QL 475 N7N4 ENT R K P O R X • OF THE STATE ENTOMOLOGIST Of N EW York. [From the 41ST Report of the New York State Museum of Natural History.] FOURTH REPORT Injurious and Other Insects State of New York. Made to the Regents of the University, Pursuant to Chapter 355, of th^^^^^s of 1883. By J. A. LINTNER, Ph. D., State Entomologist. ALBANY : JAMES B. LYON, PEINTER. 1888. CONTENTS. PAGE. INTRODUCTOEY - 9 INSECT ATTACKS AND MISCELLANEOUS OBSERVATIONS : The Insects of the Hemlock --19 The Chalcid Parasites of Cecidomyia betulfe Winnertz - - - 27 Isosoma hordei (Harris) — The Joint-worm Fly 27 Thalessa lunator (Fabr.) — The Lunated Long-sting - - - 35 Amphibolips prunus (Walsh) — The Oak-phim gall Cynips - - 42 Aulacomerus lutescens n. sp. — The Poplar Saw-Fly - - - 44 Currant Bushes Girdled by an Unknown Insect - - - - 47 Orgyia leucostigma (Sm.-Ahb.) — The White-marked Tussock - 48 Lagoa opercularis C*Sm.-^f^b J — The Rabbit Moth - - - - 51 Nephelodes violans Guerie'e — The Bronze-colored cut- worm - 54 Homoptera lunata (Drury), as a Rose Pest - - . - - - 57 A Hemlock Leaf-miner 59 Cecidomyia balsamicola n. sp., and its Gall 60 Lasioptera vitis 0. S., and its Galls 63 Chloropisca proliflca 0. S. n. sp., and its Winter Gatherings - - 67 Phytomyza lateralis Fallen — The Marguerite Fly - - - - 73 Megilla maculata De Geer — The Spotted Lady-bird - - - 80 Chauliognathus marginatus (Fabr.) — The Margined Soldier- Beetle 84 Sitodrepa panicea (Linn.), as a Leather-Beetle 88 Xylotrechus colonus (Fabr.), occurring in a Dwelling - - - 93 Haltica bimarginata fSflf/J — The Alder Flea-Beetle - - - - 96 Crepidodera ruflpes (Linn.) — The Red-footed Flea-Beetle - - 101 Scolytus rugulosus (Ratz.) — The Wrinkled Scolytus . . . i03 Corythuca ciliata (Say) — The Ciliated Tingis - - . - - 107 Melanolestes picipes (lf.-6\) — The Black Corsair - - - -109 Mytilaspis pomorum C^OMc/ieJ —The Apple-tree Bark-louse - 114 Ptyelus lineatus (Linn.) — The Lined Spittle-hopper - - - 120 Ephemera natata Walker, and other Ephemeridae - - - - 121 Hairsnakes as Parasitic on Insects - - 125 Cermatia forceps (Baf.), as a Household Pest _ - . . i28 6 Contents. PAGE. BEIEF NOTES ON VARIOUS INSECTS 135 Dolerus sp. ; Danais Archippus, 135. Thecla strigosa; Nisoniades Persius ; Sphinx Canadensis, 137. Melittia cucurbitae ; Hyppa xylinoides; Erebus odora, 138. Zerene catenaria; Anisopteryx pometaria, 139. Tinea pellionella; Mallota sp., 140. Anthrenus scrophularise ; Alaus oculatus, 141. Thanasimus dubius ; Macro- dactylus subspinosus; Lema trilineata; Chrysochus auratus; Trirhabda Canadensis, 142. Galeruca xanthomelEena, 143. Hyle- sinus opaculus ; Ptiloeotribus liminaris, 144. Belostoma Ameri- canum, 145. Ceresa bubalus, 146. Chermes pinicorticis ; (Ecan- thus niveus, 147. APPENDIX : (A.) SOME EXTRA-LIMITAL INSECTS ------- 151 Carpoeapsa saltitans TFesfio., and its Jumping Seeds - - - 151 Systena blanda Mels. — The Broad-striped Flea-Beetle - - - 155 Leptocoris trivittatus (Say) — The Box-elder Plant-bug - - 156 Mantis Carolina ii/oi. — The Carolina Mantis - - - - -158 (B.) ENTOMOLOGICAL ADDEESSES : The Present State of Entomological Science in the United States, 163 Annual Address of the President of the Entomological Club of the American Association for the Advancement of Science - - 172 Some Pests of the Pomologist - . - 183 (C.) LIST OF PUBLICATIONS OF THE ENTOMOLOGIST DURING THE YEAR 1887 - - - 193 (D.) CONTRIBUTIONS TO THE DEPARTMENT DURING THE YEAR 1887 - 205 (E.) ERRATA IN FORMER REPORTS 209 GENERAL INDEX - - 211 PLANT INDEX - 235 ERRATA. Page U, line 13 from bottom, for J. W. read W. J. Page 34, line 24, for 148 read 28. Page 39, last line for (Dade.) read (Gade.) Page 52, line 9, for Quercus vaccinium read Qnercus, Vaccijiium. Page 73, first line, for (Fallen) read Fallen. Page 107, line 27, for Tingl shyalina read Tingis hyalina. Page 113, line 6 from bottom, for MS. read (MS. Page 119, line 6 from bottom, for Michigan read Michigan.) Page 145, line 18 from bottom, for Americana read Americamim. Page 156, first foot-note, for Saunder's read Saunders'. Page 166, line 18, for biographical read bibliographical. Page 181, in foot-note, for 283-292 read 163-172. Page 198, line 3 from bottom, for Americanus read Americana. Page 200, line 10 from bottom, for is not a read is a. Page 200, line 12 from bottom, for Poecilocap- read Poecilocap-. N O X K. By provisions in an act of the Legislature, S. N. Y. — Chapter 355 of the Laws of 1883 —entitled an act to regulate the State Museum of Natural History * * * "the State Entomologist is placed on the scientific staff of the Museum, and the Trustees of said Museum are authorized to publish each year his scientific contributions, which publication shall be in lieu of the report now required by law from the State Entomologist." In compliance with the above provisions, four reports have subse- quently been made to the Regents of the University of the State of New York, and have been published in the Annual Reports on the State Museum. As the desired facilities for publication were not afforded under the then existing system of public printing, the reports have been brief and without the illustration and other features that were thought to enhance the useful- ness and value of those preceding. The report for 1883 will be found in pages 45-60 of the Thirty-seventh Report on the New York State Museum of Natural History. It contains notices of official work and field collections, and of depredations by Orgyia in Albany and by the Chinch bug in Northern New York. The report for 1884, is contained in the Thirty-eighth Museum Report, pages 67-76. In addition to a list of the publications of the State Ento- mologist for the year and contributions to the Department for the same time, a sequel to the insect attacks of the preceding year is appended. The report for 1885, occupies pages 77-125 of the Thirty-ninth Museum .Report. For an enumeration of its contents see page 200 of this volume. The report for 1886, is contained in pages 79-154 of the Fortieth State Museum Report, published in 1887. For its contents see page 204 of this volume. Of this report, 200 copies, with title-page and cover were printed as separates for the Entomologist for his distribution. Although not so designated, it may be regarded as the " Third Report on the Insects of New York," etc., in continuation of the series (the present being entitled the Fourth), and for permitting a readier reference to it in citations. It has already been so referred to in scientific publications. Of the reports for 1883, 1884 and 1885, no copies having been printed outside of the small mviseum edition, such portions of them as may be deemed of interest, will probably be incorporated in the next (Fifth) report of the State Entomologist. EEPOET. Office of the State Entomologist, Albany, December 14, 1887. To the Honorable Board of Begent.s of the University of the State of New York: Gentlemen. — In accordance with the hiAv of 1883, reguhiting the State Museum of Natural History, I herewith beg leave to present to your Honorable Board the following report of some of my labors aud investigations during the past year. In connection therewith, I will refer incidentally to some entomological studies which are being prosecuted by others. As in preceding years, my studies have been almost entirely in the direction of the economic relations of insects. So important are these relations to the farmer, the gardener, the fruit- grower, the florist, the manufacturer, the exchanger of produce or manufactures, and, in consideration of our numerous household pests — to every member of community, that no apology is needed if they are permitted, for the time, to claim almost the exclusive attention of your entomologist. It was to meet this need of reliable information of our insect pests, and of the most efficient means of controlling their ravages, that this Department was established in 1880, and has since been sustained by the State. Yet, pure science must ever form the basis of the applications of science. The proud position that economic entomology has attained, is but the result of the earnest, patient, aud long-continued scientific study that has preceded it, and without which it would have been an impossibility. To particularize : a very large proportion of the insects of the United States have been described, named aud classified — our catalogues embracing about twenty-five thousand species. The several orders and suborders have been taken up by special students who have devoted their best energies and the greater part of their lives to descriptive and classificatory study. Thus : Dr. LeConte, whose name is inseparabh" connected with American Coleopterology — 10 Forty-first Report on the State Museum. during the forty years that he devoted to the work, had described nearly the one-half of our known species of Coleoptera, viz., 4,739, and given original definitions of more than 1,100 of the higher groups.* Since his death in 1883, the order which he had so greatly advanced, has continued to receive the untiring study of Dr. Horn, and is being rapidly progressed through frequent monographic and other publications of superior excellence. To Mr. E. T. Cresson we owe much of our present knowledge of the Hymenoptera, through lists and monographs of several of the principal families, and last, through a Synopsis of the Hymenoptera of North America just published, giving the leading characters of families and genera, with synoptic tables which will afford the means for their ready recognition. One of the families of this order — perhaps the most difiicult, from its many species and microscopic size of most of the number — the Chcdcididce, is being successfully studied by Mr. L. O. Howard, of the Entomological Division of the U. S. Agricultural Department at Washington. Dr. S. W. Williston, of New Haven, is j)resenting from time to time, monographs of families in Diptera — an order which has been greatly neglected among us since the retirement of Baron Osten Sacken from the Russian Legation at Washington, and his removal to Germany. Fortunately for us, Baron Osten Sacken's interest in American Diptera, is still maintained, as may be seen in his occasional publications, and in a contribution from him in this report and other services acknowledged. The Hemiptera still claim the devoted attention of Mr. P. R. Uhler, of Baltimore, who has recently given us our first list of the order, comprising the suborder of Heteroptera, to be followed soon, it is promised, by that of the Homoptera. Mr. E. P. Van Duzee, of the Grosvenor Library at Buft'alo, is also v/orking earnestly and successfully upon these insects ■ — by far too gener- ally regarded as unattractive. Mr. S. H. Scudder's studies of the Orthoptera are being sus- pended, for a brief time only it is hoped, during the preparation and printing of his long-promised and anxiously awaited " Butter- flies of New England." Dr. H. A. Hagen, of the Museum of Comparative Zoology at Cambridge, Mass., still continues to be the highest authority in the Neuroptera, and a most diligent collector and custodian of all that *Scudder, in Trans. Amei: Ent. Soc, iv, 1884, p. xviii. Report of the State Entomologist. 11 relates to the literature and biological illustration of North American insects. In Lepidoptera, Mr. William H. Edwards is continuing his invaluable publications and illustrations in the Butterflies of North America ; while the Heterocera (moths) are receiving their share of attention at the hands of Mr. Henry Edwards, Professor Fernald, Rev. Mr. Hulst, Mr. J. B. Smith, and others. To such special students as are above named, the economic entomologist, whose field of study necessarily embraces all the orders without particular devotion to any one, has often occasion to apply for aid in the determination of new forms, discrimination between those that are closely allied, geographical distribution, extrication of perplexing synonymy, etc., etc. Much that he lacks may, by this means, be readily supplemented. In all cases such desired aid is cordially extended. I take great pleasure in acknowledging my personal obligations to each of the above named gentlemen — specialists, for the assistance that has always been promptly and cheerfull}' — ofttimes unsparingly, extended to me. An unusual number of interesting insect attacks have been brought to my notice during the present year. Owing to the brief time that could be given to the preparation of this report but a few of them can be noticed, and those not to the extent that seems desirable. The cereals of the State have not been visited to any unusual degree, with insect injuries, with the single exception of a demon- stration of the joint-worm fly, Isosoma Jiordei (Harris), in some wheat fields of Niagara county. As there is apprehension that its presence in the western fields may be continued for a series of years, as is its wont when a footing has been secured, a somewhat extended notice of it has been given in the following pages, in which means are suggested, which, if diligently employed, should arrest its spread. I have not heard of a continuation of the Hessian fly injuries, which for a few preceding years had been the cause of heavy losses to the wheat crop of Western New York, as notably in Wayne and Ontario counties in 1885, when the aggregate loss was estimated at $100,000, and in Seneca county, where, in the town of Junius, it was claiujed that 40,000 bushels of wheat had been destroyed. 12 Forty-first Report on the State Museum. Less damage has been reported by the clover-seed midge, Cecidomyia hguminicola Lintn., from Central New York. Perhaps, as its distribution extends into adjoining States and into Canada, its operations will be less severe where they were first observed. It has become very destructive in Canada, especially in Central and South-western Ontario, where its injuries are only being met by cutting but one crop of cloA^er during the season. Mr. Fletcher, entomologist of the Dominion of Canada, has stated in a recent report: "The only instances where any seed has been reaped are where, instead of allowing the clover to stand in the field till the end of June, it has been fed off by cattle and sheep till the begin- ning or middle of June, and then left to go to seed for the autumn crop. * * * The verdict of all the growers who have tried the experiment now seems to be that two crops can not be secured, and to get any seed at all, the first crop must be pastured until the beginning, and not later than the middle, of June. In this way the minute larv* of the flies, which are to lay the eggs for the second brood, are eaten by the cattle at the same time as the clover and destroyed." In my report for 1886, reference was made to the nearly entire destruction of the hop crop of the State, by the hop- vine aphis, PJmrodon liumuli (Schrank), only about one-twelfth of an average crop having been secured. As predicted — in part from the remarkable abundance throughout the latter part of the season of its insatiable destroyers, the lady-birds, and particularly of one species, Adalia hipunctata (Linn.), the two-spotted lady-bird — the hop-yards, the present year, have been favored with an almost entire exempti( )n from aphis attack. Those who are interested in hop culture — so important an interest in our State - — may be especiallj^ congratulated in that the mystery that has so long enveloped a large portion of the life-period of the hop-vine aphis, viz., from its disappearance from the yards in the autumn to its reappear- ance therein the following spring, has, during the present year, been satisfactorily solved. For this gratifying achievement we are indebted to the United States Department of Agriculture, through the patient and laborious investigations conducted, almost uninter- mittingly from May to November, by Professor Eiley and his assistants, of the Entomological Division. I extract from a note appended to proof-sheets of my report for 1886 (not yet published). Report of the State Entomologist. 13 the following summary of tlie life-liistoiy of the insect, as it has been worked out within the last few months : " The eggs are deposited on the twigs of plum trees in the autumn (October). They hatch at the putting out of the leaves the following spring. Three generations follow on the plum, of which the last only is winged, which at once migrates to the hop-yards. The fourth and the succeeding generations on the hop, to the eleventh inclusive, are wingless females. The twelfth generation consists of winged males and females — the latter, agamic, and these return to plum trees in September. Here the thirteenth generation is composed of sexual wingless females, w^hich, after mating, deposit the eggs which are to hatch the following spring, in continuation of the species. For a detailed statement of the above, see a communication made by Mr. L. O. Howard, of the Division of Entomology, under instructions from Professor Eiley, in the Country Gentleman, for November 17, 1887, page 875, giving also the latest studies of Professor Eiley upon the insect, made in England during the present autumn." Now that the winter abode of the hop-aphis has been ascertained to be on plum trees, in the egg state, thereby, to a certain extent, bringing it within our reach (some entomologists are not yet willing to concede that it does not, in part, hibernate in the soil of hop- yards), it may with propriety be claimed that ' " the practical outcome of the investigation is very great." But it is to be feared that our worthy Commissioner of Agriculture, who has lent the aid of his department to this investigation, has been over sanguine in his announcement in his report of the present year, that "there is now no reason wh}^ this pest, which last year damaged the crops to the extent of hundreds of thousands of dollars, should be longer feared by hop-growers." The onion crop has suffered severely from insect attack in various portions of the State. Serious complaints have been made of injuries from the onion maggot (the larva of the onion Hy, Pltor- hia ceparum Meigen), in Suflblk, Queens, Rensselaer, Essex and Genesee counties. In Otsego county, wire-worms are reported as having done much harm, while in Queens county, cut-worm attack was combined with that of the onion-fly. These injuries were not general, for in Saratoga and Livingston counties the crop is repre- sented as having been remarkably free from the ordinary depreda tions of its insect enemies. 14 Forty-first Report on the State Museum. Young corn, in Betliany, Genesee county, was attacked in June, by caterpillars, li^dng within webs and silken tubes in the ground among the roots, which they leave to feed upon the stalk beneath the ground and to some extent, on the leaves above, after the habit of the cut-worms, although belonging to a different family from the Noctuidce, viz., the Pyralkke. In some cases, the injury caused by them had necessitated replanting. From examples sent to me by Mr. W. E. Harding, I was able to rear the moth, and to find it to be a species of Cranihiis, distinct from 0. zeellus Fern., which has been so injurious to corn in Illinois, although the larval opera- tions as described to me are almost identical with those of that species. A description of the caterpillar was made, which will be given, together with a fuller notice of the insect and its operations, after the moth, at present in the hands of Professor Fernald for determination, shall have been named. Crambus zeellus, known in Illinois as the root web-worm, in an instance related, was found to have cut down every hill of corn in a field of twenty acres. Injury to corn is reported by Mr. C. L. Landers, of Afton, Che- nango county, from the larvae of one of the larger Chrysomelid beetles, which, upon rearing the imago, proves to be Chelymorpha Ar-gus Licht. He also observed the same, feeding on barley, cab- bage, grass, plantain and other weeds. The occurrence of this insect in harmful number upon a valuable field crop is so unusual that it was noticed in a communication to the Country Gentleman of September 1, 1887, as a " Milkweed Beetle with Bad Habits ;" see page — , of this Report. Beetles from the pupae sent to me, emerged August nineteenth. Under date of May ninth, Mr. J. W. Babcock, of Rochester, observed an attack upon his apple trees, the nature of which was quite new to him. Both the buds and blossoms were being spun together and rapidly eaten. From examples received, and from moths subsequently reared, it was ascertained that the insect was the eye-spotted bud-moth, or Tmetocera ocellami (Schiff.). The perfect insect was obtained on June third, although July is given as the usual time of its appearance. Mr. Babcock was informed that the attack could be arrested by spraying the trees with London purple in water — one-fourth pound to a barrel. The rose-beetle, 3Iacrodactylus suhspinosus (Fabr.), made an appearance in unwonted numbers in Granby, Oswego county, in the fore part of June. The Osivego Times of June tenth, stated Report of the State Entomologist. 15 that they were in such force as to devour all the foliage of the apple trees and eat the young fruit. Examples of the insect were sent to me for name, with inquiries of their nature and of means for arresting their raA^ages, as they were exciting much alarm among the fruit-growers of that region. A reply was made in which were given the best known remedies against the pest, which was published in the Osicego Times of June eighteenth (see sum- mary of the communication in another page of this Report). At Memphis, Onondaga county, at the same time, the beetles were said to be eating the young peaches and killing the corn. An attack on apple trees at Moriches, Sutiblk county, in early June, by the fall canker-worm Anisopteryx pometaria Hari'is, was recognized, in examples of the caterpillars sent. A formidable attack was made by the quince curculio, Conotra- cheliis craficgi Walsh, late in September, in the quince orchards of T. C. Maxwell & Bros., at Geneva, N. Y. The injury had been serious the preceding 3^ear, but this season it was still more severe. Of the crop of 1,000 bushels, fully one-third was more or less affected. Some of the cjuinces that appeared the finest outwardly, were found upon cutting, to contain several of the larva? feeding in cavities within, defiled with their blackened excrementa. It was learned on inquiry, that probably about one-twentieth of the fruit dropped from the trees, the larvae continuing therein until driven out by decay. The entire crop ripened earlier than usual, and much of it decayed while still upon the trees. Recommenda- tion was made of working the ground of the orchard thoroughly so as to destroy the larva? by crushing and exposure after they had buried for pupation. The novel form of injury inflicted upon the elms of Albany in the year 1883, by the white-marked tussock moth, Orgijia leuco- stigma (Sm.-Abb.), in girdling the young tips of elms and causing them to fall, has been repeated this year, as will be found noticed hereafter. The imported elm-leaf beetle, Galeruca xanthomekoia (Schrank), which for several years past, to the southward of us, has been such a merciless defoliator of the elms, completely rob- bing them of their value as shade and ornamental trees and reducing them to unsightly harborers and propagators of a dis- gusting insect presence, has continued steadil}^ to progress over the south-eastern portion of the State, until it has reached Rough- 16 Forty-first Report on the State Museum. keepsie — midway between Albany and New York — in its northern extension. It is devoutl}^ to be hoped that through the discoveries and improvements made within the last few years in insecticides and m means by which they may be conveyed into and distributed over our larger shade trees, the distribution of this obnoxious foreign intruder may speedily be arrested. Another of our numerous imported pests, the larch saw-fly, Nematus Erichsonii Hartig, has for some time been extending slowly over Northern New York, and this 3'ear has been observed in some of the south-eastern counties of the State, as in Albany, Schoharie and Otsego. In some localities where it has been the most abundant, it has caused the death of large numbers of the native larchs or tamaracks, Larix Americana. I had hoped to present in this report an account of observations made by me upon this insect the past summer, in Hamilton county and else- where, but it is necessarily postponed for the present. A strawberry leaf-folder, of somewhat diflerent habits from those ascribed to the leaf-folder known to infest this plant, was observed by Prof. Peck, at Menands, Albany county, the latter part of June. It was believed to be identical with one that had appeared in September and October of the preceding year, thus indicating a double brood. The attempt to rear the moth was unsuccessful. The Zebra cabbage worm, as from its peculiar markings it has been named — scientifically, 3Iamestra picfa (Harris), which has won for itself a bad reputation from its readiness to feed upon a large number of quite dissimilar food-plants, as several of the garden vegetables, flowering plants, ornamental shrubs, buckwheat, etc., has been discovered at Chatham, Columbia county, by Mr. George T. Powell in defoliating currant bushes. They were found in their young stage feeding socially in large companies, and from having been rarely seen at that age they were not recognized until subsequent moltings developed their well-known and characteristic ornamentation. In occasional instances where insect injuries are presented for which no explanation can be offered, it is thought proper to report them in the hope that they may have been observed and accounted for by some other entomologist or careful observer. Attention was called in August to such an attack, by Mr W. E. Harding, of Report of the State Entomologist. 17 Betlian}', N. Y. Larvae had been seen by liim eating into tlie ripe kernels of wheat in the head, but he neglected at the time to save any of them for examination. Later when they were looked for, none could be found. The aggregate injury could not have been very great, for it was stated that " sometimes a head was found with several injured kernels." From the irregular manner in which the eating had been done, it could not have been the work of the Angoumois moth, Sltotroga cereahlla (Oliv.). Mr. Harding thought from the appearance of the depredator as he observed it, that it belonged to the Lepidoptera. Examples of the injured grain have been preserved in the State collection. A similar form of attack on plums was submitted by Mr. J. J. Thomas, of Union Springs, N. Y., which could not be identified. Three Lombard plums, nearly ripe, were sent, which had been excavated in each case within one-eighth of an inch of the stem, to the depth of about one-tenth of an inch, and of about the same diameter. The original punctures probably had not been so large, but the skin surrounding it may have shrunken and parted in its drying. The excavations had more or less gum in them. One of the plums showed a smaller puncture a little removed from the larger, but in none could any oviposition or trace of larval opera- tion be discovered. The pits and their contents were in their natural state, with no evidence of having been reached hy the larva of the j)lum-gouger, Coccotorus scateUaris Lee. — a curculionid beetle of general distribution throughout the Mississippi valley whose habit is to penetrate the stone while still tender and feed upon the kernel. The plums were from Mr. H. C. Allen, of Erie county, who states that at least one -half of his crop had been destroyed in this manner — ■ the cavities developing into rot. He had not been able to discover any insect making the puncture. Another unexplained attack, presenting itself for the first time the present year, is a girdling of the tips of currant bushes, by some unknown insect, observed in Albany and vicinity during the months of May and June. The observations made and some speculations thereon are given in this Report. Some other insect attacks brought to notice the past season ma}^ be found among the " Brief Notes on Various Insects," with which this Report concludes. 3 18 Forty-first Report on tee State Museum. During the year I have availed myself of opportunities offered, in an endeavor to extend a knowledge of insect life and insect habits in their economic aspects, in addresses made before the fol- lowing societies and organizations : Western New York Horticultural Society at Rochester. New York Farmers' Club, New York city. Farmers' Institute, at Batavia. Farmers' Institute at Schenectady. Agassiz Association, Albany Chapter. Dana Natural History Society at Albany. Albany Institute. Troy Scientific Association. Torrey Botanical Club, New York city. Entomological Club of Amer. Assoc. Adv. Sci. American Pomological Society at Boston. In conclusion, I beg leave to present herewith the following : Notices of insect attacks and miscellaneous observations ; a list of the contributions made to the Department during the year ; and a list of the publications of the Entomologist, for the same period, which, while given mainly as a record of entomological literature, may also serve to show some of the additional work of the Depart- ment other than that presented elsewhere in the Report. Respectfully submitted. J. A. LINTNER. INSECT ATTACKS AND MrSCELLANEOUS 01iSER\ ATIONS. THE INSECTS OF THE HEMLOCK. [Note. — The following list of insects feeding on the hemlock, together with a reference to amount and character of injury inflicted, was drawn up at the request of Px'ofessor A. N. Prentiss, of Cornell University, for use in the monograph on the hemlock, Tsuga Canadensis, which he had been engaged to prepare for the Division of Forestry, in the U. S. Department of Agriculture. It is understood that his manuscript was some time since presented to the Department, but in the absence of the needed facilities for prompt publication of the labors of the Division, there is no prospect of its early issue. Under the circumstances, in compliance with the request made, Professor Prentiss has kindly given me permission for the present use of the notes communicated to him. A few additions have been made to the paper since its return, and some figui'es introduced.] While the statement of Dr. Fitch, that " the hemlock is much the most free from insects of any tree in our country," may not be strictly true, yet its comj^arative freedom from insect attack is'a fact, and one for which no satisfactory reason may be assigned. The j^eculiar pung- ent odor of turpentine is generally thought to be repulsive to insects, and the si^irits of turpentine is not infrequently employed to protect clothing, woolens, and specimens of natural history from the attack of moths, and some of the smaller coleoptera. To some insects it is undoubtedly poisonous, and even its odor is fatal to them. And yet, there are Lepidopterous larvte, as for example, Pinipestis Zinimermani Grote {Bull. U. S. G.-G. Surv. Terr., iv, 1878, p. 700), and Harmonia pint Kellicott {Entomologica Americana, i, 1885, pp. 171-173) which live just within the sap-wood of young and vigorous pines; their bodies are constantly coated with the pitch, it constitutes part of their food, as it is found mingled with their excrement, and their pupal stage of transfoi'mation is undergone within a mass of pitch-exudation upon the bark of the tree. The pines furnish the requisite food for a large number of insects, most of which are limited to them, although a few extend their range to other Coniferw, and to some of the deciduous trees. M. Edouard Ferris has given a list of more than a hundred species which infest the maritime pine of Southern Europe. Dr. Fitch in his Fourth Rejiort on the Insects of New York, in 1858, notices sixty- six pine-feeding insects. Dr. Packard in his Insects Injurious to Forest 20 Forty-first Report on the State Museum. and Shade Trees, in 1881, has extended the number to 106, occurring on the different species of piues in the United States, while omitting several Hemiptera (bugs) which occur in greater numbers upon other kinds of vegetation. It will be safe to say that we know of, at least, 125 species of pine-inhabiting insects. About thirty species are recorded as infesting spruces {Abies nigra and A. alba), and about the same number the firs {Abies balsamea, mainl}^). Dr. Packard {loc. eit.) names fifteen species on the Junij)ers {Juni2)erus Virginian us and J. communis), and but three on arbor vitse {Thuja occidentalis). The species known to feed upon the Hemlock are the following: Lepidoptera. Eacles imperialis {Drury); Fitch, 4th Kept. Ins. N. Y., p. 62. Thyridopteryx ej^hemerteformis {Haworth); Glover, Ent. Ind. Agr. Eepts., p. 90. Tolype laricis (Fitch) ; Lintuer, 1st EejDt. Ins. N. Y., ]). 85. Cleora jDulchraria Minot ; Packard, Kept. Comm Agr. for 1885, p. 327. Tephrosia Canadaria Guen. ; Hulst, Ent. xlmer., iii., p. 49. Eupithecia luteata Packard; Packard, Bull. 8, Div. Entomol., p. 24. " The Hemlock inch-worm; " Packard, Ins. Inj. For.-Sh. Trees, jd. 242. " The ten-lined pine inch-worm; " Packard, ib., ib. Tortrix fumiferana Clem. ; Pack., Kept. Comm. Agr. for 1883, p. 146. Gelechia abietisella Pack. ; Id., ib., p. 150. A leaf-miner, undetermined; received from Prof. Prentiss. COLEOPTEBA. ? Dicerca sp. ; Packard, Ins. Inj. For.-Sh. Trees., p. 241. Hadrobregmus foveatus {Kirby); Packard, loc. cit. sup. Orthosoma brunneum (Forsler) ; Packard, loc. cit. sup. Hylotrupes bajulus {Linn.); Fitch, 4th Kept. Ins. N. Y., p. 62. Callidium sp. ; Thomas, 6th Kept. Ins. 111., p. 149. Leptura Canadensis {Fabr.); Packard, loc. cit., p. 240. "A large longicorn borer," indet. ; Packard, loc. cit., p. 241. " A short longicorn borer," indet.; Packard, loc. cit., p. 241. Nyctobates Pennsylvanicus {De Geer); Schaupi^, Bull. Brook. Ent. See, iv., p. 23. Pissodes strobi Peck; Packard, loc. cit, p. 231. Crypturgus atomus {LeConte); Packard, loc. cit., p. 231. Hemiptera. Cicada septendecim Linn.; Riley, 1st Kept. Ins. Mo., p. 24. Lioderma ligata (Stal); Fitch, 4th Rept. Ins. N. Y., p. 62. Report of the State Entomologist. 21 Orthoptera. Caloptenus spretus Uhler; Eiley, 1st Eept. U. S. Eut. Coinm., p. 258. The injuries from the above insects (twenty-five species) differ in character and in degree, as will appear from the following brief notices of their depredations : Fades imperialix, or the pine Emperor moth, is among the largest of the family of Boinbyeidce, which contains our largest lepidopterous insects. Its caterpillar, from its great size, is necessarily cpiite vora- cious as it approaches maturity, and will readily denude a limb of its leaves; but fortunately it never occurs in numbers sufficient to enable it to inflict any sericms injury. It is seldom that more than two or three occupy the same ti'ee. A figure of the moth — not a good one, but serving the purpose of recognition — is given in the Natural History of the Stale of New York — Agriculture, by E. Emmons, vol. v., pi. 40, fig. 7. Tolype laricis, the larch-lappet, infests also the larch {Larix Ameri- cana), from which it has drawn its specific name- It also occurs upon pines, and is but seldom met witli on the hemlock. It is a beautiful, interesting and rare species — never becoming so numerous as to prove a pest. A detailed account of its trans- formations, life-history, distribution, etc., is contained in the first Report on the Insects of New York. The male is shown at figure 1, and the female at figure 2. Thyridopteryx epliemerceformix, the basket or bag-worm, is also seldom met with on the hemlock. Of its twenty known food-plants, its favorites are, apparently, the red cedar (Juuiperui^ Virr/inianuf^), and the arbor vita; {Tluija Occidentali^). Cleora pulchraria is one of the " measuring worms " (as are the three following species), which is found frequently on the hemlock, but it is of an inconsiderable size, and never multiplies to an injurious extent. Tephrosia Canadaria is another measuring worm, which feeds on tama- rack and spruce, and probably on pine, as the moth has been found abundantly at Center, N. Y., amidst the joines of that locality. Eujnthecia luteata is common on several of the evergreens. It is a small larva, and of no special economic importance. The hemlock inch-worm (a Eujnthecia species) and the ten-lined inch-worm, as in the absence of a knowledge of the moths which they produce, the two are designated by Dr. Packard, have only been observed in Maine, and nothing has been recorded of their habits, Fig. 1.— The niak- Tolype laricis. Fi«. 2.— The female Tolype labicis. 22 Forty- FIRST Report on the State Museum. Tortrix fumiferana, or the spruce-bud worm, has been very destructive to spruces in portions of Maine, as observed and reported by Dr. Packard. It has occurred in very large numbers in some localities, where it has caused the death of a large number of trees, by eating off the buds in June as they were developing, and arresting the new growth. In a few instances only, it has been detected feed- ing on hemlock. It is found, also, in Massachusetts, New York, Pennsylvania, Ohio, Illinois and Wisconsin. Gelechia abietisella is a small insect belonging to the Tineidce. It is known, up to the present, only on the hemlock, in which the cater- pillar causes dead patches on the smaller twigs by biting off and weaving together several of the leaves into a broad, tiat, irregular case, within which it lives in a rude silken tube. The Coleoj)terous larvae infesting the hemlock, are of greater economic importance, as they are all borers in the trunk, limbs and twigs, or excavate smaller burrows between the wood :.nd bark. The Dicerca sp? was found under the bark of a dead tree. Most of the species of this genus burrow in the sajD-wood a little beneath the bark, and usually attack trees only of an impaired vitality. Hadrobregmusfoveatiis has been found not very abundantly, not only in logs and in stripped and piled bark, but also within the bark of large healthy trees (Packard). It belongs to the destructive family of Ftinidce, which contains a large number of species, mostly o± small size, and of injurious habits, although more generally living in vege- table matter in an incipient stage of decay. Orfhosoma brimneum is a common and well-known longicorn beetle, of a laro-e size, the larva of which sometimes measures two inches in length. It is a member of the ex- tensive family of Ceranibycidce, con- sisting of an immense number of sj)ecies — some of remarkable size and great beauty. Their larvse sub- sist exclusively on the woody parts of plants, within the trunks, branches and roots of trees. 0. hrunneum is generally distributed over the Atlan- tic States, but fortunately its attack is usually confined to dead or dying trees, unlike a closely allied species formerly embraced in the same genus with it, viz., F)-)onus laticollis, which, at times and in certain locali- tieSjis very destructive to grape vines and apple and pear trees, which it Fig. 3' — oethosoma. brunneuji. "(After kills by burroAving into their roots, Ernmous.) Report of the State Entomologist. 23 0. brunneum is identical with the cylindricum of Fabr., the Pennsyl- vanicuni of De Geer, the f^ulcatum of Beauvbis, and the unicolor of Drury, which are redescriptions and renamings of Forster's brunneum of 1771. The figure represents an individual of the maxi- mum size, 1.80 inch.; smaller examj)les measure from 0.90 inch, upward. Ht/lotrupes bajulus is another of the Geramhycidw. Dr. Fitch records it among the pine insects, and also as sometimes attacking the hemlock {loc. cit.). Dr. Thomas, formerly State Entomologist of Illinois, mentions it as occasionally seriously injurious to hemlock lumber. Dr. Harris represents it as one of the most common of its kind in the vicinity of Boston {Insects Lijurious to Vegetation, page 100, plate 2, fig. 12). Kirby and Spence state of it that the grubs greatly injure the wood-work of houses in London — piercing the rafters of the roofs in every direction, and when arrived at maturity, even penetrating through sheets of lead which covered the place of their exit. It has probably been introduced in this country from Euroi:)e, as it is met with more abundantly near the sea-board. Callidium sp? belongs to the same tribe with the preceding, and is of similar habits. The extent of its injuries is not recorded. Lepfura Canadensis has been taken from hemlock stumps in the Adirondack mountains. It is probably seldom injurious to living trees. I have found the beetle common on blossoms of the golden-rod (Soli- dago) at Long lake in the Adirondacks, in August. The two longicorn borers, of which the species were not identified occurred in the bark of fallen hemlock. The smaller one (Figure 4) resembled the larva of the common longi- corn pine-borer, Monoham- mus confusor (Kirby) — the most perniciovis of the pine- borers. The figures are from the Third Report of the C. S. Fig. 4.— Larva Entomological Commission, i)l. of a longicorn ^ii., one of two plates pre- beetle from ■^^ , under hem- pared to illustrate, by en- lock bark. largements and details of structure, a paper by Dr. A. S. Packard fi«. s.— Larva of a longicorn beetle entitled "Descriptions of the Larvse of from under hemlock bark with en- Injurious Forest Insects." largement of mouth parts. Nyctobates Pennsylvanicus is one of the Tenebrionidce, or "ground beetles." Its puj^ae were found by Mr. Schaupp, on July eighteenth, in 24 Forty-first Report on the State Museum. Fig. 6. — The white-pine weevil, ^. hemlock. It probably will not prove to be a destructive species, as the group to which it l^elongs have their habitat under dead bark. Puffodes drobi is the notorious white- pine weevil, the larvse of which inflict such serious injuries on young pines by infesting and destroying the topmost shoot, checking its ujDward growth and causing an unsightly bend at this point, as future upward growth can be con- tinued only through one of the lateral PissoDEs sTEOBi ; 0, its larva : h, the shoots. The beauty of the trees and pupa. their value for commercial purposes are thereby greatly impaired. The operations of this beetle do not, how- ever, prove as serious to the hemlock as to the pine, seldom producing deformation in it. In the Annual Eej)ort of the United States Department of Agriculture for 1885, plate ix, from which the figures illustrating this insect and its operations are taken, also gives representations of remarkable deformations produced in white pines through the custom- ary destruction of the terminal shoots by this insect attack. Figure 6 shows the beetle, its larva and the pupa. In Figure 7, the larval burrows in the sap-wood and in the heart- wood are represented at a; and in b the pupa-cases or cocoons beneath the bark removed, and the interior burrows in the heart-wood, are shown. Crypiurgus atomu^, the smallest known beetle among the Scolytid beetles, was found by Dr. Packard in considerable numbers in and under the bark of standing dead hemlocks in Maine. It has also been observed in the same situation in pines, in Canada, New York and Massachusetts. It is especially destruc- tive to spruces, as it burrows the bark irreg- ularly, and not in the plane of the sap-wood. Its galleries are very numerous, a great many being contained within a square inch of extent. Of the two Hemipterous insects recorded as infesting the hemlock (there are probably several other species of the order which have been Fig. 7.— Twigs showing bur- rows and cocoons of Pissodes STKOBI. Report of the State Entomologist. 25 overlooked up to the present), one is the seventeen-year cicada (com- monl}', hut improperly, called locust). Cicada i^epiendecim. Its injuries are inflicted b^-- the female boring into the twigs for the deposit of its eggs. It has not been observed to oviposit in pines (l.s^ Bejjt. Jnx. Mo., p. 24). The other, Lioderma ligata, or the bound tree-bug, so named from the red band surrounding its margin, is represented by Dr. Fitch, as •' sometimes clinging on this tree, and probably sucking the juices of the leaves." It may not, however, be accepted as au injuriou.s species Aiithout further observation of its habits, as several of its near relatives are known to subsist upon the juices of other insects which infest our trees. Dr. Fitch, in Fig. s-The bound his 3d Report, page 71, No. 100, includes this insect, .lttlr^^\^,.,S, under the name of Pentatoma ligata, among those which (Aftor Glover). affect the leaves of grapes by puncturing them and sucking their juices. It is sliown in Figure 8. Of the Orthoptera, the Eocky Mountain locust, Caloptenus .^pretus (Figure 9), according to Prof. Riley, in ~^ ^^^^ periods of its abundance, often strips iM^^^^^?^ ■'■^^f^^^ the leaves of the hemlock, arbor-vitsc, ^JT'^-^^^^^^^^^^^^'^'^^. the pines, and the Noi'way spruce. The "^""^^ ^^^'^^^^^^^"'^^ injui'y to these evergreens is serious. Fig. 9.— The Rocky Mountain Locust, as they are much more sensitive to Caloptenus spretus— Female. defoliation than deciduous trees. {Fust Report U. S. Entomological Commission, p. 253.) Several of the insects noticed above are believed either to attack only sickly or diseased trees, or those already dead, yet their opera- tions and their history may be quite as important and as deserving of observation and study as those which confine their attacks to living and healthy vegetation. This view of the comparative importance of the two classes has been so ably presented by Dr. Asa Fitch, that we quote from his Fourth Report on the Insects of New Yorh (1859, pp. 2,3), a portion of his remarks prefatory to his consideration of the Insects Infesting Evergreen Forest Trees : " The evergreens are so highly -esteemed for ornamental purposes, and some of them, particularly the pines, are so valuable on account of the timber that they yield us, that we are much interested in knowing the insects which we have in this country, which infest these trees to their injury, either by stunting their growth, marring and deforming them, or causing their premature decay and death. For- tunately for us, it is upon trees that are sickly and decajdng, or upon their dead trunks and timber, that most of these insects make their 19 26 FOKTY-FIRST REPORT ON THE StATE MuSELLM. attack. Such insects are curi'eutly regarded as being of but little importance, those only which are the source of the evil, which prey upon trees which are health}^ and in full vigor, causing them to become sickly and decrepit, being deemed of a character so pernicious as to merit special observation. And yet those insects which only invade dead trees and their timber, are at times occasioning serious losses, showing that they are far from being such trivial evils as we are accustomed to deem them. While this Report is in course of prepara- tion, a casualty occurs in our midst, which furnishes a forcible illustration of the truth of this statement. I allude to the breaking of a railroad bridge over the Sauquoit creek, near Utica, on the morning of May 11, 1858, by which frightful disaster eight persons lost their lives and upAvards of fifty others were maimed or injured more or less severely. We are informed by the Utica Morning Herald, in an article jDrei^ared immediately after the writer had visited the scene of the catastrophe, that the princij^al timbers of the bridge, though externally perfectly sound in their appearance, were profusely perforated with minute worm holes, whilst all the interior was so decayed and rotten that the slightest force sufficed to break it into fragments. This fully explains why a structure which had been so recently erected that no suspicions could be reasonably entertained of its being in the least defective and unsafe, was yet in reality fearfully so. Some one of these minute timber-beetles which subsist upon the wood of dead trees, had here its abode, multitudes of them jDrobably mining their burrows everywhere through the interior, as is their habit, and then eating their way out to found new colonies elsewhere. As the little pin-holes which they perforate scarcely diminish the strength of the timber in the heart, they are deemed of no consequence. And yet from every shower that i^asses, water is admitted through these perforations to the interior of the timber, filling the multitude of little cells which these insects have there excavated, and saturating the wood as though it were a sponge. The outer surface being exposed to the atmosphere sj)eedily dries and thus remains perfectly sound, Avhilst the interior continuing damp for several days, rapidly though insiduously decays. Thus the sad dis- aster to which we have alluded, and the destruction of property and loss of life with which it was attended, there can scarcely be a doubt, was caused by one of those minute insects, which are popularly regarded as being of trifling consequence, since they never attack living- trees." Report of the State Extomologist. 27 The Chalcid Parasites of CECiDoaiYiA' Betul^ "Winn. From some galls of the above species of the transformed seeds of the catkins of white birch, Betula alba, received from Mr. Peter Inchbald, of Fulwith Grange, Harrogate, England, three species of Chalcid parasites were obtained, which, being submitted to Mr. How^ard of the Agricultural Department at Washington, were determined, gener- ically, as Torymus sp., Q, Tetrastichus sp., and Entedon s-p. — one female and five males. The galls were kindly sent that they might give me their Cecidomyian inmate for comparison with our native species» but not a single one was disclosed. The parasites emerged during April sixteenth to Api'il twenty-seventh. Some infested catkins, which had been collected by mo during the mouth of October 188G, also failed to give any of the producing insects, probably from having been deprived of moisture during the winter and spring, as Mr. Inchbald has stated in his letter to me, that they require moisture for their development and need to be sprinkled with water occasionally. Some galls, gathered in Albany on March twenty- first, which had begun to disclose their imagines on May fifth, also gave out quite a number of Chalcid parasites, the first of which made their appearance on April twenty-eighth. Others emerged about the middle of May, and continued to appear until the' twenty-fifth of June — the last date recorded. They were quite numerous. As it would be of no little interest to compare these with the European i:»arasites above noticed, they were also sent to Mr. Howard for his examination, who returned the following answer: " T'hey are different from those bred from the English specimens. It wdll probably be necessary to found a new genus of the Pteromalincs for them. In some characters they come close to Merisu^, of which Professor Riley has bred and described two species from Cecidomyia dedructor [^Proc. U. S. National Mmeum, viii, 1885, pp. 413, 416] but the metanotal and claval characters separate them from this genus." Isosoma hordei (Harris). The Joint-worm Fly. (Ord. Hymenoptera: Fam. Chalcididje.) Harris : in New Eng. Farmer, ix, July 23, 1830, No. 1, p. 2 (original descrip- tion); Treat. Ins. New Eng., 1852, p. Ml; Ins. Inj. Veg., 1862, pp. 551-561 (as Euryioma h.); Ent. Corr., 1869, p. .361 {Ichneumon h.). Fitch : in Trans. N. Y. St. Agricul. Soc, xxi, 1862, pp. 830-851 ; 7th Kept, (in 6th-9th Repts.) Ins. N. Y., 1865, pp. 144-165, pi. 1, fig. 1 (as Eurytoma tritici, E. hordei, and E. secalis). 28 Forty-first Report on the State Museum. Walsh: in Pract. Ent., i, 1865, pp. 10-12, p. 37-8 (what it is) ; Amer. Ent., ii, 1870, p. 329-30, figs. 3, 4 (referred to Isosoma). Walsh-Riley: in Amer. Ent., i, 1869, pp. 119-158 (figures, nat. liist., para- sites, varieties, etc.). Bethune: in Ann. Kept. Ent. Soc. Ont., for 1871, pp. 59-61, figs. 58, 59. Lintner: in Count. Gent., xxxix, 1871, p. 584 (mode of attack); id., xlix, 1884, p. 857 (as Isosoma tritici). Packard : in 9th Eept. U. S. G.-G. Surv. Terr., 1877, pp. 693-695. Cook : in Rural N. Yorker, xliv. May 9, 1885, p. 314 (as I. nigrum n. sp.) ; in Amer. Nat., xix, 1885, pp. 804-808 (as I. ? nigricm). Riley : in Rur. N. Yorlcer, xliv, June 20, 1885, p. 418, fig. 215 (in Ohio) ; in Rept. Commis. Agricul., for 1886, pp. .539-542 ; in Encyc. Brit., Amer. Edit. — Agriculture, page 1:39, fig. 18. CoMSTOCK : in Count. Gent., lii, 1887, p. 529 (life-history, remedies, etc.). Pieces of wheat straw showing insect attack, were received from Mr. C H. Boyd, of Johnson's Creek, Niagara county, N. Y., on Sep- tember fifth. They had been taken from a mow as a sample of much of the straw in it. The attack was new to those to whom it had been shown, and it was learned that it was quite common throughout Niagara county. The straw contained the larvae, apparently; about full-grown of the joint-worm liy, Isosoma hordei. The larvae were small, about one-tenth of an inch long, footless, of a yellowish-white color, and embedded in elon- gate cavities in the stalk near one of the lower joints, converting that portion into a hard, woody substance. Their location within could be detected by a smooth, elongated, and more or Fig. 10.- ■The .Joint- worm Fly, Isosoma hoedei, aud its galls. less swollen portion of the stalk immediately over them, ajipearing as if slightly blistered. Sometimes these swellings are larger, more prominent and gall- like, as in the pieces of straw illustrated in Figure 10, at a, in their natural size. The perfect insect that emerges from them through the small round hole shown in some of the galls, is rej^resented in enlargement at h. In the portion of the plant infested, and also occasionally, in the deformation, swelling, and bending over of the stalk, the joint-worm Report of the State L\yto.uolooist. 29 attack resembles that of the Hessian fly, Gecidomyia dedructor — a more common and better known insect. The two, however, need not be C(mfounded. While the joint-worm is imbedded wilhin the straw, the larva of the Hessian fly invariably lives outside of it, between the straw and the sheath, at the joint. The "flaxseeds " which are found in this position are the larvie of the Hessian fl}' transformed into pupix;, and are iinfoi*- tunatel}^ too familiar to many of our farmers. Joint- worm Injuries. It is a destructive insect, not only to wheat but also to rj'e and barley. A few years prior to 1829 and 1880, when the first notices Avere published of it, it had pi'oved so injurious to barley in some portions of Massachusetts as to compel the abandonment of the culti- vation of that crop. Many fields failed to yield the amount of seed sown. Dr. Harris describetl the new insect, in 1830, and named it from the plant on which it occurred, hordeum being the Latin name for barley. Its Further History. Its early history is detailed in Harris' " Treatise on Insects Injurious to Vegetation," pp. 551-5()1. Its ravages did not long continue in Massachusetts, for after the year 1831 it ceased to attract particular attention. Later, it became destructive in Virginia, where it occa- sioned such serious losses that, in 1851:, a " joint-worm convention " was held at Warrenton, to discuss the insect and learn the best remedies that covild be employed against it. In 1852, it was observed in some of the central counties of the State of New York, when it was brought to the notice of Dr. Fitch, Ento- mologist of the N. Y. State Agricultural Society, who gave it careful study, and in 1859, from variations in colors of specimens examined, named and described as new sj)ecies, Eurytoma tritici and Eurytoma fulvipes — the first from wheat, the other from barley. Later, from specimens infesting rye in Eastern Pennsylvania, he described Eury- toma secalis. But each of the above three (for an account of which see his Seventh Report on the Insects of Neiv York-, published in the Trans- actions of (he K Y. State Agricidtuy^al Society, vol. xxi., 1862, pp. 830-851) have been pronounced only colorational varieties of Isosoma hordei CHarris).* See Walsh-Riley in American Entomologist, i, pp. 152-153. * If the antennal features of the "yellow-legged barley-fly," -Ewryto/na /mZh /pes, have been correctly given by Dr. Fitch, namely: In the male "the antenna} are thread-like or of equal thickness through their whole length, and thinly bearded with short robust bristles," whereas, in Isosoma hordei, " the joints are surrounded by whoi-ls of hairs" — then Isosoma fulvipes will be entitled to retain its designation as a valid species. It does not appear that it has been observed since its description," 30 Forty-first Report on the State Museum. Within a few years, after a long cessation, apparently, o.f its depre- dations among us, this insect has again appeared, resumed its destructive work, and caused attention to be drawn to it. In the year 1884, it was observed to abound to a considerable extent in portions of Ohio, in wheat straw that was being threshed. Recent Attacks in New York. In the autumn of 1884, examples of infested straw and injured wheat giown thereon, were received from the farm of Mr. Robert J. Swan, of Geneva, N. Y. The injury committed had been severe, involving, it was stated, nearly a total loss of the crop. Large numbers of the larvfB were found imbedded in the straw near the lower joint — eleven in one piece of an inch and three-fourths in length; and of the wheat, only about one per cent of the kernels was fully developed — a large proportion of the grains being shrivelled, and nearly one-half were so light in weight as to float when dropj)ed in a glass of water. If the sample sent was a fair representation of the infested field, it would appear to have fallen from sixty to seventy-five per cent below its normal yield. From an examination of the straw and the contained larvjie, the insect, in this case, was believed to be identical with Isosoma tritici, which had been discovered in wheat in Illinois, in 1880, and was so named and described by Professor Riley in the American Naturalist for March, 1882. A notice of the attack by the above named insect, as new to the State of New York, was communicated by me to Dr. Sturte- vant, of the N. Y. State Agricultural Experimental Station, and pub- lished as Bulletin No. C [100] of the Station. When, in the following spring, examples of the perfect insect emerged from the straw, they l^roved to be, not the species supposed, but our old acquaintance, Isosoma hordei. In 1886, the insect occurred abundantly in the vicinity of Ithaca, Chemung Co., N. Y. Some straw that was being used for making pajDer at the paper mill in Ithaca, was found to be unsuitable for the purpose, from the woody nature of some portions of it. On examina- tion at the mill, small insects were discovered in these woody pieces, which, being submitted to Professor Comstock, of Cornell University, were readily identified by him, as the joint-worm, Isosoma hordei. About one straw in twenty-five was infested. How^ it may be Discovered. When the insect abounds in the straw, and many are contained in a single stem, they frequently cause the stalk to curl and bend over at the infested point; but often the external appearance is unaltered? Report of the State Entomologist. 31 except to careful aud intelligent observation. The presence of the insect has in several instances first been detected at the time of thresh- ing^', when many of the hardened and wooden portions of the straw containing the larvfe, in pieces measuring from a half-inch to three inches in length, are broken off, and by their weight are carried from the threshing machine with the grain. The Fly Seldom Seen. The winged insect into which the joint-worm develops, is so small and delicately formed (being but about one-eighth of an inch in length) that it would prob- ably escape notice, unless it be sought for by inclosing some of the infested pieces of wheat straw which has had its ordin- ary winter exposure, in a tight box or jar, about the middle of May. During the latter part of the month the imprisoned insect, having attained its maturity, will eat a small round hole outward from its cell, and emerge as a shining black little ^^g- n-Maio and female of Isosoma hoedei. creature with four transjiarent, almost veinless wings, and with legs entirely black or having more or less yellow on them. Dr. Fitch com- pares it in general appearance to a small ant. Figure 11 represents the male and female " fly," with enlargements of the abdomen and antenna, which differ so conspicviously as readily to indicate the sex. What the Insect is. It belongs to the order of Hymenoptera, of which are the bees, wasjis, ichneumon flies, etc., and to the family of Ghalcididce. The species of this groujD are very numerous — perhaps a thousand exist- ing in this counti-y. alone. They are minute forms, and usually occur as parasites, living, in their earlier stages, within the bodies of other insects, and the family is, therefore, regarded as holding high rank among our beneficial insects. The genus Isosoma, however, is an exception, as its members are vegetable feeders, living upon growing plants and often producing galls in them. Reasoning from its family relationship, which, as a rule in the insect world, is attended with a general uniformity in habits, both Drs. Harris and Fitch, for some time during their simultaneous study 32 Forty-first Report on the State Museum. of Isosoma hordei (referred by tliem to the parasitic genus Eurytoma), were of the belief that it must necessarily be parasitic, and that its occurrence within the straw was that of a destroyer of the real cause of the injury, which they supposed to be a dipterous insect — a Cecidoimjia, allied to the Hessian fly. The parasitism of Isosoma is not yet entirely removed from the sphere of discussion and doubt, for although it may be claimed as effectually disjiroved by recent observations upon its actual oviposi- tiou, it is still maintained by eminent European writers. Other Species of Isosoma. The associates in the genus of the joint-worm fly are not numerous. The following have been described: Isosoma tritici, described by Professor Riley, in 1882,* from speci- mens obtained in Illinois and other Western States, and found feed- ing singly within the upper joints of wheat. In some publications it has been named the " wingless joint-worm fly," as nearly all the examples are without wings, or having them greatly aborted. This species should not be confounded with Eurytoma tritici of the Fitch Reports (vii, pp. 144-155 of- vi-ix), which has been referred to /. hordei, as before stated. Isosoma grande Riley, f named the "larger wheat fly," as it is a larger and stouter form than its congenors. Its habits and general features are so much like those of 7. tritici that it is thought it may prove, upon further study, to be but a dimorphic form of that species. In its original descrip- tion, in the Report of the Depart- ment of Agriculture for 1884, page ^^ 358, it is described by comparison with I. tritici, from which its prin- cipal differences may be seen. No males have yet been found of either. Figure 12 is a represen- tation of /. grande, much enlarged. Fig. 12.