m

wt

REPORT

ON THE

INSECTS OF MASSACHUSETTS,

INJURIOUS TO VEGETATION.

PUBLISHED AGREEABLY TO AN ORDER OP

THE LEGISLATURE,

BY THE COMMISSIONERS ON THE ZOOLOGICAL AND BOTANICAL SURVEY

OF THE STATE.

CAMBRIDGE:
FOLSOM, WELLS, AND THURSTON,

PRINTERS TO THE UNIVERSITY.

1841.

C7l

****

|0t/^

To George B. Emerson, Esq.,

Chairman of the Commissioners

On the Zoological and Botanical Survey
of Massachusetts.
Dear Sir,

Upon forwarding to me my commission, in the year 1837, you
were pleased to request me to prepare a Report on the Insects of
Massachusetts.

The magnitude of the task, and various other motives deterred me
from attempting to describe all the insects which might have been
discovered by a careful and thorough survey of the whole State. A
work of this kind, — much as it might promote the cause of science,
if well done, — could not be expected to prove either interesting or
particularly useful to the great body of the people. Some idea of the
extent of such an undertaking may be formed from an examination of
the Catalogues of the Insects of Massachusetts, drawn up by me for
the first and second editions of Professor Hitchcock's " Report on the
Geology, Mineralogy, Botany, and Zoology," of this State.

Believing that agriculture and horticulture, when aided by science,
tend greatly to improve the condition of any people, and that these
pursuits form the basis of our prosperity, and are the safeguards of
our liberty and independence, I have felt it my duty, in treating the
subject assigned to me, to endeavour to make it useful and acceptable
to those persons whose honorable employment is the cultivation of
the soil.

Some knowledge of the classification of insects and of the scien-
tific details of entomology seems to be necessary to the farmer, to
enable him to distinguish his friends from his enemies of the insect
race. He ought to be acquainted with the transformations and habits
of the latter, in all their states, so that he may know how and when
most successfully to employ the means for preventing their ravages.
This kind of knowledge will often guide him in the selection of the
proper remedies, and may prevent him from falling into many mis-
takes. Not only the farmer, however, but those who are engaged in
other employments, would find some profit and pleasure in the study

vi INSECTS OF MASSACHUSETTS.

of the natural history of insects, were the means for obtaining infor-
mation on this branch of science more generally diffused.

The plan of this JReport, which I have now the honor of submitting,
through you, to the people of this Commonwealth, was suggested by
the foregoing considerations, by the want of a work on our native in-
sects, combining scientific with practical details, and by the letter of
instructions that accompanied my commission, wherein the economi-
cal advantages to be derived from an investigation of the natural his-
tory of this State, were particularly pointed out as objects of attention.

A large amount of the materials, made use of in this work, was
collected many years ago, at comparatively little cost ; but, after en-
tering on my official duties, I was obliged to procure, at an expense
far exceeding the compensation allowed me, a great number of books,
in order to make myself acquainted with the discoveries and improve-
ments in entomology therein set forth. In some cases I have had to
rely on the recorded observations of others, for the want of an oppor-
tunity to make the necessary investigations myself. The many ap-
plications, which I have made to various persons, for information
respecting our destructive insects, have rarely brought me any satis-
factory replies. The greater part of my first report, which was pre-
sented to the Legislature, in the year 1838, has been embodied in this,
in order to afford a connected view of the whole subject. From
among the numerous insects which are injurious to plants, I have se-
lected for description chiefly those which are remarkable for their
size, for the peculiarity of their structure and habits, or for the extent
of their ravages ; and these, alone, will be seen to constitute a for-
midable host.

You have already looked over a considerable part of the manu-
script, and have been pleased to express a favorable opinion of it.
Should it prove as satisfactory to you and to the public, in its present
form, the time and labor, bestowed upon it, will not have been spent
in vain,

By your friend and servant,

THADDEUS WILLIAM HARRIS.

Cambridge, December 1, 1841.

CONTENTS.

INTRODUCTION.

The word Insect defined, — Brain and nerves, — Air-pipes and Breathing-
holes, — Heart and Blood, 4. — Insects are produced from Eggs, — Meta-
morphoses, — Examples of Complete Transformation, 5. — Partial Trans-
formation, 6. — Larva or Infant State, Pupa or Intermediate State, Adult,
or Winged State, 7. — Head, Eyes, Antennae, and Mouth, 8. — Thorax or
Chest, Wings and Legs, — Abdomen or Hind-body, 9. — Piercer, and
Sting, — Number of Insects compared with Plants, — Classification, Or-
ders, Coleoptera, 10. — Orthoptera, Hemiptera, 11. — Neuroptera, Lepi-
doptera, 12. — Hymenoptera, 13. — Diptera, 14. — Other Orders and
Groups, 17. — Remarks on Scientific Names, 19.

COLEOPTERA.

Beetles, — Scarabaeians, 21. — Ground-Beetles, Tree-Beetles, 22. — Cock-
chafers or May-Beetles, 23. — Flower-Beetles, 35. — Stag-Beetles, 38. —
Buprestians, or Saw-horned Borers, 40. — Spring-Beetles, 46. — Timber-
Beetles, 51. — Weevils, 53. — Cylindrical Bark-Beetles, 71. — Capricorn-
Beetles, or Long-horned Borers, 77. — Leaf-Beetles, 94. — Criocerians, 95

— Leaf-mining Beetles, 97. — Tortoise-Beetles, 98. — Chrysomelians, 99.

— Cantharides, 109.

ORTHOPTERA.

Structure and Transformations, 114. — Earwigs, 116. — Cockroaches, 118.

— Mantes, or Soothsayers, 118. — Walking-leaves, Spectres, — Crick-
ets, 119. — Mole-Cricket, 120. — Field-Crickets, 121. — Climbing- Crick-
et, 123. — Cucumber Skippers, 125. — Grasshoppers, 125. — Awl-Bearer,
or wingless Cricket, 126. — Katy-did, 127. — Locusts, or flying Grass-
hoppers, 132.

HEMIPTERA.

Bugs, 150.— Squash-Bug, 158. — Plant-Bugs, 160. — Harvest- Flies, 164.—
Cicadas, 165. — Tree-Hoppers, 177. — Leaf-Hoppers, 182. — Vine-Hop-
per, 183. — Bean-Hopper, 185. — Aphidians, 186. — Thrips, Plant-Lice, 187.

— American Blight, 193. — Enemies of Plant-Lice, 196. — Bark-Lice, 198.

viii CONTENTS.

LEPIDOPTERA.

Caterpillars, 206.-— Butterflies, 209. — Skippers, 222. — Hawk-Moths, 225.
iEgerians, or Boring Caterpillars, 230. — Glaucopidians, 236. — Moths, 237.

— Spinners, 239. — Lithosians, 240. — Tiger-Moths, and Ermine-Moths,
242. — Tussock-Moths, 258. —Lackey-Moths, 265. — Lappet-Moths, 272.

— Saturnians, 276. — Ceratocampians, 287. — Carpenter-Moths, 295. —

— Psychians, 297. — Notodontians, 301. — Owl-Moths, 315. — Spindle-
Worms, 318. — Cut-Worms, 321. — Geometers or Span-Worms, 330.—
Canker-Worms, 332. — Delta-Moths, 343. — Leaf Rollers, 346. — Bud-
Moths, 348. — Fruit-Moths, 351. — Tinea?, 355. — Bee-Moths, 357.—
Clothes-Moths, 360. — Grain-Moths, 363. —Feather- winged Moths, 368.

HYMENOPTERA.

Stingers and Piercers, 369. — Habits of some of the Hymenopterous In-
sects, 370. — Saw-Flies, 371. — False Caterpillars and Slugs, 373. — Elm
Saw-Fly, 374. — Fir Saw-Fly, 375. — Vine Saw-Fly, 378. — Rose-bush
Slug, 380.— Pear-tree Slug, 382. — Horn-tailed Wood- Wasps, 386.—
Four- winged Gall-Plies, 395.

DIPTERA.

Gnats and Flies, 401. — Maggots, and their Transformations, 402. — Club-
footed Gnat, 404. — Snow-Gnat, 404. — Black Fly, Midges, 405. — Horse-
Flies, 405. — Bee-Flies, 406. — Asilians, 407.— Soldier-Flies, 408.—
Syrphians, 409. — Conopians, 410. — Parasitical Flies, Viviparous Flesh-
Flies, 411. — Piercing Stable-Flies, Meat-Flies, and House-Flies, 412.

— Flower-Flies, 414. — Two-winged Gall-Flies, and Fruit-Flies, 416. —
Oscinians, 417. — Bot-Flies, 418.— Bird-Flies, and Spider-Flies, 420. —
Flea, 421. — Gall-Gnats, 421. — Hessian Fly, 422. — Barley-Fly, 433. —
Wheat- Fly, 437. — Wheat-Thrips, 444. — Wheat- Worm, Grain- Worm,
or Wheat-Caterpillar, 445.

INDEX, 449.

CORRECTIONS

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line 10, for Phryaneada

read Phrygancad

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27, " pailsful

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392,

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7, omit the before orange.

REPORT

ON THE

INSECTS OF MASSACHUSETTS

INJURIOUS TO VEGETATION.

BY

THADDEUS WILLIAM HARRIS, M. D.

INSECTS

OF

MASSACHUSETTS

INJURIOUS TO VEGETATION.

INTRODUCTION.

Insect defined. — Brain and Nerves. — Air-pipes and Breathing-holes.
Heart and Blood. — Insects are produced from Eggs. — Metamorpho-
ses, or Transformations. — Examples of Complete Transformation. —
Partial Transformation. — Larva, or Infant State. — Pupa, or Inter-
mediate State. — Adult, or Winged State. — Head, Eyes, Antenna,
and Mouth — Thorax or Chest, Wings, and Legs. — Abdomen or
Hind-body, Piercer, and Sting. — Number of Insects compared with
Plants. — Classification. Orders. Coleoptera. Orthoptera. Hemip-
tera. Neuroptera. Lepidoptera. Hymenoptera. Diptera. Other
Orders and Groups. — Remarks on Scientific Names.

The benefits which we derive from insects, though neither few
in number, norinconsiderable in amount, are, if we except those of
the silk-worm, the bee, and the cochenille, not very obvious, and
are wholly beyond our influence. On the contrary, the injuries
that we suffer from them are becoming yearly more apparent, and
are more or less within our control. Before suitable remedies
can be discovered, and effectually applied, it is necessary that our
insect enemies should be recognised, and their habits generally
known. The instructions of His Excellency Governor Everett
seemed to point to the economical advantages to be derived from
natural history, as the most proper objects of our consideration.
These instructions, together with the nature and extent of the
branch of natural history assigned to me, have led me to think
that some account of the insects injurious to vegetation in Massa-
chusetts would be acceptable and satisfactory to the governor, and
to the people of this Commonwealth.

4 INSECTS OF MASSACHUSETTS.

While I have not thought it expedient to avoid the use of a
scientific classification, and have even been at some pains to point
out the characters on which this classification is founded, and the
peculiarities of the various groups of insects under consideration,
it has been my endeavour to treat the subject in a plain and familiar
way. No more of the technical language of entomology has been
introduced, than was absolutely necessary to define and discrimi-
nate the different insects, whose transformations are described,
and in most cases the scientific names and terms have been ex-
plained whenever they occurred.

As this report is designed for the use of persons who may not
have elementary and other works on this branch of natural history
at their command, it may be proper to begin with some brief
remarks on insects in general, in order to show how they are
formed, and wherein they differ essentially from other animals.

The word Insect,* which, in the Latin language from whence it
was derived, means cut into or notched, was designed to express
one of the chief characters of this group of animals, whose body
is marked by several cross-lines or incisions. The parts between
these cross-lines are called segments or rings, and consist of a
number of jointed pieces, more or less movable on each other.

Insects have a very small brain, and, instead of a spinal mar-
row, a kind of knotted cord, extending from the brain to the
hinder extremity ; and numerous small whitish threads, which are
the nerves, spread from the brain and knots, in various direc-
tions. Two long air-pipes, within their bodies, together with an
immense number of smaller pipes, supply the want of lungs, and
carry the air to every part. Insects do not breathe through
their mouths, but through little holes, called spiracles, generally
nine in number, along each side of the body. Some, however,
have the breathing-holes placed in the hinder extremity, and a few
young water-insects breathe by means of gills. The heart is a
long tube, lying under the skin of the back, having little holes on
each side for the admission of the juices of the body, which are
prevented from escaping again by valves or clappers, formed to

• Insectum is an abbreviation of intcrscctum ; and from the same source we have
the word intersect, to cut or divide.

INTRODUCTION. 5

close the holes within. Moreover, this tubular heart is divided
into several chambers, by transverse partitions, in each of which
there is a hole shut by a valve, which allows the blood to flow
only from the hinder to the fore part of the heart, and prevents it
from passing in the contrary direction. The blood, which is a
colorless or yellowish fluid, does not circulate in proper arteries
and veins ; but is driven from the forepart of the heart into the
head, and thence escapes into the body, where it is mingled with
the nutritive juices that filter through the sides of the intestines,
and the mingled fluid penetrates the crevices among the flesh and
other internal parts, flowing along the sides of the air-pipes,
whereby it receives from the air that influence which renders it
fitted to nourish the frame, and maintain life.

All insects are produced from eggs, and none are spontaneously
generated from putrid animal or vegetable matter. A few insects,
such as some plant-lice, do not lay their eggs, but retain them
within their bodies till the young are ready to escape. Other
.insects invariably lay their eggs where their young, as soon as
they are hatched, will find a plentiful supply of food immediately
within their reach.

Most insects, in the course of their lives, are subject to very
great changes of form, attended by equally remarkable changes in
their habits and propensities. These changes, transformations, or
metamorphoses , as they are called, might cause the same insect, at
different ages, to be mistaken for as many different animals. For
example, a caterpillar, after feeding upon leaves till it is fully
grown, retires into some place of concealment, casts off its cater-
pillar-skin, and presents itself in an entirely different form, one
wherein it has neither the power of moving about, nor of taking
food ; in fact, in this its second or chrysalis state, the insect
seems to be a lifeless oblong oval or conical body, without a dis-
tinct head, or movable limbs ; after resting awhile, an inward
struggle begins, the chrysalis-skin bursts open, and from the rent
issues a butterfly, or a moth, whose small and flabby wings soon
extend and harden, and become fitted to bear away the insect in
search of the honeyed juice of flowers and other liquids that suffice
for its nourishment.

6 INSECTS OF MASSACHUSETTS.

The little fish-like animals that swim about in vessels of stag-
nant water, and devour the living atoms that swarm in the same
situations, soon come to maturity, cast their skins, and take an-
other form, wherein they remain rolled up like a ball, and either
float at the surface of the water, for the purpose of breathing
through the two tunnel-shaped tubes on the top of their backs, or,
if disturbed, suddenly uncurl their bodies, and whirl over and
over from one side of the vessel to the other. In the course of a
few days these little water-tumblers are ready for another trans-
formation ; the skin splits on the back between the breathing-
tubes, the head, body, and limbs of a mosquito suddenly burst
from the opening, the slender legs rest on the empty skin till the
latter fills with water and sinks, when the insect abandons its
native element, spreads its tiny wings, and flies away, piping its
war-note, and thirsting for the blood which its natural weapons
enable it to draw from its unlucky victims.

The full-fed maggot, that has rioted in filth till its tender skin
seems ready to burst with repletion, when the appointed time
arrives, leaves the offensive matters it was ordained to assist in
removing, and gets into some convenient hole or crevice ; then its
body contracts or shortens, and becomes egg-shaped, while the
skin hardens, and turns brown and dry, so that, under this form,
the creature appears more like a seed than a living animal ; after
some time passed in this inactive and equivocal form, during
which wonderful changes have taken place within the seed-like
shell, one end of the shell is forced off, and from the inside comes
forth a buzzing fly, that drops its former filthy habits with its
cast-off dress, and now, with a more refined taste, seeks only
to lap the solid viands of our tables, or sip the liquid contents of
our cups.

Caterpillars, grubs, and maggots undergo a complete transfor-
mation in coming to maturity ; but there are other insects, such
as crickets, grasshoppers, bugs, and plant-lice, which, though
differing a good deal in the young and adult states, are not subject
to so great a change, their transformations being only partial. For
instance, the young grasshopper comes from the egg a wingless
insect, and consequently unable to move from place to place, in
any other way than by the use of its legs ; as it grows larger it

INTRODUCTION. 7

is soon obliged to cast off its skin, and, after one or two moult-
ings, its body not only increases in size, but becomes proportion-
ally longer than before, while little stump-like wings begin to
make their appearance on the top of the back. After this, the
grasshopper continues to eat voraciously, grows larger and larger,
and hops about without any aid from its short and motionless
wings, repeatedly casts off its outgrown skin, appearing each time
with still longer wings, and more perfectly formed limbs, till at
length it ceases to grow, and, shedding its skin for the last time, it
comes forth a perfectly formed and matured grasshopper, with the
power of spreading its ample wings, and of using them in flight.

Hence there are three periods in the life of an insect, more or
less distinctly marked by corresponding changes in the form, pow-
ers, and habits. In the first, or period of infancy, an insect is
technically called a larva, a word signifying a mask, because
therein its future form is more or less masked or concealed.
This name is not only applied to grubs, caterpillars, and maggots,
and to other insects that undergo a complete transformation, but
also to young and wingless grasshoppers, and bugs, and indeed
to all young insects before the wings begin to appear. In this
first period, which is generally much the longest, insects are
always wingless, pass most of their time in eating, grow rapidly,
and usually cast off their skins repeatedly. The second period,
wherein those insects, that undergo a partial transformation, retain
their activity and their appetites for food, continue to grow, and
acquire the rudiments of wings, while others, at this age, entirely
lose their larva form, take no food, and remain at rest in a death-
like sleep, — is called the pupa state, from a slight resemblance
that some of the latter present to an infant trussed in bandages, as
was the fashion among the Romans. The pupae from caterpillars,
however, are more commonly called chrysalids, because some of
them, as the name implies, are gilt or adorned with golden spots ;
and grubs, after their first transformation, are often named nymphs,
for what reason does not appear. At the end of the second
period insects again shed their skins, and come forth fully grown,
and (with ^ew exceptions) provided with wings. They thus enter
upon their last or adult state, wherein they no longer increase in
size, and during which they provide for a continuation of their

8 INSECTS OF MASSACHUSETTS.

kind. This period usually lasts only a short time, for most
insects die immediately after their eggs are laid. Bees, wasps,
and ants, however, which live in society, and labor together for
the common good of their communities, continue much longer in
the adult state.

In winged or adult insects, two of the transverse incisions, with
which they are marked, are deeper than the rest, so that the body
seems to consist of three principal portions, the first whereof is
the head, the second or middle portion the thorax, or chest, and
the third or hindmost the abdomen, or hind-body. In some
wingless insects these three portions are also to be seen ; but in
most young insects, or larvae, the body consists of the head, and
a series of twelve rings or segments, the thorax not being dis-
tinctly separated from the hinder part of the body, as may be
perceived in caterpillars, grubs, and maggots.

The eyes of adult insects, though apparently two in number,
are compound, each consisting of a great number of single eyes
closely united together, and incapable of being rolled in their
sockets. Such also are the eyes of the larvae, and of the active
pupae of those insects that undergo an imperfect transformation.
Moreover, many winged insects have one, two, or three little
single eyes, placed near each other on the crown of the head, and
called ocelli, or eyelets. The eyes of grubs, caterpillars, and of
other completely transforming larvae, are not compound, but con-
sist of five or six eyelets clustered together, without touching, on
each side of the head ; some, however, such as maggots, are
totally blind. Near to the eyes are two jointed members, named
antenna, corresponding, for the most part, in situation, with the
ears of other animals, and supposed to be connected with the
sense of hearing, of touch, or of both united. The antennae are
very short in larvae, and of various sizes and forms in other
insects.

The mouth of some insects is made for biting, that of others
for taking food only by suction. In biting-insects the parts of the
mouth, which are variously modified to suit the nature of the food,
are these : an upper and an under lip, two nippers or jaws on
each side, moving sidewise, and not up and down, and four or six
little jointed members, called palpi or feelers, whereof two belong

INTRODUCTION. 9

to the lower lip, and one or two to each of the lower jaws. The
mouth of sucking-insects consists essentially of these same parts,
but so different in their shape and in the purposes for which they
are designed, that the resemblance between them and those of
biting-insects is not easily recognised. Thus the jaws of cater-
pillars are transformed to a spiral sucking-tube in butterflies and
moths, and those of maggots to a hard proboscis, fitted for pier-
cing, as in the mosquito and horse-fly, or to one of softer consist-
ence, and ending with fleshy lips for lapping, as in common flies ;
while in bugs, plant-lice, and some other insects resembling them,
the parts of the mouth undergo no essential change from infancy
to the adult state, but are formed into a long, hard, and jointed
beak, bent under the breast when not in use, and designed only
for making punctures and drawing in liquid nourishment.

The parts belonging to the thorax are the wings and the legs.
The former are two or four in number, and vary greatly in form
and consistence, in the situation of the wing-bones or veins, as
they are generally called, and in their position or the manner in
which they are closed or folded when at rest. The under-side
of the thorax is the breast, and to this are fixed the legs,
which are six in number in adult insects, and in the larvae and
pupae of those that are subject only to a partial transformation.
The parts of the legs are the hip-joint, by which the leg is
fastened to the body, the thigh, the shank (tibia), and the foot,
the latter consisting sometimes of one joint only, more often of
two, three, four, or five pieces (tarsi), connected end to end, like
the joints of the finger, and armed at the extremity with one or
two claws. Of the larvae that undergo a complete transformation,
maggots and some others are destitute of legs ; many grubs have
six, namely a pair beneath the under-side of the first three seg-
ments, and sometimes an additional fleshy prop-leg under the
hindmost extremity ; caterpillars and false caterpillars have, be-
sides the six true legs attached to the first three rings, several
fleshy prop-like legs, amounting sometimes to ten or sixteen in
number, placed in pairs beneath the other segments.

The abdomen, or hindmost, and, as to size, the principal part
of the body, contains the organs of digestion, and other internal
parts, and to it also belong the piercer and the sting with which
2

10 INSECTS OF MASSACHUSETTS.

many winged or adult insects are provided. The piercer is some-
times only a flexible or a jointed tube, capable of being thrust out
of the end of the body, and is used for conducting the eggs into
the crevices or holes where they are to be laid. In some other
insects it consists of a kind of scabbard, containing a central
borer, or instruments like saws, designed for making holes wherein
the eggs are to be inserted. The sting, in like manner, consists
of a sheath enclosing a sharp instrument for inflicting wounds, con-
nected wherewith in the inside of the body is a bag of venom or
poison. The parts belonging to the abdomen of larvae are vari-
ous, but are mostly designed to aid them in their motions, or to
provide for their respiration.

. An English entomologist has stated, that, on an average, there
are six distinct insects to one plant. This proportion is probably
too great for our country, where vast tracts are covered with
forests, and the other original vegetable races still hold possession
of the soil. There are above 1200 flowering plants in Massachu-
setts, and it will be within bounds to estimate the species of
insects at 4800, or in the proportion of four to one plant. To
facilitate the study of such an immense number, some kind of
classification is necessary ; it will be useful to adopt one, even in
describing the few species now before us. The basis of this
classification is founded upon the structure of the mouth, in the
adult state, the number and nature of the wings, and the transfor-
mations. The first great divisions are called orders, of which the
following seven are very generally adopted by naturalists.

1. — Coleoptera (Beetles). Insects with jaws, two thick
wing-covers meeting in a straight line on the top of the back,
and two filmy wings, which are folded transversely. Transfor-
mation complete. Larvae, called grubs, generally provided with
six true legs, and sometimes also with a terminal prop-leg ; more
rarely without legs. Pupa with the wings and the legs distinct
and unconfined.

Many of these insects, particularly in the larva state, are very in-
jurious to vegetation. The tiger-beetles (CicindeladcE*), the preda-

* Seethe Catalogue of Insects appended to Professor Hitchcock's Report on the
Geology, Mineralogy, Botany, and Zoology of Massachusetts. 2d edit. 8vo.
Amherst. 1835.

INTRODUCTION. 11

ceous ground-beetles (Carabidce), the diving beetles (Bijt.iscidcB), the
lady-birds (Coccinelladce), and some others, are eminently serviceable
by preying upon caterpillars, plant-lice, and other noxious or destruc-
tive insects. The water-lovers (Hydrophilidce), rove-beetles (Staphy-
linidcc), carrion-beetles (Silphadce), skin-beetles (Bermesladce, Bijr-
rhidcs, and Trogida), bone-beetles (some of the Nitidulada and Cle-
ridce), and various kinds of dung-beetles (Sphceridiadce, Histerida,
Geotrvpida* , Coprididcc*, and Ap/wdiadce*), and clocks (Pimeliada
and BlaptidcE), act the useful part of scavengers, by removing car-
rion, dung, and other filth, upon which alone they and their larvae
subsist. Many Coleoptera (some Sfaphylinidce and Nitididadce, Bia-
perididce, some Serropalpidce, Mycetophagidce, Erotylida, and En-
domychida) live altogether on agarics, mushrooms, and toadstools,
plants of very little use to man, many of them poisonous, and in a
state of decay often offensive ; these fungus-eaters are therefore to
be reckoned among our friends. There are others, such as the stag-
beetles (Lucanidce), some spring-beetles (Elaterida), darkling beetles
(Tenebrionidce), and many bark-beetles (Helopidce, CisteladcE, Serro-
palpidce, (Edemeradcn, Cucujada, and some Trogositadce), which, liv-
ing under the bark and in the trunks and roots of old trees, though
they may occasionally prove injurious, must, on the whole, be consid-
ered as serviceable, by contributing to destroy, and reduce to dust,
plants that have passed their prime, and are fast going to decay. And,
lastly, the blistering-beetles (Cantharididce.) have, for a long time,
been employed with great benefit in the healing art.

2. — Orthoptera [Cockroaches, Crickets, Grasshoppers,
&fc). Insects with jaws, two rather thick and opake upper
wings, overlapping a little on the back, and two larger, thin
wings, which are folded in plaits, like a fan. Transformation
partial. Larva? and pupa? active, but wanting wings.

All of the insects of this order, except the camel-crickets (Manti-
dce), which prey on other insects, are injurious to our household pos-
sessions, or destructive to vegetation.

3. — Hemiptera (Bugs, Locusts, Plant-lice, &fc). Insects
with a horny beak for suction, four wings, whereof the up-
permost are generally thick at the base, with thinner extremi-

* All the Scarabaeidae of my Catalogue, from Ateuchus to Geotrupes inclusive,
to which may be added many included in the genus Scarabceus.

12 INSECTS OF MASSACHUSETTS.

ties, which lie flat, and cross each other on the top of the back,
or are of uniform thickness throughout, and slope at the sides
like a roof. Transformation partial. Larva? and pupae nearly
like the adult insect, but wanting wings.

The various kinds of field and house bugs give out a strong and dis-
agreeable smell. Many of them, (some Pentatomada and Lygaidcs,
Cimicidce, Reduviadce, Hydrometradce, Nepadcc, and Notonectadce),
live entirely on the juices of animals, and by this means destroy great
numbers of noxious insects ; some are of much service in the arts,
affording us the costly cochineal, scarlet grain, lac, and manna ; but
the benefits derived from these are more than counterbalanced by the
injuries committed by the domestic kinds, and by the numerous tribes
of plant-bugs, locusts or cicadae, tree-hoppers, plant-lice, bark-lice,
mealy bugs, and the like, that suck the juices of plants, and require
the greatest care and watchfulness on our part to keep them in check.

4. — Neuroptera (Dmgon-flies, Lace-winged flies ; May-
flies, Ant-lion, Day-fly, White ants, fyc). Insects with jaws,
four netted wings, of which the hinder ones are the largest,
and no sting or piercer. Transformation complete, or partial.
Larva and pupa various.

The white ants, wood-lice, and wood-ticks (Termitida and Psochi-
dee), the latter including also the little ominous death-watch, are
almost the only noxious insects in the order, and even these do not
injure living plants. The dragon-flies, or, as they are commonly
called in this country, devil's needles (Libclluladce), prey upon gnats
and mosquitos ; and their larvee and pupae, as well as those of the
day-flies (Ephemeradce), semblians (Seinbli did a), and those of some of
the May-flies, called cadis-worms (Phrygancadce), all of which live in
the water, devour aquatic insects. The predaceous habits of the ant-
lions (Myrmeleontidce) have been often described. The lace-winged
flies (Hemerobiadai), in the larva state, live wholly on plant-lice,
great numbers of which they destroy. The mantispians (Mati/is-
pada), and ihe scorpion-flies {Panorpadiz), are also predaceous
insects.

5. — Lepidoptera (Butterflies and Moths). Mouth with
a spiral sucking-tube ; wings four, covered with branny scales.
Transformation complete. The larva? are caterpillars, and

INTRODUCTION. 13

have six true legs, and from four to ten fleshy prop-legs. Pupa
with the cases of the wings and of the legs indistinct, and sol-
dered to the breast.

Some kinds of caterpillars are domestic pests, and devour cloth,
wool, furs, feathers, wax, lard, flour, and the like ; but by far the
greatest number live wholly on vegetable food, certain kinds being
exclusively leaf-eaters, while others attack the buds, fruits, seeds,
bark, pith, stems, and roots of plants.

6. — Hymenoptera (Saw-flies, Ants, Wasps, Bees, &fc).
Insects with jaws, four veined wings, in most species, the hinder
pair being the smallest, and a piercer or sting at the extremity of
the abdomen. Transformation complete. LarvaB mostly mag-
got-like, or slug-like, of some, caterpillar-like. Pupse with the
legs and wings unconfined.

In the adult state these insects live chiefly on the honey and pollen
of flowers, and the juices of fruits. The larvae of the saw-flies ( Ten-
thredinidce), under the form of false-caterpillars and slugs, are leaf-
eaters, and are oftentimes productive of much injury to plants. The
larvae of the xyphydrians (Xiphydriadcs), and of the horn-tails ( Uroce-
ridce), are borers and wood-eaters, and consequently injurious to the
plants inhabited by them. Pines and flrs suffer most from their attacks.
Some of the warty excrescences on the leaves and stems of plants,
such as oak-apples, gall-nuts, and the like, arise from the punctures of
four-winged gall-flies (Diplolepidida), and the irritation produced by
their larvae, which reside in these swellings. The injury caused by
them is, comparatively, of very little importance, while, on the other
hand, we are greatly indebted to these insects for the gall-nuts that
are extensively used in coloring, and in medicine, and form the chief
ingredient in ink. We may, therefore, write down these insects
among the benefactors of the human race. Immense numbers of
caterpillars and other noxious insects are preyed upon by internal
enemies, the larvae of the ichneumon-flies (Evaniadce, Ichneimwnidce,
and Chalcididce), which live upon the fat of their victims, and finally
destroy them. Some of these ichneumon-flies (Iclmeumones ovulo-
rum*) are extremely small, and confine their attacks to the eo-as of
other insects, which they puncture, and the little creatures produced

* Now placed among the Proctotrupidcc.

14 INSECTS OF MASSACHUSETTS.

from the latter find a sufficient quantity of food to supply all their
wants within the larger eggs they occupy. The ruby-tails (Clirys-
ididce), and the cuckoo-bees (Hylceus, Sphecodes, Nomada, Melecta,
Epeolus, Ccelioxys, and Stelis), lay their eggs in the provisioned nests
of other insects, whose young are robbed of their food by the earlier
hatched intruders, and are consequently starved to death. The wood-
wasps (Crabronidce), and numerous kinds of sand-wasps (Larradce,
Bembicidce, Spegidcz, Pompilidce, and Scoliadce), mud-wasps (Pe-
lopcpus), the stinging velvet-ants (Mutilladce), and the solitary wasps
(Odynerus and Eumenes), are predaceous in their habits, and pro-
vision their nests with other insects, which serve for food to their
young. The food of ants consists of animal and vegetable juices; and
though these industrious little animals sometimes prove troublesome
by their fondness for sweets, yet, as they seize and destroy many
insects also, their occasional trespasses may well be forgiven. Even
the proverbially irritable paper-making wasps and hornets (Polistes
and Vespa), are not without their use in the economy of nature; for
they feed their tender offspring not only with vegetable juices, but
with the soft parts of other insects, great numbers of which they seize
and destroy for this purpose. The solitary and social bees (Andre-
nadce, and Apidcp) live wholly on the honey and pollen of flowers,
and feed their young with a mixture of the same, called bee-bread.
Various kinds of bees are domesticated for the sake of their stores of
wax and honey, and are thus made to contribute directly to the com-
fort and convenience of man, in return for the care and attention
afforded them. Honey and wax are also obtained from several spe-
cies of wild bees, (Melipona, Trigona, and Tetragona), essentially
dilferent from the domesticated kinds. While bees and other hymen-
opterous insects seek only the gratification of their own inclinations, in
their frequent visits to flowers, they carry on their bodies the yellow
dust or pollen from one blossom to another, and scatter it over the
parts prepared to receive and be fertilized by it, whereby they render
an important service to vegetation.

7. — Diptera (Mosquitos, Gnats, Flies, <$'c). Insects with
a horny or fleshy proboscis, two wings only, and two knobbed
threads, called balancers or poisers, behind the wings. Transfor-
mation complete. The larvae are maggots, without feet, and
with the breathing-holes generally in the hinder extremity of the
body. Pupa; mostly incased in the dried skin of the larvae, some-

INTRODUCTION. 15

times, however, naked, in which case the wings and the legs are
visible, and are found to be more or less free or unconfined.

The two-winged insects, though mostly of moderate or small size,
are not only very numerous in kinds or species, but also extremely
abundant in individuals of the same kind, often appearing in swarms
of countless multitudes. Flies are destined to live wholly on liquid
food, and are therefore provided with a proboscis, enclosing hard and
sharp-pointed darts, instead of jaws, and fitted for piercing and suck-
ing, or ending with soft and fleshy lips for lapping. In our own per-
sons we suffer much from the sharp suckers and blood-thirsty propen-
sities of s;nats and mosquitos ( Culicidce), and also from those of certain
midges (Ceratopogon and Simulium), including the tormenting black-
flies (Simulium molestum) of this country. The larvae of these insects
live in stagnant water, and subsist on minute aquatic animals. Horse-
flies and the golden-eyed forest-flies (Tabanida), whose larvae live in
the ground, and the stinging stable-flies (Slo?noxys), which closely
resemble common house-flies, and in the larva state live in dung,
attack both man and animals, goading the latter sometimes almost to
madness by their severe and incessant punctures. The winged horse-
ticks (Hippoboscce), the bird-flies (Or?iithomyi<z), the wingless sheep-
ticks (Melophagi), and the spider-flies (Nycteribice), and bee-lice
(Braulce), which are also destitute of wings, are truly parasitical in
their habits, and pass their whole lives upon the skin of animals. Bot-
flies, or gad-flies, (GEstridce), as they are sometimes called, appear to
take no food while in the winged state, and are destitute of a pro-
boscis ; the nourishment obtained by their larvae, which, as is well
known, live in the bodies of horses, cattle, sheep, and other animals,
being sufficient to last these insects during the rest of their lives.
Some flies, though apparently harmless in the winged state, deposit
their eggs on plants, on the juices of which their young subsist, and
are oftentimes productive of immense injury to vegetation ; among
these the most notorious for their depredations are the gall-gnats
(Cecidomyice), including the wheat-fly and Hessian fly, the root-
eating maggots of some of the long-legged gnats ( Tipulce), those of
the flower-flies (Anthomyia), and the two-winged gall-flies and fruit-
flies (Ortalides). To this list of noxious flies, are to be added the
common house-flies (Muscce), which pass through the maggot state in
dung and other filth, the blue-bottle or blow-flies, and meat-flies
(Lucilice and Calliphora), together with the maggot-producing or

16 INSECTS OF MASSACHUSETTS.

viviparous flesh-flies (Sarcophagce and Cynomyicz), whose maggots
live in flesh, the cheese-fly (Piophila), the parent of the well-known
skippers, and a few others that in the larva state attack our household
stores. Some flies are entirely harmless in all their states, and many
are eminently useful in various ways. Even the common house-flies,
and flesh-flies, together with others, for which no names exist in
our language, render important services by feeding while larvae upon
dung, carrion, and all kinds of filth, by which means, and by simi-
lar services, rendered by various tribes of scavenger-beetles, these
offensive matters speedily disappear, instead of remaining to decay
slowly, thereby tainting the air and rendering it unwholesome.
Those whose larvae live in stagnant water, such as gnats (Culicidce),
feather-horned gnats (Chironomus, &c), the soldier-flies (Strati-
omyadce), the rat-tailed flies (Helophilus, &c. &c), tend to prevent
the water from becoming putrid, by devouring the decayed animal
and vegetable matter it contains. The maggots of some flies (Myce-
tophilcE and various Muscadce) live in mushrooms, toadstools, and
similar excrescences growing on trees; those of others (Sargi,
Xylophagidce, Asilidce, Therevce, Milesice, Xylotce, Borbori, &c.
&c), in rotten wood and bark, thereby joining with the grubs of
certain beetles to hasten the removal of these dead and useless sub-
stances, and make room for new and more vigorous vegetation.
Some of these wood-eating insects, with others, when transformed to
flies (Asilida;, Rhagionidcc, Dolichopidcr, and Xylophagida;), prey
on other insects. Some (Syrpkidce), though not predaceous them-
selves in the winged state, deposit their eggs among plant-lice, upon
the blood of which their young afterwards subsist. Many (Cono-
pidcB, excluding Stovwxys, Tachincr, Ocyptercr, Phorce, &c.) lay
their eggs on caterpillars, and on various other larva?, within the bodies
of which the maggots hatched from these eggs live till they destroy
their victims. And finally others (Anthracida and Volucclhv), drop
their eggs in the nests of insects, whose offspring are starved to death,
by being robbed of their food by the offspring of these cuckoo-flies. Be-
sides performing their various appointed tasks in the economy of nature,
flies, and other insects, subserve another highly important purpose, for
which an all-wise Providence has designed them, namely, that of fur-
nishing food to numerous other animals. Not to mention the various
kinds of insect-eating quadrupeds, such as bats, moles, and the like,
many birds live partly or entirely on insects. The finest song-birds,
nightingales and thrushes, feast with the highest relish on maggots of

INTRODUCTION. 17

all kinds, as well as on flies and other insects, while the warhlers,
vireous, and especially the fly-catchers and swallows devour these
two-winged insects in great numbers.

The seven foregoing orders constitute very natural groups,
relatively of nearly equal importance, and sufficiently distinct from
each other, but connected at different points by various resem-
blances. It is impossible to show the mutual relations of these
orders, when they are arranged in a continuous series, but these
can be better expressed and understood by grouping the orders
together in a cluster, so that each order shall come in contact
with several others.

Besides these seven orders, there are several smaller groups,
which some naturalists have thought proper to raise to the rank
of independent orders. Upon the principal of these, a few
remarks will now be made.

The little order Strepsiptera of Kirby, or Rhipip-
tera of Latreille, consists of certain minute insects, which un-
dergo their transformations within the bodies of bees and wasps.
One of them, the Xenos Peckii, was discovered by Professor
Peck in the common brown wasp (Polistes f meat a) of this coun-
try. The larva is maggot-like, and lives between the rings of the
back of the wasp ; the pupa resembles that of some flies, and is
cased in the dried skin of the larva. In the adult state the
Strepsipterous insects have a pair of short, narrow, and twisted
members, instead of fore-wings, and two very large hind-wings,
folded lengthwise like a fan. The mouth is provided with a pair
of slender, sharp-pointed jaws, better adapted for piercing than for
biting. It is very difficult to determine the proper place of these
insects in a natural arrangement. Latreille put them between the
Lepidoptera and Diptera, but thinks them most nearly allied to
some of the Hymenoptera.

The flea tribe (Pxdicida) was placed among the bugs, or

Hemiptera, by Fabricius. It constitutes the order Aptera

of Leach, Siphonaptera of Latreille, and Aphaniptera

of Kirby. Fleas are destitute of wings, have a mouth fitted

for suction, and provided with several lancet-like pieces for

making punctures ; they undergo a complete transformation ;

their larvse are worm-like and without feet ; and their pupae have

3

18 INSECTS OF MASSACHUSETTS.

the legs free. These insects, of which there are many different
kinds, are intermediate in their characteristics between the He-
miptera and the Diptera, and seem to connect more closely these
two orders together.

The ear-wigs (Forficulache) , of which also there are many
kinds, were placed by Linnaeus in the order Coleoptera, but most
naturalists now include them among the Orthoptera ; indeed they
seem to be related to both orders, but most closely to the Orthop-
tera, with which they agree in their partial transformations, and
active pupae. They form the little order Dermaptera of
Leach, or Euplexoptera of Westwood.

The spider-flies, bird-flies, sheep-tick, &c. (Hippoboscada),
which, with Latreille and others, I have retained among the
Diptera, form the order Homaloptera of Leach, and the
English entomologists.

The May-flies, or case-flies (Phryancada), have been separat-
ed from the Neuroptera ; and constitute the order Trichop-
tera of Kirby. Latreille and most of the naturalists of the
continent of Europe still retain them in Neuroptera, to which
they seem properly to belong.

The order Bomboptera of MacLeay, was made to in-
clude the horned-tailed wood-wasps (Uroceridtr), which, how-
ever, are retained in the order Hymenoptera by all other natural-
ists. In form and habits the larvae of these insects closely resem-
ble the wood-eating larvae of some beetles. Certain intermediate
groups connect them, however, with the saw-flies ( Tenthredin-
idcc), and the latter, though truly Hymenopterous insects, ap-
proach the Lepidoptera in the forms and habits of their larvae, or
false caterpillars, and in the nature of their transformations.

The Thrijjs tribe consists of minute insects more closely allied
to Hemiptera than to any other order, but resembling, in some
respects, the Orthoptera also. It forms the little order Thy-
sanoptera of Haliday ; but I propose to leave it, as Latreille
has done, among the Hemiptera.

The English entomologists separate from Hemiptera the cica-
das or harvest-flies, lantern-flies, frog-hoppers, plant-lice, bark-
lice, &c, under the name of Homoptera; but these insects

INTRODUCTION. 19

seem too nearly to resemble the true Hemiptera to warrant the
separation.

Burmeister, a Prussian naturalist, has subdivided the Neu-
roptera into the orders Neuroptera and Dictyotoptera,
the latter to include the species which undergo only a par-
tial transformation. If Hemiptera is to be subdivided, as above
mentioned, then this division of Neuroptera will be justifiable
also.

Objections have often been raised against the study of natural
history, and many persons have been discouraged from attempting
it, on account of the formidable array of scientific names and
terms, which it presents to the beginner ; and some men of mean
and contracted minds have made themselves merry at the expense
of naturalists, and have sought to bring the writings of the latter
into contempt, because of the scientific language and names they
were obliged to employ. Entomology, or the science that treats
of insects, abounds in such names more than any other branch of
natural history ; for the different kinds of insects very far outnum-
ber the species in every class of the animal, vegetable, and min-
eral kingdoms. It is owing to this excessive number of species,
and to the small size, and unobtrusive character of many insects,
that comparatively very few have received any common names,
either in our own, or in other modern tongues ; and hence most
of those that have been described in works of natural history, are
known only by their scientific names. The latter have the ad-
vantage over other names in being intelligible to all well-educated
persons in all parts of the world ; while the common names of
animals and plants in our own and other modern languages are
very limited in their application, and moreover are often misap-
plied. For example, the name weevil is given, in this country,
to at least six different kinds of insects, two of which are moths,
two are flies, and two are beetles. Moreover, since nearly four
thousand species of weevils have actually been scientifically
named and described, when mention is made of " the weevil", it
may well be a subject of doubt to which of these four thousand
species the speaker or writer intends to refer ; whereas, if the
scientific name of the species in question were made known, this
doubt would at once be removed. To give to each of these

20 INSECTS OF MASSACHUSETTS.

weevils a short, appropriate, significant, and purely English name
would be very difficult, if not impossible, and there would be
great danger of overburdening the memory with such a number of
names ; but, by means of the ingenious and simple method of
nomenclature invented by Linnaeus, these weevils are all arranged
under three hundred and fifty-five generical, or sir names, requir-
ing in addition, only a small number of different words, like
christian names, to indicate the various species or kinds. There
is oftentimes a great convenience in the use of single collective
terms for groups of animals and plants, whereby the necessity for
enumerating all the individual contents or the characteristics of
these groups is avoided. Thus the single word Ruminantia
stands for camels, lamas, giraffes, deer, antilopes, goats, sheep,
and kine, or for all the hoofed quadrupeds, which ruminate or
chew the cud, and have no front teeth in the upper jaw ; Lepi-
doptera includes all the various kinds of butterflies, hawk-moths,
and millers or moths, or insects having wings covered with
branny scales, and a spiral tongue instead of jaws, and whose
young appear in the form of caterpillars. It would be diffi-
cult to find or invent any single English words, which would
be at once so convenient and so expressive. This, therefore, is
an additional reason why scientific names ought to be preferred to
all others, at least in works of natural history, where it is highly
important that the objects described should have names that are
short, significant in themselves, and not liable to be mistaken or
misapplied. There is no art, profession, trade, or occupation,
which can be taught or learned without the use of technical
words or phrases belonging to each, and which, to the inexperi-
enced and untaught, are as unintelligible as the terms of science.
It is not at all more difficult to learn and remember the latter
than the former, when the attention has been properly given to
the subject. The seaman, the farmer, and the mechanic soon
become familiar with the names and phrases peculiar to their
several callings, uncouth, and without apparent signification, as
many of them are. So too the terms of science lose their for-
bidding and mysterious appearance and sound by the frequency
of their recurrence, and finally become as harmonious to the ear,
as they are clear and definite in their application.

COLEOPTERA. 21

COLEOPTERA.

Beetles. — Scarabjeians. Ground-Beetles. Tree-Beetles. Cockchaf-
ers or May-Beetles. Flower-Beetles. Stag-Beetles. — Buprestians,
or Saw-horned Borers. — Spring-Beetles. — Timber-Beetles. — Wee-
vils. — Cylindrical Bark-Beetles. — Capricorn-Beetles, or Long-horn-
ed Borers. — Leaf-Beetles. Criocerians. Leaf-mining Beetles. Tor-
toise-Beetles. Chrysomelians. — Cantharides.

The wings of beetles are covered and concealed by a pair of
horny cases or shells, meeting in a straight line on the top of the
back, and usually having a little triangular or semicircular piece,
called the scutel, wedged between their bases. Hence the order
to which these insects belong is called Coleoptera, a word sig-
nifying wings in a sheath. Beetles* are biting-insects, and are pro-
vided with two pairs of jaws moving sidewise. Their young are
grubs, and undergo a complete transformation in coming to maturity.

At the head of this order Linnaeus placed a group of insects,
to which he gave the name of Scarab.eus. It includes the
largest and most robust animals of the beetle kind, many of them
remarkable for the singularity of their shape, and the formidable
horn-like prominences with which they are furnished, — together
with others, which, though they do not present the same impos-
ing appearance, require to be noticed, on account of the injury
sustained by vegetation from their attacks. An immense num-
ber of Scarabseians (ScarabjEid^e), as they may be called,
are now known, differing greatly from each other, not only in
structure, but in their habits in the larva and adult states. They
are all easily distinguished by their short movable horns or an-
tennae, ending with a knob, composed of three or more leaf-like
pieces, which open like the petals of a flower-bud. Another
feature that they possess in common, is the projecting ridge
(Clypeus) of the forehead, which extends more or less over the
face, like the visor or brim of a cap, and beneath the sides of this
visor the antennae are implanted. The peculiar form of the fore-
head in these insects seems to have given rise to the term beetle-

* Beetle, in old English, bed, bijtl, or bitel, means a biter, or insect that bites.

22 INSECTS OF MASSACHUSETTS.

browed, applied to those persons who are remarkable for the
prominence of their brows. Moreover, the legs of these beetles,
particularly the first pair, are fitted for digging, being deeply
notched, or furnished with several strong teeth on the outer
edges ; and the feet are five-jointed. This very extensive family
of insects is subdivided into several smaller groups, each com-
posed of beetles distinguished by various peculiarities of structure
and habits. Some live mostly upon or beneath the surface of the
earth, and were, therefore, called ground-beetles by De Geer ;
some, in their winged state are found on trees, the leaves of
which they devour ; they are the tree-beetles of the same author ;
and others, during the same period of their lives, frequent flowers,
and are called flower-beetles. The ground-beetles, including the
earth-borers (Geotrupidce), and dung-beetles (Copridida and
Jlphodiada.), which, in all their states, are found in excrement,
the skin-beetles (Trogidte), which inhabit dried animal sub-
stances, and the gigantic Hercules-beetles (Dynastidce), which
live in rotten wood or beneath old dung-heaps, must be passed
over without further comment. The other groups contain insects
that are very injurious to vegetation, and therefore require to be
more particularly noticed.

One of the most common, and the most beautiful of the tree-
beetles of this country is the Arcoda lanigcra, or woolly Areoda,
sometimes also called the goldsmith-beetle. It is about nine
tenths of an inch in length, broad oval in shape, of a lemon-yellow
color above, glittering like burnished gold on the top of the head
and thorax ; the under-side of the body is copper-colored, and
thickly covered with whitish wool ; and the legs are brownish-
yellow, or brassy, shaded with green. These fine beetles begin
to appear in Massachusetts about the middle of May, and continue
generally till the twentieth of June. In the morning and evening
twilight they come forth from their retreats, and fly about with a
humming and rustling sound among the branches of trees, the
tender leaves of which they devour. Pear-trees are particularly
subject to their attacks, but the elm, hickory, poplar, oak, and
probably also other kinds of trees are frequented and injured by
them. During the middle of the day they remain at rest upon
the trees, clinging to the under-sides of the leaves ; and endeavour

COLEOPTERA. 23

to conceal themselves by drawing two or three leaves together,
and holding them in this position with their long unequal claws.
In some seasons they occur in profusion, and then may be ob-
tained in great quantities by shaking the young trees on which
they are lodged in the daytime, as they do not attempt to fly
when thus disturbed, but fall at once to the ground. The larvae
of these insects are not known ; probably they live in the ground
upon the roots of plants. The group to which the goldsmith-
beetle belongs may be called Rutilians (rutilad^;), from
Rutela, or more correctly Rutila, signifying shining, the name
of the principal genus included in it. The Rutilians connect the
ground-beetles with the tree-beetles of the following group, hav-
ing the short and robust legs of the former, with the leaf-eating
habits of the latter.

The spotted Pelidnota, Pelidnota pimctata, is also arranged
among the Rutilians. This large beetle is found on the culti-
vated and wild grape-vine, sometimes in great abundance, during
the months of July and August. It is of an oblong oval shape,
and about an inch long. The wing-covers are tile-colored, or
dull brownish yellow, with three distant black dots on each ; the
thorax is darker, and slightly bronzed, with a black dot on each
side ; the body beneath; and the legs, are of a deep bronzed green
color. These beetles fly by day ; but may also be seen at the
same time on the leaves of the grape, which are their only food.
They sometimes prove very injurious to the vine. The only
method of destroying them, is to pick them off by hand, and
crush them under foot. The larva? live in rotten wood, such as
the stumps and roots of dead trees ; and do not differ essentially
from those of other Scarabseians.

Among the tree-beetles those commonly called dors, chafers,
May-bugs, and rose-bugs, are the most interesting to the farmer
and gardener, on account of their extensive ravages, both in the
winged and larva states. They were included by Fabricius in the
genus Mtlolontha , a word used by the ancient Greeks to distin-
guish the same kind of insects, which were supposed by them to
be produced from or with the flowers of apple-trees, as the name
itself implies. These beetles, together with many others, for
which no common names exist in our language, are now united in

24 INSECTS OF MASSACHUSETTS.

one family called melolonthad*, or Melolonthians. The fol-
lowing are the general characters of these insects. The body is
oblong oval, convex, and generally of a brownish color ; the
antennae are nine or more commonly ten jointed, the knob is
much longer in the males than in the females, and consists gener-
ally of three leaf-like pieces, sometimes of a greater number,
which open and shut like the leaves of a book ; the visor is short
and wide ; the upper jaws are furnished at base on the inner side
with an oval space, crossed by ridges, like a millstone, for grind-
ing ; the thorax is transversely square, or nearly so ; the wing-
cases do not cover the whole of the body, the hinder extremity of
which is exposed ; the legs are rather long, the first pair armed
externally with two or three teeth ; and the claws are notched be-
neath, or are split at the end like the nib of a pen. The powerful
and horny jaws are admirably fitted for cutting and grinding the
leaves of plants, upon which these beetles subsist ; their notched
or double claws support them securely on the foliage ; and their
strong and jagged fore-legs, being formed for digging in the
ground, point out the place of their transformations.

The general habits and transformations of the common cock-
chafer of Europe have been carefully observed, and will serve to
exemplify those of the other insects of this family, which, as far
as they are known, seem to be nearly the same. This insect de-
vours the leaves of trees and shrubs. Its duration in the perfect
state is very short, each individual living only about a week, and
the species entirely disappearing in the course of a month. After
the sexes have paired, the males perish, and the females enter the
earth to the depth of six inches or more, making their way by
means of the strong teeth which arm the fore-legs ; here they de-
posit their eggs, amounting, according to some writers, to nearly
one hundred, or, as others assert, to two hundred from each
female, which are abandoned by the parent, who generally as-
cends again to the surface, and perishes in a short lime.

From the eggs are hatched, in the space of fourteen days, little
whitish grubs, each provided with six legs near the head, and a
mouth furnished with strong jaws. When in a state of rest, these
grubs usually curl themselves in the shape of a crescent. They
subsist on the tender roots of various plants, committing ravages

COLEOPTERA. 25

among these vegetable substances, on some occasions of the most
deplorable kind, so as totally to disappoint the best founded
hopes of the husbandman. During the summer they live under
the thin coat of vegetable mould near the surface, but, as winter
approaches, they descend below the reach of frost, and remain
torpid until the succeeding spring, at which time they change
their skins, and reascend to the surface for food. At the close of
their third summer, (or, as some say, of the fourth or fifth,) they
cease eating, and penetrate about two feet deep into the earth ;
there, by its motions from side to side, each grub forms an oval
cavity, which is lined by some glutinous substance thrown from its
mouth. In this cavity it is changed to a pupa by casting off its
skin. In this state, the legs, antennae, and wing-cases of the
future beetle are visible through the transparent skin which en-
velopes them, but appear of a yellowish white color ; and thus it
remains until the month of February, when the thin film which
encloses the body is rent, and three months afterwards the per-
fected beetle digs its way to the surface, from which it finally
emerges during the night. According to Kirby and Spence, the
grubs of the cock- chafer sometimes destroy whole acres of grass
by feeding on its roots. They undermine the richest meadows,
and so loosen the turf that it will roll up as if cut by a turfing
spade. They do not confine themselves to grass, but eat the roots
of wheat, of other grains, and also those of young trees. About
seventy years ago, a farmer near Norwich, in England, suffered
much by them, and, with his man, gathered eighty bushels of the
beetles. In the year 1785 many provinces in France were so
ravaged by them, that a premium was offered by government for
the best mode of destroying them. The Society of Arts in
London, during many years, held forth a premium for the best
account of this insect, and the means of checking its ravages, but
without having produced one successful claimant.

In their winged state, these beetles, with several other species,
act as conspicuous a part in injuring the trees, as the grubs do in
destroying the herbage. During the month of May they come forth
from the ground, whence they have received the name of May-
bugs, or May-beetles. They pass the greater part of the day
upon trees, clinging to the under-sides of the leaves, in a state of

26 INSECTS OF MASSACHUSETTS.

repose. As soon as evening approaches, they begin to buzz about
among the branches, and continue on the wing till towards
midnight. In their droning flight, they move very irregu-
larly, darting hither and thither with an uncertain aim, hitting
against objects in their way with a force that often causes them to
fall to the ground. They frequently enter houses in the night,
apparently attracted, as well as dazzled and bewildered, by the
lights. Their vagaries, in which, without having the power to
harm, they seem to threaten an attack, have caused them to be
called dors, that is darers ; while their seeming blindness and
stupidity have become proverbial, in the expressions, "blind as a
beetle," and " beetle-headed". Besides the leaves of fruit-trees,
they devour those of various forest-trees and shrubs, with an
avidity not much less than that of the locust, so that, in certain
seasons, and in particular districts, they become an oppressive
scourge, and the source of much misery to the inhabitants.
MoufFet relates that, in the year 1574, such a number of them fell
into the river Severn, as to stop the wheels of the water-mills ;
and, in the Philosophical Transactions, it is stated, that in the
year 1688 they filled the hedges and trees of Galway, in such in-
finite numbers as to cling to each other like bees when swarming ;
and, when on the wing, darkened the air, annoyed travellers, and
produced a sound like distant drums. In a short time, the leaves
of all the trees, for some miles round, were so totally consumed
by them, that at midsummer the country wore the aspect of the
depth of winter.

Another chafer, Anomala vitis F. is sometimes exceedingly
injurious to the vine. It prevails in certain provinces of France,
where it strips the vines of their leaves, and also devours those of
the willow, poplar, and fruit-trees.

The animals and birds appointed to check the ravages of these
insects, are, according to Latreille, the badger, weasel, martin,
bats, rats, the common dung-hill fowl, and the goat-sucker or
night-hawk. To this list may be added the common crow, which
devours not only the perfect insects, but their larvae, for which
purpose it is often observed to follow the plough. In " Ander-
son 'sRecreations," it is stated that ua cautious observer, having
found a nest of five young jays, remarked, that each of these birds,

COLEOPTERA. 27

while yet very young, consumed at least fifteen of these full-sized
grubs in one day, and of course would require many more of a
smaller size. Say that, on an average of sizes, they consumed
twenty a-piece, these for the five make one hundred. Each of the
parents consume say fifty ; so that the pair and family devour two
hundred every day. This, in three months, amounts to twenty
thousand in one season. But as the grub continues in that state
four seasons, this single pair, with their family alone, without reck-
oning their descendants after the first year, would destroy eighty
thousand grubs. Let us suppose that the half, namely forty thous-
and, are females, and it is known that they usually lay about two
hundred eggs each ; it will appear, that no less than eight millions
have been destroyed, or prevented from being hatched, by the la-
bors nfa single family of jays. It is by reasoning in this way, that we
learn to know of what importance it is to attend to the economy
of nature, and to be cautious how we derange it by our short-
sighted and futile operations." Our own country abounds with
insect-eating beasts and birds, and without doubt the more than
abundant Melolonthae form a portion of their nourishment.

