extraordinary chain of links in the development of species is thus
brought about and may be studied by any one during almost any
summer in one of our northeastern cities. When the tussock
moth caterpillars appear in great numbers on our shade trees dur-
ing a given season, it will almost invariably be found that this
Pimpla is present also in great numbers and that the majority of
the caterpillars are stung by it. This means that the following
season there will be an unusual number of adults of the parasitic
insect which is now termed the primary parasite. So great is
this abundance that the first generation of tussock moth caterpil-
lars is practically wiped out of existence. Then comes the second
curious fact, that the secondary parasites become enormously
abundant and kill off the abundant Pimplas. At the end of the
same season or at the beginning of the next the tertiary parasites
put in their appearance and the secondary parasites are destroyed,
thus giving relief again to the primary parasites which once more
begin to be abundant and ready for the next case of super-abund-
ance of the host caterpillar. This little chain of species depending
upon species offers one of the easiest and most interesting series
of observations which may be made by any school class in the
part of the country indicated.

68

THE HORN-TAILS

(Super-family Siricoidea.)

These insects form an old series of Hymenoptera, known as
the wood-eaters — Xylophaga. They are distinguished from the
true saw-flies by the fact that the foreshanlts have only one spur
at the tip instead of two. They have the same broad abdomen
and broad head and thorax.

The group includes the families Oryssidse, Siricidae, Xiphy-
driidae and Cephidae. The larvae of all of these insects are wood-
borers, living in the stems of plants, and even in the trunks of
trees. The adult flies are called horn-tails, because the end of
the body usually bears a spine or horn. The ovipositor is fitted
for boring instead of sawing, and with it the female bores into
woody tissue and lays her eggs. The group is not a very large
or a very important one, although it contains many common
species. A noted example is the European Cephus pygmceus,
which bores into the stems of wheat. This species was acci-
dentally introduced into this country some years ago, and is now
found in portions of Canada and New York State. Its damage,
however, has not attracted the attention of farmers of late. The
large pigeon Tremex (Tremex columba) is a not uncommon
enemy to shade trees in certain of the northern states. It attacks
the elm, oak, sycamore, and several varieties of maple. The
holes of this borer may be recognized by their regular, evenly-cut
shape, about the diameter of a lead pencil. Isolated shade trees
along roads and in streets are favorite habitats. The writer, as a
boy, saw them in great numbers in the maple trees on the
grounds of the old Ithaca Academy, at Ithaca, New York. In
midsummer a large number of females would be seen boring
into the trunk of a single tree, laying their eggs. The female
plunges her borer perpendicularly into the trunks, holding it at
right angles to the abdomen. The insertion requires evidently
great muscular effort, and the egg is deposited at the bottom

69

The Horn-Tails

c 6 ^a

Fig. 41. — Tremex columba. (From Insect Life.)

It was a common sight to see females which, after laying, had
been unable to withdraw the ovipositor, so that they had been

held to the trunk until they died.
The eggs are oblong-oval and
pointed at each end.

The common parasites of the
larvae of these horn-tails are the
very large and extremely long-
tailed Ichneumon flies known as
Thalessa lunator and Thalessa
atraia. These Ichneumon flies
lay their eggs in the burrows of
the Tremex, and their larvae feed
upon Tremex larvae.

The exact facts concerning
the life of the Tremex larvae in
trunk of the tree have not been
studied, and the species is such
a common one that it will be
70

Fig. 42. — Cephus pygmaeus.
(After Curtis.)

Plate XV.
TRUE FLIES

FIG.

1. Milesia virginiensis (Syrphidae) Eastern half U.S., Cent. Am.

2. Eristalis occidentalis (Syrphidae) Wash.

3. Volucella facialis (Syrphidae) Northwestern U. S.

4. Polydontomyia curvipes (Syrphidae) Northern U. S.

5. Syrphus lesueurii (Syrphidae) Northern U. S.

6. EristaHs vinetorum (Syrphidae) Eastern half U. S., S. A.

7. Volucella mexicana (Syrphidae) Southern U. S., Mex., S. A.

8. Polydontomyia curvipes (Syrphidae) Northern U. S.

9. Syrphus diversipes (Syrphid^) Northern U. S., Brit. Am.

10. Eristalis bastardi (Syrphidae) Northeastern U. S., Brit. Am.

11. Volucella obesa (Syrphidae) Southern U. S., Mex., W. I,

12. Leucozona lucorum (Syrphidae) Northern U. S., Can., Eur.

13. Syrphus torvus (Syrphidae) Northern U. S., Greenland, Eur.,

Siberia.

14. Lathyrophthalmus asneus (Syrphidae) N. A., Eur.

15. Volucella fasciata (Syrphidae) U. S., Mex.

16. Xylota chalybea (Syrphidae) Eastern U. S.

1 7. Spilomyia 4-fasciata (Syrphidae) Northeastern fourth U.S., Can.

18. Eristalis compactus (Syrphidae) Northeastern U. S., Brit. Am.

19. Meromacrus crucigera (Syrphidae) Southern U. S., Cent. Am.

20. Pyrophaena ocymi (Syrphidae) Northern U. S., Eur.

21. Brachypalpus frontosus (Syrphidae) Eastern U. S.

22. Eristalis tenax (Syrphidae) Cosmopolitan

23. Didea laxa (Syrphidae) Northern U. S.

24. Mallota cimbiciformis (Syrphidae) Eastern half U. S., Can.

25. Sphecomyia vittata (Syrphidae) U. S., Eur., Siberia

26. Chilosia plutonia (Syrphidae) Alaska

27. Temnostoma aequale (Syrphidae) Northern U. S., Brit. Am.

28. Chilosia lasiophthalma (Syrphidae) Northwestern fourth U. S.

Phe Insect Book.

Plate XV.

The Insect Book.

Plate XVI.

ii-^j^

Plate XVI.

NEUROPTEROID INSECTS
no.

1. Asynarchus punctatissimus (Limnephilidae) Northern States

2. Polystoechotes punctatus (Hemerobiidae) U. S.

3. Mantispa interrupta (Mantispidae) Southern States

4. Mantispa brunnea (Mantispidae) Southern States

5. Neuronia semifasciata (Phryganeidae) U. S.

6. Chauliodes lunatus (Sialidae) Eastern b'. S.

7. Chauliodes lunatus ? (Sialidae) Eastern U. S.

8. Platyphylax subfosciata (Limnephilidae) Northern States

9. Macronema zebratum (Hydropsychidae) Eastern States

10. Panorpa rufescens (Panorpidae) Eastern States

11. Panorpa subfurcata (Panorpidae) Northern States

12. Bittacus strigosus (Panorpidae) Eastern States

13. Bittacus apicalis (Panorpidae) Eastern States

14. Chauliodes pectinicornis (Sialidae) Eastern States

15. Corydalis cornuta ? head (Sialidae) Eastern States

16. Corydalis cornuta S (Sialidae) Eastern States

17. Taeniopteryx fasciata (Perlidae) Eastern States

18. Sialis infumata (Sialidae) Eastern States

The Horn-Tail8

an interesting matter for some observer to work out the life
history in detail.

Life History of a Horn-Tail

{Phylloecus integer, Norton.)

This insect, which is known as the willow-shoot horn-tail,
is found throughout the eastern part of the United States. The
female, after boring a hole some inches below the tip of a willow
twig, pushes her ovipositor in an oblique direction into the pith
of the twig, inserting the eggs at the bottom of the puncture.

Fig. 43. — Phyllcecus integer. (From Insect Life.)

She then girdles the twig below the eggs to prevent it from
growing any farther, obviously to prevent the tgg from being
crushed by the rapid growth of the plant. After a week the
eggs hatch, the young larvae bore their way down through the
pith to a distance sometimes more than two feet, filling the
channel behind them with their excrement as they proceed.
The eggs having been laid in the spring, the larvae feed all
\hrough the summer and become full-grown in late fall, filling

71

The Horn-Tails

the lower end of the burrow for half an inch with frass. They
then eat a passage through the side of the twig about a quarter
of an inch above the prospective cocoon, but without cutting
through the bark. Then the cocoon is spun in the burrow and
the larva remains within it all through the winter, changing to
pupa early in the spring.

In young willow groves, the shoots of which are intended
for basket-making, the withered tips should be pruned off as soon
as noticed in the spring.

72

THE SAIV-FLIES

(Super-family Tenthredinoidea.)

The saw-flies derive their name from the fact that the ovi-
positor of the female is peculiarly constructed, so as to act like a
saw. There are two saws set side by side in a groove under-
neath the body and can be shoved out and moved up and down.
They are used to make the proper aperture in leaves or other
vegetable tissues in which the eggs are placed. The head and
thorax are wide and the base of the abdomen is not slender.
The front shanks bear two spurs.

The eggs are, as just indicated, laid in plant tissues, in
apertures made by the female saws.

The larvae as a rule are remarkable from their resemblance
to caterpillars. Some of them look so much like cutworms that
one might almost expect to breed moths from them instead of
flies. They have, however, from twelve to sixteen prolegs, in-
stead often, which is the usual rule with the caterpillar. Many
of them also have the habit of curling the body around so as to
embrace the twig upon which they may be walking. Many of
them feed exposed upon the leaves of plants in much the same
way as do caterpillars. Others, however, are covered with slime
and look more like slugs than like insect larvae, while still others
are covered with a white, waxy excretion which completely
disguises them.

There are a few leaf-miners in this group, while in the family
Nematidae are many gall-makers. A few make cases in which
they live. Nearly all descend to the surface of the ground to
transform to pupae, and spin silken cocoons about themselves.

This super-family is particularly well represented m the
United States, and its species in fact seem to be more abundant
in temperate and cold regions than in the tropics. About two
thousand species have been described.

73

The Saw-Flies

Many saw-flies are so injurious to vegetation as to possess
much economic importance; the larch sa\\^-{\y (Nematiis erich-
sonii), in certain years, has destroyed large sections of larch
forests in northern New England through the work of its

Fig. 44. — Cimbex americana. (After Riley.)

larvae; the imported currant worm (Nematus rihesii) is a famous
enemy of currants in most parts of the United States; the com-
mon rose slug (Monostegia rosce), next to the so-called green
flies and the rose chafer, is the most abundant enemy to rose

74

The Saw-Flies

bushes in different parts of
the country, while the large
and handsome Cimbex
americana, known as the
American saw-fly, is fre-
quently found upon elms,
willows and birches in
sufficient numbers to al-
most entirely defoliate
them. The yellow-spotted
willow slug {Nemattis ven-
tralis. Say) is a common
enemy to willows in the
United States.

The life histories of all
of the species just men-
tioned are well known, but
there are very many forms
which need careful study.

Fig. 45. — Nematus similaris. (After Comstock.)

Fig. 46. — Nematus marylandicus=Pachynematus

extensicollis. (After Marlatt.)
75

The Saw-Flies

Several of the species of the genus Pontania which make the
curious galls on willow leaves are convenient forms for study,
and the full and careful life history of any one of them would be
a valuable contribution to science.

The super-family Tenthredinoidea was formerly considered a
family — the Tenthredinidse — but it has been justifiably separated
by Mr. Ashmead into eleven distinct families.

Life History of the "Pear Slug"

{Ej'iocampoides limacina, Retzius.)

This insect, the larva of which is commonly known as the
pear slug, belongs to the group which has the slimy caterpillars

referred to above. In
fact, its scientific name,
liniacina, indicates this
fact, since Limax is aslug.
This slimy, dark olive-
green, slug-like creature
occurs commonly upon
the leaves of pear, cherry,
plum and allied fruit trees
during most of the sum-
mer. Frequently it occurs
in such extraordinary
numbers with the later
broods that the leaves of
the tree turn brown, die
and fall to the ground in
midsummer. Sometimes
when the slugs are very
abundant, the sound of the eating of myriads of mouths resem-
bles the falling of a fine rain upon the leaves. There are some-
times thirty or more feeding upon a single leaf.

The adult insect is a small glossy black, four-winged fly,
about one-fifth of an inch in length.

The eggs are laid in April and May. The ovipositor of the
female is thrust obliquely through the skin of the leaf from below,
not reaching through the upper surface, however. The saw

76

Fig. 47. — Pear Slug: a, adult saw-fly, female;
d, larva with slime removed ; c, same in nor-
mal state ; d, leaves with larvae natural size ;
a, b, c, much enlarged. (After Marlatt.)

The Saw-Fliea

Fig. 48. — Pear Slug: a, last
moulted larval skin; b, larva
after casting last skin —
somewhat enlarged.
{After Marlatt.)

of the female is moved rapidly with a swinging lateral motion
from side to side, forming an irregular cell or pocket of an oval
outline. The egg is quickly passed down between the plates of
the ovipositor, and dropped into the
pocket thus made, the time occupy-
ing little more than a minute for the
operation. A single saw-fly usually
deposits only one egg in the same leaf,
and after laying the egg she goes around
to the upper side of the leaf and ex-
amines it carefully, rests awhile, and
then flies to another leaf and repeats
the operation. The egg is oval, slightly
flattened on one side, and remains in the
leaf about two weeks. It increases in
size apparently by absorbing the plant
juices.

The young larva on hatching makes
a semi-circular cut through the upper surface and crawls on the
top of the leaf. At first it is nearly white in color, with a yellow-
ish brown head. Almost
immediately a slimy,
olive-colored liquid be-
gins to exude over the
whole body; the head
appears black under the
slime, and the body be-
comes dark. The an-
terior segments of the
thorax swell out and the
head is retracted, so that
the little larva appears
club-shaped. It begins
feeding on the upper
surface of the leaf, eating
out small holes the size
of a pinhead. This work
continues and increases as the larva grows until the leaf becomes
entirely skeletonized. Full size is reached in less than a month.
The larva casts its skin four times, and usually eats its cast skin

77

/T;-

Fig. 49 — Pear Slug, illustrating method of ovi-

position and emergence of larva, a, cutting

of cell beneath epidermis, with ovipositor;

b, same after egg has been deposited;

c, same after escape of larva — enlarged.

{After Marlatt.)

The Saw-Flies

for its first meal after each molt. When full grown it molts a
fifth time, leaving its cast skin as a slender line of slime attached
to the leaf. It now appears as a light orange-yellow worm,
perfectly clean and dry, with no slime. It then crawls down the
plant to the ground, penetrating for half an inch or more and

forming a little cell the sides of
which it moistens with saliva, thus
forming a kind of cocoon of firm tex-
ture, more or less impervious to water.
Near Washington the first gen-
eration of larvae leaves the trees by
the end of June, and a second genera-
tion begins to appear soon after; but
in New York State many of the in-
dividuals of the first generation pass
the winter in their cocoons. The insect hibernates below the
surface of the ground, and the flies appear the following April
or May.

No insect is easier to destroy than the pear slug. All of the
insecticide mixtures kill it readily, and even throwing dust over
the leaves will destroy it.

Fig. 50. — Pear Slug: a, cocoon;
*, contracted lar\'a; ^, pupa —
all enlarged. (After Marlatt.)

THE TRUE FLIES

{Order Diptera.)

All the true flies, that is, those insects which are called flies
and have but two wings, belong to the order Diptera. They are
the only insects which possess but two wings, with the exception
of the males of the scale insects, and a very few May flies (genera
Clceon and Cxnis). Some insects in other orders have one
pair of wings so greatly aborted that they appear two-winged as
in the genus Psectra, one of the Lacewing flies. The wings are
membranous and usually transparent and bear no scales, except
in the mosquito family. The hind wings are represented only by
two knobbed projections called halteres, or poisers. The meta-
morphosis is very complete, the larvae being always footless and
usually apparently headless maggots and the pupae either some-
what resembling those of butterflies and moths, with compara-
tively free legs and wings, or they are enclosed in the larval skin.
Their mouth-parts are formed for sucking. The true flies com-
prise an enormous number of species. The most numerous of
all of the orders of insects are the Coleoptera, or beetles, the Hy-
menoptera, which we have just discussed, and the Diptera, and
for superiority in point of numbers the precedence must probably
be given to the Diptera. About forty thousand species are known
and it is estimated that the number yet to be described will bring this
number fully up to three hundred and fifty thousand, against three
hundred thousand which we have estimated for the Hymenoptera.
Not only have the true flies a superiority in point of numbers, but
entomologists are concluding that they probably stand at the head
of the insect system in point of evolution, that is to say, they
are the most highly specialized of insects. While they do not pos-
sess the apparent specialization in the way of intelligence and in
other respects seen with the bees, wasps and ants, the very com-
pleteness of their transformations and the highly specialized or-
ganization of the adults of several families support this view.

79

The True Flies

The order is not a popular one among entomologists and
collectors. Aside from the fact that observations upon their
life history are by no means as interesting as some of those which
we mentioned in the preceding order, they have none of the
beauty which attracts students and collectors to butterflies and
moths and they have not the definiteness of structure character-
istic of the beetles and they are much more difficult to preserve
in collections in perfect condition. The hard-bodied, easily col-
lected, and readily pinned beetles seem much more attractive.
But the Diptera in many respects possess a peculiar interest and
their study is of enormous importance from many points of view.
Even in point of beauty, many of the families possess species of
striking color and graceful shape; and, everywhere abundant as
they are, they are easy objects to collect. It is true that with some
of the delicate species, especially the mosquitoes and crane flies, it
is almost impossible to preserve specimens in good condition.
Still, with many of the groups they keep well when simply
killed and pinned and preserve their colors much better than do
the dragon flies, for example.

Very many species, and in fact entire groups, are harmful
to man through damage to growing crops and to livestock.
One of the most famous crop enemies in the world, the so-called
Hessian fly, is a dipterous inject, and most of the insect parasites
of livestock belong to this order. As late as 1 884, Dr. S. W. Willis-
ton, then of Yale University, an authority upon this order, wrote:
" As a whole, the order is a beneficial one to the human economy.
While we may resent the troublesome mosquito's and the im-
pertinent house-fly's molestations, and while the black fly and
the horse-fly may cause the death of many hof'ses and cattle, yet
the larger number are purely parasitic in their habits, either in
the larval or adult states, upon other and usually injurious in-
sects. Many others, too, act as beneficial scavengers of unwhole-
some matters, which would otherwise often bring disease and
death." Since Williston wrote these lines, a whole class of bane-
ful work accomplished by flies has been discovered. That is
their agency in the spread of disease.

As early as 1864, Leidy attributed the spread of gangrene in
hospitals during the Civil war to the agency of the house-fly, and
the terrible disease known as malignant pustule was afterward
discovered to be caused by the bite of one of the gad-flies which

80

The True Flies

carried the bacillus of anthrax from diseased cattle and by its bite
inserted it into the circulatory system of human beings. The car-
riage of the purulent ophthalmia of the Egyptians by the house-fly
was later demonstrated, and the spread of the disease known as
"pink-eye" in the South has been shown by Hubbard to be facili-
tated by little midges of the genus Hippelates. An English army
surgeon has ascertained that the tsetse-fly of Africa carries patho-
genic germs from diseased cattle and by its bite transfers them
to the blood of healthy cattle, and late investigations have shown
that certain flies, and especially the common house-fly, are re-
sponsible not only for the spread of Asiatic cholera but of the
everywhere prevalent and dreaded disease known as typhoid
fever. A vital stimulus to this line of investigation has been
given by the discovery that certain mosquitoes are responsible for
the spread of malarial fevers and a very great interest has been ex-
cited and an enormous literature has sprung up within the last few
years concerning this line of investigation. This interest has be-
come even more intensified by the experimental proof obtained by
the United States Army Yellow Fever Commission of the agency
of certain mosquitoes in the spread of yellow fever. The whole
subject of the agency of insects in the transmission of disease is
one of the most prominent subjects of medical investigation at the
present time and nearly all of the insects concerned in this work
belong to this order Diptera; so that, in spite of the benefits to
humanity which the parasitic species bring by their destruction of
injurious insects and in spite of the beneficial function which many
Diptera exercise as scavengers, this incident of the lives of many
of them, added to the ravages of many more on crops and domestic
animals, makes the order a distinctly and markedly injurious one.
Many strange features in life history occur with the flies.
With some no eggs are laid and living larvae issue from the body
of the female. Such flies then become practically viviparous, or
"larviparous." With others, although these are few in number,
the development within the body of the female goes even farther
and when the insect emerges from the body of its mother it is
already in the pupal condition. Such forms are called " pupi-
parous." We have mentioned the wings of the Diptera, but in
some forms there are no wings. Such species, and they are also
few in number, are usually parasites, and the loss of wings is one
of the degradational features consequent upon the parasitic life.

8i

The True Flies

See the bedbug among the Heteroptera, the true lice (Anoplura)
and the bird lice (Mallophaga). With those species which lay eggs
the larval development is usually rapid; and with some forms,
particularly those which are true scavengers and feeders upon
carrion or upon excrement, it becomes very rapid. The possi-
bilities for enormous multiplication are apparently greater in this
order than in any other group of insects. It is estimated that the
progeny of a single house-fly, if undisturbed, would in the course
of a single summer reach high into the billions in numbers, while
an almost equally rapid multiplication takes place with some of
the mosquitoes.

There is great variation in habits in the group. Most flies
prefer the sunshine and are most numerous in the middle of sunny
days. A few, however, such as the mosquitoes, fly at night.
These, however, are the great exception. Very many flies
frequent flowers, and thus exercise a beneficial function in the
cross-fertilization of plants. Many species — comprising, in fact,
whole families — are aquatic or sub-aquatic in their early stages,
and some possess the faculty of living under what appear to be
most disadvantageous conditions. Some of the flies of the
peculiar family Ephydridae, for example, live in the strongly
alkaline lakes of the far West where almost nothing else can live.

It is surprising how little of an intimate and exact nature is
known concerning the life history of most flies. It is true that
maggots are not attractive creatures, but the mode of life is so
variable in the different groups of flies and the transformations are
so remarkable that a very great interest attaches to many of these
life histories. Unfortunately, however, very few observers have
done any work in this direction and it results that there is room
for an army of workers who will find it especially easy in this
order to add to scientific knowledge. It will be noticed in the
consideration which follows of the different families that full ob-
servations have not yet been recorded in many of them from
which typical life histories can be drawn up. This is a sad state
of affairs and it is one which observers of nature should endeavor
to remedy. As an example, it was not until 1895 that a full ac-
count was published of a single one of our common North Ameri-
can mosquitoes and even so ubiquitous an insect as the house-fly
was neglected in this country until a comparatively recent date.
It is a strange fact, although not impossible to explain, that our com-

82

Plate XVII.
SAW-FLIES AND HORN-TAILS

?IG.

FIG.

I.

Aridus bimaculatus

18.

2.

Calamenta clavatus

19.

3-

Panrurus apicalis

20.

4-

Tenthredo lobata

21.

5-

Macroxyela aenea

22.

6.

Harpiphorus tarsatus

23.

7-

Pseudosiobla excavata

24.

8.

Macrophya trisyllata

25.

9-

Hylotoma humeralis

26.

lO.

Harpiphorus varianus

27.

1 1.

Rhogogaster nimbipennis

28.

12.

Panrurus cyaneus

29.

13-

Macrophya epinolae

30.

14.

Hylotoma pectoralis

31-

15-

Allantus basilaris

32.

16.

Tenthredo rufopectus

33-

17-

Urocerus abdominalis $

Tenthredo basilaris
Hylotoma rubra
Dolerus albifrons
Hylotoma McLeayi
Dolerus tejonicus
Tenthredo rufipes
Urocerus abdominalis?
Tenthredo cinctibiis
Pamphilius brunnicans
Dolerus sericeus
Abia kennicotti
Xeris caudatus
Tenthredo grandis
Tremex sericeus
Tenthredo verticalis
Trichiosoma lanuginosa

The Insect Book.

The insect Book.

I'LATE xvm

Plate XVIII.
SAW-FLIES

FIG.

1. Schizocerus plumigera ,^

2. Macrocephus trifasciatus

3. Emphytus mellipes

4. Lyda ocreata $

5. Lophyrus lecontei

6. Schizocerus plumigera ?

7. Hylotoma caeruleus

8. Emphytus cinctipes

9. Lyda ocreata $

10. Periclista purpuridorsum

11. Monoctenus juniperi ?

12. Hylotoma clavicornis

13. Phymatocera fumipennis

14. Lyda multisignata

15. Neurotoma fasciata

16. Monoctenus juniperi?

17. Hylotoma miniata

18. Tenthredo formosa

19. Hemichroa albidovariata

FIG.

20.
21.
22.

24.

26.
27.
28.
29.
30.

3^'
32.
33-
34-

35-
36.

37-

Macrophya incerta
Zaraea americana
Liolyda plagiata
Strongylogaster soriculata
Dolerus coloradensis
Macrophya formosa
Parasiobla rufocinctus
Trichiosoma crassum
Pteronus trilineatus
Pachynematus extensicornis
Strongylogaster terminalis
Dolerus similis
Pteronus coryli
Harpiphorus intermedius
Xiphidria provancheri
Panrurus areolatus
Xeris morrisonii
Tenthredo discrepans

The True Flies

monest forms are neglected by students. One not only does not
find them in collections, but when an attempt is made to find what
is known about their lives it often results that no information can
be gained from books. The reason for this in part is that every-
one thinks that everything must be known about these common
things.

The classification of the Diptera is complicated. The order
has been split up into many families and the determination of
species and genera in many of these families is exceptionally dif-
ficult. For the following table of the families and higher groups
the writer is indebted to Mr. D. W. Coquillett, and it is taken in
part from the advance sheets of a paper about to be published by
the U. S. National Museum.

TABLE OF THE HIGHER GROUPS

Antennae conspicuous, inserted at upper end of the face, some-
times many-jointed, proboscis usually furnished with terminal
lips, body rather soft and brittle, legs approximated, wings
usually present and frequently furnished with ;i discal cell ;
adults oviparous or larviparous, never in all their stages liv-
ing externally on mammals, birds nor honev bees (Suborder
PROBOSCIDEA) '. i

Antennae usually inconspicuous, commonly inserted near the
middle of the sides of the face, and composed of from one to
three joints, the apex furnished with a style or bearing several
long bristly hairs, proboscis never furnished with terminal
lips, body integument tough and leathery, legs on one side
of the body usually widely separated from those on the other
side, wings, when present, never furnished with a discal
cell ; adults pupiparous, living externally upon mammals,
birds or honey bees (Suborder EPROBOSCIDEA) 6i

Suborder PROBOSCIDEA Latr.

1 — Discal cell, when present, usually furnished with three veins

that extend to the wing-margin; frequently four or five

posterior cells are present, the third vein sometimes forked ;

if the second basal and discal cells are confluent the color

83

The True Flies

of the body is usually metallic greenish or the antenna!
style is usually apical, antennae sometimes composed of
more than three joints ; head of the larva of a firm
texture and definite shape, pupa not inclosed in the old
larval skin, or if inclosed this never forms a hard, cylindrical
puparium, the pupa or the imago issuing through a longi-
tudinal and transverse fissure (Section Orthorhapha) . . 2

Discal cell, when present, never furnished with more than two
veins; never more than three posterior cells are present,
the third vein never forked; when the second basal cell is
confluent with the discal the color of the body is never
metallic green; antennae never more than three-jointed,
the terminal joint usually furnished with a slender arista
which is generally dorsal, empodium bristle-like or want-
ing ; head of the larva soft and mobile except the mandi-
bles, the pupa inclosed in the hardened skin of the larva,
which is ruptured circularly near the anterior end during
the emergence of the imago (Section Cyclorhapha). . .30

Section ORTHORHAPHA Brauer.

-Joints of antennae more than three in number; the last one
seldom furnished with a slender style or arista; antennae
and legs usually very long and slender; body also
usually slender, and rather delicate (Subsection Nemo-
cera) 3

Joints of antennae never more than three in number; the ter-
minal one much longer than the others and frequently
annulate, sometimes furnished with a jointed style or
arista; antennae and legs usually short and robust; body
often elongated (Subsection Brachycera) 15

Subsection NEMOCERA Latr.

3 — Antennae usually long and slender, the joints usually longer
than broad, and nearly always provided with verticels of
bristly hairs, the structure frequently very different in the
opposite sexes of the same species; eyes seldom broadly
contiguous above the antennae in either sex, sometimes
narrowly contiguous above and below the antennae, the
facets of a uniform size and not separated by a transverse
line into an upper and a lower portion; body usually
slender and elongate, pulvilli wanting (Super-family

Tipulohiea) 4

84

The True Flies

Antennae rather short, never furnished with verticels of bristly
hairs, of the same structure in both sexes, eyes frequently
broadly contiguous above the antennas, but always sepa-
rated below it, pulvilli frequently well developed, body
rather robust (Super-family Bibionoidea) 1 1

Super-family TIPULOIDEA Coq.

4— Thorax never furnished with a distinct V-shaped groove near
the middle of the upper side, discal cell always" wanting 5

Thorax furnished with such a groove, discal cell usually pres-
ent, mostly large flies, some of them the largest in this
subsection'; crane-flies Family Tipulidcv,

5 — Last subdivision of the veins which reach the wing-margin at
least nine in number, hind margin of the wings encom-
passed by a vein, tibiae never furnished with a pair of
spurs at the apex of the inner side 6

Last subdivision of the veins which reach the wing-margin
not more than eight in number, tibiae sometimes furnished
with a pair of terminal spurs 8

6 — Veins of the wings bearing long hairs or scales 7

Veins bare, in the outer half of the wing three of the veins are
forked and there are two cross-veins ; rather large and
rare flies Family Dixidce.

7— Wings long and slender, the veins and body bearing flattened
scales ; mosquitoes Family Cnlicidce.

Wings usually broad, like the body covered with long hairs ;
small, moth-like flies Family Psychodtd^.

8— First two veins never coalescing and then separating into four
branches ^

First two veins near their bases coalescing for a considerable
distance and then separating into four branches, the re-
maining vein forked ; rather small, very rare flies

Family Stetioxenidx.

9 — Posterior margin of the wings encompassed by a vein, or the
tibiae furnished with a pair of long, apical spurs 10

Posterior margin of the wings not encompassed by a vein,
tibiae never furnished with a pair of apical spurs, ocelli
wanting, antennae of the male frequently feather-like or

with a pencil of long hairs Family Chironomidce.

8s

The True Flies

lo — Tibiae not furnished with apical spurs, ocelli usually wanting,
wings mostly with only three veins of which the last

one is forked ; small, delicate flies ; gall gnats

Family Cecidomyiidcv.

Tibiae furnished with a pair of spurs at the apex of the inner
side, ocelli present Family MycetophilidcB.

Super-family BIBIONOIDEA Coq.

II — Ocelli absent, or the wings covered with a net-work of
creased lines, or the discal cell present 12

Ocelli present, wings never furnished with a discal cell nor
with a net-work of creased lines, the front tibiae are
sometimes greatly swollen, or in some cases are fur-
nished with a circle of short spines . . Family Bibionidce.

12 — Vertex of head not furnished with ocelli ; flies of small size, 13

Vertex of head furnished with ocelli, wings rather long and
narrow 14

13 — Antennae of nearly an equal thickness, wings unusually
broad, the veins on the posterior portion faint ; the
black-flies Family Simtiliidce.

Antenna very thick at its base, rapidly tapering to a style-
like, jointed apical portion, the palpi are almost as long
as the antennae; very rare flies- -Family Orphnephilidce.

14 — Wings furnished with a net-work of creased lines, discal
cell never present Family Blepharoceridce.

Wings never furnished with creased lines, discal cell present;
rather large flies Family Rhyphidx.

Sub-section BRACHYCERA Macq.

15 — Empodium broad, similar to the two pulvilli, third joint of
the antennae frequently annulated, body and legs not
provided with stout bristles (Super-family Tabanoidea)\6

Empodium narrow, bristle-like, or wanting, third joint of the
antennae never annulated, body and legs frequently fur-
nished with stout bristles 21

Super-family TABANOIDEA Coq.

16 — Calypteres very large, or the tibiae not furnished with ter-
minal spurs 17

86

The True Flies

Calypteres small or rudimentary, at least one pair of tibise
provided with distinct spurs at the apex of the inner
side Family Leptidce.

17— Third joint of the antennae distinctly annulated 18

Third joint not annulated 20

18 — Discal cell lying in the middle of the width of the wing, pos-
terior margin of the wing encompassed by a vein 19

Discal cell lying between the middle of the width of the wing
and the costa. posterior margin of the wing not encom-
passed by a vein Family Stratiomyiidce.

19 — Tibiae never furnished with terminal spurs, calypteres rudi-
mentary; large flies from Middle and South America. . .

Family Acanihomeridce.

Tibiae provided with terminal spurs on at least one pair,
calypteres very large; horse-flies Family Tabanidce.

20 — Head small, much narrower than the very convex thorax,

calypteres very large; hump-backed flies

Family Acroceridce.

Head at least as wide as the depressed thorax, calypteres very
small; flies not at all hump-backed. Family Nemesirinidx,

21 — When five posterior cells are present the fourth vein ends
before the extreme apex of the wing; when less than
five the anal cell is much longer than the second basal
and the third vein ends below the tip of the wing, dis-
cal cell always present (Super-family Bombyltoidea.)..22

When five posterior cells are present the fourth vein ends
below the extreme apex of the wing, when less than
five the anal cell is wanting, or, if present, is shorter or
scarcely longer than the second basal, or the third vein
ends before the extreme apex of the wing, discal cell
sometimes coalescing with one of the other cells 24

Super-family BOMBYLIOIDEA Coq.

22 — Wings provided with less than five posterior cells 23

Wings provided with five posterior cells, fourth vein ending
before the wing tip, antennal style much narrower than

the third antennal joint; mhabit the southwest

Family Apioceridce.

2} — Style of the antennae flat, much wider than the third antennal
joint; large, elongate, nearly bare flies. .Family Mydaidce.
87

The True Flies

Style of antennae, when present, much narrower than the
third antennal joint, fourth vein ending below the wing
tip Family Bombyliuice.

24 — Discal cell wanting or coalescing with one of the other cells,
fourth vein coalescing with the fifth for a considerable
distance, or the wings having two longitudinal and
three or four oblique veins issuing from the second
(Super-family Phoroidea) 29

Discal cell usually present, fourth vein not coalescing with
the fifth, wings provided with more than two longi-
tudinal veins (Super-family Asiloidea) 25

Super-family ASILOIDEA Coq.

25 — Apex of the third vein usually situated below the extreme tip
of the wing, body sometimes metallic green or bluish : 26

Apex of the third vein situated at or above the tip of the
wing, body never metallic green or bluish, proboscis
furnished with terminal lips, anal cell much longer than
the second basal, three posterior cells present, third
vein forked, antennae not furnished with a style or arista
Family Scetiopinidc^.

26 — With five posterior cells in each wing, anal cell always
present and much longer than the second basal, third
vein always forked 27

With less than five posterior cells, anal cell sometimes want-
ing; when present it is shorter or only slightly longer
than the second basal cell 28

27 — Proboscis furnished with terminal lips, face strongly retreat-
ing on its lower part, not bristly • • • • Family Therevidce.

Proboscis sharp-pointed, not provided with terminal lips,
face projecting forward or convex on its lower part,

provided with strong bristles or long hairs

Family Asilidce.

28 — Second basal cell, when confluent with the discal, the color
of the body is never metallic green, anal cell sometimes
wanting, third vein sometimes forked. .Family Empidce.

Second basal cell confluent with the discal, anal cell always
present, third vein never forked, color of body usually
metallic green Family Dolichopodidce.

The True Flies

Super-family PHOROIDEA Coq.

29 — Wings furnished with more than two longitudinal veins,
fourth vein coalescing with the filth beyond the apex of
the second basal cell, then separating into three branches,
axillary lobe and cell wanting, anal cell very narrow. . .
Family Lonchopteridce.

Wings furnished with two longitudinal veins, situated near
the costa, the second vein sending three or four indistinct
veins obliquely toward the posterior margin of the wing
Family Phoridce.

Section CYCLORHAPHA Brauer.

30 — Anal cell present, distinctly longer than the second basal, the
discal cell sometimes wanting, both basal cells usually
present (Super-family Syrphoidea) 31

Anal cell, when present, shorter than the second basal, but
one or both of these cells frequently wanting (Super-
family Miiscoidea) 34

Super-family SYRPHOIDEA Coq.

31 — Proboscis short and robust, no supernumary vein between
the third and fourth veins ^2

Proboscis slender and elongate or the wings provided with
supernumary vein between the third and fourth veins. 33

32 — Head less than one-half as long as the thorax, the face and
front broad Family Plaiypeiidx.

Head unusually large, nearly as long as the thorax, except

on the occiput almost wholly covered by the eyes

Family PipuyiciUidce.

3} — With a supernumary vein between the third and fourth veins,
crossing the small cross-vein, the proboscis usually short
and robust Family Syrphidce.

With no supernumary vein, the proboscis very slender and
elongate Family Conopidce.

Super-family MUSCOIDEA Coq.

34 — Lower, or posterior, calypter distinct, usually projecting

beyond the upper (Group Calypteratce) 35

89

The True Flies

Lower calypter minute or wanting, eyes broadly separated
in both sexes (Group Acalypterce) 40

Group CALYPTERAT^^ Desv.

^5 — Oral opening large, the proboscis well developed }6

Oral opening very small, the proboscis and palpi rudimentary,
the antennae very short and somewhat concealed in
cavities ; rather large, robust flies Family CEsiridce.

yb — Pleura bearing a perpendicular row of bristles above the pos-
terior coxae 37

Pleura not bearing such a row of bristles, those of the abdo-
men weak 39

37— Antennal arista hairy or plumose, at least on the basal
portion 38

Antennal arista bare or pubescent Family Tachinidce.

38 — Arista of antennae hairy nearly or quite to the apex, legs
usually very long, abdomen provided with stout bristles
Family Dexiidce.

Arista bare on its broad apical portion or the bristles of the

abdomen weak, legs short and robust

Family Sarcophagidce.

39 — Fourth vein before its apex strongly curving toward the third
Family Muscidce.

Fourth vein not or only slightly curving toward the third. . .
Family Antkomyiidx.

Group ACALYPTER>^ Macq.

40 — Auxiliary vein distinct, separated from the first and terminat-
ing in the costa, the anal cell present 41

Auxiliary vein absent, or confused with the first vein 52

41 — Anterior oral margin bearing a distinct bristle on either side 42

Anterior oral margin never bearing such bristles, their places
sometimes occupied by several short bristly hairs 45

42 — Costa of the wings bearing numerous spines, or the bristles
of the front confined to the upper half 44

Costa of the wings not beset with spines, front usually bristly

from the vertex almost to the antennae 43

90

The True Flies

43 — Third joint of the antennas noticeably longer than broad

Family Scatophaguice.

Third joint broader than long, the last section of the fourth
vein usually much longer than the preceding section. . .
Family Heteroneuridcv.

44 — Front edge of the wings not beset with spines (Sepsidcv, in
couplet si).

Front edge of the wings beset with short spines, thorax con-

vex, third joint of the antennae nearly circular

Family Helomy:{idce.

45 — Tibiie bearing an erect bristle on the outer side before the
apex, anal and basal cells present 46

Tibiae not furnished with such a bristle, anal cell present. .48
46— Body convex, the face and cheeks not unusually bristly. . .47

Body greatly depressed, the face and cheeks unusually bristly
Family Phycodromidce.

47 — Sixth vein of the wings prolonged to the wing-margin

Family Sciomy:(tdce.

Sixth vein obliterated before reaching the wing-margin

Family Sapromyiidce.

48— Legs usually short and robust, abdomen usually ovate and
rather short, in the female furnished with a horny ovi-
positor • • • 49

Legs and body usually very elongate and slender, abdomen of
female not furnished with a horny ovipositor, bristles of
the front confined to the upper half 51

49 — Basal and anal cells large, the latter usually prolonged at its
lower apical angle 50

Basal and anal cells small, the latter not prolonged at its
lower apical angle, bristles of the front confined to its
upper half Family Lonchceidce.

50— Auxiliary vein gradually curving to the costa toward its apex,

bristles of the front confined to the upper half ,

Family Ortalidce.

Auxiliary vein abruptly bent forward near its apex, bristles
of the front extending from the vertex almost to its
lower end Family Trypetidce.

51 — Face in profile retreating on its lower part, palpi usually
large, third and fourth veins usually strongly converging

toward their apices Family Micropeiidce.

91

The True Flies

Face perpendicular and somewhat projecting forward on its
lower part, palpi minute, third and fourth veins parallel
or diverging toward their apices Family Sepsidce.

52 — Femora and usually the body short and robust 54

Femora slender and elongated, body also usually elongated,
anal cell present 53

53 — Fourth vein parallel with or diverging from the third vein. .
Family Psilidce.

Fourth vein usually curving toward the third at its apex
(Mtcrope:{idcu, in couplet 51).

54 — Head nearly hemispherical, not prolonged laterally 55

Head prolonged laterally, the eyes situated at the apices of

the prolongations, front femora very robust

Family Dwpstdce.

55 — Anterior oral margin bearing a distinct bristle on either
side 58

Anterior oral margin not bearing such bristles 56

56 — Anal cell usually wanting, the second basal cell usually con-
fluent with the discal cell 57

Anal cell distinct, second basal cell usually separated from the
discal cell ( Agromy:{idce, in couplet 60).

57 — Antennal arista frequently long-pectinate on the upper side,
head usually much wider than high, face usually pro-
vided with bristles especially on each side, and the oral

opening sometimes excessively large

Family Ephydridc^.

Antennal arista never long-pectinate, head not wider than
high, face not bristly, and the oral opening never un-
usually large Family Oscinidx.

58^-Arista of antennae bare, body short and robust 60

Arista usually plumose; if bare the [body is some what
slender 59

59 — Hairs of the antennal arista long and few in number, second

basal cell usually confluent with the discal cell

Family Drosophilidce.

Hairs of the arista short and numerous, sometimes wanting;

second basal cell separated from the discal cell

Family Geomy:;[idce.

92

The True Flies

60 — First joint of the posterior tarsi slender, longer than the
second joint Family Agromyiidce.

First joint greatly dilated, shorter than the second

Family BorboridcB.

Sub-order EPROBOSCIDEA Latr.

61 — Head greatly depressed, projecting forward or downward,
body usLKiUy depressed; living on mammals (except
bats), birds, or honey bees Family HippoboscidcB.

Head rounded, projecting backward upside down over the
thorax, body usually nearly cylindrical; living upon bats
Family Nycteribiidce.

99

THE CRANE ELIES

(Family TipulidcB.)

The big slender long-necked flies, commonly known as
"crane flies" in this country and as "daddy-long-legs" in
England,* form a distinct and characteristic group of flies. They

have long antennae
and very long slen-
der legs which are
so slightly attached
that it is difficult to
capture a Tipulid
without breaking
one or more of them.
The thorax has a
V-shaped suture on
the back and the
wings contain nu-
merous veins and
usually a perfect dis-
cal cell.

Crane flies are
frequently taken for
big mosquitoes, but
they differ entirely in
habits and do not
bite, although those
of the genus Ele-
phantomyia have a
long proboscis, even
longer than that of a mosquito. The larvae of most species live
in the earth but some live in water, in decomposing wood and

* The term " daddy-long-legs " in this country is applied exclusively to the
so-called harvest spiders of the family Phalangiidae.

94

Fig. 51. — Pachyrhina sp. (After Webster.)

Plate XIX.
TRUE FLIES

FIG.

1. Stratiomyia discaiis (Stratiomyidae) U. S.

2. Tabanus trimaculatus (Tabanidae) Southeastern fourth U. S.

3. Stratiomyia norma (Stratiomyidae) Northeastern fourth U. S.

4. Tipula abdominalis (Tipulidse) Eastern half U. S., Can.

5. Tabanus trispilus (Tabanidae) Northeastern fourth U. S.

6. Stratiomyia badius (Stratiomyidae) Northeastern U. S., Brit. Am.

7. Pangonia tranquilla (Tabanidae) Northeastern U. S., Can.

8. Hermetia illucens (Stratiomyidae) Southern U. S., Mex., W. I.,

S. A.

9. Tabanus fuscopunctatus (Tabanidae) Southeastern U. S.

10. Coenomyia ferruginea (Leptid^) Atlantic States, Eur.

11. Sargus decorus (Stratiomyidae) N, A.

12. Pedicia albivitta (Tipulidae) Northeastern U. S.

13. Tabanus bicolor (Tabanidae) Northeastern U. S., Can.

14. Tabanus affmis (Tabanidae) Northern U. S., Brit. Am.

15. Leptis mystacea (Leptidae) Eastern N, A.

16. Chrysops excitans (Tabanidae) Northern U. S., Brit. Am.

17. Chrysops hilaris (Tabanidae) Northeastern U. S., Can.

18. Chrysopila thoracica (Leptidae) Eastern U. S.

19. Tabanus septentrionalis (Tabanidae) Northern N. A.

20. Dialysis rufithorax (Leptidae) Northeastern U. S.

21. Chrysops fugax (Tabanidae) Northeastern U. S., Brit. Am.

22. Chrysops fugax (Tabanidae) Northeastern U. S., Brit. Am.

23. Chrysopila velutina (Leptidae) Eastern half U. S.

24. Cyrtopogon bimacula (Asilidae) Northeastern U. S., Brit. Am.

25. Ommatius tibialis (Asilidae) Eastern U. S.

26. Laphria gilva (Asilidae) Northeastern U. S., Can.

27. Lampria bicolor (Asilidae) Eastern U. S.

28. Lampria rubriventris (Asilidae) Southern U. S.

29. Ceraturgus crucialis (Asilidae) Eastern half U. S.

fHK Insect Book.

I'l AIE XIX.

The Insect Book.

Plate XX.

TRUE FLIES

FIG.

1. Erax maculatus (Asilidae) Southern U. S., Cent. Am., S. A.

2. Erax rufibarbis (Asilidas) Eastern U. S.

3. Mallophora fautrix (Asilidae) Southeastern U. S., Max.

4. Deromyia ternatus (Asilidai) Southeastern U. S., W. I.

5. Proctacanthus rufus (Asilidae) Atlantic States

6. Erax rufibarbis (Asilidae) Eastern U. S.

7. Promachus bastardii (Asilidae) Eastern U. S.

8. Promachus vertebratus (Asilidae) Eastern half U. S.

9. Mydasluteipennis (Mydaidae) Southwestern U S.

10. Systoechus solitus (Bombyliidae) Southeastern U. S.

11. Dasyllis thoracica (Asilidae) Eastern U. S., W. I.

12. Dasyllis sacrator (Asilidae) Northeastern U. S., Can.

13. Anastoechus nitidulus (Bombyliidae) U. S., Eur.

14. Spogostylum pluto (Bombyliidae) U. S., Can.

15. Anthrax ceyx (Bombyliidae) Southeastern U. S.

16. Eclimus funestus (Bombyliidae) Northeastern U. S.

17. Anthrax alcyon (Bombyliidae) Western half U. S., Brit. Am.

18. Exoprosopa fascipennis (Bombyliidae) Eastern U. S,, W. I.

19. Bombylius pygmaeus (Bombyliidae) Eastern U. S., Can.

20. Exoprosopa decora (Bombyliidae) Middle U. S.

21. Lepidophora lepidocera (Bombyliidae) Eastern half U. S.

22. Bombylius varius (Bombyliidae) Northeastern U. S.

23. Eulonchus smaragdinus (Acroceridse) Cal.

24. Toxophora amphitea (Bombyliidae) Eastern U. S.

25. Anthrax fulviana (Bombyliidae) U. S.

26. Sparnopolius fulvus (Bombyliidae) Eastern U. S.

27. Psilocephala haemorrhoidalis (Therevidae) U. S., Can.

28. Thereva frontalis (Therevidae) Northeastern fourth U. S.

29. Spogostylum analis (Bombyliidae) U. S., Can.

30. Neocota weedii (Empidae) Miss.

31. Rhamphomyia rustica (Empidae) Northeastern U. S.

The Crane Flies

even upon the leaves of plants. Some of the earth-inhabiting
forms destroy grass and grain by injuring the roots. They
breathe through two anal spiracles which in aquatic species are
placed at the tip of a long process. The pupal stigmatic tube is
set anteriorly, the same change from the anal end to the head end
taking place in the transformation to pupa as occurs with the
mosquitoes. The pupa itself resembles somewhat a Lepidop-
terous pupa.

The adult flies are commonly seen in the late summer and
are found in pastures and woods, sometimes, especially with the
smaller species, swarming towards sundown. More than one
thousand species are known and about three hundred of them
occur in the United States. Certain forms appear in the early
spring and there is a curious wingless genus — Chionea — the
species of which are found upon the snow.

The wings of the crane flies are generally clear but are some-
times beautifully marked and spotted as in Limnobia and Tipula.
The large and beautiful Pedicia albivUtata Walk has striking
brown bands on a white wing surface. It is found in the White
mountains and the Catskill mountains, as well as in the far north-
west and in Alaska. Bittacomorpha with its short wings and
banded legs and swollen feet is a most striking form. The Cali-
fornia genus Holorusia contains the giants of the family and H.
grandis has a wing spread of more than three inches. The colors
of the crane flies are usually dull, but in Ctenophora the body
is frequently brilliantly marked with red. In this genus the ab-
domen is pointed so as to resemble the ovipositor of some
Hymenopterous insects and the male abdomen is swollen at the
tip almost like that of one of the so-called " Scorpion flies " of the
family Panorpidae {q. v.).

Life History of a Crane Fly

(Bittacomorpha clavipes Fab.^

Comparatively few species of this family have been carefully
studied, but in his important paper on the "Entomology of the
Illinois River and Adjacent Waters," Mr. C. A. Hart records some
interesting facts concerning this species. The genus Bittaccn
morpha is found exclusively in America and the larvae of the in-

95

The Crane Flies

sect under consideration were found in the early spring in a
shallow swampy slough full of rushes and swamp grass. In the
mass of dead stems, grass and leaves, through which a broad
stream of water ran slowly, were found the cylindrical rusty-
brown larva; of Bittacomorpha, which in their appearance look
like bits of decaying grass stem. Their stomachs were found to
be filled with diatoms, mud and dead vegetable tissue and the
larvae had evidently fed on the diatomaceous growth which coated
the decaying stems. At the anal end of the body was a long
respiratory tube bearing two pairs of spiracles at the end. About
the end of March they showed some swelling and within the
loose skin the soft white pupae were found. The thoracic res-
piratory tube was rudimentary and the tube was coiled between
the larval and pupal skins. On April 6th the first adult flies is-
sued. Later, in September, a number of adults were seen flying,
which indicates either an emergence of the same generation both
in fall and spring or two generations annually, the offspring of
the fall flies remaining in the larval state through the winter and
giving forth adults in the spring. The eggs have not been ob-
served and a more careful study of this species is needed.

9b

FAMILIES T)IXIDyE AND STENOXENIDy€

The little midges of the Dixidae resemble mosquitoes, but
they do not bite. They all belong to the single genus Dixa,
which is so distinct from the other Diptera as to constitute a
group of family rank all by itseJf. We have less than ten species
in this country. The Dixas seem intermediate between the
mosquitoes and the crane flies. They are found in damp places
in forests, and in the larval state are aquatic. The larva is con-
siderably like that of a mosquito, and might by the careless
observer well be taken for the larva of a mosquito of the malaria-
bearing genus Anopheles. The Dixa larva has fringes on the
upper jaws like those in mosquito larva, but it differs in having
leg-like projections from the first two segments of the abdomen.
It is found in shallow water and breathes air as do the mosquito
larvae. The pupa has respiratory siphons on the thorax just
as does the pupa of mosquitoes.

Stenoxenidce is a family name proposed by Coquillett for a
single little tly of curious venational structure — Sieiioxenus John-
soni — which is known only from Delaware Water Gap, N. J.

9'/

MOSQUITOES

(Fa^nily Ciilicidce.)

This group includes tiie familiar insects known as mosqui-
toes— not a large group, but a very important one, not only from
the fact that mosquitoes abound in so many localities and are
great annoyances to man and animals, but also from the fact that

they are active
agents in the
transfer of dis-
ease. They are
found in great
abundance in
tropical regions,
in temperate re-
gions and even
far to the North.
Travelers in

Alaska state that
the abundance
and voracity of
the Alaskan mos-
quitoes is be-
yond descrip-
tion. They oc-
cur with equal
abundance in
Lapland and in
Greenland.

So far as
definitely known
the larvae of all mosquitoes are aquntic. a-lthough they are true
air-breathers; that is to say, they must come to the surface of the
water to breathe. They are rapid breeders, and pass the pupal

98

Fig. 52. — Anopheles punctipennis : Female with male an-
tenna at right, and wing-tip showing venation at left —
enlarged. (Author's illustraiioft.)

Mosquitoes

condition also in the water, but floating normally at the surface.
They pass through several generations in the course of a year,
and hibernate as adults. Hibernating mosquitoes may often be
found during the winter months in barns and in the cellars and
cold garrets of houses or in sheltered places like outhouses and
under bridges and stone culverts. In the extreme southern states
many mosquitoes are active all through the winter, and mosquito-
bars are almost as necessary at Christmas time as during the
summer. Even as far north as Baltimore, mosquitoes sometimes
bite in houses in December and January. In places where there
are prolonged
dry spells, and
very heavy rains
are only ex-
pected at certain
seasons of the
year, adult mos-
quitoes live
through the dry
.spells and lay
(heir eggs as
soon as the rains
come. This is
the case in the
dry regions of
our southwest-
ern country, and
it is also the
case in tropical
countries where
the entire year is
divided into a
wet season and
a dry season.

In those countries the wet season is generally considered as
comparable to our winter, yet it is the active breeding season
of mosquitoes, while the dry season, which is supposed to be
comparable to our summer, is the season when the adult mos-
quitoes live on and on. With these insects, as with so many
others, the life of the adult seems to be dependent only upon

99

Fig. 53. — Culex sollicitans : Female showing the

short palpi which distinguish Culex from Anopheles;

toothed front tarsal claw at right — enlarged.

(Author's illustration.)

Mosquitoes

the opportunity of propagating the species. The main purpose
of the adult is propagation.

The adult male mosquito does not necessarily take nourish-
ment and the adult female does not necessarily rely upon the
blood of the warm-blooded animals. The mouth-parts of the
male are so different from those of the female that it is probable

Fig. 54. — Anopheles maculipennis : Adult ; male at left, female at right-
enlarged. ( Atithor's illustration. )

that if it feeds at all it obtains its food in quite a different manner
from the female. They will sip water or any liquid substance,
and appear to be especially fond of beer and wine. The females
are normally, without much doubt, plant-feeders, and very few
of them get an opportunity to taste the blood of a warm-bodied
animal. They will feed upon other than warm-blooded animals.
They have been seen puncturing the heads of young fish; they

Mosquitoes

have been seen puncturing the chrysalis of a butterfly, and they
have been seen swarming about turtles when the latter are on
land. The larvae on the contrary, feed upon all sorts of minute
organisms floating in the water, such as the spores of alg?e and
minute aquatic animals. They are
all furnished with many bristles at
the mouth, and these bristles are
kept in constant vibration drawing
particles floating or in suspension
in the water into the mouth cavity.

Five genera of mosquitoes are
represented in this country, namely
Anopheles, Aedes, Megarhiniis,
Psorophora and Culex. Most of
our species belong to the genus
Culex, and one species of this genus
has been selected for the typical
life history which is given.

The mosquitoes of the genus
Anophe/es are the ones which are
responsible for the transfer of ma-
laria. The micro-organism of malaria is a protozoon which in
the human being inhabits the red-blood corpuscles. It undergoes
a sporulating development in the red-blood corpuscles, the spores
being thrown into the blood serum afterward entering other
blood corpuscles extracting their red coloring matter and destroy-
ing them. The full life round of the malarial parasite, however,
is not completed until it has been taken with the blood of a
human being into the stomach of a mosquito of the genus
Anopheles. Here, and here only, is the sexual generation of the
parasite developed. Certain of the parasites which undergo no
development in the human body, when they are brought into the
stomach of the Anopheles continue a sexual development, unite
and give birth to elementary forms, known as blasts, which pene-
trate the stomach wall of the mosquito, enter the salivary
glands, and are thus with the poison directed into the body
of the next human being punctured bv this mosquito.

We have in the United States three species of mosqui-
toes of this malarial genus Anopheles, namely A. maculipennis^
quadrimaculatus=claviger, A. punctipennis and A. crucians.

Fig. 55. — Anopheles maculipennis:

Egg from below at left, from above

at right^greatly enlarged.

(Author's ilhtstration.)

Mosquitoes

The mosquitoes of the genus Aedes are excessively small.
Those of Megarhiniis and Psorophora are very large, and include
the forms known in various parts of the country as gallinippers.
Psorophora is distinguished by possessing upright scales on the
legs ; Megarhinus by its curved beak. Anopheles is distinguished

Fig. 56. — Figure at top, half grown larva of Anopheles in feeding

position, just beneath surface film. Figure at bottom, half

grown larva of Culex in breathing position — greatly enlarged.

f Author'' s illustration. J

from Culex by the fact that the palpi of the female are nearly as
long as its beak, while in Culex the female palpi are very short.
Mosquitoes as a rule do not fly very far. Those of the
genus Anopheles appear to be of extremely short flight. Those
of the genus Culex will not fly far away from their breeding

Mosquitoes

places, unless they are carried by light and continued winds.
In heavy winds they cling to the nearest point of attachment.
They are carried long distances by railroad trains, and many
localities where mosquitoes were unknown have become infested
by the introduction of railways or improvement of the through
train service.

Many localities can be practically rid of mosquitoes by the
adoption of any one of three measures: either by the drainage or
the swamps or ponds in which they breed, or by the use of
kerosene upon the surface of the waters in which they breed, or

*'g- 57- — I'lipa of Culex pungens at left; pupa of Anopheles niaculipennis
at right — greatly enlarged. (Author's iUustration.)

by the introduction of fish into fishless ponds so that they may
eat the larvae of the mosquitoes. In all mosquito-extermination
work, however, it must be remembered that they will breed suc-
cessfully in any transient pool of water or in any receptacle where
water is left standing for a week, no matter how small this
receptacle may be. They may breed in collections of water in
the hollows of old stumps or in old bottles or in old discarded
tomato cans. They breed profusely in rain-water barrels, and
in rain-water tanks, and in old wells, and even in cess-pools
where the adults are able to gain access to such pools. There-
fore every possible source of this kind must be hunted for when
one is engaged in mosquito extermination.

103

Mosquitoes

Life History of a Mosquito

(Culex pimgens Wiedemann.^

This common and widespread mosquito, which occurs from
the White Mountains in New Hampshire to Cuba, and from
British Columbia to Mexico, lays its eggs, numbering from 200
to 400, in a raft-like mass on the surface of the water. The eggs

Fig. 58. — Psorophora ciliata : Female — enlarged. (Author's illustration.)

are laid side by side, standing on end and stuck close together in
longitudinal rows six to thirteen in number and with from three
or four to forty eggs in a row. The egg mass is gray-brown

104

Mosquitoes

from above and silvery white from below, the latter color being
due to the water film. The eggs are laid early in the morning
before dawn and in warm weather will hatch by two o'clock on
the afternoon of the same day. The larvae are active little crea-
tures known as wrigglers which are so often to be seen in rain-
water barrels and horse troughs. The anal end of the body is
provided with a long respiratory tube into which two large air
vessels extend quite to its tip, where they have a double orifice
which is guarded by four flaps. This tube issues from the eighth

Fig. 59. — Culex pungens: Egg mass, with enlarged eggs at left and young
larvae below — enlarged. (Author's illustration. J

segment of the abdomen. The ninth segment is armed at the tip
with four flaps and six hairs. The flaps are gill-like in appear-
ance, though they are probably simply locomotary in function.
The mouth parts are curiously modified and are provided with
long cilia which are kept constantly in vibration, attracting and
directing into the mouth minute particles of animal and vegetable
matter which are to be found in the water. The wriggler remains
at the surface of the water when breathing through its respiratory
tube but descends when seeking for food. It undergoes three

105

Mosquitoes

different molts, reaches maturity and transforms to a pupa in a
minimum of seven days in hot summer weather, taking much
longer in the early spring or when the weather grows cool in the
fall. The pupa is well illustrated in the accompanying figure and
differs radically from the larva or wriggler from the fact that it
now breathes from the ear-like or trumpet-like organs issuing

Fig. 60. — Culex pungens : Full-grown larva at left, pupa at
right — enlarged. (Author's illustration.)

from the thorax instead of from a respiratory tube at the other
end of the body. The pupa remains at the surface of the water
in an upright position but when disturbed wriggles actively to
the bottom, floating upwards again in a very short time. The
pupa stage lasts in warm weather but two days, at the expiration

106

Plate XXI.

TRUE FLIES

FIG.

1. Dizonias lucasi (Asilidae) Southern U. S., Mex.

2. Echthodopa pubera (Asilidae) Western half IJ. S.

3. Proctacanthus brevipennis (Asilidae) Southeastern U. S.

4. Nicocles aemulator (Asilidae) Cal.

5. Ospriocerus abdominalis (Asilidae) Western half U. S.

6. Dizonias tristis $ (Asilidae) Southern U. S., Mex.

7. Stenopogon inquinatus (Asilidae) Nebr.

8. Saropogonadustus( Asilidae) Tex.

9. Ospriocerus eutrophus (Asilidae) Tex.

10. Pogonosoma dorsata (Asilidae) Eastern U.'S.

11. Proctacanthus heros (Asilidae) Southeastern U. S.

12. Heteropogon phoenicurus (Asilidae) Tex.

13. Dizonias tristis? (Asilidae) Southern U. S., Mex.

14. Ospriocerus ventralis (Asilidae) Ariz.

15. Nusa fulvicauda (Asilidae) Southern U. S., S. A.

16. Scleropogon helvolus (Asilidae) Tex.

17. Microstylum morosum (Asilidae) Tex.

18. Deromyia herennius (Asilidae) Eastern U. S.

19. Dasyllis astur (Asilidae) Cal.

20. Promachus albifasciatus 3 (Asilidae) Ariz.

21. Mallophora guildiana (Asilidae) Kan.

22. Mallophora bomboides (Asilidae) Southeastern U. S.

23. Mallophora clausicella (Asilidae) Southeastern U. S.

24. Promachus rufipes (Asilidae) Southeastern U.S.

25. Promachus albifasciatus ? (Asilidae) Ariz.

26. Cyrtopogon plausor (Asilidae) Western U. S.

27. Laphria saffrana (Asilidae) Southeastern U. S.

28. Crytopogon chrysopogon (Asilidae) Northeastern U. S., Can.

29. Promachus princeps (Asilidae) Wash.

The insect Book.

The Insect Book.

Plate XXII.

r(

W/

I-

^ « /.

""•^Clifc^

Plate XXII.
TRUE FLIES

FIG.

1. Eristalis hirtus (Syrphidae) Western half U. S.

2. Eristalis dimidiatus (Syrphidae) Eastern half U. S.

3. Sericomyia chrysotoxoides (Syrphidae) Atlantic States, Can.

4. Syrphus americanus (Syrphidae) U. S., Brit. Am.

5. Syrphus ribesii (Syrphidae) Northern U. S., Eur.

6. Eristalis hirtus (Syrphidae) Western half U. S.

7. Eristalis albifrons (Syrphidae) Southeastern U. S., W. I.

8. Sericomyia chalcopyga (Syrphidae) Northwestern U. S.

9. Syrphus arcuatus (Syrphidse) Northern U. S., Brit. Am., Eur.

10. Syrphus ribesii (Syrphidae) Northern U. S., Eur.

1 1. Eristalis transversus (Syrphidae) Atlantic States

12. Sericomyia militaris (Syrphidae) U. S., Brit. Am.

13. Xylota analis (Syrphidae) Southwestern U. S.

14. Eristalis transversus (Syrphidae) Atlantic States

15. Eristalis flavipes (Syrphidae) Northern U. S., Can.

16. Xylota pigra (Syrphidae) U. S., Eur.

17. Tropidea quadrata (Syrphidae) Northern U. S., Can.

18. Syritta pipiens (Syrphidae) Cosmopolitan

19. Helophilus latifrons (Syrphidae) Northern U. S.

20. Mallota posticata (Syrphidae) Northern U. S.

21. Baccha fascipennis (Syrphidae) U. S., Cent. Am.

22. Platycheirus hyperboreus (Syrphidae) Nort. U. S., Greenland.

23. Volucella evecta (Syrphidae) Northeastern U. S., Brit. Am.

24. Didea fuscipes (Syrphida) Northeastern U. S., Eur.

25. Helophilus latifrons (Syrphidae) Northern U. S.

26. Baccha fuscipennis (Syrphidae) U. S., Cent. Am.

27. Lasiophthicus pyrastri (Syrphidae) N. A., S. A., Eur., Africa

28. Somnula decora (Syrphidae) Northeastern U. S.

29. Temnostoma bombylans (Syrphidae) Northeastern U. S.

30. Ceria signifera (Syrphidae) Southern U. S., Mex.

31. Chrysotoxum derivatum (Syrphidae) Northern U. S., Brit. Am.

32. Spilomyia longicornis (Syrphids) Eastern half U. S.

33. Microdon tristis (Syrphidae) Northern U. S., Brit. Am.

34. Zodion splendens (Conopidae) Western half U. S., Mex.
33. Zodion fulvifrons (Conopidae) U. S.

36. Conops bulbirostris (Conopidae) Southeastern U. S.

37. Conops xanthopareus (Conopidae) Conn.

38. Cuterebra tenebrosa (Oestridns) Western U. S.

39. Physocephala furcillata (Conopidae) Northeastern U. S., Can.

40. Conops excisus (Conopidae) Southeastern U. S.

Mosquitoes

of which time the skin splits on the back of the thorax and the
adult mosquito works itself out, resting upon the old pupa skin
until its wings unfold, and then flies away. The duration of a
single generation may be within ten days; say sixteen hours for
the tgg, seven days for the larva and two days for the pupa.
This time, however, may be indefinitely extended if the weather
be cool.

107

THE MOTH- FLIES

(Family Psychodidce.)

There are certain very small, weak flies which look like little
moths, from which fact they have been termed "moth-flies,"
which are frequently found upon windows and upon the under
surfaces of leaves, and which have broad wings, rather thick
antennae, and which are densely clothed with hairs, even the
surface of the wings being hairy. These are the flies of the
family Psychodidae. They are so small and so fragile that they
are difficult to preserve, and though there are probably very many
species only comparatively few have been described.

The arrangement of the wing veins in these flies differs from
that of all other flies, and possibly represents the lowest or most
generalized type in the Diptera, although there is good reason to
believe that perhaps the Tipulidae more nearly represent the pri-
mordial fly.

In larval habits they are interesting and variable. Some of
them live in dry cow dung; others on fallen leaves immersed in
the water of pools or small streams, while others live in rapidly
running water, and others are found in rotten potatoes. The
larvae are remarkable from the fact that they have both tracheal
gills and open spiracles, so that they can theoretically both breathe
air and use the oxygen in the water.

One of the European forms (Pericoma canescens) has been
carefully studied by Miall and Walker (Trans. Ent. Soc. London,
1895), but the larvae of none of the American forms were known
until very recently, when Kellogg discovered the larvae of Peri-
coma californiensis in the streams of the Sierra Morena Mountains
near Stanford University, California. With Kellogg's larva no
tracheal gills were found but they may have been retracted. On
the under side of the larva are curious sucking discs, through
which it attaches itself to objects under the water, a structure
which seems to be necessary in order to prevent the larva from

108

The Moth-Plies

being carried down the stream. Tliey were found on tlie stones
of the stream bed, not usually submerged, but always at the very
verge of the water, sometimes submerged, sometimes above the
water surface, but always wetted by the current or spray. They
look something like a sow-bug or pill-bug (Oniscus) in shape, but
are narrower. Keilogg's figures and descriptions may be found
in Entomological News for February, 1901.

Less than twenty species have been described in the United
States.

109

THE MIDGES

(Family Chironomidce.)

The insects of this family, commonly known as "midges,"
are small, delicate flies with simple wing venation and no ocelli.
The antennae of the males of most genera are strongly plumose,
and the flies themselves are frequently seen flying in swarms
with a dancing motion. When at rest the front legs of these

flies are lifted and are used
as feelers. The larvae are
mainly aquatic, but some live
in decomposing matter and in
soft earth. They are soft-
skinned and worm-like in
form and frequently blood-
red in color. The aquatic
forms are usually found in
shallow pools and streams
and make larval cases of silk
and mud or decomposing
leaves; but some are found at
the bottom of lakes of great
depth, Professor S. I. Smith
having dredged them from the
bottom of Lake Superior at a
depth of nearly a thousand feet,
and Packard has found them
living in salt water in Salem
harbor. The larva of Chiron-
omus plumosus, figured herewith, abounds in great numbers in
the waters of Chautauqua Lake and other fresh water lakes of the
United States. These larvae form an important fish food but the
family has no other economic value.

The flies abound in the spring, even before the snow has
left the ground. Dr. Williston has seen them in the Rocky

no

Fig. 6i. — Chironomus sp.: a, t, larvae ;
^i eggs. (After Riley.)

The Midges

Mountains rise up from the ground at nightfall in the most in-
credible numbers, making a humming noise like a distant water-
fall. Many species are common to Europe and North America,
belonging to the so-called "circumpolar fauna." The eggs of
Chironomus are laid in the late evening or early morning in a
dark gelatinous mass which swells up on touching the water and
which is attached to some object close to the water's edge. The
larvae differ in form and habit, but there are two types. In one
there are four long anal
tubules which function as
blood-gills, as in the fishes,
and the pupae bear bunches
of long filamentary tracheal
gills. These larvae are large
and red and are called in
England "blood-worms."
The larvae of the second
type have no anal tubules
and the pupa has a pair of
short, breathing trumpets,
as in the mosquitoes, in-
stead of the thread-like tra-
cheal gills. Larvae of the
first type burrow; those of
the second type often live at
the surface of the water and
feed on weeds. These generalizations are taken from Miall and
Hammond. One European species has been found to lay eggs
while yet in the pupal stage. A genus of this family— Ceratopo-
gon— is composed of very minute biting flies. The so-called
" punkie " of the north woods, called " no-see-um " by the Maine
Indians, belongs to this genus, and other species are found from
Canada south to Chili,

Fig. 62. — Chironomus plumosus : adult
and pupa. ( After Riley. J

Life History of a Midgre

( Cliirononiiis minutus.)