— Isosoma GEANDE— female. Isosoma elymi French, § feeding in the middle internodes of Elymus Canadensis — a perennial grass of * Aw er lean Naturalist, for March, 1882, xvi, p. 248. t Bulletin of the Brooklyn Entomological Society, for December, 1H84, vii, p. 111. t Canadian Entomologist, for January, 1882, xiv, p. 10. Report of the State Entomologist. 33 river banks, meadows, and rich shaded woods of the Southern and Western States, and sometimes known as "wilctrye." IsoHoma vitiii Saunders,* known as the "grape- seed insect," the larva of which, represented in natural size and in enlargement in Figure 13, feeds within the seeds of grapes before the ripening, causing the fruit to shrivel and fail of maturing. •55 Fig. 13.— Larva of tho grape-seed raidge, ISOSOMA VITIS. Remedies. It is fortunate that we have at our command means for controlling the depredations of this insect, which are simjile, easy, and inexpensive. Since its entire life, from its hatching to its emerging in its perfect state, is passed within the straw and in quite a limited locality therein, it is evident that if the straw be destroyed by biu-ning, or by any other as effectual a method, at any time prior to the emerging of the winged insect, the entire brood will be destroyed with it. If the grain is not cut unusually close, a large proportion of the larvae will be left in the stubble The stubble of an infested field should be burned over at any convenient time favorable for the burning. There is not the objection to this expedient in this case, that may properly be urged against burning for the Hessian lly — that it destroys the many parasites which ren- der such excellent service in reducing its numbers — for the known parasites of the joint-worm are but few, and thus far they have j)roved of but little value in its reduction. Dr. Harris has justly remarked: " We need not be restrained by the consideration that the diseased straw contains also some truly parasitical larvte ; for these are very few in number compared with the immense swarms of the Eurytoma l^hosovia] that are annually jiroduced. If we can succeed in exter- minating these destroyers, we shall have no occasion for the services of the parasites." In figure 14, its principal parasite, Semiofellus chalcidiphagus Walsh, is figured in both sexes. Eupelmus Allynii (French) is also parasitic uj)on it, but to a much more limited extent. It is believed that a deep plowing under of the infested stubble * Canadian Entomologist, ii, 1869, pp. 25-27. Country Gentleman, for September 21, 187G, xli, p. 599. Entomological Contributions, iv [Lintaer] 1878, pp. 24-28. 20 Fig. 14.— Joint-worm Parasite, Semiotellus CHALCiDiPHAGUS — female and male. 34 Forty-first Report on the State Museum. would be fatal to the contained larvse, and almost as effective as burning. An ordinary plowing was found ineffective in Massachu- setts, as the insects having only been buried to a moderate depth, completed their transformations and made their way to the surface. The broken-off, hardened pieces of the straw, observed as before stated in threshing and cleaning, should be carefully collected and burned. The grain should also be examined for these pieces and picked out by hand. Examination should be made of the threshed straw, and if the larvse are found therein, it should be destroyed, either by feeding or some other consumj)tion of it, before the ensuing spring. Dr. Harris records an instance where so many of the insects infested a straw-bed in Cambridge, Mass., that they proved troublesome to children sleep- ing in the bed — their bites or stings being followed by considerable inflammation and irritation, which lasted several days. So numerous were they, that it was found necessary to emj)ty the bed-tick and burn the straw. Another Species Associated with I. hordei. This report not having been published in comi^liance with the law that requires the printing and presentation to the Legislature on or before the first day of February of each year of all State Reports — the delay in its appearance has permitted the addition of the following note: The attack on the wheat straw noticed on page 148, and there identi- fied, from the appearance of the larvte and characters of their cells, as that of Isosoma hordei, proves not to have been confined to that species. Daring the month of March, 1888, from some infested wheat straw received from Mr. Boyd, on December 14, 1887 (a second sending), which had subsequently been kept in a jelly glass, forty specimens of Isosomas emerged. Of these, nine examples were characteristic Isosoma hordei — one male and eight females. The others were evidently a different siDecies, as they were of a larger size in both sexes, — the abdomen of the female distinctly angulated at the base of the ovipositor, and prolonged conically in an acute point, and with the veins of the anterior wings whitish, instead of black as in 7. hordei. Nine of these were males (in some of the species of Isosoma the male, as before stated, is not known), and twenty-tAvo females. The Associated Species is Isosoma captivum. On submitting examples of the above to Professor Riley, they were recognized as a sjoecies which had been collected abundantly in Illinois and Indiana in sweeping with a net in fields of blue grass, Rei'out of the State Entomologist. 35 timothy, and rye, but had not been reared from its food-plant. Pro- fessor Riley has given it the manuscript name of Isosoma captivum and will shortly give description and illustration of it. From the straw received from Mr. Boyd in September of 1887, andtept during the winter in a paper box, none of the insects were obtained. A few of the cells — less than a half-dozen, had given out the imago, but they had escaped from the box. The larger number of the cells show at the j^resent time, invariably at the upper end, the black head of the dead insect within the open round hole that had been eaten for its escape; in the remainder, a blackish spot indicates the head beneath the thin film of straw covering it. The death of nearly all the insects Avas doubtless the conse(iuence of the straw having been kept for three months longer than in the other instance, within a warm room. The straAV was badly infested. In one piece — within two inches of the joint, eleven cells were co\inted — six open and five closed.* No parasites were obtained from the straw. Thalessa lujiator (Fabr.). The Lunated Long-Sling. (Ord. Hymenoptera: Fam. Ichneumonidji:.) Ichneumon lunator Fabricius: Spec. Ins., 1,1781, p. 430, No. fil; Mant. Ins., i, 1787, p. 266, No. 76; " Ent. Syst., ii, p. 162." Plmjjla hniator B.x^Ris: Treat. Ins. N. Engl., 1852, p. 127; Ins. Inj. Veg., 1862, p. 538, fig. 251 (reference to). " " Glover : in Kept. Com. Agri. for 1866, p. 41 (brief mention). Walsh-Riley : in Amer. Entomol., 1, 1868, p. 59 ; id., ii, 1870, p. 96 (as Rhyssa.) Rhi/f'Ka " Packard : Guide Stud. Ins., 1869, p. 196, fig. 128, of male. Thalessa " Cresson : in Trans. Am. Ent. Soc, iii, 1879, p. 169; Synop. Hymenop. N. A., 1887, p. 215 (in list). BJiijssa " Quay: in Amer. Entomol., iii, 1880, p. 219 (oviposition). " " Fletcher : in 11th Kept. Eat. Soc. Ont. for 1880, p. 67 (brief notice). " " Harrington: in Canad. Entomol., xiv, 1882, p. 82 ; the same in 13th Eept. Ent. Soc. Ont. for 1882, pp. 23-25. " " Clarkson: in Canad. Entomol., xiv, 1882, p. 223; in Bull. Brool<;. Entomolog. Soc, vii, 1885, p. 124 (oviposition). " " KiLEY : in Science, iv, 1884, p. 486 (not lignivorous) ; in Bull, Brook. Entomolog. Soc, vii, 1885, p. 123. * These were subsequently opened with a knife and a perfect imago removed from each, three only of which were males ; all were Isosoma captivum. 36 Forty-first Report on the State Museum. Fimpla lunator Gade: in Bull. Brook. Ent. Soc, vii, 1884, pp. 103-4 (sexual attraction and oviposition) ; in Science, 1884, No. 92, p. v. Thalessa "_ Lintner : in Count. Gent., xlix, 1884, p. 331 (general notice). Bhysi^a " Smith : in Bull. Brook. Entomolog. Soc, vii, 1884, p. 125 (remarks on oviposition). The singular appearance presented by this large Ichneumon fly, in its long extended ovipositor and lateral guides proceeding from the end of its abdomen, looking, particularly when in flight, as if some thread or other fibre had become accidentally fastened to it, never fails to excite curiosity, and often is the occasion of its being brought to the entomologist as a supposed rare insect. It is a common insect in the State of New York, and in other of the northern states, and extends over a large portion of the United States. A living examjDle of it was received from Augusta, Georgia, taken on April 1, with its ovipositor inserted in a shade tree, from which it could with difficulty be drawn. Numbers of it had been noticed the preceding year, when they occurred somewhat later, and continued for about ten days or two weeks. The date of the caj^ture of the specimen would seem to be an unusually early one, even for the southern states, and the present record is therefore made of it. It is not unusual to meet with this insect fastened by its ovipositor to the tree so firmly that it is not able to disengage itself. Numbers of dead individuals have been seen suspended in this manner from a single tree. The insect has occasionally been met with while engaged in ovipositing, in remarkable abundance. In one in- stance recorded, " the bark of a large tree from which the top had been bro- ken, was dotted all over with lunators, often massed in rows or patches, so that there must have been several hundreds present." A few males (usuall}' quite rare) were among the Fig. 15.— Thalessa LUNATOE — male. i -r^. -■ r- • • t«. number. J^ igure 15, is an inditterent representation of the male, but it will serve to show the long and slender form of the abdomen, which is flattened above, and black, Avith- out the yellow bands that characterize the female. Report of the State Entomologist. 37 Its Different Names. This curious insect, one of the largest of our Ichneumons, origi- nally described by Fabricius as Ichneumon lunator, is figured and briefly referred to by Dr. Harris, in his Insects Injurious to Vegetation, as Pimpla lunator. Later writers have referred it to the genus Bhyssa, but Mr. Cresson, in his recent arrangement of the group, has separated it from that genus and placed it in Thalessa, of Holm- gren, together with four other United States species, one of which is the common " black long-sting," or T. atrata. The sj)ecific name of lunator is drawn from the yellow crescents (shown angular in the figure) which mark the sides of the abdomen, one upon each segment. Description. The insect has been described by Mr. Harrington {loc. cit.) as vary- ing much in size, the larger specimens being full}* twice as large as the smallest ones. The body varies in length from three-fourths of an inch to one inch and a half, and bears at its posterior extremity an ovipositor projecting from one and one-half to three and three- fourths inches. The head of the female is yellow, with a dark baud on its summit, in which are inserted the three ocelli between the eyes, parallel to which and posterior to it runs another dark line which almost encir- cles the head; lines also run from the base of the antennfc to the mandibles. The slender antenna' are dark brown, many jointed, and about an inch long. The thorax and abdomen are dark brown, orna- mented with lines and bands of yellow, which is also the color of the legs. The abdomen is gradually flattened laterally toward its extremity, where it is broadly dilated. The front wings expand from one and one-quarter to two and one-half inches, and have a quadrangular dark patch on the anterior border, and a brown patch at their tip. The black ovipositor, given out from the fifth segment beneath, varies in different sized individuals, from one and one-half to three and three-fourths inches in length, and is flattened on its sides. Its two guides of nearly the same length and proceeding from the extremity of the abdomen are broader, and are channeled for the reception of the ovipositor and for holding it when serving as supports. Is not Injurious, but Beneficial. Contrary to the belief of many of those who have seen the opera- tions of this insect and who entertain the opinion that all of the boring insects are harmful to the vegetation that they attack, this one is not only not injurious, but it renders excellent service in the destruction of a noted pest of several of our shade trees. It is from 38 Forty-first Effort on the State Museum. its large size aud peculiar appearance, a distinguished member of the large family of Ichneumonidce, the province of whose members it is to prey upon other insects, often so effectively as to rid us of some of our greatest insect scourges, when all human efforts to arrest their multiplication and inju^ries have been of no avail. It Preys upon Tremex columba. The trees in which T. lunator is often seen inserting its long ovi- positor for the deposit of its eggs, are largely infested by the grubs of the pigeon Tremex, Tremex co- lumba Linn., upon which the larva of T. luncdor, preys. The perfect insect is a large, wasp-like creature, as shown in Figure 16, with narrow, semi - transparent, smoky - brown wings, a reddish head and thorax, and a long, cylindrical, black body, marked with seven yellow bands, most of which are inter- FiG. 10.— The rigeon Tremex — Teemex rupted on the middle. The body COLUMBA,- female. ^^^^^ beneath a black ovipositor of about an inch in length, projecting three-eighths of an inch beyond its tip, held in place by two guides — the whole forming a stout, horn- like instrument, whence we have the common name of " horn-tails " for this insect and its associate Uroceridce. The Tremex larvte run their large and destructive bui-rows in the trunks of the maple, beech, elm, oak, sycamore, apple, pear, etc., not infrequently causing the death of the tree when the attack has been long continued. How Thalessa Oviposits. The operation of boring for ovipogition has been described by Mr. Harrington, as follows: Sitting upon the bark where perforations mark the exits of jore- vious occupants, she runs around until she finds a promising spot, as, for instance, the hole made by a Tremex in depositing her eggs. Placing herself so that the tip of the abdomen will be above the orifice to be j)robed, she makes herself as tall as possible, and, by elevating her al^domen aud cai*rying under the ovipositor, succeeds in inserting the tip of the latter in the hole. If the dorsal surface of the abdomen be examined, there will be observed, between the sixth and seventh segments, a gap closed by a whitish membrane. This marks an admii'able contrivance to enable the insect to use her seemingly unwieldy weapon, for the membrane is so dilatable as to be capable of forming a cavity in the posterior part of the abdomen, in which can be coiled a large portion (more than one-third) Report of the State Entomologist. 39 Fig. 17.— Tho Lunated Long-stins. Thalessa LUNATOR — female ovipositiug. of the ovipositor, which thus becomes perpeBclicular under the iusect, where it is guided and supported l)}- the sheathsj which bend up in loops over her back. By vigorous muscular contractions of the sac, the delicate ovij^ositor is slowly forced down the larva's burrow, often to its full extent. In the accompanying figure, the insect is represented in the attitude above described, with her ovi- positor emerging from the lower angle of the end of the abdomen, already thrust some distance into the wood, while held in po.sition, braced and guided by the two stouter guides, which, given out at the upper angle, are curved upward over the abdomen, and downward along its sides. The above observations of Mr. Harrington, are sujjplemented b}' those of Mr. J. Quay [loc. cit.), which, from the interest attaching to the o2)eration, we also (juote: I observed that after raising the abdomen as far as possible, the drill was worked forward so as 'to slightly bend under, giving the insect a purchase on same. Then followed a bearing down motion on the bent tube, curving the end of the abdomen forward and upward, and next forcing the ovipositor, near its attached end, to curve also and pass up through the abdomen and above into a cavity which there opened for its reception. The cavity was inclosed by a mem- branous sack, capable of great distention, and while the drill was being eontinuallj' forced up through, it curved about within the sack forming one complete bend of about three-fourths of an inch in diametex-, and another partial one. When fully distended the sack was very thin, quite transparent, and seemingly upon the point of bursting apart. But the ovipositor was in this manner brought to the edge of the worm-hole, was slipped in, and thus made to ease away upon the distended sack which by collapsing forced out again the drill by its mere force of contraction, and %e coil now soon disapj)eared. Another writer has stated: "The long ovipositor is passed between the posterior legs, the abdomen is elevated almost to a right angle with the thorax, and the ovipositor guided by the anterior tarsi is forced with a ramming motion into the w'ood to the dei:)th of from two to three inches." (Dade.) 40 Forty-first Report on the State MusEmi. Its Eggs Not Placed in Tremex Burrows. The purpose of the long- ovipositor has generally been stated to be for insertion and penetration in the burrow made by the horn- tail borer, the Tremex columba above referred to, its extraordinary length (from three to five inches) enabling it to reach the larva of this insect and deposit an egg within it. Although this statement is to be found in all books treating of this insect and its habits, it was a few years ago, for the first time we believe, questioned, by a writer in the Canadian Entomologist (vol. xiv, 1882, page 223), Mr. F. Clarkson. This gentle- man there asserts that in every instance observed by him, " the ovipositor, instead of penetrating through the burrow of a Tremex or other wood-borer, entered through wood that had not been previously attacked." This was shown by repeatedly " cutting off, to the depth of six inches, such portions of the stump as had been attacked, but failing to detect in any of the cuttings either the burrow or larva of Tremex or other larva." He suggests that possibly the larva of Tha- fe.sxa that would hatch from the buried egg, may have the power of boring in search of its food. Do3s Thalessa Oviposit in Exposed Larvae ? In a communication made by me to the Country Gentleman of July 12, 1883 (page 561), upon "Rhyssa atrata," after noting the above observations of Mr. Clarkson, I wrote as follows : "The question is therefore raised — are the commonly accepted habits of the 'long-stings' correctly given? Has any one actually seen them in the act of probing the burrows of a Tremex? Such an operation has never come under my observation, while probably all field entomologists have repeatedly found them fastened by their ovipositor firmly inserted in apj^arently solid wood. I recall an instance observed by me several years ago, when what I think must have been Rhyssa lunator, was earnestly engaged in placing its eggs in the following singular manner in a colony of a species of Datana, feeding upon a branch of hickory: Its ovipositor was bent beneath it, extending between its legs, with its tip projecting in front of its head, enabling it with perfect ease to select one caterpillar after another for the reception of its eggs. Why Avould not this be a much better method of using the long ovipositor than the one generally ascribed to it? There would certainly be no hap- hazard work in such ovi position, or any waste of material. In the instance above recorded, each thrust told, as was seen in the well- known alarm-jerk of these larvae, at once commuuicated from the Report of the State Entomologist. 41 victim to the entire group. Unfortunately, thje importance of the observation was not known to me at the time, and no further atten- tion was given to it." * Its Oviposition and Larval Habits. Professor Riley, referring to my remarks as above published, kindly gave me the following interesting statement of his observations upon the habits of this species, which adds so much to our previous knowledge of the insect, that I take the liberty of inserting his note, written under date of July 15, 1883: " I have on several occasions had opjiortunity of closely studying not onh' the mode of oviposition, but of larval growth of Ehyssa. My sketches and notes are at home [written from Boscawen, N. H.], but the salient facts bearing on your question I can give from memory. In all instances, where I have found the female depositing, it has been in trees infested with Treme.v columha, and I have found her most numerous on badly affected or injured trees, or even on stumps or broken trunks already i^artly decayed. The instinct to reach the eg^^ or larva of Tremex, so dwelt upon in popular accounts, is imaginary. She bores directly through the outer parts of the tree, and doubtless probes for a burrow; but her e.gQ is consigned any- where in the burrow; the young larva seeks its prey, and lives and develojjs without penetrating the body of its victim, but fastened to the exterior. This habit among parasites is much more common than is generally supposed. A great many BJn/s.'^a larvre doubtless perish without finding food, and a great many females die in probing for a burrow, especially when they burrow through wood that is sound and hard." Other Species of Thalessa. But three other Thalessas, beyond the two mentioned in the fore- going, are recorded in our lists, viz.: T. Quebecensis Prov., from Canada; T. nitida Cresson, from Canada and Virginia; and T. Nortoni Cresson, from Canada and Colorado. Of the last-named species, described in Proceed. Entomolog. Soc. of Phila., iii, 1804, p. 317, and characterized by its transpai'ent, unspotted wings, the semicircii- lar yellow dorsal spot on the first and second segments, and the large, rounded, yellow spot on the sides of each of the third, fourth and fifth segments — a single example (the only one *An identical operation of either this species or by the blacli long-sting, T. atrata — judging from the careful description of the insect and its subsequent identification of the form in my collection, has been observed and narrated to me by Mr. J. S. Woodward. Secretary of the New York State Agricultural Society. The ovipositor was extended Ijetween the legs, reaching in front of the insect, and was being used on a colony of caterpillars upon a limb, the species of which was not known to the observer. 21 42 Forty-first Report on the State Museum. known to me) was taken by me on August 22, 1883, in the Adiron- dack mountains, at Elk Lake, Essex county, N. Y. ; altitude, 2,000 feet, ajDiDroximately. Ampliibolips prunus (Walsh). The Oak-plum Gall Cynijjs. (Ord. Hymenoptera: Fam. Cynipid^.) Walsh: in Proceed. Eut. Soc. Phila., iii, 1864, p. 639, note. Walsh-Eiley: iu Amer. Ent., i, 1869, p. 104, figs. 80, 81 (as Cijnips). AsHMEAD : in Trans. Amer. Ent. Soc, xiv, 1887, p. 130. Cresson: Synop. Hymenop. N. A., 1887, pp. 175, 178. Galls of this insect, growing from the cup of an acorn, were sent for name and information, October 2Gth, by Mr. Augustus Floyd, from Moriches, N. Y., where they have been numerous this year. From ridges within the cup, looking like elongate blisters, and from a rup- ture or disarrangement of the scales on its outer side opposite to these, it appears that six galls had been attached to the one cup. Five were received, which measured from four-tenths to five-tenths of an inch in diameter, of a dark brown color, and wrinkled like a dried plum, except somewhat finer. They were of a leathery texture, but could be cut through without difficult}^ disclosing the suboval, smooth cell within of labout one-tenth of an inch in diameter. The first one opened contained a number (perhaps ten) of white larvse, closely twisted together in a ball, and filling the cell. They were evidently parasitic on the cynips larva, and apparently dipterous. But one other of the galls was opened for examination, and that showed the cj^nips larva. The gall was first described by Mr. Walsh, as Quercus prunus, in the Proceedings of the Entomological Society of Philadelphia, for 1864, from specimens found in August and September, on Quercus rubra and Q. tinctoria. In an extended valuable paper on " Galls and their Architects," published in the American Entomologist for February, 18G9, by the editors, Messrs. Walsh and Riley, this peculiar gall and the insect pro- ducing it, are noticed and figured. Their brief account (omitting the scientific descrijjtion of the insect) and the figures are herewith given. "The oak-plum gall is remarkable for being the only American gall that is known to grow out of the acorn. It occurs indiscriminately Report of the State Entomologist. 43 Fig. 18.— The Oak-plum Kail of Amphibolips peunu.s. upon black aud red oak, reaching maturity in August and September. At that period it is solid but lieshj-, and when cut into is a pink color inside, shading into yellow toward the middle. Subsequently, as it dries, it becomes so hard as to be cut with difficulty, its color inside changing first to black-red, and after- ward to brown. The insect that pro- duces this gall (Cynips q. primus, new species) makes its appearance in April, and is remarkable for lying two years in the gall before it eats its way out, remaining in the larva state over a year: indeed, some of them remain in the larva state for over two years, and do not eat their way out until the end of the third year. Figure 18, b, shows the same gall when cut open, and c, the central cell inhabited by the larva." New Generic Reference. In Mr. W. H. Ashmead's paper on the " Cynipidous Galls of Florida," giving synopses of the described species of North America {loc. cit. sup.), this species is referred to the genus Amphibolips of Reinhart {Berl. Ent. Zeits., 1865, 10). This is in conformity with the classifica- tion given by Dr. ]\Iayr, in his " Genera der gallenbewohnenden Cyni- piden," published in 1881, based on a special study of the European species and a large number of American forms. It has been accepted in the arrangement and nomenclature of the Gijmpicke in Mr. Cresson's recent Synopsis of North. American Hymenoptera. Description of the Insect. The insect is shown in Fig. 19, in enlargement. Its head is rough; face pubescent; antenutB exceeding half the length of the body; thorax coarsely punctate with a conspicuous dorsal groove; ab- domen, second joint polished with rather large shallow punctures on its basal three-fourths; joints 3-7, densely covered with small con- fluent punctures, giving a silver^'^ appearance; legs I'ufous; tips of tarsi black ; wings subhyaline ; on ^^^ ^^ _ ^he Oak-plum gall Cynips. the front wing, a dark brown Amphibolips pkunus. cloud extending from the first cross-vein over the upper portion of 44 FOBTY-FIRST REPORT ON THE StATE MvSEUM. the wing to its apex; veins brown. Expanse, 0.47-0.G5 in.; length, 9^ 0.20-0.30 in. For a more detailed descrij^tion, see American Entomologist, vol. i, 18G9, p. 104, from which the above is abridged. A Second Acorn-cup Gall Insect. Since the publication of the above, as the only American gall that is known to grow out of the acorn, a second species has been described by Professor Kiley, as Cynips gall, Quercus glandulus. It differs from the above conspicuously, in that the new gall is more or less completely imbedded in the cup. It is a pip-like body, aver- aging, when well-developed, one-fifth of an inch long by about one- half so broad; its sides are either parallel or slightly bulging, more or less deeply corrugate, and of a whitish-green color. The larva occupies a cell near the flattened or slightly concave nipple-tipped crown. The insect has not been described. The gall occurred in October, at Toughkenamon, Pa., on a shade-tree of Quercus bicolor in a j^asture. Two-thirds of the acorn cups were affected. [Transactions St. Louis Academy of Science, vol. iii, 1887, p. 577-8.) This species appears to have been overlooked (or perhaps omitted from want of knowledge of the insect) by Mr. Ashmead, in his paper above cited In the Cresson Synopsis, it stands as Cynijjs ? glandidosus Kiley. Aulacomerus lutescens n. .sp. The Poplar Saw-fly. (Ord. Hymenoptera : Fam. Tenthredinid^.) Larval Habits. A number of saw-fly larvte were discovered in the early part of June on a small jjoijlar, Populus monilifera, in my garden, feeding in parallel rows side to side on two leaves, which had apparently been eaten from the tips downward. On the foot-stalk of the leaves the scars of the egg-deposit from which they had been hatched were seen, to the number of thirty in one and twenty-eight in the other. They were pi'obably the oviposition of one female. They fed heartily and rapidly, abandoning one leaf when all but so much of the basal parts as would afford them a convenient footing had been consumed, and then passing to another. Some of the stronger veins were left uneaten. Their social habits continued to maturity, although as they approached this period, they separated into smaller groups, and would at once do so if disturbed by the act of removing some of them from the leaf. Report of the State Entomologist. 45 Description of the Larvs, When near maturity, they were seven-tenths of an inch lon^-, of an oraug-e-yellow color, with two rows upon the back (sul)clorsal) of twelve large irregularly rounded black spots, of which the middle ones are the larger, measuring in diameter about one- half the length of the segment. There is also a row on the side (stigmatal) of twelve smaller black spots, of which the two anterior ones are the largest, and semicircular in form. Numerous short white liairs are given out from two trans- verse rows of tubercles on each segment, the longest of which about equals one- half the diameter of the body. The head is black superiorly and laterally, with a central black spot in front sur- rounded with brown. The tarsal hooks are brown. Figure 20, shows the larva in a dorsal and in a side view. On the twentj'-fifth of Jane the larvse commenced to spin up in irregu- lar shaped cocoons, between the leaves on which they had been feedingf. Ground had been given them in which to bury, if so inclined, but it Avas refused. By the twenty-seventh they had all made their cocoons. The perfect insects emerged July 13-18. Fig. 20.— Larva of the poplar saw- fly, AULACOMEKUS LUTESCENS. Description of the Saw-Fly. The following memoranda of the more prominent characters of the saw-fly are hastily drawn up, to serve the purpose of identification, until proper description can be made: Head, shilling black, short, broad, not so wide as the thorax; antennae brown, the seven long joints are slender, tapering regularly to the last. Thorax black above, yellow laterally and beneath, except j)os- teriorly where it is black. Abdomen yel- low, distinctly incised, short, flat, subo- void; legs yellow. Wings yellowish toward the base and particularly on the costa; Fig. 21. — The poplar saw-fly, the stigma large, conspicuous, with a black Aulacomeeuslutescens, enlarged, spot on its base. Expanse, 0.7 inch; length, 0.3 inch. The insect is shown in Figure 21, enlarged to about two diameters. 46 Forty-first Report on the State Museu3l Its Generic Reference. The insect was submitted to Mr. E. T. Cresson for identification. It was unknown to him, and had not been described unless it had been given erroneous generic position, possibly with Nematus, to which it is closely allied, but differs therefrom by the second sub- marginal cell receiving both recurrent nervures. It was believed to belong to the genus Aulacomerus of Spinola {Ajin. Soc. Ent. France, ix, 1840, 137), to which only a single North American species has hitherto been referred — A. ebenus Cresson, from Colorado, with larva unknown. A Second Brood Observed. A second brood of the insect was observed upon the same tree during the month of August. A large number of the foot-stalks of the leaves at this time bore the marks of egg-deposit, in two paral- lel rows on opposite sides, usually, of a rib on the upper side of the petiole. The rows had apparently been made the one after the other, as they were seldom of equal length, and each, for the most part, having the punctures in a perfectly straight line. The foliage of the tree was so badly eaten, that in or- der that it might continue to serve as an ornament, it was necessary to pluck off such of the leaves as could be convenientl}' reached that had been fed upon, of which only the ribs and a basal section remained. Another tree of the same species, which was daily passed by me in one of the streets of Albany, also showed the attack of this saw- fly — first, in the eaten leaves, and on closer observation, the larvae Pig. 22.- Poplar-leaf showing scars made feeding thereon, in oviposition by Aulacomerus lutescens, Larvse of this brood were gath- in natural size and in enlargement. ^^^^^ ^^^ ^^^^ ^^^ ^^^^ f^^-^^^j ^^ secure proper care, and none of them, although a few spun up in cocoons, entered into their pupal stage. Report of the State Entomologist. 47 Currant Bushes Girdled by an Unknown Insect. The Attack an Extended one. Tii)s of cuiTant bushes, girdled by some insect, were discovered by Professor C. H. Peck, N. Y. State Botanist, in bis garden, at Menands, near Albany, during the latter part of May. Examinations in gardens in Al])any showed similarly affected tips, and indicated that the attack was somewhat general in this vicinity. In my own garden, a large black currant had many of the fresh, succulent tips girdled in the same manner. Nothing of the kind, so far as could be learned, had been observed before. Features of the Attack. The features of the girdling were these: A short distance below one of the larger leaves of a tip, five or six sharj), somewhat curved cuts could be seen, encircling the stalk, and from their depth, nearly sever- ing it, causing the tip to fall over and hang suspended by only some small points of attachment. In some instances, where from the dried condition of the end of the stalk, it was i3rol)able that the cutting had been done a few days previously, the tip had broken off and fallen to the ground. The Insect Unknown. Effort was made by Professor Peck to discover the author of this new injury, but no insect ujion which it could be chargeable was found. It was evidently done during the night, for after removing all the tips that had been cut in this manner late in the afternoon, freshly cut ones would be discovered on the following morning. Two or three species of Lampyridce fell under his suspicion from being the only insects noticed on or about the bushes, but such an operation would be quite at variance with what is known of their habits; and furthermore, no manifestation of the kind was made by the specimens that were brought to me, and tied in gauze upon bushes in my garden. Compared with the Raspberry-stem Girdling'. This attack is quite distinct from that of the raspberry-stem girdler, Oherea himaculata Oliv., in which there is a double girdling, the one at about one inch from the other, with the egg, inserted between the two, and the larva when hatched burrowing downward in the cane. In this there is but one cutting as has been described, nor does the larva burrow and mature within the stalk, for the most careful exam- ination failed to give any indication of egg-deposit or larval jiresence therein. In all probability, the egg is placed just above the point of girdling. The tip, either from the continuity of the encircling cuts, 48 Forty-first Report on the State MusEmi. the action of winds or the vegetal changes that take place at the wounded part, soon falling to the ground, the young larva escapes therefrom and enters the earth. That the food for an insect of the size of Dne indicated by the cuts made by its mandibles could not be furnished by the excised and soon dried tip of less than a half-dozen inches in length, is evident. It is probable that its food-suj)ply would be found among the roots of the plant. The Young' Insect Seen. Of a large number of the tips which were dissected in the search for the insect, in a single one, only, was it discovered, as a minute, whitish, oval creature, ai:)parently just from the egg, occupying place very near the point of excision. Its structural characters were too imperfectly developed to admit of its positive reference to any one of the orders, but it .was believed to belong to the Hymenoptera. Other tips kept for several days in a moist condition, gave . no further developments. How the Attack may be Determined. If its habits and food be such as above conjectured, there is but little chance of obtaining the insect by rearing it from the egg, unless with the aid of potted plants kept under observation within doors. A better method of ascertaining the author of this secret attack, wovild be, to detect it in its work, by seeking it with a lantern at night. Will those whose interest or curiosity may be awakened by the above account, bear in mind the character of the attack, and embrace any opportunity that may be offered in its recurrence to aid us in the effort to obtain the scientific name of the currant-stem girdler? Orgyia leucostigma {Sm.-Ahh.). The White-marked Tussock-Moth. (Ord. Lepidoptera: Fam. Bombycid^.) Repetition of the Elm-twig Girdling. The peculiar form of attack by the caterpillar of this moth, noticed in the Second Beport on the Insects of New York, 1885, pp. 8G-89, figs. . j / jr 11-15, in which im- ^^ ^^< \ --k W t4 "(. / / .'f mense numbers of ^ % the tips of the elms in the city of Al- bany, during the summer of 1883, Fig. 23.— The Caterpillar of the White-marked Tussock-moth, • ji n Okuyia LBUcosTiGMA. (After EmmoDS.) were girdled m the new growth and subsequently fell to the ground, was again Report of the State Entomologist. 49 observed iu Albany the present year, 1887, but to a mucli less extent than before. Early in June individual leaves of elm were picked up from the sidewalks, having their foot-stalk so peculiarly eaten to a point that it at once suggested the former demonstration above mentioned, which had not been observed in the intervening- years. The suspicion was confirmed a few days later (June lOtli) by the falling of girdled tips in every respect like those of 1883. The fall continued for some time thereafter — perhaps throughout the remainder of the month, but as it was not very abundant, and was only conspicuous in certain localities in the city — the most marked one being in the vicinity of St. Peter's Church, at the intersection of Maiden lane and Chapel street, — no particulars were noted of its extent or continuance. The caterpillar is represented in figure 23. The Same Observed at Utica, N. Y. In the first notice of this attack, above cited, it was stated that it had also been observed by me at Troy, N. Y., at the time that it was prevailing at Albany, but had not been reported elsewhere, although it jjrobably extended to other localities where the Orgyia abounded under similar climatic conditions. My only knowledge of its occur- rence at other places, is from a communication made to the JJtica Morning Herald, by Mr. Daniel Batchelor, of that city, in June of 1887. The cutting from the jDaper is before me, but its date was not preserved. Mr. Batchelor states: Yesterday, L. B. Root, of New Hartford [six miles west of Utica], informed me that the leaves of an elm tree on his lawn were falling off in showers sufficiently to cover the ground immediateh' under the tree. On riding into town, Mr. Boot had observed an elm on the nox'th-ea3t corner of Genesee and Dakin streets, where the same green shower of leaves was fluttering down. The writer went to the tree, and there saw the fresh, green, glossy leaves fast falling and bestrew- ing the street about as thickly as do the faded leaves in autumn. The leaves are severed from the twigs about midway of the j)etioles or stems, a few only being cut off nearer to the axils. The severing is as clean as if done with a razor. Professor Lintner, the State Entomologist, first witnessed the same kind of defoliation of elms in Albany, early in June, about five years ago. Must the Insect be Renamed ? It is possible that the above attack, together with all that I have hitherto published of the i^resence and operations of 0. leucodirjma in Albany, may have to be referred to another species. Mr. John B. Smith, of the National Museum at Washington, who is conceded to be excellent authority in the Lepidoptera, and has for a long time been a careful student of the order, having lately seen examples of the 22 50 FORTY-FIBST REPORT ON THE StaTE MuSEUM. moth so labeled in my collection and also taken examples with him for further stud}' and for comparison, has since written to me in rela- tion to them, and pronounced them to be Orgyia definata Packard (Proc. Entomolog. Soc. Phil., in, 1864, p. 332). Ihe question of the correct determination of this very abundant siDCcies with us, deserves prompt attention, and I will therefore extract a portion of the letter received from him, as of special interest to Lepidopterists. The Orgyia, as I expected, proves to be 0. definata Packard. It is certainly a good species, distinct from 0. leucostigma. The specimens of leucostigma in Meske'.s collection [made largely in the vicinity of Albany, and lately added to the National Museum], also turn out to be, on examination. 0. definata. It is an interesting* question, there- fore, whether O. leucostigma really occurs near Albany. O. definata does not occur in or near New York city, and, so far as I am aware, none of the local collections have it. It occurs again in Maine, but it has probably been so generally confused with 0. leucostigma that little is recorded of it. The latter I found on Cape Cod in great abundance. It will be a matter of interest, also, to tiud whether the larva differs. Thaxter has bred it and says that it does. The following is Dr. Packard's desci'iption of Orgyia definata, from lac. cit. sup. : Umber-brown; head, thorax, base and inner margin of primaries more testaceous [than in 0. leucostigma, cit. j)rec.'\. A faint, basal dark straight transverse line. Beyond and near the linear lunate discal spot, which is surrounded by the testaceous brown, is an indistinct nearly straight line. An outer very distinct curved line, being- straight on the costa to where it is angulated on the fifth subcostal nervule, and again half-way between the discal spot and internal margin. Beyond this line on the costa is an oblong, dark, well- defined spot succeeded by a submarginal row of dots, ending in a white spot near the internal margin. Beneath lighter, lines faintly seen beneath, the outer one extending faintly on to the secondaries, which have a discal dot. The markings are much more distinct in this species than in 0. leucostigma, while the outer line is angulated nearer the middle. Length of body, 9? 0.60; exp. wings, 1.20 inch. Boston (Sanborn). The question raised in the above should be satisfactorily^ decided by observations that can easily be made the coming season. A Second Brood in New York. The operations of the second brood of O. leucostigma were observed by me in New York city, on the fifteenth of August last. Nearly all of the larvse had already disappeared, but some not yet full-grown were feeding or wandering about in search of food. Maples in various parts of the city had been badly eaten. A large horse- chestnut at the north-west corner of Second avenue and Twelfth Beport of the State Fxtojwlogtst. 51 street, had only the principal ribs of the leaves left. The blackened remains, enveloped in the threads of the larvfe which had been spun in their dropj^ing- from the branches above, with grains of excrement clinging to them, gave to the tree a more repulsive appearance than anv that I had ever seen as the result of insect attack. Lagoa opercularis (Sm.-Abb.). The Babbit Moth.. (Ord. Lepidoptera : Fam. Bombycid/e). Smith-Abbot: Nat. Hist. Lep. Ins. Geo., 1797, p. 107, pi. 54 (as rhahena). Morris : Synop. Lepidop. N. A., 18G2, p. 257 (descr. of male, from Walker). Packard: in Proc. Ent. Soc. Phil., ill, 1864, p. 334 (descr. of female). Walsh: in Amer. Ent., ii, 1869, p. 29 (brief notice). Harris: Entomolog. Corr., 1869, p. 365 — is not opercularis, but crispata. Riley : 5th Kept. Ins. Mo., 1873, p. 126 (in list of stinging larvse) ; in Amer. Ent., iii, 1880, p. 51 (brief description). Murtfeldt: in Canad. Ent., viii, 1876, pp. 201-2 (stinging powers). Hubbard : Ins. Affect. Orange, 1885, pp. 140-1, figs. 57, 58, 59. An unusually abundant occurrence on an apple tree, of the strange- looking larva of this species, shown in Figure 24, was reported by Mr. C. R. Moore, of Birdsnest, Va. Eighteen were counted on a small tree, which had been almost denuded of its leaves. Of examples sent on the nineteenth of August, -pia. a. — Caterpillar of two had spun their cocoons when received Lagoa opeeculaeis. on the tAventy-third. Stinging Power of the Larva. Mr. Moore gives the following as his exi:)erience with the insect: "I find that when the caterpillar crawls over the skin on the back of my hand, that it causes the place to smart considerably for three hours or more, and moisture to exude from the skin." The irritating powers pertaining to the hairs of this caterpillar have long been known: under rough and incautious handling they may be far more severe than above stated. Miss Murtfeldt has related in the Canadian Entomologist, for November, 1876 (viii, 201-2), experiments made by her with one of the larvae, which she permitted to strike one of her fingers. The slight prick felt was speedily followed by irritation, and later in the day with severe jDain, inflammation and swelling of the finger. Soda, ammonia, arnica, cam- phor, and acids were successively resorted to, but none served to allay the burning pain — as intense as if the finger had been held against glowing coals. A night of sleepless suffering followed, and it was not until the next morning that the pain subsided. 52 Forty-first Report on the State Museu3i. Other Stinging- Larvae. Experiments, similar to these, made by me upon two other stingiug larvae, viz. : Hemikuca Mala (Drury) and Lagoa crispala Packard, may be found recorded in the Ticenty-third Report on the State Cabinet of Natural History, 1872, y>V- ^^^^ 1^^' * ^^^ Twenty-fourth Rejiort on tlie State Museum of N. H., p. 140- l.f The last reference is to a portion of a paper — " Transformations of Lagoa crisi:)ata" (pp. 138-145, loc. cit.) — based upon collections made at Center, N. Y., during a season of such a phenomenal abundance of the larvffi, on Qaercus vaccinivm, Pteris aquilina (common brake), and other plants, that at least a thousand examj^les, although feeding separately and scattered, could have been taken within an hour's time. The Poisoning Attending the Sting. Dr. George Dimmock, in an elaborate pa])er " On Some Glands which open Externally on Insects," contained in Psyche, for Septem- ber, October, 1882 (iii, pp. 387-401), gives authority for the assertion that " the severe poisoning produced by the hairs of certain larvae of the Bovibycidce, is caused by the secretion from a minute gland at the base of each hair. The secretion of these glands, which may be formic acid or a formate in solution, fills the hollow central portion of the hair, and when the sharp, often barbed, hairs are broken in the flesh of attacking animals, the broken parts carry with them the poisonous secretion." The writer attests to an instance in which one of these larvae in being brushed away from the neck, inflicted so severe a sting upon a middle finger, that the distal joint, healing only after several months, remained somewhat stiffened and deformed at the time of writing — after a lapse of thirty-seven years. The Moth. The moth is shown in Figure 25. It has a very woolly, pale yellow ca — the same to which the Franklin examples belong: in tlie presence of half a dozen descriptions equally fitting and equally uncertain, they were given a new specific name, namely, Ghlorojnsca copiosa. The aim of these mass meetings of flies, I do not know, and do not want to add a new hypothesis to those already offered. * * * The known habits of several sjiecies of Chlorops make it probable that the larva of the present one must be looked for in stems and roots of Grmninece ; but our cereals seem to be out of the question, as there have never been any complaints about the depredations of a species like thfs; and owing to the immense numbers of the fl}' such com- plaints would certainly have been forthcoming if this species attacked cereals, like the larva? of some other larger species of Chlorops. Those who happen to come across assemblages of this kind may find an opportunity for searching the Graminece in the environs, the more so as these assemblages are only local phenomena, bvit apt to occur in the same locality for several years in succession. With some patience, the flies themselves might, perhaps, be used as guides towards their breeding-places: by dint of watching their motions and following their flight, the truth might be learned. Another Assemblage of the Fly in Western New York. A second instance of an assemblage of this fly- — found to be iden- tical with the Franklin examples — was brought to my notice as occur- ring at Alfred Centre, Allegany county, N. Y., a village in the western part of the State. Dr. H. C. Coon, connected with the Alfred University, communicated several specimens which he had taken within his house, from the wall paper and a Avindow, on the 18th of September. Others were seen on the outside of the window. On October 3d, " upon drawing down a sash of a window ojDening on a covered porch at the north end of the house, the casings at the sides and top were so covered with the flies that they could be scrajied off by handfuls." They were not found about other windows, or in similar localities in neiehborins: houses where search was made for 70 Forty-first Report on the State Museum. their presence. It was recalled tliat th.ey had been observed the preceding autumn in nvimbers sufficient to cause them to be swept together and burned. In this instance, the invasion does not rank with the first recorded, but it may develop an increase in following years. The Fly Submitted to Baron Osten Sacken. As the fl}'- was apparently unknown to us, it was submitted to Baron Osten Sacken, of Germany, for determination, and by him was referred to the genus Chlorops, subgenus Ghloropisca. It was found to have some points in common with G. copiosa of Schiner, previously men- tioned, but was different from it. As the species belonging to this subgenus vary greatly in color, even more than the true Chlorops, and are therefore quite difficult to identify from description however carefully made, I requested of Baron Osten Sacken that he would describe the examples placed in his hands, for publication in the present report. The task was no light one, as may be seen from the following description which he has most obligingly sent in compli- ance with the request: Description of the Fly. Chloropisca peolifica n. si:>. [Osten Sacken.] The breadth of the cheek under the eye is about equal to the distance between the eye and the antenna; the front is but little projecting in the profile, the face distinctly retreating. Front reddish-brown, shining, with a narrow j^ellowish border along the edge of the occiput and the frontal orbits ; a more or less distinct brown stripe in the middle of the front, attenuate anteriorly and including the ocelli posteriorly; two shorter and often less distinct lateral stripes ; frontal triangle^arge, nearly reaching the anterior edge of the front, its anterior angle rather broad (not acute as in some species of Chlorops), bounded on each side by shallow furrows (in some specimens, however, they are deeper) ; near the occipital edge the bottom of these furrows shows a couple of short, deeply-cut strife ; the sur- face of the front is marked with scattered punctures (sometimes nearly smooth ; in front of the ocelli, in most specimens, there is a shallow impres- sion (coinciding with the intermediate brown frontal stripe). Face and cheeks brownish-yellow. Occiput black or brown, yellow along the orbits. Palpi reddish-yellow ; above them, a pair of black dots on the oral edge ; when the proboscis is withdrawn these dots may be easily mistaken for the end of the palpi. Antennae reddish-brown ; thii'd joint rounded, darker brown on its distal half, sometimes altogether brown. Thorax brownish- yellow, with the usual three black stripes and a shorter and narrower dark streak above the supra-alar cavity ; the intermediate stripe is cutoff squarely some distance before the scutellum, the lateral ones are elongate-wedge- shaped, their pointed end nearly, but not quite, reaching the scutellum ; a faint longitudinal groove along each side of the intermediate stripe ; on the sternum a large black triangvilar spot between the front and mid- Report of the State Entomologist. 71 die coxae, on each side ; a similar spot, but much smaller, above the hind coxae; smaller black or brown spots on the lower part of the meso- pleura and on the ptei'opleura, near the mesopleural suture.* Scutellum flat, brownish in the middle, yellowish towards the sides and tip ; surface smooth ; it requires a strong? lens to discover a sparse microscopic pubes- cence, issuing from equally microscopic punctures ; a pair of somewhat larger, approximate bristlelets at the tip. Halteres with a conspicuously yellowish-white knob. Metanotum black. Abdomen dark brown above ; hind corners of the segments, and especially of the second, yellowish ; hind uuirgins of the segments, and especially of the penultimate, paler ; these paler regions are variable in extent, and sometimes the upper side of the abdomen is almost altogether brown ; the distal half (or less) of the last segment, is always yellow. On the ventral side, the extent of the bi'own and pale-yellowish is equally variable. Legs reddish-yellow, more or less distinctly brownish in the middle of the femora and tibiee, especially of the last pair. Wings hya- line, veins brownish-yellow ; anterior crossvein nearly opposite the tip of the auxil- iary vein ; the distance be- tween it and the posterior crossvein is equal to about double the length of the latter ; third vein, beyond the crossvein, nearly straight, parallel to the second ; fourth and fifth veins very thin, except a very short distance beyond the great crossvein ; the course of the fourth vein is a little diverging from the third; the costal vein reaches the tip of third, [f] Length 2-3 millim. I have about 30 unpinned speci- mens before me ; they seem to be all females. N. B. — It is at the special request of Mr. J. A. Lintner that I venture to describe this species, which belongs to a family I am very little acquainted with. Descriptions of Chloropisca are difficult to draw on account of the sameness of the coloring of the species and of the inconstancy of the same coloring. And in the present case I have not been able to use chtBtotactic characters, the specimens being unpinned and most of the bristles having fallen off. One of the principal characters is the flatness of the scutellum, which proves this species to be a Chloropisca; the proportions of the venation may likewise be of use in identifying the species. Two other Chlorojjiscw have been described by Loew from N. America: C. grata Loew, Centur. Ill, 92 and C. trivialis ibid. III, 87. I can not identify my specimens with either of them. Fig. 30.— ■Wins of Chloropisca pkolifica showing nervulation — greatly enlarged. *I use the terminology adopted by me in my paper on Chtetotaxy, Trans. Ent. Soc. Lo)idnn, 1881, p. 503. [t Although drawn by camera, the engraving fails to show some of these features.] 72 Forty-first Report on the State Museum. Noted Assemblages of Chlorops in Europe. The following literature vipon the great accumulation of specimens of Chlorops within buildings — a phenomenon well-known in Europe — has been kindly collected, and communicated to me in letter by Baron Osten Sacken — always so ready to aid in the advancement of American Dij)terology: In September, 1831, an immense number of Chlorops gathered in a room in Provost's Lodge, in Cambridge, England. An account by Rev. L. Jenyns w\as published in Loudon's Magazine of Natural His- tory, V, p. 302. The same phenomenon was observed in the same place in September, 1870, when " there must have been millions of them." It is added, however, that they occur regularly every season. (Com- pare Proc. Ent. Soc. London, 1870, p. xxsiv, and 1871, p. — .) In 1833, the phenomenon took place in the court library in Weimar. Zenker took the fly for a new species, and named it Traumatomyia prodigiosa. {Frorieps Notizen, xxxv, p. 344.) In September, 1847, Professor Wager found millions of Chlorops in the cupola of the observatory' at Warsaw, on the ceiling of a botanical conservatory, and in other places. He computed that there were about 17,971,200 specimens on the ceiling of the conservatory. He observed these accumulations every year. All these localities are sur- rounded by fields of cereals, and jorincipally wheat. Compare Bev. de Zool., 1872, and Schiner's article quoted. Kieseuwetter, in Zittau, Saxony {Berl. Ent. Zeit., 1857, p. 172); Krauss, in Stuttgart (comp. Brauer, Jahresber, 1867, p. 142); Perty, in Switz- erland (ibid.) ; H. Miiller, in Lippstadt, in autumn of 1880 (comj). Katter's Eidoni. Nachr., 1881, p. 17); Guerin Meneville and Laboulbene, in France (Ann. Soc. Ent. Fr., 1875, p. ccvi), made similar observations. Most of them took place in September. Perty saw the phenomenon in March. Most of the observers notice the fancy of the flies for par- ticular rooms, neglecting adjoining localities situated in aj^parently similar conditions. That the object of the flies was to seek shelter from cold is probable. The following observation by Aube, although it does not refer to human dwellings, may be suggestive: "About the end of March last, after a not very cold but a prolonged winter, I col- lected thousands of Chlorops nasuta in the state of hibernation. They were huddled together behind a very dense covering of ivy, on the eastern wall of a building " {Ann. Soc. Ent. Fr., 1858, j). Ixxiv). Whether in all the above cases the same species was observed is a very doubtful question. The species is called Chlorops Iceta (Wager, Krauss, Laboulbene), C. nasuta (Kiesenwetter, Aube, H. Miiller), and C. lineata (Perty). These identifications have no value whatever, as none of them were made by competent persons, and the nomen- clature, and synonymy of Chlorops is an unsolved problem even for dipterologists. Report of the State Entomologist. 73 Phytomyza lateralis (Fallen). The Marguerite Fly. (Ord. Dipteea: Fam. Phytomyzid^.) Fallen : Dipt. Suec, iii, 1823, 3, 2.* Meigen: Syst. Beschr. bek. europ. zweifl. Ins., vi, 1836? p. 190. Westwood : Introduc. Classif. Ins., i, 1839, p. 152; id., ii, 1840, p. .573. CuBTis: British Entomology,— Diptera, viii, 1849, pi. 393. Kaltexbach : Pflanzenfeinde Classe Insekten, 1874, p. 387. Glover: MS. Notes Journ.— Diptera, 1874, p. 40 (mention). GouREAU : in Ann. Soc. Ent. France, ii, ix, p. 156. Falconer : in Amer. Florist, ii, 1887, p. 297 (as P affinis). Its First Observation in this Country. The operations of this insect, an European species, were first detected in this country in October, 1886, in the greenhouse of Mr. Charles A. Dana, at his country residence, Dosoris, near Glen Cove, N. Y. The leaves of some daisies (Marguerites) were seen to show some wart- like specks and irregular, whitish, linear markings, and soon afterward to shrivel up and die. Examination for the cause disclosed small " worms " working within channels in the interior of the leaves. Some of the infested foliage was sent to Albany on the fifteenth day of February last. When received (two days later) the insect had entered upon its pupal stage, and a single fly had been disclosed and was found within the box. Another fly aj^peared the following day, and quite a number emerged from time to time until the tenth of March. Operations of the Marguerite Fly. In response to request made by me for further information of the attack, it was learned that the operations of the insect had been first noticed by Mr. Wm. Falconer, head gardener at Dosoris, during the preceding autumn, as above stated, and that thus far it seemed to be confined to plants of the Order of GomjMsitce. As it apparently dis- played a preference for the daisy. Chrysanthemum frutescens, it had been given in the greenhouse the name of the Marguerite fly. Infested leaves of tansy {Tanacetum) and of three other species of the Gom- positce (not identified), each bearing the pupae, were sent to me. In each of the plants the mining operations of the larvae had been exten- * The following references to other European authors have kindly been given me by Dr. S. W. Williston: Zettekstedt: Dipt. Scand., vii, p. 2836, 24.— Rob. Desvoidy: in Ann. Soc. Ent. Fr., 2d ser., is, p. 156.— Schinee: Faun. Austr.. ii, p. 313.— Brauer: Denkschr. k. Akad. Wissensch, xlvii, p. 90. 25 74 Forty-first Report on the State Museum. sive, and had caused the leaves to wilt and shrivel to such a degree that it was only by careful unfolding, spreading and pressing that the character of the mines could be made out. The Larval Mines Described. The mines observed in the daisy were run with remarkable uni- formity, commencing at a point where there was indication of egg-deposit, at the margin of the foot-stalk of the leaf or at one. of the lower lobes, following closely the margin up the lobe, excavat- ing it somewhat broadly at the apex, then descending on the opposite side, to turn and mine the next higher lobe and follow- ing ones in the same manner. A characteristic feature of the mine is its punctulation along its entire length by small black grains of larval excrement, deposited at rather regular intervals, and almost invariably on the marginal side. An exception to this was an instance where a wavy broad channel had been run toward the center of the leaf, in which the excremental matter was not gran- ular nor deposited marginally, but was diffused throughout the Fig. 31. A daisy leaf showing the mines . • t <• i • i ^^^,^ andpupiTj of the Marguerite fly, phytojiyza mine — indicating plainly some LATERALIS. abuormal condition of the larva. The mines do not always originate in the lobes. One was observed to commence half-way down the stem of a leaf, and in another instance almost at the base of the stem. They are run upon the upper side of the leaves, just beneath the upper cuticle. Pupation within the Mines. When the larva has attained its growth, it excavates a blotch-like space on the lower side of the leaf, where it transforms to a pupa, which, covered only by the thin and transparent cuticle that in drying contracts over and closely about it, seems as if it were lying exposed upon the outer surface. Its deeply incised segments show distinctly, and its two subcylindrical contiguous anal sj)iracles — projected Report of the State Entomologist. 