In the year 1817, the Fabrician genus melolontha contained
three hundred and five known species, two hundred and twenty-
six of which still retained that name, and seventy-nine were sep-
arated into five distinct genera. A great number of new species
have since been added to this list, which it has become necessary
still further to subdivide. In a prize essay on the noxious insects
of this genus, written by me in 1826, and published in the tenth
volume of the Massachusetts Agricultural Repository and Journal,
several new genera were proposed, and the principal insects they
were designed to include were pointed out. Several years after-
wards it became known to me, that similar genera, founded on a
consideration of the same insects, had been made by European
naturalists, some of whom published the result of their investiga-
tions before, and others after mine had appeared. Those of my
names, therefore, that had been anticipated in point of time, must
be dropped ; the others, I have thought proper to retain in the
present essay.

We have several Melolonthians whose injuries in the perfect
and grub state approach to those of the European cock-chafer.

28 INSECTS OF MASSACHUSETTS.

Phyllophaga* quercina of Knoch, the May-beetle, as it is gener-
ally called here, is our common species. It is of a chestnut-
brown color, smooth, but finely punctured, that is, covered with
little impressed dots, as if pricked with the point of a needle ;
each wing-case has two or three slightly elevated longitudinal lines ;
the breast is clothed with yellowish down. The knob of its
antennae contains only three leaf-like joints. Its average length is
nine tenths of an inch. In its perfect state it feeds on the leaves
of trees, particularly on those of the cherry-tree. It flies with a
humming noise in the night, from the middle of May to the end of
June, and frequently enters houses, attracted by the light. In the
course of the spring, these beetles are often thrown from the earth
by the spade and plough, in various states of maturity, some being
soft and nearly white, their superabundant juices not having evap-
orated, while others exhibit the true color and texture of the per-
fect insect. The grubs devour the roots of grass and of other
plants, and in many places the turf may be turned up like a carpet
in consequence of the destruction of the roots. The grubf is a
white worm with a brownish head, and, when fully grown, is
nearly as thick as the little finger. It is eaten greedily by crows
and fowls. The beetles are devoured by the skunk, whose bene-
ficial foraging is detected in our gardens by its abundant excrement
filled with the wing-cases of these insects. A writer in the
" New York Evening Post " says, that the beetles, which fre-
quently commit serious ravages on fruit-trees, may be effectually
exterminated by shaking them from the trees every evening. In
this way two pailsful of beetles were collected on the first experi-
ment ; the number caught regularly decreased until the fifth even-
ing, when only two beetles were to be found. The best time,
however, for shaking trees on which the May-beetles are lodged,
is in the morning, when the insects do not attempt to fly. They
are most easily collected in a cloth spread under the trees to

* A genus proposed by me in 182G. It signifies leaf-eater. Dejean subsequently
called this genus Jlncylonycha.

t There is a grub, somewhat resembling this, which is frequently found under
old manure heaps, and is commonly called muck-worm. It differs, however, in
some respects, from that of the May-beetle, or dor-bug, and is transformed to a
dung-beetle called Scarabaus rclictus by Mr. Say.

COLEOPTERA. 29

receive them when they fall, after which, they should be thrown
into boiling water, to kill them, and may then be given as food to
swine.

There is an undescribed kind of Phyllophaga, or leaf-eater,
called, in my Catalogue of the Insects of Massachusetts,* fraterna,
because it is nearly akin to the quercina, in general appearance.
It differs from the latter, however, in being smaller, and more
slender, the punctures on its thorax and wing-covers are not so
distinct, and the three elevated lines on the latter are hardly visi-
ble. It measures thirteen twentieths of an inch in length. This
beetle may be seen in the latter part of June and the beginning of
July. Its habits are similar to those of the more abundant May-
beetle or dor-bug.

Another common Phyllophaga has been described by Knoch
and Say, under the name of hirticula, meaning a little hairy. It
is of a bay-brown color, the punctures on the thorax are larger
and more distinct than in the quercina, and on each wing-cover
are three longitudinal rows of short yellowish hairs. It measures
about seven tenths of an inch in length. Its time of appearance is
in June and July.

In some parts of Massachusetts the Phyllophaga Georgicana of
Gyllenhal, or Georgian leaf-eater, takes the place of the quercina.
It is extremely common, during May and June, in Cambridge,
where the other species is rarely seen. It is of a bay-brown
color, entirely covered on the upper side with very short yellow-
ish gray hairs, and measures seven tenths of an inch, or more, in
length.

Phyllophaga pilosicollis of Knoch, or the hairy necked leaf-
eater, is a small chafer, of an ochre yellow color, with a very
hairy thorax. It is often thrown out of the ground by the spade,
early in the spring ; but it does not voluntarily come forth till the
middle of May. It measures half an inch in length.

* In order to save unnecessary repetitions, it maybe well to state, that the Cata-
logue, above named, to which frequent reference will be made in the course of this
essay, was drawn up by me, and was published in Professor Hitchcock's Report
on the Geology, Mineralogy, Botany, and Zoology of Massachusetts, and that two
editions of it appeared with the Report, the first in 1833, and the second, with
numerous additions, in 1835.

3D INSECTS OF MASSACHUSETTS.

Hentz's Melolontha* variolosa, or scarred Melolontha, differs
essentially from the foregoing beetles in the structure of its an-
tennae, tlie knob o: which consists of seven narrow strap-shaped
ochre-yellow leaves, which are excessively long in the males.
This fine insect is cf a light-brown color, with irregular whitish
blotches, like scars, on the thorax and wing-covers. It measures
nine tenths of an inch, or more, in length. It occurs abundantly,
in the month of July, at Martha's Vineyard, and in some other
places near the coast ; but is rare in other parts of Massachusetts.

The foregoing Melolonthians are found in gardens, nurseries,
and orchards, where they are more or less injurious to the fruit-
trees, in proportion to their numbers in different seasons. They
also devour the leaves of various forest-trees, such as the elm,
maple, and oak.

Omaloplia vesyertina of Gyllenhal, and sericea of Illiger, attack
the leaves of the sweetbriar, or sweet-leaved rose, on which they
may be found in profusion in the evening, about the last of June.
They somewhat resemble the May-beetles in form, but are pro-
portionally shorter and thicker, and much smaller in size. The
first of them, the vespertine or evening Omaloplia, is bay-brown ;
the wing-covers are marked with many longitudinal shallow fur-
rows, which, with the thorax, are thickly punctured. This beetle
varies in length from three to four tenths of an inch. Omaloplia

* In my prize essay, before alluded to, I proposed to restrict the genus Melolon-
tha to those species that have more than three leaves in the knob of the antenna?,
as in the variolosa, and the European Scarabams Melolontha of Linnaeus. This has
actually been done by Latreille, but probably without being aware of my sugges-
tion. It would have been better, however, to have given this genus some other
name, instead of Mclolojitha , because this was first used by Linnreus as a specific
name, which, according to the well known rule of priority, cannot be discontinued
in its original application, without manifest injustice to the first describer. To
continue the comparison made, on another page, between the names used in nat-
ural history and those of persons, — insects, like ladies, may and do, frequently
and repeatedly, change their generical or family names ; but there is no good or
commendable authority for depriving either of them of their specific or baptismal
names. I therefore propose to restore to the Melolontha of the ancients and of
Linmeus, its original distinctive or specific appellation, by calling it Potyphi/lla
Melolontha, literally the many-leaved Melolontha, in allusion to the unusual num-
ber of leaves in the knob of the antenna?. Mr. Henlz's species will then become
Pohjphylla variolosa.

COLEOPTERA. 31

sericea, the silky Omaloplia, closely resembles the preceding in
every thing but its color, which is a very deep chestnut-brown,
iridescent or changeable like satin, and reflecting the colors of the
rainbow.

All these Melolonthians are nocturnal insects, never appearing,
except by accident, in the day, during which they remain under
shelter of the foliage of trees and shrubs, or concealed in the
grass. Others are truly day-fliers, committing their ravages by
the light of the sun, and are consequently exposed to observa-
tion.

One of our diurnal Melolonthians is supposed by many natural-
ists to be the Anomala varians of Fabricius ; and it agrees very
well with this writer's description of the lucicola ; but Professor
Germar thinks it to be an undescribed species, and proposes to
name it ccelebs. It resembles the vine-chafer of Europe in its
habits, and is found in the months of June and July on the culti-
vated and wild grape-vines, the leaves of which it devours. Dur-
ing the same period, these chafers may be seen in still greater
numbers on various kinds of sumach, which they often completely
despoil of their leaves. They are of a broad oval shape, and very
variable in color. The head and thorax of the male are greenish-
black, margined with dull ochre or tile-red, and thickly punc-
tured ; the wing-covers are clay-yellow, irregularly furrowed, and
punctured in the furrows ; the legs are pale red, brown, or black.
The thorax of the female is clay-yellow, or tile-red, sometimes
with two oblique blackish spots on the top, and sometimes almost
entirely black ; the wing-covers resemble those of the male ; the
legs are clay-yellow, or light red. The males are sometimes en-
tirely black, and this variety seems to be the beetle called atrata,
by Fabricius. The males measure nearly, and the females rather
more than seven twentieths of an inch in length. In the year
1825, these insects appeared on the grape-vines in a garden in
this vicinity ; they have since established themselves on the spot,
and have so much multiplied in subsequent years as to prove ex-
ceedingly hurtful to the vines. In many other gardens they have
also appeared, having probably found the leaves of the cultivated
grape-vine more to their taste than their natural food. Should
these beetles increase in numbers, thev will be found as difficult

32 INSECTS OF MASSACHUSETTS.

to check and extirpate as the destructive vine-chafers of Eu-
rope.

The rose-chafer, or rose-bug, as it is more commonly and
incorrectly called, is also a diurnal insect. It is the Mtlolontha
subspinosa of Fabricius, by whom it was first described, and be-
longs to the modern genus* Macro dactyl us of Latreille. Common
as this insect is in the vicinity of Boston, it is, or was a few years
ago, unknown in the northern and western parts of Massachusetts,
in New Hampshire, and in Maine. It may, therefore, be well to
give a brief description of it. This beetle measures seven twen-
tieths of an inch in length. Its body is slender, tapers before and
behind, and is entirely covered with very short and close ashen-
yellow down ; the thorax is long and narrow, angularly widened
in the middle of each side, which suggested the name subspinosa,
or somewhat spined ; the legs are slender, and of a pale red color ;
the joints of the feet are tipped with black, and are very long,
which caused Latreille to call the genus Mncrodactyhts, that is
long toe, or long foot. The natural history of the rose-chafer,
one of the greatest scourges with which our gardens and nurseries
have been afflicted, was for a long time involved in mystery, but
is at last fully cleared up.f The prevalence of this insect on the
rose, and its annual appearance coinciding with the blossoming of
that flower, have gained for it the popular name by which it is
here known. For some time after they were first noticed, rose-
bugs appeared to be confined to their favorite, the blossoms of
the rose ; but within thirty years they have prodigiously increased
in number, have attacked at random various kinds of plants in
swarms, and have become notorious for their extensive and de-
plorable ravages. The grape-vine in particular, the cherry,
plum, and apple trees, have annually suffered by their depreda-
tions ; many other fruit-trees and shrubs, garden vegetables and

* Stenothorax, in my prize essay.

\ See my essay in the Massachusetts Agricultural Repository and Journal,
Vol. X. p. 8; reprinted in the New England Farmer, Vol. VI. p. 18, &c. ; my
Discourse before the Massachusetts Horticultural Society, p. 31,8vo. Cambridge,
1832. Dr. Greene's communication on this insect in the New England Farmer,
Vol. VI. pp. 41, 4!*, &c, and my Report on Insects injurious to Vegetation, in
Massachusetts, House Document, No. 72, April, 1638, p. 70.

COLEOPTERA. 33

corn, and even the trees of the forest and the grass of the fields,
have been laid under contribution by these indiscriminate feeders,
by whom leaves, flowers, and fruits are alike consumed. The
unexpected arrival of these insects in swarms, at their first com-
ing, and their sudden disappearance, at the close of their career,
are remarkable facts in their history. They come forth from the
ground during the second week in June, or about the time of the
blossoming of the damask rose, and remain from thirty to forty
days. At the end of this period the males become exhausted,
fall to the ground, and perish, while the females enter the earth,
lay their eggs, return to the surface, and, after lingering a few
days, die also. The eggs laid by each female are about thirty in
number, and are deposited from one to four inches beneath the
surface of the soil ; they are nearly globular, whitish, and about
one thirtieth of an inch in diameter, and are hatched twenty days
after they are laid. The young larvae begin to feed on such ten-
der roots as are within their reach. Like other grubs of the
Scarabaeians, when not eating, they lie upon the side, with the body
curved so that the head and tail are nearly in contact ; they move
with difficulty on a level surface, and are continually falling over on
one side or the other. They attain their full size in the autumn,
being then nearly three quarters of an inch long, and about an eighth
of an inch in diameter. They are of a yellowish white color, with
a tinge of blue towards the hinder extremity, which is thick and ob-
tuse or rounded ; a few short hairs are scattered on the surface of
the body ; there are six short legs, namely a pair to each of the first
three rings behind the head ; and the latter is covered with a horny
shell of a pale rust color. In October they descend below the
reach of frost, and pass the winter in a torpid state. In the
spring they approach towards the surface, and each one forms
for itself a little cell of an oval shape, by turning round a great
many times, so as to compress the earth and render the inside of
the cavity hard and smooth. Within this cell the grub is trans-
formed to a pupa, during the month of May, by casting off its
skin, which is pushed downwards in folds from the head to the
tail. The pupa has somewhat the form of the perfected beetle ;
but it is of a yellowish wThite color, and its short stump-like wings,
its antennas, and its legs are folded upon the breast, and its whole

34 INSECTS OF MASSACHUSETTS.

body is enclosed in a thin film, that wraps each part separately.
During the month of June this filmy skin is rent, the included
beetle withdraws from it its body and its limbs, bursts open its
earthen cell, and digs its way to the surface of the ground. Thus
the various changes, from the egg to the full development of the
perfected beetle, are completed within the space of one year.

Such being the metamorphoses and habits of these insects, it is
evident that we cannot attack them in the egg, the grub, or the
pupa state ; the enemy, in these stages, is beyond our reach, and
is subject to the control only of the natural but unknown means
appointed by the Author of Nature to keep the insect tribes in
check. When they have issued from their subterranean retreats,
and have congregated upon our vines, trees, and other vegetable
productions, in the complete enjoyment of their propensities, we
must unite our efforts to seize and crush the invaders. They
must indeed be crushed, scalded, or burned, to deprive them of
life, for they are not affected by any of the applications usually
found destructive to other insects. Experience has proved the
utility of gathering them by hand, or of shaking them or brushing
them from the plants into tin vessels containing a little water.
They should be collected daily during the period of their visita-
tion, and should be committed to the flames, or killed by scalding
water. The late John Lowell, Esq. states,* that in 1823, he dis-
covered, on a solitary apple-tree, the rose-bugs "in vast numbers,
such as could not be described, and would not be believed if they
were described, or, at least, none but an ocular witness could con-
ceive of their numbers. Destruction by hand was out of the ques-
tion", in this case. He put sheets under the tree, and shook them
down, and burned them. Dr. Green, of Mansfield, whose investiga-
tions have thrown much light on the history of this insect, proposes
protecting plants with millinet, and says that in this way only did
he succeed in securing his grape-vines from depredation. His
remarks also show the utility of gathering them. " Eighty-six of
these spoilers", says he, "were known to infest a single rose-
bud, and were crushed with one grasp of the hand." Suppose,
as was probably the case, that one half of them were females ; by

* Massachusetts Agricultural Repository, Vol. IX. p. 145.

COLEOPTERA. 35

this destruction, eight hundred eggs, at least, were prevented from
becoming matured. During the time of their prevalence, rose-
bugs are sometimes found in immense numbers on the flowers of
the common white-weed, or ox-eye daisy, {Chrysanthemum leu-
canthemum) , a worthless plant, which has come to us from Europe,
and has been suffered to overrun our pastures, and encroach on
our mowing lands. In certain cases it may become expedient
rapidly to mow down the infested white-weed in dry pastures, and
consume it, with the sluggish rose-bugs, on the spot.

Our insect-eating birds undoubtedly devour many of these
insects, and deserve to be cherished and protected for their ser-
vices. Rose-bugs are also eaten greedily by domesticated fowls ;
and when they become exhausted and fall to the ground, or when
they are about to lay their eggs, they are destroyed by moles,
insects, and other animals, which lie in wait to seize them. Dr.
Green informs us, that a species of dragon-fly, or devil's needle
devours them. He also says that an insect which he calls the
enemy of the cut-worm, probably the larva of a Carabus or pre-
daceous ground-beetle, preys on the grubs of the common dor-
bug. In France the golden ground-beetle (Carabus auratus)
devours the female dor or chafer at the moment when she is
about to deposit her eggs. I have taken one specimen of this
fine ground-beetle in Massachusetts, and we have several other
kinds, equally predaceous, which probably contribute to check
the increase of our native Melolonthians.

There are several more tree-beetles in Massachusetts, which
are injurious to vegetation ; but a mere description of them, with-
out an account of their previous history, which is not yet fully
known, would be of little use to the cultivator of the soil.

Very few of the flower-beetles are decidedly injurious to vege-
tation. Some of them are said to eat leaves ; but the greater
number live on the pollen and the honey of flowers, or upon the
sap that oozes from the wounds of plants. In the infant or grub
state most of them eat only the crumbled substance of decayed
roots and stumps ; a few live in the wounds of trees, and by their
depredations prevent them from healing, and accelerate the decay
of the trunk. The flower-beetles belong chiefly to a group called
Cetoniad.e, or Cetonians. They are easily distinguished from

36 INSECTS OF MASSACHUSETTS.

the other Scarabaeians by their lower jaws, which are gener-
ally soft on the inside, and are often provided with a flat brush of
hairs, that serves to collect the pollen and juices on which they
subsist. Their upper jaws have no grinding plate on the inside.
Their antennae consist of ten joints, the last three of which form a
three-leaved oval knob. The head is often square, with a large
and wide visor, overhanging and entirely concealing the upper-
lip. The thorax is either rounded, somewhat square, or trian-
gular. The wing-cases do not cover the end of the body. The
fore-legs are deeply notched on the outer edge ; and the claws
are equal and entire. These beetles are generally of an oblong
oval form, somewhat flattened above, and often brilliantly colored
and highly polished, sometimes also covered with hairs. Most
of the bright-colored kinds are day-fliers ; those of dark and plain
tints are generally nocturnal beetles. Some of them are of im-
mense size, and have been styled the princes of the beetle tribes ;
such are the Incas of South America, and the Goliah beetle
(Hegemon Goliatus) of Guinea, the latter being more than four
inches long, two inches broad, and thick and heavy in propor-
tion.

Two American Cetonians must suffice as examples in this
group. The first is the Indian Cetonia, Cetonia Inda*, one of our
earliest visitors in the spring, making its appearance towards the
end of April or the beginning of May, when it may sometimes be
seen in considerable numbers around the borders of woods, and in
dry open fields, flying just above the grass with a loud humming
sound, like a humble-bee, for which perhaps it might at first sight
be mistaken. Like other insects of the same genus, it has a
broad body, very obtuse behind, with a triangular thorax, and a
little wedge-shaped piece on each side between the hinder angles
of the thorax and the shoulders of the wing-covers ; the latter,
taken together, form an oblong square, but are somewhat notched
or widely scalloped on the middle of the outer edges. The head
and thorax of this beetle are dark copper-brown, or almost black,
and thickly covered with short greenish yellow hairs ; the wing-
cases are light yellowish brown, but changeable, with pearly and

* ScarabcEus Indus of Linnaeus, Cetonia barbata of Say.

COLEOPTERA. 37

metallic tints, and spattered with numerous irregular black spots ;
the under-side of the body, which is very hairy, is of a black
color, with the edges of the rings and the legs dull red. It meas-
ures about six tenths of an inch in length. During the summer
months the Indian Cetonia is not seen ; but about the middle of
September a new brood comes forth, the beetles appearing fresh
and bright, as though they had just completed their last transfor-
mation. At this time they may be found on the flowers of the
golden-rod, eating the pollen, and also in great numbers on corn-
stalks, and on the trunks of the locust-tree, feeding upon the
sweet sap of these plants. On the approach of cold weather they
disappear, but I have not been able to ascertain what becomes of
them at this time, and only conjecture that they get into some
warm and sheltered spot, where they pass the winter in a torpid
state, and in the spring issue from their retreats, and finish their
career by depositing their eggs for another brood. Those that
are seen in the spring want the freshness of the autumnal beetles,
a circumstance that favors my conjecture. Their hovering over
and occasionally dropping upon the surface of the ground is
probably for the purpose of selecting a suitable place to enter the
earth and lay their eggs. Hence I suppose that their larvae or
grubs may live on the roots of herbaceous plants.

The other Cetonian beetle to be described is the Osmoderma
scaber*, or rough Osmoderma. It is a large insect, with a broad
oval and flattened body ; the thorax is nearly round, but wider
than long ; there are no wedge-shaped pieces between the cor-
ners of the thorax, and the shoulders of the wing-cases, and the
outer edges of the latter are entire. It is of a purplish-black
color, with a coppery lustre ; the head is punctured, concave or
hollowed on the top, with the edge of the broad visor turned up
in the males, nearly flat, and with the edge of the visor not raised
in the females ; the wing-cases are so thickly and deeply and
irregularly punctured as to appear almost as rough as shagreen ;
the under-side of the body is smooth and without hairs ; and the
legs are short and stout. In addition to the differences between
the sexes above described, it may be mentioned that the females

* Trichius scaber, Palisot de Beauvois ; Gymnodus scaler, Kirby.

38 INSECTS OF MASSACHUSETTS.

are generally much larger than the males, and often want the cop-
pery polish of the latter. They measure from eight tenths of an
inch to one inch and one tenth in length. They are nocturnal
insects, and conceal themselves during the day in the crevices
and hollows of trees, where they feed upon the sap that flows
from the bark. They have the odor of Russia leather, and give
this out so powerfully, that their presence can be detected, by the
scent alone, at the distance of two or three yards from the place
of their retreat. This strong smell suggested the name Osmo der-
ma, that is scented skin, given to these beetles by the French
naturalists. They seem particularly fond of the juices of cherry
and apple trees ; in the hollows of which I have often discovered
them. Their larva? live in the hollows of these same trees, feed-
ing upon the diseased wood, and causing it more rapidly to decay.
They are whitish fleshy grubs, with a reddish hard-shelled head,
and closely resemble the grubs of the common dor-beetle. In
the autumn each one makes an oval cell or pod, of fragments of
wood, strongly cemented with a kind of glue ; it goes through its
transformation within this cell, and comes forth in the beetle form
in the month of July.

We have another scented beetle, equal in size to the preced-
ing, of a deep mahogany-brown color, perfectly smooth, and
highly polished, and the male has a deep pit before the middle of
the thorax. This species of Osmoderma is called ercmicola*, a
name that cannot be rendered literally into English by any single
word ; it signifies wilderness-inhabitant, for which might be sub-
stituted hermit. I believe that this insect lives in forest-trees,
but the larva is unknown to me.

The family Lucanid^e, or Lucanians, so named from the Lin-
naean genus Lucanus, must be placed next to the Scarabacians in a
natural arrangement. This family includes the insects called stag-
beetles, horn-bugs, and flying-bulls, names that they have obtained
from the great size and peculiar form of their upper jaws, which
are sometimes curved like the horns of cattle, and sometimes
branched like the antlers of a stag. In these beetles the body is
hard, oblong, rounded behind, and slightly convex ; the head is

* Cctonia crcmicola of Knoch.

COLEOPTERA. 39

large and broad, especially in the males ; the thorax is short, and
as wide as the abdomen ; the antenna? are rather long, elbowed or
bent in the middle, and composed of ten joints, the last three or
four of which are broad, leaf-like, and project on the inside, giv-
ing to this part of the antennae a resemblance to the end of a key ;
the upper jaws are usually much longer in the males than in the
females, but even those of the latter extend considerably beyond
the mouth ; each of the under-javvs is provided with a long hairy
pencil or brush, which can be seen projecting beyond the mouth
between the feelers ; and the under-lip has two shorter pencils of
the same kind ; the fore-legs are oftentimes longer than the
others, with the outer edge of the shanks notched into teeth ; the
feet are five-jointed, and the nails are entire and equal. These
beetles fly abroad during the night, and frequently enter houses at
that time, somewhat to the alarm of the occupants ; but they are
not venomous, and never attempt to bite without provocation.
They pass the day on the trunks of trees, and live upon the sap,
for procuring which the brushes of their jaws and lip seem to be
designed. They are said also occasionally to bite and seize cater-
pillars and other soft-bodied insects, for the purpose of sucking
out their juices. They lay their eggs in crevices of the bark of
trees, especially near the roots, where they may sometimes be
seen thus employed. The larva? hatched from these eggs resem-
ble the grubs of the Scarabaeians in color and form, but they are
smoother, or not so much wrinkled. The grubs of the large
kinds are said to be six years in coming to their growth, living all
this time in the trunks and roots of trees, boring into the solid
wood, and reducing it to a substance resembling very coarse saw-
dust ; and the injury thus caused by them is frequently very con-
siderable. When they have arrived at their full size, they enclose
themselves in egg-shaped pods, composed of gnawed particles of
wood and bark stuck together and lined with a kind of glue ;
within these pods they are transformed to pupa?, of a yellowish-
white color, having the body and all the limbs of the future beetle
encased in a whitish film, which being thrown off in due time, the
insects appear in the beetle form, burst the walls of their prison,
crawl through the passages the larva? had gnawed, and come forth
on the outside of the trees.

40 INSECTS OF MASSACHUSETTS.

The largest of these beetles in the New England States, was
first described by Linnaeus under the name of Lucanus Caprcolus*,
signifying the young roe-buck ; but here it is called the horn-bug.
Its color is a deep mahogany-brown ; the surface is smooth and
polished ; the upper jaws of the male are long, curved like a sickle,
and furnished internally beyond the middle with a little tooth ;
those of the female are much shorter, and also toothed ; the head
of the male is broad and smooth, that of the other sex narrower
and rough with punctures. The body of this beetle measures
from one inch to one inch and a quarter, exclusive of the jaws.
The time of its appearance is in July and the beginning of
August. The grubs live in the trunks and roots of various kinds
of trees, but particularly in those of old apple-trees, willows, and
oaks.

Several other and smaller kinds of stag-beetles are found in
New England, but their habits are much the same as those of the
more common horn-bug.

All the foregoing beetles have, by some naturalists, been gath-
ered into a single tribe, called lamellicorn or leaf-horned beetles,
on account of the leaf-like joints wherewith the end of their an-
tennae is provided. In like manner, the beetles, next to be de-
scribed, have been brought together into one great tribe, named
serricorn or saw-horned beetles, because the tips of the joints of
their antennae usually project more or less on the inside, some-
what like the teeth of a saw. The beetles belonging to the family
Buprestid^e, or the Buprestians, have antennae of this kind.
The Buprcstis of the ancients, as its name signifies in Greek, was
a poisonous insect, which, being swallowed with grass by grazing
cattle, produced a violent inflammation, and such a degree of
swelling, as to cause the cattle to burst. Linnaeus, however, un-
fortunately applied this name to the insects of the abovemen-
tioned family, none of which are poisonous to animals, and are
rarely, if ever, found upon the grass. It is in allusion to the ori-
ginal signification of the word Bwprestis, that popular English
writers on natural history, sometimes give the name of burncow
to the harmless Buprestians ; while the French, with greater

* Lucanus Dama of Fabricius.

COLEOPTERA. 41

propriety call them richards, on account of the rich and brilliant
colors wherewith many of them are adorned. The Buprestians,
then, according to the Linnaean application or rather misapplica-
tion of the name, are hard-shelled beetles, often brilliantly col-
ored, of an elliptical or oblong oval form, obtuse before, tapering
behind, and broader than thick, so that, when cut in two trans-
versely, the section is oval. The head is sunk to the eyes in the
forepart of the thorax ; and the antennae are rather short, and
notched on one side like the teeth of a saw. The thorax is
broadest behind, and usually fits very closely to the shoulders of
the wing-covers. The legs are rather short, and the feet are
formed for standing firmly, rather than for rapid motion ; the
soles being composed of four rather wide joints, covered with lit-
tle spongy cushions beneath, and terminated by a fifth joint,
which is armed with two claws. Most beetles, as already stated,
have a little triangular piece, called the scutel, wedged between
the bases of the wing-covers and the hinder part of the thorax,
commonly of a triangular or semicircular form, and in the greater
number of coleopterous insects quite conspicuous ; in the Bupres-
tians, however, the scutel is generally very small, and sometimes
hardly perceptible. These beetles are frequently seen on the
trunks and limbs of trees basking in the sun. They walk slowly,
and, at the approach of danger, fold up their legs and antennae and
fall to the ground. Being furnished with ample wings, their flight
is swift and attended with a whizzing noise. They keep con-
cealed in the night, and are in motion only during the day.

The larvae are wood-eaters or borers. Our forests and orchards
are more or less subject to their attacks, especially after the trees
have passed their prime. The transformations of these insects
take place in the trunks and limbs of trees. The larvae that are
known to me have a close resemblance to each other ; a general
idea of them can be formed from a description of that which
attacks the pig-nut hickory. It is of a yellowish white color, very
long, narrow, and depressed in form, but abruptly widened near
the anterior extremity. The head is brownish, small, and sunk in
the forepart of the first segment ; the upper jaws are provided with
three teeth, and are of a black color ; and the antennae are very
short. The segment which receives the head is short and trans-
6

42 INSECTS OF MASSACHUSETTS.

verse ; next to it is a large, oval segment, broader than long, and
depressed or flattened above and beneath. Behind this, the seg-
ments are very much narrowed, and become gradually longer ;
but are still flattened, to the last, which is terminated by a round-
ed tubercle or wart. There are no legs, nor any apparatus which
can serve as such, except two small warts on the under-side of
the second segment from the thorax. The motion of the grub
appears to be effected by the alternate contractions and elonga-
tions of the segments, aided, perhaps, by the tubercular extremity
of the body, and by its jaws, with which it takes hold of the sides
of its burrow, and thus draws itself along. These grubs are found
under the bark and in the solid wood of trees, and sometimes in
great numbers. They frequently rest with the body bent side-
wise, so that the head and tail approach each other. This pos-
ture those found under bark usually assume. They appear to
pass several years in the larva state. The pupa bears a near re-
semblance to the perfect insect, but is entirely white, until near
the time of its last transformation. Its situation is immediately
under the bark, the head being directed outwards, so that when
the pupa-coat is cast oft", the beetle has merely a thin covering of
bark to perforate, before making its escape from the tree. The
form of this perforation is oval, as is also a transverse section of
the burrow, that shape being best adapted to the form, motions,
and egress of the insect.

Some of these beetles are known to eat leaves and flowers, and
of this nature is probably the food of all of them. The injury
they may thus commit is not very apparent, and cannot bear any
comparison with the extensive ravages of their larvae. The solid
trunks and limbs of sound and vigorous trees are often bored
through in various directions by these insects, which, during a
long-continued life, derive their only nourishment from the woody
fragments they devour. Pines and firs seem particularly subject
to their attacks, but other forest-trees do not escape, and even
fruit-trees are frequently injured by these borers. The means
to be used for destroying them are similar to those employ-
ed against other borers, and will be explained in a subsequent
part of this essay. It may not be amiss, however, here to
remark, that wood-peckers are much more successful in discover-

COLEOPTERA. 43

ing the retreats of these borers, and in dragging out the defence-
less culprits from their burrows, than the most skilful gardener or
nurseryman.

Until within a few years the Buprestians were all included in
three or four genera. A great number of kinds have now become
known, probably six hundred or more. In a paper on these
insects, published by me in 1829, in the beginning of the eighth
volume of the " New England Farmer," the characters of several
groups were pointed out ; these have since been made into
genera, and many more new generical groups have been proposed
and described by European naturalists. As the insects belonging
to the greater number of these new genera do not differ essen-
tially from each other in their habits and transformations, I have
retained most of them in the old genus Buprestis, but have indi-
cated the new groups by enclosing the names given to them
within parentheses.

The largest of these beetles in this part of the United States is
the Buprestis (Chalcophora) Virginica of Drury, or Virginian
Buprestis. It is of an oblong oval form, brassy, or copper-colored ;
sometimes almost black, with hardly any metallic reflections.
The upper side of the body is roughly punctured ; the top of the
head is deeply indented ; on the thorax there are three polished
black elevated lines ; on each wing-cover are two small square
impressed spots, a long elevated smooth black line near the outer,
and another near the inner margin, with several short lines of the
same kind between them ; the under-side of the body is sparingly
covered with short whitish down. It measures from eight tenths
of an inch to one inch or more in length. This beetle appears
towards the end of May, and through the month of June, on pine-
trees and on fences. In the larva state it bores into the trunks of
the different kinds of pines, and is oftentimes very injurious to
these trees.

The wild cherry-tree (Prunus serotina), and also the gar-
den cherry and peach trees suffer severely from the attacks of
borers, which are transformed to the beetles called Buprestis (Di-
cerca) divaricata by Mr. Say, because the wing-covers divaricate
or spread apart a little at the tips. These beetles are copper-
colored, sometimes brassy above, and thickly covered with little

44 INSECTS OF MASSACHUSETTS.

punctures ; the thorax is slightly furrowed in the middle ; the
wing-covers are marked with numerous fine irregular impressed
lines and small oblong square elevated black spots ; they taper
very much behind, and the long and narrow tips are blunt-pointed :
the middle of the breast is furrowed ; and the males have a little
tooth on the under-side of the shanks of the intermediate legs.
They measure from seven to nine tenths of an inch. These
beetles may be found sunning themselves upon the limbs of cherry
and peach trees during the months of June, July, and August.

The borer of the hickory has already been described. It is
transformed to a beetle which appears to be the Buprestis (Di-
cerca) lurida* of Fabricius. It is of a lurid or dull brassy-color
above, bright copper beneath, and thickly punctured all over ;
there are numerous irregular impressed lines, and several narrow
elevated black spots on the wing-covers, the tip of each of which
ends with two little points. It measures from about six to eight
tenths of an inch in length. This kind of Buprestis appears dur-
ing the greater part of the summer on the trunks and limbs of the
hickory.

Buprestis (Chrysobothris) dentipesj of Germar, so named from
the little tooth on the under-side of the thick fore-legs, inhabits
the trunks of oak-trees. It completes its transformations and
comes out of the trees between the end of May and the first of
July. It is oblong oval and flattened, of a bronzed brownish or
purplish black color above, copper-colored beneath, and rough
like shagreen with numerous punctures ; the thorax is not so
wide as the hinder part of the body, its hinder margin is hollowed
on both sides to receive the rounded base of each wing-cover, and
there are two smooth elevated lines on the middle ; on each wing-
cover there are three irregular smooth elevated lines, which are
divided and interrupted by large thickly punctured impressed
spots, two of which are oblique ; the tips are rounded. Length
from one half to six tenths of an inch.

Buprestis ( Chrysobothris) femorata of Fabricius has the first
pair of thighs toothed beneath, like the preceding, which it resem-

* Buprestis obscura, F., found in the Middle and Southern States, closely resem-
bles the lurida.

I Buprestis characteristica, Harris. N. E. Farmer, Vol. viii. p. 2.

COLEOPTERA. 45

bles also in its form and general appearance. It is of a greenish
black color above, with a brassy polish, which is very distinct in
the two large transverse impressed spots on each wing-cover ;
and the thorax has no smooth elevated lines on it. It measures
from four tenths to above half of an inch in length. Its time of
appearance is from the end of May to the middle of July, during
which it may often be seen, in the middle of the day, resting upon
or flying round the trunks of white oak trees, and recently cut
timber of the same kind of wood. I have repeatedly taken it
upon and under the bark of peach-trees also. The grubs or larva?
bore into the trunks of these trees.

The Buprestis (Chrysobothris) fulvoguttata,* or tawny spotted
Buprestis, first described by me in the eighth volume of the " New
England Farmer," is proportionally shorter and more convex than
the two foregoing species. It is black and bronzed above, and
brassy beneath ; the thorax is covered with very fine wavy trans-
verse lines, and is sometimes copper-colored ; the wing-covers
are thickly punctured, and on each there are three small tawny
yellow spots, with sometimes an additional one by the side of the
first spot ; the tips are rounded, and the fore-legs are not toothed.
It varies very much in size, measuring from about three to four
tenths of an inch in length. I have taken this insect from the
trunks of the white pine in the month of June, and have seen
others that were found in the Oregon Territory.

Professor Hentz has described a small and broad beetle having
the form of the above, under the name of Buprestis (Chrysoboth-
ris) Harrisii. It is entirely of a brilliant blue-green color, except
the sides of the thorax, and the thighs, which, in the male, are
copper-colored. It measures a little more than three tenths of an
inch in length. The larvae of this species inhabit the small limbs
of the white pine, and young sapling trees of the same kind, upon
which I have repeatedly captured the beetles about the middle of
June.

These seven species form but a very small part of the Bupres-
tians inhabiting Massachusetts and the other New England States.

* Mr. Kirby has redescribed and figured this insect under the name of Buprestis
(Trachypteris) Drummondi, in the fourth volume of the " Fauna Boreali- Ameri-
cana."

4G INSECTS OF MASSACHUSETTS.

My knowledge of the habits of the others is not sufficiently per-
fect to render it worth while to insert descriptions of them here.
The concealed situation of the grubs of these beetles, in the
trunks and limbs of trees, renders it very difficult to discover and
dislodge them. When trees are found to be very much infested
by them, and are going to decay in consequence of the ravages of
these borers, it will be better to cut them down, and burn them
immediately, rather than to suffer them to stand until the borers
have completed their transformations and made their escape.

Closely related to the Buprestians are the Elaters, or spring-
beetles (ElateriDje), which are well known by the faculty they
have of throwing themselves upwards with a jerk, when laid on
their backs. On the under-side of the breast, between the bases
of the first pair of legs, there is a short blunt spine, the point of
which is usually concealed in a corresponding cavity behind it.
When the insect, by any accident, falls upon its back, its legs are
so short, and its back is so convex, that it is unable to turn itself
over. It then folds its legs close to its body, bends back the
head and thorax, and thus unsheaths its breast-spine ; then by
suddenly straightening its body, the point of the spine is made to
strike with force upon the edge of the sheath, which gives it the
power of a spring, and reacts on the body of the insect, so as to
throw it perpendicularly into the air. When it again falls, if it
does not come down upon its feet, it repeats its exertions until its
object is effected. In these beetles the body is of a hard con-
sistence, and is usually rather narrow and tapering behind. The
head is sunk to the eyes in the forepart of the thorax ; the an-
tennae are of moderate length, and more or less notched on the
inside like a saw. The thorax is as broad at base as the wing-
covers, it is usually rounded before, and the hinder angles are
sharp and prominent. The scutel is of moderate size. The legs
are rather short and slender, and the feet are five-jointed.

The larva? or grubs of the Elaters live upon wood and roots,
and are often very injurious to vegetation. Some are confined to
old or decaying trees, others devour the roots of herbaceous
plants. In England they are called wire-worms, from their slen-
derness and uncommon hardness. They are not to be confounded
with the American wire-worm, a species of lulus, which is not a

COLEOPTERA. 47

true insect, but belongs to the class Myriapoda, a name derived
from the great number of feet with which most of the animals
included in it are furnished ; whereas the English wire-worm has
only six feet. The European wire-worm is said to live, in its
feeding or larva state, not less than five years ; during the greater
part of which time it is supported by devouring the roots of
wheat, rye, oats, and grass, annually causing a large diminution of
the produce, and sometimes destroying whole crops. It is said to
be particularly injurious in gardens recently converted from pas-
ture lands. We have several grubs allied to this destructive
insect, which are quite common in land newly broken up ; but
fortunately, as yet, their ravages are inconsiderable. We may
expect these to increase in proportion as we disturb them and de-
prive them of their usual articles of food, while we continue also
to persecute and destroy their natural enemies, the birds, and
may then be obliged to resort to the ingenious method adopted by
European farmers and gardeners for alluring and capturing these
grubs. This method consists in strewing sliced potatoes or tur-
nips in rows through the garden or field ; women and boys are
employed to examine the slices every morning, and collect the
insects which readily come to feed upon the bait. Some of these
destructive insects, which I have found in the ground among the
roots of plants, were long, slender, worm-like grubs, closely re-
sembling the common meal-worm ; they were nearly cylindrical,
with a hard and smooth skin, of a buff or brownish yellow color,
the head and tail only being a little darker ; each of the first three
rings was provided with a pair of short legs ; the hindmost ring
was longer than the preceding one, was pointed at the end, and
had a little pit on each side of the extremity ; beneath this part
there was a short retractile wart, or prop-leg, serving to support
the extremity of the body, and prevent it from trailing on the
ground. Other grubs of Elaters differ from the foregoing in being
proportionally broader, not cylindrical, but somewhat flattened,
with a deep notch at the extremity of the last ring, the sides of
which are beset with little teeth. Such grubs are mostly wood-
eaters, devouring the woody parts of roots, or living under the
bark and in the trunks of old trees.

After their last transformation, Elaters or spring-beetles make

48 INSECTS OF MASSACHUSETTS.

their appearance upon trees and fences, and some are found on
flowers. They creep slowly, and generally fall to the ground on
being touched. They fly both by day and night. Their food, in
the beetle states, appears to be chiefly derived from flowers ; but
some devour the tender leaves of plants. Most of the insects of
this family were included in the genus Elater, which has recently
been subdivided into many smaller groups. These, in the few
species which I propose to describe, will be indicated by having
their names enclosed within parentheses.

The largest of our spring-beetles is the Elater (dlaus) ocula-
tus, of Linnaeus. It is of a black color ; the thorax is oblong
square, and nearly one third the length of the whole body, cov-
ered above with a whitish powder, and with a large oval velvet-
black spot, like an eye, on each side of the middle, from which
the insect derives its name oculatus, or eyed ; the wing-covers are
marked with slender longitudinal impressed lines, and are sprinkled
with numerous white dots ; the under-side of the body, and the
legs, are covered with a white mealy powder. This large beetle
measures from one inch and a quarter to one inch and three quar-
ters in length. It is found on trees, fences, and the sides of
buildings, in June and July. It undergoes its transformations in
the trunks of trees. I have found many of them in old apple-
trees, together with their larva?, which eat the wood, and from
which I subsequently obtained the insects in the beetle state.
These larva? are reddish yellow grubs, proportionally much
broader than the other kinds, and very much flattened. One of
them, which was found fully grown early in April, measured two
inches and a half in length, and nearly four tenths of an inch
across the middle of the body, and was not much narrowed at
either extremity. The head was broad, brownish, and rough
above ; the upper jaws or nippers were very strong, curved, and
pointed ; the eyes were small and two in number, one being
placed at the base of each of the short antenna? ; the last segment
of the body was blackish, rough with little sharp-pointed warts,
with a deep semicircular notch at the end, and furnished around
the sides with little teeth, the two hindmost of which were long,
forked, and curved upwards like hooks ; under this segment was
a large retractile fleshy prop-foot, armed behind with little claws,

COLEOPTERA. 49

and around the sides with short spines ; the true legs were six, a
pair to eacli of the first three rings ; and were tipped with a single
claw. Soon after this grub was found it cast its skin and became
a pupa, and in due time the latter was transformed to a beetle.

Elater ( fyrophorus) noctilucus, the night-shining Elater, is the
celebrated cucuio or fire-beetle of the West Indies, from whence
it is frequently brought alive to this country. It resembles the
preceding insect somewhat in form, and is an inch or more in
length. It gives out a strong light from two transparent eye-like
spots on the thorax, and from the segments of its body beneath.
It eats the pulpy substance of the sugar-cane, and its grub is said
to be very injurious to this plant, by devouring its roots.

The next two common Elaters, together with several other
species, are distinguished by their claws, which resemble little
combs, being furnished with a row of fine teeth along the under-
side. The thorax is short and rounded before, and the body
tapers behind. They are found under the bark of trees, where
they pass the winter, having completed their transformations in the
previous autumn. Their grubs live in wood. The first of these
beetles is the ash-colored Elater, Elater (Melanotus) cinereus of
Weber. It is about six tenths of an inch long, and is dark
brown, but covered with short gray hairs, which give it an ashen
hue ; the thorax is convex ; and the wing-covers are marked
with lines of punctures, resembling stitches. It is found on fen-
ces, the trunks of trees, and in paths, in April and May.

Elater (J)Jelanotus) communis of Schonherr, is, as its name im-
plies, an exceedingly common and abundant species. It closely
resembles the preceding, but is smaller, seldom exceeding half an
inch in length ; it is also rather lighter colored ; the thorax is
proportionally a little longer, not so convex, and has a slender
longitudinal furrow in the middle. This Elater appears in the
same places as the cinereus in April, May, and June ; and the
recently transformed beetles can also be found in the autumn un-
der the bark of trees, where they pass the winter.

Another kind of spring-beetle, which absolutely swarms in
paths and among the grass during the warmest and brightest days
in April and May, is the Elater (Ludius) appressifrons of Say.
Its specific name probably refers to the front of the head or visor

7

50 INSECTS OF MASSACHUSETTS.

being pressed downwards over the lip. The body is slender and
almost cylindrical, of a deep chestnut-brown color, rendered gray,
however, by the numerous short yellowish hairs with which it is
covered ; the thorax is of moderate length, not much narrowed
before, convex above, with very long and sharp-pointed hinder
angles, and in certain lights has a brassy hue ; the wing-covers
are finely punctured, and have very slender impressed longitudinal
lines upon them ; the claws are not toothed beneath. This
beetle usually measures from four to five tenths of an inch in
length ; but the females frequently greatly exceed these dimen-
sions, and, being much more robust, with a more convex thorax,
were supposed by Mr. Say to belong to a different species, named
by him brevicornis, the short-horned. The larvae are not yet
known to me ; but I have strong reasons for thinking that they
live in the ground upon the roots of the perennial grasses and
other herbaceous plants.

Although above sixty different kinds of spring-beetles are now
known to inhabit Massachusetts, I shall add to the foregoing a
description of only one more species. This is the Elater (Agri-
otes) obesus of Say. It is a short and thick beetle, as the specific
name implies ; its real color is a dark brown, but it is covered
with dirty yellowish gray hairs, which on the wing-covers are
arranged in longitudinal stripes ; the head and thorax are thickly
punctured, and the wing-covers are punctured in rows. Its
length is about three tenths of an inch. This beetle closely re-
sembles one of the kinds, which, in the grub state, is called the
wire-worm in Europe, and possibly it may be the same. This
circumstance should put us on our guard against its depredations.
It is found in April, May, and June, among the roots of grass, on
the under-side of boards and rails on the ground, and sometimes
also on fences.

The utility of a knowledge of the natural history of insects in
the practical arts of life was never more strikingly and triumphantly
proved than by Linnaeus himself, who, while giving to natural
science its language and its laws, neglected no opportunity to
point out its economical advantages.* On one occasion this great

"Seethe preface to Smith's " Introduction to Botany," and Pulteuey's " View of
the Writings of Linnaeus" for several examples, one of which it may not be amiss

COLEOPTERA. 51

naturalist was consulted by the King of Sweden upon the cause of
the decay and destruction of the ship-timber in the royal dock-
yards, and, having traced it to the depredations of insects, and
ascertained the history of the depredators, by directing the timber
to be sunk under water during the season when these insects made
their appearance in the winged state, and were busied in laying
their eggs, he effectually secured it from future attacks. The
name of these insects is Lymexylon navale, the naval timber-
destroyer. They have since increased to an alarming extent in
some of the dockyards of France, and in one of them, at least,
have become very injurious, wholly in consequence of the neglect
of seasonable advice given by a naval officer, who was also an
entomologist, and pointed out the source of the injury, together
with the remedy to be applied.

These destructive insects belong to a family called Lymexyl-
id^e, which may be rendered timber-beetles. They cannot be
far removed from the Buprestians and the spring-beetles in a
natural arrangement.* From the latter, however, the insects of
this small group are distinguished by having the head broad before,
narrowed behind, and not sunk into the thorax ; they have not the
breast-spine of the Elaters, and their legs are close together, and
not separated from each other by a broad breast-bone as in the
Buprestians ; and the hip-joints are long, and not sunk into the
breast. In the principal insects of this family the antenna; are
short, and, from the third joint, flattened, widened, and saw-
toothed on the inside ; and the jaw-feelers of the males have a
singular fringed piece attached to them. The body is long, nar-

to mention here. Linnreus was the first to point out the advantages to be derived
from employing the Arundo arenaria, or beach-grass, in fixing the sands of the
shore, and thereby preventing the encroachments of the sea. The Dutch have
long availed themselves of his suggestion, and its utility has been tested to some
extent in Massachusetts.

* Immediately after the Elateridce are arranged the Cebrionidce, by common con.
sent. Next to these I put the Lymexylidce, which resemble Sandalus, one of the
Cebrionidce, in their antennae. The sericeum, above described, probably not a true
Lymexylon, was included among the Cebrionidce in my Catalogue. According to
my present views the Ptinidce and Cleridce should follow the Lymexylidce ; Eno-
plium and Tillus among the latter having some resemblance to Lymexylon, &c,
and agreeing therewith in habits also.

52 INSECTS OF MASSACHUSETTS.

row, nearly cylindrical, and not so firm and hard as in the Ela-
ters. The feet are five-jointed, long, and slender.

The larva? of Lymexylon and Hyleccetus are very odd-looking,
long, and slender grubs. The head is small ; the first ring is very
much hunched ; and on the top of the last ring there is a fleshy
appendage, resembling a leaf in Lymexylon, and like a straight
horn in Hylecatus. They have six short legs near the head.
These grubs inhabit oak-trees, and make long cylindrical burrows
in the solid wood. They are also found in some other kinds of
trees.

Only a few native insects of this family are known to me, and
these fortunately seem to be rare in New England. I shall de-
scribe only two of them. The first was obtained by beating the
limbs of some forest-tree. It may be called LiijmcxyJon sericeum,
the silky timber-beetle. It is of a chestnut-brown color above,
and covered with very short shining yellowish hairs, which give it
a silky lustre. The head is bowed down beneath the forepart of
the thorax ; the eyes are very large, and almost meet above and
below ; the antennae are brownish red, widened and compressed
from the fourth to the last joint inclusive ; the thorax is longer
than wide, rounded before, convex above, and deeply indented on
each side of the base ; the wing-covers are convex, gradually
taper behind, and do not cover the tip of the abdomen ; the under-
side of the body, and the legs, are brownish red. Its length is from
four to six tenths of an inch. This insect was unknown to Mr.
Say, and does not seem to have been described before.

The generical name Hyleccetus, given to some insects of this
family, means a sleeper in the woods, or one who makes his bed
in the forest. We have one hitherto undescribed species, which
may be culled Hyleccetus JJmcricanits, the American timber-bee-
tle. Its head, thorax, abdomen, and legs are light brownish red ;
the wing-covers, except at the base where they are also red, and
the breast, between the middle and hindmost legs, are black. The
head is not bowed down under the forepart of the thorax ; the
eyes are small and black, and on the middle of the forehead there
is one small reddish eyelet, a character unusual among beetles,
very few of which have eyelets ; the antennae resemble those of
Jjymexylon sericeum, but are shorter ; the thorax is nearly square,

COLEOPTERA. 53

but wider than, long; and on each wing-cover there are three
slightly elevated longitudinal lines or ribs. This beetle is about
four tenths of an inch long. It appears on the wing in July.

The foregoing beetles, though differing much in form and habits,
possess one character in common ; namely, their feet are five-
jointed. Those that follow have four-jointed feet. In this great
section of Coleopterous insects are arranged the Weevil tribe, the
Capricorn beetles or long-horned borers, and various kinds of leaf-
eating beetles, all of which are exceedingly injurious to vegetation.

So great is the extent of the Weevil tribe,* and so imperfectly
known is the history of a large part of our native species, that I
shall be obliged to confine myself to an account of a few only of
the most remarkable weevils, and principally those that have be-
come most known for their depredations. Mr. Kollar's excellent
" Treatise on Insects injurious to Gardeners, Foresters, and Farm-
ers," contains an account of several kinds of weevils that are un-
known in this country ; and indeed but few resembling them have
hitherto been discovered here. Should future observations lead
to the detection in our gardens and orchards of any like those
which in Europe attack the vine, the plum, the apple, the pear,
and the leaves and stems of fruit-trees, the work of Mr. Kollar
may be consulted with great advantage.

Weevils, in the winged state, are hard-shelled beetles, and are
distinguished from other insects by having the forepart of the
head prolonged into a broad muzzle or a longer and more slender
snout, in the end of which the opening of the mouth and the small
horny jaws are placed. The flies and moths produced from
certain young insects, called weevils by mistake, do not possess
these characters, and their larvae or young differ essentially from
those of the true weevils. The latter belong to a group called
Rhynchophorid^e, literally, snout-bearers. These beetles are
mostly of small size. Their antennae are usually knobbed at the
end, and are situated on the muzzle or snout, on each side of which
there is generally a short groove to receive the base of the antennae

* See page 19.

54 INSECTS OF MASSACHUSETTS.

when the latter are turned backwards. Their feelers are very
small, and, in most kinds, are concealed within the mouth. The
abdomen is often of an oval form, and wider than the thorax.
The legs are short, not fitted for running or digging, and the soles
of the feet are short and flattened. These beetles are often very
hurtful to plants, by 'boring into the leaves, bark, buds, fruit, and
seeds, and feeding upon the soft substance therein contained.
They are diurnal insects, and love to come out of their retreats
and enjoy the sunshine. Some of them fly well ; but others have
no wings, or only very short ones, under .the wing-cases, and are
therefore unable to fly. They walk slowly, and being of a timid
nature, and without the means of defence, when alarmed they turn
back their antennae under the snout, fold up their legs, and fall
from the plants on which they live. They make use of their
snouts not only in feeding, but in boring holes, into which they
afterwards drop their eggs.

The young of these snout-beetles are mostly short fleshy grubs,
of a whitish color, and without legs. The covering of their
heads is a hard shell, and the rings of their bodies are very convex
or hunched, by both of which characters they are easily distin-
guished from the maggots of flies. Their jaws are strong and
horny, and with them they gnaw those parts of plants which
serve for their food. It is in the grub-state that weevils are most
injurious to vegetation. Some of them bore into and spoil fruits,
grain, and seeds ; some attack the leaves and stems of plants,
causing them to swell and become cankered ; while others pene-
trate into the solid wood, interrupt the course of the sap, and oc-
casion the branch above the seat of attack to wither and die.
Most of these grubs are transformed within the vegetable substan-
ces upon which they have lived ; some, however, when fully
grown, go into the ground, where they are changed to pupae, and
afterwards to beetles.

In the spring of the year we often find, among seed-pease, many
that have holes in them ; and, if the pease have not been exposed
to the light and air, we see a little insect peeping out of each of
these holes, and waiting apparently for an opportunity to come
forth and make its escape. If we turn out the creature from its
cell, we perceive it to be a small oval beetle, rather more than

COLEOPTERA. 55

one tenth of an inch long, of a rusty black color, with a white spot
on the hinder part of the thorax, four or five white dots behind the
middle of each wing-cover, and a white spot, shaped like the
letter T, on the exposed extremity of the body. This little insect
is the Bruchus Pisi of Linnaeus, the pea-Bruchus, or pea-weevil,
but is better known in America by the incorrect name of pea-bug.
The original meaning of the word Bruchus is a devourer, and the
insects to which it is applied well deserve this name, for, in the
larva state, they devour the interior of seeds, often leaving but
little more than the hull untouched. They belong to a family of
the great weevil tribe called Bruchice, and are distinguished
from other weevils by the following characters. The body is
oval, and slightly convex ; the head is bent downwards, so that
the broad muzzle, when the insects are not eating, rests upon the
breast ; the antennae are short, straight, and saw-toothed within,
and are inserted close to a deep notch in each of the eyes ; the
feelers, though very small, are visible ; the wing-cases do not
cover the end of the abdomen ; and the hindmost thighs are very
thick, and often notched or toothed on the under-side, as is the
case in the pea-weevil. The habits of the Bruchians and their larvae
are similar to those of the pea-weevil, which remain to be de-
scribed. It may be well, however, to state here that these beetles
frequent the leguminous or pod-bearing plants, such as the pea,
Gleditsia, Robinia, Mimosa, Cassia, &c, during and immediately
after the flowering season ; they pierce the tender pods of these
plants, and commonly lay only one egg in each seed, the pulp of
which suffices for the food of the little maggot-like grub hatched
therein.

Few persons while indulging in the luxury of early green pease
are aware how many insects they unconsciously swallow. When
the pods are carefully examined, small, discolored spots may be
seen within them, each one corresponding to a similar spot on the
opposite pea. If this spot in the pea be opened, a minute whitish
grub, destitute of feet, will be found therein. It is the weevil in
its larva form, which lives upon the marrow of the pea, and arrives
at its full size by the time that the pea becomes dry. This larva
or grub then bores a round hole from the hollow in the centre of
the pea quite to the hull, but leaves the latter and generally the

56 INSECTS OF MASSACHUSETTS.

germ of the future sprout untouched. Hence these buggy pease,
as they are called by seedsmen and gardeners, will frequently
sprout and grow when planted. The grub is changed to a pupa
within its hole in the pea in the autumn, and before the spring
casts its skin again, becomes a beetle, and gnaws a hole through
the thin hull in order to make its escape into the air, which fre-
quently does not happen before the pease are planted for an early
crop. After the pea-vines have flowered, and while the pods are
young and tender, and the pease within them are just beginning to
swell, the beetles gather upon them, pierce the pods, and deposit
their tiny eggs in the punctures. This is done only during the
night, or in cloudy weather. Each egg is always placed opposite
to a pea ; the grubs, as soon as they are hatched, penetrate the
pod and bury themselves in the pease ; and the holes through
which they pass are so fine as hardly to be perceived, and are
soon closed. Sometimes every pea in a pod will be found to con-
tain a weevil-grub ; and so great has been the injury to the crop in
some parts of the country that the inhabitants have been obliged to
give up the cultivation of this vegetable.* These insects, as Mr.
Deane has observed, diminish the weight of the pease in which
they lodge, nearly one half, and their leavings are fit only for the
food of swine. This occasions a great loss, where pease are
raised for feeding stock or for family use, as they are in many
places. Those persons, who eat whole pease in the winter after
they are raised, run the risk of eating the weevils also ; but if the
pease are kept till they are a year old, the insects will entirely
leave them.