The life history of no American species of this family has
been worked out. That which follows is taken from the obser-
vations of Mr. L. H. Taylor, of Leeds, England, as given in the

m

The Midges

work on Chironomus by the above mentioned authors. The
larvae are found in gelatinous tubes attached to stones in slow
or swift-running streams. When disturbed they leave their cases
and crawl like measuring worms or swim with a figure-of-eight
motion. The larva is pale green in color and about seven mm.
long and has no anal blood-gills. When about to pupate the
thorax is much swollen. The pupae live in gelatinous cases
attached to stones, each case having a slightly protruded orifice
at either end so that the water flows through impelled by the
motion of the body of the pupa. The pupa breathes by means
of respiratory trumpets which are so small as to suggest that the
insect also breathes cutaneously or in some other way. It is
armed with strong hooks on the abdominal segments by means
of which, when mature, it tears its way through the case and rises
to the surface of the water. In this position the skin of the
thorax cracks and the adult fly emerges.

112

THE GALL-GNATS

(Family Cecidomyiidce.)

The minute flies of this family are small delicate flies some-
what resembling mosquitoes, but do not bite. The antennae are
many-jointed, and are furnished with whorls of hair. The wings
have only a few longitudinal veins and but a single cross vein in
some genera. The legs are not swollen, and the body and wings
are clothed with hairs which are easily rubbed off.

In this country these flies have not been systematically
studied with great care.
There are many species,
however, and some of them
are known only by the
work of their larvae. About
one hundred species have
been described in the United
States.

The larvae differ con-
siderably in their habits, but
most of them form galls on
the twigs or leaves of different plants. Some live under bark and
others (of the genus Diplosis) prey upon plant-lice and bark-lice.
Others still produce plant deformities of different kinds which
cannot strictly be called galls.

The larvae are small, somewhat flattened maggots, tapering
at each end, and frequently brightly colored with some shade of
red or yellow.

The pupa is either naked or is enclosed in a delicate silken
cocoon.

The most famous member of this group is the so-called
Hessian fly ( Cecidomyia destructor Say.) This species lives, in

113

Fig. 63. — Cecidomyia trifolii.
(After Comstock.)

The Gall-Gnats

the larval state, in stems of wheat, and annually damages

the wheat crop of the
United States to the ex-
tent of many millions
of dollars. It is sup-
posed to have been in-
troduced into the United
States in the straw
brought over for bedding
by the Hessian troops
during the War of the
Revolution. Hence the
popular name. Other
American species form
curious galls on willow,
one of them for example

Fig. 64. — Diplosis resinicola.
(After Comstock.)

resembling a pine
cone. Another spe-
cies lives on the sur-
face of the maple
leaves. Still another
forms a gall in the
stem of Chrysopsis.
There are also several
Cecidomyiid galls on
golden rod, sun-
flowers and Aster.
The species of two
genera have been
found in Europe to
give birth to young
while in the larval
state. This phenom-
enon is known as
paedogenesis, but has
not been observed in
any American forms.

Fig. 65. — Uiplosis pyrivora.
(From United States Department Agriculture.)

114

The Gall-Gnata

Life History of a Gall -Gnat

(Cecidomyia leguminicola Lint.)

This insect, commonly known as tiie clover-seed midge,
occurs throughout a large part of the United States and breeds in
the flower heads of the common red clover. It was first noticed
in New York State in 1879, but has since been found in most of
the clover-growing regions of the country.

The very minute, long, oval, pale yellowish eggs are pushed
down by the female
between the hairs
which surround the
seed capsule of the
yet undeveloped flo-
rets. They are gener-
ally deposited singly,
but are sometimes
found in clusters of
from two to five. Af-
ter young larvae hatch
they work their way
through the mouth of
the flower to the seed.
They feed upon the
seed, usually destroy-
ing it, and when full
grown work their
way out of the closed
florets, wriggling vio-
lently until they fall to
the ground where
each forms an oval,
compressed, rather
tough cocoon of fine
silk with particles of
the surrounding earth
adhering to the out-
side and rendering its detection extremely difficult. The pale
orange pupa remains within the cocoon about ten days, after
which period the adult fly emerges.

"5

Fig. 66. — Cecidomyia leguminicola.
(From United States Department Agriculture.)

The Gall-Gnats

There are two generations annually in New York, and three
in the District of Columbia.

The species also breeds in white clover, and is frequently so
numerous as to destroy the clover-seed crop over a large section
of the country.

The remedy is a simple one, and affords an excellent example
of the value of accurate knowledge of the life history of injurious
insects. It is the custom in the northern states to cut clover
twice in the season, once when the clover is in full bloom, for
hay alone, and again in the autumn for seed. If the hay crop be
cut from two to three weeks earlier than usual the first generation
of the insect will be destroyed and the seed crop in the autumn
will not be affected, or at least only to a comparatively slight
extent.

1 16

FUNGUS GNATS

(Family Mycetophilida.)

The flies which belong to this group are known as the fun-
gus gnats, from the fact that many of them breed in fungi.
These insects are so delicate in structure that they are difficult to
collect and study and are not so well known as they should be,
although nearly a thousand have been described. More than a
hundred species have been described from the United States.
They are delicate and as a rule rather slender little flies. The
wings are generally clear, but sometimes they are smoky or with

Fig. 67. — Sciaratritici. (After Coquillett.)

large spots as in those which belong to the genera Platyura, Scio-
phila and Mycetophila. The female abdomen is frequently dis-
tended and expanded toward the tip, as in Platyura pecioralh
Coq. and Asinduhim niontanum Roder. With those species
whose larvae live in fungi or decaying wood or other vegetable
matter, the larvae are usually slender, cylindrical maggots, more or
less worm-like in appearance. Some of them somewhat resemble

1x7

Fungus Gnats

snails and construct delicate cocoons. It was formerly supposed
that with some of the species the larvae formed galls on leaves,
as, for example, one species was supposed to belong to the genus
Sciara which makes the beautiful crimson, eye-like spots often
seen on the leaves of the silver maple, but the larvae in these spots
are now thought to be Cecidomyian and it is doubted whether
any true Mycetophilids ever make galls. Some of the Sciaras also
have the curious habit when in the larval state of traveling in
great armies so close to each other as to almost form one mass.
They have then been called worm-snakes. They travel in a
solid column several deep over each other at the rate of about an
inch a minute. In Europe they have from this habit been called
the army-worm, but in this country the term army-worm is
applied to a caterpillar. One of our American species of this
habit has been reared by Pratt and proves to be Sciara fraterna.
Some species live in the sap of trees, and injury to the bark of a
maple or an elm causing the sap to flow in the spring frequently
attracts these little midges, which will lay their eggs there and
subsequently little maggots will be found. One species, known
as Epidapus scabiei, is said by Hopkins to be the cause, or at
least the transmitter, of the disease known as scab among
potatoes. He also finds that the same insect will breed in
healthy potatoes. The use of scabby seed potatoes offers favor-
able conditions for the attack of these insects as these are attracted
to the scabby spots under which they breed and are thus brought
into contact with the growing tubers. Another species feeds
upon ripe apples. One of the Sciaras has been called the yellow-
fever fly in the southern United States, since it made its appear-
ance in extraordinary numbers during a yellow fever epidemic.
It has, however, no connection with the disease. Certain of
these fungus gnats jump actively as well as fly. Sciara iritici
Coq., figured herewith, in its larval stage damages young growing
wheat plants.

Ii8

Plate XXIII.
TRUE FLIES

FIG.

1. Tachina mella (Tachinidae) U. S., Can.

2. Gymnosoma fuliginosa (Tachinidse) U. S., Can.
}. Trichopoda cilipes (Tachinidae) Eastern half U. S.

4. Winthemia 4-pustulata (Tachinidae) U. S., Can., Eur.

5. Epalpus bicolor (Tachinidae) Western U. S.

6. Euphorocera claripennis (Tachinidae) U. S.

7. Hypostena variabilis (Tachinidae) U. S., Can.

8. Trichopoda lanipes (Tachinidae) Southern U. S.

9. Symphoromyia limata (Leptidae) Cal.

10. Archytas analis (Tachinidae) U. S., Can., W. I.

11. Peleteria tessellata (Tachinidae) Northern U. S., Can., Eur.

12. Epalpus signifera (Tachinidae) U. S.

i}. Tachina robusta (Tachinidae) U. S., Can.

14. Archytas lateralis (Tachinidae) U. S.

15. Belvosia bifasciata (Tachinidae) U. S., Mex.

16. Jurinia metallica (Tachinidae) Southern U. S.

17. Trichopoda formosa (Tachinidae) Southern U. S., Mex.

18. Blepharipeza adusta (Tachinidae) Northern U. S., Can.

19. Jurinella ambigua (Tachinidae) Col.

20. Hemyda aurata (Tachinidae) Eastern half U. S.

21. Paradejeania rutilioides (Tachinidae) Western U. S., Mex.

22. Blepharipeza adusta (Tachinidae) Northern U. S., Can.

23. Dejeania vexatrix (Tachinidae) Col.

24. Thelaira leucozona (Dexidse) U. S., Eur.

25. Microphthalmadisjuncta (Tachinidae) U. S. Eur.

26. Theresia canescens (Dexidae) Eastern U. S.

27. Archytas hystrix (Tachinidae) Southern U. S.

28. Pollenia rudis (Sarcophagidae) Eastern U. S., Eur.

29. Theresia tandrec (Dexidae) Southeastern U. S.

30. Myocera tibialis (Dexidae) U. S.

31. Zelia vertebrata (Dexidae) Eastern U.S.

^2. Scatophaga pallida (Scatophagidae) Northern U. S., Brit. Am.

33. Muscina stabulans (Muscidae) U. S., Eur.

34. Stenopterina splendens (Ortalidae) Southern U. S., S. A.

35. Zonosema electa (Trypetidae) U. S.

36. Tetanocera clara (Sciomyzidae) Northeastern U. S., Can.

37. Chrysomyia macellaria (Sarcophagidae) U.S., Cent. Am., S. A.

38. Strauzia longipennis (Ortalidae) U.S.

39. Ornithomyia erythrocephala (Hippoboscidae) N. A., W. I.,S. A.

40. Tritoxa incurva (Ortalidae) Eastern half U. S.

41. Sepedon fuscipennis (Sciomyzidae) Northeastern U. S.

The Insect Book.

Plate XXIII.

The Insect Book.

Plate XXIV

Plate XXIV.
NEUROPTEROID INSECTS

FIG.

1. Platyphylax difficilis (Limnephilidae) Eastern States

2. Isogenus frontalis (Perlidas) Northern States

3. Limnephilus externus (Limnephilidae) Eastern States

4. Neuronia stygipes (Phryganeidae) Northeastern States

5. Pteronarcellus badius (Perlidae) Western States

6. Hydropsyche grandis (Hydropsychidae) Western States

7. Macronema transversa (Hydropsychidae) Southern States

8. Corydalis cornuta (eggs) (Sialidae) Eastern States

9. Leptocerus resurgens (Leptoceridae) Northern States

10. Brachynemurus 4-punctatus (Myrmeleonidae) Southwestern

States

11. Panorpa lugubris (Panorpidae) Southern States

\2. Brachynemurus 4-punctatus (Myrmeleonidae) Southwestern
States

13. Brachynemurus carrizonus (Myrmeleonidae) Southwestern

States

14. Panorpa nuptialis (Panorpidae) Texas

15. Brachynemurus carrizonus (Myrmeleonidae) Southwestern

States

THE MARCH-FLIES

(Family BibionidcB.)

The flies of this family are not especially interesting. They
are of medium size and are rather thick-bodied and rather hairy
but are weak fliers. Their wings are frequently smoky. Some
species, as Scatopse, are very small. There seems to be nothing
especially interesting about the group, although more than three
hundred species are known.
The larvae are cylindrical and
have transverse rows of
bristles and the head, which
is rarely obvious in dipterous
larvae, shows eyes. They feed
upon excremental or vegetable
substances and are said to
attack the roots of growing
grass. One of our com monest
species is Bihio albipennis.
This species sometimes occurs
in enormous numbers. In the
spring of 1891, according to
Osborn, it abounded in parts
of Iowa and was erroneously
reported as doing much dam-
age to vegetation. In this
form the wings are white,
quite contrary to the general rule in the family. Other species
are of a deep red color with dark wings. The larvae of some
species of this family have been found on the surface of snow.
The flies of the genus Scatopse breed in decaying vegetable
material, in sewers, and in human excreta. Scatopse pulicaria is
common on our windows at certain seasons ofthe year and, as
it is an excrement fly, is a dangerous inhabitant of houses.

119

P'ig. 68. — Bibio albipennis.
(After Lintner.)

THE BLACK FLIES AND BUFFALO GNATS

(Family SimuliidcB.)

These insects, known as black flies, sand flies or buffalo gnats,
are small, stout, hump-backed, biting flies with broad wings and
rather short legs which are sometimes speckled, and with short,
straight, simple antennae. The eyes of the male are very large

and frequently touch each other,
and the insect in this sex doeji
not bite. The family contains
only the single genus Simulium
of which the black flies of tha
north woods and the bufTalo
gnat of the Mississippi and
Missouri valleys are well known
examples. They rival the mos>
quito in their blood-thirsty ten-
dencies and not only do they
attack human-beings, but poul-
try and domestic animals are
frequently killed by them.
There is one case on record in
which a man was killed by in-
numerable bites. In certain
seasons they multiply enor-
mously, alight in thousands
on cattle and produce death
through their poisonous bites as well as from loss of blood. Un-
like mosquitoes they fly and bite in the day time and are often
seen in large numbers flying in bright sunshine. The larvae are
aquatic and unlike mosquitoes again, the larvae of which live in,
stagnant water, Simulium larvae frequent well aerated and fre-
quently swiftly running streams. They are found most abundantly
on rocks or logs so near the surface as to cause a rapid ripple.

Fig. 69. — Simulium meridionale.
(From U. S. Dept. Agr.J

The Black Flies and Buffalo Gnats

On one occasion in the South the buffalo gnat plague was averted

by the removal of a jam of logs
in a sluggish bayou ever which
the water ran shallowly with
sufficient speed to make a per-
fect breeding place. When the
logs were removed and the old
sluggish current was resumed
the breeding places had been
abolished. In the typical life
history which follows, the issu-
ing of the fly is mentioned but
it should be stated here that
with another species in the
southwest Mr. H. G. Hubbard
while watching the surface of
the water saw adults issue in
great numbers with such force
and velocity that as he ex-
pressed it they appeared as if
shot out of a gun.

Fig. 70. — Simulium invenustum.
(From U. S. Dept. Agr.j

Typical Life History

(Simulium pictipes Hagen.^

The larvae of this species occur abundantly on the rocks in
the hillside streams about Ithaca,
N. Y., where the writer was
familiar with them as a boy. The
boys who bathed in the streams
in that region feared these larvae,
called them leeches and supposed
that they would attach them-
selves to the skin and suck blood.
They are, however, perfectly
harmless. The life history of
the species has been carefully
worked out by MissR. O. Phillips
in an unpublished paper from

121

Fig. 71. — Simul'nmi invenustum, male.
fFrom U. S. Dept. Agr.j

The Black Flies and Buffalo Gnats

which the following account is condensed. The adults occur in
the early part of May or at the beginning of the first continuous
warm we ther in the spring. The eggs are deposited on rocks
over which the water is flowing. The flies hover in little swarms
a foot or two above the rock, rapidly flying back and forth, and
occasionally darting down and depositing their eggs beneath
the water on the flat surface of the rock. The batch of eggs
becomes at least a foot or more in diameter and is distinctly
observable at some distance on account of the light yellowish
color. When the water is very shallow and its velocity slight
the flies sometimes crawl over the surface of the rock and deposit
eggs without flying. Only a small proportion of the eggs pro-
duce larvae. The larvae hatch about eight days after the eggs are

laid and in this stage the in-
sect may be found at any
season of the year, in summer
as well as in winter, and it is
in this stage that it hibernates.
The larvae die in three or four
hours when placed in quiet
water. Fastened to the rock
by the anal end of the body
they assume an erect position
and move the head around
Fig. 72.— Simuiium invenustum, female. Occasionally with a circling

(From U. S. Dept. Agr.) mOtion.

They may release themselves and as they grow larger they
sometimes allow themselves to be washed into deeper water,
holding by a thread which they spin as they go. The thread is
spun from the mouth but is attached along the side of the body
to the different segments. Sometimes a large cluster of larvae
will cling to the same thread which they can ascend in much the
same manner as do spiders. Not much food is taken in the
winter time. During the summer the length of the larval life is
about four weeks, varying with the temperature and the velocity
of the water. When full grown the larva spins its cocoon, firmly
attaching it to the rock and also to adjacent cocoons. The length
of the pupal stage is about three weeks. Over-wintering larvae
transform to pupae about the 12th of April, the first flies appearing
on the 2d of May. The newly issuing fly surrounded by a

The Black Flies and Buffalo Gnats

bubble of water quickly arises to the surface of the water and

flies away instantly, , ,

the silky pubescence
keeping it from get-
ting wet. The first
generation having ap-
peared in early May,
successive generations
are produced from
this time on during
the summer and part
of the autumn. All
of the flies captured
from the first brood in
one instance were fe-
males and this may be
the rule but towards
autumn the males
began to appear in
greater numbers and
towards the last of
August nearly all of
the specimens taken
were males. On Sep-
tember 2, 1888, the
present writer cap-
tured fifty specimens
of this fly at Ithaca
and all were males
with the exception of
one. Adults were

Fig. 73-

-Simulium omatum, early stages.
(After Riley.)

observed on the wing as late as the 10th of October.

123

FAMILIES ORPHNEPHILID/E, BLEPHARO-
CERID/E AND RHYPHIDy^

These three families are not especially well represented in
the fauna of the United States and comparatively little need be
said about two of them.

The Orphnephilidae are small brownish or yellowish flies
without bristles or hairs. We have only one described species in
this country, viz, Orphuephila testacea Ruthe, common to Europe
and North America. Nothing is known about the transforma-
tions of any member of this family.

The Blepharoceridae, however, are insects of much greater
interest and especially on account of their curious larvae and on
account of an unusual arrangement of the viens in the wings
which has been pointed out in the table of families. The adult
flies look somewhat like mosquitoes but do not bite. The eyes
are divided, the upper half containing large ocelli and the lower
half small ones. The larvae are very peculiar looking objects,
having appparently but seven segments and being furnished
with conical leg-like structures on most of the segments. On the
under side of the body is a row of circular suckers by which they
attach themselves to rocks in swift running streams. Each of
the suckers is surrounded by a little fringe of tracheal gills or
there are tufts of such gills near the sides of the body. The pupa
is formed within the last larval skin but subsequently the skin is
cast so as to leave the pupa naked. The pupa also clings to the
rocks, the skin of the back being hard and making a sort of scale
over the body. On the underside, however, it is delicate and
soft and furnished with six suckers by which it clings to the rocks
so firmly that they can hardly be removed without breaking
them. Comstock has watched the flies issue from the pupa skins.
The pupse occur in groups so as to form black patches on the
rocks. Each one rests with its head down the stream. The fly
emerges through a split in the skin between the thorax and

124

Families Orphnephilidae, Blepharoceridae and Rhyphidae

abdomen, working its way out slowly and holding itself upright
in spite of the swift current. Where only a quarter of an inch of
water flowed over their heads flies were able to hold to the pupa
skins with their hind legs, the body being free from the water.
The wings then expanded and they flew away. Where the water
was deeper the flies were carried down the stream and possibly
perished. The commonest species of the northeastern states is
Blepharocera capiiata Loew, which occurs in the District of Co-
lumbia, in central New York, in the White Mountains and in
Canada.

The family Rhyphidae, the members of which have been
called the "false crane flies," is composed in general of small
flies with broadly rounded and spotted wings. It is a small
family and only two genera are represented in this country. The
early stages of none of our American species are known but in
Europe they are described as long, slender, worm-like creatures
which are found in decaying wood, in cow dung, in decaying
fruit and even in dirty water.

ns

THE SNIPE FLIES

(Family Leptidce.)

These are slender, rather small flies, somewhat resembling the
robber flies, on account of their long legs and slender bodies.
They have usually smoky wings and velvety bodies, some of
them slightly resembling yellow-banded wasps. They are not
especially numerous. Some of these flies are predatory and de-
stroy other insects and this may be the habit of all. They are
sluggish in their habits and are easily caught. The larvae are
predaceous, and variable in their habitations. Some are found in
water, others live in decaying wood, or in the earth, in moss, in
dry sand, or in the burrows of wood-boring beetles. There is a
curious resemblance between the habits of the species of the
genus Vermileo and the well-known ant-lions, the larvae forming
conical pitfalls in the sand in which to catch small insects. Flies
of the genus Atherix lay their eggs, as do the females of the
Stratiomyiid genus Odontomyia, in masses on dried branches
overhanging the water. The masses become very large and
pear-shaped from the curious fact that a number of females add
their eggs to the same mass, frequently dying after tgg laying
and leaving their bodies attached to the egg mass. The larvae
are cylindrical and sometimes bristly, and may have fleshy ap-
pendages resembling prolegs on the abdomen. Atherix has
seven pairs of these prolegs. The larva of one species has been
found by Hart in damp earth.

The families Xylophagidae and Ccenomyiidae which will be
found mentioned in some books are merged with the Leptids.
The Xylophagids are rather slender flies with the abdomen
pointed in the female sex. The Coenomyiids on the contrary are
stout, rather large flies. The larvae of some of Xylophagids live
under bark and prey on other insects and the larvae of Ccenomyia
live in the earth and are also probably predaceous.

126

The Snipe Fliet

Nearly three hundred species are known, oi which rather
more than fifty occur in the United States, but the full life history
of none of our American forms is known. Vermileo, the form
whose larva resembles that of the ant-lion, does not occur in the
United States.

SOLDIER FLIES

(Family StratiomyiidcB.)

There are certain rather broad, but rather flat-bodied flies of
divers structure, but separated from other flies by the characters
given in the table, which are not especially remarkable in their
appearance except in some aberrant forms, and which are not
especially numerous or notable, which are grouped together in
this family. Comstock has called them the "soldier flies," on
account of bright colored stripes with which some species are
marked. They are also dark colored and metallic and are not
hairy or bristly. Some of the brightly marked ones look like
Syrphus flies and some of them have a superficial resemblance to
some of the solitary wasps. The wings are usually clear, but
are sometimes smoky or brown. They are found generally in
marshy places on flowers and vegetation, and their larvae live in
the water, in the earth, in moss, in decaying wood, and in ants'
nests, and there are observations on record which seem to show
that the larvae of the curious American genus Hermetia may live
in bee hives, and in the nests of wild bees. At all events, H.
illucens has been seen hovering about bee hives and thrusting its
eggs through cracks in the hives. The aquatic species are not con-
fined to fresh water, but at least one is known to inhabit salt water,
and one form lives in some of the alkaline lakes of the western
states.

Some of the larvae are carnivorous, while others feed upon
decaying vegetable matter.

The aquatic forms feed upon very small aquatic organisms.
The eggs are laid in overlapping layers upon the under sides of
the leaves of aquatic plants, or they are laid upon the surface of
the water. The larvae are elongate pointed and flattened. We
hardly know enough about the development of any one North
American form to draw up a typical life history, but several of

128

Soldier Flies

the aquatic and subaquatic species have been studied by Hart in
his interesting investigations of the entomology of the Illinois
River. He finds that Stratiomyia seems to prefer the shore and
Odontomyia the water. The larvae are large, opaque, greenish
brown or gray, obscurely striped, and when in the water are
found upon vegetation near the surface or floating about, and
when on shore crawling about over the mud and in the green
scum so often found on wet banks. The pupa is formed within
the larval skin, but occupies only the head-end, the remainder of
the skin being filled with air which causes the pupa to float at
the surface of the water. When the fly is ready to emerge the
larval skin splits transversally on the fourth segment and the fly
emerges while the case is floating on the water or resting on the
shore. Hibernating larvae and pupae are found in large numbers
on loose drift on the shore, emerging, in Illinois, in early sum-
mer. Hart thinks there are two generations annually. He
watched the egg-laying oi Odontomyia cincta and O. vertebrata.
They chose dead branches in the water, reeds and the stems of
Various plants. The female generally stood with the head down-
wards, and the long and narrow eggs were placed in an irregular
oval mass to the number of several hundred closely laid with
their tapering ends inserted between the ends of those next to
them.

The larvae and pupae are frequently parasitized by certain
Chalcis flies (Smicra nifofemorata and S. microgaster.) Hart
made an extremely interesting observation when he found the
latter parasite mutilating with its jaws an egg mass of one of these
flies. I know of no observation parallel to this. The eggs above
referred to were laid June ist, and hatched in ten days. The
stomachs of the larvae were found to contain mud for the most
part, with a little vegetable matter, and here and there a diatom.

About one thousand species of Stratiomyiidae have been
described, of which about two hundred are found in North
America.

ti9

FAMILY ACANTHOMERID^

This is a small and relatively unimportant family of flies of
which but a single genus and half a dozen species are represented
in North America and all of these are southern forms. They
include some of the largest flies known and resemble the gad-
flies and bot-flies more than the flies of any other family in
general appearance.

'30

Plate XXV.
NEUROPTEROID INSECTS

FIG.

1. Maracanda conspersa (Myrmeleonidae) Eastern States

2. Myrmeleon immaculatum (Myrmeleonidae) U. S.

3. Myrmeleon rusticus (Myrmeleonidae) Southern States

4. Brachynemurus peregrinus ? (Myrmeleonidae) Western States

5. Brachynemurus longipalpis $ (Myrmeleonidae) Southwestern

States

6. Brachynemurus nigrilabris ? (Myrmeleonidae) Western States

7. Brachynemurus peregrinus $ (Myrmeleonidae) Western States

8. Brachynemurus longipalpis $ (Myrmeleonidae) Southwestern

States

9. Brachynemurus nigrilabris $ (Myrmeleonidae) Western States

10. Brachynemurus sackeni ? (Myrmeleonidae) Southwestern

States

11. Acanthaclisis congener (Myrmeleonidae) Western States

12. Brachynemurus sackeni 5 (Myrmeleonidae) Southwestern

States

13. Acanthaclisis hageni $ (Myrmeleonidae) Southwestern States

14. Acanthaclisis hageni ? (Myrmeleonidae) Southwestern States

THE Insect Book.

Plate XXVI.

The Insect Book

Plate XXVI.
CICADAS AND LEAF-HOPPERS

FIG.

1. Carynota mera (Membracidae) U. S.

2. Cixius stigmatus (Fulgoridae) U. S.

3. Telamona monticola (Membracidae) Northern States

4. Platycentrus acuticornis (Membracidae) Southern States

5. Platycotis 4-vittatus (Membracidae) U. S.

6. Orgerius rhyparus (Fulgoridae) Gal.

7. Tibicen cruentifera (Cicadidae) Southern States

8. Melampsalta parvula (Cicadidae) Southern States

9. Tibicen striatipes (Cicadidae) Southern States

10. Tibicen rimosa (Cicadidae) Western States

11. Tettigia heiroglyphica (Cicadidae) Atlantic States, Southern

States

12. Cicada cinctifera (Cicadidae) Western States

13. Cicada vitripennis (Cicadidae) Southwestern States

14. Platypedia putnami (Cicadidae) Southern States. Western

States
1 3. Cicada sordidata (Cicadidae) Southern States

16. Archasia auriculata (Membracidae) Southern States

17. Archasia auriculata (side) (Membracidae) Southern States

18. Otiocerus antonii (Fulgoridae) Southern States

19. Cicada marginata (Cicadidae) U. S.

20. Amphiscepa bivittata (Fulgoridae) U. S.

THE GAD-FLIES OR HORSE-FLIES

(Family TabanidcB.)

The insects of this important family are known as gad-flies,
horse-flies or deer-flies. To this group belong the active, strong-
flying creatures which annoy horses to such an extent when one
is driving along a wooded road, especially in pine woods, and
also the smaller yellowish or greenish flies which annoy forest
animals, and which bite human beings when in the woods. The
proboscis of all of the flies of this family is in the female sex
adapted for piercing and sucking, the males, as in all of the blood-
sucking flies, including the mosquitoes, being harmless, and the
proboscis not adapted for piercing the skin of mammals. The
bites do not ap-
pear to be as
painful as those
of mosquitoes or
of black flies,
and apparently
no poison is in-
jected, but any
one of these flies
may be responsi-
ble for the trans-
fer of the bacillus
of anthrax or
"malignant pus-
tule," as it is
called. The

adults are great
water drinkers.

Fig. 74. — Chrysops fugax. (After Osborn.)

and are usually most abundant in the vicinity of inland ponds
and streams. This has suggested to Porchinsky, the Russian
entomologist, the desirability of coating such ponds with kerosene,

131

The Gad-Flies or Horse-Flies

and his experiments resulted in the destruction of great numbers
of Tabanids.

The larvae of the Tabanidae live in the earth or in water and
are carnivorous, feeding upon soft-bodied insects and water
snails. The spindle-shaped brown or black eggs are deposited
in summer in groups attached to the leaves or stems of herbage.
The gad-flies vary greatly in color and size, and the smaller ones
of the genus Chrysops, sometimes called "deer flies," are fre-
quently quite small and colored with yellow or green. The
larger ones vary through gray and brown to black. Our largest
gad-fly is Tabaniis americaniis Forst., which is an inch and a
quarter long, and has a wing-spread of two and one-half inches.
It inhabits the Southern States. About 1,500 species are known,
and perhaps 200 occur in this country.

Typical Life History of a Gad-Fly

(Tabaniis at rat us Fab.^

This is one of the common large black horse-flies which has
a very wide distribution in the United States. Its larvae have been

studied by Walsh,
Riley and Hart. Hart
has found the egg
masses in July on the
dry bark of a stick
projecting from the
water. From these
eggs larvae hatched
August 4th. Larvae
of this species were
found commonly in
water, among vege-
tation and in the sand
of the sandy shores
of the Illinois River.
Pupas may be found
in the early summer, and the adults appear from May to July,
living all through the summer. The species is apparently
single-brooded, that is to say, hns but one generation annually,

112

Fig. 75. — Tabanus atratus : a, larva; h, pupa;
c, adult. (After Riley.)

Plate XXVII.

NEUROPTEROID INSECTS

FIG.

1. Hexagenia bilineata (Ephemeridae) Eastern States

2. Chrysopa nigricornis (Chrysopidse) Eastern States

3. Ululodes hyalina (Ascalaphidae) Southern States

4. Perla flavescens (Perlidae) Eastern States

5. Pteronarcys nobilis (Perlidae) Northern States

6. Ephemera decora (Ephemeridae) Northern States

7. Acanthaclisis americana (Myrmeleonidae) Atlantic Coast States

8. Psammoleon ingeniosus (Myrmeleonidae) Southern States

9. Dendroleon obsoletus (Myrmeleonidae) U. S.

10. Brachynemurus nebulosus (Myrmeleonidae) Florida

11. Brachynemurus abdominalis (Myrmeleonidae) U. S.

12. Glenurus gratus (Myrmeleonidae) Southern States

13. Brachynemurus longicaudus (Myrmeleonidae) Southern States

The Insect Book.

Plate XXVII.

**<

^.^

11

'3*

s-""

^^^

13

The Insect Book.

I'late XXVI J I.

Plate XXVIII.
BUGS, LEAF-HOPPERS AND CICADAS

FIG.

1. Nepa apiculata (Nepidae) Atlantic States

2. Ranatra fusca (Nepidae) Atlantic States

3. Emesa longipes (Emesidae) Atlantic States

4. Benacus griseus (Belostomatidse) Atlantic States

5. Galgulus oculatus (Galgulidae) U. S.

6. Gerris remigis (Hydrobatidae) Atlantic States

7. Corixa harrisii (Corixidae) Atlantic States

8. Rheumatobates rileyi (Hydrobatidae) U. S.

9. Poecilocapsus lineatus (Capsidae) U. S.

10. Resthenia insitiva (Capsidae) U. S.

11. Notonecta undulata (Notonectidae) U. S.

12. Notonecta irrorata (Notonectidae) U. S.

I J. Zaitha fluminea (Belostomatidae) Atlantic States

14. Monecphora bicincta (Cercopidae) U. S.

15. Tomaspis bicincta

16. Tibicen septendecim (Cicadidae) U. S.

17. Telamona monticola (Membracidae) Northern States

18. Ceresa bubalus (Membracidae) U. S.

19. Oncometopia undata (Tettigonidai) U. S.

20. Cicada tibicen (Cicadidae) Southern States

21. Homalodisca coagulata (Tettigonidae) Southern States

22. Oncometopia undata

23. Dictyophara microrrhina (Fulgoridae) Southern States

24. Ormenis septentrionis (Fulgoridae) Southern States

25. Cicada dorsata (Cicadidae) Western States

26. Homalodisca coagulata

27. Ormenis septentrionis

28. Ormenis pruinosa (Fulgoridae) U. S.

29. Piocera fuliginosa (Fulgoridae) U. S.

Plate XXIX.
TRUE BUGS

FIG.

I. Euschistus variolarius (Pentatomidae) U. S.

2 Podisus cynicus (Pentatomidse) Northern States

3. Mormidea lugens (Pentatomidse) U. S.

4. Eggs of Mormidea lugens

5. Perillus claudus (Pentatomidse) Western States

6. Cosmopepla carnifex (Pentatomidae) U. S.

7. Eggs of Brochymena annulata

8. Brochymena annulator (Pentatomidse) Atlantic States

9. Lioderma ligata (Pentatomidse) U. S.

10. Nezara hilaris (Pentatomidse) U. S.

11. Murgantia histrionica (Pentatomidae) Southern States

12. Stiretrus anchorago (Pentatomidae) Southern States

13. Proxys punctulatus (Pentatomidae) Southern States

14. Lygaeus turcicus (Lygaeidse) U. S.

15. Dysdercus suturellus (Pyrrhocoridse) Southern States

16. Metapodius femoratus (Coreidse) Southern States

17. Pachylis gigas 3 (Coreidae) Southern States

18. Pachylis gigas ? (Coreidse) Southern States

19. Metapodius terminalis (Coreidae) U. S.

20. Oncopeltis fasciatus (Lygaeidae) U. S.

21. Oncopeltis fasciatus color var.

22. Chariesterus antennator (Coreidae) U. S.

2^. Leptocoris 3-vittata (Coreidae) Western States

24. Alydus eurinus (Coreidae) U. S.

25. Alydus 5-spinosus (Coreidae) U. S.

26. Anasa armigera (Coreidae) Southern States

27. Anasa tristis (Coreidae) U. S.

28. Leptoglossus phyllopus (Coreidae) Southern States

29. Leptoglossus oppositus (Coreidae) U. S.

30. Archimerus calcara'tor (Coreidae) U. S.

31. Euthoctha galeator (Coreidae) U. S.

32. Stenopoda culiciformis (Reduviidse) Southern States.

33. Reduvius personatus (Reduviidse) U. S.

34. Hammatocerus purcis (Reduviidse) Southern States
y-,. Conorhinus sanguisuga (Reduviidse) Southern States

36. Phymata erosa (Phymatidse) U. S.

37. Apiomerus pictipes (Reduviidse) Western States

38. Melanolestes abdominalis (Reduviidse) Western States.

39. Melanolestes picipes (Reduviidae) U. S.

4a Sirthenea carinata (Reduviidae) Southern States

41. Arilus cristatus (Reduviidse) Southern States

42. Rasahus biguttatus (Reduviidse) Western States

43. Milyas cinctus (Reduviidse) U. S.

44. Sinea diadema (Reduviidse) U. S.

The Insect Book.

Plate XXIX.

The Insect Book.

Pi-ate XXX.

Plate XXX.
MISCELLANEOUS ORTHOPTERA

FIO.

1. Periplaneta orientalis

2. Orocharis saltator

3. Ectobia germanica

4. Anisolabis maritima

5. Periplaneta australasiae

6. Periplaneta americana

7. Periplaneta orientalis

FIG.

8. Ischnoptera pennsylvanicus

9. Gryllotalpa borealis

10. CEcanthus nigricornis ?

11. CEcanthus nigricornis 3

12. Ceuthophilus grandis

13. Diapheromera femorata

14. Brachystola magna

The Gad-Flies or Horse-Flies

and hibernates in the larval stage, the adults mainly emerging in
July after a short pupal period, the eggs being laid without delay
and producing larvae a v/eek later. The egg is about 2.5 mm.
long, with a diameter of .4 mm., dark-brown, sub-cylindrical,
more or less tapering at the end. As they are laid in masses they
point obliquely upwards, and are stuck in four or five tiers, one
above the other, and all gummed together in a firm mass. The
larva is shining and of a transparent, whitish color, with a
greenish tinge, marked with conspicuous dark-brown or gold-
green irregular bands. The egg is parasitized by the little
Hymenopterous insect known as Phanurus tabanivorus Ashm.

133

THE SMALL-HEADED FLIES AND THE
TANGLE- REINED FLIES

(Families Acroceridm and Nemestrinidm.)

The Acrocerid flies, which have been called the "small-
headed" flies by Comstock and which in some books are known
under the family name of Cyrtidae, are of medium size and with
a strongly convex thorax so as to appear hump-backed. The
head is very small and is composed almost entirely of eyes. Both
the flies of this family and of the Nemestrinidae would be described
as little fat flies from their stout bodies. The Acrocerids are
sometimes of brilliant metallic colors and are rather well repre-
sented in North America since we have representatives of ten
genera comprising more than thirty species. The flies of the
genus Pterodontia, of which one species (P. analis) occurs in our
Southern States, are of very extraordinary form. They look like
minute inflated bladders, the head being extremely small. The
larvae of the small-headed flies are chiefly parasitic, living in
spiders or in their cocoons. In Europe one species lives in the
body of a spider, leaving it to pupate, while in this country
Emerton has found the larva of one of these flies living in the
webs of a common spider, presumably having eaten the spider
itself.

The flies of the family Nemestrinidae resemble somewhat in
general appearance certain wild bees or the bee-flies of the family
Bombyliidae. Their mouth parts are frequently of great length
and they are used in gathering nectar from the flowers. They
are rare in the United States, only four species being known to
occur here. The life history of none of them has been worked
out. One of the European species of the genus Hirmoneura is in
its early stages parasitic in a beetle larva. The parent fly lays
her eggs in the burrows of some wood-boring insect. When
the larvae hatch they come to the surface of the log in which they

134

Plate XXXI.
TRUE BUGS

FIG.

1. Narnia pallidicornis (Coreidae) Western States

2. Largus cinctus (Pyrrhocoridae) Western States

3. Spartocera diffusa (Coreidae) Southern States

4. Chelinidea vittigera (Coreidae) Western States

5. Narnia femorata (Coreidae) Southern States

6. Arhaphe Carolina (Pyrrhocoridae) Southern States

7. Leptopterna dolabrata (Capsidae) Eastern States

8. Anasa obliqua (Coreidae) Western States

9. Jaderahaematoloma (Coreidae) Western States

10. Serphus dilatatus (Belostomatidae) Western States

11. Alydus pilosulus (Coreidae) U, S,

12. Tollius curtulus (Coreidae) Western States

13. Corynocoris typhaeus (Coreidae) U. S.

14. Harmostes reflexulus (Coreidae) Western States

15. Galgulus variegatus (Galgulidas) Southern States

16. Nerthra stygica (Galgulidae) Southern States

17. Catorhintha mendica (Coreidae) Southern States

18. Mecidea longa (Pentatomidae) Western States

19. Zelus bilobus (Reduviidae) Southern States

20. Apiomerus crassipes (Reduviidae) U. S.

21. Ectrichodia cinctiventris (Reduviidae) Western States

22. Diplodus luridus (Reduviidae) U. S.

23. Myodocha serripes (Lygaeidae) U. S.

24. Narvesus caroiiniensis (Reduviidae) Southern States

25. Belostoma uhleri (Belostomatidae)

26. Fitchia nigrovittata (Reduviidae) Southern States

27. Pygolampis pectoralis (Reduviidae) Southern States

28. Arilus cristatus (side) (Reduviidae) Southern States

29. Nabis ferus (Reduviidae) U. S.

30. Coriscus subcoleoptratus (Reduviidae) Northern States

31. Anisops platycnemis (Notonectidae) Atlantic States
}2. Metrobates hesperius (Hydrobatidae) Atlantic States
^). Trepobates picta (Hydrobatidae) U, S.

34. Conorhinus variegatus (Reduviidae) Southern States

35. Zaitha anura (with eggs), (Belostomatidae) Southern States

36. Benacus griseus, with eggs of water mite (Hydrachnid),

Atlantic States

37. Zaitha anura (Belostomatidae) Southern States

38. Limnotrechus marginatus (Hydrobatidae) U. S.

Tub Tnsect Book.

PlATK XX\I.

The Insect Book.

Plate XXXU.

Plate XXXII.
TRUE BUGS

FIG.

1. Orsilochus guttatus (Pentatomidae) Southern States

2. Pangaeus bilineatus (Pentatomidae) U. S.

3. Cyrtomenus mirabilis (Pentatomidae) Southern States

4. Corimelaena atra (Pentatomidae) U. S.

5. Tetyra bipunctata (Pentatomidae) Southern States

6. Trichopepla semivittata (Pentatomidae) U. S.

7. Eurygaster alternatus (Pentatomidae) U. S.

8. Homaemus bijugis (Pentatomidae) Western States

9. Pachycoris torridus (Pentatomidae) Southern States

10. Lioderma congrua (Pentatomidae) Western States

11. Coenus delius (Pentatomidae) U. S.

12. Brochymena obscura (Pentatomidse) Western States

13. Brochymena 4-pustuIata (Pentatomidae) U. S.

14. Brochymena arborea (Pentatomidae) Atlantic States

15. Lioderma say! (Pentatomidae) Western States

16. Prionosoma podopioides (Pentatomidae) Western States

17. Thyanta custator (Pentatomidae) U. S.

18. Euschistus servus (Pentatomidae) U. S.

19. Euschistus tristigmus (Pentatomidae) U. S.

20. Podisus spinosus (Pentatomidae) U. S.

21. Acanthosoma cruciata (Pentatomidae) Northern States

22. Euthyrhynchus floridanus (Pentatomidae) Southern States
2}. Mutyca grandis (Pentatomidae) Southern States

24. Nezara marginata (Pentatomidae) Southern States

25. Podisus acutissimus (Pentatomidae) Southern States

26. OEbalus pugnax (Pentatomidae) U. S.

27. Hypselonotus fulvus (Coreidae) Southern States

28. Mutyca grandis $ (Pentatomidae) Southern States

29. Chondrocera laticornis (Coreidae) Southern States

30. Banasa calva (Pentatomidae) U. S.

31. Menecles insertus (Pentatomidae) U. S.

^2. Nezara viridula (Pentatomidae) Southern States

^}. Leptoglossus corcuius (Coreidae) Southern States

34. Leptoglossus corcuius (Coreidae) Southern States

35. Metapodius granulosus (Coreidae) Western States

36. Mozena lineolata (Coreidae) Southern States

yj. Chariesterus antennator (nymph), (C(»reidae) U. S.

%

The Small-Headed Flies and the Tangle-Veined Flies

were born, tilt themselves upwards and are blown away by the
wind, falling to the ground and entering the bodies of the white
grubs upon which they feed, or they may attach themselves to
the bodies of the beetles and so be carried into the ground when
the female enters to deposit her eggs.

135

FAMILIES MYDAIDy^ AND APIOCERID/E

The flies of the family Mydaidae, for which there is no other
popular name than the " Mydas-flies," are large and rather slender
forms, frequently black with yellow or red bands and with smoky
wings. They much resemble the robber-flies of the family Asili-
dae, to which they are rather closely related. They are quite
abundant in this country, though rare elsewhere in the world.
The flies are predatory like the robber-flies and feed upon other
insects. The early stages are known in only a few species.
The larva of Mydas fulvipes Walsh lives in decaying sycamore
trees and is probably predatory on other insects living in such
locations. This larva is nearly two inches long. Other species
are said to be predaceous in the larval stage and on the larvae of
the gigantic long-horned beetles of the genus Prionus, which are
generally found in dying or dead trees and usually in the roots.
The remarkable species known as Mydas luteipennis Loew, which
occurs in Texas and New Mexico, has dark orange-yellow wings
of the same shade as those of the so-called tarantula-killer (a very
large wasp known as Pepsis formosa). This is obviously a case
of aggressive or protective mimicry, and the same phenomenon
is seen with some of the slender black and yellow-banded flies of
this family, which look like Scoliid wasps.

The flies of the family Apioceridae also look something like
the robber flies, but our species are all western. They are rather
large and slender; some rest on the ground and others hover over
flowers like humming-birds. The early stages and transfor-
mations are not known.

£3^

THE BEE-FLIES

(Family BombylndtB.)

The handsome, stout-bodied, active flies of this family are
commonly known as "bee-flies" from their superficial resem-
blance to bees. There are over 1,400 species known. They
usually have spotted or banded wings and their bodies are
clothed with hair. They poise in the air in their flight and are
most frequently found in sunny openings in the woods. They are
distinguished from allied flies by the characters mentioned, by
their venation, slender legs, small, close three-jointed antennae and
rather long proboscis. They are distinctively flower-flies, fre-
quenting blossoms and feeding upon the pollen and nectar which
they are able to reach with their long beak. Some of them some-

Fig. 76. — Anthrax hypomelas.

what resemble the gad-flies of the genus Chrysops, and others,
like Systropus, have a slender abdomen swollen towards the tip
and look like mud-dauber wasps. Their larval habits are ex-
tremely interesting and they are parasitic upon wild bees and in
the egg-cases of grasshoppers as well as upon certain caterpillars.
On the whole they may be termed beneficial insects.

137

The Bee- Plies

Typical Life History of a Bee- Fly

(SystoBcJms oreas O. S.)

This species is a Western form and is parasitic in the egg-
cases of the so-called Rocky Mountain Locust or Western Grass-
hopper. It is unfortunate that the life history of no good repre-
sentative of the Eastern species in some one of the other genera
which may be supposed to live in the nests of wild bees has been

worked out. Here is
a field for some intel-
ligent Eastern worker.
The eggs of the pres-
ent species have not
been observed but the
larvae are found in the
egg-pods of the grass-
hopper or near them
and of different sizes
during most of the
year. The larvae be-
gin to transform to
the pupa state early
in the summer and the pupa pushes itself half-way out of the
ground in order to disclose the fly. Flies continue to issue dur-
ing the summer. Normally there is but one generation annually
but there is a great tendency to retardation and sometimes the
larvae remain over unchanged until the second year. The larva
is a stout, plump, curved, grub-like
looking creature with an opaque
whitish color with small dark-brown
head. The pupa looks something like
the pupa of a Lepidopterous insect
but bears many spines on the head
and thorax and the dorsal ridges of
the abdominal segments also bear rows of spines while othe/
portions of the body carry soft dark hairs.

Fig. 77. — Systcechus oreas. (After Riley.)

Fig. 78. — S. oreas, pupa.
(After Riley.)

'38

THE H^INDOIV-FUES AND THE
STILETTO-FLIES

(Families Scenopinidce and TherevidcB.)

The Scenopinid flies, which Comstock called the window-
flies for the reason that they are quite commonly seen upon the
windows of houses, are small, active, shining black flies of which
we have a half-dozen species in North America, the commonest
being Scenopinus fenestralis Linn., which is common to both
Europe and North America. Its specific name, fenestralis, is due
to its window-loving habit. The larv.^ of these flies resemble
those of the following
family, and are long and
very slender, white in color
and with apparently many
joints to the body. They
are frequently found under
carpets and in decaying
wood; also in woolen
blankets, and Riley has
stated that he found one

in human expectoration, pjg^^ _Scenopinus fenestralis. ^/V^^^r^S-w^V/i.^

This, however, was prob-

ably accidental. The manager of a storage warehouse noticed
many of these slender, white larv^ under carpets sent in by his
customers for storage. He was worried at their number since he
supposed that their presence might indicate the advent of some
new kind of carpet moth. He was assured, however, that they
were considered as predatory in habit, and that they feed upon
clothes moths and other insects found in such places, such as
book-lice. Nowhere, however, does there appear to be any record
of any definite observations on this point. One observer tells me
that he tried to decide this question, but that the insect intended for

139

The Window Plies and the Stiletto Plies

prey turned out to be more aggress-ive and ate up the Scenopinus
larva. They are apparently always especially abundant, as I am
informed by Mr. Chittenden, in the sweepings in feed stores and
the flies are always to be found around the windows in such
establishments. The probability is very strong that they feed
upon such small, soft-bodied insects as flour-mites and book-lice.
Mr. Pergande tells me that he has seen them eat the pupae of one
of the little stored-grain beetles (Silvanus surinamensis) and also
disabled house-flies which he had offered them, as well as their
comrades of their own species.

The family Therevidae comprises a group of rather small and
rather slender flies, frequently of variegated color, and looking
something like robber-flies. They have been called stiletto-flies.
The flies themselves prey upon other insects, principally other
flies. They are not as active as the true robber-flies, nor are they as
strong, and as a result they choose weaker prey and have the habit
of lying in wait upon leaves and bushes and even upon the
ground for their prey to come near them instead of flying about
actively in search of it as do the robber-flies. Their larvae are
very curious and are found in rotting wood or in earth which is
full of vegetable mold, and seem to feed upon both decaying
animal and vegetable matter. They have been found feeding
upon dead caterpillars and pupae. They are very long and
slender, and have apparently twenty segments to the body in-
cluding the head. This appearance, however, is deceptive, and
is due to a seeming division of the anterior segments.

«4o

THE ROBBER-FLIES

(Family Asilida.)

The strong, hairy, active, predatory flies, known as robber-
flies, form this group. They are very numerous and afe always
conspicuous, flying with a darting motion and preying upon
many different kinds of insects. They are. as a rule, rather
slender, but extremely strong, and are furnished with a large,
tapering, hard beak, enclosing a sharp lancet which is thrust out
and cuts a severe wound in the body of
the insect captured. The tip of the beak
is bearded with stiff bristles which hold
it securely in the wound into which it is
crowded. Fitch says, "These flies are
inhuman murderers. They are savages
of the insect world, putting their captives
to death with merciless cruelty. Their
large eyes, divided into such a multitude
of facets, probably give them the most
acute and accurate vision for espying and
seizing their prey; and their long, stout
legs their bearded and bristly head, their whole aspect indicates
them to be of a predatory and ferocious character. Like the
hawk, they swoop upon their prey, and grasping it securely be-
tween their forefeet they violently bear it away." Nearly all of
their victims are captured on the wing, and any flying insect is
liable to be caught by them— other flies, bees, beetles, moths,
butterflies, grasshoppers, and even members of their own spe-
cies, so that they are true cannibals. Just as with the praying
Mantis, or rearhorse, the female frequently resents the caresses of
the male, and grasps him and eats him. They will also feed
upon caterpillars, but rarely. Persons engaged in bee culture
especiallv fear these robber-flies, which are known rather gener-
ally in this country as bee-killers. One of Dr. Fitch's corre-

141

Fig. 80.— E rax bastardL
(After Riley.)

The Robber-Flies

spondents sent in an interesting account of the damage done to
his apiary. The robber-fly captured bees by making rapid
dashes catching them on the wing, then wrapping its legs about
the bee, and pressing it tightly to its own body it immediately
sought a bush or tall weed upon which to alight and devour its
prey, piercing a hole in the body and sucking out the fluids and
soft internal viscera, leaving only the hard outer skin. Upon the
ground beneath some favorable perch for the fly near the apiary
hundreds of these shells of bees were found accumulated in a
single day. The correspondent thought that it was through the
work of the robber-flies that during certain seasons in a bee rais-
ing region in New York not a single
hive threw off a swarm. The beak
of a robber-fly is so strong that it
can pierce the skin of a human being,
but fortunately none of these creatures
has yet acquired the habit of feeding
upon warm-blooded animals.

Some robber-flies are very delicate
^'?/j'~J^''^V^.'?"'' and slender, as in Leptogaster, some of

{After Comstock.) , . , i i • i

them bemg almost as slender as midges,
upon which they probably feed, and looking half starved, in
spite of their voracity. The colors of the robber-flies are variable,
but nearly all are very hairy or bristly or spiny. In this family
some good cases of what is called "aggressive mimicry" are seen,
aggressive mimicry meaning a resemblance of a predatory insect
to the insects upon which it feeds, thus facilitating the capture
of its prey. We should not fear grizzly bears if they looked like
harmless, peaceable human beings. Thus the robber-fly known
as Deromyia annulata Bigot, looks like the common wasp
Polisies metrkus Say; while some of the flies of the genera Dasyl-
lis and Mallophora resemble bumblebees. In some of the latter
the hind shanks are modified so as to look very much like the
pollen-bearing hind legs of the bumblebees. This curious struc-
tural modification can be of no service to the fly except in increas-
ing its resemblance to the bees. Then also, as another illustration,
one of the robber-flies of the genus Laphria resembles a big wasp
of the genus Vespa.

The larvae of the robber-flies much resemble the larvae of the
gad-flies, although the adults are so widely different. They live

142

The Robber-Flies

in the earth, and in decaying wood, and prey upon the larvae of
wood-boring beetles. In the ground they have been known to
feed upon the eggs of grasshoppers. Harris has described the
early stages of one species (Asilus sericeus) which he thought
fed in the larval stage upon the roots of rhubarb. Harris was
seldom mistaken, but it is safe to say that as a rule the larvae are
carnivorous. The pupae are bristly, and have the head and the
segments of the abdomen provided with spines which assist them
in making their way out of the ground or the decaying logs
which they inhabit.

The group is a very large one and comprises about three
thousand described species, of which four hundred or more in-
habit this country. The detailed life history of some robber-fly
is a great desideratum.

143

THE DANCE-FLIES AND THE
LONG-LEGGED FLIES

(Families Empida and Dolichopodidce.)

The flies of the family Empidae are rather slender, sordid,
uninteresting-looking creatures, usually of small size. They are
sometimes called dance-flies, because they are often seen in
swarms in the woods flying up and down with a dance-like
movement. By "dance-like" is not meant the slow, gliding
movement of modern waltz, but the robust up and down back-
woods jig movement. It is a very large family comprising more
than eleven hundred species. They resemble the robber-flies
somewhat in form and also in habits since they are predatory and
capture other insects. Some of them have the curious and as yet
unexplained habit of carrying little silken webs with them when
they fly, although no one really knows how they spin these webs
or where they get them. Their use has also been a mooted point,
but it has been suggested that they act as parachutes or aid in the
capture of their prey.

Aldrich has studied what is probably this same phenomenon.
He finds that the males of an Empis carry little oval masses larger
than themselves, which are really not composed of silk, but of
bubbles of a viscid substance. The purpose of this structure is to
attract the female. AlJrich says, " When numerous males were
flying up and down the road it happened several times that a
female was seen to approach them from some chokecherry blos-
soms nearby. The males immediately gathered in their path and
she with little hesitation selected for a mate the one with the
largest balloon, taking a position upon his back * * * The pair
would settle down toward the ground, select a quiet spot * * *
here she would continue to hold the male beneath her for a little
time. The male meanwhile would be rolling the balloon about
in a variety of positions, juggling with it, one might almost say.

After the male and female parted company the male immediate^

144

The Dance-Flies and the Long-Legged Flies

dropped the balloon upon the ground and it was greedily seized
by ants." It seems probable that this observation by Professor
Aldrich will explain all of the cases in which dance-flies are seen
to carry such structures.

Many of the species do not capture their prey by flight, but
run rapidly about on the ground catching other insects with their
front legs. The female, as in certain other predatory groups
which we have mentioned or will mention, resents the approaches
of the male, and if he be incautious seizes him and dispatches him
at once. The only time at which he can with safety make his
advances is when she is busy eating some other insect.

The larvae of the dance-flies are cylindrical, and live in the
earth under leaves and in decaying vegetation. They are said to
be probably carnivorous. One species was reared, however,
from human faeces in the course of certain investigations made by
the writer on the subject of the flies which may carry the germs
of tpyhoid fever, but of course they may have been preying upon
other insects which were feeding in this substance. The pupae
are said to be free and to possess two points at the front end.

The Dolichopodid flies are rather small and rather slender
species, usually greenish or bluish in color and more or less
metallic. Their wings are clear, or they may be dusky or ob-
scurely banded. They possess long legs, from which fact they
are called by Comstock "the long-legged flies," which, however,
does not seem to be a good popular term, since there are other
flies with much longer legs. Just as with the dance-flies, these
creatures are predatory and capture small flies of other groups,
and even soft-bodied worms. They are found in damp places
upon the leaves of aquatic plants, and some of them are able to
run rapidly over the water. The proboscis is short and not as
strong as with the robber-flies. It is a large group, and about
twelve hundred species are known. Many forms occur in this
country. With none of the species, however, has a good full
life history been studied out. The larvae live in the earth or in
decaying vegetable matter; some are found under the bark of
trees or in flowing sap. They form a cocoon and the pupa has
two long breathing tubes on the back of the thorax.

T4'5

THE SPEAR-IVINGED FLIES

(Family Lonchopteridce.)

The flies which belong to this group have not the slightest
general interest, but they are structurally very different from
other flies, showing even more differences than are necessary to
the establishment of the group as a separate family. They are very
minute creatures, some of them being only one-twelfth of an inch
in length, and they are also slender. But two species are known
in this country, both belonging to the genus Lonchoptera, and
both occurring also in Europe. They are common all through
the summer in damp, grassy places, as on the banks of well-
shaded streams. Their larvae apparently undergo very interesting
transformations, but no studies have been made in this country
and in Europe — the knowledge of entomologists dated back to
some incomplete observations made by Sir John Lubbock as long
ago as 1862 — until within the past year de Meijere of Holland
has described, with figures, the early stages of Lonchoptera lutea.
The larvae live under leaves and decaying vegetable matter on the
surface of the ground, and have the peculiar habit of transforming
to what may be termed a semi-pupa or a wingless maggot-like
creature within the last larval skin, subsequently transforming to
a true pupa. The careful working out of the life history of these
flies ought not to be difficult, and such careful work is decidedly
needed.

i4f^

Plate XXXIII.
LONG-HORNED AND SHORT-HORNED GRASSHOPPERS

FIG. FIG.

1. Platyzosteria ingens 9.

2. Xiphidium fasciatum 10.

3. Hapithus agitator 1 1.

4. Camptonotus caroliniensis 12.

5. Scudderia pistillata (side) 13.

6. CEcanthus bipunctatus 14.

7. Amblycorypha uhleri 15.

8. Orchelimum spinulosum

Tettix arenosus
Tettigidea polymorpiia
Xiphidium ensiferum
Nomotettix cristatus
Gonatista grisea
Amblycorypha rotundifolia
Oligonyx scudderi

Flate XXXIII.

The Insect Book

Thu insect Book.

Plate XXXIV.

Plate XXXIV.
LONG-HORNED AND SHORT-HORNED GRASSHOPPERS

FIG. FIG.

1. Platyphyllum concavum 5. Paroxya florida

2. Bacillus carinatus 6. Dactylotum pictum

3. Boopedon nubilum 7. Anisomorpha buprestoides

4. Melanoplus femoratus 8. Bradynotes obesa

THE HUMP-BACKED FLIES

(Family Phoridce.)

The little dark flies of this family have no popular name,
unless we adopt that of Comstock, "the hump-backed flies,"
which is characteristic enough. They may easily be recognized
by the two very dark, thick veins on the front margin of the
wings. There are not many species, but individuals are excess-
ively common in this country, flying in swarms, and frequently
being found upon window panes. Their larval habits are various,
but they breed in decaying animal and vegetable matter. The
flies lay their eggs on dead chrysalids, on dead snails and in
decaying vegetation, and the maggots which hatch develop
rapidly. They are slender, and the pupa which is contained in
the hardened last larval skin breathes by means of two slender
processes issuing from the fourth segment. There has been
some discussion as to whether the larvse of the flies of this family
are ever directly parasitic in other insects, but it seems to be
accepted that one species is a true parasite in the hives of the
honey bee and a most interesting form has recently been discov-
ered which is a true parasite of ants. In other cases, these flies
undoubtedly lay their eggs on diseased or dying insects.

Life History of the Ant-Decapitating Fly

(Apocephalus pergandei Coquillett.)

It would be rather a misnomer to call this a typical life
history since this form seems peculiar in its habits and rather
aberrant among the Phoridse, but the observations which have
been made upon it by Dr. W. H. Fox and Mr. Theo. Pergande
have been more complete than any which have been made upon
other members of the family, so it is here included. A common
black ant, Camponotus pennsylvanicus, is the host of this little

147

The Hump-Backed Flies

hump-backed fly. In the District of Columbia and in New
Hampshire the fly may be found in midsummer darting about
the moving ants on tree trunks and elsewhere and finally suc-
ceeding in laying its egg, sometimes after a struggle, on the
neck of the ant. The egg hatches and the young larva bores
directly into the head of the ant. As it enlarges it eats out the
whole head cavity, the head breaks off from the body of the ant
and moves about independently, propelled by the body of the
contained maggot which extrudes partly from the neck hole.
The larva of the fly transforms to pupa within the last larval skin
in the cut off ant's head and the adult fly issues in the course of
from two to three weeks. To see an ant's head walking off by
itself is a curious sight, yet it is common enough where this fly
abounds. Dr. Fox named it, appropriately enough, "the ant-
decapitating fly."

148

THE FLAT-FOOTED FLIES AND THE
BIG-EYED FLIES

(Families PlatypezidcB and PiputiculidcB.)

The flies of both of these families are common looking little
creatures and most uninteresting in appearance to the general
observer. The flies of the family Platypezidae have been called
"flat-footed flies." It is a small family of little flies which are
also found in shady places. The hind feet of many males are
very broad and flat from which comes the name of the family,
The larvae live between the gills of toad stools.

The members of the last named group are called by Comstock
"the big-eyed flies" for the reason that they have very large
heads which seem to be composed almost entirely of eyes. They
are found in shady places and their larvae so far as known are
parasitic within the bodies of leaf-hoppers. The pupa is said to
resemble that of one of the Syrphus flies.

149

THE SYRPHUS FLIES

(Family SyrpJiidce.)

The syrphus flies (for they have no other vernacular name),
comprise many of the most interesting of the dipterous insects.
It is a very large family and more than three hundred species are
known to occur in the United States. As a rule they are rather
stout-bodied flies, varying greatly in color. Some are metallic
greenish as in Microdon and Psilota, while others are banded with
yellow in different ways. As a rule the abdomens are rather broad
and are rather apt to be flat, but in some, as in Baccha and its
allies, the abdomen is slender. The syrphus flies are flower flies

Fig. 82. — Mesograpta polita: a, larva; b, puparium; c, adult.
(From Insect Life.)

par excellence. They fly in the sunlight and are easily taken by
sweeping flowering plants. Almost all types of bees and wasps
are mimicked by them and so generally does this occur through-
out the family that syrphus flies form the most striking instances
of protective mimicry. There are syrphus flies like honey bees,
bumblebees, social wasps and solitary wasps of several kinds.
They are rarely to be seen except in the middle of sunshiny days,
some of them resting occasionally upon leaves, but more fre-
quently they are to be found about flowers, while others seem to
be almost constantly upon the wing.

150

The Syrphus Flies

The habits of the syrphus flies in their early stages vary
greatly. Very many of them in the larval state feed upon plant
lice and other small, soft-bodied insects. I have seen currant
bushes upon which there was hardly a leaf which did not support
a thriving colony of plant lice and which had not become curled
and distorted in consequence, and yet within a very few days,
while the distortion of the leaves remained, not a plant louse was
to be found but under each leaf instead of the flourishing group
of lice was a fat, full-grown syrphus larva which had destroyed
all of the previous inhabitants and was now ready to transform.

These larvae do not have a distinctly differentiated head.
The external mouth-parts are either entirely lacking or there are
two or four usually dark-colored booklets. The body is smooth
and usually glistening. When ready
to transform, the last skin of the
larva contracts and hardens and
assumes an oval shape and a darker
color and the pupa is formed within
it. When the fly is ready to emerge,
the front end of the old skin is
pushed out and the perfect fly
escapes. The booklets on the

mouth of the larva occur with those ^'S- S3--MaUota posticata and
, n 1 1 • I ^ J puparium of same.

syrphus fly larvae which feed upon *^

other insects and they serve to grasp and pierce the body of the
prey. Those larvae which do not have such booklets have other
habits. They may feed in the decaying wood of old trees or
logs; they may live in manure or soft mud impregnated with de-
caying vegetable matter; they may be found in the sap of trees
or in the stems of certain tender plants or in fungi. Still others
are common in ants' nests and others again are guests in the
nests of bumblebees. With such variable habits there must
necessarily be considerable variation in structure and as a result
of this mode of life those forms which live in soft mud or manure,
which may be almost a liquid, and some of those which live in
very damp, decaying wood, have long slender projections at the
end of the body bearing spiracles or breathing holes at the tip, so
that when the body of the larva is buried in the semi-liquid mass
in which it is feeding this long tail still protrudes to the air,
enabling it to breathe in comfort. These larvae have been termed

151

The Syrphus Flies

"rat-tailed maggots" and are very curious objects which are
frequently sent to entomologists for name.

Those which live in ants' nests belong to the genus Microdon
and are among the strangest insect larvae known. They do not
look like insect larvae, and, in fact, resemble certain land shells.
Curiously enough, they have been described and named as species
of mollusks. In fact, certain insects have given shell students a
good deal of trouble, for, as will be shown when we study the
caddis-flies, certain cases constructed by these insects have also
been described as shells. The Microdon larva does not appear to
be jointed and the upper surface of its body is covered with a net-
work of bristles which usually hold a coating of dirt. There is
no trace of any head and the sides of the body project, forming
a sort of fringe around the edge. The soft pupa is formed within
the last larval skin and does not alter its shape. Just what these
larvae do in the ants' nests is not well understood. Perhaps the
ants gain some secretion from them. As a matter of fact they
are sometimes found elsewhere. The adult flies of this genus are
usually dull-colored, are slow fliers and are
found on the borders of low-growing
woods. The flies have been seen laying
their eggs in the ant hills and the ants have

Fig. 84.— Rat-tailed been Seen to drive them away but they re-
maggot. , . ,. , , , .
(After Smith.; tumed again, undiscouraged by the im-
polite rebuff. This fact would not seem
to indicate that the larvae are of any service to the ants.

Those syrphus flies which live, in their early stages, in the
nests of bumblebees belong to the genus yohicella, and the flies
of this genus rather closely resemble bumblebees. Their larvas
were for a long time considered to be parasitic upon the young
of the bumblebees but later observations have practically dis-
proved this and we are forced to conclude that the Volucella larvae
are simply scavengers, feeding upon the waste or excreta of the
bee larvae and even upon the dead bodies of those which die.
The bumblebees seem to realize that the syrphus flies are not
inimical to them, since they allow them free access to their nests
and do not seem in the least disturbed by their presence.

The most famous of all the syrphus flies is the one which
commonly goes by the name of the drone fly. it is Eristalts tenax
and its larva is one of the rat-tailed maggots. It is a cosmo-.

152

The Syrphus Flies

politan species and is ratiier larger than the honeyTbee, which it
closely resembles, it frequents flowers and is commonly found
in houses on windows late in the autumn. The larvae are found
in soft mud and in privies, where they feed upon decaying animal
and vegetable matter, transforming to pupa within the last larval
skin. Osten Sacken, in two interesting papers on the so-called
" Bugonia myth," shows that this idea, which has been prevalent
since ancient times and which is that the carcasses of animals may
generate swarms of honey-bees, has probably arisen from the fact
that this drone fly, breeding in carcasses, has almost universally
been mistaken for the honey-bee. The learned Russian author
shows the existence of this myth with many nations, including
the Chinese and the Japanese. It is mentioned in many places
in ancient literature and even occurs in the story of Sampson, in
the book of Judges in the Old Testament.

This family is probably the most attractive group of flies.
A collection of specimens is a most interesting one, both from
the aesthetic and the scientific point of view. The very frequent
instances of protective mimicry referred to above, in themselves
should give a great impetus to the study of the group. Moreover,
we in this country are most fortunate from the fact that most of
our species have been carefully studied and an admirable mono-
graph by Dr. Williston has been published by the National
Museum, which is one of the most perfect works of its kind
which the entomologist is able to consult. A careful work on
the life histories of these insects, however, is almost as greatly
needed as in the other families of flies. The statements which
have been given above are general, but in searching for specific
accounts of individual life histories we find that they are lacking.

«53

THE THICK-HEAD FLIES

(Family Ccmopidce.)

The flies of this group are rather closely related to the syr-
phus flies. They maybe called, after Comstock, "the thick-
head flies," because their heads are large and conspicuous.
The flies themselves are rather large, but are generally slender
and the abdomen is stalked, like those of some wasps. The
wings are usually dark and the insects themselves are dark-
colored, but some have yellow bands on the abdomen. Those
which belong to the genus Myopa are stouter and have hairy
legs, almost like those of a robber-fly. The big-head flies are
found upon flowers with the syrphus flies and their larvse are
parasitic, chiefly upon bumblebees and wasps, but they have
also been found, according to Williston, in the bodies of grass-
hoppers.

The larvae of these flies live in the bodies of the full-grown
wasps and bees. It has been supposed that the flies enter the
bees' nests and place their eggs on the larvae or pupae, but the
adult flies always issue from the adult bees or wasps, having
occupied the interior of the abdomen. When full-grown they
frequently completely fill the abdomen. Williston has seen a
Conops following a bumblebee and repeatedly flying against it
and thinks that the eggs are deposited upon the body of the bee
and that after hatching the larvae bore into the abdominal cavity.
in one instance a big-head fly was reared from the body of a
bumblebee several months after the latter had been killed and
pinned in a collection. There is a peculiar genus in this family,
Stylogaster, in which the female has an ovipositor which is longer
than the entire body. Rather more than thirty species of thick-
head flies, distributed in seven genera, are known to occur in the
United States.

IS4

THE BOT-FLIES

(Family CEstridce.)

This family contains the parasitic creatures known as bot-
flies several of which are the cause of great suffering and even
the death of domestic animals. The bot-fly of the sheep r^s/r^s
ovis) the bot-fly of the horse (Gastrophilus eqiii), the bot-fly of
the ox which is known in England as the" ox warble" i\y ( Hypo-
derma lineaia, the European species being H. bovis), and certain
other forms whose larvae
live under the skin of such
wild animals as squirrels
and rabbits f'genus Ctiiere-
hra) and which are some-
times in tropical regions
found under the skin of
human beings (Dermatobia
cyaniventris) belong to this
family. The group is not
a large one, comprising
only about sixty species and
the life history of the dif-
ferent species is quite variable, comprising many strange and
curious phenomena. All, however, are parasitic m vertebrate
animals. The flies themselves are rather large, generally rather
hairy, and they are as a rule inconspicuous in their coloration.
The antenniE are small and inserted in rounded pits.