75 almost at a right angle one with the other, are thrust outward through the cuticle in its contraction. It is believed that all of the pupa observed in the month of Febru- ary, were in the position above stated. In several of those received by me the present Novembei', and now before me, they are plainly to be seen occupying the upj)er surface of the leaf. Can this be acci- dental or is it a seasonal feature ? Mx\ Falconer's Account of the Insect. Mr. Falconer has contributed to the American Florid, for March 15, 1887, ii, p. 207, a short notice of "The Marguerite Fly, Phytomyza affinis " (the scientific name taken by him from some European journal), giving items of its habits and life-history, which we copy : The fly is a small insect and might readily be mistaken for one of the little flies so abundant about fermenting horse-manure. When disturbed it hops about rather lazily or flies from one branch to another, but seldom flies away for more than a few feet. It lays its eggs singly under the skin of the leaf, and wart-like specks form over the eggs. In a few days time little white grubs are hatched, which are the evil workers. * * * After two weeks energetic eating, the larva thrusts its head outside of the skin of the leaf and pupates. From the laying of the egg till the perfect fly issues from the chrys- alis is within five weeks. I conclude this to be the case, from some clean cinerarias which were brought into the greenhouse in Avhich the Marguerites were growing, the leaves of which at the end of five weeks coutained not only eggs, larvae, and pupae, but also empty pupee cases. The work of increase appears to proceed incessantly. Successive Broods of the Insect. Mr. Falconer is doubtless correct in his belief of successive broods, for from the evidence he adduces above of its maximum life-cycle, coupled with my observations, there would seem that there must be at least three broods during the autumnal and winter months. Leaves sent to me on November 14tli of this year contained pupa; (crushed), indicating an appearance of the fly at about the middle of November. Flies emerged in my ofiice from pupse, during the middle of February last. The intervening period would give more than the required time for another brood occurring at the assumed interval of five weeks. Larval Food-plants. Mr. Falconer gives the following report {loc. cit.) of the larval food- plants : Although the Marguerite seems to be its favorite food, it does not at all restrict itself to this plant, but attacks every other composite plant within its reach. Judging from its behavior here, it even pre- fers the double white feverfew to the Marguerite. It has also attacked 76 Forty-first Report on the State Museum. Eupatoriums, Gazanias, Helianthus muUiJiorus, and, as above mentioned, Cinerarias. These, at present, are about all the composites within its range. I have not observed it on any other order of plants. Localities. In addition to its presence at Dosoris, the insect is also operating in the greenhouse of Mr. T. L. M. Barlow, at Glen Cove Landing, and in the greenhouses at Queens, L. I., and at Hinsdale ^^ a station on the Long Island Eailroad, about fifteen miles from New York city. Importance of Arresting its Spread. It will be readily seen that from the prolificacy of this new insect pest, and the character of its injury to the foliage of the plants of the favorite and extensive family which it claims for its food, that it will prove, both to florists and lovers of flowers generally, an unwelcome addition to our insect fauna. It would, therefore, be well, if earnest and persistent and a successful effort can be made for destroying it in the limited locality to which it seems for the time restricted. It should be borne in mind that almost without exception, newly-intro- duced insect pests display a wonderful ability to inflict greater injuries in their new home than they were wont to do in their old. Up to the present, we only know this fly as a greenhouse pest. Should it be found hereafter continuing its propagation during the summer months in the garden, a great increase of harm would be the result from the large number of our valued Compositce that w^ould then be exposed to its attack. Remedies. Leaf -miners, like the numerous larvae that find secure shelter within their burrows in plant-stalk and tree-trunk, or beneath the surface of the ground, are almost wholly beyond the reach of our best insecti- cides; and when occurring in large numbers, as does the Marguerite fly, it is useless to attempt to fight them by any of the ordinary appli- cations which the economic entomologist is accustomed to recommend against the larger and more vulnerable class of exposed insects. Experiment can alone show the best method of meeting this newly introduced greenhouse pest. Perhaps vessels of diluted molasses and vinegai% or other liquid developing fermentation, placed in flat vessels, would attract the flies and drown them as soon as they emerge from pupte and before they are in readiness to deposit tbeir eggs. But, until some other successful method can be found, it would be best to examine the plants at brief intervals after the first recognition of the attack, and pick off every infested leaf and burn it. This, we learn, was done at Hinsdale in early winter, with the result of arresting the attack and securing a full bloom. Crushing the larvae between the thumb and finger, as sometimes recommended, would prove too slow Report of the State Entomologist. 11 and too costly au operation. When the plant is seen to be so badly attacked that the removal of the infested leaves would almost involve its defoliation, then the plant should be burned at once. By such stringent measures there is but little doubt that an attack taken at, or soon after, its commencement would be arrested. Identified with the European Form. As the insect and its attack seemed to be unknown in this country, examples of the fly, together with its pupse and mines, were for- warded to Baron Osten Sacken, who readily identified it as the Phytomyza lateralis Fallen, of Europe, and cited the following litera- ture upon it: " It is figured in Curtis' British Entomology, vol. viii., Diptera, plate 398. The desci'iption is incorrect and misleading ; a better one may be found in Schiner's Fauna. " According to Kaltenbach, loc. cit., the fly has been found in the heads of Compositce {Antheniis, Pyrethrum, and Chrysanthemum) and also in the stems of Centaurea (of the Gomjwsitce), Verbena, and Urtica dioica. " Schiner quotes from Ann. Soc. Ent. Fr., ii., 9, 156, to the effect that Goureau had found the larva mining in Sonchus oleraceus, or sow- thistle. It is nowhere else recorded as a leaf-miner." Description of the Fly. Curtis' description above cited, is as follows: Silky cinereous. Head and antennae black; lip and face yellow : eyes with a reddish tinge when alive, entirely black when dead; several black bristles on the crown of the head and a row down each side of the face. Thorax with the pleural yellow, six longitudinal rows of strong black bristles and several of smaller ones between them. Abdomen black, shin- ing, and pilose, a broad margin on each side beneath and the an- terior edges of the segments yellow, that of the sixth being the Fig. 32.— ^Tho Marguerite fly, Thytomyza latbbalis, broadest. Wines yel- enlarged ; with still greater enlargement of wing and head, low at tlie basc^'nerv- the latter in different views. ures brown, the central one very faint. Halteres yellow. Legs black, tips of the thighs yellow. 78 Forty-first Report on the State Museum. Generic characters accompanying' the above, which will be service- able in identification, are the following (omitting the details of the head-parts — antennae, proboscis, etc.) : Head somewhat vertical, broad and rather short, pilose. Eyes lateral, remote, oval. Ocelli three, minute. Thorax somewhat globose. Scutellum subtrigonate, rounded. Abdomen seven-jointed in the female, ovate-conic, tapering to the apex which is furnished with a retractile tubular ovipositor. Wings incumbent, longer than the body, rather broad and ovate, iridescent, ciliated, subcostal nervure very short, second and third not reaching the apex, united near the base, fourth passing along the center, fifth remote, the three last united near the base by a transverse nervure. Halteres clavate. Legs nearly of equal length, slender. Tarsi five-jointed, basal joint the longest. Claws minute. The following brief memoranda of colorational features were made by me from fresh examples of the fly : Head and thorax ash-colored, the latter with six rows of curved black bristles. Abdomen above black except at the sutures ; beneath greenish, traversed by a broad black mesial stripe, which is narrowed before and widens to twice its anterior width behind, interrupted at the sutures. Balancers greenish, as the abdomen beneath. Legs black, the tips of the femora pale. Wings iridescent, pale at base. Family Relations. The Phyfomyzidce, to which this species belongs, is a small family which has representation in North America in only the single genus which gives it name. It finds jilace toward, and almost at, the end of the Brachycera — the second of the three sections in which the Diptera are divided, following after the more familiarly-known families of Oscinidce and Agromyzidce. Allied Species. Nothing, apparently, has been published by our writers of the habits of the North American species of Phyfomyza, of which there are seven named in the Osten Sacken Catalogue of 1878. The European species seem to be more numerous, as Prof. Westwood, in his Introduc- tion to the Classification of Insects (1839) has given nineteen British species, with P. lateralis as the type; but a recent list would doubt- less differ materially from this, as the result of subsequent generic changes and discovery of additional forms. Of the habits of Ph. lateralis in Euroj^e, Prof. Westwood states {loc. cit., p. 573) that its larvae and pupae are found in the center of the recej)tacles of Pyrethrum inodorum (corn -feverfew), there being seldom more than one in each. Glover says that " the larva forms a gall in the center of the receptacle " of the feverfew. Report of the State Entomologist. 79 The Ifirvjc of the Euro2)ean Ph. JIava, according- to Doubleday, are subcutaneous in tlie leaves of Scolopendrium vulgare (bart's-tongue — a fern, wbicb also occurs, altbougb rarely, in Central New York). Ph. fiaviceps mines the leaves of the woodbine, and Ph. obf^curella, tbose of tbe holly (Holiday). The latter, according to Glover, feeds on honeysuckle and pupates in the earth. Ph. nigricornis Macq., according to Curtis, mines in the underside of leaves of turnips, j)eas, etc., and forms long galleries beneath the lower cuticle, at the end of which the pupa is formed. Glover has figured the fly on j^late x, fig. 12, of his MS. Notes on Diptera. It is also figured in Mr. Whitehead's " Report on Insects Injurious to Root and certain other Crops," 1887, as the "black-horned turnip-leaf miner." Its method of mining the leaves of turnips is shown in a figure, and described as burrowing in the parenchyma under the cuticle of the lower side of the leaf, so that it can not be seen in look- ing at the leaf from above. As many as eighty of its larvse had been counted in a single Swede plant. Kaltenbach states that this species mines the leaves of monkshood [^Aconitumfi]. An Aquileg-ia Leaf-miner of Similar Habits. I am under many obligations to Dr. James S. Cooley, of Glen Cove, N. Y., for first calling my attention to the operations of Phytomyza lateralis; for sending me material from time to time for its observation, and for communicating to me information regarding it. Dr. Cooley has also sent leaves of a columbine, Aquilegia, which have been destroyed by the operations of a leaf-miner, the attack of which is made only during the summer. The mines usually start at near the base of a leaf, are pretty broad even at the commencement, are wavy or curved at times in their pro- gress toward one of the lobes, where they terminate, not in a blotch, for the larvae leave them (probably for pupation in the ground) at this jDoint, through a rupture of the cuticle (often crescentic) at their outer margin. The mines, of which there may be three or four on a single Fig. 33.- Columbine leaves showing operations of an unknown leaf-miner. 80 Forty-first Report on the State Museum. leaf, are seen only from the upper surface. They are white, crinkled, conspicuous, and with the small excremental grains often deposited in two parallel lines near the margins. Effort will be made the coming summer to procure the insect pro- ducing these mines, which may perhaps prove to be another species of Phytomyza. Megilla maculata (De Geer). The Spotted Lady-hird. (Ord. Coleopteba: Fam. Cogcinellid^.) Coccinella maculata De Geee: Mem. Hist. Ins., v, 1775, p. 392, pi. 16, fig. 22. CoccinellalO-macidata Fabbjcivs: Spec. Ins., i, 1781, p. 99, No. 29; Mant. Ins., 1787, p. 57, No. 44. Hippodamia maculata Melsheimer: Cat. Coleop. U. S., 1853, p. 129. — Glover : in Kept. Comm. Agricul. for 1866, p. 41 (parasitic attack) ; id. for 1874, p. 123 (feeds on Colorado potato-beetle eggs). — Walsh- Eiley: in Amer. Entomol.. i, 1868, p. 46, fig. 36; p. 186, flg. 138: p. 194, lig. 135.— Eiley: 1st Eept. Ins. Mo., 1869, p. 112, flg. 49.— Packard: Guide Stud. Ins., 1869, p. 511, flg. 509 (mention). — Eeed : in 2d Eept. Ent. Soc. Ont. for 1871, p. 71-2, flg. 72.— Saunders : in 8th Eept. E. S. O. for 1877, p. 36, flg. 10.— Williams : in 9th Eept. E. S. O. for 1878, pp. 43, 44, flg. 30.— Comstock : in Eept. Comm. Agricul. for 1879, p. 177, fig. 30 (mention).— Eorbes : Bull. 6, 111. St. Lab. Nat. Hist., 1883, pp. 51, 52 (food); 14th Eept. Ins. 111., 1885, p. 21-2 (eats corn). Megilla maculata Crotch: Ch List. Coleop. N. A., 1873, p. 49, No. 2823; in Trans. Am. Ent. Soc, iv, 1873, p. 364 (description).— Webster : in Bull. 3, 111. St. Lab. N. H., 1880, p. 152; in Amer. Entomol., iii, 1880, p. 173 (eats pollen). — Eiley : in Amer. Nat., xv, 1881, p. 326 (feeds on corn); id., xvii, 1883, p. 322-3 (food-habits). — Griffith: in Amer. Nat., xvi, 1882, p. 408 (eaten by Mic7^ocentrusretinervum). — Lintner : in Count. Gent., xlviii, 1883, p. 941 (a corn pest). — Saunders: Ins. Inj. Fruits, 1883, p. 125, flg. 129.— Dimmock: in Cassino's Stand. Nat. Hist., ii, 1884, p. 312.— Hunt: in Miss. Ess. Econ. Ent, 1886, p. 92-3 (bibliog. of corn insects).— Howard : Bull. 17, Chinch Bug; Div. Ent., U. S. Dept. Agricul., 1888, p. 22, flg. 4 (food). A New Corn Pest. In the autumn of 1883, beetles sent for name, from Fairfield, Conn., as " making bad work with corn," were identified as this sj)ecies. In response to the incpiiry made of them, the following communication was published, substantially, in the Country Gentleman, of November 22, 1883. The insects sent are " lady-bugs," of the species popularly named " the spotted lady-bird," and the Ilegilla maculata of our present cata- Report of the State Entomologist. 81 logues — formerly Hippodamia maculata. Its detection on corn, as above, is of special interest, as it is the third time that testimony has been borne to the effect that the above species, for a long time thought to be entirely hai-mless, may, under certain circumstances, become decidedly injurious. Not all of the Lady-bugs are Carnivorous. The family of Coccinellidce, comprising the lady-bugs, has been regarded as entirely carnivorous, and as the food of very many of the species consists largely of plant-lice, they have been taken under the protection of entomologists and of all others who knew of the great service that they render in checking the prodigious multiplication of the destructive aphides. Within a few years past it has come to light that the members of the family' are by uo means exclusively confined to an animal diet, but that a number of them subsist, in part, upon vegetable food. In several of the species it constitute the larger pro- portion of their diet. This has been brought out by the pains-taking studies made by Professor Forbes, State Entomologist of Illinois. In a valuable paper published b}' him, in Bulletin No. 6, of the Illinois State Laboratory of Natural Eidory, January, 1883, entitled "The Food Relations of the Carabidse and Coccinellidse," 31 pages, the results are given of the examination of the contents of the alimentary canal of twenty-one specimens of lady-bugs {Coccinellidce), collected at differ- ent times throughout the year, and in various localities, mounted on glass slides, and examined under high magnifjdng powers. It was ascertained that more than one-half of their food (fifty-three per cent.) had consisted of vegetable matter — mainly the spores of fungi. Of the animal food, above one-third (thirty-six per cent.) was of plant-lice. We would be very glad if the above investigations, while they have served to greatly extend the known range of food of our j)retty friends — the lady-birds — and by their consumption of the sj)ores of useless lichens and noxious fungi, to place us under additional obli- gations to them, could also have shown us that their mouth-parts were of such a structure as to limit their diet to insect pests and worthless vegetation. But other observations have told us a different story. The Leaves of Corn Eaten by the Beetle. In the summer of 1874, an insect, which proved to be Megilla maculata — the same as the species above mentioned — was sent from St. Inigoes, Md., with the statement that it had done con- siderable injury to corn by eating holes in the blades {American Naturalist, for April, 1881,_xv. p. 326). Upon the attempt being made 26 ' 82 Forty-first Report on the State Museum. by Professor Riley to verify this statement, which was at variance with previous knowledge of the insect's habits, negative results were obtained, as the beetles refused to eat tender leaves of corn, grape- vine, clover, et cet., offered to them. The Beetle seen Feeding on Corn in the Ear. In August of 1882, Mi\ Pergande, of the Entomological Division of the Dejjartment of Agriculture, while searching for injurious insects on corn, near Washington, " saw several imagos and larvse of this species actually eating into the soft kernels of the ear. The beetles were almost entirely hidden within the nearly empt}^ kernels, and it could plainly be observed that they were eating. Upon removing them, the most careful observations failed to disclose any other insect in the kernel. The larvae were found in similar situations, actually engaged in eating the substance of the soft seeds." {American Natu- ralist, for March, 1883, xvii, i^age 323.) In reply to my request made to the gentleman, Mi\ Sturges, of Fairfield, Conn., who had sent the beetles, for additional information in regard to their attack on his corn, he has written as follows: I send you herewith some ends of corn eaten, as I suppose, by the bug. I at first thought that the damage was done by birds, but I found the bug under the leaves, and I watched closely, and in every ear I discovered some of these in the kernels. The corn was then in the milk and the kernel soft. As the corn hardened the eating stopped. I have found them in three j)ieces of corn, widely separated, and also in my garden. All of the bugs that I sent you were taken out of kernels. Its Manner of Feeding on the Corn. Twelve of the beetles were sent me by Mr. Sturges. The ends of ears, of which there were a number, are eaten from two to nearly five inches downward from the tip. The interior of the kernels is entirely eaten, leaving only the outer shell, dried, black, and shriveled. Where the injury has been the greater, it is seen to have extended by holes eaten into the sides of the kernels adjoining the already eaten por- tions, quite unlike an opening made by a bird, and, judging from accounts, after the same manner of the like injury committed by another corn-pest recently brought to light, viz., Diabrotica longicornis (Say) — one of the Ghrysomelidce. The corn-eating propensity of the beetle is also confirmed by obser- vations of Professor Forbes, given in the Fourteenth Illinois Report, as follows: "Last August we saw it eating the exposed kernels at the tip of the ear, hollowing out their substance, and partly buried in the cavities thus made." Report of the State Entomologist. 88 In consideration of the above autliorities and circumstantial state- ments, we are compelled to admit tliat the Megilla does, occasionally at least, become injurious to corn. It is known to occur in great abundance, at times. I have seen it during the month of August col- lected by hundreds around the base of some honey-locusts {Gleditschia triacanthos), between the trunk and ground, at Middleburgh, N. Y. It has also been reported as found " l^'ing in piles under the leaves and grass about the roots of apple trees, and always upon the south side of the tree." {American Entomologist, i, 1869, page 186.) Its Injuries to Corn not of Frequent Occurrence. At times of such abundance as above, it may be driveji for sus- tenance to other than its ordinar}^ food. Should this prove to be the exj)lanation of its occasional foray upon our cornfields, we should not find fault mth it, if by way of dessert it should indulge moderately in corn-in-the-milk, after all the substantial viands of its accustomed bill of fare, as plant-lice, chinch-bugs and Colorado potato-beetles in the egg, have been consumed. The vast amount of service that it i-enders us entitles it to all the praise that we have hitherto bestowed uj)on it, and all the protection that we have endeavored to extend to it j)revi- ously to the discovery of this one bad trait in its perhaps otherwise faultless habits. The Beetle Described. That similar attacks upon corn by this insect may be recognized and reported, the following description of it is given, together with an enlarged representation of it and of its earher stages : The beetle is one-fourth of an inch long, more elongate-oval than the lady- bugs usually are, and of a peculiar red color, often called pink. The head is black, with the exception of a median red line. More *^^^ij^^ than half the area of the ^^KT"^ thorax is occuj^ied by two ^ pyriform black spots, nar- rowed behind. On the Fig. 3l.— Megilla maculata: a, tarsus; 6, antenna; wing-covers are ten black '^. larva; r, pupa -all enlarged. (After Emmons.) spots, of which the three anterior ones are in line, followed by two 84 Forty-first Report on the State Museum. larger on tlie middle, then by three others, and last by two on the tips of the covers; one-half of the central one in each line of three spots rests on each wing-cover. The legs and body beneath, except its margin, are black. Its Extended Distribution. This insect has an unusually wide distribiition over the world, occurring in Canada, the United States, Central America, South America and Europe. Chauliognathus marginatus (Fabr.). The Margi7ied Soldier-Beetle. (Ord. CoLEOPTERA : Fam. Lampyrid^.) Fabricius: Syst. Ent., 1775, p. 206; Spec. Ins., 1781, p. 259, No. 8; Mant. Ins., 1787, p. 157, No. 9 {Cantharis margimitd). Hentz : in Trans. Amer. Philos. Soc, 2d Ser., iii, 1830, p. 460, pi. 15, figs. 1, a-/ (description, habits and peculiar structure). LeConte: in Proc. Acad. Nat. Sci. Phil., v, 1851, p. 338 (as C. Hentzii) ; in Trans. Amer. Ent. Soc, ix, 1881, pp. 44, 68. "Walsh : in Amer. Entomol., i, 1868, p. 52 (compared with C. Pennsylvanicus). Eiley: 5th Kept. Ins. Mo., 1873, p. 154 (food-habits). Provancher: Pet. Faun. Eatomolog. Can.— Coleop., 1877, p. 414-5 (descrip.). Glover: MS. Notes Journ.— Cotton, 1878, pi. 13, fig. 6 (on cotton). Trelease: in Comstock's Cotton Ins., 1879, p. 322 (food). Lintner: in Count. Gent., xlix, 1884, p. 897 (larva in apples). Henshaw: List Coleop. N. A. Amer., 1885, p. 77, No. 4876, The Insect Mistaken for a Fruit Pest. The need of such a knowledge of insects as will enable the agri- culturist, the fruit-grower, etc., to know and readily recognize his insect friends, and thereby sj)are them so far as may be from the destruction with which he would visit his insect foes, has often been urged by entomological writers. Such need is shown in the following note received: Inclosed please find specimens of an insect very destructive to our better class of apples — wine sajDS, etc. I should like to learn its name, habits, and how to meet it practically. This larva makes a round hole in the apples sideways, enlarging the hole often to half or three-quar- ters of an inch in diameter, when, as a result, the apple rots and drops. To destroy the larva by hand would necessitate removal of more than one-sixth of the crop — too slow and not thorough, for obvious reasons. The small ants attack the insect, biting into its back, and adhering sometimes, but without effect. The larger ants, bugs (of the white grub transformation), etc., feed in company with the insect. Quinces rot enormously, and, in about two-thirds of the specimens on the ground, I find the holes probably made by this same insect. Report of the State Entomologist. 85 Importance of Knowing our Many Insect Friends. The above communication is a strong argument in favor of the importance of the study of the habits of insects by the economic ento- mologist, and the distribution of the knowledge thus obtained through publications easily to be understood, illustrated with good figures, and accessible to all to whom they may be of service. It should generally be known that not all insects are injurious. There are those that are the farmer's best allies, though often occur- ring under circumstances so suspicious as usually to cost them their lives. Of these are the numerous species of " lady -birds," or " lady- bugs," which often abound upon sickly vegetation infested with plant-lice, where they have been drawn to feed upon the destructive aphides. Nearly all of the entire family of Ichneumonidce (ichneumon flies) are of great service to the agriculturist, from the immense num- ber of caterpillars which they destroy. Many of the Hemiptera (bugs) l^rey upon caterpillars and other injurious forms. A large propor- tion of the Lamjnjridce — the family of beetles to which the " light- ning-bugs " or "fire-flies" belong — feed upon other insects in both their larval and j^erfect stages. Appearance of the Larva of Chauliognathus. It is to this last-named family (or the sub-family of Telephoridce) that the insect pertains, of which inquiry is made. As stated, the exam- ple sent was in its larval stage. It has the form characteristic of many of the Coleoptera — a head of goodly size armed with stout jaws, a thorax not much larger than the head, bearing six conspicuous legs, and a long, soft abdomen, somewhat broader centrally. This partic- ular one is dark brown in color and of a peculiar velvety appearance, not differing greatly from some of its congenors. It was identified by Prof. Riley as Ghauliognafhus marginatus (Fabr.). The Margined Soldier-Beetle, a Beneficial Insect. It is the first time that the margined soldier-beetle (its common name) has been noticed under circumstances that show it to be entitled to a place among our beneficial insects, although its habits were previously suspected. There can be no doubt but that it was drawn to the fruit in such numbers as above stated (infesting one- sixth of the entire crop), for no other purpose than to feed on the common apple-worm, the larva of the codling moth, Cai-pocajx^a pomo- nella. It would naturally, we think, enter the fruit in search of its prey, thi-ough the hole already made by the apj)le-worm in the side of the apple for the discharge of its excrements, and for its final exit. But in the event of the hole being too small for entrance, its enlarge- 86 FORTT-FIRST REPORT ON THE StATE MuSEUM. ment would be necessary, and if, as we infer from tlie above communi- cation, it has been actually seen eating into the fruit, it would probably be while engaged in such enlargement. It would be an interesting fact if it had been observed in the act of making a perforation where none previously existed. Service Rendered by the Pennsylvania Soldier-Beetle, In the Fourth Report of Prof. Riley on the insects of Missouri (page 28), he notes his discovery that the larva of another species of Chauliognathus — the G. Fennsylvanicus of De Geer (the C. Ameri- canus of Forster), "destroys the apple-worm while leaving the fruit, and in all probability, iT * 1 seeks them out while in the fruit." It had Fig. 35. — The Pennsyl- previously been known to prey upon the larva vania soldier-beetlo, Chau- of the plum curculio. Figures of the insect LIOGNATHUS PeNNSYLVANI- • •, i i i j- , i i cus; a, the larva: 5, its head ^^ ^*^ ^^^'^^1 ^^^ perfect stages are here given. enlarged ; i, the beetle. In its final stage of a beetle — quite in con- trast with its earlier life, it is believed to feed only on the pollen of flowers ; and actively engaged in this pursuit, it may be found abroad during the mouths of August, September and October. From the 5th to the 18th of August, 1884, it was observed by me in unusually large numbers upon the blossoms of the golden-rod, Solidago, at Palenville, N. Y., the larger proportion of the individuals occurring at that time mated. Comparison of the Two Soldier-Beetles. G. Pennsylvanicus has frequently been figured in Entomological reports, as, in addition to the previous citation — in the First Missouri Report, p. 19 ; Fourth Illinois Report, p. 108 ; American Entomologist, p. 51, "A Friend Unmasked ; " Packard's Guide, p. 487, etc. By referring to the figures given, with the aid of the following quota- tion from Walsh, its congener, Ghaulwgnathus marginatKS — the newly detected apple-worm eater — may easily be recognized in its beetle state. A very closely allied species [to G. Pennsylvanicus'], the margined soldier-beetle {Gh. marginatus Fabr.) swarms everywhere in South Illinois in June and July, on the flowers of the blackberry, the redroot, etc., but it is not met with in the more northerly parts of the State. It might be readily mistaken at first sight for the other one, but is distinguished by being several times smaller, and by usually having its entire wing-cases except a very narrow yellow margin all around (hence comes the specific name) occupied by the black color, which in the other species forms a mere black patch at the tip. Report of the State Entomologist. 87 The following is added to the above in relation to the supposed habits of the larva: "The habits Learnivorous] of the two are doubt- less the same, or nearly the same. Spare their lives, I beg and pray you, for your own sake, ye pitiless haters of everything that ye have chosen to label with the three ominous letters — B U G ! Ye may not, perhajDS, care for bugs, but I know that ye dearly love peaches." (The Pennsylvania soldier-bug has been found abundantly in and beneath peaches lying upon the ground, infested with the curculio.) The eggs of the margined soldier-beetle are probably deposited loosely in masses in the ground during the month of July, to hatch into larvae and to mature slowly, after the habits of the other species with which it has been compared, as detailed in the Second Eejiort of the United States Entomological Commission, j). 261-2. C. marginatus may Feed on the Quince Curculio. The holes in the quinces, of which mention is made in the commu- nication given on page 84, if originally smooth and round, were prob- ably bored bv the larva of the quince curculio (Gonotrachelus cratcegi Walsh) as it emerged from the fruit in August or September for its winter burial in the ground. Through these holes the soldier-beetle larva might enter the fruit in search of the remaining curculio larvaj, of which there are often several in the same quince, as these would doubtless prove quite as palatable to it as the apple-worm. Observations Desired. Careful observation and account of the actions of the larvse of the soldier-beetles in their search for, and while preying u2:)on, the apple worm or other insects, would be an acceptable contribution to their history, which we hope may be ere long supplied by some of our fruit growers who have recognized the importance to them of the study of insect-habits. Description of the Beetle. Yellow-orange. Antennse and palpi brown, yellowish at the base. Head with a large black spot on the vertex, bifurcating to meet the eyes. Prothorax a little longer than broad; its sides straight, lightly rounded before, with a broad longitudinal black band in the middle. Wing- covers elongated, narrow, yellow, margined with a paler line and bear- ing near to its extremity a black spot more (jr less elongated. Beneath yellow; prosternum, with the extremities of the femora, tibiae, and tarsi more or less darker. Length 0.40 inch. Var. Wing-covers entirely brown with the exception of their pale yellow margin. (Provancher, loc. cit.) It will be seen that the black coloring on the wing-covers varies greatly in this species, as it does also in G. Fennsylvanicus, in which it sometimes covers nearly the entire surface. 88 Forty-first Report on the State Museum. The synoptical characters given by Dr. LeConte, in his admirable " Synopsis of the Lampyridse of the United States " ( Trans. Amer. Ent. Soc, ix, 1881, pp. 15-72), are the following: Prothorax longer than wide, opake yellow, with a broad, black, dor- sal stripe, sides very narrowly margined; elytra with discoidal spot sometimes extending nearly the entire length, sometimes wanting. Length 8-11 mm., =^ .32-44 inch. New York; Florida. Sitodrepa panicea (Linn.), As A Leather-Beetle. (Ord. CoLEOPTERA : Fam. Ptinid^.) Dermestes paniceus Linn. : Syst. Nat., ii, 1767, p. 564, No. 19. " " Fabr. : Syst. Ent., 1775, p. 57, 14; Spec. Ins., i, 1781, p. 66, No. 18; Mant. Ins., i, 1787, p. 35, No. 22. Anobmm obesumSAY: in Journ. Acad. Nat. Sci. Phil., v, 1825, p. 173; Compl. Writ, ii, 1883, p. 281. " " Melsheimer : in Proc. Acad. Nat. Sci. Phil., ii, 1844, p. 309. " " Glover : in Eept. Commis. Pat. for 1854, p. 72, pi. 5 (in wheat from Algeria). " paniceiMn Horn : in Proc. Ent. Soc. Phil., i, 1861, p. 29 (food and pupation). Sitodrepa panicea Gloyeb. : in Eept. Commis. Agr. for 1868, p. 98, fig. 152 (transformation, food, etc.) ; id. for 1870, p. 66 (tobacco, etc., eaten). " " LeConte: in Proc. Acad. Nat. Sci. Phil, for 1865, p. 229. Packard : Giiide Stud. Ins., 1869, p. 470, flg. 440 of larva, p. 131 (parasitic [?] on humble bees). " " Shimer: in Amer. Entomol., ii, 1870, p. 323, fig. 200 (feeding habits). " " Thomas : 6th Eept. Ins. 111. [1877], p. 122, fig. 12 (descrip- tion, habits, etc.). " " Saunders, W. E. : in Canad. Entomol., xv, 1883, p. 80 (a drug pest). " " Hamilton : in Canad. Entomol., xv, 1883, p. 92 (a museum pest). " " Henshaw: List. Coleop. N. Amer., 1885, p. 83, No. 5267. An Insect Attack on Leather Reported. A letter was received under date of May 10, 1887, from the editor of "Boots and Shoes," — a weekly journal published in the city of New York — stating: "One of our subscribers writes that he has had a lot of shoes ruined by a small bug which burrows into the leather and deposits its eggs, perforating the leather in all directions. He would like to know the nature of this bug, and also how to prevent further ravages in his Report of the State Entomologist. 89 Fig. :?G.— The Leather-beetle, Deemestes tul- piNUs: a, eeg. iind hirva; //. pupa: A-, beetle; d, a denuded middle joint of the larva to show spines, etc. ; I, ventral view of tip of abdomen of male beetle; p, head of larva; /, maxilla and palpus of same ; <;, labium with palpi— enlarged. stock. Cau you, without seeing the bug, suggest what it probably is, aud a remedy? If so 3-ou will confer a favor on Ibe writer as well as the subscribers of "Boots aud Shoes." Dermestes vulpinus as a Leather-beetle. To the above, reply was made to the following effect: The depredator is probably the Derraedes vul- pinus, or the leather-beetle. It has for some time been knoAvn to be injurious to skins and hides, and has also been found abundantly about some ^ bone-boiling w^orks in Eng- land. Two years ago, it was brought to the notice of Prof. Riley (see his report, in that of the Commissioner of the Department of Agriculture, for the year 1885, pp. 258-264 [from which the accompany- ing illustrations have been obtained], as occurring in a number of wholesale boot and shoe houses iu St. Louis, where boxes of shoes that had been packed for some time, were swarming with the insect in the different stages of its develojiment. It was observed that the soles aud heels of boots and shoes were more liable to be injured than the uppers, probably resulting from the oily dressing used in the latter. The operations of the larva are described as boring round and smooth holes through the leather in every direction, very often entering the shoe at the joining of the heel with the sole, or at any point in the crevice between the upper and the sole, where the larva could find the purchase for its boring. The larva sometimes transforms to the pupa state within the leather, but it usually leaves it for a crack in the box containing the shoes, or in the floor adjoining, where it burrows out a suitable j^lace for its change to the pupal and perfect stages. The beetle, also, is injurious to the leather by gnawing its surface, but it does not burrow into it as does the larva. Professor Riley, in the paper cited, offers the following remedies for its attack : The contents of the infested cases of boots aud shoes might be overhauled and treated with benzine or some other efficient insecticide. The larva could be destroyed by placing an open saucer containing 27 90 Forty-first Report on the State Museum. bisulphide of carbon on the top -of the contents, the heavy vapor of which, if the box is a tight one, will fall downward and kill the insects within. To the above, I would add the suggestion that a degree of heat might easily be applied to the infested stock that would suffice to destroy the larvae without injury to the leather. Sitodrepa panicea also Eats Leather. Another beetle, which is widely distributed over the civilized world, and is such a general feeder that it has been said of it that " it will eat anything except cast iron," viz., Sitodrepa panicea (Linn.), has also been brought to my notice in former years as having injured boots and shoes. But in this instance, it is probably the first-named species that is the culprit. If it be so, it may be known from the statement above given of the manner in which it does its work. Sitodrepa the Author of the Reported Injury. Later, one of the infested shoes was sent to me at my request, which permitted identification of the author of the injury by giving forth several of the beetles. The editor of "Boots and Shoes" was accordingly written, substantially, as follows, the communication appearing in the issue of June fifteenth : The insect previously re- ported to me as burrowing into shoes, and which, in con- sideration of the few par- ticulars given me of the na- ture of its operations, was be- lieved to be Dermedes vulpinus, is found to be another insect — the second one that was sug- gested as the possible culprit, viz., Sitodrepa j^anicea. [The bee- tle is shown at a, in figure 37.J Fig. 37.— a, Sitodkepa panicea; h, anteiana of same ; c, Ptinus beunneus. Nature of its Injuries. , The shoe containing the larvae, subsequently' sent to me by your direction, to show the nature of the attack, was duly received. It is an Oxford strap of calf with kid uppers. If I may judge from its shape and general appearance, it is not of recent manufacture, but has been in stock for some time. Perhaps its age may have invited the attack. The nature of the injury to the shoe is as follows: In two places on the side where the vamping is stitched to the upper, the Report of the State Eis^tomologist. 91 former is cut through just below the stitching- — ou one side to the extent of about an inch — showing the leather within to be nearly all eaten away by the burrowing of the larvee of the beetles. The extent of the burrowing in other parts of the shoe can not be stated, as it is not permitted to take it apart for further examination. It is inferred, however, that a large portion of the leather has been burrowed in the same manner, judging from the number of little round holes of the diameter of the beetle eaten through the calf just below, within a half- inch of the stitching. The holes are as round as if they had been cut by a punch, and their slight difference in diaineter is evidently caused by the difference in size of the beetles. Of these holes, sixty-six were counted, indicating as many beetles, which, having completed their transformations, had eaten their way outwardly, for their escape. That the holes were made in this manner and for this purpose, is evident by their enlar:,'ed size within (somewhat funnel- shaped), and the small pile of jjOAvdered leather that lay in the box in which the shoe had been placed, beneath the point of exit of each of the five beetles that have escaped during the week that the shoe has been under observation. There may still be many within it, to mature and escape hereafter. The kid-upper also shows two of the holes near the stitching and one at the upj^er edge near the binding. The last named one appears as if it may have been eaten inwardly from the outside. I judge from the indications that the eggs of the parent beetle had been deposited at the upper edge of the stitching, and that the larvse upon hatching had burrowed downward beneath it. Mr. Myer Mandelbaum, boot and shoe dealer of this city, to whom the attack was shown, stated to me that he had in one instance seen shoes, purchased in New York, that had been perforated in the same manner, although not to an equal extent. Sitodrepa Almost Omnivorous. This beetle, Sitodrepa pamcea, has long been known to science, and has often been written of, it being a common species which has been distributed through commerce over nearly all the civilized world. While many of the beetles are confined to one article of food, this is remarkable for its feeding on a very large number of substances differing greatly in character. I have known it to occur abundantly in the cayenne of druggists, feeding in its larval state on this pungent material, and making of the powder little cells within which it transformed to the pupa, and subsequently to the perfect insect. It is a well-known pest in drug stores, as will appear from the extended 92 Forty-first Report on the State Museum. list of druofs, in which it has been reported as occurring, by Mr. Wm. E. Saunders, of London, Ontario, viz. : Aconite root, bitter almonds, sweet almonds, angelica, boneset, calumba, chamomile, chocolate, coriander, dandelion, elm bark, ergot, extract of licorice, German chamomile, orris root, prince's jDine, rhubarb, squill, and sweet flag. {Canadian Entomologist, 1883, xv., p. 81.) It is also reported as feeding on collections of dried plants, collec- tions of insects, cork in insect cases, binding of books, wafers, ginger, cantharides, stored wheat, flour, stale bread, ship biscuit, barley meal, oatmeal, beads made of a certain paste, etc. According to Dr. Packard, it is occasionally parasitic on honey-bees. Will Probably not Become a Lieather Pest. From the above statements, length of time during which the sj^ecies has been known, its extensive distribution, and its almost omnivorous habits, the inference may safely be drawn that this beetle will never present itself as a serious leather pest unless it shall be permitted to continue a local attack and multiply itself without efforts made for its arrest. In the greatly extended range of its food, there are many substances upon which it would feed in preference. How its Attack on Shoes may be Arrested. An attack by it on boots and shoes in stores can be arrested by the means published in my former communication. If but a few shoes are found to be infested, the insect, in any of its four stages in which it may be present, may be killed by oiling the leather with a sufficient quantity of kerosene to permit of its penetration so as to reach the insect. Kerosene is an infallible insecticide in all cases where it may be safely apj^lied. Another Leather-eating Beetle. Associated with Sitodrepa panicea in Figure 37, is another beetle, Ptinus hrunneus Duftsch, the larva of which has shown a peculiar fondness for leather, especially when it has been used in the binding of books. Dr. Shimer has written of its operations in his library, in the American Entomologist, ii, 1870, p. 322, as follows: They usuallj'^ operate in leather-bound or half-bound volumes, by boring galleries along in the leather where it is joined to the back of the leaves of the book; most frequently about the lineal angle formed by the board-back, and the edge of the back of the leaves. Sometimes they are in the middle of the back, or about its corners. They usually bore along quite under the surface of leather, cutting it almost through; occasionally a small round hole penetrates through the leather to the outer surface. The galleries are filled with the debris. Sheep-bound books seem to be their favorite resort. Report of the State Entomologist. 93 This species has not yei, to my knowledge, shown itself as a museum pest, feeding- upon objects of natural history, but it may become so enrolled at any day, in the com])au3^ of two of its congeners — Ftinus fur Linn., as recorded by Dr. Hagen,* and Ftinus quadrimaculatus Melsh., from my own experience. Several examples of the latter were discovered, dead, in the month of February, in a case of dragon-Hies which had been received the preceding summer from South Bi'itain, Conn. Two examples of the same had previously occurred in another case of insects, in which they had evidently undergone their trans- formations and committed some damage. Xylotrechus colonus (Fabr.V (Ord. Coleoptera: Fam. Cerambycid^.) Fabricids : Syst. Eut., 1775, p. 91 ; Syst. EL, 1801, p. 345 {Clytas). Olivier : Ent., iv, 1795, genus 70, p. 31, t. 6, fig. 67 (as CaU'ullum). LeConte: in Journ. Acad. Nat. Sci. Phil., ser. 2, ii, 1850, pp. 28, 104 (as C. a great is). Melsheimer: Cat. Ooleop. U. S., 1853, p. 105 (as Clijtus cainpestris). Provancher: Pet. Faun. Ent. Can.— Coleop., 1877, p. 599 (description). Packard: Bull. 7, U. S. Ent. Comm.— For.-Sh. Trees, 1881, p. 27 (as CUjtus, pupa descr.), p. 114 (mention); 3d Eept. U. S. Ent. Comm., 1883, p. 258 (description of larva), pi. xii, figs. 2, 2a, 3. Riley : in Amer. Ent., iii, 1883, p. 239 (bred from oak). Henshaw: ListColeop. N. Amer., 1885, p. 99, No. 6179. Leng : in Ent. Amer., ii, 1887, p. 200 (European synonymy and references). The Beetle Described. The following description of the beetle is that given by I'abbe Pro- vancher, loc. ait. It is stated to be a common species in Canada: Brown, more or less deep. Front with two approach- ing longitudinal carinse, a little more separated between the antennte. Antennae reddish, lighter at the extrem- ities. Prothorax with numerous transverse strite, sub- cylindrical, with a sjDot at each angle not very distinct. ^ "Wing-covers with two broad transverse bands, the lirst -^ yellowish-white near the base, and the second, reddish- w'hite at the extremity; this last with a black spot in the middle, and the first often with a point mounting to the scutellum, near the suture, and inclosing -p — xylo- another detached spot near the shoulder. Feet red- tkechus colo- dish with white hairs; femora (thighs) strongly nus, enlarged. clubbed. Length, 0.50 inch. (After Emmons.) * Proceedings of the Boston Society of Natural History, xx, 1878, p. 59. 94 Forty-first Report on the State Museum. The Beetle Abundant in a Dwelling-house. Examples of this beetle, i-epresented in enlarg-ement in Fig. 38, occurred quite frequently in a dwelling-house in Albany, during the month of March. Their distribution through different rooms on the several floors where they had never been observed before, excited curiosity as to their source. In reply to inquiry made for their name and some information respecting them, answer was returned that they were a species of Longicorn beetle, bearing the scientific designation of Xylotrechus colonus, but which was not sufficiently common or of enough econ- omic importance to have received a pojDular name. (Dr. Packard has designated it as " the common oak Clytus," from the tree which it more usually infests, and the genus to which it was formerly referred.) It was, however, by no means rare in the State of New York, and it not unfrequently fell into the collector's liand in his field excursions. Limited Knowledge of the Insect. Little seems to have been written of its habits or life-history, beyond the brief account given by Dr. Packard, viz.: The larva excavates broad, shallow, and irregularly sinuous burrows, about five mm. wide, at its broadest part between the bark and wood of the oak, upward and downward, and extending partly arou.ud the trunk. The larvse, pupse, and imago may be found in these burrows in the month of May and early June. The newly transformed beetle has been taken as early as the 27th of May. The beetle has also been found under the bark of an old sugar maple in the Adirondack Mountains, N. Y. The figure of the larva given, is from Dr. Packard's "Descriptions of the Larvse of Injurious Forest Insects," illustrated in ten plates, contained in the 3d Report of the U. S. Entomological Commission. Fig. 39.— Larva of Xylotrechus col- onus. How it May Have Been Introduced within Doors. The species of the family to which it belongs {Ceramhycidce) are seldom seen within doors, and no satisfactory reason can be assigned for the presence of X. colonus in such numbers as reported in the pres- ent instance. They may perhaps have been contained as larvse or j)upse in maj^le or oak fuel, if such was used in the house, or in furni- ture made of these woods, and their appearing in their final stage of perfected beetles at so early a season, may have been the result of the higher within-door temperature to which they had been subjected. Report of the State Entomologist. 95 Long Imprisonment of Beetles within Furniture. Mauj iustauces are recorded where different sj^ecies of longicorn beetles have made their escape from furniture within the wood of which they had lived as larva, after a period of years so greatly in excess of what is known of the natural term of life in the larval and pupal stages of the same insects, that the statements, if accej)ted, can only be explained through the operation of the artificial conditions under which they had been placed. It is not impossible, that in such instances of unnaturally prolonged lives, there may have resulted a lethargic condition in which respiration and accompanying pheno- mena were almost or entirely suspended through the complete exclu- sion of air (a hermetic sealing) by the rubbing, oiling, varnishing, or other polishing which the furniture had undergone. As an example of such prolonged vitality, the following extract is made from the Third Report on the Insects of New York, by Dr. Fitch (3d-5th Reports, 1859, p. 8), compiled from a more extended notice contained in the History of the County of Berkshire, published at Pittsfield, 1829, p. 39: In 1786, a son of Gen. Israel Putnam, residing in Williamstown, Mass., had a table made from one of his apple trees. Many years afterwards the gnawing of an insect was heard in one of the leaves of this table, which noise continued for a year or two, when a large, long-horned beetle made its exit therefrom. Subsequently the same noise was heard again, and another insect, and afterwards a third, all of the same kind, issued from this table leaf — the first one coming out twenty, and the last one twenty-eight, years after the tree was cut down. From evidence obtained by Dr. Fitch, he believed that there could be no doubt but that the insect was the longicorn beetle Ceraspho- rus halteatus, figured on Plate 1, fig. 8, of the Report above cited — now known as Ghion cinctus (Drury). In Silliman's Journal of Science and Arts, vol. x, 1826, p. 65, is a short reference to a more detailed notice elsewhere, of an insect believed by the writer to have been a species of Urocerus — a large hymenopterous insect commonly known as a " horn-tail " — which had escaped from a table made of an apple-tree, twenty-eight years after the cutting of the tree. It would ap2:)ear as if the two accounts might refer to the same occurrence. Silliman's Journal, vol. ix., p. 85, copies from Brewster's Edinburgh Journal, No. 3, p. 85, a paper on the escape of an Ui'ocerus (different from U. giga^) from a table made of deal and veneered with mahogany, in England, but without giving the age of the table or other desirable particulars. 9G Forty-first Report on the State Museum. Xylotrechus Probably Conveyed in Hickory Wood. Subsequently to the replj' made to the inquiry of the probable cause of the presence of X colonus, it was learned that a half-cord of hickory fire-wood had been stored in the basement of the dwelling- in which the beetles made their appearance. There is, therefore, hardly room for doubt that they had escaj)ed from the wood, and that the insect, at times, may infest hickory, in addition to oak and maple. Xylotrechus coloyius, described by Fabricius in 1775, has an exten- sive distribution throughout the United States east of the Rocky Mountains. According to I'abbe Provancher, it is not uncommon in Canada. Its European synonymy and bibliogi-aphy may be found in Mr. Leng's " Synopses of the Cerambycidae," Entomologica Ameri- cana, ii., 1887, p. 200. Examples of a congener of the above — X. undulatus (Say), have been taken by Mr. Erastus Corning, Jr., of Albany, at Murray Bay, Canada, in the month of August, as they were emerging from their burrows in the trunks of spruces. The species has not been pre- viously recorded as infesting the spruce, nor do we know of any record of its food. Haltica bimarginata (Say). The Alder Flea-beetle. (Ord. Coleopteka: Earn. Chkysomelid^). This devastating devourer, at times, of the foliage of the alder over extended areas, is among the larger of our flea-beetles, being one-fifth of an inch in length. It may be recognized by its general resemblance to the well-known grapevine flea-beetle, Haltica chalyhea 111., and its uniform deep prussian blue color with greenish reflections on the head, and the elevated line near the outer Fig. 40.- The grape-vine 'border of each wing-cover. A figure of H. flea-beetle, Haltica chaly- chalyhea is herewith given, which may serve BEA, and its larva. ^^ illustrate its principal features. It was described by Say, in the Journal of the Academy of Natural Sciences of Philadelphia, vol. iv, 1824, p. 85, in the following terms : Body oblong-oval, blue, minutely punctured ; antennae black ; thorax with an impressed, transverse, rectilinear line behind the middle, attaining the lateral margin, and another impressed line before, which is interrupted in the middle and abbreviated each side ; elytra with an elevated, submarginal line each side, originating on the humerus, and nearly parallel with the exterior edge. Repoet of the State Entomologist. 97 First Notice of its Injuries. The first mentiou that we find of the operations of this insect is that given in the Entomological Corj^esjjondence of Dr. Harris, 18G9, page 267, where, of " Haltica alni Harr. MSS." it is stated : In traveling from Centre Harbor, N. H., to Conway, on the second of August, 1854, * * * * I sa,w the ahlers {Alnus serralafa) everywhere ravaged by insects which destroyed tlie leaves in the manner of caulcer-worms. Upon examination the spoilers were found not to be all dispersed, and several were seen ujion the leaves still continuing their work: at the same time were found in Conway numerous beetles, which proved to be a species of Haltica, eating the leaves of the same alders. The larvte which had ravaged these shrubs were doubtless those of the Haltica before mentioned {^H. alni\. Its Operations in Maine and New Hampshire. Dr. A. S. Packard appears next to have noticed the ravages made by this insect in Maine and New Hampshire. As it seems to be only at intervals and in certain localities that these serious demonstrations are made, they are of considerable interest as often as they occur. We therefore copy Dr. Packard's recital, from Bulletin No. 13, Divi- sion of Entomology, U. S. Department of Agriculture, 1887, together with his excellent description of the insect : At Merepoint, near Brunswick, Me., during the middle of August, 1886, we noticed clumps of alders standing in dry soil j^artly defoliated or with skeletonized, brown or blackish leaves, on which, as well as the still remaining green leaves, were black grubs, some- times seven or eight on a leaf. All of the alders in the region were not molested, the grubs occurring locally. August fifteenth, we found a single beetle. On placing a number of leaves with the grubs in a tin box, we found a white pupa lying loosely on the bottom of the box, August twentieth; soon more pupae aj^peared, and the beetles began to appear in considerable numbers the last week of August. It is evi- dent that in nature the larva falls to the ground to transform, the pupae entering the earth. Afterwards, September tenth, we found whole clumps of alders at the base of Iron Mountain, Jackson, N. H., stripped by the grubs, nearly all the riddled, brown, dead leaves having fallen off and thickly covering the ground under the bushes. Such a wholesale devastation of alders we never saw. By this time the beetles had become very abundant, and were apparently feeding on the few leaves still attached to the tree. ***** There seems to be a periodicity in the appearance of this beetle, Harris having seen the same grubs in great abundance in the same place in 1854. We have never observed it so common and destructive before in Maine. It is most probable that the beetles hibernate under the leaves, and soon after the leaves expand in May, lay their eg^ in masses on them, the grubs scarcely stirring from the leaves on which they are born, until ready to jDupate. The grubs are probably distasteful to birds, other- wise they would fall an easy prey to them and be kept within due limits. 28 98 FORTY'FIRST REPORT ON THE StATE MuSEUM. Larva and Pupa Described. Larva. — The body is somewhat flattened; head scarcely two-thirds as wide as the body in the middle, black, becoming brown in front near the jaws. Body livid-brown above; the tubercles black; paler beneath, with three pairs of black jointed thoracic legs; no abdominal legs, but an anal prop-leg. The abdominal segments each with a transverse, oval-rounded, ventral, rough sjjace forming a series of creeping tubercles; and in front of each segment is a transverse, oval, crescentic, chitinous area bearing two iDiliferous tubercles; the back of each segment divided into two ridges, each bearing a row of six sharp tubercles, bearing short hairs; a single ventral row on each side of the ventral plate. Length, 7-10™"- [0.28 to 0.4 inch]. Pupa. — Body rather thick, white. Antennse passing around the bent knees (femero-tibial joints) of the first and second pairs of legs, the end scarcely going beyond the middle of the body. Elytra with five or six rather deep, longitudinal creases. The salient points of the body armed with piliferous warts. Abdominal tip square at the end, with a stout, black spine projecting from each side. Length, 6™°^* [0.24 inch]. The following descriptive notes were made by me of living examples of the larvae, on July 25, when nearly grown : Black, fuscous in the incisures, and beneath. Head small, shining, about one-half as broad as the adjoining segment, with some brown hairs. First segment with a glossy black plate (collar) and bordered anteriorly with a few short hairs ; abdominal segments, as seen from abovei, showing two transverse rows divided by a deep con- striction, of six setiferous tubercles — two small ones on each side, the two mesial ones on the front of the segment contiguous or subconnected, forming an elongated spot, and the two posterior ones connected in a shorter sjiot ; in addition to these is a broad stigmatal tubercle which projects so as to give an angulated form to the segment at this point. Beneath, on each abdominal segment anteriorly, is a rough- ened ellipsoidal mesial sjDot, and two smaller ones behind (the creep- ing tubercles of the Packard description), distant from one another about the length of the front spot, each with two short whitish setse. Legs long, shining black ; a single terminal proleg. The abdomen tapers uniformly at each extremity. The excrementa are scraj^-like or thread-like, instead of rounded as in many Coleoptera. Length of larvae nearly one-half of an inch. Its Recent Occurrence at Lake Pleasant, N. Y. When at Lake Pleasant, in Hamilton county, N. Y., almost as soon as my interest in insects became known, it was asked if I had noticed a strange attack on the alders, which had never been observed before, Report of the State Entomologist. 