The pea-weevil is supposed to be a native of the United States.
It seems to have been first noticed in Pennsylvania, many years
ago ; and has gradually spread from thence to New Jersey, New
York, Connecticut, Rhode Island, and Massachusetts. It is yet
rare in New Hampshire, and I believe has not appeared in the
eastern parts of Maine. It is unknown in the North of Europe, as
we learn from the interesting account given of it by Kalm, the
Swedish traveller, who tells us of the fear with which he was filled,
on finding some of these weevils in a parcel of pease which he had

See Kalm's Travels. 8vo. Wairington. 1770. Vol. I. p. 173.

COLEOPTERA. 57

carried home from America, having in view the whole damage
which his heloved country would have suffered, if only two or
three of these noxious insects had escaped him. They are now
common in the South of Europe and in England, whither they
may have been carried from this country. As the cultivated pea
was not originally a native of America, it would be interesting to
ascertain what plants the pea-weevil formerly inhabited. That it
should have preferred the prolific exotic pea to any of our indi-
genous and less productive pulse, is not a matter of surprise, anal-
ogous facts being of common occurrence ; but that, for so many
years, a rational method for checking its ravages should not have
been practised, is somewhat remarkable. An exceedingly simple
one is recommended by Deane, but to be successful it should be
universally adopted. It consists merely in keeping seed-pease
in tight vessels over one year before planting them. Latreille
and others recommend putting them, just before they are to be
planted, into hot water for a minute or two, by which means the
weevils will be killed, and the sprouting of the pease will be
quickened. The insect is limited to a certain period for deposit-
ing its eggs ; late sown pease therefore escape its attacks. The
late Colonel Pickering observed that those sown in Pennsylvania
as late as the 20th of May, were entirely free from weevils ; and
Colonel Worthington, of Rensselaer county, New York, who
sowed his pease on the 10th of June, six years in succession,
never found an insect in them during that period.

The crow black-bird is said to devour great numbers of the
beetles in the spring ; and the Baltimore oriole or hang-bird
splits open the green pods for the sake of the grubs contained in
the pease, thereby contributing greatly to prevent the increase of
these noxious insects. The instinct that enables this beautiful
bird to detect the lurking grub, concealed, as the latter is, within
the pod and the hull of the pea, is worthy our highest admiration ;
and the goodness of Providence, which has endowed it with this
faculty, is still further shown in the economy of the insects also,
which, through His prospective care, are not only limited in the
season of their depredations, but are instinctively taught to spare
the germs of the pease, thereby securing a succession of crops for
our benefit and that of their own progeny.
8

58 INSECTS OF MASSACHUSETTS.

The Attelabians (Attelabidje) are distinguished from the
Bruchians by the form and greater length of the head, which is a
little inclined, and ends with a snout, sometimes short and thick,
and sometimes long, slender, and curved. The eyes also are
round and entire ; and the antenna? are usually implanted near the
middle of the snout. The larvae resemble those of most of the
snout-beetles, being short, thick, whitish grubs, with horny heads,
the rings of the body very much hunched, and deprived of legs,
the place of which is supplied by fleshy warts along the under-side
of the body. Some of the European insects of this family are
known to be very injurious to the leaves, fruits, and seeds of
plants.

The different kinds of Attelabus are said to roll up the edges
of leaves, thereby forming little nests, of the shape and size of
thimbles, to contain their eggs, and to shelter their young, which
afterwards devour the leaves. The larva? and habits of our native
species are unknown to me. The most common one here is the
Attelabus analis of Weber, or the red-tailed Attelabus. It is one
quarter of an inch long from the tip of the thick snout to the end
of the body. The head, which is nearly cylindrical, the antennae,
legs, and middle of the breast are deep blue-black ; the thorax,
wing-covers, and abdomen are dull red ; the wing-covers taken
together, are nearly square, and are punctured in rows. This
beetle is found on the leaves of oak-trees in June and July.

The two-spotted Attelabus, Attelabus bipustulatus of Fabricius,
is also found on oak-leaves during the same season as the preced-
ing. It is of a deep blue-black color, with a square dull red spot
on the shoulders of each wing-cover. It measures rather more
than one eighth of an inch in length.

Two or three beetles of this family are very hurtful to the vine,
in Europe, by nibbling the midrib of the leaves, so that the latter
may be rolled up to form a retreat for their young. They also
puncture the buds and the tender fruit of this and of other plains.
In consequence of the damage, caused by them and by their
larvae, whole vineyards are sometimes stripped of their leaves, and
fruit-trees are despoiled of their foliage and fruits. These insects
belong to the genus Rhijnchites, a name given to them in allusion
to their snouts. I have not seen any of them on vines or fruit-

COLEO?TERA. 59

trees in this country. The largest one found here is the Rhyn-
chites bicolor of Fabricius, or two-colored Rhynchites. This
insect is met with in June, July, and August, on cultivated and
wild rose-bushes, sometimes in considerable numbers. That they
injure these plants is highly probable, but the nature and extent of
the injury is not certainly known. The whole of the upper
side of this beetle is red, except the rather long and slender
snout, which, together with the antennae, legs, and under-side of
the body, is black ; it is thickly covered with small punctures,
and is slightly downy, and there are rows of larger punctures on
the wing-covers. It measures one fifth of an inch from the eyes
to the tip of the abdomen.

The grubs of many kinds of Apion destroy the seeds of plants.
In Europe they do much mischief to clover in this way. They
receive the above name from the shape of the beetles, which
resembles that of a pear. Say's Apion, Apion Sayi* of Schon-
herr, is a minute black species, not more than one tenth of an inch
long, exclusive of the slender sharp-pointed snout. Its grubs live
in the pods of the common wild indigo bush, Baptisia tinctoria,
devouring the seeds. A smaller kind, somewhat like it, inhabits
the pods and eats the seeds of the locust-tree, or Robinia pseud-
acacia.

Naturalists place here a little group of snout-beetles, called
BrenthiDjE, or Brenthians, which differ entirely in their forms
from the other weevils, both in the beetle and, grub state.
They have a long, narrow, and cylindrical body. The snout pro-
jects from the head in a straight line with the body, and varies in
shape according to the sex of the insect, and even in individuals of
the same sex. In the males it is broad and flat, sometimes as
long as the thorax, sometimes much shorter, and it is widened at
the tip, where are situated two strong nippers or upper jaws ; in
the females it is long, very slender, and not enlarged at the ex-
tremity, and the nippers are not visible to the naked eye. The
feelers are too small to be seen. The antennae are short, straight,
slightly thickened towards the tip, and implanted before the prom-
inent eyes, on the middle of the snout in the males, and at the

* Apion rostrum, Say.

60 INSECTS OF MASSACHUSETTS.

base of it in the females. The legs are short, the first pair being
the largest, and the hindmost unusually distant from the middle
pair. These insects live under the bark and in the trunks of
trees, but very little has been published respecting their habits ;
and the only description of their larvae that has hitherto appeared
is contained in my first Report on the Insects of Massachusetts,
printed in the year 1838, in the seventy-second number of the
Documents of the House of Representatives.

The only beetle of this family known in the New England
States is the Brent hits (Arrhenodes) scptemlrionis* of Herbst,
the northern Brenthus, so named because most of the other spe-
cies are tropical insects. It is of a mahogany-brown color ; the
wing-cases are somewhat darker, ornamented with narrow tawny
yellow spots, and marked with deep furrows, the sides of which
are punctured ; the thorax is nearly egg-shaped, broadest behind
the middle, and highly polished. The common length of this
insect, including the snout, is six tenths of an inch ; but much
larger as well as smaller specimens frequently occur. The north-
ern Brenthus inhabits the white oak, on the trunks and under the
bark of which it may be found in June and July, having then
completed its transformations. The female, when about to lay
her eggs, punctures the bark with her slender snout, and drops an
egg in each hole thus made. The grub, as soon as it is hatched,
bores into the solid wood, forming a cylindrical passage, which it
keeps clear by pushing its castings out of the orifice of the hole,
as fast as they accumulate. These castings or chips are like very
fine saw-dust ; and the holes made by the insects are easily dis-
covered by the dust around them. When fully grown, the grub
measures rather more than an inch in length, and not quite one
tenth of an inch in thickness. It is nearly cylindrical, being only
a little flattened on the under-side, and is of a whitish color, ex-
cept the last segment, which is dark chestnut-brown. Each of
the first three segments is provided with a pair of legs, and there
is a fleshy prop-leg under the hinder extremity of the body. The
last segment is of a horny consistence, and is obliquely hollowed

* A mistake undoubtedly for scptcmtrionalis. It is the Brenthus marillusus of
Olivier and tichonherr.

COLEOPTERA. 61

at the end, so as to form a kind of gouge or scoop, the edges of
which are furnished with little notches or teeth. It is by means
of this singular scoop that the grub shovels the minute grains of
wood out of its burrow. The pupa is met with in the burrow
formed by the larva. It is of a yellowish white color ; the head
is bent under the thorax, and the snout rests on the breast be-
tween the folded legs and wings ; the back is furnished with
transverse rows of little thorns or sharp teeth, and there are two
larger thorns at the extremity of the body. These minute thorns
probably enable the pupa to move towards the mouth of its bur-
row when it is about to be transformed, and may serve also to
keep its body steady during its exertions in casting off its pupa-
skin. These insects are most abundant in trees that have been
cut down for timber or fuel, which are generally attacked during
the first summer after they are felled ; it has also been ascertained
that living trees do not always escape, but those that are in full
vigor are rarely perforated by grubs of this kind. The credit of
discovering the habits and transformations of the northern Eren-
thus is due to the Rev. L. W. Leonard, of Dublin, New Hamp-
shire, who has favored me with specimens in all their forms.
This insect is now known to inhabit nearly all the States in the
Union. I am inclined to think that the Brenthians ought to be
placed at the end of the weevil tribe ; but 1 have not ventured to
alter the arrangement generally adopted.

The rest of the weevils are short and thick beetles, differing
from all the preceding in their antenna?, which are bent or elbowed
near the middle, the first joint being much longer than the rest.
Their feelers are not perceptible. They belong to the family
Curculionid^:, so called from the principal genus Ciirculio, a
name given by the Romans to the corn-weevil. The Curculio-
nians vary in the form, length, and direction of their snouts.
Those belonging to the old genus Lurculio have short and thick
snouts, at the extremity of which, and near to the sides of the
mouth, the antenna? are implanted ; those to which the name of
Rhynchitnus was formerly applied have longer and more slender
snouts, usually bearing the antennae on or just behind the middle ;
and the third great genus, called Cala?idra, contains long-snouted
beetles, whose antenna? are fixed just before the eyes at the base of

62 INSECTS OF MASSACHUSETTS.

the snout. These weevils, being very numerous, and differing also
greatly in their forms and habits, have latterly been divided into a
great number of genera, distinguished from each other by more or
less striking peculiarities. The convenience and simplicity of the
former arrangement has induced me to retain the old names Cur-
culio, RhynchcenuS) and Calandra, for the few species to be here
described, while the names of the new genera, to which they have
been referred, will be included within parentheses.

Curculio (Pandeleteius) hilaris of Herbst, which we may call
the gray-sided Curculio, is a little pale brown beetle, variegated
with gray upon the sides. Its snout is short, broad, and slightly
furrowed in the middle ; there are three blackish stripes on the
thorax, between which are two of a light gray color ; the wing-
covers have a broad stripe of light gray on the outer side, edged
within by a slender blackish line, and sending two short oblique
branches almost across each wing-cover ; and the fore-legs are
much larger than the others. The length of this beetle varies
from one eighth to one fifth of an inch. The larva lives in the
trunks of the white oak, on which the beetles may be found about
the last of May and the beginning of June.

The Pales weevil, Curculio (Hylobius) Pales of Herbst, is a
beetle of a deep chestnut-brown color, having a line and a few
dots of a yellowish white color on the thorax, and many small
yellowish white spots sprinkled over the wing-covers. All the
thighs are toothed beneath, and the snout is slender, cylindrical,
inclined, and nearly as long as the thorax. On account of the
length of the snout this insect has been placed in the genus Rhyn-
chcenus by some naturalists ; but the antennae are implanted before
the middle of the snout, and not far from the sides of the mouth.
This beetle measures from two to three eighths of an inch in
length, exclusive of the snout. It may be found in great abun-
dance, in May and June, on board-fences, the sides of new wooden
buildings, and on the trunks of pine-trees. I have discovered
them, in considerable numbers, under the bark of the pitch-pine.
The larvae, which do not materially differ from those of other
weevils, inhabit these and probably other kinds of pines, doing
sometimes immense injury to them. Wilson, the ornithologist,

COLEOPTERA. G3

describes the depredations of these insects, in his account* of the
ivory-billed wood-pecker, in the following words. " Would it be
believed that the larvae of an insect, or fly, no larger than a grain
of rice, should silently, and in one season, destroy some thousand
acres of pine trees, many of them from two to three feet in diam-
eter, and a hundred and fifty feet high ! Yet whoever passes along
the high road from Georgetown to Charleston, in South Carolina,
about twenty miles from the former place, can have striking and
melancholy proofs of the fact. In some places the whole woods,
as far as you can see around you, are dead, stripped of the bark,
their wintry-looking arms and bare trunks bleaching in the sun,
and tumbling in ruins before every blast, presenting a frightful
picture of desolation. Until some effectual preventive or more
complete remedy can be devised against these insects, and their
larvae, I would humbly suggest the propriety of protecting, and
receiving with proper feelings of gratitude, the services of this and
the whole tribe of wood-peckers, letting the odium of guilt fall to
its proper owners." Some years ago Mr. Nuttall kindly procured
for me, near the place above mentioned, specimens of the destruc-
tive insects referred to by Wilson. They were of three kinds.
Those in greatest abundance were the Pales weevil. One of the
others was a larger, darker-colored weevil, without white spots on
it, and named Hylobius picivorus, by Germar and Schonherr, or
the pitch-eating weevil; it is seldom found in Massachusetts.
The third was the white pine weevil to be next described. It is
said that these beetles puncture the buds and the tender bark of
the small branches, and feed upon the juice, and that the young
shoots are often so much injured by them as to die and break off
at the wounded part. But it is in the larva state that they are
found to be most hurtful to the pines. The larva? live under the
bark, devouring its soft inner surface, and the tender newly
formed wood. When they abound, as they do in some of our
pine forests, they separate large pieces of bark from the wood be-
neath, in consequence of which the part perishes, and the tree
itself soon languishes and dies.

The white pine weevil, Rhynchcenus (Pissodes) Strobi-[, of

* American Ornithology. Vol. IV. p. 21.
t Pissodes nemorcnsis of Germar.

64 INSECTS OF MASSACHUSETTS.

Professor Peck, unites with the two preceding insects in destroy-
ing the pines of this country, as above described. But it employs
also another mode of attack on the white pine, of which an inter-
esting account is given by the late Professor Peck, the first de-
scriber of the insect, in the fourth volume of the " Massachusetts
Agricultural Repository and Journal," accompanied by figures of
the insect. The lofty stature of the white pine, and the straight-
ness of its trunk depend, as Professor Peck has remarked, upon
the constant health of its leading shoot, for a long succession of
years ; and if this shoot be destroyed, the tree becomes stunted
and deformed in its subsequent growth. This accident is not un-
common, and is caused by the ravages of the white pine wee-
vil. This beetle is oblong oval, rather slender, of a brownish
color, thickly punctured, and variegated with small brown, rust-
colored, and whitish scales. There are two white dots on the
thorax ; the scutel is white ; and on the wing-covers, which are
punctured in rows, there is a whitish transverse band behind the
middle. The snout is longer than the thorax, slender, and a very
little inclined. The length of this insect, exclusive of its snout,
varies from one fifth to three tenths of an inch. Its eggs are de-
posited on the leading shoot of the pine, probably immediately
under the outer bark. The larvae, hatched therefrom, bore into the
shoot in various directions, and probably remain in the wood more
than one year. When the feeding state is passed, but before the
insect is changed to a pupa, it gnaws a passage from the inside
quite to the bark, which, however, remaining untouched, serves
to shelter the little borers from the weather. After they have
changed to beetles, they have only to cut away the outer bark to
make their escape. They begin to come out early in September,
and continue to leave the wood through that month and a part of
October. The shoot at this time will be found pierced with
small round holes on all sides ; sometimes thirty or forty may be
counted on one shoot. Professor Peck has observed that an un-
limited increase is not permitted to this destructive insect ; and
that if it were, our forests would not produce a single mast. One
of the means appointed to restrain the increase of the white pine
weevil is a species of ichneumon-fly, endued with sagacity to dis-
cover the retreat of the larva, the body of which it stings, and

COLEOPTERA. 65

therein deposits an egg. From the latter a grub is hatched,
which devours the larva of the weevil, and is subsequently trans-
formed to a four-winged fly, in the habitation prepared for it. The
most effectual remedy against the increase of these weevils is to
cut off the shoot in August, or as soon as it is perceived to be
dead, and commit it, with its inhabitants, to the fire. Such is the
substance of Professor Peck's history of this insect ; to which
may be added, that the beetles are found in great numbers, in
April and May, on fences, buildings, and pine-trees ; that they
probably secrete themselves during the winter in the crevices of
the bark, or about the roots of the trees, and deposit their eggs in
the spring ; or they may not usually leave the trees before spring.

Perhaps the method used for decoying the pine-eating beetles
in Europe may be practised here with advantage. It consists in
sticking some newly cut branches of pine-trees in the ground, in
an open place, during the season when the insects are about to lay
their eggs. In a few hours these branches will be covered with
the beetles, which may be shaken into a cloth and burned.

There are some of the long-snouted weevils which inhabit nuts
of various kinds. Hence they are called nut-weevils, and belong
chiefly to the modern genus Bulaninus, a name that signifies liv-
ing or being in a nut. The common nut-weevil of Europe lays
her eggs in the hazel-nut and filbert, having previously bored a
hole for that purpose with her long and slender snout, while the
fruit is young and tender, and dropping only one egg in each nut
thus pricked. A little grub is soon hatched from the egg, and
begins immediately to devour the soft kernel. Notwithstanding
this, the nut continues to increase in size, and, by the time that it
is ripe and ready to fall, its little inhabitant also comes to its
growth, gnaws a round hole in the shell, through which it after-
wards makes its escape, and burrows in the ground. Here it
remains unchanged through the winter, and in the following sum-
mer, having completed its transformations, it comes out of the
ground a beetle.

In this country weevil-grubs are very common in hazel-nuts,
chestnuts, and acorns ; but I have not hitherto been able to rear
any of them to the beetle state. The most common of the nut-
weevils known to me appears to be the Rhynchcenus (Balaninus)

9

66 INSECTS OF MASSACHUSETTS.

nasicus of Say ; the long-snouted nut-weevil. Its form is oval,
and its ground color dark brown ; but it is clothed with very
short rust-yellow flattened hairs, which more or less conceal its
original color, and are disposed in spots on its wing-covers. The
snout is brown and polished, longer than the whole body, as slen-
der as a bristle, of equal thickness from one end to the other, and
slightly curved ; it bears the long elbowed antennas, which are as
fine as a hair, just behind the middle. This beetle measures
nearly three tenths of an inch in length, exclusive of the snout.
It is found in September and October, and more rarely in July, at
which time it probably lays its eggs. As it does not come out till
the autumn, it must pass the winter concealed in some secure
place. From its size and resemblance to the nut-weevil of Eu-
rope, it may be the species which attacks the hazel-nut here.

It is now well known that the falling of unripe plums, apricots,
peaches, and cherries is caused by little whitish grubs, which bore
into these fruits. The loss of fruit, occasioned by insects of this
kind, is frequently very great ; and, in some of our gardens and
orchards, the crop of plums is often entirely ruined by the depre-
dations of grubs, which have been ascertained to be the larvae or
young of a small beetle of the weevil tribe, called Rhynchanus
(Conotrachelus) Nenuphar*, the Nenuphar or plum-weevil. I
have found these beetles as early as the thirtieth of March, and as
late as the tenth of June, and at various intermediate times,
according with the forwardness or backwardness of vegetation in
the spring, and have frequently caught them flying in the middle
of the day. They are from three twentieths to one fifth of an
inch long, exclusive of the curved snout, which is rather longer
than the thorax, and is bent under the breast, between the fore-
legs, when at rest. Their color is a dark brown, variegated with
spots of white, ochre-yellow, and black. The thorax is uneven ;
the wing-covers have several short ridges upon them, those on the
middle of the back forming two considerable humps, of a black
color, behind which there is a wide band of ochre-yellow and
white. Each of the thighs has two little teeth on the under-side.

•First described by Herbst, in I7(J7, under the name of Curculio Nenuphar',
Fabricius redescribed it under that of Rhijnrhanus Argula} and Dejean has named
it Conotrachelus variegatus.

\

COLEOPTERA. 67

They begin to sting the plums as soon as the fruit is set, and, as
some say, continue their operations till the first of August. After
making a suitable puncture with their snouts, they lay one egg in
each plum thus stung, and go over the fruit on the tree in this
way till their store is exhausted ; so that, where these beetles
abound, not a plum will escape being punctured. The irritation
arising from these punctures, and from the gnawings of the grubs
after they are hatched, causes the young fruit to become gummy,
diseased, and finally to drop before it is ripe. Meanwhile the
grub comes to its growth, and, immediately after the fruit falls,
burrows into the ground. This may occur at various times be-
tween the middle of June and of August ; and, in the space of a
little more than three weeks afterwards, the insect completes its
transformations, and comes out of the ground in the beetle form.
The history of the insect thus far is the result of my own observa-
tions ; the remainder rests on the testimony of other persons.

In an account of the plum-weevil, by Dr. James Tilton of
Wilmington, Delaware, published in Mease's "Domestic Ency-
clopaedia," under the article Fruit, and since republished in the
" Georgical Papers for 1809" of the Massachusetts Agricultural
Society, and in other works, it is stated, that peaches, nectarines,
apples, pears, quinces, and cherries are also attacked by this
insect, and that it remains in the earth, in the form of a grub, dur-
ing the winter, ready to be matured into a beetle as the spring
advances. These statements I have not yet been able to con-
firm. It seems, however, to have been fully ascertained by
Professor Peck, Mr. Say, and others, in whose accuracy full
confidence may be placed, that this same weevil attacks all our
common stone-fruits, such as plums, peaches, nectarines, apricots,
and cherries ; Dr. Burnett has recently assured me that he has seen
this beetle puncturing apples ; and it is not at all improbable that
the transformations of some of the grubs may be retarded till the
winter has passed, analogous cases being of frequent occurrence.
Those that are sometimes found in apples must not be mistaken
for the more common apple- worms, which are not the larvae of a
weevil. The Rev. F. V. Melsheimer remarks in his Catalogue,
that this insect lives under the bark of the peach-tree. Professor
Peck raised the same beetle from a grub found in the warty ex-

68 INSECTS OF MASSACHUSETTS.

crescence of a cherry-tree, and from this circumstance named it
Rhynchcenus Cerasi, the cherry-weevil. The plum, still more than
the cherry tree, is subject to a disease of the small limbs, which
shows itself in the form of large irregular warts, of a black color, as
if charred. Grubs, apparently the same as those that are found in
plums, have often been detected in these warts, w Inch are now gen-
erally supposed to be produced by the punctures of the beetles, and
the residence of the grubs. Piofessor Peck says that " the seat
of the disease is in the bark. The sap is diverted from its regular
course, and is absorbed entirely by the bark, which is very much
increased in thickness ; the cuticle bursts, the swelling becomes
irregular, and is formed into black lumps, with a cracked, uneven,
granulated surface. The wood, besides being deprived of its
nutriment, is very much compressed, and the branch above the
tumor perishes."* The grubs found by Professor Peck in the
tumors of the cherry-tree, went into the ground on the sixth of
July, and on the thirtieth of the same month, or twenty-four days
from their leaving the bark, the perfect insects began to rise, and
were soon ready to deposit their eggs in healthy branches.

In order to account for the occurrence of these insects both in
the fruit and in the branches of the trees, I have ventured, on an-
other occasion, to give the following explanation, although it rests
only upon conjecture. The final transformation of the grubs, liv-
ing in the fruit, appears to take place at various times during the lat-
ter part of summer and the beginning of autumn, when the weevil,
finding no young fruit, is probably obliged to lay its eggs in the
small branches. The larvae or grubs from these eggs live in the
branches during the winter, and are not perfected till near the last
of the following June. Should the fall of the fruit occur late in
the autumn, the development of the beetles will be retarded till
the next spring ; and this I suppose to be the origin of the brood
which stings the fruit. These suggestions seem to receive some
confirmation from the known habits of the copper-colored plum-
weevils of Europe, which, " in default of plums, make use of the
soft spring shoots of the plum and apricot trees." f 1° cases like

* See Professor Peck's account of Insects which affect Oaks and Cherry trees;
with a plate ; in the '' Massachusetts Agricultural Repository and Journal." Vol.
v. p. 312.

t Kollar's Treatise, p. 238.

COLEOPTERA. 69

these, we see the care of the Creator for some of the least of his
creatures, which He has wisely provided with variable instincts,
enabling them to accommodate themselves to the difficulties of the
situation in which they may happen to be placed, and thus, even
in unfruitful seasons, to provide for a succession of their kind.

The following, among other remedies that have been suggested,
may be found useful in checking the ravages of the plum-weevil.
Let the trees be briskly shaken or suddenly jarred every morning
and evening during the time that the insects appear in the beetle
form, and are engaged in laying their eggs. When thus disturbed
they contract their legs and fall ; and, as they do not immediately
attempt to fly or crawl away, they may be caught in a sheet spread
under the tree, from which they should be gathered into a large
wide-mouthed bottle or other tight vessel, and be thrown into the
fire. All the fallen wormy plums should be immediately gathered,
and, after they are boiled or steamed, to kill the enclosed grubs,
they may be given as food to swine. The diseased excrescences
should be cut out and burned every year before the last of June.
The moose plum-tree (Prunus Americana), which grows wild in
Maine, seems to escape the attacks of insects, for no warts are
found upon it, even when growing in the immediate vicinity of
diseased foreign trees. It would, therefore, be the best of stocks
for budding or engrafting upon. It can easily be raised from the
stone, and grows rapidly, but does not attain a great size. For
further suggestions and remarks, the account of this insect by
Dr. Joel Burnett, in the eighteenth volume of the " New England
Farmer," may be consulted.

The most pernicious of the Rhynchophorians, or snout-beetles,
are the insects properly called grain-weevils, belonging to the old
genus Calandra. These insects must not be confounded with the
still more destructive larva? of the corn-moth [Tinea granella),
which also attacks stored grain, nor with the orange-colored mag-
gots of the wheat-fly (Cecidomyia Tritici), which are found in the
ears of growing wheat. Although the grain- weevils are not
actually injurious to vegetation, yet as the name properly belong-
ing to them has often been misapplied in this country, thereby
creating no little confusion, sdme remarks upon them may tend to
prevent future mistakes.

The true grain-weevil or wheat-weevil of Europe, Calandra

70 INSECTS OF MASSACHUSETTS.

(Sitophilus) gronaria, or Curculio granarius of Linnaeus, in its
perfected state is a slender beetle of a pitchy red color, about one
eighth of an inch long, with a slender snout slightly bent down-
wards, a coarsely punctured and very long thorax, constituting
almost one half the length of the whole body, and wing-covers
that are furrowed, and do not entirely cover the tip of the abdo-
men. This little insect, both in the beetle and grub state, devours
stored wheat and other grains, and often commits much havoc in
granaries and brew-houses. Its powers of multiplication are very
great, for it is stated that a single pair of these destroyers may
produce above six thousand descendants in one year. The female
deposits her eggs upon the wheat after it is housed, and the young
grubs hatched therefrom immediately burrow into the wheat, each
individual occupying alone a single grain, the substance of which
it devours, so as often to leave nothing but the hull ; and this
destruction goes on within, while no external appearance leads to
its discovery, and the loss of weight is the only evidence of the
mischief that has been done to the grain. In due time the grubs
undergo their transformations, and come out of the hulls, in the
beetle state, to lay their eggs for another brood. These insects
are effectually destroyed by kiln-drying the wheat ; and grain, that
is kept cool, well ventilated, and is frequently moved, is said to
be exempt from attack.

Another grain-weevil, hardly differing from the foregoing except
in its color, which is black, is found in New York. It is the
CaJandra (Sitophilus) remotepunctota of Schcinherr. A\ hether
wheat, and other grain, suffers to any extent in this country from
either of these weevils, I have not been able to ascertain, as the
accounts given of the ravages of the insects supposed to be
weevils are rarely accompanied by any descriptions of them in
their different states.

Rice is attacked by an insect closely resembling the wheat-
weevil, from which, however, it is distinguished, by having two
large red spots on each wing-cover ; it is also somewhat smaller,
measuring only about one tenth of an inch in length, exclusive of
the snout. This beetle, the Calandra (Sitophilus) Oryz<c,* or
rice-weevil, is not entirely confined to rice, but depredates upon

* Curculio Orijzai of Linnieus.

COLEOPTERA. 71

maize or Indian corn also. I have seen stored Southern corn
swarming with them ; and, should they multiply and extend in this
section of the country, they will become a source of serious
injury to one of the most valuable of our staple productions. It
is said that this weevil lays its eggs on the rice in the fields, as
soon as the grain begins to swell. If this indeed be true, we have
very little to fear from it here, our Indian corn being so well pro-
tected by the husks that it would probably escape from any injury,
if attacked. On the contrary, if the insects multiply in stored
grain, then our utmost care will be necessary to prevent them
from infesting our own garners. The parent beetle bores a hole
into the grain, and drops therein a single egg, going from one grain
to another till all her eggs are laid. She then dies, leaving, how-
ever, the rice well seeded for a future harvest of weevil-grubs.
In due time the eggs are hatched, the grubs live securely and un-
seen in the centre of the rice, devouring a considerable portion of
its substance, and when fully grown they gnaw a little hole through
the end of the grain, artfully stopping it up again with particles of
rice-flour, and then are changed to pupae. This usually occurs
during the winter ; and in the following spring the insects are
transformed to beetles, and come out of the grain. By winnowing
and sifting the rice in the spring, the beetles can be separated, and
should then be gathered immediately and destroyed.

The sudden change of the temperature that generally occurs in
the early part of May, brings out great numbers of insects, from
their winter-quarters, to enjoy the sunshine and the ardent heat
which are congenial to their natures. While a continued hum
is heard, among the branches of the trees, from thousands of bees
and flies, drawn thither by the fragrance of the bursting buds and
the tender foliage, and the very ground beneath our feet seems
teeming with insect life, swarms of little beetles of various kinds
come forth to try their wings, and, with an uncertain and heavy
flight, launch into the air. Among these beetles there are many
of a dull red or fox color, nearly cylindrical in form, tapering a
very little before, obtusely rounded at both extremities, and about
one quarter of an inch in length. They are seen slowly creeping
upon the sides of wooden buildings, resting on the tops offences,
or wheeling about in the air, and every now and then suddenly

72 INSECTS OF MASSACHUSETTS.

alighting on some tree or wall, or dropping to the ground. If we
go to an old pine-tree we may discover from whence they have
come, and what they have been about during the past period of
their lives. Here they will be found creeping out of thousands of
small round holes which they have made through the bark for
their escape. Upon raising a piece of the bark, already loosened
by the undermining of these insects, we find it pierced with holes
in every direction, and even the surface of the wood will be seen
to have been gnawed by these little miners. After enjoying
themselves abroad for a few days, they pair, and begin to lay
their eggs. The pitch-pine is most generally chosen by them for
this purpose, but they also attack other kinds of pines. They
gnaw little holes here and there through the rough bark of the
trunk and limbs, drop their eggs therein, and, after this labor is
finished, they become exhausted and die. In the autumn the
grubs hatched from these eggs will be found fully grown. They
have a short, thick, nearly cylindrical body, wrinkled on the back,
are somewhat curved, and of a yellowish white color, with a horny
darker colored head, and are destitute of feet. They devour
the soft inner substance of the bark, boring through it in various
directions for this purpose, and, when they have come to their full
size, they gnaw a passage to the surface, for their escape after they
have completed their transformations. These take place deep in
their burrows late in the autumn, at which time the insects may be
found in various states of maturity, within the bark. Their depre-
dations interrupt the descent of the sap, and prevent the formation
of new wood ; the bark becomes loosened from the wood, to a
greater or less extent, and the tree languishes and prematurely
decays. The name of this insect is Hylurgus terebrans*, the
boring Hylurgus ; the generical name signifying a carpenter, or
worker in wood. It belongs to the family Scolytid^e, including
various kinds of destructive insects, which may be called cylindri-
cal bark-beetles. The insects of this family may be recognised
by the following characters. The body is nearly cylindrical, ob-
tuse before and behind, and generally of some shade of brown.
The head is rounded, sunk pretty deeply in the forepart of the
thorax, and does not end with a snout ; the antennae are short,

Scolytus terebrans of Olivier.

COLEOPTERA. 73

more or less crooked or curved in the middle, and end with an
oval knob ; the feelers are very short. The thorax is rather long,
and as broad as the following part of the body. The wing-covers
are frequently cut off* obliquely or hollowed at the hinder ex-
tremity. The legs are short and strong, with little teeth on the
outer edge or extremity of the shanks, and the feet are not wide
and spongy beneath.

Though these cylindrical bark-beetles are of small size, they
multiply very fast, and where they abound are productive of much
mischief, particularly in forests, which are often greatly injured by
their larvae, and the wood is rendered unfit for the purposes of
art. In the year 17S0, an insect of this family made its appear-
ance in the pine-trees of one of the mining districts of Germany,
where it increased so rapidly that in three years afterwards whole
forests had disappeared beneath its ravages, and an end was
nearly put to the working of the extensive mines in this range of
country, for the want of fuel to carry on the operations. Pines
and firs are the most subject to their attacks, but there are some
kinds which infest other trees. The premature decay of the elm
in some parts of Europe is occasioned by the ravages of the
Scolytus destructor, of which an interesting account was written in
1824, by Mr. Macleay. An abstract of his paper may be found
in the fifth volume of the "New England Farmer."* The larvae
or grubs of these bark-beetles resemble those of the Hylurgus
terebrans or pine bark-beetle already described. Like the grubs
of the weevils, they are short and thick, and destitute of legs.

The red cedar is inhabited by a very small bark-beetle, named
by Mr. Say Hylurgus dentatus, the toothed Hylurgus. It is
nearly one tenth of an inch in length, and of a dark brown color ;
the wing-cases are rough with little grains, which become more
elevated towards the hinder part, and are arranged in longitudinal
rows, with little furrows between them. The tooth-like appear-
ance of these little elevations suggested the name given to this
species. The female bores a cylindrical passage beneath the
bark of the cedar, dropping her eggs at short intervals as she goes
along, and dies at the end of her burrow when her eggs are all

* Page 169.
10

74 INSECTS OF MASSACHUSETTS.

laid. The grubs hatched from these proceed in feeding nearly at
right angles, forming on each side numerous parallel furrows,
smaller than the central tube of the female. They complete their
transformations in October, and eat their way through the bark,
which will then be seen to be perforated with thousands of little
round holes, through which the beetles have escaped.

Under the bark of the pitch-pine I have found, in company
with the pine bark-beetle, a more slender bark-beetle, of a
dark chestnut-brown color, clothed with a few short yellowish
hairs, with a long, almost egg-shaped thorax, which is very rough
before, and short wing-covers, deeply punctured in rows, hol-
lowed out at the tip like a gouge, and beset around the outer edge
of the hollow with six little teeth on each side. This beetle
measures one fifth of an inch, or rather more, in length. It
arrives at maturity in the autumn, but does not come out of the
bark till the following spring, at which time it lays its eggs. It is
the Tomicus exesus, or excavated Tomicus ; the specific name,
signifying eaten out or excavated, was given to it by Mr. Say on
account of the hollowed and bitten appearance of the end of its
wing-covers. Its grubs eat zigzag and wavy passages, parallel to
each other, between the bark and the wood. They are much less
common in the New England than in the Middle and Southern
States, where they abound in the yellow pines.

Another bark-beetle is found here, closely resembling the pre-
ceding, from which it differs chiefly in the inferiority of its size,
being but three twentieths of an inch in length, and in having only
three or four teeth at the outer extremity of each wing-cover. It
is the Tomicus Pini of Mr. Say. The grubs of this insect are
very injurious to pine-trees. I have found them under the bark
of the white and pitch pine, and they have also been discovered
in the larch. The beetles appear during the month of August.

For many years past the pear-tree has been found to be subject
to a peculiar malady, which shows itself during midsummer by the
sudden withering of the leaves and fruit, and the discoloration of
the bark of one or more of the limbs, followed by the immediate
death of the part affected. In June, 1816, the Plon. John
Lowell, of Roxbury, discovered a minute insect in one of the
affected limbs of a pear-tree ; afterwards he repeatedly detected

COLEOPTERA. 75

the same insects in blasted limbs, and his discoveries have been
confirmed by Mr. Henry Wheeler and the late Dr. Oliver Fiske,
of Worcester. Mr. Lowell submitted the limb and the insect
contained therein to the examination of Professor Peck, who
gave an account and figure of the latter, in the fourth volume of
the " Massachusetts Agricultural Repository and Journal." From
this account, and from the subsequent communication by Mr.
Lowell, in the fifth volume of the " New England Farmer," it
appears that the grub or larva of the insect eats its way inward
through the alburnum or sap-wood into the hardest part of the
wood, beginning at the root of a bud, behind which probably the
egg was deposited, following the course of the eye of the bud
towards the pith, around which it passes, and part of which it also
consumes ; thus forming, after penetrating through the alburnum, a
circular burrow or passage in the heart-wood, contiguous to the
pith which it surrounds. By this means the central vessels, or
those which convey the ascending sap, are divided, and the circu-
lation is cut off. This takes place when the increasing heat of the
atmosphere, producing a greater transpiration from the leaves, ren-
ders a large and continued flow of sap necessary to supply the
evaporation. For the want of this, or from some other unexplain-
ed cause, the whole of the limb above the seat of the insect's
operations suddenly withers, and perishes during the intense heat
of midsummer. The larva is changed to a pupa, and subse-
quently to a little beetle, in the bottom of its burrow, makes its
escape from the tree in the latter part of June, or beginning of
July, and probably deposits its eggs before August has passed.
This little beetle, which is only one tenth of an inch in length, was
named Scolytus Pyri, the pear-tree Scolytus, by Professor Peck ;
it is of a deep brown color, with the antennae and legs rather
paler, or of the color of iron-rust. The thorax is short, very
convex, rounded and rough before ; the wing-covers are minutely
punctured in rows, and slope off very suddenly and obliquely be-
hind ; the shanks are widened and flattened towards the end,
beset with a few little teeth externally, and end with a short hook ;
and the joints of the feet are slender and entire. It is evident
that this insect cannot be retained in the genus Scolytus, as defined
by modern naturalists ; but the condition of my specimens will

76 INSECTS OF MASSACHUSETTS.

not enable me to determine with certainty to which of the modern
genera they are to be referred. The minuteness of the insect,
the difficulty attending the discovery of the precise seat of its
operations before it has left the tree, and the small size of the
aperture through which it makes its escape from the limb, are
probably the reasons why it has eluded the researches of those
persons who disbelieve in its existence as the cause of the blasting
of the limbs of the pear-tree. It is to be sought for at or near the
lowest part of the diseased limbs, and in the immediate vicinity of
the buds situated about that part. The remedy, suggested by
Mr. Lowell and Professor Peck, to prevent other limbs and trees
from being subsequently attacked in the same way, consists in
cutting off the blasted limb below the seat of injury, and burning it
before the perfect insect has made its escape. It will therefore be
necessary, carefully to examine our pear-trees daily, during the
month of June, and watch for the first indication of disease, or the
remedy may be applied too late to prevent the dispersion of the
insects among other trees.

There are some other beetles, much like the preceding in form,
whose grubs bore into the solid wood of trees. They were for-
merly included among the cylindrical bark-beetles, but have been
separated from them recently, and now form the family Bostri-
chid^e, or Bostrichians. Some of these beetles are of large size,
measuring more than an inch in length, and, in the tropical regions
where they are found, must prove very injurious to the trees they
inhabit. The body in these beetles is hard and cylindrical, and
generally of a black color. The thorax is bulging before, and the
head is sunk and almost concealed under the projecting forepart of
it. The antennae are of moderate length, and end with three large
joints, which are saw-toothed internally. The larvae are mostly
wood-eaters, and are whitish fleshy grubs, wrinkled on the back,
furnished with six legs, and resemble in form the grubs of some of
the small Scaiaba^ians. The shagbark or walnut tree is sometimes
infested by the grubs of the red-shouldered A pate, or dpate basil-
loris of Say, an insect of this family. The grubs bore diametri-
cally through the trunks of the walnut to the very heart, and un-
dergo their transformations in the bottom of their burrows. Sev-
eral trees have fallen under my observation which have been

COLEOPTERA. 77

entirely killed by these insects. The beetles are of a deep
black color, and are punctured all over. The thorax is very
convex and rough before ; the wing-covers are not excavated at
the tip, but they slope downwards very suddenly behind, as if
obliquely cut off, the outer edge of the cut portion is armed with
three little teeth on each wing-cover, and on the base or shoulders
there is a large red spot. This insect measures one fifth of an
inch or more in length.

The most powerful and destructive of the wood-eating insects
are the grubs of the long-horned or Capricorn-beetles, (Ceramby-
ciDjE), called borers by way of distinction. There are many
kinds of borers which do not belong to this tribe. Some of them
have already been described, and others will be mentioned under
the orders to which they belong. Those now under considera-
tion differ much from each other in their habits. Some live alto-
gether in the trunks of trees, others in the limbs ; some devour
the wood, others the pith ; some are found only in shrubs, some
in the stems of herbaceous plants, and others are confined to
roots. Certain kinds are limited to plants of one species, others
live indiscriminately upon several plants of one natural family ; but
the same kind of borer is not known to inhabit plants differing
essentially from each other in their natural characters. As might
be expected from these circumstances, the beetles produced from
these borers are of many different kinds. Nearly one hundred
species have been found in Massachusetts, and probably many
more remain to be discovered. The Capricorn-beetles agree in
the following respects. The antennae are long and tapering, and
generally curved like the horns of a goat, which is the origin of the
name above given to these beetles. The body is oblong, ap-
proaching to a cylindrical form, a little flattened above, and taper-
ing somewhat behind. The head is short, and armed with powerful
jaws. The thorax is either square, barrel-shaped, or narrowed
before ; and is not so wide behind as the wing-covers. The legs
are long ; the thighs thickened in the middle ; the feet four-
jointed, not formed for rapid motion, but for standing securely,
being broad and cushioned beneath, with the third joint deeply
notched. Most of these beetles remain upon trees and shrubs
during the daytime, but fly abroad at night. Some of them,

78 INSECTS OF MASSACHUSETTS.

however, fly by day, and may be found on flowers, feeding on the
pollen and the blossoms. When annoyed or taken into the hands,
they make a squeaking sound by rubbing the joints of the thorax
and abdomen together. The females are generally larger and
more robust than the males, and have rather shorter antennas.
Moreover they are provided with a jointed tube at the end of the
body, capable of being extended or drawn in like the joints of a
telescope, by means of which they convey their eggs into the
holes and chinks of the bark of plants.

The larvae hatched from these eggs are long, whitish, fleshy
grubs, with the transverse incisions of the body very deeply
marked, so that the rings are very convex or hunched both above
and below. The body tapers a little behind, and is blunt-pointed.
The head is much smaller than the first ring, slightly bent down-
wards, of a horny consistence, and is provided with short but very
powerful jaws, by means whereof the insect can bore, as with a
centre-bit, a cylindrical passage through the most solid wood.
Some of these borers have six very small legs, namely, one pair
under each of the first three rings ; but most of them want even
these short and imperfect limbs, and move through their burrows
by the alternate extension and contraction of their bodies, on each
or on most of the rings of which, both above and below, there is
an oval space covered with little elevations, somewhat like the
teeth of a fine rasp ; and these little oval rasps, which are de-
signed to aid the grubs in their motions, fully make up to them the
want of proper feet. Some of these borers always keep one end
of their burrows open, out of which, from time to time, they cast
their chips, resembling coarse saw-dust ; others, as fast as they
proceed, fill up the passages behind them with their castings, well
known here by the name of powder-post. These borers live from
one year to three, or perhaps more years before they come to
their growth. They undergo their transformations at the furthest
extremity of their burrows, many of them previously gnawing a
passage through the wood to the inside of the bark, for their future
escape. The pupa is at first soft and whitish, and it exhibits all
the parts of the future beetle under a filmy veil which inwraps
every limb. The wings and legs are folded upon the breast, the
long antennas are turned back against the sides of the body, and

COLEOPTERA. 79

then bent forwards between the legs. When the beetle has
thrown off its pupa-skin, it gnaws away the thin coat of bark that
covers the mouth of its burrow, and comes out of its dark and
confined retreat, to breathe the fresh air, and to enjoy for the first
time the pleasure of sight, and the use of the legs and wings with
which it is provided.

The Capricorn-beetles have been divided into three families,
corresponding with the genera Prionus, Cerambyx, and Leptura
of Linnaeus. Those belonging to the first family are generally of
a brown color, have flattened and saw-toothed or beaded antennae
of a moderate length, projecting jaws, and kidney-shaped eyes.
Those in the second, have eyes of the same shape, more slender
or much longer antennae, and smaller jaws ; and are often variegat-
ed in their colors. The beetles belonging to the third family are
readily distinguished by their eyes, which are round and promi-
nent. These three families are divided into many smaller groups
and genera, the peculiarities of which cannot be particularly point-
ed out in a work of this kind.

The Prionians, or Prionid^e, derive their name from a Greek
word signifying a saw, which has been applied to them either be-
cause the antennae, in most of these beetles, consist of flattened
joints, projecting internally somewhat like the teeth of a saw, or
on account of their upper jaws, which sometimes are very long
and toothed within. It is said that some of the beetles thus
armed can saw off large limbs by seizing them between their jaws,
and flying or whirling sidewise round the enclosed limb, till it is
completely divided. The largest insects of the Capricorn tribe
belong to this family, some of the tropical species measuring five
or six inches in length, and one inch and a half or two inches in
breadth. Their larvae are broader and more flattened than the
grubs of the other Capricorn-beetles, and are provided with six
very short legs. When about to be transformed, they collect a
quantity of their chips around them, and make therewith an oval
pod or cocoon, to enclose themselves.

Our largest species is the broad-necked Prionus, Prionus lati-
collis * of Drury, its first describer. It is of a long oval shape

* Prionus hrevicornis of Fabricius.

80 INSECTS OF MASSACHUSETTS.

and of a pitchy black color. The jaws, though short, are very
thick and strong ; the antennae are stout and saw-toothed in the
male, and more slender in the other sex ; the thorax is short and
wide, and armed on the lateral edges with three teeth ; the wing-
covers have three slightly elevated lines on each of them, and are
rough with a multitude of large punctures, which run together
irregularly. It measures from one inch and one eighth, to one
inch and three quarters in length ; the females being always much
larger than the males. The grubs of this beetle, when fully
grown, are as thick as a man's thumb. They live in the trunks
and roots of the balm of gilead, Lombardy poplar, and probably
in those of other kinds of poplar also. The beetles may fre-
quently be seen upon, or flying round the trunks of these trees in
the month of July, even in the daytime, though the other kinds of
Prionus generally fly only by night.

The one-colored Prionus, Prionus unicolor* of Drury, inhabits
pine-trees. Its body is long, narrow, and flattened, of a light bay-
brown color, with the head and antenna; darker. The thorax is
very short, and armed on each side with three sharp teeth ; the
wing-covers are nearly of equal breadth throughout, and have
three slightly elevated ribs on each of them. This beetle meas-
ures from one inch and one quarter, to one inch and a half in
length, and about three or four tenths of an inch in breadth. It
flies by night, and frequently enters houses in the evening, from
the middle of July to September.

The second family of the Capricorn-beetles may be allowed to
retain the scientific name, Cerambycidte, of the tribe to which it
belongs. The Cerambycians have not the very prominent jaws of
the Prionians ; their eyes are always kidney-shaped or notched
for the reception of the first joint of the antennae, which are not
saw-toothed, but generally slender and tapering, sometimes of
moderate length, sometimes excessively long, especially in the
males ; the thorax is longer and more convex than in the preced-
ing family, not thin-edged, but often rounded at the sides.

Some of these beetles, distinguished by their narrow wing-
covers, which are notched or armed with two little thorns at the

P. cijlindricus of Fabricius.

COLEOPTERA. 81

tip, and by the great length of their antennae, belong to the genus
Stenocorus, a name signifying narrow or straitened. One of
them, which is rare here, inhabits the hickory, in its larva state
forming long galleries in the trunk of this tree in the direction
of the fibres of the wood. This beetle is the Stenocorus (Ceras-
phorus) cinctus*, or banded Stenocorus. It is of a hazel color,
with a tint of gray, arising from the short hairs with which it is
covered ; there is an oblique ochre-yellow band across each wing-
cover ; and a short spine or thorn on the middle of each side of
the thorax. The antennas of the males are more than twice the
length of the body, which measures from three quarters of an inch
to one inch and one quarter in length.

The ground beneath black and white oaks is often observed to
be strewn with small branches, neatly severed from .these trees as
if cut off with a saw. Upon splitting open the cut end of a branch,
in the autumn or winter after it has fallen, it will be found to be
perforated to the extent of six or eight inches in the course of the
pith, and a slender grub, the author of the mischief, will be dis-
covered therein. In the spring this grub is transformed to a pupa,
and in June or July it is changed to a beetle, and comes out of the
branch. The history of this insect was first made public by Pro-
fessor Peckf, who called it the oak-pruner, or Stenocorus (Ela-
phidion) putator. In its adult state it is a slender long-horned
beetle, of a dull brown color, sprinkled with gray spots, composed
of very short close hairs ; the antennas are longer than the body, in
the males, and equal to it in length in the other sex, and the
third and fourth joints are tipped with a small spine or thorn ; the
thorax is barrel-shaped, and not spined at the sides ; and the
scutel is yellowish white. It varies in length from four and a half
to six tenths of an inch. It lays its eggs in July. Each egg is
placed close to the axilla or joint of a leaf-stalk or of a small twig,
near the extremity of a branch. The grub hatched from it pene-
trates at that spot to the pith, and then continues its course
towards the body of the tree, devouring the pith, and thereby
forming a cylindrical burrow, several inches in length, in the centre

* Ceramhyx cinctus, Drury ; Stenocorus gar ganicus, Fabiicius.

t Massachusetts Agricultural Repository and Journal. Vol. V., with a plate.

11

82 INSECTS OF MASSACHUSETTS.

of the branch. Having reached its full size, which it does towards
the end of the summer, it divides the branch at the lower end of
its burrow, by gnawing away the wood transversely from within,
leaving only the ring of bark untouched. It then retires backwards,
stops up the end of its hole, near the transverse section, with
fibres of the wood, and awaits the fall of the branch, which is
usually broken off and precipitated to the ground by the autumnal
winds. The leaves of the oak are rarely shed before the branch
falls, and thus serve to break the shock. Branches of five or six
feet in length and an inch in diameter are thus severed by these
insects, a kind of pruning that must be injurious to the trees, and
should be guarded against if possible. By collecting the fallen
branches in the autumn, and burning them before the spring, we
prevent the development of the beetles, while we derive some
benefit from the branches as fuel.

It is somewhat remarkable that, while the pine and fir tribes
rarely suffer to any extent from the depredations of caterpillars
and other leaf-eating insects, the resinous odor of these trees,
offensive as it is to such insects, does not prevent many kinds of
borers from burrowing into and destroying their trunks. Several
of the Capricorn-beetles, while in the grub state, live only in pine
and fir trees, or in timber of these kinds of wood. They belong
chiefly to the genus Callidium, a name of unknown or obscure
origin. Their antennae are of moderate length ; they have a
somewhat flattened body ; the head nods forwards, as in Stenoco-
rus ; the thorax is broad, nearly circular, and somewhat flattened
or indented above ; and the thighs are very slender next to the
body, but remarkably thick beyond the middle. The larvae are of
moderate length, more flattened than the grubs of the other Capri-
corn-beetles, have a very broad and horny head, small but power-
ful jaws, and are provided with six extremely small legs. They
undermine the bark, and perforate the wood in various directions,
often doing immense injury to the trees, and to new buildings, in
the lumber composing which they may happen to be concealed.
Their burrows are wide and not cylindrical, are very winding,
and are filled up with a kind of compact saw-dust as fast as the
insects advance. The larva state is said to continue two years,
during which period the insects cast their skins several times.

COLEOPTERA. 83

The sides of the body in the pupa are thin-edged, and finely
notched, and the tail is forked.

One of the most common kinds of Callidium found here is a
flattish, rusty black beetle, with some downy whitish spots across
the middle of the wing-covers ; the thorax is nearly circular, is
covered with fine whitish down, and has two elevated polished
black points upon it ; and the wing-covers are very coarsely punc-
tured. It measures from four tenths to three quarters of an inch
in length. This insect is the Callidium bajulus ; the second
name, meaning a porter, was given to it by Linnaeus on account
of the whitish patch which it bears on its back. It inhabits fir,
spruce, and hemlock wood and lumber, and may often be seen on
wooden buildings and fences in July and August. We are inform-
ed by Kirby and Spence that the grubs sometimes greatly injure
the wood-work of houses in London, piercing the rafters of the
roofs in every direction, and, when arrived at maturity, even pene-
trating through sheets of lead which covered the place of their
exit. One piece of lead, only eight inches long and four broad,
contained twelve oval holes made by these insects, and fragments
of the lead were found in their stomachs. As this insect is now
common in the maritime parts of the United States, it was prob-
ably first brought to this country by vessels from Europe.

The violet Callidium, Callidium violaccum*, is of a Prussian
blue or violet color ; the thorax is transversely oval, and downy,
and sometimes has a greenish tinge ; and the wing-covers are
rough with thick irregular punctures. Its length varies from four
to six tenths of an inch. It may be found in great abundance on
piles of pine wood, from the middle of May to the first of June ;
and the larvae and pupae are often met with in splitting the wood.
They live mostly just under the bark, where their broad and wind-
ing tracks may be traced by the hardened saw-dust with which
they are crowded. Just before they are about to be transformed,
they bore into the solid wood to the depth of several inches.
They are said to be very injurious to the sapling pines in Maine.
Professor Peck supposed this species of Callidium to have been
introduced into Europe in timber exported from this country, as it

* Cerambyx violaceus of Linnaeus.

84 INSECTS OF MASSACHUSETTS.

is found in most parts of that continent that have been much con-
nected with North America by navigation. It is somewhat re-
markable that Europe and America should have thus interchanged
the porter and violet Callidium, which, by means of shipping, have
now become common to the two continents.

From the regularity of its form, and the noble size it attains,
the sugar maple is accounted one of the most beautiful of our
forest-trees, and is esteemed as one of the most valuable, on ac-
count of its many useful properties. This fine tree suffers much
from the attacks of borers, which in some cases produce its entire
destruction. We are indebted to the Rev. L. W. Leonard, of
Dublin, N. H., for the first account of the habits and transforma-
tions of these borers. In the summer of 1828, his attention was
called to some young maples, in Keene, which were in a lan-
guishing condition. He discovered the insect in its beetle state
under the loosened bark of one of the trees, and traced the recent
track of the larva three inches into the solid wood. In the course
of a few years, these trees, upon the cultivation of which much
care had been bestowed, were nearly destroyed by the borers.
The failure, from the same cause, of several other attempts to
raise the sugar maple, has since come to my knowledge. The
insects are changed to beetles and come out of the trunks of the
trees in July. In the vicinity of Boston, specimens have been
repeatedly taken, which were undoubtedly brought here in maple
logs from Maine. I regret that 1 have not been able to obtain a
larva of this insect for examination. The beetle was first de-
scribed in 1824, in the Appendix to Keating 's "Narrative of
Long's Expedition", by Mr. Say, who called it CUjtus spcciosus,
that is, the beautiful Clytus. It was afterwards inserted, and ac-
curately represented by the pencil of Lesueur, in Say's " Amer-
ican Entomology ", and, more recently, a description and figure of
it has appeared in Griffith's translation of Cuvier's " Animal
Kingdom", under the name of Clytus Hai/ii. The beautiful
Clytus, like the other beetles of the genus to which it belongs, is
distinguished from a Callidium by its more convex form, its more
nearly globular thorax, which is neither flattened nor indented,
and by its more slender thighs. The head is yellow, with the
antennae and the eyes reddish black ; the thorax is black, with two

COLEOPTERA. 85

transverse yellow spots on each side ; the wing-covers, for about
two-thirds of their length, are black, the remaining third is yellow,
and they are ornamented with bands and spots arranged in the
following manner ; a yellow spot on each shoulder, a broad yel-
low curved band or arch, of which the yellow scutel forms the
key-stone, on the base of the wing-covers, behind this a zigzag
yellow band forming the letter W, across the middle another yel-
low band arching backwards, and on the yellow tip a curved band
and a spot of a black color ; the legs are yellow ; and the under-
side of the body is reddish yellow, variegated with brown. It is
the largest known species of Clytus, being from nine to eleven
tenths of an inch in length, and three or four tenths in breadth. It
lays its eggs on the trunk of the maple in July and August. The
grubs burrow into the bark as soon as they are hatched, and are
thus protected during the winter. In the spring they penetrate
deeper, and form, in the course of the summer, long and winding
galleries in the wood, up and down the trunk. In order to check
their devastations, they should be sought for in the spring, when
they will readily be detected by the saw-dust that they cast out of
their burrows ; and, by a judicious use of a knife and stiff wire,
they may be cut out or destroyed before they have gone deeply
into the wood.

Many kinds of Clytus frequent flowers, for the sake of the pol-
len, which they devour. During the month of September, the
painted Clytus, Clytus pictus,* is often seen in abundance, feed-
ing by day upon the blossoms of the golden-rod. If the trunks
of our common locust-tree, Rabinia pseiulacacia, are examined at
this time, a still greater number of these beetles will be found
upon them, and most often paired. The habits of this insect
seem to have been known, as long ago as the year 1771, to Dr.
John Reinhold Forster, who then described it under the name of
Leptura Robinice, the latter being derived from the tree which it
inhabits. Drury, however, had previously described and figured
it, under the specific name here adopted, which, having the prior-
ity, in point of time, over all the others that have been subse-
quently imposed, must be retained. This Capricorn-beetle has

* Leptura picta, Drury ; Clytus fiexuosus , Fabricius.