Fig, 85.— CEstrus ovis. (After Riley.)

Typical Life History

(Hypoderma lineata Villers.)

This fly is the common " ox bot " or " ox warble " of the United
States and is known in the southwestern country as the "heel
fly " To stock raisers its larva is also known as the "grub.
Affected cattle are known as " grubby " cattle. Early in the spring

^11

The Bot- Flies

the flies appear and are immediately attracted to cattle, laying their
eggs upon the legs, especially just above the hoof, which explains
the southwestern name "heel fly." The eggs are occasionally
laid on other parts of the body but the neighborhood of the hoof
is preferred. They are attached to the hair by means of a clasp-
ing projection and usually from four to six are laid together. The
animal licks its legs and the larva at once hatches and is carried
down into the oesophagus, the walls of which it penetrates by
means of its strong spines. It then molts and becomes smooth

and for several
months wanders
through the con-
nective tissues
of the cow,
between the
skin and the
flesh, penetrat-
ing gradually
along the neck
and ultimately
reaching a point
beneath the skin
on the back of
the animal. The
larva then molts
again, becomes
more spiny, and
bores a hole

Fig, 86. — Hypoderma lineata, eggs. (After Riley.)

through the skin, placing its anal spiracle near the orifice in order
to get air. During its earlier life it probably breathes by an en-
dosmotic method as do the larvae of the parasitic Hymenoptera
and in fact much as do the aquatic larvae of certain other insects.
The larva now develops rapidly, living upon the pus and
bloody serum which is produced by the irritation of its spiny skin.
It molts again and is then more than an inch long and yellowish-
white in color. It works its way out of the minute orifice which
it enlarges and drops to the ground where it contracts and hardens,
the larval skin becoming the protection for the pupa which is
formed within. In three to six weeks the adult fly escapes by
pushing off the circular cap at one end of the puparium.

136

The Bot-Plies

The life history of this insect was entirely misunderstood
until recent years. It was supposed that the eggs were laid upon
the back and that the larva immediately penetrated the skin and
lived there without wandering. It was not until 1890 that the
true life history, as described above, was ascertained by Dr.
Cooper Curtice.

na

THE TACHINA FLIES

(Family TachmidcB.)

This is a large a-nd important group of flies, the members of
which have no common name except that of "tachina flies," by
which they are generally known to everyone who has studied
insects, even if his studies have not carried him into the order
Diptera, for all or nearly all of these creatures are parasitic upon
other insects and a person engaged in rearing caterpillars will
often have his ultimate design frustrated through the work of the
larvae of these flies. As a rule they are medium sized or rather
large flies of a gray tint, rather unattractive in appearance and
perhaps resembling the common house-fly as a rule. In fact, one
may say that they belong to the house-fly type. The gray body

color is frequently striped with dark
or lighter stripes and there are some
marked exceptions to this general
colorational scheme as, for example,
in the dark-winged, sometimes red-
dish-bodied Trichopodas, the slender
Xanthomelaenas and Hemydas,the red-
bodied Echinomyias and those species
of the genus Archyias which look like
blue-bottle flies. In general the wings
are clear, the bodies are somewhat
bristly and the insects fly with a buzzing sound which is not
very pronounced but like that of a house-fly. They are active
and fly usually in the sunshine, being much less in evidence on
cloudy days.

In their relations with man the tachina flies are beneficial —
the most beneficial group of Diptera, with the possible exception
of the syrphus flies. With the tachina flies, however, the habits
are much more uniform and the larvae feed only upon living
insects. By far the fiworite hosts of these flies are the leaf-eating
caterpillars and the numbers which are destroyed in a single

158

Fig. 87. — Winthemia quadri-

pustulata.

(After Comstock.)

Plate XXXV.
SHORT-HORNED GRASSHOPPERS OR TRUE LOCUSTS

FIG.
I.
2.

3-
4.
5-
6.

Gomphicerus decussata
Melanoplus minor
Melanoplus atlanis
Melanoplus punctulatus
Hesperotettix viridis
Circotettix verruculatus

FIG.

7-
8.

9-

ID.
II.

Cephaloccema costylata
Encoptolophus sordidus
Melanoplus differentialis
Melanoplus diflferentialis
Hesperotettix viridis

The Insect Book.

ri ATK WW.

The Insect Book.

Plate XXWI.

Plate XXXVI.
SHORT-HORNED GRASSHOPPERS OR TRUE LOCUSTS

FIG.
I.
2.

3-
4-

5-
6.

Dissosteira venusta
Schistocerca damnifica (side)
Heliastus californicus
Schistocerca vaga
Mestobregma cincta
Dissosteira spurcata

FIG.

9-

lO.

II.

Gomphicerus elliotii
Aulocara scudderi
Tryxalis brevicornis
Dictyophorus reticuiatus
Syrbula admirabiiis

The Tachina Flies

season by these parasites is quite beyond computation. I have
seen vast armies of the army-worm, comprising unquestionably
millions of individuals, and have been unable to find a single
specimen which did not bear the characteristic eggs of a tachina
fly. These flies were present in such numbers that their buzzing,
as they flew over the army of caterpillars, could be heard at some
distance and the farmers were unnecessarily alarmed since they
conceived the idea that the flies were the parents of the cater-
pillars and were flying everywhere and laying their eggs in the
grass and wheat. As a matter of fact, one great outbreak of the
army-worm in northern Alabama, in the early summer of 1881.
was completely
frustrated by the
tachina flies, aided by
a few other parasites
and predatory insects.
They also attack
grasshoppers, bugs
and beetles, saw-flies
and saw-fly larvae
and bumblebees and
wasps.

Their eggs are
usually white in color,
oval in shape and are
stuck by some sort of
a gummy substance
to the surface of the
insect on which the future larvae are to feed

^^•■esS^

Fig.

>8. — Euphorocera claripennis.
(Author's illustration.)

The small white
eggs are frequently seen sticking to the back of some unfortunate
caterpillar. From the under side of each tgg there hatches a little
maggot which bores its way through the skin of the host insect
and penetrates into its body, where it lives, nourishing itself upon
the fatty matter and lymph, until it reaches full growth, usually
if not always destroying before it emerges some vital organ so as
to cause the death of the host insect. It almost invariably issues
when full grown from the body of the insect attacked and trans-
forms at or near the surface of the ground within the last larval
skin, which hardens into a brown, oval puparium. Breeding is
rapid and there may be several generations each summer. In

159

The Tachina Flies

issuing from the puparium the fly breaks away the entire end of
the hardened larval skin.

it used to be thought that every caterpillar upon which these
eggs were placed was doomed, but it often happens that the
mother tachina fly, with a faulty instinct, places her eggs upon
the back of a caterpillar which is about to cast its skin and in such
instances it frequently moults before the eggs have had time to
hatch, so that when they do hatch the young larvae find them-
selves out in the cold world instead of revelling in the interior of
a well-fed caterpillar. So frequently does this occur that a very
large proportion of tachina eggs are wasted by the mother flies.
The observations of Fernald and his assistants in their work upon
the gipsy moth in Massachusetts have given us exact figures in
regard to this matter. In one instance 250 caterpillars, each
bearing eggs of tachina flies, were fed and carried through their
transformation without the appearance of a single adult fly. In
another instance 2)'y caterpillars, each bearing from one to thirty-
three eggs, were fed and watched and from these, 226 moths
were reared and only nine were killed by the tachinas.

An interesting point connected with the life of these flies is
brought out when we compare them with the parasitic Hymen-
optera, the ichneumon flies and the chalcis flies. In the latter
case we are struck by the extremely definite relation between
the kind of parasite and the kind of host. The parasites of a par-
ticular genus will attack perhaps only insects of a certain family
and it is a very definite rule that parasites of a given subfamily
will attack only insects of a certain order. With the tachina flies,
however, it is quite different. The same species of fly will lay
her eggs not only upon insects of several different families but
upon insects of two or even three different orders. This would
seem to me to indicate that the parasitic mode of life in the
tachina flies is one of comparatively recent acquirement and that
sufficient time has not elapsed since they began to take on this
habit for so great a differentiation, so great a co-relation between
the host relation and the structure of the insects, to grow up.
The ancestors of the tachina flies were probably flesh-flies and
the parasitic mode of life has come from a gradual change from
feeding on dead insects to feeding on live ones.

Coquillett has pointed out that in their instincts these flies
appear to be much stupider than the ichneumon flies. The latter,

1(0

The Tachina Fliea

for example, seem to know by a touch of their antennae whether
or not an insect has already been stung by some other parasite and
they only in very rare instances insert an egg in the body of an
insect that already contains an egg or larva of another parasite.
Moreover, the ichneumon flies seem to grade the number of eggs
which they lay in a certain insect to the number of larvae which
can successfully grow within it. But the tachina tly will attach
to a caterpillar three or four times as many eggs as the number
of larvse the caterpillar can maintain. Thus many tachinid larvae
perish for want of food while some, which are barely able to exist,
produce flies which are dwarfed in size, so that some adult flies
are only one-third as large as others.

As above stated, the group is a very large one and fortunately
it has been admirably monographed by Mr. D. W. Coquillett,
who has also brought together from the records of the U. S.
Department of Agriculture an interesting table of these flies in
relation to the insects upon which they have been parasitic.

THE NIMBLE FLIES

(Family DexiidcB.)

The flies of this group, of which we have nearly fifty species
in this country, most of them belonging to the typical genus
Dexia, resemble the Tachina flies for the most part, although
some are quite handsome, as, for example, Euantha liturata,
which has banded wings and a striped thorax. The legs of these
flies are usually long and in their early stages they are parasitic in
various insects, especially in beetles and also in snails. Some of
the exotic species are very handsome, as those of the genus
Rutilia.

THE FLESH-FLIES

Fig. 89. — Chrysomyiamacellaria.
( Atitkor's illustration. J

(Family SarcophagidcB.)

This is a large ^roup of flies, comprising very many species,

and as the scientific name indicates they are called "flesh-flies "

because many of them live in the
larval state in the bodies of dead
animals. Although, as just stated,
many of the so-called flesh-flies are
flesh feeders, the group as a whole
is a variable one in habit. The
larvse of some live in decaying vege-
table matter and fruits, others live in
dung and others are practically par-
asitic upon living insects. One
genus (Sarcophila) is a parasite of
mammalia and even of human beings,
depositing its young in the nostrils

where they cause great suffering and even death. Several species

of this family are referred to in the

medical literature of "myiasis"

which means the parasitism of

human beings by flies.

The females of the flesh-flies

may deposit eggs in large numbers

or they may deposit living larvie, as

just indicated, the eggs being hatched

before they have left the body of the

female. A number of famous insects

belong to this group. The insect

popularly known as the "screw-
worm fly" is well known in the

west. It is one of the most important of the insects which

affect domestic animals and its greatest damage is done in Texas

163

Fig. 90. — Lucilia caesar.
(Author's illustration.)

The Flesh-Flies

and adjoining States. The fly lays its eggs on any spot where
the skin has been injured either from a scratch by a barbed-wire
fence or the puncture of a thorn. The raw or slightly bloody
surface attracts the flies which lay their eggs and the larvae live
in the flesh, making a large sore. The fly does not confine its

attacks to domestic
animals but also fre-
quently attacks man.
The most common
cases are those where
the fly has laid its eggs
in the nostrils of some

-y^A mi'mi^sefS'-<K'\ T^re-^^- ^"^' generally some
.^:^^y4^^M^^7[u^^ \^ person with a bad ca-
tarrhal trouble. The
eggs hatch and the
larvae work their way
through the upper nos-
trils and destroy the
tissues. The soft pal-
ate is frequently entirely
destroyed and fatal

Fig. 91. — Calliphora erythrocephala.
(Author's illustration.)

cases in men are not
rare. The remedy is
to syringe out the nasal passages with diluted carbolic acid. This
insect also in its larval stage feeds on carrion. Another well
known flesh-fly is Lucilia ccesar, generally known as the green-
bottle fly, which is sometimes driven into houses on the approach
of a storm. The large blue-bottle fly of rather dull color with
black spines on the thorax is known as Calliphora erythrocephala.
This is the common "blow-fly" of Europe and is the species treated
by Lowne in his classic "Anatomy of the Blow-Fly." Its larvae are
indistinguishable from those of the preceding species except in
size and they are to be found on meat and dead animals. Riley
states also that it destroys the Rocky Mountain locust or western
grasshopper. The flies of the true genus Sarcophaga are very
general scavengers, feeding, however, upon animal matter practi-
cally exclusively. The common flesh-fly of Europe Sarcophaga
carnaria does not seem to occur in this country but we have a
closely allied species, S. sarracenice, which has been reared from

164

The Flesh-Flies

larvae found feeding upon dead insects in the pitciiers of the
common pitcher plants and which is often reared from dead in-
sects and from excrement. It is rather a rapid breeder and a

Fig. 92. — Sarcophaga sarraceniae. (Author's illustration. J

generation will be developed in ten days in the summer time.

Among the commonest of the flesh-flies are the small species
of the genus Helicobia, originally so named because they were
reared from a dead snail. They are very commonly found feeding
in the larval stage upon the dead bodies of insects.

A majority of the flesh-flies belong to what may be termed
the house-fly type, /. e., they are gray flies rather obscurely
striped with black, but some of them, as just shown, may be-
come metallic in color.

165

THE HOUSE-FLY AND ITS NEAR
RELATIONS

(Family Muscidce.)

The insects of this family comprise what might be known
as the typical true flies. The bristle of the antennse is feathery
and the abdomen is smooth except for a certain number of
bristles near the tip. The larvae as a rule feed upon decaying
animal or vegetable matter, more abundantly upon animal than

vegetable. The group
comprises many spe-
cies and includes some
of the most common
and abundant forms,
such as the house-fly
(Muse a domestica), the
horn-fly of cattle (Hce-
matobia serraia), the
stable-fly (Stomoxys
calcitrans), and some
of the so-called " blue-
bottle" flies. Certain
members of this group,
such as the horn-fly,
and the stable-fly (both
species having been in-
troduced from Europe)
are very annoying to
live stock and produce
great loss by their attacks. Many species of this group are of
much value as scavengers, destroying, through their great num-
ber and quick breeding, quantities of decaying animal matter, but
some of them are again injurious as appears from recent investi-
gations by virtue of the fact that they breed in human excrement

166

Fig. 93. — Haematobia serrata.
(From Insect Life.)

The House-Fly and Its Near Relations

through the carriage and distribution of the germs of diseases of
the intestinal tract, such as typhoid fever and Asiatic cholera.

Typical Life History

{Musca domesiica.)

This insect, known as the common house-fly, is found all
over the world. It lays its eggs by preference in horse manure
but in the absence
of this substance will

oviposit and breed / ^jj^^ \ \

in other excrementi- C^M^^%J j

tious matter and will
lay its eggs in decay-
ing vegetables, al-
though 1 have been
unable to rear it in
substances of the last
named character. It
is also difficult and
often impossible to
rear it from cow
dung. In horse manure, however, it flourishes. The eggs are
laid freely on horse manure in an undisturbed condition. These

Fig. 94. — Morellia micans. {Author's illustration.)

Fig. 95. — Stomoxys calcitrans. {Author's illustration.)
167

The House-Fly and Its Near Relations

eggs are elongate, white, and hatch very soon after being laid, in
six or eight hours. The larvae, which are white, pointed mag-
gots, as shown in the accompanying figure, grow rapidly, cast
their skin twice, and reach full growth under favorable conditions
in four or five days. The outer skin then hardens, swells out,
turns dark brown in color, and within it the true pupa is formed.
In this stage it may live for five days and the adult fly issues at
the expiration of this time through a round hole in the anterior
end of the pupal covering. This makes the total life round for a

Fig. 96. — Musca domestica. {Author's illustration.)

single generation in summer approximately ten days. Thus
there is abundance of time for the development of twelve or
thirteen generations in the climate of Washington every summer.
The number of eggs laid by an individual fly averages about
120 and the enormous numbers in which the insect occurs is thus
plainly accounted for, especially when we consider the abundance
and universal occurrence of appropriate larval food. The univer-
sal occurrence of uncared for piles of horse manure in cities is
therefore not only a source of great discomfort but is inimical to
health since the house-fly undoubtedly distributes disease germs.
The numbers in which house-fly larvae occur in horse manure
piles may be understood when the statement is made that from
a quarter of a pound of manure from the centre of a pile 160
larvae and 146 puparia of the house-fly were taken. This would
make about 1,200 house-flies to the pound of manure. This is
not a fair average, but indicates possibilities and is an actual
record of an individual case. Experiments conducted by the

168

The House-Fly and Its Near Relations

writer at Washington indicate that by cleanly measures in stables,
by the daily collection of the manure and placing it in a closed
pit or closet or by treating it at intervals of a week with chlorid
of lime, the house-fly nuisance can be greatly abated and thus
the disease danger largely avoided.

There is a general impression that house-flies sometimes bite
people, but this is entirely wrong. Their mouth parts are fitted for
sucking and lapping up liquids, and not for piercing. The
stable-fly mentioned in a previous paragraph is, however, a bit-
ing one, and it looks so much like a house-fly that one almost
has to let it bite before finding out whether it is a house-fly or
not. The stable-fly is seldom found in houses except just before
a rain, and then it comes in at the open windows. From this
fact arises the old saying, " Flies begin to bite before a rain." It
has been asked why flies seem to prefer windows and looking-
glasses, but the answer is simple enough : when they are on the
windows they want to get out; when they are on looking-
glasses they are mistaking them for windows.

Sometimes when a house-fly is examined it will be seen to
be fairly covered with little reddish objects which are really living
creatures. They are parasitic mites which attach themselves to
the bodies of house-flies and certain other insects and inserting
their long beaks suck their juices. It is comforting to think that
the house-fly has these parasites which torment him so. Such
retribution is just. And there is another comforting fact: house-
flies die of fungus diseases. Sometimes, especially in the fall,
flies will be found behind the picture-frames or in rather dark
places, covered with a gray, fur-like substance, which is the
manifestation of the fungus disease which has killed it. Then,
too, dead flies will be seen with their bodies swollen and appear-
ing more or less striped. These also have been killed by another
fungus disease. These epidemic diseases cease in December, and
although many thousands of house-flies are killed by them, the
remarkable rapidity of development in the early summer months
soon more than replaces the thousands thus destroyed.

If we could only get our boards of health in cities to attack
the house-fly question and to insist on the proper disposal and
treatment of horse manure the insect would soon become scarce,
and perhaps its agency in the spread of disease will induce these
officials to look into the matter. It is a noticeable fact that

169

The House-Fly and Its Near Relations

horses are very much on the decrease in cities; the motor
vehicles of different kinds are becoming multiplied, and with
this change will come a decrease, and a marked one in the num-
ber of house-flies. In the country and in agricultural communi-
ties there is not much hope in the near future except through
better knowledge on the part of the inhabitants and an effort to
do away with the breeding places of this nuisance.

17©

Plate XXXVII.
MISCELLANEOUS ORTHOPTERA

FIG. FIG.

1. Stenopelmatus fasciatus 5. Gryllus abbreviatus

2. Microcentrum laurifolium 6. Locusta fuliginosa

3. Orchelimum spinulosum 7. Stagmomantis Carolina

4. Anabrus purpurascens

IHE INSECT Book.

Plate \XX\ il.

The Insect Book,

1'late XXXVIII

Plate XXXVIII.

SHORT-HORNED GRASSHOPPERS OR TRUE LOCUSTS

(reduced one-third)

FIG.
I,
2.

3-
4-
5-
6. Schistocera damnifica

Spharagemon bollii 5
Hippiscus rugosus
Melanoplus femur-rubrum
Spharagemon bollii ?
Chimarocephala viridifasciata

FIG.

7. Hippiscus phoenicopterus

8. Dissosteira Carolina

9. Schistocerca sanguinea

10. Schistocerca americana

11. Spharagemon aequale

THE ANTHOMYIA FLIES

(Family AnthontyiidcB.)

The flies of this family also as a rule belong to the house-fly
type. They are generally rather small but of unpronounced color.
It is a very large family and a most difficult one to study and the
flies themselves are singularly unattractive in general appearance.
Nevertheless, the habits of many of the species are of interest and
they feed not only upon decaying vegetable matter but also upon
growing plants and a few prey upon the eggs of grasshoppers.
Such a wide variation in habit suggests that structural characters
will eventually be found which will split up this large family.

Fig. 97. — Homalomyia brevis. (Author's illustration.)

Several species will be found mentioned in medical works under
the head of "myiasis interna" and in these cases they have been
taken into the stomachs of human beings with spoiled vegetables.
They frequently retain their vitality and issue alive with the faeces.
The insects commonly known as little house-flies (Homalomyia
caniciilaris and H. brevis) frequently seen in houses on windows
belong to this family. They breed in decaving vegetable
material and dung. The so-called onion-fly (Thorbia ceparum)

1:1

The Anthomyia Flies

in the larval stage is occasionally very destructive to onions,
working into the bulb and destroying it for food. The cabbage
maggot (P. brassica:) works in the roots of cabbage and some-
times does great damage. Some species in the larval stage mine
the leaves of plants. Pegomyia vicina mines the leaves of beets
and has become a rather important insect since the cultivation of

Fig. 98. — Pegomyia vicina. (Author's illustration.)

the sugar beet has assumed large proportions in this country.
One species is said to damage seed corn when placed in the
ground and others destroy injurious grasshoppers and there are
records which show that other forms sometimes live in tumors
under the skin of birds.

172

THE DUNG FLIES

(Families Scatophagidce and Heieroneuridce.)

We are coming now to a long series of small families
of rather small flies which are not especially interesting or
especially remarkable.

The Scatophagidae are rather slender, medium sized flies,
generally smooth,
but rarely with
some bristles and
yellowish hairs. In
color they are
usually black and
shining, but some-
times yellowish
or with a broad
yellowish stripe on
a dark background.
The flies of this
family are popularly
known as dung
flies and are at-
tracted to and breed
in dung of various
animals, and also
in decaying vege-
table matter.

The Heteroneuridae are rather small, slender, yellowish or
black species, which are found in foul, damp places, and whose
larvae are found under the bark of trees and in similar situations.

Fig. 99. — Scatophaga furcata. {Author's Illustration.)

173

FAMILIES MELOMYZIDyE, PHYCODROMIDy^
AND SCIOMYZ/D.^

The Helomyzidae are small, dark-colored flies, looking some-
thing like dung-flies. They seem to prefer damp, shady places,
and fly in the twilight. In the larval condition they are to be
found in fungi and one species in Europe feeds upon truffles.
Some of them also lay their eggs in the excrement of dogs and
other animals.

The Phycodromidae are also small, grayish flies in which the
abdomen is somewhat darker than the thorax. They are found
on ocean beaches, and also on the shores of lakes, upon the differ-
ent substances, usually vegetable, washed ashore, and they
probably breed in such places.

With the Sciomyzidae, the colors are brown or gray, and they
are ordinary-looking, medium sized or small flies. Their wings
are usually spotted or slightly clouded. The metamorphoses of
most of them are not known. These flies are to be captured on
high grasses or u,pon bushes.

174

FAMILIES SAPROMYZIDy^, LONCH/EID/B
AND ORTALIDy^

The flies of the family Sapromyzidae much resemble those of
the last mentioned group, but the wings are rarely spotted. The
abdomen is usually rather broad, and short, and egg-shaped.
Their larvae are found under the bark of trees or in the burrows
of wood-boring insects, or in decaying vegetation of almost any
kind. The flies are commonly found in damp spots near their
breedmg places.

The Loncheidae is a group which was formerly included in
the preceding family and which it verv much resembles. The

Fig. loo. — Chaetopsis aenea.

metamorphoses are not well known, but the larvae of one species
have been found in Europe in the stems of weedy plants, and of
another in the rootlets of wheat. In this country 1 have bred
Lonchcta polita from dung.

The Ortalidae comprises a group of flies with usually spotted
or banded wings, and frequently of metallic colors. In the larval
state they occur under the bark of pine and poplar and in the
burrows of wood-boring insects and also in onions, cotton bolls,

^75

Families Sapromyzidse, Loncheidse and Ortalidae

apples, and the fruit of the Osage orange, probably in all cases,
however, following the work of some other insect. Strictly
speaking, therefore, these flies are scavengers. The brown
winged species of the genus Pyrgota are the largest flies of this
family which we have in this country. Camptoneiira picta Fabr.
is a beautiful little fly with brown wings in which the brown
is incised with clear spaces. Chcetopsis cenea has been reared
from corn stalks, which however, as with the other species, had
previously been bored by some other insect.

I'Ji

THE FRUIT AND GALL FLIES

(Family Trypeiid(E.)

Most of the flies of this family are rather small, although
some are above medium size. They are of very striking appear-
ance and interesting habits. They vary from light yellow m
color to dark brown or nearly black, and the body is frequently
curiously spotted in the lighter specimens. The wings are also
beautifully banded and
marked. The group is
a large one and is well
represented in the United
States, many genera and
species occurringwithus.
The Trypetid flies
in their early stages live
in fruits or in the stems
of plants, producing
galls. The so-called
apple maggot of the
Northeastern States, an
insect which is especially
abundant in Maine and
New Hampshire, is the \^xvao{ Rhagdetispomonella. It eats
into the pulp of apples, boring tunnels in all directions through
the fruit. It is said especially to attack the earlier ripening
apples When full grown it drops to the ground and transforms
within the last larval skin. The adult insect is a black and white
fly with banded wings. One of the large round galls which
occurs upon the stems of goldenrod is made by one of these flies
known as Eurosta asteris. There are sometimes two of
these galls on the same stalk, and they are most conspicuous in
the winter time when there are no leaves on the plant. If one
cuts open one of these galls it is found to be full of a pithy solid

112

Fig. 101.— Tephritis aequalis. ( After Marlatt.)

The Fruit and Gall Flies

mass, in the center of which is the plump, white maggot of this
fly. A famous member of this family is known as Ceratitis
capitaia, which damages peaches and other fruit in different parts
of the world. It is common and injurious in Bermuda, but,
fortunately, has not established itself in the United States. An-
other Trypetid tly which does great damage is Anastrepha ludeiis,
[he larva of which is known as the Morelos orange fruit worm.
It bores into the pulp of oranges, and renders them unfit for
eating purposes. These worms are frequently found in Mexican
oranges which are brought into the United States in the early fall
before the California oranges come on the market. California
orange growers are greatly alarmed at the prospect that this
insect may be imported into their orange groves and establish
itself there, and they are trying to induce Congress to pass a law
by which the Secretary of Agriculture shall be empowered to
quarantine against Mexican oranges. This would be by no
means the first instance in which insect damage has caused
national legislation.

The larva of Trypeta fratria Loew mines the leaves of
parsnip in many parts of the country.

I7tf

FAMILIES MICROPEZIDy^, SEPSID/E,
PSILID^ AND IDIOPSID/E.

The Micropezid flies are slender, dark creatures of a good
size, with a few spots on the wings. They are rather awkward
in shape, their legs being long, and they are not common.
Nothing is known of their metamorphoses, but they are cap-
tured upon decaying and foul vegetable and animal matter.

The Sepsidae comprise a series of small, frequently shining
black flies, of rather slender form, which breed, as a rule, in
decaying vegetable material or in dung. The little shining black

Fig. I02. — Sepsis violacea. f Author's illustration.)

species of the genus Piopfiila, however, breed in cheese, ham
fat, and in other fatty or spoiled and decaying animal matter.
The little maggot known as the "cheese skipper" is the larva of
Piophila casei Linn. This insect frequently does great damage
in packing establishments. The eggs are laid in compact clusters
of from five to fifteen, or are scattered singly. Each female lays
about thirty eggs. The egg is white, slender, slightly curved,
one millimeter long, and hatches in thirty-six hours. The larva

179

Families Micropezidae, Sepsidae, Psilidse and Diopsidse

Fig. 103. — Piophila casei : a, larva;
b, puparium; c, adult.

three or four inches.
When full grown it
moves away to some
dry spot, contracts and
assumes a yellowish
color, the skin hard-
ens, and within the
last larval skin the
pupa is formed. In
ten days the adult fly
issues. As a cheese
insect in this country
this fly does not play
as important a part as
it does as an enemy to
smoked meat. In Eu-
rope, it IS noted prin-

is cylindrical and tapers
toward the anterior end.
It completes its growth
in from seven to eight
days, and if the food sup-
ply is sufficient, it does
not move much, but
when mature it jumps
in an extraordinary way,
from which it derives its
name of cheese skipper.
The leap is made by
bringing the two ends of
the body together, and
suddenly releasing them
like a spring. In this way
they sometimes jump

Fig. 104.

180

-Nemopoda minuta. (Author's
illustration.)

Families Micropzidae, Sepsidse, Psilidae and Diopsidae

cipally as a cheese pest, and it is a matter of common observa-
tion that the mother fly seems to prefer the older and richer
cheeses in which to deposit her eggs. Her taste is excellent,
and, while it is a fair thing to say that skippery cheese is
usually the best, it will hardly do to support the conclusion
that it is good because it is skippery, although this con-
clusion is current among a certain class of cheese-eaters.
Readers of this will be reminded of the inimitable scene in the
Erasmus Inn, described by Charles Reade in "The Cloister and
the Hearth."

The flies of the family Psilidae are a little stouter and shorter
than the Micropezids, and are sometimes light in color, though
generally dark. The metamorphoses of very few of them are
known. Some occur in the stems of plants; others are found in
the roots of carrots and cabbages, and the flies themselves are
seen commonly sitting upon the leaves of bushes and low-
growing plants.

The Diopsidae are remarkable from their very curious heads.
The head is greatly broadened, with the eyes at the extremities,
and the eye-portion is swollen. In some tropical species this
feature becomes so exaggerated that the insect looks almost as if
it carried bicycle handle bars on its head. They are small black
flies, usually stouter than those of the groups which we have
iust mentioned, and they are found in shady wooded places.

x8i

THE SALT-WATER FLIES

(Family Ephydridce.)

This family includes a number of insects of curious structure
and strange habits. The adults are generally sordid little flies
usually with clear wings.

The larvse, as a rule, are aquatic or subaquatic, and are found
in waters strongly impregnated with salt. They occur near salt
wells and are found in the strongly alkaline lakes of the West.
Some species breed in pools of water strongly impregnated with
minerals, and one form is found breeding commonly in the
pissoirs of European cities. 1 have reared Brachydetitera argen-
tata, a handsome little species belonging to this family, from
larvse found in a small pool of water which was strongly impreg-
nated with horse manure from an adjoining manure heap. The
numbers in which the Ephydrid flies occur in the alkaline lakes in
our western country is something astonishing. They are found
in the Great Salt Lake, in Mono Lake, and others of the same
character. The waters of Lake Mono are very heavy and have
a nauseous taste, and when still the water looks like oil and feels
slippery to the touch, and it is said that no fish or reptile lives in
it. It swarms, however, with countless millions of these larvae,
which develop into flies which rest upon the surface of the water
and cover everything on the shore. The larvae and the flies drift
in heaps on the beaches, and hundreds of bushels can be collected.
Professor Brewer, of Yale University, has published an interesting
account of them from which these statements are drawn. It
seems that at certain times of the year the Indians used to come
from far and near to get them for food. They dried the puparia
in the sun and then rubbed off the outer skin. The Indians call
this food koo-chah-bee. Prof. Brewer says that it tastes like
patent meat biscuit and if one were ignorant of its origin it
would make palatable soup. Another species is found in great
quantities in Lake Texcoco, near the City of Mexico.

Plate XXXIX.

DRAGON FLIES
(reduced one-third)

FIG.

1. Plathemis lydia ? (Libellulidae) U. S.

2. Perithemis domitia ^ (Libellulidae) U. S., east of Mississippi;

W. I., Argentine Republic

3. Libellula 4-maculata 5 (Libellulidae) Northern U. S., Europe

and Asia

4. Perithemis domitia ? (Libellulidae) U. S., east of Mississippi;

W. I., Argentine Republic

5. Plathemis lydia 5 (Libellulidae) U. S.

6. Perithemis domitia? (Libellulidae) U. S., east of Mississippi;

W. I., Argentine Republic

7. Libellula pulchella $> (Libellulidae) Quebec, U. S.

8. Tramea lacerata (Libellulidae) N. A., Hawaiian Islands

9. Pachydiplax longipennis 3 (Libellulidae) N. A.

10. Somatochlora walshii ^ (Cordulidae) White Mts. of N. H., Me.

11. Libellula vibrans 5 (Libellulidae) Eastern and Southern U. S,

12. Gomphus plagiatus $, (Gomphidae) Eastern and Southern U. S.

13. Libellula plumbea (Libellulidae) N. Y. to S. C.

14. Celithemis elisa ? (Libellulidae) Can. to Ga., Mich., 111.

15. Anax Junius ? (y^schnidae) N. A., W. I., Hawaiian Islands,

Kamchatka, China

16. Sympetrum obtrusum 5 (Libellulidas) Northern N. A.

The Insect Book.

Plate XXXIX.

The Insect Book.

Plate XL

Plate XL.

DRAGON FLIES

(reduced one-third)

FIG.

1. Lestes forcipatus ? (Agrionidae) U. S.

2. Amphiagrion saucium <^ (Agrionidae) U. S.

3. Nehalennia Irene $ (Agrionidse) Eastern U. S.

4. Enallagma exsulans ? (Agrionidse) Me., N. Y. to Va., 111., Tex.

5. Lestes forcipatus $ (Agrionidae) U. S.

6. Amphiagrion saucium ? (Agrionidae) U. S.

7. Nehalennia posita ? (Agrionidae) Eastern U. S. and Canada

8. Enallagma exsulans $ (Agrionidae) Me., N. Y. to Va., 111., Tex.

9. Hetjerina americana $ (Calopterygidae) Me. to Md., west to

Wis. and Mo.

10. Calopteryxangustipennis^ (Calopterygidae) Pa., Ohio, Ky. Ga.

11. Hetarina americana ? (Calopterygidae) Me. to Md., west to

Wis. and Mo.

12. Calopteryx maculata $ (Calopterygidae) Eastern U. S. and Can.

1 3. Argia putrida $ (Agrionidae) Eastern U. S. and Canada

14. Calopteryx aequabilis <5 (Calopterygidae) Me., Mass., Eastern

Canada

15. Calopteryx maculata? (Calopterygidae) Eastern U. S., and

Canada

16. Anomalagrion hastatum ? (black), (Agrionidae) Eastern and

Southern U. S., Cuba, Haiti, Venezuela, Galapagos Is.
17 Anomalagrion hastatum 9 (orange), (Agrionidae) Eastern and

Southern U. S., Cuba, Haiti, Venezuela, Galapagos Is.
18. Anomalagrion hastatum^ (Agrionidae) Eastern and Southern

U. S., Cuba, Haiti, Venezuela, Galapagos Islands
29. Hetaerina tricolor 5 (Calopterygidae) Pa., Ga., Tex., D. C.

THE GRASS STEM FLIES

(Family Oscinidce.)

These are little flies, either dark and shining or yellowish in
color, and are more or less stout-bodied. The larvae breed in the
stems of grasses or are found in decaying vegetable material;
some live in the burrows or cavities in plants made by other
insects while a few feed on the egg shells and cast skins of

Fig. 105.— Hippelatesplebejus.

insects. Meromyia americana feeds in the stems of wheat and
rye, and sometimes does considerable damage; the larva of
Chlorops graminea lives in a gall-like swelling on grass stems,
and the larva of Chlorops assimilis mines the leaves of sugar beet.
One of the commonest of these flies in this country is a little
scavenger known as Gaurax anchora, which feeds upon all sorts
of dead animal matter, such as the empty egg shells of other
insects, the cast-off skins of caterpillars and chrysalids, and
spiders' eggs. The little flies of the genus Hippelates are

j8i

The Grass Stem Plies

especially noticeable in the summer time, particularly in the
Southern States. They are the most minute of flies, and swarm
about the eyes of dogs and domestic animals, and in some places
are annoying by getting into the eyes of human beings. These
are the forms which were considered by Hubbard to be
responsible for the spread of the eye disease known as " pink-eye "
in Florida, a complaint so prevalent at times, especially among

Fig. io6. — Gaurax anchora. (Author's Illustration.)

school children, as to cause the schools to close. The species of
the true genus Oscinis almost invariably in their larval stage
bore into the stems of living plants, especially grasses, but one
species lives in the seed pods of the so-called Indian bean tree
(Catalpa speciosa). A member of this family is the famous "frit
fly " of Europe, and causes great damage to grain crops, especi-
ally in North Europe,

XS4

THE LITTLE FRUIT FLIES

(Family Drosophilidce.)

This group includes the little fruit flies, or pomace flies, so
commonly seen about decaying fruit and also about other decaying
vegetation. They are frequently found in houses in the autumn
about dishes containing pears, peaches and grapes. They are
attracted to fruit both for food and as places for oviposition, since

Fig. 107.— Diosopliila a.nixlophila : a, lai\a; b, pupa; <r, adult.

their larvs live in decaying' vegetable matter. They are also
called "vinegar flies," from the fact that their white, slender
larvae are frequently found in canned fruits and pickles which
have been imperfectly sealed, occurring mostly near the top of
the jars, but living without inconvenience in the briny or vinegary
liquid, and transforming within brown puparia around the edges

of the jar.

Drosophila ampelophila seems to be the commonest species
all over the United States, and is mainly responsible for the injury
to canned fruits and pickles. Drosophilas are found comn-o.uy

185

The Little Fruit Flies

around the refuse of cider mills and fermenting vats of grape
pomace. Forbes has stated that in 1884 they damaged the grape
crop at Moline, 111. They attacked most frequently the grapes
which had been mutilated by birds or damaged by rot, but,
having once commenced on a cluster, they passed from one berry
to another, the flies meanwhile constantly laying eggs.

A brood of these flies may develop in twenty days. I have
recently shown that these flies are attracted to dangerously foul
substances, and that they may be responsible for the spread of
certain diseases.

The larva of Scaptomyiaflaveola (Meig.) makes blotch mines
in the leaves of radishes

1S6

FAMILIES GEOMYZID/E, AGROMYZIDy^
AND BORBORIDyE

The family Geomyzid^ is a small one, and is composed of
very small flies about which there is nothing especially distmcUve
or especially interesting. ^

They are usually rather
slender and of a grayish or
yellow color, looking some-
thing like the pomace flies.
Those of which the meta-
morphoses are known have
larva which mine the leaves
of grasses and grains.

The Agromyzid flies,
as a rule, are small, insig-
nificant creatures of dull
colors. The larvae of some
of them feed on living
plants, forming burrows or
mines in various parts, and
especially in the leaves,
while the larvae of others
(of the genus Leiicopis)
prey upon plant-lice and scale insects. None of the species,
however, appear to have any great economic importance.

The Borborida are little flies, usually of dark color, and with
clear wings. They are often to be found in great numbers upon
dung, and, in fact, appear to breed exclusively in this substance.
One of the species of the genus Umosina (L. -venalicnis) was
found abundantly in Cuba by Osten Sacken, and as it is an
African species it is very probable that it was brought over in
slave ships. The flies of this family have some value on account
of their function as scavengers, but they may be responsible for
the spread of disease among human beings.

187

Fig. 108. — Sphaerocera subsultans.
(Atithor's illustration.)

THE BIRD TICKS.

(Family Hippoboscidce.)

This group comprises a series of very remarkable flies which
are parasitic upon birds and mammals, moving quickly about
among the feathers and the hair. Unlike other external insect
parasites of vertebrate animals, many of them possess wings
although they are modified structurally in many other respects as
a result of their parasitic mode of life. One of the most remark-
able features of the bird ticks (as they are called), is the fact that
they not only do not lay eggs but that they do not lay larvae.
They are pupiparous insects, the eggs having hatched and the larva

developed until the pupa
state is nearly reached
within the body of the
mother. They are ex-
truded by the parent fly
only when nearly ready to
become pupae. Bird ticks
are not very prolific; only
a single young is brought
forth at a birth. The pro-
boscis of the adult fly
differs from that of other
flies, and consists of two hard flaps which spread apart allowing
a tube to be thrust out from the head.

Very little is known of the intimate life history of any of
them. Hippobosca equina is a winged species which occurs upon
the horse and which is known in England as the forest fly.
Possibly the best-known species is a wingless form known as
the sheep tick ( Melophagus ovimis). In this insect the larva has
been shown to be nourished by secretions from certain glands of
the mother fly. One of the commonest of our North American
species is Olfersia americana which is found upon several kinds

1 88

Fig. 109. — Olfersia americana.
(After Packard.)

The Bird Ticks

of birds, such as the horned owl, certain hawks, the ruffed grouse
or partridge, and which has a hard, smooth, flattened yellow
body. The species which belong to the genus Lipoptena live on
mammals, and apparently live for a long time. When they first

Fig. no. — Melophagus ovinus.
(After Packard.)

appear they have wings, but when they have found a satisfactor\
location on some deer or other animal they lose their wings
either by biting them off or casting them. While still winged
they may live on birds. In other words, apparently too lazy to
fly, they use birds as their means of conveyance until they find
themselves in the immediate vicinity of some deer. That the
name "bird ticks "should have been applied to these creatures is
very unfortunate, since the name tick ought to be restricted to the
spider-like parasites of the family Ixodidae, but in the case of the
so-called sheep tick, which is really a dipterous insect, it is not
surprising that the name tick should have been applied since
no one in his senses would think that it is a fly unless he were
familiar with the intimate structure of the Diptera and of the true
ticks.

189

THE BAT TICKS.

(Family Nycteribiidce.)

These are also wingless, degraded, parasitic flies, which have
a similar misnomer in the vernacular, and are called bat ticks.
They are quite the most extraordinary of all the flies, the body
being small and the legs remarkably long, so that they look

Fig. III. — Nycteribia sp. ( After Packard.)

almost like spiders. The head is very small and the eyes may
be entirely lacking. They are rarely more than one-sixth of an
inch in length, but the long legs, which are frequently banded
with jet black and silvery white, render them quite conspicuous.

igo

FLEAS

(Order SipJionaptera.)

The insects of this order, comprising all of the true fleas,
are all contained in a single family, the Pulicidse. They are all
wingless, the mouth-parts are formed for sucking, and the body
is compressed from side to side. The antenna are short and
thick, and are placed in depressions behind the simple unfaceted
eyes ' The metamorphosis is complete. They are the greatest
jumpers known in nature. The fleas are like the mosquitoes,
comparatively few in number of species, but very abundant in in-
dividuals,andwell
represent in struc-
ture the degraded
form which is the
result of a semi-
parasitic life.

They prey upon

nearly all species

of warm-blooded

animals, some,

and in fact most

species of fleas,

passing readily

from one species of

animal to another.

Very many dif-
ferent kinds of

birds are infested

by Pulex avium,

while Pulex ser-

raticeps occurs all a

over the world, Fig. 112.— Pulex serraticeps. (Author's illustration. j

191

Fleas

infesting cats and dogs, both domestic and wild, upon the
Egyptian Ichneumon and the common European pole-cat, the
striped hyaena, the common hare, the raccoon, and it also bites
human beings. The food of flea larvae has been the subject of
some discussion. The old statement that the female flea disgorges
drops of blood upon which her young feed, seems true only to a
small degree. Laboulbene, the famous French entomologist, at
first believed that blood was necessary for the nourishment of the
larvae, the reddish colored contents of the digestive tract making
him think so, but he found that they would flourish and com-
plete their metamorphoses
in sweepings in which
there was no trace of blood.
He concluded that all that
has been said about P.
irritans (the human flea
of Europe) nourishing its
young on dried blood is
very problematic. Mr. W.
J. Simmons found flea lar-
vae feeding upon a dust
composed of fragments of
cuticle, hairs, fibers, and
pellets of dried blood,
the last being probably
the natural excreta of the fleas. The writer has fed them suc-
cessfully upon moist bread crumbs, and it is reasonably certain
that they will feed upon the dust or minute particles of almost
any kind of organic matter.

The minute, delicate, whitish eggs hatch into slender, worm-
like larvae, which, when full-grown, spin delicate cocoons, and
transform to pupae, from which issue the adults. Rather more
than lOo species are known, of which about }0 have been found
in the United States.

In the recent important and alarming indictments of certain
species of insects as carriers and transmitters of certain human
diseases, fleas have not escaped. Grassi considers that the cat
and dog flea (P. serraticeps) is an intermediate host of Taenia
(tape-worms), while Simon and others have brought forward
some proof that certain fleas convey the germs of the bubonic

IQ2

Fig. 113. — Sarcopsylla gallinacea.
(From Insect Life)

Fleas

plague from rats to human beings, and from one person to

'""'a curious and aberrant flea is the so-called ' 'chigoe" or chigger
of tropical America (Sarcopsylla penetrans), not to be con used
with the so-called chigger of Virginia and southward, wh ch is
the larva of a mite. The female of the chigoe, sometimes found
in tropical Florida, and frequently brought to our southern sea-
ports (New Orleans, Savannah and Charleston), buries the
forepart of her body in the flesh of human beings, the abdomen
becoming greatly distended and discharging a number of eggs.
Another species of the same genus (S. gallinacea), sometimes
called the chicken flea, buries itself in the eyehds of domestic
fowls in our southern states and in other parts of the world.

Life-History of the Cat and Dog Flea

(Pulex serraticeps Gervais.^

This insect, commonly known as the cat and dog flea, as
stated above, occurs on a number of different animals, and in the
northeastern United States at least is the common flea, which
proves a pest in houses. The true human flea, so-called
(P irritansX seems to be very rare in the United States, although
common enough in Europe, as travelers and those who have
read Mark Twain's account of the "chamois" well know The
eegs of the cat and dog flea are deposited between the hairs of
the infested animals, but are not fastened to them, so that when
the animal moves about or lies down, large numbers of the eggs
will be dislodged and drop to the ground or floor, or wherever
the animal may be at the time. An easy way to collect them,
therefore, is to lay a strip of cloth for the animal to sleep upon,
and afterwards brush the cloth into a receptacle, in which the
eggs will be found in numbers. The eggs hatch under favorable
circumstances in from two to four days, and the young larv^,
very slender and elongate, white in color, and of the structure
shown in the accompanying figure, crawl into the floor cracks
and feed upon the accumulated dust. They may be reared under
observation, in saucers, between layers of blotting paper, with
dust and bread crumbs. Specimens studied by Mr. Pergande, at

193

Fleas

the writer's office in Washington, showed that the larva casts its
first skin in from three to seven days, and its second skin in from
three to four days. From seven to fourteen days after hatching,
they began to spin a delicate silken cocoon, which, when com-
pleted, was almost transparent, except where it was covered
with dust particles. In the cocoon the pupa, as shown in the
accompanying figure, was formed and the insect remained in
the pupal condition for four days. Thus an entire generation
may be developed in about a fortnight, and since the adult
female lays many eggs, it is not surprising that persons having
cats or dogs about the house will frequently (and especially
where the houses are closed during the summer, and the floors
left unswept) find their domiciles overrun with thousands of
these active, biting creatures.

The remedies consist in a free use of fresh pyrethrum
powder, in spraying the floors and floor coverings with benzine
or in thoroughly washing the floors with hot water and soap.
On pet animals pyrethrum powder should be freely used.

Tm

Plate XLI.
SHORT-HORNED GRASSHOPPERS OR TRUE LOCUSTS

FIG. FIG.

1. Hippiscus wheelerii 7.

2. Trimerotropis vinculata 8.

3. Anconia Integra 9.

4. Hippiscus haldemanni 10.

5. Trimerotropis suffusa 11.

6. Acrolophitus hirtipes (side)

Trimerotropis cyanipennis
Hippiscus neglectus
Circotettix carlinianus
Acrolophitus hirtipes
Hadrotettix trifasciatus

The Insect Book.

Plate XLI.

The Insect Book.

Plate XLII.

Plate XLII.

DRAGON FLIES

FIG.
I.

(Libellulidae) Eastern and Southern
(Libellulidas) Eastern and Southern
(Libellulidae) Eastern and Southern

Micrathyria berenice $

coasts of U. S.
Micrathyria berenice ?

coasts of U, S.
Micrathyria berenice ?

coasts of U. S.

y^schna constricta (5 (y^schnidae) N. A,, Kamchatka, Siberia
Libellula exusta $ (Libellulidae) Me. and Mass. to Vancouver

Islands, N. J., Pa., Ga., Fla.

Libellula exusta $ (Libellulidae) Me. and Mass. to Vancouver

Islands. N. J., Pa., Ga., Fla.
Epiaeschna heros (^^schnidae) N. A., east of Mississippi
Mesothemis simplicicollis $ (Libellulidae) U. S., east of Rocky

Mountains, Mex., W. I., Bahamas
Mesothemis simplicicollis ? (Libellulidae) U. S., east of Rocky

Mountains, Mex., W. L, Bahamas

THE CADDIS FLIES

(Order Trichoptera.)

Almost everyone who likes to watch curious living creatureg
knows the caddis worms — the strange little larvse which con-
struct cases of bits of leaves, twigs, small stones, or sand, and
which live under the water of permanent streams or ponds.
They are very good objects for the aquarium, and are struc-
turally of great interest. While the case-bearing larvae are so
well known, it is quite different with the adult insects, which

Fig. 114. — Caddis fly and larva.
(From Lugger.)

not only are seldom seen in collections, but have been studied to
a comparatively slight extent in this country. They have four
wings, which are more or less clothed with hairs, so that the
caddis flies look very much like moths. The mouth-parts are
rudimentary, and the antennae are thread-like, frequently very
long and many-jointed. The pupae resemble the perfect insects
in general appearance, and become active before the last molt.
The hind wings of the flies are often broader than the fore-
wings, and may be folded in repose.

195

The Caddis Flies

The caddis flies are often seen about the margins of streams
and frequent shady places. They seldom fly during the day,
but are often attracted to light at night.

The eggs are laid in a double mass, which is gelatinous, and
usually green in color. This mass is usually attached to the
surface of some water-plant, but it is supposed that certain
species creep down the stems of aquatic plants under water for
the purpose of laying their ejzgs. The larvae are all aquatic, with
the exception of one form, which lives in damp moss on land,
and they are nearly all protected by a case of some form or
another. The cases, as just stated, may be composed of leaves,
either attached by their edges or placed longitudinally, or they
may be bits of stick arranged in many different ways, or stones,
or grains of sand, or even water-snail shells may be used for the
purpose, attached to the outside of the case, in such cases sand
being the main material. All of these different substances are
fastened together by means of silk, spun by the larvse, and they
serve to protect the caddis worms from the predatory insects so
often found in streams, and also from fish as well.

In the majority of instances the cases are cylindrical, but
sometimes they are curved in a horn-like manner, and in other
cases they are very strangely involuted, like a snail-shell. In
fact, the case of a caddis worm was once described by a con-
chologist as a new species of snail-shell. Then there is another
form in which the case resembles a bottle with the bottom cut
away and the lower part compressed until only a slit is visible.
In the majority of instances the cases are free, and the larva
crawls or swims about with only its head and thorax protruding
from the orifice, but in other instances they are firmly attached
to rocks or submerged logs.

The larva itself is elongate and usually cylindrical, and while
the head and thorax are tough and horny, the abdomen is thin-
skinned, delicate, and of a pale color. It breathes by means of
tracheal gills, which issue from the sides of the abdomen. It is
not known how many times any of them shed the skin and
a molt has never been observed to my knowledge. They live
several months in the larval stage, and most of them pass the
winter in that condition. When ready to transform to pupa,
both ends of the case or tube are protected by a silk netting,
spun by the larva, which transforms in security, well drawn back

196

The Caddis Flies

from either orifice. When ready to transform to the adult stage
the pupa works its way through the guarded orifice, swims to
the surface of the water, and crawls out, where possible upon a
twig or other vegetation, or upon the bank. It may cast its
pupal skin while still in the water, the wings remaining unex-
panded, but as soon as it leaves the water the wings expand
instantly to their full size, and the fly departs through the air.
This statement is based upon an interesting observation by Com-
stock, who states that the instant expansion of the wings is
necessitated by the fact that the insects studied by him normally
emerge from rapidly flowing streams, which dash over rocks,
and if much time were required in this wing-expansion, the
water would destroy the wings for purposes of flight, and dash
the insect down. The larval food of the caddis flies is mainly
vegetable, but there is one group which is carnivorous. The
order is not a very large one, but more than one hundred and
fifty North American species have been described.

As common as are the caddis worms, and as often as they
have been watched in streams and in aquaria, not a single full
life history has been recorded in this country, and a fascinating
field for original investigation is therefore open to the first comer.

Table of Families

Spines on the legs, three ocelli i

No spines, only hairs and spurs 2

I — Four spurs on middle tibise Family Phryganeidce

Two or three spurs on middle tibiae Family Limnephilidce

2 — Last two joints of palpi not elongated, simple not flexible. . .3

Last joint of palpi, elongate, flexible, palpi hairy 5

3 — Male palpi four-jointed, ocelli absent 4

Male palpi five-jointed, ocelli often present, when absent the

spurs 2-4-4 Family Rhyacophilidce

4 — No spurs on anterior legs Family Hydroptilidce

Spurs present on anterior legs Family Sericoslomatidce

5 — Basal joint of antenna long and large, wings slender, no

ocelli Family Leptoceridce

Basal joint of antenna shorter, wings broader, last joint of

palpi multi-articulate Family Hydropsychidce

197

FAMILY PHRYGANEIDy^

This family contains the largest of the caddis flies. McLach-
lan calls them "the giants of the order." They are found only
m the northern portions of the globe and some of the most striking
species are boreal, or at least inhabit high mountains. They are
not very numerous. One of the largest and handsomest, Neuro-
ma semifasciata Say, is shown on the accompanying plate, and
has been taken by the writer at night at a light in his cottage in the
Catskill Mountains (elevation 2, 500 feet). The larvae live in ponds,
swamps, and bogs, and make cylindrical cases of bits of leaves or
the fibers of slender-leafed aquatic plants which they arrange in a
spiral manner. The cases of the full-grown larvae are nearly of
the same diameter at each end but with the young larvae it is
smaller at the tail-end and that end is cut off by the caddis worm
\n order to add the remainder to the front end. The cases are
open at both ends and the larvae are probably able to reverse their
positions within them. The perfect insects conceal themselves
<during the day and fly at night. Their flight is lumbering, and
they are readily recognized while on the wing. Only two genera
are represented in the United States, namely Phryganea and Neu-
ronia, most of our species belonging to the latter genus.

'98

FAMILY LIMNEPHILIDy^

The members of this family are smaller than those in the
group which we have just discussed but they seem confined very
largely to temperate regions. They are common in Canada,
Nova Scotia and Labrador, the Northwest Territory and Alaska,
but some forms extend down into Louisiana and Georgia. The
habits of the larvae are very variable. Some live in torrents, others
in still water. The cases are free, but the materials employed
vary in all possible manners. It is some of the members of this
group which employ snail-shells, and Comstock has found shells
containing living snails securely fastened to the case of one of
these larv«. Thus, he says, "the snail was afforded compara-
tively rapid transportation whether it desired it or not." It is
also to this group that the single form belongs which lives in
moss, the only non-aquatic member of the order. The moss
which it inhabits may be at the roots of trees far removed from
water. In England caddis worms are used very commonly as
bait by fishermen, and it is generally the members of this family
which are so used.

199

FAMILY RHYACOTHILIDy^

The insects of this group have a broader distribution and
more of them extend to the south than any of the preceding
families. The flies are small or of medium size. The larvae are
found in rapid streams and, instead of making free cases with
which to move about, their cases are formed of small stones
fastened with silk to the rocks — a wise provision, considering the
rapidly-running character of the streams which they inhabit.
These cases are very slight and loosely formed — merely a few
pebbles fastened to the lower surface of a large stone by a few
threads of silk, but, living on the under surface of rocks as it does,
the insect is less liable to be attacked by fish or predatory insects,
and does not need so elaborate a case as do the free swimmers or
crawlers. When it transforms to pupa a special protection is
formed within the case in the shape of a brown cocoon, which
is thin but of tough texture. We have a few widely-distributed
species in this family, which belong to four genera.

FAMILY HYDROPTILIDy^

This group deserves only a word. They are the smallest of
the caddis flies, none of them possessing a wing expanse of more
than ten millimeters. They look in form much like some of the
tineid moths, and possess long fringes to the wings just as do
some of these moths. They are attracted by lights in the houses
near the water, sometimes in great numbers. The larvae make
very small cases, which are almost seed-like in appearance and
are composed of silk dotted with very fine grains of sand. The
larvae are destitute of breathing filaments (probably breathing
through the general surface of the skin), and are found amongst
water plants or on the surface of stones at the bottom. They
have very short legs and a distended abdomen. The cases are
provided with a slit at each end, and the larvae turn around inside
the case with facility.

2or

FAMILY SERICOSTOMATID/E

The caddis flies of this group are usually excessively hairy.
They vary much in form. Their larvae usually inhabit streams
and not ponds, and the flies are generally found near the
breeding places. The larval cases are usually of the ordinary
cylindrical form. They are free, and generally made of sand or
small stones, but sometimes the cases are broad and flattened
and sometimes they are quadrangular, and the most remark-
able of all are those which are constructed in the shape of a
snail-shell. An almost perfect helix is made by some of them,
and it is one of these which, as mentioned above, was described
by a conchologist as a new species of snail. That was at a time
when shell students described the shells and cared nothing for
the animal which inhabits them. We have in the United States
a number of species in this family, separated into nine genera,
most of the forms being northern, although the two typical
Sericostomas inhabit Georgia.

202

FAMILY LEPTOCERID^

These are caddis flies with very long antennae, and usually
with very hairy wings. It is a large family and widely distributed.
About forty species are known from North America, where the
genus Setodes is best represented. Some of the caddis flies are
very handsome, and also resemble tineid moths, especially the
little flies of the genus Adela and its allies. Setodes exqiiisita
Wali<er well deserves its specific name. The larvae are found
both in ponds and in running streams, but more commonly in the
latter. They are not often found in very swiftly running tor-
rents, since their food is largely living vegetation, which does not
grow in such streams. The case is free, and is ordinarily com-
posed of sand, nearly cylindrical, but slightly curved, although
there are some cases of different shaoe.

203

FAMILY HYDROPSYCHID/E

Fig. 115. — Trap and larval case of
Hydropsyche. C Author's illustration.)

The caddis flies which should possess the greatest interest
for us, because it is a personal interest, belono; to this group. Their
larvae are the only caddis
worms which are carnivo-
rous. They are found both
in streams and in ponds,
but more commonly in
streams. They are elong-
ate and slender, with short
legs, and with anal pro-
jections which bear strong
curved claws with which
they hold to the surface of rocks or to their cases. Their cases
are fixed and are generally composed of bits of stone fastened to
large stones or rocks at the bottom of the
water. Sometimes several larvae appear to
live in company in a common case, being
covered by a sheet of silk, to which minute
fragments of leaves and sticks are fastened.
There is usually more silk in the con-
struction of the cases of these insects than
with the caddis worms of the other families
which have stony cases, and although the
stones attached to it may be few in number,
there is apt to be a pretty dense, silken tube.
Sometimes this tube is simply covered with
slimy mud and has no other foreign objects
attached to it. Some of these larvae prey
upon other aquatic insects and it is prob-
able that this is a general habit of the group.
An interesting form which 1 have
watched in Rock Creek, near Washington, inhabits a case shaped
like a funnel, the tube of the funnel bent nearly at right angles

204

Fig. 1 1 6. — Larva of
Hydropsvche, the
maker of the trap,
figure 115.
(Author's illustration. )

Family Hydropsychidae

with the mouth. The mouth is composed of a network of silk
supported by arched bits of twigs. The larva remains hidden
in the funnel, watching for its prey to be caught in the open mouth.
The cases were preferably placed at the edge of slight depressions
in the rocky surface so that the tubuhir portion was protected
from the full force of the current. On the surface of a rock about
eighteen inches in diameter i66 of these nets were counted. The
larvae of one of the black (lies were very abundant in this stream
and were washed into the mouths of these nets and probably
formed the principal food of the Hydropsyche larvae. Therefore,
this is one of the few creatures which we know which helps to
reduce the number of black flies and it must therefore be con-
sidered as very beneficial to mankind. The family is a rather
large one and nearly thirty species are known to occur in this
country, about half of them belonging to the typical genus
Hydropsyche. Marrouema icivafifin Hngen is one of our hand-
somest species. Its wings are beautifully spotted and banded
with yellowish brown. It occurs from Canada south to Virginia.

aoS

THE SCORPION FLIES

(Order Mccoptera.)

The curious insects of tiiis order are ordinarily called scor-
pion flies, although this term applies strictly only to those of the
genus Panorpa which have the genital organs of the male adult
curiously enlarged and modified so as to resemble the tail of a
scorpion. Mecopterous insects have four wings with many
veins. The most striking peculiarity is the great prolongation of
the head into a stout beak-like organ at the end of which are
biting mouth-parts. The metamorphoses are complete. Only
one family is contained in this order.

206

Plate XLIII.

DRAGON FLIES
no.

1. Pantala flavescens (Libellulidae) Asia, Africa, America

2. Celithemis ornata $ (Libellulidas) Coast of U. S. from Maine

to Florida

3. Celithemis ornata $ (Libellulidae) Coast of U. S. from Maine

to Florida

4. Pantala hymenaea (Libellulidae) U. S., Mex., Cuba, Galapagos

Islands

5. Sympetrum corruptum (Libellulidae) N. A.,Ochotsk

6. Somatochlora elongata v. minor (Cordulidae) Northeastern

U. S.

7. Macromia illinoensis (Cordulidae) Eastern U. S., Quebec

8. Sympetrum rubicundulum $ (Libellulidae) Eastern U. S. and

Canada

9. Sympetrum rubicundulum $ (Libellulidae) Eastern U. S. and

Canada

Tm: 1n>l:i-1 Book.

'I AIF XI. III.

1 HE Insect Book.

Plate xliv.

Plate XLIV.
DRAGON FLIES

FIG.

1. Tetragoneuria semiaquea 6 (Cordulidae) Eastern U. S. and

Canada

2. Libellula basalis 6 (Libellulidae) Ontario, U. S., east of Rocky

Mountains

3. Libellula incesta $ (Libellulidae) Eastern U. S. and Canada

4. Celithemis eponina ? (Libellulidae) U. S. east of Rocky Mts.,

Cuba

5. Libellula axillena 5 (Libellulidae) Ga., Fla,, La.

6. Libellula axillena $ (Libellulidae) Ga , Fla., La.

7. Sympetrum semicinctum S (Libellulidae) U. S.

8. Tramea Carolina $ (Libellulidae) Mass. to Fla.

9. Sympetrum semicinctum ? (Libellulidae) U. S.

FAMILY PANORPID/E

The representatives of this family in the United States are all
contained in the genera Panorpa, Bittacus and Boreus. The true
scorpion flies are very common insects in midsummer in most
parts of the United States. Some of them have beautiful, spotted
wings and are seen flying in the bright sunlight in places where
tall herbage abounds. At my country place in the Catskill Moun-
tains they are extremely abundant towards the end of July, flying
from one blackberry bush to another and resting frequently upon
the golden-rod plants. All Panorpids are carnivorous, but Pan-
orpa has not been observed in this country to capture other
insects as does Bittacus. The development of these insects was
unknown until the Austrian entomologist, Brauer, in 1863, suc-
ceeded in obtaining eggs and rearing the insect. The larvae of
Panorpa and Bittacus are found near the surface of the ground
and feed upon dead animals, including such soft-bodied insects
as caterpillars and grubs. The other genus, Boreus, is composed
of wingless forms which look something like minute wingless
grasshoppers. They occur in winter upon snow in our Northern
States.

Life History of a Scorpion Fly

(Panorpa rufescens Ramb.^

This species, which is common in our Northern States, is the
first Panorpid to be carefully studied in this country. It was
found commonly at Ithaca, N. Y., in the summer of 1895, by
Dr. E. P. Felt, flying in moist woods during July and August and
especially along streams and where nettles abounded. After con-
flning several females in breeding cages the eggs were obtained.
They were laid in an irregular mass, were yellowish white in color,
from twenty-four to twenty-nine in each cluster, and from i cm.
to 2 cm. below the surface of the ground. The earth was moist

207

Family Panorpidae

and the larvae hatched in from six to seven days. The young
larva when first hatched is whitish, with a light brown head
which becomes darker when the body becomes gray. It looks
like a caterpillar but the antennae and the eyes are unusually
prominent. The abdomen bears a row of ringed spines down
the back, those toward the anal end of the body being longer.
The larvae pass through several stages of growth within the first
two weeks. They burrow into little tunnels under the surface
of the ground and remain underground most of the time. They
were fed upon raw meat placed upon the surface of the ground.
Sometimes they come out of their burrows for feeding. They
are cannibalistic and the stronger ones destroy the weaker
ones. They wander in search of food and feed upon all sorts of
dead flesh. They reach full growth in from three to four weeks,
burrow deeper into the ground, excavate another cell, and remain
as larvae for several months before entering the pupa state.
There seems to be but one generation annually, the adults issuing
in midsummer.

208

THE LACE-WINGED INSECTS

(Order Neuroptera.)

There was a time, and it extended down to comparatively
recent years, when all of the insects which would not fit into
any of the five principal orders, Hymenoptera, Diptera, Lepidop-
tera, Orthoptera, or Hemiptera, were placed in the order Neurop-
tera, but entomologists of late years have changed all that, and
the old group Neuroptera, as it was formerly considered, has
been divided up into a number of distinct orders.

The first step was to separate those which had a complete
metamorphosis from those in which the metamorphosis was
incomplete. This resulted in the establishment of only one new
order, the so-called Pseudoneuroptera, which included those in
which the metamorphosis was incomplete, but the Pseudoneurop-
tera has again been split up, and we have the Thysanura, the
May-flies, the dragon-flies, the white-ants, the Psocids and book-
lice, the bird-lice, the caddis flies and the scorpion flies, all
forming distinct orders, which are treated elsewhere in this
work. There remain then those of the old order Neuroptera in
which the perfect insect has a biting mouth, two pairs of mem-
branous wings with many veins, and in which there is a com-
plete metamorphosis, the larva being quite dissimilar from the
adult, and moreover, in the adults in no case is the head pro-
longed into a beak-like structure. Even under this restriction of
the old order Neuroptera we have still a number of diverse forms
in the order, and these are separated into seven well-marked
families. It would not be surprising if the old order were still
further split up, and as a matter of fact a distinct ordinal name
has been suggested for a group of five of these families.

The biting mouth-parts of the Neuroptera as limited at
present are not used for the purpose of eating vegetation to any
extent, since practically all of the insects in this group are car-
nivorous and feed upon other insects. Some of them are aquatic,

209

The Lace-Winged Insects

but the majority of them live on land, and wherever their prey
abounds. Many members of the group are most beneficial in
the great number of injurious insects which they destroy, while
others are few in number of species and rare in individuals, and
some of them prey upon beneficial insects.

Table of Families

Hind wings with an anal space i

Hind wings with no anal space 2

I — Prothorax quadrangular when seen from above

Family Sialidae

Prothorax long and cylindrical Family Raphhiiidce

2 — Front legs formed for grasping Family Mantispidce

Front legs of the ordinary type 3

3 — Wings covered with a whitish powder

Family Coniopterygidce

Wings not powdered 4

4 — Antennae clubbed at end Family Myrmeleonidce

Antennae not clubbed at end 5

5 — Antennae moniliform (beaded) Family Hemerobtidce

6 — Antennae setiform (bristle shaped) Family Chrysopidce

310

THE DOBSON AND ITS FAMILY

(Family Sialidce.)

To this group belong the so-called alder flies, fish flies and
bellgrammites ; in fact, some of them have many popular names.
They have four broad wings, of which the hind ones are wide at
the base and capable of being folded behind. The wings have
numerous veins, both longitudinal and transverse, forming
irregular cells. There is a very complete metamorphosis, the
larva having strong-toothed jaws and the pupa being quiescent.
It is a sn.all family, with only a few genera, but some of the
species are so striking in appearance, so interesting in habits, that
the group deserves really more extended mention than can be
given it here. All of the forms are aquatic or subaquatic in their
earlier stages.

Of the typical genus Sialis we have only two species. They
comprise the smaller individuals of the family, and frequent
vegetation about the banks of streams. Very many eggs are laid
by a single female on the vegetation overhanging streams, from
two to three thousand being contained in a single egg mass.

Most of our species belong to the genus Chauliodes, of which
the so-called comb-horned fish-fly ( Chauliodes pectinicornis L.J
is the commonest form throughout the United States east of the
Rocky Mountains. The eggs do not seem to be known, but the
larvae are found in the water crawling along weeds and upon the
bottom. They are carnivorous, and feed upon other aquatic
insects, and when ready to transform to pupae crawl out upon
the bank, and are then found in cavities under stones or even
under the bark of trees. The adult insect has a wing spread of
three and one-half inches, and is a striking looking creature.
Chauliodes lunatus is a large and handsome species with brown
wings banded with white. The difference in size between its
males and females is very striking.

Needham says that the larvae of Sialis infumata live in trashy

The Dobson and its Family

places filled with aquatic plants in the border of streams and
ponds. They clamber through fallen vegetation with great
agility, and push their way readily through sediment falle-n upon
the bottom. In an aquarium, and probably outside, the long tail
is intermittently lashed up and down. This causes a swirl in the
water, which is doubtless useful in bringing a fresh supply of
well-aerated water into contact with the lateral filaments. When
the larvae are full grown they burrow into the soil for several
inches and become pupae without making a cocoon. The adult
fly emerges after two or three weeks.

The eggs of Chauliodes have been found by Needham in the
Adirondack region of New York to be very generally parasitized
by a very minute egg parasite, a chalcis fly, more than seventy
per cent, of the eggs being destroyed in this way.

The most familiar American example of this group is the
so-called hellgrammite fiy, some account of which is given in the
following paragraphs.