99 causing them to look as if a fire had swept over them ; and a locality was mentioned where it could be seen. Visiting" the place indicated, near the inlet of Lake Pleasant, on July sixteenth, immense numbers of the dark brown shining larvaj of Haltica himarginata were found on the outskirts of the infested area of alders, rapidly eating away all the green material of the leaves — feeding from both the upper and lower sides, to the number, often, of twelve or more on a single leaf. The area over which the devastating scourge had passed, presented a strange appearance with its com- pletely skeletonized foliage — only here and there an overlooked bit of green leaf being visible on some of the branches near the ground. A closer examination showed beautiful and almost perfect skeletoniza- tion of unbroken ribs and branching veins and interconnecting reti- cular structure, giving almost as attractive specimens for the cabinet as if they had been prepared by hand for ornament or study. A large number of the larvae were collected and placed in alcohol, while others were confined in a box, and furnished with leaves for food. They appeared at this time to be about full-grown. Although supplied frequently with fresh leaves of which they partook, they showed scarcely any increase of size, and, much to my surprise, uj? to the time of my leaving Lake Pleasant — August fifth — none had entered upon their pupal stage. The Larvae Destroyed by a Fungus. The day prior to my departure I visited an infested locality near Kouud Lake, for the purpose of finding, if possible, the pupae and its hidden place of pupation. The period of active larval opera- tions had passed, for only one example of the larva could be found still feeding. In that portion of the alder clump where the attack had centered, every leaf had been skeletonized, and ajDparently more than half of the destroyed foliage had fallen to the ground where it had formed a matted mass of the thickness of an inch or more. In turning over the leaves in search of pupse, and also on the exposed surface of the debris, many larval remains were noticed showing a fungus attack. The fungus had pervaded the entire larva, cover- ing its surface and enlarging its diameter with a solid white matter, giving to the distorted object much the appearance of the excrementa of some of the smaller birds. The fungus, from collections made, was identified by the State Bot- anist, Prof. C. H. Peck, as identical with one that we had in comjDany obsei'ved in driving from Elizabethtown, N. T., to Keene Valley, on August 1, 1877. Very large numbers of dead larvae were found at 300 Forty-first Report on the State Museum. that time, ou dead leaves, and ou, aud under, small stones on tlie ground beneath alders skirting the roadside that had been skeleton- ized in the same manner and to the same extent as has been described. The insect was not then determined, but as now recalled, there can be no doubt but that it was Haltica himarginata, operating even more severely and over a more extended territorj' than as observed the present year. The fungus was described by the State Botanist as a new species, in the 32c? Report on the N. Y. State Museum of Natural History, 1879, page 44, under the name of Sporoti'ichum larvatum. The Pupae and their Pupation. None of the pupse could be found in the alder clump under or among the fallen material, or beneath the stones, or in the ground; but on passing to some large bowlders three or four rods distant, and lifting a thin coating of moss that had accumulated on their top, a few of the pupse were discovered beneath. On further searching, their regular habitat was disclosed, in the mossy and black vegetable mold margining a large rock partly imbedded in the soil. Hundreds of the pupae were here brought to light, lying loosely in the mold, without the slightest indication of a cocoon or even a cell, at the depth of about an inch from the surface, and for the most part, about the same distance from the rock. Associated with them were a few of the larvae which had not yet undergone their change, and also two specimens of the newly transformed beetle. Larvae, pupae, and imagines, thus associated, gave evidence of an unusually short joeriod of pupation. Dr. Packard {loc. cit.) has described the pupa as white. The descrip- tion may have been drawn from alcoholic specimens, or from an example that had just undergone its pupation, for of the large number collected by me at this time from their bed of vegetable soil, and on the point of disclosing the imago, all were conspicuously yellow. Pupae were jDlaced in mold and taken to Albany, where they gave out the beetles from Au^-ust tenth to seventeenth. From the larval collections made, as before mentioned, hardly any progressed to the pupal state, but died at intervals, after ceasing to feed. Is it an European Species ? It is probable that Haltica himarginata of Say — the H. alni of Harris, may prove to be identical with the H. alni Fabr., of Europe. In the Museum of Comparative Zoology, at Cambridge, Mass., are examples of the last named insect, in the pupa and imago, which seemed to me (without H. bimarginata at hand for comparison) to be the same as our Report of the State Entomologist. 101 form. The skeletonizing of the leaves of the alder by the European insect, of which there are also specimens in the Museum in connection with the insects, was aj)parently, the same as ours. Has it been Confounded with Haltica chalybea ? Prof. Riley states (in American Entomologist, ii, 1870, pp. 327-8, and in the same article reproduced in the 3d Missouri Report, pp. 80-81) that the g•ra]^evine ilea-beetle, Haltica chalybea 111., " habitually feeds on the alder (Alnu!< serrulafa), as well as on the wild and cultivated grai^evine," and that it is " apt to be most troublesome where alder abounds in the woods." Is alder a common food-plant of this species, or has the larva of H. Imnarginata been mistaken for it ? The two larvse resemble one another so closely, that were the figure of H. chalybea, given on p. 96, more elongated in proportion to its breadth, it would be an excellent representation, in position and proportionate size of tubercles and in other features, of ff. btmarginata. This resemblance is not traceable in the figure of the larva given in the Third Missouri Report. Remedies. The alder upon which the operations of the beetle have thus far been observed — Alniis serrulata, is a very common road-side and field shrub of extensive distribution, and is seldom regarded as of any special value. If from its introduction in clumps in landscape gar- dening or from employment as hedges, some degree of value may have been given it, attack upon it may readily be checked by spraying the foliage at the commencement of the injury with any of the arsen- ical poisons or with pyrethrum water. Crepidodera rufipes (Linn.). The Bed-footed Flea-Beetle. (Ord. Coleoptera: Fam. CnRYsoMELiDiE.) Clirysomela rufipes Linn^us: Syst. Nat., ii, 1767, p. 59-5, No. 65. Altica rufipes Fabr. : Syst. Ent., 1775, p. 114, No. 14; Sp. Ins., i, 1781, p. 135, No. 108; Mant. Ins., i, 1787, p. 77, No. 140. Crepidodera erxjthropus Melsheimer: in Proc. Acad. Nat. Sci. Phil., iii, 1847, p. 165. Crepidodera rufipes Crotch : in Proc. Acad. Nat. Sci. Phil, [xxiv], 1873, p. 71. Crepidodera rufipes Henshaw : List Coleop. N. Amer., 1885, p. 112, No. 6979. An Apple-tree Pest. This little beetle, belonging to the group of flea-beetles, which embraces those that by means of their stout hind legs, are able to leap to a considerable distance, is a member of the destructive family of Ghrysomelidce, or leaf-eaters. 102 Forty-first Report on the State Museuil It measures one-tenth of an incli in length, and is of an oblong ovate form. It is shining, with the head, antennae, thorax and legs, red; the wing-covers are blue, and punctate in lines; the breast and abdomen are black. Its range is given as Middle and Southern States. No differences are apparent between it and the European form. Examples of the beetle have been sent to me from Coleman's Falls, Va., by Mr. George E. Murrell, where it seems to have developed a habit hitherto unrecorded of it, in feeding upon the buds of apple trees. Mr. Murrell detected its operations during the latter part of May. He has written as follows of it: Its Injuries to Apple Buds. The beetles appeared upon my apple trees as the buds began to swell, and beginning with the topmost ones they gradually worked downward, leaving behind them holes that penetrated to the heart of the scion, and having the apj)earance of being gouged out with a chisel or burned out with a hot wire. The twigs of my bearing orchard were attacked in this manner, and of 650 young trees set out this spring very few escajDed; but beyond a loss of symmetry and a foot or two of wood in some cases, they do not now show any serious effects from the attack. In the same field with the young trees just men- tioned were several thousand of one year old, set out at the same time, but in nursery rows; but although of the same varieties of, and interspersed with, the injured ones, they entirely escaped injury. I did not observe how long the beetles remained, but noticed tliat they left during a heavy rain in the latter part of May. I have not heard of the insect in other orchards in my vicinity. My orchards are in narrow mountain valleys inclosed by woods. Injuries to Leaves by C. Helxines. This, we believe, is the first time that Crepidodera rufipes has been reported as injurious to apple trees, although one of its congeners, resembling it in appearance, G. Helxines (Linn.), has been detected by Professor Forbes, State Entomologist of Illinois, in riddling the leaves of apple trees near Normal, 111. (14th i^epif. Insects of Illinois, 1885, p. 98). As the last named species — a common and wide- spread insect both in this country and in Eiirope — commonly occurs on willows, but is also found not unfrequently on the Lombardy pop- lar and Balm of Gilead {Populus dilatata and P. halsamifera), it is to be hoiked that neither of the above-named beetles will acquire the habit of feeding on the apple tree, so as to become one of its regular pests. Another Bud-eating Chrysomelid. This bud-eating projDensity, has recently been displayed by another member of the same sub-tribe of Halticini to which Crepidodera per- tains, which, unfortunately, is one of the most common and broadly Report of the State Entomologist. • 103 distributed of our leaf pests — the well-known striped cucumber beetle, Diabrotica vittata (Fabr.). The pear croj), in portions of Cali- fornia, has suffered severely from its attack, during the spring of 1887. In one locality (Byron) the trees, as reported, swarmed with the beetles, which commenced upon the buds and continued on the blossoms, eating off the bloom, and frequently penetrating into the calyx. The fruit ceased to grow and dropped to the ground. The pear crop was an entire failure, such as had never been known in the locality before. Quinces were also attacked, but not with fatal results. The same beetle also destroyed the almond crop. Later, they attacked the apple trees, but were driven away by bees. {Pacific Rural Press, June 11, 1887, xxxiii, p. 527.) The cucumber beetle had for a long time been known to feed on the blossoms of the apple and other fruit trees, but had not been previously observed in eating into the buds. Remedies. In the event of C. rufipes developing a propensity for feeding on the buds of the apple, the minute beetles could be poisoned by spray- ing with Paris green in water — a rather stronger mixture than that used against the codling-moth — at least one pound to 100 gallons of water. Sj^raying with a strong solution of whale oil soap or tobacco, should render the buds distasteful to it, and it would also sei've the purpose of protecting from the apple tree aphis which makes its attack at the time of the putting forth of the buds, and can be more effectively reached at this period than later when the leaves have expanded. Scolytus rugulosus (Eatzeburg). The Wrinkled Scolytus. (Ord. CoLEOPTERA : Fam. Scolytid^e.) Ratz. : Forstinsecten, 18:57, i, p. 187, pi. 10, fig. 10, pi. 11, fig. -i; ib. edit. 2, 1839, p. 230 (as Eccoptogaster 7-ugulosns Koch). LeConte: in Proc. Amer. Philos. Soc, xvii, 1878, p. 62C (introduc. in U. S.). Eiley: in Amer. Entoraol., iii, 1880, p. 298 (distribution, etc.). Penhallow: in Houghton Farm — Diseases of Plants, Series iii, No. 2, 1882, p. 38 ; ib. No. 3, 1883, p. 63 (operations on peach). Hagen: in Canad. Entomol., xvi, 1884, p. 162 (literature, habits, etc.). Henshaw : List Coleop. N. Amer., 1885, p. 149, No. 9153. Hamilton : in Canad. Entomol., xvii, 1885, p. 48 (variation in color). Lintnek: in Count. Gent., 1, 1885, \). 575 (in cherry, peach and plum); in New Eng. Homestead, Sept. 25, 1886. Atkinson : in Journ. Elisha Mitchell Scientific Soc. for 1885-'6, pp. 74, 75. 104 Forty-first Report on the State Museum. Scudder: in Canad. Entomol., xviii, 1886, pp. 195-6 (its galleries). Smith: in Entomolog. Amer., ii, 1886, p. 127 (food-plants). Bedel: in Ann. Soc. Ent. France — Faune Coleop. Bass. Seine, vi, 1888, p. 406 (literature and European distribution). ScHWARz: in Proc. Ent. Soc. Wash., ii, 1888, p. 30 (hickory .species of Hamilton different). A Fruit Tree Bark-borer. This destructive bark-boring beetle, whicli, since its introduction in this country a few years ago, has made fatal attack on our three princij^al stone fruit trees, has recently, in accordance with its known European habit, extended its range of operations to apple trees, of which, judging from pieces of the infested wood received from Mr. C. H. Hedges, of Charlottesville, Va., it has already become a serious pest. This is the first instance, it is believed, that its occuri^ence in apple trees has been recognized in the United States. From some pieces of apple twigs and branches, and perhaj^s trunk sections of young trees sent to me in the early winter, about a hun- dred examples of the beetle were given out during late winter and early spring. They were taken at intervals from the box containing the wood, as follows: On February 23, 1887, 5 examples; on Feb. 25, 13 examp.; on March 3, 16; March 7, 22; March 22, 32; April 4, 10; and on Ajiril 23, 1, and the last — 99 in all. The Larval Burrows, Removal of the bark from portions of the apple-tree received, showed the sapwood to be furrowed over most of its surface by the burrows of the beetle, some- times joining or overlapping so that they could not be sepai-ately traced. "When occurring in the smaller trunks they had apparently commenced in the branches and had extended downward, very gradually increasing in width — - at their widest part at the entrance to the hole sunk in the wood for j)upation, measuring one-twentieth of an inch. The extent of the longest burrows observed, was apparently two inches; they were so interconnected that no positive measurement could be made. Their general direction was perpendicular to the trunk, but in some instances, for short dis- tances, they ran in a transverse or oblique direction. Figure 41, is from a section of a Fig. 41 — Buriowsot ScoLi- " • i <■ tvt Tus KUGULosus, beneath the trunk of a young tree received from Mr. back of a young apple-tree. Hedges as above stated. JReport of the State Entomologist. 105 A section of a cherry tree before me, of two inches diameter, shows still greater destruction of the surface of the sapwood. The bur- rows are so close that they can not be separated. In a space of one square inch, thirty-two holes made for pupation can be counted. I have not been able in the specimens of infested wood received, to make out the " mating chamber " of the beetles, or as termed by some writers, " the cradle." They were probably in the lateral branches which had been removed. Dr. Hagen states that " the cradle is i^erpendicular in most cases except where it begins just below the base of a bud, and is about an inch long." He further adds of the burrows: " The galleries are [sic.] to four inches long, and rather deeply injuring the sapwood. The holes for the pupa go deeply, to 4 mm. in the wood " {loc. cit). Mr. Scudder, in referring to a mine of an European example of rugulosus on cherry, in the Museum of Comparative Zoology at Cambridge, Mass., states: "The larval mines emerge and diverge from one point of the mating chamber. The main galleries [cradles] are reduced to almost nothing, and the normal mine of this species, as figured by Ratzeburg, shows nothing of the kind " {loc. cit). Strongly Attacked by Parasites. Fortunately, the beetle has been met by a strong j)arasitic attack, which it is hoped will not permit of a great increase of its injuries. From *S'. rugulosus infested wood sent from Virginia on the twenty- third of December, examples of a chalcid emerged two days after its reception, fi-om which it would seem that others may have been dis- closed at an earlier date. These were sent to the Division of Ento- mology at Washington for identification, where they were referred to the Pteromalid genus Raphitelus, of uncertain sj^ecies, but probably maculatus — - identical with some that had been bred at the Depart- ment from the same insect infesting other fruit trees in Ohio and North Carolina. Later — in January and February — another species of chalcid appeared, characterized by two subquadrate spots on the fore-wing, which Mr. Howard kindly identified as Chiroj^achys colon (Linn.). A third species, obtained more numerously than either of the two preced- ing, was referable, according to Mr. Howard, to the genus Eurytoma — species not ascertained. Its Injuries to Cherry, Plum, and Peach Trees. Frequent complaints have been made within the last few years of the injuries of Scolytus rugtdosus to cherry, plum, and peach trees. 29 106 Forty-first Report on tee State Museum. A correspondent from Philadelpliia, Pa., has well described its opera- tions in the following note : A beetle about one-eighth of an inch long, scarcely thick enough to stick a pin through, divided in the middle into two sections [it has an unusuaV.y long thorax comjDared with the length of its abdomen], has killed chei'ry and peach trees on my place, and now two plum trees, that I had moved last autumn into the chicken-yard to get rid of the curculio, have been destroyed by them. They puncture the trunk and limbs through to the hard wood, here and there, with a bore about the size of a small pin's head. From these wounds the saps exudes and the trees die. Quite large trees are killed by them. Another correspondent, from near Annapolis, Md., has written of the insect injuries as follows: I find that they are more abundant than I at first supposed; attack- ing cherry, plum, ajiple, and peach. I was going through a peach orchard about two miles distant from my place, where I found that they had killed about a dozen trees and as many more were in a dying condition. I noticed a fine chei'ry tree failing — leaves beginning to turn yellow and withering, and upon a close examination, I found gum running down the bark in great quantities from the tunnels of these borers. If they increase in numbers as Colorado beetles and many other pests, they will prove the worst enemies that the fruit- growers have to contend with. G. W. D. Its Introduction and Spread in the United States. The beetle has probably been brought from Europe within the past fifteen years. It was first discovered at Elmira, N. Y., in an attack upon peach trees, according to Dr. LeConte, who has written of it in 1878 (toe, cli. sitp.), as follows: "This is a s'uitable opportunity to notice the introduction of this Eurojoean species into the United States. I have received specimens from Elmira, N. Y., where it attacks peach trees. According to Ratzeburg, it is rare in Germany, but is found upon plum and apple trees." In 1880, it was reported from Fair Haven, N. J., as destroying all the cherry, peach, and plum trees that had been set out in a particular lot, by boring innumerable holes through the bark, which filled with gum — the death of the trees soon following. A similar attack on cherry trees was reported from Coopersburg, Pa. It had been previously known to infest peach trees in localities as remote as Missouri and Maryland. In 1882, Dr. Hagen found this beetle inhabiting densely large branches of young pear trees that were killed by pear-blight. Although a coccid insect was associated with the beetle it was thought that the branches had been killed by the scolytus and not by the coccid, or by bacteria, believed by some to be the cause of j)^^i'"^li8'l^t. In 1885, Mr. John Hamilton, of Allegheny, Pa., announced his Report of the State Entomologist. 107 breeding of the insect from hickory twigs {loc. cit). The color of these differed from the ordinary forms. Mr. Scharwz pronounces these examj^les not rugulosus, but probably an undescribed species, to which he has given provisionally, the MS. name of S. icorice. Preventive Measures. No way is known by which a tree once attacked in force by this insect, can be saved. The female lays a large number of eggs in its burrow under the bark, and there are probably two broods a year. The best means of diminishing its numbers and preventing its spread is to take up and burn the infested trees. Where there is danger of attack from the existence of the insect in the vicinity, it may, joerhaps, be prevented by api^h^ing to the trunk and principal branches of the trees, the wash of carbolic acid and soap which is frequently used, with beneficial results, as a preventive of the apple-tree borer, Saperda Candida, and the lepidopterous peach-tree borer, JEgeria exitiosa ; or, as may be still better, the carbolic wash prepared as stated in my 2d Report, p. 24. For directions for preparing the first-named wash, see page 26 of same Report. Corythuca ciliata (Say). TJie Ciliated Tingis. (Ord. Hemiptera: Subord. Heteeopteea: Fam. TiNoixiDiic.) Tliigis ciliata Say: Descr. N. Sp. Heterop. Hemipt. N. A., 1831 ; in Trans. N. Y. St. Agricul. Soc. for 1857, xvii, 1858, p. 793; Compl. Writ. Say, i, 1883, p. 349. —Walsh: in Pract. Entomol., ii, 1867, p. 47.— Glover: MS. Notes Journ. — Hemipt., 1876, p. 71 (citation), pi. 8, fig. 4 (T. hyalina). Tingikhyalina Herr.-Sch. — "Fieber, 103, pi. 9, fig. 1." — Packard: Guide Stud. Ins., 1869, p. 552 (on willows). Corythuca ciliata Uhler: in Cassino's Stand. Nat. Hist., 1884, ii, p. 285; Check-List Hemipt. Heterop. N. A., 1886, p. 22, No. 1053. Examples of this insect were communicated to me, by Prof. D. S. Martin, of New York city, under date of August eleventh, which had been taken feeding, in their larval, jDupal, and perfect stages, on the leaves of the button-wood, or sycamore, Platanus occidentalis'. It is quite a common species which has broad distribution over the United States. It was first described by Say in his " Descrij)tions of New Species of Heteropterous Hemiptera of North America," printed (or in part) in 1831. His description is as follows: Say's Description of the Species. Whitish, reticulate with nervures on which are short spines; widely margined; color whitish; thorax with an inflated. carina before, extend- ing over the head; sides dilated, bullate, a little elevated, lateral and 108 FORTT-FIRST REPORT ON THE 8 TATE MVSEUM. anterior margins ciliate with short spines : scutel with the lateral mar- gin elevated and an acute, highly elevated carina on the middle: hemelyira dilated, with an inflated carina before the middle of each, on which is a brown spot; edge ciliate with short spines, excepting the posterior third and tip, which are unarmed, rectilinear; beneath piceous-black: feet pale yellowish. Length to tip of hemelytra, three-twentieths of an inch. The larva is spinous, fuscous, with a large yellowish spot each side of the middle, and before the middle a broad yellowish vitta. The species is very common. Hibernation of the Insect. But little appears to be known of the natural history of this Hemip- teran. One interesting fact therein is, the hibernation of the mature insect under the bark of trees on which it feeds. This appears from examples that were sent to Mr. Walsh for name, from Mr. J. Pettit, C. W., which had been found " in great numbers under the bark of button-wood in the winter " (Walsh, loc. ciL). Compared with C. arcuata. As closely resembling G. ciliata, a figure is herewith given (Figure 42) in illustration, of another com- mon species, Corythuca arcuata of Say, which differs from the former in its brown bands and the arquated exterior of the hemeJytra. In Figure 43, its eggs are represented on a bit of leaf. They bear so little resemblance to the eggs of insects generally, that their nature would hardly Fig. 43.- Eggs and ■'an immature indi- be suspected. In the same figure, viduaiof Cobythuca an immature form of the insect is shown. They are aecuata. not at all uncommon on the under side of the leaves of various species of oaks. The illustrations are from Professor Comstock's Report to the Department of Agriculture for 1879, in which an account of this " hawthorn Tingis," so designated from the food-plant on which it occurred, is given. From differences that it shows with typical forms of G. arcuata, Mr. Uhler regards it as a variety of that species. For a figure, habits, description, etc., of the more general form, see Cassino's " Standard Natural History," ii, p. 285, fig. 327. Dr. Fitch (3d Report, 1859, p. 148) has described G. juglandis, occur- ring on the leaves of the butternut, and differing only in its rectilinear form and spineless veins from G. arcuata. Later {Gount. G^enf.,Feb. 14, 1861, p. 114), he has accepted it as probably a mere variety of arcuata. Fig. i%— Cobythuca ABcuATA, from oaks. Report of tee State Entomologist. 109 Another Allied Species. Another form, having much the general apj)earance of G. arcuata, but with a more elevated thorax, was taken by me abundantly, in all stages of development, on the leaves of the chestnut, Castanea Ameri- cana, at Palenville, N. Y., in August of 1884. Mr. Uhler having seen examj^les of it, has given it the manuscript name of Corythuca poly- grapha, while entertaining some doubt of its specific distinctness, from " not yet having had all the links to attach it to the nearly related species." In the vicinity of Baltimore it occurs on oaks. Injuries of Corythuca. These harmless-looking insects which Dr. Fitch has compared to " a flake of white froth," are capable of severe injury to the vegetation that they infest. They live on the sap of different plants and trees. According to Glover, one species closely related to C. arcuata, has been found on the quince trees in Mississippi and Florida, where the bushes were entirely covered with them, in all the stages of larvae, puppe, and j)erfect insects. Some trees were greatly injured if not entirely destroyed by them. They are said to be able to sting severely when handled {Report Commis. Agriculture for 1875, p. 126, fig. 36). Melanolestes picipes (Herrich-Schseffer). The Black Corsair. (Ord. Hemiptera : Sub or d. Heteroptera : Fam. Keduviid^.) Pirates picipes Her.-Sch. : Wanz. Ins., viii, 1848, p. 62, fig. 831. Pirates picipes. Walsh : in Pract. Entomol., ii, 1867, p. 108. — Wlsh.-Eil. : in Amer. Entomol., i, 1868, p. 87; id., ii, 1870, p. 309. Pirates picipes. Packard: Guide Stud. Ins., 1869, p. 541, fig. 545. Melanolestes picipes Stal: Enum. Hemipt., ii, 1872, p. 107, 3. Melanolestes picipes. Uhler: in Bull. G.-G. Surv. Terr., i, 1876, p. 330; List Hemip. West Miss. Kiv., 1876, p. 64; in Cass. Stand. Nat. Hist., ii, 1884, p. 281; Oh.-List Hemip. Heterop. N. A., 1886, p. 25, No. 1236. Melanolestes picipes. Glover : in Eept. Commis. Agricul. for 1875, p. 130, fig. 42; MS. Notes Journ.— Hemipt., 1876, p. 47, pi. ix, fig. 1. Melanolestes picipes. Lintner: in Count. Gent., xlix, 1884, p. 877. Beduvius pungens LeConte; in Proc. Acad. Nat. Sci. Ph., Sept. 1885, p. 404. Melanolestes picipes. Provancher: Faun.Ent. Can.— Hemipt., 1887, p. 183. A Stinging Plant-Bug. A correspondent from Natchez, Miss., has sent the following communication, narrating an occasional demonstration of a species of plant-bug, which has an extensive distribution throughout the United 110 Forty-first Report on the State Museum. States. The possibility of injury from it sliould therefore be gen- erally known: I send a specimen of a fly not known to us here. A few days ago it punctured the finger of my wife, inflicting a painful sting. The swelling was rajiid, and for several days the wound was quite annoy- ing. You will observe the peculiar proboscis with which it was made. Will you be good enough to tell me something of the insect. Its General Appearance. The insect received was one of the bugs (order of Hemiptera), of about the size (0.65 in.) and general appearance of the " squash-bug," having a formidable jointed beak bent beneath its head and thorax, with which the wound, as above mentioned, was inflicted. Its body is black, some- times with a reddish hue on the back and legs. Its anterior femora (thighs) are swollen, and the tibise (shanks) terminate in a spongy cushion. Its scientific name is 'Pig. ii.— ThQ Melanolestes picipes (Her.-Sch.). An outline figure of it is Melanolestes Si"^6n in Packard's Guide to the Study of Insects, 1869, p. PICIPES. (After 541, under the name of Pirates picipes, by which it was over.) formerly known, and from which a common name of "the Black Corsair " has been devised for it. Its representation in Figure 44, in natural size, is from Glover's Manuscript Notes from my Jour- nal— Hemiptera. Its Geographical Distribution. According to TJhler, it is broadly distributed throughout the United States, inhabiting California, Texas, Indian Territory, and the Atlantic region from Maine to Florida and Louisiana, and Para, Brazil. L'abbe Provancher includes it in the fauna of Canada as a rare insect. Mr. Walsh has mentioned it as common in the Western States, under stones and prostrate logs, where it feeds u]3on various subter- ranean insects {American Entomologist). What is Written of its Stinging Powers. A broken and mutilated specimen submitted to Mr. Walsh for name, taken from under a mattress in Kentucky, gorged with human blood, was thought to be this species, which was known, with its sharp and poisonous beak, to pierce and suck the blood of human beings. Glover states of it that it is capable of inflicting a severe sting with its beak, and lives on other insects. Dr. LeConte has written of it as follows: " This sjoecies is remarkable for the intense pain caused by its bite. I do not know if it ever willingly plunges its rostrum into any person, but when caught or unskillfully handled, it always stings. In this case, the pain is almost equal to that of the bite of a snake, Report of tee State Entomologist. Ill and the swelling and irritation whicli result from it, will sometimes last a week. In very weak and irritaT)le constitutions it may even prove fatal " {Proc. Acad. Nat. Sci. Fhila., for Sept., 1885, p. 404). In consideration of its severe sting. Dr. LeConte, believing it to be an undescribed species, gave it the appropriate name of ReAuviui^ pungem. The following is his description of the species : Reduvius ptjngexs. Black, shining, wings opaque. Head a little hairy, antenna3 yellowish-brown, slightly hairy, first joint shorter than the head, second, fourth and fifth much longer, sub-equal, third very small. Thorax slightly margined, strongly constricted in the middle, the anterior portion rounded and longitudinally sulcate, the posterior portion transverse. First pair of legs hairy on the under side, as are the thighs also of the second pair, but the tibise and tarsi of the hinder legs all over. Length 0.8 of an inch. Stinging by others of the Reduviidae. There are several other sj)ecies of the family Eedumidae which have similar habits to the above. Although usually predaceous upon other insects, and not voluntarily, except with a few exceptions or in rare instances, attacking man, yet it is by no means safe to handle them incautiously. Under the excitement of restraint, they would not hesitate to use their powerful beak as a weapon of defense, burying it deeply in the flesh, and at the same time injecting a drop of a poisonous secretion which materially adds to the pain of the wound inflicted. Melanolestes abdominalis (Her.-Sch.) — a congener of M. pirates, is said by Glover, if handled roughly, to be caj)able of inflicting a severe wound. Its ordinary habitat is beneath dead ^ logs, moss, and decaying vegetable material, where it lies in wait for other insects, seizing them with its strong fore-legs and sucking their juices. Figure 45, after Glover, represents the general appearance of the in- sect. Its general color is red, with the tip of its body black. Stal and some other authors have regarded it ^^ — me- as identical with M. pirates, from the general resem- lanolestes ab- blance of the two forms and their often occiirring in doiviinalis. (Af- ter Glover.) company under the same stone. Mr. Uhler [loc. cit.), however, does not deem the evidence sufficient for uniting them as one species. Of Conorhinus sanguisugus LeConte (shown in Figure 46), which has been styled the " big bed-bug," and by translation of its scientific name, the "blood-sucking cone-nose," it is narrated that a gentle- man in Alton, 111., was once bitten by it in three places in his arm, and the inflammation that resulted was so severe that the use of the 112 Forty-first Report on the State Museum. Fig. 46.— Conoehinus sanguisugus; imago arm was lost for three days {American Entomologist, i, p. 88). Dr. LeConte adds to his description of it: " This insect inflicts a most jDain- ful wound. It is remarkable, also, for sucking the blood of mammals, particularly of children. I have known its bite to be followed by very serious consequences, the patient not recovering for nearly a year " {Proc. Acad. Nat. Set Phila., 1855, p. 404). Mr. Uhler has described the insect as a very showy species, of a pitch-brown or black color, with red patches on the sides of the prothorax, spots of the same [f*\^ color at the base and apex of the wing-covers, and bands on the sides of the abdomen. It is rather bald, most of the sur- and pupa. face is somewhat wrinkled or rough, and the end of the scutellum is long and sharp-pointed. It measures more than three-fourths of an inch in length, but specimens sometimes occur which are dwarfed to about half an inch. {Standard Natural History, ii, p. 280.) Pirates biguttatus (Say), as it has long been known, but in the recent list of Mr. Uhler has been referred to the genus Easahus Am}' ot-Serville (from the He- brew, meaning a " villain ") — is also capable of inflicting a j^^\. severe sting, but will seldom do so except from j^rovoca- cc ^ '5 c tion, as the surroundings Fig. 47.— o, PiKATEs biguttatus ; h, Keduvius under which it is usually PEEsoNATus; c, its pupa. iovLuA indicates the bed-bug as its principal prey. It evidentlj^ delights in human blood, but prefers taking it at second-hajid. Under the generic name of Pirates it has been commonly known as " the two-spotted corsair," from the two large and conspicuous spots on its elytra. It is shown in Figure 47. Reduvius personatus (Linn.), — recently referred by Mr. Uhler to the genus Opsicoetus Klug — shown also in Figure 47, is a common insect often found hanging in sj)ider-webs in dwellings. It also is credited with a special fondness for bed-bugs which it hunts and catches adroitly, while in its larval stage, under the disguise of a covering of dust and dirt completely investing it, as shown at c in the figure, and adher- ing to it by a glutinous secretion. The wounds which it has been known to inflict in its perfect stage with its beak, are said to be very Report of the State Entomologist. 113 painful, more so than those of a bee, and to be followed by numbness. Its color is black or dark brown. Its thorax in front is granular or marked transversely with fine stripe. The antennse are brown and hairy. The eyes are quite large and almost join below. Legs the color of the body, Under side of the body, hairy. Of Pnonotus cristatus (Linn.), the "nine-pronged wheel-bug," or the Fig. i8.— The nine-pronged wheel-bug, Pkionotus ckistatus, in its young and mature forms; also, its hexagonal egg-mass, eggs enlarged to show their flask-shape, and an egg giving out the larva. "devil's horse," illustrated in figure 48, Glover states that it is very apt to sting if not handled with great care, and that the poison fluid ejected when the wound is inflicted is extremely painful. Having been stung by one of them, " the pain lasted for several hours, and was only alleviated by applications of ammonia. Several days afterwards, the flesh immediately surrounding the puncture was so poisoned that it sloughed off, leaving a small hole in the thumb injured" MS. Notes Journ.—Hemiptera, 1876, p. 61-2). Sirthenea carinata (Fabr.), — of a black ground color, with a long red spot at the base of each wing-cover, the sides of the abdomen also marked with red, and the legs honey-yellow — is also charged with the infliction, at times, of painful wounds, but the authority for the statement can not be found at the joresent writing. 30 114 FORTT-FIRST REPORT ON THE StATE MuSEUM. Dr. LeConte has exj)ressed tlie ojDinion that the many relations which we have of spider bites frequentl}^ proving- fatal, have no dovibt arisen from the sting of these insects or others of the same genera. Among the many United States species of Araneidce, he had never seen one capable of inflicting the slightest wound. Ignorant persons might easily mistake one of the Eeduviidce for a sj^ider. A physician had sent to him a fragment of a large ant, suj^posing it to be a spider that came out of his grandchild's head. It would apjDear from the foregoing, that a certain degree of cau- tion should always be exercised in the handling of any of the Reduviidce, as the structural peculiarities which render them so for- midable to many of the insect world, and so admirably adapted to preying upon them, may readily be directed, under the slightest provocation, to the serious annoyance and injury of man. Mytilaspis pomorum (Bouche). The Ajyjjle-tree Bark-louse. (Ord. Hemiptera: Subord. Homoptera: Fam. Coccid^.) Aspidiotus conchiformis Gmel. [not of Gmel.] Curtis : in Gard. Chron., 1843, p. 735-G. Aspidiotus pomorum Bouche: in Ent. Zeit. Stett., xii, 1851, No. 1. Aspidiotus pomorum. Harris: Ins. N. Engl., 1852, p. 220; Ins. Inj. Veg., 1862, p. 252-3. Coccus pyr us -malus Kellicott : in Trans. Cleveland Acad. Sci. for 1854. Aspidiotus conchiformis Gmel. [not of Gmel.] Fitch : in Trans. N. Y. St. Agricul. Soc, xiii, 1854, pp. 735-742; 1st and 2d Repts. Ins. N. Y., 1856, pp. 31-38; 3d-5th Eepts. do., 1859, p. 13. Aspidiotus juglandis Fitch : 1st and 2d Repts. Ins. N. Y., 1856, p. 35 ; Trans. cit., p. 739. Aspidiotus conchiformis. Glover: in Eept. Comm. Pat. for 1860 p. 319; in Kept. Comm. Agricul. for 1867, p. 73 ; id. for 1870, p. 88-9, fig. 57 ; id. for 1876, p. 43, fig. 49. Aspidiotus conchiformis. Walsh: in Pract. EntomoL, ii, 1866, pp. 31, 47 ; 1st Ann. Kept. Ins. III., 1868, pp. 34-53 (nat. hist., habits, etc.). Aspidiotus conchiformis. Riley: in Pract. Entomol., ii, 1867, p. 81; 1st Eept. Ins. Mo., 1869, pp. 7-18, figs. 2, 3; in Amer. EntomoL, ii, 1870, p. 213, fig. 132. Aspidiotus conchiformis. Packard : Guide Stud. Ins., 1869, p. 529. Lepidosaphes conchiformis Shimer: in Trans. Amer. Ent. Soc, i, 1868, pp. 361-374 (habits, etc.). Mytilaspis pomorum Signoret: in Ann. Soc. Ent. Fr., 1870, p. 98. Mytilaspis pomorum. Le Baron : 1st Eept. Ins. HI., 1871, pp. 24-26, figs. Report of the State Entomologist. 115 Mytilaspis pomicorticis Eilet: 5th Eept. Ins. Mo., 1873, pp. 73-96, figs. 31-3-4 (extended general account); in Amer. EntomoL, iii, 1880, p. 107 (from Alabama); in Bull. 6, U. S. Ent. Comm., 1881, pp. 85,86 (description); in Scientif. Amei'., xlvi, 1882, p. 335, figs. ; in Eept. Comm. Agricul. for 1884, p. 353 (distrib. by birds). Aspidiotus conchiformis. Lintner: in Count. Gent., xlii, 1877, p. 69. Mytilaspis pomorum. Comstock: in Eept. Comm. Agricul. for 1880, pp. 325, 326, pi. 19, fig. 2 (descr. and food-plants); 2d Eept. Dept. Entomol.— Cornell Univ. Exper. Stat, 1883, pp. 118-121, pi. 2, figs. 5, 5a. Mytilaspis pomorum. Cook, M. : in Eept. Comm. Agricul. for 1881, p. 208 (resistance to insecticides). Mytilaspis pomorum. Saundees : Ins. Inj. Fruits, 1883, pp. 40-44, figs. 28-34 (nat. hist., remedies, etc.). Mytilaspis pomorum. Lintner: in Count. Gent., xlviii, 1883, p. 801.(on wil- lows) ; id. li, 1886, p. 469 ; id. Iii, 1887, p. 321. Mytilaspis pomorum. Hubb.\ed : Orange Insects, 1885, p. 15, figs. 1, 2 (show- ing growth of scale). Mytilaspis pomorum. Packard : Entomol. for Begin., 1888, p. 79 (mention). A Common and Pernicious Apple Tree Pest. The scales of this insect upon ai)ple tree bark were sent from Genesee county, N. T., with the statement of its recent introduction in that vicinity, and the request for information of its nature — how" it spreads* from tree to tree, whether the infested trees should be destroyed, or if it were possible to arrest the attack. The scales completely covered the piece of the branch that con- tained them. Similar examples had been received from time to time, for name and information, from diiJerent parts of the State of New York and other States, showing a quite general distribution of this pest of the apple tree — one of the most injurious of the large number that infests it. So common have they become in our orchards, and so destructive to the trees of w'hich they take possession, killing large numbers of them, that they should be known by all of our apple growers. Its Rapidity of Increase. When this scale has been allowed to propagate itself for a few successive years without effort made to destroy it, the individuals become crowded together upon the trunk, limbs, and twigs of the tree as thickly as they can place themselves — forcing one another out of position and frequently overlying, and continuing to add to their number so long as they are able to reach with their proboscis the bark and the sap beneath. A correspondent, writing from Newburgh, N. Y., thus describes the jDrogress of an attack : " Immediately after the fastening of the scale. 116 Forty- FIRST Report on the State Museum. the bark beneath becomes diseased, and is ultimately found dead through to the wood. The next season these depredations are repeated, but the new scales are attached between the old ones. On the third year, on trees which are made the special point of attack, the entire bark of the tree is so spotted by the minute dead spots that a general roughness of the bark is noticed, presenting an unhealthy and unsightly appearance in the orchard, and nothing is left to be done but the removal of the trees." Description of the Scale. The scales of the female, which are by far the most conspicuous and abundant, are about one-twelfth of an inch long, narrow, and pointed at the aj)ex, rounded at the other extremity and broadest centrally, and ordinarily somewhat curved. This j^articular form, so much like that of an oyster or mussel shell, was indicated in the specific name of conchiformis which it for a long time bore, and under which it was frequently written of in former years, in connection with its then generic reference of Aspidiotus, even so recently as during the Reports of Dr. Fitch. Its common name at that time was "the oyster-shell bark-louse" — now it is known as "the apj)le-tree bark-louse." Its color is brown, or ash-gray, nearly apj)roaching that of the bark, except at the apex, where it bears two of the cast-off coverings of the young insect, which are of a dull yellowish or horn color. The scale of the male is much smaller, nearly straight, and bears but a single molted skin on its apex. Of the Insect and. its Changes. These scales are not the insect or portions thereof, for the scale- insect may, in its earlier stages, be found beneath them, but are a thin pellicle which has been excreted by the insect for its covering and protection, and thrown out in successive layers, as may be seen under a magnifier, and built up by degrees, very much as is the shell of an oyster. The several changes that the insect undergoes, from the time of its hatching from the eggs beneath the scale, through its brief period of free and active life, followed by its attachment to the bark where it becomes permanently fixed, its subsequent moltings, the excretion of the scale and its steady growth until it attains its full size, and the mother has placed beneath it a hundred or more minute white eggs — all these form an exceedingly interesting narration, but it has been so often given that the reader who would know the details, is referred to the reports of Harris, Fitch, Walsh, Le Baron, Riley, and others, and the pages of many of our agricultural papers. Report of the State Entomologist. 1]_7 Although so much has been written of this common insect, yet there are portions of its history which demand further study, for example, the extent to which it is double-brooded. Is it Double -brooded in the State of New York P Prof. J. H. Comstock, in his Report on Scale Insects, contained in his Report of the Entomologist of the U. S. Department of Agriculture, for the year 1880, in writing of this insect, which he regards as the Mytilaspis pomoruvi of Bouche, states that "there is but a single gen- eration each year in the north, where the eggs hatch in the latter part of May, or early in June, and two generations in the south." All of our entomological writers upon the insect have united, I believe, in this oj^inion, with the excej^tion of Dr. Harris, who has given this as a summary of its life history: The eggs begin to hatch about the twenty-fifth of May, and finish about the tenth of June. ****** jj^ about ten days the young become stationary, and early in June throw out a quantity of bluish-white down, soon after which their transformations are comjileted, and the females become fertile, and deposit their eggs. These, it seems, are hatched in the course of the summer, and the young come to their growth and provide for a new brood before the ensuing winter. {Insects Injurious to Vegetation, 1862, p. 253.) Prof. Riley has had the insect reported to him as double-brooded in Wright county, in the southern j)art of Missouri, and has written further upon this subject, as follows: In Mississijipi I know that there are two generations each year, as I have received the second lu'ood hatching about the first of Septem- ber. Dr. Harris, years ago, asserted [?, see above, " it seems "] that there were, at least [?] two broods of this apple-tree bark-louse each 3'ear, and, though he was evidently in error, so far as his own par- ticular State (Massachusetts) was concerned, and has been severely berated for this statement by subsequent writers, yet it finally appears that his language is not so very wide of the mark. {Ffth Report on the Insects of Missouri, 1873, pp. 79-80.) Not having made special study of this insect at any time, it would not be jDroper to say that, as a rule, it has two generations a year in the State of New York, and that Dr. Harris was probably correct in his statement regarding it in Massachusetts; but it certainly is double-brooded in New York as far north as Albany in some seasons. The following is the evidence upon which this assertion is based: In a communication made by me to the Country Gentleman of Feb- ruary 1, 1877, I stated: " Some terminal twigs of a pear tree gi'owing in a garden in Albany, were recently brought to my notice, upon which the scales of A. conchiformis extended to the extreme tip of the new growth of the year. Accompanying these were some pears taken 118 Forty-first Report on the State Museum. from the same tree, having on them a number of the scales which had unquestionably been attached to them after the fruit had very nearly, if not entirely, attained its full size." Upon subsequently visiting the tree, in the garden of Dr. Wool- worth, at that time the Secretary of the Board of Regents of the University of the State of New York, it was found (as also others) badly infested with the scale, and the fruit upon it also infested to the extent of readily inviting attention to its condition. No minute was made of the date of this observation, but it was certainly not earlier than the month of September, and may have been in October. A stem taken from one of the pears, bearing a dozen or more of the scales, was placed in glycerine at the time, and is now in the State collection, subject to verification, if desired. It must be evident to all who know the habits and development of these insects, that scales found on the mature fruit can only be from a summer brood, and not from that which occurs at about the time of the blossoming of the fruit. Is Double-brooded in Canada. At the time of writing the above, I had no knowledge of the scale of this species having been observed on fruit, but the following notice of it has since been published, which shows a double brood for the insect even as far north as in Canada. The authority quoted is, of course, unquestionable. Mr. J. W. Douglass, of Lewisham, England, in a note dated May 12, 1888, upon Mytilaspis pomorum, states: Mr. James O'Brien has sent to me an apple, just imported from Tasmania, on which were a dozen of the scales of this Coccid, and he says he has seen some on apples from Australia. * * * j have seen the scales of this species on the fruit of apples grown in Britain, yet rarely, and also on American and Canadian fruit. {The Entomolo- gists' Monthly Magazine, xxv, 1888, p. 16.) Remedies. If a tree has become so infested with the bark-louse that it has extended entirely over it, even planting itself on the terminal twigs, there are but two ways to deal with it: either cut the tree down and burn it, or spray it thoroughly with some liquid that will penetrate the scales and kill the insect or the eggs beneath. This, a j)i"C)per kerosene oil emulsion, rightly applied, should do. It would better reach the scales when the tree is not in leaf, either in the spring or in the autumn; or if more convenient, it could be attended to in the winter. The oil will readily penetrate the scales and accomplish the desired purpose. Report of the State Entomologist, 119 If the tree is small, aud the scales not generallj^ distributed over it, tliey may be scraped off aud gathered upon a sheet spread under- neath, so that the eggs may all be destroyed instead of being left on the ground to hatch and allow the young to ascend the trunk. If the scales are confined to the trunk aud lower part of the main branches, aud a proper spraying apparatus is not accessible, the insects may be killed with a soft-soap solution, provided that it be used at the proi^er time. The time of all others when the insect is the most vulnerable is during the earh^ 2)eriod of its existence — for about a week after hatching from the qqq and previous to the time that it has attached itself to the bark and developed its scale-covering. This is usually late in May or the early part of June, and a number of observations have shown it to be contemporaneous with the opening of the apple blossoms. At this time, careful examination will show thousands of the young lice slowly moving over the bark and appearing to the naked eye as little white specks. They are so delicate at this tender age that the friction alone of a stiff brush would kill all the insects with which it came in contact. Prof. Cook, who has had large experience with this pest, has told the story of just how he has successfully fought it in the orchards of the Michigan State Agricultural College, at Lansing. The account he gives of his method is so decidedly practical that it merits a wide publicity : The old remedy, soft soap, or a strong solution of the same, will surely vanquish this enemy if it is applied in early June aud again three weeks later. I have proved the efficacy of this treatment over and over again. The trees at once put on new vigor, and in a short time only dead lice are to be found. To apply this specific, I know of no better way than to use a cloth and scrub by hand. To be sure, we can, if dainty, use a brush like a shoe-brush, but I like to go at it with a good cloth, when, with sleeves rolled up, I make pretty sure that no louse escapes. For the past few years I have added to the soap, crude carbolic acid, which I think improves it, especially if but one application is to be made. I heat to the boiling point one quart of soft soap to two gallons of water, aud while still hot, thoroughly stir in one ])int of crude carbolic acid. {Bulletin No. 14 of the Agricultural College of Michigan. In Saunders' Insects Injurious to Fruits, it is recommended that after every effort has been made to destroy the insect while in the scale, in order to complete the work, the hatching should be watched, and while the larvae are active, the twigs should be brushed with a strong solution of soft soap and washing soda, or syringed with a solution of 120 FoRTi'-FiRST Report on the State Museum. washing soda, made by dissolving lialf a pound or more in a pailful of water. Painting the twigs and branches with linseed oil has also been recommended and claimed to be harmless to the tree, and effectual for the destruction of the eggs beneath the scales ; but we would not commend a resort to this heroic method until experiment shall show the season and the condition of the tree when it may be employed without fear of a harmful result. Ptyelus lineatus (Linnaeus). The Lined Spittle-hopper. (Ord. Hemipteka: Subord. Homoptera.: Fam. Cercopid^.) Cicada lineata Linn. : Faun. Suec, 1761, p. 888 ; Syst. Nat., 1767, pt. 11, p. 709, No, 31. Cercopis lineata Fabr. : Spec. Ins., 11, 1781, p. 330, 8; Mant. Ins., 11,1787, p. 274, 13. Ptyelus lineatus Uhler: In Cassino's Stand. Nat. Hist., 11, 1881, p. 213. Ptyelus lineatus. Packard : Entomol. for Beglnn., 1888, p. 82, fig. 69. The Insect abounds on Grass. The pupse of this insect were sent, June twenty-first, from Mr. Brooks Strait, of West Stockholm, St. Lawrence Co., New York, with the statement that they were found on the grass of meadows and pastures, and that " this part of the county was filled with them." They were causing considerable anxiety, and many farmers desired to know the amount of harm that they would inflict, and what remedies, if any were needed, might be employed against them. Answer was made that it was a Hemipterous insect (order embrac- K-^^^s^ ing the bugs), of the family of Ger- /P^Z\ copidce, and that it belonged to the ""/C JX^ group of " sj^ittle-insects," in which [\\ \/ /VJl I the larvae and puj)fe living on the saj) of their food-plants, envelop and en- \ tirely conceal themselves within a V— / l\L (AwwAl iiiass of frothy material, sometimes raj t\ vi\\y///v /r called toad's spittle or frog spittle. The liquid is given out by the insect in quantity so large that portions of Fig. 49.- Spittle-insect, Ptyelus LiNEA- it break away from the mass from Tus; enlarged: a, larva enlarged; b, its .. ... -, -, , ,^ -, natural size on grass with froth-mass or ^ime to time, and drop to the ground. " spittle." The group is a large one, embracing many species of the genera of Aphrophora, Lepyronia, Clastoptera, Ptyelus, Report of the State Entomologist. 121 et cet. Common species iu the State of New York, are A])hro]jihora parallela Say, A. Saratogensis Fitch, and A. quadrangular is Say. Ptyelus lineatus is a common species in low and damp meadows on grasses and some other plants over a large portion of the United States. It has never been known to occur in such numbers, where it is commonly met with, as to cause serious harm to the grasses. The insect matures during the latter part of June, when it becomes winged and feeds for a short time on the sap of the grasses, but its life in this stage is too brief to enable it to be the occasion of greater injury (if so great) than in its earlier stages. It may be recognized, among its allied species, by the narrow brown double streak on the head and prothorax, also by a slender line of the same color near the costal margin of the wing-covers, the margin itself being white (Uhler). Figure 49, from Dr. Packard's recent publication, entitled " Ento- mology for Beginners," illustrates the insect in its larval and perfect stages, — their natural size being shown in the lines beside them. Fabricius has given the habitat of P. lineatus, as Germany. It has quite an extended distribution throughout Europe, as well as in this country. Ephemera natata (Walker). (Ord. NeuropterI : Fam. EpHEMERiniE.) Palingenia natata Walker: Cat. Neurop. Br. Mus., Partiii, 1853, p. 551, 13. Ephemera natata Hagex : Synop. Neurop. N. A., 1861, p. 39, 4. Examples of this May-fly were received on June sixth, from Middleburgh, N. T., where they had occurred in such immense swarms as to excite general interest, and considerable anxiety lest some injurious effects might follow their appearance. Answer was returned of their entire harmlessness, of their probable source in the Schoharie river at that place, of their brief existence in the winged stage, etc. The species is a common one, and of broad distribution throughout the northern United States, Dominion of Canada, and Hudson Bay region. Its general color is blackish. The antennae are black ; the abdomen is striped with two blackish lines ; the caudal appendages (setae) are three in number, of almost equal length, a little shorter than the body, reddish, banded with black ; the wings are ash-gray, with black veins and four blackish spots on the front pair, of which the anterior and larger one curves upward to the front margin. The body is 0.6 of an inch long; spread of wings 1.5 inch. The setse are 0.6 in. long. 31 122 Forty-first Report on the State Museum. Abundance of the May-flies. The name of "May-fly " has been given to many species of these frail and delicate creatures, in consideration of the month in which a num- ber of them make their appearance in early spring. The Ephemeridce — the name of the family to which they belong — occur in abundance every season in the vicinity of lakes and rivers, but as their flights sel- dom extend to a great distance, and the time of their appearance may be limited to two or three days, they often escape observation. It is only when they appear in unusual abundance that they attract wide- spread attention. In the latter part of June, 1880, a species was observed by me, during a few days, at a summer encampment at Lake Bluff, on Sodus bay, Lake Ontario, in such numbers as almost to cover the tents and the surrounding foliage. Upon others of our lakes their dead bodies have been cast up by the waters in windrows on the shore. Remarkable Occurrences of Ephemeridae. Sevei*al instances are recorded of their appearance in almost incredible numbers along the rivers in France. One account compares their flight to a snow-storm of the largest flakes, and states that they accumulated on the ground about the feet of the observer to a depth of four inches; eyes, nostrils and mouth were filled by them. At another time they were so abundant at a locality in Carniola, in June, that twenty cart-loads were drawn away for manure. The summer of 1884, proved to be very favorable for their multipli- cation in unusual numbers in New York and neighboring states. Their remarkable abundance at different localities in the vicinity of the great lakes, was repeatedly made the occasion of newsj^aper comment. The following notice from the American Agriculturist, for October, 1884 (page 429), is deserving of record, although not sur- passing in its statements a number of other accounts of similar phe- nomena at other places. Sand Flies Extraordinary. — We were not a little surprised, on alighting from the carriage at nine o'clock on a last July evening, at the Leland Hotel, Chicago, located close by the lake-shore, to find the air filled with snow-flakes — so it appeared. It was certainly a phe- nomenon — a snow storm in midsummer ! The air was filled with these apparent flakes. The porters were sweeping from the sidewalks around the hotel the two or three inches of gathered " snow." The Brush lights were flickering as if about to go wholly out, submerged by the flakes which were rapidly filling the glass globes surrounding them. One light had already been quite " suffocated," and the globe filled to the top. Rifts of " snow " swept into the passage-ways lead- ing to the rotunda, and the verandas along the lake-side of the hotel, were fairly flecked from one end to the other with the whitening shower. It was indeed a most astonishing sight with the thermometer Report of the State Entomologist. 128 at eighty. But a moment, however, sufficed to dispel the illusion. These were not snow flakes which whitened and covered roof and pavement, and suffocated powerful Brush lights, but sand-flies — countless myriads of insects, appearing somewhat like young dragon- flies, coming up like the locusts of Egypt, from the sands of the lake- shore, to harmlessly fly and flutter for a day and die. The next morning, bushels of them (so the head porter informed us) had been swept up during the night and carried away. They lay dead about the rotunda, through the hallways, in the dining-hall and in guests' chambers whose windows had remained open. The following, recounts a similar phenomenon, at St. Paul, Minn., on July of 1885 : Chicago, July 15. — A special from St. Paul, Minn., says St. Paul was treated to a phenomenon in the form of clouds of bugs on Wednesday night. Abovit ten o'clock a breeze sprang up from the south, and with it came countless millions of bugs which swarmed around every light, often becoming so thick around the street lamps as to almost obscure the light. Around the electric-light masts they seemed to congregate in greater numbers than elsewhere, and in the vicinity of Bridge square, Seven corners, and at the park at the head of Third street, the streets were literally covered with the pests. Along the Wabash street side of the Second National bank the sidewalk was covered to a depth of over a foot. Around the market house at whatever point an electric light was located, the sidewalk was covered with them. The Merchants' hotel received a liberal share of the bugs, the steps leading to the veranda being completely hidden from sight, and it is estimated that more than a wagon-load of bugs could have been taken from in front of the building. In Rice park was witnessed a curious sight: the trees near electric-lights were covered with bugs, giving the trees the appearance of being moving masses of life, while the electric-light wires were strung with the insects. It is probable that after striking the wire they were unable to get away on account of the current. At two o'clock yesterday morning the streets m the vicinity of Bridge square, which had been cleaned, were again covered with them, and they still continued to come. The bugs are variously called " the green bay bug," " Sunday bug," and " day bug." A remarkable flight of a minute species of ej)hemera, has been related to me by Mr. Erastus Corning, Jr., of Albany, as having been witnessed by him at Mu.rray Bay, Province of Quebec, on the St. Law- rence river, N. Lat., 47° 40', in August of 1888. They came in such numbers that they literally covered every exposed person and object. This was the more extraordinary in consideration of their minute size, which is less than that of some of the Aphides, being only 0.33 inch in expanse of wings. The smallest known ephemerid, Ghloe pygmcea Hagen, also from the St. Lawrence river in Canada, has 0.24 inch spread of wings. From examples brought to me, the species has been identified by Dr. Hagen, as Gcenis nigra, named by him in the Proceedings of the 124 Forty-first Report on the State Museum. ^^^^ Entomological Society of Philadelphia, ii, 1863, p. 179, but its description is not yet published. The type specimens came from the upper Wisconsin river. Early Life of the Ephemera. Like the " dragon-flies " to which they are related, the ephemera are aquatic in their early stages, swimming about quite actively in the water, in pursuit of food. Some of the species, according to Westwood, are of a more quiet nature, and live in burrows in the mud of the banks, divided internally in two canals, each having a sej)arate open- ing externally at the extremity, so that the insect can crawl in at one hole and out of the other, without being obliged to make the awkward turn it would have to do in a straight hole. Their aquatic life may be quite long, even extending to two or three years, during which time, in one genus, they are said to undergo as many as" twenty molts. The Short Life of the "Winged Insect. Their winged life is not limited to a single day, as might be inferred from a popular name sometimes given them, of "day-flies," yet it is much more brief than that of most insects. It is believed that some of the species do not live longer than a day, while others have been kej)t alive for weeks. Mr. B. D. Walsh has retained liv- ing examples of Hexagenia bilineata (Say) in his breeding cake for nearly a week* (shown in Figure 50, from an example taken by me in Schenectady, N. Y., in the month Fig. 50.