86 INSECTS OF MASSACHUSETTS.

the form of the beautiful maple Clytus. It is velvet-black, and
ornamented with transverse yellow bands, of which there are
three on the head, four on the thorax, and six on the wing-covers,
the tips of which are also edged with yellow. The first and
second bands on each wing-cover are nearly straight ; the third
band forms a V, or, united with the opposite one, a W, as in the
speciosus ; the fourth is also angled, and runs upwards on the
inner margin of the wing-cover towards the scutel ; the fifth is
broken or interrupted by a longitudinal elevated line ; and the
sixth is arched, and consists of three little spots. The antennae
are dark brown ; and the legs are rust-red. These insects vary
from six tenths to three quarters of an inch in length.

In the month of September these beetles gather on the locust-
trees, where they may be seen glittering in the sun-beams with
their gorgeous livery of black velvet and gold, coursing up and
down the trunks in pursuit of their mates, or to drive away their
rivals, and stopping every now and then to salute those they meet
with a rapid bowing of the shoulders, accompanied by a creaking
sound, indicative of recognition or defiance. Having paired, the
female, attended by her partner, creeps over the bark, searching
the crevices with her antennae, and dropping therein her snow-
white eggs, in clusters of seven or eight together, and at intervals
of five or six minutes, till her whole stock is safely stored. The
eggs are soon hatched, and the grubs immediately burrow into the
bark, devouring the soft inner substance that suffices for their
nourishment till the approach of winter, during which they remain
at rest in a torpid state. In the spring they bore through the sap-
wood, more or less deeply into the trunk, the general course of
their winding and irregular passages, being in an upward direction
from the place of their entrance. For a time they cast their chips
out of their holes as fast as they are made, but after a while the
passage becomes clogged and the burrow more or less filled with
the coarse and fibrous fragments of wood, to get rid of which the
grubs are often obliged to open new holes through the bark. The
seat of their operations is known by the oozing of the sap and the
dropping of the saw-dust from the holes. The bark around the
part attacked begins to swell, and in a few years the trunks and
limbs will become disfigured and weakened by large porous

COLEOPTERA. 87

tumors, caused by the efforts of the trees to repair the injuries
they have suffered. According to the observations of General
H. A. S. Dearborn, who has given an excellent account* of this
insect, the grubs attain their full size by the twentieth of July,
soon become pupae, and are changed to beetles and leave the trees
early in September. Thus the existence of this species is limited
to one year.

White-washing, and covering the trunks of the trees with graft-
ing composition, may prevent the female from depositing her eggs
upon them ; but this practice cannot be carried to any great ex-
tent in plantations or large nurseries of the trees. Perhaps it will
be useful to head down young trees to the ground, with the view
of destroying the grubs contained in them, as well as to promote
a more vigorous growth. Much evil might be prevented by em-
ploying children to collect the beetles while in the act of providing
for the continuation of their kind. A common black bottle, con-
taining a little water, would be a suitable vessel to receive the
beetles as fast as they were gathered, and should be emptied into
the fire in order to destroy the insects. The gathering should be
begun as soon as the beetles first appear, and should be continued
as long as any are found on the trees, and furthermore should be
made a general business for several years in succession. I have
no doubt, should this be done, that, by devoting one hour every
day to this object, we may, in the course of a few years, rid our-
selves of this destructive insect.

The largest Capricorn-beetle, of the Cerambycian family, found
in New England, is the Lamia (Monohammus) titillator of Fabri-
cius, or the tickler, so named probably on account of the habit
which it has, in common with most of the Capricorn-beetles, of
gently touching now and then the surface on which it walks with
the tips of its long antennas. Three or four of these beetles may
sometimes be seen together in June and July, on logs or on the
trunks of trees in the woods, the males paying their court to the
females, or contending with their rivals, waving their antennas, and
showing the eagerness of the contest or pursuit by their rapid
creaking sounds.

* Massachusetts Agricultural Repository and Journal, Vol. VI. p. 272.

88 INSECTS OF MASSACHUSETTS.

The head of the Lamias is vertical or perpendicular ; the an-
tenna? of the males are much longer than the body, and taper to
the end ; the thorax is cylindrical before and behind, and is armed
on the middle of each side with a very large pointed wart or
tubercle ; the tips of the wing-covers are rounded ; and the fore-
legs are longer than the rest, with broad hairy soles in the males.

The titillator is of a brownish color, variegated or mottled
with spots of gray, and the wing-covers, which are coarsely
punctured, have also several small tufted black spots upon them ;
the middle legs are armed with a small tooth on the upper edge ;
the antennae of the male are twice as long as the body, and those
of the other sex equal the body in length, which measures from
one inch and one eighth to one inch and one quarter. What kind
of tree the grub of this insect inhabits is unknown to me.

Trees of the poplar tribe, both in Europe and America, are
subject to the attacks of certain kinds of borers, differing essen-
tially from all the foregoing when arrived at maturity. They be-
long to the genus Saperda. In the beetle state the head is ver-
tical, the antenna? are about the length of the body in both sexes,
the thorax is cylindrical, smooth, and unarmed at the sides, and
the fore-legs are shorter than the others. Our largest kind is the
Saperda calcarata of Say, or the spurred Saperda, so named be-
cause the tips of the wing-covers end with a little sharp point or
spur. It is covered all over with a short and close nap, which
gives it a fine blue-gray color, it is finely punctured with brown,
there are four ochre-yellow lines on the head, and three on the
top of the thorax, the scutel is also ochre-yellow, and there are
several irregular lines and spots of the same color on the wing-
covers. It is from one inch to an inch and a quarter in length.
This beetle closely resembles the European Saperda carcharias,
which inhabits the poplar ; and the grubs of our native species,
with those of the broad-necked Prionus, have almost entirely de-
stroyed the Lombardy poplar in this vicinity. They live also in
the trunks of our American poplars. They are of a yellowish
White color, except the upper part of the first segment, which is
dark buff. When fully grown they measure nearly two inches in
length. The body is very thick, rather larger before than behind,
and consists of twelve segments separated from each other by

COLKOPTERA. 89

deep transverse furrows. The first segment is broad, and slopes
obliquely downwards to the head ; the second is very narrow ; on
the upper and under sides of each of the following segments, from
the third to the tenth inclusive, there is a transverse oval space,
rendered rough like a rasp by minute projections. These rasps
serve instead of legs, which are entirely wanting. The beetles
may be found on the trunks and branches of the various kinds of
poplars, in August and September; they fly by night, and some-
times enter the open windows of houses in the evening.

The borers of the apple-tree have become notorious, throughout
the New England and Middle States, for their extensive ravages.
They are the larvae of a beetle called Saperda bivittata by Mr.
Say, the two-striped, or the brown and white striped Saperda ;
the upper side of its body being marked with two longitudinal
white stripes between three of a light brown color, while the face,
the antennas, the under-side of the body, and the legs, are white.
This beetle varies in length from a little more than one half to
three quarters of an inch. It comes forth from the trunks of the
trees, in its perfected state, early in June, making its escape in the
night, during which time only it uses its ample wings in going
from tree to tree in search of companions and food. In the day-
time it keeps at rest among the leaves of the plants which it de-
vours. The trees and shrubs principally attacked by this borer,
are the apple-tree, the quince, mountain ash, hawthorn and other
thorn bushes, the June-berry or shad-bush, and other kinds of
Amelanchier and Aronia. Our native thorns and Aronias are its
natural food ; for I have discovered the larvae in the stems of
these shrubs, and have repeatedly found the beetles upon them,
eating the leaves, in June and July. It is in these months that the
eggs are deposited, being laid upon the bark near the root, during
the night. The larvae hatched therefrom are fleshy whitish grubs,
nearly cylindrical, and tapering a little from the first ring to the
end of the body. The head is small, horny, and brown ; the
first ring is much larger than the others, the next two are very
short, and, with the first, are covered with punctures and very
minute hairs ; the following rings, to the tenth inclusive, are each
furnished, on the upper and under side, with two fleshy warts
situated close together, and destitute of the little rasp-like teeth,
12

90 INSECTS OF MASSACHUSETTS.

that are usually found on the grubs of the other Capricorn-beetles ;
the eleventh and twelfth rings are very short ; no appearance of
legs can be seen, even with a magnifying glass of high power.
The grub, with its strong jaws, cuts a cylindrical passage through
the bark, and pushes its castings backwards out of the hole from
time to time, while it bores upwards into the wood. The larva
state continues two or three years, during which the borer will be
found to have penetrated eight or ten inches upwards in the trunk
of the tree, its burrow at the end approaching to, and being cov-
ered only by, the bark. Here its transformation takes place. The
pupa does not differ much from other pupae of beetles ; but it has
a transverse row of minute prickles on each of the rings of the
back, and several at the tip of the abdomen. These probably
assist the insect in its movements, when casting off its pupa-skin.
The final change occurs about the first of June, soon after which,
the beetle gnaws through the bark that covers the end of its bur-
row, and comes out of its place of confinement in the night.

Notwithstanding the pains that have been taken by some per-
sons to destroy and exterminate these pernicious borers, they
continue to reappear in our orchards and nurseries every season.
The reasons of this are to be found in the habits of the insects,
and in individual carelessness. Many orchards suffer deplorably
from the want of proper attention ; the trees are permitted to
remain, year after year, without any pains being taken to destroy
the numerous and various insects that infest them ; old orchards,
especially, are neglected, and not only the rugged trunks of the
trees, but even a forest of unpruned suckers around them, are left
to the undisturbed possession and perpetual inheritance of the Sa-
perda. On the means that have been used to destroy this borer, a
few remarks only need to be made ; for it is evident that they can
be fully successful only when generally adopted. Killing it by a
wire thrust into the holes it has made, is one of the oldest, safest,
and most successful methods. Cutting out the grub, with a knife
or gouge, is the most common practice ; but it is feared that these
tools have sometimes been used without sufficient caution. A
third method, which has more than once been suggested, consists
in plugging the holes with soft wood. If a little camphor be pre-

COLEOPTERA. 91

viously inserted, this practice promises to be more effectual ; but
experiments are wanting to confirm its expediency.

The tall blackberry, Rubus villosus, is sometimes cultivated
among us for the sake of its fruit, which richly repays the care
thus bestowed upon it. It does not seem to be known that this
plant and its near relation, the raspberry, suffer from borers that
live in the pith of the stems. These borers differ somewhat from
the preceding, being cylindrical in the middle, and thickened a
little at each end. The head is proportionally larger than in the
other borers ; the first three rings of the body are short, the
second being the widest, and each of them is provided beneath
with a pair of minute sharp-pointed warts or imperfect legs ; the
remaining rings are smooth, and without tubercles or rasps ; the
last three are rather thicker than those which immediately precede
them, and the twelfth ring is very obtusely rounded at the end.
The beetles from these borers are very slender, and of a cylin-
drical form, and their antennae are of moderate length and do not
taper much towards the end. The species which attacks the
blackberry appears to be the Saperda (Oberea) tripunctata of
Fabricius. It is of a deep black color, except the forepart of the
breast and the top of the thorax, which are rusty yellow, and
there are two black elevated dots on the middle of the thorax, and
a third dot on the hinder edge close to the scutel ; the wing-
covers are coarsely punctured, in rows on the top, and irreg-
ularly on the sides and tips, each of which is slightly notch-
ed and ends with two little points. The two black dots on
the middle of the thorax are sometimes wanting. This beetle
varies from three tenths to half an inch in length. It finishes its
transformations towards the end of July, and lays its eggs early in
August, one by one, on the stems of the blackberry and rasp-
berry, near a leaf or small twig. The grubs burrow directly into
the pith, which they consume as they proceed, so that the stem,
for the distance of several inches, is completely deprived of its
pith, and consequently withers and dies before the end of the
summer. In Europe one of these slender Saperdas attacks the
hazel-bush, and another the twigs of the pear-tree, in the same
way. There are two more kinds in the New England States ;
but their habits are unknown to me.

92 INSECTS OF MASSACHUSETTS.

The Lepturians, or Lepturad^, constitute the third family
of the Capricorn-beetles. In most of them the body is narrowed
behind, which is the origin of the name applied to them, signify-
ing really narrow tail. They differ from the other Capricorn-
beetles in the form of their eyes, which are not deeply notched, but
are either oval or rounded and prominent, and the antennae are more
distant from them, and are implanted near the middle of the fore-
head. Moreover the head is not deeply sunk in the forepart of
the thorax, but is connected with it by a narrowed neck. The
thorax varies somewhat in shape, but is generally narrowed before
and widened behind. The Lepturians are often gayly colored, and
fly about by day, visiting flowers for the sake of the pollen and
tender leaves, which they eat. Their grubs live in the trunks and
stumps of trees, are rather broad and somewhat flattened, and are
mostly furnished with six extremely short legs.

The largest and finest of these beetles in New England is the
Desmocerus palliaius*, which appears on the flowers and leaves
of the common elder towards the end of June and until the mid-
dle of July. It is of a deep violet or Prussian blue color, some-
times glossed with green, and nearly one half of the forepart of
the wing-covers is orange-yellow, suggesting the idea of a short
cloak of this color thrown over the shoulders, which the name
palliatus, that is cloaked, was designed to express. The head is
narrow. The thorax has nearly the form of a cone cut off at the
top, being narrow before and wide behind; it is somewhat uneven,
and has a little sharp projecting point on each side of the base.
The antennae have the third and the three following joints ab-
ruptly thickened at the extremity, giving them the knotty appear-
ance indicated by the generical name Dcmocerus, which signifies
knotty horn. The larvae live in the lower part of the stems of
the elder, and devour the pith ; they have hitherto escaped my
researches, but I have found the beetles in the burrows made by

them.

The bark of the pitch-pine is often extensively loosened by the
grubs of Lepturians at work beneath it, in consequence of which
it falls off in large flakes, and the tree perishes. These grubs live

* Cerambyx ■palliatus of Forster; Stenocurus cyaneus, Fabricius.

COLEOPTERA. 93

between the bark and the wood, often in great numbers together,
and, when they are about to become pupae, each one surrounds
itself with an oval ring of woody fibres, within which it undergoes
its transformations. The beetle is matured before winter, but
does not leave the tree until spring. It is the ribbed Rhagium,
or Rhagium Uneatum*, so named because it has three elevated
longitudinal lines or ribs on each wing-cover ; and it measures from
four and a half to seven tenths of an inch in length. The head
and thorax are gray, striped with black, and thickly punctured ;
the antennae are about as long as the two forenamed parts of the
body together ; the thorax is narrow, cylindrical before and behind,
and swelled out in the middle by a large pointed wart or tubercle
on each side ; the wing-covers are wide at the shoulders, grad-
ually taper behind, and are slightly convex above ; they are
coarsely punctured between the smooth elevated lines, and are
variegated with reddish ash-color and black, the latter forming
two irregular transverse bands ; the under-side of the body, and
the legs, are variegated with dull red, gray, and black. The gray
portions on this beetle are occasioned by very short hairs, forming
a close kind of nap, which is easily rubbed off.

Mr. Say thought the foregoing to be the only species of Rha-
gium in the United States. There is, however, another one,
closely allied in form to the willow Rhagium of Europe, which
was obtained by Mr. Leonard in Dublin, N. H., and the same
insect has been found in other parts of New England. It does
not appear to have been described, and is the Rhagium decolora-
tum of my Catalogue, so named because the wing-covers appear
discolored, as if their original hue had faded away. It is from
eight tenths of an inch to one inch, or rather more, in length. It
is proportionally longer and narrower than the ribbed Rhagium,
and its antennae are two thirds the length of the body ; its wing-
covers are smooth or not ribbed, and of a dirty brownish yellow
or clay color ; the rest of the body, the legs, and the antennae,
are reddish brown. It is possible that this may be only a variety
of a species which has blue or blackish wing-covers ; but all the
specimens that have fallen under my observation are alike.

* Stenocorus lineatus of Olivier.

94 INSECTS OF MASSACHUSETTS.

Twenty-nine more of the Leplurians are found in this part of
the United States, and some of them are insects of very great
beauty ; but, as the habits of their larvae are unknown to me, it
would be of little use to insert here descriptions of the beetles
only.

The Buprestians and the Capricorn-beetles seem evidently
allied in their habits, both being borers during the greater part of
their lives, and living in the trunks and limbs of trees, to which
they are more or less injurious in proportion to their numbers.
These two groups are widely separated by most naturalists ; but
by placing them, with the other groups that intervene, in a circle,
the two extremes will be brought together as they should be, if
the natural characters bestowed on these insects are regarded in
our scientific arrangements. Some of the beetles in these two
groups resemble each other closely in their forms and habits.
The resemblance, between the slender cylindrical Saperdas and
some of the cylindrical Buprestians belonging to the genus Agrilus,
is indeed very remarkable, and cannot fail to strike a common
observer. Their larvae also are not only very similar in their
forms, but they have the same habits ; living in the centre of stems,
and devouring the pith.

The insects, that have passed under consideration in the fore-
going part of this essay, spend by far the greater portion of their
lives, namely, that wherein they are larvae only, in obscurity,
buried in the ground, or concealed within the roots, the stems, or
the seeds of plants, where they perform their appointed tasks un-
noticed and unknown. Thus the work of destruction goes secretly
and silently on, till it becomes manifest by its melancholy conse-
quences ; and too late we discover the hidden foes that have dis-
appointed the hopes of the husbandman, and ruined those sponta-
neous productions of the soil, that constitute so important a source
of our comfort and prosperity.

There still remain several groups of beetles to be described,
consisting almost entirely of insects that spend the whole, or the
principal part, of their lives upon the leaves of plants, and which,
as they derive their nourishment, both in the larva and adult states,
from leaves alone, may be called leaf-beetles, or, as they have
recently been named, phyllophagous, that is leaf-eating insects.

COLEOPTERA. 95

When, as in certain seasons, they appear in considerable numbers,
they do not a little injury to vegetation, and, being generally ex-
posed to view on the leaves that they devour, they soon attract
attention. But the power possessed by most plants of renewing
their foliage, enables them soon to recover from the attacks of these
devourers ; and the injury sustained, unless often repeated, is
rarely attended by the ruinous consequences that follow the hid-
den and unsuspected ravages of those insects that sap vegetation
in its most vital parts. Moreover, the leaf-eaters are more within
our reach, and it is not so difficult to destroy them, and protect
plants from their depredations. The leaf-beetles are generally
distinguished by the want of a snout, by their short legs and
broad cushioned feet, and their antennae of moderate length, often
thickened a little towards the end, or not distinctly tapering.
Some of them have an oblong body and a narrow or cylindrical
thorax, and resemble very much some of the Lepturians, with
which Linnaeus included them. Others, and indeed the greater
number, have the body oval, broad, and often very convex.

The oblong leaf-beetles, called Criocerians (CmocERiDiDiE),
have some resemblance to the Capricorn-beetles. They are dis-
tinguished by the following characters. The eyes are nearly
round and prominent ; the antennae are of moderate length, com-
posed of short, nearly cylindrical or beaded joints, and are im-
planted before the eyes ; the thorax is narrow and almost cylin-
drical or square ; the wing-covers, taken together, form an oblong
square, rounded behind, and much wider than the thorax ; and
the thighs of the hind-legs are often thickened in the middle.

The three-lined leaf-beetle, Crioceris trilineata of Olivier, will
serve to exemplify the habits of the greater part of the insects of
this family. This beetle is about one quarter of an inch long, of a
rusty buff or nankin-yellow color, with two black dots on the
thorax, and three black stripes on the back, namely, one on the
outer side of each wing-cover, and one in the middle on the
inner edges of the same; the antennae (except the first joint), the
outside of the shins, and the feet are dusky. The thorax is ab-
ruptly narrowed or pinched in on the middle of each side. When
held between the fingers, these insects make a creaking sound like
the Capricorn-beetles. They appear early in June on the leaves

96 INSECTS OF MASSACHUSETTS.

of the potato-vines, having at that time recently come out of the
ground, where they pass the winter in the pupa state. They eat
the leaves of the potato, gnawing irregular holes through them ;
and, in the course of a few days, begin to lay their oblong oval
golden yellow eggs, which are glued to the leaves, in parcels of
six or eight together. The grubs, which are hatched in about a
fortnight afterwards, are of a dirty yellowish or ashen white color,
with a darker colored head, and two dark spots on the top of the
first ring. They are rather short, approaching to a cylindrical
form, but thickest in the middle, and have six legs, arranged in
pairs beneath the first three rings. After making a hearty meal
upon the leaves of the potato, they cover themselves with their
own filth. The vent is situated on the upper side of the last
ring, so that their dung falls upon their backs, and, by motions
of the body made for this purpose, is pushed forwards, as fast as
it accumulates, towards the head, until the whole of the back is
entirely coated with it. This covering shelters their soft and ten-
der bodies from the heat of the sun, and probably serves to secure
them from the attacks of their enemies. When it becomes too
heavy or too dry, it is thrown oft', but replaced again by a fresh
coat in the course of a few hours. In eating, the grubs move
backwards, never devouring the portion of the leaf immediately
before the head, but that which lies under it. Their numbers are
sometimes very great, and the leaves are then covered and nearly
consumed by these filthy insects. When about fifteen days old
they throw oft* their loads, creep down the plant, and bury them-
selves in the ground. Here each one forms for itself a little cell
of earth cemented and varnished within by a gummy fluid dis-
charged from its mouth, and when this is done, it changes to a
pupa. In about a fortnight more the insect throws oft" its pupa
skin, breaks open its earthen cell, and crawls out of the ground.
The beetles come out towards the end of July or early in August,
and lay their eggs for a second brood of grubs. The latter come
to their growth and go into the ground in the autumn, and remain
there in the pupa form during the winter.

The only method that occurs to me, by means of which we
may get rid of these insects, when they are so numerous as to be
seriously injurious to plants, is to brush them from the leaves into
shallow vessels, containing a little salt and water or vinegar.

COLEOPTERA. 97

The habits of the Hispas, little leaf-beetles, forming the family
Hispadje, were first made known by me in the year 1835, in the
" Boston Journal of Natural History",* where a detailed account
of them, with descriptions of three native species, and figures of
the larvae and pupae, may be found. The upper side of the bee-
tles is generally rough, as the generical name implies. The larvae
burrow under the skin of the leaves of plants, and eat the pulpy
substance within, so that the skin, over and under the place of its
operations, turns brown and dries, and has somewhat of a blistered
appearance, and within these blistered spots the larvae or grubs,
the pupae, or the beetles may often be found. The eggs of these
insects are little rough blackish grains, and are glued to the upper
side of the leaves, sometimes singly, and sometimes in clusters of
four or five together. The grubs of our common species are
about one fifth of an inch in length, when fully grown. The body
is oblong, flattened, rather broader before than behind, soft, and of
a whitish color, except the head and the top of the first ring, which
are brown, or blackish, and of a horny consistence. It has a pair
of legs to each of the first three rings ; the other rings are pro-
vided with small fleshy warts at the sides, and transverse rows of
little rasp-like points above and beneath. The pupa state lasts
only about one week, soon after which the beetles come out of
their burrows.

The leaves of the apple-tree are inhabited by some of these
little mining insects, which, in the beetle state, are probably the
Hispa roscaj- of Weber, or the rosy Hispa. They are of a deep
tawny or reddish yellow color above, marked with little deep red
lines and spots. The head is small ; the antennae are short, thick-
ened towards the end, and of a black color ; the thorax is narrow
before and wide behind, rough above, striped with deep red on
each side ; the wing-covers taken together form an oblong square ;
there are three smooth longitudinal lines or ribs on each of them
spotted with blood red, and the spaces between these lines are
deeply punctured in double rows ; the under-side of the body is
black, and the legs are short and reddish. They measure about

* Vol. I. page 141.

t Hispa quadrata, Fabricius ; H. marginata, Say.

13

98 INSECTS OF MASSACHUSETTS.

one fifth of an inch in length. These beetles may be found on the
leaves of the apple-tree, and very abundantly on those of the shad-
bush (Amelanchier ova/is), and choke-berry (Pyrus arbutifolia) ,
during the latter part of May and the beginning of June.

The grubs of another species may be found in the leaves of the
locust-tree in July. Tha beetles appear in August. They
measure nearly one quarter of an inch in length, are of a tawny
yellow color, with a black longitudinal line on the middle of the
back, partly on one and partly on the other wing-cover, the inner
edges of which meet together and form what is called the suture ;
whence this species was named Hhpa suturalis by Fabricius ;
the head, antennae, body beneath, and legs are black ; and the
wing-covers are not so square behind as in the rosy Hispa.

The tortoise-beetles, as they are familiarly called from their
shape, are leaf-eating insects, belonging to the family Cassidad^e.
This name, derived from a word signifying a helmet, is applied to
them because the forepart of the semicircular thorax generally
projects over the head like the front of a helmet. In these beetles
the body is broad oval or rounded, flat beneath, and slightly con-
vex above. The antennas are short, slightly thickened at the
end, and inserted close together on the crown of the head. The
latter is small, and concealed under, or deeply sunk into, the
thorax. The legs are very short, and hardly seen from above.
These insects are often gayly colored or spotted, which increases
their resemblance to a tortoise ; they creep slowly, and fly by
day. Their larvae and pupae resemble those of the following spe-
cies in most respects.

Cassida aurichalcea, so named by Fabricius on account of the
brilliant brassy or golden lustre it assumes, is found during most
of the summer months on the leaves of the bitter-sweet (Solamtm
dulcamara), and in great abundance on various kinds of Convol-
vulus, such as our large flowered Convolvulus septum, the morning
glory, and the sweet potato-vine. The leaves of these plants are
eaten both by the beetles and their young. The former begin to
appear during the months of May and June, having probably sur-
vived the winter in some place of shelter and concealment, and
their larvae in a week or two afterwards. The larvae are broad
oval, flattened, dark-colored grubs, with a kind of fringe, com-

COLEOPTERA. 99

posed of stiff prickles, around the thin edges of the body, and a
long forked tail. This fork serves to hold the excrement when
voided ; and a mass of it half as large as the body of the insect is
often thus accumulated. The tail, with the loaded fork, is turned
over the back, and thus protects the insect from the sun, and
probably also from its enemies. The first broods of larvae arrive
at their growth and change to pupae early in July, fixing them-
selves firmly by the hinder part of their bodies to the leaves,
when this change is about to take place. The pupa remains fast-
ened to the cast-skin of the larva. It is broad oval, fringed, at
the sides, and around the forepart of the broad thorax, with large
prickles. Soon afterwards the beetles come forth, and lay their
eggs for a second brood of grubs, which, in turn, are changed to
beetles in the course of the autumn. In June 1824, the late Mr.
John Lowell sent me specimens of this little beetle, which he
found to be injurious to the sweet potato-vine, by eating large
holes through the leaves. This beetle is very broad oval in
shape, and about one fifth of an inch in length. When living it
has the power of changing its hues, at one time appearing only of
a dull yellow color, and at other times shining with the splendor
of polished brass or gold, tinged sometimes also with the variable
tints of pearl. The body of the insect is blackish beneath, and
the legs are dull yellow. It loses its brilliancy after death. The
wing-covers, the parts which exhibit the change of color, are
lined beneath with an orange-colored paint, which seems to be
filled with little vessels ; and these are probably the source of the
changeable brilliancy of the insect.

The Chrysomelians (Crysomelad^e) compose an extensive
tribe of leaf-eating beetles, formerly included in the old genus
Chrysotnela. The meaning of this word is golden beetle, and
many of the insects, to which it was applied by Linnaeus, are of
brilliant and metallic colors. They differ, however, so much in
their essential characters, their forms, and their habits, that they
are now very properly distributed into four separate groups or
families. The first of these, called Galerucad^e, or Galeru-
cians, consists mostly of dull-colored beetles ; having an oblong
oval, slightly convex body ; a short, and rather narrow, and un-
even thorax ; slender antennae, more than half the length of the

100 INSECTS OF MASSACHUSETTS.

body, and implanted close together on the forehead ; slender legs,
which are nearly equal in size, and claws split at the end. They
fly mostly by day, and are, by nature, either very timid or very
cunning, for, when we attempt to take hold of them, they draw up
their legs, and fall to the ground. They sometimes do great
injury to plants, eating large holes in the leaves, or consuming
entirely those that are young and tender. The larvae are rather
short cylindrical grubs, generally of a blackish color, and are pro-
vided with six legs. They live and feed together in swarms, and
sometimes appear in very great numbers on the leaves of plants,
committing ravages, at these times, as extensive as those of the
most destructive caterpillars. This was the case in 1S37 at
Sevres, in France, and in 1838 and 1839 in Baltimore and its
vicinity, where the elm-trees were entirely stripped of their leaves
during midsummer by swarms of the larvae of Galeruca Calmari-
ensis ; and, in the latter place, after the trees had begun to revive,
and were clothed with fresh leaves, they were again attacked by
new broods of these noxious grubs. These insects, which were
undoubtedly introduced into America with the European elm, are
as yet unknown in the New England States. The eggs of the
Galerucians are generally laid in little clusters or rows along the
veins of the leaves, and those of the elm Galeruca are of a yel-
low color. The pupa state of some species occurs on the leaves,
of others in the ground ; and some of the larvee live also in the
ground on the roots of plants. This is probably the case with
those of the cucumber-beetle. This destructive insect is the
Galeruca viitata* , or striped Galeruca, generally known here by
the names of striped bug and cucumber-bug. It is of a light yellow
color above, with a black head, and a broad black stripe on each
wing-cover, the inner edge or suture of which is also black, form-
ing a third narrower stripe down the middle of the back ; the ab-
domen, the greater part of the fore-legs, and the knees and feet
of the other legs, are black. It is rather less than one fifth of an
inch long. Early in the spring it devours the tender leaves of
various plants. I have found it often on those of our Aronias,
Amelanchier botryapium and ovalis, and Pyms arbutifolia, to-

* Crioceris viitata of Fabricius.

COLEOPTERA. 101

wards the end of April. It makes its first appearance, on cucum-
ber, squash, and melon vines, about the last of May and first of
June, or as soon as the leaves begin to expand ; and, as several
broods are produced in the course of the summer, it may be
found at various times on these plants, till the latter are destroyed
by frost. Great numbers of these little beetles may be obtained
in the autumn from the flowers of squash and pumpkin vines, the
pollen and germs of which they are very fond of. They get into
the blossoms as soon as the latter are opened, and are often
caught there by the twisting and closing of the top of the flower ;
and, when they want to make their escape, they are obliged to
gnaw a hole through the side of their temporary prison. The
females lay their eggs in the ground, and the larvae probably feed
on the roots of plants, but they have hitherto escaped my re-
searches.

Various means have been suggested and tried to prevent the
ravages of these striped cucumber-beetles, which have become
notorious throughout the country for their attacks upon the leaves
of the cucumber and squash. Dr. B. S. Barton, of Philadelphia,
recommended sprinkling the vines with a mixture of tobacco and
red pepper, which he stated to be attended with great benefit.
Watering the vines with a solution of one ounce of Glauber's salts
in a quart of water, or with tobacco water, an infusion of elder,
of walnut leaves, or of hops, has been highly recommended. Mr.
Gourgas, of Weston, has found no application so useful as ground
plaster of Paris ; and a writer in the " American Farmer" extols
the use of charcoal dust. Deane recommended sifting powdered
soot upon the plants when they are wet with the morning dew,
and others have advised sulphur and Scotch snufFto be applied in
the same way. As these insects fly by night, as well as by day,
and are attracted by lights, lighted splinters of pine knots or of
staves of tar-barrels, stuck into the ground during the night,
around the plants, have been found useful in destroying these
beetles. The most effectual preservative both against these in-
sects and the equally destructive black flea-beetles which infest
the vines in the spring, consists in covering the young vines with
millinet stretched over small wooden frames. Mr. Levi Bartlett,
of Warner, N. H., has described a method for making these

102 INSECTS OF MASSACHUSETTS.

frames expeditiously and economically, and his directions may be
found in the second volume of the " New England Farmer",*
and in Fessenden's "New American Gardener",! under the
article Cucumber.

The cucumber flea-beetle above mentioned, a little, black,
jumping insect, well known for the injury done by it, in the
spring, to young cucumber plants, belongs to another family of
the Chrysomelian tribe, called HalticaDjE. The following are
the chief peculiarities of the beetles of this family. The body is
oval and very convex above ; the thorax is short, nearly or quite
as wide as the wing-covers behind, and narrowed before ; the
head is pretty broad ; the antennae are slender, about half the
length of the body, and are implanted nearly on the middle of the
forehead ; the hindmost thighs are very thick, being formed for
leaping ; hence these insects have been called flea-beetles, and
the scientific name Halticd, derived from a word signifying to
leap, has been applied to them. The surface of the body is
smooth, generally polished, and often prettily or brilliantly col-
ored. The claws are very thick at one end, are deeply notched
towards the other, and terminate with a long curved and sharp
point, which enables the insect to lay hold firmly upon the leaves
of the plants on which they live. These beetles eat the leaves of
vegetables, preferring especially plants of the cabbage, turnip, mus-
tard, cress, radish, and horse-radish kind, or those, which, in
botanical language, are called cruciferous plants, to which they are
often exceedingly injurious. The turnip-fly or more properly
turnip flea-beetle is one of these Halticas, which lays waste the
turnip fields in Europe, devouring the seed-leaves of the plants as
soon as they appear above the ground, and continuing their ravages
upon new crops throughout the summer. It is stated in Young's
" Annals of Agriculture"]: that the loss, in Devonshire, Eng-
land, in one season, from the destruction of the turnip crops by
this little insect, was estimated at one hundred thousand pounds
sterling. Another small flea-beetle is often very injurious to the
grape-vines in Europe, and a larger species attacks the same

* Pan-c 305. I Sixth edition, page 91. | Vol. VII., p. 102.

COLEOPTERA. 103

plant in this country. The flea-beetles conceal themselves during
the winter, in dry places, under stones, in tufts of withered grass,
and in chinks of walls. They lay their eggs in the spring, upon
the leaves of the plants upon which they feed. The larvae, or
young, of the smaller kinds burrow into the leaves, and eat the
soft pulpy substance under the skin, forming therein little winding
passages, in which they finally complete their transformations.
Hence the plants suffer as much from the depredations of the
larvae, as from those of the beetles, a fact that has too often been
overlooked. The larvae of the larger kinds are said to live ex-
posed upon the surface of the leaves which they devour, till they
have come to their growth, and to go into the ground, where they
are changed to pupae, and soon afterwards to beetles. The min-
ing larvae, the only kinds which are known to me from personal
examination, are little slender grubs, tapering towards each end,
and provided with six legs. They arrive at maturity, turn to
pupae, and then to beetles in a few weeks. Hence there is a con-
stant succession of these insects, in their various states, through-
out the summer. The history of the greater part of our Halticas
or flea-beetles is still unknown ; I shall, therefore, only add, to
the foregoing general remarks, descriptions of two or three com-
mon species, and suggest such remedies as seem to be useful in
protecting plants from their ravages.

The most destructive species in this vicinity is that which
attacks the cucumber plant as soon as the latter appears above the
ground, eating the seed-leaves, and thereby destroying the plant
immediately. Supposing this to be an undescribed insect, I for-
merly named it Haltica Cucumeris, the cucumber flea-beetle ; but
Mr. Say subsequently informed me that it was the pubescens of
Illiger, so named because it is very slightly pubescent or downy.
It is only one sixteenth of an inch long, of a black color, with
clay-yellow antennae and legs, except the hindmost thighs, which
are brown. The upper side of the body is covered with punc-
tures, which are arranged in rows on the wing-cases ; and there is
a deep transverse furrow across the hinder part of the thorax.

The wavy-striped flea-beetle, Haltica striolata*, may be seen

* Crioceris striolata, Fabricius.

104 INSECTS OF MASSACHUSETTS.

in great abundance on the horse-radish, various kinds of cresses,
and on the mustard, and turnip, early in May, and indeed at other
times throughout the summer. It is very injurious to young
plants, destroying their seed-leaves as soon as the latter expand.
Should it multiply to any extent, it may, in time, become as great
a pest as the European turnip flea-beetle, which it closely resem-
bles in its appearance, and in all its habits. Though rather larger
than the cucumber flea-beetle, and of a longer oval shape, it is
considerably less than one tenth of an inch in length. It is of a
polished black color, with a broad wavy buff-colored stripe on
each wing-cover, and the knees and feet are reddish yellow.
Specimens are sometimes found having two bufT-yellow spots on
each wing-cover instead of the wavy stripe. These were not
known, by Fabricius, to be merely varieties of the striolata, and
accordingly he described them as distinct, under the name of
bipustidata,* the two-spotted.

The steel-blue flea-beetle, Haltica chalybea of Illiger, or the
grape-vine flea-beetle, as it might be called on account of its
habits, is found in almost all parts of the United States, on wild
and cultivated grape-vines, the buds and leaves of which it de-
stroys. Though it has received the specific name of chalybea,
meaning steel-blue, it is exceedingly variable in its color, speci-
mens being often seen on the same vine, of a dark purple, violet,
Prussian blue, greenish blue, and deep green color. The most
common tint of the upper side is a glossy, deep, greenish blue ;
the under-side is dark green ; and the antennae and feet are dull
black. The body is oblong-oval, and the hinder part of the
thorax is marked with a transverse furrow. It measures rather
more than three twentieths of an inch in length. In this part of
the country these beetles begin to come out of their winter quar-
ters towards the end of April, and continue to appear till the
latter part of May. Soon after their first appearance they pair,
and probably lay their eggs on the leaves of the vine, and perhaps
on other plants also. A second brood of the beetles is found on
the grape-vines towards the end of July. I have not had an op-
portunity to trace the history of these insects any further, and con-

Crioccris bipustulata, Fabricius.

COLEOPTERA. 105

sequently their larvae are unknown to me. Mr. David Thomas
has given an interesting account of their habits and ravages in the
twenty-sixth volume of Silliman's "American Journal of Science
and Arts." These brilliant insects were observed by him, in the
spring of 1831, in Cayuga County, N. Y., creeping on the vines,
and destroying the buds, by eating out the central succulent parts.
Some had burrowed even half their length into the buds. When
disturbed, they jump rather than fly, and remain where they fall
for a time without motion. During the same season these beetles
appeared in unusually great numbers in New Haven, Conn., and its
vicinity, and the injury done by them then was "wholly unexam-
pled." " Some vines were entirely despoiled of their fruit buds,
so as to be rendered, for that season, barren." Mr. Thomas
found the vine-leaves were infested, in the years 1830 and 1831,
by " small chestnut-colored smooth worms," and suspecting
these to be the larvae of the beetle (which he called Chrysomela
vilivora), he fed them in a tumbler, containing some moist earth,
until they were fully grown, when they buried themselves in the
earth. " After a fortnight or so," some of the beetles were found
in the tumbler. Hence there is no doubt that the former were the
larvae of the beetles, and that they undergo their transformations
in the ground. A good description of the larvae, and a more full
account of their habits, seasons, and changes, are still wanted.

In England, where the ravages of the turnip flea-beetle have
attracted great attention, and have caused many and various ex-
periments to be tried with a view of checking them, it is thought
that " the careful and systematic use of lime will obviate, in a
great degree, the danger which has been experienced" from this
insect. From this and other statements in favor of the use of
lime, there is good reason to hope that it will effectually protect
plants from the various kinds of flea-beetles, if dusted over them,
when wet with dew, in proper season. Watering plants with alka-
line solutions, it is said, will kill the insects without injuring the
plants. The solution may be made by dissolving one pound of
hard soap in twelve gallons of the soap-suds left after washing.
This mixture should be applied twice a day with a water-pot.
Kollar very highly recommends watering or wetting the leaves of
plants with an infusion or tea of wormwood, which prevents the flea-
14

106 INSECTS OF MASSACHUSETTS.

beetles from touching them. Perhaps a decoction of walnut-leaves
might be equally serviceable. Great numbers of the beetles may
be caught by the skilful use of a deep bag-net of muslin, which
should be swept over the plants infested by the beetles, after
which the latter may be easily destroyed. This net cannot be
used with safety to catch the insects on very young plants, on
account of the risk of bruising or breaking their tender leaves.

The Chrysomelians, Chrysomelad2E, properly so called, form
the third family of the tribe to which I have given the same name,
because these insects hold the chief place in it, in respect to size,
beauty, variety, and numbers. These leaf-beetles are mostly
broad oval, sometimes nearly hemispherical, in their form, or
very convex above and flat beneath. The head is rather wide,
and not concealed under the thorax. The latter is short, and
broad behind. The antennae are about half the length of the
body, and slightly thickened towards the end, and arise from the
sides of the head, between the eyes and the corners of the mouth ;
being much further apart than those of the Galerucians and flea-
beetles. The legs are rather short, nearly equal in length, and the
hindmost thighs are not thicker than the others, and are not fitted
for leaping. The colors of these beetles are often rich and bril-
liant, among which blue and green, highly polished, and with a
golden or metallic lustre, are the most common tints. The larvae
are soft-bodied, short, thick, and slug-shaped grubs, with six legs
before, and a prop-leg behind. They live exposed on the leaves of
plants, which they eat, and to which most of them fasten them-
selves by the tail, when about to be transformed. Some, how-
ever, go into the ground when about to change to pupa?. Many
of these insects, both in the larva and beetle state, have been
found to be very injurious to vegetation in other countries ; but I
am not aware that any of them have proved seriously injurious to
cultivated or other valuable plants in this country. There are
some, it is true, which may hereafter increase so as to give us
much trouble, unless effectual means are taken to protect and
cherish their natural enemies, the birds.

The largest species in New England inhabits the common milk-
weed, or silk-weed (Jlsclepias Syriaca), upon which it may be
found, in some or all of its states, from the middle of June till

COLEOPTERA. 107

September. Its head, thorax, body beneath, antenna) and legs
are deep blue, and its wing-covers orange, with three large black
spots upon them, namely, one on the shoulder, and another on the
tip of each, and the third across the base of both wing-covers.
Hence it was named Chrysomela trimaculata by Fabricius, or the
three-spotted Chrysomela. It is nearly three eighths of an inch
long, and almost hemispherical. Its larva? and pupa? are orange-
colored, spotted with black, and pass through their transformations
on the leaves of the Asclepias.

The most elegant of our Chrysomelians is the Chrysomela
scalaris of Leconte, literally the ladder Chrysomela. It is about
three tenths of an inch long, and of a narrower and more regularly
oval shape than the preceding. The head, thorax, and under-side
of its body are dark green, the wing-covers silvery white, orna-
mented with small green spots on the sides, and a broad jagged
stripe along the suture or inner edges ; the antennae and legs are
rust-red ; and the wings are rose-colored. It is a most beautiful
object when flying, with its silvery wing-covers, embossed with
green, raised up, and its rose-red wings spread out beneath them.
These beetles inhabit the lime or linden (Tilia Americana), and
the elm, upon which they may be found in April, May, and June,
and a second brood of them in September and October. They
pass the winter in holes, and under leaves and moss. The trees
on which they live are sometimes a good deal injured by them and
by their larva?. The latter are hatched from eggs laid by the
beetles on the leaves in the spring, and come to their growth
towards the end of June. They are then about six tenths of an
inch long, of a white color, with a black line along the top of the
back, and a row of small square black spots on each side of the
body ; the head is horny and of an ochre-yellow color. Like the
grubs of the preceding species, these are short, and very thick,
the back arching upwards very much in the middle. I believe
that they go into the ground to turn to pupa?. Should they be-
come so numerous as seriously to injure the lime and elm trees, it
may be found useful to throw decoctions of tobacco or of walnut
leaves on the trees by means of a garden or fire engine, a method
which has been employed with good effect for the destruction of
the larva? of Galeruca Calmariensis.

108 INSECTS OF MASSACHUSETTS.

The most common leaf-beetle of the family under consideration
is the blue-winged Chrysomela, or Chrysomela cccrultipennis of
Say, an insect hardly distinct from the European Chrysomela
Polygoni, and like the latter it lives in great numbers on the com-
mon knot-grass (Polygonum aviculare), which it completely strips
of its leaves two or three times in the course of the summer. This
little beetle is about three twentieths of an inch long. Its head,
wing-covers, and body beneath are dark blue ; its thorax and legs
are dull orange-red ; the upper side of its abdomen is also orange-
colored ; and the antennae and feet are blackish. The females
have a very odd appearance before they have laid their eggs,
their abdomen being enormously swelled out like a large orange-
colored ball, which makes it very difficult for them to move
about. I have found these insects on the knot-grass in every
month from April to September inclusive. The larva? eat the
lea.es ( f the same plant.

Having described the largest, the most elegant, and the most
common of our Chrysomelians, I must omit all the rest, except
the most splendid, which was called Eumolpus auratus by Fabri-
cius, that is, the gilde , Eumolpus. It is of a brilliant golden green
color above, and of a deep purplish green below ; the legs are
also purple-green ; but the It et and the antenna are blackish. The
thorax is narrower behind than the wing-covers, and the rest of the
body is more oblong oval than in the foregoing Chrysomelians.
It is about three eighths of an inch long. This splendid beetle
may be found in considerable numbers on the leaves of the dog's-
bane {Apocyivnn Androscrmifolium), which it devours, during the
months of July and August. The larva; are unknown to me.

The fourth family of the leaf-eating Chrysomelians consists of
the Cryptocephalians (Cryptocephalid;e), so named from the
principal genus Cryptocrphalus, a word signifying concealed head.
These insects somewhat resemble the beetles of the preceding
family ; but they are of a more cylindrical form, and the head is
bent down, and nearly concealed in the forepart of the thorax.
Their larvas are short, cylindrical, whitish grubs, which cat the
leaves of plants. Each one makes for itself a little cylindrical or
egg-shaped case, of a substance sometimes resembling clay, and
sometimes like horn, with an opening at one end, within which

COLEOPTERA. 109

the grub lives, putting out its head and fore-legs when it wishes to
eat or to move. When it is fully grown, it stops up the open end
of its case, and changes to a pupa, and afterwards to a beetle
within it, and then gnaws a hole through the case, in order to
escape. As none of these insects have been observed to do
much injury to plants in this country, I shall state nothing more
respecting them, than that Clythra dominicana inhabits the su-
mach, i . quadriguttata oak-trees, Chlamys gibbosa low whortle-
berry bushes, Crypto cephalus luridus the wild indigo-bush, and
most of the other species may be found on different kinds of oaks.

Although the blistering-beetles, or Cantharides (Canthari-
did.e), have been enumerated among the insects directly benefi-
cial to man, on account of the important use made of them in
medical practice, yet it must be admitted that they are often very
injurious to vegetation. The green Cantharides, or Spanish-flies,
as they are commonly called, are found in the South of Europe,
and particularly in Spain and Italy, where they are collected in
great quantities for exportation. In these countries they some-
times appear in immense swarms, on the privet, lilac, and ash ; so
that the limbs of these plants bend under their weight, and are en-
tirely stripped of their foliage by these leaf-eating beetles. In
like manner our native Cantharides devour the leaves of plants,
and sometimes prove very destructive to them.

Latreille, and other naturalists, who follow his system, arrange
these insects between the beetles having five-jointed feet, and
those which have only four joints in the same members. As they
were omitted in the place assigned to them by these naturalists,
they may, without impropriety, come under consideration at the
end of the leaf-eating beetles, since, according to Mr. Kirby, and
some others, they seem to lead to the insects in the order Orthop-
tera, which follows. The Cantharides are distinguished from all
the preceding insects by their feet, the hindmost pair of which
have only four joints, while the first and middle pairs are five-
jointed. In this respect they agree with many other beetles, such
as clocks or darkling-beetles, meal-beetles, some of the mush-

110 INSECTS OF MASSACHUSETTS.

room-beetles, flat bark-beetles, and the like, with which they
for ma large and distinct section of Coleopterous insects. The
following are the most striking peculiarities of the family to which
the blistering-beetles belong. The head is broad and nearly heart-
shaped, and it is joined to the thorax by a narrow neck. The
antennae are rather long and tapering, sometimes knotted in the
middle, particularly in the males. The thorax varies in form, but
is generally much narrower than the wing-covers. The latter are
soft and flexible, more or less bent down at the sides of the body,
usually long and narrow, sometimes short and overlapping on
their inner edges. The legs are long and slender ; the soles of
the feet are not broad, and are not cushioned beneath ; and the
claws are split to the bottom, or double, so that there appear to be
four claws to each foot. The body is quite soft, and when
handled, a yellowish fluid, of a disagreeable smell, comes out of the
joints. These beetles are timid insects, and when alarmed they
draw up their legs and feign themselves dead. Nearly all of them
have the power of raising blisters when applied to the skin, and
they retain it even when dead and perfectly dry. It is chiefly
this property that renders them valuable to physicians. Four of
our native Cantharides have been thus successfully employed, and
are found to be as powerful in their effects as the imported spe-
cies. For further particulars relative to their use, the reader is
referred to my account of them published in 1S24, in the first
volume of " The Boston Journal of Philosophy, and the Arts,"
and in the thirteenth volume of " The New England Medical and
Surgical Journal."

Occasionally potato-vines are very much infested by two or
three kinds of Cantharides, swarms of which attack and destroy
the leaves during midsummer. One of these kinds has thereby
obtained the name of the potato-fly. It is the Cant'iaris vittata*,
or striped Cantharis. It is of a dull tawny yellow or light yel-
lowish red color above, with two black spots on the head, and
two black stripes on the thorax and on each of the wing-covers.
The under-side of the body, the legs, and the antennae are black,
and covered with a grayish down. Its length is from five to six

Lytta vittata, Fabricius.

COLEOPTERA. Ill

tenths of an inch. In this and the three following species the tho-
rax is very much narrowed before, and the wing-covers are long
and narrow, and cover the whole of the back. The striped Can-
tharis is comparatively rare in New England ; but in the Middle
States it often appears in great numbers, and does much mischief
in potato-fields and gardens, eating up not only the leaves of the
potato, but those of many other vegetables. The habits of this
kind of Cantharis are similar to those of the following species.

There is a large blistering-beetle which is very common on
the virgin's bower (Clematis Virginiana), a trailing plant, which
grows wild in the fields, and is often cultivated for covering
arbors. I have sometimes seen this plant completely stripped of
its leaves by these insects, during the month of August. They
are very shy, and when disturbed fall immediately from the leaves,
and attempt to conceal themselves among the grass. They most
commonly resort to the low branches of the Clematis, or those
that trail upon the ground, and more rarely attack the upper parts
of the vine. They also eat the leaves of various kinds of Ranun-
culus or buttercups, and, in the Middle and Southern States, those
of Clematis viorna and crispa. This beetle is the Cantharis mar-
ginata of Olivier, or margined Cantharis. It measures six or seven
tenths of an inch in length. Its head and thorax are thickly cov-
ered with short gray down, and have a black spot on the upper side
of each ; the wing-covers are black, with a very narrow gray edg-
ing ; and the under-side of the body and the legs are also gray.

The most destructive kind of Cantharis, found in Massachu-
setts, is of a more slender form than the preceding, and measures
only from five and a half to six tenths of an inch in length. Its
antennae and feet are black, and all the rest of its body is ashen
gray, being thickly covered with a very short down of that color.
Hence it is called Cantharis cinerea*, or the ash-colored Can-
tharis. When the insect is rubbed, the ash-colored substance
comes off, leaving the surface black. It begins to appear in gar-
dens about the twentieth of June, and is very fond of the leaves of
the English bean, which it sometimes entirely destroys. It is
also occasionally found in considerable numbers on potato-vines ;

* Lytta cinerea, Fabricius.

112 INSECTS OF MASSACHUSETTS.

and in Cambridge, Massachusetts, it has repeatedly appeared in
great profusion upon hedges of the honey -locust, which have been
entirely stripped of foliage by these voracious insects. They are
also found on the wild indigo-weed. In the night, and in rainy
weather, they descend from the plants, and burrow in the ground,
or under leaves and tufts of grass. Thither also they retire for
shelter during the heat of the day, being most actively engaged in
eating in the morning and evening. About the first of August
they go into the ground and lay their eggs, and these are hatched
in the course of one month. The larvae are slender, somewhat
flattened grubs, of a yellowish color, banded with black, with a
small reddish head, and six legs. These grubs are very active in
their motions, and appear to live upon fine roots in the ground ;
but I have not been able to keep them till they arrived at matu-
rity, and therefore know nothing further of their history.

About the middle of August, and during the rest of this and the
following month, a jet-black Cantharis may be seen on potato-
vines, and also on the blossoms and leaves of various kinds of
golden-rod, particularly the tall golden-rod (Solidqtgo aJtissima),
which seems to be its favorite food. In some places it is as plen-
tiful in potato-fields as the striped and the margined Cantharis,
and by its serious ravages has often excited attention. These
three kinds, in fact, are often confounded under the common
name of potato-flies ; and it is still more remarkable, that they are
collected for medical use, and are sold in our shops by the name
of Cantharis vittaia, without a suspicion of their being distinct
from each other. The black Cantharis, or Cantharis atrataj, is
totally black, without bands or spots, and measures from four
tenths to half of an inch in length. I have repeatedly taken these
insects, in considerable quantities, by brushing or shaking them
from the potato-vines into a broad tin pan, from which they were
emptied into a covered pail containing a little water in it, which,
by wetting their wings, prevented their flying out when the pail
was uncovered. The same method may be employed for taking
the other kinds of Cantharides, when they become troublesome
and destructive from their numbers ; or they may be caught by
gently sweeping the plants they frequent with a deep muslin bag-

t Lytta atrata, Fubricius.

COLEOPTERA. 113

net. They should be killed by throwing them into scalding
water, for one or two minutes, after which they may be spread
out on sheets of paper to dry, and may be made profitable by sell-
ing them to the apothecaries for medical use.

There are some blistering-beetles, belonging to another genus,
which seem deserving of a passing notice, not on account of any
great injury committed by them, but because they can be used in
medicine like the foregoing, and are considered by some natural-
ists as forming one of the links connecting the orders Coleoptera
and Orthoptera together. These insects belong to the genus
Meloe, so named, it is supposed, because they are of a black, or
deep blue-black color. They are called oil-beetles, in England,
on account of the yellowish liquid which oozes from their joints
in large drops when they are handled. Their head is large, heart-
shaped, and bent down, as in the other blistering-beetles. Their
thorax is narrowed behind, and very small in proportion to the
rest of the body. The latter is egg-shaped, pointed behind, and
so enormously large, that it drags on the ground when the beetle
attempts to walk. The wings are wanting, and of course these
insects are unable to fly, although they have a pair of very short
oval wing-covers, which overlap on their inner edges, and do not
cover more than one third of the abdomen. These beetles eat
the leaves of various kinds of buttercups.

Our common species is the JVIcloe angusticollis of Say, or
narrow-necked oil-beetle. It is of a dark indigo-blue color ; the
thorax is very narrow, and the antennae of the male are curiously
twisted and knotted in the middle. It measures from eight tenths
of an inch to one inch in length. It is very common on butter-
cups in the autumn, and I have also found it eating the leaves of
potato-vines.

The foregoing insects are but a small number of those, belong-
ing to the order Coleoptera, which are injurious to vegetation.
Those only have been selected that are the most remarkable for
their ravages, or would best serve to illustrate the families and
genera to which they belong. The orders Orthoptera, Hemip-
tera, Lepidoptera, Hymenoptera, and Diptera, remain to be
treated in the same way, in carrying out the plan upon which this
treatise has been begun, and to which it is limited.

15

114 INSECTS OF MASSACHUSETTS.

ORTHOPTERA.

Earwigs. Cockroaches. — Mantes, or Soothsayers. — Walking-leaves.
Walking-sticks, or Spectres. — Mole-Cricket. Field Crickets. Climb-
ing Cricket. Cucumber Skippers. Awl-bearer, or Wingless-Cricket.
Grasshoppers. Katy-did. Locusts.

The destructive insects popularly known in this country by the
name of grasshoppers, but which, in our version of the Bible,
and in other works in the English language, are called locusts,
have, from a period of very high antiquity, attracted the attention
of mankind by their extensive and lamentable ravages. It should
here be remarked, that in America the name of locust is very
improperly given to the Cicada of the ancients, or the harvest-fly
of English writers, some kinds of which will be the subject of
future remark in this essay. The name of locust will here be
restricted to certain kinds of grasshoppers ; while the popularly
named locust, which, according to common belief, appears only
once in seventeen years, must drop this name and take the more
correct one of Cicada or harvest-fly. The very frequent mis-
application of names, by persons unacquainted with natural his-
tory, is one of the greatest obstacles to the progress of science,
and shows how necessary it is that things should be called by
their right names, if the observations communicated respecting
them are to be of any service. Every intelligent farmer is capa-
ble of becoming a good observer, and of making valuable dis-
coveries in natural history ; but if he be ignorant of the proper
names of the objects examined, or if he give to them names,
which previously have been applied by other persons to entirely
different objects, he will fail to make the result of his observa-
tions intelligible and useful to the community.

The insects which I here call locusts, together with other
grasshoppers, earwigs, crickets, spectres or walking-sticks, and
walking-leaves, soothsayers, cockroaches, &c, belong to an order
called Orthoptera, literally straight-wings ; for their wings,
when not in use, are folded lengthwise in narrow plaits like a fan,
and are laid straight along the top or sides of the back. They

ORTHOPTERA. 115

are also covered by a pair of thicker wing-like members, which,
in the locusts and grasshoppers, are long and narrow, and lie
lengthwise on the sides of the body, sloping outwards on each
side like the roof of a house ; in the cockroaches, these upper
wings or wing-covers, are broader, almost oval, and lie horizon-
tally on the top of the back, overlapping on their inner edges ;
and in the crickets, the wing-covers, when closed, are placed like
those of cockroaches, but have a narrow outer border, which is
folded perpendicularly downwards so as to cover the sides of the
body also.

All the Orthopterous insects are provided with transversely
movable jaws, more or less like those of beetles, but they do not
undergo a complete transformation in coming to maturity. The
young, in fact, often present a close resemblance to the adult in-
sects in form, and differ from them chiefly in wanting wings.
They move about and feed precisely like their parents, but change
their skins repeatedly before they come to their full size. The
second stage in the progress of the Orthopterous insects to ma-
turity, is not, like that of beetles, a state of inactivity and rest, in
which the insect loses the grub-like or larva form which it had
when hatched from the egg, and becomes a pupa or chrysalis,
more nearly resembling the form of a beetle, but soft, whitish,
and with its undeveloped wings and limbs incased in a thin trans-
parent skin which impedes all motion. On the contrary, the Or-
thoptera, in the pupa state, do not differ from the young and
from the old insects, except in having the rudiments of wings and
wing-covers projecting, like little scales, from the back near the
thorax. These pupae are active and voracious, and increase
greatly in size, which is not the case with the insects that are sub-
ject to a complete transformation, for such never eat or grow in
the pupa state. When fully grown, they cast off their skins for
the sixth or last time, and then appear in the adult or perfect state,
fully provided with all their members, with the exception of a few
kinds which remain wingless throughout their whole lives. The
slight changes to which the Orthoptera are subject, consist of
nothing more than a successive series of moultings, during which
their wings are gradually developed. These changes may re-
ceive the name of imperfect or incomplete transformation, in con-

116 INSECTS OF MASSACHUSETTS.

tradistinction to the far greater changes exhibited by those insects
which pass through a complete transformation in their progress to
maturity.