Life History of the Dobson

(Corydalis coiuuta l^.J

This is one of the most striking and most curious of insects
which occur in North America. Its transformations were first de-
scribed in part by S. S. Haldeman in 1848. It is interesting to note
that at that time, although the insect was well known to most peo-
ple in the localities where it was found, Dr. Haldeman was never
able to discover that it had a vernacular name either in English
or German among the so-called Pennsylvania Dutch. Surely this
defect must have been speedily remedied, since the great four-
winged fly with its enormous jaws is now generally known as
the hellgrammite. while its great, strong, biting, wriggling
larvae are familiar to fishermen in many parts of the United
States as Dobsons, or crawlers. In fact, it is likely that not one
of our insects has so many vernacular names at the present time.
In 1889 Professor W. W. Bailey, of Brown University, collected
the names in use in Rhode Island alone for this insect, and
they are sufficiently interesting to be repeated. They are :
Dobsons, crawlers, amly, conniption bugs, clipper, water grampus,

The Dobson and its Family

goggle goy, bogart, crock, hell devils, flip-Haps, alligators. Ho
jack, snake-doctor, dragon and hell-diver.

It will be very easy to infer from these names alone that the
insect is a very extraordinary one and somewhat terrifying in
its appearance.

Fig. 117. — Corydalis comuta. (After Riley.)

The adult is a large creature, having a wing spread of more
than four inches, and possessed, in the female, of powerful biting
jaws, with which it can give a severe pinch to the skin of the per-
son who handles it carelessly. With the male there is a curious
modification of the jaws. They are extended into long, curved,
piercing organs, which cross when at rest, and which are fully
an inch in length. These jaws make the male look particularly

213

The Dobson and Its Family

dangerous, but, fortunately, they do not function as jaws, and
are simply used for tlie purpose of holding the female during
marital caresses.

The female lays her eggs in white, chalky-looking masses
about the size of a nickel five-cent piece. These masses are
somewhat convex, and contain about three thousand very small
eggs set on end. They are deposited on the .leaves of trees over-
hanging the water, or on rocks, or the piers of bridges or similar
places where the larvae can readily drop into the stream or pond.

Fig. 1 1 8. — Corydalis comuta. (After Riley.)

Sometimes they are so abundant as to make the rocks look as
though someone had splashed whitewash upon them profusely
with a brush.

The young on hatching drop immediately into the water,
descend to the bottom, and during the entire larval life, which
lasts two years and eleven months, feed upon other aquatic
insects, especially the early stages of the May-flies and stone-flies.
They hide under stones in swift-running currents, and possess at
the anal end of the body two strong tubercles, each provided
with two curved claws, with which they hold firmly to one
object or another. They breathe through several pairs of tufts of

214

The Dobson and its Family

breathing filaments situated just beneath each side of the
abdomen. Thev also, when they approach full growth, have
spiracles, which'are closed, however, until the creature is ready
to emerge from the water. The number of molts is not recorded.
When full grown (two years and eleven months after its birth),
the larva leaves the water and crawls about seeking a suitable
place for pupation. It does not travel very far, but it crawls
energetically while it is about it, curiously enough, climbing trees
occasionally, and on several occasions in Illinois they fell down
the chimney of a house occupied by the man who kept the toll
bridge over the Rock River. They travel on land only by night,
hiding under some stone or log during the day, and it is under
stones and logs that they finally pupate.

The larva in color is dark slate-gray, and is remarkably
thick-skinned and tough. This fact adds to their value as bait,
since one will last a long while. The pupa, however, is light
yellow in color, and transforms to the adult fiy in about a month.
Full grown larvse begin to emerge from the water in May, ani^
the adults are seen flying a month later.

In rapid, rock-bottomed streams, where these insects abound,
the method of catching them is to wade in the streams with a
net and lift up the stones in advance, catching the larva in the net
as they float down with the current.

They bear at the sides of the body, in addition to the respira-
tory tufts mentioned above, two long filaments on each side,
which are furnished with hairs, and may be of some service in
swimming. Possibly, also, with the very young larva they have
a respiratory function. When the larvse become large, however,
dissection shows that the tracheae contained in these filaments are
insignificant, whereas each element of the branchial tufts
possesses a strong branched trachea.

Mr. R. S. Clifton has found an interesting little dark-colored
beetle (Anthiciis haldemanni) along the Potomac River, feeding
upon the egg masses of the hellgrammite fly. The beetle was
found to lay its eggs upon the egg masses and its larva were
found destroying the eggs. Sometimes as many as a dozer, of
the larva were found in a single egg mass.

215

THE SN^KE-FLIES

(Family RaphidiidcB.)

Insects of this family are rapacious foes of other insects, and
it is a pity that their geographic distribution in the United States
is so limited. They are found as a matter of f^ict practically only
on the Pacific Slope, although one species is recorded from Col-
orado and another from Arizona.

They are insects of curious structure, the neck being very
long and the female bearing a long, curved ovipositor. The
larvae are found under the bark of trees, and Comstock says that
in California he has found them commonly under the loose bark
of the Eucalyptus.

The codling moth or apple-worm has a habit of spinning its
cocoon under the loose bark of apple trees after it leaves the
fruit, and many of the codling moth larvas are destroyed by these
Raphidians. In Australia and Nev/ Zealand the codling moth is
a great scourge, and some years ago an attempt was made to
send living Raphidians from California to these English colonies
in the hope that they might become acclimated and assist fruit-
growers in their work against the codling moth. Nothing has
been heard from them, however, for several years, and the prob-
abilities are that the attempt was a failure. In England these
insects are known as snake-flies, from the long neck of the adult.

The larvae are very voracious and hunt for their prey with
great assiduity. They are, like many other carnivorous insects,
capable of fasting for a long time. The German entomologist
Stein kept one for eight months without food, but still living.

The pupa is found naked under bark and looks like the
adult except that it has not the long neck. It becomes active
before giving out the adult, just as do the pupae of the caddis flies.

Less than ten species inhabit the United States, all of them,

as above stated, being far western forms. The full life-history

of none of them is known.

216

THE FALSE REAR-HORSES

(Family Mantispidce.)

As the name would indicate, these insects bear some re-
semblance to the Mantidc-e, or praying Mantes, or "rear-horses"
as they are called in the South. They have a long neck, and the
strong, dilated and spined front legs are inserted just behind the
head, and are used for capturing their prey.

Very few species inhabit the United States, only two, Man-
tispa bninnea and M. hiterriipta, having a very wide distribution.

The transformations of these creatures was for a long time
a mystery, but Brauer, of Vienna, learned about thirty years
ago that they live upon the eggs and young of spiders. Their
eggs are very small, and very numerous, and each is placed at
the tip of a long stalk, very much the same way as are the eggs
of the lace-winged flies which will be described later. The eggs
are laid in the fall and the larvae hatch before winter, but remain
hidden without food, until spring. Then they search for the egg
cocoons of certain spiders, pierce them, and enter among the
eggs. When the eggs are nearly ready to hatch they eat them
and the young spiders as well, until they are full grown, molting
only twice, and the changing to pupae or nymphs within the larval
skin. Just as in the last family, the pupa is active before giving
out the fly, and works its way through the larval skin, through
the Qgg cocoon of the spider, and gives forth the adult.

In the genus Symphasis, which belongs to this family, the
transformations of our single native species, which lives in Cali-
fornia, have not been studied, but a South American species lives
in the nests of a wasp.

817

THE DUSTY-IVINGS

(Family ConiopterygidcB.)

The insects of this family are the smallest of the Neuroptera.
Their wings are covered with whitish powder, in Europe their
larvae have been found to prey upon scale insects and to spin a
double cocoon when full grown and ready to transform.

in this country we have only two species, namely Aleuronia
westwoodii and Coniopteryx vicina, and the life history of neither
has been described. Mr. Banks, however, has found the larvae of
the Aleuronia upon the leaves of maple trees at Washington,
where it was probably feeding upon the young of the cottony
cushion scale ( Piilvinaria innumerabilis) or upon plant-lice found
commonly upon the leaves. This larva resembles a small larva
of one of the lace-winged flies, but has not the long jaws char-
acteristic of those creatures.

siS

THE ANT-LIONS

(Family MyrnteleonidcB.)

The so-called ant-lions are interesting creatures which have
long attracted the attention of naturalists and of nature students.
The average American country boy knows the ant-lion pits in
the sand about as well as he knows the curious caddis worms in
the brooks. It is rather a large group, and about thirty or more
species are known in the United States, three hundred or more
comprising the number of described species in the entire world.

The adult flies have short clubbed antennae and four reticu-
late wings, and are not especially attractive in their personal
appearance.

They vary considerably in size, and some of them have a
wing expanse of four inches.

The eggs must be laid in the sand, and the larvae when
hatched immediately begin to construct little pits. They have
flat heads and long jaws, and scrape a load of sand on the head
by means of the front legs, and then jerking the head suddenly
upwards and backwards throw the sand to a distance. The
future pit is planned as to size, and the larva first excavates a
circular groove in the way just 'described. Then it makes an-
other circle within the first and so on until a conical pit results, at
the bottom of which the larva remains in hiding. The sand on
the sides lies, when the pit is finished, at such an angle that the
least disturbance causes it to slide toward the bottom, and when
an ant or some other small insect reaches the verge he is apt to
slip rapidly toward the open jaws of the larva waiting to receive
him at the bottom. In case, however, by great activity, he
seems likely to escape over the margin again, his fall is assisted
by the ant-lion at the bottom, which throws little showers of
sand upwards, and these showers falling upon the struggling
insect hasten its descent.

Any little deposit of sand beneath buildings or at the bottom

219

The Ant-Lions

of cliffs along sandy banks in the warm sunshine may be found
to contain numbers of these pits. Large collections of them will
frequently be found together, which means that one or more
females have deposited their eggs in the same general vicinity.
The sand must be dry, and hence usually is in a warm, sunny
place. When it is damp the larva cannot dig a good pit.

Professor O. Lugger, at a recent meeting of the Entomological
Society of Washington, told an interesting story of how a load
of sand being carted across a western prairie, far from any
stream and miles from any other accumulation of sand, was
accidentally spilled through the breaking down of the cart, and
how, after a comparatively short time, he found this sand con-
taining many ant-lion pits. This instance indicates that the
strong-flying adults are widely distributed and must be in the
habit of flying long distances in search of proper places to lay
their eggs. There is, of course, also a bare possibility that the
eggs were already contained in the sand.

The jaws are enormous and are toothed, and each jaw is
grooved deeply on the under side.

After the victim is practically consumed the remains are
jerked away by the head just as the sand is jerked up in
excavation.

The duration of the life of the ant-lion larva is variable,
depending largely upon the abundance of food, just as with
some of the other predatory larvae which we have recently men-
tioned. They are able to undergo long fasts, in which event the
transformation may become indefinitely postponed, but when
ants and other food are plentiful they reach full growth in com-
paratively short time, and spin circular cocoons in the sand,
making them of silk, to which, since it is gummy when spun,
grains of sand adhere. Within the cocoon the larva usually
passes the winter.

There is need of careful study of any one of our common
ant-lions. The eggs should be described; the number of molts
of the larva should be known, and the duration of the different
stages under differing circumstances should be determined. It is
probable that with most, if not all of the species, there is one
generation annually.

320

THE APHIS-LIONS

(Family Hemerobiidce.)

The insects of this group are medium-sized or large lace-
winged flies, the wings being often rather dark colored and
spotted with dark spots. There are about thirty species in the
United States.

Their larvae are active, predatory creatures, with long,
pointed, sickle-shaped jaws, with which they pierce the bodies
of plant-lice and other soft insects, sucking their juices through
grooves along the inside of each jaw. Some of these larvae are
furnished with tubercles along the side of the body, the tubercles
being clothed with hair, and they have the curious habit of
covering themselves with the skins of victims which they have
destroyed. The tubercles and the long hairs serve to hold these
remains in place. One of these little larvae will thus disguise
itself to such an extent that it cannot be recognized as an insect.
The cocoons are spherical.

There are some very interesting forms belonging to this
family which are aquatic in their early stages. Needham says
that those of the genus Sisyra are very curious-looking objects in
the larval stage. They live in or on fresh water sponges, cling-
ing closely to the surface of the sponge or hiding in it, covering
themselves with debris. Those of the genus Climacia are also
aquatic in the early stages, according to Needham, living in the
same places.

A good representative full life history is needed in this family.

THE GOLDEN-EYED LACE-IVINGED FLIES

(Family Chrysopidce.)

These little insects are known as tine golden-eyed lace-winged
flies. They are generally green in color, and their eyes, while
appearing brown in some lights, have a distinct yellowish, almost
phosphorescent or metallic glint in other lights, which accounts
for the name golden-eyed. They are sometimes appropriately
called stink flies. The uncautious observer, attracted by
their beauty, on handling them is at once conscious of a dis-
agreeable and very strong odor which is with difficulty removed
from the fingers by soap and water.

The eggs of these little flies are very curious. Each is placed
at the extremity of a long slender stalk, which is a most necessary
method of egg-placing, on account of the voracity and omnivorous

habits oi the newly
hatched larvae. If they
were laid on the sur-
face of a leaf side by
side, as is the case
with so many other
insects, the first larva
which hatched would
eat up all of the other eggs, but, issuing as it does from the egg
on the top of this long inedible stalk, finding himself on the leaf
there is nothing for him to eat unless he searches for plant-lice, of
which there is generally an abundance nearby. The eggs are usu-
ally deposited on leaves or twigs, and, with wise foresight, cus-
tomarily in the middle of a colony of plant-lice, and the young larvae
after hatching begin immediately to feed upon the nearest prey.
They are most voracious, and insert their long, pointed, sickle-
shaped jaws (like those of the Hemerobiids) into the body of the
nearest soft-bodied insect. It should be stated first, however, that
on hatching, the upper end of the egg is cut off by the larval jaws.

Fig. 119

— Chrysopa plorabunda.
(After Riley.)

The Golden-Eyed Lace-Winged Flies

The young larva nas an extremely large head, and the sides
of its body are armed with immense curved hairs, which give it
a very ferocious appearance. It crawls down the egg stalk until
it reaches the object upon which it is placed. On reaching a
young plant-louse it grasps it between its long curved jaws and
rolls it one way or the other, the juicy contents being rapidly ex-
tracted. It seems always hungry and always to be feeding when
it can find anything upon which to feed, and its rapidity of growth
is limited only by the abundance of the food supply. It will eat

Fig. 1 20. — Chrysopa oculata: a, eggs; d, full-grown larva; c, foot of same;
(/, same devouring a Psylla; e, cocoon ;_/, adult insect; j^, head of same;
/i, adult, natural size — all enlarged except A. (After Marlatt.)

one of its own brothers as quickly as any other insect, and when
nearly full grown its jaws are strong enough to pierce the skin of
a human being. In Toronto, Canada, I once felt a sharp prick on
the knuckle of one of my fingers, and on looking down found
one of these larvae with both jaws sticking through the skin and
pumping away with its body in an effort to get some nourish-
ment. 1 watched it for some time under a lens with some interest,
and am glad to state that it did not seem satisfied with its meal.

The Golden-Eyed Lace-Winged Flies

The insect transforms to pupa within the interior of a white
spherical, silken cocoon, which is very characteristic in appear-
ance, and the adult escapes through a circular hole to which the
cap remains attached like a lid.

The golden-eyed lace-winged flies are among the most im-
portant enemies of the injurious plant-lice which swarm upon
many valuable plants especially in the early part of the summer.
The mother fly lays her eggs where possible in the midst of
colonies of plant-lice, and these are rapidly swept out of existence
after the eggs are hatched.

A few of these lace-winged fly larvae have the same habit
which we have described as occurring with the Hemerobiids, of
covering themselves with the skins of their victims. Hubbard
has studied a species which feeds upon bark-lice, tearing the
scales loose from the bark and devouring the soft contents, and
then adding a portion of the debris to the load on its back.

Unfortunately, these beneficial lace-winged flies are subject
to the attacks of certain parasitic chalcis flies which sting their
cocoons. The species of the interesting genus Isodromus seem
to confine their attacks exclusively to the cocoons of lace-winged
(lies.

Life History of a Golden-Eye

(Chrysopa ociilata Say .J

This is one of the commonest species in this group, and is
often mentioned in books on economic entomology as destroying
plant-lice and other injurious insects. The only observer to de-
scribe its life history with any detail, however, is Marlatt, from
whose observations the following statements are drawn.

The eggs, instead of being deposited in rather large groups,
as is the case with other species, are distributed almost invariably
singly upon the leaves of trees, and rarely two are found together
upon the same stalk. The young larva cuts off the upper end of
the egg and on emerging crawls down the stalk and begins its
search for food. Approaching the egg of the pear tree Psylla,
for example, it immediately grasps it between its long curved
mandibles and rapidly extracts the juicy contents. This is done
with great celerity, the dry shell is cast aside, and the whole

224

The Golden-Eyed Lace-Winged Flies

operation frequently takes less than a minute. The larva then
eats anything in the shape of a living insect which comes its way.
It is totally fearless, and attacks with eagerness insects much larger
than itself. After ten days it becomes full grown (these observa-
tions were made in Maryland in July) and spins up in the curl of
a leaf, or in any partial protection, constructing a delicate, slightly
oval but nearly spherical silken cocoon, which is attached to the
leaf by silken threads. This
cocoon is very small in
comparison with both the
larva which spins it and
the adult which emerges
from it, and is less than an
eighth ofan inch long. The
adult emerges in from ten
to fourteen days, cutting
off the upper end of the
cocoon in a neat cap. It
does not seem to be known
whether this cap is partially
cut by the larva, or whether,
as with other Neuropterous
insects, the pupa becomes
active before transforming
and cuts the cap through
which the fly emerges.

The adult insect is pea-
green in color, and when
alive has brownish eyes
with greenish reflections.
It is very helpless, does not

Fig. 121. — Chrysopa oculata: newly

hatched larva, with under side of

head and claw at side — greatly

enlarged. (After Marlatt.)

feed, and remains concealed in low grass during the day becom-
ing active in the evening and depositing its eggs at that time.
Helpless as it is, the disgusting odor which it emits when
handled is probably its chief means of protection from its
natural enemies.

225

PLANT-LICE, SCALE INSECTS,
TRUE BUGS, ETC.

(Order Hemiptera.)

This is another of the old and great orders of insects. It is.
one of the original Linnean orders and comprises those insects
known as the true bugs, true hce and scale insects. Nearly 20,00a
species have been described, but, as with the other big orders,
very many more yet remain to be studied, probably at least
three times as many as are now known.

Although extremely variable in form and structure, all of the
Hemiptera have the mouth-parts formed for piercing and sucking
(not biting) and their metamorphoses are incomplete, the young
bug being active and formed much like the old one. In those
which have wings the wings are of two distinct types. In one
suborder the forewings are thickened at the base and the thinner
end parts lap over on the back. In the other type the forewings
are of about the same thickness throughout and are usually held
in repose sloping in a roof-shaped manner at the sides of the
body.

The order as a whole is a most injurious one in its relations
with man. Although some of the true bugs prey upon injurious
insects the destruction of plants accomplished by others offsets
by far this benefit. In fact Sharp says: " if anything were to
exterminate the enemies of Hemiptera, we ourselves should
probably be starved in the course of a few months."

The Hemiptera are divided into three suborders which we
shall consider separately. They are distinguished as follows:

226

Plant-Lice, Scale Insects, True Bugs, Etc.

Table of Suborders

Beak jointed, hard and horny i

Beak unjointed, fleshy 2

1 — Wings when present of the same thickness throughout and

held usually in a sloping position at the sides of the

body; beak inserted at the hinder part of the head

Suborder Homopiera

Forewings thickened at base, with thinner extremities which

overlap; beak inserted on the front part of the head

Suborder Hcteroptera

2 — Wingless species, parasitic upon man and animals (the true
lice) Suborder Anoplura

2S7

SUBORDER HOMOPTERA

A curious and important assemblage of insects belong to the
Homoptera. Those creatures which we know as leaf-hoppers,
tree-hoppers, cicadas, plant-lice, flea-lice, bark-lice, scale insects,
mealy bugs, and white flies all belong here. Their name is
legion and they are without exception, destructive to plant life.
Their mouth-parts are formed for sucking, and their transforma-
tions are incomplete. Their forewings are not modified, as with
the Heteroptera, or true bugs, but are more normal and are
usually held roof-like over the back when at rest. The front of
the head is always bent under so that it touches the base of the
front legs. Beyond these points, their structure is very diverse,
and beyond the fact that all are plant feeders their habits are also
very diverse. In their life histories some of them, particularly
the plant-lice, the bark-lice and the periodical cicada (or so-
called seventeen-year locust), present some of the most interest-
ing, and, in fact, some of the most astonishing, phenomena in
the whole field of biology. The progressive degradation, after
birth, of the female of the scale insects, from an active, highly
animated creature to a blind, legless, protoplasmic globule, and
the contrasting development of the male of the same species,
from a minute, crawling mite to a virile, winged, active and
highly organized creature whose head is practically all eyes, is
one of the most extraordinary life histories among all insects,
while the alternate forward and backward development which
occurs in the genus Margarodes in this family is even more
strange. Then, too, the remarkablyadaptedparthenogeneticlife
of the plant-lice, with their alternation of food plants and their
relations with ants, make their study one of fascinating interest.

The Homoptera is a large group of insects. No one knows
how large. The plant-lice and the scale insects of Europe and
North America have been rather well studied, largely on account
of the economic interest which attaches to them. Yet, even from
North America, manv new species are being found, even in these

228

Suborder Homoptera

groups, each year. The tree-hoppers and the leaf-hoppers and
some of the other groups, however, are very poorly known, and,
in fact, the whole suborder, as it is represented in tropical
regions, is but slightly known. Collectors in out-of-the-way
places have neglected this group, and doubtless very many
thousands of species will yet be discovered and described. A
small group of American workers, including Messrs. Osborn,
Van Duzee, Baker, Gillette and Ball, are doing admirable work
upon the leaf-hoppers and tree-hoppers, but there is still room
for many more investigators of these interesting insects. They
are easily preserved and make an interesting collection. The
study of the scale insects may safely be left to the small army of
economic workers who have taken up their study during the
past ten years, but the plant-lice need many more students. The
difficulty of properly preserving the insects of this group, since
they must be kept in alcohol or formalin or mounted upon
microscope slides, doubtless deters many from entering upon
their study. But the life histories of very few of our North
American species are known, and many important and most
interesting facts are still to be learned about a host of species.

Table of Families

Beak plainly inserted in the head; feet with three segments;

antennae minute, bristle-like i

Beak apparently inserted bet\\'een the forelegs; feet with one or
two segments; antennae usually prominent, but sometimes

wanting 5

I — Ocelli three in number; the males with musical organs

Family Cicadidx

Only two ocelli or none ; males not musical 2

2 — Antennae inserted in front of and between the eyes 3

Antennae inserted on the sides of the cheeks beneath the eyes

Family Fulgoridx

3 — Prothorax not prolonged above the abdomen 4

Prothorax prolonged into a horn or point above abdomen

Family Memhracidce

4 — Hind shanks with one or two stout teeth below and at tip

w ith a crown of short, stout spines Family Cercopidce

Hind shanks with a row of spines below ?2Lm\\y Jassidce

229

Suborder Homoptera

Feet usually with two segments; wings when present four in

number 6

5 — Wings transparent 7

Wings opaque, whitish Family Aleyrodidct

Feet with only one segment; males without mouth- parts and
with two wings only; females wingless and scale-like or
gall-like in form, and covered with wax in plates, layers

or in powdery form Family Coccidx

6 — Hind thighs swollen; antennae with nine or ten segments. . .
Family Psyllidce

Legs long and slender; antennae with three to seven segments
Family Aphidid(^

«30

THE HARyEST FLIES OR CICADAS

(Family Cicadidce)

This is a group of insects commonly known by the popular
name of " harvest flies " or cicadas, and frequently in this country
by the erroneous term " locust." We
have already seen that the term
"locusts" should properly be applied
to the long-horned grasshoppers of
the true family Locustidae, although it
is also, especially by British subjects,
applied to the short-horned grass-

Fig. 1 22. — Periodical Cicada : o, male, of the

large form ; b, male, of the small form.

(After Riley.)

hoppers and especially the destructive
species. The family Cicadidae is a
group of large insects containing very
many tropical species. Their bodies
are large, with a wide, blunt head,
and with prominent eyes on the outer

231

Fig. 123. — Twigs punctured by

Cicadas, illustrating manner of

breaking. (After Riley. J

The Harvest Flies or Cicadas

angles. The head has three ocelli placed triangularly on the
summit between the compound eyes and the antennae consist of
a short basal joint surmounted by a bristle which is divided into
about five segments. The tropical forms are sometimes brightly
colored but the species which occur in the United States are
usually greenish marked with black.

The commonest form in the more Northern States is the so-
called "dog-day harvest fly " or " lyreman " — the insect which
every summer, toward the end of July or early in August, begins

Fig. 1 24. — Eggs of the Periodical Cicada.
(After Riley.)

its doleful but resounding buzzing hum in the tree tops. ThU
sound is familiar throughout the hot days of the late summer
and is frequently more noticeable in the early morning and
about sundown. This, however, may be due to the fact that
the day noises of a town or city are less noticeable at such
times. It is supposed that this is an annual species, i. e.,
that it has but one generation annually, the larvae living in the
ground through only nine or ten months of the year. It may
be, however, that it has a much longer larval period, and that
only its great abundance and the intermingling of generations
accounts for its annual occurrence in the adult condition.
This is a point which should be investigated as its life history
has never been thoroughly worked out. There are other
cicadas in the Southern and Western States, some of them rather
small in size, like Tettigia hteroglyphica, and others large, like
the big Cicada emarginata.

The Harvest Flies or Cicadas

Life History of the "Seventeen-year Locust"

(Cicada septaidecim, l^.J

This insect, commonly l<nown as the periodical cicada or
seventeen-year locust, is taken here because it is the only species
of the family whose life history is thoroughly well understood.
It is probably not typical in its very extended larval life. In the
North this insect remains either as larva or pupa underground for
seventeen years. In the South it develops in thirteen years, thus
giving rise to two races which are known as the septendecim and
tredecim races. The dividing line between the two races corre-
sponds fairly well with the northern margin of the so-called lower
austral life zone. In some localities confusion arises from the
fact that the insect makes its appearance at shorter intervals than
seventeen years. This is accounted for by the fact
that the insect appears in distinct broods some of
which overlap the territory also inhabited by other
broods. There is no reason, however, to suppose
that the length of life of any larva is of shorter dura-
tion than seventeen years in the North and thirteen
in the South. The largest of the Northeastern broods
made its last appearance in 1902, and is due again
in 1919. It will then be found in great numbers
throughout New Jersey, Delaware, part of Pennsyl-
vania, Maryland, northern Virginia, Ohio, southern
Michigan, Indiana, eastern Illinois, Kentucky and
down the Appalachian chain of mountains through
North Car^olina into northern Georgia. It will also
appear in a few localities in Vermont, New York, Wis-
consin, West Virginia and Tennessee.

The eggs are laid in small twigs and branches ^^/J°'^,S^j
which are pierced by the ovipositor and in this way
the insect does practically the only damage which it accom-
plishes. They occur in enormous swarms and the weakening of
the twigs, caused by the punctures, causes many of them to be
broken off by the wind. The young ant-like larva hatches from
the eggs a few weeks after oviposition, escapes from the wounded
limb, falls to the ground and burrows quickly out of sight, where
it forms for itself a little underground chamber near some rootlet,

233

Fig. 125.
Healed over

The Harvest Flies or Cicadas

remaining there, isolated from others and moving, probably very
slowly, for seventeen or thirteen years. It molts four times, the
first time after from one year to eighteen months, the second after
two additional years, the third after three years more, and the
fourth after another period of three or four years, leaving three or
four additional years to elapse before the insect assumes the so-
called pupal state. The anterior legs of the larva are curiously en-
larged and resemble the cutting jaws of biting insects. They are
especially designed for digging and transporting earth. The food
which it consumes is obtained probably from the soil humus and

to some extent from the roots of
plants. After the change to the
pupal condition the insect bur-
rows to the top of the ground
and, emerging, crawls up the
trunks of trees where the skin

Fig. 126-Cicadaseptendecim, young ^ jj^^ ^^^ ^j^g gj^,^ -^^^^^^ jg^^g^^
larva. (After Rtley.) ^

Occasionally, in certain kinds of
soil or when the pupa has reached the surface too early, it will
construct mud chimneys from the summit of which it eventu-
ally issues.

in the great cicada year of 1885, Dr. Riley started an interest-
ing series of experiments in order to determine whether the
duration of the larval stage with the thirteen-year race would be
prolonged by transporting the eggs north and accelerated by
transporting eggs to the south. This was done on a very large
scale and at several localities, the exact locations being carefully
marked and recorded. No positive results have as yet been ob-
tained; that is to say, no undoubted specimens have issued at
either north or south.

The ultimate fate of this interesting species is undoubtedly ex-
tinction and its numbers are rapidly growing less. One of the
comparatively few insects upon which the English sparrow feeds
with avidity is the periodical cicada and many thousands of them
are destroyed by sparrows each time they make their appearance
and before they lay their eggs.

934

THE LANTERN-FLIES AND THEIR ALLIES

( haviily Fulgoriche.)

To this group belong the well-known lantern-flies of the
tropics, but it also includes a host of other species of diverse
forms which are separated into no less than 13 subfamilies 0*

Fig. 127. — Helicoptera
sp. (After Uhler.)

Fig. 128. — Scolops

sulcipes.

(After Uhlcr.)

which the Delphacinae and Flatinae are best represented in the
United States. The tropical forms are large and bright-colored
and the true lantern-flies are so-called because of the enormous

Fig. 129. — Otiocerus coquiberti.
(After Uhler.)

enlargement of the fore-part of the head which was formerly
thought to be luminous. All are vegetable feeders. Our Ameri-

235

The Lantern-Flies and Their Allies

can forms are all small, some resembling leaf-hoppers and others
looking almost like little moths. The green Plata ( Chlorochroa
conica) feeds on corn and the foliage of the sugar beet in Illinois
and elsewhere.

Life History of the Frosted Lightning Hopper

(Ormenis pricinosa, Say.^

The so-called " frosted lightning hopper," as this little insect
is called, belongs to the subfamily Flatinae, and is one of the
moth-like forms, it varies from lead-color to pale green, and is
dusted over with a fine white powder, which makes it appear
frosted. The eggs are laid in small twigs of sassafras and other
trees in a continuous raised slit. They are dirty yellow in color,
each I mm. long, and are laid on their sides end to end.

About the middle of May these eggs hatch into delicate little
hoppers, which immediately settle on the new growth, insert
their beaks and begin to pump up sap. They then copiously
secrete a powdery waxy secretion which completely covers
them. They grow slowly, molt three times and the adult insect
issues from the last nymphal skin about September, soon after-
wards commencing to lay the hibernating eggs.

THE TREE-HOPPERS

(Family Membracidts.)

These insects comprise some of the most grotesque species
Which nature has evolved. Comstocl< offers the apt suggestion
that "Nature must have been in a joking mood when tree-hop-
pers were developed." The antennae are inserted in front of and

Fig. 130. — Ceresa taurina.

C After Marlatt.)

between the eyes and the prothorax is prolonged so that it fre-
quently covers the rest of the body. It is by the curious modifica-
tions of this prothorax that the Strang*^, and grotesque forms of
the insects are produced. The majority of these modifications

The Tree-Hoppers

have been developed in order to bring about protective re-
semblance since by these modifications the insects are made to
look like different plant structures. The thorn-like process on

the thorax of the common little tree-
hopper of the bitter-sweet (Enchen-
opa binotata) is a good example. The
insects customarily rest in such posi-
tion along the twig of a vine that they
precisely resemble vegetable thorns.
This family like so many others reaches
its most remarkable development in
the tropics but many strange forms
occur in the United States. The
species just mentioned, when en-
larged, bears a fanciful resemblance to
the partridge and was once the sub-
ject of a charming popular article by
the late William Hamilton Gibson,
entitled "A Queer Little Family on the Bitter-Sweet," published
in the Harper's Monthly for August, 1893. A common form is
the little hump-backed species known as Telamona monticola.

Fig. 131. — Ceresa taurina: eggs
and young. (After Marlatt.)

Fig. 132. — Enchenopa binotata. (After Lintner.)

which somtimes swarms upon the branches of the Virginia
creeper in June. Another most interesting form is that known
as Entilia sinuata, which is found upon the leaves of sun-flower
and other annual plants. This species lays its eggs in the mid-
rib of the upper leaves. The mother insect broods over her eggs

238

The Tree-Hoppera

until they are hatched and the young from the time of hatching
until full grown are constantly attended by ants which are at-
tracted to the sweet secretion which this insect, together with
many others of the same family, just as with certain of the Jas-
sidae, exudes from its anus.

Life History of the Buffalo Tree-Hopper

(Ceres a bubalus.)

This little insect is probably
the species of the greatest eco-
nomic importance of any of this
group of tree-hoppers. It is
popularly known by the name
of the "buffalo tree-hopper." Its
popular name is derived from its
supposed similarity in shape to
the male bison, the prothorax
being greatly enlarged towards
the head and projecting at the
sides into two strong horns. It

Fig. 133. — Archasia galeata.
(After LuggerT)

Fig. 134. — Ceresa bubalus. (After Marlatt.)
239

The Tree-Hoppers

is common all through the United States, from Missouri north-
wards into Canada, and is sometimes the cause of considerable
damage in orchards, particularly to young trees and nurserv
stock. The injury is produced by the cutting of the small limbs
by the female with her saw-like ovipositor, in which process she

makes large holes through the
bark in which the eggs are in-
serted in clusters. The insect
flies with a loud buzzing noise
from tree to tree and is very shy.
The twigs chosen for egg-laying
are preferably those of two or
three years growth and various
kinds of trees are selected.
The eggs are placed in small
compound groups arranged in
two nearly parallel or slightly
curved slits. About a minute
is required for the insertion ol
each egg. The wound is made
in such a way as to cause a
certain cessation of growth be-
tween two rows of eggs to pre-

Fig. I35.-Ceresa bubalus eggs and old ^^^^ thgjj. being CrUshed by the
eee-scars. (After Marlatt. ) . . . ^ . ■'

egg-i

rapid growth of the twig.
Each female lays from one hundred to two hundred eggs. The
insect hibernates in the egg condition and the young hatch in the
spring. They molt three or four times before becoming full-
grown and during their life feed upon the juices of the tender
twigs and leaves by inserting their beaks and pumping up the
sap. The insect in its early stages is wingless and is covered on
the upper side along the centre with numerous barbed projections.

240

THE FROG -HOPPERS OR SPITTLE INSECTS

(Family Cercopidce.)

This is a rather large family comprising mostly rather small
insects, many of which are known as "frog-hoppers" or "spittle
insects." The antennas are placed between the eyes, there are
only two ocelli and the thorax is not strangely modified as with
the Membracidae. Few insects excite more interest among
moderately observant people than the true spittle insects which
belong to the subfamily Aphrophorinae. They are small, rather
slender, brown, day-yellow or grayish species, and after hatching
from the egg live in little masses of froth resembling spittle on
the stems of plants and trees, frequently on
grasses and weeds. In some parts of the
south, according to Uhler, the negroes thrnk
that horse-flies are developed from these froth
specks. When abundant they may do con-
siderable damage to pasture-lands. Philcvnits
spumarius and P. lineatus are said by Fernald
to be common on grass in Massachusetts.
The former is abundant in gardens in England
and was probably introduced from England Fig. 136.— Monecphorj
into this country. ^}?'l^J< ^f'T

•^ U. S. Deft. AgT.J

The eggs are laid in the stems of plants
in the autumn and hatch in the spring. It was formerly thought
that the spittle that soon surrounds the young insect was excreted
from the anus, but Professor E. S. Morse has recently shown that
only a clear liquid containing no bubbles is thus exuded and that
the air-bubbles are brought in by a constant thrashing about of
the anal end of the body, bringing in air which is retained as bub-
bles by the viscid quality of the liquid. There are anal append-
ages which are probably branchial m function, according to Morse.

It is supposed that the purpose of the frothy mass is to pro-
tect the soft-bodied immature insects from their natural enemies

241

The Frog- Hoppers or Spittle Insects

■ — in other words that it is a disguise. But it renders them very
conspicuous and once their true nature is ascertained they are all
the more easily found by their enemies and as a matter of fact
they are sought for by certain wasps which drag them out from
their froth and carry them off to provision their nests.

No good thorough life history of an American species has
been published and here is an interesting and novel field for
some observer.

THE LEAF-HOPPERS

(Family Jassida.)

This group of insects, which comprises the forms ordinarily
known as leaf-hoppers, is an extensive group, comprising a
great complexity of forms and by most modern
writers is considered as having superfamily rank
and is generally termed "Jassoidea." They are
usually slender insects, with the antennae in-
serted in front of and between the eyes and
having the hind tibiae with a row of spines be-
low. They

Fig. 137. — Proco-
nia undata. (From
U. S. Dept. Agr.j

are very
abundant
on low-

grow 1 ng
herbage and have been
shown by Professor Her-
bert Osborn to bring about
a very extensive although
probably unnoticed injury
to forage plants in large
grazing ranges in the
west as well as in pasture
lots in the east. He shows
that on an acre of pasture
land there frequently exists
one million leaf-hoppers and
that this million hoppers
consume as much grass as
a cow if not more. In this
restricted sense this family
includes the leaf-hoppers
now generally placed in the
family Tettigonidae which

Fig. 138. — Thamnotetti.x clittelfarius.
(After Ltigger.)

243

The Leaf-HopperS

are distinguished from the restricted Jassidae by the position of
the ocelli. Among the leaf-hoppers which may be especially
mentioned are the green spindle-shaped species of the genus
Diedrocephala which are found abundantly in pasture lands, one
species ( D. mollipes) occurring commonly in the salt marshes of
the Atlantic States. The forms belonging to the genus Proconia
are rather widely distributed and one of them (P. undata) is
''esponsible for most of the stories of " weeping trees " which

Fig. 139. — Erythroneura vitis.

(After Marlatt.)

are seen m the newspapers. These insects in all stages (and the
species of several other genera have a similar habit) eject a spray
of fluid from the anus when disturbed and, when occurring abun-
dantly upon trees, if the tree be shaken what seems almost like a
light shower of rain will fall. One of these " weeping tree mys-
teries," so-called, in Texas some years ago "set the state agog
with various explanations of the phenomenon, ranging from the
superstitious credence of the supernaturally inclined to the posi-
tive denial and derisive laughter of the constitutionally skeptical."
It took a brave newspaper reporter to solve the mystery, since he
alone dared to chmb the tree and investigate. The common
'eaf-hoppers of the grape-vine, erroneously called by grape-
growers " Thrips," are known as Erythroneura vitis and Typhlo-
cyba vitifex. They frequently cause the leaves of grape-vines to
curn brown and wither. Agallia sangninolenta prefers open

244

The Leaf-Hoppers

sunny places, is destructive to clover and attacks a great variety of
useful plants such as cabbage, celery, turnips, strawberry, beets
and many weeds.

Typical Life History of a Leaf- Hopper

(DeltoccpJiahis inimicus.)

This little leaf-hopper is one of the species which is com-
monly found in pastures and meadows. It has been reared upon
young wheat plants by Professor F. M. Webster. The females
laid their eggs in November in the tissue of the leaves and the
young could be seen developing within the eggs without removal.
They were especially noticeable just prior to issuing by their jet
black eyes. A few days after hatching the young leaf-hoppers
molted and they molted again twice thereafter, the full-grown
individuals making their appearance December 22d, giving a life
period of forty-one days from the tgg to the adult. The species
seems to hibernate both in the egg state and in the adult condi-
tion and to have several generations each year. Osborn found
the eggs inserted under the skin of the leaves of blue grass,
making little blister-like swellings near the tips and causing them
to turn yellow. Those which hibernate in the egg state issue
\n great numbers in grass lands early in May. There are at least
two generations each year, the young being numerous in late
May and in August and the adults in June and in the fall. Large
numbers have been seen attracted to the electric lights in Illinois.
(Forbes & Hart.)

4^

THE WHITE FLIES, OR ALEYRODIDS

(Family Aleyrodidce.)

This family, more closely allied to the Aphididae and
Coccidae than to any others, and yet widely different in important
features, is a puzzling and abnormal assemblage of insects. They

Fig. 140. — Aleyrodes citri. (From hisect Life.)

are very small insects, frequently minute, and infest the leaves of
plants, usually on the low^er side. In their early stages they are
scale-like, and much resemble some of the Coccidae. Unlike the
Coccidae, however, the development of the two sexes is prac-
tically parallel, and both males and females are active and winged.
Differing again from the scale insects, there are two pairs of
wings instead of one pair. All four wings are covered or dusted
with a whitish, meal-like secretion, which has given to the group
the popular name of white flies. In the immature stages the

246

The White Flies or Aleyrodids

body may be more or less covered by a secretion of wax,
but the most distinctive character is the presence of an opening
on the dorsum of the last abdominal segment which is known as
the vasiform orifice. In the adults the antennae are seven-
jointed, and the eyes are usually somewhat constricted near the
middle, and may be even completely divided. The wings when
at rest are nearly horizontal, and are broad and well rounded.
The wings may be unspotted, or variously spotted or banded.
The Aleyrodidae do not constitute a large group, and but two
genera and not more than 1 50 species are known. Of these both
genera (Aleyrodes and Aleyrodicus) are known in the United
States, and rather more than fifty species occur within our
geographic borders. Doubtless many of these are imported,
since they occur more commonly upon greenhouse plants than
upon wild indigenous plants. They are found upon both herb-
aceous plants and upon forest trees. They are very seldom
serious enemies to vegetation, although the species occurring com-
monly upon the orange does considerable damage, which arises not
alone from the actual loss of sap and consequent withering of the
leaves from the sucking of the insect, but also from the profuse
quantity of smut fungus, the spores of which find their nidi in the
honey dew secreted by the insects. Their natural enemies are
practically the same as those of the scale insects, but the very
minute Hymenopterous parasites of the family Mymaridas seem to
be their specific internal parasites. In fact, they are too small to
harbor any other true internal parasites except the members of
this family, which, as a matter of fact, includes the smallest true
insects known.

Typical Life History of a White Fly

(Aleyrodes citri, Riley & Howard.^

This species, which is the only form of any great economic
importance in the group and the one to which we have just re-
ferred, occurs abundantly in some of the orange groves in Florida
and in northern greenhouses and made .'ts appearance about 1890
in the orange groves of Louisiana. It is not known whether it
is an indigenous or imported species. It will probably be found

247

The White Flies or Aleyrodtds

in any northern greenhouse in which orange or lemon trees
occur. It is found in the south also upon the china-berry tree,
upon viburnum, cape jessamine and the water oak. The follow-
ing life history account is drawn up from observations made in
greenhouses in the city of Washington. The insect passes the
winter in the full-grown larval condition. The adult insects issue
during April and begin to lay their eggs about or before the
middle of the month. About twenty-five eggs are laid by each
female. The eggs are very delicate, pellucid, and each possesses
a slender petiole or foot-stalk about one-third the length of the

Fig. 141. — Aleyrodes citri. (From hisect Life.)

egg proper. In two weeks the young larva hatches. It is com-
paratively active and crawls a short distance from the egg-shell
before beginning to feed. In from two to four weeks it molis
and by the middle of June three skins have been cast. In molt-
ing the insect curves the abdomen upwards at more than right-
angles, moving it occasionally up and down. It shrinks away
from the side margin until it occupies only about one-third of the
original lateral space. The skin then splits at the anterior end or
underneath the head. Then the head and prothorax are pushed

248

The White Flies or Aleyrodids

out and the skin is gradually worked backwards. At the end of
June the adults begin to issue again in numbers, remaining alive
for about twenty days. There are three generations annually.
When the perfect insect issues from what may be termed the
pupa shell, the wings are rolled up and make their appearance
with extreme slowness. Just before the adult is ready to issue
the pupa shell becomes transparent so that the contained insect,
shrunken away from the skin, is plainly seen in all of its stages.
The adult just after issuing is at first milk-white except for bright
lemon-yellow thoracic lobes. The adult male is readily dis-
tinguished from the female by the anal daspers and by the waxy
tufts issuing from the head and from the abdomen. All stages
are well represented in the accompanying figures.

249

THE SCALE INSECTS

(Family Cocci dee.)

The insects of this family, popularly known as scale insects
or bark-lice, include forms of great morphological interest as well
as very many of great economic importance. In the latter respect
they form very injurious enemies to most fruit trees as well as to

Fig. 142. — Diaspis pentagona. (Author's illustration.)

many other shade and ornamental trees. They occur upon
bushes and vines as well and are even in some instances found
upon grasses. The group as a whole is a most abnormal one in
its life history. In general terms it may be stated that the eggs
are laid by the adult female either immediately below her own
body or at its posterior extremity. Certain species do not lay
eggs but give birth to living young as do the plant-lice. This
abnormal habit is not characteristic of any particular group of
forms but is found with individual species in one or more genera.
The young on hatching from the eggs are six-legged, mite-like

250

The Scale Insects

Fig. 143. — Diaspis pentagona : adult male.
(Author's illustration.)

creatures, which
crawl rapidly
away from the
body of the
mother, wander
out upon the
new and tender
growth of the
plant or tree,
and there settle,
pushing their
beaks through
the outer tissue of the leaf or twig and feeding upon the sap.
Even at this early stage the male insect can be distinguished from
the female by certain differences in structure. As a general rule
the female casts its skin from three to five times before reaching
the adult condition
and beginning to
lay eggs or to give
birth to young.
With each success-
ive molt the insect
increases in size
and becomes more
convex in form.
Its legs and an-
tennae become
proportionally re-
duced, its eyes be-
come smaller and
are finally lost. As
a general rule it is
incapable of mov-
ing itself from the
spot upon which it
has once become
fixed after the
second molt, al-
though certain Spe- ^^ i44._Diaspis pentagona, adult^emale scale
cieS crawl through- removed. (Author's illustration.)

25*

The Scale Insects

Fig. 145. — Diaspis rosas. (After Comstock.)

Fig. 146. — Lecanium nigrofasciatum. (Author's illtutration.)

■252

The Scale Insects

Fig. 147. — Common hot-house
mealy-bug, Dactylopius
citri. (After Comstock.)

out life. The adult female insect then
is a wingless, motionless, degraded,
and for all practical purposes legless
and eyeless creature. She seems
simply an animated drop of proto-
plasm enclosed in a skin. In the
armored scales she is absolutely leg-
less and eyeless. The mouth-parts
through which she derives nourish-
ment remain functional and become
enlarged from molt to molt. Her
body becomes swollen with eggs or
young and as soon as these are laid or born she dies.

The life of the male differs radically from that of the female.
Up to the second molt the development remains practically
parallel in the two sexes, but after this molt the male larva trans-
forms to a pupa in which the organs of the perfectly developed
fledged insect become apparent. This change may be undergone
in a cocoon or under a male scale. The adult male, which issues
at about the time when the female becomes full grown, is an
active and rather highly organized creature with two broad func-
tional wings and long vibrating antennae clothed with hairs.
The legs are also long and stout. The hind wings are absent but
are replaced by rather long tubercles to the end of which is

articulated a strong bristle hooked at
the tip and fitted into a pocket on the
hind margin of the wings. The eyes
of the adult male are very large and
strongly facetted. The mouth-parts are
absent and curiously enough their place
is taken by supplementary eye spots or
simple eyes (ocelli). The function of
the male seems simply to find the
female, to fertilize her and then die.

The number of generations in scale
insects varies greatly and no general
statement can be made.

The scale insects found in the
United States belong to three large
groups, the most important and the
253

Fig. 148. — Long-tailed mealy-
bug, Dactylopius longifilis.
( AJter Comstock. J

The Scale Insects

Fig. 149. — Cottony Maple Scale, Pulvinaria
innumerabilis. (Author's illustration.)

most abundant in
species of which is
the group known as
the armored scales
(subfamily Diaspinae),
so termed because the
insect soon after set-
tling begins the secre-
tion of a scale by
means of threads of
wax exuding from
pores in the body
which eventually
blend together and
form an impervious
covering separated
from the insect's
body. The shape and
character of this scale is of importance in the classification of
the group but the most important characters are found in the anal
plate of the body of the female insect. A second large group
well represented in the United States is the group of naked bark-
lice, known as the subfamily Lecaniinae. In this group no true
scale is formed and the body is usually well arched so as to
become almost hemispherical. The third group (subfamily
Coccinae) comprises those forms known as mealy-bugs and re-
lated forms. These insects have no differentiated scale but are
all covered with a white waxy secretion, some of them having
conspicuous waxy egg sacs at the end of the body of the female.
The majority of species of scale insects at present found in
the United States are not indigenous to this country, but have
been introduced from abroad, most of them from European
regions, on plants and young trees and on fruit carried to this
country in the course of commercial interchange.

254

The Scale Insects

Life History of the Oyster-Shell Bark-Louse
of the Apple.

(Mytilaspis pomonim Bouch6.^

This insect is probably the commonest and most widespread,
and consequently the best-known, of any of the orchard scales.
It is found all over the world. It was probably an European
insect originally— at all events, it was known in Europe during
the last century— and was probably imported into this country
on nursery stock by the early settlers. It is found in the United
States practically wherever apples and pears are grown, more
abundantly at the north than at the south, and has often received
treatment at the hands of writers on injurious insects. It was

Fig. 150.— Mytilaspis pomorum. ( Author s illustration.)

certainly known in this country as early as 1794, and it unques-
tionably followed apple culture as it progressed to the west. It
was known in the districts bordering along Lake Michigan in
1840, and in 1868 it invaded Iowa and northern Missouri. To-

255

The Scale Insects

day it is present even in California. It is by no means confined
to apple and pear, but is also found upon quince, hawthorn,
buckthorn, rarely upon raspberry and currant, but also upon
linden, hop tree, horse chestnut, maple, water locust, honey-

Fig. 151. — Mytilaspis pomorum : adult male and female. (Author's illustration.)

suckle, ash, elm, hickory, cottonwood, willow, poplar, wild
grape, rose, fig, bitter-sweet, red maple, black ash, white ash.
white birch, red birch, and very abundantly upon the lilac, so
that it will be an easy form to collect and to study. In the
winter time, if one of the oyster-shell shaped scales is lifted
gently with the point of a needle, it will be found to contain at
the narrow front end the shriveled body of the female with from
50 to 100 yellowish white eggs packed closely together behind
the body. Sometimes the eggs will be found to be very few in
number, but then the larva or pupa of a little chalcidid parasite
will be found under the scale, which will account for the destruc-
tion of the eggs. In most of the northeastern states the young
hatch from these eggs during the latter part of May or early in
June (at an earlier date farther south), and wander out upon the
twigs and settle at once. The young twigs are the only parts of

256

The Scale Insects

the tree which seem to be seriously affected. Older twigs, how-
ever are also attacked, and many specimens of the insect may be
found upon the trunk. As soon as the young insect finds a
suitable position it gradually inserts its beak and commences to
grow through the influence of the healthy food sap which it pumps
up. Almost immediately, also, the secretion of scale begins.
This is first noticed in the form of a white, waxy powder which
first is seen in the form of threads, but which soon becomes homo-
geneous. In a few days the first molt takes place, not as in the
ordinary manner with insects by a series of contractions and exten-
sions which work the old skin to the end of the body, from which
it is finally freed, but by a sort of loosening and shrinking of the
body underneath, all the parts except the proboscis being shed
and abandoned with the skin. Strengthened by the secretions
from the body, this skin forms the first scale. Presently the skin
is shed a second time and mingles with the second secretion,
which forms the second scale, which may be noticed at the
anterior end of the completed scale of the old individual. As
growth continues this second scale becomes too small and is

Fig. 152. — The scurfy bark-louse of the

apple, Chionaspis furfurus.

(Author's illustration.)

lifted up into the third portion, while the shield proper is secreted
by a series of increments, more being constantly added on behind
as the insect beneath grows. When full grown the female is
ready for reproduction. The male scale is a perfectly distinct

257

The Scale Insects

object, as indicated in the accompanying figure, and the adult
male, which makes its appearance at the time when the females
are almost ready for oviposition, is shown at Figure 151. There
is but one annual generation in the northern states, and, owing to
this fact, the leaves are not attacked, for if the insect were to go
on the leaves it would be lost when they fall in the autumn.
Upon the fruit it is almost equally rare, although occasionally a
specimen is found in such a location. In the south, however,
the insect is two-brooded, and the adults of the first generation
are found upon the fruit and leaves without danger to the
perpetuation of the species, since their offspring crawl back to
the permanent portions of the plant before autumn. As a matter
of fact, however, even in the south the insect is very seldom seen
upon either the leaves or the fruit.

The insect is subject to the attacks of many natural enemies
in the course of its growth. The little ladybirds, as the beetles of
the family Coccinellidae are termed, both as larvse and adults
feed upon these and other scales. There are five distinct species
of chalcidid parasites which lay their eggs in the maturing bark-
lice, and while the lice are young and before they have formed a
protective scale they are avidly destroyed by the larvas of
the syrphus flies, of the lace-winged flies, and by certain
small predatory bugs. The most efficient of their natural
enemies, however, are probably the ladybirds, since the writer
has determined that the internal chalcidid parasites rarely destroy
all of the eggs in the over-wintering scales. A large number of
scales were examined in the late winter and early spring of 1894,
with the result that when parasites were found from two to
eighteen eggs were found to have escaped destruction, the
average number of eggs in uninfested scales being from sixty-five
to seventy-five. In two cases, where a parasite had issued late in
the fall (and the small round hole of issuing is readily perceived
in the scale), eleven and five eggs, respectively, were found. The
ladybird, however, eats everything.

258

THE JUMPING PLANT-LICE OR FLEA-LICE

(Family Psyllidcz.)

These insects have two-jointed tarsi, antennae eight-or-nine-
jointed, and the hind legs with somewhat swollen thighs. Their

Fig- '53- — Galls of Pachypsylla venusta O. S. (Alter Riley )

Jumping habit distinguishes them from the plant-lice as indicated
in the popular name. Certain species exude quantities of the
sweet liquid known as honey-dew, which is also abundantly
secreted by the plant-lice and by some of the tree-hoppers and
leaf-hoppers. Many forms live in galls and there are several
species which produce galls of different kinds upon the trees of
the genus Celtis, commonly known as " hackberry trees."

«S9

I'he Jumping t*lant-Lice or Flea-Lice

Life History of tine Pear-Tree Psylla

(Psylla pjricola.)

This insect is the commonest and the most destructive flea
louse in the United States. It is common throughout the north-

Fig. 154. — Pear-tree Psylla: adult female — natural size indicated
by side line. (After Marlatt.)

eastern United States and from Maryland on the south to
Michigan on the west. It was originally a European species
and is supposed to have been imported into this country about
1832, making its first appearance in Connecticut. The egg is
orange yellow in color and very minute. It is attached to
the leaf by a short arm and has a long hair-like stalk pro-
jecting from its end. The newly hatched larva is somewhat
larger than the tgg and yellow in color with crimson eyes.
It passes through several molts and when nearing the nymphal
condition, which corresponds to the pupa stage in insects which
have complete metamorphoses, it is readily distinguished by

260

The Jumping Plant-Lice or Flea-Lice

Fig. 155. — Pear-tree Psylla: a, egg;

b, larva — both greatly enlarged.

(After Marlatt.J

the large wing pads. Its color is then dark reddish brown.

In all the early stages the in-
sect is broad-oval and very
much flattened, resembling
more nearly some scale in-
sect rather than a perfect
flea-louse. It is also slug-
gish in these early stages.
When the nymph casts its
last skin the adult insect
emerges. It resembles much
more closely a minute
cicada or harvest-fly than
any other homopterous in-
sect. It hibernates in the

adult stage in crevices in the bark of pear-trees and emerges

with the first warm spring

days, beginning with the

laying of the eggs on the

leaves before they have

fully expanded or even

placing them in cracks

in the bark on the twigs.

The larvae hatch in ten to

seventeen days and station

themselves on the surface

of the leaves or on the

leaf petioles. There are

four or five generations

each summer in Mary-
land but fewer farther

north.

Fig. 1 56. — Pear-tree Psylla : pupa.
(After Marlatt.J

261

PLANT-LICE

^Family Aphididce,)

The plant-lice are very numerous not only in point of num-
bers of individuals but also of numbers of species. In many
respects these insects are abnormal, especially in their method of
development, and they have attracted great attention from
naturalists since Bonnet discovered, 1 50 years ago, the peculiar

O » «» « o ■. '

asTT^

Fig. 157. — Nectarophora pisum : the green-pea plant-louse. (After Chittenden.)

phenomenon known as parthenogenesis, which is almost invari-
ably the rule amongst these creatures. Their life history is very
surprising and their relations with other insects, especially with
ants, are most interesting. They are very destructive insects,
preying upon practically all cultivated plants, and their rate of
increase is so enormous that if it were not for their innumerable

362

Plant -Lice

natural enemies they would probably annihilate the greater part
of plant life. The classic computation of Huxley that the unin-
terrupted breeding of ten generations of plant-lice from a single
ancestor would produce a mass of organic matter equivalent to
the bulk of five hundred millions of human beings (about the

populationofthe
Chinese Empire)
is by no means
an over-estimate,
but if anything
an under-esti-
mate. This ra-
pidity in breed-
ing is not due
to extreme pro-
lificacy since the
number of off-
spring of a single
female is rather
small, but rather
to the early age
at which the offspring begin themselves to reproduce. Partheno-
genesis, which means the virgin birth, /. e., the birth of individ-
uals from a virgin female, and the fact that with most species
and during a large part of the year the young are born alive,
account for this rapidity. Gen-
eration after generation is pro-
duced in this way but in all cases
sooner or later there comes a true
sexual generation composed of
both males and females which
pair and these females as a rule
lay eggs instead of giving birth
to living young. In many cases
it is in this egg stage that plant-
lice pass the winter. Thus it will be seen that true males make
their appearance only a single time in a number of genera-
tions. Another curious feature in the life of plant-lice is the fact
that while the majority of the generations in the course of a sum-
mer are composed of wingless females there comes once or twice

263

Fig. 1 58. --Phylloxera vastatrix. ( After Mar latt.)

Fig. 159. — Phylloxera vastatrix: egg
and young. ( After Marlait.)

Plant-Lice

during each season a generation of winged females, thus provid-
ing for the dispersal of the species and not only for the dispersal
of the species but for the return to a perennial plant in the

autumn from the weeds,
grasses and other annual
plants upon which the
summer generations may
have fed.

Plant-lice are attacked
by a host of natural ene-
mies. The little Braconid
parasites of the subfamily
Aphidiinae are practically
exclusively parasites of
the plant-lice. Their eggs
are laid in the body of the
louse, the young live
within the body until they reach full growth, and the little four-
winged parasite eventually emerges as an adult. Plant-lice

Fig. i6o. — Phylloxera vastatrix: root form.
(After Marlatt.)

--^I^ ^=S^iKC

Fig. i6i. — Phylloxera vastatrix : leaf-gall form. (After Marlatt.)

parasitized in this way become swollen and dark in color and
can readily be distinguished. These parasites themselves breed
with extraordinary rapidity and are frequently responsible for the

264

Plant -Lice

practical extermination of the hosts of lice which are frequently
found in the wheat fields in the spring. The lady-birds and the
larvae of the syrphus flies and the golden-eyed lace-wing tlies as
well as the maggots of certain midges of the genus Diplosis and
others breed upon plant-lice and in fact derive the greater part of
their food from these creatures. Extreme prolificacy is the means
which nature adopts to continue the existence of many other-
wise unprotected :md much harassed species. In this instance,
however, it has taken the form of extreme rapidity of develop-
ment instead of great prolificacy.

The relationship between plant-lice and ants has often been
described and is one of the most fascinating topics in the whole
field of nature study. The honey dew which is secreted by
plant-lice both from the anus and from two tubes upon the back
of the abdomen is greatly enjoyed by ants which in a surprisingly
intelligent way care for the plant-lice, drive away their natural
enemies, carry them bodily to better feeding grounds, recognize
the necessity for migrations at times and assist in these migra-
tions and actually prepare locations in advance of transportation.
The term which is frequently applied to Aphids, viz, "the milch
cows of the ants," is a very appropriate one.

Probably the most famous of the plant-lice in the economic
sense are the grape-vine Phylloxera (Phylloxera vastatrix), a
species which is said to have cost the French nation more than
the indemnity paid to the Germans after the Franco-Prussian
war, the woolly root-louse of the apple ( Shi:{onetira lanigera)
erroneously known in most parts of the world as the American
blight, and the hop-plant louse (Phorodon humuli Schrank^, a
species which is fast becoming cosmopolitan and which for years
has been the greatest enemy to the hop-growing industry in
England and parts of this country.

Life History of the Hop-Plant Louse

(Pliorodon humuli Schrank.)

This insect which we have just mentioned as an extremely
injurious species is commonly known as the hop-plant louse and
sometimes as the hop blight insect. It is a native of Europe, is a
great drawback to the success of hop-growing in England, was

26s

Plant-Lice

for many years known in the hop plantations in central New
York and in southern Wisconsin and has within the last ten
years made its appearance in the extensive hop-growing regions
in Washington, Oregon and northern California. All through
the Middle and Southern States occasionally hop plants are grown

in door-yards and this plant-louse is
found practically every season upon these
plants. The hop is an annual plant, dy-
ing down to the ground with the first
frost in the autumn. It is obvious,
therefore, that the plant-louse is to be
found upon some other plant during the
late fall, winter, and early spring. This
alternate food plant as it is called is
the plum. Just why plum trees are nearly
always found in the immediate vicinity
of hop yards is a mystery. The winter
egg of the louse is found upon the plum
tree usually at the base of the buds and
sometimes under the scales of a bud.
From these eggs in the spring hatches
the first generation which is composed entirely of virgin females
and the individuals of this generation are known as the stem-
mothers. In two or three days after hatching, having migrated
to the minute leaves bursting from the
buds, they begin to give birth to living
young, these also all being females.
Every day of her existence the stem-
mother gives birth to several young
varying in number from two to seven or
eight. Each of these after reaching the
age of about eight days begins in its
turn to give birth to living young, so
that the stem-mother may live to see
her grandchildren of the fourth or fifth
generation. The third generation ac-
quires wings, although all are still
females. By the time the winged
generation makes its appearance the
hops will have begun to come up in

266

Fig. 162. — Phorodon hu-
muli: eggs. (From Insect
Life.)

Fig. 163. — Phorodon humuli:
stem-mother. { From Insect

Life.)

the fields and the lice

Plate XLV.
DRAGON FLIES

FIG.

1. Basiaeschna Janata 6 (y^schnidae) U. S.

2. Libellula cyanea 6 (Libellulidae) Mass. to Va.

3. Libellula cyanea $ (Libellulidae) Mass. to Va.

4. Boyeria vinosa ,5 (y^schnidae)Canada, Eastern U. S., Ark.

5. Leucorhinia intacta 6 (Libellulidae) Canada to Pa., west to

S. Dakota, Nev., Wash.

6. Leucorhinia intacta ? (Libellulidae) Canada to Pa., west to

S. Dakota, Nev., Wash.

7. Cordulegaster maculatus $ (Cordulegasteridas) Eastern U.S. and

Canada

8. Sympetrum costiferum $ (Libellulidae) U. S.

9. Sympetrum costiferum ? (Libellulidae) U. S.

TiiK Insect Book

The Insect Book.

Plate \I.\r.

Plate XLVI.
DRAGON FLIES

FIG.

1. Argia violacea 5 (Agrionidae) Me. to Va., 111., Tex.

2. Argia sedula 5 (Agrionidae) Va., Tex., Ohio, Ind.

3. Argia sedula 3 (Agrionidae) Va., Tex., Ohio, Ind.

4. Argia violacea $ (Agrionidae) Me. to Va., 111., Tex.

5. Libellula semifasciata $ (Libellulidae) Eastern and Southern

U. S.

6. Libellula auripennis $ (Libellulidae) Coast from N. Y. to Tex.,

Ohio, Cuba, Isle of Pines

7. Pachydiplax longipennis ? (Libellulidae) N. A.

8. Epicordulia,. princeps ^ (Cordulidae) Quebec to Ct., Pa., Md.,

Ga., Mich., 111., Tex.

9. Didymops transversa 3 (Cordulidae) Quebec to Ga., Mich.

Ky., Tex.

Plant -Lice

fly to the hops, settle upon the leaves, and begin to give birth

to the fourth generation which is composed like the second

of wingless parthenogenetic females

and the same process is repeated until

possibly eleven or twelve generations

in all have been produced. By the

time the twelfth generation makes its

appearance the month of September

has come and hop-picking is well along.

All of the lice at this time acquire wings.

Some of them may be of the twelfth

generation, others through the fact that

their ancestors have been late born

through a series of generations may be

only of the fifth generation. The first

to acquire wings in the autumn are

always females and these fly back to the

neighboring plum trees. Later individuals of this generation

and frequently all of the individuals of an additional generation

Fig. 164. — Phorodon hu-
muli : egg-laying female.
(From Insect Life.)

Fig. 165." Phorodon humuli: migrant. (From Itisect Life.)

on the hop are true males, the male thus making its appearance
for the first and only time in the life round of the species. By

267

Plant -Lice

the time they have developed the first issuing females will have
settled upon the plum trees and will have given birth partheno-
genetically as before to a generation of wingless individuals
which comprise the true females — not the virgin females as

Fig. l66. — Phorodon humuli: return migrant. (From Insect Life.)

before — but the true females which must be fertilized by the
males. So that, by the time the winged males have developed
from the hop and fly back to the plum we have this generation
of wingless sexual or true females awaiting them. Impregnation
then takes place, the males die, and these wingless sexual females
give birth to the winter eggs.

968

THE TRUE BUGS

(Suborder Heteroptera.)

The true bugs belong to this group and the common squash-
bug may be taken as a typical example. In all, the metamorphoses
are -incomplete and the mouth-parts are formed into a beak fitted
for sucking either the juices of plants or of insects or the blood of
fishes, birds or mammals. The wings, when present, differ
radically from those of the preceding order in that the front
wings or wing covers, or elytra, or hemielytra, as they are
variously termed are horny at the basal half and membranous for
the end portion. When they are folded the membranous por-
tions overlap, that of the right wing covering that of the left, but
there are many exceptions to this rule, and even in the same
species, while most specimens will be found with the right wing
uppermost, there will be some in which the membrane of the left
wing is on top.

The order is a very large one, but has not been studied with
the same assiduity which has characterized the study of other
groups. There are not more than half a dozen entomologists or
collectors in the United States who specialize in the true bugs.
Yet these insects are easily captured and are as readily preserved
as beetles and the studying of their varying habits offers a most
attractive field. Probably twelve thousand species have been
described in the whole world of which only about one thousand six
hundred inhabit the United States. This number could be more
than quadrupled by careful collecting and, indeed, our most
learned authority on the group, Professor P. R. Uhler, of Balti-
more, informs me that he infers that we have five thousand species
in the United States, of which not more than three thousand
species have been brought together in collections, but the number
is being added to every month. He thinks that fifty thousand,
as an estimate of the existing species in the whole world, would
be a very insufficient supposition.

269

The True Bugs

In food habits the Heteroptera vary greatly. Some of them
live strictly on the sap of plants, while others are carnivorous,
sucking the blood of other insects, and even the blood of vertebrate
animals, while still others seem to feed indifferently upon plants
and animals. Still others seem to require no other nourishment
than the moisture of decaying wood and fungi. Many forms are
truly aquatic, others travel about with ease upon the surface,
while others seem confined to the shores of streams and ponds
and to the sea beach. The majority, however, live inland under
the most diverse conditions on trees, plants and shrubs.

The peculiar odor possessed by many of the true bugs is by
no means characteristic of all. The disagreeable and character-
istic odor of the bed-bug is approximated by that of the chinch-
bug of western wheatfields and by certain Pentatomids. Others
smell like very ripe or over-ripe fruit, especially pears, while in
some Coreidae the odor is aromatic and in others it is spicy like
cinnamon. This odor is that of a very volatile oil which is
secreted, as a method of defense, from certain specialized glands
situated in different parts of the body.

It will especially be noticed that there is very much yet to
be learned about the individual life histories of the true bugs.
In very few of the families has a single species been studied with
sufficient care to enable the writer to give a good typical life
history. There is probably no one of the great groups of insects
which offers so good an opportunity for the collector, the system-
atic worker, or the true student of nature who wishes to learn
how insects live, to learn so many original and absolutely novel
facts as in collecting and studying the Heteroptera. For many
years Professor P. R. Uhler has worked practically alone in this
country on this easily collected, easily preserved and easily
studied group, and although Professor H. E. Summers, and Mr.
O. Heidemann have recently taken up this interesting study, an
enormous field is open for scores of workers.

TABLE OF FAMILIES*

Antennae shorter than the head and nearly or quite concealed
in a cavity beneath the eyes i

* For the greater part of this table, which, however, has been rearranged, the
writer is indebted to H. E. Summers' Bull. 3, Vol. iv, Agric. Expt. Station of the
UniT. Tenn., 1891.

270

The True Bugs

Antennae at least as long as the head, usually free, rarely (in
Phymatidiie) lying in a groove along the side of the pro-
notum 4

I — Hind tarsi without claws 2

Hind tarsi with two claws 3

2 — Fore tarsi flattened, ciliated on edge, without claws; head

overlapping prothorax Corixida:

Fore tarsi not flattened, with two claws; head inserted into
prothorax Notonectidce

} — Abdomen with two grooved filaments at tip, forming to-
gether a respiratory tube which is not retractile, Nepidce
Abdomen without respiratory tube.

Legs formed for swimming; tip of abdomen with two

retractile strap-like appendages Belostomatidx

Legs formed for walking; abdomen with no such ap-
pendages.

Ocelli absent Naucoridce

Ocelli present Galgulidce

4 — Antennae with their bases visible from above, usually four-
jointed; rarely five-jointed, (not counting the minute in-
termediate segments sometimes present.)

Scutellum less than half as long as abdomen 5

Antenni^ with their bases not visible from above, five-jointed.
Scutellum more than half as long as abdomen 14

5 — Beak three-jointed, sometimes four-jointed, with basal seg-
ment very short and inconspicuous 6

Beak four-jointed, with plain basal segment 10

6 — Body very slender; head as long as thorax . . Hydrometridce
Body of various shapes, but when slender, head shorter than
thorax.

Last segment of tarsi more or less bifid, with the claws in-
serted before the tip Hydrobatidce

Last segment of tarsi entire, claws at tip.