- Hexagenia bilineata of June.) De Geer has kept Ephemera ves- (Say). pertina alive for eight days, and Stephens mentions having kept specimens of Cloeon dipterum alive for more than three weeks ( Westioood's Introduction, ii, p. 27). Their Economic Value, Distribution, etc. The Ephemerae have long been noted for furnishing excellent and abundant food for fishes. Swallows and other birds also feed eagerly upon them. They have a broad distribution over the world, from the tropics up to high northern latitudes. Hundreds of species have been described, while a very large number, from the difficulty attending their study, are still awaiting description. Dr. Hagen's Synopsis of North American Neu,rop)tera, published in 1861, contains forty-five North American species. ^jfp * PracticallEntomologist, ii, 1867, p, 95. Report of the State Entomologist. 125 Hairsnakes as Parasitic on Insects. Tlie Gordiactea are so frequently encountered in the form of internal parasites of insects, that a brief notice of their character may be acceptable to the entomologist, as well as to the general naturalist. The Superstition Regarding Hairsnakes. A prevalent superstition respecting the strange looking creatures known as " hairsnakes," and when of smaller size, " hairworms," is that they are jiroduced from horse-hairs which had found their way into ponds, pools, barrels of rain-water, etc. It should not be neces- sary to state that such a transformation is an utter impossibility, and that no dead organic matter can ever be thus changed into a living creature. It is a law of nature that every animal being, from the lowest to the highest, has its commencement in an egg. What Hairworms Are. The hairworms, of which there are a number of sf)ecies known, belong to the Entozoa (of the class of worms — Vermes), which embraces a large number of small, worm-like animals (the tapeworm might with proj)riety be termed a large one) that pass a portion of their existence within the bodies of other animals as parasites. There are two genera of the hairworms, viz. : Gordius and Mermis, which Fig. 51.— a, h. Anterior ends of female and male Goedius vaeius; c, rZ, fore and hind ends of Goedius lineaeis : e, f. same of Goedius eobustus ; g, hind end of Goedius vaeius; //, the same, with its three lobes more divergent, and exhibiting the extru- sion of its cord of eggs; i and k, the same (two-lobed) of the male; I, the posterior end of the male of Goedius longolobatus ; in, the same of the male G. lineaeis; n, portion of the fringe of the latter, highly magnified ; o, egg of G. vaeius contain- ing a fully developed embryo. (After Leidy.) differ somewhat in structure, and ordinarily in color, the former being brown or black, and the latter white or pale yellow. They vary greatly in length as they occur to us, partly from their age, but also from their difference in species, some measuring but four inches, and the longest recorded, twenty-six inches. Their general hair-like appearance, is well-known. Their structure is apparently the same 126 Forty-first Report on the State Museum. throughout, with uo j)articular features by which the head can be distinguished from the tail by the ordinary observer — indeed by some writers the two have been confounded, even when studied microscopically. Figure 51, from a paper by Dr. Leidy, in the American Entomologist for May, 1870, presents enlargements under a high power of the extremities of different species of Gordius, and shows marked differences and well-defined sj)ecific characters therein. The Gordiacsea are not rare, but are from time to time met with in turning over damp soil, perhaps in a little knot of several individuals twisted together (whence we may have the "Gordian knot"), in barrels of water, in ditches, wagon-ruts, ponds, jdooIs, drinking troughs, wells, etc. They are sometimes discharged from water-pipes, as in the instance of a Gordius of about six inches in length, which was brought to me by a lady who had detected it in a glass of water drawn from a faucet, by the slight tingling sensation which it produced ujDon her lips as she was about to drink in the dark. A Common Parasite of Insects. As a parasite, Gordius occurs in the bodies of insects of nearly all the orders, as Hymenoptera, Lepidoptera, Coleoptera, Diptera and Orthoptera. Of the latter order, it is often found in katydids, crickets, cockroaches and grasshoppers — sometimes as many as five in a single grasshopper. They are met with in their parasitic stage by dissect- tion of the insect, its accidental crushing, or in a voluntary escape when the time has come for their free existence: they have frequently been seen emerging from the heads of grasshoppers. Som.e of the Characteristics of Gordius. The Gordius is a peculiarly constructed creature : microscopic examination reveals what may be a mouth, but it seems to possess no stomach, intestinal canal, or vent. Its interior is wholly occupied by a white matter resembling the pith of a plant. Its nutrition is sug- gestive of that of the rootlets of plants ; yet it is known to have generative organs, a nervous system, etc. It is wonderfully prolific. It eggs have been seen to be extruded in a delicate thread or cord (as at h in the figure) of an entire length of nearly eight feet, containing as estimated from a small section, nearly seven millions of eggs. Its Life-History. A brief summary of the life-history of the Gordius is as follows: Its appearance while still in the egg, is shown at o, in Figure 51. After emerging from the egg, it presents the successive appearances given at p, q, r, in Figure 52. In its earliest, or embryo stage, it lives in water. Floating about until it comes in contact with some aquatic Report of tee State Entomologist. 127 Fig. 52. — The young Gordius TARius, after emerging from the egg, showing different degrees of protrusion of the oral apparatus. (After Leidy.) larva, as of a species of fly or other insect, it usually enters the body through the joints of the legs, and becomes encysted, or inclosed in a small sac or bladder, as are the Trichinae. When these larvse are eaten by fish the cyst is broken and the Gordius passes to its second stage. After having remained free in the body for a while, it again becomes encysted in the mucous layer of the intestines. In its third stage it is again free, when it penetrates into the intestines of the fish, whence it passes with the faeces into the water, where it enters upon its final growth, undergoing other changes. Such is its history when enter- ing into aquatic larvae, as elaborated a few years ago by M. A. Villot, a French scientist. Its subsequent changes, when parasitic upon terrestrial insects have not been as fully observed, and just how, at maturity, it succeeds in entering their bodies, is still a mystery. Mermis Parasitic on the Apple-worm. The other genus of hairAvorms, Mermis, has occasionally been found within apples, where it occurs as a parasite of the apple-worm, the larva of the codling moth, Garpocapsa pomonella. A notice of Mermis acuminata occurring in some apples in Orange county, N. Y., in 1875, coiled up in the fleshy part of the fruit, about midway between the skin and the core, was given by me in the Thirtieth Annual Report on the N. Y. State Museum of Natural History for the year 1879 (pp. 117-126); also in my Entomological Contributions (No. iv, pp. 5-14). It is therein mentioned that a species of Mermis infests the Garpocapsa pomonella larva, in Europe. According to Dr. Speyer, the Gordiaccea not unfre- quently occur in larvae which feed on tall trees, as well as those which live on plants and shrubs. Wet seasons seem to be productive of the parasitism, and Dr. Speyer recalls a number of years ago, his having met with several of such instances. From an example of Hadena adusta, he had a Merniis emerge of the length of eight and a half inches, and another from Hesperia lineola after it had been pinned. Prof, von Siebold suggests that a heavy dew may so moisten the trunks of trees as to enable the Mermis to ascend them. Those who would know more of these interesting creatures, may find an excellent extended article upon them in the First Report of the U. S. Entomological Gommission, 1878, pp. 326-333, from which the illustrations herewith presented have been taken. 128 Forty-first Report on the State Museum, Cermatia forceps (R^ifin.). (Class Myeiapoda : Ord. Chilopoda : Fam. ScuTiGEKiDiE.) Calista foi'ceps Eafinesque: in Annals of Nature, 1st No., 1820, p. 7. Cermatia coleoptrata Villiees. Say : in Journ. Acad. Nat. Sci. Phil., ii, 1821, p. 109; Compl. Writ., LeConte Edit, ii, 1883,p. 29. Cermatia Floridana Newpoet : in Linn. Trans., xix, 1845, p. 353. Scutigera Floridana Geevais : Aptera, iv, p. 225. Cermatia forceps. Wood: in Journ. Acad. Nat. Sci. Phil., 2d ser., v, 1862, p. 9; in Trans. Amer. Philosoph. Soc, new ser., xiii, 1869, p. 145, pi. 3, figs. 1, la. Cermatia forceps. Packaed : Guide Stud. Ins., 1869, p. 673; in Amer. Nat., xiii, 1879, p. 527 ; in id., xiv, 1880, pp. 602, 603 (eyes and brain). Cermatia forceps. Henshaw : in Amer. Nat., xiii, 1879, p. 711. Cermatia forceps. Mueeay: Econom. EntomoL— Aptera, p. 29. Cermatia forceps. Lintnee : in Count, Gent., xlv, 1880, p. 311 ; in Brooklyn Citizen, Sept. 5, 1887, p. 3, c. 5, 6. Cermatia forceps. Undeewood : in Entomolog. Amer., i, 1885, p. 149. Scutigera forceps. Bollman : in Entomolog. Amer., iv, 1888, p. 8. Examples of this denizen of many Albany dwellings, have so fre- quently been brought to this office for name, etc., that it is believed that an account of it will prove of general interest, since its annoying intrusion is by no means limited to Albany, but is co-extensive with an already extended distribution over the Northern United States. Does not Belong to the Class of Insects. Its consideration does not properly come within the province of an entomological department, as it is not a member of the class of insects — characterized by having only six legs in the perfect stage, and from eight to twenty-two in the larval state, but of that of the Myriapoda, members of which are popularly known as "thousand legged worms," centipedes, etc. Among these it holds high rank — almost the highest, and it consequently approaches near to the insects in several respects, as in the character of its head, its long antennse, the small number of its abdominal joints, and other structural features. Is One of the Centipedes. It may claim more than an ordinary share of interest, from its being a veritable Centiped, and from the determination that it disj)lays of domesticating itself in our northern homes, which have hitherto been free from the intrusion of this class of unwelcome guests — so com- mon and so seriously annoj^ing in warmer climates. The anxiety that it has already aroused is shown by the frequent requests that are being made for some information of its nature and of its habits — whether harmful, dangerous, or otherwise. Report of the State Ento3Iologist. 129 Description. It is about one inch in length of body: some southern individuals have measured one inch and a fourth. Its breadth at the widest part is about one- sixth of an inch. Its general color is a light olive-brown. The head is large, broader than the contiguous rings of the bod}', of an oval flattened outline, and is marked with two converging black lines on its front. The antennae are quite long, many-jointed, attenuated, being thread-like at the end. The eyes are black, large, prominent, and compound; beneath them is a pair of spined palpi; and back of these, on the hinder part of the head, a pair of leg-like pointed jaws, ending in a black tip. The head and its appendages are shown in enlargement in Figure 53, in which ah excellent representation of the creature is given. The body has its sides nearly parallel, being but a little broader at its middle. It is traversed centrally uj)on the back by a sharply defined black line which com- mences on the head between the eyes and , , , , , , T ■ 1 • • , TT Fig. 53.— Cekmatia forceps. termmatesatthelast abdommaljomt. Uj^on (After Wood.) each side of this is a similar well-defined black line, commencing at the eyes and continuing over the entire body. The upper side of the body shows eight plates or shields, which are suboval in general out- line, sharply excavated posteriorly, and thin and reflexed at the sides: under a magnifier these show granulations or spines. Underneath, the body shows fifteen rings, two of which are covered by each of the dorsal shields except the last. There are fifteen pairs of long legs, armed with several toothed ribs, and with spines at the end of the joints. The two principal joints (tibia and tarsus) have each two incomplete black bands. The ends of the legs (metatarsal joints) are many-jointed, long, round and terminated in a short, black, acute hook. The front legs are about two-thirds the length of the body. The following ones increase in length to the terminal pair — the latter, longer than the body (in the male one-fourth longer, in the female twice as long). 32 130 Forty-first Report on the State Museum. Its Distribution. It is a southern form, which seems for some time past to have been steadily extending its way northward. Say, who cites the species in his American Entomology, in 1871, iinder the name of Cermatia coleop- trata, gives it as an inhabitant of the Southern States, which he had observed in Georgia and Florida. The examj^les described by New- port as Cermatia Floridana, were from East Florida, where it was quite common, running about in houses at night. The examples deposited in the Smithsonian Institution at Washington are, according to Dr. Wood, author of the Myriopoda of North America, from Tamaulipas in Mexico, St. Louis, and Washington. It first came under my observation in Albany, in the year 1870, in a specimen brought to the N. Y. State Museum of Natural History, which had been taken in this city. It had been observed within the State at an earlier date, for Dr. H. A. Hagen informs me that a living specimen was seen by him in his bed-room at the Prescott House, in New York, in October, 1867 — the first articulate to greet him upon his arrival in America. In 1878, Dr. A. S. Packard found an individual hidden in some wrapping paper in his house at Providence, R. I., which he thought may have been brought in a bundle from New Jersey, as it had not, so far as he knew, been known jareviously to exist north of Phila- delphia. Its capture was made the occasion of its notice as "A Poi- sonous Centij)ede," in the American Naturalist for August, 1879. The publication of this notice brought forth a note from Mr. Samuel Hen- shaw, of the Boston Society of Natural History, to the effect that the society's collections contained six examples taken in Massachusetts, and that three others were known to have been captured in other parts of the State. It had also been taken at Milford, in New Hampshire. In a recently published paper entitled. The North American Myria- poda, by Prof. L. M. Underwood, * of the Syracuse University, it is given as having been observed by the writer at Bloomington, HI., Philadelj^hia, Pa., Brooklyn, N. Y. (somewhat common in cellars), and at Utica, N. Y. (in a single examj)le, running about the floors of the N. Y. Central Rail Road Station); and as somewhat generally distributed east of the Mississippi river. In a Preliminary List of the Myriapoda of Arkansas, by Charles H. Bollman,f it is recorded as occasional in that State ; " one adult was seen at Arkadelphia, and several young at Little Rock." * Entomologica Americaiia, i, 1885, pp. 141-151. t Id., iv, 1888, pp. 1-8. Report of the State Entomologist. 131 Its Abundance in Albany, N. Y. In a communication made by me to the Country Gentleman, in 1880, it was stated that " j)robably as many as fifty examples have come under my observation during the ten years that had elapsed since the first notice of it here." During the subsequent seven years, it has continued to increase steadily in number. It has been frequently brought to me from residents of various parts of the city, as some- thing observed for the first time in a single example; and numerous inquiries have been made of its habits, whether or not it was a new depredator on carpets or clothing, to be added to the clothes-moth and carpet-beetle, or if it was in any way injurious, as it was occurring in such numbers as to entitle it to be ranked as a household pest. In one instance, in the pulling down of an old wooden building in Hud- son avenue, a multitude of them were discovered in removing the wainscotting of the basement floor. Its Habitat. It has usually been reported from basements, and it is, perhaps, more frequently seen in the vicinity of the hot-water pipes — the favorite haunt of another pest of many city homes, viz., the Croton bug, Ectobia Germanica. It is not limited, however, to this portion of dwellings, for its long, flexible, and agile leg^j, in its travels for food, serve for its distribution through all the apartments. It has been seen scurrying over the parlor carpets, and while this notice is being written, it has been brought to me from the third floor of a dwelling, where it was found quietly resting upon a damp piece of linen cloth hung up for drying. A young individual, the extended length of which was less than three-fourths of an inch (body 0.18 in., antennse 0.33 in., hind legs 0.21 in.), was taken February second from the water of an aquarium in my oflice, on the fourth floor of the Capitol. What are its Habits. It will be a relief (in one direction, at least) to know, in considera- tion of its multiplication as a household pest, that the new-comer will not eat carpets, or clothing, or manufactured fabrics of any kind; nor does it emulate the roach and the Croton-bug in their attack and defilement of various articles of domestic food. Its structure has made it carnivorous, and it is believed to subsist, after the manner of its allies, upon other living creatures which its rapid movements enable it easily to catch. For this purpose, it has been provided with peculiar jaws for grasping and holding, which are probably chan- nelled for the injection of a poisonous fluid into the body of its 132 Forty-first Report on the State Museum. captives. These have been characterized as "something half-leg, half-jaw, after the fashion of the falces of spiders, with a sharp point and a hollow duct up their core, which is connected with a poison gland, as in the spider." The Cermatians, to which this species belongs, and of which there is but one other species known in the United States, viz., Cermatia Linceci, from Texas (these two have the honor of constituting the family of Scutigeridce), are said to be very rapacious and carnivorous in their nature, springing upon their prey after the manner of some of the spiders. Dr. Wood has written of the order to which the above family pertains {Ghilopoda), which embraces also the poisonous centipedes of the Southern States, known in science as Scolopendridae, as follows: " The whole organization of the Chilopods fits them for their predatory and carnivorous habits. The distinctness of the segments, which are not closely approximate, and the flexibility of the segments themselves, enable them to move their body in every conceivable direction. Their highly organized nervous and muscular system, and the length and power of their legs, betoken habits of great activity; whilst the formidable nature of their mandibles, and the sharp sj^ines, both lateral and terminal, with which their feet are armed, fit them for predatory warfare." Its Food. We have yet to learn what are the living creatures that the Cerma- tia finds within our homes for its prey, and which it could not as well or better obtain elsewhere. Possibly with this knowledge acquired, we might receive it as a welcome guest whenever it appears, in the confidence that it would not obtrude except for the j)urpose of relieving us from greater pests. Some writer has credited it with feeding on roaches and croton-bugs, but this may be a mere supposi- tion. In experiments made by me to test it with the latter, by con- fining the two together, the bugs have not been eaten, and the Cermatia has been the first to die. Perhaps it preys upon these insects only in their younger stages ; or its disposition may be changed under confinement, to which it shows itself to be remarkably sensitive, for upon all the occasions when it has been brought to me alive, even when placed under a glass cover of a half-bushel capacity, it has invariable died within two days. Can it be that it succumbs so quickly to want of its proper food, or to need of moisture? The ordinary Myriapods, of the family of Julidce, or "hundred-legged worms," such as are found in decaying vegetation, fruit, etc., have survived for weeks in my office, although crowded in small glass phials, almost excluded from air and entirely without food. Report of the State Entomologist. 133 The bed-bug is known to have inveterate foes in two or three other members of its own order, the Hemiptera. Heduvius jjersonafus (Linn.) and Pirates biguttatu^ (Saj-), two insects resembling the well-known squash-bug, as shown in figure 47 of page 112, feed eagerly upon it,— the former, while in its pupal state, completely enveloping itself in a mask of dust and dirt for its better concealment while lying in wait for its prey. Of another men\ber of the bug order, Pentatoma hidens, it is reported that six or eight of them, shut up in a room swarming with bed-bugs, completely exterminated them in the course of a few weeks. The Cermatia, if so inclined, would prove an expert hunter of this pest: ma}' further observations show it to be so. Of other food that our houses might furnish, may be mentioned these : The little red ant, flies, the larva of the carpet-beetle (the clothes-moth would not be sufficiently abundant), and spiders. It will be of interest to note if any of the above-named creatures diminish or disappear when the Cermatia domesticates itself. Is it Poisonous ? It is vmdoubtedly jjoisonous, but not to an extent that it need be the occasion of any alarm. The raoscpiito, when it thrusts its beak, com- posed of six distinct pieces, into our flesh, and draws thence the blood through the channel that they form, is supposed to instil into the wound at the same time a venomous li(|uid, which causes the blood to flow more freely, and occasions the subsequent irritation, so different from that resulting from the prick of a pin or needle. Spiders — house-spiders as well as others — -are poisonous, and kill their prey, upon the juices of which they afterward feed, by injecting poison in them. Their mandibles are constructed after the manner of the rattlesnake's fang, the aperture for the discharge of the venom being, like that, placed on the outer curve of the mandible, and communicating through a duct with a poison sac at its base. And yet they seldom excite fear or terror, nor should they do so, for their fangs are only used on other insects that they may procure their food, or in self- defense, if molested and unable to escajie. No one likes to kill a spider. Wood states of the Chilopoda, to which Cermatia belongs : " There can be no doubt but that they are provided with poison glands, situ- ated at the base of the mandibular teeth, and perhaps also at the bases of the terminal claws of the feet." Newport has observed in Scolo- vendra the longitudinal opening at the inner margin of the apex of the mandible communicating with a poison sac, and the gland of which it is the reservoir. Latreille, from observations on Cerviatia araneoides 134 Forty-first Report on the State Museum. of the south of France, satisfied himself of the poisonous nature of the bite of a Cermatian. The above authorities fully attest the poisonous character of this creature, and it has also been confirmed by other writers, who might be cited. There is no record, however, of its bite ever having been inflicted upon a human being. In one instance brought to my knowledge, harm from it was surmised. A young lady pupil, occu- pying a dormitory of a boarding-school, discovered on her person, on awakening, a hard, swollen, inflamed and somewhat painful spot of a considerable size. While speculating on its cause, she saw one of these Cermatians resting on the sloping ceiling directly over her bed. Had it inflicted a bite during the night under the provocation of sud- den pressure, or was its presence at the time merely accidental ? liife-History. Of this, nothing aj^pears to be recorded by our writers, and I have no access, at present, to whatever may have been written of other species of the genus occurring in Europe or elsewhere, of which New- port, in his monograph on the Myriapoda, in 1845, has recorded and described seventeen species. From the observation given in a preceding page of this paper, it appears that the young (quite small) are to be found in the month of January. Adult forms have been brought to me, as from records at hand, in April, June, October, November and December, and they are probably to be fovmd during every month of the year. A young individual, about one-third grown, has been taken by Mr. Erastus Corning, Jr., on September tweaty-ninth, and contributed to the collections. This creature is apparently quite cleanly in its habits, as it has, on different occasions been observed in the laborious and time-taking operation of cleaning its many legs by passing one after another, from their extreme base to the tip, through its mandibles. Remedy. If the Cermatia should be found to occur in large and annoying numbers in particular localities, it could readily be disposed of by a free application to the premises of fresh pyrethrum powder. BRIEF NOTES ON VARIOUS INSECTS. ?DoLERus sp. — The saw-fly larva, noticed in my report to tlie Eeg-ents for 188G {4:0th Bept. N. Y. St. Museum Nat. Hist., pp. 87-90), as cutting off the heads of wheat in New Jersey and Pennsylvania, was again reported by Mr. J. E. Wittmer, of Hale, York county. Pa., as having made its apj^earance, June 16, 1887, but at that time, in no increase in number or injury over that of the preceding year. No examples were obtained for further study. The same species, evidently, was the occasion of remark and discus- sion, at the Annual Meeting of the New Jersey State Board of Agri- culture, at Camden, in January of 1888. Mr. Denire stated, that the insect, the preceding 3'ear, about two or three weeks before harvest, had cut off the heads of the wheat, about half an inch below the head. In his own field, and in others in his neighborhood, about five per cent of the crop had been thus destroyed. Mr. Nicholson remarked that a number of comj)laints of this injury had been received from Monmouth county. The worm, in some cases, had destroyed about twenty per cent of the crop, by cutting off the straw an inch or two from the head, a short time before harvest, and it was impossible to gather it with any machinery on the farm, for the heads fell and were lost on the ground. {Fifteenth Annual Report of the New Jersey State Board of Agriculture, 1888, page 164.) Danais Akchippus {Fahr.). — The larvae of this butterfly were observed at Sageville (Lake Pleasant), Hamilton county, N. Y., July eighteenth, on milkweed {Asclepias), in various degrees of development, from its first stage (previovis to its first molt) to near its full groM'th. The following memoranda were made of it: As observed in its first stage, in readiness for its first molt, July twentieth, it is nearly one-fourth of an inch in length. The two black horns on the second segment are subcylindrical, about one-fourth the diameter of the body in length. The two black tubercles on top of the eleventh segment are less than one-half so long. The bands traversing the body are black on a white ground, on the middle of each segment, with yellow between, over the incisures. The head is shining black, with two brown lines on each side. 136 Forty-first Report on the State Museum. Fig. 54. • Danais Aechippus : larva and chrysalis. (After Emmons.) In the second stage, the front horns are straight, transversely wrinkled, moderately tapering, with a length about equal to the breadth of the body. The horns of the eleventh segment are about one-fourth as long as the anterior ones. Head, with the lateral perpendicular lines yellow, and with a yellow triangular spot centrally in front. In the third stage, in readiness for molt- ing, the anterior horns are curved, and have a length equal to the breadth of the body, and are twice as long as the posterior ones. No notes were made of the above features in the subsequent stages. The mature larva is rej)re- sented in Figure 54. A larva suspended for pupation on July nineteenth, and pupated on the following day. Its chrysalis is shown at h in the figure. The presence of the young larvse on the leaves may readily be detected, even when they are so small as to escape ordinary observa- tion, through a knowledge of its habit of feeding at this stage. It probably first consumes the shell from which it emerged, as no remains of it were seen. Then, without leaving its position, and, adhering by its hinder legs, it eats through the tender leaf, and con- tinues to feed, by simply bending its body to either side, in a large portion of a circle of less than one-fourth of an inch in diameter. Examination of the leaves will often show a crescentic hole, unmistak- ably the work of the larva, and, usually, its presence on its feeding ground, just within the crescent. The following species of butterflies were observed at Sageville, Lake Pleasant (southern portion of the Adirondack region, height above tide of about 1,800 feet), during the three weeks from July sixteenth to AugTist fifth. Some species were jDOSsibly overlooked, as no special attention was given to them — the locality not offering rare forms : Papilio Asterias Fabr. Colias Philodice Godt. P. Turnus Linn. Danais Archippus (Fabr.). Pieris oleracea (Harris) form aestiva. Argynnis Cybele Fabr. P. rapse (Linn.). A. Aphrodite Fabr. Report of the State Entomologist. 137 Argynnis Atlantis Echo. Pyrameis Atalanta {Linn.). A. Myrina {Cramer). Limenitis'Arthemis {Drury). A. Bellona JF'a?>r. L. disippus (G^od^.)- Phyciodes Tharos {Drury). Satyrus Alope {Fabr.). Grapta Faunus Echo. — very common. Feniseca Tarquinius {Fabr.). G. comma (Harr.) form Dryas. Clirysophanus liypophleas Bd. Grapta Progne {Cramer). Lyca3na Corayntas {Godt.). G. J. album {Bd.-Lec). Pamphllus Peckius {Kirby). Vanessa Antiopa {Linn.). P. Metacomet {Harris). V. Milbertii Godt. Total, 27 species. Thecla strigosa Harris. — A larva of this beautiful butterfly was received on June eighth, from E. Moody & Sons, of the Niagara Nurseries at Locki^ort, N. Y., which had burrowed into a cultivated plum and eaten out its interior after the manner of Thecla Henrici, in the wild plum, as described by Mr. W. H. Edwards, in Papilio, i, p. 151-2. It was seen to differ from that species, as it was of an uniform green color, and lacked the tuberculous dorsal ridges characterizing that form. At the request of Mr. S. H. Scudder, it was s«nt to him for figuring. Not reaching its destination in a healthful state, it was preserved by inflation, after it liad been compared with two other examples in the possession of Mr. Scudder, which were feeding on the leaves of shad-bush {Amelanchier) and blueberry ( Vacciniam), and found to agree with them " to the uttermost microscopic detail." Subsequently these examples gave Thecla strigosa Harris. The note of "the larva of Thecla Irus Godt., burrowing in a plum," which appears in the Keport of the State Entomologist to the Regents of the University S. N. Y. for the year 1886, in the Fortieth Beport of the N. Y. State Musewn of Natural History, page 140, refers to the example above noticed, and should have been so recorded : hence the above particulars. *NisoNiADES Persius Scudclcr. — Four examples of this very common Hesperian butterfly in the State of New York (two males and two females) were identified by me among the collections made by Dr. H. A. Hagen in the Northern Trans-Continental Survey in 1880, at Yakami river. La Chappies, July 16; Yakami city, July 2, and [label not legible] July 11th. * Sphinx Can.\densis Boisd. — An example of this rare Sphinx (the S. plota of Strecker) was captured at light, on a window, at Tanners- ville, Catskill mountains, N. Y., on August 13th, and is now in the collection of Mr. W. W. Hill, of Albany. *The notes thus marked on this page and following ones, are from the preceding report to the Regents (for 1885) of which no copies have been printed except the regular edition of the Annual Report on the N. Y. State Museum of Natural History. 33 138 Forty-first Report on the State Museum. Mr. William Gray, of Kenwood, informs me that four examples of the species (one of which is in the collection of Hon. Erastus Corning, of Albany) were taken by Dr. James S. Bailey, upon the skin of a deer hung up to dry, in the Adirondack mountains. The species would seem, from the above collections, to favor high elevations. *Melittia cucuebit^ {Harris). — The following memoranda on the squash-vine borer have been kindly furnished me by Mr. J. P. Devol, of Petersburg, Va., in consideration of a published request for informa- tion upon the life-history of the species : June 24th, found two vines of Boston marrowfats dying, from which the borers had escaped and entered the ground. July 3d, dug up a larva from two and a half inches beneath the surface of the ground, at about two inches from the root-stalk. July 8th, a larva found in a leaf- stalk, two feet distant from the stalk. Hyppa xylinoides Guenee. — A caterpillar, which proved when the moth was disclosed on July twelfth after a probable pupation of twelve days, to be this species, was taken June twenty-eighth, feeding on the leaves of raspberry. It attained a length of one inch and one-fourth. It was of a rich brown color throughout, and in shape, regularly increasing in size from its front to its eleventh segment, recalling the form of Amphipyra ijyramidoides. After feeding heartily in confinement, mostly at night, on leaves furnished it, it spun up among some leaves in the box, as if this was its ordinary habit. Erebus odora {Linn.). — As examples of this large and beautiful noctuid are of rare occurrence in the State of New York, it may be noted that a female was identified by me, which had been taken at Oxford, Chenango county. Another instance of its occurrence, some- what remarkable from the late date of its capture, is that of a male, taken at Schohai'ie, N. Y., within a wood-shed on November 2, 1858, in perfect condition (now in my collection), except as it had been injured by its fluttering on the pin with which it had been roughly impaled by the small boy who cajjtured it. Other recorded New York captures, are : a female, at Parkville, L. I., on June 16, 1880 {Papilio, ii, 1882, p. 18); an example, flying about a room, at New Dorp, Staten Island, in September of 1887; and two other specimens, on Staten Island, during the last few years, one " at sugar " and the other in a barn {Proceed. Nat. Sci. Assoc, of Staten Island, for May 12, 1888). Although a southern form, and question has been made of its breeding in the northern localities where it has been found, Mr. Report of the State Entomologist. 139 Fletcher has rej^orted two captures of it at Ottawa (latitude 45°), and Mr. Saunders has cited several other instances of its capture in Canada during the past few years {Canadian Entomologist, xii, 1880, p. 211). We have no knowledge of the early stages of this insect beyond some brief notes upon its eggs and the first stage of the caterpillar, made at Nassau, New Providence, by Mrs. Blake, and recorded by Mr. H. T. Fernald, in Entomologica Americana, iv, 1888, p. 36. Zerexe CATEX.4.RIA Cramer. — Numbers of this moth were taken by 'Mr. Erastus Corning, Jr., on the evening of September 21st, 1887, from the windows of a drug-store, fronting Capitol Park, to which they had evidently been attracted by the lights within. Fifty or more examples, it is thought, could have been taken at the time. It may be readily recognized by its snow-white and unusually thin wings, crossed near their middle by two black, toothed lines — sometimes broken into lines of dots upon the nervules. The head, and front of the wing-covers are ochreous-yellow. The hinder margin of the wings is dotted with black at the end of the veins, fk;. 55. ^z^ene catenaeia. (After The figure represents a male with its Emmons.) plumose antennae; in the female they are thread-like. For an account of a remarkable flight of this moth, in October, 1880, in Lackawaxen, Pa., which, from its immense numbers, appear- ing in some places as a dense snow-storm, alarmed farmers who fool- ishly feared that it was the precursor of an army -worm attack: — see Report of the Commissioner of Agriculture, for 1880, p. 274. Anisopteryx pometaria Harris. — Caterpillars of this species, the fall canker-worm, which is of rare occurrence compared with the spring canker-worm, A. vernata Peck, were received from Moriches, Suffolk county, N. Y., on June eighth, from Mr. Augustus Floyd. They had made attack upon his apple trees and were rapidly consum- ing the foliage. Doubtless some of the attacks ascribed to A. vernata, in reality belong to this species, discrimination between the two not being made by the observer. Through an error discovered too late for its correction, figures illustrating A. vernata were received from the Department of Agriculture, instead of those of A. pometaria, desired. They will, however, serve to show the form that more commonly comes under observation. In Figure 56, a, is the mature larva in its natural size: h 140 Forty- FIRST Report on the State Museum. eggs in natural size and in enlargement; c and d, side and dorsal view of a segment of the larva enlarged. In Figure 57, a, is the male -^ ^^^40^^-A%k Fig. 56. — Larva and eggs of the spring canker-worm — Anis- OPTEEYX VEBNATA. (After Riley.) Fig. 57.— Male and female moths and en- largements of Anisoptekyx veenata. (After Riley.) moth and h the wingless female, each in natural size; c, enlargement of portion of female antennae; d, joint of female abdomen, enlarged ; e, its ovipositor, enlarged. * Tinea pellionella Linn. — This notorious pest ^ — the common clothes-moth, carpet-moth, fur-moth (different names for the same insect), etc., was first observed in flight in my office, as early as Febru- ary thirteenth. During March, and especially toward the latter part of the month, the moths were not uncommon. On Aj^ril twenty-third, note was made of their being quite numerous. They were also reported to me as flying in abundance. May fourteenth, from a bag with hops and pieces of flannel; the flannel was found almost entirely eaten. The above early appearances of the insect are noted, as Professor Fernald, in his excellent paper discussing the confused synonymy of the species, states that " the moths emerge in June and July, and some even as late as August, yet • there is but a single generation " {Canadian Entomologist, xiv, 1882, p. 167). Dr. Packard represents the moth as beginning to fly about our apartments in May {Guide to the Study of Insects, 1866, p. 346). Dr. Harris states that they lay their eggs in May or June, and indicates early June as the time in which the prudent housekeeper should beat up their quarters and put them to flight or destroy their eggs and young (/nsecfe Injurious to Vegetation, 1862, pp. 493, 494). Probably the nearly uniform day and night temperature of my office during the winter, maintained by the steam-heating arrange- ments of the Capitol, serve to shorten the period of pupation, when compared with its usual period in our dwellings. * Mallota sp. — Professor L. M. Underwood, of Syracuse Univer- sity, sends, January nineteenth, larvae (3), puparium, and empty puparia (3), taken in Western New York, from between the boards Report of the State Entomologist. 141 forming tlie walls of an out-house. They may have been of Mallota harda, to which they bore a resemblance, but they could not be posi- tively identified, for unfortunately the examples sent had been put in alcohol, and none had been retained alive for rearing. * Anthrenus scROPHULA.Ri^ {Linn.). — The carpet-beetle occurred abun- dantly on flowers of Spircea, in Washington Park, Albany, on June second. Anthrenus varius (Fabr.) was associated with it in about equal numbers. June eighth, numbers were taken by IVIi*. William Beuttenmiiller of New York city, on flowers of parsnip. July twenty-first, twenty-five of the larvae, of different sizes, were received from a residence in Schoharie, N. T., where they abounded. August ninth. Prof. H. M. Seely, of Middlebury College, Middlebury, Vt., sent what he believed to be the carpet-beetle, as it was found in large numbers associated with the A. scrophularice larvae when search- ing for the latter in July. It proved, however, to be the Otiorhynchus ligneus, which appears of late to have domesticated itself within many dwellings (see Second Report on the Insects of New York, 1885, pp. 51, 52). November second, half-grown larvae and an imago were taken in my house, the latter from a window curtain. Alaus oculatus {Linn.). — As this large snapping-beetle — the largest that occurs with us of its family, is often sent for name, the accompanying figiu'e and brief notice of it are given as aid in its recognition. It is an inch and a half long, with ribbed wing-covers spotted with white; its thorax one-third the entire length of the insect, largely covered with white scales like a white powder, and bear- ing centrally on each side, a large oval, velvet-black spot ringed with white. Its specific name is given to it from the marked resemblance of the two thoracic spots to eyes, for which they are commonly Emmons.) mistaken. It belongs to the family of Elateridce, or spring beetles — the latter name referring to a peculiar ai-rangement of a spine and Fig. 58. — The owl beetle, Alaus oculatus, with enlargements of antenna and tarsus. (After 142 FORTT-FIRST REPORT ON THE STATE MuSEUM. socket upon the lower side of the thorax and abdomen, by means of which the insect is able, when laid or fallen upon its back, to sj^ring upwards several inches, and in dropping to regain its feet. Without this provision, it would be difficult for it to recover its position if left alone to the aid of its short and rigid legs. The larva is a borer in apple trees, but as it is mainly a feeder upon decaying wood, it can not be regarded as an injurious insect, except as it may hasten the destruction of a tree in which decay has already commenced. * Thanasijius dubius {Fahr.). — Numbers of this insect — one of the Cleridce — were observed uj)on cut pine timber, at Schoharie, May thir- teenth, but dropping quickly to the ground when aj^proached. They had jDrobably been feeding on some of the wood-eating larvae under the bark. A species nearly allied to this, captured by me upon the summit of Mt. Marcy, at an elevahion of 5,300 feet, on August 8, 1877, has recently been identified by Mr. E. A. Schwarz, as Glerua ? analis LeConte. * Macrodactyltjs subspinosus {Fabr.). — Under date of July fourth, Mr. H. J. Foster, of East Palmyra, N. Y., wrote that the rose-bug had made his cherry-trees leafless the preceding year, and that this year they were eating the leaves of the wild-graj)e, and the apples where they occur in clusters. Lema trilikeata Oliv. — Larvae of this insect in various stages of growth, some mature and building up their white cocoons of frothy matter given out from their mouth, and also the perfect beetle feeding on a species of Physalis, were received August twenty-sixth, from Mr. M. H. Beckwith, of the New York State Agricultural Experiment Station at Geneva. *Chktsochus aubatus {Fabr.}. — Professor S. A. Forbes, of Cham- paign, Illinois, has kindly communicated to me a new food-plant for this beetle, discovered in the State of New York. He had received, under the date of July seventh, from Mr. C. Fred Johnson, of Bayport, Suffolk Co., some " potato-bugs," which he identified as this species. It had " appeared only on a dozen or so plants, in a field of two acres, but as many as thirty or forty were found on a single jjlant." It had never before been recorded as occurring injuriously upon any culti- vated plant. * Triehabda Cajstadensis {Kirhy). — On the twenty-second of June, at Schoharie, N. Y., a large patch of the golden rod, Solidago Canadensis, was observed to be infested with numbers of shining black larvae, I^EPORT OF TEE StATE ENTOMOLOGIST. 143 about a half-inch in length, and tapering toward each end. Of a number gathered and fed ui^on the golden rod, a half dozen had changed to the pupa state, ten days thereafter. On the fifteenth July, the beetles were disclosed, and proved to be one of the Ghrysomelidce, viz., Trirhabda Ganadenms (Kirb}'). The ochre-j^ellow strijDes of the elytra, at first quite bright, gradually dulled in their drying. Numbers of the beetle were observed, on September eighth, feed- ing upon the leaves of the golden rod. When approached, they drop to the ground and lie motionless. Several pairs were in copula, and all of the females had the abdomen enormously distended with eggs. Diahrotica vittata (Fabr.) was also very abundant in the flowers of the plant, where it was feeding upon the pollen. T. Canadensis has also been observed, abundantly, at Keene Valley, Essex county, N. Y., on golden rods, late in July and early in August. According to Dr. LeConte, it is a common insect, extending from Lake Suijerior and the Mississippi river to the Pacific. It was origi- nally described by Kirby, in his Fauna Boreali Americana, from collec- tions made in Canada by Dr. Bigsby. Galeruca xanthomel^xa {Sch.). — Examj)les of this beetle, so exceed- ingly destructive to elm trees, were received from Poughkeepsie, N. ¥., where they had recently'' made their appearance. It was first observed about fifty years ago, in the vicinity of Baltimore, Md., and not long thereafter, it became a serious nuisance in Washington, D. C, and in New Jersey. During the last few years it has extended its ravages to Long Island and Westchester county, N. Y., where by its complete defoliation of large and beautiful elms, and by the myriads of the dis- gusting larvge swarming on the trunks of the trees, it became a common object of observation and execration. It has continued to extend itself slowly in this State (and in Massachusetts), until we have it now in Poughkeepsie, midway between New^ York and Albany, which is the most northern locality within the State from which it has been reported. The beetle and its operations upon the leaves of the elm, are shown in Figure 59, taken from the Eeport of the Department of Agriculture for 1883, in which the Entomologist, Professor Riley, has given the habits and natural history of the insect, the best remedies for it, and experiments made at Washington, with insecticides for its control. The same account has been reprinted as Bulletin No. 6, of the Division of Entomology, and also in Bulletin No. 10, of the Division — " Our Shade Trees and their Insect Defoliators." Copies of this last publica- 144 Forty-first Report on the State Museum. tiou are jjerliaps still procurable ui^on ai3j)lication to the Department of Agriculture. Fig. 59.— The Elm-leaf beetle, Galeeuca xanthomel^na, in its different stages. In the figure, a, shows the eggs as they are deposited in clusters on the leaf; h, the larvae; o, the beetle in natural size; e, the eggs enlarged; /, the sculpture under a high magnifying power; g, the larva in about twice its natural size; h, a side view of a segment of the larva; i, dorsal view of the same; j and k, the pupa and the beetle enlarged; I, a portion of the wing-cover of the beetle enlarged. * Hylesinus opaculus Lee. — This little bark-boring beetle (deter- mined by Dr. Horn) was found by Professor C H. Peck, State Botanist, under the bark of living, and to all appearance, healthy cedar trees {Arbor vitce). They occurred May twenty-sixth, within their main galleries, with eggs laid at intervals, in niches on each side, from which, later, would run the lateral galleries of the larvae. The beetle has hitherto been recorded only on elm and ash ( Ulmus and Fraxinus). Phlceotribiis LiMiNARis (Harris). — Numbers of this beetle, designated by Saunders as the elm-bark beetle, although perhaps more frequently Report of the State Entomologist. 145 occurring in the peach, were emerging in my ofi&ce June sixth, from sections of the trunk of a young peach tree, received from Mr. G. W. Duvall, from near Annapolis, Md. The tree had, it was believed, been killed by the insect the preceding year. The main galleries of the beetles, are usually run transversely across the trunk, but at times are inclined at various angles up to forty-five degrees. The longest are about one inch and a half in length, by one-twentieth of an inch broad, and show plainly the row of niches on each side excavated for the reception of the eggs, and from which the galleries of the young larvae proceed. These galleries are an inch and a half, or more, in length. Those central on the main gallery, extend at right angles to it, while those on each side thereof diverge at such angles as their greater breadth, consequent on the inci'easing size of the larvse, necessitate. The galleries are not strictly rectilinear, but are somewhat waved. Dr. Harris, Dr. Fitch, and subsequent writers mention this beetle as occurring under elm bark. I have never found it in such a situation. Mr. Schwarz gives as his experience, which in the Scolytidce has been so extensive as to deserve being accepted as authoritative, that it does not occur under elm bark. He thinks that it has been confounded with Hylesinus opaculus, which is rather common under such conditions and which resembles it so closely that without examination of the anten- nal structure the two can hardly be separated {Proceed. Entomolog. Soc. of Washington; i 1888, p. 113). Belostojia Americana Leidy. — Mr. B. D. Skinner, of Greenport, N. Y., in sending a living specimen of this " water- bug " for name, on February twenty-second, states that he only knows the insect as seen during the winter under the ice of a certain fresh-water pond near Greenport, on the Long Island coast. On a pleasant day when the ice is free from snow and clear, a dozen or two could be noticed in a short time, moving slowly along under the ice. Boys sometimes amuse themselves by lining their course, and cutting out a block of ice a little distance in front of them, upon reaching which, they rise up to the surface and are taken by hand. The insect is shown in Figure 60, reduced about one-fourth in size, from the examj^le from which it was drawn. Large examples measure about one inch and one-half in length. From the frequency with which this insect is attracted to electric 34 Fig. 60. — Belostoma Ameeicanum. 146 Forty-first Report on the State Museum, lights, it has of late in many localities become known as " the electric- light bug." Cekesa bubalus (Fair.). — Several twigs of apple-tree from the nursery of Maxwell Brothers, at Geneva, N. Y., com- municated by Mr. Groff, contained the egg-deposits of the "bufifalo tree-hojDper." A piece of a twig two and //^LU^mPV a half inches long showed eighteen of these deposits, tfiAwilh averaging eighteen eggs in each. Figure 61, repre- sents the insect, enlarged to about twice its natural size. Fig. 61.— Ceresa BUBALUS (Fabr.), As the mode of oviposition has been differently enlarged. described b}^ different writers, and in some cases erro- neously, it is with pleasure that we give place to a portion of a note recently communicated to the " Industrialist," of Manhattan, Kansas, upon the method of egg-laying in this insect, by Professor Popenoe, with the figures which satisfactorily illustrate it. " The irregulai'ly circular or oblong scars, resulting from the growth of the injured bark upon branches and twigs punctured by the insect in question, occur numerously on the twigs of vari- ous trees, especially upon the willow, soft maple and apple. In a young apple orchard in this vicinity, the scars were so numerous that the growth of the trees was lessened and their shape injured in consequence. The slits in the bark, made by the ovipositor of the female tree- hopper, are two in a place, slightly curved, their concave sides facing. The strip of bark between these slits is separated from the wood, as the insect thrusts the ovipositor from each slit to the bark under or beyond FiG.62.-Ovipositionofthe Buffalo tree-hop- ^j^g opposite slit, the eggS in per, Cekesa bubalus; showing the insect at ■. ^ ^ ■, . i ^ ^,+,.^ work, scars made by it in the wood, a section each row havmg been mtlO- of a twig with bark removed with egg-clusters duced through the sllt above in place, and an enlarged egg-cluster. (After the opposite roW. The growth Popenoe.) of the bark is thus checked, and the incisions remain for several years as the irregular scars above noted. The wounds are made more numerously upon the upper side of the branch, and are often so abundant that the branch is deformed Report of tse State Entomologist. 147 in growth. The insect, which is well shown in a side view at d in the accoiupauyiug figure, is of a bright grass-green color, and very active, liying Avith a buzzing noise when approached. The insect in all stages feeds upon the juices of various plants. It is very gener- ally distributed, but does not usually appear in such numbers as to be considered injurious. Chermes pinicoeticis Fitch. — From branches of pine badly infested with the pine-bark Chermes, taken in Washington Park, Albany, in the early part of June, immense numbers of this minute aphis emerged, during the latter part of June, a large proportion of which were of the winged form. The branches having been placed beneath a glass shade for convenience of observation, the insects as they emerged banked up in a pile against the rim on the side toward the light. A notice of the species, with figures, may be found in the Second RejA. Ins. N. Y., 1885, pp. 180-184 CEcANTHUs NivEus Harris. — - Peach twigs, badly scarred through the oviposition of this insect, the white flower-cricket, were received, in April, from Mr. O. "Wilson, of Keuka, Chemung county, N. Y. APPENDIX. (A.) SOME EXTRA-LIMITAL INSECTS/ Carpocapsa saltitans Westwood, And its Jumping Seeds. (Orel. Lepidoptera : Fam. Tortricid^.) Westwood: in Proc. Ash molean See, iii. 1857, pp. 137-8; in Trans. Lend. Ent. See, ser. 2, iv, 1858, p. 27 ; in Gard. Cliron., 1859, p. 909. Lucas: in Ann. Soc. Ent. France, sor. iii, vi, 1859 — Bull., pp. 10, 3:3, 41, 4-t (as Carpocapsa Behaisiana); ib., vii, pp. 561-5GB(as C. DesJtaisiana). Lintner: in Albany Argus, for Oct. 11, 1875; in Proc. Alb. Institute, ii, 1878, pp. 264-266. in Count. Gent., xlix, 1884, p. 757; in Bull. Brook. Entomolog. Soc, vii, 1884, p. 92. Riley: in Trans. St. Louis Acad. Sci., iii, 1875, p. cxc. ; in Amer. Nat., x, 1876, pp. 216-218; in Proc. U. S. Nat. Mus., v, 188, pp. 632-635, flg. Dodge: in Field and Forest, ii, 1876. p. 54-5. Feknald: Cat. Tortric. N. A., 1882, p. 54, No. 396; in Trans. Amer. Ent. Soc, x, 1882. The Seeds. The so-called " Mexican jumping seeds," whenever observed, excite so much curiosity that the following information is offered of them. The seeds are about four-tenths of an inch long, and of about the same width, smooth on the outer surface, bisected by lines which show them to be two-valved. and of a form indicating that they had been united in a globular three-celled ovary. In shape they are sub-triangular, their two inner sides plain and meeting at an obtuse angle, and the outer side rounded. They are shown in two views in the figure, at e and/. They are known to the inhabitants of Sonora as " brincaderos," meaning jumpers. History of the Insect. Their peculiar jumping movements have made them objects of much interest since they were first brought to scientific notice in the year 1857, through specimens sent from Mexico by the British Charge d'Affaires, and exhibit- ed to the Entomologi- cal Society of London 1' by the secretary. The seeds were said to be a species of Euphorbia, and they were sup- Fig. 63.— Carpocapsa saltitans; a, the larva; f), the pupa; posed to contain a c, the moth ; d, wing of a pale variety ; e, seed with pupa- lepidopterous larva, case ; /, seed from its lower side. * The insects herewith noticed are not known to the writer to occur in the State of New York, and are therefore separated from the " Injurious and other Insects of the State of New York " of the preceding'pages. 152 Forty-first Report on the State Museum. In June of the following year, Professor J. O. Westwood exhibited to the society the perfect insect (a moth) which he had bred from the seeds, and in an accompanying paper described and named as Carpocapsa saltitans. It is shown at c in the figure. A few months later, M. Lucas, in ignorance of Professor Westwood's work, in a paper entitled " Observations sur une nouvelle espece de Carpo- capsa, et remarques sur les movements que la chenille de la Lepidoptere imprime a des graines d'une Euphorbe du Mexique, dans lesquelles ellese metamorphose," published in November, of 1858, in the Beviie et Magazin de Zoologie — redescribed and named the insect as Carpocapsa Dehaisiana. Under this latter name some examples were exhibited by me and remarked upon at a meeting of the Albany Institute, on October 5, 1875. In the Gardener's Chronicle of November 12, 1859 (1. c), Prof. Westwood has given an interesting paper on these seeds, in which they and the moth that they disclose are described and figured. Its Generic Relations. The insect belongs to the family of comparatively small moths known as Tortricidce, the larvae of which are mainly "leaf-rollers." Its generic relations are of particular interest, since it pertains to the same genus with the codling-moth, Carpjocapsapomonella. The larva of the codling-moth is the common and well-known apple- worm, which is so very destructive to apples in this country and in Europe, tunneling and disfiguring them with its excremental-crowded burrows and unsightly "worm-holes." It has, however, entirely different habits during its progress to maturity and subsequent transformations, nor has it ever shown any jumping propensities. Its Jumping- Movements. The ordinary "jumps " of the C. saltitans are successive leaps of about one-eighth of an inch in length, repeated at intervals of a second or two. At times, however, they are more violent — turning the seed-vessel from one of its flat sides, to its concave surface, spinning it around upon one end, or projecting it, with an irregular rolling motion, to a distance of an inch or more. "When held in the hand, the jumps give quite a perceptible impulse to the palm. Placed upon a small table, in a few minutes several will have thrown themselves over its edges upon the floor. If confined in a box, they in a short time become quiet, and no sound is heard from them ; but upon opening and exposing them to the light, the motions are at once moderately resumed. If further disturbed by being turned out upon a table or into the hand, their more violent motions soon commence, and continue for a long time. Their peculiar movements are said by Prof. Eiley, to be produced by the larva holding fast to the silk lining of the seed-vessel with its three hinder pairs of strongly hooked abdominal legs, and in this position, with the anterior portion of its body curved upward, violently tapping the walls with its head, sometimes thrown from side to side, but more often brought directly down, as in the motion of a woodpecker's head when tapping for insects. Report of the State Ento3iologist. 153 Another Species Reared from the Seeds. A package of these seeds was received by me in August, 188^, ^rom a correspondent at Garrisons, N. Y., to whom they had come by mail without any indication of their source. Soon after opening the box, and leaving its contents exposed on my table, a moth was noticed on the window of my office. It was captured, and from its general appearance, its source was naturally referred to the Euphorbia seeds ; and as confirmatory, on examination, a seed was found split open in the middle and with twisted valves. The moth had evidently escaped from it. With no knowledge at the time of the appearance and structure of the Carpocapsa saltitans, the above example was accepted as that species, and referred to as such in a communication on " Jumping Seeds " made to the Country Gentleman, of September 11, 1884. The peculiar structure of its hinder legs — the tibiae and tarsi of which were broadly dilated (it was a male) — seemed so unlike a Carpocapsa, that a reexamination and study was made of it later, with the interesting result that it was the insect which Lord Walsingham had described as Carpocapsa latiferreana,*- and for which Professor Riley, from the structural peculiarities above noticed and others, had subsequently established the genus Mellisopus.'\ Prof. Fernald, in his Catalogue of the Tortricidce of North America, has given as the habitat of M. latiferreana. New Hampshire, Missouri, Cali- fornia, and Texas, and for its food, oak acorns. If knowledge of its food is hitherto limited to this statement, the escape of an example from a Euphorbia seed, is an interesting incident. Will its larva prove to be a •'jumper?" Its manner of escape, through the splitting of the seed, is quite different from that of C. saltitans, to be described hereafter. Active Period of the Seeds. In writing of these seeds, under date of September third, after the emer- gence of M. latiferreana, it was stated that the remainder (thirty-two in number) were at that time in their larval stage, as each one showed active motions, which are limited, it is believed, to this stage. The seeds were shown and remarked upon at the meeting of the Ameri- can Association for the Advancement of Science, in September, 1884, when their strange movements excited much interest in those who saw them for the first time. No note was made, unfortunately, of the time when their motions ceased. Such observation would probably have marked the approximate time of the larval change to pupation. So late as November first, all but two continued active, though not to the extent displayed in early September. Soon after their reception one of the seed-vessels was partially crushed by accident, disclosing the larva within. The day following, the broken and separated walls were found to have been repaired and firmly united by a thick interior coating of silk. * Illustrations of Typical Specimens of Lepidoptera Heterocera in the Collection of the British Museum. Part IV,— North American Tortricidae. London, 1879, p. 70, pi. 76, flg. 8. t Transactions of the St. Louis Academy of Science, iv, 1881, p. 322; Americayi Naturalist XV, 1881, p. 480. 