Cockroaches are general feeders, and nothing comes amiss to
them, whether of vegetable or animal nature ; the Mantes or
soothsayers are predaceous and carnivorous, devouring weaker
insects, and even those of their own kind occasionally ; but by
far the greater part of the Orthopterous insects subsist on vegeta-
ble food, grass, flowers, fruits, the leaves, and even the bark of
trees : whence it follows, in connexion with their considerable
size, their great voracity, and the immense troops or swarms in
which they too often appear, that they are capable of doing great
injury to vegetation.

The Orthoptera may be divided into four large groups :

1. Runners (Orthoptera cursoria*), including earwigs and
cockroaches, with all the legs fitted for rapid motion ;

2. Graspers (Orthoptera raptoria), such as the Mantes, or
soothsayers, with the shanks of the fore-legs capable of being
doubled upon the under-side of the thigh, which, moreover, is
armed with teeth, and thus forms an instrument for seizing and
holding their prey ;

3. Walkers (Orthoptera ambulatoria) , like the spectres or
walking-sticks, having weak and slender legs, which do not admit
of rapid motion ; and

4. Jumpers (Orthoptera saltatoria), such as crickets, grass-
hoppers, and locusts, in which the thighs of the hind-legs are
much larger than the others, and are filled and moved with power-
ful muscles, which enable these insects to leap with facility.

I. RUNNERS. [Orthoptera Cursoria.)

In English works on gardening, earwigs are reckoned among
obnoxious insects, various remedies are suggested to banish them
from the garden, and even traps and other devices are described
for capturing and destroying them. These little insects have got
a bad name, whether deservedly or not, has never appeared ; and,

* These are the four divisions proposed by Mr. IVestwood in his " Introduc-
tion," who, however, applies to them their Latin names only.

ORTHOPTERA. 117

since they already lie under reproach, they seem to have kept up
their claim to it, by turning pilferers to such an extent, that it has
become necessary to set a vigilant watch on their proceedings.
They are particularly fond of taking up their abode in melon and
hot-bed frames, where they find a congenial warmth, and an abun-
dance of tender and juicy food ; they are accused, and not
without reason, of getting the first taste of ripe fruit ; they seem
also to be quite as well pleased with beautiful, rare, and odorous
flowers, as the most enthusiastic florist, but show their admiration
by making a meal of them. They have a rather long and some-
what flattened body, which is armed at the hinder end with a pair
of slender sharp-pointed blades, opening and shutting horizontally
like scissors, or like a pair of nippers, which suggested the name
of Forficula, literally little nippers, applied to them by scientific
writers. Although no well authenticated instances are on record
of their entering the human ear, yet, during the day-time, they
creep into all kinds of crevices for the sake of concealment, and
come out to feed chiefly by night. They seem to be as timid as
hares, and when disturbed run into the nearest hole, satisfied, like
the quadrupeds above named, if they can get their heads under
cover, and thus exclude the sight of danger, even when their
bodies are fully exposed. Hence, it often happens that they will
be found with their heads buried in the bottom of flowers, their
forked tails sticking up among the stamens and pistils, so that they
might escape the notice of any one but a botanist or an entomolo-
gist. They are very injurious to flowers, eating holes in the
blossoms, and otherwise disfiguring them, particularly the dahlia ;
and Mouffet* says that "ox-hoofs, bog's hoofs, or old cast things
are used as traps for them by the English women, who hate them
exceedingly, because of clove-gilliflowers that they eat and spoyl."
It is common with English gardeners to hang up, among the flow-
ers and fruit-trees subject to their attacks, pieces of hollow reeds,
lobster claws, and the like, which offer enticing places of re-
treat for these insects on the approach of daylight, and by means
thereof great numbers of them are obtained in the morning. The
little creeping animal, with numerous legs, commonly, but errone-

* Quoted from Westwood's " Introduction."

118 INSECTS OF MASSACHUSETTS.

ously called earwig in America, is not an insect ; but of the true
earwig we have several species, though they are by no means
common, and certainly never appear in such numbers as to prove
seriously injurious to vegetation. Nevertheless, it seemed well to
give to this kind of insect a passing notice in its proper place
among the Orthoptera, were it only for its notoriety in other
countries.

Of cockroaches (Blatta) we have also several kinds ; those which
are indigenous I believe are found exclusively in woods, under stones
and leaves, while the others, and particularly the Oriental cock-
roach ( Blatta orientalis), which is supposed to have originated in
Asia, whence it has spread to Europe, and thence to America, and
has multiplied and become established in most of our maritime
commercial towns, are domestic species, and are found in houses,
under kitchen hearths, about ovens, and in dark and warm closets,
whence they issue at night, and prowl about in search of food.
But, as these disgusting and ill-smelling insects confine themselves
to our dwellings, and do not visit our gardens and fields, they will
require no further remarks than the mention of a method which
has sometimes been found useful in destroying them. Mix to-
gether a table-spoon full of red-lead and of Indian meal with mo-
lasses enough to make a thick batter, and place the mixture at
night on a plate or piece of board in the closets or on the hearths
frequented by the cockroaches. They will eat it and become
poisoned thereby. The dose is to be repeated for several nights
in succession.

II. GRASPERS. (Orthoptera raptoria.)

These, which consist of the Mantes, called praying-mantes and
soothsayers, from their singular attitudes and motions, and camel-
crickets, from the great length of the neck, are chiefly tropical
insects, though some of them are occasionally found in this
country. Moreover, they are exclusively predaceous insects,
seizing, with their singular fore-legs, caterpillars, and other weaker
insects which they devour. They are, therefore, to be enumerated
among the insects that are beneficial to mankind, by keeping in
check those that subsist on vegetable food.

ORTHOPTERA. 119

III. WALKERS. (Orthoptcra ambulaloria.)

To this division belong various insects, mostly found in warm
climates, and displaying the most extraordinary forms. Some of
them are furnished with wings, which, by their shape, and the
branching veins with which they are covered, exactly represent
leaves, either green, or dry and withered ; such are the walking-
leaves, as they are called, (Phy Ilium pulchrifolium, si cci folium,
&c). Others are wingless, of a long and cylindrical shape, re-
sembling a stick with the bark on it, while the slender legs, stand-
ing out on each side, give to these insects almost precisely the
appearance of a little branching twig, whence is derived the name
of walking-sticks, generally applied to them. The South Amer-
ican Bacteria arumatia, rubispinosa, and phyllina, and two spe-
cies of Diapheromera 9 described and figured in Say's "American
Entomology," under the names of Spectrum femoratum and bi-
vittatum, are of the latter description. These insects are very
sluggish and inactive, are found among trees and bushes, on
which they often remain motionless for a long time, or walk slowly
over the leaves and young shoots, which are their appropriate food.
The American species are not so numerous, and have not
proved so injurious as particularly to attract attention.

IV. JUMPERS. [Orthoptera sallatoria.)

These are by far the most abundant and prolific, and the most
destructive of the Orthopterous insects. They were all included
by Linnaeus in his great genus Gryllus, in separate divisions, how-
ever, three of which correspond to the families Jlchetadas,*
Grylliadm,] and Locustiadaz,^ in my "Catalogue of the Insects
of Massachusetts," and may retain the synonymous English
names of Crickets, Grasshoppers, and Locusts. These three
families may thus be distinguished from each other.

1. Crickets (Achetad^e) ; with the wing-covers horizontal, and
furnished with a narrow, deflexed outer border ; antennas long and

* Gryllus Jlcheta, Linnaeus. t Gryllus Tettigonia, L.

t Gryllus Locusta, L.

120 INSECTS OF MASSACHUSETTS.

tapering ; feet with not more than three joints ; two tapering,
downy bristles at the end of the body, between which, in most of
the females, is a long spear-pointed piercer.

2. Grasshoppers (Gryllid^:) ; with the wing-covers sloping
downwards at the sides of the body, or roofed, and not bordered ;
antennae long and tapering ; feet with four joints ; end of the
body, in the females, with a projecting sword or sabre-shaped
piercer.

3. Locusts (Locustad^:) ; with the w7ing-covers roofed, and
not bordered ; antennae rather short, and in general not tapering at
the end : feet with only three joints ; female without a projecting
piercer.

1. Crickets. (Jlcheladce.)

There may sometimes be seen in moist and soft ground, par-
ticularly around ponds, little ridges or hills of loose fresh earth,
smaller than those which are formed by moles. They cover little
burrows, that usually terminate beneath a stone or clod of turf.
These burrows are made and inhabited by mole-crickets, which
are among the most extraordinary of the cricket kind. The
common mole-cricket of this country is, when fully grown, about
one inch and a quarter in length, of a light bay or fawn color, and
covered with a very short and velvet-like down. The wing-
covers are not half the length of the abdomen, and the wings are
also short, their tips, when folded, extending only about one eighth
of an inch beyond the wing-covers. The fore-legs are admirably
adapted for digging, being very short, broad, and strong ; and the
shanks, which are excessively broad, flat, and three-sided, have
the lower side divided by deep notches into four finger-like pro-
jections, that give to this part very much the appearance and the
power of the hand of a mole. From this similarity in structure,
and from its burrowing habits, this insect receives its scientific
name of Gryllotalpa, derived from Gryllus, the ancient name of
the cricket, and Talpa, a mole ; and our common species has the
additional name of brevipennis,* or short-winged, to distinguish it
from the European species, which has much longer wings. Mole-

• Serville. " Orthopteres," p. 308.

ORTHOPTERA. 121

crickets avoid the light of day, and are active chiefly during the
night. They live on the tender roots of plants, and in Europe,
where they infest moist gardens and meadows, they often do great
injury by burrowing under the turf, and cutting off the roots of
the grass, and by undermining and destroying, in this way, some-
times whole beds of cabbages, beans, and flowers. In the West
Indies, extensive ravages have been committed in the plantations
of the sugar-cane, by another species, Gryllotalpa didactyla, which
has only two finger-like projections on the shin. The mole-
cricket of Europe lays from two to three hundred eggs, and the
young do not come to maturity till the third year ; circumstances
both contributing greatly to increase the ravages of these insects.
It is observed, that, in proportion as cultivation is extended,
destructive insects multiply, and their depredations become more
serious. We may, therefore, in process of time, find mole-
crickets in this country quite as much a pest as they are in Eu-
rope, although their depredations have hitherto been limited to so
small an extent as not to have attracted much notice. Should
it hereafter become necessary to ■ employ means for checking
them, poisoning might be tried, such as placing, in the vicinity of
their burrows, grated carrots or potatoes mixed with arsenic. It
is well known that swine will eat almost all kinds of insects, and
that they are very sagacious in rooting them out of the ground.
They might, therefore, be employed with advantage to destroy
these and other noxious insects, if other means should fail.

We have no house-crickets in America ; our species inhabit
gardens and fields, and enter our houses only by accident.
Crickets are, in great measure, nocturnal and solitary insects,
concealing themselves by day, and coming from their retreats to
seek their food and their mates by night. There are some spe-
cies, however, which differ greatly from the others in their social
habits. These are not unfrequently seen during the daytime in
great numbers in paths, and by the road-side ; but the other kinds
rarely expose themselves to the light of day, and their music is
heard only at night. With crickets, as with grasshoppers, lo-
custs, and harvest-flies, the males only are musical ; for the fe-
males are not provided with the instruments from which the sounds
emitted by these different insects are produced. In the male

16

122 INSECTS OF MASSACHUSETTS.

cricket these make a part of the wing-covers, the horizontal and
overlapping portion of which, near the thorax, is convex, and
marked with large, strong, and irregularly curved veins. When
the cricket shrills (we cannot say sings, for he has no vocal or-
gans), he raises the wing-covers a little, and shuffles them together
lengthwise, so that the projecting veins of one are made to grate
against those of the other. The English name cricket, and the
French cri-cri, are evidently derived from the creaking sounds of
these insects. Mr. White, of Selborne, says that " the shrilling
of the field-cricket, though sharp and stridulous, yet marvellously
delights some hearers, filling their minds with a train of summer
ideas of every thing that is rural, verdurous, and joyous " ; sen-
timents in which few persons, if any, in America will participate ;
for with us the creaking of crickets does not begin till summer is
gone, and the continued and monotonous sounds, which they keep
up during the whole night, so long as autumn lasts, are both weari-
some and sad. Where crickets abound, they do great injury to
vegetation, eating the most tender parts of plants, and even de-
vouring fruits and roots, whenever they can get them. Melons,
squashes, and even potatoes are often eaten by them, and the quan-
tity of grass that they destroy must be great, from the immense
numbers of these insects which are sometimes seen in our meadows
and fields. They may be poisoned in the same way as mole-
crickets. Crickets are not entirely confined to a vegetable diet ;
they devour other insects whenever they meet with and can over-
power them. They deposit their eggs, which are numerous, in
the ground, making holes for their reception with their long, spear-
pointed piercers. The eggs are laid in the autumn, and do not
appear to be hatched till the ensuing summer. The old insects,
for the most part, die on the approach of cold weather ; but a few
survive the winter, by sheltering themselves under stones, or in
holes secure from the access of water.

The scientific name of the genus that includes the cricket is
Acheta, and our common species is the Jlcheta abbrcviata, so
named from the shortness of its wings, which do not extend
beyond the wing-covers. It is about three quarters of an inch in
length, of a black color, with a brownish tinge at the base of the
wing-covers, and a pale line on each side above the deflexed bor-

ORTHOPTERA. 123

der. The pale line is most distinct in the female, and is often-
times entirely wanting in the male.

We have another species with very short or abortive wings ; it is
entirely of a black color, and measures six tenths of an inch in
length from the head to the end of the body. It may be called
Jlchzta nigra, the black cricket.

A third species, differing from these two in being entirely
destitute of wings, and in having the wing-covers proportionally
much shorter, and the last joint of the feelers (palpi) almost
twice the length of the preceding joint, is furthermore dis-
tinguished from them by its greatly inferior size, and its dif-
ferent coloring. It measures from three to above four tenths
of an inch in length, and varies in color from dusky brown to
rusty black, the wing-covers and hindmost thighs being always
somewhat lighter. In the brownish colored varieties three longi-
tudinal black lines are distinctly visible on the top of the head,
and a black line on each side of the thorax, which is continued
along the sides of the wing-covers to their tips. This black line
on the wing-covers is never wanting, even in the darkest varieties.
The hindmost thighs have, on the outside, three rows of short
oblique black lines, presenting somewhat of a twilled appearance.
This is one of the social species, which, associated together in
great swarms, and feeding in common, frequent our meadows and
road-sides, and, so far from avoiding the light of day, seem to be
quite as fond of it as others are of darkness. It may be called
Jlcheta vittata*, the striped cricket.

These kinds of crickets live upon the ground, and among the
grass and low herbage ; but there is another kind which inhabits
the stems and branches of shrubs and trees, concealing itself during
the daytime among the leaves, or in the flowers of these plants.
Some Isabella grape-vines, which were trained against one side of
my house, were much resorted to by these delicate and noisy little
crickets. The males begin to be heard about the middle of Au-
gust, and do not leave us until after the middle of September.
Their shrilling is excessively loud, and is produced, like that of
other crickets, by the rubbing of one wing-cover against the other ;

* It belongs to M. Serville's new genus Nemobius.

124 INSECTS OF MASSACHUSETTS.

but they generally raise their wing-covers much higher than other
crickets do while they are playing. These wing-covers, in the
males, are also very large, and as long as the wings ; they are ex-
ceedingly thin, and perfectly transparent, and have the horizontal
portion divided into four unequal parts by three oblique raised
lines, two of which are parallel and form an angle with the anterior
line. The antennae and legs are both very long and slender, the
hinder thighs being much smaller in proportion than those of other
crickets, and the hindmost feet have four instead of three joints.
The two bristle-formed appendages at the end of the body are as
long as the piercer, and the latter is only about half the length of
the body, while, in the ground-crickets, the piercer is usually
as long as the body or longer. These insects have, therefore,
been separated from the other crickets under the generical name
of CEcanthus, a word which means inhabiting flowers. They
may be called climbing-crickets, from their habit of mounting upon
plants and dwelling among the leaves and flowers. According to
M. Salvi* the female makes several perforations in the tender
stems of plants, and in each perforation thrusts two eggs quite to
the pith. The eggs are hatched about midsummer, and the young
immediately issue from their nests and conceal themselves among
the thickest foliage of the plant. When arrived at maturity the
males begin their nocturnal serenade at the approach of twilight,
and continue it, with little or no intermission till the dawn of day.
Should one of these little musicians get admission to the chamber,
his incessant and loud shrilling will effectually banish sleep. Of
three species which inhabit the United States, one only is found
in Massachusetts. It is the Q^canthus niveus, or white climbing-
cricket. The male is ivory-white, with the upper side of the first
joint of the antennas, and the head between the eyes, of an ochre-
yellow color ; there is a minute black dot on the under-sides of
the first and second joints of the antennae ; and, in some individu-
als, the extremities of the feet, and the under-sides of the hind-
most thighs, are ochre-yellow. The body is about half an inch
long, exclusive of the wing-covers. The female is usually rather
longer, but the wing-covers are much narrower than those of the

* Memorie intorno le Locuste grillajole. tivo. Verona : I7o0.

ORTHOPTERA. 125

male, and there is a great diversity of coloring in this sex ; the
body being sometimes almost white, or pale greenish yellow, or
dusky, and blackish beneath. There are three dusky stripes on
the head and thorax, and the legs, antennae, and piercer are more
or less dusky or blackish. The wing-covers and wings are
yellowish white, sometimes with a tinge of green, and the wings
are rather longer than the covers.

In Europe there are found, in ant-hills, little jumping insects
about three twentieths of an inch in length, of a brownish color,
with an egg-shaped body, entirely destitute of wings and wing-
covers. The head is very small, and nearly concealed under the
forepart of the body ; the hindmost thighs are remarkably thick ;
and the female has a very short piercer, not exceeding the terminal
appendages in length. These insects belong to the genus Myr-
mecophila. Several years ago I observed that cucumber vines
were much infested by some minute jumping insects, rather less
than one tenth of an inch long, of a broad oval shape, and black
color, without wing-covers or wings, but furnished with short
thick hinder thighs. They injured the vines very much by eating
holes into or puncturing the leaves, and were expelled by dusting
the plants with flour of sulphur. These cucumber-skippers were
so soft and tender, and withal so agile, that it was difficult to catch
without crushing them. Consequently I was unable to examine
them thoroughly, and failed to preserve specimens of them. It
is possible that they may come near to the genus JWyrmecophila,
which was unknown to me at the time ; and since then these mi-
nute insects have escaped my observation. They were very
different from the little flea-beetles (Haltica cucumeris or pu-
bescens), also found on cucumber-vines, which have already been
noticed among the Coleopterous insects.*

2. Grasshoppers. (Gryllidce.)

Grasshoppers, properly so called, as before stated, are those
jumping orthopterous insects which have four joints to all their
feet, long bristle-formed antennae, and in which the females are
provided with a piercer, flattened at the sides, and somewhat re-

* See p. 103.

126 INSECTS OF MASSACHUSETTS.

sembling a sword or cimeter in shape. The wing-covers slope
downwards at the sides of the body, and overlap only a little on
the top of the back near the thorax. This overlapping portion,
which forms a long triangle, is traversed, in the males, by strong
projecting veins, between which, in many of them, are mem-
branous spaces as transparent as glass. The sounds emitted by
the males, and varying according to the species, are produced by
the friction of these overlapping portions together.

In Massachusetts there is one kind of grasshopper, which forms
a remarkable exception to the other native insects of this family ;
and, as it does not seem to have been named or described by any
author, although by no means an uncommon insect, it may receive
a passing notice here. It is found only under stones and rubbish
in woods, has a short thick body, and remarkably stout hind
thighs, like a cricket, but is entirely destitute of wing-covers and
wings, even when arrived at maturity. It probably belongs to
M. Serville's genus Raphidophora, the awl-bearer, only one spe-
cies of which has been described, and that one is a native of Java.
I propose, therefore, to call this species Raphidophora maculata*,
the spotted awl-bearer. Its body is of a pale yellowish brown
color, darker on the back, which is covered with little light-
colored spots, and the outside of the hindmost thighs is marked
with numerous short oblique lines, disposed in parallel rows, like
those on the thighs of Jlcheta vittata. It varies in length from
one half to more than three quarters of an inch, exclusive of the
piercer and legs. The body is smooth and shining, and the
back is arched.

Most grasshoppers are of a green color, and are furnished with
wings and wing-covers, the latter frequently resembling the leaves
of trees, upon which, indeed, many of these insects pass the
greater part of their lives. Their leaf-like form and green color
evidently seem to have been designed for the better concealment
of these insects. They commit their eggs to the earth, dropping
them into holes made for this purpose by their piercers. They
lay a large number of eggs at a time, and cover them with a kind
of varnish, which, when dry, forms a thin film that completely

Gnjllus maculatus, Harris. Catalogue of the Jnsects of Massachusetts.

ORTHOPTERA. 127

encloses them. Their eggs are laid in the autumn, and usually
are not hatched till the following spring. They are nocturnal in-
sects, or at least more active by night than by day. When taken
between the fingers, they emit from their mouths a considerable
quantity of dark-colored fluid, as do also the locusts or diurnal
grasshoppers. They devour the leaves of trees, and of other
plants, and lead a solitary life, or at least do not associate and mi-
grate from place to place in great swarms, like some of the crickets
and the locusts.

Some of these grasshoppers have the front of the head obtuse,
and others have it conical, or prolonged to a point between the
antennae. Among the former is the insect, which, from its pe-
culiar note, is called the katy-did. Its body is of a pale green
color, the wing-covers and wings being somewhat darker. Its
thorax is rough like shagreen, and has somewhat the form of a
saddle, being curved downwards on each side, and rounded and
slightly elevated behind, and is marked by two slightly transverse
furrows. The wings are rather shorter than the wing-covers, and
the latter are very large, oval, and concave, and enclose the body
within their concavity, meeting at the edges above and below,
somewhat like the two sides or valves of a pea-pod. The veins
are large, very distinct, and netted like those of some leaves, and
there is one vein of larger size running along the middle of each
wing-cover, and simulating the midrib of a leaf. The musical
organs of the male consists of a pair of taborets. They are
formed by a thin and transparent membrane stretched in a strong
half-oval frame in the triangular overlapping portion of each wing-
cover. During the daytime these insects are silent, and conceal
themselves among the leaves of trees ; but at night, they quit
their lurking places, and the joyous males begin the tell-tale call
with which they enliven their silent mates. This proceeds from
the friction of the taboret frames against each other when the
wing-covers are opened and shut, and consists of two or three dis-
tinct notes almost exactly resembling articulated sounds, and cor-
responding with the number of times that the wing-covers are
opened and shut ; and the notes are repeated, at intervals of a
few minutes, for hours together. The mechanism of the taborets,
and the concavity of the wing-covers, reverberate and increase the

128 INSECTS OF MASSACHUSETTS.

sound to such a degree, that it may be heard, in the stillness of
the night, at the distance of a quarter of a mile. At the approach
of twilight the katy-did mounts to the upper branches of the tree
in which he lives, and, as soon as the shades of evening prevail,
begins his noisy babble, while rival notes issue from the neigh-
bouring trees, and the groves resound with the call of " katy-did,
she-did," the live-long night. Of this insect I have met with no
scientific description except my own, which was published in
1831 in the eighth volume of the " Encyclopaedia Americana,"
page 42. It is the Platyphyllum* concavumf, and measures,
from the head to the end of the wing-covers, rather more than
one inch and a half, the body alone being one inch in length.
The piercer is broad, laterally compressed, and curved like a
cimeter ; and there are, in both sexes, two little thorn-like pro-
jections from the middle of the breast between the fore-legs. It
is found in the perfect state during the months of September and
October.

We have another broad-winged green grasshopper, differing
from the katy-did, in having the wing-covers narrower, flat
and not concave, and shorter than the wings, the thorax
smooth, flat above, and abruptly bent downwards at a right angle
on each side, and the breast without any projecting spines in the
middle. The piercer has the same form as that of the katy-did. .
The musical organ of the left wing-cover, which is the uppermost,
is not transparent, but is green and opake, and is traversed by a
strong curved vein ; that of the right wing-cover is semi-transparent
in the middle. This insect is the Pkylloptera oblongifolia^ or
oblong leaf-winged grasshopper. Its body measures about an
inch in length, and from the head to the tips of the wings, from
an inch and three quarters to three inches. It is found in its per-
fect state, during the months of September and October, upon
trees, and, when it flies, makes a whizzing noise somewhat like
that of a weaver's shuttle. The notes of the male, though grat-
ing, are comparatively feeble.

* Platijplnjllum means broad-wing.
t Can this be the Locusta pcrspiciUata of Fabricius ?

X Locusta oblongifolia of De Geer, a different species from the laurifolia of
Linnaeus, with which it has been confounded by many naturalists.

ORTHOPTERA. 129

A third species, also of a green color, with still narrower
wing-covers, which are of almost equal width from one end to
the other, but are rounded at the tips, and are shorter than the
wings, has the head, thorax, musical organs, and breast, like
those of the preceding species, but the piercer is much short-
er, and very much more crooked, being bent vertically upwards
from near its base. The male has a long tapering projection
from the under-side of the extremity of the body, curved
upwards like the piercer of the female. This grasshopper be-
longs to the genus Phaneroptera, so named, probably, because the
wings are visible beyond the tips of the wing-covers ; and, as it
does not appear to have been described before, I propose to call
it angustifolia,* the narrow-leaved. It measures from the forehead
to the end of the abdomen about three quarters of an inch, and to
the tips of the wings from an inch and a half to an inch and three
quarters. Its habits appear to be the same as those of the oblongi-
fulia. It comes to maturity sometime in the latter part of August
or the beginning of September.

From the middle till the end of summer, the grass in our
meadows and moist fields is filled with myriads of little grass-
hoppers, of different ages, and of a light green color, with a
brown stripe on the top of the head, extending to the tip of
the little smooth and blunt projection between the antenna;,
and a broader brown stripe bounded on each side by deeper
brown on the top of the thorax. The antennae, knees, and
shanks are green, faintly tinted with brown, and the feet are
dusky. When come to maturity, they measure three quarters of
an inch or more, from the forehead to the end of the body, or one
inch to the ends of the wing-covers. The latter are abruptly nar-
rowed in the middle, and taper thence to the tip, which, however,
is rounded and extends as far back as the wings. The color of
the wing-covers is green, but they are faintly tinged with brown
on the overlapping portion, and have the delicacy and semi-
transparency of the skin of an onion. The shrilling organs in the

* I formerly mistook this insect for the Locusta curvicauda of De Geer, which
is found in the Middle and Southern States, but not in Massachusetts, is a larger
species, with wing-covers broadest in the middle, and different organs in the male,
and belongs to the genus Pkylloptera.

17

130 INSECTS OF MASSACHUSETTS.

males consist of a transparent glassy spot, bounded and traversed
by strong veins, in the middle of the overlapping portion of each
wing-cover, which part is proportionally much larger and longer
than in the other grasshoppers ; but the transparent spot is rather
smaller on the left than on the right wing-cover. The male
is furthermore distinguished by having two small black spots or
short dashes, one behind the other, on each wing-cover, on the
outside of the transparent spot. The wings are green on their
front margins, transparent, and reflecting a faint pink color behind.
The piercer of the female is cimeter-shaped, being curved, and
pointed at the end, and is about three tenths of an inch long.
The hindmost thighs, in both sexes, are smooth and not spinous
beneath ; there are two little spines in the middle of the breast ;
and the antennae are very long and slender, and extend, when
turned back, considerably beyond the end of the hind-legs. Dur-
ing the evening, and even at other times in shady places, the males
make a sharp clicking noise, somewhat like that produced by
snapping the point of a pen against the thumb-nail, but much
louder. This kind of grasshopper very much resembles the Lo-
custa agilis of De Geer, which is found in Pennsylvania and the
Southern States, but does not inhabit Massachusetts, and is dis-
tinguished from our species by having the wings nearly one tenth
of an inch longer than the wing-covers, the antennas excessively
long (two inches or more), and the piercer not quite so much
curved as in our species, besides other differences which it is un-
necessary to record here. As our species does not appear to
have been named, or described by any previous writer, I propose
to call it Orchelimum vulgare, the common meadow-grasshopper,
the generical name signifying literally, I dance in the meadow.

With this species another one is also found, bearing a consider-
able resemblance to it in color and form, but measuring only four
or five tenths of an inch from the head to the end of the body, or
from seven to eight tenths to the tips of the wings, which are a
little longer than the wing-covers. The latter are narrow and
taper to the end, which is rounded, but the overlapping portion is
not so large as in the common species, and the male has not the
two black spots on each wing-cover. The upper part of the ab-
domen is brown, with the edges of the segments greenish yellow,

ORTHOPTERA. 131

and the piercer, which is nearly three tenths of an inch long, is
brown and nearly straight. This little insect comes very near to
Locusta fasciata of De Geer, who, however, makes no mention
of the broad brown stripe on the head and thorax. I therefore
presume that our species is not the same, and propose to call it
Orchelimum gracile, the slender meadow-grasshopper. M. Ser-
ville, by whom this genus was instituted, has described three spe-
cies, two of which are stated to be North American, and the
remaining one is probably also from this country ; but his de-
scriptions do not answer for either of our species. Both of these
kinds of meadow-grasshoppers are eaten greedily by fowls of all
kinds.

One more grasshopper remains to be described. It is distin-
guished from all the preceding species by having the head coni-
cal, and extending to a blunt point between the eyes. It belongs
to the genus Conoccphalus, a word expressive of the conical form
of the head, and, in my Catalogue of the Insects of Massachu-
setts, bears the specific name of ensiger, the sword-bearer, from
the long, straight, sword-shaped piercer of the female. It meas-
ures an inch or more from the point of the head to the end of the
body, and from one inch and three quarters to two inches, to the
end of the wing-covers. It is pale green, with the head whitish, or
only faintly tinted with green, and the legs and abdomen are pale
brownish green. A little tooth projects downwards from the un-
der side of the conical part of the head, which extends between
the antennae, and immediately before this little tooth is a black
line bent backwards on each side like the letter U. The hind-
most thighs have five or six exceedingly minute spines on the
inner ridge of the under-side. The shrilling organ of the male, on
the left wing-cover, is green and opake, but that on the right
has a space in the middle that is transparent like glass. The
piercer of the female is above an inch long, very slightly bent
near the body, and perfectly straight from thence to the tip,
which ends in a point. The color of this grasshopper is very apt
to change, after death, to a dirty brown. It comes very near to
the dissimilis described by M. Serville, but appears to be a dif-
ferent species.*

* In the collection belonging to the Boston Society of Natural History, there is

132 INSECTS OF MASSACHUSETTS.

3. Locusts. (Locustadce.)

The various insects included under the name of locusts nearly
all agree in having their wing-covers rather long and narrow, and
placed obliquely along the sides of the body, meeting, and even
overlapping for a short distance, at their upper edges, which
together form a ridge on the back like a sloping roof. Their an-
tennae are much shorter than those of most grasshoppers, and do
not taper towards the end, but are nearly of equal thickness at
both extremities. Their feet have really only three joints ; but
as the under-side of the first joint is marked by one or two cross
lines, the feet, when seen only from below, seem to be four or
five jointed. The females have not a long projecting piercer like
the crickets and grasshoppers, but the extremity of their body is
provided with four short, wedge-like pieces, placed in pairs above
and below, and opening and shutting opposite to each other, thus
forming an instrument like a pair of nippers, only with four short
blades instead of two. When one of these insects is about to lay
her eggs, she drives these little wedges into the earth ; these,
being then opened and withdrawn, enlarge the orifice ; upon
which the insect inserts them again, and drives them down deeper
than before, and repeats the operation above described until she
has formed a perforation large and deep enough to admit nearly
the whole of her abdomen. The males, though capable of pro-

an insect which I suppose to be the Conocephulus dissimil/s of Serville. It was
taken in North Carolina by Professor Hentz. The conical projection of the head
is Shorter and more obtuse than in the ensiger, the sides of the thorax are brown-
ish, the hindmost thighs have a double row of black dots on the under-side, and
the spines on this part are more numerous and rather larger. Professor Hentz has
sent to me from Alabama another species distinct from both of these, about the
same in length, but considerably broader. The conical part of the head between
the eyes is broader, flattened above, and, as well as the thorax, rough like shagreen.
There is a projecting tubercle beneath, but the curved black line is wanting, and
the tip of the cone has a minute point abruptly bent downwards, and forming a
hook. The sides of the thorax are bent down suddenly so as to make an angular
ridge on each side of the middle. The wing-covers are dotted with black around
their edges, and have also an irregular row of larger and more distinct spots along
the middle. The hindmost thighs have a double row of strong spines beneath,
and the piercer is straight and only about six tenths of an inch long. This insect
may be called Conoccphalus wiciTiatus, from the hook on the tip of the head.

ORTHOPTERA. 133

ducing sounds, have not the cymbals and tabors of the crickets
and grasshoppers ; their instruments may rather be likened to
violins, their hind-legs being the bows, and the projecting veins of
their wing-covers the strings. But besides these, they have on
each side of the body, in the first segment of the abdomen, just
above and a little behind the thighs, a deep cavity closed by a
thin piece of skin stretched tightly across it. These probably act
in some measure to increase the reverberation of the sound, like
the cavity of a violin. When a locust begins to play, he bends
the shank of one hind-leg beneath the thigh, where it is lodged in
a furrow designed to receive it, and then draws the leg briskly up
and down several times against the projecting lateral edge and
veins of the wing-cover. He does not play both fiddles together,
but alternately, for a little time, first upon one, and then on
the other, standing meanwhile upon the four anterior legs and
the hind-leg which is not otherwise employed. It is stated that,
in Spain, people of fashion keep these insects, which they call
grillo, in cages, for the sake of their music. Locusts leap much
better than grasshoppers, for the thighs of their hind legs, though
shorter, are much thicker, and consequently more muscular
within. The back part of the shanks of these legs, from a little
below the knee to the end, is armed with strong sharp spines,
arranged in two rows. These may serve as means of defence,
but the lower ones also help to fix the legs firmly against the
ground when the insect is going to leap. The power of flight in
locusts is, in general, much greater than that of grasshoppers ; for
the wing-covers, being narrow, do not, like the much wider ones
of grasshoppers, so much impede their passage through the air ;
while their wings, which are ample, except in a few species, and
when expanded together form half of a circle, have very strong
joints, and are moved by very powerful muscles within the chest.
From the shoulders of the wings several stout ribs or veins pass
towards the hinder margin, spreading apart, when the wings are
opened, like the sticks of a fan, and are connected and strength-
ened by little crossing veins, which form a kind of net-work. The
same structure exists in the wings of grasshoppers, but in them
the longitudinal ribs are not so strong, and the network is much
more delicate. Hence the flight of grasshoppers is short and un-

134 INSECTS OF MASSACHUSETTS.

steady, while that of locusts is longer and better sustained. Many-
locusts, when they fly, make a loud whizzing noise, the source of
which does not seem to be understood. Those of our native
locusts, whose flight is the most noisy, are the coral-winged, the
yellow-winged, and the broad-winged species. But as these are
comparatively small insects, and never assemble in such great
swarms as the much larger migrating locusts of Asia and Africa,
the noise of their flight bears no comparison to that of the latter.
When a large number of these take flight together, it is said that
the noise is like the rushing of a whirlwind ; and hence we read,
of the symbolical locusts of the Apocalypse, that the sound of
their wings was as the sound of chariots of horses running to bat-
tle* ; and, of others, that their coming is like the noise of chariots
on the tops of mountains, or the crackling of stubble when over-
run, and consumed by a flame of fire f.

The East seems to have suffered severely at various times
from the irruptions of immense swarms of locusts, darkening the
sky during their passage, stripping the surface of the earth, where
they alight, of all vestiges of vegetation, and thus reducing, in an
inconceivably short time, the most fertile regions to barren
wastes. The ground over which they have passed presents the
appearance of having been scorched by fire, and hence the name
of locust, which is derived from the Latin J, and means a burnt
place, is highly expressive of the desolation occasioned by their
ravages. Famine and pestilence have sometimes followed their
appearance, as we find recorded by various writers. In the
Scriptures § frequent mention is made of the destructive powers
of locusts, and these accounts are fully confirmed by the testimony
of numerous travellers in Asia and Africa, some of whom have
been eyewitnesses of the devastations of these insects. Among

* Revelations IX. 11. t Joel II. 5. J Locus and ustus.

§ For an explanation of the various passages in which allusion is made to lo-
custs, and for much interesting matter, relating to the history of these insects as
contained in the Bible and elucidated by the accounts of historians and travellers,
the reader is referred to the article locust in the learned and instructive work of my
father, entitled " The Natural History of the Bible, by Thaddeus Mason Harris."
Svo. Boston: 1620.

ORTHOPTERA. 135

the later accounts, that contained in Olivier 's " Travels " does
not seem to have been quoted by English writers. The follow-
ing is a free translation of the passage. Olivier, at the time of
writing it, was in Syria. " After a burning south wind had pre-
vailed for some time, there came, from the interior of Arabia and
from the southern parts of Persia, clouds of locusts, whose
ravages in these countries are as grievous and as sudden as the
destruction occasioned in Europe by the most severe hail-storm.
Of these my companion, M. Brugieres, and myself were twice
witnesses. It is difficult to describe the effect produced on us
by the sight of the whole atmosphere filled, on all sides, to a vast
height, with a countless multitude of these insects, which flew
along with a slow and even motion, and with a noise like the
dashing of a shower of rain. The heavens were darkened by
them, and the light of the sun was sensibly diminished. In a
moment the roofs of the houses, the streets, and all the fields
were completely covered with these insects, and in two days they
almost entirely devoured the foliage of every plant. Fortunately,
however, they continued but a short time, and seemed to have
emigrated only for the purpose of providing for a continuation of
their kind. In fact, nearly all of them which we saw on the next
day were paired, and in a day or two afterwards the ground was
covered with their dead bodies."* These were not the still
more celebrated and destructive migratory locusts (Locusta mi-
gratoria), but consisted of the species called Acrydium pere-
grinum.

Although the ravages of locusts in America are not followed by
such serious consequences as in the Eastern continent, yet they
are sufficiently formidable to have attracted attention, and not un-
frequently have these insects laid waste considerable tracts, and
occasioned no little loss to the cultivator of the soil. Our salt-
marshes, which are accounted among the most productive and
valuable of our natural meadows, are frequented by great numbers
of the small red-legged species (Acrydium femur-rubrum), inter-
mingled occasionally with some larger kinds. These, in certain

* Olivier, Voyage dans l'Empire Ottoman, l'Egyple et la Perse. Tom. II.
p. 424.

136 INSECTS OF MASSACHUSETTS.

seasons, almost entirely consume the grass of these marshes, from
whence they then take their course to the uplands, devouring, in
their way, grass, corn, and vegetables, till checked by the early
frosts, or by the close of the natural term of their existence.
When a scanty crop of hay has been gathered from the grounds
which these puny pests have ravaged, it becomes so tainted with
the putrescent bodies of the dead locusts contained in it, that it is
rejected by horses and cattle. In this country locusts are not
distinguished from grasshoppers, and are generally, though incor-
rectly, comprehended under the same name, or under that of flying
grasshoppers. They are, however, if we make allowance for
their inferior size, quite as voracious and injurious to vegetation
during the young or larva and pupa states, when they are not pro-
vided with wings, as they are when fully grown. In our news-
papers I have sometimes seen accounts of the devastations of
grasshoppers, which could only be applicable to some of our
locusts. At various times they have appeared in great abundance
in different parts of New England. It is stated that, in Maine,
" during dry seasons, they often appear in great multitudes, and
are the greedy destroyers of the half-parched herbage." " In
1749 and 1754 they were very numerous and voracious ; no
vegetables escaped these greedy troops ; they even devoured the
potato tops ; and in 1743 and 1756 they covered the whole
country and threatened to devour every thing green. Indeed, so
great was the alarm they occasioned among the people, that days of
fasting and prayer were appointed*," on account of the threat-
ened calamity. The southern and western parts of New Hamp-
shire, the northern and eastern parts of Massachusetts, and the
southern part of Vermont have been overrun by swarms of these
miscalled grasshoppers, and have suffered more or less from their
depredations. Among the various accounts which I have seen,
the following, extracted from the Travels of the late President
Dwightf, seems to be the most full and circumstantial. " Ben-
nington (Vermont), and its neighbourhood, have for some time
past been infested by grasshoppers (locusts) of a kind, with which

* See Williamson's History of Maine, Vol. I. p. 102, 103, and compare with
p. 172 of the same work.

t Travels in New England and New York, by Timothy Dwight. Vol. II. p. 403.

ORTHOPTERA. 137

I had before been wholly unacquainted. At least, their history,
as given by respectable persons, is in a great measure novel.
They appear at different periods, in different years; but the time
of their continuance seems to be the same. This year, (1798),
they came four weeks earlier than in 1797, and disappeared four
weeks sooner. As I had no opportunity of examining them, I
cannot describe their form or their size. Their favorite food is
clover and maize. Of the latter they devour the part which is
called the silk ; the immediate means of fecundating the ear ; and
thus prevent the kernel from coming to perfection. But their vo-
racity extends to almost every vegetable ; even to the tobacco
plant and the burdock. Nor are they confined to vegetables
alone. The garments of laborers, hung up in the field while they
are at work, these insects destroy in a few hours ; and with the
same voracity they devour the loose particles which the saw
leaves upon the surface of pine boards, and which, when separ-
ated, are termed saw-dust. The appearance of a board fence,
from which the particles had been eaten in this manner, and which
I saw, was novel and singular ; and seemed the result, not of the
operations of the plane, but of attrition. At times, particularly a
little before their disappearance, they collect in clouds, rise high
in the atmosphere, and take extensive flights, of which neither the
cause, nor the direction has hitherto been discovered. I was au-
thentically informed that some persons, employed in raising the
steeple of the church in Williamstown, were, while standing near
the vane, covered by them, and saw, at the same time, vast
swarms of them flying far above their heads. It is to be observed,
however, that they customarily return, and perish on the very
grounds which they have ravaged." Through the kindness of the
Rev. L. W. Leonard, of Dublin, New Hampshire, I have been
favored with specimens of the destructive locusts which occa-
sionally appear in that part of New England, and which, most
probably, are of the same species as the insects mentioned by
President Dwight. They prove to be the little red-legged locusts,
whose ravages on our salt-marshes I have already recorded. In
the summer of 1838, the vicinity of Baltimore, Maryland, was
infested by insects of this kind ; and I was informed by a young
gentleman, from that place, then a student in Harvard University,
18

138 INSECTS OF MASSACHUSETTS.

that they were so thick and destructive in the garden and grounds
of his father, that the negroes were employed to drive them from
the garden with rods ; and in this way they were repeatedly
whipped out of the grounds, leaping and flying before the ex-
tended line of castigators like a flock of fowls. Some of these
insects were brought to me by the same gentleman, on his return
to the University, at the end of the summer vacation, and they
turned out to be specimens of the red-legged locusts already men-
tioned.

It is not to be supposed that these are the only depredatory
locusts in this country. Massachusetts, alone, produces a large
number of species, some of which have never been described ; and
the habits of many of them have not been fully investigated. The
difficulty which 1 have met with in ascertaining, from mere verbal
reports, or from the accounts that occasionally appear in our pub-
lic prints, the scientific names of the noxious insects which are the
subjects of such remarks, and the impossibility, without this
knowledge of their names, of fixing upon the true culprits, has
induced me to draw up, in this treatise, brief descriptions of all
our locusts, as a guide to other persons in their investigations.

All the locusts of Massachusetts, that are known to me, may
be included in three large groups or genera, viz : Acrydium (of
Geoffroy and Latreille), Locusta (Gryllus Locusta of Linnaeus),
and Telrix (of Latreille). These three genera may be distin-
guished from each other by the following characters.*

* I have not considered it necessary to give, in addition to these, the characters
that distinguish them from the other genera of American Locusts, which are not
found in Massachusetts ; but add the characteristics of these genera in this note.

Opsomala. Body slender and cylindrical ; head long and conical, extending
with an obtuse point between the antenna? ; eyes oblong oval and oblique ; an-
tenna? short, flattened, and more or less enlarged towards the base and tapering
towards the point; a pointed tubercle between the fore-legs on the breast; wing-
covers narrow and pointed ; face sloping down towards the breast, and forming
an acute angle with the top of the head.

Truxalis. Body rather thicker ; head shorter, but ending in a blunt cone be-
tween the antenna*; eyes oval and oblique ; antenna? short, flattened, enlarged
near the base, and tapering to a point; no tubercle between the fore-legs ; wing-
covers wider and not so pointed ; face sloping towards the breast, and forming an
angle of forty-five degrees with the top of the head ; thorax flat above, and marked
with three longitudinal elevated lines.

ORTHOPTERA. 139

1. Acrydium. The thorax (prothorax of Kirby) and the wing-
covers of ordinary dimensions ; a projecting spine in the middle
of the breast ; and a little projecting cushion between the nails of
all the feet.

2. Locusta. The thorax, and usually the wing-covers also, of
ordinary dimensions ; no projecting spine in the middle of the
breast ; cushions between the nails of the feet.

3. Tetrix. The thorax (prothorax) greatly prolonged, taper-
ing to a point behind, and covering the whole of the back to the
extremity of the abdomen ; wing-covers exceedingly minute, con-
sisting only of a little scale on each side of the body ; forepart
of the breast forming a projection, like a cravat or stock, to re-
ceive the lower part of the head ; no spine in the middle of the
breast ; no cushions between the nails.

i. acrydium. Spine-breasted Locusts.

This word, which is nearly the same as one of the Greek
names of a locust, has been variously applied by different ento-
mologists. I have followed Latreille and Serville in confining it
to those locusts which have a projecting spine or tubercle in the
middle of the forepart of the breast between the fore-legs. To
this genus belong the following native species.

1. Jlcrydium alutaceum. Leather-colored locust.

Dirty brownish yellow ; a paler yellow stripe on the top of the
head and thorax ; a slightly elevated longitudinal line on the
top of the thorax ; wing-covers semitransparent, with irregular
brownish spots ; wings transparent, uncolored, netted with dirty

Xipkicera. Robust; head not conical, but with a projection between the an-
tennae ; face vertical ; antennae rather short, flattened more or less, and tapering
at the end ; a spine between the fore-legs on the breast; wing-covers about as long
as the abdomen, obtuse or notched at the end ; thorax with three elevated crested
lines, which are frequently notched.

Romalea. Very thick and short ; head obtuse ; face vertical ; antennae short,
of equal thickness to the end, seventeen or eighteen jointed ; thorax with a some-
what elevated crest ; a spine between the fore-legs on the breast ; wing-covers and
wings much shorter than the abdomen.

The first two of these genera seem to connect the cone-headed grasshoppers
with the locust family, while the last two approach nearer to the genus Acrydium;
many foreign genera, however, are interposed between them.

140 INSECTS OF MASSACHUSETTS.

yellow ; abdomen with transverse rows of minute blackish dots ;
hindmost thighs whitish within and without, the white portion
bounded by a row of minute distant black dots, and crossed, her-
ring-bone fashion, by numerous brown lines ; hindmost shanks
reddish, with yellowish white spines, which are tipped with black.
Length, to the end of the abdomen, If inch ; the wing-covers
expand over 3 inches.

This insect was brought to me, from Martha's Vineyard, by Mr.
Robert Treat Paine. It bears a close resemblance in form to
Acrydium Americanum of De Geer, a much larger and more
showy Southern species.

2. Acrydium jlavo-vittatum.* Yellow-striped locust.

Olive-colored, with a yellowish line on each side from the fore-
head to the tips of the wing-covers ; hindmost shanks and feet
blood-red, the spines tipped with black ; wings transparent, faintly
tinged with pale green, and netted with greenish brown lines.
The abdomen of the male is very obtuse and curves upwards
at the end, and is furnished, on each side of the tip, with a rather
large oblong square appendage, which has a little projecting angle
in the middle of the lower side. Length, to tip of the abdomen,
from 1 inch to \\ ; expands from \\ inch to 2 inches.

This and the following species probably belong to the subgenus
Oxya of Serville. The yellow-striped locust is one of our most
common insects. It is readily known by its color, and by the
two yellowish lines on the thorax, extending, when the insect ac-
quires wings, along the inner margin of the wing-covers. It is
very troublesome in gardens, climbing upon the stems of beans,
peas, and flowers, devouring the leaves of petals, and defiling
them with its excrement. The young begin to appear in June,
and they come to their growth and acquire their wings by the first
of August. When about to moult, like other locusts, they cling
to the stem of some plant, till the skin bursts and the insect with-'

* This species agrees, in some respects, with Serville's Acrydium olivaceum, but
it is a smaller insect, the hind shanks are not blue, and the last ventral segment
of the male is not deeply notched at tip, but is entire and somewhat pointed. It
does not agree any better with Say's description of Gryllus bivittatus, which pos-
sibly is the same as Serville's species abovo named.

ORTHOPTERA. 141

draws its body and legs from it, and leaves the cast-skin still
fastened to the plant.

3. Acrydium femur-rubrum. Red-legged locust.

Grizzled with dirty olive and brown ; a black spot extending
from the eyes along the sides of the thorax ; an oblique yellow
line on each side of the body beneath the wings ; a row of dusky
brown spots along the middle of the wing-covers ; and the hind-
most shanks and feet blood-red, with black spines. The wings
are transparent, with a very pale greenish yellow tint next to the
body, and are netted with brown lines. The hindmost thighs
have two large spots, on the upper side, and the extremity, black ;
but are red below, and yellow on the inside. The appendages at
the tip of the body in the male are of a long triangular form.
Length from | inch to 1 inch ; exp. 1 J to If inch.

The red-legged locust was first described by De Geer from
specimens sent to him from Pennsylvania, and I have retained the
scientific name which he gave to it. It is the Gryllus (Locusta)
erythropus of Gmelin, and the Jlcrydium femorale of Olivier.
It appears to be very generally diffused throughout the United
States, and sometimes so greatly abounds, in certain places, as to
be productive of great injury to vegetation. I have already de-
scribed its prevalence on our salt marshes ; and it seems to con-
stitute those large migrating swarms whose flight has been observed
and recorded in various parts of this country. It comes to ma-
turity with us by the latter part of July, some broods, however,
a little earlier, and others later. It is most plentiful and destruc-
tive during the months of August and September, and does not
disappear till some time in October.

ii. locusta. Locusts proper.

With the English entomologists, I apply the name Locusta to
that genus which includes the celebrated migrating locust, or
Gryllus Locusta migratoria of Linnaeus. By the older French
entomologists the insects contained in it were united to the genus
Acrydium ; but Latreille afterwards separated them from Jlcrydi-
um under the generical name of (Edipoda (which means swelled
leg), and he is followed in this by Serville, the latest writer on

142 INSECTS OF MASSACHUSETTS.

the Orthoptera. In the insects of this genus the breast is not
armed with a blunt spine or tubercle, a character which distin-
guishes the genus Acrydium from it. In other respects these two
genera are much alike.

1. Locusta Carolina.* Carolina locust.

Pale yellowish brown, with small dusky spots ; wings black,
with a broad yellow hind margin, which is covered with dusky
spots at the tip. Length from 1 to 1| inch; exp. 2f to above
3£ inches.

A more detailed description of this large, common, and well-
known species is unnecessary. The Carolina locust is found in
abundance by the road-side, from the middle to the end of sum-
mer. It generally makes use of its large and handsome wings in
moving from place to place. It is frequently found in company
with the red-legged locust in the vicinity of salt marshes, but it
generally prefers warm and dry situations. Pairing takes place
with this species in the months of September and October, im-
mediately after which the female prepares to lay her eggs. These
are deposited at the bottom of a cylindrical hole in the ground,
made in the manner already described, and are not hatched till
the following spring. The abdomen of the female admits of being
greatly extended in length, hence she frequently deposits her eggs
at the depth of nearly two inches beneath the surface of the soil.

2. Locusta corallina. Coral-winged locust.

Light brown ; spotted with dark brown on the wing-covers ;
wings light vermilion or coral-red, with an external dusky border,
which is wide and paler at the tip, narrowed and darker behind ;
hind shanks yellow with black-tipped spines. Length I to \\
inch ; exp. 2\ to 2\ inches.

This species closely resembles the Acridium tuberculatum of
Palisot de Beauvois, which seems to be the (Edipoda discoidea
of Serville, found in the Southern States, of a much larger size
than the coral-winged locust, and having the wings of a much
deeper and duller red color, and the blackish border not so much

* Gryllus Locusta Carolinus, Linnaeus.

ORTHOPTERA. 143

narrowed behind. It cannot be mistaken for the fenestralis,
which M. Serville describes as having the antennae nearly as long
as the body, whereas in this species they are not half that length.
The coral-winged locust is the first that makes its appearance
with wings in the spring, being found flying about in warm and
dry pastures as early as the middle of April or the first of May,
and is rendered very conspicuous by its bright colored wings, and
the loud noise which it makes in flying. It probably passes the
winter in the pupa state, and undergoes its last transformation in
the spring ; but its history is not yet fully known to me, and this
opinion is the result only of conjecture.

3. Locusta sulphured. Yellow-winged locust.

Dusky brown ; thorax slightly keeled in the middle ; wing-
covers ash-colored at their extremities, more or less distinctly
spotted with brown ; wings deep yellow next to the body, dusky
at tip, the yellow portion bounded beyond the middle by a broad
dusky brown band, which curves and is prolonged on the hind
margin, but does not reach the angle next to the extremity of the
body ; hindmost thighs blackish at the end, and with two black
and two whitish bands on the inside ; hindmost shanks and their
spines black, with a broad whitish ring just below the knees.
Length T8o to 1| inch ; exp. If to 2{ inches.

This insect agrees tolerably well with the brief description
given by Fabricius of his Gryllus sulphureus, except that the
wings are not sulphur-yellow, but of a deeper tint. It is also
described and figured by Palisot de Beauvois under the name of
Jlcridium sulphureum. It is a rare species in this vicinity. I
have taken it, though sparingly, in its perfect state, in May and
in September. The elevated ridge on the top of the thorax is
higher than in any other species found in Massachusetts.

4. Locusta maritima. Maritime locust.

Ash-gray ; face variegated with white ; wing-covers sprinkled
with minute brownish spots, and semitransparent at tip ; wings
transparent, faintly tinted with yellow next the body, uncolored at
tip, with a series of irregular blackish spots forming a curved
band across the middle ; hindmost shanks and feet pale yellow,

144 INSECTS OF MASSACHUSETTS.

with the extreme points of the spines black. Length f to 1£
inch ; exp. lTV inch to 2| inches.

This species comes very near to Mr. Kirby's description of
the Locusta hucostoma ; but is evidently distinct from it, and
does not appear to have been described before. I have received
it from Sandwich, and have found it in great abundance among
the coarse grass which grows near the edges of our sandy beach-
es, but have never seen it except in the immediate vicinity of the
sea. It comes to maturity and lays its eggs about the middle of
August or a little later.

5. Locusta czqualis. Barren-ground locust.

Ash-gray, mottled with dusky brown and white ; wing-covers
semitransparent at tip, with numerous dusky spots which run
together so as to form three transverse bands ; wings light yellow
on their basal half, transparent with dusky veins and a (e\v spots
at the tip, with an intermediate broad black band, which, curving
and becoming narrower on the hind margin, is continued to the
inner angle of the wing ; hindmost shanks coral-red, with a broad
white ring below the knees, and the spines tipped with black.
Length 1J inch ; exp. 2\ inches.

Mr. Say, to whom I sent a specimen of this handsome locust,
informed me that it was his Gryllus equalis, probably intended for
cequalis. It is found, during the months of July and August, on
dry barren hills and on sandy plains, upon the scanty herbage in-
termingled with the rein-deer moss.

G. Locusta latipennis. Broad-winged locust.

Ash-colored, mottled with black and gray ; wing-covers semi-
transparent beyond the middle, with numerous blackish spots which
run together at the base, and form a band across the middle ;
wings broad, light yellow on the basal half, the remainder dusky
but partially transparent, with black network, and deep black at
tip, and an intermediate irregular band, formed by a contiguous
series of black spots, reaching only to the hind margin, but not
continued towards the inner angle ; hindmost shanks pale yellow,
with a black ring below the knees, a broader one at the extremity,
and a blackish spot behind the upper part of the shank. Length
T% inch ; exp. 1-/V inch.

ORTHOPTERA. 145

It is possible that this may be a variety of the preceding spe-
cies, from which it differs especially in the form and width of the
wings and in the colors of the hindmost shanks. It is found in
the same places, and at the same time as the barren-ground locust.

7. Locusta marmorata. Marbled locust.

Ash-colored, variegated with pale yellow and black ; thorax
suddenly narrowed before the middle, and the slightly elevated
longitudinal line on the top is cut through in the middle by a
transverse fissure ; wing-covers marbled with large whitish and
black spots, and semitransparent at the end ; wings light yellow
on the half next to the body, transparent near the end, with two
black spots on the tip, and a broad intermediate black band,
which, narrowed and curving inwards on the hind margin, nearly
reaches the inner angle ; hindmost thighs pale yellow, black at
the extremity, and nearly surrounded by two broad black bands ;
hind shanks coral-red, with a black ring immediately below the
knee, and followed by a white ring, black at the lower extremity
also, with the tips of the spines black. In some individuals there
is an additional black ring below the white one on the shanks.
Length from r\ to above r% inch ; exp. lT% to 1T8„ inch.

The marbled locust, which is one of our prettiest species, is
found in the open places contiguous to or within pitch-pine woods,
flying over the scanty grass and rein-deer moss which not unfre-
quently grow in these situations. It is marked on the wings
somewhat like the barren-ground locust, but is invariably smaller,
with the thorax much more contracted before the middle. It
appears, in the perfect state, from the middle of July to the mid-
dle of October.