Hemelytra usually well developed and without cuneus.

When Hemelytra is absent ocelli are present 7

Hemelytra with cuneus Anthocorid(B

Hemelytra rudimentary, ocelli absent Cimicidce

7 — Hind tarsi with three segments 8

Hind tarsi with two segments 9

271

The True Bugs

8 — Beak long and slender Saldidcz

Beak short and stout.

Head globulous behind the eyes Henicocephalidce

Head not so formed Reduviidce

9 — Ocelli present. Fore-thighs greatly widened Phymatidce

Ocelli absent. Fore-thighs not greatly widened.

Hemelytra shorter than abdomen Aradidce

Hemelytra longer than abdomen Tingiiidce

10 — Hemelytra without cuneus. Membrane with longitudinal

veins which are sometimes indistinct 1 1

Hemelytra with cuneus. Membrane with one or two cells
at base, but otherwise veinless Capsidce

1 1 — Membrane either with four or five simple longitudinal veins,
in which case ocelli are usually present, or with about

eight forked veins, in which case ocelli are absent 12

Membrane with many, usually forked, longitudinal veins
which are sometimes difficult to see Coreidce

\2 — Membrane with four or five simple longitudinal veins 13

Membrane with about eight forked longitudinal veins. Ocelli
lacking TyrrhocortdcR

13 — Head with transverse incision in front of ocelli which are

always present Berytidce

Head without transverse incision. Ocelli usually present,
rarely lacking Lygcvidce

14 — Five-jointed antennae with hidden bases. Scutellum
more than half the length of the abdomen, sometimes
flat, sometimes very convex and covering nearly the
V'hole abdomen Pentatomidce

27;

THE IVATER BOATMEN

(Family Conxidce* )

The little bugs of this family and of the five families which
immediately follow are all aquatic in their habits and form the
series known to most writers as the Cryptocerata from the fact
that they appear to have no antennae, since these organs are
hidden below the head, sometimes in pockets. From their
aquatic habits they are called Hydrocorisce or Hydrocores in some
of the older works, though there are two other families, the
Hebrides and Hydrobatidce which have obvious antennae and
yet live on the surface of the water and in damp places.

The Corixidge are known as "water boatmen." They are
mottled bugs of oval shape which are found
commonly swimming on the surface of ponds
and streams in all parts of the United States.
They are flattened below and swim with the
back upwards. They can descend below the
surface and remain there for a long time since they
carry down with them a film of air held by the j.-^ ,6^ _Corixa
fine hairs which cover the body. They are true intermpta Say.
air breathers. When cold weather comes on, '"^Z'^''' ^^'^'''■^
the water boatman, as do other aquatic bugs as well, swims
down to the bottom and buries itself in the mud where it remains
during the winter and specimens captured in spring are frequently
coated with mud. The eggs are laid under water and are
attached in numbers to the stems of aquatic plants. The eggs of
two Mexican species (Corixa mercenaria and C. femorata) are
laid in enormous numbers in lakes near the city of Mexico, and
are made into cakes with meal and are eaten by the Indians and
half-breeds. They are said to have an agreeable acid flavor. I

♦Usually printed in the books Corisidce, and the type genus as Consa;
but the change from the older Corixidce and Corixa was not justified by the
nomenclature rules now in force.

373

The Water Boatmen

ate some once, but it was a stale museum specimen and had
anything but a pleasant taste. These Mexican species are im-
ported into England by the ton as food for game and song birds,
poultry and fish. Kirkaldy has computed that one ton contains
25,000,000 of these insects.

According to Miall, Schmidt-Schwedt says that Corixa uses
its fore legs to play a tune on its snout, the note being tolerably
loud and sustained. They swim rapidly, their hind legs being
oar-like, and they are predatory in their habits, feeding upon
other aquatic animals. The beak is strong and sharp and they
can pierce the tough skin of one's finger.

Active as these insects are in water they are slow and
clumsy on land but when their pools dry up they fly inland in
search of other water and are sometimes attracted to light at night.
About forty species occur in the United States, all belonging to
the genus Corixa. The full life history of none is known, and
an easily made aquarium study of any one of our common
species is greatly to be desired.

Uhler says: "Few insects are more sprightly and the
aquarium acquires a new interest by the introduction of these
easily obtainable creatures."

274

THE BACK SIVIMMERS

(Family Notonectidce.)

These water bugs known as the " back swimmers " much
resemble the water boatmen, but are very convex on the
back and always swim with the belly upwards. This, in fact,
distinguishes them from all other water bugs. In their habits they
are much like the water boatmen. They are predaceous, and
feed upon other water insects and even fish. They are strong

enough to master
a good-sized min-
now, and a prick
from their beak is
as painful as a bee

i^Wtf^df "^ I HHH sting. They carry
^SM jf^^^^^^ SHi below with them a
^Sw ^m ^^p^ greaterair 111m than

^ ^^ do the others, and

^ have to hold fast

with their fore legs
to some stone or
water plant to prevent themselves from popping up to the surface.
They are most active insects, and most interesting creatures for
the aquarium. They hibernate in the mud at the bottom of
streams, pools and ponds. The eggs are laid in the stems of
water plants, which are pierced by the sharp ovipositor of the
female. About two-thirds of the egg are pushed into the
incision, and the remaining third is left extruding.

About a dozen species are known to inhabit the United
States, and these are distributed in the genera Noionecta, Anisops
and Plea.

A good life history of one of our common species such as
Noionecta undulata, widely distributed in North America, is still
to be written, but could be made out in any school aquarium.

275

Fig. 16S. — Notonecta undulata Say : upper and
lower side, beak and leg. (After Lugger.)

THE WATER SCORPIONS

(Family NepidcB.)

Fig. 169. — Nepa cinerea Linn : a, adult; h, front

leg, showing groove to receive rest of

limb ; c, egg. (After Miall.)

The Nepids have been called "water scorpions" because
their fore legs are swollen and fitted for grasping, and rather
distantly resemble the cheliceres of a scorpion. The anal end of
the body bears two long half-tubes which, when united, form a
tube to convey air to the insect when the rest of the body is
under water. The water scorpions are either flat and oval 01
they are long and thin. Those of the former shape belong to the
genus 'Nepa, and of the latter to the genus Ranaira. As with
the water boatmen and the back swimmers, these insects are
predatory, and a large share of their food is the eggs of fish, but
they also attack small fish and other water insects.

276

The Water Scorpions

The eggs are laid in the stems of plants in much the same
manner as are those of the back swimmers, but the egg itself is
pushed entirely within the slit made in the plant by the insects'

Fig. 170. — Ranatra fusca. (After Lugger.)

ovipositor, while there protrude several long filaments (seven in
Nepa and two in Ranatra) which are supposed to be pneumatic
in function.

The eggs of no American species have been described, and
a full life history of any American species is greatly desired.

277

THE GIANT IVATER BUGS

(Family BelostomatidcB.)

The remarkable insects of this family have long attracted
attention. They include the largest of living bugs, are strictly
aquatic in their early stages and are predatory in habits, living at
the bottom of ponds and feeding upon other aquatic animals in-
cluding fish. Their fore legs are fitted for grasping their prey
and their hind legs for swimming. When full grown, however,
their wings are developed and they fly strongly and for great dis-
tances. They have been found in the midst of great cities far
from ponds and are attracted to electric lights on the tops of high
buildings. So attractive are electric lights to these great bugs
that they congregate about them in extraordinary numbers and
thousands of them which have fallen to the ground beneath such
lights are crushed beneath the feet of passers by. They have in
/act become generally known as "electric light bugs." While
such hosts of them are destroyed in this way, their numbers do
not seem to be reduced, but it is bad policy to have electric
lights near fish breeding establishments or artificial fish ponds.
The fish ponds in Washington, since the advent of the electric
light have become so greatly stocked with these bugs that they ar»
a serious detriment in fish raising. The two most abundant and
the largest of our native species are Belostoma amertcanum Leidy
and Benaciis griseus Say. Both are very large, flat, grayish or
brownish bugs and were long confused. The Belostoma has a
double groove on the underside of its fore thighs which is lacking
on the thighs of the Benacus. The eggs are large and spherical
and are attached to the stems of water plants or to some other
convenient object. Of Benacus griseus Uhler says: "It is the
facile master of the ponds and estuaries of the tidal creeks and
rivers of the Atlantic States. Developing in the quiet pools, se-
creting itself beneath stones or rubbish, it watches the approach
of a Pomotis, mud-minnow, frog or other small-sized tenant of

278

Plate XLVII.

DRAGON FLIES

FIG.
I.

2.

3-

4.

Enallagma signatum $ (Agrionidae) Eastern U. S.
Ischnura verticalis 2 (Agrionidae) Eastern U. S. and Canada
Enallagma signatum $ (Agrionidae) Eastern U. S.
Ischnura verticalis ? (Agrionidae) Eastern U. S. and Canada

5. Ischnura verticalis S (Agrionidae) Eastern U. S. and Canada

6. Argia apicalis $ (Agrionidae) Eastern U. S.

7. Argia apicalis $ (Agrionidae) Eastern U. S.

8. Lestes vigilax $ (Agrionidae) Eastern U. S.

9. Lestes rectangularis (Agrionidae) Eastern U. S.

10. Argia putrida $ (Agrionidae) Eastern U. S. and Canada,

Southern U. S.

11. Lestes eurinus 5 (Agrionidae) 111., N. Y., Me., Mass.

12. Enallagma civile? (Agrionidae) N. A.

13. Argia putrida ? (Agrionidae) Eastern U. S. and Canada,

Southern U. S.

14. Enallagma civile 3 (Agrionidae) N. A.

15. Lestes unguiculatus 6 (Agrionidae) U. S. and Canada

16. Argia bipunctulata 5 (Agrionidae) N. J. and Pa. to Fla.

Thh Insect Book.

Plate XLVII.

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The Insect Book.

Platb XLVIII.

Plate XLVIII.
DRAGON FLIES

FIG.

1. Argia tibialis ? (Agrionidae) Eastern and Southern U. S.

2. Argia tibialis $ (Agrionidae) Eastern and Southern U. S.
). Lestes uncatus $ (Agrionidae) U. S. and Canada

4. Enallagma carunculatum $ (Agrionidae) Wis., Ohio, 111., Ind.

5. Enallagma carunculatum $ (Agrionidae) Wis., Ohio, 111., Ind.

6. Lestes congener $ (Agrionidae) U. S.

7. Enallagma traviatum ? (Agrionidae) N. Y., Mass., Ohio, Ind.,

D. C.

8. Enallagma traviatum $ (Agrionidae) N. Y., Mass., Ohio, Ind.,

D.C.

9. Enallagma calverti (Agrionidae) Northern N. A.

10. Enallagma antennatum ? (Agrionidae) Ohio, N. Y., Iowa,

111., Ind.

11. Enallagma antennatum 6 (Agrionidae) Ohio, N. Y., Iowa,

111., Ind.

12. Enallagma aspersum S Eastern U. S.

13. Enallagma durum $ Eastern U. S. and Canada, Southern U. S.

14. Erythromma conditum ? Eastern U. S. south to D. C.

15. Erythromma conditum 3 Eastern U, S. south to D. C.

The Giant Water Bugs

the water, when it darts with sudden rapidity upon its unpre-
pared victim, grasps the creature with its strong, clasping fore
legs, plunges its deadly beak deep into the flesh, and proceeds
with the utmost coolness to leisurely suck its blood. A copious
supply of saliva is poured into the wound, and no doubt aids in
producing the paralysis which so speedily follows its puncture in
small creatures."

The genus Zaitha contains similar water bugs of smaller size
which have frequently been mentioned and figured from the
curious habit of carrying the eggs plastered in a group on the
back of the adult insect. For a long time it was supposed that
the female sticks her eggs to her own back and the case was sup-
posed to parallel, in a way, that of the famous Surinam toad. A
German observer, Schmidt, however, found that many males car-
ried eggs, but the method and purpose of attachment remained a
mystery until it was cleared up by aquarium observations made
by an American, Miss Slater, who found that the female, vis et
armis, customarily lays them on the back of the unwilling male.
Sometimes she has to struggle for hours to accomplish her fell
purpose, but she does accomplish it in the end and her spouse is
converted into an animated baby carriage. Says Miss Slater:
"That the male chafes under the burden is unmistakable; in fact
my suspicions as to the sex of the egg-carrier were first aroused
by watching one in an aquarium which was trying to free itself
from its load of eggs, an exhibition of a lack of maternal interest
not to be expected in a female carrying her own eggs. Generally
the Zaithas are very active, darting about with great rapidity; but
an egg bearer remains quietly clinging to a leaf with the end of
the abdomen just out of the water. If attacked, he meekly re-
ceived the blows, seemingly preferring death, which in several
cases was the result, to the indignity of carrying and caring for
the eggs."

The full life history of none of these giant water bugs has
been properly described in this country. The young Belostomas
are said to have two tarsal claws instead of one as when adult,
but their growth has not been followed. About fifty species of
the family are known, of which about one-half inhabit the
United States.

879

THE CREEPING PVATER BUGS

(Family NaucoridcB.)

These insects are few in number and small in size. They
are aquatic and predaceous, flat-bodied and oval. About thirty
species are known, and only seven are found in the United
States. The commonest of these, Pelocoris femorata Beauv., is
widely distributed in this country and is found in waters in which

Fig. 171. — Ambrysus signoretti Stal.
f After Uhler.)

there is abundant vegetation, on which it creeps and about which
it swims in its search for prey. It may be found near the margin
of a pool with a grassy bank, feeding on little land insects which
have accidentally fallen into the water. It's life history should be
studied.

280

THE TOAD BUGS

(Family Galgulidce.)

The odd and ugly little insects of this group have been
appropriately termed the "toad-shaped bugs." The short,
broad body and the projecting eyes, as well as the dull mottled
colors, are toad-like. They are not true water bugs, but live in
moist places along the banks of streams and ponds. Unlike the

Fig. 172. — Galgulus oculatus Fab. Greatly enlarged
(After Lugger.)

true water bugs, they have no ocelli, and are in other ways quite
different structurally. It is not a large family, and only twenty
species are known, of which three inhabit the United States.
Galgulus oculatus Fab. is a common species, and its life history
should be thoroughly studied.

281

THE MARSH TREADERS

(Family Hydrometridce.)

Fig. 173. — Hydrometra lineata.
(After Comstock.J

These are very slender aquatic bugs with a greatly prolonged
head. We have only one species, Limnobates lineata Say,
which crawls around on soft mud or on water, preferring stag-
nant pools.

Life History of a Marsh Treader

(Hydrometra lineata.)

This rather common form is frequently to be found among
the aquatic vegetation at the borders of ponds and slow streams.
Its life history has been studied and admirably portrayed in the
Canadian Entomologist for March, 1900, by Mr. J. O. Martin, of
Cornell University. The elongated body of the insect is borne
on hair-like legs and resembles a bit of twig or grass. There
are several generations during the summer, and the insect
hibernates as an adult under the rubbish along the banks and
lays its eggs early in May. The eggs are laid singly and are

282

The Marsh Treaders

glued to the stems of gnisses along the stream. They are about
two mm. lonu and are spindle-shaped. The number of eggs
must be small, since they are so large that four or five would till
the abdomen of a female. They are covered with a horny
coating which has longitudinal ribs, and are marked with a
hexagonal pattern. In seventeen days the young insect emerges
from the egg and molts five times before becoming adult, it
feeds upon the juices of insects which fall into the water, and,
of course, there are many of these along the grassy borders of
ponds. Mr. Martin has seen ten of these little water bugs sur-
round a single insect, all of their heads in the direction of common
interest, and their bodies radiating outward. The body and legs
of the bug are covered with minute hairs which prevents the
creature from becoming wet, and it is constantly engaged in
lifting its legs into the air and drying them, for if they become
wet they sink through the surface film of the water.

THE IVATER ST RIDERS

(Family HydrobatidiB. )

In this group belong most of the curious, slender, long-
legged creatures known as water striders, which dart about on
the surface of the water with such rapidity that it is very difficult
to capture them. It is a large group and contains many different
forms which are included in several subfamilies. They are

Fig. 174. — Hygrotrechus remigis Say. ( After Lttgger.)

found upon salt as well as upon fresh water. They have prom-
inent eyes, a stout beak, long antennae, and a usually tapering
abdomen. Two different forms of the adult occur with most
species, the one winged and the other wingless. The Oceanic
forms are most abundant in the Sargasso Sea, resting upon and
breeding among the great mass of accumulated seaweed. When
storms break up this great island of vegetation portions of it are
carried far and wide, and some of the Oceanic water bugs are
therefore brought to our shores.

384

The Water Striders

One of the commonest water striders of the United States
is Hygrotrechus remigis Say, It is about a half-inch long, dari^-
brown in color, and moderately stout. It is everywhere seen
skimming about on the surface of mill-ponds or similar bodies of
water. It uses its slender, rather hairy hind legs as oars, prac-
tically rowing itself, and frequently congregates in groups with
others of its kind in quiet places as though to talk over old times.
Full-grown specimens are seen towards the end of summer, and

Fig. 175. — Rheumatobates rileyi. (Original.)

at the approach of cold weather they hide away under the banks
of streams in mud or beneath leaves, or at the bottom of the
water under stones, and wait until spring. As the weather
grows warmer they bob up to the surface of the water and
prepare for egg-laying. The eggs are whitish, translucent, and
are long, nearly cylindrical, and blunter at one end than at the
other. They are stuck on the leaves and stems of the water
plants. The young strider does not issue from the egg by
pushing off a cap at the end as do other water bugs, but by

285

The Water Stridera

bursting through a slit which opens a little below the blunt end
of the egg. The duration of the egg stage is about two weeks.

An extraordinary water-strider, known as Rheumatobates
rileyi, was found near Washington, D. C, several years ago by
Mr. Otto Heidemann, and has since been proved to be rather
widely distributed. It is so extraordinary an insect in its general
appearance that it has been adopted for the seal of the Entomo-
logical Society of Washington. It is found on still waters, such
as canals, and is carnivorous in its habits like the other members
of the family.

Although the water striders are truly aquatic, they are
structurally more closely allied to the land bugs than to most of
of the other water bugs, and especially in that they have free and
conspicuous antennae, the water bugs of the group Cryptocerata
having, as stated elsewhere, the antennae hidden in a pocket
beneath the head.

THE FLOWER BUGS

(Family AntJiocorida.)

These insects are all small and are distinguished from those
or trie bed-bug family by the possession of ocelli and wing covers.
The latter are usually well developed but are occasionally
abbreviated. The head is prolonged. Less than 200 species
are known of which only twenty-two are known to inhabit
North America. Some of them, however, are very abundant,
as the little Triphleps insidiosiis Say, and are frequently found

Fig. 176. — Triphleps insidiosus.
C After Riley.)

in the flowers of different plants. Probably all of the Antho-
coridae are carnivorous, feeding on other insects and the little
Triphleps just mentioned is a voracious enemy of plant-lice,
lace-bugs and other small tender insects. Some forms have
been found in ants' nests. The life history of none of them has
been worked out in this country and Triphleps insidiosus offers
a good opportunity for investigation.

287

THE BED-BUG FAMILY

(Family CimicidcB.)

By more recent authors the family is called Acanthiidae, but
the present name is preferable. Only twelve species are known

but the family is
notorious because
it contains the dis-
gusting parasite of
human habitations.
The other species
are all found in the
nests of birds and
act and much re-
semble the true
bed-bug. in this
group the insects
do not possess
wings and only
rudimentary wing-
covers are to be
seen. They are flat-
bodied, the ocelli
are absent and the
beak rests in a

Fig. 177. — iEciacus hirundinis. (After Osborn.)

groove beneath the head. /Eciacus hirundinis Jenyns is common
to Europe and North America and frequently occurs in this country
in great numbers in the nests of the common barn swallow. It
closely resembles the form found in houses, but is darker in color
and has shorter antennae.

288

The Bed-Bug Family

Life History of the Bed-Bug

(Cimex lectularitis Linn J

Slovenly man has carried this abominable bug to all parts of
the civilized world, ''Tot. orbis" is the laconic expression of
its geographic range given by Lethierry and Severin. It has be-
come a true domestic animal and has accommodated itself well to
the environment of human habitations. It has lost its wings, but
has acquired a flat body which enables it to hide in the narrowest
cracks of beds and walls. It has gained the power of subsisting
almost indefinitely without food, waiting for its meals with a
patience far surpassing that of Job.

The eggs of the bed-bug are minute white oval objects each
having a projecting rim around one end. They are laid in
clusters in such crevices as are used
by the mature bugs for conceal-
ment, and each cluster contains
from six to fifty eggs. The eggs
hatch in about eight days and the
young bug pushes off the lid en-
closed within the projecting rim at
the end of the egg. At first the
new-born insect is yellowish-white
and nearly transparent, but becomes
darker after it feeds and grows until
the color of the mature and well-fed
insect is brown. The skin is shed
five times and with the last molt the wing pads characteristic of
the adult become apparent. The period of growth from egg to
adult varies greatly with the temperature and the food supply.
Marlatt has reared them under favorable conditions (feeding them
ujxDn the healthy and abundant blood of a complaisant assistant)
in seven weeks, but without food they may remain unchanged
for many weeks. Ordinarily but one meal is taken between
molts, so that at least five full meals must be taken before maturity
and at least one more by the female before she is ready for egg
laying. Each female is supposed to lay several batches of eggs.

The pronounced odor of this insect is also possessed by cer-
tain plant bugs and is produced by certain glands opening on the
back of the abdomen with young bugs and on the underside in

289

Fig. 178. — Cimex lectularius:

young.

finedrawn from Marlatt. J

Tke Bed-Bug Family

the metasternum with the adult. With plant bugs this odor
evidently protects them by rendering them nauseous to their
bird and other vertebrate enemies. It persists with the bed-
bug; but here it is detrimental to the species since it reveals its
presence to its greatest enemy — man.

The belief that bed-bugs breed under the bark of certain
trees and that houses built of the wood of such trees will be

Fig. 179. — Cimex lectularius; adult.
(Redrawn from Marlatt.)

infested with bugs, is due only to the resemblance which cer-
tain other bugs, especially the Aradidae, which normally live
under tree bark, have to the bed-bug. And then, too. from the
ability which the bed-bug has of undergoing prolonged fasts,
it may be found alive not only in houses which have been deserted
for a long time, but about old deserted camps in the woods.

390

THE SHORE BUGS

(Family Saldidcs.)

The active little bugs of this family which have been dubbed
"shore bugs" by Comstock for the reason that they are always
found upon the sea beach or the shores of fresh-water ponds or
lakes are not numerous in species, although individuals are plenti-
ful. Ninety-seven species have been described and about thirty
occur in this country. Their color is usually black, brown or
drab with whitish markings, the head is free and the eyes prom-
inent. They are carnivorous and feed upon other beach inhabit-
ing creatures, being frequently seen with the beak thrust into the
body of some drowned insect. Every sea beach from Cape Cod
to the Florida Keys has some kind of these shy little bugs which
resemble tiger beetles in their habits. Some of them burrow
under ground. The life history of none of them is well known,
yet they oflFer an apparently easy field for investigation.

One swift and strong form from Java has been given the
generic name Velocipeda by Bergroth.

291

THE THIN-IVINGED BUGS

(Family Henicocephalidcs.)

This is a remarkable family of which only twelve species are
known, of which two inhabit the United States. It is allied to
the Reduviidae, but the front wings are wholly membranous, with
a distinct venation resembling those of certain saw-flies. The

Fig. 179a. — Henicocephalus culicis.
Enlarged. (Original.)

front legs are greatly swollen. The American species are Heni-
cocephalus culicis Uhl. and H. formicinis Uhl. The former was
found by Mr. E. A. Schwarz under stones on the shores of the
Great Salt Lake, Utah, and later on the shores of the Potomac
River near Washington.

792

ASSASSIN BUGS

(Family ReduviidcB.)

This is a large and important family of bugs comprising
more tiian two thousand species of which more than one hundred

and fifty inhabit the United States. Its
forms vary much in structure and have
been divided among thirteen subfamilies
and three hundred and thirty-six gen-
era. All are predatory in their habits
and feed on other insects which they
pierce and whose blood they suck by
means of their strong, sharp beaks.
From this food some of the subfamilies
are known as -'cannibal bugs" or
"pirate bugs." Comstock calls them
the "assassin bugs." With many
species the beak is so strong as to
readily pierce the skins of human beings,
and one species, known as the " blood-
sucking cone-nose" (Conorhiniis san-
giiisiiga) so often frequents houses, es-
pecially in the southwest, and is so fierce
a biter that it is often referred to as " the
gigantic bed-bug." It seems, according
to Schwarz, to normally inhabit the nests
of field mice. Other species, especially
Melanolestes picipes and Reduvius per-
sonatus, were especially abundant in the
eastern states in the summer of 1898,
and their bites were responsible for the
extraordinary so-called "kissing bug"
scare which was greatly advertised by Fig. 181.— Reduvius person-

. , ^- atus. f Author's illustration.)

the newspapers. A western species, *"' ^ '
Rasahus binotatus is also a severe biter. Of these "kissing

393

Fig 180.-
suga.

-Conorhinus sangui-
f Redrawn fro??t
Mar la tt. J

Assassin Bugs

bugs," Reduvius personatus, is a cosmopolitan form which, in the
northern states, is found in basements and cellars of dirty houses
and preys upon bed-bugs and cockroaches. When immature

it covers itself with dust and presents
a very odd appearance.

Some very odd species are found
in the subfamily Emesidce, which
have been called "thread-legged
bugs." Their legs are excessively
long and they have a peculiar habit
of swinging the body up and down.
One of them frequents spiders' webs
and robs the spiders of their prey.
The eggs of nearly all Reduviids
are of very strange appearance and
are frequently distinguished by some
form of protective resemblance.

Fig. 182. — Rasahus bieuttatus. ^t r au j a u

CAuthor^s illustration.) None of thesc predatory bugs seem

to possess the strong and frequently
disagreeable odor so characteristic of many of the plant bugs.

Life History of the Wheel Bug

(Arilus cristatus L,.J

This is a large predatory bug common all through our
southern states and Mexico and which extends up into southern

Fig. 183. — Melanolestes abdominalis.
(Author's illustration.)

Fig. 184. — Milyas cinctus.
(After Riley.)

«94

Assassin Bugs

Illinois and New Jersey and even to Long Island and Rhode
Island. It is popularly known as the "wheel bug" and some-
times by the negroes as the " devil's riding horse" and is referred
to in the older books as Reduvius novenarius and Prionotus or
Prionidus cristatus.

The eggs of the wheel bug look like miniature leather bottles
standing on end and in hexagonal clusters, seventy or more in a
group, and attached to the bark of trees, on fence rails, or where-
ever the female chances to be. In this stage the insect passes
the winter. In the late spring the cap of the bottle is pushed off
and the young bug emerges. The young insect has a blood-red

Fig. 1 85. — Emesa longipes. (After Lugger.)

abdomen and its thorax is marked with black. In walking it
frequently elevates the abdomen, curving it over forwards. It feeds
upon soft-bodied insects, its attacks, while young, being confined
mainly to such weak, delicate species as plant-lice. As they
grow larger they attack larger insects and when full-grown
destroy large caterpillars. They seem to inject a poison into the
wound made by the beak and Glover tells of a bite on his thumb
which was severely poisoned and gave him great trouble. After
four molts the peculiar crest on the thorax appears which has
given this insect its specific scientific name cristatus (crested)
and its popular name "wheel bug." This is a semicircular
longitudinal crest bearing nine teeth, prongs or cogs like a
cog-wheel.

The full grown bug is sordid black in color. It captures its
prey not by agility but by stealth. Its coloration is protective
and it slowly crawls up to some caterpillar or other insect, ad-

295

Assassin Bugs

vancing one leg after another with a movement so slow as
almost to be imperceptible. When once within striking distance,
however, the beak is thrust into the victim which is at the same
time grasped with the front legs with a movement which is quite
the reverse of slow.

Arilus cristatus. (After Glover.)

The wheel bug is a very beneficial insect. It is a common in-
habitant of southern cities and in such places as Baltimore and
Washington is an important factor in the destruction of the
numerous caterpillars which defoliate shade trees.

296

THE AMBUSH BUGS

(Family PhymatidcB.)

The strong and ferocious predatory bugs of this group num-
ber only forty-three described species, of which but five live in
the United States, yet it is structurally and economically an im-
portant family. The head is shaped like that of the Aradidae, the
front legs are enlarged and fitted for grasping, frequently lacking

Fig. 187. — Phymati wolffii.
(From U. S. Dept. Agr.)

the tarsi, and its beak and general appearance ally it to the
Reduviidae. These insects are tough and horny, and in the
tropics are apt to be armed with spines. Phymata wolffii Stal.,
our commonest species, is yellowish-green in color, with a brown
or blackish band across its abdomen. It frequents yellowish
flowers like the ox-eye daisy, with which its color harmonizes,
disguising its presence from the insects which visit such flowers,
and upon which it preys. From this fact Comstock has called
these insects "the ambush bugs," and this insect affords our
best exponent of what Professor Poulton calls "specific aggres-
sive resemblance " — that is, the resemblance of a predatory
species to some special object to facilitate the capture of its prey.
The full life history of none of the Phymatids is known, and P.
wolffii should be followed through its life round by some careful
observer.

297

THE FLAT BARK-BUGS

(Family Aradidce.)

These are small, strangely-formed bugs found commonly
under the bark of trees, where they feed upon fungus growths.
They are all extremely flat, and look, as Comstock says, as if
they had been stepped upon. It is these insects which are often

mistaken for bed-bugs and that
give rise to the idea that the
household pest breeds naturally
in such situations. The abdomen
is broader than the wings, and
frequently encloses them like a
frame. It is not a large family,
less than three hundred species
being known, of which about
thirty occur in the United States.
The prevailing color of these in-
sects is brown, sometimes varied
with reddish or pale markings.
Aradiis crenatits Say is the largest
of the species found in this coun-
try, reaching nearly half an inch
in length, and Aradus similis
Say and Neiirocienus simplex
Uhl. are the commonest species
in the northeastern states. Mr. Heidemann has found the eggs of
the last-named species. They very closely resemble the eggs of the
bed-bug, having the same size, markings, and the same whitish
color. The life history of both these last-mentioned species
should be carefully worked out, as they represent different sub-
families.

Fig. 1 88. — Aradus robustus Uhl.
(After Lugger.)

298

THE LACE BUGS

(Family Tingitida.)

The curious little bugs of this family have rather aptly been
termed "lace bugs" by Comstock from the fact that the wing
veins are thickened and form a lace-like pattern in most of
the species. These insects are all small, have two-jointed feet
and usuallv knobbed antennae. They are all plant-feeders, and

Fig. 189. — Gargaphia

angulata.
(After Chittenden.)

Fig. 190. — Corythuca

arcuata.

(After Comstock.)

the brown, rusty appearance which the leaves of certain trees,
notably sycamores, acquire in summer is due to their attacks.
Rather more than three hundred and fifty species are known
of which twenty-five inhabit the United States, but thgre are,
undoubtedly, many unnamed and undeveloped forms. As a rule
the eggs are laid in leaves and young twigs and the whole life of
the insect is spent in sucking sap. They usually overwinter
as adults hidden away in bark crevices. There are two sub-
families and the members of one, Pksminx, are not so lace-like
as are the others, the Tingiiinoe.

299

The Lace Bugs

Life History of the Hawthorn Lace Bugf

( Corythuca arcuata Say.^

More than twenty years ago i saw most of the leaves of
a Hawthorn tree at Washington turning brown and rusty and
on examining them found the beautiful little Tingitid, shown at
Fig. 190, present in all stages of development. Projecting from
the leaf surface in groups of from ten to thirty along both sides
of the prominent leaf veins were certain minute brown funnel-
shaped objects which were found to be the eggs. Each egg is
laid on end and is covered with a brown sticky substance which
rapidly hardens and holds it to the leaf surface. This brown gum
adheres so strongly to the egg that it is impossible to remove
it without crushing the egg, and it is more copious near the base
so as to give the appearance of an actual insertion into the leaf
tissue. The top of the funnel has a porous cap which the in-
sect removes in emerging. The newly hatched bug grows
rather rapidly and casts it skin five times before becoming full
grown. While yet immature it is of the same dirty-brown color

T

Fig. 191. — Corythuca -*■

arcuata : eggs and Fig. 192. — Piesma

young. cinerea.

(After Comstock.) (After Riley.)

as the substance covering the t^,g and but little darker than the
withering leaf. It is of a broad, flat, oval shape, and spines seem to
project from almost every portion of its body. It looks, under
the microscope, more like a lobe of prickly cactus than anything
else. A sticky honey dew is excreted by these bugs and their
cast-off skins adhere to the leaf and make it appear as if there
were many more insects present than is actually the case.

During the winter the dead leaves under the trees were
found to contain living and healthy eggs, but the insect custo-
marily hibernates as a full-grown and winged bug.

300

THE LEAF-BUGS

(Family CapsidcB.)

The usually rather slender and delicate bugs known as "leaf-
bugs " or "true plant bugs," having two cells in the wing
membrane, belong to this family. More than one thousand
species are known, and of these more than two hundred and fifty
inhabit the United States. It is undoubtedly the largest group of
Heteroptera, and thousands of species are as yet undescribed.
Mr. O. Heidemann tells me that he has in his collection more
than two hundred undescribed species from the United States.
They are not all true plant feeders, and very few of them occur
in sufficient numbers to become important crop enemies. Some
of them habitually prey on other insects, and 1 have seen Campto-
brochis gra7idis sucking the eggs of the imported elm-leaf beetle
(Galenicella hiteola), while Mr. Heidemann states that Lopidea
media Say once alighted on the back of his hand, and that (with
a true scientific interest) he watched it pierce the skin and suck
his blood for some minutes. A common species in the east,
Oncognathus binotatus Fabr., frequents the heads of timothy
grass. Fulviiis anthocoroides Uhl, is found commonly on lichens
on old stumps. Lygus pratensis, known as the "tarnished
plant bug," is present in all flower and vegetable gardens, and
causes what is called the "buttoning" of strawberries. The
natural egg place of this common insect is not known, but the
rest of its life has been well worked out by Wood worth, although
there is probably one more molt than he has observed, /. e., five
instead of four. Halticus tihleri Giard, known as the "garden
flea-hopper," is common in gardens and is injurious to flowers
and vegetables.

30I

The Leaf-Bug

Typical Life History of a Leaf-Bugf

(Poecilocapsus lineatus Fabr.^

This insect, known as the four-lined leaf-bug, is found all
over the United States east of the Rocky Mountains, and is a
common garden pest, sucking the sap of gooseberry bushes,
currants, dahlias and many other plants. The insect passes the
winter in the tgg stage. The eggs are inserted in slits cut

Fig. 193. — Halticus uhleri. (After Chittenden.)

lengthwise into the stems of plants extending through the bark
and wood nearly half way to the pith. The slits may be an
eighth of inch in length, and into each of them is pushed from
two to fourteen eggs. These are crowded side by side, are
about 1.6 mm. long, smooth, cylindrical, slightly curved, light-
yellow in color, and with the outer third capped with a white
striate portion. From these eggs the young hatch in the spring
— the latter part of May in central New York — and feed upon the

302

The Leaf- Bug

tender new growth of leaves for from two to three weeks,
undergoing five molts. The adult bugs appear early in June, and
often spread to the different surrounding plants. Egg-laying
begins in the latter part of June ; the adults disappear in July,
and, as above stated, the insect hibernates in the egg stage.
There is only one generation each year in New York, but in the
southern states there are more. The young insect when
first hatched from the egg is of a shining vermilion color, marked
with large blackish spots on the thorax. The antennoe and legs

Fig. 194. — Poecilocapsus lineatus Fab. : a, adult ; 6, c, immature. (After Lugger.)
Eggs. (After Slingerland.)

are of a greenish-black color. The red color is retained until the
last stage before the adult is reached, then the large black spots on
the thorax seem to mark the beginning of wing pads, which have
gradually become more and more apparent after each molt, in
the adult insect a radical change in color is found. The general
color is bright orange-yellow; the legs and the wing covers are
of dark apple-green, but the wing covers and the thorax are'
marked with four black stripes.

This life history was first worked out by Professor Slinger-
land, of Cornell University.

303

THE SQUASH-BUG AND ITS ALLIES

(Family CoreidcB.)

This is a large and important family, divided into many sub-
families and containing about 1,500 species of which nearly 200
inhabit the United States. The group has no popular name
although these insects, in common with the members of several
allied families are known as "plant bugs." Comstock calls the
Coreidae "the squash-bug family " after its best-known represen-

Fig. 195. — Leptoglossus
phyllopus

Fig. 196. — Metapodius
femoratus

tative, but of course this is not a distinctive name, nor does it
seem possible to coin one. The Coreidae are very diverse in
shape and structure, some being broad and clumsv and others
thin. Some have curiously modified legs like the leaf-footed
plant bug (Leptoglossus phyllopus) and the thick-thighed Meta-
podius (Metapodius femoratus) while others have slender normal
legs. All of these bugs feed on the juices of plants and some of

304

The Squash-Bug and Its Allies

them are well-known enemies of crops. A curious tropical
genus — Phyllomorpha — carries its eggs upon its back. A com-
mon species in the western United States known as the box-
elder plant bug (Leptocoris trivittaius) frequently does much
damage to the box-elder trees which from their rapid growth are
commonly planted on western tree claims.

Life History of the Squash-Bug

(Anasa tristis De Geer.^

The common "squash-bug," as this insect is called, is found
all over the United States as well as in Central America. It is a
serious enemy to garden plants of the pumpkin family (Cucur-
bitacece), but does not damage other vegetation. The egg is 1.5
mm. long, stout, somewhat flattened on three sides and is of a

Fig. 197. — Corizus hyalinus.
fFrom U. S. Dept. Agr.J

Fig. 198. — Leptocoris trivittata.
(Fr&m U. S. Dept. Agr.J

yellowish-brown or dark bronze color. From twenty to forty eggs
are laid in a group, each one rather well separated from the others
and placed either on the under or upper surface of a leaf, or on a
stem. When first hatched the little bug is light green in color
with beautiful rose-colored legs, antennae and beak. Later the
head and thorax become black and the abdomen gray. There are
five distinct molts and the full grown bug is the dark, sordid, ugly

305

The Squash-Bug and Its Allies

and ill-smelling creature commonly noticed in vegetable gardens.
The adult insect hibernates, thrusting itself into some protected
crevice and lays its eggs in the late spring or early summer.
These hatch in about two weeks and the insect may become full

Fig. 199. — Anasa armigera. (After Chittenden.)

grown in less than a month. There is no evidence that there is
more than one generation annually from the District of Columbia
northward, but further south there are probably more.

Observers need not be surprised at the failure of the eggs to
hatch as they are frequently parasitized by two minute egg-
parasites, f/^^rowo/MS anasce and Ocencyrtus anasce.

1P6

THE COTTON STAINER AND ITS ALLIES

(Family Pyrrhocoridce.)

This is not a large family. It comprises less than three hun-
dred species, and only about twenty-five are known in the
United States. Most of the species are tropical or sub-tropical.
They are distinguished from the Lygaeids by the absence of
ocelli. As a rule, they are stout, moderately large bugs, and

Fig. 200. — Largus succinctus.
(From U. S. Dept. Agr.)

are frequently marked with red. The commonest of our native
species is Largus succinctus, an insect of very wide distribution,
since it occurs from New Jersey to Mexico. It is a brownish-
black species with the sides of the thorax margined with orange
or red. It is commonly found along the borders of oak woods,
and the adults appear in July and August. The young stages
are of a brilliant steel-blue color, with reddish legs and a bright
red spot at the base of the abdomen.

The full life history of this species should be worked up.

307

The Cotton Stainer and Its Allies

Life History of the Cotton Stainer

(Dysderciis sntiirellus H.-SchfJ

This insect, which is found exclusively in our Southern
States, is known popularly by the name of the "cotton stainer."
It is found also in the West Indies. Its natural food is probably
a rose-mallow (Hibiscus), but it feeds upon the bolls of the
cotton plant and also sucks the juices of oranges. It is marked
with red and is a very beautiful insect, and derives its popular
name from the fact that it stains the cotton in the bursting bolls

Fig. 201. — Dysdercus sutiirellus. (From Insect Life. J

by its excretions, which are of a yellowish color. Experiments
have been made with this insect looking toward its use as a dye,
and the whole substance of the insect can be converted into a
rich orange-yellow dye, which can readily be fixed on woolens
or silk by the alum mordant liquor. The eggs, to the number of
twenty or thirty, are deposited upon the leaves or stalks of the
cotton plant, and are also loosely dropped in the sand. The insect
molts five times and breeds apparently steadily all through the
year, so that there are several generations. Careful observations
on the eggs and the first stage are needed.

308

THE STILT BUGS

(Family Bcrytida.)

Fig. 2oia.— Jalysus spinosus
(After Lugger.)

This group, rather closely allied to the Coreidae, is of much
smaller extent. It includes slender plant bugs which have the
thighs thickened at the tip. Some of them are very slender and
have long, thin legs, from which fact they have been termed
"stilt bugs." Only six species are known to occur in the
United States and the life history of none of them has been care-
fully worked out. Jalysus spinosus, our commonest species, a
sluggish little insect which is to be found on the undergrowth in
oak woods, all through the summer, from Maine to Georgia and
westward to Texas and Arizona, would be a good species to
study carefully.

309

THE CHINCH-BUG FAMILY

(Family LygcBidce.)

This is one of the large families of plant bugs, comprising
rather more than 1,300 species, distributed in thirteen subfamilies
and 208 genera. Of these about 175 species are known in the
United States. No good popular name has been proposed for
this group. Comstock calls it the " chinch-bug family " from its
most famous representative, but of course this is not a distinctive
name. The Lygseids are distinguished from other bugs chiefly
by the membrane of the front wing, which has four or tlve
simple veins, and by the antennae, which are inserted low down

on the side of the head. Many of
these bugs, when full grown, have the
wings either long or aborted, so that
in the same species there are both long-
winged and short-winged forms. All
live on the juices of plants, and the
family contains many injurious forms.
The most prominent of these is the
chinch-bug (Blissits leiicopterus), a
little bug which occurs in Central
America and the West Indies and all
over the United States and north into
Canada. It feeds on Indian corn and
on wheat and other small grains and
grasses, puncturing the stalks, and
causing them to wilt. Its great noto-
riety as a crop destroyer arises from
the incalculable numbers in which it appears in dry seasons.
The average annual loss which this insect causes to the United
States cannot be less than $20,000,000.

Another very common and destructive insect belonging
to this family is the so-called "false chinch-bug" (Ny^ius

310

Fig. 202.
Oliv.

-Myodocha serripes
(After Lugger.)

The Chinch-Bug Family

angustatus Uhl.) which although it belongs to a different subfamily
is frequently mistaken by farmers for the true chinch-bug. It dam-
ages grapevines, strawberry plants and many garden vegetables,
puncturing the leaves with its beak and causing them to wilt.
The life history of this bug should be worked up. We do not
know its eggs, the number of molts or the number of genera-
tions. One of these bugs, known as Belonochtlus numideus
Say, according to Heidemann, feeds on sycamore leaves and
passes the winter in the half-grown condition thrust down
in the crevices of the " button balls."

Life History of the Ciiinch-Bug-

(Blissus leiicopterus Say.^

The chinch-bug is a small, dark colored insect with white
wings. It is only 3 mm. long and is rather slender. It passes
the winter as a full-grown bug, hidden away in clumps of old

Fig. 203. — Nysius angustatus.
(After Riley.)

Fig. 204. — Blissus leucoptenis.
(After Riley.)

grasses or in other protected spots. The tgg is nearly i mm.
long, elongate-oval, and of an amber color. About five hundred
are laid by each female and are thrust into grass sheaths near the
ground, or upon the stem at or under the surface of the ground.
They are laid in the spring and the young hatch soon afterwards
The newly hatched bugs are pale yellow at first but grow red.
They molt four times before becoming adult and grow darker in
color and the adult is dark gray or nearly black. Over most

3"

The Chinch-Bug Family

of the United States there are two generations, the eggs for
the second generation being laid in late July or early August.
In all stages the chinch-bug is gregarious and clusters upon
grains and grasses in such numbers as to quickly destroy them.

Fig. 205. — Blissus leucopterus. (After Riley.)

They migrate in search of food and after wheat harvest they
usually travel to the nearest cornfield and the second generation is
developed on this crop. Many of the adults have only hal/
developed wings and this form, which is called " micropterous "

Fig.

206. — Blissus leucopterus.
(After Riley.)

is apparently more abundant near the sea-coast than elsewhere.
A fungus disease is very prevalent in wet weather and efforts
have been made to propagate this disease and (with some
measure of success) artificially introduce it into infested fields.

3"

THE STINK-BUGS AND THEIR ALLIES

(Family Pentatotnidce.)

In this large family of bugs, which comprises nearly four
thousand species, of which about three hundred inhabit the
United States, we find a curious difference in habit in that while

some of them are exclusively
plant feeders others feed both
upon plants and upon other
insects. This differentiation
in habit corresponds in a
measure with the subfamily
grouping. As a rule these
insects are flat and broad, and
the antennae are five-jointed.
The scutellum is enlarged and
in some (the Scutellerinae)
covers the whole abdomen.

f y

Fig. 207. — Murgantia histrionica.
(After Riley. J

Many species possess an extremely bad odor and taste, which
has led Comstock to term the group "the stink-bug family."
Very many well-
known and common
insects belong to this
group. The harle-
quin cabbage bug
(Murgantia hisiriou-
ica Hahn.) is a well-
known species in cab-
bage fields south of
New Jersey. It is a
serious enemy to cru-
ciferous vegetables.
In parts of Georgia it is still known as tli
and in Texas as the "third-party bug.'

31J

Fig. 20S. — Euschistus variolarius.
(Author's illustration.)

' Abe Lincoln bug,"
The eggs are very

The Stink- Bugs and Their Allies

beautiful banded objects, laid in clusters on tiie leaves of cabbage,
and the full-grown bug is beautifully mottled with black and red.
The so-called spined soldier bug ( Podisus sptnosus) is a plant-
feeder, and also preys upon insects, especially caterpillars. The
beautiful bug known as Stiretrus anchor ago
is largely predatory, and feeds upon many
different kinds of insects. The green soldier
bug (Ne\ara hilaris Say) and the common
species known as Euschistus serviis are both
plant and animal feeders.

The eggs of nearly all of these insects are
laid in clusters on leaves or other objects, and
vary greatly in color and sculpturing. Many of them are para-
sitized by the little Proctotrypid flies of the genus Teleas.

Fig 209. — Corimelaena

pulicaria. ( AJter

Riley.)

Fig. 210. — Brochymena annulata. (From Insect Life.)

Typical Life History

(Podisus serieventris Uhl.)

This species which is not uncommon in the northern states
lays its eggs in small clusters of from ten to thirty each on the
bark of trees or on leaves or other objects. They are bronze in

314

The Stink-Bugs and Their Allies

color growing darker up to the hatching period. They are nearly
circular in shape, and are furnished with a well-defined circular
cap. The upper part of the egg is covered by irregular rows of
minute short spines, while around the edge of the cap is a row of
long, curved, knobbed spines. They hatch in eight days, and
the insect passes through five molts, growing gradually, and

^i (

a J.

Fig. 211. — Stiretrus anchorage. (After C/iittendot.J

changing in color from yellowish-red to brownish-yellow. There
are three generations in the course of the summer, and the insect
hibernates in the adult condition under the rough bark of trees,
and in similar protected situations. When young they feed upon
very small insects and their eggs, but when full-grown will at-
tack any insect however large, even full-grown cutworms and.
the larvae of the Gypsy moth.

Mr. A. H. Kirkland was the first observer to work out the
complete life history, and from his full account as published in
the report of the Massachusetts Board of Agriculture on the
Gypsy moth (1896) these facts have been drawn.

3»S

THE TRUE LICE

(Suborder Anophira.)

The true lice are generally referred to in the books as the
suborder Parasita, They are all wingless, degraded creatures,
possessing to a marked degree the degradational characteristics
which result from a parasitic form of life. They have a thin skin
the feet are armed with a single long claw, and the mouth-parts
consist of a short tube furnished with hooks, from which may
be protruded a delicate sucking tube. They are not numerous
in species and are all parasitic on warm-blooded animals. The
lice which are so commonly found on birds belong to a different
group and are structurally quite different from Ano-
plura. Six genera and about forty species of
Anoplura are known. They are found upon many
mammalia, even upon those which live in the water.
A curious genus, for example, is found upon seals.
The lice of domestic animals and those which are
found upon uncleanly individuals of the human race
are well known. Three species are found upon
human beings in different parts of the world, and
Fig. 212.— Ped- are more or less specifically attached to this host.

iculus capitis. ~, j.^. r j ••!•.<.• u

The conditions of modern civilization, however, are
gradually causing these insects to become rare, except in the
lowest quarters. Fortunately it would no longer be appropriate,
or even possible, in the dawn of the twentieth century, for a poet
of distinction to write lines comparable to those which Robert
Burns once composed in the Scottish church.

The eggs of most species are attached to the hairs of the host
animal, and the young lice, after hatching, begin immediately to
attack the skin. The rate of growth is not recorded, and the
embryological and morphological development of the group is
not well known. Here is an opportunity for some enthusiastic
student, who can overcome the natural distaste for these dis-

316

The True Lice

agreeable parasites, to do some good original work. The old
Dutch naturalist, Leeuwenhoek, once started an experimental in-
vestigation of Pediculus vestimenti, using his own person as the
breeding ground, but, beyond the conclusion that the species is
very prolific, he reached no results of particular value. Mercurial
ointment is a sovereign remedy for the species which attack
human beings, while different oily mixtures are used with success
on domestic animals.

317

THRIPS

(Order Physopoda.)

The very minute insects known as "thrips" belong to this
order, which is a very well differentiated group and has apparently
no very close relatives among the insects. It is unfortunate that
in this country the name thrips has been applied largely by vine-
growers to some of the little leaf-hoppers of the family Jassidae
(q. v.), but the name was long preoccupied, both popularly and
scientifically, by the physopod insects, which, by the way, are

also sometimes called Thysanoptera.
They are very minute, slender in-
sects, with four wings which are
also very slender and very short,
perfectly transparent and practically
without veins. They are fringed,
however, with long delicate hairs
and lie along the back of the abdo-
men when at rest. The metamor-
phosis is incomplete and the mouth-
parts are of very curious shape, but
probably function in sucking. They
are really intermediate between true
biting and true sucking mouth-
parts. A striking peculiarity of the mouth-parts is that they fre-
quently differ on the two sides. In other words, they are
asymmetrical. Although the metamorphosis is incomplete, what
may be called the pupa is not active. The larvae, however, are
not in the least worm-like and resemble the adults, except for
the lack of wings. The feet are curiously constructed and have
a little bladder-like vesicle at the tip, from which fact the name
of the order was derived.

The thrips are found in the greatest numbers in the flowers
of flowering plants and there can be little doubt that they do

3»8

Fig. 213. — Thrips triticL

Thrlps

^considerable damage by injury to the essential organs of flowers.
Although the statement has been made that they sometimes feed
vipon other insects, the evidence is not good. An interesting
<brm in this country lives in the sheaths of timothy grass and
sometimes causes the dying of the heads of the grass. Some-
limes they are found under bark and in fungi, and in Australia some
of them form galls on the leaves of acacias. In the United States,
however, they are most abundantly found in flowers and fre-
quently in the heads of wheat. In greenhouses thrips are
especially noticeable. Dracaenas are said to suffer especially from
their attacks. They are commonly found on chrysanthemums,
on hydrangias, in orange blossoms, and many other flowers.
Probably the most injurious species in this country, however, is
the so-called onion thrips which causes the disease known as the
white blast of onions. The same species is found on leaves of
cabbage and cauliflower, squash, turnips, nasturtiums, and many
other plants. It is also found in Europe where it occurs on
tobacco as well as upon garden plants. It is known as Thrips
t abaci Lind.

It does not seem to be generally known that parthenogensis
has been found to occur with thrips. Less than one hundred and
fifty species are known, but almost no one has taken the trouble
to collect these little creatures in out-of-the-way places, and it is
reasonable to suppose that the order will be found to be quite
numerous in species.

319

GRASSHOPPERS, KATYDIDS,
CRICKETS, ETC.

(Order Orthoptera.)

This is a large and important group of insects which com-
prises those forms which are i^nown as the straight-winged
insects and includes the grasshoppers, or true locusts, the long-
horned grasshoppers (including the katydids), the crickets, cock-
roaches, walking sticks and leaf insects, and the praying mantid<5
or rearhorses. In all these insects the mouth-parts are fitted for
biting and the metamorphoses are incomplete, the young when
hatching from the eggs resembling the adult except for the lack
of wings. The eggs are comparatively few in number and are
laid in specialized egg cases. The fore wings are somewhat
thickened and rather tough and horny as a rule, though not so
much so as the elytra of beetles and at rest lie closed on the back
of the insect so as to protect it and the hind wings. They are
called tegmina. The hind wings are much more delicate and
are the important ones in flight. They are furnished with
radiating veins somewhat like the sticks of a fan and have short
cross-veins forming a sort of network. In repose they fold like
a fan and are more or less covered by the fore wings. While the
order is not such an extensive one in number of species, it is one
of very great economic importance, largely through the ravages
which the migratory locusts, or short-horned grasshoppers, make
upon agricultural crops in various parts of the world and the
numbers in which not only these insects but certain other forms
occur, while their comparatively large size and frequently con-
spicuous appearance, make the group a noted one.

As to size, the Orthoptera probably include the largest of
living insects and this is particularly the case in tropical countries.
Even in this country, however, it is doubtful whether any insect
exceeds in actual bulk the large lubber grasshoppers of our South-

320

Grasshoppers, Katydids, Crickets, etc

eastern and Southwestern States. It is estimated that probably
ten thousand species of Orthoptera exist in the world, but this
estimate is probably a small one, since, as in the other groups,
the smaller and more inconspicuous species have not been col-
lected in out-of-the-way places. The average traveller who picks
up specimens, and even the average collector, when he goes to
some rarely visited corner of the world, will always collect the
large and conspicuous things and neglect the smaller and more
insignificant specimens. From this habit, it results that in the
large museums, like the British Museum, the Berlin Museum
and the Vienna Museum, and our own National Museum, large,
exotic forms from most portions of the world are well represented,
but there are comparatively few of the little dull-colored ones.

The order Orthoptera affords a peculiar interest to the stu-
dent of the phenomena of protective and aggressive resemblances.
The family Phasmidae includes those remarkable creatures which
are so much like twigs and leaves that they have been called
walking sticks and leaf insects. It also includes the great group
of praying mantids which feed upon other insects and which,
though slow movers, are enabled to capture their prey by means
of their perfect disguise which, intemperate regions, makes them
resemble twigs and in tropical regions brings about an extraor-
dinary resemblance to flowering vegetation, some of them
being most highly colored, as the flower mantids, which resem-
ble the most conspicuous orchids.

Another fact which renders this group of especial interest is
that many of them are so musical. One often hears of the
"song" of the katydid, but as a matter of fact, these insects are
not vocalists but instrumentalists. Portions of the body are so
modified as to produce musical sounds by the rubbing of one
part upon another. In the crickets it is the rubbing of the upper
wings upon the hind wings, the membrane being veined in such
a way as to produce a chirping sound. In some of the grass-
hoppers the sound is brought about by the rubbing of the hind
thighs against the edge of the fore-wings, or " tegmina." These
musical powers are confined to the male sex and the tunes which
they play are, while songs without words, alu/ays love songs.

Many of the Orthoptera are great jumpers, their hind thighs
being thickened so as to enable them to make great leaps. The
common name grasshopper is based upon their facility in this

321

Grasshoppers, Katydids, Crickets, etc.

direction. This reminds me of the little girl, who, being told
that the beetles were Coleoptera and that the butterflies were
Lepidoptera, remarked that the grasshoppers must be the
"Grasshoptera." Many of the Orthoptera fly well and strongly.
The migratory grasshoppers frequently fly for hundreds of miles
with daily rests for food, sometimes in such enormous swarms
us to darken the face of the sun.

TABLE OF FAMILIES

Hind thighs stouter, or longer, or both, than the other thighs;
head vertical; ovipositor generally extruded; generally
singers or chirpers (stridulators) i

Hind thighs like the other thighs ; head usually bent under ;
ovipositor concealed ; mute 3

I — Antennae much longer than the body, delicately tapering;
sound-producing organs at the inner base of the fore
wings (tegmina); ovipositor usually prolonged into a
blade or needle 2

Antennae much shorter than the body, not delicately tapering;
sound-producing organs on the hind thighs and outer
edge of the fore wings; ovipositor composed of a double
pair of short plates which diverge at tip . Family Acridiidce

2 — Feet (tarsi) four-jointed, nearly similar in structure on all legs;
ovipositor (unless, as rarely, concealed) forming a strongly
compressed, generally sword-shaped blade, valves not
expanded at tip Family Locustidce

Tarsi three-jointed, those of the fore or hind legs differing
from the others in structure; ovipositor (unless, as rarely,
concealed) forming a nearly cylindrical, straight, or
occasionally upcurved needle; valves expanded at tip.
Family Gryllidce

3 — Body oval, flattened; head nearly horizontal; rapid runners.
Family Blatiidcc

Body long, narrow; head free; slow movers 4

4 — Head oblique, generally three-cornered; front legs fitted for
grasping Family Mantidx

Head nearly horizontal, generally four-cornered; front legs
like the other legs Family Phasmidce

322

THE IVALKING STICKS

(Family PhasntidcB.)

The insects of this family present some of the most striking
forms known among the Hexapoda. They consist of the so-called
"walking sticks." This name is given to them from the remark-
able development of protective lesemblance which has brought
all of the species to a close imitation of the twigs of different
plants. The family reaches its highest development in the trop-
ics, but one species is common in the Northern States. The family
constitutes the section of Orthopterous insects known to the old
naturalists as Gressoria or walkers, as contrasted with the runners,
jumpers, and graspers (Cursoria, Saltatoria and Raptoria). The
body is long and slender, the head is exserted, the legs are long
and slender and generally similar. They generally have no wings
although some of the tropical species have short or long wings.
The eggs have a very curious structure and frequently resemble
seeds in appearance. They possess the power of reproducing lost
limbs, the new limb being weaker than the old one and generally
curved. Certain of the tropical forms in this family are curiously
modified so as to resemble leaves instead of twigs. Leaf insects
in the tropics frequently bear so close a resemblance to vegetation
as to deceive a keen observer.

Life History of a common Walking Stick

( Diapheromera femorata Sa.y.J

This is the common " walking stick" of the northern United
States and is distributed over the greater part of the country. It
has been given the popular name of the " thick-thighed walking
stick" owing to the fact that the femora of the middle legs are
somewhat swollen. The eggs, of which each female lays about
one hundred, are a little less than 3 mm. long, oval in shape.

The Walking Sticks

Fig. 214. — Diapheromera femorata.
(After Riley. J

334

The Walking Sticks

slightly compressed at the sides, and of a polished black color
with a whitish stripe on one side. They resemble the small plump
seeds of some leguminous plant. They are not laid in clusters or
fastened to the plant but are dropped loosely on the ground
where they remain through the winter and hatch the following
May. Some of them are retarded in their hatching and young
walking sticks maybe found throughout the summer. In hatch-
ing the top of the egg lifts up like the lid of a vessel. The young
when first hatched are 4. 5 mm. long, and of a uniform pale yellow-
ish-green color. They live, as a rule, near the ground and drop
readily when disturbed. They molt but twice, retaining the same
color until maturity, and develop rapidly, averaging, under f;ivor-
able circumstances, about six weeks from birth to maturity.
When adult the green color becomes gray and brown. This
change in color is protective since in the early summer while
vegetation is green, the insects are also green; when the foliage
turns in the autumn they change color to correspond to a certain
extent, and when the foliage is stripped they closely resemble the
twigs upon which they rest. The front legs of the insect are
stretched out straight in front so as to increase the twig-like
appearance. The males are smaller than the females and
frequently retain the green color in the mature condition, follow-
ing the rule which holds more or less throughout nature, that the
male sex is not so well protected as the female, since upon the
latter depends the all-important function of reproduction. There
is but one generation annually and, as before stated, the insect
hibernates in the egg state on the surface of the ground. In
spite of the protection afforded by form and color the insect
seldom becomes sufficiently abundant as to be ranked as injurious
although it feeds voraciously upon the leaves of plants during all
stages of growth after hatching. In the few instances where it
has become sufficiently abundant to do noticeable damage it has
been easy to reduce its numbers to a minimum by burning over
the leaves on the ground during the winter time, thus destroying
the hibernating eggs. In 1898 this insect appeared in extraor-
dinary numbers in a black-walnut forest in western New York,
so that in the autumn the dropping of the eggs on the leaf-covered
earth sounded like a heavy shower of rain.

32s

THE REARHORSES, OR PRAYING
MANTIDS

(Family Mantidcs.)

The insects of this family formed the old Orthopterous group,
known as Raptoria, or graspers. They are predatory insects,
and are characterized by having a long, slender prothorax, with
the first pair of legs fitted for grasping their prey. They are like
the Phasmidae, much more abundant in tropical regions than
elsewhere, and, while many forms, by their shape and color,
exhibit striking instances of protective resemblance, in others are
seen in its highest development the phenomenon of aggressive

Fig. 215. — Stagmomantis Carolina. (After Glover.)

resemblance. The so-called flower mantids in tropical countries
closely resemble the flowers of certain plants, especially brilliant
orchids, and in these flowers they lurk awaiting the visits of
insects, which they capture. They have various popular names,

326

The Rearhorses or Praying Mantids

being known in England as "sooth-sayers," or "praying
insects," from the attitude wliich they assume wiien at rest of
when waiting to grasp another insect. The knees are bent, and
the front legs are held as though supporting a prayer-book. In
our Southern States they are known as " mule-killers," from the
curious superstition that the brownish liquor which they exude
from the mouth is fatal to mules. They are more commonly
known, however, in the south, as "rearhorses," from the rearing
attitude assumed when about to grasp another insect. The eggs
of the Mantidae are laid in a curiously-formed egg case which is
secreted by the female. They capture their prey by stealth,
crawling upon them so slowly that the motion is hardly observ-
able, but when within reaching distance the front legs are thrown
out with incredible rapidity. They are cannibalistic in a high
degree, and the female often, if not usually, devours the male
while in the act of conjugation.

Like so many other predatory insects, they have the most
voracious appetites. Colic and bilious headaches seem unknown
to them. Slingerland has brought together some interesting
instances of this voracity in his account of the recent accidental
introduction and establishment of the European Mantis religiosa
in New York State. His correspondent, Mr. Atwood, writes :
"One Sunday a green mantis ate three grasshoppers, each seven-
eighths of an inch long, a daddy-long-legs, and then tackled
another mantis, and 1 was obliged to interfere between them."
It is probable that this common European insect was introduced
into northern New York in the egg stage on nursery stock.
Another foreign mantid has also recently become acclimatized in
this country. This is Tenodera sinensis Sauss., of Japan. This
large and striking form made its appearance about Philadelphia
in 1896, and in 1900 was quite numerous.

Life History of a Rearhorse

( Stagmontaniis Carolina.)

This species, which is common throughout the southern
United States, extends as far north as New Jersey. It is an
austral form, but does not reach the northern limits of the so-
called upper austral life zone. The eggs are laid in tough cases

327

The Rearhorses or Praying Mantid

about an inch long which are attached to the twigs of trees.
The case is tough and horny, and the eggs are laid in parallel

rows, perhaps forty in a row, issuing
from a common longitudinal middle line.
All of the eggs stand on end and are
inclined somewhat toward the central
channel. A cluster of eggs has a braided
appearance, but consists simply of a con-
tinuous ribbon of mucous folded in close
fluting and having an egg deposited in
the bight or angle of each fold. Thb
eggs are deposited simultaneously with
the deposition of this ribbon by the
mother insect, and the whole mass is at
first soft and flexible, but rapidly hardens
by exposure to the air. The newly-
hatched insect is light yellowish-brown,
but after the second molt many of them
become green. The number of molts
has not been recorded, but there are cer-
tainly more than three. At full growth,
however, most of the females are green,
while the males become brown or gray.
There is but one generation each year.
The young hatch in the early summer,
but complete their growth in the latter
part of the season, and the insect hiber-
nates in the egg stage. The eggs are
frequently parasitized by a very peculiar chalcis fly, Podagrion
vianfis, which penetrates the tough egg mass with its long ovi-
positor, and whose larvae feed upon the eggs. Thus egg masses
taken by the observer in the winter and kept for the hatching of
the young will frequently in the spring give out these parasites
instead of the young mantids.

Fig. 216. — Stagmomantis

Carolina : egg cases.

("A/ier Riley.)

328

COCKROACHES

(Family Blattidce.)

The insects of this family, known commonly as cockroaches,
form the old group Cursoria, or runners. The body as a rule is
oval and flat, all the legs being similar in form. The head is de-
flexed or bent under and generally concealed by the prothorax.
The hind wings are
slightly folded. The
insects of this group
are very abundant in
the tropics but several
species have become
domesticated and are
very abundant in the
colder parts of the
world. The cock-
roach type is a very
persistent one, and in-
sects of this family
existed in great num-
bers in geologic
periods prior to the
tertiary. They are
found in considerable
number in carbonif-
erous rocks and one
form has been found
in Silurian sandstone.

The eggs are laid
in egg cases as with

the Mantidae but the subsequent life history is little known. It is
supposed that they grow very slowly. Most of them are
nocturnal in their habits. They feed on a great variety of

329

Fig. 217. — Periplaneta americana.
( Redraiv7t jfroni Alarlatt.)

Cockroaches

substances, especially those forms which inhabit houses, but it
is supposed that their natural food is dead animal matter. Dr.
Sharp estimates that there are five thousand species in existence.
The species found in American houses are the American cock-
roach ( Periplaneta americana), the German cockroach or croton
bug (Ectobm germanica J, the European cockroach or "black
beetle" as it is known in England (Periplaneta orientalis) and the
Australian cockroach (Periplaneta australasice). The egg cases
of the German cockroach is shown in accompanying illustrations.
The female carries the egg case with her until she finds a
proper place to leave it or until the eggs are nearly ready to hatch.
The young roaches grow slowly and pass through a variable

Eig. 218. — Ectobia germanica. ( Redrawn fro77i Insect Life.)

number of molts, sometimes as many as seven. The time re*
quired for the development from the tgg to the adult may be pro-
longed by absence of food or low temperature. Four or five
years have been said to have been occupied in this growth.
The German cockroach has been shown to reach full-growth in
from four and one-half to six months and the American cockroach
has been raised from the egg to the adult in about twelve months.
No sufficiently careful observations on the life history of the
common species appear to have been made, hence the "Typical
Life History " must be omitted with the insects of this family.
The anatomy of Periplaneta orientalis has been carefully studied
by Miall and Denny.* and the American household cockroaches
have been treated at some length by Marlatt.**

*The Anatomy of the Cockroach.

**Bull. 4, N. S., Div. Entomology, U. S. Dept. Agric, pp. 84-95.

330

Cockroaches

The cockroaches which have just been mentioned are practi-
cally domesticated animals in so far as they have accommodated
themselves to the environments of civilization. They appear to
eat almost everything, v^hether animal or vegetable in its nature,
and they are household pests of the highest rank. They are also
all of them cosmopolitan, or practically so, and have been carried
in ships to almost all parts of the world. Our native cockroaches
are, most of them, out-door feeders and are exceptionally cleanly
insects. In f^ict, any one of the domestic cockroaches, if
watched, will be seen constantly to make efforts to beautify its
person, licking its legs and its antennae in much the same manner
in which a cat washes its paws. A curious observation which
the writer once made indicates that it is possible for cockroaches
to acquire the tobacco habit. A croton bug of the usual inquisi-
tive turn of mind inhabited my office
desk, and as soon as I laid down my
cigar upon the edge of the drawer the
little fellow invariably came out of his
hiding place and worked vigorously at
the moist end. At first he was after the
moisture but later the tobacco taste grew
and he became as much addicted to the
habit as the most inveterate human to-
bacco user. It maybe worth mentioning
that it seemed to have no appreciable

effect on its health. Fig. aig.-Periplaneta

onentalis.

Cockroaches are fond of darkness.
They roam about houses at night, and new houses become
stocked with roaches through migrations at night time from
over-supplied adjoining establishments. On a dark day in Wash-
ington I once saw a migrating army of cockroaches, incalculable
in number, crossing the street from a dirty restaurant toward
buildings opposite. The majority of the individuals composing
the army were females carrying egg cases, and the observation
thus became one of psychological interest since the migratory
instinct seemed to have been developed by an appreciation of the
fact that while the restaurant might support the mothers there
would not be food enough for the coming children.

33«

THE SHORT-HORNED GRASSHOPPERS
OR TRUE LOCUSTS

(Family AcridiidcB.)

The insects of this family are everywhere abundant both in
number of species and individuals. They comprise some of the
most destructive insects known and the migratory species have
devastated the crops of many countries, more especially Russia,
portions of South Europe, Algeria, India, Cape Colony, the

Fig. 220. — Melanoplus devastator. (After Riley.)

Argentine Republic and in former years some of the western
United States. In the insects of this family the antennae are short,
much shorter than the body, the ovipositor of the female is short

Fig. 221. — Schistocerca americana. ( After Riley.)

and composed of four separate plates and the tarsi are three-
jointed. The hind legs are the longest and usually have stout
femora, especially near the base. Among the most abundant
and injurious species occurring in this country are the western

The Short-Horned Grasshoppers or True Locusts

grasshopper or migratory locust ( Melanoplus spretus), an insect
which damaged western agriculture, especially in the States of
Kansas, Colorado, Nebraska and Missouri, in the years 1874-1876,
to the extent of more than $200,000,000, and which was the sub-
ject of an investigation by a special governmental commission
lasting through several years; the common red-legged locust
(Melanoplus femiir-rubrum), a species closely resembling the
foregoing but having shorter wings; the two-striped locust
(Melanoplus biviitatus), a widespread form which is abundant
almost every year; the Carolina locust ( Dissosieira Carolina), the
common light-brown species seen so frequently along dusty
roads; the American locust (Schistocerca amen'canaj, more
abundant in our Southern States where it occasionally becomes

Fig. 222. — Dictyophorus leticulatus. (After Glover.)

very injurious; and the differential locust (Melanoplus differen-
iialis), a species which has recently done great damage to cotton
plantations in Mississippi. The lubber grasshopper of Florida
and Georgia is known as Dictyophorus reticulaius. It varies in
color from green to black and has very short wings. It occurs
frequently in enormous numbers in the rice-fields near the mouth
of the Savannah River, and is an extremely disagreeable object
on which to step; in fact, it reminds one of Thackeray's famous
remark when he swallowed his first saddle-rock oyster. The
corresponding lubber grasshopper of the Southwest is (Brachy-
stola magna, and is a large greenish species.