35 154 Forty-first Report on tee State Museum. Emergence of the Moth. from the Seed- Vessel. The first moth made its appearance on the 13th of April, 1885, having escaped from its box and aliglited on my table in the evening, where it had been attracted by the light. Of the twenty seeds that had been retained, fourteen at this time showed the small (nearly one-tenth of an inch in diameter) rounded interior larval cutting, the outer shell of which would be separated and pushed off as a lid for the escape of the imago. In each instance this mark was on the lower end of the outer surface of the seed, nearly opposite to the scar of the inner surfaces, and in all but two was so nearly central as to embrace the carina. The seeds not tlius marked, without doubt, contained dead insects. This method of preparation for the escape of the imago is quite different from that given by Prof. Eiley, in the Transactions of the St. Louis Acad- emy of Science {loc. cit.), which is as follows: "Toward the month of February the larva eats a circular hole through the hard shell of its hab- itation, and then closes it again with a little plug of silk so admirably adjusted that the future moth, which will have no jaws to cut with, may escape from its prison." Examination of the lid of the aperture through which the insect has effected its escape, will show that it consists only of the outer wall of the seed — the inner wall and the thicker white connecting material between the two, having been eaten away. A slight pressure by the pupa would suffice for detaching and forcing open the lid, which frequently retains its attachment to the seed by a few fibres at one point. The empty pupa-case is often held in the opening (as represented in figure 63 at e), as in the ^geriadce, to those of which its abdominal bands of teeth gives it resemblance. When the Moths are Disclosed. Each of the fourteen seeds disclosed its imago. Their time of appear- ance was very unequal — the first moth emerging April thirteenth, as pre- viously stated, and the last September twentieth. Those reared in Paris by M. Lucas were obtained between the tenth and twentieth of February, and in London, by Professor Westwood, during the same month. Other Jumping Seeds. In addition to the above, three other "jumping seeds," according to Dr. Hagen, are known, viz. : An Euphorbia, also of Mexico, containing a small hymenopterous insects ; a Tamarix, of Algiers, containing a coleopterous larva bearing the name of NanojDhyes tamariscis; and another, the seed of which is unknown by name, in which a hymenopterous insect undergoes its transformations. Further information in regard to these seeds and their insect guests may be found in the American Naturalist for April, 1876 (loc. cit.), in an article entitled "Jumping Seeds and Galls," by C. V. Riley; by the same, in the Proceedings of the TJ. S. National Museum (loc. cit.) ; and in Field and Forest, by its editor, Mr. Charles R. Dodge, as cited. Report of the State Entomologist. 155 Systena blanda Melsh. Tlie Broad-striped Flea-beetle. " (Orel. Coleoptera: Fam. Chrysomelid^.) Melsheimer: in Proc. Acad. Nat. Sci. Phila., iii, 184—, p. 164. LeConte: In Smithson. Contrib. Knowl., xi, 1859, p. 26 (as Systena hxiwmala). Crotch : in Proc. Acad. Nat. Sci. Phila. [xxiv], 1873, p. 69. Glover: in Kept. Commis. Agrieul. for 1873, p. 152, fig. 1 (feeds on corn). Le Baron: -tth Kept. Ins. 111., 1874, p. 173. Forbes: I3th Rept. Ins. 111., 1884, p. 86 (on strawberry). HKNSHA.W: List of Coleop. of N. Amer., 1885, p. 112, No. 7003. Hunt: in Miss. Ess. Eeonom. Ent., 1886, p. 105-6 (bibliog. of corn-eating insects). LiNTNEK: in Count. Gent., Hi, 1887, p. 441 (on cotton). Examples of this beetle were received in May, from Jackson county, Ga., accompanied with the following statement of serious injuries com- mitted by them. Reported as a Cotton Pest. " I send you a small bug that is eating my cotton plants, and a few of the plants that they have been feeding on. I do not find them except where the cotton was planted on stubble land, on which the common ragweed grew after oats, last year. A portion of the field was turned last Septem- ber; the balance was not plowed until March. The same little bug killed almost entirely, last year, about eight acres of cotton that was planted after ragweed. I will be greatly obliged for a suggestion of a practical remedy." Description of the Insect. The beetles sent with the above reported attack, are of the family of Chrysomelidie, or leaf-eaters, and are known scientifically as Sijstena blanda Mels. They belong to a variety known as bitceniata LeConte, as kindly determined by Dr. Horn, having been described as a distinct species from some individuals of a large form and dark color, but which were sub- sequently found to be but varietal features. The beetles are elongate, slender, dull ochreous-yellow, with a black stripe on the inner and outer margin of each wing-cover — the two inner ones from their coalescence appearing as one ; the space intermediate to the marginal black stripes presenting the appearance of a broad yellow stripe. The wing-covers have the punctures irregularly distributed instead of arranged in rows. The beetle is figured by Mr. Glover in the Eeport of the Commissioner of Agriculture, for 1873. Crops Attacked by it. The insect has not hitherto been reported as attacking the cotton plant, and indeed no notices have appeared of extensive injuries by it to any valuable crop, except to corn. In June, of 1873, examples of the beetle were sent for name to the Depart- ment of Agriculture at Washington, from Chambersburgh, Pa., with the statement that they had nearly devastated a field of corn, having eaten the leaves and left the bare stalks standing. They were observed to be very voracious and quite active, hopping like fleas, and hiding in the soil if there was not time to escape by flying away. Dr. Le Baron has referred to it {loc. cit.) as injurious to young corn in the Middle States, but has given no particulars. 156 Forty-first Report on the State Museum. Professor Forbes, in the Thirteenth Illinois Eeport, states that it was especially abundant near Anna, in Southern Illinois, where it was feeding on the leaves of the strawberiy, as was demonstrated by dissection of its stomach. Professor F. M. Webster has observed it in Indiana feeding injuriously upon the potato. He states that in a locality visited by him, where the Colorado potato-beetle was common, far more damage had been done in eating the leaves by the adult Sijstena blanda, and to a less degree by Sys- tena frontalis {Beport Comniis. Agricul. for 1887, p. 150). Preventives and Remedies. This beetle may not be expected to prove a very serious pest of the cot- ton. As it seems, from the communication sent, to be so associated with the ragweed [Ambr'osia], a natural and simple preventive of its injuries should be found in the destruction of the weed on which it may be sup- posed to feed and develop in the autumn. When found on the young cotton plants, relief can be obtained by sprinkling dust, fine sand, ashes, or some similar material over the leaves when wet with dew, or any other of the methods commonly resorted to for protection from the cucumber flea-beetle, Crepidodera cucumeris, an insect having similar habits, and to which it is nearly allied. The Systenas are not regarded as injurious insects usually. Their attacks are often quite local, although serious at times, as that of the red-headed Systena, Systena frontalis (Fabr.), has been in portions of the Province of Ontario on grapevines,* and also, on many garden plants the present year (1887), fand Systena marginalis (111.) on oaks, elms, and hickory in the same province. The habitat of S. blanda is given as "Atlantic region and New Mexico." Its range seems to embrace several of the Western States. I have no knowledge of its occuri'ence within the State of New York. lieptocoris trivittatus (Say). Tlie Box-elder Blant-bug. (Ord. Hemiptera: Subord : Heteroptera: Fam. Berytidji:.) Lijgmis trivittatus Sat: ia Journ. Acad. Nat. Sei. Phil., iv, 1825, p. 322; Compl. Writ, Lee. edit., 1883, p. 246. Leptocoris trivittatus Stal: Enum. Hemipt., i, , n. 226. Glover: MS. Notes Journ.— Hemipt., 1876, p. 43, pi. 4, flg. 24. Uhlee: List Hemipt. West Miss. Eiv., 1876, p. 35 ; in Bull. U. S. G.-G. Surv. Terr., i, 1876, p. 301; Ch. List Hemipt. N. A., 1886, p. 13, No. 606. " " PoPENOE: in Amer. Entomol., iii, 1880, p. 162. Lintnee: in Count. Gent., lit, 1887, p. 69. Eiley: in Bull. No. 12, Div. Entomol.— U. S. Dept. Agricul., 1886, p. 41, pi. 1, fig. 5. Numbers Occurring' on Shade Trees. A number of examples of a hemipterous insect, belonging to the "plant bugs," were received in their living state early in January, from Sterling, Kansas. Although they had not been observed as inflicting any injury * Saunder's Insects Injurious to Fruits, 1883, p. 283. t The Ottawa Naturalist, ii, 1888, page 22. Report of the State Entomologist. 157 upon the trees on which they occnrrcd, or elsewhere, they had excited much curiosity from occurring in such numbers, from their general dis- tribution, and from their continuing so late in the winter. Their contribu- tor, Mr. J. 31. Moore, could give no particular account of tliem : they had been found everywhere during the autumn and winter, and had first been noticed in the early autumn. They were said to be more numerous where the box-elder tree abounded. A friend had reported to him their great abundance in the Indian Territory, during the summer, in and around the tents of his party, where they were known as the " honey-bug" [perhaps from the odor peculiar to them]. Description . The insect, shown in Figure 64, is one-half inch long by two-tenths of an inch broad, flat upon the upper side; the thorax with a central line and the sides red ; the thick por- tion (coriaceous) of its wing-covers margined on the sides and behind with red ; the lower sides of the body is red in places. It was originally described by Say in the Journal of the Academy of Natural Sciences of Philadelphia, iv, as Lygceus trivittatus, the specific name being drawn from the three red thoracic stripes. It has subsequently found place in the genus Leptocoris. The type specimens were from Missouri. Say's description is as follows : "Body black; eyes and stemmata sanguineous ; thorax j mutic; two indented transverse lines near the head, of jf which the anterior one is curved in the middle ; three bright rufous lines, of which two are marginal ; posterior edge obscurely rufous ; hemelytra, coriaceous portion with a rufous exterior and posterior margin; membranaceous ^lo r,4 — The tip immaculate ; trochanters rufous ; tergum rufous with box-elder plant- three lateral black punctures ; venter, margin, and middle bug, Leptocoris rufous. Length nine-twentieths of an inch." trivittatus. Observed in Kansas. The abundance noticed above is doubtless unusual. Our correspondent had never noticed the insect before, and it has apparently received but little attention, for the only notice of its habits that is found of* it is the following communication from Prof. E. A. Popenoe, of Topeka, Kansas, in the American Entomologist for July, 1880, vol. iii, p. 162 : Last fall the box-elders, young soft maples and ash trees on the college grounds, were infested by a black, red-lined plant-bug — the Lexjtocoris trwittatuii of Say — that punctured the bark of the trunk and limbs, feed- ing upon the sap. These bugs have passed the winter in sheltered situa- tions in considerable numbers, and may prove troublesome during the coming season. The young bugs are most injurious, as they appear in much greater numbers, but may be brushed from the trees with a broom and destroyed upon the ground. This mode of operation is rendered the more successful by their habits of congregating on certain parts of the tree at this age. They are then chiefly red in color, acquiring the black with their wings in the adult state. Its Favorite Food-plant. The box-elder for which the bugs showed the preference, is the Negundo aceroides, nearly allied to the maples, and sometimes known by the com- 158 FoRtT-FIRST MePORT ON THE StATE MtTSEtlM. mon name of the ash-leaved maple. It is not, I believe, native to the State of New York, but occurs southward and westward from Pennsylvania, Distribution. The three-striped Leptocoris — the only U. S. species of the genus — is a western form, not occurring east of the Mississippi river. Its distribution, according to Uhler, is Colorado, Arizona, California, Kansas, Missouri and Mexico. It was observed by Prof. Uhler, at Canon City, Cal., on August eleventh, at the roots of Cacti and Yuccas. It was found by Dr. Packard on July twenty-second, at the American Fork Caiion, Utah. Develops a Fondness for Fruit. The above was substantially communicated to the Country Gentleman for the issue of January 27, 1887 (see page 193 of this report). Since that time, the insect has been publicly presented under a more serious aspect than that of infesting shade trees — in that of a fruit depredator. As quite an interesting addition to our knowledge of its habits, the following trans- cription is made from Bulletin No. 12, of the Division of Entomology, U. S. Department of Agriculture, bearing date of 1886, and distributed in May, 1887. The figure given on the preceding page is from the same source. Leptocoris trivittata injuring apples. — This bug is quite a common species and has been found in a great variety of situations. It is characteristically a plant-feeder, but has never been known to occur in such numbers as to do much damage to any cultivated crop. It has been found in large flowers like magnolia, covered with pollen, and occurs in summer on the stems and leaves of annual plants, which it pi'ob- ably punctures. In August of the present year, however, specimens were sent to us by Mr. A. L. Siler, of Ranch, Kane county, Utah, as injuring fruit at Kanab, the county seat of the same county. Mr. Siler's attention was called to them by the postmaster, Mr. B. L. Young, who stated that these insects were destroying their fruit crop, eating the fruit as fast as it ripened. On one tree which Mr. Siler examined, and wliich bore apples of a medium size, they were present in enormous numbers, and every apple that he could see was covered with the bugs. They were stated to have bred on the box-elder shade trees (Negunda aceroides). Whether the bug breeds, as above stated, on the box-elder, or simply frequents it from some preference entertained for it — all the accounts associating it with that tree, its designation in popular parlance, as "the box-elder plant-bug," would be quite appropriate for it. Mantis Carolina Linnteus. The Carolina Mantis. (Ord. Orthoptera: Fam. Mantid^.) LiNN^us: Syst. Nat., l'2th edit., ii, 1756, p. 691, Fitch: in Amer. Quart. Joiirn. Agr.-Sci., vi, 1847, p. 146 (as Gryllus). Thomas: in Trans. 111. St. Agr. Soc, v. p. 441. Glovee: in Rept. Coram. Agr. for 1866, p. 40 (habits, etc.); id. for 1874, p. 133-4 (descrip- tion and habits). Walsh-Rilet : in Amer. Entomol., i, 1868, p. 59 (habits and oviposition). Riley: 1st Rept. Ins. Mo., 1809, pp. 169-171, figs. 94, 95 (general account) ; in 1st Rept. U. S. Entomolog. Comm., 1878, p. 334 (eats locusts); in 4th Rept. id., 1885. p. 99, fig. 25 (eats cotton-worms). Report of the State Entomologist. 159 Packaed: Guide Stud. Ins., 1869, p. 574, flg. 568; in 3d Kept. U. S. Entomolog. Comm., 1883, pp. 310-312 (anatomy). Hubbakd: Oranse Insects, 1885, pp. 189, 190, figs. 90,91. Lintner: in Count. Gent., lii, 1887, p. 9 (eggs, etc.). The Egg-Packet. Two egg-packets, readily referable to Mantis Carolina, were received from Mr. C. M. Hedges, of Chaiiottsville, Va., one of which had given out the young insects which were sent with it, during the preceding April — the other, with its eggs unhatched, was taken in the month of December. Both wore found on exposed board fences, and several others had been seen during the autumn. They were accompanied with a request for some information respecting them. These strange-looking objects would probably not have been recognized by their collector as containing eggs had not the hatched insects disclosed their nature. They are in masses of considerable size, as shown in the accom- panying figure, of a gray color, over an inch long by one half-inch broad and one-fourth of an inch high, rounded at one end and pointed at the other. In gen- eral shape, they resemble a small boat turned bottom upward ; and this resemblance is still more marked in the broad, flat, keel-like structure that traverses its length. Careful examination will show from twenty to twenty- five layers in the packet, or more correctly, as many folds on each side, indicating, if each such fold contains a single egg, from forty to fifty as the usual number of eggs. From a larger cluster than the above, sent to me in February, by Mr. C, R. Moore, of Birds Nest,Va., sixty- five young Mantis subsequently emerged. This strange-looking object is well represented in the figure, except that the " keel " does notpresentthe braided appearance there shown, but could be better illustrated by corrugating in short folds a narrow strip of flexible card-board, and then pressing at the ends until the folds touch one another in the center. Thej' are simply in con- tact centrally, and not interlaced, as made to appear in the fiarure. Fig. 65.— Egg - packets of Man- tis Cakolina. How are the Eggs Deposited ? The manner in which the eggs are deposited does not appear to be positively known — whether each one is extruded singly and the entire mass built up symmetrically by successive additions, as are the egg- pods of some other members of the same order of Orthoptera, the grasshoppers (see the oviposition of the Eocky Mountain locust, in the Firat Rept. of the . U. S. Entoxiological Commission, pp. 223-225, figs. 1-4), or if, as in other Orthoptera, as the cockroach and Croton- bug, it is slowly extruded as a full-formed egg-case. That it is not free, but fastened by its under surface to boards or branches of trees, even adapting itself to curves in the latter, would apparently indicate that it is built up on the surface where it is placed. Prof. Riley, in his First Report, 160 FORTY-FIKST REPORT ON THE IS TATE MvSEVM. published in 1869, has written of it: "I have found the mass while it was yet quite soft and freshly laid, and have dissected the female just before she was about to deposit, and I incline to believe that it is gradually pro- truded in a soft, mucilaginous state, being covered at the time with a white, frothy, spittle-like substance, which soon hardens and becomes brittle upon exposure to the air." One who had witnessed the operation has rather vaguely stated of it that the eggs are " pumped out, and the entire mass elaborately shaped, with a fine instinct of construction as the process continues." Arrangement of tlie Egg-Packet. Apparently, the most reliable account of the structure of the packet and its deposit, is that given by Mr. H. G. Hubbard, in his Insects Affecting the Orange, which states : " The eggs occupy flattened cells, placed in two ranks, alternating with each other ; the cluster of cells has a braided or woven appearance, but consists simply of a continuous ribbon of mucus, folded in close flutings, and having an egg deposited in the bight or angle of each fold. The 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 eggs are laid during the month of September, and are hatched in June of the following year. Egg-packets of Other Species, Prof. Westwood, in his Classification of Insects (i, p. 424), has figured the egg-mass of a Brazilian Mantis, which is attached to a twig at its base, and resembles a seed-pod, being of a green color, and terminating in a long, acute point ; and another case of a species from Bengal, of an oval, nearly globular form, attached to a twig by its longest diameter, with its keel upward. Appearance of the Insect. The insect produced from these eggs is of so peculiar and unusual an appearance, that in the Southern States where it occurs, it has received the popular names of "rear-horse," "race-horse," " praying Mantis," "camel- cricket," and even " the devil's riding-horse." In Europe they are known as sooth-sayers, diviners {prie-DiSu in France), from their strange attitude when at rest, as if engaged in prayer, with uplifted hands. It is a brownish or yellow-green long-legged creature, two inches or more in length, broad- bodied in the female, but narrow in the male ; the many- veined thin wings resemble folded leaves ; the front wings have each a brown spot centrally, and are borne rather flat over the back ; the thorax is slender and almost as long as the body, looking like an elongated neck ; the head is small, but much broader than it is long, triangular, and carried vertically. The two sexes — the slender male and the stouter female, are shown in Figure 66, from Professor Eiley's First Missouri Eeport. Its Food and Habits. ■ When the Mantis is disturbed, it raises its long back almost perpendicu- larly, with its long, stout, heavily-spined fore-legs in position for stxiking out at any object with which it is threatened. Its food consists entirely of living insects. In making its captures, it either lies motionless for hours at a time in wait for its prey, or else steals so slowly upon them that its Report of the State Entomologist. 161 motion is liarcUy perceptible, until it has approached within suitable dis- tance, when its powerful prehensile legs are suddenly thrown forward, grasping its victim, which is then held securely between the two spined joints of the legs folded one on the other, and devoured while struggling for escape. The food of the young consists largely of plant-lice, but as they mature they catch and consume quite large insects. They feed upon flies eagerly ; they are believed to destroy large numbers of cotton-worms in the Southern fields; and they even prey upon the Eocky Mountain locust, as appears from the First Report of the U. S. Entomological Com- mission, page 334. Prof. Riley states {Report of the Entomologist for 1883, p. 163) that they feed on the elm-leaf beetle, Galeruca xanthomelcena. Fig. 60. — The camel cricket, Mantis Cakolina; a, female; b, male. Mr. Hubbard (p. 189, op. cit.) records them as catching every moving insect that comes within their reach on the orange trees in Florida. Their voracity frequently leads them to devour one another, not only when just from the egg, when other food may not be convenient, but not unfre- quently the amorous male falls a victim to the stronger-bodied female. A writer has stated : "The females being much larger, stronger and more rapacious than their mates, will frequently seize and kill them, and after- ward make a good meal from their quivering bodies." Its Distribution and Usefulness. Mantis Carolina is a southern insect, abundant about Washington, D. C, but never occurring in the State of New York. Glover has stated that they have been successfully raised as far north as the Hudson river by bring- ing the egg-cases from the Middle States. Several cases were found fast- ened to the trees the nest autumn, but after that they entirely disappeared. The eggs, probably, can not endure our northern winters. Could it be introduced and acclimated in our Northern States, it would be quite desirable to do so, for it certainly renders gi'eat service in the large num- ber of noxious insects that it consumes in order to satisfy its voracity. An instance is related of a single female devouring eleven living Colorado 36 162 Forty-first Report on tee State Museum. potato beetles in one night, leaving only the wing-cases and parts of the legs. It follows from the above statement of habits, that wherever this insect occurs, either in the egg or ima;go state, it is well deserving of being spared from the indiscriminate destruction usually extended to all of the insect world, in the mistaken idea that only harm can come from this class of animated nature. The number of beneficial insects is very large — by far too large to attempt their enumeration. There are entire families which are composed of only such species as are of eminent service to mankind. Other Species of Mantis. Figure 67, from "Westwood, represents an European species which is quite common in the south of France — the Man- tis religiosa Linn., commonly known as the Prie-Dieu. It is regarded as perform- "^.-tix/Zzbi^^Si^^^^^'"^:;::^ ''^^^'^'^^^ ing its devotions, when it has assumed its usual attitude with uplifted fore- legs, while, in reality Fig. 67.— Mantis RELIGIOSA, of Europe. it is lying in wait for its prey. Its conduct at such times has been thus described : Settled on the ground, it raises its head and thorax, clasps together the joints of its front legs, and remains thus, motionless for hours together. But only let an imprudent fly come nearly within reach of our devotee, and you will see it stealthily approach it, like a cat who is watching a mouse, and with so much precaution that you can scarcely see that it is moving. Then, all of a sudden, as quick as lightning, it seizes its victim between its legs, provided with sharp spines which cross each other, con- veys it to its mouth and devours it. Our make-believe nun. Preacher, Prie-Dieu, is nothing better than a patient watcher and pitiless destroyer. Mantis oratoria Linn., is another European species, of smaller size, and less commonly met with. A South-American species. Mantis argentina, according to Burmeister, seizes and eats small birds. A species of Mantis, not yet determined, has been sent to me, by Mr. "W. E. Walsh, of Benson, Arizona, as feeding on vegetation [?]. It is a more robust form than the M. Carolina. Its fore-wings are leaf-green, quite broad — their breadth being nearly one-half their length. The stigma is merely defined by its elevated margin, not being marked with color as in M. Carolina. The hind-wings are crossed with about fifteen broken bands. The anterior legs are quite stout and more strongly and numerously spined than in Carolina. The prothorax is broad over the base of the fore- legs, and but slightly toothed on the sides. In Mr. Scudder's " Catalogue of the Orthoptera of North America," four species of Mantis are named as occurring in the United States, of which I have no knowledge, viz. : Mantis ddoropliaca De Haan, Watertown, N. Y. ; M. geminata Stoll, Georgia or Virginia; 3L inqiiinata Serv., South Caro- lina; and M. phryganoides Serv., New York and Cuba. (B.) ENTOMOLOGICAL ADDRESSES. The republication of the following papers of the Entomologist seems desirable, in consideration of their having been printed without the oppor- tunity of correcting, in proof, the many typographical and other errors that they present ; and further, that no extra copies (of the first two) were secured by the author for distribution to those whom they would fail to reach in their original issue, and to whom they might be of value or of interest : [From Proceedings of the 24111 Convocation of tlie University of tlie State of New York.] THE PRESENT STATE OF ENTOMOLOGICAL SCIENCE IN THE UNITED STATES. (Read before tlie Convocation at its Meeting on July 7, 1886.) It would seem proper that a paper upon the present state of entomological science in our country should bo prefaced by a history of its progress. But in two attempts made by me to sketch this history very briefly, the sketches have grown to such a length as in themselves to occupy all the time allotted for this paper. I have therefore laid them aside for the present, and will only ask your indulgence for a few introductory remarks. Early Entomological Studies. Entomology, as a science — although its foundations were laid three hundred a;id fifty years B. C. by Aristotle, the father of zoology, the pupil of Plato, and preceptor of Alexander the Groat — can only date in this country to a period within the memory of many of those now living. True, the ravages of insect pests had previously been observed by agriculturists and recorded in agricultural and scientific journals, as those of the " army-worm " (then called the black worm) in 1743, of the Hessian fly, in 1768, and of the chinch-bug in 1783: —scientific study and description had been made by Peck, afterward a professor of natural history in Harvard College, of a noted insect pest throughout New England, the canker-worm, in 1795:— collections of our insects of considerable magnitude had been made by naturalists from abi-oad and taken to Europe during the latter half of the eighteenth century where they were described and named by Linnajus, Fabricius, Drury, and others:— a work upon American insects, entitled "Natural History of the Rarer Lepidoptera of Georgia," in two volumes, folio, with colored plates of insects and their early stages, which has justly been styled an " ouvrage de luxe," bears date of 1797, but of the Lon- don imprint, having been edited by a distinguished English botanist, and published through the subscriptions largely of the English nobility:— as early as 1806 a catalogue of the insects of Pennsylvania was published by Melsheimer, giving the names of 1,363 species, but they were merely traditional names, unaccompanied by descriptions, of which only 205 can now be identified.— Yet, while we bear in grateful remembrance these early entomological studies, together with others of the kind that may not now be referred to, it is without disparagement of them that we find the foundation of ento- mological science in the United States, in the systematic study, description and publica- 1(34 POBTY-FJRST RePORT OlS THE StATE MUSEtTM. tion of our insects by Thomas Say, the author of "American Entomology," the first chapters of which were issued in 1817. Following these studies came scores of earnest and successful workers, who have contributed in giving to our science the proud position that it now holds. The simple enumeration of their names would be too long a list for the present occasion. Their labors are held in grateful appreciation wherever natural history is cultivated, and they are the acknowledged peers of any of their Eui'opean collaborators. Special Studies of Insect Ordees. It is perhaps fortunate that the field of study presented to the entomological student is so broad, that if he would render the best service to the science — instead of frittering his labor over the entire field, he is compelled to become a specialist and confine him- self to a single group of ordinal or even family value. It is for this reason that the knowledge of our insects shows quite unequal develop- ment in the several orders in which the class is divided. The two orders that are the most advanced are the Coleoptera (beetles) and the Lepidoptera (butterflies and moths). Of these, the several families have been systematically worked and catalogued, aud it is possible for the student to name most of the specimens contained in his cabinet, by the aid of synoptical tables which have been prepared ; while in the other five orders (as most generally accepted), the original descriptions will have to be consulted when accessible in their scattered and perplexing distribution throughout numerous scientific journals; or the material for which name and classification is desired, must be sub- mitted to specialists in the orders who have the disposition and the time to devote to such usually unremunerative work. The Coleoptera, from the facility with which the collections are made and their simple preparation for the cabinet, have received the most study. About ten thousand of our species are known, described, and catalogued. A classification of them has been recently given (in 1883) in a volume entitled, "Classification of the Coleoptera of North America," by Drs. LeConte and Horn. Not only does this volume afl'ord to the American student the needed facility for his study, but so admirably does it embody and present the fruits of the life-labor of one who was peculiarly fitted for the work — Dr. LeConte, whose recent death we mourn — that the new system of classification and order of sequence therein presented, marks so great an advance upon previous systems that it can hardly fail of being accepted by the scientific world. The attractiveness of the butterfiies and moths constituting the order of Lepidoptera, as well as the economic importance of their larvse in their dependence for a food-supply so largely upon the crops which are deemed essential to our existence or comfort, have long made them favorite objects of study. About five thousand species have been described. The butterflies have been carefully studied and largely illustrated in their several stages. A volume given to the public the present year, prepared by Prof. French, of the Southern Illinois Normal University, for the use of classes in zoology and private students, uuder the title ot "The Butterflies of the Eastern United States" (all that region lying east of Nebraska, Kansas and Texas), enables the student, by the aid of synoptic tables, simple descriptions and excellent figures, to identify almost any butterfly pertaining to this Atlantic zoo-geographical province. Of the moths (all of the Lepidoptera not butterflies), several families, as the SphingidcB, Botubycidie and Geome- trid(£, have been given good illustration, and all have been advanced through the enthusiastic labors of special students. While striving to avoid irrelevant detail in this paper, it would not be proper, even in so cursory a reference to scientifle labor richly deserving many pages for its simple record, to omit mention of the debt we owe, for a very respectable knowledge of our Diptera (flies, gnats, etc.), to Baron von Osten Sacken, for a long time a member of the Russian Legation at Washington, and to his friend Dr. Loew, of Prussia. And, as we recall the "Synopsis of the Neuroptera of North America," and several other kindred Report of the State Entomologist. 165 publications not much less extensive, which give us about all that we know of our dratjon -flies, May-flies, caddis-flies, etc., we can not forego mention of the name of Dr. Hermann Hagen, the highest living authority in this order, long distinguished in Prussia as one of the leading entomologists of Europe, but many years ago induced by Louis Agassiz to transfer his labors to this country under the temptation of an unexplored Neuropterous fauna, together with the opportunity for its study in a life- profossorship at Harvard University. Commendable progress has been made in the study of the Orthoptera, of which grasshoppers and crickets are representatives, through the attention given to the order by Mr. Scudder during a long term of years, and later by the members of the United States Entomological Commission in their investigations of the Rocky Mountain locust and allied species. A synopsis of the /l(r(ViitZrf;(gras.shoppers) has been published, but some of the families have not been catalogued. To the kindness of Mr. Scudder I am indebted for an estimate of 450 described species of North American (north of Mexico) Orthoptera, of which 275 are Acridians. In the Hemiptera (plant-lice, scale-insects, cicadas, plant-bugs, etc.), far less progress has been made than with the same order in Europe. Collections and descriptions, however, have advanced to the extent of permitting the publication of a catalogue. The first part of a catalogue, embracing the suborder of Heteroptera, of which the plant-bugs are typical, has recently been published, giving the names of 1,450 species, while the remaining suborder of Homoptera is in preparation. Number of Described Insects. A comprehensive idea of present acriuaintance with our insect fauna, so far as relates to the forms we have to deal with, may be obtained from the following statement: Dr. Packard, well known from his extensive writings as a leading entomologist, has estimated (although somewhat roughly) that there are within tlie limits of the United States 50,000 species of insects.* Of these there are at least (we can not give the precise number, as some of the orders are still uncatalogued) 25,000 described species, f Literature of the Science. The literature of American Entomology has become so voluminous that a good work- ing library for a student whose studies embrace all the orders of insects, would contain at least Ave hundred volumes, and this would need to be supplemented by the privilege of access to some public library where would be found other works needed for occa- sional reference— not one so barren of scientific publications as our State library, whose catalogue (subject-index) gives but eighty-five entomological titles. Unfortunately, much of the literature, the more recent, and, therefore, the more desir- able, is scattered through the publications of scientific societies, government reports, reports of agricultural and horticultural societies and agricultural papers. G-overnment PahUcations— The knowledge of our insects has been greatly promoted through the liberality of the general government in the large number of valuable pub- lications that have been issued and distributed gratuitously by the Department of Agriculture, the Department of the Interior, and the Engineer Department of the Army. Smithsonian Institution Pi(bliratio7is.— The kindly aid extended by the Smithsonian Institution has proved of incalculable service. Several of the monographs which have contributed so largely to the advance in this department of science owe even their » Hayden's Ninth Annual Report of the United States Geographical and Geological Survey of the Terri- tories for 1875. Washington, 1877, page 590. t In the several orders as follows : Lepidoptera— Butterllies (Edwards List, 1884), 614. Moths (Grote Check List, 1882), 3,184. Tineidfe, not included by Grote (Chambers List, 1878), 779. Diptera (Osten Saoken esti- mate in 1878), 2,500. Coleoptera (Henshaw List of 1885), 9,507. Hemiptera-Heteroptera (Uhler Check List, 1886), 1,448. Hemip.-Homoptera (Uhler estimate), 1,200. Orthoptera (Scudder estimate), 450. Hymenop- tera and Neuroptera combined, at least 5,500. 166 FORTT-FIRST REPORT ON THE StATE MuSEUM. preparation to special reauests made by tlie institution, and to material in considerable part supplied from its collections. We are indebted to it for twenty-two valuable publi- cations on insects. SpriaZs.— Prompt description of new species, of observations of interest, or of special studies, obtain ready publication in the four serials* (two monthly) that are devoted to current literature. Sixty-three volumes of serials have been issued, including the Canadian Entomologist, published in London, Ontario, with contributors mainly from the United States. Bibliography. The aid in any department of study afforded by proper bibliography is appreciated by every student. The entomological student is fortunate in having probably the most complete bibliography ever prepared of any branch of natural history, in the "Biblio- theca Entomologica " of Dr. H. A. Hagen. The labor involved in a work of this scope, may be appreciated when we state that it was eight years in compilation, involving visits to all the principal capitals and libraries in Europe, and that eight hours a day for three years was devoted to its proof-reading. It embraces all entomological books and papers issued from the earliest times to the year 1862, the time of publication — 18,130 in number, by .5,617 authors. From the year 1874, an annotated biographical record of all writings upon American insects has been given in Psyche. It is now appearing in the form of title-slips which may be used as card catalogues, and has reached the current number of 3884. A bibliography of American Economic Entomology is now in course of preparation by Mr. P. Piekman Mann, of the Entomological Division at Washington, which contains at present about twenty-eight thousand manuscript cards, with the compilation, per- haps, not over half completed. Life-Histories of Insects. A knowledge of the life-histories of the insects of a country, may properly be taken as a measure of its progress in the science, for such knowledge must ever afford the basis for advancement in the right direction. In the applications of the science to pro- tection from insect injury, it is indispensable, for until we have learned the several phases that insects assume — their habits, their environments — we do not know how, when, or where they may be most effectively attacked. To our economic entomologists, therefore, particulary to Dr. Fitch and Prof. Riley, are we indebted for the possession of full life-histories of a large number of our injurious species. Some of the histories that have been given us, in their faithfulness, fullness, details and illustration, might serve as models for all similar work. Special mention deserves to be made of the admirable life-histories of our butterflies, published by Mr. W. H. Edwards, in his two quarto volumes (a third in preparation) of the "Butterflies of North America." No other country can boast of such a series, so laboriously studied, so elaborately given, and so beautifully illustrated. But in a knowledge of the early stages of our insects, generally, we are much behind European advance. Thus, we may know the larval form of one-fifth of our lepidoptera ; in Europe about four-fifths are known, together with their food-plants. Of our coleop- tera, the larvae of only about two per cent of the named species have been described, although quite a number are in collections awaiting description and proper illustration. Anatomical Studies. The studies of the anatomy of insects have been numerous, and, from their ability, have added much to the biological knowledge of this class of the animal kingdom. Among the many names associated with this advancement may be mentioned those of Packard, Scudder, Hagen, Burgess, Geisler, Minot, Mark, Dimmock, Leidy,Wyman, and Chambers. ♦Transactions of the American Entomological Society, Psyche, Entomologica Americana, and the Canadian Entomologist. Report of the State Entomologist. 167 In a recent paper upon the "Systematic Position of the Orthoptera in relation to other Orders of Insects," illustrated by forty plates, Dr. Packard has given an abstract of the results of the examination of the external anatomy of a larger number of forms including, also, Pseudoneuroptera and Neuroptera, than had ever before been brought together. He proposes to modify our general seven order classification by separating the Pseudoneuroptera from the Neuroptera, and Dermatoptera (consisting of a single aberrant and perplexing genus, Forficula) from the Orthoptera. This modifieation, together with a change made in the last edition of his "Guide "in the elimination of Thysanura — a lowgroup of wingless forms showing myriapod features — would give the following so(iuence of orders: l. Thysanura; 2. Dermatoptera; 3. Orthoptera; 4. Pseudo-Neuroptera; ."). Hemiptera; 6. Neuroptera; 7. Coleoptera; 8. Diptera; 9. Lepi- doptera; 10. Hymenoptera. Although the Thysanura are so dogradetl a group in development, it is honored by Dr. Packard with possessing a hypotlictical form (" a lost type") in which he suggests that all of the million of species of insects now peopling the globe may be supposed to have had their origin. Histological Studies. Histological studies, consisting of observations of the powers, peculiarities and modifications of the cells that form the tissues of the animal kingdom (as also of the vegetable), and outside of which no life exists, are no longer confined to the medical profession, but have been earnestly entered upon by the zoologist. Until recently, his- tological study of our insects has boon neglected, but it may now be regarded as fairly commenced, with every promise of its successful prosecution. Some valuat)le studies have lately been made by Dr. Charles Sedgwick Minot, among which may l)e specially cited liis "Histology of the Locust," as given in the Third Report of the U. S. Entomological Commission, in sixty pages and fourteen plates, seven of which are devoted to the brain of the locust- For other contributions we are indel)ted to Dr. Packard and Dr. E. L. Mark. Embryological Studies. Contributions of much value to the embryological history of insects have been made in this country, which will compare favoral)ly with those of the German schools. Among several others worthy of pai-ticular mention are those of Dr. Packard upon some species of dragon-Hies, the currant-worm, the locust, and some coleoptera and hymen- optera. An incentive to these studies has l)een the hope that they miglit furnish a safe and satisfactory guide in classification, but up to the present they have failed to yield any infallible data. Another incentive should be found in the facility of study afforded in the often transparent egg-envelope of the insect, and in the rapid development of the embryo — in the house-fly, Masca dnmesfica, a period of only twenty-four hours. Addi- tional inducement is offered in the idea that has been advanced, that the embryological development of an insect should present the series of changes through which it has passed in its evolution from the first hexapod to the rank that the species now holds, i. e., that the egg should furnish an epitome of ancestral history. But this has not been realized. The summary, as presented, is too condensed, and has been, it is claimed, too greatly influenced by a natural tendency to variation, and readiness of adaption to conditions. Much that is sought for is not to be seen. Missing links mar the continuity, asin the evidences of the rocks. And there will always be " missing links " in the chain of evolution with which it is sought to bind all living forms, and all that have had life, to the primordial nucleated eell — itself "evolved from inorganic matter through electro-chemical force." Economic Studies. The study of insects in their relations with man — of their character, habits, trans- formations, food-plants, enemies, diseases, etc.,— with a view of affording protection from the excessive ravages of a large portion of their number, or of utilizing the bene- flts that some may subserve — is what is'understood as economic entomology. In this 168 Forty-first Beport on the State Museum. particular department we are able to report rapid recent progress, and an advance quite beyond that attained in any other country. For this there are two reasons: First.— The study is a necessity for us. In no other country are agricultural products subjected to depredations so great as in the United States — a condition resulting from the introduction of a large number of the most injurious insect pests of Europe unat- tended by their natural parasites, and from the multiplication of species and individ- uals through the large areas devoted to special crops, as fruit orchards of five hundred acres, and wheat fields of from twenty-five to thirty-five thousand acres.* (S'^^ponri.— State and National aid extended to the study. Nearly fifty years ago (in 1837), we And unequivocal recognition of the policy of the State in pi-oviding for investigations of this nature, in the instructions by Governor Edward Everett, of Massachusetts, under which that invaluable " Ti-oatise on Insects Injurious to Vegetation," was pre- pared by Dr. Harris. In them we read as follows: "It is presumed to have been a leading object of the Legislature, in authorizing this survey, to promote the agricultural benefit of the Commonwealth, and you will keep carefully in view the economical relations of every subject of your inquiry, * * * the promotion of com- fort and happiness being the great human end of all science." The example of Massachussets was followed by New York in 1853, in directing and providing for the investigations of Dr. Fitch, which were so ably continued through a long term of years. To the high estimation in which these reports were held, and the practical results attending them, we are indebted for the subsequent investigations and reports of the State entomologists of Missouri and of Illinois, which have been of a high order. Forty State reports on injurious insects have appeard. An entomologist (Mr. Glover), had been connected with the Department of Agriculture at Washington since 1863, by whom annual reports were issued, but with his study of insects, many other official duties were connected. In 1878, in recognition of the growing importance of the study, an Entomological Division was established, organized for efficient work with a chief and assistant, and facilities for ample illustration and pu))lication given it. From that time to the present, the work of the Division has con- tinued to increase in magnitude and importance. Appropriations were made for it the last year, inclusive of a special appropriation for the encouragement of silk-cultui-e in the United States, of S40,000. With such means at its command it has been able to make thorough studies of a large number of our insect pests ; special scientific study of cer- tain little known groups (as the Goccidce, GJialcididce, etc.); of the insect enemies of the cotton, wheat, hops, and other crops ; and to publish these investigations in an annual report, having an edition of four hundred thousand copies, t and in bulletins and otherwise. But the labors of this Division which have particularly contributed to the advance- ment of economic entomology have been those for the discovery of the most efficient materials for use in the destruction of insects, known as insecticides, and in mechanical devices for their application. Of the former, are arsenical poisons, pyrethrum, kerosene emulsions, and bisulphide of carbon ; of the latter are various spraying pumps, nozzle-forks for under-spraying the cotton-plant, eddy-chambered nozzles, cyclone nozzle, centrifugal throwers, bamboo-hose extension pipes for spray- ing tall trees, and other like devices in bewildering nomenclature. At the late World's Centennial Exposition at New Orleans, 117 implements for the application of insecticides, either in powder or spray, were exhibited by the Entomological Division, ranging from the simple powder-bellows for household use, to a complicated field atomizer in which the agitating and distributing machinery is operated by the wheels of the cart upon which it is drawn as it scatters its impalpable spray over nine rows of cotton at once. Additional appropriations have also been made by Congress of $lo,ooo and $15,000 a year, for the investigations by a special commission of the Rocky mountain locust, the cotton-worm, and a few other insects, whose ravages were so extended as to assume a * First Report on the Insects of New York, 1882, pp. 8, 11. + At a cost of at least $50,000. Report of the State Entomologist. 169 national importance. The commission has given us the result of its labors in four large octavo volumes (a fifth is in preparation) and in seven bulletins which more than erjual another volume in size. Entomological Societies. The establishment of entomological societies has contributed much in stimulating the study of our insects. The first society, under the name of the Entomological Society of Pennsylvania, was established at Baltimore in 1812. It would seem to have been a premature organization, resulting in the publication of no papers, probably in the presentation of none, and with a membership that never exceeded the requirements of official duties. At the present there are four societies in active operation in the United States, and one in Canada : established at Washington, Philadelphia, Brooklyn, Cambridge, Mass. , and London, Ontario.* Each of these is issuing publications and has its library and collections. There is also an entomological club connected with the American .Associa- tion for the Advancement of Science, holding an annual series of meetings for the presentation of papers and for general discussions. It is indicative of interest and efficient labor that American entomologists ai-e sus- iaining an equal number of societies with our European collaborators, there being five n Europe — of London, Belgium, France, Italy, and Russia. Entomological Collections. Several largo collections of insects have been brought together in this country, which fully meet the purpose for which collections in natural history are made, viz.: An exhibition of the fauna, more reliable means of naming new material than from pub- lished descriptions, preservation of types, opportunity of comparison of native forms with those from other parts of the world, and access to ample material needed for monographic work. Prominent among the general collections may be mentioned those of the National Museum at Washington, the American Eatomological Society at Philadelphia, and that of the Museum of Comparative Zoology at Cambridge, Massachusetts. The last named is the boast and pride of the American student. In it is contained, with every possible appliance for protection from harm, the collection of Coleoptera which represents the life-labors of Dr. LeConte, and rich with its 4.000 type specimens; Baron von Osten Sa3ken's collection of 2,500 Diptera, including his types and those of Dr. Loew; Cham- bers' collection of Tineidie; the collection made by the Essex Institute of Salem, Jlassa- chusetts; and types of Zeigler, Melsheimer, Say, and others. But its chief attraction is in its biological collection, in which illustration is given, more or less full, of the natural history of above 5,000 species, in their several stages of development, their characteristic depredations, food-plants, architecture, diseases, the parasites that prey upon them, etc. No other collection of the kind in the world surpasses it, if, indeed, any equals it. A collection limited to a single order of insects, the Lepidoptera (butterflies and moths), is to be found in Reading, Pa. , which is probably the largest ever brought together by a private individual. It has been made by Mr. Herman Strecker, and has attained its present magnitude and value through many years of labor, of privation, and an enthusiastic zeal which has known no limit short of full representation of all American forms, and the possession of the most rare and desirable of exotics of the several con- tinents and islands of the sea, so far as they have been procurable, regardless of their cost. Something of an idea of its extent may be had from the statement that it occupies 600 closely packed drawers of the ordinary German museum size, 16x20, seventy of which are devoted to a single genus of butterflies — Pap /7iO, of which our large yellow swallow-tail may be cited as type. The number of named and classified specimens is said by its owner to exceed 70,000. * Entomological Society of Washington, American Entomological Society, Brooklyn Entomological Society, Cambridge Entomological Clvib, anfl the Bntomologieal Society of Ontario. 37 170 Forty-first Report on the State Museum. Entomological Libraries. A reference to some of the entomological libraries of the United States should be of interest as showing the aid found necessary or desirable to our students in the prosecution of their studies. The first in importance is that of the Museum of Comparative Zoology at Cambridge, Massachusetts, having assumed that rank from the incorporation with it of the private library of Dr. Hagen. It is rich in works on Neuroptera, in Bibliography, and in ana- tomical, physiological and biological papers. It is judged to contain about 2,000 volumes and 3,000 pamphlets. Harvard College library contains about 450 volumes. The Public Library of Boston has about 650 volumes, nearly all standard works and but few pamphlets. The Boston Society of Natural History reports about 900 volumes and 550 pamphlets. About one-third of these formerly constituted the private library of Dr. Harris. The Astor Library of New York has about 500 volumes. The Buffalo Society of Natural Sciences has over 500 volumes and about as many pamphlets. The library of the American Entomological Society at Philadelphia is said to consist of 1,728 volumes, inclusive of some general works but in part relating to entomology. The Academy of Natural Sciences of Philadelphia, 956 volumes and 554 pamphlets. The Peabody Institute at Baltimore, over 800 volumes. Of private libraries may be mentioned the following: That of Mr. Scudder, of 765 volumes and nearly 2,000 pamphlets, rich in works on the Orthoptera, butterflies, fossil insects, and the anatomy and embryology of insects. Professor Riley's library contains about 700 volumes and 3,000 pamphlets, largely of biological and economic publications. Dr. LeConte's library, which has been scattered since his death, was mainly in Coleoptora, and contained 700 volumes and 800 pamphlets. Dr. Packard's library, of 470 volumes and 500 pamphlets, has a special value in its embryological and morphological works. Mr. Uhler's library, selected with special reference to his studies of the Hemiptera, contains over 300 volumes and 500 pamphlets. The above items are drawn from a publication by Mr. Scudder in 1880, entitled " The Entomological Libraries of the United States." Since its compilation, large additions have doubtless been made to each one of the libraries. Pal^ontological Entomology. Notwithstanding the abundant wealth of our insect fauna, ever yielding discovery of previously unknown forms, while unnamed and unclassified material is an embarrass- ment in all of our large collections, the ancestors of these myriad forms have not been permitted to lie neglected in the beds of rock that have held their forms for countless ages. The discovery, several years ago (in 1867), in the Rocky mountains, of beds of fossil insects of unsurpassed richness, has given both the opportunity for, and the impetus to, their study. During the past twenty years Mr. S. H. Scudder has devoted much time to the fossil insects occurring in the Devonian rocks of New Brunswick, and in the carboniferous, triassic and tertiary beds of the western States and territories, as may appear from a list of sixty-four publications upon these and European forms, published by him up to 1882. Some tertiary beds of a lake basin at Florissant, in Colo- rado, have proved far more prolific of insect remains than any others in the world. About 12,000 specimens have been taken from them, representing each of the general seven orders of insects, while hundreds of thousands have been left behind. Among them was the first fossil butterfly ever found in America (nine were known from the tertiaries of Europe), and the most perfect one ever found. It is described as "in a wonierf al state of preservation, the wings expanded as if ready for the cabinet, and Report of the State Entomologist. 171 absolutely perfect, with the exception of a small angle of one wing. The antennas are nearly perfect. The markings of the wings are perfectly pi^eserved, and in portions of the surface the form of the scales can be determined with the miscroscope." Entomology in our Schools. I regret that I have to report that entomology has not been given the place in our schools that it deserves. In our State, the Albany Normal School and the Oswego Normal School have given excellent instruction in it— in the latter united with laboratory work. Cornell University sustains a professorship in entomology, with courses of lectures, a labora- tory, a large named and classified collection, and a library so rich in its serials that every entomological journal published in the world finds place in it. In some of our public schools occasional talks are given upon insects when teachers may chance to have a taste for the study. Elsewhere, lectures upon entomology are given in course at Harvard University, the State College of Maine, the Michigan State Agricultural College, Purdue University at Layfayotte, Ind., the Illinois Industrial University, the Iowa Agricultural College and the Kansas State Agricultural College. In each of the State institutions, particular attention is paid to the economic aspect of the science. In some of the common schools of California the science is taught and collections are made by the pupils, in consideration of the interest lately aroused by the great increase of fruit insects in that State. The above, with the exception of some academic instruction in other States, is the sum, so far as known to me, of what is being done in our institutions of learning in this department of science. Will you pardon me if I go beyond the scope of my topic, to enter a protest against this neglect of the study ? Its importance, viewed from a utilitarian standpoint alone, as might easily be shown, entitles it to a reasonable share of attention. Compare it, if you please, in practical importance, with the study of botany, which has become so popular in our schools. Some idea of its importance may bo obtained from the state- ment that careful computations, based upon the census returns of the .agricultural products of the United States, show annual losses to these products of two hundred millions of dollars, a large proportion of which are preventable. In interest, nothing in the range of natural history can equal the study of the wonderfully varied habits of insects and their marvelous transformations. As a mental discipline, it is fully equal to the study of the classics, in its stimulation of the powers of observation, comp.arison, discrimination, memory, while it tends to promote habits of study, industry, delicate manipulation, order, neatness, and precision, which can not but prove of service in any occupation or position in life. Have we the text-books for school instruction, such as are found in other bi-anches of natural history — in botany, for example ? No, we have not; nor can we have, nor are they needed. The synoptic tables and brief descriptions that would be required for the identification of our United States species, with only twice the space devoted to an insect that is given to a plant, would occupy, as I have computed, forty volumes of the size of Gray's School and Field Book of Botany. But identification of species is not the end of entomological study. With "Packard's Guide to the Study of Insects" in the hands of the teacher, and with such assistance as would be suggested by it, he could soon pre- pare himself to give better instruction than that usually obtained from text-books alone. No branch offers such facilities for object-teaching. The objects are almost innumerable — they cost nothing — they even come to you unsought- You could take one hundred species of flies alone from your window-panes. Surely, there is no valid reason for not introducing at once this study in oiir schools. Is it right, I would ask, in passing, and I use the word in its full import as antithetical to wrong, that the 283 academies and academical departments in our State should be able to report but fifty-one of their number as giving instruction in zoology — less than one-fifth ? And yet this is the study that would teach of those wonderful organisms, instinct with life and intelligence, associated with us upon a globe in which the adapta- tions to their wants are as perfect as for our own, and each with a structure in which God is revealed as unmistakably and as clearly as in the structure of the universe. 