8. Locusta eucerata. Long-horned locust.

Ash-colored, variegated with gray and dark brown ; antennae
nearly as long as the body, and with flattened joints ; thorax very
much pinched or compressed laterally before the middle, with a
slightly elevated longitudinal line, which is interrupted by two
notches ; wing-covers and wings long and narrow ; the former
variegated with dusky spots, and semitransparent at tip ; wings
next to the body yellow, sometimes pale, sometimes deep and

19

146 INSECTS OF MASSACHUSETTS.

almost orange colored, at other times uncolored and semitranspar-
ent ; with a broad black band across the middle, which is narrow-
ed and prolonged on the hinder margin, and extends quite to the
inner angle ; beyond the band the wings are transparent, with the
tips black or covered with blackish spots ; hindmost shanks whit-
ish, with a black ring at each end, a broader one of the same color
just above the middle, and the spines tipped with black. Length
\ inch to T\ inch ; exp. 1T\ inch to more than 1| inch.

The wings of this species are very variable in color at the base.
The fenestralis described by M. Serville has the base of the
wings vermilion red, but in other respects it approaches to this
species. The long-horned locust is found oftentimes in company
with the marbled species, and also near sea-beaches with the
maritime locust, from the last of July to the middle of October.

9. Locusta nebulosa. Clouded locust.

Dusky brown ; thorax with a slender keel-like elevation, which
is cut across in the middle by a transverse fissure ; wing-covers
pale, clouded and spotted with brown ; wings transparent, dusky
at tip, with a dark brown line on the front margin ; hindmost
shanks brown, with darker spines, and a broad whitish ring below
the knees. Length from TS,T inch to more than 1T\ inch ; exp.
from l\ inch to more than 2 inches.

A very common species, and easily known by its clouded wing-
covers and colorless wings. It abounds in pastures and even in
corn-fields and gardens, during the months of September and
October, at which time it is furnished with wings and may often
be seen paired or busied in laying eggs. It does not appear to
have been described before.

The three following locusts differ from the preceding in having
the antennae shorter than the thorax, and slightly thickened to-
wards the end, and the face somewhat oblique, the mouth being
nearer the breast than in our other species of Locusta ; and they
seem to constitute a distinct group or subgenus, which may re-
ceive the name of Tragocepkala, or goat-headed locusts.

ORTHOPTERA. 147

10. Locusta (Tragocephala) infuscata. Dusky locust.

Dusky brown ; thorax with a slender keel-like elevation ; wing-
covers faintly spotted with brown ; wings transparent, pale green-
ish yellow next to the body, with a large dusky cloud near the
middle of the hind margin, and a black line on the front margin ;
hind thighs pale, with two large black spots on the inside ; hind
shanks brown, with darker spines, and a broad whitish ring below
the knees. Length f inch ; exp. above 1| inch.

This somewhat resembles the clouded locust, from which,
however, it is easily distinguished by its much shorter antennas and
the dusky cloud on the hinder margin of the wings. I have cap-
tured it in pastures, in the perfect state, from the middle of May
to near the end of July. I believe that it has never been de-
scribed before.

11. Locusla (Tragocephala) viridi-fasciata. Green-striped locust.

Green ; thorax keeled above ; wing-covers with a broad green
stripe on the outer margin extending from the base beyond the mid-
dle and including two small dusky spots on the edge, the remainder
dusky but semitransparent at the end ; wings transparent, very pale
greenish yellow next to the body, with a large dusky cloud near
the middle of the hind margin, and a black line on the front mar-
gin ; antennas, fore and middle legs reddish ; hind thighs green,
with two black spots in the furrow beneath ; hind shanks blue-
gray, with a broad whitish ring below the knees, and the spines
whitish, tipped with black. Length about 1 inch ; exp. from
more than If to nearly 2 inches.

This insect is the Jlcrydium viridi-fasciatum of De Geer, who
was the first describer of it, the Gryllus Virginianus of Fabri-
cius, the Gryllus Locusta chrysomelas of Gmelin, the Jlcrydium
marginatum of Olivier, and the Acridium hemipterum of Palisot
de Beauvois. It is remarkable that a species, so strongly marked
as this is, should have been so profusely named. Palisot de
Beauvois seems to have selected the most appropriate name for
it ; for the green portion of the wing-covers is thick and opake,
and the dusky portion thin and semitransparent, as in the wing-
covers of Hemipterous insects. It is very common in pastures

148 INSECTS OF MASSACHUSETTS.

and mowing lands from the first of June to the middle of August,
being found in various states of maturity throughout this period.
The young also appear still earlier, and are readily known by
their green color, and large compressed thorax, which is arched
and crested or keeled above, and by their very short and flattened
antenna;. These locusts are sometimes very troublesome in gar-
dens, living upon the leaves of vegetables and flowers, and attack-
ing the buds and half expanded petals. The larvae or young
survive the winter, sheltered among the roots of grass and under
leaves.

12. Locusta (Tragocephala) radiata. Radiated locust.

Rust-brown ; thorax keeled above ; wing-covers entirely brown,
but semitransparent at the end ; wings transparent, with brown
network, and the principal longitudinal veins black ; they are very
faintly tinted with green next to the body, have a large dusky
cloud near the middle of the hind margin, and a brown streak on
the front margin ; hind shanks reddish brown, a little paler below
the knees, and the spines tipped with black. Length about 1
inch ; exp. from If to 2 inches.

This species is now for the first time described. It seems to
be rare. I captured one specimen in Cambridge on the first of
July, and have received another from Dr. D. S. C. H. Smith of
Sutton, Massachusetts. It is found in North Carolina as early as
the month of May in the perfect state.

The following species have the face still more oblique than the
foregoing, but the antennas are much longer, particularly in the
males, in which they nearly equal the body in length, and are not
enlarged towards the end. The eyes are oval and oblique, and
there is a deep hollow before each of them for the reception of
the first joint of the antennae. The thorax is not crested or
keeled, but is flattened above, with three slender threadlike ele-
vated lines, and the hind margin is very nearly transverse, or not
much (if at all) angulated behind. The wing-covers and wings
are extremely short. The hind-legs are long and slender. I
propose therefore to separate these species from the other locusts
under a subgenus by the name of Cklo'callis, derived from the
Greek, and signifying a grasshopper.

ORTHOPTERA. 149

13. Locusta (Chlo'ealtis) conspersa. Sprinkled locust.

Light bay, sprinkled with black spots ; a black line on the head
behind each eye, extending on each side of the thorax on the
lateral elevated line ; wing-covers oblong oval, pale yellowish
brown, with numerous small darker brown spots ; wings about
three twentieths of an inch long, transparent, with dusky lines at
the tip ; hind shanks pale red, with the spines black at the end.
Length nearly T9„ inch.

This may be merely a variety of the following species, though
very differently colored.

14. Locusta (Chlo'ealtis) aborliva. Abortive locust.

Brown ; wing-covers with dark brown veins and confluent
spots, covering two thirds of the abdomen ; wings three twentieths
of an inch long, transparent, with dusky lines at the tip ; hind
margin of the thorax straight ; hind shanks coral-red, whitish
just below the knees, the spines tipped with black. Length
nearly ^ inch.

This and the preceding locust, have much the appearance of
pupae or young insects, nevertheless I believe that their wings and
wing-covers never become larger, and Mr. Leonard informs me
that they are found paired. I have captured the abortive locust
in pastures near the end of July.

15. Locusta (Chlo'ealtis) curtipennis* Short-winged locust.

Olive-gray above, variegated with dark gray and black ; legs
and body beneath yellow ; a broad black line extends from behind
each eye on the sides of the thorax ; wing-covers, in the male,
as long as the abdomen, in the female, covering two thirds of the4
abdomen ; wings rather shorter than the wing-covers, transparent,
and faintly tinged with yellow ; hinder knees black ; spines on
the hind shanks tipped with black. Length from | to more than
r\ inch ; exp. from T\ to nearly 1 inch.

The flight of the short-winged locust is noiseless and short,

* This species closely resembles a Swedish insect which I have received under
the name of parallelus, Zetterstedt; but is evidently distinct from it.

150 INSECTS OF MASSACHUSETTS.

but it leaps well. Great numbers of these insects are found in
our low meadows, in the perfect state, from the first of August
till the middle of October. They are easily distinguished from
other locusts by their short and narrow wings, by the yellow color
of the body beneath, and by the yellow legs and black knees.

in. tetrix. Grouse-locust.

The Greeks applied the name of Tetrix to some kind of grouse,
probably the heath-cock of Europe, and Latreille adopted it for
a genus of locusts in which, perhaps, he fancied some resem-
blance to the bird in question. Linnaeus placed these locusts in
a division of his genus Gryllus which he called Bulla, a name
that ought to have been retained for them. The principal dis-
tinguishing characters of the genus have already been given, and
I will only add that the body is broadest between the middle legs,
narrows gradually to a point behind, and very abruptly to the head,
which is much smaller than in the other locusts. The wings are
large, forming nearly the quadrant of a circle, thin and delicate,
and scalloped on the edge ; when not in use they are folded be-
neath the projecting thorax. The four boring appendages of the
females are notched on their edges with fine teeth, like a saw.
Latreille and Serville have stated that the antennae consist of only
thirteen or fourteen joints ; but some of our native species have
twenty-two joints in the antennae. Upon this variation I would
arrange those now to be described in two groups.

I. Jlntennoe. 14-jointed ; eyes very prominent, icith a projecting
ridge between them, formed by a horizontal extension of the flat top
of the head ; thorax prolonged beyond the extremity of the body.

1. Tetrix ornata. Ornamented grouse-locust.

Dark ash-colored ; a large white patch between four black
spots on the top of the thorax ; a white spot on the top of the
hind thighs ; thorax nearly or quite as long as the wings. Length
hh t0 tV mcn to tne apex of the thorax.

This species varies in wanting the white spot on the top of the
thorax sometimes. It was first described by Mr. Say, under the
name of Jlcrydium ornatum.*

* American Entomology. Vol. I. Plate 5.

ORTHOPTERA. 151

2. Tetrix dorsalis. Red-spotted grouse-locust.

Rusty black, with ochre-yellow spots on the sides and legs, and
a large rust-red spot on the top of the thorax ; wings extending
beyond the apex of the thorax. Length \ inch.

3. Tetrix quadrimaculata. Four-spotted grouse-locust.

Ash-colored or dark gray above, variegated with black ; four
velvet-black spots on the top of the thorax ; wings projecting
beyond the extremity of the thorax. Length from r% to T\ of
an inch.

This is a shorter and thicker species than the ornamented
grouse-locust. It is not uncommon in pastures from the first o(
May to the first of June.

4. Tetrix bilineata. Two-lined grouse-locust.

Ash-colored ; thorax paler, with a narrow angular whitish line,
on each side, extending from the head beyond the middle ; the
angular portion including a long blackish patch on each side ;
wings, in the male, rather shorter than the thorax, in the female
longer. Length from ^\ to more than ^% inch.

5. Tetrix sordida. Sordid grouse-locust.

Yellowish ash-colored ; thorax with minute elevated black
points ; wings, in both sexes, rather longer than the thorax.
Length from /T inch to nearly | inch.

I have taken this species both in May and September, and have
received a specimen from Dr. D. S. C. H. Smith, of Sutton,
Massachusetts.

II. Jlntennce 22-jointed ; eyes hardly prominent, top of the head
not horizontal between them, but curving toicards the front, with a
very slightly projecting ridge ; wings smaller than in those of the
preceding group.

6. Tetrix lateralis. Black-sided grouse-locust.

Pale brown ; sides of the body blackish ; thorax yellowish
clay-colored, shorter than the wings, but longer than the body ;
wing-covers with a small white spot at the tips ; male with the

152 INSECTS OF MASSACHUSETTS.

face and the edges of the lateral margins of the thorax yellow.
Length from ^% to 7% of an inch.

This species was first described by Mr. Say under the name of
Acrydium later ale*. I have taken it from the middle of April to
the middle of May. It varies in being darker above sometimes.

7. Tetrix parvipennis. Small-winged grouse-locust.

Dark brown ; sides blackish ; thorax clay-colored or pale brown,
about as long as the body ; wing-covers with a small white spot
at the tips ; wings much shorter than the thorax ; male with the
face and the edges of the lateral margins of the thorax yellow.
Length from -^^ to more than ^ inch.

This species is much shorter and thicker than the Tetrix late-
ralis. I have taken it in April and May, in the perfect state, and
have found the pupae near the end of July.

The habits of the grouse-locusts are said to be absolutely the
same as those of other locusts. They seem however to be more
fond of heat, being generally found in grassy places, on banks, by
the sides of the road, and even on the naked sands, exposed to
the full influence of the sun throughout the day. They are ex-
tremely agile, and consequently very difficult to capture, for they
leap to an astonishing distance, considering their small size, being
moreover aided in this motion by their ample wings. The young,
which are deprived of wings, are generally found about midsum-
mer, and are readily distinguished by the thorax, which is some-
what like a reversed boat, being furnished with a longitudinal
ridge or keel from one end to the other. These little locusts are
analogous to the insects belonging to the genus Membracis in the
order Hemiptera, which also are distinguished by a very large
thorax covering the whole of the upper side of the body, small
wing-covers, and have the faculty of making great leaps. Indeed
these two kinds of insects very naturally connect the orders Or-
thoptera and Hemiptera together.

After so much space has been devoted to an account of the
ravages of grasshoppers and locusts, and to the descriptions of the
insects themselves, perhaps it may be expected that the means of

American Entomology. Vol. I. plate 5.

ORTHOPTERA. 153

checking and destroying them should be fully explained. The
naturalist, however, seldom has it in his power to put in practice
the various remedies which his knowledge or experience may
suggest. His proper province consists in examining the living
objects about him with regard to their structure, their scientific
arrangement, and their economy or history. In doing this, he
opens to others the way to a successful course of experiments, the
trial of which he is generally obliged to leave to those who are
more favorably situated for their performance.

In the South of France the people make a business, at certain
seasons of the year, of collecting locusts and their eggs, the latter
being turned out of the ground in little masses cemented and cov-
ered with a sort of gum in which they are enveloped by the in-
sects. Rewards are offered and paid for their collection, half a
franc being given for a kilogramme (about 2 lb. 3^ oz. avoirdu-
pois) of the insects, and a quarter of a franc for the same weight
of their eggs. At this rate twenty thousand francs were paid in
Marseilles, and twenty-five thousand in Aries, in the year 1613 ;
in 1824, five thousand five hundred and forty-two, and in 1825,
six thousand two hundred francs were paid in Marseilles. It is
stated that an active boy can collect from six to seven kilogram-
mes (or from 13 lb. 3 oz. 13.22 dr. to 15 lb. 7 oz. 2.09 dr.) of
eggs in one day. The locusts are taken by means of a piece of
stout cloth, carried by four persons, two of whom draw it rapidly
along, so that the edge may sweep over the surface of the soil,
and the two others hold up the cloth behind at an angle of forty-
five degrees.* This contrivance seems to operate somewhat like
a horse-rake, in gathering the insects into winrows or heaps, from
which they are speedily transferred to large sacks. A somewhat
similar plan has been successfully tried in this country, as appears
by an account extracted from the " Portsmouth Journal," and pub-
lished in the " New-England Farmer. f" It is there stated that, in
July 1826, Mr. Arnold Thompson, of Epsom, New Hampshire,
caught, in one evening, between the hours of eight and twelve, in
his own and his neighbour's grain fields, five bushels and three

* See Annales de la Societe Enlomologique de France. Vol. II. pp. 486-489.
t Vol. V. p. 5.

20

154 INSECTS OF MASSACHUSETTS.

pecks of grasshoppers, or more properly locusts. " His mode of
catching them was by attaching two sheets together, and fastening
them to a pole, which was used as the front part of the drag.
The pole extended beyond the width of the sheets, so as to admit
persons at both sides to draw it forward. At the sides of the
drag, braces extended from the pole to raise the back part consid-
erably from the ground, so that the grasshoppers could not es-
cape. After running the drag about a dozen rods with rapidity,
the braces were taken out, and the sheets doubled over ; the
grasshoppers were then swept from each end towards the centre
of the sheet, where was left an opening to the mouth of a bag
which held about half a bushel ; when deposited and tied up, the
drag was again opened and ready to proceed. When this bag
was filled so as to become burthensome, (their weight is about
the same as that of the same measure of corn,) the bag was open-
ed into a larger one, and the grasshoppers received into a new
deposit. The drag can be used only in the evening, when the
grasshoppers are perched on the top of the grain. His manner of
destroying them was by dipping the large bags into a kettle of
boiling water. When boiled, they had a reddish appearance, and
made a fine feast for the farmer's hogs." When these insects are
very prevalent on our salt marshes, it will be advisable to mow
the grass early, so as to secure a crop before it has suffered much
loss. The time for doing this will be determined by data fur-
nished in the foregoing pages, where it will be seen that the most
destructive species come to maturity during the latter part of
July. If then, the marshes are mowed about the first of July, the
locusts, being at that time small and not provided with wings, will
be unable to migrate, and will consequently perish on the ground
for the want of food, while a tolerable crop of hay will be secured,
and the marshes will suffer less from the insects during the follow-
ing summer. This, like all other preventive measures, must be
generally adopted, in order to prove effectual ; for it will avail a
farmer but little to take preventive measures on his own land, if
his neighbours, who are equally exposed and interested, neglect
to do the same. Among the natural means which seem to be
appointed to keep these insects in check, violent winds and
storms may be mentioned, which sometimes sweep them off in

ORTHOPTERA. 155

great swarms, and cast them into the sea. Vast numbers are
drowned by the high tides that frequently inundate our marshes.
They are subject to be attacked by certain thread-like brown or
blackish worms (Filaria), resembling in appearance those called
horse-hair eels (Gordius). I have taken three or four of these
animals out of the body of a single locust. They are also much
infested by little red mites, belonging apparently to the genus
Ocypcte ; these so much weaken the insects by sucking the juices
from their bodies, as to hasten their death. Ten or a dozen of
these mites will frequently be found pertinaciously adhering to the
body of a locust, beneath its wing-covers and wings. A kind of
sand-wasp preys upon grasshoppers, and provisions her nest with
them. Many birds devour them, particularly our domestic fowls,
which eat great numbers of grasshoppers, locusts, and even
crickets. Young turkeys, if allowed to go at large during the
summer, derive nearly the whole of their subsistence from these
insects.

156 INSECTS OF MASSACHUSETTS.

HEMIPTERA.

Bugs. — Squash-Bug. Plant-Bugs. — Harvest-Flies. — Tree-Hoppers. —
Leaf-Hoppers. Vine-Hopper. Bean-Hopper. — Thrips. — Plant-Lice.
American Blight. — Enemies of Plant-Lice. — Bark-Lice.

The word bug seems originally to have been used for any
frightful object, whether real or imaginary, whose appearance was
to be feared at night. It was applied in the same sense as bug-
bear, and also as a term of contempt for something disagreeable
or hateful. In later times it became, with the common people, a
genera] name for insects, which, being little known, were viewed
with dislike or terror. At present, however, we can say, with
L'Estrange, though "we have a horror for uncouth monsters,
upon experience all these bugs grow familiar and easy to us."
We would except, from this remark, those domestic nocturnal
species to which the name is now applied by way of preemi-
nence ; the real, by an easy transition in the use of language,
having assumed the name of the imaginary objects of terror and
disgust by night.

Entomologists now use the word bug for various kinds of in-
sects, all, like the bed-bug, having the mouth provided with a
slender beak, which, when not in use, is bent under the body, and
lies upon the breast between the legs. This instrument consists
of a horny sheath, containing, in a groove along its upper surface,
three stiff bristles as sharp as needles. Bugs have no jaws, but
live by sucking the juices of animals and plants, which they obtain
by piercing them with their beaks. Although the domestic kinds
above mentioned are without wing-covers and wings, yet most
bugs have both, and, with the former, belong to an order called
Hemiptera, literally half-wings, on account of the peculiar con-
struction of their wing-covers, the hinder half of which is thin and
filmy like the wings, while the forepart is thick and opake.
There are, however, other insects provided with the same kind of
beak, but having the wing-covers sometimes entirely transparent,
and sometimes more or less opake, and these, by most entomolo-
gists, are also classed among Hemipterous insects, because they

HEMIPTERA. 157

come much nearer to them, than to any other insects, in structure
and habits. Bugs, like other insects, undergo three changes, but
they retain nearly the same form in all their stages ; for the only
transformation to which they are subject, from the young to the
adult state, is occasioned by the gradual development of their
wing-covers and wings, and the growth of their bodies, which
make it necessary for them repeatedly to throw off their skins, to
allow of their increase in size. Young, half-grown, and mature,
all live in the same way, and all are equally active. The young
come forth from the egg without wing-covers and wings, which
begin to appear in the form of little scales on the top of their
backs as they grow older, and increase in size with each succes-
sive moulting of the skin, till they are fully developed in the full-
grown insect.

The Hemiptera are divided into two groups, distinguished by
the following characters.

1. Bcjgs, or True Hemiptera (Hemiptera heteroptera) , in
which the wing-covers are thick and opake at the base, but thin
and more or less transparent and wing-like at the tips, are laid hor-
izontally on the top of the back, and cross each other obliquely at
the end, so that the thin part of one wing-cover overlaps the
same part of the other ; the wings are also horizontal, and are not
plaited ; the head is more or less horizontal, and the beak issues
from the forepart of it, and is abruptly bent backwards beneath
the under-side of the head, and the breast. Some of the insects
belonging to this division live on animal, and others on vegetable
juices.

2. Harvest-flies, Plant-lice, and Bark-lice (Hemip-
tera homoptera), in which the wing-covers are, as the scientific
name implies, of one texture throughout, and are either entirely
thin and transparent, like wings, or somewhat thicker and opake ;
they are not horizontal, and do not cross each other at their ex-
tremities, but, together with the wings, are more or less inclined
at the sides of the body, like the wing-covers of locusts ; the face
is either vertical, or slopes obliquely under the body, so that the
beak issues from the under-side of the head close to the breast.
All the insects included in this division, live on vegetable
juices.

158 INSECTS OF MASSACHUSETTS.

I. BUGS. {Hemiptera heteroptera.)

The hemipterous insects belonging to this division are various
kinds of bugs, properly so called, such as squash-bugs, bed-bugs,
fruit-bugs, water-bugs, water-boatmen, and many others, for which
there are no common names in our language. In my Catalogue
of the Insects of Massachusetts, the scientific names of ninety-five
native species are given ; but, as the mere description of these
insects, unaccompanied by any details respecting their economy
and habits, would not interest the majority of readers, and as I
am not sufficiently prepared to furnish these details at present, I
shall confine my remarks to two or three species only.

The common squash-bug, Coreus tristis, so well known for the
injurious effects of its punctures on the leaves of squashes, is one
of the most remarkable of these insects. It was first described by
De Geer, who gave it the specific name of tristis, from its sober
color, which Gmelin unwarrantably changed to mcestus, having,
however, the same meaning. Fabricius called it Coreus ragator,
the latter word signifying one who wrinkles, which was probably
applied to this insect, because its punctures cause the leaves of
the squash to become wrinkled. Mr. Say, not being aware that
this insect had already been three times named and described, re-
described it under the name of Coreus ordinatus. Of these four
names, however, that of tristis, being the first, is the only one
which it can retain. Coreus, its generical name, was altered by
Fabricius from Coris, a word used by the Greeks for some kind
of bug. About the last of October squash-bugs desert the plants
upon which they have lived during the summer, and conceal them-
selves in crevices of walls and fences, and other places of security,
where they pass the winter in a torpid state. On the return of
warm weather, they issue from their winter quarters, and when
the vines of the squash have put forth a few rough leaves, the
bugs meet beneath their shelter, pair, and immediately afterwards
begin to lay their eggs. This usually happens about the last of
June or beginning of July, at which time, by carefully examining
the vines, we shall (iml the insects on the ground or on the stems
of the vines, close to the ground, from which they are hardly to
be distinguished on account of their dusky color. This is the

HEMIPTERA. 159

place where they generally remain during the daytime, appar-
ently to escape observation ; but at night they leave the ground,
get beneath the leaves, and lay their eggs in little patches, fasten-
ing them with a gummy substance to the under-sides of the leaves.
The eggs are round, and flattened on two sides, and are soon
hatched. The young bugs are proportionally shorter and more
rounded than the perfect insects, are of a pale ash-color, and have
quite large antennae, the joints of which are somewhat flattened.
As they grow older and increase in size, after moulting their skins
a few times, they become more oval in form, and the under-side
of their bodies gradually acquires a dull ochre-yellow color.
They live together at first in little swarms or families beneath the
leaves upon which they were hatched, and which, in consequence
of the numerous punctures of the insects, and the quantity of sap
imbibed by them, soon wither, and eventually become brown,
dry, and wrinkled ; when the insects leave them for fresh leaves,
which they exhaust in the same way. As the eggs are not all
laid at one time, so the bugs are hatched in successive broods,
and consequently will be found in various stages of growth
through the summer. They, however, attain their full size, pass
through their last transformation, and appear in their perfect state,
or furnished with wing-covers and wings, during the months of
September and October. In this last state the squash-bug meas-
ures six tenths of an inch in length. It is of a rusty black color
above, and of a dirty ochre-yellow color beneath, and the sharp
lateral edges of the abdomen, which project beyond the closed
wing-covers, are spotted with ochre-yellow. The thin overlap-
ping portion of the wing-covers is black ; the wings are transpar-
ent, but are dusky at their tips ; and the upper side of the abdo-
men, upon which the wings rest when not in use, is of a deep
black color, and velvety appearance. The ground-color of this
insect is really ochre-yellow, and the rusty black hue of the head,
thorax, thick part of the wing-covers, and legs, is occasioned by
numerous black punctures, that, on the head, are arranged in two
broad black longitudinal lines, between which, as well as on the
margin of the thorax, the yellow is distinctly to be seen. On the
back-part of the head of this bug, and rather behind the eyes, are
two little glassy elevated spots, which are called eyelets, and

160 INSECTS OF MASSACHUSETTS.

which are supposed to enable the insect to see distant objects
above it, while the larger eyes at the sides of the head are for
nearer objects around it. Eyelets are also to be found in grass-
hoppers, locusts, and many other insects. In some of our species
of Coreus there is a little thorn at the base of the antennae, the
legs are also thorny on the under-side, and the hindmost thighs
are much thicker than the others ; but none of these characters
are found in squash-bugs*. When handled, and still more when
crushed, the latter give out an odor precisely similar to that of an
over-ripe pear, but far too powerful to be agreeable.

In order to prevent the ravages of these insects, they should be
sought and killed when they are about to lay their eggs ; and if
any escape our observation at this time, their eggs may be easily
found and crushed. With this view the squash-vines must be
visited daily, during the early part of their growth, and must be
carefully examined for the bugs and their eggs. A very short
time spent in this way every day, in the proper season, will save
a great deal of vexation and disappointment afterwards. If this
precaution be neglected or deferred till the vines have begun to
spread, it will be exceedingly difficult to exterminate the insects,
on account of their numbers ; and, if at this time dry weather
should prevail, the vines will suffer so much from the bugs and
drought together, as to produce but little if any fruit. AVhatever
contributes to bring forward the plants rapidly, and to promote the
vigor and luxuriance of their foliage, renders them less liable to
suffer by the exhausting punctures of the young bugs. Water
drained from a cow-yard, and similar preparations have, with this
intent, been applied with benefit.

During the summer of 1838, and particularly in the early part
of the season, which, it will be recollected, was very dry, our
gardens and fields swarmed with immense numbers of little bugs,
that attacked almost all kinds of herbaceous plants. My attention
was first drawn to them in consequence of the injury sustained by
a few dahlias, marigolds, asters, and balsams with which I had
stocked a little border around my house. In the garden of my
friends the Messrs. Hovey, at Cambridgeport, I observed, about

* They appear to belong to the sub-genus Syromastcs of Latreille and Laporte.

HEMIPTERA. 161

the same time, that these insects were committing sad havoc, and
was informed that various means had been tried to destroy or ex-
pel them without effect. On visiting my potato-patch shortly
afterwards, I found the insects there also in great numbers on the
vines ; and, from information worthy of credit, am inclined to be-
lieve that these insects contributed, quite as much as the dry
weather of that season, to diminish the produce of the potato
fields in this vicinity. They principally attacked the buds, ter-
minal shoots, and most succulent growing parts of these and other
herbaceous plants, puncturing them with their beaks, drawing off
the sap, and, from the effects subsequently visible, apparently
poisoning the parts attacked. These shortly afterwards withered,
turned black, and in a few days dried up ; or curled, and remained
permanently stunted in their growth. Early in the morning the
bugs would be found buried among the little expanding leaves of
the growing extremities of the plants, at which time it was not
very difficult to catch them ; but, after they had become warmed
a little by the sun, they became exceedingly active, and, on the
approach of the fingers, would loose their hold, and either drop
suddenly or fly away. Sometimes, too, when on the stem of a
plant, they would dodge round to the other side, and thus elude
our grasp. I regret that the pressure of other occupations, during
the proper season for investigating the history and transforma-
tions of these insects, has hitherto prevented me from observing
them during their various stages, and that I have not been able to
obtain the requisite information from other persons. I can there-
fore only add, to the facts above stated, a description of the
insects in their adult state, with the times of their appearance.

This kind of bug is the Phytocoris lineolaris, a variety of
which was first described and figured by Palisot de Beauvois un-
der the specific name above given, and was doubtingly referred by
him to the genus Coreus ; and it was subsequently described by
Mr. Say, who called it Capsus oblineatus. All the insects be-
longing to the genus Phytocoris* (which means plant-bug) are

* This new genus or sub-genus was instituted by Fallen, and is not noticed by
Latreille and Laporte. It differs from Capsus chiefly in having a smaller head
and the thorax wider behind, and narrower before, than in the latter genus.

21

162 INSECTS OF MASSACHUSETTS.

found on plants, and subsist on their juices, which they obtain by
suction through their sharp beaks. They are easily distinguished
from other bugs by the following characters. Eyelets wanting ;
antennae four-jointed, with the first and second joints much thicker
than the two last, which are very slender and threadlike ; the
head short and triangular; the body oval, flattened, and soft ; the
thorax in the form of a broad triangle, with the tip of the anterior
angle cut off, and the broadest side applied to the base of the
wing-covers ; the latter, when folded, cover the whole of the ab-
domen, and their thin portions have only one or two little veins ;
the legs are slender, and the shanks are bristled with little points.
There are, in this Commonwealth, a good many species belonging
to this genus ; but, in my Catalogue of the insects of Massachu-
setts, they are included among the species of Capsus, which,
indeed, they closely resemble. The Phytocoris lineolaris, or
little-lined plant-bug, measures one fifth of an inch, or rather
more, in length. It is an exceedingly variable species. The
males are generally much darker than the females, being very
deep livid brown or almost black above. The head is yellowish,
with three narrow longitudinal reddish stripes ; the first joint of
the antennas, the terminal half of the second, and the last two
joints are blackish ; the beak is more than one third the whole
length of the body, when folded beneath the breast, extends to
the middle pair of legs, and is of a yellowish color, ringed with
black ; the thorax, or that part of the body that comes immedi-
ately behind the head, is thickly covered with punctures, has a
yellow margin, and five longitudinal yellow lines upon it, which
often disappear on the back part ; the scutel, or escutcheon, a
small triangular piece behind the thorax, and interposed between
the bases of the wing-covers, is also margined with yellow, and
has a yellow spot upon it in the form of the letter V, which is
often imperfect, so that only three small yellow spots are visible
in the place of the three extremities of the letter ; the thick part
of the wing-covers is brown, with the outer edge and the longitu-
dinal veins sometimes pale or yellowish, and behind this thick
part there is a large yellowish spot, on the posterior tip of which
is a small black point ; the thin or membranous part of the wing-
covers is shaded with dusky clouds ; the under-side of the body is

HEMIPTERA. 163

marked with a yellowish line or a longitudinal series of yellow
spots on each side of the middle ; the legs are dirty brownish yel-
low, the thighs blackish at base, and with two black rings near the
tip, and«the extremities of the feet are blackish. The females are
most often of a pale olive-green, or of a dirty greenish yellow
color ; the thorax spotted and more or less distinctly striped with
black, and the thick part of the wing-covers also variegated with
dusky or brownish lines and clouds. In both sexes, however, the
yellow V, or the three spots on the thorax, and the large yellow
spot tipped with black on the wing-covers, are conspicuous char-
acters, which readily afford the means of identifying the species*.
I have taken this insect in the spring, as early as the twentieth of
April, and in the autumn, as late as the middle of October ; from
which I infer that it passes the winter in the perfect state in some
place of security. It is most abundant during the months of June
and July. Specimens have been sent to me from Maine, New
York, North Carolina, and Alabama, and Mr. Say records its
occurrence in Pennsylvania, Indiana, the North- West Territory,
and Missouri. It seems, therefore, to be very generally diffused
throughout the Union.

The history of this species is yet imperfect. We know not
where and when the eggs are laid ; the young have not been ob-
served ; and the insects, during the early periods of their exist-
ence, have escaped notice, and are only known to us after they
have completed their final transformations. It is possible that
further information upon the history of these insects may afford
some aid in devising proper remedies against their ravages. Upon
a limited scale, as on plants growing in our gardens, may be tried
the effect of sprinkling them with alkaline solutions, such as strong
soap-suds, or potash-water, or with decoctions of tobacco and
of walnut leaves, or of dusting the plants with air-slacked lime or
sulphur. But in field husbandry such applications would be im-

* This species bears a very close resemblance to one which I have received
from Sweden, under the name of Phytocoris campestris of Linnteus and Fallen ;
but it is larger and proportionally broader, the punctures of the thorax are deeper,
and the yellow spot on the wing-covers is much more conspicuous than in the
Swedish co-species. My description of Phytocoris lineolaris, was drawn up from
living specimens. They fade very much after death.

164 INSECTS OF MASSACHUSETTS.

practicable. I am inclined to believe that nothing will prove so
effectual as thorough irrigation, or copious and frequent showers
of rain, which will bring forward the plants with such rapidity,
that they will soon become so strong and vigorous as to withstand
the attacks of these little bugs. The great increase of these and
other noxious insects may fairly be attributed to the exterminating
war which has wantonly been waged upon our insect-eating birds,
and we may expect the evil to increase unless these little friends
of the farmer are protected, or left undisturbed to multiply,
and follow their natural habits. Meanwhile, some advantage
may be derived from encouraging the breed of our domestic
fowls. A flock of young chickens or turkeys, if suffered to go
at large in a garden, while the mother is confined within their
sight and hearing, under a suitable crate or cage, will devour great
numbers of destructive insects ; and our farmers should be urged
to pay more attention than heretofore to the rearing of chickens,
young turkeys, and ducks, with a view to the benefits to be de-
rived from their destruction of insects.

II. HARVEST-FLIES, &c. (Hemiptera Homoptera.)

By many entomologists this division is raised to the rank of a
separate order, under the name of Homoptera ; but the insects
arranged in it are, as already stated, much more like the true
Hemiptera, or bugs, than they are to the insects in any other
order, which shows the propriety of keeping these two divisions
together, and that separately they hold only a subordinate impor-
tance compared with other orders.

The insects belonging to this division are divided by naturalists
into three large groups, or tribes.

1. Harvest-flies, or Cicadians (Cicadad.e) ; having short an-
tennae, which are awl-shaped or tipped with a little bristle ; wings
and wing-covers, in both sexes, inclined at the sides of the body ;
three joints to their feet ; firm and hard skins ; and in which the
females have a piercer, lodged in a furrow beneath the extremity
of the body.

2. Plant-lice (Aphidid^e); having antenna? longer than the head,
and threadlike or tapering from the root to the end ; wing-covers

HEMIPTERA. 165

and wings frequently wanting in the females ; feet two-jointed ;
the body very soft, generally furnished with two little tubercles at
the end ; no piercer in the females.

3. Bark-lice (Coccid^e) ; having ' threadlike or tapering an-
tenna?, longer than the head ; the males alone provided with wings,
which lie horizontally on the top of the back ; no beak in this
sex ; females wingless, but furnished with beaks ; the feet with
only one joint, terminated by a single claw ; skins tolerably firm
and hard ; two slender threads at the extremity of the body ; no
piercer in the females.

I. Harvest-flies. (Cicadadce.)

The most remarkable insects in this group are those to which
naturalists now apply the name of Cicada. They are readily
distinguished by their broad heads, the large and very convex
eyes on each side, and the three eyelets on the crown ; by the
transparent and veined wing-covers and wings ; and by the eleva-
tion on the back part of the thorax in the form of the letter X.
The males have a peculiar organization which enables them to
emit an excessively loud buzzing kind of sound, which, in some
species, may be heard at the distance of a mile ; and the females
are furnished with a curiously contrived piercer, for perforating
the limbs of trees, in which they place their eggs. Without
attempting a detailed description of the complicated mechanism
of these parts, which could only be made intelligible by means
of figures, I shall merely give a brief and general account of them,
which may suffice for the present occasion. The musical instru-
ments of the male consist of a pair of kettle-drums, one on each
side of the body, and these, in the seventeen-year Cicada (or lo-
cust as it is generally but improperly called in America), are
plainly to be seen just behind the wings. These drums are
formed of convex pieces of parchment, covered with numerous
fine plaits, and, in the species above named, are lodged in cavi-
ties on the sides of the body behind the thorax. They are not
played upon with sticks, but by muscles or cords fastened to the
inside of the drums. When these muscles contract and relax,
which they do with great rapidity, the drum-heads are alternately
tightened and loosened, recovering their natural convexity by their

166 INSECTS OF MASSACHUSETTS.

own elasticity. The effect of this rapid alternate tension and re-
laxation is the production of a rattling sound, like that caused by
a succession of quick pressures upon a slightly convex and elastic
piece of tin plate. Certain cavities within the body of the in-
sect, which may be seen on raising two large valves beneath the
belly, and which are separated from each other by thin partitions
having the transparency and brilliancy of mica or of thin and
highly polished glass, tend to increase the vibrations of the sounds,
and add greatly to their intensity. In most of our species of
Cicada, the drums are not visible on the outside of the body, but
are covered by convex triangular pieces on each side of the first
ring behind the thorax, which must be cut away in order to ex-
pose them. On raising the large valves of the belly, however,
there is seen, close to each side of the body, a little opening,
like a pocket, in which the drum is lodged, and from which the
sound issues when the insect opens the valves. The hinder ex-
tremity of the body of the female is conical, and the under-side
has a longitudinal channel for the reception of the piercer, which
is furthermore protected by four short grooved pieces fixed in the
sides of the channel. The piercer itself consists of three parts
in close contact with each other ; namely, two outer ones grooved
on the inside and enlarged at the tips, which externally are beset
with small teeth like a saw, and a central, spear-pointed borer,
which plays between the other two. Thus this instrument has
the power and does the work both of an awl and of a double-
edged saw, or rather of two key-hole saws cutting opposite to
each other. No species of Cicada possesses the power of leap-
ing. The legs are rather short, and the anterior thighs are armed
beneath with two stout spines.

The duration of life in winged insects is comparatively very
short, seldom exceeding two or three weeks in extent, and in
many is limited to the same number of days or hours. To in-
crease and multiply is their principal business in this period of
their existence, if not the only one, and the natural term of their
life ends when this is accomplished. In their previous states,
however, they often pass a much longer time, the length of which
depends, in great measure, upon the nature and abundance of their
food. Thus maggots, which subsist upon decaying animal or

HEMIPTERA. 167

vegetable matter, come more quickly to their growth than cater-
pillars and other insects which devour living plants ; the former
are appointed to remove an offensive nuisance, and do their work
quickly ; the latter have a longer time assigned to them, cor-
responding in some degree to the progress or continuance of vege-
tation. The facilities afforded for obtaining food influence the
duration of life ; hence those grubs that live in the solid trunks of
perennial trees, which they are obliged to perforate in order to
obtain nourishment, are longer lived than those that devour the
tender parts of leaves and fruits, which, though they last only for
a season, require no laborious efforts to be prepared for food.
The harvest-flies continue only a few weeks after their final trans-
formation, and their only nourishment consists of vegetable juices,
which they obtain by piercing the bark and leaves of plants with
their beaks ; and during this period they lay their eggs, and then
perish. They are, however, amply compensated for the short-
ness of their life in the winged state by the length of their pre-
vious existence, during which they are wingless and grub-like in
form, and live under ground, where they obtain their food only by
much labor in perforating the soil among the roots of plants, the
juices of which they imbibe by suction. To meet the difficulties
of their situation and the precarious supply of their food, for
which they have to grope in the dark in their subterranean re-
treats, a remarkable longevity is assigned to them ; and one spe-
cies has obtained the name of Cicada septendecim, on account of
its life being protracted to the period of seventeen years.

This insect has been observed in the southeastern parts of
Massachusetts, but does not seem to have extended to other parts
of the State. The earliest account that we have of it is con-
tained in Morton's " Memorial," wherein it is stated that "there
was a numerous company of flies, which were like for bigness
unto wasps or bumblebees," which appeared in Plymouth in the
Spring of 1633. " They came out of little holes in the ground,
and did eat up the green things, and made such a constant yelling
noise as made the woods ring of them, and ready to deafen the
hearers." Judge Davis, in the Appendix to his edition of Sec-
retary Morton's "Memorial," states that these insects appeared
in Plymouth, Sandwich, and Falmouth in the year 1S04 ; but, if

16S INSECTS OF MASSACHUSETTS.

the exact period of seventeen years was observed, they should
have returned in 1803. Circumstances may occasionally retard
or accelerate their progress to maturity, but the usual interval is
certainly seventeen years, according to the observations and testi-
mony of many persons of undoubted veracity. Their occur-
rence in large swarms at long intervals, like that of the migratory
locusts of the east, probably suggested the name of locusts, which
has commonly been applied to them in this country. The fol-
lowing extract from a letter* from the late Rev. Ezra Shaw
Goodwin, of Sandwich, contains some interesting particulars which
this gentleman had the kindness to communicate to me.

" I have not been unmindful of what you said to me respecting
the locust insects, nor of the promise I made you with respect to
them. They appeared in this town in the year 1821, in the
middle of June. Their last previous appearance was in 1804,
and their last, previous to that, was in 1787. I ascertained these
periods from the statements of individuals, who remembered that
it was locust-year, when this or that event occurred ; as, when
this one was married, or that one's eldest son was born ; events,
the date of which the husband or the parent would not be very
likely to forget. The remembrance of all, though fixed by dif-
ferent events, concurred in establishing the same years for the ap-
pearance of the locusts.

" I first took notice of them in 1821, on the 17th of June,
from their noise. They appeared chiefly in the forests, or in
thickets of forest-trees, principally oak. Their nearest distance
from my dwelling cannot be far from a mile ; yet, at a still hour,
their music was distinctly heard there. On going to visit them,
I found the oak-trees and bushes swarming with them in a winged
state. They came up out of the ground a creeping insect. Very
soon, after they had arrived on the surface of the earth, the skin,
or rather the shell of the insect burst upon the back, and the
winged insect came forth, leaving the skin or shell upon the earth,
in a perfect form, and uninjured, saving at the rupture on the
back ; showing an entire withdrawing of the living animal, as much
so as does the snake's skin after he has left it. Thus these skins

* Dated Oct. 19, 1832.

HEMIPTERA. 1G9

lay in immense numbers under the trees, entirely empty, and per-
fect in shape. The winged insects did not, so far as I could as-
certain, eat any thing. Motion and propagation appeared to be
the whole object of their existence. They continued about four
or five weeks, and then died." Previous to this event " the
females laid their eggs in the tender parts of oak branches, near
the extremities, making a longitudinal furrow, and depositing rows
of eggs therein. They then sawed the branch partly off below
the eggs, so that the wind could twist off the extreme part con-
taining the eggs, and let it fall to the ground. In this way they
injured the trees extensively. The forest had a gloomy appear-
ance from the number of these extremities partially twisted off,
and hanging, with their dead leaves, ready to fall. In a few weeks
they were nearly all separated from the trees, and carried their
vital burdens to the earth, which was, certainly, well seeded for a
harvest in 1838. I know of no other damage which they did."
" I believe the locusts appear in different places, in different
years, and understand that the locust-year, in some place? not far
distant, is different from their year in this town." This letter
was accompanied by specimens of the insects, in their various
states, obtained and preserved by Mr. Goodwin.

The writer of an article in the " Boston Magazine " for Novem-
ber, 1784, observes that Mr. Morton must have been mistaken as
to these insects, in saying that they eat up the green things, which,
from the structure of their mouths, we now know could not have
been the case. This writer also records the appearance of these
insects in 1784, and the place of his residence, in which this oc-
curred, is believed to have been in the County of Bristol ; which
coincides with the remark made by Mr. Goodwin, that in different
places they appear in different years. This remark is further-
more confirmed by the observations of various persons* who

* Among the authorities which I have consulted upon the history of the
17-year Cicada, may be mentioned the Rev. Andrew Sandel, of Philadelphia, an
abstract of whose account is given in the 4th vol. of Mitchill and Miller's " Medical
Repository," p. 71; the " Columbian Magazine," vol. 1, pages 86 and 108; Mr.
Moses Bartram's account in Dodsley's " Annual Register " for 1767, p. 103; Dr.
McMurtrie, in the 8th vol. of the " Encyclopaedia Americana," p. 43; Dr. S. P.
Hildreth's interesting account in the 10th vol. of Silliman's " American Journal of

22

170 INSECTS OF MASSACHUSETTS.

have published accounts of the occurrence of these insects in the
Middle, Southern, and Western States, where, at regular inter-
vals of seventeen years, varying according to the locality, they
are seen even in greater abundance than in Massachusetts. The
following dates and places of their ascent are given in Professor
Potter's "Notes on the Locusta decern Septima" (Cicada sep-
tendecim) ; Maryland, 1749, 1766, 1783, 1800, 1817, 1834 ;
South Carolina and Georgia 1S17, 1834 ; Middlesex County,
New Jersey, 1S26 ; Louisiana, 1829 ; Gallipolis, Ohio, 1821,
and Muskingum, 1829 : western parts of Pennsylvania, 1832 ;
Fall-River, Massachusetts, 1834. To these may be added from
other sources, Pennsylvania, 1715, 1766, 1783, 1800, 1817;*
Marietta, Ohio, 1795, 1812; Plymouth, 1633, 1S04 ; Sandwich,
1787, 1S04, 1S21 ; Genesee County, New York, 1832; Mar-
tha's Vineyard, 1833. From information derived from various
sources it appears that this species is widely spread over the coun-
try, with the exception only of the northern parts of New Eng-
land ; and that it may be seen in some portion of the United
States almost every year ; and, although certain disturbing causes
may occasionally accelerate or retard the return of individuals, or
even of an entire swarm, in any one place, yet the lineal descen-
dants of one particular family or swarm will ordinarily come forth
only once in seventeen years, while those of other swarms may
appear, after equally regular intervals, in the intervening period,
in other places.

The seventeen-year Cicada (Cicada septendecim of Linnaeus),
in the winged state, is of a black color, with transparent wings
and wing-covers, the thick anterior edge and larger veins of which

Science," p. 327 ; and a pamphlet entitled " Notes on the Locusta," &c, with
which I have been favored by the author, Professor Nathaniel Potter, of Baltimore.
This last work is exclusively devoted to the history of this insect, and has afforded
me much valuable information. From these various sources I have selected the
principal facts which follow. Mr. Collinson's " Observations on the Cicada of
North America," published in the "Philosophical Transactions" of London, vol. 54,
p. 65, with a plate, probably refer to the seventeen-year Cicada, hut the insects
limired are not the same, and seem to be the Cicada pruinosa of Mr. Say.

* A writer in the " United States Gazette " records the appearance of these in-
sects in great numbers in Gcrmantown, Pennsylvania, on the 'doth of May, at four
successive periods.

HEMIPTERA. 171

are orange-red, and near the tips of the latter there is a dusky
zigzag line in the form of the letter W ; the eyes when living are
also red ; the rings of the body are edged with dull orange ; and
the legs are of the same color. The wings expand from 2| to
3| inches.

In those parts of Massachusetts which are subject to the visita-
tion of this Cicada, it may be seen in forests of oak about the
middle of June. Here such immense numbers are sometimes
congregated, as to bend and even break down the limbs of the
trees by their weight, and the woods resound with the din of their
discordant drums from morning to evening. After pairing, the
females proceed to prepare a nest for the reception of their eggs.
They select, for this purpose, branches of a moderate size, which
they clasp on both sides with their legs, and then bending down
the piercer at an angle of about forty-five degrees, they repeatedly
thrust it obliquely into the bark and wood in the direction of the
fibres, at the same time putting in motion the lateral saws, and in
this way detach little splinters of the wood at one end, so as to
form a kind of fibrous lid or cover to the perforation. The hole
is bored obliquely to the pith, and is gradually enlarged by a rep-
etition of the same operation, till a longitudinal fissure is formed
of sufficient extent to receive from ten to twenty eggs. The side-
pieces of the piercer serve as a groove to convey the eggs into
the nest, where they are deposited in pairs, side by side, but
separated from each other by a portion of woody fibre, and they
are implanted into the limb somewhat obliquely, so that one end
points upwards. When two eggs have been thus placed, the
insect withdraws the piercer for a moment, and then inserts it
again and drops two more eggs in a line with the first, and repeats
the operation till she has filled the fissure from one end to the
other, upon which she removes to a little distance, and begins to
make another nest to contain two more rows of eggs. She is
about fifteen minutes in preparing a single nest and filling it with
eggs ; but it is not unusual for her to make fifteen or twenty
fissures in the same limb ; and one observer counted fifty nests
extending along in a line, each containing fifteen or twenty eggs
in two rows, and all of them apparently the work of one insect.
After one limb is thus sufficiently stocked, the Cicada goes to

172 INSECTS OF MASSACHUSETTS.

another, and passes from limb to limb and from tree to tree, till her
store, which consists of four or five hundred eggs, is exhausted.
At length she becomes so weak by her incessant labors to pro-
vide for a succession of her kind, as to falter and fall in attempt-
ing to fly, and soon dies.

Although the Cicadas abound most upon the oak, they resort
occasionally to other forest-trees and even to shrubs, when im-
pelled by the necessity for depositing their eggs, and not unfre-
quently commit them to fruit-trees, when the latter are in their
vicinity. Indeed there seem to be no trees or shrubs that are
exempted from their attacks, except those of the pine and fir
tribes, and of these even the white cedar is sometimes invaded
by them. The punctured limbs languish and die soon after the
eggs which were placed in them are hatched ; they are broken by
the winds or by their own weight,- and either remain hanging by
the bark alone, or fall with their withered foliage to the ground.
In this way orchards have suffered severely in consequence of the
injurious punctures of these insects.

The eggs are one twelfth of an inch long, and one sixteenth of
an inch through the middle, but taper at each end to an obtuse
point, and are of a pearl-white color. The shell is so thin and
delicate that the form of the included insect can be seen before
the egg is hatched, which occurs, according to Dr. Potter, in
fifty-two days after it is laid, but other persons say in fourteen
days.

The young insect when it bursts the shell is one sixteenth of
an inch long, and is of a yellowish white color, except the eyes
and the claws of the fore-legs, which are reddish ; and it is covered
with little hairs. In form it is somewhat grub-like, being longer
in proportion than the parent insect, and is furnished with six legs,
the first pair of which are very large, shaped almost like lobster-
claws, and armed with strong spines beneath. On the shoulders
are little prominences in the place of wings ; and under the breast
is a long beak for suction. These little creatures when liberated
from the shell are very lively, and their movements are nearly as
quick as those of ants. After a few moments their instincts
prompt them to get to the ground, but in order to reach it they
do not descend the body of the tree, neither do they cast off

HEMIPTERA. 173

themselves precipitately ; but running to the side of the limb,
they deliberately loosen their hold, and fall to the earth, It
seems, then, that they are not borne to the ground in the egg state
by the limbs in which their nests are contained, but spontaneously
make the perilous descent, immediately after they are hatched,
without any clue, like that of the canker-worm, to carry them in
safety through the air and break the force of their fall. The in-
stinct which impels them thus fearlessly to precipitate themselves
from the trees, from heights of which they can have formed
no conception, without any experience or knowledge of the re-
sult of their adventurous leap, is still more remarkable than that
which carries the gosling to the water as soon as it is hatched. In
those actions, that are the result of foresight, of memory, or of
experience, animals are controlled by their own reason, as in those
to which they are led by the use of their ordinary senses or by
the indulgence of their common appetites they may be said to be
governed by the laws of their organization ; but in such as arise
from special and extraordinary instincts, we see the most striking
proofs of that creative wisdom which has implanted in them an
unerring guide, where reason, the senses, and the appetites would
fail to direct them. The manner of the young cicadas' descent,
so different from that of other insects, and seeming to require a
special instinct to this end, would be considered incredible per-
haps, if it had not been ascertained and repeatedly confirmed by
persons who have witnessed the proceeding. On reaching the
ground the insects immediately bury themselves in the soil, bur-
rowing by means of their broad and strong fore-feet, which, like
those of the mole, are admirably adapted for digging. In their
descent into the earth they seem to follow the roots of plants, and
are subsequently found attached to those which are most tender
and succulent, perforating them with their beaks, and thus imbib-
ing the vegetable juices which constitute their sole nourishment.
They do not appear ordinarily to descend very deeply into the
ground, but remain where roots are most abundant ; and it is
probable that the accounts of their having been discovered ten or
twelve feet from the top of the ground have been founded on
some mistake, or the occurrence of the insects at such a depth
may have been the result of accident. The only alteration to

174 INSECTS OF MASSACHUSETTS.

which the insects are subject, during the long period of their sub-
terranean confinement, is an increase of size, and the more com-
plete development of the four small scale-like prominences on
their backs, which represent and actually contain their future
wings.

As the time of their transformation approaches, they gradually
ascend towards the surface, making in their progress cylindrical
passages, oftentimes very circuitous, and seldom exactly perpen-
dicular, the sides of which, according to Dr. Potter, are firmly
cemented and varnished so as to be water-proof. These burrows
are about five eighths of an inch in diameter, are filled below with
earthy matter removed by the insect in its progress, and can be
traced by the color and compactness of their contents to the depth
of from one to two feet, according to the nature of the soil ; but
the upper portion to the extent of six or eight inches is empty,
and serves as a habitation for the insect till the period for its exit
arrives. Here it remains during several days, ascending to the
top of the hole in fine weather for the benefit of the warmth and
the air, and occasionally peeping forth apparently to reconnoitre,
but descending again on the occurrence of cold or wet weather.

During their temporary residence in these burrows near the
surface, the Cicada grubs, or more properly pupa;, for such they
are to be considered at this period, though they still retain some-
thing of a grub-like form, acquire strength for further efforts by
exposure to the light and air, and seem then only to wait for a
favorable moment to issue from their subterranean retreats. When
at length this arrives, they issue from the ground in great numbers
in the night, crawl up the trunks of trees, or upon any other ob-
ject in their vicinity to which they can fasten themselves securely
by their claws. After having rested awhile they prepare to cast
off their skins, which, in the mean time, have become dry and of
an amber color. By repeated exertions a longitudinal rent is
made in the skin of the back, and through this the included Ci-
cada pushes its head and body, and withdraws its wings and limbs
from their separate cases, and, crawling to a little distance, it
leaves its empty pupa-skin, apparently entire, still fastened to the
tree. At first the wing-covers and wings are very small and
opakc, but, being perfectly soft and flexible, they soon stretch

HEMIPTERA. 175

out to their full dimensions, and in the course of a few hours the
superfluous moisture of the body evaporates, and the insect be-
comes strong enough to fly.

During several successive nights the pupa? continue to issue
from the earth ; above fifteen hundred have been found to arise
beneath a single apple tree, and in some places the whole surface
of the soil, by their successive operations, has appeared as full of
holes as a honeycomb. In Alabama the species under considera-
tion leaves the ground in February and March, in Maryland and
Pennsylvania in May, but in Massachusetts it does not come forth
till near the middle of June. Within about a fortnight after their
final transformation they begin to lay their eggs, and in the space
of six weeks the whole generation becomes extinct.

Fortunately these insects are appointed to return only at periods
so distant that vegetation often has time to recover from the injury
inflicted by them ; but were they to appear at shorter intervals,
our forest and fruit trees would soon be entirely destroyed by
them. They are moreover subject to many accidents, and have
many enemies, which contribute to diminish their numbers.
Their eggs are eaten by birds ; the young, when they first issue
from the shell, are preyed upon by ants, which mount the trees to
feed upon them, or destroy them when they are about to enter the
ground. Blackbirds eat them when turned up by the plough in
fields, and hogs are excessively fond of them, and, when suffered
to go at large in the woods, root them up, and devour immense
numbers just before the arrival of the period of their final trans-
formation, when they are lodged immediately under the surface of
the soil. It is stated that many perish in the egg state, by the
rapid growth of the bark and wood, which closes the perforations
and buries the eggs before they have hatched ; and many, without
doubt, are killed by their perilous descent from the trees.

There are several other harvest-flies in the United States, the
males of which are musical ; but their drums are concealed
within little cavities in the sides of the first abdominal ring. One
of these is found in Massachusetts, and, though it never appears in
such great numbers as the preceding species, it is more common
or more generally met with throughout the State. It may be
called the dog-day harvest-fly, or Cicada canicularis, from the

176 INSECTS OF MASSACHUSETTS.

circumstance of its invariably appearing with the beginning of
dog-days. During many years in succession, with only one or
two exceptions, I have heard this insect, on the twenty-fifth of
July, for the first time in the season, drumming in the trees, on
some part of the day between the hours of ten in the morning and
two in the afternoon. It is true that all do not muster on the
same day ; for at first they are few in number, and scattered at
great distances from each other ; new-comers, however, are
added from day to day, till, in a short time, almost every tree
seems to have its musician, and the rolling of their drums may be
heard in every direction. This circumstance, however, does not
render it any the less remarkable that the first of the band should
keep their appointed time with such extreme regularity. The
dog-day harvest-fly measures about one inch and six tenths from
the front to the tips of the wing-covers, which, when spread, ex-
pand about three inches. Its body is black on the upper side ;
the under-side of the head, the breast, and the sides of the belly
are covered with a white substance resembling flour ; the top of
the head and the thorax are ornamented with olive-green lines and
characters, one of which, in the shape of the letter W, is very
conspicuous ; the legs, and the front edge and principal veins of
the wing-covers and of the wings are also green, and there is a
dusky zigzag spot on the little cross-veins near the tip of the wing-
covers ; and the valves beneath the body of the males are wider
than long. This species has heretofore been mistaken for the
Cicada pruinosa, or frosted harvest-fly, described by Mr. Say,
which is found in the Middle States, measures two inches to the
tips of the wing-covers, has a white spot each side of the base of
the abdomen, a second on the middle of the sides, and a third
near to the tip, and has the valves of the males longer than wide*.