333

The Short-Horned Grasshoppers or True Locusts

With the short-horned grasshoppers we come to the first of
the Orthoptera which are musical. Almost everyone who walks
in the fields knows the rattling or crackling sound produced by
certain grasshoppers in their flight. It appears to be under the
control of the insect. It can produce it or not, just as it pleases.
Some give distinct snapping sounds, or separate, loud snaps.
Still other grasshoppers play upon their instruments not during
flight but while at rest. Professor A. P. Morse tells how h&

Fig. 223. — Melanoplus spretus: laying its eggs. (After Riley.)

watched some of them (Circoteitix verriiculatus) on Mt.
Washington sunning themselves, occasionally elevating the
hinder part of the body and rapidly moving the hind thighs up
and down against the wing covers, "producing a distinct
'scritching' sound clearly audible at a distance of three or four
feet. This act was repeated several times at intervals of a few
seconds."

Life History of a Grasshopper

(Melanoplus atkmis Riley .^

This insect, which is known as the lesser migratory locust,
is a close relative of the common red-legged locust and the
western grasshopper. It occurs commonly throughout the
northern United States and has for many years made occasional
injurious outbreaks in a restricted region in New Hampshire
where local conditions seem to favor its undue increase. The

334

The Short-Homed Grasshoppers or True Locusts

eggs are laid beneath the surface of the ground in an egg pod in
shape something like a bent flask, the eggs in each pod averaging
from twenty-four to thirty-six in number. Each female in the
course of her life usually deposits two of these egg pods although
three and even four have been laid by the same female. The in-
sect passes the winter in the egg state and the young locust or
grasshopper hatches in the spring. The period between hatch-
ing and maturity averages eighty to ninety days and the grass-
hopper passes through four to five molts, the young grasshoppers
attaining their full wings only after the last molt. In about one
week after reaching full growth the insects pair and soon com'
mence ovipositing. There is but one annual generation in New
England, but two in Missouri. Egg-laying commences late in
July and some of the earlier eggs may hatch in the autumn in
New England, showing a tendency towards a second generation.

335

THE LONG-HORNED GRASSHOPPERS

(Family Locustidce.)

These insects, known as the long-horned grasshoppers, or
green grasshoppers, comprise those species having very long
antennse, longer than the body, having tarsi with four joints in-
stead of three, as with the Acridiidse, and possessing in the fe-
male sex a long saw-shaped ovipositor which is composed of
six pieces instead of four, as with the Acridiidse. They are
delicate insects, much more fragile than the short-horned grass-
hoppers, and are great singers. The males are usually provided

Fig. 224. — Orchelimum vulgare; and its eggs. (After Forbes.)

with a musical apparatus consisting of a curious development
of the veins and membrane at the base of the wing cover. A
curved ovipositor permits many forms to insert their eggs into
pithy plants or into the earth. Nearly all of the species are strict
vegetable feeders although some of them are said to be carnivo-

3^6

The Long-Horned Grasshoppers

rous. The commoner forms have been called the meadow
grasshoppers. They are the long, slender, delicate species found
on grass and low-growing plants. A common representative
of this group is Orchelimum vtilgare. Others are known as the
katydids from the resemblance of the male call to the word
" katydid," while others somewhat resemble crickets and are
found under stones and rubbish in the woods and in caves.
The so-called western crickets (Anabrtis purpurascens and A,
simplex) belong to this group, as also do the ferocious looking
creatures of the genus Stenopelmahis, found in the arid regions
of the West and which are erroneously considered as poisonous.
The long-horned grasshoppers, or green grasshoppers, are
among the most musical of our orthopterous insects. Everyone
knows the call of the katydid, and everyone knows Holmes'
beautiful poem about this interesting creature. Our commonest
katydids ordinarily call "Katy," or say "She did," rather than
"Katydid." That is to say, they rasp their fore wings twice
oftener than three times. "These two notes," says Scudder,
" are of equal (and extraordinary) emphasis, the latter about one-
quarter longer than the former; or, if three notes are given, the
first and second are alike, and a little shorter than the last. The
notes are repeated at the rate of two hundred per minute, and
while the interval between two series of notes varies to a certain
degree, it is seldom greater than two and one-third seconds or
less than a second and a quarter."' This is Mr. Scudder's attempt
to reduce this note to a scale:

xr! rr! xr! xr! sr!

Fig. 225. — Song note of Cyrtophyllum concavum. (After ScudJer.)

It is a noticeable thing with these insects that the day note
differs from the night note, and, unlike the katydids, one of the
long-horned grasshoppers, known as Scudderia curvicauda, is
noisier by night than by day. The day tune is played only in the
sunshine, and the night tune after dark or in cloudy weather.
Scudder was once watching one of these little creatures in the
sunshine. " As a cloud passed over the sun he suddenly changed
his note to one with which 1 was already familiar but without
knowing to what insect it belonged. At the same time all the

in

Fig. 226. — Microcentrum retinerivs. {After Comstock.)

The Long-Homed Grasshoppers

individuals around, whose similar day song I had heard, began to
respond with the night cry. The cloud passed away, and the
original note was resumed on all sides. The day song is reduced
to scale by Scudder as follows :

bzrwl bzrwl bzrjrt

Pig. 227. Day song of Scudderia curvicauda. (After Scudder.)

tchw tchw tchw tchw tchw tchw tchw tcfiw

Fig. 227a. — Night song of same. (After Scudder.)

Typical Life History of a Katydid

( Microcentrmn retincrvis Say.^

This insect, commonly known as the angular-winged katy-
did, is a common species throughout the more southern portions
of the United States, extending as far north as New Jersey on
the Atlantic Coast. This insect hibernates in the egg stage. The
eggs are flattened, oval, of a slate-brown color, about four mm.,
in length, and are laid in a curious double overlapping row on
twigs of trees and in other situations. In the south, where the
insect has two generations annually they are even laid on the
edges of leaves, in which case one row will be found on one side
of the leaf and the other row on the other side. They are some-
times also laid in peculiar situations, as on the edge of a fence
board, and the writer once received a batch from a western cor-
respondent which was found on the edge of a freshly laundried
collar which had laid for some time in a bureau drawer. Riley
records oviposition on the edge of a piano cover and on a long
piece of cord. The females begin to oviposit in the early fall and
continue to lay at intervals until killed by frost. The surface of
the twig is first roughened by the jaws and then the ovipositor
is moved up and the eggs are laid one after another, the successive
ones being pushed for a short distance under the edge of the one
immediately preceding, the number varying from two to thirty

339

The Long-Homed Grasshoppers

in a bunch. Each female lays from loo to 150 eggs. In the
spring the egg splits along its top edge and the young katydid,
very pale in color, emerges. In Missouri the skin is cast five
times and the perfect insect appears from July to August, the
songs being most commonly heard in the latter month. Mr.
Scudder, who has studied the notes of crickets and grasshoppers
from the musical standpoint, states that the d:iy song of the katy-
did differs from the night song. In its northern range the insect
is single brooded but in the far southern States there are two
generations annually. The eggs of the angular-winged katydid
are stung by the curious chalcidid parasite known as Eiipelmus
mirahilis Walsh, called by its describer the "back-rolling
wonder" from the fact that the 'abdomen is frequently turned
backwards and upwards until it nearly reaches the head, the hind
legs being turned in the same direction so that the insect almost
forms a ball.

This parasite, male and female, appears at the bottom of
Fig. 226.

THE CRICKETS

(Family GryllidcB.)

Fig. 228. — Gryllus assimilis.
( Redrawn from Alarlatt.)

These insects, commonly known as crickets, have long
antennae, longer than the body, as in the Locustidse, but the tarsi
are three-jointed and the ovipositor, when exserted, is spear-
shaped. The hind legs are long, and the femora are swollen.
Many species are wingless, but with those which have wings the
tegmina, or upper wings, are de-
flexed on the outer edge so that
they fit closely to the sides of the
body. In the male sex the upper
wings are frequently curiously mod-
ified so as to permit an even more
elaborate musical apparatus than is
the case with the Locustidse. The
insects of this family are not
numerous from the point of num-
ber of species, and but three distinct types are found in the group.
These are the true crickets, typified by the common field cricket;

the mole crickets, forms with very
short wings, which are sometimes
entirely absent, and with modified
front legs, which superficially re-
semble those of a mole, and which
live during their entire lives under-
ground; and third, the so-called
tree crickets, pale-colored nocturnal
forms which lay their eggs in the
twigs of different plants, and which
sometimes are so abundant that by
their egg-laying alone they do con-
siderable damage to vineyards and
to raspberry and blackberry planta-
341

Fig. 229. — Gryllus doniesticus.
(After Marlatt.)

The Crickets

tions. The house cricket, or hearth cricket, Gryllus domesiicus,
of Europe, is not common on this continent except in Canada,
but two or three species of field crickets are occasionally found in
houses in this country. The common black cricket, found in

a.

Fig. 230. — Anabrus simplex. (After Riley.)

grassv pasture lands or fields, lives in burrows under the ground,
issues sometimes in the day, but more usually at night to feed,
and takes blades of grass back into its burrow. The eggs are
laid in the autumn, usually in the ground, and are hatched the
/ollowing summer. The mole crickets live always under the
ground and feed upon the tender roots of forage plants, while the
tree crickets are, as their name suggests, arboreal in their habits.
The crickets are the most musical of all insects. Even the
male mole cricket consoles himself by fiddling, and warms the
heart of his mate by playing a tune which is not cheerful enough
for a household ditty, but, to our ears, uneducated in the orthop-
teran musical culture, sounds more like a lament of his sad
subterranean fate. It has been reduced to scale by Scudder as
follows :

grQ gru gru grfi gru grfi grO gru gru grQ

Fig. 231. — Song of the mole cricket. (After Scudder.)

The house cricket, or the cricket of the hearth, plays a more
cheerful tune, or, at all events, it is supposed to mean comfort
and a warm fireside and a steaming kettle. It is thus not the
music but the association of ideas which produces the pleasing
effect. Cowper expressed it perfectly when he wrote :

" Sounds inharmonious in themselves and harsh,
Yet, heard in scenes where peace forever reigns,
And only there, please highly for their sake."

The name cricket comes from this sound, and is derived
from the imitative French popular name, "cricri,"and similar

342

The Crickets

descriptive names are applied to it in many foreign tongues. Tiie
common field crickets (Gryllus neglectus, for example^ are often
very musical at night. Scudder says that sometimes the notes
are produced as slowly as two per second, but that they may be
twice as rapid. The note is a shrill one, and is said to be
pitched at e natural, two octaves above middle c. It is recorded
as follows :

cnri crrri crrri cnrl crrrl

Fig. 232. — Song of the field cricket. (After Scudder.)

Perhaps the commonest night song, however, is that of the
snowy tree cricket (CEcanthus niveiis et al). The notes of our
three or four species of snowy tree crickets vary much in intensity.
There is a distinct relation between the temperature and the
number of notes per minute. Professor Dolbear has reduced this
to a mathematical formula. He says:

Let T = temperature in degrees Fahrenheit; N = number of
chirps per minute. Then T = 50 +^-40^ This would give 100
chirps for 65 degrees Fahrenheit.

This formula has been tested in Massachusetts by Dr. Robert
Edes and Mr. Walter Faxon, who find that from actual records
the temperature is about 6} degrees to 100 chirps, with an error of
variation of one degree or less in four-fifths of the cases. The
day song is annotated by Mr. Scudder as follows, and he states
that it is a nearly uniform, equally-sustained trill lasting from two or
three seconds to a minute or two. The insect, however, "often
begins its note at a different pitch from the normal one — fourth y
above middle c — as if it required a little practice to attain it."

TTJTbl b b b c^ b bifbTbTb b b "ITrb b b b

Fig. 233. — Day song of a snowy tree cricket. (After Scudder.)

The song of Qlcanthus niveus is by far the most famil-
iar one. Riley gave the best description of it when he said
that it "is intermittent, resembling a shrill 're-teat, re-teat,

343

The Crickets '

re-teat,' with a slight pause between each." Scudder reminds us
that Burroughs has called this noise a "rhythmic beat ; " that
Thoreau called it "slumbrous breathing," and that Hawthorne
describes it as "audible stillness," and that he says, "if moon-
light could be heard it would sound like that." Fitch says that
the noise made by these crickets is an invitation to "treat — treat
— treat.

Harrington has watched one of these concerts closely and
says, "An interesting feature of its concerts is one of which I
have not been able to find any mention in books accessible.
While the male is energetically shuffling together his wings,
raised almost vertically, the female may be seen standing just
behind him, and with her head applied to the base of the wings
evidently eager to get the full benefit of every note produced."

_' ^ etc. de novo.

b l^ b b b b b bib b b b "ib b b

Fig. 234. — Night song of the snowy tree cricket. (After Scudder.)

Even the curious cave crickets of the genus Ceuthophilus
have a song. But they sing only by night and in cloudy
weather. C ensiger makes five notes per second and these
have been recorded by Scudder as follows:

brw chwi chwi chwl chwl chwi chwi chwi chwi chwl chwl

v^t'T~c~c cTtr

chwl chwl chwi chwi chwi chwi chwi chwi chwi chwi chwi

Fig. 235. — Song of the cave cricket Ceuthophilus ensiger. (After Scudder.)

Why has no one ever worked up a full life history, with all
of its interesting details, of one of our commonest crickets ?
It is earnestly to be hoped that some good observer will answer
this conundrum with the following words: " Because it has been
left for me to do, and I purpose to do it as soon as possible."

344

EARWIGS

{Order Euplexopiera.) ^

These are the insects which are properly known by the ver-
nacular name, earwigs. They are so distinct in structure from
all other insects that they are now placed in an order by them-
selves, although formerly they were considered as belonging to
the Orthoptera. They apparently have four wings, but the first
pair are horny and small and resemble somewhat the elytra of
beetles. The second pair are very curiously folded, but when
expanded are almost circular in shape and pos-
sess veins which radiate from a common center.
The mouth-parts are for biting and the metamor-
phoses are incomplete. The most peculiar
structure of the earwigs, however, is the pair of
forceps at the end of the abdomen. These for-
ceps are sometimes very large and when opened
give the insect a somewhat terrifying appearance.
They are not used," however, as weapons of
offense although with some of the earwigs which
have wings (by no means all of them are winged)
one of the forceps is used to assist in folding the
hind wing, with the wingless species no use for ^'\-^lf'~7fJ^^
these forceps has been discovered. Why they u.s.Dept.Agr.)
should have been evolved is a mystery. The
name earwig is derived from the general idea amongst unedu-
cated people that these insects seek to enter the ears of human
beings, causing injury to the sense of hearing. This idea is a
very old one and, of course, is totally unfounded, for the earwigs
are perfectly harmless. The antiquity of this superstition and
the widespread belief in it are evidenced by the fiict that these
insects have practically the same name in many languages. The
Dutch, German, Swedish, Danish, French, Portugese and Spanish
all give it a name with practically this same meaning. Our own

345

Earwigs

use of it comes from the Anglo-Saxon earwicga. In this country
especially in the South the same name is applied to the common
house centipede. An early advocate of the doctrine of similia
similibus curantur anticipated Hahneman by prescribing earwigs,
dried, pulverized and mixed with the urine of a hare, as a remedy
for deafness.

There are very few earwigs in the Northern States. Some,
however, appear in the South and along the Pacific slope, but no
damage has been reported from these insects in this country. In
Europe, however, and particularly in England, earwigs are said
to be injurious and are said to nibble the petals of flowers. There
is considerable doubt, however, as to the accuracy of this inference,
which seems to have been made by gardeners. The entomolo-
gists who have studied the question of the food of the earwigs
have been unable to find that they do anything of the sort.
They are really carnivorous, living upon dead insects, upon small
snails, and upon small living caterpillars. It is suggested that
the gardeners have held the earwigs responsible for damage
which was really done by other insects, perhaps even the very
ones upon which the earwigs have preyed. A curious habit
which earwigs are said to possess is that the females brood over
the eggs. They take the greatest care of them, collect them
when scattered and move them from place to place in an endeavor
to secure the best position for their development. When the
eggs are hatched, however, the female does not care for her
young. From this fact it would seem that the female earwig is
not as good a mother as the female Psocus, which as we shall
show, keeps her young by her after hatching and in fact seems
to show a decided appreciation of family ties. All of the earwigs
are contained in the single family Forficulidae.

34B

THE BlRD-LlCE

(Order MallopJiaga.)

The very strange parasitic insects which belong to this order
are generally known by the name bird-lice. They differ widely
from true lice of the order Heteroptera, suborder Anoplura, and
in spite of the fact that they
are known as bird-lice some
of them occur on mammals.
From this fact it is evident
'.hat the popular name bird-
lice is a misnomer, and it
will be well to adopt
Sharp's suggestion and call
the Mallophaga "biting
lice" as opposed to the
sucking lice of the sub-
order Anoplura,

They are very small
and have no wings, and
the principal characteristic
which distinguishes them
from the true lice is that
instead of having apparently
sucking mouth-parts they
have biting mouth-parts.
They do not suck the blood
as do the true lice, but feed
upon the feathers or hair of
the birds or mammals upon
which they are found.

Fig. 237. — Menopon biseriatum
(After Osborn.)

Their metamorphosis is incomplete. The body is very greatly
flattened, and generally hard ; the head is large and flat; the anten-
nae are short, and three to five jointed; the eyes are simple; the

347

The Bird- Lice

jaws are usually toothed and pointed ; the legs are strong, and,
curiously enough, the front legs are short and are used only in
carrying food to the mouth. When at rest, they project forward
beneath the head. The whole body is usually rather hairy.

The eggs are elongate oval and are fastened singly to the
feathers or hairs of the host. The young issue by breaking off a
circular lid at the larger free end of the egg. The duration of the
egg stage is not known.

The young lice when first hatched look much like the full

grown lice, except that the head is comparatively larger, and the

markings of the body are absent or dull. Just before the last

molt some individuals are quite as large as the adult specimens.

The question as to whether they really draw blood has been

carefully studied. There will frequently be seen a large dark

blotch indicating some opaque contents to the

stomach, but a careful examination on dissection

has shown that this blotch is composed of

bits of feathers. One species is said by Kellogg

to live in the pouch of a pelican, where, of course,

there is no hair, and about the portion of the

membrane to which the lice cling the surface is

raw and bloody, but here Kellogg thinks that

the food is simply the epidermal scales of the

^^. inner wall of the pouch.

ocotes abdon> Such of these bird-lice as occur upon domes-

inaiis. ^^j^, fowls, while not serious pests, undoubtedly

(After Denny.) '^ '. • j , , • i u

' -^ cause poultry considerable annoyance simply by

the irritation of the skin by the sharp feet of the parasites. After
a hen affected with bird-lice dies, the insects either die or attempt
to leave her body by crawling slowly toward the head. Con-
sidering that they do not feed upon the blood, but simply upon
the feathers, it is curious that they should die after the death of
the hen. Kellogg suggests that their death is probably due to the
lack of animal heat to which they have been accustomed during
the life of the host.

Aquatic birds are affected with bird-lice quite as abundantly
as those which never enter the water, and it would not be strange
if in the lice affecting such birds should be found some modifi-
cation of the breathing apparatus, but there is no such modification
and they are doubtless protected by the close feathers, so that

348

The Bird-Lic«

they always have a sufficient supply of air even when the bird or
a portion of its body remains under the water for some time.

It is very rare that bird-lice ever leave the body of the host,
but they do migrate from one bird to another whenever two birds
come in contact, as during the nesting season or among birds of
gregarious habits.

In many cases a given species of Mallophaga will be found
to be confined to a given species of bird or mammal, but in other
cases one species of parasite will be
found upon two or more species of
birds. Curiously enough, some of these
parasites are found in Europe on birds
which differ from those upon which fC^^'^
identically the same species of parasite yw^^'''i\
is found in North America. Several 1^^^//'
species may occur upon the same bird;
for example, at least five species be- '^ik/P.-^-^^M^ I

longing to three distinct genera have
been found upon the common fowl.
Nearly all of these are cosmopolitan in-
sects and have been carried upon fowls
to all parts of the world. Chickens ^ig. 239— Goniocotes
hatched in an incubator should be (After Detmy.)

absolutely free from lice and remain so

until they join company with older fowls. There is little doubt
that the habit which hens have of bathing themselves in dust
is an effort on their part to get rid of the irritation caused by
these creatures.

TABLE OF FAMILIES

Antennae filiform with three or five joints; no labial palpi. . i
Antennae clubbed or knobbed and with four joints; four-jointed

labial palpi 2

I — Antennae three-jointed; tarsi with one claw; found on mam-
mals Family Trichodectidce

Antennae five-jointed; tarsi with two claws; found on birds

Family Philopteridce

2 — Tarsi with one claw; found on mammals. . .Family Gyropidce

Tarsi with two claws; found on birds Family Lioiheidce

Any detailed consideration of the habits of these families
will be unnecessary, as they do not differ in a sufficiently marked
manner to necessitate such treatment.

•\^9

THE BOOK-LICE AND THEIR ALLIES

(Order Corrodeniia.)

The curious little wingless insects known as book-lice,
which are found frequently in numbers among old, dusty books
in damp places, and the interesting little bark-inhabiting creatures
known as Psocids are structurally so different from all other
insects that they have been brought together in the order Corro-
dentia.

Those which are winged have four wings with prominent
veins but very few cross veins. The fore wings are larger than
the hind wings, and both are held in a roof-shaped manner over
the back when not in use. The mouth-parts are formed for biting,
and all of these insects have very incomplete metamorphoses.

The true Psocidse (1 regret that there is no popular name for
these insects, for they are very interesting, and always attract

attention when seen) live to-
gether in curious little col-
onies on the bark of trees,
especially old trees covered
with a growth of lichens, or
even upon the surfiice of old
fence boards. They possess
the power of spinning a cer-
tain amount of silk, and each
colony is generally covered
with a delicate silken web.
The eggs are laid together in
clusters, and the development
of individuals is rather rapid.
Psocus venosus is a com-
mon form in most parts of the country, and its habits have been
described by Hubbard, who has studied it in its southern range
upon the trunks of orange trees in Florida. It is small and

350

Fig. 240. — Atropos divinatoria.
( Redrawn from Marlatt.)

Book- Lice and Their Allies

smoky-brown in color, and is seen upon the trunks of trees in
flocks numbering from a dozen to forty or fifty individuals.
They feed in companies and browse upon the lichens, which they
cleanly remove from the bark, leaving a clear space behind them.
The colonies consist of one or more families, and include indi-
viduals of all ages, the wingless young herding with the adult
insects. The adults, although winged, do not readily take flight.
When alarmed the whole troop huddles together apparently for
mutual protection like sheep, but when seized with a sudden
panic they scatter in every direction and run rapidly over the
bark, their color harmonizing so closely with that of the bark
that they are not easily distinguished. Soon after they reassem-
ble and begin to eat the lichens.

The eggs are oval, glistening white, and are laid upon the
bark in batches of fifteen to thirty, deposited on end in several
rows, and each cluster is protected by an oval, convex shield of
gnawed-up wood which adheres closely to the eggs. The
females brood over the eggs, see that they are not disturbed, and,
when they hatch, lead the young ones forth to pasture.

This insect is fond of shade and moisture, and is most often
seen in densely shaded groves and old gardens. The adults,
according to Hubbard, hibernate, and begin breeding early in the
spring.

Hubbard has also studied another species, Psoctis citricola,
which is probably a Southern form. With this species the eggs
are laid in hollows upon orange leaves in little clusters covered
with a shield of black excrementitious matter. Over this is
stretched a slight silken web. The embryo is plainly seen
through the shell, and when ready to hatch air bubbles are seen
which pass in rapid succession between the mouth-parts and
collect in a larger bubble within the head. From time to time
this larger bubble passes down into the body cavity. The head
swells — elongates — distends the eggshell at the end until it bursts,
and then the young insect protrudes its body. Air continues to
pass through the neck into the abdomen, which becomes greatly
distended and elongated, and this distention causes, probably,
the bursting of the first larval skin. The process of hatching
occupies several days.

This species lives upon the leaves of plants associated in
small flocks, and passes the greater part of its life hiding under

351

Book-Lice and Their Allies

the canopies of webs spun over the egg clusters. Here the
mother awaits the appearance of her brood, and here the young
insects cluster, sallying forth from time to time with the mother
in search of food.

The book-lice belong to another family, the Atropidae. They
are very small and some of them have been supposed to make a
ticking noise which in olden times caused them to be known as
"death watches."

These little insects are widely distributed, and are commonly
seen on library shelves and in old records in closets. They are
omnivorous, feeding on any animal or vegetable matter, and are
especially fond of the starch paste used in book bindings or under
wall paper. They feed on flour and meal, and are often found in
natural history collections, living on the specimens. They are
sometimes found in straw beds and in the straw coverings of
wine bottles. A case has been recorded in Insect Life in which
they bred so extensively in a mattress of hair and corn husks
that "a pin point could not have been put down without touch-
ing one or more of the bugs." They swarmed over the sheets
and the walls of the room; bureau draws were swarming with
them, and the mattress no doubt contained them by the millions.

352

WHITE ANTS

(Order Isoptera.)

Although from their peculiarities of structure the insects of
this group form a distinct order, there are not many genera
or species, and there is in flict but a single family, namely, the
Termitidze (unless the curious family Embiidse be included here,
which would not seem to be justified). All isopterous insects
are known popularly as white ants. As the late Dr. George Marx
once remarked jocularly to the writer, "they are called white
ants because they are not ants and because they are not white."

Fig. 241.— Termes flavipes : adult male. (After Marlatt.)

At this late date it is almost hopeless to attempt to change a popu-
lar term so thoroughly grafted upon the literature and upon the
popular mind, but if people would only call them termites, a short
and easy word to pronounce, instead of keeping up the bald mis-
nomer—white ants— the cause of accuracy and truth would gain.
Perhaps there is a slight superficial resemblance between these
insects and ants, but they are structurally radically different.
They belong at the opposite end of the insect series and are more
closely allied to the stone-flies, the May-flies and even the dragon-

353

White Ants

flies, than they are to ants. Perhaps, after all, it is not so much
the resemblance of the individual termite to an ant which gave
it this name as it v/as the fact that all termites live together in
communities containing different castes and that thus their
social economy is in a way ant-like.

The Isoptera undergo practically no transformation, that is tc
say, they have very incomplete metamorphoses. The young ter-

Fig. 242. — Termes flavipes: a, supplementary queen; ^, nymph of winged female;
^, worker ; d, soldier. (After Marlatt.J

mite, when it hatches from the Q.g^ is an active, crawling, six-
legged creature. It much resembles the adult, except in size,
whereas with the ants, it will be remembered, the larva is a footless
grub which looks no more like an adult than a garter snake re-
sembles a chipmunk. All species, as just stated, are social and
the communities consist of both wingless and winged individuals.

354

White Ants

The four wings are very long and when in repose are laid flat
along the back, extending far beyond the tip of the abdomen.
They are membranous and most of the veins are longitudinal.
The hind wings are of almost precisely the same shape and size
as the front wings, and across near the base of each wing is a line
of weakness along which the wing breaks off after the so-called
nuptial flight. The wingless individuals in each colony are, with
most species, excessively numerous and as a rule they are divided
into two castes, namely, the ordinary workers and the soldiers.
The so-called soldiers also exist with the true ants but they have
not in these creatures become such a structurally well differen-
tiated caste as with the termites. In the latter the jaws have be-
come enormously developed and in some cases the soldier is five
times the size of a worker. Then, in some species a certain por-
tion of the workers have become changed in form particularly by
the elongation of the head into a long, nose-like process at the
tip of which is a hole through which is exuded a fluid which is
used in making or mending the walls of the habitation. This
caste is known as the nasuti, or nosed ones, a term which must
at once remind the admirers of Sienkiewicz of the Polish warrior,
Kharlamp.

The order Isoptera reaches its highest development in tropi-
cal regions, and the reading world has been familiar with the main
details of the economy of the extraordinary species which build
the great ant-mounds in Africa since the days when Smeathman
the English traveler, described them in print more than a hun-
dred years ago. The females, or queens, of some of these
African species grow to be of enormous size. The abdomen,
swollen with eggs, sometimes becomes as big as a potato, or
20,000 or 30,000 times the bulk of a worker. The rate at which
the eggs are laid is extraordinary and it is stated at sixty a
minute, or 80,000 and upwards in a day. Listening to an account
of this extraordinary egg-laying, which was given before the
Biological Society of Washington by Mr. O. F. Cock, a friend
remarked to the writer in a whisper, "What a fortune that
would mean with eggs at twenty-five cents a dozen!"

In the United States there exist comparatively few species,
and only one which has a northward range into the territory
occupied by most of the readers of this book. This is Tennes
Jiavipes Koll. It is probably a true American species but was

353

White Ants

accidentally introduced into Europe many years ago. It de-
stroyed the imperial greenhouses at Schonbron, near Vienna, so
that they were replaced by houses with iron frames. Another
species which is widely distributed in the United States, but
which does not seem to be especially common, is also found in
Europe and is one of the most abundant and destructive termites
found there. This is Termes hicifugus Rossi. It has not yet
been definitely determined whether this insect is a native of
Europe or of America. It occurs in all of the Mediterranean
countries in Europe and is found in Texas, Kansas, Colorado and
Southern California, and perhaps elsewhere. Another species,
known as Termes tubifonnans Buckley, is a form of curious
habits occurring in Texas, in the spring, beneath and within
patches of cow-dung, and after midsummer making tubes around
grass stems and the stems of other plants, nesting probably deep
in the ground. Still another Texas form, known as Etitermes
nigriceps Haldeman, is a small species which constructs nests,
apparently of cow dung, which are attached to the trunks of
trees. Buckley wrote of this form, " It was about sunset on the
22d of October, i860, when I first saw this species in a field,
where both workers and nasuti were carrying home seeds of
grasses and weeds. They marched in dense columns along
pathways leading to a hole near the base of a stump, into which
they entered. * * * They dwell in the ground where they
have rooms, seldom more than one to two inches long, con-
nected by tunnels. * * * After rains — which are of rare occur-
rence in that climate — they make semi-cylindrical tubes, which
lie on the ground with a length of from three to six inches.
These arched ways sometimes intercept each other, being con-
nected with chambers; but they rarely work by day above the
surface and never in bright sunshine."

Of the commonest of our species, Termes flavipes, it is greatly
to be regretted that no thoroughly good account of its life history
has been published. The true queen, in fact, has never been
found, unless it should turn out that a large queen found two or
three years ago by Mr. H. G. Hubbard in the mountains in
southern Arizona should belong to this species. In the Northern
States its nests are to be found under almost any decaying log,
and, although many entomologists have examined these nests,
they have never found the queen. From Baltimore southward,

356

White Ants

and perhaps even a little farther north, this insect becomes a
serious pest in houses, particularly in old houses which are rather
damp. They make their nests in old beams, such as the main
floor joists, and construct innumerable tunnels, running usually
with the grain, so that, although a great deal of the substance of
the wood is devoured, the main longitudinal fibers support
the building structure for a long time; in fact, their presence
in many cases would not be noticed except for the spring
flight of the winged males and females. Quite recently a
handsome private residence in the city of Baltimore was found to
have its timbers on the first floor reduced almost to shells by the
workers of this insect. Further south, not only the buildings,
but even furniture is destroyed by them in the same way. They
seem especially fond of paper, and Forbes has recorded the fact
that a collection of books and papers of the state of Illinois was
completely ruined by them. A school library in South Carolina,
which had been left closed for the summer, was found, on being
opened in the autumn, to be completely eaten out and rendered
valueless. The work of these insects was brought home strongly
to the writer on one occasion when a lot of records and documents
stored in a vault in the Department of Agriculture was found to
be mined and ruined by them; and again, the floor of one of the
largest sections of the United States National Museum was annu-
ally undermined and weakened until it was torn up and replaced
with cement. Whenever an old beam is found to have been
hollowed out, even if no insects are present, it can readily be
identified as the work of termites by the fact that all of the
galleries are plastered with a brownish, mortar-like substance
composed of excrement, from which, apparently, all nourish-
ing food has been taken. In Florida this insect is often the cause
of great damage to orange trees, working around the crown and
in the roots of trees, and altogether it is a thoroughly bad
character.

In the most general terms the life of a termite colony is about
as follows: After the so-called nuptial flight (which is made
usually at a certain time of the year, and with Vermes flavipes
it is generally in the spring) composed of winged individuals of
both sexes, male and female, and which always, except when it
occurs in houses, attracts birds and other insect-eating creatures
so that most of the individuals are destroyed, the wings of the

357

White Ants

survivors break off and they either pair and attempt to start a
new colony or they drop in such a situation that workers from
some old colony find them, join forces with them, and thus start
a new community. The body of the true female, or queen, be-
gins to swell with eggs, grows enormously, and egg-laying com-
mences. Unlike the true ants or any of the other social Hymen-
optera, the young require very little care from the workers.
They are quite active and very soon feed themselves to some
extent. The food of the termites is variable. It consists of
wood fiber, or their own cast skins, or their excrement, or the
contents of the stomach regurgitated by other individuals, or, in
the case of the soldiers, they may eat dying or even healthy
workers. The enlarged head and great jaws of the soldiers unfit
them, in fact, for any other kind of food. They can not gnaw
wood very well, and, as Sharp has expressed it, "their condition
may be considered to be that of permanent hunger, only to be
allayed by carnivorous proceedings." When the nest is disturbed
and the soldiers get excited they dash their jaws around and fre-
quently kill their fellows, but of course this is more or less acci-
dental, since they have no eyes. When a Callotermes wishes
food, according to Grassi, it strokes the posterior part of the
body of another individual with its antennae and by some sort of
a reflex action the contents of the alimentary canal of the indi-
vidual stroked issue from the anus and are devoured by the
stroker. The habitations of all termites are very cleanly, which
is accounted for by the fact that they eat everything, the contents
of the alimentary canal being eaten again and again until all
nourishment has been taken out of it. Hubbard, in Jamaica,
found that the young feed upon prepared food which is stored up
in the form of very hard and tough round masses, some nests
containing many pounds' weight. This material is softened by
saliva before it can be eaten. The true queens can be distin-
guished at once by the stumps of their old wings as well as,
later, by their enlarged abdomens; but there are in most colonies
individuals known as supplementary queens, which are capa-
ble of reproduction up to a certain point and undoubtedly help
to carry the colony on in case of the death of the true queen.
These supplementary queens are undoubtedly female workers
which have been fed in a certain way and which develop up to
a certain point, although not to the point of becoming winged.

358

White Ants

One of these, found by Hubbard in the nests of Termes flavipe<>
in Florida, is shown at Fig. 242.

In America Termes hicifugiis has not been studied, but in
Europe its history is rather well known. It burrows in wood of
different kinds, makes excavations and builds galleries so that it
can move from one point to another without being exposed.
This suggests that we have as yet omitted to state that all
termites shun the light, except during the nuptial flight; in fact,
the workers and soldiers are almost invariably blind, although
with certain African species of the genus Hodotermes facetted
eyes occur in these castes and they issue from holes in the ground
during the heat of the day and cut grass. There seems to be
some question, however, whether these creatures really belong
to this group. It is supposed also that these galleries keep the
right degree of moisture, since in dry air these creatures die.
Many thousands compose a community. The period of develop-
ment apparently occupies from eighteen to twenty-three months.

Probably in the whole range of insects treated in this book
there is no species which offers a better and more convenient
field of study than the common Termes flavipes. I feel sure that
what we know about it is but a small fraction of what remains to
be learned, and it is everywhere so abundant that the earnest ob-
server need never be without material.

Just as with the ants, and also with some of the social bees,
so that we may, in fact, say just as with all social insects, in the
habitations of termites will be found many guest insects. Such
insects in ants' nests are known as Myrmecophiloiis; in termites'
nests they are known as Termitophiloiis insects, and the study of
these insects, in the United States, offers an almost unexplored
field. Mr. E. A. Schwarz has paid some attention to them, and in
the Proceedings of the Entomological Society of Washington (Vol.
I, pp. 160, 161) has given a list of nine species of beetles found
living in termites' nests and has published some very interesting
notes about them. No true hymenopterous parasites of termites
are known, unless the curious, big-headed chalcis flies of the
genus Caratomis should prove to be parasitic upon them.

The damage done by termites in tropical regions is very
great. In Central America it seems almost impossible to erect
wooden telegraph poles which will last for any length of time,
since they are tunneled by these creatures and weakened to their

.359

White Ants

fall in an incredibly short time. Accounts of damage done in
houses, both in Tropical America and in Africa, as well as in
British India, occur commonly in the literature. A striking
account, however, of damage in Rhodesia occurs in the Zambesi
Mission ^^^or^ for January, 1901, written by the Rev. A. Leboeuf,
and which is quoted in Nature. " * It is no uncommon thing'
says the writer ' for the colonist, on re+urning from his day's
labor, to find the coat he left hanging on a nail on his cottage
wall and the books on the table absolutely destroyed by these
tiny marauders.' Nor is this all. ' On awakening next morning,'
writes Mr. Leboeuf, 'you are astonished to see in the dim light
a cone-shaped object rising from the brick floor a short distance
from your bed, with two holes on the top like the crater of a
miniature volcano. Upon closer examination you discover that
the holes have just the size and shape of the inside of your boots,
which you incautiously left on the brick floor the night before.
They have given form and proportion to an ant heap, and nothing
is left of them except the nails, eyelets and, maybe, part of the
heels.'"

There are certain insects which belong to the family Embiidae
which seem to have a relationship to the termites but their de-
tailed consideration may well be omitted from this work, since
but a single species is known in North America, namely, Oligo-
totna hubbardi Hagen, and which occurs rarely in Florida.

^60

THE STONE-FLIES

(Order Plecoptera.)

This order is not a large one and contains only the single
family Perlidse, of which thirteen genera are represented in North
America and less than a hundred species. The stone-flies have
mouth-parts formed for biting; the body is long and soft and
flat; the wings are four in number and are membranous, the
hind wings being much larger than the fore wings, folded in
plates, and lie upon the abdomen when at rest. The antennae
are long and thread-like. The larvse are aquatic and are usually
found under stones in running water. The flies are commonly
seen about water courses in the first warm days of spring, and
the cast skins of the nymphs, or pupae, sticking to stones and
logs on the banks of streams, are very common objects. The
eggs are produced in enormous numbers. They are small and
are probably dropped on the surface of the water, as with the
May-flies, but some of them, even after they issue from the ab-
domen enclosed in a kind of capsule, are carried about by the
female. One female may deposit 5,000 or 6,000 eggs. The
larvae when hatched are very active and are carnivorous in habits,
feeding upon the young of the May-flies and other soft-bodied
aquatic animals. They are as a rule very flat in form, which
enables them to crawl under heavy stones at the bottom of swift
running streams. The head is large and flat and the eyes are
large and compound. They resemble the adults in general
structure except that they lack the wings. There are as a rule
two long protruding filaments at the anal end of the body, and
they breathe by means of tracheal gills. The legs are flattened
and are fringed with hairs, fitting the insect admirably for swim-
ming. The long antennae are present in the larvae also and when
the larva is hidden beneath a stone frequently the antennae curvt
around upwards, apparently to give it warning of the approach
of prey. The jaws are strong and toothed but are hidden by the

361

The Stone-Fiie§

upper lip. The full-grown nymph is not at all pupa-like and is
active.

The enormous number of eggs laid by stone-flies indicates
that the chances of successful larval growth are rather small and
as a matter of fact these larvae are extensively eaten by fishes. It
makes no difference to the average fish whether he eats a carniv-
orous stone-fly larva or a vegetable-feeding May-fly larva. If
there were economic entomologists among the fishes these would
devote themselves to the destruction of the stone-fly larvse in
order that the general food supply of May-flies might be left un~
disturbed for fish food !

We have said that the larvae breathe by means of tracheal
gills. As a matter of fact, however, with some species there are
no such gills and no spiracles. These larvae must take their oxy-
gen from the water through the skin, the ultimate tracheae being
especially numerous in the spots where the spiracles would be if
there were any and the skin at this point is especially thin. This
method of breathing has been already mentioned in our accounts
of the larvae of the Chironomidae and of the larvae of the internal
feeding parasitic Hymenoptera.

An aquarium student with an aquarium so constructed as to
maintain a constant current of water will do good service in
fully elaborating the life history of any of our common species.

302

DRAGON-FLIES

(Order Odonata.)

Excepting the butterflies, there are few more attractive and
graceful insects than the " dragon-flies," as the members of this
order are generally termed. They are insects which have always
attracted attention, and which are known by a variety of
vernacular names, of which dragon-fly is the commonest English

Pig 243.— A dragon-fly : Plathemis lydia.

term They are known in some parts of the country as " devil's
darning needles;" elsewhere as "snake feeders" or "snake
doctors;" in Scotland as " flying adders," and m some parts of
England as " horse stingers." Although the insects are perfectly
harmless, these names well indicate the existence of numerous
popular superstitions. Some believe that they will sew up the
ears of bad boys; others that they sting horses; still others that
they act as feeders and physicians to snakes, especially to water

The Odonata are slender insects with a very large head which
moves most easily upon its slender neck, even rotating to a

363

Dragon-flieS

considerable extent. The eyes are very large, but the antennae
are small and short. The wings are elongate, nearly equal in
size, and have many veins, both longitudinal and transverse, so
that the entire surface of the wing is cut up into many small
cells. The legs are placed near the front of the thorax, and all
curve forward and are used for grasping the prey of the dragon-
fly, and never for walking. In fact, the legs are unfitted for
walking, although they are used to grasp the twig or other
object upon which the dragon-fly may rest. All of the dragon-
flies are aquatic in their early stages. The metamorphosis is
complete in so far that the larvae differ radically in appearance
from the adults, but the pupa is not quiescent at any time. It is
very active, and feeds up to the moment when the final meta-
morphosis begins. The jaws in all stages are strong, and both
larvse and adults are extremely active and are among the strongest
and most graceful flyers of all insects. Their flight is so perfect
that it has been seriously suggested that flying machines should
be modeled after the flight mechanism of these insects.

A very peculiar feature of the adult is the curious separation
in the male of the intromittent organs from the opening of the
ejaculatory duct. The former are placed on the under side of the
second abdominal segment, while the latter are on the next to the
last ventral plate. Therefore, before copulation, the male curves
his abdomen around beneath, so that the ninth segment of the
abdomen is brought into contact with the second, thus transfer-
ring the fertilizing fluid to the intromittent organ. The tip of
the abdomen of the female is bent around and joins with the
under side of the second segment of the male's abdomen, the
male frequently grasping the female around the neck with certain
appendages at the extremity of his abdomen. He retains this
hold after fertilization, and frequently during the entire process of
egg-laying. Even with such species as descend under the
surface of the water to lay their eggs the male has been observed
to still retain his grasp of the female's neck, and to be carried
down under the water with her.

Dragon-flies capture their prey on the wing, and feed upon
almost all flying insects, especially the small ones — that is, the
gnats and midges. They alter their direction with perfect facility,
and dart here and there, unerringly capturing their prey. Pos-
sibly some of the smallest are seized with the jaws, but the larger

364

Dragon-Flies

ones are undoubtedly captured by the legs, and are consumed
during flight, and so rapidly is all this done that it is practically
impossible to see the operation. The only way, in fact, that one
can know that an insect has been captured is, as Dr. Needham
expresses it, to see that the place that once knew them knows
them no more.

Flies seem to be their commonest food, but large dragon-flies
will eat small ones. Leaf-hoppers and even small butterflies and
moths are captured by them. Some forms will occasionally pick
up a moth from a weed or a grass stem on which it is resting,
and even one of the large swallow-tailed butterflies has been seen
captured by a dragon-fly, while Williamson states that he once
saw one holding a large wasp in its jaws. The voracity of a
large dragon-fly may easily be tested by capturing one and hold-
ing it by its wings folded together over its back, and then feed-
ing it live house-flies. I should hesitate to say how many it will
accept and devour, as I never tried one to the limit of its capacity.
Beutenmiiller found that one of the large ones would eat forty
house-flies inside of two hours, while a smaller one ate twenty-
five in the same time. It is an odd fact that a dragon-fly will
eat its own body when offered to him. Even when insufficiently
chloroformed and pinned, if one revives, it will cease all efforts
to escape if fed with house-flies, the satisfying of its appetite
making it apparently oblivious to the discomfort or possible pain
of a big pin through its thorax. There is one record to the effect
that a dragon-fly has been observed feeding upon the flesh of a
dead reptile.

Although dragon-flies are frequently very abundant in
swampy regions and about ponds, there are times when they
swarm in enormous numbers. Koppen, a German entomologist,
has published a chronological account of the records of dragon-
fly migrations, from 1494 to 1868, Such migrating swarms
seem to have been more frequently noticed in Europe than in
this country, but several have been noticed in the United States.
For example, Mr. A. H. Mundt, of Fairbury, Illinois, says that
between the hours of 5 and 7 P. M., August 13, 1881, "the
air for miles around seemed literally alive with these dragon-flies
(/Eschna heros) from a foot above ground to as far as the eye
could reach, all flying in the same direction, a southwesterly
course, and the few that would occasionally cross the track of

365

Dragon-Flies

the majority could all the more easily be noticed from the very
regular and swift course they generally pursued; but even these
few stray ones would soon fall in with the rest again. Very few
were seen alighting, and all carefully avoided any movable obsta-
cles." This migration was probably caused by the very dry
season which had resulted in the drying up of ponds and
swamps, and it is probable that other similar recorded migrations
have arisen from the same cause.

Among the insects killed by dragon-flies there must be, of
course, some mosquitoes, although the beneficial work of these
insects in this direction is greater in the larval stage than in the
adult. Dragon-flies are day flyers, but in cloudy weather and
toward evening many mosquitoes are undoubtedly killed by them.
Dr. E. A. Mearns, U. S. A., (quoted by Beutenmuller) states that
at Fort Snelling, Minn., mosquitoes appeared in vast swarms, and
were soon followed by large numbers of dragon-flies after which
the mosquitoes were considerably reduced in numbers. Dr.
Robert H. Lamborn, noticing in the Lake Superior region the
activity of dragon-flies in this regard, years later offered a prize
for the best essay on the artificial multiplication of dragon-flies
for the destruction of mosquitoes and house-flies. The prize
essays by Mrs. Carrie B. Aaron, Mr. Archibald C. Weeks, and Mr.
William Beutenmuller were published in 1890 in a very readable
and valuable book, but as might have been foreseen the practical
value of Dr. Lamborn's suggestion was not substantiated.

The eggs are laid either in the water or are inserted in the
stem of some aquatic plant.

In the dragon-flies of two families there is no apparatus for
the insertion of eggs into plant stems, and they are therefore
either dropped loosely in the water or attached to submerged
objects by means of a mucilaginous substance which surrounds
them. With others, however, there is a curious modification of
the end of the body. The sides of the vulva are pointed or
roughened, and cut into plant tissue so that the eggs may be
pushed into the cuts. Here the female gradually crawls down
the stem of a water plant until she is often completely submerged.
She is always incased with an air film so that she can continue
to breathe under water to a certain extent. The number of eggs
is variable, but is usually large. Some very curious Hymenop-
terous parasites live in the eggs of dragon-flies.

366

Dragon- Flies

When the eggs hatch the young immediately begin an active,
predatory life under the water, feeding upon other aquatic in-
sects. This food habit is continued throughout their larval or
nymphal existence, and as they grow larger they are able to over-
power larger and larger insects and even small fish and other
aquatic animals. They will kill others of their own kind, and
nymphal dragon-flies have been seen to catch and destroy adults
in which the wings were not yet expanded. They molt probably
a number of times, but the exact number has not been recorded
for any species, so far as I know. The most peculiar feature of
the larva or nymph is the strange modification of the mouth.
There has been a backward growth of the lower lip and this has
become hinged so as to form a long, hinged apparatus with
sharp teeth at its extremity. It can be folded to cover the lower
face hke a mask. The structure has been called a mask, and
when it is folded the head of a dragon-fly larva seen from the
front looks like that of a bulldog. It is more innocent looking
than that of a bulldog simply because we know what a bulldog
can do, but the moment that the larva approaches near enough to its
prey the innocent looking mask is unfolded and darted out, and
the probably unsuspecting aquatic insect or small fish is seized
by the teeth at the extremity and drawn back into the mouth.

Dragon-fly larvae breathe in a peculiar way modified to some
extent with the members of the different families. The rectum
is furnished with very many tracheal branches, forming
numerous loops and even penetrating the walls of the intestine.
Water is sucked into the rectum, and these " rectal gills," as they
are termed, derive their oxygen from this water. This same
feature affords with some species a means of locomotion, for this
water which is sucked in for breathing purposes may be ejected
violently, the effect of which is to send the larva ahead. This
same principle has been used in certain mechanical toys, and ap-
plications have even been made for patents on a similar method
of propulsion for vessels. With some there are external abdomi-
nal gills, both lateral and caudal, while when the nymph be-
comes full grown and is ready to leave the water breathing is
taken up by certain obscure spiracles. There is still some doubt
as to the exact method by which they begin to breathe air after
leaving the water, and it is a subject which will bear much fur-
ther investigation.

Dragon -Flies

When the nymph becomes full grown, it has changed its
form from a rather slender creature to a broad and flattened one,
not resembling the slender bodied adults in the least. It crawls
out of the water on the bank upon the stems of water plants or
upon the rocks, and later its skin splits down the back, and the
adult dragon-fly emerges. Empty skins of these nymphs are
very common objects about watercourses.

Rather more than two thousand species of dragon-flies have
been described, and of these something less than three hundred
inhabit the United States, of which about two hundred and
twenty-five species are peculiar to this country. According to
Kellicott, about one hundred species are found in the State of
Ohio, and Williamson thinks that even more are to be found in
Indiana. In many places dragon-flies are disappearing, owing to
the drainage of their breeding places.

On account of the beauty of the adults and the interest at-
taching to their habits, they are becoming favorite subjects for
collections, and there are now a number of earnest students of
the Odonata in this country. The recent death of the great
master of dragon-fly science. Baron de Selys-Longchamps, of
Belgium, December ii, 1900, has called renewed attention to
this fascinating group.

The nymph dragon-flies are well adapted to aquarium study.
They are easily collected and easily kept. The debris at the bot^
tom of ponds can be brought up with a rake, and the nymphs
thus collected placed in a bucket and carried home to the
aquarium, which should be furnished with sand and aquatic
plants. The best time for collecting them is in the spring and
early summer.

TABLE OF FAMILIES

Wings alike, held vertically in repose; eyes constricted at
base, peduncled i

Front wings dissimilar from hind wings, held horizontally in
repose ; eyes not peduncled 2

368

Dragon-FIiea

I — Wings with at least five cross veins between the first and
second longitudinal veins and before the first break in the
wing (antecubitals) Family Calopterygidc^

Wings with but two such cross veins Family Agrionidce

2 — Antecubitals of the first and second rows not meeting except
at base of wing 3

Antecubitals of first and second rows running into each
other 4

3 — Eyes wide apart Family Gompht'dce

Eyes touching at a single point Family Cordulegasterid(Z

Eyes touching for some distance Family /Eschnidce

4 — Eyes with tubercles behind Family Cordulidx

Eyes not tubercled behind Family Libellulidce

ito».

DAMSEL-FLIES

{Family Calopierygidce.)

This family and the following, the Agrionidae, are by some
late authors grouped together, the Calopterygidae being considered
simply of subfamily rank and called Calopteryginae. Both groups,
as pointed out in the table, hold their wings vertically in repose;
that is to say folded together over the back, instead of spread out
horizontally. They are called by some authors damsel-flies.

The species of this family, and especially those of the genus
Calopteryx, seem to live preferably in wooded places along the
banks of running streams. Their wings are frequently so dark
as to appear almost black, and they have also something of a
metallic lustre. The body is strikingly metallic, and of an irides-
cent green and blue. The large pop eyes, which seem almost
stalked like those of a crab, are characteristic and distinctive of
this and the following group. The flight is not strong, and they
are seldom found far from the banks of the stream or pond where
they were born and where they lay their eggs.

We have but two genera in this family, namely Calopteryx
and Hetaerina. The Hetaerinas have clear wings which how-
ever, sometimes bear spots near the tip, and in the males have a
brilliant red area near the base of each wing. The Hetaerinas
are not woodland species like Calopteryx, but are found near
running water in the open.

370

FAMILY AGRIONIDy^

These are the true damsel flies, and are the small, graceful
species with extremely slender bodies and narrow, clear wings,
which are very commonly found flying over large bodies of still
water, and with which every one who has ever rowed a boat on
a fresh water lake must be perfectly familiar. They are found in
great numbers in the reedy borders of the fresh water ponds and
lakes over the entire country. All of our North American species
are small, but in tropical regions they grow to large size, and
some South American forms are among the largest species of the
order Odonata. They do not fly high in the air, but frequent
low-growing aquatic vegetation. The colors as a rule are rather
dull, but the slender bodies of some are brilliantly blue, green or
even yellow, and sometimes red.

The family is a large one, and about seventy-five species are
known in this country, testes and Enallagma are the largest
genera.

371

TRUE DRAGON-FLIES

(Family GomphidcB.)

In this family and the following ones the wings are held
horizontally when the insects are in repose; also the eyes are not
pop eyes. This group is also by late authors considered a sub-
family of the i^schnidae, and is then called Gomphinae. They
are separated from their nearest allies from the fact that their eyes
are widely separated. The species are rather large, and with
certain forms the end of the abdomen appears much swollen,
especially in the male; as, for example, in the interesting form
known as Gomphus vastus Walsh.

Kellicott says of these dragon-flies : " Their habits are various.
Some are found only about the rapid streams or wave-tossed
lakes; others by reedy pools; while others haunt sloughs mantled
by lily pads. They do not fly about in apparent sportiveness, as
do the Libellulas. The females rest among the adjacent foliage
or on the ground in some nearby pathway, repairing at intervals
to the water's edge or skimming the roughened surface of the
rapid stream or disturbed lake for oviposition. The males rest
nearer the water, skirt the bordering aquates, or explore the
water far from shore in search of the ovipositing females.
Copulation is at rest in low herbage or high up in trees. The
female oviposits unattended by the male, and the eggs are washed
from the tip of the abdomen by repeated dips into the water
cither in some quiet nook among the weeds or in other species
far out on the rough surface of swift stream or wind-disturbed
lake. Most species fly in early summer, some in mid, and a few
late in summer."

373

FAMILY CORDULEGASTERID^

This group is also considered by recent autiiors to be simply
a subfamily of the /Eschnidae. They resemble the species of the
foregoing group, but the eyes touch at a single point on the top
of the head. They are all large insects, and there are compara-
tively few of them in the United States. None of them are
common. The colors are not metallic, but their bodies are
usually banded with brown and yellow, the wings for the most
part being nearly clear.

Needham says: "The imagos are strong of flight, and are
oftenest seen coursing back and forth over some small stream,
flying on a regular beat, and passing and repassing the same
point at intervals of a few minutes. The collector may take
advantage of this habit and so station himself that he may reach
the specimen as it passes and capture it if dexterous enough with
the net. The nymphs live on the bottom in shallow water,
buried in clean sand or in vegetable silt. Though buried, they
do not burrow, but descend by raking the sand from beneath
them by sweeping lateral movements of the legs. When deep
enough, they kick the sand up over the back till only the elevated
tips of the eyes and the respiratory aperture at the tip of the
abdomen are exposed. By placing a live nymph in a dish of
sand and water, and watching, its method may be observed in a
very few minutes. The whole comical performance reminds one
strongly of the descent of an old hen in a dust bath." The same
authority says that, when once placed, the nymph will remain
for weeks without changing position, but when some little insect
comes near it throws out its jaws and captures it. One species
was seen in the nymph stage to capture and eat young brook
trout as long as the nymphs themselves.

373

FAMILY y^SCHNID.^

This is one of the largest groups of dragon-flies, and com-
prises many of our largest forms. The eyes meet on top of the
head. In coloration and general appearance they are much like
the preceding families but with the majority of them the wings
are generally clear with only apical brown spots and sometimes
they are a little smoky. These large dragon-flies are abundantly
found all through the summer. They are among the first to
appear in spring and among the last to disappear in the autumn.
Their flight is very strong, and the large species are most ferocious-
looking creatures. In fact, the largest and most powerful dragon-
fly in the North American fauna is Epia^schna heros Fabr. One
of the commonest forms which may be seen in many parts of the
country is Anax Junius Drury. On account of the strong flight
of these insects they are frequently found far away from the
place of their birth seeking their prey in the fields and about open
places in the woods, busying themselves continually in the cap-
ture of flies and even larger insects. The male and female of
Anax Junius paired are common objects flying over the water.
The female seems to prefer to lay her eggs in stagnant pools or
in ponds where the surface is covered with duckweed and other
aquatic plants. The female submerges her abdomen in laying
her eggs. According to Williamson, this species appears in large
and compact flocks, some of them numbering several hundred
individuals, and they pass back and forth frequently near the
ground as twilight comes on, seeking especially swarms of
midges.

Six genera are represented in this country, mostly the species
belonging to the typical genus y^schna.

Z7^

FAMILY CORDUUDy^

With this group we approach the large family LibelluHdae,
the Cordulidae being distinguished by possessing a single tubercle
on the hind border of each eye, and in fact these insects are by
most recent authors considered to be simply a subfamily of the
LibelluHdae, which they resemble in most respects. They are
medium sized, or large dragon-flies in which the wings are fre-
quently banded with brown, although in some forms the dark
markings occur only at the base of the wings, and some are entirely
clear. The body colors may be metallic or sordid. These insects,
according to Kellicott, oviposit by flying close to the surface of
the water striking the water occasionally with the tip of the ab-
domen to wash off the eggs.

375

FAMILY LIBELLULIDy^

This is one of the largest dragon-fly groups in the United
States, and comprises some of the most beautiful species. With
many forms the wings are beautifully banded with brown, either
in a series of cross bands or with large blotches which sometimes
cover the basal half of the wings. The abdomens of some
species are covered with a whitish powder-like substance which
is not seen when the insects first emerge from the nymph, but
which, when they grow old is sometimes so abundant as to make
the abdomen appear perfectly white. A characteristic feature of
these forms, especially those of the typical genus Libellula is
that the abdomen assumes the shape of a prism, with a strong
sharp longitudinal ridge above the flat sides and a flat underside,
in some forms the wing markings are not dull brown, but
become yellowish and in the very handsome and common
Libellula ptilchella, of Drury, the brown spots alternate with
milk-white spots. They are very abundant about stagnant ponds
and such pools as harbor water-lilies and rushes. They are
favorite food of the king bird.

The females poise themselves close to the surface of the
water, remaining almost motionless and striking the water with
the tip of the abdomen in the act of laying their eggs.

With the exception of the Agrionidae these are the most
numerous dragon-flies in this country.

Needham says that the nymphs are sprawlers upon the
bottom, mainly in shallow water, or clamber over fallen plant
stems, and are protectively colored.

A single egg-mass of one of these dragon-flies has been
observed by Needham to contain 1 10,000 eggs.

Williamson has shown that one of the species has the habit
of resting on the top of a rush, each one being, apparently,
proprietor of a certain territory. When another one encroaches,
"he is quickly hustled away by the rightful and irate owner."

376

THE MAY-FLIES OR SHAD-FLIES

(Order Ephemerida.)

The so-called May-flies, or shad-flies, are the insects which
constitute this order. They are known by one name or the
other by almost every one who has seen them swarmmg about
the electric lights during the summer or who lives in the vicmity
of some large watercourse in which these insects breed in in-
calculable numbers. Structurally speaking, the adult insects are
very interesting creatures. They are distinguished from other
insects by their short antennae, their extremely large front wmgs
as compared with the very small hind wings, the absolutely
atrophied mouth-parts and the long, slender fllaments, two or
three in number, at the end of the abdomen. The transformations
are complete and the early stages are always passed in the water.
The larv2e are active creatures with long, strong legs, and
breathe by means of tracheal gills. They both swim and
crawl and feed very largely upon vegetable matter, diatoms and
confervse being found in their stomachs. They may be found
under stones in running streams or swimming among water
plants in quiet waters, or they may live at the bottom more or
less covered with slime or mud. Some forms burrow into the
sand-banks of rivers. The pupa or nymph is also active and
feeds. It has small wing pads, and, when ready to transform, it
floats upon the water, and the skin of the back opens and the
winged insect flies out. The emergence is extremely rapid and
the insect flies away almost immediately after the skin cracks.
A very curious phenomenon occurs with these insects which is not
found with any other insect, and that is that there is a molt after the
fly issues from the nymph. It flies away to the shores in the con-
dition called the sub-imago stage and again the skin splits and the
true-imago, or adult, issues. This shedding of the sub-imago skin
is said sometimes to take place while the insect is flying in the air.
The life of the adult is short; in fact, these insects were
named after the Ephemerides of the Greek mythology, creatures
which lived but a day, and from this root comes our common

377

The May-Flies or Shad-Flies

word, ephemeral. But they live longer than a day. They do
not eat, since, as we have stated, the mouth-parts are atrophied
and the alimentary canal is not fitted for the digestion of food;
but it has been shown that where the air is not too dry some of
them can live for several days. It is stated that Curtis kept one
alive for three weeks; but in general they die within three or
four days, and frequently in a few hours, or even less time. The
males are readily distinguished from the females from the fact
that with the males the hind legs only are atrophied or feeble,
while with most females the fore legs as well as the hind legs are
too feeble to support the body. When at rest the front legs are
generally extended straight in front of the head, and frequently
very close together, the anal setae usually slanting upwards. As
a rule they remain quiet during the day, limiting their flight to
the cooler hours of sunlight or extending it later in the evening,
just after sunset. Where there is a strong artificial light they will
fly until late in the night. The numbers in which these creatures
swarm are often extraordinary. I drove through a dense cloud
of them once on the banks of the St. Lawrence River in the
month of June when both the air and the ground and our
clothes looked as though the heaviest kind of a snow-storm were
raging. Along the shores of the Great Lakes their bodies are
frequently massed in great windrows miles in length and of a
very considerable thickness.

Most of them couple during flight, the male undermost.
Egg-laying is usually performed in fresh water, though one exotic
species lays in brackish water. The females of some species dis-
charge the contents of their ovaries at once in the form of a pair
of egg-clusters. These upon reaching the water rapidly disinte-
grate, and the eggs sink to the bed of the river or stream.
Others drop their eggs gradually, a few at a time, the female
either alighting on the surface of the water at intervals to wash
off the eggs that have issued, or she creeps down into the water,
enclosed within a film of air, to lay her eggs on the under side of
stones, after which she floats up to the surface and either flies
away or is drowned. In one case a female has been seen to
deposit living larvae.

These insects can readily be bred in fresh water aquaria, but
Eaton says that it is important not to grow Ranunculus in the
aquaria, because the sap exuding from its broken stems appears

378

The May-Flies or Shad-Flies

to be poisonous to the larv^. After the eggs hatch the larvae live
upon mud or the small vegetation which grows on stones and
the stems of large water-plants. Some of them are apparently
predaceous. They cast their skins several times during the tirst
few days after their birth. ^ u **

These larvae, or nymphs, as all of the early stages of the May-
flies are called, are very important fish food. Forbes has found
them to be the most important food of the white bass, the
toothed herring, the shovel-fish and the croppies, while the rock
bass, the common perch, the striped bass, the darters, the cat-
fish the suckers, and many other freshwater fish feed upon them
very largely. The writer has been appealed to quite recently on
the subject of the possible extermination of these insects along
the St. Lawrence River, where they cause so much annoyance
by their swarming flight, but their value as food for fish would
make such an extermination extremely undesirable. The St.
Lawrence is noted for its fine fish and the fishing possibilities
attract so many summer visitors to its shores that the tern-
porary annoyance of the shad-flies should joyfully be borne.

The larval life is a long one, lasting from one to three years,
and the number of molts is very large. There may be as many
as twenty. The adults, as well as the larvse, are favorite fish
food Of the swarms that issue, many meet their ultimate rest-
ing place in the water, or more strictly speaking, in the stomachs
of fishes Fishes are so well acquainted with them that imita-
tion shad-flies afford the best bait in certain regions. In England
the so-called flies known as duns, drakes, and spinners are all
imitations of Ephemerids. Although so enormously numerous in
individuals, the Ephemerida is not a large group in number of
species, and only about three hundred have been described.
There must be very many more, however, and possibly the ditti-
culty with which these insects are preserved in collectioris
accounts for the fact that comparatively few have been named.
If pinned they shrivel up and dry into such queer shapes that
the coloration and structural characters become obscure. Good
aquarium studies for any of our North American species will be
found to be interesting and will be of valuable record.

A very good table for determining the nymphs of May-flies
has been prepared by Needham, and will be found in Bulletin 48 of
the New York State Museum of Natural History. Albany, 1901.

379

THE SPRINGTAILS AND FISHMOTHS

(Order Thysamira.)

The insects of this order are usually of very small size, and
are wingless and have practically no metamorphoses. They com-
prise the little insects known as springtails, bristletails, fishmoths
or slickers. They have three pairs of legs, the mouth-parts, often
hidden, are formed for biting, and the skin is delicate. The order
is supposed to comprise the most generalized or simplest forms
of insect life and although there is some reason for considering
that they are degenerate insects the consensus of opinion is that
they are living representations of primordial insects. Some of
them possess a very remarkable leaping arrangement in the shape
of a spring-like process on the under side of the abdomen, which
enables them to jump in an extraordinary way, some of them
have long abdominal appendages or processes at the end of the
body, and still others have short leg-like processes on the under
surface of the abdomen. The order as at present understood
comprises two suborders, namely the Cinura and the Collembola.
Formerly some curious creatures belonging to the genus Scolo-
pendrella were considered as belonging to this order and were
placed in a suborder by themselves — the Symphyla — but it is
thought now that these little creatures are more closely related to
the Myriopoda than to the true Insecta.

The two remaining suborders may be separated as follows:

With bristle-like and many-jointed appendages or forceps at the

end of the abdomen, which is composed often segments and

does not possess a sucker on the ventral side

Suborder Cinura.

With a forked sucker on the under side of the first abdominal
segment, and the abdomen, which is composed of not more
than six segments, furnished with a spring-like apparatus
near the tip, or without appendages. ..Suborder Collembola.

3S0

SUBORDER CINURA

There will be no necessity for generalizations regarding this
suborder, aside from the mention of the characters by which it
is separated from the Collembola. In this country it is repre-
sented by species belonging to three distinct families, which may
be separated as follows:

Mouth-parts buried in the head i

Mouth-parts not buried Family Lepismatidce

I — Anal end of the body with a pair of forceps. .VdiUxWy Japygidx

Anal end of body with long antenna-like processes

Family Campodeidce

FAMILY LEPISMATID/E

The little insects which are known to housekeepers, particu-
larly in the Southern States, as the silver fish, or fishmoths, or
slickers, belong to this family. They are covered with scales,
usually of a silvery appearance, and have three long antenna-like

Fig. 244. — Lepisma domestica. ( Redrawn from Marlatt.)

processes issuing from the end of the abdomen. These insects
are often very troublesome household enemies of books, papers,
starched clothing, and occasionally stored foods. They also

382

Springtails and Fishmoths

damage the card labels in museums. They move very rapidly,
and make active efforts to conceal themselves. They shun the
light, and slip from the fingers with ease, the silvery scales coming
off and, the insect escapes at the ex-
pense of its clothing. In damag-
ing the cloth bindings of books, it
is really trying to feed upon the
paste with which the cloth is stuck
to the boards. Heavily glazed
paper is attractive to them, and
they will eat the glaze from draft-
ing linen. They are found com-
monly in old houses in rather damp
places, but one of our species seems
to prefer the vicinity of fireplaces,
crawling rapidly over hot bricks
and metal and showing most sur-
prising immunity from the effects
of high temperature. They are
readily destroyed by a free use of
pyrethrum powder.

Nothing is known about their
fife history. Their eggs have not
been described, and of the number of molts and the rapidity of
development we are absolutely ignorant. None of these points
ought to be especially difficult to ascertain.

Ten or more species occur in the United States, and those
which are not found in houses are generally found in decaying
wood.

Fig. 245. — Lepisma saccharina.
( Redrawn from Marlatt.)

383

FAMILY JAPYGIDy^

These little creatures differ from the other Cinurans in the
possession of a peculiar forceps-like structure at the end of the
body. They are slender in form, and are found in moss or in
shady places at the edges of woods. They look like young
earwigs. Nothing is known of their development or life history.

FAMILY CAMPODEIDy^

These little insects have elongate and cylindrical bodies, and
the first seven of the abdominal segments bear each a pair of
appendages on the under surface. We have only three species
in this country. They are found in loose, damp earth in which
there is much vegetable mold.

384

SUBORDER COLLEMBOLA

This suborder is composed of very minute insects which

possess the faculty of springing suddenly, and which when

alarmed make use of this means of escaping. They are found in

the spring in the Northern States on bright sunny days when the

snow is thawing, frequently in great numbers on the surface of

the snow. They are also found on the surface of water, in old

wells, and even at considerable distances under the surface of the

ground feeding apparently upon vegetable mold.

Five families are represented in the United States, which

may be distinguished by the following table:

A ventral spring below the abdomen i

No ventral spring below the abdomen .... Family Aphoruridct

, —Ventral spring on the second from last abdominal segment

Family Poduridce

Ventral spring on the next to the last abdominal segment. . 2

2_Abdomen elongate, cylindrical, much longer than broad

Family Entomobrytdce

Abdomen globular, but little longer than broad 3

5~Last segment of the antennse long, ringed • • •

■^ . . Family Smynthuridce

Last antennal segment short, with a whorl of hairs

Family Papiritdx

385

FAMILY APHORURID/E

This group is composed of small insects which have no ven-
tral spring. They are soft-bodied, and move slowly, and are
very seldom noticed although not uncommon.