172 Forty-first Report on tee State Museum. In closing this sketch, quite imperfect from the brief time that could be devoted to it, I desire, Mr. Chancellor, to express to you and to your Honorable Board the obligations and the gratitude of American entomologists for the encouragement that for so many years you have continued to extend to this department of study. The resumption, a few years ago, of economic studies under State authority and provision, after a long intermission, was largely owing to your instrumentality, and to your recognition of their usefulness in the promotion of the agricultural interests of the commonwealth and of the country. [From Entomologica Americana, ii, 1886, pp. 143-I6n.] ANNUAL ADDRESS OF THE PRESIDENT OF THE ENTOMO- LOGICAL CLUB OF THE A. A. A. S. (Read at the Buffalo Meeting of the American Association for the Advancement of Science, August 17, 1886.) Gentlemen.— I do not know that I can better discharge the duty devolving upon me, of the presentation of an address on this occasion, than in reference to some of the evi- dences of the continued progress made in our department of science, as shown in pub- lications which have appeared since our last meeting. Little that I shall refer to, may be new to most of those present, yet a retrospect of labor satisfactorily performed and successfully prosecuted, is always agreeable to those who have had part therein, while it may prove of interest and of value to those who are not present with us, or active members of our corps, or who may not have access to our current literature. Each of the several Orders of insects has been advanced through valuable studies and publications. While in some of the orders, the publications have been but few, yet it is gratifying to know that collections are being made in them and studies prose- cuted, of which we may look for the results ere long. Publications in the Seveeal Orders of Insects. In the HYMENOPTERA, a Monograpli of the GhrysicUdre has been published by Mr. S. P. Aaron, containing diagnostic descriptions of genera and species. Seventy-four species are described, over one-half of which are new to science: nearly all are con- tained in the collections of the American Entomological Society, of which Mr. Aaron is the curator. A list of the more important writings on the Olirvsididce is appended, and the paper is illustrated in five plates (Transactions of the American Entomological Society, xii, 1885, pp. 209-248). Mr. Wm. H. Ashmead has given a Biographical and Synonymical Catalogue of the North American Gynipidce, containing 172 species, together with a list of the trees and plants 'jpon which they occur. It appears that these insects are so nearly confined to oaks (of the twenty species of oaks enumerated), that only thirteen species have other food- plants (Id., ib., pp. 291-304). From the same author we also have Studies on North American Chalcididie, giving descriptions of twenty-flve new species from Florida and notes upon others (Month. Proc. Am. Ent. Soc, for Dec, 1885, pp. x-xix; Trans. A. E. S., xiii, pp. 125-135). Mr. L. O. Howard, of the Entomological Division of the U. S. Department of Agricul- ture, who for several years past has been engaged in the study of the interesting and serviceable family of the Ghalcididce, is contributing to Entomologica Americana, a generic synopsis of the family, which he has divided into twenty sub-families. The European genera have been combined with our own, as many of them will doubtless be hereafter detected in this country (Ent. Amer., 1, pp. 197-199, 215-219, ii, 33-39, 97-101). A list of the North American species by Mr. Howard, may be found in Bulletin No. 5 of the Division of Entomology, which also embraces the first of a series of papers descrip- tive of the ChalcididaB in the collection of the Department, most of which were previously undescribed. Report of the State Entomologist. 173 Contributions to the knowledge of our Hymouoptera have also been made by Messrs. (i. J. Bowies (Canadian Entomologist, xvii, p. 231); J. A. Guignard (id., xviii, p. 08); Wm. H. Harrington (id., pp. 30, 38, 45, and in Trans. No. 6 of Ottawa Field-Naturalists' Club, p. 'Hi) ; G. W. Taylor (Canad. Eut., xvii, p. 250), and T. W. Fyles (id., xviii, p. 38). We are greatly pleaded to learn that Mr. Ezra T. Cresson, to whom we are more largely indebted than to any other person for the knowledge of our North American Hymenop- tora, is engaged upon a Synopsis of the order, and that such progress has been made in its preparation that its publication may be expected before many months. In the LEPIBOPTERA, a volume has boon given to the public the present year, which we hope will be followed by others of the kind, in other of the orders, that greatly needed wants may be inet. The Buttei-flies of the Eastern United States, for the use of classes in Zoology and private students, by Professor G. H. French, of the Southern Illinois Normal University, will enable the intelligent student, by the aid of synoptic tables, descriptions and figures, to name almost any of the species that occur within the United States, east of Nebraska, Kansas, and Texas. Two hundred species are described, illustrated by ninety-three figures, and where known, the earlier stages are also given. A similar work, devoted to a smaller group, is the Spldngida' of New England, by Pro- fessor C. H, Fernald — a pamphlet of eighty-flve pages and six plates, in which the forty- two species known to occur in the Eastern States are described and a few of them figured. A feature in both of the above publications which deserves special commendation, is the accentuation of the binomial name of the species. The care that has been bestowed upon the preparation of these lists, entitles them to acceptance and adoption, and we hope will ensure us some degree of uniformity in pronunciation, hereafter. Professor Fernald and Mr. Jno. B. Smith have contributed notes upon iSome of the Genera of our Sphingkhe (Entomolpgica Americana, ii, p. 2). Mr. Smith has continued his Introduction to a Classification of the North American i(*i)ktopfpra, in a fourth paper, devoted to the Sphingidaj (id., i, pp. 81-87), and has also given a more detailed account, with illustrations, of the scent-organs in some Bombycid Moths, than we have hitherto had (id., ii, p. 79). The careful Life-histories of our Butterflies have been continued by Mr.W. H. Edwards (Canad. Ent, xvii, pp. 155, 181. 245), and also his Description of New Species, from the Pacific Slope (id., xviii, p. 61 ). The Rev. G. D. Hulst has published during the last month. Descriptions of New Pyralidce, embracing such species as are not named in the American collections and are unknown to those who have made special study of the family.. Much the larger number of the species described (89 in all) are from the western portion of the United States (Trans. Amer. Ent. Soc, xiii, July, 1886, pp. 145-168). Mr. Hulst has also published two papers upon the Geometridce in which several new species are described, viz., New Species and Varieties of GeometridcB (Ent. Amer., i, pp. 201-208) and Notes upon Various Species of the Ennomime (id., ii, pp. 47-52). Descriptions of new species of Lepidoptera have also been published by Mr. Henry Edwards (Ent. Amer., i, p. 128, ii, p. 8), Mr. J. Elwyn Bates (Can. Ent., xviii, 74, 94), Mr. Ph. Fischer{id.,xvii„p. 133), Mr. B. Neumoegen(Ent. Amer., i. p. 92), and Mr. R. H. Stretch (id., ib., p. 101). In the Proceedings of the Natural Science Association of Staten Island, for March, 1886, Mr. Davis has recorded sixty species of butterflies as found upon Staten Island, naming the recent additions to a former list. Other contributions to the Lepidoptera have been made by Messrs. Beutenmilller, Bates, Clark, Fischer, Fletcher, French, Goodhue, Grote, Hamilton, Harrington, Kelli- cott, Moeschler, Smith, Stretch, Tepper, and Mrs. C. H. Fernald, and Miss Murtfeldt. It is gratifying intelligence that the two volumes of the Butterflies of North America, for which we are indebted to Mr. W. H. Edwards, is to be followed by a third work upon which has been commenced. As the volumes already issued have furnished the Ameri- can student with a better series of life-histories of butterflies than have evOx been pub- 174 FORTY-FTEST REPORT ON THE StATE MuSEUM. lished elsewhere, while enriched with illustrations which in beauty and accuracy have never been surpassed, it is to be regretted that their author should be compelled to find the reward for his years of untiring labor in the honor that they may bring him, and not in a pecuniary return. A merited tribute to the high character of this work may be found in Science, for October 9, 1885 (p. 307). The Butterflies of New England, which has been under the pen and pencil of Mr. S. H. Soudder for several years, and which has been so long awaited by entomologists, is, we learn, rapidly approaching completion. Having had the privilege of examination of sev- eral of the plates which are being printed at the well-known house of Sinclair & Sons, Philadelphia, by the chromo-lithographic process, I may say of them, that they are marvels of faithfulness and beauty, hai-dly to be distinguished fi"om hand-coloring. They certainly mark an advance in the application of this art to insect illustration that has never before been equalled in this country or in Europe. A Hand-hook of all the Lepidoijtera desiTihed as belonging to tlie North American Fauna, North, of Mexico, giving brief descriptions of all the species known, to be illustrated with wood-cuts and lithographic plates, under the editorship of Mr. Henry Edwards, of New York, is announced. It will be issued in parts, by S. E. Cassino, as stated in a circular distributed, and will be commenced as soon as a sufficient number of subscribers can be obtained. Mr. R. H. Stretch is engaged on a Monograph of the Zygcenidu;, Lithosiidte and Arctiidce of North America, in which it is intended to collate all the literature relating to these families, and to illustrate all the species. About 3.50 figures have already been drawn for the work. DIPl'FBA.— 'SVe are unable to report much progress in this Order diiring the year. Dr. S. W. Willistou has completed his sei'ies of three papei's on the Glassiflcation of the North Amei'ican Jjiptei'a in the families Xylophagida>, Strationtyidue., Tabanida', Leptida', and Syrphidoi. published in the Bulletin of the Brooklyn Entomological Society ( vii, p. 129) and in Entomologica Americana (i, pp. lo, 114, 152). In these papers some new species are described, synoptic tables of the genera and diagnoses of the tribes and families given, and structural features illustrated. Dr. Williston has also published Notes and I>esc7'iptio7is of North Amei-icari Xylophag- idce and Stratiomyidce (Ga.n. 'Eat., xvii, p. 121), inwhich eleven species are described as new. Dr. Hagen has written of the Hestsian Fly in Italy, recording its notice in that country (Can. Ent.. xvii, p. 129). He has also collated some facts relating to the food of the larva of Scenopinus, leading him to offer the suggestion that 6'. pallipes found beneath car- pets, may be carnivorous (id., xviii, p. 73). Some observations of my own which are stated in the 2d Report on the Insects of New York, give additional reason for believing that this remarkable larva, feared as a carpet-feeder, may prey upon the larva of the clothes-moth, Tinea pellioneUa (Linn.). The volume last I'eferred to, contains also notices of an unknown dipterous larva feeding upon a fungus occurring on quince, the emasculating bot-fly ( Guterabra emas- culator), BiJtio albipennis, Mio'odon globosus, and Trypeta pornonella. As addenda to the Scenopinus article by Dr. Hagen, Baron Osten Sacken has con- tributed to the Entomologist's Monthly Magazine for the present month of August (vol. xxiii, p. 51-52) Notes toward tlte Life-history of Scenopinus fenestralis, in* which the liter- ature of the species is more fully developed, and the conclusion drawn therefrom that the larva is undoubtedly carnivorous; and that it frequents fungi, hair mattresses, carpets, swallows' nests, decaying wood, animal dejections, etc., not for the sake of the animal remains or the vegetable matter, but for the larvae or the pupiB of the moths that live in them. Dr. Hagen has also recorded the rearing from stored sea-weeds in Harvard College Laboratory, of what is probably an addition to the small number of known marine insects — (Jwlopafi-igida FsiUon. Its earlier stages are unknown, and the opportunity is taken to call attention to the absence of any collation of our knowledge of the earlier stages of the Diptera (Can. Ent., xvii, p. HO). Report of the State Entomologist. 175 In a brief note from the same author to Entomologica Americana (i, p. 229), the idea is advanced that in Cecidouiijia tubicola Osten Saclcen, the larval breast-bone is a spin- ning organ, and homologous with the labium. Mr. D. W. Coquillett has monographed the Lomatina of North America of the Bomby- lidiV; consisting of four genera, indicating one as new, and describing five new species (Can. Ent, xviii, p. 81). COLEOPTERA.—T)r. G. H. Horn has continued to lay us under obligations for his valuable contributions to Coloopterology, in descriptive, classiflcatory, bibliographical, and critical papers, in the pages of the Transactions of the American Entomological Society, the Canadian Entomologist, and Entomologica Americana. Their titles are too numerous to permit their citation in the present paper. Lieut. Thorn. L. Casey has published New Genera and Species of Californian Goleoptei-a (Extra Bulletin, California Academy of Science, vol. i), and a Revision of the Californian Species of Lithocliaris (Bulletin No. 5, Id., vol. ii). Mr. Frederick Blanchard has given a careful paper On the species of Canthon and Phammis of the United States, with synoptic tables of species, bibliography, and notes on some other genera (Trans. Amer. Ent. Soc, xii, pp. 163-172). Mr. Charles W. Leng is contributing to Entomologica Americana, Synopses of Cerarn- bycid(E, accompanied with illustrations (vol. i, pp. 28-35, 130-136 ; ii, pp. 27-32. 60-63 81-83, 102-103, 118-120, 193-200). Other contributions to the order, which have come under my notice, are from Messrs. F. B. Caulfleld, F. Clarkson, John Hamilton, S. Henshaw, A. W. Jones, Warren Knaus, C. W. Leng, A. S. Packard, E. A. Schwarz, J. B. Smith and C. W. Strumberg. In Entomologica Americana for July and August, 1886, is a Record of some Contribu- tions to tlie Literature of North American Beetles published in 1885, by Samuel Henshaw, which will be found very convenient for reference, and for which its compiler is entitled to sincere thanks. The most generally acceptable contribution to this order made during the year, has been the List of the Coleoptera of North America, North of Mexico, by Samuel Henshaw, in which we are given the recent classification of Drs. LeConte and Horn, the large number of new species described during the preceding twelve years, together with many important synonymical corrections. Annual supplements to the List are promised by the author. The labor involved in the preparation of a work of this nature is so great, that each successive contribution of the kind, if as meritorious as the one under notice, marks an epoch in the literature of the order. In the UEMIPTERA, we have had the gratification of having placed in our hands, our first Check-List. It presents a classification which has been so long needed by the student, of the Heteroptera. and the names of 1,118 species. A debt of gratitude is due to Mr. Uhler for its preparation, in consideration of the increased facility for study that it will afford, and the incentive that it will prove, to its prosecution. We have the promise that a similar List of the Homoptera will follow as soon as time can be found for its preparation. The chapter on Hemiptera, in the Standard Natural History recently published by S. E. Cassino & Co., of 92 pages royal octavo, is also from Mr. Uhler, and has been, I believe, generally received as advancing our knowledge of an order which has been much neglected in this country. The Fourteenth Report on the Insects of Illinois, by Prof. S. A. Forbes, State Entomo- logist, treats of several Hemipterous Insects, chiefly in their economic relations. In the Report of the Entomologist of the U. S. Department of Agriculture for 1885, Prof. Riley has presented a careful study of the two broods of the Periodical Cicada, Cicada septendecim— the seventeen-year (septendecim.) and the thirteen-year race (tredecim) which appeared in 1885 over a large extent of the county, and came together in southern Illinois and northern Georgia. There is also a summary of distribution and future appearance of all the broods (twenty-two in number) known to occur in the United States ; also a recox'd of experiments made in transferring the eggs of the northern and 176 Forty-first Report on the State Museum. southern races of the insects from one portion of the country to the other, as a test of the influence of climate upon the developmental period. In the Fourteenth Annual Report of the Geological and Natural History Survey of Minnesota, Mr. 0. W. Oestlund has contributed a List of the. Aplddidw of 3Iinnesota, in which seventy-one species are recorded, of which twenty-four species are described as new, and two new genera named. Among other contributors to the order, are Mr. Wm. H. Ashmead, Prof. E. W. Claypole, and Mr. John J. Jack. In the NEUROPTEUA, Dr. Hagen has contributed the European literature of the Hemerobius dipterus, of which twenty examples are in collections in Europe, and four, so far as known taken in this country, referring to this species Dr. Fitch's type of H. delicatulus (Entomologica Americana, ii, p. 21). Mr. J. A. Moffat has narrated some interesting habits of a Myrmeleon larva (Canad. Entom., xviii, p. 76). Two elaborate papers from Dr. Hagen are additions of much importance to the literature of the Pseudoneuroptera. The first is a Monograph of the Earllei- Stages of Odonata (in forty-three pages), in which forty-eight species in the subfamilies of Gomphina and Gordulegastrina are described (Trans. Amer. Entomol. Soc, xii, pp. 249-291). The second is a Monograph of the Emhidiria, and is apparently one of the most careful and painstaking of the erudite author's publications. Not only is each one of the seventeen species minutely described (six pages in some instances are devoted to a single species) but the history of the family is fully presented together with an extended discussion of its characters with reference to its assignment to its proper systematic position, which is held by the writer to be near the Teinnltidcg. (Canad. Entom., xvii, 1885, Aug., Sept., Oct., and Nov.). Of writings upon the ORTHOPTERA, I find only a Listoftlie Orthopiera of Kansas, by Lawrence Bruner, and a note on the habits of (Ecanthus, by E. W. AUis. A resume of our knowledge of Fossil Insects has been published by Mr. Scudder, in a volume of 113 pages, entitled Systematisdie Uehersicld de7- Fossile7i Myriopoden, Arach- noideen, und Insekten. It presents an excellent and comprehensive view of our knowledge of these interesting forms, under a systematic arrangement, with definition of groups and abundant illustration. It is understood tlfat it will be republished in this country. Mr. Scudder is at present engaged upon an extensive work as it will necessarily be, descriptive of the fossil insects taken from the wonderfully prolific locality, the Tertiary Lake Basin at Florissant, in Colorado. It is thought that the first part of this work will be ready for publication the coming year. The contributions to which we have I'eferred in the several Orders, have been descrip- tive, classificatory, historical, biological, histological, anatomical, and biographical. It would perhaps have been more satisfactory if these several departments of study could have been separately reviewed, but the time has not been found for such presentation. Publications in Economic Entomology. In consideration of the practical importance of economic investigations, will you per- mit me to direct your attention to some of the work done in this direction, which has been given to us during the year: The Fourteenth Report on the Noxious and Beneficial Insects of Illinois, by the State Ento- mologist, Prof. S. A. Forbes, is devoted to the consideration of various insects infesting corn, wheat, grass, clover, the maple, the elm, garden-crops, and orchards. A valuable appendix to this report is a general index to the first twelve Illinois reports — in three parts, viz., of the species of insects alphabetically and systematically arranged, their food-plants, and the remedies treated of. The Report of the Entomologist of the IT. S. Beparttnent of Agriculture, Prof. C. V. Riley, for the year 1885, presents us with the latest information upon progress in Silk Cul- ture in the United States ; an extended notice of Cicada septendecim; and notices of recent injuries l3y five other species of insects. Addenda to this report are the following: Report on the Locusts of the San Joaquin Valley, Cal., by D. W. Coauillett; Report on Report of the State Entomologist. 177 the abundance of the Kocky Mountain Locust, in 1885, by Lawrence Bruner; Notes on Locusts at and about Folsom, Cal., by Albert Koebele ; Inseets^Infesting Fall Wheat, by F. M. Webster; Third Report on the Cause of the Destruction of the Evergreen and other Forest Trees in Northern New England, by A. S. Packard (the lepidopterous insects); and Report on Experiments in Apiculture, byN. W. McLain. The Second Report on the Injurious and other Insects of New York, by the State Ento- mologist (-279 pages), embraces notes of various insect attacks ; remedies and preventives for insect attacks; miscellaneous notes; and notices of Lepidoptera, Coleoptera, Hymenoptera, Orthoptera and Neuroptera. In the Appendix is a list, w'th notes, of the miscellaneous publications of the Entomologist for the years 1882 and 1883, and repub- lication of the rare paper of Dr. Fitch on the Winter Insects ofJEasteim Nei/) York. The Report of the Entomologist to the Department of Agriculture of the Dominion of Canada, by James Fletcher (56 pages), is occupied with notices of the principal insect attacks during the year 1885, upon cereals, hay and clover, vegetables, fruits, and forest and shade trees. A Report upon Orange Insects (227 pages) presents the investigations of Mr. H. G. Hub- bard, a special agent of the Entomological Division of the U. S. Department of Agriculture, made in Florida, during the years 1881-5. The entire insect fauna of the orange, so far as known, is given, and the species discussed, together with the remedies and preventives which have been found to be the most effective in their destruction. The orange-rust is also considered, and is regarded as a condition of the fruit resulting from the attack of the rust-mite, TypJUodromus oleirorus Ashmead. Bulletin No. 11, of the U. S. Department of Agriculture, Division of Entomology (3-t pages), is devoted to Experiments on various insecticidal substances, chiefly upon insects aiTecting garden-crops, made under the direction of the Entomologist, by F. M. Webster, H. Osborn, and Thomas Bennett. iJuZZrfmJV^o. 9, of the same Division, just is.sued, is entitled, Tlie Mulherrij Silk-iporm, being a Manual of Instructions in Silk Culture, by C. V. Riley, M. A., Ph. D. It is a revised and enlarged edition of Special Report No. i of the Division,- which had been exhausted. It contains sixty-two pages, a glossary of terms used, twenty-nine figures, two plates in chromo-lithograph showing silk-worms affected by pebrine and flacherie, and the pebrine corpuscles, after Pasteur, and an index. Bulletin No. 12 of the same Division, also just issued, is entitled Miscellaneous Notes cm the M^ork of the Division of Entomology for Season of 18So, prepared by the Entomologist. It is a pamphlet of 46 pages and l plate, and contains a Report on the Production and Man- ufacture of Buhach, by D. W. Coquillett, which is full and of much value; Additions to the 3d Report on the Causes of the Destruction of the Evergreen and other Forests in Northern New England, by A. S. Packard ; The Periodical Cicada in Southwestern Indi- ana, by Amos K. Butler; and Notes of the year, of various Insects. The Fourth Report of the U. S. Entomological Commission, on the Cotton Worm, by Prof. C. V. Riley, is a volume of 546 pages, carefully indexed, and illustrated by 64 plates. Of these, 48 plates and 137 pages are devoted to the mechanical devices for the destruction of the cotton-worm. The three chapters treating of the remedies and preventives employed in coping with this insect (70 pages), are especially valuable to the agricultu- rist, as many of them would be equally available against other insect attacks. The four large octavo volumes of the Entomological Commission, and its seven Bul- letins, of nearly 3,000 pages in the aggregate, 150 plates, several hundred wood-cuts, and a number of maps, may confidently be appealed to in justification of the action of the General Government, if its wisdom be auestioned, in authorizing and providing for the work of the Commission now brought to a close in its final publication. Prof. Riley, in his Presidential Address before the Entomological Society of Washington, as published in the Proceedings of the Society, has referred to some of the insect attacks which had recently come under his observation. An Address upon Horticultural Entomology (23 pages), by Prof. F. M. Webster, before the Indiana Horticultural Society, very clearly presents the importance of insect studies to the horticulturist, who may not to any great extent ward off insect attack by the means 38 178 Forty-first Report on tee /State Museum. successfully resorted to by the agriculturist — by rotation of crops. It also gives com- prehensive notice of several of the more injurious insects with which the horticulturist must contend. The same author has also issued a carefully prepared illustrated paper, of 36 pages, on the Insects affecting the Corn Crop, extracted from the Indiana Agricultural Report for 1885. Of the fifty species of corn insects noticed, several are accompanied with useful bibliographical lists. Insects Injurious to the Apple, is the title of a paper, by Prof. B. F. Koons, extracted from the Report of the Connecticut Board of Agriculture, for 1885. The claims for the study of entomology are well presented in it. A paper iipon Gut Worms, read before the New York State Agricultural Society (pp. 25, figs. 20), and one entitled Some Injurious Insects of Massacliusetts, read before the Massa- chusetts State B oard of Agriculture, by the State Entomologist of New York, have been published in the annual reports of the societies named, and also as separates. The Fourth Report of the New York Agricultural Experiment Station narrates (pp. 216-223) experiments made at the station with insecticides upon some of our more inju- rious insect pests : and contains, also, a notice of a very interesting fungus attack upon Phytonomus punctatus (pp. 258-262), which is believed to have been communicated through the agency of a fertilizer employed. The fungus is named by Prof. Arthur, botanist of the station, Entoniophthora Phytonomi. The Fourth Report of the Ohio Agricultural Experiment Station for 1885, devotes six pages to experiments with insecticides, and the best method for their application. An Experiment in Silk Culture, by Prof. T. J. Burrill, made under the direction of the Illinois University, is published in the proceedings of the sixth meeting of the Society for the promotion of Agricultural Science. The experiment terminated in the study of a contagious disease that broke out in the larva? that were being reared, which was believed to be identical with the flacherie of the silk-worm in France, observed by Pasteur. The disease had never been previously recorded as existing in this country but is now thought to have long prevailed among our native Lepidoptera, and to have been the cause of a recent epidemic in the Pieris rapcv. larvae. The ca.uses that may have led to the outbreak of disease among the silk-worms attempted to be reared, are considered in the paper. In the same publication, is an abstract of a paper by Prof. C. V. Riley, on Grasshopper Injury. A periodicity in wide-spread locust injuries averaging about every eleven years is accepted. It is claimed to be possible to predict the degree of destructiveness. Thus, increasing injury for the years 1886 and 1887 may be expected should the weather favor; but even under the most favoring conditions, these injuries can never again be so wide-spread, it is asserted, as between 1874 and 1877. Prof. S. A. Forbes, who has for some time, been paying special attention to the diseases of insects with a view'of their propagation for the destruction of injurious species, has published in a Bulletin of the Illinois State Laboratory of Natural History (vol. ii., pp. 257-321) an elaborate paper entitled Studies on the Contagious Diseases of Insects. In it he discusses flacherie in the cabbage-worm, Pieris rapce, describing the disease minutely, its characteristic bacteria, the evidence of its contagious nature and of the ability of conveying it by an artificial culture of the Micrococcus. In the same painstaking man- ner, jaundice, found associated with flacherie in the silk-worm, by Professor Burrill, is also discussed. Flacherie in Datana Angusii is described, with its characteristic bacteria, their artificial cultures, and contagious nature. The paper concludes with a notice of the aid rendered by muscardine in arresting wide-spread desolation in forests and orchards, in Southern Illinois, in 1883, caused by a remarkable prevalence of the forest tent-caterpillar, Clisiocarnpa sylvatica. The Insects of Betula in North America, by Anna Katherina Dimmock, of Cambridge, Mass., contained in Psyche, iv, pp. 239-2t3, 271-286, is an admirable compilation, and may justly serve as a model for similar lists. It is not a simple record of the 107 species noticed as feeding on Betula, but valuable notes are given upon each insect— of develop- ment, habits, history, etc., the other plants upon which it is known to feed, with refer- Report of the State Entomologist. 179 enees to authority and pviblication. Where bibliography is so extensive and of such importance as to justify it, an entire page, of small typo, is devoted to a single species. It is to bo hoped that this is but the first of a series of similar publications by the author. A published abstract of a paper read by Mr. Amos W. Butler, before the American Association for the Advancement of Science at its last meeting, on The Pefiodical Cicada in Southeasterti Iiultana, gives the time and duration of its visitation, the mode of oviposition, abundance of the var. ra.s.si/u Fisher in a distinct territory, the sounds pro- duced, prevalence of a fungus attack, their destruction by mammals, birds, and fishes, and the comparatively slight damage resulting from the visitation. The paper affords evidence of well-trained habits of observation in the author.* Dr. Hagen has communicated an interesting observation made by him of the destruc- tion of living trees, of the red mai)le, Acer rubrum, by white ants, in Cambridge, Mass. (Canad. £nt., xvii, p. V.n). Mr. Frederick Clarkson has found, that under some circumstances at least, the development of the oak-pruuer, Elaplddion viliosum, is different from that ascribed to it by Drs. Harris and Fitch, in that the insect may mature within its burrow as early as in the month of November (id., ib., p. 188). Mr. John J. Jack reports serious injury to a crop of beans, through the attack of an Anthomyian fly, Antltomuia a)igustifronH, the larva of which attacked and destroyed the plants before they reached the surface of the ground (Canad. Entom., xviii, 188G, p. ■22).t This form of Anthomyian attack, akin to that of the seed-corn maggot, Anthotuyia zea; may afford a solution of the freauont eating out of the interior of melon and some other of the larger seeds beneath the ground, by hitherto unknown enemies, which has been brought to my notice. Professor Riley has made an interesting communication to Science (vol. vii, p. 39-t), to the effect that Feniseca Tarqaiidus, one of our rarer butterflies, has been found to be car- nivorous in its larval stage — the only known instance of a carnivorous butterfly, and that its food consists of plant-lice, especially of the gall-making and leaf-curling species of Pemphigiruv. This publication solved what had been a mystery to me. A piece of a branch of some tree, apparently an alder, was sent to me in October last, thickly covered with the floc- culent bodies of some woolly aphis, probably a Scldzoneura. It was left in the box in which received, awaiting further notice. Upon casually opening the box early in April, to my great surprise, a newly emerged and perfect Feniseca Tarquinius was found therein ; also, the short, stout chrysalis case from which it had escaped, and an undeveloped chrysalis, each suspended by its cremaster from the sides of the box. How and where the larva conceals itself during its growth is an interesting inquiry. A communication made to Science (May 28, 1886, vii, pp. 481-483), by R. I. Jackson, records a New Museum Pest, in Lepisma domestica. It had been discovei-ed as very injui-ious to labels; and it is further believed to be the author of the injury often reported, to muslin curtains, silks, etc., commonly charged upon the carpet-beetle, Anthrenas sa-oplmlariie, &S, ^\mi\&v iniwviQS are known to have resulted from species of Lepisma in other counti'ies, as well as to books, maps, papers, etc. Entomology in Agricultural Journals. Our leading Agricultural Journals are the media of no inconsiderable amount of information of the means for controlling insect depredations. They furnish convenient channels through which inquiry may be made from any portion of the Union of any unrecognized form of attack, and an intelligent reply elicited. Professors Riley and Cook are frequent contributors to the columns of the Rural New Yorker. * The paper has been published in fuU, during the present month, in Bull. No. 12, of the U. S. Dept. of Agriculture, — Division of Entomology, pp. 24 to 31. + This occurrence is subsequently noticed at greater length in Bull. No. 12, of the Division of Entomology, p. 38-39. 180 Forty-first Report on the State Museum. The Prairie Farmer maintains an Entomological Department, averaging two columns weekly in extent, under the editorship of Clarence M. Weed. The same department, in the Fruit Growef)'s' Jownal, of Cobden, Illinois, containing weekly contributions, is edited by Professor G. H. French. To the American Agriculturist, occasional contributions are made and inauiries answered by Professor Riley. The Spirit of the Farm, of Nashville, Tenn., is publishing a series of entomological articles, by the entomological editor. Prof. E. W. Doran. The Pacific Rural Press keeps its readers well-informed of the active entomological work being prosecuted in California, in the struggle for the preservation of the fruits of the State from the onslaught of, thus far, an i^ivincible army of scale-insects. The New England Homestead, of Springfield, Mass., encourages the observation of insect habits and injury, in the publication of much valuable information in this direction. The Country Gentleman, of Albany, N. Y., receives many inquiries of insect attacks, which are answered, often at considerable length, by the State Entomologist of New York. Interesting Entomological Studies, Abroad. In addition to the preceding notice of the publications of our entomologists, may I be permitted to refer to some studies of particular interest which have been given us dur- ing the year, outside of our country, to which general attention may not have been drawn. Recent studies of Eorel, Kraepelin, Hauser, and others, had placed almost beyond question, the location of the sense of smell in insects, in the antennae. Later, the study has again been taken up by Prof. V. Graber, of the University of Czernowitz, Austria, with results that serve to reopen the question, and invite to further investigation. In a late number of the Comptes-Rendus of the Societe Entomologique de Belgique, his conclusions are summed up as follows: 1. The perception of odors is not confined to the antennae, for ants and Lucilia Ccesar, deprived of their antennae, retained the perception. 2. The antennae are perhaps more sensitive to odors than other parts of the body. SHiiha thoracica deprived of its antenuce, was affected by some odors but not by other weaker ones. 3. The palpi may be more sensitive to odors than the antenna;, as would appear from some experiments made with Gryllotalpa vidgaris. i. In a large series of experiments with a iMcanus which followed the odorous mate- rial employed, sometimes the palpi and sometimes the antennae, were the more rapidly excited. 5. The perception of odors may also lie in the anal stylets, as shown in a decapitated Perlplanata. (This idea had been previously advanced by Dr. Packard, Amer. Nat, iv, 1870, p. 620.) 6. Insects have no special organ of smell. The studies of Exner, communicated to the Vienna Academy in 1875, led to the rejection of the mosaic theory of vision in insects as necessarily attendant upon their compound eyes, and to its replacement by the theoretical deduction that they do not distinguish the form of objects, but that their vision consists mainly in the perception of move- ments and of colors. Their faceted eyes are not complete visual organs, but simple organs of orientation. In a subsequent communication by Plateau, to the Royal Academy of Belgium, he has presented the following conclusions drawn from studies of Diptera, Hymenoptera, Lepidoptera, Odonata, and Coleoptera. In diurnal insects with compound eyes, the simple eyes offer so little utility that it is right to consider them as rudimentary organs. Insects with compound eyes do not notice differences of form existing between two light-orifices, and are deceived by an excess of luminous intensity as well as by the apparent excess of surface. In short, they do not distinguish the form of objects, or if they do, they distinguish them very badly (American Naturalist, xx, p. 69). Report of the State Entomologist. 181 The structure of the halteres of Diptera has been studied by Mr. A. B. Lee, who finds them to embrace two distinct organs, one an auditory organ, and the other of problem- atical function, which may be olfactory (Entomologische Nachrichten, for August. 1885). Sir John Lubbock records as an instance of remarkable longevity in ants, that two Queens of Formica fusca had been kept alive by him within their nests for twelve years (Contemporary Review, for November, 1885). The Insect Fauna of the United States. Returning to our country, unmistakable evidence of rapid progress in our science is to be found in the explorations by private individuals, institutions, and government surveys, of almost every portion of our country for unknown species and the prompt study of the material obtained, by competent specialists. Our lists of species are rapidly augmenting. In a paper recently road by me, not yet published, on the Present State of Entomological Science in the United States,[*\ I had occasion to state the number (as near as could be con- veniently ascertained) of the described species of North American insects. North of Mexico. As the paper contained some estimates specially made for it, it may be of interest to present the table at the present time. Hymenoptera (Cresson's estimate): Phytophaga 573 Entomophaga 2,160 Pnedores 1,078 Anthophila 633 4,450 Lepidoptora: Butterflies (Edwards List, 1884) 614 Moths (Grote Check-List. 1882) 3 ,184 Tineidaj, not included by Grote, ( Chambers List, 1878) 779 Diptera (OstenSacken estimate, in 1878) 2,500 Coleoptera (Henshaw List, 1885) 9,507 Hemiptera-Homoptera (Uhler estimate. 1886) 1 ,200 Heteroptera (Uhler Cheek-List, 1886) 1 ,448 Orthoptera (Scudder estimate, 1886) 450 Neuroptera, not estimated — perhaps 1,000 Giving a total of 25,132 Limited Knowledge of the Early Stages of Insects. Upon former occasions when it has been my privilege to address this Club officially, I have urged the importance of the study of the earlier stages of our insects upon its members and upon all students in entomology. I beg leave to repeat the recommenda- tion, in view of the value of such study in a scientific classification, and the necessity of it in economic investigation, for of but comparatively a small number of our insects are the earlier stages known, and of only a few do we possess full life-histories. Although the Coleoptera have been the most thoroughly worked of any of the orders, yet it will surprise some of you to learn, as it did me, when I recently received the information from an eminent Coleopterist, of how small a proportion are the earlier stages known. By permission of the writer, Mr. E. A. Schwarz, I give the communication addressed to me in reply to an inauiry made, in which the information above referred to is embodied. It is of so much interest and value, that it deserves publication: "I have endeavored to keep track of the descriptions of Coleopterous larva from all countries. I herewith select at random a few of the larger families, and do not believe that the proportion of the known larvas to the total number of species would be materially changed if I would go through all families. For the Ghrysomelidce, unfca-tunately, I can not get at the figures withoiit much trouble. [* Since published; see pages 283-292 of this Report.] 182 Forty-first Report on tee State Museum. "In Garabidce, including the Gicindelidce, there are described, in round numbers, the larvae of 120 species representing forty genera, out of a total of 9,300 species. " In Dytiscidce, there are described 22 species representing 13 genera, out of a total of 950 species and 35 genera. " In ffydropMUd(B, there are described 30 species representing U genera, out of a total of 570 species and 30 genera. " In StapliyUnidm are described 75 species with 37 genera, out of a total of 4,130 species and 270 genera. " In Silphidce are described 25 species with 9 genera, out of i60 species. " In ScarahceidcE are described 85 species in 40 genera, out of 6,550 species. " In Baprestidce are described 70 species in 20 genera, out of about 2,700 species. " In Elateridoi, about 60 larviB described out of a total of 3,loo species. " In CurcuUonidce, about 260 larvae described in 65 genera, out of a total of 10,150 species. " In Gerambycidce, about 150 species of larvae described in about 70 genera, out of a total of 7,600 species. "A summing up of the above shows that there are about 900 species of larvae described out of a total of 45,600 species, giving a proportion of 1 to 50. Since the publication of the Munich Catalogue, the description of new species has gone on with unabated activity, while, at the same time comparatively very few larvae have been made known. Thus the proportion will be now somewhat below two per cent. This refers to the whole world. For the European fauna alone, the proportion is of course considerably higher, while for the North American fauna, the proportion is but little above the average, and hardly reaches l to 40, even including all of the unpublished larvae which are in our collections. Of the 83 families of the North American Coleoptera. the larvae of no less than 20 fami- lies are entirely unknown." The Bureau of Entomology at Washington. In consideration of the contributions made toward the advancement of entomological science through the investigations and publications of the Division of Entomology of the U. S. Department of Agriculture, it must be a source of gratification to us all, that at no time since the establishment of the bureau, has it been in position to render more efficient service than at the present. The recognition of its value and importance has drawn to it the aid and the support that it needs for its successful operations. It is much to be regretted that just at this time, its activity should be somewhat impaired, by the ill health of its Chief Officer, compelling a temporary respite from official duties. I know that you will unite with me in the earnest desire that the restoration of health which he is seeking in rest abroad, may be speedy and complete. Valuable aid to economic entomology maybe confidently expected from the " Division of Economic Ornithology and Mammalogy," recently established in Washington, under charge of Dr. C. Hart Merriam, in the investigations that are being conducted by it in the food-habits of our insectivorous birds. Insects of the National Museum, etc. The appointment of one of the active members and an officer of our own club, to the assistant curatorship of the Department of Entomology of the National Museum, under provisions that will permit of the proper cai-e and increase of the collections, is a grati- fying event of the past year. This Department now contains the Riley collection recently donated to it of 15,000 species and 115,000 specimens : the collection of the Depart- ment of Agriculture of 50,000 specimens, and probably 5, 000 species not in the Riley collection; the collection of the National Museum iiroper, estimated at 20,000 speci- mens, and 2,000 species not in the other collections; and the New Orleans Exposition exhibited collection of economic entomology, of which a catalogue has been printed and distributed. The aggregate may be given as 200,000 moiinted specimens, and 26,000 distinct species. (Science, November 20, 1885, vi, p. 445.) The admirably prepared collection of Lepidoptera of Mr. Otto Meske, of Albany, N. Y., embracing a fine exhibit of the New York fauna, rare material from Texas and other Report of the State Entomologist. 183 Western States, together with an excellent representation of the European fauna, received through the exchanges conducted for many years with Dr. A. Speyer. of Austria, has recently been purchased by the National Museum, and is now in its possession. The collection of Insects of the Peabody Academy of Science, at Salem, has been deposited in the Museum of Comparative Zoology at Cambridge. It had mainly been brought together by Dr. A. S. Packard, and contained a large proportion of his types, including all those (except four belonging to other entomologists) of his Monograph of Geometrid Moths. It also contained types of other eminent entomologists. I feel that an apology is due for the length of my paper. Its excuse must be found in the activity that has characterized entomological study for the past year. Even in the time that I have occupied, I have only been able to refer to some of the work done, while omitting much that is equally — perhaps more — worthy of notice. [From the Report of the American Pomological Society, for 1887.] SOME PESTS OF THE POMOLOGIST. ( Read before the American Pomological Society, at its Boston meeting, September 15, 1887. ) The large attendance at this convention, the several States of the Union represented, the distinguished men participating in it, the high order of the discussions and papers that have been presented, the exhibit of fruit that is made — all bear testimony to the widespread interest of the present day in fruit-culture and the great advance that has been attained therein. Progress in Pomology. It is not my province to do more than mention the progress made in fruit-culture within a few years past. This privilege belongs to those who have been active par- ticipants and agents in its stimulation and remarkable growth. We can not but recog- nize its results in the many fruits it has given us previously unknown in our markets- varieties far surpassing those which we formerly enjoyed, and an abundance such as we had never dreamed of, brought within reach of all. Evils Attending Progress in Pomology. Yet this has not been attained without attendant evils. Here, as elsewhere, in all that pertains to the advancement of our race — at every step of progress, a penalty has been incurred and exacted. It is patent to all that the development of Pomology into a science and an important industry of our country, has only been accomplished through a great increase of plant diseases and a remarkable multiplication of insect pests. These two evils follow as a necessary consequence of the advance made : They are con- nected therewith as inseparal)ly as cause and effect. And what part they are to play in the future in retarding, arresting or ruining fruit-culture, must depend upon the man- ner in which they are met by the enlightened fruit-grower. Need of Scientific Study. You do well, gentlemen, in calling to your aid whatever science is able to do for you in the investigation of the serious evils to which I have referred. It is of the utmost importance that you should know each one of your enemies, whether it be a soil con- stituent, a vegetable, or an animal — its character or nature, whence it proceeds, how it acts, and above all, the most economical and efficient means for overcoming it. You particularly need the best skill of the chemist, of the botanist, the mycologist, and the entomologist. Their services are freely at your command, whether asked for of our Scientific Schools, Agricultural Colleges, State Experiment Stations, the United States Department of Agriculture at Washington, or of our State Entomologists. Demands of Science on the Pomologist. But let me remind you that you too have an important part to perform in this needed observation, study and investigation of plant diseases and insect injuries. You are 184 Forty-first Report on the State Museum. brought face to face with them, day after day, more intimately, more continuously, and I may add, more advantageously than is possible for the scientist to be. Your trained eyes are ciuick to detect the first indication of disease or injury; and you should be able to discern its nature, to the extent, at least, that you may promptly summon to your aid, if aid be needed, that particular scientific investigation which the occasion demands. And what a broad field of cooperation with the specialist is open, if, when through the aid extended, you have been led in the proper direction, you not only faithfully follow the course marked out for your guidance, but also test the value of experiments that will naturally be suggested by the failure or partial success that meets your efforts. The sciences that are lending you their cordial cooperation have a claim upon you — yes, have a right to demand this at your hands. Upon you is chargeable the curse that surely is hanging over, if not already fallen upon, fruit-culture in our country— "in the sweat of thy face shalt thou eat" fruit! I do not overstate when I say, that the great increase of plant diseases and insect ravages that you are experiencing is the direct result of the enormously increased production of fruit, and the large area in which fruit crops are massed. Immense Fruit Production — No Over Production. Compare the production of fruit to-day with what it was in the childhood of any here present, both in variety and quantity. To go back farther than many of you are able — in my childhood, an orange was a rarity; a peach was seen at intervals of years. I only knew one variety of cherry ; our apples did not exceed a score, and pears a half score. Now, freight trains of fruits of almost countless varieties are rolling over our country, carrying the delicious and healthful products to central marts, whence they may be distributed to every home in our land, and even find their way beyond the oceans that bound our continent. No wonder, it may be remarked in passing, that under such pro- duction, prices may, at times, become very low, and the cry is heard, " raising fruit does not pay!" A prominent member of one of our horticultural societies recently made this remark in a public address: " There is such an over-production of these fruits (referring to a certain class) that they will no longer pay, unless some insect pests will come and relieve us of half the crop." What a ridiculous, pitiable, senseless statement to make! Markets that will yield remunerative prices are, and will continue, to be found to enter- prising, energetic, sagacious business men. If not already existing, they may be built up, and the demand will surely follow. There can be no over-production, for the retard- ing houses, canneries and evaporators, springing up in all our fruit regions, will keep pace with production. The desire for, the need of, wholesome fruit will ever be in excess of its growth. As its price falls— to quote the words of a fruit dealer in Philadel- phia, who last September received and sold in three days 665,000 pounds of grapes— " everybody wants it." Should an unusually favorable season give a yield beyond the possibility of gathering, transportation, or preservation, why not try the experiment of giving the freedom of your orchards to " the poor whom ye have always with you," and see if it is not almost as good to give as to receive. It does not appear to be known what the aggregate value of the fruit crop in the United States amounts to, but surely that must be a safe estimate that places it at between two hundred and three hundred millions of dollars annually. Large Areas Devoted to Fruit Crops. This enormous production which is but the natural outgrowth of the discovery of the peculiar adaptation of the soil and climate of many portions of our country to fruit-cul- ture, has compelled its cultivation in larger areas than anywhere else in the world. An apple orchard on the Hudson river, at Greenport, N. Y., covers 300 acres. At Orchard Hill, in Georgia, is a peach orchard of 790 acres, and 84,000 bearing trees. The vineyard of Leland Stanford, at Vina, California, has 4,ooo acres in vines in a tract of six miles long by two wide. How does this massing of crops tend to promote an increase of insect ravages ? Let me illustrate it by what I have elsewhere written of oiir apple insects: " Two hundred years ago not even the wild crab, the earliest representative of the apple existed in this country, and consequently there were no apple insects. Later, Report of the State Entomologist. 185 when a few apple trees became the adjunct of the simple homes of the early settlers, those of our insects to which they offered more desirable food, than that on which they had previously subsisted, were obliged to wing their way often for many miles in search of a tree upon which to deposit their eggs. If birds were then abundant, how few of the insects could safely accomplish such extended flights. But in the apple orchards of the present day — some of them spreading in an almost unbroken mass of foliage over hundreds of acres — our numerous apple insects may find the thrifty root, the vigorous trunk, the succulent twig, the tender bud, the juicy leaf, the fragrant blossom, and the crisp or mellow fruit spread out before them in broad array, as if it were a special offering to insect voracity, or a banquet purposely extending an irresist- ible invitation to the tent-caterpillar, the codling-moth, the canker-worm, the striped- borer, the bark-beetle, the twig-borer, the leaf-aphis, the bark -louse, the root-louse, and every other of our two hundred species of apple insects. Here they may luxuriate as nowhere else. The reauired food is greatly in excess of insect need. Careful cultivation has made it the best of its kind ; appetite is stimulated : development is hastened ; broods are increased in number: individuals are multiplied beyond the conservation of parasitic destruction; facilities of distribution are afforded with hardly a proper exercise of locomotive organs, and when those almost useless members have become aborted, as in the wingless females of the bark-louse {MytUaftpis pomicoi'tieis) and the ca,nker--worms (Anisopteryxvprnata and -1. ;jojne/a>'/a), the interlocking branches afford convenient passage from tree to tree." Increase in Plant Diseases. The same causes, viz., high culture, enormous production, and massing in large areas, inevitably promote plant diseases. Let me, in passing, simply name a few of these, since they are so intimately connected with insect attack, being often its pre- cursor or its sequence— and then leave them to be discussed by those to whom their study properly belongs. Of the more than two hundred species of fungi known to infest the grapevine, special attention has been called within the last few years, to the following, from the serious losses that they have occasioned: The Downy mildew [Peronospora viticola); the Powdery mildew {Uncinula spiralis); the black-rot (.Physaloi'pora Bidwellii); Anthrac- nose (Sphaceloma ampelinuni), a comparatively new grape disease in this country, but one long known in Europe, which attacks the vine, the leaf and the fruit. Of other well-known and destructive diseases, are the peach yellows (no satisfactory cause or cure for which has yet been discovered); the peach-leaf curl iExnasciis defor- 7nan.s) ; the plum-rot (^Vo?«7ia fritctigena); the black-knot (Plowrigldia morhosa) of the plum and cherry; the plum-leaf fungus ((S^ptoria cerasina), affecting also the cherry and the apricot, and peach slightly, causing often one-half of the leaf to die and fall away in rounded holes, as in examples recently received by me from an orchard in Canada ; the &^\Aer\\s,t(Raste}iapenicillata)\ the apple and pear scab (Fusicladiimi dendriticum and F. pyrinum); the pear-blight, so extensively written of and but lately shown to be caused by the bacteria which has been named Mici'ococcns amylomrus, also infesting the apple and several other fruits; the tomato-rot in green fruit (probably CtorZosiJOj-HHM /u?(i«m); the gooseberry blight; the raspberry rust iCa'oma nitens); and the spot disease or leaf-blight of the strawberry {Eamularia Tnlasnei), The causes and cures of these and of many others associated with them, are deserving, from their great economic importance, of all the study that is being given to them. Valuable results are expected from the establishment about a year ago of a mycological section in the Department of Agriculture at Washington, specially charged with the study of the fungus diseases of plants ; and it was very fitting that this section should have received the cordial indorsement of your society so promptly given it. New diseases are being discovered from time to time. A very remarkable one has lately been reported to the State Horticultural Society of California. The writer names it, " Paralysis of Apricot Trees." It had been observed by him in three different cases 39 186 Forty-first Report on the State Museum. in three years, in apricot and aijple trees that had been grafted on other stock. They were of exuberant growth, in healthy foliage and were bearing, abundantly, normally developed fruit. It is described as follows: " In the morning the trees appeared to be in full health; shortly after 10 o'clock the leaves suddenly became weak and every leaf, without exception, hung lifeless on the tree. In the afternoon the fruit and bark began to shrink, and in forty-eight hours all the leaves and young shoots were entirely withered and the fruit shrunken and nearly dried up. Two trees were tested with the knife, and it was found that the paralysis and death had taken place from the grafting-point upward." Increase of Insect Kavages. Passing now to insect pests — it is surely evident to every fruit grower that, with each successive year, the ditYiculty of growing choice and perfect fruit is becoming greater. He can no longer ignore the insect as an insignificant object in nature, almost unworthy of regard. The myriad hosts confront him on every side and demand his attention. They claim the choicest products of his labor — not a tithe of them, which might, perhaps, be granted, but the eotirety. It is a struggle for mastery, in which he must conquer the insect, or the insect will conquer him. The primary causes that have necessitated this warfare have been given you in general terms, but the consequences of these might not extend much beyond a multi- plication of the individuals of a species. But beyond this, another serious element is forced upon us, viz., a continual increase in the number of species preying upon fruits. Food-habits of Insects. You all know that our noxious insects are divisible into many groups, indicated by the food-plants upon which they subsist. Thus we have our grass insects, our grain insects, insects infesting our forest trees, those infesting our flowering plants, those attacking garden vegetables, a long list of household pests, those that live upon our domestic animals, etc., etc. Insects are more or less particular in their food. There are those that confine themselves to a certain species of plant and will starve rather than change to another. Very many will feed upon allied plants as associated by structure and character in a genus or a family; while others, polyphagous species, as they are termed, extend their range through different and often dissimilar orders of the vegetable world. Change of Food-plants. Thus it is that the fruit grower not unfrequently has to contend with some insect depredator quite new to him and to his locality. He submits it, as he should, to some authority in entomology, and it is found to be a species previously known as subsisting on some other food-plant. Chance, it may be, has brought it to an apple tree, and it at once finds in its material, food more agreeable and attractive to it than that on which it had hitherto fed. It becomes an apple tree insect, and displays iinder the stimu- lating effect of its changed diet, far more destructive habits than those that before pertained to it. To illustrate: A little bark-boring beetle (Scolytus rugulosus), which. for several years had been known to us only as destroying cherry, peach, and plum trees, has been discovered by me the present year as working in large numbers beneath the bark of apple trees and quickly killing them by running its galleries over and around the trunk until it is completely girdled. Introduction from Abroad. Again, the new pest proves to be an introduced species, brought over from Europe through some commercial avenue, readily planting itself in its new home, and spread- ing from thence over the country as broadly as the area of its food-plant or suitable climatal conditions will permit. And almost without exception, a .species thus intro- duced from abroad, unattended by its natural parasites and freed from other enemies that had learned to prey upon and control it, is at once transformed into a pest of such magnitude, that its harmlessness in the old world is in marked contrast with its ravages in the new. Report of the State Entomologist. 