* The form and proportions of the abdominal valves have decided me to separate
the canicularis from Mr. Say's pruinosa, although, with the exception of their dif-
ference in size, they present no other constant characters which will invariably
serve to distinguish them from each other. In my collection are four more native
species of Cicada ; namely, the auletes of Germar, our largest species, from North
Carolina ; a second species, apparently undescribed, about equal to this in magni-
tude, from Long-Island, New York ; the tibiccn of Linnaeus, also from New York,
and quite common oven within the city ; and the hierogl ijphica of Say, which, 1

HEMIPTERA. 177

I am not aware that the females of the dog-day harvest-fly" prefer
to lay their eggs in one rather than in another kind of tree ; for I
have taken the pupae emerging from the ground beneath cherry,
maple, and elm trees, and it is probable that they could not have
travelled far from the trees upon which, when young, they were
hatched, and upon the trunks of which they finally leave their
vacant shells. These have much the same form and appearance
as the pupa-shells of the seventeen-year harvest-fly, but are con-
siderably larger. Some individuals of this species continue with
us as late as the end of September. As they are not very nu-
merous, the injary sustained by the trees from their punctures is
comparatively small.

The other harvest-flies of this country have only two eyelets,*
and are not furnished with musical instruments ; but they enjoy
the faculty of leaping, which the Cicadas do not. This faculty
does not, as in the grasshoppers and other leaping insects, result
from an enlargement of their hindmost thighs, which do not differ
much in thickness from the others ; but is owing to the length of
their hinder shanks, or to the bristles and spines with which these
parts are clothed and tipped. These spines serve to fix the hind-
legs securely to the surface, and, when the insect suddenly un-
bends its legs, its body is launched forward in the air. Some of
these harvest-flies, when assisted by their wings, will leap to the
distance of five or six feet, which is more than two hundred and
fifty times their own length ; in the same proportion, " a man of
ordinary stature should be able at once to vault through the air to
the distance of a quarter of a mile." Some of these leaping har-
vest-flies have the face nearly vertical, and the thorax very large,
tapering to a point behind, covering the whole of the upper side
of the body, and overtopping even the head, which is not visible
from above. These belong chiefly to the genus Membracu, to
which allusion has already been made ; and, as they are found
mostly on the limbs of trees and shrubs, they may receive the

believe, was captured in Florida, and was presented to me by Mr. Edward Double-
day. A specimen of the tibicen, or some other large species, has been taken in
Massachusetts ; but I have not the individual to refer to at this time.

23

178 INSECTS OF MASSACHUSETTS.

name of tree-hoppers *. Jn others the face slopes downwards
towards the breast, the thorax is of moderate size, and does not
extend much, if at all, beyond the base of the wing-covers, and
does not conceal the head when viewed from above. Some of
the insects, with this small-sized thorax, are familiarly called, in
English works, cuckoo-spit and frog-hoppers, and to others may-
be applied the name of leaf-hoppers, because they live mostly on
the leaves of plants.

The thorax differs very much in shape in different kinds of tree-
hoppers (Membracidid^e), and the variations of this part are pro-
ductive of many odd forms among these insects,«and particularly
in foreign species. Among the species inhabiting Massachusetts
there are some in which the thorax forms a thin and high arched
crest over the body, as in Membracis camelus of Fabricius, and
the vau of my Catalogue. To these the name of JMcmbracis,
which means sharp-edged, is most applicable. In other species
(M. emarginata and sinuata of Fabricius, and concova of Say,)
the crest of the thorax is deeply notched on the top. In others
the whole of the thorax is not elevated longitudinally in the mid-
dle, but only in some part ; thus M. Jlmpelopsidis has an oblong
square crest on the middle of the thorax ; M. bimaculata of Fa-
bricius and univittata of my Catalogue have a thin horn-like pro-
jection, blunt, however, at the end, extending obliquely forwards
and upwards from the forepart of the thorax ; and M. binotata and
latipes of Say have a similarly situated horn, narrower however,
and curved, so as to give to the insects, when viewed sidewise,
the shape of a bird ; and, lastly, in M. bubalus of Fabricius,
tliceros of Say, and taurina of my Catalogue, the ridge of the
thorax, viewed from above, has somewhat the shape of the letter
T, becoming broad at the forepart, and extending outwards on
each side like a pair of short thick horns, which gave rise to the
foregoing specific names, meaning buffalo, two-horned, and kine-
like.

The habits of some of the tree-hoppers are presumed to be
much the same as those of the musical harvest-flies, for they are

Mr. Rennie, in the "Library of Entertaining Knowledge"', has misapplied
this name to the Cicadas, which do not leap.

HEMIPTERA. 179

found on the limbs of trees, where they deposit their eggs, only
during the adult state, and probably pass the early period of their
existence in the ground. Others, however, are known to live and
undergo all their changes on the stems of plants. Among the
former is our largest native species, the two-spotted tree-hopper,
or Mtmbracis bimaculata* of Fabricius, which may be found in
great abundance on the limbs of the locust-tree (Robinia pseudo-
code/) during the months of September and October. These, as
well as other tree-hoppers, show but little activity when undis-
turbed, remaining without motion for hours together on the limbs
of the trees ; but, on the approach of the fingers, they leap vigor-
ously, and, spreading their wings at the same time, fly to another
limb and settle there, in the same position as before. They
never sit across the limbs, but always in the direction of their
length, with the head or forepart of the body towards the ex-
tremity of the branches. On account of their peculiar form,
which is that of a thick cone with a very oblique direction, their
dark color, and their fixed posture while perching, they would
readily be mistaken for the thorns of the tree, a circumstance un-
doubtedly intended for their preservation. Other instances have
been mentioned displaying proofs of equal wisdom in the formation
of insects. Thus, in the leaf-insects, grasshoppers, and walking-
sticks, which live in trees, the latter exactly simulating a little
twig in appearance, and the others having the form and color of
leaves, their resemblance to the objects among which they have
been destined to live, has doubtless been given to them with the
express design of screening them from their enemies of the
feathered race. Many other examples of the same kind might be
mentioned, did time and the limits of my subject warrant ; but
these alone suffice to show that special provision has been wisely
made in the construction of certain defenceless animals with a
view to secure them from observation. Surely insects, the most
despised of God's creation, are not unworthy our study, since
they are objects of His care and subjects of a special providence.
But to return to our locust tree-hopper, which remains to be de-

* Fabricius describes the male only under this name ; the female is his Mem-
bracis acuminata. This species belongs to Professor Germar's new genus He-
miptycha.

180 INSECTS OF MASSACHUSETTS.

scribed ; — it measures about half an inch from the tip of the horn
to the end of the body ; the male is blackish above, with a long
yellow spot on each side of the back ; and the female is ash-
colored, and without spots. While on the trees, these insects,
though perfectly still, are not unemployed ; but puncture the bark
with their sharp and slender beaks, and imbibe the sap for nour-
ishment. The female also appears to commit her eggs to the
protection of the tree, being furnished with a piercer beneath the
extremity of her body, with which to make suitable perforations
in the branches. As I have never seen the young on these trees,
I presume that, as soon as they are hatched, they make their way
to the ground, and remain under the surface of the soil, sucking
the sap from the roots of plants, until they are about to enter
upon their last period of existence, when they crawl up the trunks
of the trees, throw off their coats, and appear in the perfect or
winged state. From the great numbers of these tree-hoppers
which exist in certain seasons, the locust-trees undoubtedly suffer
much, not only in consequence of the quantity of sap abstracted
from their branches, but from the numerous punctures made by
the insects in obtaining it and in laying their eggs.

The oak-tree is attacked by another species, the white-lined
tree-hopper (M. univittata), which may be found upon it during
the month of July. It is about four tenths of an inch in length ;
the thorax is brown, has a short obtuse horn extending obliquely
upwards from its forepart, and there is a white line on the back,
extending from the top of the horn to the hinder extremity.

The common creeper (Arnpelopsis quinquefolia*) is inhabited
by a tree-hopper, which has an oblong square and thin elevation
or crest on the middle of the thorax. Its body is usually of a
reddish ash-color, and the thorax is ornamented with three reddish
brown bands, one of which is above the head and extends trans-
versely between the lateral projecting angles of the thorax, the
second is a short and oblique line on each side of the front-part of
the crest, and the third is also oblique, and begins on the outer
edge of the thorax, and passes obliquely forwards on each side to

* Some botanists have unwarrantably changed the specific name of this plant to
Hederacea.

HEMIPTERA. 181

the top of the hind part of the crest. This species may be called
Membracis Ampelopsidis * , from the plant on which it is found in
the perfect state. The young appear to live in the earth till they
are fully grown and have acquired the rudiments of wing-covers
and wings, or have become pupae, after which they are seen as-
cending the stems of the creeper, on which they change their
skins for the last time. This occurs from the middle to the end
of June.

There is a little tree-hopper, which is found during the months
of July and August on the wax-work, or Celastrus scandens, ac-
companied usually by its young. When fully grown it is nearly
three tenths of an inch in length, including the horn of the thorax ;
is of a dusky brown color, with two yellowish spots on the ridge
of the back ; and the first four shanks are exceedingly broad and
flat. It is the two-spotted tree-hopper, or Membracis binotata of
Say. When seen sidewise it presents a profile much like that of
a bird, the head and neck of which are represented by the curved
projecting horn of the thorax ; and a group of these little tree-
hoppers, of various sizes, clustered together on a stem of the
wax-work, may be likened to a flock of old and young partridges.
They appear to pass through all their transformations on the plant,
are fond of society, and sit close together, with their heads all
in the same direction.

Tree-hoppers are often surrounded by ants, for the sake of
their castings, and for the sap which oozes from the punctures
made by the former, of which the ants are very fond. Those
kinds, that live on the stems of plants from the time when they
are hatched till they are fully grown, are very closely attended by
ants ; and, as from their constant sucking the young become often
wet, their careful attendants, the ants, find regular employment
in wiping them clean and dry with their antennae and tongues.

The remaining Homopterous insects have a thorax of moderate
size, not tapering to a point behind, and not covering the whole
body as in the preceding species. Their heads are visible from
above, and the face slopes downwards towards the breast.

Here may be arranged the singular insects called frog-hoppers,

* It is the Membracis Cissi of my Catalogue.

182 INSECTS OF MASSACHUSETTS.

(Cercopididje), which pass their whole lives on plants, on the
stems of which their eggs are laid in the autumn. The following
summer they are hatched, and the young immediately perforate
the bark with their beaks, and begin to imbibe the sap. They
take in such quantities of this, that it oozes out of their bodies
continually, in the form of little bubbles, which soon completely
cover up the insects. They thus remain entirely buried and con-
cealed in large masses of foam, until they have completed their
final transformation, on which account the names of cuckoo-spittle,
frog-spittle, and frog-hoppers have been applied to them. We
have several species of these frog-hoppers in Massachusetts, and
the spittle, with which they are sheltered from the sun and air,
may be seen in great abundance, during the summer, on the stems
of our alders and willows. In the perfect state they are not thus
protected, but are found on the plants, in the latter part of sum-
mer, fully grown and preparing to lay their eggs. In this state
they possess the power of leaping in a still more remarkable de-
gree than the tree-hoppers ; and, for this purpose, the tips of
their hind shanks are surrounded with little spines, and the first
two joints of their feet have a similar coronet of spines at their
extremities. Their thorax narrows a little behind, and projects
somewhat between the bases of the wing-covers ; their bodies are
rather short, and their wing-covers are almost horizontal and quite
broad across the middle, which, with the shortness of their legs,
gives them a squat appearance.*

The leaf-hoppers (Tettigoniadje) leap almost as well as the
spittle-insects just mentioned ; but their hind-legs are longer, are
not surrounded with coronets of short spines, but are three sided,
and generally fringed on two of their edges with numerous long
and slender spines, which contribute, like the coronets of the
frog-hoppers, to fix their shanks firmly when they are about to
leap. The leaf-hoppers have been divided, by Professor Ger-
mar and other entomologists, into many genera, according to the

* The following species are found in Massachusetts ; namely Ccrcopis igni~
pccta of my Catalogue, and the parallela, quadranguluris, and obtusa, of Say.
The last three helong to Germar's genus .-Ipliruji/iora, which means spume-bear-
er. Cercopis, which may be translated impostor, was applied by the Greeks to a
small Cicada.

HEMIPTERA. 183

structure of their legs, the situation of the eyelets, and the form
of the head ; but we may retain them, without inconvenience, in
the genus Tettigonia, proposed for them by Geoffroy, or rather
adopted from the ancient Greeks, who gave this name to the small
kinds of harvest-flies, calling the larger ones Tettix. The Tetti-
gonians, or leaf-hoppers, have the head and thorax somewhat like
those of frog-hoppers, but their bodies are, in general, proportion-
ally longer, not so broad across the middle, and not so much
flattened. The head, as seen from above, is broad, and either
crescent-shaped, semicircular, or even extended forwards in the
form of a triangle ; its upper side is more or less flattened, and
the face slopes downwards towards the breast at an acute angle
with the top of the head. The thorax is wider than long, with
the front margin curving forwards, the hind margin transverse, or
not extended between the wing-covers, which space is filled by a
pretty large triangular scutel or escutcheon. The wing-covers
are generally opake, rather long and narrow, and more or less in-
clined at the sides of the body, not flat however, but moulded
somewhat to the form of the body, and the wings are rather
shorter and broader, not netted like those of the tree-hoppers, but
strengthened by a few longitudinal veins. The eyes, which are
distant from each other, and placed at the sides of the head, are
pretty large, but flattish, and not globular as in the Cicadas ; and
the eyelets, which are rarely wanting, vary in their situation,
being sometimes on the top and sometimes below the front edge of
the head. Notwithstanding the small size of most of these insects,
they are deserving our attention on account of their beauty, deli-
cacy, and surprising agility, as well as for the injury sustained by
vegetation from them ; and these circumstances have induced me
to give the characters of this group somewhat in detail, with the
view of drawing attention to these insects, and with the hope that
other persons may thereby be induced and guided to an investiga-
tion of their history. As my own opportunities have been very
few, I shall confine myself to an account of only two of these leaf-
hoppers.

It is stated by the late Mr. Fessenden, in the "New American
Gardener," that some persons in this country have entirely
"abandoned their grape-vines" in consequence of the depreda-

184 INSECTS OF MASSACHUSETTS.

tions of a small insect, which, for many years, was supposed to be
the vine-fretter of Europe. It is not however the same insect,
but is a leaf-hopper, and was first described by me in the year
1831, in the eighth volume of the "Encyclopaedia Americana*",
under the name of Tettigonia Vitis. In its perfect state it
measures one tenth of an inch in length. It is of a pale yellow or
straw color ; there are two little red lines on the head ; the back
part of the thorax, the scutel, the base of the wing-covers, and a
broad band across their middle, are scarlet ; the tips of the wing-
covers are blackish, and there are some little red lines between
the broad band and the tips. The head is crescent-shaped above,
and the eyelets are situated just below the ridge of the front, f
The vine-hoppers, as they may be called, inhabit the foreign and
the native grape-vines, on the under surface of the leaves of which
they may be found during the greater part of the summer ; for
they pass through all their changes on the vines. They make
their first appearance on the leaves in June, when they are very
small and not provided with wings, being then in the larva state.
During most of the time they remain perfectly quiet, with their
beaks thrust into the leaves from which they derive their nourish-
ment by suction. If disturbed, however, they leap from one leaf
to another with great agility. As they increase in size they have
occasion frequently to change their skins, and great numbers of
their empty cast-skins, of a white color, will be found, throughout
the summer, adhering to the under-sides of the leaves and upon
the ground beneath the vines. When arrived at maturity, which
generally occurs during the month of August, they are still more
agile than before, making use of their delicate wings as well as
their legs in their motions from place to place ; and, when the
leaves are agitated, they leap and fly from them in swarms, but
soon alight and begin again their destructive operations. The in-
fested leaves at length become yellow, sickly, and prematurely
dry, and give to the vine at midsummer the aspect it naturally as-
sumes on the approach of winter. But this is not the only injury
arising from the exhausting punctures of the vine-hoppers. In

* Article Locust, p. 43.

t This species must belong to the same genus as Cicada blandula of Rossi and
Fallen, which it resembles in form and in the situation of the ocelli or eyelets.

HEMIPTERA. 185

consequence of the interruption of the important functions of the
leaves, the plant itself languishes, the stem does not increase in
size, very little new wood is formed, or, in the language of the
gardeners, the canes do not ripen well, the fruit is stunted and mil-
dews, and, if the evil be allowed to go on unchecked, in a few
years the vines become exhausted, barren, and worthless. In the
autumn the vine-hoppers desert the vines, and retire for shelter
during the coming winter beneath fallen leaves and among the de-
cayed tufts and roots of grass, where they remain till the following
spring, when they emerge from their winter-quarters, and in due
time deposit their eggs upon the leaves of the vine, and then per-
ish. As the vine-hoppers are much more hardy and more viva-
cious than the European vine-fretters or plant-lice, the applications
that have proved destructive to the latter are by no means so effi-
cacious with the former. Fumigations with tobacco, beneath a
movable tent placed over the trellisses, answer the purpose com-
pletely.* They require frequent repetition, and considerable
care is necessary to prevent the escape and ensure the destruction
of the insects ; circumstances which render the discovery of some
more expeditious method an object to those whose vineyards are
extensive.

I have found that the Windsor bean, a variety of the Vicia
Faba of Linnaeus, is subject to the attacks of a species of leaf-
hopper, particularly during dry seasons, and when cultivated in
light soils. In the early part of summer the insects are so small
and so light colored that they easily escape observation, and it is
not till the beginning of July, when the beans are usually large
enough to be gathered for the table, that the ravages of the insects
lead to their discovery. A large proportion of the pods will then
be found to be rough, and covered with little dark colored dots or
scars, and many of them seem to be unusually spongy and not
well filled. On opening these spongy pods, we find that the beans
have not grown to their proper size, and if they are left on the
plant they cease to enlarge. At the same time the leaves, pods,
and stalks are more or less infested with little leaf-hoppers,

* See Fessenden's " New American Gardener", p. 299, for a description of the
tent and of the process of fumigation.

24

186 INSECTS OF MASSACHUSETTS.

not fully grown, and unprovided with wings. Usually between
the end of July and the middle of August the insects come to
their growth and acquire their wings ; but the mischief at this
time is finished, and the plants have suffered so much that all
prospect of a second crop of beans, from new shoots produced
after the old stems are cut down, is frustrated. These leaf-hop-
pers have the same agility in their motions, and apparently the
same habits, as the vine-hoppers ; but in the perfect state they are
longer, more slender, and much more delicate. They are of a
pale green color ; the wing-covers and wings are transparent and
colorless ; and the last joint of the hind-feet is bluish. The
head, as seen from above, is crescent-shaped, and the two eyelets
are situated on its front-edge. The male has two long recurved
feathery threads at the extremity of the body. The length of this
species is rather more than one tenth, but less than three twen-
tieths of an inch. It may be called Tettigonia Fabte. Probably
it passes the winter in the same way as the vine-hopper.

2. Plant-lice. (AphidiJa.)

The Aphidians, in which group we include the insects com-
monly known by the name of plant-lice, differ remarkably from all
the foregoing in their appearance, their formation, and their man-
ner of increase. Their bodies are very soft, and usually more or
less oval. The females are often without wing-covers and wings ;
and the former, when they exist, do not differ in texture from the
wings, but are usually much larger and more useful in flight. We
may therefore cease to call these parts wing-covers, in all the
remaining insects of this order, and apply to them the name of
upper wings.

Some of the Aphidians have the power of leaping, like the
leaf-hoppers, from which, however, they differ in having very
large and transparent upper wings, which cover the sides of the
body like a very steep roof ; and their antennae are pretty long
and thread-like, and are tipped with two bristles at the end. Both
sexes, when arrived at maturity, are winged, and some of the
females are provided with a kind of awl at the end of the body,
very different, however, from the piercers of the foregoing in-
sects. With this they prick the leaves in which they deposit

H'EMIPTERA. 187

their eggs, and the wounds thus made sometimes produce little
excrescences or swellings on the plant. These leaping plant-lice
belong to a genus called Psylla, which was the Greek name for a
small jumping insect. They are by no means so prolific as the
other plant-lice, for they produce only one brood in the year.
They live in groups, composed of about a dozen individuals each,
upon the stems and leaves of plants, the juices of which they im-
bibe through their tubular beaks. The young are often covered
with a substance resembling fine cotton arranged in flakes. This
is the case with some which are found on the alder and birch in
the spring of the year.

Others, both sexes of which are also winged, have long and
slender bodies, very narrow wings, which are fringed with fine
hairs, and lie flatly on the back when not in use. They are ex-
ceedingly active in all their motions, and seem to leap rather than
fly. They live on leaves, flowers, in buds, and even in the
crevices of the bark of plants, but are so small that they readily
escape notice, the largest being not more than one tenth of an
inch in length. These minute and slender insects belong to the
genus Thrips. Their punctures appear to poison plants, and
often produce deformities in the leaves and blossoms. The
peach-tree sometimes suffers severely from their attacks, as well as
from those of the true plant-lice ; and they are found beneath the
leaves, in little hollows caused by their irritating punctures. The
same applications that are employed for the destruction of plant-
lice may be used with advantage upon plants infested with the
Thrips.

Jlphides, or plant-lice, as they are usually called, are among
the most extraordinary of insects. They are found upon almost
all parts of plants, the roots, stems, young shoots, buds, and
leaves, and there is scarcely a plant which does not harbour one or
two kinds peculiar to itself. They are, moreover, exceedingly
prolific, for Reaumur has proved that one individual, in five gen-
erations, may become the progenitor of nearly six thousand mil-
lions of descendants. It often happens that the succulent ex-
tremities and stems of plants will, in an incredibly short space of
time, become completely coated with a living mass of these little
lice. These are usually wingless, consisting of the young and of

188 INSECTS OF MASSACHUSETTS.

the females only ; for winged individuals appear only at particular
seasons, usually in the autumn, but sometimes in the spring, and
these are small males and larger females. After pairing, the latter
lay their eggs upon or near the leaf-buds of the plant upon which
they live, and, together with the males, soon afterwards perish.

The genus to which plant-lice belong is called Aphis, from a
Greek word which signifies to exhaust. The following are the
principal characters by which they may be distinguished from
other insects. Their bodies are short, oval, and soft, and are
furnished at the hinder extremity with two little tubes, knobs, or
pores, from which exude almost constantly minute drops of a fluid
as sweet as honey ; their heads are small, their beaks are very
long and tubular, their eyes are globular, but they have not eye-
lets, their antennae are long, and usually taper towards the ex-
tremity, and their legs are also long and very slender, and there
are only two joints to their feet. Their upper are nearly twice
as large as the lower wings, are much longer than the body, are
gradually widened towards the extremity, and nearly triangular ;
they are almost vertical when at rest, and cover the body above
like a very sharp-ridged roof.

The winged plant-lice provide for a succession of their race
by stocking the plants with eggs in the autumn, as before staled.
These are hatched in due time in the spring, and the young lice
immediately begin to pump up sap from the tender leaves and
shoots, increase rapidly in size, and in a short time come to ma-
turity. In this state, it is found that the brood, without a single
exception, consists wholly of females, which are wingless, but
are in a condition immediately to continue their kind. Their
young, however, are not hatched from eggs, but are produced
alive, and each female may be the mother of fifteen or twenty
young lice in the course of a single day. The plant-lice of this
second generation are also wingless females, which grow up and
have their young in due time ; and thus brood after brood is pro-
duced, even to the seventh generation or more, without the ap-
pearance or intervention, throughout the whole season, of a single
male. This extraordinary kind of propagation ends in the autumn
with the birth of a brood of males and females, which in due time
acquire wings and pair ; eggs are then laid by these females, and

HEMIPTERA. 189

with the death of these winged individuals, which soon follows,
the race becomes extinct for the season.

Plant-lice seem to love society, and often herd together in
dense masses, each one remaining fixed to the plant by means of
its long tubular beak ; and they rarely change their places till they
have exhausted the part first attacked. The attitudes and man-
ners of these little creatures are exceedingly amusing. When
disturbed, like restive horses, they begin to kick and sprawl in
the most ludicrous manner. They may be seen, at times, sus-
pended by their beaks alone, and throwing up their legs as if in a
high frolic, but too much engaged in sucking to withdraw their
beaks. As they take in great quantities of sap, they would soon
become gorged if they did not get rid of the superabundant fluid
through the two little tubes or pores at the extremity of their
bodies. When one of them gets running-over full, it seems to
communicate its uneasy sensations, by a kind of animal magnetism,
to the whole flock, upon which they all, with one accord, jerk
upwards their bodies, and eject a shower of the honeyed fluid.
The leaves and bark of plants much infested by these insects are
often completely sprinkled over with drops of this sticky fluid,
which, on drying, become dark colored, and greatly disfigure the
foliage. This appearance has been denominated honey-dew ; but
there is another somewhat similar production observable on plants,
after very dry weather, which has received the same name, and
consists of an extravasation or oozing of the sap from the leaves.
We are often apprized of the presence of plant-lice on plants
growing in the open air by the ants ascending and descending the
stems. By observing the motions of the latter we soon ascertain
that the sweet fluid discharged by the lice is the occasion of these
visits. The stems swarm with slim and hungry ants running up-
wards, and others lazily descending with their bellies swelled
almost to bursting. When arrived in the immediate vicinity of
the plant-lice, they greedily wipe up the sweet fluid which has
distilled from them, and, when this fails, they station themselves
among the lice, and catch the drops as they fall. The lice do not
seem in the least annoyed by the ants, but live on the best possi-
ble terms with them ; and, on the other hand, the ants, though
unsparing of other insects weaker than themselves, upon which

190 INSECTS OF MASSACHUSETTS.

they frequently prey, treat the plant-lice with the utmost gentle-
ness, caressing them with their antennae, and apparently inviting
them to give out the fluid by patting their sides. Nor are the lice
inattentive to these solicitations, when in a state to gratify the ants,
for whose sake they not only seem to shorten the periods of the
discharge, but actually yield the fluid when thus pressed. A
single louse has been known to give it drop by drop successively
to a number of ants, that were waiting anxiously to receive it.
When the plant-lice cast their skins, the ants instantly remove the
latter, nor will they allow any dirt or rubbish to remain upon or
about them. They even protect them from their enemies, and
run about them in the hot sunshine to drive away the little ich-
neumon flies that are for ever hovering near to deposit their eggs
in the bodies of the lice.

Plant-lice differ very much in form, color, clothing, and in the
length of the honey-tubes. Some have these tubes quite long, as
the rose-louse, Aphis Rosm, which is green, and has a little
conical projection or stylet, as it is called, at the extremity of the
body, between the two honey-tubes. The cabbage-louse, Aphis
Brassicaz, has also long honey-tubes, but its body is covered with
a whitish mealy substance. This species is very abundant on the
under-side of cabbage leaves in the month of August. The
largest species known to me is found in clusters beneath the limbs
of the pig-nut hickory (Carya porcina), in all stages of growth,
from the first to the middle of July. It is the Aphis* Caryaz of
my Catalogue. Its body, in the winged state, measures one
quarter of an inch to the end of the abdomen, and above four
tenths of an inch to the tips of the upper wings, which expand
rather more than seven tenths of an inch. It has no terminal
stylet, and the honey-tubes are very short. Its body is covered
with a bluish white substance like the bloom of a plum, with four
rows of little transverse black spots on the back ; the top of the
thorax, and the veins of the wings are black, as are also the
shanks, the feet, and the antennae, which are clothed with black
hairs ; the thighs are reddish brown. This species sucks the sap
from the limbs and not from the leaves of the hickory. There is

* It probably belongs to the genus Lachnus of llliger, or Cinara of Curtis.

HEMIPTERA. 191

another large species, living in the same way on the under-side of
the branches of various kinds of willows, and clustered together
in great numbers. About the first of October they are found in
the winged state. The body measures one tenth of an inch in
length, and the wings expand about four tenths. The stylet is
wanting ; the body is black and without spots ; the wings are
transparent, but their veins, the short honey-tubercles, the third
joint of the antenna?, and the legs, are tawny yellow. This
species cannot be identical with the willow-louse, Aphis Salicis of
Linnaeus, which has a spotted body ; and therefore I propose to
call it Aphis Salicti, the plant-louse of willow groves. When
crushed, it communicates a stain of a reddish or deep orange color.
Some plant-lice live in the ground and derive their nourish-
ment from the roots of plants. We annually lose many of
our herbaceous plants, if cultivated in a light soil, from the ex-
hausting attacks of these subterranean lice. Upon pulling up
China Asters, which seemed to be perishing from no visible cause,
I have found hundreds of little lice, of a white color, closely
clustered together on the roots. I could never discover any of
them that were winged, and therefore conclude from this circum-
stance as well as from their peculiar situation, that they never ac-
quire wings. Whether these are of the same species as the
Aphis radicum of Europe, I cannot ascertain, as no sufficient de-
scription of the latter has ever come to my notice. These little
lice are attended by ants, which generally make their nests near
the roots of the plants, so as to have their milch kine, as the
plant-lice have been called, within their own habitations ; and, in
consequence of the combined operations of the lice and the ants,
the plants wither and prematurely perish. When these subter-
ranean lice are disturbed, the attendant ants are thrown into the
greatest confusion, and alarm ; they carefully take up the lice
which have fallen from the roots, and convey them in their jaws
into the deep recesses of their nests ; and here the lice still con-
trive to live upon the fragments of the roots left in the soil. It is
stated * that the ants bestow the same care and attention upon the
root-lice as upon their own offspring, that they defend them from

* See Kirby and Spence's Introduction to Entomology, Vol. II. p. 9], 92.

192 INSECTS OF MASSACHUSETTS.

the attacks of other insects, and carry them about in their mouths
to change their pasture ; and that they pay particular attention to
the eggs of the lice, frequently moistening them with their tongues,
and in fine weather bringing them to the surface of the nest to
. give them the advantage of the sun. On the other hand, the sweet
fluid supplied in abundance by these lice forms the chief nutri-
ment both of the ants and their young, which is sufficient to ac-
count for their solicitude and care for their valuable herds.

The peach-tree suffers very much from the attacks of plant-
lice, which live under the leaves, causing them by their punctures
to become thickened, to curl or form hollows beneath, and cor-
responding crispy and reddish swellings above, and finally to per-
ish and drop off prematurely. Whether our insect is the same as
the European Aphis of the peach-tree (Jlphis Persicce of Sulzer)
I cannot determine, for the want of a proper description of the
latter. The depredations of these lice is one of the causes, if not
the only cause of the peculiar malady affecting the peach-tree in
the early part of summer, and called the blight.

The injuries occasioned by plant-lice are much greater than
would at first be expected from the small size and extreme weak-
ness of the insects ; but these make up by their numbers what they
want in strength individually, and thus become formidable enemies
to vegetation. By their punctures, and the quantity of sap which
they draw from the leaves, the functions of these important organs
are deranged or interrupted, the food of the plant, which is there
elaborated to nourish the stem and mature the fruit, is withdrawn,
before it can reach its proper destination, or is contaminated and
left in a state unfitted to supply the wants of vegetation. Plants
are differently affected by these insects. Some wither and cease
to grow, their leaves and stems put on a sickly appearance, and
soon die from exhaustion. Others, though not killed, are greatly
impeded in their growth, and their tender parts, which are attack-
ed, become stunted, curled, or warped. The punctures of these
lice seem to poison some plants, and affect others in a most sin-
gular manner, producing warts or swellings, which are sometimes
solid and sometimes hollow, and contain in their interior a swarm
of lice, the descendants of a single individual, whose punctures
were the original cause of the tumor. I have seen reddish tumors

HEMIPTERA. 193

of this kind, as big as a pigeon's egg, growing upon leaves, to
which they were attached by a slender neck, and containing thous-
ands of small lice in their interior. Naturalists call these tumors
galls, because they seem to be formed in the same way as the
oak-galls which are used in the making of ink. The lice which
inhabit or produce them generally differ from the others, in hav-
ing shorter antennae, being without honey-tubes, and in frequently
being clothed with a kind of white down, which, however, disap-
pears when the insects become winged.

These downy plant-lice are now placed in the genus Eriosoma,
which means woolly body, and the most destructive species be-
longing to it was first described, under the name of Aphis lani-
gcra, by Mr. Hausmann*, in the year 1801, as infesting the apple-
trees in Germany. It seems that it had been noticed in England
as early as the year 1787, and has since acquired there the name
of American blight, from the erroneous supposition that it had
been imported from this country. It was known, however, to the
French gardeners"!" for a long time previous to both of the above
dates, and, according to Mr. Rennie J, is found in the orchards
about Harfleur, in Normandy, and is very destructive to the ap-
ple-trees in the department of Calvados. There is now good
reason to believe that the miscalled American blight is not indi-
genous to this country, and that it has been introduced here with
fruit-trees from Europe. Some persons, indeed, have supposed
that it was not to be found here at all, but the late Mr. Buel has
stated § that it existed on his apple-trees, and I have once or
twice seen it on apple-trees in Massachusetts, where, however, it
still appears to be rare, and consequently I have not been able to
examine the insects sufficiently myself. The best account that I
have seen of them is contained in Knapp's " Journal of a Nat-
uralist", from which, and from Hausmann's description, the fol-
lowing observations are chiefly extracted.

The eggs of the woolly apple-tree louse are so small as not to
be distinguished without a microscope, and are enveloped in a
cotton-like substance furnished by the body of the insect. They

* Illiger's Magazin, Vol. I. p. 440. t Salisbury's Hints on Orchards, p. 39.
X Insect Miscellanies, p. 180. § New England Farmer, VII. p. 169 ; IX. p. 178.

25

194 INSECTS OF MASSACHUSETTS.

are deposited in the crotches of the branches and in the chinks of
the bark at or near the surface of the ground, especially if there
are suckers springing from the same place. The young, when
first hatched, are covered with a very short and fine down, and ap-
pear in the spring of the year like little specks of mould on the
trees. As the season advances, and the insect increases in size,
its downy coat becomes more distinct, and grows in length daily.
This down is very easily removed, adheres to the fingers when it
is touched, and seems to issue from all the pores of the skin of
the abdomen. When fully grown, the insects of the first brood
are one tenth of an inch in length, and, when the down is rubbed
off, the head, antennas, sucker, and shins are found to be of a
blackish color, and the abdomen honey-yellow. The young are
produced alive during the summer, are buried in masses of the
down, and derive their nourishment from the sap of the bark and
of the alburnum or young wood immediately under the bark.
The adult insects never acquire wings, at least such is the testi-
mony both of Hausmann and Knapp, and are destitute of honey-
tubes, but from time to time emit drops of a sticky fluid from the
extremity of the body. These insects, though destitute of wings,
are conveyed from tree to tree by means of their long down,
which is so plentiful and so light, as easily to be wafted by the
winds of autumn, and thus the evil will gradually spread through-
out an extensive orchard. The numerous punctures of these lice
produce on the tender shoots a cellular appearance, and wherever
a colony of them is established, warts or excrescences arise on
the bark ; the limbs thus attacked become sickly, the leaves turn
yellow and drop off; and, as the infection spreads from limb to
limb, the whole tree becomes diseased, and eventually perishes.
In Gloucestershire, England, so many apple-trees were destroyed
by these lice in the year 1810, that it was feared the making of
cider must be abandoned. In the north of England the apple-
trees are greatly injured, and some annually destroyed by them,
and in the year 1826 they abounded there in such incredible luxu-
riance, that many trees seemed, at a short distance, as if they had
been whitewashed.

Mr. Knapp thinks that remedies can prove efficacious in re-
moving this evil only upon a small scale, and that when the injury

HEMIPTERA. 195

has existed for some time, and extended its influence over the
parts of a large tree, it will take its course, and the tree will die.
He says that he has removed this blight from young trees, and
from recently attacked places in those more advanced, by painting
over every node or infected part of the tree with a composition con-
sisting of three ounces of melted resin mixed with the same quan-
tity of fish oil, which is to be put on while warm, with a painter's
brush. Sir Joseph Banks succeeded in extirpating the insects
from his own trees by removing all the old and rugged bark, and
scrubbing the trunk and branches with a hard brush. The appli-
cation of the spirits of tar, of spirits of turpentine, of oil, urine,
and of soft soap, has been recommended. Mr. Buel found that
oil sufficed to drive the insects from the trunks and branches, but
that it could not be applied to the roots, where he stated numbers
of the insects harbored. The following treatment I am inclined
to think will prove as successful as any which has heretofore been
recommended. Scrape ofT all the rough bark of the infected
trees, and make them perfectly clean and smooth early in the
spring ; then rub the trunk and limbs with a stiff brush wet with a
solution of potash as hereafter recommended for the destruction
of bark-lice ; after which remove the sods and earth around the
bottom of the trunk, and with the scraper, brush, and alkaline
liquor cleanse that part as far as the roots can conveniently be un-
covered. The earth and sods should immediately be carried
away, fresh loam should be placed around the roots, and all cracks
and wounds should be filled with grafting cement or clay mortar.
Small limbs and extremities of branches, if infected, and beyond
reach of the applications, should be cut off and burned.

There are several other species of Eriosoma or downy lice in
this State, inhabiting various forest and ornamental trees, some of
which may also have been introduced from abroad. The descrip-
tions of foreign plant-lice are mostly so brief and imperfect, that it
is impossible to ascertain from them which of our species are
identical with those of Europe ; I shall therefore omit any further
account of these insects, and close this part of the subject with a
few remarks on the remedies to be employed for their destruction
generally, and some notice of the natural enemies of plant-lice.

Solutions of soap, or a mixture of soap-suds and tobacco water,

196 INSECTS OF MASSACHUSETTS.

used warm and applied with a watering pot or with a garden en-
gine, may be employed for the destruction of these insects. It is
said that hot water may also be employed for the same purpose
with safety and success. The water, tobacco-tea, or suds should
be thrown upon the plants with considerable force, and if they are
of the cabbage or lettuce kind, or other plants whose leaves are to
be used as food, they should subsequently be drenched thoroughly
with pure water. Lice on the extremities of branches may be
killed by bending over the branches and holding them for several
minutes in warm and strong soap-suds. Lice multiply much
faster, and are more injurious to plants, in a dry than in a wet
atmosphere ; hence in green houses, attention should be paid to
keep the air sufficiently moist ; and the lice are readily killed by
fumigations with tobacco or with sulphur. To destroy subter-
ranean lice on the roots of plants I have found that watering with
salt water was useful, if the plants were hardy ; but tender herb-
aceous plants cannot be treated in this way, but may sometimes
be revived, when suffering from these hidden foes, by free and
frequent watering with soap-suds.

Plant-lice would undoubtedly be much more abundant and de-
structive, if they were not kept in check by certain redoubtable
enemies of the insect kind, which seem expressly created to
diminish their numbers. These lice-destroyers are of three sorts.
The first are the young or larvas of the hemispherical beetles
familiarly known by the name of lady-birds, and scientifically
by that of Coccinella. These little beetles are generally yellow
or red, with black spots, or black, with white, red, or yellow
spots ; there are many kinds of them, and they are very common
and plentiful insects, and are generally diffused among plants.
They live, both in the perfect and young state, upon plant-lice,
and hence their services are very considerable. Their young are
small flattened grubs of a bluish or blue-black color, spotted
usually with red or yellow, and furnished with six legs near the
forepart of the body. They are hatched from little yellow eggs,
laid in clusters among the plant-lice, so that they find themselves
at once within reach of their prey, which, from their superior
strength, they are enabled to seize and slaughter in great numbers.
There are some of these lady-birds, of a very small size, and

HEMIPTERA. 197

blackish color, sparingly clothed with short hairs, and sometimes
with a yellow spot at the end of the wing-covers, whose young are
clothed with short tufts or flakes of the most delicate white down.
These insects belong to the genus Scymnus, which means a lion's
whelp, and they well merit such a name, for their young, in pro-
portion to their size, are as sanguinary and ferocious as the most
savage beasts of prey. I have often seen one of these little tufted
animals preying upon the plant-lice, catching and devouring, with
the greatest ease, lice nearly as large as its own body, one after
another, in rapid succession, without apparently satiating its hun-
ger or diminishing its activity.

The second kind of plant-lice destroyers are the young of the
golden-eyed lace-winged fly, Chrysoya perla. This fly is of a
pale green color, and has four wings resembling delicate lace, and
eyes of the brilliancy of polished gold, as its generical name im-
plies ; but, notwithstanding its delicacy and beauty, it is extremely
disgusting from the offensive odor that it exhales. It suspends its
eggs, by threads, in clusters beneath the leaves where plant-lice
abound. The young, or larva, is a rather long and slender grub,
provided with a pair of large curved and sharp teeth (jaws), mov-
ing laterally, and each perforated with a hole through which it
sucks the juices of its victims. The havoc it makes is astonish-
ing ; for one minute is all the time which it requires to kill the
largest plant-louse, and suck out the fluid contents of its body.

The last of the enemies of plant-lice are the maggots or young
of various two-winged flies belonging to the genus Syrphus.
Many of these flies are black with yellow bands on their bodies.
I have often seen them hovering over small trees and other plants,
depositing their eggs, which they do on the wTing, like the bot-
fly, curving their tails beneath the leaves, and fixing here and
there an egg, wherever plant-lice are discovered. Others lay
their eggs near the buds of trees, where the young may find their
appropriate nourishment as soon as they are hatched. The young
are maggots, which are thick and blunt behind, tapering and point-
ed before ; their mouths are armed with a triple-pointed dart,
with which they pierce their prey, elevate it above their heads,
and feast upon its juices at leisure. Though these maggots are
totally blind, they are enabled to discover their victims without

198 INSECTS OF MASSACHUSETTS.

much groping about, in consequence of the provident care of the
parent flies, which leave their eggs in the very midst of the slug-
gish lice. Mr. Kirby says, that, on examining his currant-bushes,
which but a week before were infested by myriads of aphides, not
one was to be found ; but beneath each leaf were three or four
full-fed maggots, surrounded by heaps of the slain, the trophies of
their successful warfare. He also says that he has found it very
easy to clear a plant or small tree of lice, by placing upon it sev-
eral larvse of Coccinella or Syrphi.

3. Bark-lice. Coccidcc.

The celebrated scarlet in grain, which has been employed in
Asia and the South of Europe, from the earliest ages, as a color-
ing material, was known to the Romans by the name of Coccus,
derived from a similar Greek word, and was, for a long time, sup-
posed to be a vegetable production, or grain, as indeed its name
implies. At length it was ascertained that this valuable dye was
an insect, and others agreeing with it in habits, and some also in
properties, having been discovered, Linnaeus retained them all un-
der the same name. Hence in the genus Coccus are included not
only the Thola of the Phoenicians and Jews, the Kermcs of the
Arabians, or the Coccus of the Greeks and Romans, but the
scarlet grain of Poland, and the still more valuable Cochenille of
Mexico, together with various kinds of bark-lice, agreeing with
the former in habits and structure. These insects vary very
much in form ; some of them are oval and slightly convex scales,
and others have the shape of a muscle ; some are quite convex,
and either formed like a boat turned bottom upwards, or are kid-
ney shaped, or globular. They live mostly on the bark of the
stems of plants, some however, are habitually found upon leaves,
and some on roots. In the early state, the head is completely
withdrawn beneath the shell of the body and concealed, the beak
or sucker seems to issue from the breast, and the legs are very
short and not visible from above. The females undergo only a
partial transformation, or rather scarcely any other change than
that of an increase in size, which, in some species indeed, is enor-
mous, compared with the previous condition of the insect ; but
the males pass through a complete transformation before arriving

HEMIPTERA. 199

at the perfect or winged state. In both sexes we find threadlike
or tapering antennae, longer than the head, but much shorter than
those of plant-lice, and feet consisting of only one joint, termi-
nated by a single claw. The mature female retains the beak
or sucker, but does not acquire wings ; the male on the contrary
has two wings, but the beak disappears. In both there are two
slender threads at the extremity of the body, very short in some
females, usually quite long in the males, which moreover are pro-
vided with a stylet at the tip of the abdomen, which is recurved
beneath the body.

The following account* contains a summary of nearly all that
is known respecting the history and habits of these insects.
Early in the spring the bark-lice are found apparently torpid,
situated longitudinally in regard to the branch, the head upwards,
and sticking by their flattened inferior surface closely to the bark.
On attempting to remove them they are generally crushed, and
there issues from the body a dark colored fluid. By pricking
them with a pin, they can be made to quit their hold, as I have
often seen in the common species, Coccus Hesperidum, infesting the
myrtle. A little later the body is more swelled, and, on carefully
raising it with a knife, numerous oblong eggs will be discovered
beneath it, and the insect appears dried up and dead, and only its
outer skin remains, which forms a convex cover to its future pro-
geny. Under this protecting shield the young are hatched, and,
on the approach of warm weather, make their escape at the lower
end of the shield, which is either slightly elevated or notched at
this part. They then move with considerable activity, and dis-
perse themselves over the young shoots or leaves. The shape of
the young Coccus is much like that of its parent, but the body is
of a paler color and more thin and flattened. Its six short legs
and its slender beak are visible under a magnifier. Some are
covered with a mealy powder, as the Coccus Cacti, or cochenille
of commerce, and the Coccus Adonidum, or mealy bug of our
green-houses. Others are hairy or woolly ; but most of them are
naked and dark colored. These young lice insert their beaks
into the bark or leaves, and draw from the cellular substance the

* It was drawn up by me in the year 1828, and published in the seventh volume
of the « New England Farmer", p. 186 - 187.

200 INSECTS OF MASSACHUSETTS.

sap that nourishes them. Reaumur observed the ground quite
moist under peach-trees infested with bark-lice, which was caused
by the dripping of the sap from the numerous punctures made by
these insects. While they continue their exhausting suction of
sap, they increase in size, and during this time are in what is call-
ed the larva state. When this is completed, the insects will be
found to be of different magnitudes, some much larger than the
others, and they then prepare for a change that is about to ensue
in their mode of life, by emitting from the under-side of their
bodies numerous little white downy threads, which are fastened, in
a radiated manner, around their bodies to the bark, and serve to
confine them securely in their places. After becoming thus fixed
they remain apparently inanimate ; but under these lifeless scales
the transformation of the insect is conducted ; with this remark-
able difference, that, in a few clays the large ones contrive to
break up and throw off, in four or five flakes, their outer scaly
coats, and reappear in a very similar form to that which they be-
fore had ; the smaller ones, on the contrary, continue under their
outer skins, which serve instead of cocoons, and from which they
seem to shrink and detach themselves, and then become perfect
pupa?, the rudiments of wings, antennae, feet, &c, being discov-
erable on raising the shells. If we follow the progress of these
small lice, which are to produce the males, we shall see, in pro-
cess of time, a pair of threads and the tips of the wings protruding
beneath the shell at its lower elevated part, and through this little
fissure the perfect insect at length backs out. After the larger
lice have become fixed and have thrown off their outer coats, they
enter upon the pupa or chrysalis state, which continues for a
longer or shorter period according to the species. But when
they have become mature, they do not leave the skins or shells
covering their bodies, which continue flexible for a time. These
larger insects are the females, and are destined to remain im-
movable, and never change their place after they have once be-
come stationary. The male is exceedingly small in comparison
to the female, and is provided with only two wings, which are
usually very large, and lie flatly on the top of the body. After
the insects have paired, the body of the female increases in size,
or becomes quite convex, for a time, and ever afterwards remains

HEMIPTERA. 201

without alteration ; but serves to shelter the eggs which are to
give birth to her future offspring. These eggs, when matured,
pass under the body of the mother, and the latter by degrees
shrinks more and more till nothing is left but the dry outer convex
skin, and the insect perishes on the spot. Sometimes the insect's
body is not large enough to cover all her eggs, in which case she
beds them in a considerable quantity of the down that issues from
the under or hinder part of her body. There are several broods
of some species in the year ; of the bark-louse of the apple-tree
at least two are produced in one season. It is probable that the
insects of the second or last brood pair in the autumn, after which
the males die, but the females survive the winter, and lay their
eggs in the following spring.

Young apple-trees, and the extremities of the limbs of older
trees are very much subject to the attacks of a small species of
bark-louse. The limbs and smooth parts of the trunks are some-
times completely covered with these insects, and present a very
singularly wrinkled and rough appearance from the bodies which
are crowded closely together. In the winter these insects are
torpid, and apparently dead. They measure about one tenth of
an inch in length, are of an oblong oval shape, gradually decreas-
ing to a point at one end, and are of a brownish color very near to
that of the bark of the tree. These insects resemble in shape one
which was described by Reaumur* in 173S, who found it on the
elm in France, and Geoffroy named the insect Coccus arborum
linearis, while Gmelin called it conchifonnis. This, or one much
like it, is very abundant upon apple-trees in England, as we learn
from Dr. Shawf and Mr. KirbyJ ; and Mr. Rennie§ states that he
found it in great plenty on currant-bushes. It is highly probable
that we have received this insect from Europe, but it is some-
what doubtful whether our apple-tree bark-louse be identical with
the species found by Reaumur on the elm ; and the doubt seems
to be justified by the difference in the trees and in the habits of
the insects, our species being gregarious, and that of the elm

* Memoires, Vol. IV. p. 69, Plate 5, figs. 5, 6, 7.
t General Zoology, Vol. VI., Part I. p. 196.
t Introduction to Entomology, Vol. I. p. 201.
§ Insect Transformations, p. 92.

26

202 INSECTS OF MASSACHUSETTS.

nearly solitary. It is true that on some of our indigenous forest-
trees bark-lice of nearly the same form and appearance have been
observed ; but it is by no means clear that they are of the same
species as those on the apple-tree. The first account that we
have of the occurrence of bark-lice on apple-trees, in this country,
is a communication by Mr. Enoch Perley, of Bridgetown, Maine,
written in 1794, and published among the early papers of the
Massachusetts Agricultural Society*. These insects have now
become extremely common, and infest our nurseries and young
trees to a very great extent. In the spring the eggs are readily
to be seen on raising the little muscle-shaped scales beneath
which they are concealed. These eggs are of a white color, and
in shape nearly like those of snakes. Every shell contains from
thirty to forty of them, imbedded in a small quantity of whitish
friable down. They begin to hatch about the 25th of May, and
finish about the 10th of June, according to Mr. Perley. The
young, on their first appearance, are nearly white, very minute,
and nearly oval in form. In about ten days they become station-
ary, and early in June throw out a quantity of bluish white down,
soon after which their transformations are completed, 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.
Among the natural means which are provided to check the
increase of these bark-lice, are birds, many of which, espe-
cially those of the genera Parus and Rcgulus, containing the chick-
adee and our wrens, devour great quantities of these lice. I have
also found that these insects are preyed upon by internal parasites,
minute ichneumon flies, and the holes (which are as small as if
made with a fine needle), through which these little insects come
forth, may be seen on the backs of a great many of the lice
which have been destroyed by their intestine foes. The best ap-
plication for the destruction of the lice is a wash made of two
parts of soft soap and eight of water, with which is to be mixed
lime enough to bring it to the consistence of thick white-wash.
This is to be put upon the trunks and limbs of the trees with a

See Papers for 179G, p. 32.

HEMIPTERA. 203

brush, and as high as practicable, so as to cover the whole sur-
face, and fill all the cracks in the bark. The proper time for
washing over the trees is in the early part of June, when the in-
sects are young and tender. These insects may also be killed by
using in the same way a solution of two pounds of potash in seven
quarts of water, or a pickle consisting of a quart of common salt
in two gallons of water.

There has been found on the apple and pear tree another kind
of bark-louse, which differs from the foregoing in many important
particulars, and approaches nearest to a species inhabiting the
aspen in Sweden, of which a description has been given by Dal-
man in the " Transactions of the Royal Academy of Sciences of
Stockholm", * for the year 1825, under the name of Coccus cryp-
togamus. This species is of the kind in which the body of the
female is not large enough to cover her eggs, for the protection
whereof another provision is made, consisting, in this species, of a
kind of membranous shell, of the color and consistence almost of
paper. In the autumn and throughout the winter, these insects
are seen in a dormant state, and of two different forms and sizes
on the bark of the trees. The larger ones measure less than a
tenth of an inch in length, and have the form of a common oyster
shell, being broad at the hinder extremity, but tapering towards
the other, which is surmounted by a little oval brownish scale.
The small ones, which are not much more than half the length of
the others, are of a very long oval shape, or almost four sided
with the ends rounded ; and one extremity is covered by a minute
oval dark colored scale. These little shell-like bodies are clus-
tered together in great numbers, are of a white color and membra-
nous texture, and serve as cocoons to shelter the insects while
they are undergoing their transformations. The large ones are
the pupa-cases or cocoons of the female, beneath which the eggs
are laid ; and the small ones are the cases of the males, and differ
from those of the females not only in size and shape, but also in
being of a purer white color, and in having an elevated ridge pass-
ing down the middle. The minute oval dark-colored scales on
one of the ends of these white cases are the skins of the lice while

* Kongl. Vetenskaps Academ. Nya Handlingar.

204 INSECTS OF MASSACHUSETTS.

they were in the young or larva state, and the white shells are
probably formed in the same way as the down which exudes from
the bodies of other bark-lice, but which in these assumes a regular
shape, varying according to the sex, and becoming membranous
after it is formed. Not having seen these insects in a living state,
I have not been able to trace their progress, and must therefore
refer to Dalman's memoir above mentioned, for such particulars as
tend to illustrate the remaining history of this species. The body
of the female insect, which is covered and concealed by the outer
case above described, is minute, of an oval form, wrinkled at the
sides, flattened above, and of a reddish color. By means of her
beak, which is constantly thrust into the bark, she imbibes the
sap, by which she is nourished ; she undergoes no change, and
never emerges from her habitation. The male becomes a chry-
salis or pupa, and about the middle of July completes its transfor-
mations, makes its escape from its case, which it leaves at the
hinder extremity, and the wings with which it is provided are re-
versed over its head during the operation, and are the last to be
extricated. The perfect male is nearly as minute as a point, but
a powerful magnifier shows its body to be divided into segments,
and endued with all the important parts and functions of a living
animal. To the unassisted eye, says Dalman, it appears only as
a red atom, but it is furnished with a pair of long whitish wings,
long antennae or horns, six legs with their respective joints, and
two bristles terminating the tail. This minute insect perforates
the middle of the case covering the female, and thus celebrates its
nuptials with its invisible partner. The latter subsequently de-
posits her eggs and dies. In due time the young are hatched and
leave the case, under which they were fostered, by a little crevice
at its hinder part. These young lice, which I have seen, are
very small, of a pale yellowish brown color, and of an oval shape,
very flat, and appearing like minute scales. They move about for
a while, at length become stationary, increase in size, and in due
time the whitish shells are produced, and the included insects pass
from the larva to the pupa state. The means for destroying these
insects are the same as those recommended for the extermination
of the previous species.

Many years ago, when on a visit from home, I observed on a

HEMIPTERA. 205

fine native grape-vine, that was trained against the side of a house,
great numbers of reddish brown bark-lice, of a globular form, and
about half as large as a small pea, arranged in lines on the stems.
An opportunity for further examination of this species did not oc-
cur till the last summer, when I was led to the discovery of a few
of these lice on my Isabella grape-vines, by seeing the ants as-
cending and descending the stems. Upon careful search I dis-
covered the lice, which were nearly of the color of the bark of the
vine, partly imbedded in a little crevice of the bark, and arranged
one behind another in a line. They drew great quantities of sap,
as was apparent by their exudations, by which the ants were
attracted. Further observations were arrested by a fire which
consumed the house and the vines that were trained to it.

206 INSECTS OF MASSACHUSETTS.

LEPIDOPTERA.

Caterpillars. — Butterflies. Skippers. — Hawk-Moths. ^Egerians or
Boring-Caterpillars. Glaucopidians. — Moths. — Spinners. Lithosians.--
Tiger-Moths. Ermine-Moths. Tussock-Moths. — Lackey-Moths. Lap-
pet-Moths. — Saturnians. — Ceratocampians. — Carpenter-Moths. —

psychians. notodontians. — 0\vl-moths. cut-worms. — geometers,

or Span-Worms, and Canker-Worms. — Delta-Moths. — Leaf-Rollers.
Bud-Moths. Fruit-Moths. — Bee-Moths. Corn-Moths. Clothes-
Moths. — Feather-winged-Moths.

There are perhaps no insects which are so commonly and so
universally destructive as caterpillars ; they are inferior only to
locusts in voracity, and equal or exceed them in their powers of
increase, and in general are far more widely spread over vegeta-
tion. Caterpillars are the young of butterflies and of moths ; and
of these, five hundred species, which are natives of Massachu-
setts, are already known to me, and probably there are at least as
many more kinds to be discovered within the limits of this Com-
monwealth. As each female usually lays from two hundred to
five hundred eggs, one thousand different kinds of butterflies and
moths will produce, on an average, three hundred thousand cater-
pillars ; if one half of this number, when arrived at maturity, are
females, they will give forty-five millions of caterpillars in the
second, and six thousand seven hundred and fifty millions in the
third generation. These data suffice to show that the actual num-
ber of these insects, existing at any one time, must be far beyond
the limits of calculation. The greater part of caterpillars subsist
on vegetable food, and especially on the leaves of plants ; hence
their injuries to vegetation are immense, and are too often forced
upon our notice. Some devour the solid wood of trees, some
live only in the pith of plants, and some confine themselves to
grains and seeds. Certain species attack our woollens and furs,
thereby doing us much injury ; even leather, meat, wax, flour,
and lard afford nourishment to particular kinds of caterpillars.

Caterpillars vary greatly in form and appearance ; but, in gen-
eral, their bodies are more or less cylindrical, and composed of
twelve rings or segments, with a shelly head, and from ten to six-

LEPIDOPTERA. 207

teen legs. The first three pairs of legs are covered with a shelly
skin, are jointed, and tapering, and are armed at the end with a
little claw, the other legs are thick and fleshy, without joints, but
elastic or contractile, and are generally surrounded at the ex-
tremity by numerous minute hooks. There are six very small
eyes on each side of the head, two short antennas, and strong jaws
or nippers, placed at the sides of the mouth, so as to open and
shut sidewise. In the middle of the lower lip is a little conical
tube, from which the insects spin the silken threads that are used
by them in making their nests and their cocoons, and in various
other purposes of their economy. Two long and slender bags,
in the interior of their bodies, and ending in the spinning tube,
contain the matter of the silk. This is a sticky fluid, and it flows
from the spinner in a fine stream, which hardens into a thread so
soon as it comes to the air. Some caterpillars make but very
little silk ; others, such as the silk-worm and the apple-tree cater-
pillar, produce it in great abundance.