FAMILY PODURIDy^

The Podurids are among the most abundant of insects, al-
though on account of their excessively small size they do not
attract much attention.

We have something more than a half dozen species in this
country and one of them, AchoriUes nivicola, is the form, as
one might know from its name, which is commonly found in the
late spring upon the surface of snow.

46. — Lepidocyrtus americanus. C Redrawn from Marlatt.)

They are commonly found in deep soil which contains more
or less soil humus, and have been taken in a stiff clay subsoil at
a depth of six feet, but they had probably penetrated to this depth
by following the path of rootlets. They are found upon the
surface of water, on mushrooms, and are common among dead
leaves in the woods.

The eggs of one species have been observed. They were
fifteen in number, spherical, white, and one one-hundred and
eightieth of an inch in diameter.

386

FAMILY ENTOMOBRY/Dy^

The forms belonging to this family are found in the earth, in
caves, in greenhouses, and in hothouses, on the bark of old trees.

Fig. 247. — Lepidocyrtus americanus. (After Marlatt.)

in cellars, under logs, and in similar localities. One species,
Lepidocyrtus americanus Marlatt, is commonly observed in
houses in situations similar to those where one finds the silver-
fish or slickers. It is shown in the accompanying figures.

The development of none of these insects is understood,
although the eggs of one European species have been recorded as
being laid in the spring.

387

FAMILY SMYNTHURIDy^

These are globular-bodied with long four-jointed antennae.
The ventral spring is composed of a basal portion and two arms.
We have a half dozen or more described species in the United
States. They occur in vegetable mold, upon decaying wood,
and feed upon the spores and mycelium of fungi. Some are
found upon aquatic plants, and some under stones in woods.
Lubbock, writing of one of these minute insects, Smynthurus
luteus, says: "It is very amusing to see these little creatures
coquetting together. The male, which is smaller than the female,
runs around her and they butt one another, standing face to face
and moving backwards and forwards like two playful lambs.
Then the female pretends to run away, and the male runs after
her, with a queer appearance of anger, gets in front and stands
facing her again; then she turns 'round, but he, quicker and more
active, scuttles around too and seems to whip her with his
antennae; then for a bit they stand face to face, play with their
antennae, and seem to be all in all to one another."

FAMILY PAPIRIIDy€

These little creatures are found in moss, and do not seem to
be common, only four species having been recognized in the
United States.

388

COLLECTING AND PRESERVING
INSECTS

COLLECTING APPARATUS

The old-fashioned entomologist used to go out armed simply
with a net, and pin his captures to the top or brim of his hat.
Some of the modern entomologists go into the field laden down
with all sorts of apparatus — a large haversack filled with boxes
and bottles, two or three different kinds of nets, and with pockets
bulging with hatchet, trowel, saw, forceps, knives and other
small things. It is just as bad for an entomologist to go out laden
down in this way as it is for soldiers to take long marches with
unnecessary impedimenta. As a rule one should go out after one
class of objects, prepared, however, to capture other interesting
specimens, and he should take with him as prime necessities one
liet (and a proper sweeping net is the most useful), one or two
cyanide bottles for killing specimens, a few small pill boxes and
a few assorted vials containing dilute alcohol or formalin, and
that is really all that is necessary, unless he is after aquatic insects
or those which live in old logs or in trunks or branches of trees,
in which case a water net or a hatchet will be necessary. Most
collecting apparatus can be purchased from dealers in such things.
The following firms issue price lists which may be had on appli-
cation, viz: Queen & Co., Inc., loio Chestnut St., Philadelphia,
Pa.; A. Smith & Sons, Fulton Street, New York City; John
Akhurst, 78 Ashland Place, Brooklyn, N. Y. ; The Kny-Scheerer
Co., 225 Fourth Ave., New York City; American Entomological
Co., 1040 DeKalb Avenue, Brooklyn, N. Y. ; Noyes Bros, and
Cutler, ^96 Sibley St., St. Paul, Minn.

The Net. — There are three main kinds of nets — the light
butterfly net, the strong beating or sweeping net and the water
net. The butterfly net, which is a very handy one for catching

^89

Collecting and Preserving Insects

flies, dragon-flies, ant-lions, scorpion-flies and similar insects with
more or less fragile wings, is made in a number of different ways

and several excel-
lent ones are for
sale by dealers
above mentioned.
A fairly satisfactory
one can be made at
^ ■ " liomeinthefoUow-

ingmanner: Bend a
strong piece of iron
wire into circular
shape, the ends
being abruptly bent

Fig. 248.— The butterfly net frame.
(After Riley.)

Fig. 249. — The

Sanborn net

frame.

down at right
angles so as to fit
into two grooves
cut in the end of a
wall^ing stick, to
which they are per-
manently fastened
by a copper wire.
A pointed net of
silk gauze, tarleton
or Swiss, a thin

Fig. 250.— Beating net, opened and attached to handle, light quality being
with frame of same folded. (After Kiesenwetter.) ^^^^ j^ \^tX\. SCWn

around the wire frame which should previously be covered with
some heavier cloth.

390

Collecting and Preserving Insects

The Sweeping or Beating Net. — Very many insects feed or
rest upon grasses and low plants, and the beating net, which is
made on the same principle as the butterfly net, is a most useful
instrument with which to collect
these forms. It should have a
strong frame and the cloth of
which it is composed should be
light in color and strong like
cheese cloth. The beating net
is not necessarily pointed but
may be rounded at the bottom.
The collector passes the net
several times quickly over the

Fig. 251. — A good hand net.

low shrubbery or grass and then

sits down to examine his cap-
tures and remove them to the

cyanide bottle. The ring of the

beating net should be especially

strong, either of brass or iron and

of one or two pieces and should

be fastened rigidly to the handle

either by means of a special

device, by clamps, nuts and

screws, or by copper wire as

above mentioned. The reason for this special strength is that

sometimes it is desirable to sweep tough bushes or the low

branches of trees.

The Water Net. — The water net may be a simple sag net
with a short handle, the frame being oblong
and the net or bag being of some very coarse
material like grass cloth or millinet. A sieve
net with sides of galvanized iron and bottom
of galvanized wire screen is desirable where
one is scraping up mud and sand from the
bottom of pools for the purpose of sifting out
aquatic insects.

The Sieve. — A sieve with cloth sides is

an excellent bit of apparatus for sifting out earth, moss,

materials of ants nests, etc., the size of the wire meshes

at the bottom being larger when it is desired to sift the

391

Fig. 252. — Small
water dip net.
(After Riley.)

Collecting and Preserving Insects

fragments of old decayed trees and smaller when sifting ants nests
and ordinary earth.

Chisel and Trowel. — A small stout chisel for securing insects
which hide under the bark of dead or dying trees is a useful in-
strument. A stout pocket knife will sometimes do the work but
something stronger and better adapted to the purpose is desirable.
When one is studying underground insects a small trowel is a
necessity.

Collecting Forceps. — The entomologist skilled in the use of
his fingers and who does not mind an occasional sting or bite
does not need forceps, yet a small delicate pair made of steel or
brass, very pliable and with rounded tips, is useful in picking up
specimens and transferring them into vials and boxes. A littk
dodge which is used by many entomologists in picking up small
insects is to slightly moisten the fore finger and touch it to tht
msect which will adhere long enough so that it can be dropped

into the cyanide bottle, vial oi
pill box. A camel's-hair brush h
sometimes used for the same
J J- purpose.

( \b Fwnigator. — This is a bit ot

apparatus used by European
collectors and to some extent
by those in this country. It is
used for smoking out specimens
which hide in cracks in the
ground or holes in hard wood,
etc. The accompanying figure
shows the common form. A
smoking-pipe mouth-piece {a)
with flexible rubber-joint {b) is
attached to the cover {c) of a
very large smoking pipe head
{d). To the mouth {e) of the
latter a rubber hose (/) is at-
tached, which has a convenient
discharge at its end {g). The
pipe is filled with tobacco, the latter ignited, the cover screwed
on and the smoke blown through the mouth-piece in any desired
direction. A puff of tobacco smoke blown gendy over the

^93

Fig. 253. — The fum'gator.
(After Kiesemvctter.)

Collecting and Preserving Insects

Fig. 254.— An entomological

chased from any dealer

Umbrella. —
The umbrella is
one of the most
useful imple-
ments to the
collector since
he can collect
with it insects
which live upon
the branches of
trees and large
bushes. Umbrel-
las constructed
especially for en-
tomological pur-
poses have the
inside lined with
white linen and
the handle has
a joint near the
middle so that it
can be more con-
veniently held

debris on the collecting cloth will
often make many specimens
move which otherwise play
possum.

Haversack.— k haversack of
water-proof cloth is convenient
but bv no means indispensable.
it should contain various com-
partments of different sizes for
storing away nets, sieve, larger
implements, boxes and vials.

Hand Lens.— A hand lens

is quite necessary for field work

_ with the smaller forms. Ex-

, cellent hand lenses are now on

haversack. '-''

the market and can be pur-
in microscope supplies.

Fig- 255.— The umbrella and its mode of u^e.
(After Kiesenwetter.J

393

Collecting and Preserving Insects

and more conveniently packed away. The opened and In-
verted umbrella is held with the left hand under the branch
and with the right hand the collector beats the branch, jarring
the insects into the convex umbrella cover.

Collecting Shears. — These are often used, the blades being
composed of flat, net-like frames looking something like minute
tennis rackets. They are useful for picking up delicate insects
which would be apt to be damaged by the fingers or tweezers.

SOME POINTS ON METHODS OF COLLECTING
DIFFERENT ORDERS

Hymetioptera. — Many Hymenoptera, such as the bees, some
of the wasps and many parasitic forms, can readily be collected
by means of the beating net or sweeping net from flowering
plants. The removal of the stinging species from the net is
sometimes rather dangerous. The callous collector will pick
them up with his thumb and fore finger, never minding the
sting, especially as after a few stings his hand becomes practically
inoculated, but a good idea is to have an opening 'in the bottom
of the net which should be kept tied with a string. When
enough insects are caught they are driven to the bottom by
swinging the net rapidly through the air, then holding it tightly
together with the hand just above the bottom, untieing the
string and shaking the insects into a wide-mouthed cyanide
bottle. After they are stupefied the contents of the bottle may
be emptied out and the desirable specimens selected. The gall-
flies and the parasites are best collected by breeding. The galls
of the gall-flies should be collected when mature and kept in
closed jars, the jars being occasionally moistened by putting a
sheet of damp blotting paper over the mouth.

Hemiptera. — The beating net is used with these insects and
they are found to some extent under logs and stones and are also
captured in the collecting umbrella. Plant-lice should be collected
in connection with their food plants and at different seasons of
the year in order to obtain different generations. One should
also collect both winged and wingless forms. Bark-lice or scale
insects should be preserved dry in situ on the plants. The col-
lector should have a series of small envelopes or flat card boxes

394

Collecting and Preserving Insects

in which to place these specimens, writing the date, locality,
name of plant, collector, and any other remarks that may seem
desirable. Nothing air-tight, such as tin boxes or closed tubes,
should be used for fresh material as it nearly always molds. Pill-
boxes are sometimes used but are too small to contain a good
quantity of material. A good-sized twig or several leaves should
be collected for each species.

Diptera. — Most flies frequent flowers and may be collected
with the sweeping net. So many of them are very delicate that
the greatest care must be exercised both in collecting and
handling. A light sweep net is the best implement and the con-
tents should frequently be emptied into cyanide bottles with plenty
of blotting paper to absorb the excess of moisture. Collecting
shears are successfully used with these insects.

Orthoptera. — These insects are best collected by using the
sweeping net.

Collecting Aquatic Insects. — For collecting forms which live
upon the bottom of ponds and streams, Dr. Needham advises the
use of the common garden rake. With it the debris may be
drawn ashore and the insects picked out by hand. Withdrawn
from the water they generally make themselves evident by their
active efforts to get back. The rake is especially useful in the
spring while there is as yet no new growth of well-rooted water
weeds to interfere with hauling it. The sieve net previously
described is used for bringing ashore mud and sand from the
bottom. Those specimens which live above the bottom in still
or slowly running water or which crawl among the submerged
branches or erect aquatic plants are most of them easily taken by
sweeping the plants with any of the forms of water nets. Some
of the little ones which cling closely to the water plants can only
be discovered by taking the plants out of the water and examining
them, a small bunch at a time, in a white dish of clean water.
Those forms which live in rapids can be had by picking up the
stones and examining them. Some may be taken with a water
net. Some are captured by wading into the rapids holding the
water net with the left hand and lifting the stones in advance
with the rake, the disloged insects floating into the water
net.

In carrying home a day's catch a large quantity of water is
not necessary. Needham says that it is well to have a pail and to

39S

Collecting and Preserving Insects

place within it a few smaller receptacles containing a little water
and pack ordinary water weed between these. The smaller
nymphs taken may be distributed among these receptacles so as
to diminish the chances of having them eaten by the larger and
stouter ones which may be stowed away in the weed. The
latter does not need to be submerged unless left long uncovered
in the sun.

REARING DIFFERENT KINDS OF INSECTS

Even the collector of insects who cares little about habits and
life histories desires often to rear his specimens, since they are
then in the best condition for the collection; and then, too, it is

very difficult sometimes

to capture some kinds of
insects, or they can be ob-
tained only in this way.
The methods of rear-
ing caterpillars in order
to obtain the adult but-
terflies or moths has been
admirably treated by
Dr. Holland in his "But-
terfly Book," and the
breeding cages recom-
mended by him may
be used equally well for
many of the insects de-
scribed in this volume.
The simplest form of
such cage is frequently
the best, and, as Dr.
Holland says, with some
species the best method
is simply to pot a plant
on which the insect is

Fig. 256. — Riley insect breeding cage or
vivarium. (After Riley.)

known to feed and place it in a box over which some mosquito
netting is tied. Glass cylinders or even lamp chimneys placed
over small plants growing in pots, the top being covered with

396

Collecting and Preserving Insects

gauze, are frequently used to advantage in this work, and glass
jars— from the small test-tube to the large morphine bottles and
fruit jars and up to the large battery jtirs— all may be used in
rearing different kinds of insects. The large, so-called Riley
breeding cage, shown at Figure 2^6, is a good one, especially if

Fig. 257.— Comstock improved base for breeding cage. (After Riley. J

it is used with the improved base invented by Professor Com-
stock, shown at Figure 257. Some very good breeding jars are
sold by the dealers in entomological supplies, but most workers
prefer to construct their own cages.

All earth used in rearing insects in the cages or in the bottles
should be sterilized and sifted. This is necessary in order to
destroy disease germs, in order subsequently to regulate the
amount of moisture, and in order to destroy predaceous mites
and other insects which might be the cause of damage or con-
fusio! . In my office we prepare earth readily and in bulk in a
galvanized iron oven 2>^ x i>4 x i foot. The cover is roof-
shaped, and lifts off by a central handle. There is a circular
orifice in this cover to emit steam and facilitate drying. The oven
stands on legs and is heated by a single gas jet from a Bunsen
burner placed beneath. After two hours' heating the moisture
becomes dissipated, and the earth becomes dry and is readily
sifted. It is then passed through a sieve, and is in proper condi-
tion to use either in large boxes for underground insects or in the

ordinary breeding jars and cages.

397

Collecting and Preserving Insects

Professor Comstock has invented and described a root-cage
in order to study underground insects. This is a metal cage
with glass sides, made narrow, and with galvanized iron additional
sides which can be slipped down over the glass ones so as to
keep the cage dark when not under observation. Plants and
insects are placed in earth between the two glass sides, and the
whole apparatus is then placed in the ground. It can be pulled
up and the insects watched through the glass.

For insects feeding upon grasses it is well to make a wooden
box two feet deep with bottom perforated with a few
auger holes covered with wire netting and containing a good
supply of growing grass. The box should be of good size, say
2X2X2 feet. Little upright posts or sticks or laths six inches
high should be nailed to the corners of the box, and gauze mos-
quito netting or something finer tacked over the whole. This
kind of a box is of good service in rearing grasshoppers, which
are the most difficult insects to rear. Confined in a small
breeding cage they feed little, and are apt to fatally exhaust
themselves in futile efforts to escape. Boxes for these insects
should be about three feet square, and in the earth should be
growing not only grasses but also weeds of various kinds. The
long-horned grasshoppers (Locustidse) are very easy to rear in
confinement, and need only be given an occasional supply of
fresh food. This is the case also with the walking-sticks, and
mantids, the latter requiring no moisture whatever beyond that
which they get from the bodies of their victims.

That reminds me that one of the difficulties encountered in
the rearing of insects is the proper maintenance of the right de-
gree of moisture. Galls of all kinds are apt to be left either to
dry, in which case the issuing of the insect is delayed far beyond
the normal time, or too moist, in which case they become covered
with mildew and spoil. If the jar containing them be left open
they dry no matter how frequently sprinkled. If it be closed
mildew frequently puts in its appearance. This difficulty is ob-
viated by keeping them in a series of jars of the same height, the
mouths of the jars being covered with gauze to prevent the
escape of the insects or parasites. Over the whole series is laid a
large sheet of blotting paper which is moistened daily and the
insects seem to thrive under this treatment. In rearing Hymen-
opterous parasites, the breeding jar should be tightly closed and

398

Collecting and Preserving Insects

an occasional strip of moistened blotting paper inserted or they
may be enclosed in glass tubes with tight absorbent stoppers the
latter being occasionally moistened. Bees need very little mois-
ture and give very little trouble in rearing. Wood-boring in-
sects of all kinds may as a rule be kept perfectly dry or only
moistened every two or three weeks. Plant-bugs need simply
plenty of fresh food and take care of themselves with compara-
tive indifference as to their surroundings.

Of all larvae none are more difficult to rear than those of the
the saw-flies. Their mouth-parts seem to dry unless constantly
lubricated by the saliva produced by mastication and once dried
the larva usually dies. Fresh food must constantly be supplied
and if possible they must not be allowed to descend to the sur-
face of the sand; the latter must be carefully covered with
paper, for if they once close their prolegs on a grain of sand
they hold it convulsively and it is almost impossible to dislodge
it so that they are practically unfitted for again clasping a
twig.

The study of scale insects is a simple one. The food plants
should be grown in pots and the insects colonized upon it.
Most of the species remain stationary or nearly so and their loca-
tion recorded, the exact situation of each individual under
observation being circumscribed by a ring of ink marked with a
pen upon the leaf.

The Aquarium. — Almost any of the different styles of
aquaria which may be purchased will answer a good purpose.
A very good one is shown in the accompanying illustration.
Where it is desired to go rather thoroughly into the rearing of
aquatic insects and where one is able to spend some money in
preparations, the apparatus in use in my office is rather better
than anything which I have seen. Two glass aquaria each
2>2 X i>^ X i>2 are placed end to end, the one elevated on a three
inch base so as to make it that much higher than the other. The
water connections from the one to the other are so arranged that
each may be independent of the other, and the details are simply
arranged. In each is a V-shaped inclined glass septum with a
broad, deflexed lip, and beneath this lip has been constructed an
artificial rock-work grotto. The water enters the first aquarium
through a T sprinkler with six pipette orifices. It drops a distance
of six or eight inches into the V-shaped septum and its force is

399

Collecting^ and Preserving Insects

easily graduated by stop cocks. Rising to the height of the de-
flexed lip it pours in a broad cascade into the main compartment,
impinging on the top of the rock-work grotto. The second or
lower aquarium is at present similarly arranged, and derives its
supply of water either from the overflow of the first or independ-
ently from an overhead pipe, so that its water may be kept either
still or running at will. Thus we have arrangements in a small

13
Fig. 258. — A good simple aquarium

space for the rearing of all kinds of aquatic insects. The sfiding
stream upon the artificial rockwork is particularly adapted for such
forms as Simulium, and opportunity is also offered for such
species as have the habit of crawling out either on rocks or
earth, as the case may be.

400

Collecting and Preserving Insects

KILLING AND PRESERVING INSECTS

m

The use of alchohol or formalin is the most satisfactory
method of killing most soft-bodied insects. Those with harder
bodies should be dropped into a cyanide bot-
tle or they may be killed with chloroform.

The Cyanide Boiile. — The cyanide bottle
is prepared by taking a large quinine bottle or
morphine bottle or one of the stout round-
bottomed neckless tubes, putting into it a few
small lumps of cyanide of potassium and pour-
ing over them a semi-fluid mixture of plaster
of paris and water. The bottle is then left
open for a few hours until the plaster of paris
thoroughly dries. The purpose of the plaster
is to prevent the moisture from the deliquescing
cyanide from reaching the insects and it is
well also to put a piece of blotting paper over
the plaster. When one is collecting insects it
would be well to cut into strips some soft
absorbent paper and stick the slips into the
bottle in such a way that the insects' bodies
will not rattle about too much.

^Preparing Insects for the Cabinet. — In
mounting insects for the cabinet no pins
should be used except those made especially
for mounting specimens. The long German
pins are much to be preferred to the short Eng-
lish ones. The best are the Klaeger pins, the
Carlsbad pins and the Vienna pins, all of
which can be purchased from the dealer in
entomological supplies. The Japanned black pins are the best for
most insects since they are not ruined by the verdigris which
issues from the bodies of many insects. Specimens should be
prepared for the collection as soon after death as possible. If
they have been ccUected in the forenoon they should be
mounted the same evening — where possible. Most of the in-
sects which we consider in this book should be pinned through
the thorax. Grasshoppers and locusts should have one pair of
wings spread. Dragon-flies and most other Neuropterous insects

401

-I

Fig. 259. — Pocket
cyanide bottle.
(After Riley.)

Collecting and Preserving Insects

Fig. 260. — Spreading board for
Lepidoptera. (After Riley.)

should have both pairs of wings spread. For this purpose a

spreading board is necessary.
Excellent spreading boards are
for sale by the dealers but very
good ones can readily be made.
The spreading board in use for
Lepidoptera will answer admir-
ably for any of these insects.
One is shown at Fig. 260 and
needs no extended description
except to state that the central
grove in which the body of the
insect rests should be bottomed with cork or some soft sub-
stance into which the pin can be inserted.
While spreading, the time required for
drying must be determined by experi-
ment for a given locality and given time
of the year since it depends upon the
dryness of the atmosphere.

Insects which are too small to pin
are preferably mounted upon little trian-
gular cardboard tags. They are glued
to the tip of the triangle, the pin being
thrust through the base. White shellac
or yellow shellac are good substances to
use for the glueing. Most of those minute
insects may be mounted to advantage on the side with the

back away from the pin,
and it is generally ad-
visable to mount them
with the side upper-
most. It must be re-
membered that while an
insect has one back and
one belly it has two
sides. Punches for cut-
ting tags for this purpose
may be purchased from
the dealers. After the insect is pinned and dried great care
should be taken with the labelling. In all cases the date and

402

Fig. 261. — Insect
mounted on card-
board triangle. (After
Riley.)

Fig. 262. — Insect punch for cutting triangles or
points. (After Riley.)

Collecting and Preserving Insects

1 I

mounting insects.
(After Riley.)

the actual locality should be entered upon the label, and, if the
locality is such that there is some doubt that the elevation can
in future be ascertained with ease, the elevation should be also
placed upon the label. The name of the collector should be stuck
on the same pin, and the name of the in-
sect upon another label on the same pin.
That will make three labels, one with the
name, one for the collector, and one for the Fig. 263.— Points for
exact locality and date. All labels should
be as small as possible, and should be
printed in diamond type. After the labelling is done the speci-
mens are ready for the cabinet.

The Cabinet. — In the matter of a cabinet there is consider-
able room for the judgment of a collector. The so-called Schmidt
insect box is an excellent box for a more or less temporary col-
lection, and, in fact, there are many specimens in the museums
which have been preserved in these boxes for many years.
They are of small and convenient size, book form, cork-lined,
tightly constructed, and close very tightly. An insect cabinet

Pig. 264. — The Marx tray for alcohol specimens. (After Riley.)

with sliding drawers, glass-covered, can be made by any good
carpenter, but great care should be taken to make the joints of
the drawers absolutely air-tight. When a collection becomes
Infested with museum pests or mites or Psocids, it can easily be
disinfected by pouring into the box bisulphide of carbon. Great
care must be used in the handling of this substance, however, as
X is inflammable. After the drawer has become disinfected, a
teaspoonful, more or less, of naphthaline will act as a deterrent
against the entrance of other insect pests. For soft-bodied
insects which must be kept in liquid, either alcohol or formalin,
a permanent arrangement is a very difficult matter. A vial-tray
in use by some collectors is a good idea. The one invented and

<o3

Collecting and Preserving Insects

used by Dr. George Marx is shown in the accompanying figure.
In mounting insects for the microscope Canada balsam is the
best medium for most of them, but it must be remembered that
with soft-bodied forms fresh mounts will cloud unless the water
has been extracted by passing through successive strengths of
alcohol.

404

BIBLIOGRAPHY

HYMENOPTERA

I. — CATALOGUES

C. T. Crksson.— Catalogue of the described
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<Proc. Entom. Soc. Phila., Vol. I, 1861-1863.
£.. T. Ckesson.— dialogue of species and bibli-
ography. Part 1 1 of Synopsis of the Hymen-
optera of America, north of Mexico. Synopsis
and Catalogue. Price, $3. Transactions of
the Am. Entom. Soc, Supplementary volume,
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C. G. DE Dalla Torre.— Catalogus Hymenop-
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Vul. I, Tenthredinid.-e; II, Cynipidae; III, Ich-
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II. GENERAL WORKS ON CLASSI-
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*^. T. Cresson. — Synopsis of the families and
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together with a catalogue of the described
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1887.

The second part contains the Catalogue of Species
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W. H. AsHMEAD.— Classification of the horntails
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<Can. Entom., 1898, 7 parts.

W. H. AsHMEAD.— Classification of the bees, or
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W. H. AsHMEAU.— Superfamilies in the Hymen-
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W. H. AsHMEAD.— Classification of the entomo-
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W. H. Ashmf.au. — Classification of the fossorial,
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W. J. Fox. — .\ proposed classification of the
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III. — MONOGRAPHS AND SYNOPSES

E. T. Cresson.— A list of the North American
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E. T. Crksson.— Catalogue of North American
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A synonyinical reference list 01 the species.

W. H. Patton.— Generic arrangement of the Bees
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E. T. Cresson.— On the North American species
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E. T. Cresson. — List of the North American
species of Bombus and Apathus. <Proc.
Entom. Soc. Phila., Vol. II, pp. 83-116, 1863.
E. T. Cresson.— On the North American species
of the genus Osmia. <Proc. Entom. Soc.
Phila., Vol. Ill, 1864, pp. 17-43-
E. T. Cresson. — Descriptions of new North
American Hymenoptera in the collection of the
American Entomological Society. Family
Apids. <Trans. Amer. Entom. Soc, Vol.
VII, 187S-79, pp. 61-136, 201-214.
C. Robertson. — Nortlt American bees. Descrip-
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St. Louis, Vol. VII, pp. 315-356. 1897.
C. Robertson. — Synopsis of the North American
species of the genus Oxybelus. <Trans.
Amer. Entom. Soc, 1S89, pp. 77-85.
C. Robertson.— Descripdons of new species of
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Soc, 1891, pp. 49-66.
Table ot local Andrtna,
T. D. A. Cockerell.— On some Panurgine and
other bees. <Trans. Amer. Entom. Soc,
1898, pp. 185-198.

Table of CalHopsis and Panurginus.
E. T. Cresson.— Synoptic table of the North
American species of Sapyga. <Trans. Amer.
Entom. Soc, Vol. VIII, 1880, pp. 20-21.

E. T. Cresson.— Notes on the Pompilidas of
North America, with descriptions of new
species. <Trans. Amer. Entom. Soc, Vol. I,
1867, pp. 85-150.

W. J. Fox.— The species of Pepsis inhabiting

America, north of Mexico. <Proc. Entom.

Soc. Wash., Vol. IV, pp. 140-148. 1897.
W. J. Fox. — The North American species of Cero-

pales. <Trans. Amer. Entom. Soc, 1892,

pp. 49-63.
W. H. Patton.— Some characters useful in the

study of Sphecidx. <Proc. Boston Soc. Nat.

Hist., Vol. XX, 1880, pp. 378-385-
Critical notes on genera and species.

F. F. Kohl. — Die Hymenopterengruppe der
Sphecinen. <Ann. k. k. Naturh. Hof-
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W. H. Patton. — The American Bembecidae :
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341-347- „ . , , o - • ■ r r> 1

W. J. Fox.— Synopsis of the Stizmi of Boreal

America. <Proc. Acad. Nat. Soi. Phila.,
189S, pp. 264-268.

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Bibliography

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This work includes revisions of the following
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Table of genera ; list of, and notes on, species.

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<Proc. Acad. Nat. Sci. Phila., 1894, pp.

467-551.
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IX, 1881-82, pp. 273-284.
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1895, pp. 5i7-53g- , , , „

E. T. Cresson. — Monograph of the Philanthidse

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126-128 ; 201-203.

Synopses of Alyson, Didineis and Mellinus.
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pp. 307-326.
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Continuation of the foregoing paper, both contain-
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64, pp. 443-500-

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W. H. Ashmead. — Synopsis of the North Ameri-
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Soc, 1897, pp. 193-348.
G. C. Davis. — A monograph of the tribe Bassini.

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G. C. Davis — Two new species of Clistopyga.

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Contains table of species.
W. H. AsHMEAD. — Classification of the Ichneumon

flies, or the superfamily Ichneumonoidea.

<Proc. U. S. Natl. Mus., 1900.
E. T. Cresson. — List of the North American

species of the genus Aleiodes, Wesmael.

<Trans. Amer. Entom. Soc, Vol. II, i868-6g,

PP- 377-3*^2-

C. V. Rilev. — On North Amencan Microgasters,

with descriptions of new species. < Trans.
St. Louis Acad. Sci. Vol. IV, No. 2, 1881.
T. A. Marshall. — Monograph of the British
Braconidae. Part I. < Trans. Entom. Soc.
London, 1885, pp. 1-280, pis. 1-4.

Marshall's classification is that reproduced by
Cresson in his Synopsis.
W. H. Ashmead. — Synopsis of the Horminje of
North America. <Trans. Amer. Entom.
Soc, 1893, pp. 39-44-
Edward Norton. — Catalogue of the described
Tenthredinidas and UroceridaB of North
America. <Trans. Amer. Entom. Soc, Vol.
I, 1867, pp. 31-84 and 193-280; Vol. II,
1868-69, pp. 211-242 and 321-367.

Gives synoptic tables of genera and species of
both families; the Uroceridae are treated in
Vol. II, pp. 349-367-
E. T. Cresson. — Catalogue of the Tenthredinidse
and Uroceridae of North America. <Trans.
Amer. Entom. Soc, Vol. VIII, 1880, pp. 53-68.
A synonymical reference list of the species ; the
Urocerid.'e are treated on pp. 66-67.
Peter Cameron. — Monograph of the British
Phytophagous Hymenoptera. 2 vols. London,
1882-1885.

Contains an arrangement of the subfamilies and
genera of Tenthredinid.'e, which has been re-
produced by Cresson in his general work of
classification.
C. L. Marlatt. — Revision of the Nematinae of
North America, a subfamily of leaf-feeding
Hymenoptera of the family Tenthredinidse.
<Technical Series No. 3, Div. Entom., U. S.
Dept. Agric, 1896, pp. 135.
A. D. MacGillivrav. — New species of Ten-
thredinids, with table of species of Strongylo-
gasterand Monoctenus. <Can. Entom., 1894,
pp. 324-328.

407

Bibliography

DIPTERA

I, — CATALOGUES

C. R. OsTEN Sacken. — Catalogue of the de-
scribed Diptera of North America. Washing-
ton, Smithsonian Institution, 1858. < Smith-
sonian Miscellaneous Collections, Vol. III.
C. R. OsTEN Sacken.— Catalogue of the de-
scribed Diptera of North America. Second
edition. Washington, Smithsonian Institu-
tion, 1878. <Smitlisonian Miscellaneous Col-
lections, 270.

This completely supersedes tlie first edition and
contains far more tlian a synonymical refer-
ence list of the North American Diptera.

II. — GENERAL WORKS ON CLASSI-
FICATION

S. W. WiLLiSTON.— Manual of the families and

fenera of North American Diptera. New
laven, Conn., 1896.
S. W. WiLLisTON.— Bibliography of North Amer-
ican Dipterology ; 1 878- 1 895. <Kans. Univ.
Quart., Vol. IV, 1896, pp. 129-144.

A list of articles since Osten Sacken's catalogue.
F. W. Meigen.— Systematische Beschreibung der
bekannten europaischen zweifliigeligen Insec-
ten. 7 vols. Aachen und Hamm, 1818-1838.
Although only dealing with the European fauna
and now antiquated and superseded in many
parts, this work is still the foundation of the
modern classification of Diptera.
C. R. W. Wiedemann. — Aussereuropaische zwei-
flugelige Insecten. 2 vols. Hamm, 1828-
1830, with plates.

A continuation of Meigen's work, and containing
descriptions of many genera and species be-
longing to the North American fauna.
J. Macquart.— Dipteres exotiques nouveaux ou
peu connus. 2 vols., in 5 parts and 5 supple-
ments. Paris, 1838-55. <Extr. Mem. Soc.
Sci. Arts, Lille.

Contains descriptions of many North American
genera and species.
J. R. ScHiNER.— Fauna Austriaca. Die Fliegen
(Diptera). Nach der analytischen Methode
bearbeitet, mit der Characteristik sammtlicher
europaischer Gattungen, der Beschreibung
aller in Deutschland vorkommenden Arten
und der Aufzahlung aller bishner beschrieben-
en europaischen Arten. 2 vols. Wien, 1862-64.
Although dealing with the European fauna, this
work is very useful on account of the analytic
tables of families and genera.
H. Loew and C. R. Osten Sacken.— Mono-
graphs of the Diptera of North America. 4
parts. Washington, Smithsonian Institution,
1862-72. < Smithsonian Miscellaneous Col-
lections. J J u
The several monographs will be found under the
respective families.
H. Loew.— Diptera Americas septentrionalis indi-
gena. 2 parts. Berlin, 1861-72. Originally
pubhshed in 10 centuriae in the Berliner Ento-
mol. Zeitschrift.

Descriptions of 1,000 North American Diptera, but
without synoptic arrangement.
C R. Osten Sacken.— Western Diptera : De-
scriptions of new genera and species of Dip-
tera from the region west of the Mississippi
and especially from California. <Bul. U. S.
Geolog. and Geogr. Survey of the Territories,
Vol. Ill, 1877, pp. 189-354. , ,, . ,. u
Fr Brauer.— Die Zweiflugler des Kaiserhchen
Museums zu Wien. Parts I-III. Wien, 1880-

Important contributions to the classification of the
Diptera.
C. H. T. TowNSEND.— The North American gen-
era of Nemocerous Diptera. <Trans. Amer.
Entom. Soc, 1892, pp. i44-j6o-

III. MONOGRAPHS AND SYNOPSES

C. R. Osten Sacken. — New genera and species

of North American Tipulids with short palpi,

with an attempt at a new classification of the

tribe. 2 pis. <Proc. Acad. Nat. Sci. Phila.,

1859, pp. 197-256.

C. R. Osten Sacken.— On the North American

Tipulidae, Part I. <Monographs of the

Diptera of North America, Part IV, i86g.

A monograph of the North American Tipulidse

brevipalpi and the sections Cylindrotomina

and i'tychopterina.

C. R. Osten Sacken. — Studies on Tipulidje.

Part I, Tipulid.-E longipalpi. <Berl. Ent.
Zeitschr., 1886, pp. 153-1S8. Part II, Tipulidae
brevipalpi. <Ibid, 1887, pp. 183-242.
H. Loew. — Table for determining the North
American species of the genus Pachyrrhina.
<Verh. zool.-bot. Ges. Wien, 1879, pp.

D. W. CoQuiLLETT. — Synoptic tables of the
North America mosquitoes. <Cir. No. 40,
second series, Div. Entom., U. S. Dept.
Agric, 1900, pp. 4-7.

N. Banks. — Some Psychodidas from Long Island,

N. Y. <Can. Entom., 1S94, pp. 329-333.
T. Kincaid.— The Psychodidje of the Pacific

coast. <Entom. News, iSgg, pp. 30-37. _
J. WiNNERTZ. — Beitrag zu einer Monographic der

Gallmiicken. <Linnaa Entomologica, Vol.

VIII, 1853, 4 pis.

C. R. OsTEN Sacken. — On the North American

Cecidomyidae. < Monographs of the Diptera
of North America, by H. Loew and C. R.
Osten Sacken, Part I, No. 5, 1862, pp. 173-205.

B. D. Walsh. — On the insects. Coleopterous, Hy-
menopterous and Dipterous, inhabiting the
galls of certain species of VVillow. Diptera.
<Proc. Entom. Soc. Phila.; Vol. 111,1864,
pp. 543-644; Vol. VI, 1S66, pp. 223-229.

J. VON Bergenstamm and Pavl Lor.w. — Syn-
opsis Cecidomyidarum. <Veih. k. k. rool.-
bot. Ges. in Wien, Vol. XXVI, 1876, pp. 1-104.
A synopsis of all the literature of the family.

J. WiNNERTZ. — Beitrag zu einer Monographic der
Pilzmiicken. <Verh. k. k. zool.-bot. Ges. in
Wien, 1863, pp. 637-694.

Useful for determination of genera; no American
species are described.

J. WiNNERTZ.— Beitrag zu einer Monographic der
Sciarinen. Wien, 1867, pp. 187.

D. W. CoQuiLLETT. — The buffalo gnats or black

flies of the United States. A synopsis of the
Dipterous family Simuliida. <Bul. 10, new
series, Div. Entom., U. S. Dept. Agric, 1898,
pp. 66-69.

H. Loew. — Revision der Blepharocerids. <Schles.
Zeitschr. f. Entom., neue Folge, Heft VI,
Breslau, 1877.

S. W. WiLLisTON. — On the classification of North
American Diptera. Second paper. < Entom.
Amer. Vol. I, 1885, pp. 10-13.

Table of the genera of North American Leptidae.

D. W. CoQuiLLETT.— Synopsis of the Dipterous
genus Symphoromyia. <Joum. N. Y. En-
tom. Soc. 1894, pp. 53-56.

Fr. Brauer. — Versuch einer Characteristik der
Gattungen der Notacanthen (Ltr.), mit RUck-
sicht auf die im Kaiserlichen Museum be-
findlichen von Dr. J. R. Schiner aufgestellten
neuen Gattungen. <Die Zweitiiiglerdes Kais.
Museums zu Wien, Vol. II, 1882, pp. 3-35.
The Notacantha Latreille comprise the family
Stratiomyidas and a part of the Leptidre.

S. W. WiLLiSTON. — On the classification of North
American Diptera. Third paper. < Entom.
Amer. Vol. I, 1885, pp. 114-116.

Tables for distinguishing the families StratiomyV
dee and,Leptid« and oscillant genera.

408

Bibliography

L T Day —The species of Odontomyia found in

the United States. <Proc. Acad. Nat. bci.

Phila., 1S82, pp. 74-88.
C W Johnson.— A review of the Stratiomyii

and Odontomyiae of North America. <Trans.

Am. Entom. Soc, 1895. PP- ^^T^l^-
C R OsTF.N SICKEN.— Prodrome of a mono-

eraph of the Tabanids of the United States.

< Memoirs of the Boston Soc. of Nat. Hist.,

^°k"l. xf-e lenera P.nRonia. Chrysops. Silvius.
Hxn.otoputa, Diabasis (1. c, pp. 365-397)-
Part U. The genus Tabanus, with an Appen-
dix ami Index (1. c, pp. 421-479)- Supple-
ment (1. c.pp. 555-560)-
S W WiLLisTON.— On the classification of North
American Diptera. Second paper. < Entom.
Amer., Vol. I, 1885, pp. 10-13.

Contains a synopsis of the genera of Tabanidae.

pp. 10-11. , . . t

S W WiLLiSTON.— Notes and descriptions ot

North American Tabanidae. <Trans. Kans.

Acad. Sci., Vol. X, 1888, pp. 129-142.

S W. WiLLisTON.-The North Amencan species

of Nemestrinidae. <Can. Entom., Vol. XV,

A. GERixAKK'ER'^-Systematische Uebersicht der
bis jetzt bekannt gewordenen Mydaiden.
<Stettiner Ent. Zeit., 1868, pp. 65 103.
S W WiLLiSTON.— Notes and descriptions ot
Mydaidje. <Trans. Kans. Acad. Sci., Vol.
XV PP. ■;3-'i8, 1898.
C R OsTEN SACKEN.-Western Diptera, etc.
■ <Bul. U. S. Geolog. and Georgr. Survey of
the Territories, Vol. Ill, No. 2, 1877.

Analytical table of the North American genera of
Bombyliids. pp.228: Tables ofthespeces of
Exoprosopa, p. 23°: Anthrax, p. 238; Argyra-
moeba. p 241 ; Bombylius (species from the
AtTantic'^ States), p. 247; P'oas (Call orma
species), p. 260; Toxophora, p. 265 ; Epibates,

D W. CoQUiLi^ETT.— Monograph of the Lomatina
of North America. <Can. Entom., Vol.
XVIII, 1S86, pp. 81-87.

The Lomafina comprise the genera Eucessia.
Leptochilus. Aphcebantus and Uncodocera.
D. W. CoQUiLLETT.-The North American genera
of Anthracina. <Can. Entom., Vol. XVIII,

1886 PP. 1^7-1^9.

a' tabular arrangement of the genera composing
the subfamily Anthracina.
D W CoQUiLLETT.— Monograph of the species

belonging to the genus Anthrax from America,

north of Mexico. <Trans. Ainer. Entom.

Soc., Vol. XIV, 1887, No. 2, pp. .59-182.
D W. CoQuii-LETT.— Revision of the species ot

Anthrax from America, north of Mexico.

<Trans. Amer. Entom. Soc, 1892, pp. 168-187.
D W CoQUiLLETT.— Notes and descriptions ot

North American Bombyliidaj. < Trans. Amer.

Entom. Soc., 1894, PP- 89-112.
D W CoQUii-i-ETT.— Revision of the Bombylid

genus Epacmus. <Can. Entom., 1892, pp.

D W."coQuii.i.ETT.— Revision of the Bonibylid
genus Aphcebantus. <West Amencan Scien-
tist, 1891, PP- 254-264.

D W. CoQiiiLLETT.-Synopsis of the Dipterous
genus Thereva. <Can. Entom., 1893, pp.

D wJ' CoQUiLLETT.-Synopsis of the Dipterous
genus Psilocephala. <Can. Entom., 1893,

pp. 222-229. , , -r^. .

D W Cooi. I LLETT.— Revision of the Dipterous
family "Therevidae. <Journ; N. \. Entom.
Soc, September, 1894, PP- 97->oi- .
C R O'^TEN Sacken.— Western Diptera, etc.
<Bul. U. S- Oeolog. and Geogr. Survey of the
Territories. Vol. Ill, No. 2, 1877-

Synoptical and analytical table of the Western
species of Cyrtopogon. pp. 294-309-

S. W. Wn-LISTON.— Oti the North American Asil-
idae — Dasypogonina;, Laphrinse— with a new
genus of Syrphidse. <Trans. Amer. EBtom.
Soc, Vol. XI, 1883, pp. 1-35, Pis- I; 2-

Tabulates the genera of the subfamilies Dasypo-
goninrc and Laphrinx, with enumeration of
the species.
S. W. WiLLiSTON. — On the North American Asil-
ids Part II. <Trans. Amer. Entom. Soc,
Vol. XII, i88s, pp. 53-76. , , .K

Tabulates the species of Laphria and revises the
genera and species of the subfamily Asilinx,
excepting the genus Asilus.

W. A. Snow.— List of Asilids supplementary to
Osten Sacken's catalogue of North American
Diptera. <Kans. Univ. Quart., Vol. IV, i8g6,
pp. 173-190.

D. W. CoQun-LETT.- Brief tables of several gen-
era have been published in the Can. Entom.t
i8g3, pp. 20, 33, 80, n8 and 175-

D. W. CoQun.i^TT.--Ospriocerus. < Entom-
News, i8q8, p. 37.

D W. CoctriLLETT.— Revision of the North
American Empida;. <Proc. U. S. Nat. Mus.
Vol. XVII, pp. 387-440. 1896.

H LoEW.— On the North American Dolichopodi-
da;. < Monographs of the Diptera of North
America Part II, 1864.

T M. Aldrich.— A revision of the genera Dol-
ichopus and Hygroceleuthus. <Kans. Lniv.
Quart., Vol. II, 1893, pp. 1-26.

W M Wheeler.— New species of Dolichopodi-
dae from the United States. <Proc. Calif -
Acad. Sci. 3 ser., Vol. II, Zool. No. i, pp-
1-77. 1899.

Tallies for the species of fifteen gener«.
J. M. Alurich. — New species of Phora. <Can.
Entom., 1892, pp. 142-146.
Contains a table of species.
D. W. CoQuiLLETT.— Synopsis of the Dipterous
genus Phora. <Can. Entom., 1895, pp. 103

G

W.

DE N. Hough.— The Pipunculidae of the
United States. <Proc. Bost. Soc. Nat. Hist.,
Vol. XXIX, pp. 77-86- 1899.
A Snow.— American Platypezids. <Kans.
Univ. Quart., Vol- III, Part I, 1894, PP.
143-152; Part II, 1895, pp. 205 207.
S W. WiLLiSTON.— Contribution to a monograpri
oif the North American Syrphida;. <Proc.
Amer. Philos. Soc, Vol. XX, .882, pp.

S W Williston.— Synopsis of the North Ameri-
can Syrphida;. Bui. U. S. National Museum,
No. 31, 1S86.

This work supersedes the previous publications on
this family. r xt u

A Snow.— Supplementary hst of North
American Syrphidae. <Kans. Univ. Quart.,
Vol. Ill, pp. 249-262. 1895.
D. Hunter.— A summary of the members of
the genus Chilosia Meig. in North America,
with descriptions of new species. <Can.
Entom., 1896, pp. 227-233.

S W. Williston.— The North Amencan species
of Conops. <Trans. Conn. Acad., Vol. IV,
1882, pp. 325-342- , . . ^ -J

S W. Williston.— North American Conopidae :
Stylogaster, Dalmannia, Oncomyia. <Trans.
Conn. Acad., Vol. VI, 1883, PP- 5.-12
A revision of the three genera meiuionert.

Fr. Brauer.— MonographiederOestriden. Wien,

Hour supplements, by the same author are put>-

lished in Wiener Entom. Zeit., Vol. V. 1886.

p. 289. pis. 4, Vol. VI, 1887, pp. 4. 71 and 217.

S W Williston.— North American Tachinids.

Gonia. <Can. Entom., Vol. XIX, 1887,

pp. 6-12.

A revision of the species of Gonia.

W.

w.

409

Bibliography

Fr. Brauer and J. E. Bergenstamm. — Die
Zweifliigler des Kaiserlichen Museums zu
Wien. Parts I V-V 1 1, 1889-94.

These parts contain a prodrome to a monograph
of the Muscaria Schizometopa (excl. An-
thomyidce).

C. H. T. TowNSEND.— The North Ainerican
genera of Calyptrate Muscidae. Paper II.
<Trans. Amer. Entom. Soc, 1892, pp.

D. W. CoQUiLLETT. — Revision of the Tachinidae
of America, north of Mexico. <Technical
series, No. 7, Div. Entom., U. S. Dept.
Agric, 1897.

C. H. T. TovvNSEND. — The North American gen-
era of Calyptrate Muscids. Paper III.
<Trans. Amer. Entom. Soc, 1892, pp. 273-
278.

Table of the genera of Dexidae.

H. A. Hagen. — List of North American Sarcop-
hagids, examined by R. H. Meade, Esq.,
Bradford, England. <Can. Entom., 1881,
Vol. XIII, pp. 146-150.

C. H. T. TowNSEND. — The North American gen-

era of Calyptrate Musicds. Paper IV.

<Trans. Amer. Entom. Soc, 1892, pp. 279-

284.

Tables of the genera of Sarcophagid^e and Musci-
dse, s. str.
G. DE N. Hough. — Synopsis of the Calliphorinas

of the United States. <Zool. Bal. II, 1899, pp.

283-290.
G. DE N. Hough. — Some Muscina of North

America. <Biol. Bui. I, 1899, pp. 19-33.
H. A. Hagen. — List of North American Antho-

myida, examined by R. H. Meade, Esq.,

Bradford, England. <Can. Entom.,Vol.XIII,

1881, pp. 43-51-
P. Stein. — Nordamerikanische Anthomviden.

<Berl. Entom. Zeitsch., 1897, pp. 161-288.

D. W. CoQUiLLETT. — On the Dipterous family
Scatophagidae. <Joum. N. Y. Entom. Soc,
September, i8g8, pp. 160-165.

H. LoEw. — On the North American Sciomyzidae.

< Monographs of the Diptera of North
America, Part I, 1862, pp. 103-128.

S. W. WiLLisTON. — The American genera of Sa-
promyzidse. < Entom. News, Vol. V, 1894,
pp. 196-197.

H. LoEw. — The family Ortalidse. < Monographs
of the Diptera of North America, Part III,

1873. PP- 1-209-
H. LoEw. — On the North American Trypetidae.

< Monographs of the Diptera of North
America, Part i, 1862, pp. 49-102.

H. LoEW. — Review of the North American
Trypetina. < Monographs of the Diptera of
North America, Part III, 1873, pp. 211-347.

D. W. CoQUiLLETT. — Notes and descriptions of
Trypetids. <Joum. N. Y. Entom. Soc,
1899, pp. 259-268.

Contains a s\nopsis of the genera.

H. LoEW. — On the North American Ephydrinids.

< Monographs of the Diptera of North
America, Part I, 1862, pp. 129-172.

W. M. Wheeler. — The genus Ochdtera. < Entom.

News, 1886, pp. 121-123.
D. W. CoQUiLLETT. — Notes and descriptions of

Oscinidae. <Joum. N. Y. Entom. Soc,

March. 1898, pp. 44-49.
D. W. CoQuiLLETT. — New genera and species of

Nycteribids and Hippoboscidae. < Can.

Entom., 1899. pp. 333-336-

SIPHONAPTERA

O. Taschenberg. — Die Flohe. Die Arten der
Insektenordnung Suctoria nach ihrem Chitin-
skelet monographisch dargestellt. Halle, 1880.

P. Megnin. — Les parasites et les maladies para-
sitaires chez I'homme, lesanimaux domestiques
et les animaux sauvaj;es avec lesquels ils
peuventetre en contact. Insectes, Arachnides,
Crustaces. Paris, 1880.

The Pulicid.-e (Aphanipteres) are treated of ou
pp. 57-71. _ _

C. F. Baker. — Preliminary studies in Siphonajv
tera. <Can. Entom., 1895, pp. 19-22; 63-66;
108-111; 130-132; 162-165; 186-191; 221-222.

TRICHOPTERA

R. McLachlan. — A monographic revision and

synopsis of the Trichoptera of the European

fauna. London, 1874-1S80.

Extremely valuable for the study of genera.
F. A. KoLENATi. — Genera et species Trichopter-

orum. 2 parts. Parti, Prague, 1848 ; part 2,

Moscow, 1859.
R. McLachlan. — Notes on North American

Phryganidae, with especial reference to those

contained in the collection of the British

Museum. <Entom. Annual for 1863, pp. 155-

163.

Contains a list of North American Phryganids.
H. A. Hagen. — Phryganidarum Synopsis synony-

mica. <Verh. k. k. zool.-bot. Ges. in Wien,

Vol. XIV, 1S64, pp. 7W-8QO.
H. A. Hagen. — Beitrage zur Kenntnissder Phry-

ganiden. <Verh. k. k. zool.-bot. Ges. in Wien,

Vol. XXIII, 1873, pp. 377-452.
H. a. Hagen.— On the Phryganidae. <Proc.

Boston Soc. Nat. Hist., Vol. XV, 1873, PP- 384-

385.

A list of the North American species.
A. E. Eaton. — On the Hydroptilida, a family of

the Trichoptera. <Trans. Entom. Soc. Lon-
don, 1873, pp. 125-151.

Gives a list of the species, and synopsis cf genera.
N. Banks. — Descriptions of new North American

Neuropteroid Insects. <Trans. Amer. Entom.

Soc, 1898, pp. 199-218.

Contains a table of the genera of Leptoceridte.

MECOPTERA

J. O. Westwood. — Monograph of the genus Pan-
orpa. <Trans. Entom. Soc. London, Vol. IV,
p. I.

J. S. HiNE. — The North American species of the
genus Bittacus. <Jouni. Columbus Hortic.
Soc, Vol. XIII, 1S99, pp. II, 2 pis.

J. S. HiNE. — A review of the Panorpid^e of Amer-
ica north of Mexico. Ohio State University,
University Bulletin, series V, No. 7 ; Contribu-
tions from the Department of Zoology and
Entomology, No. 4. Reprinted from Bui. Sci.
Lab. Denison University, Vol. XI, Art. X,
February, 1901. Columbus, published by the
University, February, 1901, pp. 241-264, pis.
LIX-LXI inc.

NEUROPTERA

I. — CATALOGUES

N. Banks. — A synopsis, catalogue, and biblio-
graphy of the Neuropteroid insects of temperate
North America. <Trans. Amer. Entom. Soc,
1892, pp. 328-373.

II.

-GENERAL WORKS ON CLASSI-
FICATION

Hermann Burmeister.— Handbuch der Entomo-
logie. Berlin, 1832-1835.

The Neuroptera are treated in Vol. II. Part I.

P. Rambi'k.— Historic naturelle des Neuroptferes.
Suites k Buffon. Paris, 1842.

Hermann Hagen.— Synopsis of the Neuroptera
of North America, with a list of the South
American species. Prepared for the .Smithson-
ian Institution. ■<Smithsonian Miscellaneous
Collections, Washington, 1861.

410

Btbliography

M. Rostock.— Neuroptera Germamca. Zwickaa,

1888, 200 pp., 10 pis.

CiMitaiiis tables to European genera, and, as an
appendix, an elaborate classilication of the
Psucia.e by H. Kulbe.
Fr. Braier.— Verzeichnis der bis jetzt beknnnten
Neuropteren im Sinne Linn^'s. <Verh. zool.-
bot. Ges. Wien., 1868, pp. 359-416 ; 711-742.
C.Titains tables t.j all the jjenera known at date.
N. Banks.— New genera and species of Nearctic
Neuropteroid Insects. <Trans. Amer. Entom.
Soc, iSgg-iqoo, pp. 239-259.

Generic synitpses of the rerliJtand Ephenieridce,
anel tables of Callib:etis and Tri.tnodes.
H. Albarda. — Revision des Raphidides. <Tijd.

voor Entom., 1891, pp. 65-184.
H. A. Hagen.— Stray notes on the Myrmeleonida.
<Can. Entom., 1887-18SS. Continued in sev-
eral numbers.
N. Banks.— A classification of the North American
Myrmeleonids. <Can. Entom., 1899, pp. 67-71.
G. Th. Schneider. — Symbola ad monojjraphiam

generis Chr>'sops Leach. Vratislavis, 1851.
H. A. H.^GEN. — Hemerobidarum synopsis synony-
mica. <Stettiner Entom. Zeit., 1866, pp. 369-
462.
H. A. Hac.en. — Monograph of the Hemerobidae.
<Part 1, Proc. Boston Soc. Nat. Hist., Vol.
XXIII, 1886, pp. 250-269; Part II, I.e., pp.
276-292 .

Never completed.

HEMIPTERA

I. — CATALOGUES AND CHECK-LISTS

F. A. DoHRN. — Catalogus Hemipterorum. Stet-
tin, 1S59.

Philip R. Uhler. — Check-List of the Hemiptera-
Heteroptera of North America. Published by
the Brooklyn Entom. Soc, 1886.

L. Lethierry et G. Severin. — Catalogue general
des Hemipteres. 3 vols. 1893-1896. <Musee
royal d'histoire naturelle de Belgique.

These include all the Heteroptera except the Cap-
sidie and the Cryptocerata.

II.-

-GENERAL WORKS ON CLASSI-
FICATION.

C. W. Hahn und G. A. W. Herrich-Schaef-
FER.— Die wanzenartigen Insecten. 10 vols.
Nuernberg, 1831-1853.

C. J. B. Amvot et J. G. Audinet-Serville. —
Hemipteres. Suites k Buffon. Histoire Nat-
urelle des Insectes. Paris. 1843.

C. Stal. — Analecta hernipterologica. Berlin, 1866-
1869. 3 parts. Originally published in the
Berlin, Entom. Zeitschr._

C. Stal. — Hemiptera Fabriciana, secundum ex-
empla Musei Hafniensiset Kieliensisdescripta.
2 parts. <Kongl. Svensk. Vet.-Akad. Handl.,
1868-1869.

J. G. ScHioEDTE. — Einige neue Hauptsatze der
Morphologic und Systeniatik der Rhynchoten.
<Naturh. Tidskr., 1S69, p. 237ff.

P. R. L'hlek.— List of Hemiptera of the region
west of the Mississippi River, including those
collected during the Haydcn explorations of
1873. <Bul. U.S. Geolog. and Geogr. Survey
of the Territories, Vol. I, 1875, PP- 267-361, pis.
19-21.

P. R. Uhler.— Report upon the !n.sects collected
by P. R. Uhler during the exploration of 1875,
including monographs of the families Cydnidx
and Saldida;, and tlie Hemiptera collected by
A. S. Packard, M.D. <U.S. Geolog. and
Geogr. Survey, Bui., Vol. Ill, No. 2, 1877, pp.
355-475-

C. Stal.— Enumeratio Hemipterorum. Bidrag
till en forteckning ofver alia hitills kanda Hem-
iptera (or: Index specierum omnium hucusque
cognitarum cum observationibus systematicis).
<Kongl. Svensk. Vet.-Akad. Handl., 1870-
1S77, 5 parts.

C Stal. — Bidrag till Hemipterenas Systematik.
Ofver. k. Vet.-Akad. Fbrh., 1867, pp. 491-560.

;id3E

Synopses of genera of Pentatoniidoe and Coreidae.

Herbert Osborn.— Classification of Hemiptera,

<Entomologica Amer., Vol. 1,1885, PP- 21-27.

Short characterization of the ivliole order, with
tables of suborders and fandlies.

H. E. Summers. — The true bugs, or Heteroptera,
of Tennessee. <Bul. Tenn. Agr. Exp. Sta.,
Vol. IV, No. 3, July. 1891, pp. 7J-96.

Contains a table of the families, tables of genera of
all aquatic forms, of the limeside, iNabidae,
Phymatid.Te, Aradidce, Tingitidie, and the
Cytinidai.

III. — MONOGRAPHS AND SYNOPSES

Charles William Woodworth. — Synopsis of

North American Cicadidae. <Psycne, Vol. V,

i888, pp. 67-68.
P. R. Uhler. — Preliminary survey of the Cicadidae

of the United .States, Antilles, and Mexico.

<Trans. Maryland Acad. Sci., 1892, pp. 175-179.
A. D. MacGillivrav. — Cicadidx. American

genera and species. <Can. Entom., March,

1901, pp. 74-84.
J. O. Westwood. — On the family Fulgorids, with

a monograph of the genus Fulgora of Linn.Tus.

<Trans. Linn. Soc. London, Vol. XVIII,

1S39, pp. 133-238, I pi.
C. Stal. — Die amerikanischen Fulgoriden-Gat-

tungen synoptisch beschrieben. <Stettiner

Entom. Zeit., Vol. XXXI, 1870, pp. 255-258.
W. H. Ashmead.— A generic synopsis of the Ful-

goridae. <Entom. Amer., 1888, pp. 1-6, 21-28.
E. P. Van Duzee. — A preliminary review of the

North American Delphacids. <Bul. Buffalo

Soc. Nat. Sci., Vol. V, 1897, pp. 225-261.

E. P. Van Duzee. — Observations on some north-
ern Derbidae. <Can. Entom., 1889, pp. 159 and
176.

P. R. Uhler.— Aids to a recognition of some
North American genera and species of the old
farnily Fulgoridae. <Trans. Maryland Acad.
Sciy 1900, pp. 401-408.

Treats of the species of Scolofis.

C. Stal. — Bidrag till Membracidernas Kiinnedom.
Afver. af Kongl. Vet.-Akad. Forhandl., 1S69.

F. W. GoDiNG. — Bibliographical and synonymical
catalogue of the described Membracid^ of
North America. <Bul. III. St. Lab. Nat.
Hist., Vol. III. 1894, pp. 391-482.

F. W. Goding. — A svmopsis of the subfamilies
and genera of the Membracids of North .Amer-
ica. <Trans. Amer. Entom. Soc, 1892, pp.
253-260.

V. Signoret.— Revue critique du groupe des Tet-
tigonides et de la tribu des Cercopides. <Re-
vue et Mag. de Zool., Vol. V, 1S53, pp. 173-184.

F. W. Coding.- Synopsis of the subfamilies and
genera of the North American Cercopid.T?, with
a bibliographical catalogue ot the described
species. <Bul. 111. State Labor, Nat. Hist.,
Vol. Ill, 1895, pp. 483-501.

E. D. Ball.— A study of the genus Clastoptera.
<Proc. Iowa Acad. Sci., Vol. Ill, 1S96, pp.
182-193, 4 pis.

E. P. Van Duzee.— A catalogue of the described

Jassoidea of North America. <Trans. Amer.

Entom. Soc, 1894, pp. 245-316.
E. P. Van Duzee. — A synoptical arrangement of

the genera of the North American Jassida;, etc.

<Trans. Amer, Entom. Soc, 1892, pp. 295-307.
V. Signoret. — Revue iconographique des Tet-

tigonides. <Ann. Soc. Entom. de France,

1853-1855, with colored plates.
V. Signoret.— Essai sur les Jassides StSl, Fieb.,

et plus particulierement sur les Acocephalides

Puton. <Ann. Soc Entom. de France, 1879-

1880.
Charles William Woodworth. — Jassidae of

Illinois, Part I. <Bul. 111. State Lab. Nat.

Hist., Vol. Ill, 1887, pp. 9-33-
H. OsiioRN and E. D. Ball. — Studies of North

American Jassoidea. <Proc Davenport Acad.

Sci., Vol. VI 1 , 1898, pp. 45-100.
Contains a review of .-l^ui/tia.
H. Osborn and E. I). Ball. ^Contributions to

the Hemipterous fauna of Iowa. <Proc. Iowa

Acad. Sci., Vol. IV, 1897, pp. 172-234.
Contains a review of Deltoctphalus.

411

Bibliography

H. OsBORNandE. D. Ball.— The genus Pediop-

sis ; a review of the North American species.

<Proc. Davenport Acad. Nat. Sci., Vol. VII,

iQoo, pp. 111-123.
H. OsBORNandE. D. Ball.— A review of the

North American species of Idiocerus. <Proc.

Davenport Acad. Nat. Sci., Vol. VII, igoo, pp.

124-138.
Charles William Woodworth.— On the genus

Cicadula. <Psyche, Vol. V, i88q, pp. 75-76.
K. P. Van Duzee.— Review of the North Ameri-
can species of Pediopsis. <Entom. Amer.

i88q, pp. 165-174.
E. P. Van Duzee.— A revision of the North

American species of Phlepsius. <Trans. Amer.

Entom. Soc, i8q2, pp. 63-82.
J. Spaneerg.— Species Gyponse Generis Homopt-

erorum. <Bihang till k. Svenska Vet.-Akad.

Handl., 1878.
C. F. Baker.— The North American species of

Gnathodus. <Can. Entom., i8q6, pp. 35-42.
W. H. AsHMEAU. — .\ generic synopsis of the

Bythoscopidi. <, Entom. Amer., i88g, pp.

125-126.
E. P. Van Duzee.— Review of the North Ameri-
can species of Bythoscopus. < Entom. Amer.,

i8qo, pp. 22I-22g.

Charles William Woodworth.— North Ameri-
can Typhlocybini. < Psyche, Vol. V, 1889, pp.
211-214.

C. P. Gillette.— American leaf hoppers of the
subfamily Typhlocybins. <Proc. U.S. Nat.
Mus., Vol. XX, i8g8, pp. 7o<)-773.

H. OsBORN.— The genus Scaphoideus. <Joum.
Cin. Soc. Nat. Hist., Vol. XIX, iqoo, PP- 187-

2CX), 2 pis.

A. L. QuAiNTANCE.— Contributions toward a
monograph of the American Aleurodids.
<Bul. No. 8, Technical series, Div. Entom.,
U. S. Dept. Agric, iqoo, pp. 1-64.

V. Signoret. — Essai sur les Cochenilles. <Ann.
Soc. Entom. de France, 1868-1876.

J. H. CoMSTuCK.— Report on scale insects. <An-
nual Report of the Commissioner of Agriculture
for the year 1880, Washington, 1881, pp. 276-
340, pis.

J. H. CoMSTOCK.— Second Report on scale insects,
including a monograph of the subfamily Dia-
spinae of the family CoccidiE and a list, with
notes, of the other species of scale insects found
in North America. < Second Report of the
Cornell University Experiment Station, 1882-
83, Ithaca, N.Y., 1883, pp. 47-143, pls. 1-4-^

W. H. AsHMEAD. — A generic syniopsis of the Coc-
cidas. <Trans. Amer. Entom. Soc, i8gi, pp.

q2-I02.

T. D. A. Cqckerell.— Tables for the determina-
tion of the genera of Coccidx. <Can. Entom.,
i8gc) pp. 273-27Q; 330-333. ^ , ^

T. D. A. CocKERELL.— A check-list of the Loc-
cids. <Bul, 111. St. Lab. Nat. Hist., Vol. IV,
i8q6 pp. 3i8-33q-

T. D. A. CocKERELL.— First supplement to the
check-list of the Coccida;. <Bul. 111. St. Lab.
Nat. Hist., Vol. V, i8qq, pp. 38g-3Q8.

T. D. A. CocKERELL.— A check-list of the Nearc-
tic Coccida. <Can. Entom., i8g4, pp. 31-36.

T. 1). A. CocKERELL.— Table of North American
Kermes, based on external characters. < Psyche,
Vol. IX, iqoo, pp. 44-45-

W. Newell.— On the North American species of
the subgenera Diaspidiotus and Hemiberlesia,
of the genus Aspidiotus. -^Contrib. Dept.
Zool. Entom., Iowa St. Coll. Agric. and Mech.
Arts, No. 3, August, iSqq.

R. A. CooLEV.— The Coccid genera Chionaspis
and Hemichionaspis. <Spec. Bui. Mass.
Agric. Exp. Station, August, i8q<), pp. 58, g pis.

G. B. King.— The genus Kermes in North Amer-
ica. <Psyche, July, iqoo, pp. 78-84.

Franz Low.— Zur Systematik der Psylloden.
<Verh. d. k. k. Zool.-Bot., Ges. in Wien, 1878,
pp. 585-610.

Characteristics and tables of the European sub-
families and genera. Supersedes all previous
classifications.

W. H. AsHMEAD.— On theAphidids of Florida,
with descriptions of new species. Family
Psyllidx. <Can. Entom., Vol. XIII, i88i,
pp. 220-225.

Gi\es a list of the North American species, with
descriptions of several new ones.

C. V. RiLEv.— Notes on North American Psyllidas,
<Proc. Biolog. Soc. Wash., Vol. II, 1884, pp.
67-79.

A classified list of the North American Psyllidae
hitherto described, with short characteristics of
the subfamilies, and descriptions of some new
genera and species.

C. W. Mally. — Psyllidse found at Ames. <Proc.

Iowa Acad. Sci., Vol. II, 1894, pp. 152-171,3 pis.

A list of the described species, with a lew additions.

Benjamin D. Walsh. — On the genera of Aphids
found in the United States. <Proc. Entom,
Soc. Phila., Vol. I, 1861-1863, pp. 294-310.
Cyrus Thomas.— Notes of the Plant-lice found in
the United States. <Trans. 111. Hortic. Soc,
1877. pp. 137-212.

a review of the family, including the Psyllidae ;
reproduces the descriptions of earlier authors,
and adds descriptions of new species.

Cyrus Thomas. — A list of the species of the tribe
Aphidini, family Aphidse, found in the United
States, which have been heretofore named, with
descriptions of some new species. <Bul. No.
2, 111, St. Labor, Nat. Hist., 1S78, pp. 3-16,
C. V. Riley and J. Monell.— Notes on the
Aphidid^ of the United States, with descriptions
of species occurring west of the Mississippi,
<Bul. U.S. Geolog. and Geogr. Survey of the
Territories, Vol, V, No. i, 1879, pp. 1-32, 2 pis.
Riley gi^es the biolog>- and description of several
Pemphigin.'e ; Monell, descriptions, with oc-
casional tables, of a number of Aphidini.

Cyrus Thomas.— Eighth Report of the.State En-
tomologist on the noxious and beneficial insects
of the State of Illinois. <Third Annual Report,
by Cyrus Thomas, Springfield. 1879.

The report treats wholly on tlie Aphidi(.L-e of the

United States and is an enlarijenient of the

author's paper in the Trans. 111. Hortic. Soc ,

1877.

George B, Buckton. — Monograph of the British

Aphides. 4 vols. Ray Society, London, 1875-

1S83.

This is the latest European work on this family,
containing tables for the determination of the
j^enera.
J. Lichtenstein. — Les Pucerons. Premiere par-
tie. Genera (all published.) Paris, 1885, pp.
185.

Contains a hiblingraphy, synopsis of genera, and
lists of species of the entire world to date.
O. W. Oestlund. — Synopsis of the Aphididae of
Minnesota. <Bul. No. 4, Geolog. and Nat.
Hist. Survey of Minn., St. Paul, 1887,
W. H. AsHMEAD. — A generic synopsis of the
Aphidida:. < Entom. Amer., 1889, pp. 185-189.
T. A, Williams. — Host-plant list of North Amer-
ican Aphidida. Spec. Bui. No. I, Univ. Nebr.,
Dept. Entom., 1891.
F. X. FiEBER. — Species generis Corisa monogra-
phice dispositae. <Abhandl. kbn. bohm. Ges.
der Wiss. Prag, Ser. 5, Vol. VII, 1852, pp. 213-
260.

F. X, FiEBER.— Rhynchotographien, drei mono-
graphische Abhandlungen. Sciocoridae, Oxy-
carenus, Notonectx. <Abhandl. kon. biJhm.
Ges. der Wiss. Prag, Ser. 5, Vol. VII, 1851, pp.
425-488.