187 Spread of Scale Insects. In illustration of the evils often attendant upon a change of food-plants and exten- tion of range, and also the increased destructiveness of introduced species, we may refer to the struggle which the fruit growers of California are at the present time undergoing with insect pests, and notably with scale-insects, which liave followed the recent extended culture of the citrus fruits, particularly the orange, in that State. Attack by the members of this family, known as the Coccida', is always dreaded, as they multiply with amaz- ing rapidity, and are protected during nearly all of their life by a shield-like covering which is impervious to such applications as ordinarily suffice to destroy more exposed forms. They are not even amenable to the poison of arsenical preparations, which are our best insecticides wherever they may be safely employed, as they find their food in the juices of plants, extracted by means of a needle-like proboscis driven through the bark, or epidermis of the leaf. The scale-insect, which is especially enlisting wide- spread attention in California, receiving the most care- ful study, and, from the difficulty of its control, exciting great alarm, is known as "the fluted scale," or "the cottony-cushion scale," from the peculiar and conspicu- ous cotton-like mass attached to it and sheltering its eggs. Scientillcally it is known as Icerya Purcltasi Maskell. Australia, South Africa, New Zealand and California are its only localities, so far as known to us. Its original food-plant is believed to have been an Acacia — thorny trees or shrubs belonging to the Leyu- minosd', of which we have no native species north of Texas. On an Acacia imported. from Australia it was in all probaltility introduced into California in 1808 or 1860. From this plant it spread to various orchard and ornamental trees, garden plants, weeds, etc. A few of these may be enumerated as showing the possible range of some of these pernicious scales: Orange, lemon, quince, pomegranate, apple, pear, peach, apri- cot, flg, strawberry, grape, hawthorn, walnut, oak, pine, cypress, laurel, locust, elm, willow, ivy, rose, ver- bena, and box. According to a writer in New Zealand, " it attacks all sorts of plants." It is proving particu- larly destructive to the orange, entire plantations of which have been completely destroyed. Not yet over- spreading the entire State, the most earnest efforts are being made to arrest its distribution. Laws have been enacted, under which fruit inspectors have been appointed, whose duty it is to enforce the laws, and even to search out the infested trees and compel their destruction. The interest taken in this crusade against insect pests in California, and the desire to conduct it in the most efficient manner, is shown in the following extract from an address recently made by the Secretary of the California Horticultural Society: "Every effort is being made by horticulturists to resist the spread of fruit-pests. Every method sug- gested by reliable scientists and fruituK^ is being thoroughly tested. Usually not much urging is reauired to in, Coauillett on, 175. Boots and shoes eaten by Dermestes, 89. Boots and Shoes Weekly cited, 88, 90, 197. 198. Boston Herald cited, 202. Public Library, entomological library of, 170. Society of Natural History, entomolo- gical library of, 170. Botanist of the Department of Agriculture, report of, 191. Bouche cited, 114. Bound tree bug, 25. Bowles, G. J., cited, 173. Box-elder plant-bug, 156. Boyd, C. H., infested straw from, 28, 34, 35. Bradt, S. C, insect from, 208. Brazilian Mantis, 160. Brincaderos (jumpers), 151. Broad-striped flea-beetle, 155. Bronze-colored cut-worm, 54. Brooklyn Entomological Society, 169. Bruner, Lawrence, on the Rocky Mountain Locust, mention, 177. brunneum, Orthosoma, 20. . brunneus, Ptinus, 90, 92. bubalus, Ceresa, 146-7, 208. Bud-eating Chrysomelid, 102. Buffalo Society of Natural Sciences, ento- mological library of, 170. Buffalo tree-hopper, 146, 2O8. Bug in.jurious to shade-trees, 193. Buhach, Report on Production and Manu- facture of (Co2. marguerite fly, 77. marguerite fly mines, 74. Megilla maculata, 83. Melanolestes abdominalis, ill. Melanolestes picipes, lio. mines in columbine leaf, 79. mines of marguerite fly, 74. nine-pronged wheel-bug, 113. oak-plum gall, 43 Orgyia leucostigma larva, 48. Orthosoma brunneum, 22. owl beetle, 141. Pennsylvania soldier-beetle, 86. Phytomyza lateralis, 77. Phytomyza lateralis mines, 74. pigeon Tremex, 38. Pirates biguttatus, 112. Pissodes strobi, 24. poplar leaf with saw-fly egg-scars, 46. poplar saw-fly, 45. Prionatus cristatus, 113. Ptinus bruuneus, 90, Ptyelus lineatus, 120. Keduvius porsonatus, 112. Fiocky Mountain locust, 25. Scolytus rugulosus burrows, 104. Semiotellus chalcidiphagus, 33. Sitodrepa panicea, 90. spotted lady-bird, S3. spring canker-worm, 140. Thalessa lunator female, 39. Thalessa lunator male, 36. Tolype laricis, 21. Tremex columba, 38. two-spotted corsair, 112. white-pine weevil, 24. wing of Chloropisca proliflca, 71. Figure of Xylotrechus colonus, 93. Zerene catenaria, 139. fllamentaria, Nematocampa, 206, Fire-flies, 85. Fischer, Philip, cited, 173. Fitch, Dr. A., cited, 19, 23, 25, 27, 29, 31(2), 116, 145, 158, 159. economic investigations of, 168. Insects Infesting Evergreens, (luoted, 25. life-histories of insects, 166. Reports on the Insecls of New York cited, 19, 20, 21, 27, 29, 32, 95, 108, 114; notice of, 192. Flacherie, 177, 178(3). flava, Phytomyza, 79. flaviceps, Phytomyza, 79. Flaxseeds of Hessian fly, 29. Flea-beetles, 96, loi, 155, 196. Fletcher [James], cited, 35, 139, 173. on clover-seed midge, 12. Flies, 171, 190. Flies eaten by Mantis, 161. Floridana, Cermatia, 128, 130. Floridana, Scutigera, 128. Floyd, Augustus, insects from, 42, 139, 205, 206. Fluted scale, 187, 188, 202. Forbes. Prof. S. A., cited or mentioned, 80, 82, 102, 142, 155, 156, 175, 176, 192, 198. food of CarabidtB, etc., si. reports of, 192. Studies on the Contagious Diseases of Insects, notice of, 178. forceps, Calista, 128. Cermatia, 128-134, 208(2). Force-pump for spraying elm-leaf beetle, 202. Forel on smell in insects, 180. Forest tent-caterpillar, 178, 204. Forflcula, 167. Formica fusca, 181. Fossil insects, 170, 176. Foster, H. J., rose-bugs from, 142. Four-lined leaf-bug on currant, 200. foveatus, Hadrobregmus, 20. French. Prof. [G. H.], Butterflies of Eastern United States, referred to, 164. cited, .57, 58, 173, 180. on Homoptera lunata, 57, 58. frigida, Coelopa, 174. Frog spittle, 120. frontalis, Systena, 156. Fruit, areas devoted to, 184. Fruit-crop of the United States, 184. Fruit Growers' Journal, mention of, 180. Fruit-insects, publications on, 191-2. Fruit, large production of, 184. Fruit-pests, 188. Fulleri, Aramigus, 193. Fuller's rose-beetle, 193. fulvipes, Eurytoma, 29. fumifei-ana, Tortrix, 20. 220 GENERAL Index. Fungus attack on alder flea-beetle, 99. on clover-leaf weevil, 200. on Phytonomus punctatus, 178. Fungus-feeding dipterous larva, 174. furfurus, Chionaspis, 208. Fur-moth, 140. fur, Ptinus, 9a. fusca, Formica, 181. Lachnosterna, 203, 204. Fyles, T. W., cited, 173. G. Gade [George], on oviposition of Thalessa, 36, 39. Galeruca xanthomelfena, 15, 143-4, 161, 197, 200, 207. Galls of Amphibolips prunus, 42. Cecidomyia balsamicola, 60. C. betulre, 27. Glyphina ulmicola, 198, 208. Lasioptera vitis, 63, 206. Gardeners' Chronicle cited, 114, 151, 152. Garth, D. J., insects from, 207. Gas-lime for insect attack, 194. Gas-tarred paper, 199. Geisler's anatomical studies, 166. Gelechia abietisella, 20, 22, 59, 60. geminata. Mantis, 162. General Government Entomological Pub- lications, 165. Geometi'idaB. publications on, by G. D. Hulst, 173. GeometridcB, studies of, 164. Germanica, Ectobia, 131. Getter, Henry C, insects from, 206. gigas, Uroceras, 95. Girdling of currant stems, 17, 47. of raspberry canes, 47. glandulosus, Cynips, 44. globosus, Mioi'odon, 174. Glover [T.], cited, 20, 35, 78, 79, 80, 88, 109(2), 111, 114, 155(2), 158, 161. entomological reports, 168. Manuscript Notes from my Journal, cited, 73, 79, 84, 107, 109, 110, 113, 156. Glyphina ulmicola, 198, 208. Gnats, 190. Goff, E. S., cited, 146. insects from, 207, 208. Gomphina, 176. Goodhue, Mr., cited, 173. GordiacEea, 125, 126. Gordian knot, 126. Gordius linearis, 125. longolobatus, 125. robustus, 125. varius, 125. Goureau cited on Phytomyza, 73. Graber. Prof. V., on smell in insects, 180. Grain aphis, 204. grande, Isosoma, 32. Grape insects in manure, 204, Grape-seed insect, 33, Grapevine flea-beetle, 96. Grapevine leap-hopper, 199. Grapta comma, form Dryas, 137. Faunus, 137. ■J-album, 137. Progne, 137. Grass-burrowing insect, 204. Grasshopper Injury (Riley), notice of, 178. Grasshoppers, 126, 159, 165, 190. Grass-infesting mite, 204. grata, Chloropisca, 71. Gray, William, on Sphinx Canadensis, 138. Griffith [H. G.], on Microcentrus eating Megilla, 80. Grosvenor Library at Buffalo, 10. Grote Check-List of Lepidoptera cited, 165. Grote [A. S.], cited. 19, 57, 173, 181. Gryllotalpa vulgaris, 180. Guenee cited, 57, 58. Guerin Mcneville cited, 72. Guide to the Study of Insects (Packard), cited, 35, 80, 86, 88, 107, 109, 110, 114, 128, 140, 159, 171: notice of, 190. Guignard, J. A., publication in Hymenop- tera, 173. H. Hadena adusta, 127. Hadrobr'egmus foveatus, 20, 22. Hagen, Dr. H. A., anatomical studies of, 166. authority in Neuroptera, 10. Bioliotheca Entomologica by, 166. on jumping seeds, 154. on Scolytus burrows, 105. studies of Neuroptera, 165. Synopsis of Neuroptera cited, 121, 124. writings cited, 60, 93, 103, 106, 123, 130, 137, 174(2), 175, 176(2), 179. Hairsnakes, 125-127. characteristics of, 126. eggs of, 126. figures of, 125, 127, habitat, 126. insects infested by, 126. life-history, 127. Mermis in apples, 127. parasitic on insects, 126. superstition respecting, 125. what they are, 125. Hairworms, 125. Hallett & Son, parasitized eggs from, 205. Halteres of Diptera, 181. Haltica alni, 97, 100. bimarginata (see alder flea-beetle), 96- 101. chalybea, 96. Halticini, 102. Hamilton [John], cited, 103, 106, 173. on Coleoptera, 175. on Sitodrepa habits, 88. Hand-book of the Lepidoptera of North America (H. Edwards), in preparation, 174. General Index. 221 Harding, W. E., insects from, 11, 16, 200. Harmoaia pini, 19. Harrington, Wm. H., cited, 173. on Thalessa, 35, 38. Harris [Dr. T.], cited, 23, 27, 29, 31, ,34, iio, 117, H5. Entomological Correspondence cited, 27, 51, 97. Insects Injurious to Vegetation cited, 23, 27, 29, 35, 37, lU, 117, 140, 148. Insects of New England cited, 27, 35, 114. on joint-worm parasites, 33. on generations of IMytihiapis poniorum, 117. Harris, Mrs. Ira, lulus from, 2oa. Harvard College entomological library, 170. Harvard University, entomology in, 171. Harvest fly, 202. Hauser on smell in insects, 180. Hawthorn Tiugis, 108. Hedges, C. H., bark-borer from, 104. Hedges, C. M., Mantis eggs from, 159. Hellebore, 191, 194. Hellgrammite fly, 208. Heloptiilus si mills, 200. Helxines, Crepidodera, 102, 196. Hemerobius delicatulus, 176. dipterus, 17G. Hemileuea Mala, 52, 195. Hemiptera, lo, 12, 13, 20, 24-5, 85, 107-121, 133, 165, 167, 190, 199. Hemiptera-Heteroutera, number of de- scribed species, 181. Hemiptera-Homoptera, number of de- scribed species, I8i. Hemiptera, publications on, during 1885-6, 175. Hemlock inch-worm, 20. Hemlock leaf miner, 59. Henriei, Thecla, 137. Henshaw [S.], cited, 128, 181. List of Coleoptera cited, 84. on Coleoptera, 175(2). on Cermatia, 130. Hentzii, Chauliognathus, 84. Herrich-Schaeffer cited, 109. Hesperia lineola, 127. Hessian fly, 11, 29, 32, 33. 163, 174, 200. Heteroptera, 10, 107, 109, 156. number of species of, 165. Hexagenia bilineata, 124. Hill, W. W., capture of Sphinx, 137. Cermatia from, 208. Hippodamia maculata, 80, 81. Histological studies of insects. 167. Holt & Co., H., publishers, 190. Homoptera, 114, 120. Homoptera, estimated number of U. S. species, 165. Homoptera lunata, 57-59. bibliography of, 57. Homoptera lunata, caterpillar described, 58. distribution, 59. habits of larva, 58. natural history, 58. remedies for, 59, rose-feeder, as a, 58. sexual difference of moths, 59. synonymy, 57. Homoptera Saundersii, 57. Honey-bug, 157. Honey-dew eaten by bees, 195. Hop-louse, 197, 199. Hop-vine aphis, 12, 204. Hop- wash, 199. hordei, Eurytoma, 27. Isosoma, ii, 2U5. Horn, Dr. [G. H.], cited, 88. 144, 155, 175, 193 publications on Coleoptera, 175. work on Coleoptera, 10. Hornets, 190. Horn-tails, 38, 95. Horticultural Entomology, Address on, by Prof. F. M. Wel)ster, mention of, 177. House fly, 167. House spider, 133. Howard [L. O.], cited, 27, 66, 80, 105. on hop-vine aphis, 13. publications in Chalcididte, 172. studies in Chalcididse, 10. Hubbard, H. G., on Lagoa opercularis, 52. Hul)l)ard, S. H., galls from, 208. Hubbard's Insects Affecting the Orange cited, 51, 53. 115, 159, 160, 161. Hulst, Kev. G. D-, cited, 20. New Species of PyralidiB, by, 173, studies of Lepidoptera, U. humuli, Phorodon, 12. 197, 199. Hundred-legged worms, 132. Hunt [T. F.], Bibliography of Corn insects cited, 80, 155. hyalina, Tingis, 107. Hydrophilidae, number of described larvse, 182. Hylesinus opaculus, 144, 145. Hylotrupes bajulus, 20, 23. Hymenoptera, 10, 11, 16, 27-46, 48, 126, 167, 180, 190, 205. number of described species, 181. number of United States species, 165. Hyperchiria lo, 206. hypophleas, Chrysophanus, 137. Hyppa xylinoides, 138. I. Icerya Purchasi, 187, I88. Ichneumon fly, 201. Ichneumonidae, 35, 38, 85. Ichneumonized caterpiller, 201, 202. Ichneumon lunator, see Thalessa, 35, 37. Ichneumons, 188. icoriee, Scolytus, 107. General Index. Illinois Industrial University, Entomology in, 171. Illustrations of Lepidoptera Heterocera (Walsingham), cited, 153. Immense fruit production, 184. imperialis, Eacles, 20. Implements for application of insecti- cides, 168. Importance of economic entomology, 9. Imported elm-leaf beetle, 15. Inchbald, Peter, galls from, 27, 205, 206. Indiana Horticultural Society, mention, 177. Injurious Insects of Massachusetts, men- tion of a paper on, 178. Injurious insects of the United States, 188. inquinata, Mantis, 162. Insecticides, 190. Insect pests, number of, in United States, 188. ravages, how to be met, 189. Insects Affecting the Corn crop (Webster), mention of, 178. as objects of study,l92. change of food-plants, 186. delayed development of, 194. described species of, in United States, 9, 165, 181. food-habits of, 186. increased ravages of, 186. infesting arbor vitse, 20. firs, 20. junipers, 20. pines, 20. Injurious to Forest and Shade Trees (Packard), cited, 19, 20, 192. Injurious to the Apple (Koons), men- tion of, 178. introduced from abroad, 186^ manner of feeding, 190. number of, known, 188. of Betula in North America (A. K. Dim- mock), notice of, 178. of the Hemlock, 19-26. of the National Museum, 182. interpunctella, Ephestia, 206. Introduction to the Classification of In- sects (Westwood), cited, 73, 78, 124, 160, 162. lo, Hyperchiria, 206. Iowa Agricultural College, entomology in, 171. Irus, Thecla, 137. Isosoma captivum, 33, 34, 35. elymi, 32. grande, 32. hordei (see joint-worm fly), 11, 27-35, 205. nigrum, 28. tritici, 28, 30, 32. vitis, 33. lulus coeruleocinctus, 208. J. Jack, John J., cited, 179. Jackson, R. I., cited, 179. J-album, Grapta, 137. Jenyns, Bev. L., on Chlorops flies, 72. Johnson, C. Fred, insects from, 142. .Johnstone, John B., insects from, 208. Joint-worm fly, 11, 27-35, 205. allied species, 32. associate in attacks, 34. bibliography, 27-8. figure of, 28. fly seldom seen, 31. history, 29. how discoverable, 30. infests wheat straw, 28. injuries to crops, 29. larva described, 28. parasites of, 33. parasitism, supposed, 32. recent attacks, 30. remedies for, 33. Jones, A. W., on Ooleoptera, 175. Journal of the Academy of Natural Sci- ence of Philadelphia cited, 88, 93, 96, 128, 156, 1?>1. Juglandis, Aspidiotus, 114. Corythuca, 108. .Tulidce, 132. Jumping seeds (see Carpocapsa saltitans), 151-154. K. Kaltenbach's Pflanzenfeinde Klasse Insek- ten cited, 73, 77, 79. Kansas State Agricultural College, ento- mology in, 171. Katydids, 126. Kellicott [D. W.], cited, 114, 173. Kerosene emulsion, 118, 168, 191, 195, 198, 199. Kerosene emulsion, how to make, 191. Kerosene for insect attack, 68, 92, 190, 191, 198(2), 200. Iviesenwetter cited, 72. King, Mrs., on the bag-worm, 204. Kirby's Fauna Boreali Americana cited, 143. Knaus, Warren, on Coleoptera, 175. Koebele, Albert, on Locusts, mention, 177. Koons, Prof. B. F., Insects Injurious to the Apple, mention of, 178. Kraepelin on sense of smell in insects, 180. Krauss cited, 72. Laboulbene cited, 72. Lachnosterna fusca, 203, 204. Lachnosterna sp., 207. Lachnus laricifex, 195. Lady-birds, 188, 194, 196. Lady-bug attack on scale insects, 200. Lady-bugs, 80, 85. Iseta, Chlorops, 72. General Index. 22S Lagoa crispata, 52, 53, 54. opercularis (see rabbit-moth), 51-54, 200. Lampyridae, 47, 84, 85, 88. Landers, C. L., corn insects from, 14, 207. Larch lappet, 21. phmt-louse, 195. saw-fly, distribution of, 10, 205. Larger wheat fly, 32. larieifex, Laehnus, 195. laricis, Tolype, 20. Lasell, Mr. E. W. K., insects from, 207. Lasioptora rubi, OG. Lasioptera vitis, 03-07, 200. bibliography, 03. difl'erent forms of its galls, 00. earliest notice of, oo. figure of galls, 04. fly described, 06. gall described, 04. grape-vine tomato-gall, oo. Larval escape from galls, 05. localities of occurrence, 07. uervulation, 63. on wild grape, 65. parasite of, 05. remedy for, 05. lateralis, Phytomyza, 73-80, 207. laticollis, Prionus, 22. latiferreana, Carpocapsa, 153. Mellisopus, 153. Latreille cited, 133. LarVfE of Lepidoptera known, 166. Lead penetrated by insect, 23. Leaf-aphis, 185. Leaf-hoppers, 199. Leaf-miner on Hemlock, 20, .59. Leaf-miners, 73-80, 207. Leaf-rollers, 152. Leather beetle, 197, 198. Le Baron [Wm.], cited, 114, llG, 155, 192. LeConte and Horn's Classification of Cole- optera of North America, referred to, 104. LeConte, Dr., cited, 84, 88, 93, 103, 109, 114, 143, 155, 175. collection of Coleoptera of, 169. entomological library of, 170. on Conorhinus, 112. on introduction of Scolytus rugulosus, 100. on Reduvius pungens, lio-lll. woi-k on Coleoptera, 10. Lee, A. B., studies of halteres of Diptera, 181. Lee, Henry, galls of Lasioptera from, 04, 206. leguminicola, Cecidomyia, 12, 05. Leidy, Dr., anatomical studies of, 100. figures of Gordius from, 125, 126, 127. Lema trilineata, 142, 207. Leng, C. W., Synopsis of Cerambycidas, 93, 96, 175. Lepidoptera, 11, 14, 15. 16, 19, 20, 21, 22, 48- 60, 151, 104, 167, ISO, 190. number of described species, 181. number of N. A. species described, 164 166. publications on, during 1885-6, 173. Lepidosaphes conchiformis, 114. Lepisma domestica, 179. Leptida^,, 174. Leptocoris trivittatus, 156-158, 193, 208. abundance in Kansas, 157, l)ibliography, 150. dewription and figure, 157, distribution, 158. favorite food-plant, 157. fruit destroyed, 158. iujuries, 157, 158. shade-trees infested, 157. Leptura Canadensis, 20, 23. Lepyronia, 120. Leucania albilinea, 50. pal lens, 206. leucostignia, Orgyia, 15, 48-51. Library pests, 92. Life-histories of Butterflies (Edwards). 173. of insects, 166. Life-history of Hemileuca Maia, 195. of hop-vine aphis, 13. ligata, Lioderma, 20. Pentatoma, 25. Lightning bugs, 85. ligneus, Otiorhynchus, 141. Ligyrus relictus, 204. Limacodes pithecium, 206. Lime for insect attack, 194, 198. liminaris, Phlojotribus, 144, 204, 208. Limenitis Arthemis, 137. disippus, 137. Linceci, Cermatia, 131. linearis, Gordius, 125. lineata, Cercopis, 120. Chlorops, 72. Cicada, 120. lineatus, P(jecilocapsus, 200(2). Ptyelus, 120. Lined spittle-hopper, 120-I. abounds on grass, 120. allied species, 121. a spittle insect, 120. bibliography, 120. distribution. 121. figures, 120. habitat, 121. injuries, 121. its spittle, 120. synonymy, 120. lineola, Hesperia, 127. Linnffius cited, 88, lOl, 120, 158, 103, 195. Linseed oil for insect attack, 119, 195. Lintner [J. A.], cited, 20, 28, 30, 57, 03, 71, 80, 84, 109, 115, 128, 151, 155, 156, 159. Lioderma ligata, 20, 25. 224 General Index. Lippineott, J. B., publishing house, 190. List of Coleoptera of North America (Hen- shaw), cited, 88, 93, 101, 103, 155, 165: notice of, 175. Hemiptera West of the Mississippi Eiver (Uhler), cited, 109, 15(5. Myriapoda of Arkansas cited, 130. Literature of entomology, 165. Lithobius Americanus, 208. Lithocaris, Eevision of the Californian species (Casey), mention of, 175. Locusts, 158, 167, 176. Loew, Dr. F., on leaf galls, 63. Loew, Dr. [H.], studies of N. A. Diptera, 164. London purple insecticide, 11, 191, 199, 201. Longicorn borers in hemlocli, 20, 23. longicornis, Diabrotica, 82. Long imprisonment of beetles in furni- ture, 95. longolobatus, Gordius, 125. Long-stings, 40. Losses from Hessian fly, li. hop-vine aphis in New Yorlc, 12. quince curculio, 15. Loudon's Magazine of Natural History, 72. Lubbock, Sir John, on longevity in ants, 181. Lucanus dama, 207. Lucanus, smelling organs of, 180. Lucas, M., on Carpocapsa Deshaiziana, 151, 152, 154. Lucilia C^sar, 180. lunata, Noctua, is Homoptera, 57. Lunated Long-sting, 35-41. beneficial habits, 37. bibliography, 35-36. description, 37. different names for, 37. eggs, how placed, 40. female figured, 39. larval habits, 41. male figured, 36. oviposition, 38, 41. oviposits in exposed larvae, 40. parasitic on Tremex columba, 38. lunator, Ichneumon, 35, 37. Pimpla, 35, 37. Ehyssa, 35, 40, 205. Thalessa, 35-41, 205. Lures for insects, 199. luteata, Eupithecia, 20. lutescens, Aulacomerus, 44. Lyciena Comyntas, 137. Lygaeus trivittatus, 156, 157. Lymexylon navale, 195. M. Machines for application of insecticides, 168, 192. Macrodactylus subspinosus, 14, 142, 198, 207. maculata, Coccinella, 80. Hippodamia, 80, 81. maculata, Megilla, 80-84. maculatus, Raphitelus, 105. Maia, Hemileuca, 52, 195. Mallota barda, 141. Mamestra picta, 16, 206. maneus, Agriotes, 207. Mandelbaum, Myer, on Sitodrepa injuries, 91. Mandibulata, 190, 191. Mann, B. Pickman, referred to, 166. MantidiB, 158. Mantis argentina, 162. Carolina, 158-162, 193, 208. chlorophaca, 162. geminata, 162. iuquinata, 162. oratoria, 162. phryganoides, 162. religiosa, 162. marginalis, Systena, 156. marginata, Cantharis, 84. Epicauta, 201. marginatus, Chauliogn.athus, 84-88. Margined soldier-beetle, 84-88. a beneficial insect, 85. beetle feeds on pollen, 86. bibliography, 84. compared with C. Pennsylvanicus. 86. description of, 87. destroys the apple-worm, 85. deposit of its eggs, 87. feeds on? quince curculio, 87. larval characters, 85. mistaken for a fruit-pest, 84. service rendered by, 86. Marguerite fiy, 73-80, 207. allied species, 78. aquilegia leaves mined, 79. bibliography, 73. broods of, 75. description of, 77. Falconer on, 75. figures of, 77. identical with European form, 77. injurious character, 76. localities of operations, 76. mines daisy leaves, 73. mines described, 74. operations of, 73. plants mined, 73, 75. pupation, 74. remedies, 76. Marine insect, Coelopa, 174. Mark, Dr. E. L., anatomical and histo- logical studies of, 16G, 167. Marshall, Miss L. A., myriapods from, 208. Martin, Prof. D. S., insects from, 107, 208. Mauritanica, Tenebrioides, 207. Maxwell & Brothers, insects from, 15, 146, 208. May flies, 121-124, 165, 190, 202. Mayr, Dr., on gall insects, 43. McGill University at Montreal, 54. General Index. 225 McLain, N. W., Report on Experiments in Apiculture, mention, 177. McJJaughton, Miss A., insects from, 207. Meal insect, 204. Meal-worm in salt, 200. Measuring worms, 21, Megilla maculata, 80-84. abundance of, 83. a new corn-pest, 80. bibliography, 80. corn eaten by, 81-2. description, 83. distribution, 84. figures of, 83. injurious habit, 81. synonymy, 80. Meigen's Systematlsche Beschreibung der bekannten europaischen Zweilliigeligen Inseeten, cited, 73. Melanolestes abdominalis, sting of, ill. picipes, 109-111. Melittia cueurbitiu, 138. Mellisopus latiferreana, 153. Melsheimer's Catalogue of Coleoptera cited, so, 93. Melsheimer's Catalogue of the Insects of Pennsylvania referred to, 163. Melsheimer [F. E.], cited, 88, 101, 155. Mercurial ointment insecticide, 199. Merisus, 27. Mermis acuminata, 127. parasitic on the apple-worm, 127. species, 125. Merriam, Dr. C. Hart, investigations of, 182. Meske's collection of Lepidoptera, 50, 182. Metacomet, Pamphila, 137. Mexican jumping seeds, isi. Michigan State Agricultural College re- ferred to, 119, 171. Microcentrus retinervum, 80. Micrococcus amylovorus, 185. Microdon globosus, 174. Milbertii, Vanessa, 137. Milkweed beetle, 14, 201. Minot's anatomical studies, 166. Minot's Histology of the Locust, 167. Mite attack on garden plants, 200. infesting grass, 204. infesting smoked meats, 204. on Arbor vitffi, 201, 203. Moesehler cited, 173. Moffat, J. A., on Myrmeleon, 17G. molitor, Tenebrio, 200, 207. Monograph of Geometrid Moths (Packard), 183. of the ChrysididcB (Aaron), 172. of the Diptera of N. A. (Loew), 63, 66. of the Earlier Stages of Odonota (Hagen), mention of, 176. of the Embidina (Hagen), mention of, 176. of the Myriapoda (Newport), mention of, 134. 44 Monograph of the ZygfenidaB, LithosiidEe and Arctiidaiof North America (Stretch), mention of, 174. Monohammus confusor, 23, 207. Moody & Sons, E., insect from, 137. Moore, C. R., insects from, 51, 159, 206, 208(2). Moore, J. M., plant-bugs from, 157. Morris' Synopsis of the Lepidoptera of N. A., 51. Morton, Miss Emily R., insects from, 2O6. Mosiiuito, 133, 190, 196. Moths, 190. number of described species, 181. number of U. S. species, 165. Mulberry Silk Worm — Manual of Instruc- tion in Silk Culture (Riley), mention. 177. Muller, H.. cited, 72. Munich Catalogue of Coleoptera, 182. Murray's Economic Entomology cited, 128. Murrell. George E., apple bud insect from, 102. Murtfeldt, Miss, on stinging of Lagoa cat- erpillar, 51. Murtfeldt, Miss, cited, 173. Musca domestica, 167. Muscardine, 178. Museum of Comparative Zoology at Cam- bridge, Mass., 10, 60, 100, 105, 169, 170, 183. Museum pests, Sitodrepa, 88. Ptinus, 93. Mycological Section, Department of Agri- culture, 185. Mycologist of the Department of Agricul- ture, report of, 191. Myriapoda, 128, 208. Myriapod attack on potatoes, 204. Myriopoda of North America cited, 130. Myrina, Argynuis, 137. Myron, Darapsa, 201, 202. Mytilaspis pomicorticis, 185, 195. Mytilaspis pomorum, 114-120. N. Nanophyes tamariscis, 154. nasuta, Chlorops, 72. natata. Ephemera, 121. Palingenla, 121. National Museum' at Washington, 49, 50, 54, 169. insect collection of, 182. Natural History of the Lepidoptera of Georgia referred to, 163. of the State of New York cited, 21. navale, Lymexylon, 195. Nematocampa fllamentaria, 2O6. Nematus Erichsonii, 16, 205. genus of, 46. ventricosus, 205. nenuphar, Conotrachelus, 201. Nephelodes violans, 54-57, 206. Nervulation of Lasioptera, 63. Neumoegen, B., cited, 173. 226 General Index. Neuroptera, 10, 121-124, ifi5, 167, 190. number of described species, 181. Neuroptera, publications on, in 1885-6, 176. New England Farmer cited, 27. New England Homestead cited, 103, 180, 194, 202. New Jersey State Board of Agriculture, 135. New Museun^, Pest, 179. New Orleans Exposition collection of eco- nomic entomology, 182. Newport on Myriapoda cited, 133, 134. New Strawberry insect, 204. New York Farmers' Club, New York city, 18. New York State Agricultural Experiment Station, 30, 142, 178. Agricultural Society, 29, 41, 178, 192. Forest Commission, 62. Museum of Natural History, 7, 130. Reports cited, 57, 100, 127, 135, 137, 138, 200, 204. Niagara nurseries at Lockport, 137. Nichols, D. A. A., insects from, 207. Nicholson, Mr., on wheat insect, 135. nigra, Ctenis, 123. nigricornis, Phytomyza, 79. nigrum, Isosoma, 28. nimbatana, Penthina, 206. Nine-pronged wheel-bug, 113. Nisoniades Persius, 137. nitida, Thalessa, 41. niveus, ffieanthus, 147. Nixon nozzle. 202. Noctua edusa, see Homoptera, 59. lunata, see Homoptera, 57, 59. Noctuidae, 54. North American insects, number of, 181. North American Myriapoda (Underwood), cited, 130. Nortoni, Thalessa, 41. Number of apple insects, 189. described insects, 165. insects in National Museum, 182. North American insects, 181. species of Oak insects, 192. Nyctobates Pennsylvanicus, 20, 23. Oak Clytus, 94. insects, number of species, 192. plum-gall, 205. plum-gall Cynips, 42. pruner, 179. Gates, E. F., insects from, 208. Oberea bimaculata, 47, 189, 207. obesum, Anobium, 88. obscurella, Phytomyza, 79. obtusa, Diplax, 208. ocellana, Tmetocera, 14, 206. oculatus, Alaus, 141, 207. Odonata, 180. Odonata, Monograph of the Earlier Stages of (Hagen), mention of, 176. odora, Erebus, 138. Odors, perception of, by insects, 180. OEcanthus niveus, 147. . Oestlund. O. W., List of Aphididffi of Min- nesota, mentioned, 176. oleivorus, Typhlodromus, 177. oleracea, Pieris, 136. Olivier cited, 93. Onion maggot, 13. opaculus, Hylesinus, 144, 145. opercularis, Lagoa, 206. Ophion bilineatus, 205. Opsicoetus personatus, 112. Orange-rust mite, 177. oratoria. Mantis, 162. Orders of Insects, 167, 190. Orgyia definata, 50. Orgyia leucostigma, 7, 15, 48. Orthoptera, 10, 21, 25, 126, ]58, 165, 167, 190. Orthoptera, number of described species, 165, 181. Orthoptera of Kansas, List of (Bruner), mention, 176. Orthosoma brunneum, 20, 22. cylindricum, 23. Pennsylvanica, 23. sulcatum, 23. unicolor, 23. Osborn, Herbert, cited, 177. OscinidtB, 67, 68, 78. Osten Sacken, Baron, cited, 63(2), 65, 66, 181. collection of Diptera, 169. description of Chloropisca proliflca, 70- 71. Dipterological labors, 10. on larva of Scenopinus, 174. on Phytomyza latei-alis, 77. on winter assemblages of flies, 72. studies of N. A. Diptera, 164. Oswego Times cited, 14, 198. Otiorhynchus ligneus, 141. Ottawa Naturalist cited, 156. Our Shade Trees and their Insect Defoli- ators (Riley), referred to, 143. ovinus, Tabanus, 199. Oviposition of the Carolina Mantis, 159. poplar saw-fly, 46. Saperda Candida, 200. Thalessa lunator, 39. Owl beetle, with figure, 141. Owl, Glens Falls, N. Y., cited, I9t, 196. Ox gad-fly, 199. Ox warble-fly, 199. Oyster-shell bark-louse, 116. Pacific Rural Press cited, 103, 180, 187. Packard's, Dr. A. S., embryological studies, 107. entomological library, 170. Entomology for Beginners cited, 115, 120, 121. estimate of number of U. S. insects, 165. General Index. 227 Packard's, Dr. A. S., Forest and Shade Trees cited, 93. histological studies, 167. insect types, 183. Reports on Destruction of Evergreen Forest Trees, mention, 177(2). writings cited, 19, 20, 21, 22(2), 23, 24, 2H, 51, 59, 60, 93, 100, 158, 159, 175, 180, 192. Packard, Dr., on Cermatia forceps, 130. alder flea-beetle, 97-98. legs of Lagoa, 53. Orgyla deflnata, 50. Xylotrechus colonus, 94. Palaeontological entomology, 170. Palingenia n.atata, 121. pallens, Leucania, 206. pallipes, Scenopinus, 174. Palpi and autennBe as organs of smell in insects, 180. Pamphila Metacomet, 137. Peckius, 137. panicea, Sitodrepa, 88-93, 197, 198, 207. paniceum, Anobium, 88. paniceus, Dermestes, 88. Papilio Asterias, 136. Turnus, 136. Papilio cited, 137, 138. parallela, Aphrophora, 121. Paralysis of Apricot Trees, 185. Parasitic mite infesting a beetle, 200. Parasite of Carpocapsa pomonella, 127. currant worm, 194, 197. Darapsa Myron, 202. Hadona adusta, 127. Hesperia lineola, 127. Lasioptera vitis, 65. oak-plum gall, 42. red- humped apple-tree caterpillar, 204. Parasites, Apanteles congregatus, 202. Gordius species, 126. Sitrodrepa on bees, 92. of Cecidomyia betulaj, 27. of Cecidomyia destructor, 27. of joint-worm, 33. of Scolytus rugulosus, 10.5. Paris green insecticide, 103, 191, 199, 20l. Peabody Academy of Science collection of insects, 183. Peach orchard at Orchard Hill, Ga., 184. Peach-tree borer, 107. Peach-yellows, 185, 204. Pear-blight, 106, 185. Pear-blight beetle, 200, 203. Pebrine, 177, Peck, Harry L., insects from, 207. Peck, Prof. C. H., girdled currant twigs from, 47. insects from, 16, 144, 205. on alder-beetle fungus, 99. Peck [Prof. W. D.l, early entomological studies of, 1G3. Peckius, Pamphila, 137. pellionella. Tinea, 140, 174. Pelopajus cajmentarius, 205. ca3ruleus, 205. PemphigincB, 179. Penhallow, Prof. D. P., caterpillars from, 54, 55, 206. Diseases of Plants cited, 103. studies of peach-yellows, 204. Pennsylvanica, Orthosoma, 23. Pennsylvanicus, Chauliognathus, 84, 86, 87. Nyctobates, 20. Pentatoma bidens, 133. ligata, 25. Penthina nimbatana, 206. Pergande [Theodore], on Megilla, 82. Periodical Cicada, 174, 175, 177, 179. Periplanata, smelling organs of, 180. Persius, Nisoniades, 137. personatus, Opsicoetus, 112. Roduvius, 112, 133. Perty cited, 72. Pests of tlie Pomologist, 183-192, 202. Petite Faune Entomologiaue du Canada (Provancher). cited, 93, 96, 109, 110. Pettit, J., insects from, 108. Phala?na lunata, see Homoptera, 57. Phana-us, revision of species of (Blanch- ard), mention, 175. Phelps. C, saw-fly larvae from, 205. Philodice, Colias, 136. Phisterer, Frank, insect from, 207. Phloeotribus liminaris, 144, 204, 208. Phorbia ceparum, 13. Phorodon humuli, 12, 197, 199. phryganoides, Mantis, 162. Phryganid larvae, 202. Phyciodes Tharos, 137. Phylloxera, 188. Phytomyza affiuis, 75. flava, 79. flaviceps, 79. lateralis (see Marguerite fly), 73-80, 207. nigricornis, 79. obscurella, 79. Phtomyzidae, 73, 78. Phytonomus puuctatus, 178. Phytophaga, number of descr. species, 181. picipes. Pirates, 109, no. picta, Mamestra, 16, 206. Pieris oleracea, 136. rapae, 136. flacherie in, 178(2). Pimpla lunator (see Thalessa), 35, 37. Pine-bark Chermes, 147. Pine emperor moth, 21. pinicorticis. Chermes, 147. pini, Harmonia, 19. Pinipestis Zimmermani, 19. Pirates biguttatus, 112, 133. picipes, 109, no. 228 General Index. Pissodes strobi, 20, 23. pithecium, Limacodes, 206. Planck, Dr. M. G., galls from, 65, 205. Plant-bug attack on pears, 200. Plant-bugs, 156, 165. Plant-lice, 81, 83, 85, 165, 190, 194. eaten by Mantis, 161. Plateau on vision in insects, 180. plota, Sphinx, 137. Plum-curculio, 86, 201. Plum-gouger, 17. Poecilocapsus lineatus, 200(2). Poisoning by insect stings, 51, 52, 53. polygrapha, Corythuca, 109. pometaria, Anisopteryx, 15, 139, 206. pomieorticis, Mytilaspis, 185, 195. Pomologist of the Department of Agricul- ture, i-eport of, 191. Pomology, evils attending progress, 183. progress in, 183. pomonella, Carpocapsa. 85, 127, 152, 206. Trypeta, 174. pomorum, Aspidiotus, 114. Mytilaspis, 114-120. Popenoe, Prof., on Leptocaris trivittatus, 156, 157, 193. on oviposition of Ceresa, 146. oplar saw-fly, 44-46. description of larva, 45. description of saw-fly, 45. double-brooded, 46. figures of, 45. generic reference, 46. larval habits, 44. oviposition, 46. pupation, 45. social habits, 44. Popular Gardening cited, 194. Potato bugs, 142. Potato-stalk weevil, 204. Poultry for insect attack, 203. Powell, George T., insects from, 16, 260. Practical Entomologist cited, 28, 107, 109, 114(2), 124. notice of, 192. Praedores, number of described species, 181. Prairie Farmer, mention, 180. Praying Mantis, 160, 193. Prentiss, Prof. A. N., hemlock leaf- miner, from, 59. monograph of the hemlock by, 19. Present State of Entomological Science in the United States, 163-172. anatomical studies, 166. bibliography, 160. early studies, 163. economic studies, 167. embryological studies, 167. entomological collections, 169. entomological libraries, 170. entomological societies, 169. entomology in schools, 171. Present State of Entomological Science in the United States — ( Continued) : histological studies, 107. life-histories of insects, 166. literature of the science, 165. number of described insects, 165. palosontological entomology, 170. publications by the general govern- ment, 165. serial publications, 166. Smithsonian Institution publications, 165. special studies in orders, 164. State and national aid, 168. Presidential Address before the Entomo- logical Society of Washington (Riley), mention of, 177. Preventive of broad-striped flea-beetle, 156. cabbage maggot, 194. cotton beetle (Systena), 198. pear blight beetle, 203. rose-bug, 198. Scolytus, 107. ship-timber borer, 195. Preventives of insect attacks : air-slacked lime, 198. ammoniacal liciuor, 194. ashes, 156, 198. bark-peeling, 195. barn-yard manure, 194. burdock decoction, 194. carbolic acid and soap wash, 107. carbolic acid wash, 107. cow-dung, 194. creosote, 195. dust, 156, 198(2), 199. gas-lime, 194. hellebore solution, 194. killing before egg-laying, 200. night-soil, 194. repellant washes, 203. sand, 156. shell-lime, 194. soot and water, 194. spirits of turpentine, 19. submergence, 195. tansy decoction, 194. tobacco, 103, 194. pretiosa, Trichogramma, 194, 197, 205. Prie-Dieu (Mantis), 160, 162. Prionotus cristatus, 113. Prionus laticollis, 22. Proceedings of the Academy of Natural Science of Philadelphia cited, 84, 88, 101(2), 109,111, 112, 155(2). Albany Institute cited, 151. American Philosophical Society cited, 103. Boston Society of Natui-al History, 93. Entomological Society of London cited, 72. Entomological Society of Philadelphia cited, 41, 42(2), 50, 51, 57. 88, 123-4. General Index. 229 Proceedings of the Entomological Society of Washington cited, lO-t, 145. Natural Science Association of Staten Island cited, 138, 173. United States National Museum cited, ■27, 151, 154. Western New York Horticultural So- ciety, 194. Progne, Grapta, 137. proliflca, Chloropisca, 67-72, 207. propinqualis, Kivula, 206. Provancher [I'abbe] on Coleoptera, 84, 87. description of X. colonus, 93. prunus, Amphibolips, 42. Cynips <\., 43. Pseudoneuroptora, 1()7. Psyche, 52, 166(2), 178. Pteromalinae, 27, 60. Ptinidffi, 22, 88. Ptinus brunneus, 90, 92. fur, a museum pest, 93. quadrimaculatus, a museum pest. 93. Ptyelus lineatus, 120. species, 120. Publications by the [N. Y. St.] Entomolo- gist, 193-204. Publications in 1885-86 on the several Or- ders of insects, 172-176. pulchraria, Cleora, 20. punctatus, Phytouomus, 178. pungens, Eeduvius, 109, 111. Purchasi, loerya, 187. pygmffia, Chloe, 123. PyralidiB, 14. Pyralidas, Description of New Species of (Hulst), 173. Pyrameis Atalanta, 137. pyramidoides, Amphipyra, 138. Pyrethrum insecticide, 68, 101. 134, 168, 191. pyri, Xyleborus, 203. pyrus-malus, Coccus, 114. q. glandulus, Cynips, 44. Q. operator, Cynips, 205. - q. prunus, Cynips, 205. quadrangularis, Aphrophora, 121. quadrigibbus, Anthonomus, 201. quadrimaculatus, Ptinus, 93. Quassia and soap wash, 198, 199. Quay, J., on oviposition of Thalessa, 35, 39. Quebecensis, Thalessa, 41. Quince curculio, 15, 87. quinquemaculata. Sphinx, 205. B. Rabbit moth, Lagoa opercularis, 51-54. a southern insect, 53. bibliography, 5i. caterpillar described, 53. Rabbit moth, cocoon of, 54. distribution of, 53. figures of, 51, 52. moth described, 52. poison of sting, 52. Race-horse (Mantis), I60. Raflnesque, in Annals of Nature, cited, 128. Eamsden, E., insects from, 208. rapas, Pieris, 136, 178(2). Raphitelus ? maculatus, 105. Rasahus biguttatus, 112. Raspberry-cane borer, 207. Raspberry-cane girdler, 189. Raspberry-stem girdler, 47. Ratzeburg in Forstinsecten cited, 103. Rear-horse (Mantis), I60. Red ant, 133. Red-footed flea-beetle, 101. Red-headed Systena, 156. Red-humped apple-tree caterpillar, 204. Red-scale, 188. Red-spider, 203. Reduviidffi, 109-114. Reduvius personatus, 112, 133. pungens, 109, ill. Reed [E. B.], cited, 63, 80. Regents of the University, State of New York, 118. relictus, Ligyrus, 204. religiosa. Mantis, 162. Remedies for insect attack: arseuites, 101, 168, 190, 204. attracting to lights, 190. beating from foliage, 190, 198, 199, 200. benzine, 89. bisulphide of carbon, 90, 168. buckwheat flour, 191. burning, 33, 77, 107, 118, 190, 193, 195, 203(2), 204. burning rubbish, 200. carbolic acid, 191. carbolic acid and soap wash, 119, 195. coal-tar, 191. feeding by sheep, 12. gas-tarred paper, 199. hand-picking, 59, 65, 76, 190, 193, 194. heat, 90. hellebore, 191, 194. ice-water, 191. jarring on sheets, 201. kerosene, 68, 92, 190, 191, 198(2), 200. kerosene emulsion, 118, 168, 191, 195, 198, 199. linseed oil, 119, 195. London purple, 14, 191, 199, 201. lures for concentrating attack, 199. mercurial ointment, 199. molasses and vinegar, 76. odor of fermentation, 76. Paris green, 103, 191, 199, 201. plowing, 34. poultry feeding, 203. 230 General Index. Eemedies for insect attack — ( Continued) : pyrethrum, 08, lOl, 134, 168, 191. pyrethrum water, 201. quassia water and soap, 198, 199. scraping the bark, 119, 195. soap solution, 119, 198, 199. soft-soap and washing-soda, 119. sulphur fumes, 201. tarred-paper, 199. tobacco, 191, 199. whale-oil soap, 103. working the ground, 15. Remedy for the alder flea-beetle, 101. apple-tree bark-louse, 118-9, 195. bag-worm, 204. bark-borers, 107. blister-beetle, 201. broad-striped flea-beetle, 156. Cermatia forceps, 134. clover-seed midge, 12. cockscomb elm-gall aphis, 198. curculio, 201. currant-worm, 194. Dermestes vulpinus, 89-90. elm-leaf beetle, 201. eye-spotted bud-moth, 14. flea-beetles, 103, 156. four-lined leaf -bug, 200. grapevine gall midge, 65. grapevine leaf-hopper, 199. Homoptera lunata, 59. Isosoma hordei, 33-4. joint-worm, 33-4. Lasioptera vitis, 65. leather-beetle, 89-90, 92. marguerite fly, 76. mites on arbor vitre, 201. ox warble fly, 199. pear-blight beetle, 203. Phytorayza latei-alis, 76. quince curculio, 15. red-footed flea-beetle, 103. rose-bug, 198. Scolytus attack, 107. two-spotted tree-hopper, 203. Xyleborus pyri, 203. Repellant washes, 107, 203. Report of the American Pomological Soci- ety, 183. Department of Entomology— Cornell University Experiment Station, 115. Entomologist to the Department of Agriculture of the Dominion of Can- ada (Fletcher), mention, 177. Geological and Natural History Survey of Minnesota, 176. New York Agricultural Experiment Station, entomological topics consid- ered, 178. New York State Cabinet of Natural His- tory, 52. Ohio Agricultural Experiment Station (on insecticides), mention, 178. Report of the U. S. Geological and Geo- graphical Survey of the Territories cited, 28. on Orange Insects (Hubbard), mention, 177. Reports of the Commissioner of Agricul- ture, cited, 20, 24, 35, 59, 80(2), 88, 108, 109(2), 114, 115, 139, 155(2), 158, 188, 191, 202. Commissioner of Patents cited, 88, 114. Entomological Society of Ontario cited, 28, 35(2), 63, 80(3). Entomologist of the U. S. Department of Agriculture (Riley), cited, 28, 32, 89, 115, 143, 156, 175, 176. Entomologist to the Regents of the University S. N. Y. cited, 135, 137, 138. U. S. Entomological Commission cited, 21, 23, 25, 87, 93, 94, 127, 158, 159(2), 161, 167, 177 : notice of, 192. Reports on the Insects of Illinois cited, 20, 80,82,86, 88, 102, 114(2), 155(2), 156, 175: notice of, 192. Insects of Missouri (Riley), cited, 20, 51, 63, 66, 80, 84, 86(2), 101, 114, 115, 117, 158, 159, 160: notice of, 192. Insects of New York (Fitch), cited, 19, 20, 21, 27, 29, 32, 95, 108, 114: notice of, 192. Insects of New York (Lintner), cited, 48, 54, 57, 107, 141, 147, 168, 174, 192. 193. New York State Museum of Natural History, 52, 57, 100, 127, 135, 137, 138, 200, 204. Requisites of the successful fruit grower, 189. retinervum, Microcentrus, 80. Revue et Magazin de Zoologie, cited, 152. Rhizobiinaj, 196. Rhyssa atrata (is Thalessa), 40. lunator (is Thalessa), 35, 40, 205. species, 41. Richardson, C. A., insect from, 208. Richmond, A. G., insect from, 208. Riley [Prof. C. V.], cited, 21, 27, 30, 35, 80, 81. 85, 86, 93, 103, 114, 116, 151, 153, 154, 168, 161, 178, 179(2), 180, 188, 191, 192(2). collection of insects of, 182. entomological library of, 170. Fourth Report of the U. S. Entomo- logical Commission on the Cotton Worm, mention, 177. life-histories of insects by, 166. on acorn-cup gall-insect, 42. on Dermestes vulpinus, 89. on Carpocapsa saltitans, 152, 154. on elm-leaf beetle, 143. on food of Haltica chalybea, loi, on generations of Mytilaspis, 117. on hop-vine aphis, 13. on Isosoma captivum, 34. on oviposition of Thalessa, 41. General Index. 231 Rivula propirKiualis, 206. Roach, 132. Robertson, David, on winter caterpillars, 54. robustus, Gordius, 125. Rocky mountain locust, ir.i, ir.5, 177, 192. Root-aphis of the hop-vine, 19(>. Root, L. B., on falling of elm leaves, 49. Root-louse, 185. Root web-worm, 14. Rose-beetle, 14. Rose-bug. 142, 198, 199. Royal Academy of Belgium, 180. rubi, Lasioptera, 6G. ruflpes, Altiea, lOl. Chrysomela, loi. Crepidodera, 101-103, 19G. • rugulosus, Eecoptogaster, 103. Scolytus, 186, 208. Rural New Yorker cited, 28, 179. Russell, Dr. S. A., insects from, 208. S. saltitans, Carpocapsa, 151-154. Sand flies extraordinary. 122. Sand for preventing insect attack, 156. sanguisugus, Conorhinus, 111. Saperda Candida, 107, 200. vestata, 207. Saratogensis, Aphropliora, 121. Sarcophaga sp., 206. Satyrus Alope, 137. Saundersii, Homoptera, 57. Saunders [Wm.], cited, 139. Insects Injurious to Fruits cited, 63, 80, 115, 119, 156: notice of, 190. Saunders, W. E., on food of Sitodrepa, 88. Saw-flies, 190. Saw-fly larva on wheat, 135, 204. Saw-fly on apple trees, 197. Say's [Thomas] American Entomology referred to, 164. Complete writings cited, 88, 107, 128, 156. Descriptions of new Species of Hete- ropterous Hemiptera cited, 107. writings cited, 96, 128, 130, 156, 157. Scale-insect attack on Ivy, 200. Scale insects, 165, 180, 187, 188, 190. lady-bug attack on, 200. Scarab8eida3, number of described larva?, 182. Scenopinus fenestralis, 174. pallipes, 174. Scent-organs of Bombycid Muths (Smith), 173. Sehaupp [F. G.], cited, 20, 23. Schiner on " mass meetings " of flies, 69. on Phytomyza, 77. Schizoneura, 179. ?tessellata, 208. Schwarz, E. A., cited, 104, 107, 142,145,175,181-2. on described larvcE of Coleoptera, 181-2, Sciara sp. on wheat, 200. Science cited, 35, 36, 174, 179. 182, 195. Scientific American cited, 115. Scolopendra, 133. Scolopendridas, 132. Scolytidae, 103-107, 145, 204. Scolytus icoria3, 107. rugulosus, 103-107, 186, 208. a fruit-tree borer, 104. attacks the apple-tree, 104. bibliography, 103-4. burrows described, 104. emergence of beetles, 104. European habits, 104, lofi. hickory examples different, 107. injuries to cherry, plum and peach, 105. introduction in the United States, 106. larval burrows figured, 104. mating chamber, 105. parasitic attack, 105. preventives, 107. remedies, 107. Scraiiing bark, 119, 195. scrophulariffi, Anthrenus, 141, 179, 195, 196. Scudder, S. H., anatomical studies, 166. Butterflies of New England, notice of, 10, 174. Catalogue of Orthoptera of N. A., cited, 162. entomological library of, 170. studies of fossil insects, 170. studies of Orthoptera, 10, 165. writings cited, 104, 105, 137,165, 176, 181. Scurfy bark-louse. 208. scutellaris, Coccotorus, 17. Scutigera Floridana, 128. ScutigeridjB, 128, 132. secalis, Eurytoma, 27, 29. Seely, Prof. H. M., on carpet beetle, 141. Semiotellus chalcidiphagus, 33. Sense of smell in insects, 180. septendecim. Cicada, 20, 25, 175, 176, 202. Serial publications in entomology, 166. sericeus, Dolerus, 197, 205. Shimer [Dr. H.], cited, 114. on Ptinus brunneus, 02. on Sitodrepa, 88. Siebold, Prof., cited, 127. Signoret, M., cited, 114. Siler, A. L., insects from, 158. Silk culture, 176. A Manual on (Kiley), mention of, 177. appropriation for, 168. Silk worm diseases, 178. Silliman's Journal of Science and Arts, 95. Silpha thoracica, I80. Silphidas, number of described larvae, 182. similis, Helophilus, 200. Sirthenia carinata, 113. Sitodrepa panicea, 88-93, 209. articles eaten by, 92. as a leather beetle, 88. 232 General Index. Sitodrepa panicea — ( Continued) : bibliography, 88. distribution, 91. fondness for drugs, 91. injuries to shoes in stoelv, 90. omnivorous habits, 91. parasitic on bees, 88. publications on, 197, 198. remedies for attack on shoes, 92. reported injuries mistaken for Der- mestes, 89. synonymy, 88. Sitotroga cerealella, 17. Skinner, B. D., Belostoma from, 145, 208. Smith-Abbot's Natural History of the Lepi- doptera of Georgia, 51. Smith [J. B.], cited, 3(;, 53, 104, 173, 175. on Orgyia deflnata, etc., 49, 50. studies of Lepidoptera, 11. Smith, Mrs. E. B., insects from, 205, 206(2), 207. Smithsonian Contributions to Knowledge cited, 155. Smithsonian Institution, Cermatia of, 130. Entomological publications, 165. Smith, William, insects from, 207. Snapping beetle, 141. Soap solution for insect attack, 119, 198, 199. Soft-soap and washing-soda wash, 119. Soot and water preventive, 194. Sooth-sayers (Mantis), 160. Soules, I. H., on winter caterpillars, 56. Southern Illinois Normal University, 164, 173. Special Commission for Study of the Rocky Mountain locust, appropriations for, 168. Special Studies on Orders of Insects, 164. Speyer, Dr. A., insects received from, 183. on Gordiaeaea as parasites, 127. Sphingidfe of New England (Fernald), 173. Some of the Genera of our (Fernald and Smith), 173. studies of, 164. Sphinx Canadensis, 137. plota, 137. auinauemaculaja, 205. Spiders, 114, 133. Spilosoma virginica, 206. Spirit of the Farm, mention, 180. Spirits of turpentine, 19. Spittle insects, 120. Spotted Lady-bird, see Megilla, 80-84. Spraying elm-leaf beetle, 202. spretus, Caloptenus, 21, 25. Spring beetles, 141. Spring canker-worm, 204. Spruce borer, 96. Spruce bud worm, 22. Squash bug, 110. attack on melon vines, 204. Stal'sEnumeratio Hemipterorum, 109, 156. Staphylinidaj, number of described larvae, 182. State Agricultural Experiment Station, 207, 208. aid to entomological investigations, 168. College of Maine, entomology in, 171. Entomologist of N. Y., Reports of, 7. Entomologists of Missouri and Illinois, 168. Normal Schools at Albany and Oswego, entomology taught in, 171. Stephens on Cloeondipterum, 124. Sting of Homileuca Maia, 52. Lagoa crispata, 52. Lagoa opercularis, 51. Stinging plant-bugs, 109-114. Conorhinus sanguisugas. 111. Corythuca species, 109. Melanolestes abdominalis. 111. M. picipes, 109. Pirates biguttatus, 112. Prionatus cristatus, 113. Reduvius personatus, 112. Sirthenea carinata, 113. Stoddard, H. M., insects from, 56. Strait, Brooks, insects from, 120. Stratiomyidce, 174. Strawberry Thrips, 198. Strawberry leaf-folder, 16. Streeker's collection of Lepidoptera, 169. Stretch, R. H., cited, 173. Monograph of the Zygasnidae, Litho- siidcB and Arctiidaj of North America by, mention of, 174. Striped-borer, 185. cucumber beetle, 103. strobi, Pissodes, 20. Strumberg, C. W., on Coleoptera, 175. Studies on North American Chalcidid^ • (Ashmead), 172. Sturges [P.], Megilla maculata from, 82. Sturtevant, Dr., referred to, 30. Submergence to prevent insect attack, 195. subspinosus, Macrodactylus, 14, 142, 198, 207. Suctoria, 190, 191. Sugar maple borer, 204. sulcatum, Oi'thosoma, 23. Sulphur for insect attack, 201. Swan, Robert J., infested straw from, 30. Swinnerton, Rev. H. U., larviB and cocoons from, 205. Swiss Cross cited, 195. Synopsis of the Hymenoptera of North America (Cresson), cited, 35, 42. 43, 44. of the Neuroptera of North America (Hagen), referred to, 164. Syracuse University referred to, 130. Syrphidaa, 174. Systematic position of the Orthoptera (Packard), 167. General Index. 233 Systematische Uebersicht der Fossilen Myriopoden, Arachnoideen und Insekten (Scudder), mention of, 176. Systena bitoniata, 155. blanda, 155-157, 198, 207. frontalis, 156. marginalis, 156. Tabanidffi, 174. Tabanus ovinus, 199. tamariscis, Nanophyes, 154. Tansy decoction, 104. Tarquinius, Feniseca, 137, 179. Taylor, G. W., eitod, 173. telarius, Tetranyehus, 203. TelephoridEB, 85. Tenebrioides Mauritanica, 207. Tenebrio molitor, 200, 207. Tenebrionidaj, 23. Ten-lined pine inch-\vorm, 20. Tent-caterpillar, 185. Tenthridinje, 44, 197. Tephrosia Canadaria, 20, 21. Tapper [F.], cited, 173. Termitidaa, 176, tessellata, Schizoneura, 208. Tetranyehus tolarius, 203. Tetrastichus sp., 27, 205. Tettigonia vitis, 199. Thalessa atrata, 37, 41. lunator, 35,41, 205. nitida, 41, Nortoni, 41. Quebecensis, 41. Thanasimus dubius, 142. Tharos, Phyciodes, 137. Thaxter [R.], on Orgyia larvae, 50. Thecla Irus, 137. Henrici, 137. strigosa larva in plum, 137. Thirteen-year Cicada, 175, 200. Thomas [Dr. Cyrus], cited, 20, 23, 158. on Sitodrepa, 88. reports of, 192. Thomas, J. J., plum attack from, 17. thoracica, Silpha, 180. Thousand-legged worms, 128. Thrips, 199. Thrips in Lasioptera galls, 66. Thrips in strawberry blossoms, 198. Thyridopteryx ephemeraeformis, 20, 203. Thysanura, 167. tibicen. Cicada, 196, 202. Timber beetles. 26. borers, 195. Tinea pellionella, 140, 174. Tineidas, 22, 59. number of described species, 181. number of United States species, 165. Tingis ciliata, 107. hyalina, 107. Tingitidae, 107. Tmetocera ocellana, 14, 206. Toad's spittle, 120. Tobacco for insect attack, 103, 194. insecticide, 191, 199. Tolype larieis, 20, 21. Tompkins, George 0., insects from, 208. Torrey Botanical Club, N. Y. city, 18. Tortoise beetle, 196. Tortricidse, 151, 152. Tortrix fumiferana, 20, 22. Torymus sp., 27, 205. Train, A. L., referred to, 62. Transactions of the American Entomolog- ical Society cited, 10, 35, 42, 80, 84, 88, 114, 151, 166, 172(3), 173, 175(2), 176. American Philosophical Society cited, 84, 128. Cleveland Academy cited, 114. Illinois State Agricultural Society cited, 158. London Entomological Society cited, 151 New York State Agricultural Society cited, 27, 29, 107, 114, 192. Ottawa Field Naturalists' Club cited, 173. St. Louis Academy of Science cited, 44, 151, 153, 154. Traumatomyia prodigiosa, 72. tredecim. Cicada, 175. Tree-hoppers, 190. Trelease [William], cited, 84. Tremex columba, 38, 40, 41. Trichinro, 127. Trichogramma pretiosa, 194, 197, 205. Tridymus sp., 66. trilineata, Lema, 142, 207. Trirhabda Canadensis, 142-3. tritici, Eurytoma, 27, 29, 32. Isosoma, 28, 30, 32. trivialis, Chloropisca, 71. trivittatus, Leptocoris, 193, 208. Lygaeus, 156, 157. Troy Scientific Association, 18. Trypeta pomonella, 174. tubicola, Cecidomyia, 175. Turnus, Papilio, 136. Twig-borer, 185. Two-marked tree-hopper, 203. Two-spotted corsair, 112. Two-spotted lady-bird, 12, 195. Type specimens of insects, 169, 183. Typhlodromus oleivorus, 177. U. Ugly bee-slayer, 204. Uhler [P. R.], Check-List of Hemiptera, mention of, 175. entomological library, 170. on Hemiptera in Cassino's Standard Natural History, 175. studies of the Hemiptera, lo. writings cited, 108, 109(2), 110, 111, 112(3). 120, 121, 158, 181. 45 234 General Index. ulmicola, Glyphina, 198, 208. Underwood. Prof. L. M., on Cermatia for- ceps, 128, 130. Mallota from, 140. undulatus, Xylotrechus, 96. unicolor, Orthosoma, 23. University of Czernowitz, Austria, 180. Unknown currant insect, 189. Unknown grass pest, 204. Unrecognized insect attack, 204. Uroceridse, 38. Urocerus from a table, 95. Urocerus gigas, 95. U. S. Department of Agriculture referred to, 10, 12, 13. U. S. Entomological Commission referred to, 165. Utica Morning Herald quoted, 26, 49. Van Duzee, E. P., Studies of Hemiptera, 10. Vanessa Antiopa, 137. Milbertii, 137. varius, Anthrenus, 141. Gordius, 125. ventricosus, Nematus, 205. vernata, Anisopteryx, 139, 140, 185. vespertina. Ephemera, 124. vestata, Saperda, 207. villosum, Elaphidion, 179. Villot, M. A., on life-history of Gordius, 127. Vineyard of Leland Stanford, Vina, Cal., 184. violans, Nephelodes, 54-57, 206. virginica, Spilosoma, 206. Vision in insects, 180. vitis, Isosoma, 33. Lasioptera, 63-67, 206. Tettigonia, 199. vittata, Diabrotica, 103, 143. vulgaris, Gryllotalpa, 180. vulpinus, Dermestes, 89, 197, 198. W. Wager, Prof., on Chlorops flies, 72. Walsh [B. D.], cited, 28, 42(2), 51, 84, 107, 108, 109. 124. on the soldier-beetles, 86. reports of, 192. Walsh-Riley, in American Entomologist, cited, 28, 29, 35, 42, 63, 80, 109, 110, 114, 116, 158. on the oak-plum gall, 42. Walsh, W. E., Mantis from, 162. Walsingham, Lord, cited, 153. Warbles. 199. Wasps, 190. Water-bug, 145. Waterville [N. Y.] Times cited, 196. Webster Prof. F. M., cited, 80, 156, 177, 178. Insects Infesting.Fall Wheat, mention, 177, Weed, Clarence M., mention, 180. Western New York Horticultural Society, 18. Westwood, Prof., on Carpoeapsa sal titans, 151, 152, 154. Whale-oil soap for insect attack, 103. Wheat destroyed hj Hessian fly in New York, 11. White-ant destroying maples, 179. White flower-cricket, 147. White-grub, 84. attack on wheat, 203. Whitehead, Charles, Insects Injurious to Root crops cited, 79. White-marked tussock-moth, 15, 48-51. Williams [Joseph], cited, 80. Williamson, W. L., insects from, 207. Williston, Dr. S. W., on Diptera, 73. papers on Diptera during 1885-6. 174. publications on Diptera, 10. Wilson, O., peach twig attack from, 147. Wingless joint-worm fly, 32. Winter caterpillars, 54-56. Winter gatherings of flies, 67-72. Winter Insects of Eastern New York (Fitch), mention, 177. Wire-worms, 13. Wittmer, J. E., saw-fly larvce. from, 135. Wood, Dr. [H. C], cited, 128, 130, 132, 133. Woodward, J. S., on Thalessa oviposition, 41. Woolly aphis, 179. galls, 205. Wrinkled Scolytus, 103. Wyman's anatomical studies, 166. xanthomelffina, Galeruca, 15,143-4, 161,197, 200, 209. Xyleboruspyri, 203. Xylina, Aletia, 206. xylinoides, Hyppa, 138. Xylophagidae, 174. Xylotrechus colonus, 93-96,194. bibliography, 93. description of beetle, 93. distribution of, 96. figures of, 93, 94. food of, 96. habits of, 94. larva figured, 94. limited knowledge of, 94. occurs in a dwelling, 94. synonyms of, 93. Xylotrechus undulatus, 96. Z. zesB, Anthomyia, 179. Zebra cabbage-worm on currant, 16. zeellus, Crambus, 14. Zerene catenaria, 139, 206. Zenker on Chlorops flies, 72. Zimmermaui, Pjnipestis, 19, I PLANT INDEX. Abies alba, 20. balsamea, '^o, fio. nigra, 20. Acacia, 187. aceroides, Negundo, 157, 158, 193. Acer ru brum, 179. Aconite, 92. Aconitum, 79. alba, Abies, 20. Betula, 206. Alder, 96, 97, 179. Almond, 92, 103. Alnus serrulata, 97, 101. Ambrosia, 156. Amelanehier, 137. Americana, Castanea, 109. Larix, 16, 21. Ulmus, 198. ampelinum, Sphaceloma, 185. Angelica, 92. Anthemis, 77. Antbracnose, 185. Apple, 11, 15, 22, 38, 51, 83, 81, 9-t, 101-3, 104, lU, 127, 139, 142(2), 146, 1.52, 158, 184, 186, 187, 188. 190, 197(2), 198, 200, 201, 203, 204(2). 205, 206(4), 208. Apple-rust, 185. Apple-scab, 185. Apricot, 185, 186, 187. Aquilegia, 79. aquilina, Pteris, 52. Arbor vitffi, 20, 21, 144, 201, 203(2). Asclepias, 135. Ash. 144, 157. Ash-leaved maple, 158. Balm of Gilead, 102. balsamea, Abies, 20, CO. Balsam fir, 60. balsamifera, Populus, 102. Barley, 14, 29. Bean, 179. Beech, 38, 204. Betula, 178. Betula alba, 206. bicolor, Quercus, 44. Bidwellii, Physalospora, 185. Birch, 27, 206. Blackberry, 86, 199. Black currant, 47. Black-knot, 185. Black oak, 42. Bl.ack-rot, 18.5. Blueberry, 137. Boneset, 92. Box, 187. Box-elder, 1.57, 193. Buckwheat, 16. Burdock, 194. Butternut, 108. Button-wood, 107, 108. C. Cabbage, 14, 20i. Cactus, 158. CcBoma nitens, 185. Calumba, 92. Canadensis, Elymus, 32. Solidago, 142. Tsuga, 59. Carrot, 204. Castanea Americana, 109. Cayenne pepper, 91. Cedar, 21, 144. Centaurea, 63, 77. cerasina, Septoria, 185. Chamomile, 92. Cherry, 103, 105, 106, 142, 185, 186. Chestnut, 109. Chrysanthemum, 207. frutescens, 73. species, 77. Cineraria, 75. Cladosporium fulvum, 185. Clematis flammula, 201, 208. Clover, 12, 81, 176, 200. Columbine, 79. Common brake, 52. Compositae, 73, 76, 77. Coniferas, 19. Coriander, 92. Corn, 14, 15, 80, 155, 176, 178, 198. 199, 201,206, 207. Corn-feverfew, 78. Cotton, 84, 155, 168, 197, 207. Cucumber, 103. Currant, 16, 17, 47, 189, 200. 205, 206. Cypress, 187. D. Daisy, 73, 207. Dandelion, 92. deformans, Exoascus, 185. 286 Plant Index. dendriticum, Fusicladium, 185. dilatata, Populus, 102. dioica, Urtica, 77. Downy mildew, 185. E. Elm, 15, 38, 92, 143, 144, 145, 156, 176, 187, 195, 198, 202. Elymus Canadensis, 32. Entomophthora Phytonomi, 178. Ergot, 92. Eupatorium, 76. Euphorbia, 151, 153, 154. Exoascus deformans, 185. F. Feverfew, corn, 78. double white, 75. Fir, 20. Fig, 187. flammula. Clematis, 201, 208. Fraxinus, 144. frutescens. Chrysanthemum, 73. fulvum, Cladosporium, 185. Fungi, 81, 178. Fusicladium dendriticum, 185. pyrinum, 185. G. Gazania, 76. Ginger, 92. glandulus, Quercus, 44. Gleditschia triacanthos, 83. Golden rod, 23, 86, 142. Gooseberry blight, 185. Graminese, 68, 69. Grape, 22 26, 33, 64, 81, .„., 101, 156, 184, 185, 187, 199(2), 201, 202, 204, 206. Grapevine, Concord, 67. Muscadine, 67. Eogers No. 15, 67. wild, 67. Grass, 14, 57, 120, 176, 204. Hart's tongue, 79. Hawthorn, 108, 187. Helianthus multiflorus, 76. Hemlock, 19-25, 59. Hickory, 40, 96, 107, 156, 194. Hieracium, 63. Holly, 79. Honey-locust, 83, 203. Honeysuckle, 79. Hop, 12, 140, 168, 194, 196, 197, 199, 204. Horse chestnut, 50. Hypericum sp., 58. I. Ivy, 72, 187, 200. Juglans rupestris, 203. Juniper, 20. Juniperus communis, 20. Virginianus, 20, 21. Larch, 16, 21. Larix Americana, 16, 21. larvatum, Sporotrichum, 100. Laurel, 187. LeguminosaB, 187. Lemon, 187. Lichens, 81. Locust, 187. Lombardy poplar, 102. M. Magnolia, 158. Mahogany, 95. Maple, 38, 50, 58, 157, 176, 179, 194. Maple, ash-leaved, 158. Maple, soft, 193. Maple, sugar, 94. Marguerites, 73, 75. Melon, 179, 204. Milkweed, 135, 201. Monilia fructigena, 185. monilifera, Populus, 44. Monkshood, 79. morbosa, Plowrightia, 185. Morning-glory, 201. multiflorus, Helianthus, 76. N. Negundo aceroides, 157, 158, 193. nigra, Abies, 20. Quercus, 205. nitons, Cseoma, 185. Norway spruce, 25. Oak, 38, 42, 58, 69, 93, 94, 109, 153, 156, 172, 18 192, 194. Oak, scrub, 205. occidentalis, Platanus, 107, 208. Thuja, 20. oleraceus, Sonchus, 77. Onion, 13. Orange, 53, 115, Kil, 187, 188. Parsnip, 204. Pea, 79. Peach, 15, 87, 103, 105, 106, 145, 147, 184, 185, 186, 187, 199, 204, 208(2). Peach leaf curl, 185. Pear, 22, 38 103, 117, 185, 187, 197, 200, 206. Pear scab, 185. Peas, 138. penieillata, Roestelia, 185. Plant Index. 237 Peronospora viticola, 185. Physalis, 142, 207. Physalospora Bidwellii, 185. Phytonomi, Entomophthora, 178. Pine, 19, 21. 23, 24, 25, 69, 142, 147, 187. Pine, maritime, 19. Plantain, 14. Platanus occidentalis, 107, 208. Plowrightia morbosa, 185. Plum, 13, 17, 58, 103, 105, 106, 137, 185, 18G, 200. Plum leaf fungus, 185. Plum rot, 185. Pollen, 143. Pomegranate, 187. Poplar, 44. Poplar, Lombardy, 102. Populus balsamifera, 102. dilatata, 102. monilifera, 44. Potato, 142, 146, 191, 204. Powdery mildew, 185. Prince's Pine, 92. Pteris aquilina, 52. Pyrethrum, 77. Pyrethrum inodorum, 78. pyrinum, Fusicladium, 185. Quercus, 63. bicolor, 44. nigra, 205. prunus, 42. rubra, 42, 205. tinctoria, 42. Quince, 15, 84, 87, 103, 109, 174, 187, 208. B. Ragweed, 156. 197, 198. Eamularia Tulasnei, 185. Easpberry, 138. Easpberry rust, 185. Eed oak, 42. Eed Root, 86. Ehubarb, 92. EcEstelia penicillata, 185. Rose, 57-59, 188, 193. rubra, Quercus, 42, 205. rubrum, Acer, 179. rupestris, Juglans, 203. Rye, 29. S. Soolopendrium vulgare. 79. Scrub oak, 205. Septoria cerasina, 185. serrulata, Alnus, 97, 101. Shad-bush, 137. Siberian arbor vitae, 201. Soft maple, 146, 193. Solanum, 191. Solidago, 23, 86. Canadensis, 142. Sonchus oleraceus, 77. Sow-thistle, 177. Sphaceloma ampelinum, 185. Spinach, 53. spiralis. Uncinula, 185. Sporotrichum larvatum, 100. Spruce, 20, 21, 22, 24, 96. Squash, 138. Squill, 92. Strawberry, 16, 156, 185, 187, 204. Strawberry leaf-blight, 185. Sugar maple, 204. Sweet-flag, 92. Sycamore, 38, 107. Tamarack, 21, 205. Tamarix, 154. Tanacetum, 73. Tansy, 73, 194. Thuja occidentalis, 20. Tilia, 63. Timothy, 56. tinctoria Quercus, 42. Tobacco, 88. Tomato, 185. Tomato rot, 185. triacanthos, Gleditschia, 83. Tsuga Canadensis, 59. Tulasnei, Ramularia, 185. Turnip, 79. Ulmus, 63, 144, 198. Uncinula spiralis, 185. Urtica dioica, 77. Vaccinium, 52, 137. Valerian. 199. Verbena, 77. 187. vulgare, Scolopendrium, 79. W. Walnut, 187. Wheat, 11, 17, 28, 72, 88, 92, 135, 168, 176. White birch, 206. White elm, 198. Wild crab, 184. Wild grape, 65, 142. Willow, 58, 102, 115, 146, 187. Woodbine, 79. Yucca, 158. [Frum rnK 41ST Report of the New York State Museum of Natural History.] FOURTH REPORT Injurious and Other Insects State of New York. Made to the Regents of the University, Pursuant to Chapter 355, of the Laws of 1883. By J. A. LINTNER, Ph. D., State Entomologist. ALBANY: JAMES B. LYON, PEINTER. 1888. SMITHSONIAN INSTPrUTION LIBRARIES 3 9088 01272 3177