G. W. KiRKALDY.— Revision of the Notonectidje,
Part I. <Trans. Entom, Soc. London, 1897.
pp. 393-426.

Joseph Leidy. — History and anatomy of the

Hemipterous genus Belostoma. <Joum. Acad.

Sci. Phila., Ser. 2, Vol. I, 1S47, PP. 57-67, pl. i.
L60N DuFoUR.— Essai monographique sur les B^l-

ostomides. <Ann. Soc. Entom. de France,

1863, pp. 373-400,
G. Mayr.— Die Belostomiden. Monographisch

bearbeitet. <Verh. k. k. Zool. Hot. Ges, in

Wien, 1871, pp. 399-440.

412

Bibliograph]f

A. L. MoNTANDON. — Hetnipteres-Hetcropteres
exotiques, notes et descriptions, II. Fam.
Belostomids. <Ann. Soc. Entom. Belg. i8q6,
pp. 508 520.

A rcMevv of our species of Belostoma anri Ilenacus.

F. X. FiEBER. — Genera Hydrocoridum secundum
ordineninaturaleni in familiasdisposita. <.Ab-
handl. kon. bohm. Ges. der W'iss Prag, Vol.
VII. 1S52, pp. 181-212, 4 pis.

O. M. Reuter. — Acanthiidx Americanae. <(3fver.
k. Vet.-Akad. Kbrh., 1871, pp. 557 567.

O. M. Reutek.— Monographia Anthocoridarum
orbis terrestris. <Act. Soc. Fenn., Vol. XIV,
1886, pp. 555-758.

P. R. Uhler.— Family Saldidae. Report upon
the insects collected by P. R. Uhler during the
explorations of 1875. <Bul. U.S. Geolog. and
Geogr. Survey, Vol. Ill, No, 2, 1877, pp. 42Q-
452.

C. Stal.— Monographic der Gattung Conorhinus
und Verwandten. Berliner Entom. Zeitschr.,
Vol. Ill, 185Q, pp. 312-32S.

C. Stal. — Bidrag till Reduviidemas kannedomen.
<Ofver. k. Vet.-Akad. Forh., 1866, PP. 235-302,

O. M. Reuter.— Nabidae novae et minus cognitse.
<Ofver. k. Vet.-Akad. Forh., Vol. XXIX,
1872-1873, PP- 79-<36.

F. A, DoHRN. — Beitragezu einermonographischen
Bearbeitung der Familie der Emesina, <Lin-
naea Entom., Vol. XIV, i860, pp. 206-355,
Table I.

A. Handlirsch.— Monographic der Phyraatiden.
<Ann. k. k. Naturh. Hofmuseums, Wien.,
i8q7, Vol. XII, pp. 127-230.

A. N. Caudell.— The genus Sinea of Amyot and
Serville. <Journ. N. V. Ent. Soc, March,
iqoi, pp. i-ii, 2 pis.

E. Bergroth.— Notes on the Nearctic Aradidse.
<Proc. Entom. Soc. Wash., Vol. II, PP. 332-
338, i8g2.

E. T. Atkinson.— Catalogue of the Capsidae.
<Suppl., Joum. Asiatic Soc. Bengal, Vol.
LVIII, Part II, i88q, pp. 200.

The only catalo(,'ue of the Capsids of the world. _

O. M. Reuter.— Capsina ex America boreali in
MuseoHolmiensiasservats. <Ofver. k. Vet.-
Akad, Forh., 1875, pp. $9-92.

O. M. Reuter.— Hemiptera Gymnocerata Eur-
ope. Helsingfors, Vol. I, 1878: Vol. II, 187Q ;
Vol. Ill, 1883 ; Vol. IV, i8qi ; Vol. V, i8q6.
Most important for the study of the Capsid?e.

H. E. Summers.— A generic synopsis of the Ne-
arctic Pentatomidas. <Proc. Iowa Acad. Sci.,

l8Q8-l8qq.

E, F. Germar.— Beitrage zu einer Monographic
der Schildwanzen. <Germar's Zeitschr. f. En-
tom., Vol. I, 183Q, pp. 1-46.

Now greatly antiquated ; treats of the Scutelleridae
and Corimelaenid^c.

A. L. Montandon. — Notes on American Hemip-
tera-Heteroptera. <Proc. U. S. Natl. Mas.,
Vol. XVI, pp. 45-52, 1803.

Contains Table to Cosmopepla, and review of
Alydus.

P. R. Uhler.— Summary of the Cydnidas of North
America in report upon the insects collected by
P. R. Uhler, etc. <Bul. U.S. Geolog. Survey,
Vol. Ill, 1877, pp. 366-306.

V. SlGNORET. — Revision du groupe des Cydnides
de la familie des Pentatomides. <Annales de
la Societe Entom. de France, 1881, and subse-
quent volumes to 1884.

A monograph of the Cydnidae of the whole world.

H. Denny.— Monographia Anoplurorum Britan-
nia:, or an essay on the British species of para-
sitic insects. London, 1842, 26 pis.

C. G. A. Giebel.— Insecta epizoa. Die auf Saii-
gethieren und Vbgeln schmarotzenden Insekten.
Nach Zeichnungen von C, L. Nitzsch. Leipzig,
1874, 20 pis.

Andrew MuRRAV.—Economic Entomology. Ap-
tera. South Kensington Museum Science
Handbooks. London and New York, 1877.
The Pediculidae are tteated oa pp. 384-400.

P. M^GNiN. — Les Parasites et les maladies parasi-
taires chez I'homme, les animaux domestiques
et les animaux sauvages avec lesquels ils peuvent
etre en contact. Insectes, Arachnides, Crusta-
ces. Paris, 18S0.

The I'eviijuli'l.c are treated on pp. 72-79.

E. PiAGET.— Les Pediculines. Description de
toutes les especes observees, enrichie d'espece*
nouvelles. Leyden, 1880, 56 pis. ; Supplement,
'885, i> pis.

PHYSAPODA

A. H. Haliday.— An Epitome of the British
genera in the Order Thysanoptera, with indica-
tions of a few of the species. <Entom. Mag.,
Vol. Ill, 1S36, pp. 43Q-45I.

Francis Walker. — List of specimens of Homop-
terous Insects in the collection of the British
Museum. 5 vols, and i vol. Supplement. Lon-
don, 1850-1858.

The Physapoda, compiled from Haliday's manu-
scripts, are treated in the supplement.

A. M. Beach.— Contributions to a knowledge of
the Thripids of Iowa. <Proc. Iowa Acad.
Sci., Vol. Ill, i8g6, pp. 214-227.
Tables tor j^'enera ami species.

H. Uzel.— Monographic der Ordnung Thysanop-
tera. Kbniggratz, iSqs, 4to, 472 pp., 10 pis.

ORTHOPTERA

I. — CATALOGUES

Samuel H. Scudder.— Catalogue of the described
Orthoptera of the United States and Canada.
<Proc. Davenport Acad. Nat. Sci., Vol.
VIII, 1900.
Samuel H. Scudder. — A catalogue of the Or-
thoptera of North America described previous
to 1867. <Smithsonian Institution Miscel-
laneous Collections i8q, 1868.

An alphabetical, not svnonymical, list of the
Orthoptera described from North America ;
contains also a full bibliography up to 1867.

11.^ — LOCAL LISTS

J. Sidney Smith.— Orthoptera of the State of
Maine. < Proc. Portland Soc. Nat. Hist.,
1868, pp. i43-i?i.

A synonymical catalogue of the Orthoptera found
in Maine, with notes on habits and distribu-
tion of the species.
Cyrus Thomas.— A list of the Orthoptera of Illi-
nois. Bui. Ills. Mus. Nat. Hist. No. i, 1876,
pp. 5g-6g.

A synonimical list of the Orthoptera found in
Illinois.
C. H. Fernland. — The Orthoptera of New
England. < Ann. Kept. Mass. Agric. Col.,
1888, pp. 61.
W. Beutenmuller. — Descriptive catalogue of
the Orthoptera found within fifty miles of New
York CiU'. <Bu1. Amer. Mus. Nat. Hist.,
Vol. VI, pp. 253-316. 1894.

III. — GENERAL WORKS ON CLASSI-
FICATION

S. H. Scudder. — Guide to the genera and classifi-
cation of the North American Orthoj-lc-a,
Cambridge, Mass., 1897.
Contains a bibliography.
C. Brunner von WATTI•N^VYL. — Revision du
systeme des Orthopteres, et description des
especes rapportees par M. Leonardo Fea de
Birmamie. <Ann. Mus. Civ. Stor. Nat.
Geneva, XIII, 1893, pp. 1-230.
J. G. Audinet-Serville.— Histoire naturelle des
Insectes Orthopteres. Paris, 1839, 776 pp.
14 pis.

Natural history of the order up to date, with
bibliogmphy and list of species described.

413

Bibliography

Henri DESAUsstiRK.—Orthoptera nova Americana
[Diagnoses prajliminares]. Series I-III. Revue
et Mag. de ZooL, 1859-61.

Contains synoptical tables of species, besides
descriptions ot numerous North American Or-
thoptera.

Samuel H. Scudder. — Materials for a monograph
of the North American Orthoptera. < Boston
Journal of Nat. Hist., Vol. VII, 1862, pp.
409-480.

Contains synoptical tables and a re-.iew of the
system used for classification.

Samuel H. Scudder. — Remarks upon the arrange-
ment of the families of Orthoptera. <Proc.
Boston Soc. Nat. Hist., Vol. XII, 1868-69:
also separate under thrf title : Entomological
Notes, Vol. II, pp. 7-14.

Samuel H. Scudder. — Synoptical table for deter-
mining North American msects. Orthoptera.
<Psyche, Vol. I, 1876, pp. 169-171.

Synopsis of the families of Orthoptera; also a list
of useful works in the study of North American
Orthoptera.

S. H. Scudder. — A list of the Orthoptera of New
England. <Psyche, Sept., 1900, pp. 99-106.

IV. MONOGRAPHS AND SYNOPSES

Samuel H. Scudder. — Summary of the U. S.
Phasmidae. <Can. Entora., 1895, pp. 29-30.
George R. Gray. — Synopsis of the species of in-
sects belonging to the family of Phasmida.
London, 1835.
J. O. Westwood. — A catalogue of the Orthop-
terous insects in the Britisli Museum. Part I,
Phasmids. London, 1859.
C. St.\l. — Recensio Orthopterorum. Revue cri-
tique des Orthopteres decrits par Linne, De
Greer etThun berg. Partlll. Stockholm, 1875.
Synoptical tables of tlie j^encra of Phasmidce, with
notes on many species.
Samuel H. Scudder. — The species of Diaphero-
mera (Phasmidae) found in U. S. and Canada.
<Psyche, Vol. IX, No. 300, pp. 1S7-189.
April, 1901.
Samuel H. Scudder. — Index to the Mantidas of
North America, north of Mexico. <Can.
Entom., 1896, pp. 207-215.
Henri de Saussure. — Essai d'un systeme des
Mantides. <Mittheil. d. Schweiz, Entom.
Ges., Vol. Ill, 1S69, pp. 49-73-

Classification of the .Mantidie. Part II contains
descriptions of North American species.
Henri de Saussure. — Additions au systeme des
Mantides. Geneva, 1871.

Synoptic table of genera and species of North
American Mantids.
Henri de Saussure. — Mantides Americains.
<Mem. Hist. Nat. Hex., II, i. Geneva, 1S71,
186 pp., 2 pis.

A synopsis of the North American species.
J. O. Westwood. — Revisio Insectorum Familae
Mantidarum, Speciebus novis aut minus
cognitisdescriptis et delineatis. London, 1889.
Henri de Saussure. — Orthoptera nova Ameri-
cana (Diagnoses prasliminares). Ser. III.
<Revue et Mag. de Zool., 1862.

Contains description of new Blattids. with synop-
tical arrangement.
C- Brunner von Wattenwyl. — Nouveau sys-
teme des Blattaires. Vienna, 1865, 426 pp.,
13 pis.

Synoptical arrangement of all described species,
with descriptions of many new ones ; also
bibliography on the family.
Henri de Saue«ure. — Melanges Orthopt^rolo-
giques. 6 fascicules. Gene.va, 1863-1878.
Fascicule II contains the Blattidje.
W. L. Blatchley. — The Locustid^ and Blattida
of Indiana. <Proc. Ind. Acad. Sci., 1892,
pp. 92-163.

C. STAL.^Recen.sio Orthopterorum. Revue crit-
ique des Orthopteres decrits par Linne, De
Geer et Thunberg. Parti. Acrididae. Stock-
holm, 1873, 154 pp.

A synoptical arrangement of the genera of the
family, with descriptions of new genera and
species.

Cyrus Thomas. — Synopsis of North American
AcrididE. < Report U. S. Geolog. Survey,
Vol. V, Part I, 1873.

A systematical arrangement of the described spe-
cies of North American locusts: Part I, Spe-
cies of the United States; Part II, Species
from other parts of North America.

Samuel H. Scudder. — Spharagemon, a genus of
QSdipodidse ; with a revision of the species.
<Proc. Boston Soc. Nat. Hist., Vol. XVII,
1^75, pp. 467-471. Separate, under the title:
Entom. Notes, IV, pp. 66-70.

A synopsis of tlie genus, with descriptions of new
species.

Samuel H. Scudder. — A revision of two Ameri-
can genera of CEdipodids. < Proc. Boston
Soc. Nat. Hist., Vol. XVII, 1875, pp. 478-
485. Separate, under the title : Entom.
Notes, IV, pp. 77-84.

A synopsis of the genera Encoptolophus and Trag-
ocephola.

Cyrus Thomas. — Manual of economic entomol-
ogy. Part III. The Acridids of Illinois.
<Ninth report of the State Entomologist . . .
of the State of Illinois, 1880, pp. 73-140.

Contains a synoptical table or key to the families
of Ortlioptera, a key to the subfamilies and
genera, and a key to the Illinois species of
Acrididre.

Lawrencr Bruner. — North American Acridids,
north of Mexico. < Third Report U. S.
Entom. Commission, 1883, pp. 55-61.

A systematical list of the species described from
North America.

Henri de Saussure. — Prodromus ffidipodi-

orum Insectorum ex ordine Orthopteronim.

<Mem. Soc. Phys. Hist. Nat. Geneva, 1S84.

4to, 254 pp.

A synoptical monograph of the subfamily CEdipo-
dinfe of all countries, with descriptions of
new species.
C. Stal. — Systema Acrideorum. <Bih. Svensk.

Vet. Akad. Handl., 1S7S, pp. 100.
Samuel H. Scudder. — Revision of the Orthop-

teran group Melanopli (Acrididar,) with special

reference to North American forms. <Proc.

U. S. Nat. Mus., Vol. XX, pp.01 -421. 1S97.
Samuel H. Scudder. — The Orthopteran genus

Hippiscus. < Psyche, Vol. VI, 1892. [Com-

tinued in several numbers.]
Samuel H. Scudder. — The North American spe-
cies of Orphulella. <Can. Entom., 1809, pp.

177-188.
Samuel H. Scudder. — The species of the Or-
thopteran genus Derotmema. <Proc. Amcr.

Acad. Arts and Sci., Vol. XXXV, No. 19,

March, 1900, pp. 3S7-395.
Samuel H. Scudder. — Some genera of CEdipo-

did<-E rescued from the Tryxalid^. < Psyche,

i8go, pp. 433-442.
SAMtiEL H. Scudder. — Supplement to a revision

ot the Melanopli. <Proc. Davenport Acad.

Nat. Sci. Vol. VII, pp. 157-205, 3 pis. iSgg.
Samuel H. Scudder. — The Orthopteran genus

Schistocerca. <Proc. Amer. Acad. Arts and

Sci., Vol. XXXIV, 1899, pp. 441-476.
A. P. Morse.— Revision of the species of

Spharagemon. < Psyche, Vol. VII, 1895,

pp. 287-299.
J. McNeill.— Revision of the Truxalinae of

North America. <Proc. Davenport Acad.

Nat. Sci., Vol. VI, 1897, pp. 179-274.
J. McNeill.— The Orthopteran genus Trimero-

tropis. < Psyche, Vol. IX, pp. 27-36. 1900,

414

Bibliography

A. P. Morse.— Notes on the Acrididse of New
England. < Psyche, I, 1894, pp. m?-"^? i H,
1896, pp. 323 327. 342-344. 382-384, 402-4"3.
407-411, 419-422, 443-445; III. "897. PP- 6-8,
35-37. 5<^5'. &4-^. 80-82, 87-89, 111-114; IV,
1898, pp. 247-248, 255-260. 269-273, 279-282,
292-296.

Samuel H.ScuDDER.— The speciesofHadrotettix,
a genus of CEdipodinae. < Psyche, 1900,
pp. 67-69.

T. Bolivar.— Essai sur les Acridiens de la tnbu
des Tettigid.T2. <Ann. Soc. Entora. Belg.,
1887, pp. i75-3'3; . , ,,

J. L. Hancock.— The species of the new genus
Neotettix with a key to the genera of North
American Tettigix. <Entom. News, 1898,

pp. 137-^**
T. L. Hancock.— Synopsis of subfamilies and

genera of North American Tettigidaj.

< Psyche, Vol. IX, pp. 6-7. 1900.
S. H. ScuDDER.— The species of Circotettix, a

North American genus of CEdipodin^.

< Psyche, Dec. 1900, pp. i35-Mi-
J. McNeill.— Revision of the Orthopteran genus

Trimeroptropis. <Proc. U. S. Natl. Mus.,

Vol. XXIII, pp. 393-449. 190'-
C. Stal.— Recensio Orthopterorum. Revue crit-
ique des Orthopteres decrits par Linne De Geer

etThunberg. <Part II. Stockholm, 1874, 121

pp.

Contains synoptical tables of the genera.
C. Brunner von Wattenwvl.— Monographic

der Phaneropteriden. <Wien, 1878, 402 pp.,

A synoptical monograph of the Katydids of the
world, with full bibliography and full synony-
my of the species.
Ignacio Bolivar.— Arthropodos del viage al
Pactfico, verificado de 1862-1865 por una com-
ision de naturalistas enviada por el Gobiemo
Espanol. Insectes Neuropteros y Ortopte-
ros. <Madrid, 1884, 114 PP-. 3 pls.

Contains a synoptical table of the genus Conoce-
phalus, with descriptions of new species.
C. Brunner von Wattenwvl.— Monographie
der Pseudophylliden. <Verh. Zool. Bot.
Ges. Wien, 1895, pp. 282.
J. Redtenbacher.— Monographie der Conoce-
phaliden. < Verb. Zool. Bot. Ges. Wien,
1891, pp. 315-562.
Samuel H. Scudder.— The North Amencan Ceu-
thophili. < Proc. Amer. Acad. Arts and Sci.,
Vol. XXX, 1894, pp. i7-"3-
Samuel H. Scudder.— The Orthopteran group
Scudderiae. <Proc. Amer. Acad. Arts and
Sci. Vol. XXXIII, 1S98, pp. 271-290.
Samuel H. Scudder.— A preliminary review of
the North American Decticidae. < Can.
Entom., 1894, pp. 177-184.
Samuel H. Scudder. The described species of
Xiphidium in the United States and Canada.
<Can. Entom., 1898, pp. 183-184.
J. McNeill.— Orchelimum Serv. <Can. Entom.,
1900, pp. 77-83. „, „ , ,. e

Samuel H. Scudder.— The Stenopelmatins of
the Pacific Coast. <Can. Entom., 1899, PP.
113- 1 21. , „, . ,

\V. L.Blatchley.— The Locustids and Blattids
of Indiana. < Proc. Ind. Acad. Sci. 1892, pp.
92-163.
Samuel H. Scudder.— Revision of the large,
stylated, fossorial crickets. < Memoirs of the
Peabody Academy of Sciences, Vol. I, No. i,
1869.

Description of the species of Scapteriscus and
Gryllotalpa.
Henri de Saussure.— Melanges OrthoptSrolo-
giques. Gryllides. Two parts. Geneva,

A monograph of the family, containing synoptical
tables of the genera and species.

C. A. Hart.— On the species of CEcanthas.

< Entom. News, 1892, pp. 33-34-
Samukl H. Scuudkr.— The species of Nemobius

found in North America. <Psyche, Vol. VII,

18c/), pp. 431-434.
W. S. 15LATCHLEV.— The Gryllidas of Indiana.
<Proc. Ind. Acad. Sci., 1891, pp. 126-144.

EUPLEXOPTERA

H. Dohrn. — Versuch einer Monographie der
Dermapteren. <Stettiner Entom. Zeit., Vols.
XXIV-XXVI, 1863-65.

A monograph of the Forficulidcc of the whole
world.

Samuel H. Scudder.— Synoptical tables for de-
termining North American insects. Orthoptera.
U. S. Forficulariae. <Pysche, Vol. I, 1876,
pp. 177-178.

Tabulates thirteen species and gives a list of books
useful for the study of the family.

Samuel H. Scudder.— Brief Synopsis of North
American Earwigs, with an appendix on the
fossil species. < Bui. U.S. Geolog. and Geogr.
Survey of the Territories, Vol. II, No. 3, 1876,
pp. 249-260.

Samuel H. Scudder.— Critical and historical
notes on Forficularis, including descriptions of
new generic forms and an alphabetical syno-
nymic list of the described species. <Proc.
Bost. Soc. Nat. Hist., July-October, 1876,
Vol. XVIII, pp. 287-332. , , „ ^ ,.,

W. F. KiRBY.— A revision of the horhculids,
with descriptions of new species in the British
Museum. <Joum. Linn. Soc. London, Zool.,
XXIII, 1890, pp. 502-531. ^ ^ ,., .

A de Bormans und H. Kr auss.— Forficulidae und
Hemimeridae. <Das Tierreich, 11 Lieferung.
igoo, pp. 1-142, 41 figs.

MALLOPHAQA

H. Denny. — Monographia Anoplurorum Britan-
niae. <London, 1S42, 26 pis.

C. G. A. Giebel.— Insecta epizoa. Die aut
Saugethieren und Viigeln schmarotzenden In-
sekten.<NachZeichnungen von C. L. Nitzsch.
Leipzig, 1874, 20 pis.

Andrew Murray.— Economic Entomology. Ap-
tera. < South Kensington Museum Science
Handbooks. London and New York, 1877.
The Mallophaga (Anoplura) are treated on pp.

P. Megnin.— Les Parasites et les maladies para-
sitaires chez I'homme, lesanimaux domestiques
et les animaux sauvages avec lesquels ils
peuvent etre en contact. < Insectes, Arachnides,
Crustaces. Paris, 1880. „ . . .

E. PiAGET.— Les Pediculines. Description de
toutes les especes observees, enrichie d'especes
nouvelles.<Leyden, 1880, 56 pis.; Supplement,

1885, 17 pis. , ,, , • u

O. Taschenberg.— Die Mallophagen mit be-

sonderer Berucksichtigung der von Meyer

gesammelten Arten. Halle, 1882.
V. L. Kellogg.— A list of the biting lice (Mallo;

phaga) taken from birds and mammals 01

North America. <Proc. U. S. Nat. Mus.,

Vol. XXII.PP. 39-i°o- 1899.

Contains a bibliography and table to genera.^

CORRODENTIA

H. A. Hagen.— Beitrage zur Monographie der
Psociden. <Stettiner Entom. Zeit., Vols.
XLIII andXLIV, 1882 83.

ISOPTERA

H. A. Hagen.— Monographie der Termiten.
<Linnaea Entom., Vols. X, XII and XIV,
1855-60.

415

Bibliography

H. A. Hagen. — Monograph of the Embidina.
<Can. Entom., Vol. XVII, 1885.

Only one species of this family has hitherto been
found in the United States.

PLECOPTERA

F. J. PiCTET. — Histoire naturelle g6n6rale et par-
ticuh&re des insectes Neuropt&res. Premiere
monographic: Famille des Perlides. Geneva,
1841-42.

ODONATA

W. F. KiRBY. — A synonymic catalogue of Neu'
roptera Odonata, or dragon-flies. <London'
1890, pp. 202.

E. DE Selys Longchamps et H. Hagen. — Mon-
ographic des Calopterygines. <Bul. Acad.
BelR., Brussels. 1854.

E. DE Selys Longch.mvips et H. Hagen.^ — Mon
ographie des Gomphines. <Bul. Acad. Belg.,
Brussels, 1858.

E. DE Selys Longchamps. — Synopsis des Agrio-
nines. Six parts. <Bul. Acad. Belg. Brus-
sels, 1860-78.

E. DE Selys Longchamps. — Synopsis des Cordu-
lines. <Bul. Acad. Belg., Brussels, 1871.

H. A. Hagen. — Synopsis of the Odonata of Amer-
ica. <Proc. Boston Soc. Nat. Hist., Vol.
XVIII, 187?, pp. 20-96.

Omitting the subfamily Agrionina.

E. DE Sely's Longchamps. — Synopsis d'^Esch-
nines. <Bul. Acad. Belg., 1883.

E. DE Selys Longchamps. — Revision du Synop-
Bis des Agrionines. < Bui. Acad. Belg., 1886.

H. A. Hagen. — Synopsis of the Odonat genus
Leucorhinia. <Trans. Amer. Entom. Soc,
1890, pp. 229-236.

H. A. Hagen.- — Synopsis of the Odonata of North
America. < Psyche, Vol. V, 1889-90. No. i,
pp. 241-250, Calopteryx ; No. 2, pp. 303-308,
Anax.

P. P. Calvert. — Catalogue of the Odonata
(Dragon-flies) of the vicinity of Philadelphia.
<Trans. Amer. Entom. Soc, 1893, pp. 152-
272, 2 pis.

D. S. Kellicott. — The Odonata of Ohio. <Ohio

Acad. Sci. Special Paper No. 2, 1899, pp. 114,
3 pis.

E. B. Williamson. — The Dragon-flies of Indi-

ana. < Indiana Geolog. Rept. f. 1899-igoo,
pp. 229-333, 7 pis.

EPHEMERID/E

F. J. Pictet. — Histoire naturelle g^nerale et par-
ticuliere des insectes Neuropteres. Seconde mono-
graphic : Famille des Ephdmerines. Geneva,
1843-45.

Bknjamin D. Walsh. — List of the Pseudoneur-
optcra of Illinois contained in the cabinet of
the writer, with descriptions of over forty new
species, and notes on their structural affinities.
<Proc. Acad. Nat. Sci. Phila., 1862, pp.
361-402.

This paper contains, on pp. 367-368, a table erf
the genera of Ephemeridae.
Benjamin D. Walsh. — Observations on certain
North American Neuroptera, by H. Hagen,
M.D., of Koenigsberg, Prussia; translated
from the original French MS., and published
by permission of the author, with notes and
descriptions of about twenty new North Ameri-
can species of Pseudoneuroptera. <Proc.
Entom. Soc. Phila., Vol. II, 1863-64, pp.
167-272.

Contains a modification of the table of genera of
Ephemeridae, pp. 195-196; a table of the sub-
gener of Gomphus, p. 253, and a '" Synoptical
table of the subfamilies of Uie family Odonata,"
pp. 259-260.
A. E. E.\ton. — A monograph on the Ephcmerida.
Part I. The nomenclature of the Ephemeridas.
<Trans. Entom. Soc. London, 1871, pp. 1-164,
6 pis.
A. E. Eaton. — A Revisional Monograph of Re-
cent Ephemeridae, or May-flies. <Trans.
Linn. Soc. London; 1883-86, 6 parts.

THYSANURA

K

W. V. Dalla Torre. — Die Gattungen und
Arten der Apterygogenea. <46 Program k.k.
Staats-Gymnasium, Innsbruck, pp. 23, 1895.
A catalogue of the known species.

A. D. MacGillivray. — A catalogue of the Thy-
sanura of North America. <Can. Entom.,
i8gi, pp. 267-276.

A. S. Packard. — Synopsis of the Thysanura of
Essex County, Mass., with descriptions of a
few extralimital forms. < Fifth Annual Re-
port of the Trustees of the Peabody Academy
of Science for the year 1872. Salem, 1873, pp.

23-5 ••
John Lubbock. — Monograph of the CoUembola
and Thysanura. < London, Ray Society, 1873.
The introduction gives the full bibliography up to
date.
A. D. MacGillivray. — North American Thy
sanura. III. <Can. Entom., 1893, pp
218-220.

Synopsis of family Japygidae.
A. D. MacGillivray. — North American Thy
sanura. IV. <Can. Entom., 1893, pp
313 318.

Synopses of families Aphoruridre and Poduridae.
A. D. MacGillivray. — North American Thy.
sanura. V. <Can. Entom., 1894, pp
105-iin.

S\ nopses of Entomobryidx anr] Smynthuridae.
A. D. ^iAcG^LLIVRAY. — The American species of
Isotoma. <Can. Entom., 1896, pp. 47-58.

416

INDEX

Aaron, Carrie B., 366

Abe Lincohi bug, 313

Acalypterae, 90

Acanthiidae, 288

Acanthomeridae, 87, 130

Achorutes nivicola, 386

acknowledgments, xi

Acridiidae, 322, 332, 341

Acroceridae, 134

Aculeat Hymenoptera, The Habits of

the, 20
Adela, 203
Adler, 55

/Eciacus hirundinis, 288
Aedes, 101, 102
/Eschna, 374

heros, 365
/Eschnidae, 369, 372, 373, 374
Agallia sanguinolenta, 244
aggressive mimicry, 142
agricultural ant of Texas, The, 46
Agrionidae, 369, 370, 371, 376
Agromyzidae, 92, 187
alder flies, 2 1 1
Aldrich, 144, 145
Aleuronia, 218

westwoodii, 218
Aleyrodes, 247

citri, 247
Aleyrodicus, 247
Aleyrodidae, 230, 246, 247
ambush bug. The, 297
American cockroach, 330

locust, 333

saw-fly, 75
Ammophila, 20
Ampulex, 20
Ampulex ruficornis, 20
Anabrus purpurascens, 337
Anabrus simplex, 337
Anasa tristis De Geer, 305
Anatomy of the Blow-Fly, 164
Anatomy of the Cockroach, The, by

Miall and Denny, 330
Anax Junius, 374

Andrena vicina, 12
angular-winged katydid, 339
Anisops, 275
Anopheles, 1 01, 102

claviger-maculipennis-quadrimacula-
tus, lOI

crucians, loi

punctipennis, 101
Anoplura, 82, 227, 316, 347
ant, black, 46

black carpenter, 43
ant-decapitating fly, life history of, 147
ant-lions, 126, 127, 219
ant pavement, 43

red, 43, 46
Anthocoridae, 271, 287
Anthomyia Flies, The, 171
Anthomyiidae, 90, 171
Anthophoridae, 6, 7
anthrax, 81, 131
ants, 37

Ants, Bees and Wasps, Lubbock, 43
Ants, honey, 45

nests, 128

solitary, 32

stinging, 39

stingless, 39

typical life history of, 48
ants, white, 353
Apathus, 15
Aphididae, 230, 262
Aphis-lions, The, 221
Aphoruridae, 385, 386
Aphrophorinae, 241
Apidae, 6

Apioceridae, 87, 136
Apocephalus pergandei Coq, 147
Apoidea, Superfamily, 3, 4
apparatus, collecting, 389
aquarium, the, 399
aquatic insects, collecting, 395
Aradidae, 272, 290, 298
Aradus crenatus Say, 298
Aradus similis Say, 298
Archytas, 158

47

Index

Arilus cristatus L., 294

armored scales, 254

army worm, 1 59

Ashmead, W. H., xi, 2, 12, 20, 31, 32,

33. 49. 56, 59. 73
Asilidae, 88, 136, 141
Asiloidea, Super-family, 88
Asilus sericeus, 143
Asindulum montanum, 117
assassin bugs, 293
Aster, 1 14
Atherix, 126
Atropidffi, 352
Atwood, 327

Australian cockroach, 330
Axima zabriskii, 8

Baccha, 150

back-rolling wonder, 340

back swimmers. The, 275

Baeus, 51

Bailey, W. W., 212

Banks, Nathan, xi, 218

bark lice, 113, 250

bat ticks, 190

beating net, 391

bedbug, 82

bed-bug family, the, 288

bed-bug, Life history of, 289

bee, bumble, 6

common carpenter, 10

cuckoo, 7
bee-flies, 137

bee-fly, typical life-history of, 138
bee hives, 128

honey, 6

large carpenter, 9

mason, 10, 1 1

small carpenter, 8
bees, blunt-tongued burrowing, 12

leaf-cutting, 10

obtuse-tongued carpenter, 12

parasitic, 1 1

potter, 1 1

sharp-tongued burrowing, 12

the true, 4
belostoma americanum, 278
Belostomatidae, 271, 278
Benacus griseus Say, 278
Berytidae, 272, 309
Bethe, Albrecht, 41
Bethylidas, 25, 33
Beutenmiiller W., 365, 366
Bibio albipennis, 1 19
Bibionidae, 86, 119
Bibionidea, Super-family, 85, 86
bibliography, 405
big-eyed flies, 149
bird lice, 82, 347
bird ticks, 188, 189

biting lice, 347
Bittacomorpha, 95 ,

clavipes Fab., 95
Bittacus, 207
black ant, 46
black beetle, 330
black carpenter ant, 43
black cricket, 342
black flies and buffalo gnats, 120
black fly, 80
black horse fly, 132
Biepharocera capitata Loew, 125
Blattidae, 322, 329
Blepharoceridae, 86, 124
Blissus leucopterus Say, 310, 311
blood-sucking cone-nose, 293
blow-fly, 164
blue-bottle flies, 164, 166
Boisduval, 49
Bombidae, 6
Bombus borealis, 14

fervidus Fabr., 12, 14
Bombyliidae, 87, 88, 134, 137
Bonnet, 262

book-lice and their allies. The, 35
Borboridae, 92, 187
Boreus, 207
bot-flies, 155

bot-flies, typical life history of, 155
Bothriothorax, 57
bottle, the cyanide, 401
box elder plant bug, 305
Brachycera, 84, 86
Brachydeutera argentata, 182
Brachypeplus magnus, 333
Brauer, L., 207, 217
Brewer, W. A., 182
bristletails, 380
Buckley, 356
buffalo gnats, 120

tree hopper, life history of the, 239
Bugonia Myth, 153
bugs, the true, 226, 269
bumblebee, 6

life history of, 12
Burns, Robert, 316
Burroughs John, 344
burrowing bees, 12
Busck, August, 33

Butterflies of the Eastern United States

and Canada, The, by Scudder, 61

Butterfly Book, The, W. J. Holland,

IX

button bolls of sycamore, 3 1 1

cabinet, preparing insects for the, 401

cabinet. The, 403

Caddis flies, 195, 196

Caenis, 79

Calliphora erythrocephala, 164

418

Index

Callotermes, 358

Calopterygidre, 369, 370

Calopterygin.-E 370

Calopteryx, 370

Calypteratre, Group, 89, 90

Campodeidc^, 3S1, 384

Camponotidse, 39

Camponotus pennsylvanicus, 43, 48,

147
Camptobrochis grandis, 301
Camptoneura picta, 176
Canadian Entomologist, 285
cannibal bugs, 293
Capsidffi, 272, 301
Caratomus, 359
Carolina locust, 333
carpenter bees, 8, 9, 10, T2
cat and dog flea, life history of, 193
Cataipa speciosa, 1 84
Cecidomyia destructor Say, 113
lar\'3e, 118

legumenicola Lint., II5
Cecidomyiid gafls, II4
Cecidomyiidre, 53, 86, 113
Celtis, 259
Cephidae, 69
Cephus pygmreus, 69
Ceratina dupla, 8
Ceratinidne. 6, 7
Ceratitis capitata, 178
Ceratopogon, lil
Ceratosmia (Osmia) lignivora, lo
Cercopidse. 229, 241
Ceresa bubalus, 239
Chretopsistenea, 176
Chalcidid parasite, 256, 257
Chalcidoidea, 3

Chalcidoidea, Super-family, 56
chalcis flies, 49, 53, 56

parasite on lace-winged fly, 224
chalcis fly, life history of, 57
Chalybion cceruleum, 22
de Charmoy, D'Emmerez, 20
Chauliodes, 2II, 212
Chauliodes, lunatus, 211

pectinicornis L., 211
cheese skipper, 179
chicken flea, 193
chigger, 193
chigoe, 193
chinch-bug, 310
chinch-bug family, the, 310
chinch bug, life history of, 311
Chionea, 95

Chironomidae, 85, 1 10, 362
Chironomus, iii, 1 12

minutus, iii

plumosus, no
chisel, 392
Chittenden, F. H., Xi, 140

Chlorochroa conica, 236
Chloropsassimilis, 183

graminea, 183
Chrysididee, 25, 32, 33
Chrysis, 32

coerulans, 32
Chrysopa oculata Say, 234
Chrysopidae, 210, 227,
Chrysops, 132, 137
Chrysopsis, 114
cicada, annual, 22
Cicada emarginata, 232
cicada, large dog-day, 2i
Cicada septendecim L., 233
Cicadas, 231
Cicadidee, 229, 231
Cimbex aniericana, 75
Cimicidae, 271, 288
Cinura, 380, 381, 384
Circotettix verruculatus, 334
Clemens, Samuel L. (MarkTwufn), At
Cleptes, 32
Climacia, 221
Clisiocampa americana, 64
Clisiocampa disstria, 64
Clceon, 79

clover seed midge, 115
Coccidae, 230, 246, 250
Coccince, 254
Coccinellidae, 258
cockroach, American, 330
Australian, 330
domestic, 20
European, 330
German, 330
cockroaches, 329, 331

Ccenomyidae 126

Coleoptera, 79

collecting and preserving insects, 389
collecting apparatus, 389

collecting aquatic insects, 395

collecting diff'erent orders, 394

collecting forceps, 392
shears, 394

Collembola, 380, 385

Colletidae, 6

comb-horned fish-fly, 211

Comstock, J. H., 124, 128, 134, ly^,
145, 147, 149, 197, 199. 216, 237.
293, 297, 298, 304, 313. 398

cone-nose, blood-sucking, 293

Coniopterygidae, 210, 218

Coniopteryx vicina, 218

Conocephalus, 344
ensiger, 344

Conopidae, 89, 154

Conorhinus sanguisuga, 293

Cook, O. P., 355

Copidosoma, 57

Coquillett, D W. , xi, 83, 97. lOO,

4:9

Index

Cordulegasterida., 309, 373
Cordulidae, 369, 375
Coreidae, 270, 272, 304
Corisidas, 273
Corixa, 273, 274

femorata, 273

mercenaria, 273
Corixidse, 271, 273
Corrodentia, 350
Corydalis cornuta L., 614
Corythuca arcuata Say, 300
cotton stainer, 308

cotton stainer and its allies, The, 307
cotton stainer, life history of, 308
cottony cushion scale, 218
Coville, F. v., 14, 15
Cowper, W., 342
CrabronidcS, 19
crane flies, 94
crane fly, life history of, 95
creeping water bugs, The, 280
crickets, 341

western, 337
croton bug, 330
Cryptocerata, 273
Ctenophora, 95
cuckoo bee, 7

flies, 32

flies, so called, 25
Culex, loi, 102

pungens Wiedemann, I04
Culicidae, 85, 98
currant \vorm, imported, 74
Currie, Rolla P., xi
Cursoria, 323, 329
Curtice, Cooper, 157
Curtis, John, 378
Cuterebra, 155
cyanide bottle, 401
Cyclops, 51

Cyclorhapha, Section, 84, 89
Cynipoidea, 3, 49, 53
Cynipoids, 54
Cyrtidae, 134

daddy-long-legs, 94
damsel-flies, 370
dance-flies, 144
larvse of, 145
Davidson, A., 32 A

death watches, 352
deer flies, 131, 132
Delphacinse, 235
Deltocephalus inimicus, 245
Dermatobia cyaniventris, 155
Deromyia annulata Bigot, 142
devil's darning needles, 363
devil's riding horse, 295
Dexia, 162
Dexiid», go, x6a

Diamorus zabriskii Ores., 8
Diapheromera femorata Say, 323
Diaspinae, 254
Diedrocephala, 244

mollipes, 244
differential locust, 333
digger wasp, life history of, 22
Diopsidae, 92, 179, 180
Diplosis, 113, 265
Diptera, xi, 79, 80, 81, 108, 158, l8»

methods of collecting, 395

table of the higher groups, 83
Dissosteira Carolina, 333
Dixa, 97
DixidiE, 85, 97

dobson and its family, the, 211
dobson, life history of, 212
dog-day cicada, 22
dog-day harvest fly, 232
Dolichopodidse, 88, 144, 145
Dysdercus suturellus, 30S
dragon-flies, 363

table of families, 368

true, 372
drone-fly, 152
Drosophila ampelophila, 185

flaveola Meig. 186
Drosophilidas, 92, 185
dung flies, 173
dusty-wings, The, 218

earwigs, 345
Eaton, 378

Ectobia germanica, 330
Edes, Robert, 343
Elachistinse, 58
electric light bugs, 278
Embiidae, 353
Emerton, J. H., 8, 12
Emesinae, 294
Empidae, 88
Empididae, 144
Empis, 144
Enallagma, 371
Enchenopa binotata, 238
Encyrtus egg, 50
Entilia sinuata, 23S
Entomobryidae, 3S5, 38*'
Ephemerida, 377, 379
Ephydridae, 82, 92, 182
Epiaeschna heros, 374
Epidapus scabiei, 118
Eproboscidea, Suborder, 83, 93
ergatoids, 38

Eriocampoides limacina, 76
Eristalis tenax, 152
Erythroneura vitis, 244
Euantha liturata, 162
Eumenes fratema, 3a
Eumenidoe, 30

A20

Index

Euplemus mirabilis, 340
Euplectrus comstockii, 57
Euplexoptera, 345
European cockroach, 330
Euschistus servus, 314
Eutermes nigriceps, 356
Euvanessa antiopa, 51

Fabre, J., 21

false chinch bug, 310

false crane flies, 125

false rear-horses, 217

Faxon, Walter, 343

Feh, E. P., xi, 207

Fernald, C. H., 160, 241

field cricket, 343

fish flies, 2 1 1

fish-fly, comb-horned, 2 1 1

lishmoths, 380, 382

Fitch, A., 141, 344

flat bark-bugs. The, 298

flat-footed flies, 149

Flata, 236

Flatinse, 235, 236

flea-lice, 259

flea, life history of the cat and dog,

193

fleas, 191

flesh-flies. The, 163
flies, 82
alder, 211
bee, 137

dance, and long-legged, 144
flat-footed, and big-eyed, 149
fish, 211

fruit and gall, 177
gad or horse, « 3 1
harvest, 231
little house, 171
robber, 141

small-headed, and tangle-vemed, 134
stone, 361
syrphus, 150, 151
the anthomyia, 171
the bot, 155
the caddis, 195
the dung,

the flesh, 163

the golden-eyed lace-winged, 222

the grass stem, 183

the hump-backed, 147

the little fruit flies, 185

the nimble, 162

the salt-water, 182

the scorpion, 206

the snake, 216

the tachina, 1 58

the thick-head, 1 54

the true, 79

window, and stiletto, 139

flower bugs, the, 287
fly, blue-bottle, 164, 166

green-bottle, 164

hellgrammite, 212

life history of a scorpion, 207

the house, 166
"flying adders," 363
Forbes, S. A., 52, 186, 245, 357
forceps, collecting, 392
forest fly, 188
Forficulidae, 346
Formica, 42
Formicoidea, 3

Formicoidea, Super-family, 37
four-lined leaf-bug, 302
Fox, W. H., 147, 148
frit fly, 184

frog-hoppers or spittle insects, 241
frosted lightning hopper, life history

of, 236
fruit and gall flies, 177

flies, the little, 185
Fulgoridae, 229, 235
Fulvius anthorcoroides Uhl, 301
fumigator, 392
fungus gnats, 1 1 7

gad flies or horse flies, 131
gad-fly, 80

life history of, 132
Galerucella luteola, 301
Galgulidse, 271, 281
Galgulus oculatus Fab., 281
gall-gnat, life history of, 115
gall-gnats, 113
gall-flies, 53
guest, 55
parasitic, 55

gangrene, 80

garden flea-hopper, 301

Gastrophilus, 155

Gaurax anchora, 183

Geomyzidae, 92, 187

German cockroach, 330

giant water bugs, the, 278

Gibson, William Hamilton, 20, 238

gigantic bed bug, the, 293

golden-eye, life history of, 224

golden-eyed lace-winged flies, 221

golden rod, 114

goldwespen, 32

Gomphidae, 369, 372

Gomphinae, 372

Gomphus vastus Walsh, 372

Goniozus, 36

grape-vine Phylloxera, 265

grasshopper, life history of, 334
lubber, 333
short-horned, 333
western, 33J

421

Index

grasshoppers, 320

green, 336, 337

The long-horned, 336, 337

The short-horned, 332
Grassi, B., 192, 358
Grave, Caswell,
green-bottle fly, 164
green flies, 74

grasshoppers, 336, 337

soldier bug, 314
Gressoria, 323
grub, 155
grubby cattle, 155
Gryllidae, 322, 341
Gryllus domesticus, 342

neglectus, 343
guest gall-flies, 55
gypsy moth report (1896), 315
Gyropidae, 349

habits of the Aculeate Hymenoptera, 20

hackberry trees, 259

Hadronotus anasae, 306

Haematobia serrata, 166

Haldeman, S. S., 212

Halictus, 12

parallelus, 12
Haliday, A. H., 33
Halticus uhleri Giard, 301
hand lens, 393
Harrington, W. H., 344
Hart, C. A., 95, 126, 129, 132, 245
harvest flies, 231
harvest-fly, 22

dog-day, 232
haversack, 393

hawthorn lace bug, life history of, 300
Hawthorne, Nathaniel, 344
hearth cricket, 342
Hebridae, 273
heel fly, 155, 156
Heidemann, O., xi., 270, 284, 298,

301, 31 1
Helicobia, 165
hellgramite fly, 212
hellgrammites, 21 1
Helomyzidae, 91, 174
Hemerobiidae, 210, 221, 222
Hemiptera, 22b
Hemiptera, some points on methods of

collecting, 394
Hemiptera, table of suborders, 227
Henicocephalidae, 272, 292
Henicocephalus culicis Uhl., 292

formicinis Uhl., 292
Hermetia, 128

illucens, 128
Hessian fly, 80, 113
Hetaerina, 370
Heteroneuridae, 91, 173

Heterophaga, 2

Heteroptera, xi, 227, 269, 270, 347

table of families, 270
Hippelates, 81
Hippobosca equina, i88
Hippoboscidae, 93, 188
Hirmoneura, 134
Hodotermes, 359
Holland, W. J., ix
Holmes, O. W., 337
Holorumsia, 95

grandis, 95
Homoptera, 227, 228
Homoptera, table of families, 229
Homalomyia brevis, 171

canicularis, 171
honey ants, 45
honey ants and the Occident ant.

The, 46
honey bee, 6

wasps, 25
hop plant louse, 265

Life history of, 265
Hopkins, A. D., 1 18
horn-fly, 166

horn-tail larvae, parasites of, 68
horn-tail, life history of, 71
horn-tails, 69
hornet, bald faced, 27, 28

of England and Europe, 29
horse flies, 80, 131
horse stingers, 363
house cricket, 342
house-fly, 80, 81, 82

and its Near Relations, The, 166

life history of, 167
Hubbard, H. G., 8, 121, 184, 350, 351,

356. 358
hump-backed flies, 147
Huxley, T., 262
Hydrocores, 273
Hydrocorisae, 273
Hydrometra lineata, 285
Hydrometridse, 271, 273, 283
Hydropsychidae, 197, 204
Hydroptilidae, 197, 201
Hygrotechus remigis, 284
Hymenoptera, xi, i, 69, 79

internal feeding parasitic, 362

parasitic, 51, 55, 67

some points on methods of collect-
ing. 394

Suborders, T able of, 2

Superfamilies, Table of, 2, 7
hymenopterous parasites of dragon-flye

366
Hypoderma bovis, 155

lineata Villers, 155

ichneumon flies, 33, 61

422

Index

ichneumon fly, life history of, 64

Ichneumonoidea, 3, 61

imported currant worm, 74

insects, collecting and preserving, 389
collecting aquatic, 395
for the cabinet, preparing, 401
killing and preserving, 401
rearing different kinds of, 396

internal parasites, how they live, 49

introduction, vii

Isoptera, 353, 354. 355

Jalysus spinosus, 309
Japygidae, 381, 384
Jassida, 229, 243
Jassoidea, 243
jumping plant-lice, 259

katydid, 337

-> angular-winged, 339

"song," 321
-^typical life history of, 339
Katydids, 320

Kellicott, D. S., 368, 372, 375
Kellogg, V. L., 108, 109, 348
killing and preserving insects, 401
Kirkaldy, G. W., 274
Kirkland, A. H., 315
kissing bug, 293
koo-chah-bee, 182
Koppen, F., 365
Kraemer, 55

La Fontaine, 39

Laboulbene, 192

lace bugs. The, 299

lacewing fly, 79

lace-winged flies the golden-eyed, 222

lace-winged insects, 209

ladybirds, 258

Laelius trogodermatis Ashm., 34

Lamborn, Robert, H., 366

lantern-flies and their allies. The, 235

Laphria, 142

larch saw-fly, 74

Largus succinctus, 307

Lasius, 42

leaf-bug, typical life history of, 302

leaf bugs, The, 301

leaf-cutting bugs, 1 1

leaf-footed plant bug, 304

leaf-hopper, typical life history of, 245

leaf-hoppers, the, 243

Leboeuf, A., 360

Lecaniinse, 254

Leeuwenhoek, 317

Leidy, Joseph, 80

lens, hand, 393

Lepidocyrtus americanus, 387

Lepismatidae, 381, 382

Leptidae, 87, 126

Leptoceridae, 197, 203

Leptocoris trivittatus, 305

Leptogaster, 142

Leptoglossus phyllopus, 304

Lestes, 371

Lethierry, 289

Leucopis, 187

Libellula pulchella Drury, 376

Libellulas, 372

Libeilulidae, 369, 375, 376

lice, the true, 316

life History of a bee-fly, typical, 138

bumblebee, 12

Chalcis fly, 57

common walking-stick, 323

crane fly, 95

digger wasp, 22

gad fly, 132

gall-gnat, 115

golden-eye, 224

grasshopper, 334

horn-tail, 71

katydid, typical, 339

leaf-bug, typical, 302

leaf-hopper, typical, 245

midge, 1 1 1

mosquito, 104

parasitic wasp, 34

pear-tree Psylla, 260

rear-horse, 327

scorpion fly, 207

water-strider, 285

white fly, typical, 247

ichneumon fly, 64

ants, typical, 48

bot-flies, typical, 155

stink bugs, typical, 314

wasps, typical, 33
Life History of the ant-decapitatmg fly,

147

bed-bug, 289

buffalo tree-hopper, 239

cat and dog flea, 193

chinch-bug, 31 1

cotton stainer, 308

dobson, 212

frosted lightning hopper, 236

hawthorn lace bug, 300

hop plant louse, 265

house-fly, 187

oyster-shell bark louse, 255

"pear slug," 76

"seventeen-year locust," typical, 233

squash bug, 305

wheel bug, 294
Limnephilidae, 197, 199
Limnobates lineata Say, 282
Limnobatidae, 271, 282
Limnobia, 95

423

IndeiC

Limosina, 187
Limosina venalicius, 187
Liotheidos, 349
Lipoptena, 1S9
little house flies, 171
Iccust, 231

American, 333

Carolina, 333

differential, 333

migratory, 333

red-legged, 333

two-striped, 333

typical life history of the " seventeen-
year," 233
Locustidce, 322, 336, 34I
locusts, true, 332
Lonchasa polita, 175
Loncheidje, 91, 175
Lonchoptera, 146

lutea, 146
Lonchopteridse, 89, 146
long-horned grasshoppers, The, 336,

337
long-legged flies, 144, I45
Lopidea media Say, 301
Lowne's "Anatomy of the Blow-Fly,l64
lubbei grasshopper, 333
Lubbock, Sir John, 43, 44, 146, 388
Luciiia ctesar, 164
Lugger, O., 220
L.ygxidx, 272, 310
Lygteids, 307
Lygus pratensis, 301
lyre-man, 22, 232

Macronema zebratum, 205
malignant pustule, 80, r3I
Mallophaga, 82, 347

table of families, 349
Mallophora, 142
Mantidte, 322, 326, 329
Mantis religiosa, 327
Mantispa interrupta, 217

brunnea 217
Mantispidse, 210, 217
aiarch-flies, 119
Margarodes, 228
Mark Twain, 41
Mark Twain's " Chamois," 193
Marlatt, C. L., 13, 27, 36, 224, 330
marsh treaders. The, 282
Martin, J. O., 285, 2S6
Marx, George, 353, 404
mason bee, 10, 11
Mason, O. T., 31
may flies, 79, 361, 362, 377
McCook, H. C, 46, 48
McLachian, R., 198
Mearns, E. A., 366
Mecoptera, 206

Megachilidae, 6, lO
Megarhinus, loi, lo2
Megastigmus, 55
de Meijere, 146
Melanolestes picipes, 293
Melanoplus atlanis Riley, 334

bivittatus, 333

differentialis, 333

femur-rubrum, 333

spretus, 333 _
Melophagus ovinus, 1S8
Membracidre, 229, 237, 24I
Meromyza americana, 183
Metapodius femoratus, 304
methods of collecting different orders

394
Miall, L. C, viii, 274
Miall and Denny, "The Anatomy ol

the Cockroach," 330
Miall and Hammond, III
Miall and Walker, Trans. Ent. Soc.

London, 1895, 108
Microcentrum retinervis, 339
Microdon, 150, 152
Micropezidre, 91, 92, 179
midge, life history of, lil
midges, 81, no
migratory locust, 333
mimicry, aggressive, 142
Monomorium minutum, 46

pharaonis, 43, 46, 47
Monostegia rosas, 74
Morelos orange fruit worm, 178
Morse, A. P., 334
Morse, E. S., 241
mosquito, life history of, I04
mosquitoes, 80, 81, 82, 98, 102, 103
moth-flies. The, 108
mourning-cloak butterfly, 51
mud-daubers, 22
mud-minnow, 278
mule killers, 327
Mundt, A. H., 365
Murgantia histrionica Hahn., 313
Murtfeldt, Miss Mary E., 26
Musca domestica, 166, 167
Muscidee, 90, 166
Muscoidea, Super-family, 89
museum pests (dermestid beetles), 34
Mutillids, 25, 32, 33, 37
Mycetophila, 117
Mycetophilidae, 86, 117
Mycetophilids, 118
Mydaidffi, 87, 136
Mydas-flies, 136
Mydas fulvipes Walsh, 136

luteipennis Loew, 136
myiasis, 163
myiasis interna, 171
Mymaridoe, 247

424

Indes*

Myopa, 154

Myriopoda, 380

Myrmeleonidre, 210, 219

Myrmicidn;, 39

Mytilaspis pomorum Bouche, 255

Myzinids;, 31, 33

NaucoridK, 271, 280

Nectarinia, 26

Needham, J. G., xii, 211. 212, 221, 373.

376, 379. 395
Nematidce, 73
Nematus erichsonii, 74

ribesii, 74

ventralis Say, 75
Nemestrinidre, 87, 134
Nemocera, Subsection, 84
Neoprosopis, 12
Nepa, 276, 277
Nepidte, 271, 276
net, sweeping or beating, 39I
net, the, 389
net, water, 391

Neuroctenus simplex UW., 298
Neuronia, 198

Neuronia semifasciata Say, I98
Neuroptera, 209

Neuroptera, Table of Families, 210
Neuropteroid series, xi, 30
Newport, 7, 49
Nezara hilaris Say, 314
nimble flies, The, 162
NomadidsE, 6, 7
no-see-um, iii
Notonecta, 275
Notonecta undulata, 275
Notonectidte, 271, 275
Nycteribiidce, 93, 190
Nyzius angustatus Uhl., 310, 3"

Odonata, 363, 368, 371
Odontomyia, 126, 129

cincta, 129

vertebrata, 129
Odynerus, 31, 32
OLcanthus niveus, 343
Q:strid£e, 90, 155
Oistrus ovis, 155
Olfersia americana, 188
Oligotoma hubbardi, 360
Oncognathus binotatus, 30I
onion fly, 171
Oancyrtus anasse, 306
ophthalmia, purulent, 81
Orchelimum vulgare, 337
orders, some points on methods of

collecting different, 394
Orgyia leucostigma, 64
Ormenis pruinosa, 236
Orphnephila testacea, 1 24

Orphnephilidse, 86, 124
Ortalida:, 91, I75
Orthoptera, 320, 334

some points on methods of collecting

395
Orthorhapha, Section, 84
Oryssidae, 69

Osborn, Herbert, 119, 243
Oscinidae, 92, 183
Osmia larva, II
Osmiinse, 10
Osten Sacken, R., 153
ox bot, 155
ox warble, 155
Oxybelidae, 19
Oxybelus quadrinotatus, 19
oyster-shell bark louse, life history of,

255

Packard, A. S., 10, no
Panorpa, 206, 207
Panorpa rufescens Ramb., 207
Panorpidae, 95, 207
Papiriidne, 385, 388
Parasita, 316
parasitic bees, H
gall flies, 5£
Hymenoptera, 51
wasp, life history of, 34
parasites, how internal, live, 49
parasites of horn-tail larvae, 68
parasites, proctotrypid, 49
pavement ant, 43
pear slug, Hfe history of, 76
pear-tree Psylia, life history of, 260
Peckham, Geo. W. and Elizabeth G,, 18
Peckhams, The, 19, 20, 21, 30, 33
Pedicia albovittata Walk., 95
Pediculus vestimenti, 317
Pegomyia vicina, 172
Pelecinidse, 51
Pelecinus polyturator, 52
Pelocoris femorata, 280
Pelopaeus, 22
Pentatomidse, 272, 313
Pentatomids, 270
Pepsis formosa, 136
Pergande.Theodor, 20, 54, 140, 147. ^93
Pericoma californiensis, 108

canescens, 108
Periplaneta americana, 330
australasiae, 330
orientalis, 330
Perkins, R. C. L., 12, 20
Perlidoe, 361
Phalangiidse, 94

Phanurus tabanivorus Ashm., 133
Phasmidae, 322, 323, 326
Philaenus lineatus, 241
spumarius, 241

435

Index

Phillips, Miss R. O., 121
Philopteridae, 349
Phorbia brassicae, 172

ceparum, 171
Phoridae, 89, 147
Phoridea, Super-family 88, 89
Phorodon humuli Schrank, 265
Phryganea, 198
Phryganeidae, 197, 198
Phycodromidae, 91, 174
Phylloecus inteeger Norton, 71
Phyllomorpha, 303
Phylloxera vastatrix, 265
Phymata wolffii Stol, 297
Phymatidae, 272, 297
Physopoda, 318
Phytophaga, 23
Piesminae, 299
pigeon Tremex, 69
Pimpla, 64, 65, 66, 68
Pimpla inquisitor Say, 64
pink eye, 81, 184
Poiphila, 179

casei Linn., 179
Pipunculidae, 89, 149
pirate bugs, 293
plant bugs, 304
plant-lice, 1 13, 226, 228, 262
plant-lice, jumping, 259
Platypezidae, 89, 149
Platyura, 117

Piatyura pectoralis Coq., 117
Plea, 275
Plecoptera, 361
Podagrion mantis, 328
Podisus serieventris Uhl., 314

spinosus, 314
Poduridae, 385, 386
Poecilocapsus lineatus Fabr., 302
points on methods of collecting differ-
ent orders, some, 394
Polistes, 26, 29

mellifica Say, 25

metricus Say, 142
Polybia, 30
Polygnotus, 51
Pomotis, 278
Pompilidae, 30
Poneridae, 39, 47
Pontania, 76
Popenoe, E. A., 36
potter bees, 1 1
potter-wasps, 30
Poulton, E. B., 297
Pratt, F. C. xi., 118
praying insects, 327
praying Mantis, 141, 326
preparing insects for the cabinet, 401
preserving insects, collecting and, 389
preserving insects, killing and, 401

Prionidus cristatus, 295
Prionotus, 136, 295
Proboscidea, Suborder, 83
Proconia, 244
undata, 244

Proctorypid Parasites, 49
Proctotrypiodae, 3, 25, 33, 49, 51
Prospopidae, 12
Psectra, 79

Pseudoneuroptera, 209
Psilidae, 92, 179
Psilota, 150
Psithyrus, 15
Psocidae, 350
Psocids, 403
Psocus citricola, 351

venosus, 350
Psorophora, loi, 102
Psychodidae, 85, 108
Psylla pyricola. 260
Psyllfdae, 230, 259
Pterodontia, 134

analis, 134
Pulex avium, 191

irritans, 192, 193

serraticeps, 191
Pulicidae, 191

Pulvinaria innumerabilis, 218
punkie, 1 1 1

purulent ophthalmia, 81
pustule, malignant, 80
Putnam, F. W., 1 1
Pyrrhocoridae, 272, 307

Ranatra, 276, 277

Ranunculus poisonous to may-fly larvae,

378
Raphidiidae, 210, 216
Raptoria, 323
Rasahus binotatus, 293
rat-tailed maggots, 152
Ratzeburg, 49
Reade, Chas., 181
rearhorse, 141

life history of, 327
rear-horses, 326

the false, 217
rearing different kinds of insects, 396
rectal gills of dragon-fly larvae, 367
red ant, 43, 46
red-legged locust, 333
reduviid eggs, 294
Reduviidae, 272, 293
Reduvius novenarius, 295

personatus, 293
Rheumatobates rileyi, 284
Rhomaleum micropterum, 333
Rhyacophiiidae, 197, 200
Rhyphidae, 86, 124, 125
Riley, C. V., 32, 54, 55, 234, 339, 343

426

Index

robber-flies, 141, 142

larvae of, 142
Rocky Mountain Locust, 138
rose chafer, 74
rose slug, 74
Rothney, 20

Royal Dream Book, The, 39
Rutilia, 162

Saldida, 272, 291
salt-water flies, 182
Saltatoria, 323
sand flies, 120
Sapromyzidae, 91, 175
Sapygidae, 31, 33
Sarcophaga, 164
Sarcophaga carnaria, 164

sarraceniae, 164
Sarcophagidae, 90, 163
Sarcophiia, 163
Sarcopsylla gallinacea, 193

penetrans, 193
saw-flies, 73
saw-fly, American, 75

larch, 74
scale insects, 226, 228, 250
Scatophagidae, 91, 173
Scatopse, 1 1 9

pulicaria, 1 19
Sceliphron, 22
Scenopinidae, 88, 139
Scenopinus fenestralis Linn., 139
Schistocerca americana, 333
Schmidt, 279
Schmidt-Schwedt, 274
Schwarz, E. A., 22, 32, 58. 59. 60. 292,

293. 359
Sciara fraterna, 1 10

tritici Coq., 1 18
Sciaras, 1 18
Sciomyzidae, 91, 174
Sciophila, 1 17
Scolia, 31
Scoliidae, 33
Scolopendrella, 380
scorpion flies, 95, 206
scorpion fly, life history of, 207
Scotridae, 31
screw-worm fly, 163
Scudder, S. H., 61, 337, 340, 343. 344
Scudderia angustifolia, 337
Scutellerinae, 313
Selys-Longchamps Baron de, 368
Sepsidae, 91, 92, 179
Sericostomatidae, 197, 202
Setodes exquisita Walk.. 203
Seurat, L., 50
seventeen-year locust, life history of

the, 23-,
Severin, 289

shad-flies, 377

Sharp, D., 20, 226, 330, 347

shears, collecting, 394

sheep tick, 188

Shizoneura lanigera, 265

shore bugs, the, 291

short-horned grasshopper, 333

short-horned grasshoppers, the, 332

Sialidae, 210, 211

Sialis, 211

infumata, 211
Sienkiewicz, H., 355
sieve, the, 391
Silvanus surinamensis, 140
silver fish, 382
Simmons, W. J., 192
Simon, 192
Simuliidae, 86, 120
Simulium, 120, 400

pictipes, 121
Siphonaptera, 191
Siricidae, 69
Siricoidea, 3, 69
Sisyra, 221
Slater, Miss, 279
slickers, 380, 382
Slingerland, M. V., 303, 327
small-headed flies, 134
Smeathman, 355
Smicra microgaster, 129

rufofemorata, 129 i
Smith, S. I., no
Smynthuridae, 385, 388
Smynthurus luteus, 388
snake doctors, 363
snake feeders, 363
snake flies, the, 216
snipe flies, 126
snowy tree-cricket, 343
social wasps and their allies, 25
soldier bugs, 68

flies, 128
solitary ants, 32
wasps, 18, 30
some points on methods of collecting

different orders, 394
sooth-sayers, 327
spear-winged flies, 146
Sphecius speciosus Say, 22
Sphecoidea, Super-family, 3, 18, 30
sphegid wasp, 22
spined soldier bug, 314
spittle insects, 241
springtails, 380

squash bug and its allies, the, 304
life history of, 305
parasites of, 306
stable-fly, 166

Stagmomantis Carolina, 327
Stein, 216

427

Index

Stelidae, 6, 1 1

Stelis minuta, 1 1

Stenopelmatus, 337

Stenoxenidae, 85, 97

Stenoxenus johnsoni, 97

stiletto-flies, 139, 140

stilt bugs. The, 309

stinging ants, 39

stingless ants, 39

stink-bugs and their allies. The, 313

typical life history of, 314
stink flies, 222
Stiretrus anchorage, 314
Stomoxys calcitrans, 166
stone-flies, the, 361
Stratiomyia, 129
Stratiomyiid, 126
Stratiomyiidae, 87, 128, 129
Stylogaster, 154
Summers, H. E., 270
sun-flowers, 1 14
Surinam toad, 279
Symphyla, 380
Syrphidae, 89, 1 50
Syrphoidea, Super-family, 89
Syrphus, 265
Syrphus flies, 149, 150
Systoechus oreas, 138
Systrophus, 137
sweeping net, 391

Tabanidae, 87, 131, 132
Tabanoidea, Super-family, 86
Tabanus americanus, 132
Tabanus atratus Fabr., 132
table of families (of dragon flies), 368

(of Heteroptera), 270

of Mallophaga, 349
Tachina Flies, The, 158
Tachinidae, 90, 1 58
Taenia (tape worm), 192
tangle-veined flies, 134
tarantula-killer, 30, 136
tarnished plant bug, 301
Taylor, L. H., Ill
Teleas, 314

Telemona monticola, 238
Telenomus, 51
Tenodera sinensis, 327
Tenthredinidse, 76
Tenthredinoidea, 3, 73, 76
Termes flavipes, 355, 356, 357, 359

lucifugus, 356, 359

tubiformans, 356
Termitidae, 353

Tetramorium caespitum, 43, 46
Tettigia hieroglyphia, 232
Tettigonidae, 243
Thalessa atrata, 70
Thalessa lunator, 70

Therevidae, 88, 139, 140
thick-head flies, i 54
thick-thighed metapodius, 304
thick-thighed walking stick, 323
thin-winged bugs. The, 292
third-party bug, 313
Thoreau, 344
thread legged bugs, 294
Thrips, 244, 318

tabaci Lind, 319
Thynnidae, 31
Thysanoptera, 318
Thysanura, 209
Tibicen pruinosa Say, 22
ticks, the bat, 190

the bird, 188
tineid egg, 50
Tingitidae, 272, 299
Tingitinae, 299
Tiphia wasps, 31
Tiphiidae, 31, 33
Tipulas, 95
Tipulidae, 85, 94, 108
Tipuloidea, Super-family, 84, 85
toad bugs, the 281
toad-shaped bugs, 281
Tolstoi, 6
Torymus, 57
Tramp Abroad, 41
tree-hoppers. The, 237
Tremex, 70
Tremex columba, 69
Trichacis, 51
Trichodect'dae, 349
Trichoptera, 195

table of families, 197
Trigonalidae, 33
Triphleps insidiosus Say, 287
trowel, 392
true bees, 4

bugs, 226

bugs, The, 269

dragon-flies, 372

flies, 79

lice, 82, 316

locusts, 332
Trypeta fratria Loew, 178

ludens, 178

pomonella, 177

solidaginis, 177
Trypetidae, 53, 91, 177
Trypoxylon, 20, 32
tsetse fly, 81

tussock moth, 34, 64, 66
Typhlocyla vitifex, 244
Twain, Mark, 41
two-striped locust, 333

Uhler, P. R., 241, 269, 274, 278
umbrella, 393

428

Index

Velocipeda, Bergroth, 391
Vcrmileo, 126, 127
Vespa, 26, 142
Vespa crabor, 29

cuneata, 29

germanica, 27, 29

maculata, 27, 28
Vespoidea, Superfamily, 3, 25, 33, 49
"vinegar flies," 185
Volucella, 152

walking stick, life history of a common,

323 . ,
walking sticks, 323
Walsh, B. D., 31, 32
War and Peace, 6
Wasmann, 42
wasp, digger, life history of, 22

parasitic, life history of, 34
wasps and their allies, the social, 25
wasps, honey, 25

solitary, 30

the solitary, 18

typical life history of, 33
water boatmen, 273
water bugs, the creeping, 280
water bugs, the giant, 278
water net, the, 391
water scorpions. The, 276
water-strider, life history of, 285
water-striders. The, 283
Webster, F. M., 245
Weeks, Archibald C, 366
weeping trees, 244

western crickets, 337

western grasshopper, 138, 332, 333

wheel bug, 295

life history of, 294
Wheeler, William M., 47
white ants, 353
white flies. The, 246
white fly, typical life history, 247
white marked tussock moth, 64
Williamson, 365, 368, 374
Williston, S. W.. 20, 21, 80, no,

•54
willow slug. The yellow-spotted, 75

window flies, 139

wood-eaters, 69

Woodworth, 301

woolly root louse of the apple, 265

Xiphydriidae, 69

Xylocopa virginica, 9

Xylocopidae, 6, 9

Xylocrabro (Crabro) stirpicola, 19

Xylophaga, 69

Xylophagidae, 126

I5\

yellow fever, 81

Yellow Fever Commission,

States Army, 81
yellow-jackets, smaller, 27, 29
yellow-spotted willow slug, 75

Zabriskie, Rev. J. L., 8

Zaitha, 279

Zambesi Misfion Record, 360

United

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