Some caterpillars herd together in great numbers, and pass the
early period of their existence in society ; and of these there are
species which unite in their labors, and construct tents serving as
a common habitation in which they live, or to which they retire
occasionally for shelter. Others pass their lives in solitude,
either exposed to the light and air, or sheltered in leaves folded
over their bodies, or form for themselves silken sheaths, which
are either fixed or portable. Some make their abodes in the
stems of plants, or mine in the pulpy substance of leaves ; and
others conceal themselves in the ground, from which they issue
only when in search of food.

Caterpillars usually change their skins about four times before
they come to their growth. At length they leave off eating en-
tirely, and prepare for their first transformation. Most of them,
at this period, spin around their bodies a sort of shroud or co-
coon, into which some interweave the hairs of their own bodies,
and some employ, in the same way, leaves, bits of wood, or even
grains of earth. Other caterpillars suspend themselves, in various
ways, by silken threads, without enclosing their bodies in co-
coons ; and again, there are others which merely enter the earth
to undergo their transformations.

20S INSECTS OF MASSACHUSETTS.

When the caterpillar has thus prepared itself for the approach-
ing change, by repeated exertions and struggles it bursts open the
skin on the top of its back, withdraws the forepart of its body,
and works the skin backwards till the hinder extremity is extri-
cated. It then no longer appears in the caterpillar form, but has
become a pupa or chrysalis, shorter than the caterpillar, and at
first sight apparently without a head or limbs. On close exami-
nation, however, there may be found traces of a head, tongue,
antennae, wings, and legs, closely pressed to the body, to which
these parts are cemented by a kind of varnish. Some chrysalids
are angular, or furnished with little protuberances ; but most of
them are smooth, rounded at one end, and tapering at the other
extremity. While in the pupa state, these insects take no food,
and remain perfectly at rest, or only move the hinder extremity of
the body when touched. After a while, however, the chrysalis
begins to swell and contract, till the skin is rent over the back,
and from the fissure there issues the head, antennas, and body of
a butterfly or moth. When it first emerges from its pupa-skin the
insect is soft, moist, and weak, and its wings are small and shrivel-
ed ; soon, however, the wings stretch out to their full dimensions,
the superfluous moisture of the body passes off, and the limbs ac-
quire their proper firmness and elasticity.

The conversion of a caterpillar to a moth or butterfly is a
transformation of the most complete kind. The form of the body
is altered, some of the legs disappear, the others and the antenna?
become much longer than before, and four wings are acquired.
Moreover the mouth and digestive organs undergo a total change ;
for the insect, after its final transformation, is no longer fitted to
subsist upon the same gross aliment as it did in the caterpillar
state ; its powerful jaws have disappeared, and instead thereof we
find a slender tongue, by means of which liquid nourishment is
conveyed to the mouth of the insect, and its stomach becomes
capable of digesting only water and the honeyed juice of flowers.

Ceasing to increase in size, and destined to live but a short
time after their final transformation, butterflies and moths spend
this brief period of their existence in flitting from flower to flower
and regaling themselves with their sweets, or in slaking their
1 hirst with dew or with the water left standing in puddles after

LEPIDOPTERA. 209

showers, in pairing with their mates, and in laying their eggs ; after
which they die a natural death, or fall a prey to their numerous
enemies.

These insects belong to an order called Lepidoptera, which
means scaly wings ; for the mealy powder with which their wings
are covered, when seen under a powerful microscope, is found to
consist of little scales, lapping over each other like the scales of
fishes, and implanted into the skin of the wings by short stems.
The body of these insects is also more or less covered with the
same kind of scales, together with hair or down in some species.
The tongue consists of two tubular threads placed side by side,
and thus forming an instrument for suction, which, when not in
use, is rolled up spirally beneath the head, and is more or less
covered and concealed on each side by a little scaly or hairy
jointed feeler. The shoulders or wing-joints of the fore-wings
are covered, on each side, by a small triangular piece, forming a
kind of epaulette, or shoulder-cover ; and between the head and
the thorax is a narrow piece, clothed with scales or hairs sloping
backwards, which may be called the collar. The wings have a
few branching veins, generally forming one or two large meshes
on the middle. The legs are six in number, though only four are
used in walking by some butterflies, in which the first pair are
very short and are folded like a tippet on the breast ; and the feet
are five-jointed, and are terminated, each, by a pair of claws.

It would be difficult, and indeed impossible, to arrange the Lep-
idopterous insects according to their forms, appearance, and habits,
in the caterpillar state, because the caterpillars of many of them
are as yet unknown ; and therefore it is found expedient to class-
ify them mostly according to the characters furnished by them in
the winged state.

We may first divide the Lepidoptera into three great sections,
called butterflies, hawk-moths, and moths, corresponding to the
genera Papilio, Sj)hinx, and Phalcena of Linnaeus.

The Butterflies (Papiliones) have threadlike antennae, which
are knobbed at the end ; the fore-wings in some, and all the wings
in the greater number, are elevated perpendicularly and turned
back to back, when at rest ; they have generally two little spurs
on the hind-legs ; and they fly by day only.
27

210 INSECTS OF MASSACHUSETTS.

The Hawk-Moths (Sphinges) generally have the antennas
thickened in the middle, and tapering at each end, and most often
hooked at the tip ; the wings are narrow in proportion to their
length, and are confined together by a bristle or bunch of stiff
hairs on the shoulder of each hind-wing, which is retained by a
corresponding hook on the under-side of each fore-wing ; all the
wings, when at rest, are more or less inclined like a roof, the up-
per ones covering the lower wrings ; there are two pairs of spurs
on the hind-legs ; a few fly by day, but the greater number in the
morning and evening twilight.

In the Moths (P 'halesna) the antennas are neither knobbed at
the end nor thickened in the middle, but taper from the base to
the extremity, and are either naked, like a bristle, or are feathered
on each side ; the wings are confined together by bristles and
hooks, the first pair covering the hind-wings, and are more or less
sloping when at rest ; and there are two pairs of spurs to the hind-
legs. These insects fly mostly by night.

I. BUTTERFLIES. {Papilioncs.)

Besides the characters already given, which distinguish this sec-
tion of the Lepidoptera, it may be stated that their caterpillars
always have sixteen legs, namely two, which are tapering, jointed,
and scaly, to each of the first three segments behind the head,
and a pair of thick fleshy legs, without joints, to all the remaining
segments, except the fourth, fifth, tenth, and eleventh.

The butterflies are divisible into two tribes ; namely, the true
butterflies, which carry all their wings upright when at rest ; and
the skippers, which have only the fore-wings upright, the hind-
wings being nearly horizontal when at rest.

1. Butterflies.

In these insects, all the wings are erect when at rest, and the an-
tennae are knobbed, but never hooked, at the end. Their cater-
pillars have a head of moderate size, suspend themselves by
the tail when about to transform, and are not enclosed in co-
coons. Some of these butterflies have the six legs all equally fit-
ted for walking ; their caterpillars are more or less cylindrical, and

LEPIDOPTERA. 211

secure themselves by a transverse band, as well as by the tail,
previously to their transformation to chrysalids ; and the latter are
angular. All these characters exist in the following species.

In the month of June, there may be found, on the leaves of the
parsley and carrot, certain caterpillars, more commonly called pars-
ley-worms, which are somewhat swelled towards the forepart of
the body, but taper a little behind. When first hatched, they are
less than one tenth of an inch in length, are of a black color, with a
broad white band across the middle, and another on the tail ; and
the back is studded with little black projecting points. After they
have increased in size and have cast their coats, it is found that
the white band covers only the sixth and seventh segments, that
the black projecting points spring from spots of an orange color,
and on the lower part of the sides is a row of white spots, two
more spots of the same color on the top of the first segment, and
one larger spot on the tail. These caterpillars alter in color and
appearance with each successive moulting, and, before they are
half grown, the projecting points and the white band and spots en-
tirely disappear, the skin becomes perfectly smooth and of a deli-
cate apple-green color, rather paler at the sides of the body, and
whitish beneath, and on each segment there is a transverse band
consisting of black and yellow spots alternately arranged. When
touched, they thrust forth, from a slit in the first segment of the
body just behind the head, a pair of soft orange-colored horns,
growing together at the bottom, and somewhat like the letter Y
in form. The horns are scent-organs, and give out a strong and
disagreeable smell, perceptible at some distance, and seem to be
designed to defend the caterpillars from the annoying attacks of
flies and ichneumons. These caterpillars usually come to their
full size between the tenth and twentieth of July, and then meas-
ure about one inch and a half in length. After this, they leave off
eating, desert the plants, and each one seeks some sheltered spot,
such as the side of a building or fence, or the trunk of a tree,
where it prepares for its transformation. It first spins a little web
or tuft of silk against the surface whereon it is resting, and en-
tangles the hooks of its hindmost feet in it, so as to fix them se-
curely to the spot ; it then proceeds to make a loop or girth of
many silken threads bent into the form of the letter U, the ends

212 INSECTS OF MASSACHUSETTS.

of which are fastened to the surface on which it rests on each side
of the middle of its body ; and under this, when finished, it passes
its head, and gradually works the loop over its back, so as to sup-
port the body and prevent it from falling downwards. Though it
generally prefers a vertical surface on which to fasten itself in an
upright posture, it sometimes selects the under-side of a limb or
of a projecting ledge, where it hangs suspended, nearly horizon-
tally, by its feet and the loop. Within twenty-four hours after it
has taken its station, the caterpillar casts off its caterpillar-skin and
becomes a chrysalis, or pupa, of a pale green, ochre-yellow,
or ash-gray color, with two short earlike projections above the
head, just below which, on the upper part of the back, is a little
prominence like a pug nose. The chrysalis hangs in the same
way as the caterpillar, and remains in this state from nine to fif-
teen days, according to the temperature of the atmosphere, cold
and wet weather having a tendency to prolong the period. When
this is terminated, the skin of the chrysalis bursts open, and a but-
terfly issues from it, clings to the empty shell till its crumpled and
drooping wings have extended to their full dimensions, and have
become dried, upon which it flies away in pursuit of companions
and food.

This butterfly is the Papilio Jlsterias of Cramer. It is of a
black color, with a double row of yellow dots on the back ; a
broad band, composed of yellow spots, across the wings, and a
row of yellow spots near the hind margin ; the hind-wings are
tailed, and have seven blue spots between the yellow band and the
outer row of yellow spots, and, near their hinder angle, an eye-like
spot of an orange color with a black centre ; and the spots of
the under-side are tawny orange. The female differs from the
male, above described, in having only a few small and distinct
yellow spots on the upper side of the wings. The wings of this
butterfly expand from three and a half to four inches.

During the month of July, the Asterias butterflies may be seen
in great abundance upon flowers, and particularly on those of the
sweet-scented Phlox. They lay their eggs, in this and the fol-
lowing month, on various umbellate plants, placing them singly on
different parts of the leaves and stems. I have found the cater-
pillars on the parsley, carrot, parsnip, celery, anise, dill, caraway,

LEPIDOPTERA. 213

and fennel of our gardens, as well as on the conium, cicuta, sium,
and other native plants of the same natural family, which originally
constituted the appropriate food of these insects, before the exotic
species furnished them with a greater variety and abundance.
Their injury to these cultivated plants is by no means inconsider-
able ; they not only eat the leaves, but are particularly fond of the
blossoms, and young seeds. I have taken twenty caterpillars on
one plant of parsley which was going to seed. The eggs laid in
July, and August, are hatched soon afterwards, and the caterpil-
lars come to their growth towards the end of September, or the be-
ginning of October ; they then suspend themselves, become chrys-
alids, in which state they remain during the winter, and are not
transformed to butterflies till the last of May or the beginning of
June in the following year.

I know of no method so effectual for destroying these caterpil-
lars as gathering them by hand and crushing them. An expert
person will readily detect them by their ravages on the plants
which they inhabit ; and a few minutes devoted, every day or two,
to a careful search in the garden, during the season of their depre-
dations, will suffice to remove them entirely. .

In Europe there are several kinds of caterpillars which live ex-
clusively on the cruciferous or oleraceous plants, such as the cab-
bage, broccoli, cauliflower, kale, radish, turnip, and mustard,
and oftentimes do considerable injury to them. The prevailing
color of these caterpillars is green, and that of the butterflies
produced from them, white. They belong to a genus called
Pontia; in which the hind-wings are not scolloped nor tailed, but
are rounded and entire on the edges, and are grooved on the inner
edge to receive the abdomen ; the feelers are rather slender, but
project beyond the head ; and the antennas have a short flattened
knob ; their caterpillars are nearly cylindrical, taper a very little
towards each end, and are sparingly clothed with short down,
which requires a microscope to be distinctly seen ; they suspend
themselves by the tail and a transverse loop ; and their chrysalids
are angular at the sides, and pointed at both ends.

In the northern and western parts of Massachusetts there is a
white butterfly, which, in all its states, agrees with the foregoing
characters. It is the Pontia oleracea, potherb Pontia, or white

214 INSECTS OF MASSACHUSETTS.

butterfly, and was first described by me in the year 1S29, in the
seventh volume of the " New England Farmer."* About the
last of May, and the beginning of June, it is seen fluttering over
cabbage, radish, and turnip beds, and patches of mustard, for the
purpose of depositing its eggs. These are fastened to the under-
sides of the leaves, and but seldom more than three or four are
left upon one leaf. The eggs are yellowish, nearly pear-shaped,
longitudinally ribbed, and are one fifteenth of an inch in length.
They are hatched in a week or ten days after they are laid,
and the caterpillars produced from them attain their full size when
three weeks old, and then measure about one inch and a half in
length. Being of a pale green color, they are not readily distin-
guished from the ribs of the leaves beneath which they live.
They do not devour the leaf at its edge, but begin indiscrimi-
nately upon any part of its under-side, through which they eat irre-
gular holes. When they have completed the feeding stage, they
quit the plants, and retire beneath palings, or the edges of stones,
or into the interstices of walls, where they spin a little tuft of silk,
entangle the hooks of their hindmost feet in it, and then proceed
to form a loop to sustain the forepart of the body in a horizontal
or vertical position. Bending its head on one side, the caterpillar
fastens to the surface, beneath the middle of its body, a silken
thread, which it carries across its back and secures on the other
side, and repeats this operation till the united threads have formed
a band or loop of sufficient strength. On the next day it casts off
the caterpillar skin, and becomes a chrysalis. This is sometimes
of a pale green, and sometimes of a white color, regularly and
finely dotted with black ; the sides of the body are angular, the
head is surmounted by a conical tubercle, and over the forepart
of the body, corresponding to the thorax of the included butterfly,
is a thin projection, having in profile some resemblance to a Bo-
man nose. The chrysalis state lasts eleven days, at the expira-
tion of which the insect comes forth a butterfly. The wings are
white, but dusky next to the body ; the tips of the upper ones are
yellowish beneath, with dusky veins ; the under-side of the hinder
wings is straw-colored, with broad dusky veins, and the angles

* l'a2e 402.

LEPIDOPTERA. 215

next to the body are deep yellow ; the back is black, and the
antennas are blackish, with narrow white rings, and ochre-yellow
at the tips. The wings expand about two inches. I have seen
these butterflies in great abundance during the latter part of July,
and the beginning of August, in pairs, or laying their eggs for a
second brood of caterpillars. The chrysalids produced from this
autumnal brood survive the winter, and the butterflies are not dis-
closed from them till May or June. In gardens or fields infested
by the caterpillars, boards, placed, horizontally an inch or two
above the surface of the soil, will be resorted to by them when
they are about to change to chrysalids, and here it will be easy to
find, collect, and destroy them, either in the caterpillar or chrysa-
lis state. The butterflies also may easily be taken by a large and
deep bag-net of muslin, attached to a handle of five or six feet in
length ; for they fly low and lazily, especially when busy in laying
their eggs. In Europe the caterpillars of the white butterflies are
eaten by the larger titmouse (Parus major), and probably our own
titmouse or chickadee, with other insect-eating birds, will be
found equally useful, if properly protected.

We have several kinds of small six-footed butterflies, some of
which are found, during the greater part of the summer, in the
fields and around the edges of woods, flying low and frequently
alighting, and oftentimes collected together in little swarms on the
flowers of the clover, mint, and other sweet-scented plants.
Their caterpillars secure themselves by the hind feet and a loop,
when about to transform ; but they are very short and almost
oval, flat below and more or less convex above, with a small head,
which is concealed under the first ring ; and the feet, which are six-
teen in number, are so short, that these caterpillars in moving seem
to glide rather than creep. The chrysalids are short and thick,
with the under-side flat, the upper side very convex, and both ex-
tremities rounded or obtuse. They belong to a little group which
may be called Lycenians (Lyc^nad^), from the principal genus
included in it.

The heads of the common hop are frequently eaten by the little
green and downy caterpillars of a very pretty butterfly, which has
been mistaken for the Thecla Favonius, figured in Mr. Abbot's
" Natural History of the Insects of Georgia" ; but it differs from

216 INSECTS OF MASSACHUSETTS.

it in so many respects, that I do not hesitate to give it another
name, and will therefore call it the hop-vine Thecla, Thecla Hu-
muli.* The wings on the upper side are dusky brown, with a
tint of blue gray, and, in the males, there is an oval darker spot
near the front edge ; the hind-wings have two short, thread-like
tails, the inner one the longest, and tipped with white ; along the
hind-margin of these same wings is a row of little pale blue spots,
interrupted by a large orange-red crescent enclosing a small black
spot ; the wings beneath are slate-gray, with two wavy streaks of
brown edged on one side with white, and on the hind-wings an
orange colored spot near the hind-angle, and a larger spot of the
same color enclosing a black dot just before the tails. It expands
one inch and one tenth.

Some butterflies have the first pair of legs so much shorter
than the others, that they cannot be used in walking, and are
folded on the breast like a tippet. Their caterpillars, when about
to transform, do not make a loop to support the forepart of the
body, but suspend themselves vertically by the hindmost feet.
As they all secure themselves pretty much in the same way, it
may be proper to explain the process. Having finished eating,
the caterpillar wanders about till it has discovered a suitable situa-
tion in which to pass through its transformations. This may be
the under-side of a branch or of a leaf, or any other horizontal
object beneath which it can find sufficient room for its future oper-
ations. Here it spins a web or tuft of silk, fastening it securely
to the surface beneath which it is resting, entangles the hooks of
its hindmost feet among the threads, and then contracts its body
and lets itself drop so as to hang suspended by the hind-feet alone,
the head and forepart of the body being curved upwards in the
form of a hook. After some hours, the skin over the bent part of
the body is rent, the forepart of the chrysalis protrudes from the
fissure, and, by a wriggling kind of motion, the caterpillar-skin is
slipped backwards till only the extremity of the chrysalis remains
attached to it. The chrysalis has now to release itself entirely
from the caterpillar-skin, which is gathered in folds around its tail,

• M. Boisduval has figured anil described this species under the name of Thecla
Favoni.us, in his " Histoirc des Lcpidopteres de rAinc'rique Septentrionale.''

LEPIDOPTERA. 217

and to make itself fast to the silken tuft by the minute hooks with
which the hinder extremity is provided. Not having the assist-
ance of a transverse loop to support its body while it disengages
its tail, the attempt would seem perilous in the extreme, if not im-
possible. Without having witnessed the operation, we should
suppose that the insect would inevitably fall, while endeavouring to
accomplish its object. But, although unprovided with ordinary
limbs, it is not left without the means to extricate itself from its
present difficulty. The hinder and tapering part of the chrysalis
consists of several rings or segments, so joined together as to be
capable of moving from side to side upon each other; and these
supply to it the place of hands. By bending together two of these
rings near the middle of the body, the chrysalis seizes, in the
crevice between them, a portion of the empty caterpillar-skin, and
clings to it so as to support itself while it withdraws its tail from
the remainder of the skin. It is now wholly out of the skin, to
which it hangs suspended by nipping together the rings of its
body ; but, as the chrysalis is much shorter than the caterpillar, it
is yet at some distance from the tuft of silk, to which it must
climb before it can fix in it the hooks of its hinder extremity. To
do this, it extends the rings of its body as far apart as possible,
then, bending together two of them above those by which it is
suspended, it catches hold of the skin higher up, at the same time
letting go below, and, by repeating this process with different
rings in succession, it at length reaches the tuft of silk, entangles
its hooks among the threads, and then hangs suspended without
further risk of falling. It next contrives to dislodge the cast cat-
erpillar-skin by whirling itself around repeatedly, till the old skin
is finally loosened from its attachment and falls to the ground.
The whole of this operation, difficult as it may seem, is performed
in the space of a very few minutes, and rarely does the insect fail
to accomplish it successfully and safely.

The caterpillars of many of the four-footed butterflies are spiny,
or have their backs armed with numerous projecting points ;
these, in some, are short, and soft, and beset all around with very
small stiff hairs, in others they are long, hard, and sharp prickles,
which generally are furnished with little stiff branches. The but-
terflies have the knobs of the antennae short and broad ; the feelers
28

218 INSECTS OF MASSACHUSETTS.

are rather long, and placed close together, at the base at least ;
the inner margin of the hind-wings is folded downwards, and
grooved for the reception of the body ; the central mesh of these
wings is not closed behind ; and the nails of the four hind-feet are
divided so as to appear double. This group may be called Vanes-
sians (Vanessiad-e).

In the butterflies belonging to the genus Vanessa, the wings
are jagged or tailed on the hind-edges. The under-side of the
hind-wings, in many, is marked with a golden or silvery character
in the middle ; the feelers are long, curving, and contiguous, and
form a kind of projecting beak. The head of the chrysalis is
deeply notched or furnished with two ear-like prominences ; the
sides are very angular ; on the middle of the thorax there is a thin
projection, in profile somewhat like a Roman nose ; and on the
back are two rows of very sharp tubercles of a golden color. The
caterpillars are cylindrical, and armed with branching spines ;
they live in company, at least during the early period of their
existence, and do not conceal themselves under a web or within a
folded leaf.

Vanessa Jlntiopa. L. Antiopa butterfly.

Wings purplish brown above, with a broad buff-yellow margin,
near the inner edge of which there is a row of pale blue spots.
Expands from 3 to 3^ inches.

This butterfly passes the winter in some sheltered place in a
partially torpid state. I have found it in mid-winter sticking to the
rafters of a barn, and in the crevices of walls and stone-heaps,
huddled together in great numbers, with the wings doubled to-
gether above the back, and apparently benumbed and lifeless ; but
it soon recovers its activity on being exposed to warmth. It comes
out of its winter quarters very early in spring, often before the
snow has entirely left the ground, hut with ragged and faded
wings ; and may be seen sporting in warm and sheltered spots in
the beginning of March, and through the months of April and
May. Wilson, in his beautiful lines on the blue-bird, alludes to
its early coming in the spring,

" When first the lone butterfly flits on the wing."

LEPIDOPTERA. 219

The caterpillars of the Antiopa butterfly live together in great
numbers on the poplar, willow, and elm, on which the first broods
may be found early in June. They are black, minutely dotted
with white, with a row of eight dark brick-red spots on the top of
the back. The head is black and rough with projecting points ;
the spines, of which there are six or seven on each segment, ex-
cept the first, are black, stiff, and branched, and the intermediate
legs are reddish. When fully grown they measure an inch and
three quarters in length, and appear very formidable with their
thorny armature, which is doubtless intended to defend them from
their enemies. It was formerly supposed that they were venom-
ous, and capable of inflicting dangerous wounds ; and within my
remembrance many persons were so much alarmed on this account
as to cut down all the poplar trees around their dwellings. This
alarm was unfounded ; for, although there are some caterpillars
that have the power of inflicting venomous wounds with their
spines and hairs, this is not the case with those of the Antiopa
butterfly. The only injury which can be laid to their charge, is
that of despoiling of their foliage some of our most ornamental
trees, and this is enough to induce us to take all proper measures
for exterminating the insects, short of destroying the trees that
they infest. I have sometimes seen them in such profusion on
the willow and elm, that the limbs bent under their weight ; and
the long leafless branches, which they had stripped and deserted,
gave sufficient proof of the voracity of these caterpillars. The
chrysalis is of a dark brown color, with large tawny spots around
the pointed tubercles on the back. The butterflies come forth in
eleven or twelve days after the insects have entered upon the
chrysalis state, and this occurs in the beginning of July. A
second brood of caterpillars is produced in August, and they pass
through all their changes before winter.

Vanessa Interrog adonis. F. Semicolon butterfly.

Wings on the upper side tawny orange, with brown spots run-
ning together on the hinder part, and with black spots in the mid-
dle ; hind-wings in the male most often black above, except at the
base, and sometimes of this color in the other sex also ; the edges
and the tails glossed with reddish white ; under-side of the wings

220 INSECTS OF MASSACHUSETTS.

in some rust-red, in others marbled with light and dark brown,
glossed with reddish white, and with a pale gold-colored semi-
colon on the middle of the hinder pair. Expands from 2| to 2|
inches, or more.

The paly gold character beneath the hind-wings has much more
nearly the shape of a semicolon than of a note of interrogation ; for
which reason I have called this the semicolon butterfly, instead of
translating the specific name. It first appears in May, and again
in August and September, and is frequently seen on the wing, in
warm and sunny places, till the middle of October. The cater-
pillars live on the American elm and lime trees, and also on the
hop-vine, and on the latter they sometimes abound to such a de-
gree as totally to destroy the produce of the plant. In the latter
part of August the hop-vine caterpillars come to their full growth,
and suspend themselves beneath the leaves and stems of the plant,
and change to chrysalids. This fact affords a favorable opportunity
for destroying the insects in this their stationary and helpless stage,
at some loss, however, of the produce of the vines, which, when
the insects have become chrysalids, should be cut down, stripped
of the fruit that is sufficiently ripened, and then burnt. There is
probably an early brood of caterpillars in June or July, but I
have not seen any on the hop-vine before August, the former are
therefore confined to the elm and other plants in all probability.
The caterpillar is brownish, variegated with pale yellow, or pale
yellow variegated with brown, with a yellowish line on each side
of the body ; the head is rust-red, with two blackish branched
spines on the top ; and the spines of the body are pale yellow or
brownish and tipped with black. The chrysalis is ashen brown,
with the head deeply notched, and surmounted by two conical
ears, a long and thin nose-like prominence on the thorax, and eight
silvery spots on the back. The chrysalis state usually lasts from
eleven to fourteen days ; but the later broods are more tardy in
their transformations, the butterfly sometimes not appearing in less
than twenty-six days after the change to the chrysalis. Great
numbers of the chrysalids are annually destroyed by little maggots
within them, which, in due time, are transformed to tiny four-
winged flies (Plerumalus Vanessa), which make their escape by
eating little holes through the sides of the chrysalis. They are

LEPIDOPTERA. 221

ever on the watch to lay their eggs on the caterpillars of this but-
terfly, and are so small as easily to avoid being wounded by the
branching spines of their victims.

Vanessa Comma. Comma butterfly,

Upper side tawny orange ; fore-wings bordered behind and
spotted with black ; hind-wings shaded behind with dark brown,
with two black spots on the middle, and three more in a trans-
verse line from the front-edge, and a row of bright orange colored
spots before the hind-margin ; hind-edges of the wings powdered
with reddish white ; under-side marbled with light and dark
brown, the hinder wings with a silvery comma in the middle.

Expands from 2} to 2| inches.

This butterfly very closely resembles the white C. (C. album)
of Europe, for which it has probably been mistaken. On a close
and careful comparison of several specimens of both together, I
am satisfied that the American Comma is a distinct species, and
the hinder edges of the wings which are not so deeply indented,
will at once serve to distinguish it. I have therefore now named
and described it for the first time. The caterpillar lives upon the
hop, and, as nearly as I can recollect, has a general resemblance
to that of the semicolon butterfly. The chrysalis is brownish
gray, or white variegated with pale brown, and ornamented with
golden spots ; there are two conical ear-like projections on the
top of the head, and the prominence on the thorax is shorter and
thicker than that of the semicolon butterfly, and more like a par-
rot's beak in shape. The butterflies appear first in the beginning
of May ; I have obtained them from the chrysalids in the middle
of July, and on the first of September.

Vanessa Progne*. F. Progne butterfly.

Upper side tawny orange ; fore-wings bordered and spotted
with black ; hind-wings blackish on the posterior half, with two
black spots before the middle, and a row of small orange-colored

* Mr. Kirby, whose work on the insects of North America abounds in mistakes,
has redescribed this old and well-known species under the name of Vanessa C. ar-
genteum.

222 INSECTS OF MASSACHUSETTS.

spots before the hind-margin ; tails and posterior edges of the
wings powdered with reddish white ; under-side gray, with fine
blackish streaks, and an angular silvery character somewhat in the
form of the letter L on the middle of the hind-wings. Expands
from 1-| to 2| inches.

This butterfly appears in August, and probably also at other
times. Though very much like the preceding in general appear-
ance, it is readily distinguished from it by the darker color of the
hind-wings and the angular shape of the silvery character on their
under-side. This character is very slender, and is sometimes en-
tirely wanting. I have raised the Progne and Comma butterflies from
caterpillars which were so much alike, that lam not certain to which
of them the following description belongs. These caterpillars were
found on the American elm in August ; they were pale yellow, with
a reddish colored head, white branching spines tipped with black,
and a row of four rusty spots on each side of the body. They were
suspended on the twenty-first and twenty-second of August,
changed to chrysalids within twenty-four hours, and were trans-
formed to butterflies sixteen days afterwards. At another time a
Progne butterfly was obtained from a caterpillar, which I neglect-
ed to describe, on the eighteenth of August, the chrysalis state
having continued only eleven days. The chrysalis is brownish
gray, with silvery spots on the back, a short, thick, and rounded
nose-like prominence on the thorax, and the two conical double-
pointed horns or ears on the head, the outer points very short,
and the inner ones longer and curving inwards.

2. Skippers. (Hesperiadtt).

The butterflies of this tribe frequent grassy places, and low
bushes and thickets, flying but a short distance at a time, with a
jerking motion, whence they are called skippers by English
writers. When they alight, they usually keep the hind-wings ex-
tended horizontally, and the fore-wings somewhat raised, but
spreading a little, and not entirely closed, as in other butterflies;
some of them, however, have all the wings spread open when at
rest, and there are others in which they are all elevated. Not-
withstanding this difference in the position of the wings, the Hes-
perians all have certain characters in common, by which they are

LEPIDOPTERA. 223

readily distinguished from other butterflies. Their bodies are
short and thick, with a large head, and very prominent eyes ; the
feelers are short, almost square at the end, and thickly clothed
with hairs, which give them a clumsy appearance ; the antennae
are short, situated at a considerable distance from each other, and
in most of these insects, with the knob at the end either curved
like a hook, or ending with a little point bent to one side ; the legs
are six in number, and the four hinder shanks are armed with two
pairs of spurs. Their caterpillars are somewhat spindle-shaped,
or cylindrical in the middle, and tapering at each extremity, with-
out spines, and generally naked or merely downy, with a very
large head and a small neck. They are solitary in their habits,
and many of them conceal themselves within folded leaves like the
caterpillars of the thistle and nettle butterflies (Cynthia Cardai
and Jltalanta), and undergo their transformations within an en-
velope of leaves or of fragments of stubble gathered together with
silken threads. Their chrysalids are generally conical or tapering
at one end, and rounded, or more rarely pointed, at the other,
never angular or ornamented with golden spots, but most often
covered with a bluish white powder or bloom. They are mostly
fastened by the tail and a few transverse threads, within some
folded leaves, which are connected together by a loose internal
web of threads, forming a kind of imperfect cocoon.

In the skippers, which Dr. Boisduval arranges under the name
of Endamus, the knobs of the antenna; are very long, gradually
taper to a point, and are suddenly bent like a hook in the middle ;
the front-edge of the fore-wings, in the males, is doubled over ;
the hind-wings are often tailed, or are furnished with a little pro-
jection on the hinder angle ; the fringes are spotted ; and all the
wings are raised when at rest.

Eudamus Tityrus. F. Tityrus skipper.

Wings brown ; first pair with a transverse semitransparent
band across the middle, and a few spots towards the tip, of a
honey-yellow color ; hind-wings with a short rounded tail on the
hind angles, and a broad silvery band across the middle of the
under-side. Expands from 2 to 2| inches.

This large and beautiful insect makes its appearance, from the

224 INSECTS OF MASSACHUSETTS.

middle of June till after the beginning of July, upon sweet-scented
flowers, which it visits during the middle of the day. Its flight
is vigorous and rapid, and its strength is so great that it cannot be
captured without danger of its being greatly defaced in its strug-
gles to escape. The females lay their eggs, singly, on the leaves
of the common locust-tree (Rubinia pseud acacia), and on those of
the viscid locust (Robinia viscosa), which is much cultivated here
as an ornamental tree. The caterpillars are hatched in July, and
when quite small conceal themselves under a fold of the edge of
a leaf, which is bent over their bodies and secured by means of
silken threads. When they become larger they attach two or
more leaves together, so as to form a kind of cocoon or leafy case
to shelter them from the weather, and to screen them from the
prying eyes of birds. The full-grown caterpillar, which attains
to the length of about two inches, is of a pale green color, trans-
versely streaked with darker green, with a red neck, a very large
head roughened with minute tubercles, slightly indented or fur-
rowed above, and of a dull red color, with a large yellow spot on
each side of the mouth. Although there may be and often are
many of these caterpillars on the same tree and branch, yet they
all live separately within their own cases. One end of the leafy
case is left open, and from this the insect comes forth to feed.
They eat only, or mostly, in the night, and keep themselves
closely concealed by day. These caterpillars are very cleanly in
their habits, and make no dirt in their habitations, but throw it out
with a sudden jerk, so that it shall fall at a considerable distance.
They frequently transform to chrysalids within the same leaves
which have served them for a habitation, but more often quit the
trees and construct in some secure place, a cocoon of leaves or
fragments of stubble, the interior of which is lined with a loose
web of silk. They remain in their cocoons without further change
throughout the winter, and are transformed to butterflies in the
following summer. The viscid locust-tree is sometimes almost
completely stripped of its leaves by these insects, or presents only
here and there the brown and withered remains of foliage, which
has served as a temporary shelter to the caterpillars.

LEPIDOPTERA. 225

II. HAWK-MOTHS. {Sphinges.)*

Linnaeus was led to give the name of Sphinx to the insects in
his second group of the Lepidoptera, from a fancied resemblance
that some of their caterpillars, when at rest, have to the Sphinx
of the Egyptians. The attitude of these caterpillars is indeed
very remarkable. Supporting themselves by their four or six
hind-legs, they elevate the forepart of the body, and remain im-
movably fixed in this posture for hours together. In the winged
state, the true Sjjhinges are known by the name of humming-bird
moths, from the sound which they make in flying, and hawk-
moths, from their habit of hovering in the air while taking their
food. These humming-bird or hawk moths may be seen during
the morning and evening twilight, flying with great swiftness from
flower to flower. Their wings are long, narrow, and pointed,
and are moved by powerful muscles, to accommodate which their
bodies are very thick and robust. Their tongues, when uncoiled,
are, for the most part, excessively long, and with them they ex-
tract the honey from the blossoms of the honey-suckle and other
tubular flowers, while on the wing. Other Sphinges fly during the
daytime only, and in the brightest sunshine. Then it is that our
large clear-winged Sesise make their appearance among the flow-
ers, and regale themselves with their sweets. The fragrant
Phlox is their especial favorite. From their size and form and
fan-like tails, from their brilliant colors, and the manner in which
they take their food, poised upon rapidly vibrating wings above
the blossoms, they might readily be mistaken for humming-birds.
The iEgerians are also diurnal in their habits. Their flight is
swift, but not prolonged, and they usually alight while feeding.
In form and color they so much resemble bees and wasps as
hardly to be distinguished from them. The Smerinthi are heavy
and sluggish in their motions. They fly only during the night,
and apparently, in the winged state, take no food ; for their tongues
are very short, and indeed almost invisible. The Glaucopidians,
or Sphinges with feathered antennas, fly mostly by day, and alight
to take their food, like many moths, which some of them resemble

* See page 210.
29

226 INSECTS OF MASSACHUSETTS.

in form, and in their transformations. The caterpillars of the
Sphinges have sixteen legs, placed in pairs beneath the first,
second, third, sixth, seventh, eighth, ninth, and last segments of
the body ; all of them, except the ^Egerians and Glaucopidians,
have either a kind of horn or a tubercle on the top of the last seg-
ment, and, when at rest, sit with the forepart of the body elevated.

Having devoted a large portion of this treatise to a descrip-
tion of the spinning moths, my observations on the other insects
of this order must be brief, and confined to a few species, which
are more particularly obnoxious on account of their devasta-
tions in the caterpillar state. Those persons, who are curious
to know more about the Sphinges than can be included in this es-
say, are referred to my descriptive catalogue of these insects,
contained in the thirty-sixth volume of Professor Silliman's
" Journal of Science."

Every farmer's boy knows the potato-worm, as it is commonly
called ; a large green caterpillar, with a kind of thorn upon the
tail, and oblique whitish stripes on the sides of the body. This
insect, which devours the leaves of the potato, often to the great
injury of the plant, grows to the thickness of the fore-finger, and
the length of three inches or more. It attains its full size from
the middle of August to the first of September, then crawls down
the stem of the plant and buries itself in the ground. Here, in a
few days, it throws off its caterpillar-skin, and becomes a chrysa-
lis, of a bright brown color, with a long and slender tongue-case,
bent over from the head, so as to touch the breast only at the end,
and somewhat resembling the handle of a pitcher. It remains
in the ground through the winter, below the reach of frost, and in
the following summer the chrysalis-skin bursts open, a large
moth crawls out of it, comes to the surface of the ground, and
mounting upon some neighbouring plant, waits till the approach
of evening invites it to expand its untried wings and fly in search
of food. This large insect has generally been confounded with
the Carolina Sphinx, (Sphinx Carolina of Linnanis), which it
closely resembles. It measures across the wings about five
inches ; is of a gray color, variegated with blackish lines and
bands ; and on each side of the body there are five round, orange-
colored spots encircled with black. Hence it is called by English

LEP1D0PTERA. 227

Entomologists Sphinx quinquemaculatus, the five-spotted Sphinx.
Its tongue can be unrolled to the length of five or six inches, but,
when not in use, is coiled like a watch-spring, and is almost en-
tirely concealed, between two large and thick feelers, under the
head.

Among the numerous insects that infest our noble elms the
largest is a kind of Sphinx, which, from the four short horns on
the forepart of the back, I have named Ceratomia* quadricornis,
or four-horned Ceratomia. On some trees these Sphinges exist
in great numbers, and their ravages then become very obvious ;
while a few, though capable of doing considerable injury, may
escape notice among the thick foliage which constitutes their food,
or will only be betrayed by the copious and regularly formed pel-
lets of excrement beneath the trees. They are very abundant
during the months of July and August on the large elms which
surround the northern and eastern sides of the common in Boston ;
and towards the end of August, when they descend from the
trees for the purpose of going into the ground, they may often be
seen crawling in the mall in considerable numbers. These cater-
pillars, at this period of their existence, are about three inches
and a half in length, are of a pale green color, with seven oblique
white lines on each side of the body, and a row of little notches,
like saw-teeth, on the back. The four short horns on their
shoulders are also notched, and like most other Sphinges, they
have a long and stiff spine on the hinder extremity of the body.
They enter the earth to become chrysalids and pass the winter,
and come forth in the winged state in the month of June following,
at which time the moths may often be found on the trunks of
trees, or on fences in the vicinity. In this state their wings ex-
pand nearly five inches, are of a light brown color, variegated
with dark brown and white, and the hinder part of the body is
marked with five longitudinal dark brown lines. A young friend
of mine, in Boston, captured on the trunks of the trees a larce
number of these moths during a morning's walk in the mall, the
past summer, although obliged to be on the alert to escape from

* Ceratomia, derived from the Greek, means having hortis on the shoulders, a pe-
culiarity which I have not observed in any other Sphinx.

228 INSECTS OF MASSACHUSETTS.

the guardians of the common, whose duty it was to prevent the
grass from heing trodden down. Nearly all of these specimens
were females, ready to deposit their eggs, with which their large
bodies were completely filled. On being taken, they made scarcely
any efforts to escape, and were safely carried away. It would
not be difficult, by such means, very considerably to reduce the
number of these destructive insects ; in addition to which it might
be expedient, during the proper season, for our city authorities to
employ persons to gather and kill every morning the caterpillars
which may be found in those public walks where they abound.
From the genus Sphinx I have separated another group to which
I have given the name of Philampelus*, from the circumstance
that the larvae or caterpillars live upon the grape-vine. When
young they have a long and slender tail recurved over the back
like that of a dog ; but this, after one or two changes of the skin,
disappears, and nothing remains of it but a smooth, eye-like, raised
spot on the top of the last segment of the body. Some of these
caterpillars are pale green and others are brown, and the sides of
their body are ornamented by six cream-colored spots, of a broad
oval shape, in the species which produces the Satellitia of Linnaeus,
narrow oval and scalloped, in that which is transformed to the
species called Achemon by Drury. They have the power of with-
drawing the head and the first three segments of the body within
the fourth segment, which gives them a short and blunt appear-
ance when at rest. As they attain to the length of three inches
or more, and are thick in proportion, they consume great quanti-
ties of leaves ; and the long leafless branches of the vine too often
afford evidence of their voracity. They also devour the leaves
of the common creeper (Ampelopsis quinquefolia) which, with
those of our indigenous vines, were their only food till the intro-
duction and increased cultivation of foreign vines afforded them
an additional supply. They come to their growth during the
month of August, enter the earth to transform, and appear in the
winged or moth state the following summer in June and July.
The Satellitia Hawk-moth expands from four to five inches, is of
a light olive color, variegated with patches of darker olive. The

* The literal signification of this word is I love the vine.

LEPIDOPTERA. 229

Jlchemon expands from three to four inches, is of a reddish ash-
color, with two triangular patches of deep brown on the thorax,
and two square ones on each fore-wing ; the hind-wings are pink,
with a deeper red spot near the middle, and a broad ash-colored
border behind.

The grape-vine suffers still more severely from the ravages of
another kind of Sphinx caterpillars, smaller in size than the pre-
ceding, and like them solitary in their habits, but more numerous,
and, not content with eating the leaves alone, in their progress
from leaf to leaf down the stem, they stop at every cluster of
fruit, and, either from stupidity or disappointment, nip off the
stalks of the half-grown grapes, and allow them to fall to the
ground untasted. I have gathered under a single vine above a
quart of unripe grapes thus detached during one night by these
caterpillars. They are naked and fleshy like those of the Ache-
mon and Satellitia, and are generally of a pale green color (some-
times, however, brown), with a row of orange-colored spots on
the top of the back, six or seven oblique darker green or brown
lines on each side, and a short spine or horn on the hinder ex-
tremity. The head is very small, and, with the forepart of the
body, is somewhat retractile, but not so completely as in the two
preceding species. The fourth and fifth segments being very
large and swollen, while the three anterior segments taper ab-
ruptly to the head, the forepart of the body presents a resemblance
to the head and snout of a hog. This suggested the generical
name of Cha>roca?npa, or hog-caterpillar, which has been applied
to some of these insects. The species under consideration is
found on the vine and the creeper in July and August ; when fully
grown it descends to the ground, conceals itself under fallen
leaves, which it draws together by a hw threads so as to form a
kind of cocoon, or covers itself with grains of earth and rubbish
in the same way, and under this imperfect cover it changes to a
pupa or chrysalis, and finally appears in the winged state in the
month of July of the following year. The moth, to which Sir
James Edward Smith gave the name of Pampinatrix, from its
living on the shoots of the vine, expands from two and a half to
three inches, is of an olive-gray color, except the hind-wings,

230 INSECTS OF MASSACHUSETTS.

which are rust-colored, and the fore-wings and shoulder-covers
are traversed with olive-green bands.

Among the other Sphinges of Massachusetts may be mentioned
those belonging to the genus Smerinthns, whose tongue is very
short and scarcely visible, and whose fore-wings are generally
scalloped on the outer edge. Their caterpillars are rough or
granulated, with a stout thorn on the tail, and a triangular head,
the apex of the triangle corresponding to the crown. The blind-
eyed Smerinthus (S. excacata) is faun-colored, clouded with
brown, except the hind-wings, which are rose-colored in the mid-
dle, and ornamented with an eye-like black spot having a pale
blue centre. The caterpillar lives on the apple-tree, but is not
common enough to prove seriously injurious. The same obser-
vation will apply to that of the chocolate brown eyed Sphinx
(Smerinthus my ops), which lives on the wild cherry-tree, and to
the walnut Sphinx (Smerinthus Juglandis), which lives on the
black walnut and butternut. The latter species is destitute of eye-
like spots on the hind-wings. Of those belonging to the genus
Sphinx proper, that which bears the specific name drupiferarum
inhabits the hackberry (Celtis occidentalis) and the plum-tree;
Sphinx KalmicE inhabits the broad-leaved laurel (Kalmia lad-
folia) ; the caterpillar of the Gordius is found on the apple-tree ;
that of the great ash-colored Sphinx (S. cinerea) on the lilac ;
Hylwus on the black alder (Prinos glaber &c), and whortle-
berry ; and the curiously checkered caterpillar of Sphinx conifer-
arum on pines. Of the hog-caterpillars, those of Chcerocampa
Chwrilus and versicolor may be found on swamp pinks (Jlzalca
viscosa and nudijlora) . The caterpillar of the white-lined morn-
ing Sphinx (Deilcphila lineata) feeds upon purslane and turnip
leaves ; and that of Deilephila Chamamerii on the willow-herb
(Epilobium angustifolium). The clear-winged Sphinges, Sesia
pelasgus and difinis, are distinguished by their transparent wings
and their fan-shaped tails. They hover over flowers, like hum-
ming birds, during the daytime, in the months of July and Au-
gust. Their caterpillars bear a general resemblance to those of
the genus Sphinx, and, as far as they are known, seem to possess
the same habits.

The iEgerians (vEgeiuad.e) constitute a very distinct group

LEPIDOPTERA. 231

among the Sphinges. They are easily recognised, in the per-
fected or winged state, by their resemblance to bees, hornets, or
wasps, by their narrow wings, which are mostly transparent, and
by the tufts or brush at the end of the body, which they have the
power of spreading out like a fan at pleasure. They fly only in
the daytime, and frequently alight to bask in the sunshine.
Their habits, in the caterpillar state, are entirely different from
those of the other Sphinges ; the latter living exposed upon plants
whose leaves they devour, while the caterpillars of the iEgerians
are concealed within the stems or roots of plants, and derive their
nourishment from the wood and pith. Hence they are commonly
called borers, a name, however, which is equally applicable to the
larva? or young of many insects of other orders. The caterpillars
of the JEgerians are whitish, soft, and slightly downy. Like
those of other Sphinges they have sixteen feet, but they are des-
titute of a thorn or prominence on the last segment of the body.
When they have come to their full size, they enclose themselves
in oblong oval cocoons, made of fragments of wood or bark
cemented by a gummy matter, and within these are transformed
to chrysalids. The latter are of a shining bay color, and the
edges of the abdominal segments are armed with transverse rows
of short teeth. By means of these little teeth, the chrysalis, just
before it is about to be transformed to a winged insect, works its
way out of the cocoon, and partly through the hole, in the stem or
root, which the caterpillar had previously made ; and the shell of
the chrysalis is left half emerging from the orifice, after the moth
has escaped from it.

The ash-tree suffers very much from the attacks of borers of
this kind, which perforate the bark and sap-wood of the trunk
from the roots upwards, and are also found in all the branches of
any considerable size. The trees thus infested soon show symp-
toms of disease, in the death of the branches near the summit ;
and, when the insects become numerous, the trees no longer in-
crease in size and height, and premature decay and death ensue.
These borers assume the chrysalis form in the month of June
and the chrysalids may be seen projecting half way from the round
holes in the bark of the tree in this and the following month, dur-
ing which time their final transformation is effected, and they burst

232 INSECTS OF MASSACHUSETTS.

open and escape from the shells of the chrysalis in the winged or
moth state. Under this form this insect was described, in my pa-
per in Professor Silliman's " Journal of Science", by the name
of Trochilium* denudatum; as the habits of the larva are now as-
certained, we may call it the ash-tree Trochilium. Its general
color is brown ; the edges of the collar and of the abdominal
rings, the shins, the feet, and the under-side of the antennae are
yellowish. The hind-wings • are transparent; the fore-wings are
opake and brown, variegated with rust-red ; they have a trans-
parent space near the tips, and expand about an inch and a half.

During the month of August, the squash and other cucurbita-
ceous vines are frequently found to die suddenly down to the root.
The cause of this premature death is a little borer, which begins
its operations near the ground, perforates the stem, and devours
the interior. It afterwards enters the soil, forms a cocoon of a
gummy substance covered with particles of earth, changes to a
chrysalis, and comes forth the next summer a winged insect.
This is conspicuous for its orange-colored body, spotted with
black, and its hind-legs fringed with long orange-colored and
black hairs. The hind-wings only are transparent, and the fore-
wings expand from one inch to one inch and a half. It deposits
its eggs on the vines close to the roots, and may be seen flying
about the plants from the tenth of July till the middle of August.
This insect, which may be called the squash-vine iEgeria, was
first described by me in the year 1828, under the name of JEgc-
ria CucurbitcE, the trivial name indicating the tribe of plants on
which the caterpillar feeds f.

The pernicious borer, which, during many years past, has
proved very destructive to peach-trees throughout the United
States, is a species of JEgeria, named exitiosct, or the destructive,
by Mr. Say, who first scientifically described it in the third vol-
ume of the " Journal of the Academy of Natural Sciences of

* The word Trochilium is derived from Trochilus, the scientific name of the
humming-bird genus; and these insects are sometimes called humming-bird
moths.

t See " New England Farmer", Vol. VIII., p. 33 ; my Discourse before the Mas-
sachusetts Horticultural Society, in lb32, p. 2G; and ,( Silliman's Journal ", Vol.
XXXVI., p. 310.

LEPIDOPTERA. 233

Philadelphia," and subsequently gave a representation and ac-
count of it in his " American Entomology." In the fifth volume
of the "New England Farmer," I have given the history of this
insect, have mentioned the principal authors who have noticed
it, and recommended preventive measures, which have been found
effectual in protecting the peach-tree from its most serious attacks.
The eggs, from which these borers are hatched, are deposited, in
the course of the summer, upon the trunk of the tree near the
root ; the borers penetrate the bark, and devour the inner bark
and sap-wood. The seat of their operations is known by the
castings and gum which issue from the holes in the tree. When
these borers are nearly one year old, they make their cocoons
either under the bark of the trunk or of the root, or in the earth
and gum contiguous to the base of the trees ; soon afterwards
they are transformed to chrysalids, and finally come forth in the
winged state, and lay the eggs for another generation of borers.
The last transformation takes place from June to October, most
frequently, however, during the month of July, in the Stale of
Massachusetts. Here, although there are several broods produc-
ed by a succession of hatches, there is but one rotation of meta-
morphoses consummated within a year. Hence borers, of all
sizes, will be found in the trees throughout the year, although it
seems to be necessary that all of them, whether more or less ad-
vanced, should pass through one winter before they appear in the
winged state. Under its last form, this insect is a slender, dark
blue, four-winged moth, having a slight resemblance to a wasp or
ichneumon-fly, to which it is sometimes likened. The two sexes
differ greatly from each other, so much so, as to have caused
them to be mistaken for two distinct species. The male, which
is much smaller than the female, has all the wings transparent, but
bordered and veined with steel-blue, which is the general color of
the body in both sexes ; the palpi or feelers, the edges of the col-
lar, of the shoulder-covers, of the rings of the abdomen, and of the
brush on the tail, are pale yellow, and there are two rings of the
same yellow color on the shins. It expands about one inch.
The fore-wings of the female are blue, and opake, the hind-
wings transparent, and bordered and veined like those of the male,
and the middle of the abdomen is encircled by a broad orange-^

30

234 INSECTS OF MASSACHUSETTS.

colored belt. It expands an inch and a half, or more. This in-
sect does not confine its attacks to the peach-tree. I have re-
peatedly obtained both sexes from borers inhabiting the excres-
cences which are found on the trunks and limbs of the cherry-
tree ; and moreover, I have frequently taken them in connexion
on the trunks of cherry and of peach trees. They sometimes
deposit their eggs in the crotches of the branches of the peach-
tree, where the borers will subsequently be found ; but the injury,
sustained by their operations in such parts, bears no comparison to
that resulting from their attacks at the base of the tree, which they
too often completely girdle, and thus cause its premature decay
and death. The following plan, which was recommended by me
in the year 1S26, and has been tried with complete success by
several persons in this vicinity, will effectually protect the neck,
or most vital part of the tree, from injury. Remove the earth
around the base of the tree, crush and destroy the cocoons and
borers which may be found in it, and under the bark, cover the
wounded parts with the common clay composition, and surround
the trunk with a strip of sheathing-paper eight or nine inches
wide, which should extend two inches below the level of the soil,
and be secured with strings of matting above. Fresh mortar
should then be placed around the root, so as to confine the paper
and prevent access beneath it, and the remaining cavity may be
filled with new or unexhausted loam. This operation should be
performed in the spring or during the month of June. In the
winter the strings may be removed, and in the following spring
the trees should again be examined for any borers that may have
escaped search before, and the protecting applications should be
renewed.

In Europe there is a species of JEgeria, named by Linnaeus
tipuliformis, which has long been known to inhabit the stems of
the currant-bush. This, or an insect closely resembling it, is far
too common in America, in the cultivated currant, with which it
may have been introduced from Europe. The caterpillars are
produced from eggs laid singly, near the buds ; when hatched,
they penetrate the stem to the pith, which they devour, and thus
form a burrow of several inches in length in the interior of the
stem. As the borer increases in size, it enlarges the hole com-

LEPIDOPTERA. 235

municating with its burrow, to admit of the more ready passage of
its castings, and to afford it the means of escape when it is trans-
formed to a moth. The inferior size of the fruit affords an indi-
cation of the operations of the borers ; and the perforated stems
frequently break off at the part affected, or, if of sufficient size
still to support the weight of the foliage and fruit, they soon be-
come sickly, and finally die. In some gardens, nearly every cur-
rant bush has been attacked by these borers ; and instances are
known to me wherein all attempts to raise currant-bushes from
cuttings have been baffled, during the second or third year of the
growth of the plants, by the ravages of these insects. They com-
plete their transformations, and appear in the moth state, about the
middle of June. The moth is of a blue-black color ; its wings
are transparent, but veined and fringed with black, and across the
tips of the anterior pair there is a broad band, which is more or
less tinged with copper-color ; the under-side of the feelers, the
collar, the edges of the shoulder-covers, and three very narrow
rings on the abdomen, are golden yellow. The wings expand
three quarters of an inch, or a little more.

Some years ago, it was ascertained that a species of JEgeria
inhabited the pear-tree in this State ; and it is said that consider-
able injury has resulted from it. An infested tree may be known
by the castings thrown out of the small perforations made by the
borers, which live under the bark of the trunk, and subsist chiefly
upon the inner bark. They make their cocoons under the bark,
and change to chrysalids in the latter part of summer. The
winged insects appear in the autumn, having, like others of this
kind, left their chrysalis skins projecting from the orifice of the
holes which they had previously made. In its winged form, this
iEgeria is very much like that which inhabits the currant-bush ;
but it is a smaller species. It was described by me in the year
1830, under the name of JEgeria Pyri, the pear-tree iEgeria ;
and my account of it will be found on the second page of the
ninth volume of the "New England Farmer." Its wings expand
rather more than half an inch ; are transparent, but veined, border-
ed, and fringed with purplish black, and across the tips of the fore-
wings is a broad dark band glossed with coppery tints ; the pre-
vailing color of the upper side of the body is purple-black ; but

236 INSECTS OF MASSACHUSETTS.

most of the under-side is golden yellow, as are the edges of the
collar, of the shoulder covers, and of the fan-shaped brush on the
tail, and there is a broad yellow band across the middle of the ab-
domen, preceded by two narrow bands of the same color.

There are several more insects* belonging to this group in
Massachusetts, one of which lives in the stems of the lilac, and
another inhabits those of the wild currant, Ribes jloridum. The
winged male of the latter species is remarkable for the very long,
slender, and cylindrical tuft or pencil at the extremity of the
body. Of the rest, there is nothing particularly worthy of note.

The Glaucopidiansf, so named from the glaucous or bluish
green color of some of the species, are distinguished from the
other Sphinges by their antennae, which, in the males at least, and
sometimes in both sexes, are feathered, or furnished on each side
with little slender branches, parallel to each other like the teeth
of a comb. In scientific works such antennae are called pecti-
nated, from pecten, the Latin for comb. The caterpillars of the
Glaucopidians have sixteen feet, are slender, and cylindrical, with
a few hairs scattered generally over the surface of the body, or
arranged in little tufts arising from minute warts, and are without a
horn on the hinder extremity. They devour the leaves of plants,
and make for themselves cocoons of coarse silk, in which they
undergo their transformations. The chrysalids are oblong oval,
rounded at one end, tapering at the other, and are not provided
with transverse rows of teeth on the surface of the body. In the
caterpillar and winged states, in the nature of their transforma-
tions, and in their habits, these insects approach very closely to
the Phalaenae, or moths, forming the third division of Lepidopte-
rous insects, among which they are arranged by some naturalists.
There are not many of them in Massachusetts, and only one spe-
cies requires to be noticed here:}:. This is the Frocris Ameri-
cana, a small moth of a blue-black color, with a saffron-colored
collar, and a notched tuft on the extremity of the body. The
wings, which are very narrow, expand nearly one inch. This
little insect is the American representative of the Procris vitis or

• See " Silliman'a Journal", Vol. XXXVI., p. 309 to 313.

t See additional observations on page 225.

J For the other species see " Silliman's Journal", Vol. XXXVI., p. 31G to 311).

LEPIDOPTERA. 237

ampelojjhaga of Europe, which, in the caterpillar state, some-
times proves very injurious to the grape-vine. The habits of our
species are exactly the same ; but it has not yet become so com-
mon as to have attracted general observation. The caterpillars
are gregarious, that is, considerable numbers of them live and feed
together, collected side by side on the same leaf, and only dis-
perse when they are about to make their cocoons. Professor
Hentz, to whom I am indebted for some notes respecting these
insects, informs me that the caterpillars occasionally appear in
considerable numbers on the grape-vines in North Carolina ; and
states that they are green, with black bands, and slightly hairy.
Their cocoons are oblong oval, very tough, and are fastened, by
one side, to the leaves or stems of the plant on which the insects
live. I have never seen the caterpillars myself, but have occa-
sionally captured the winged insects, which make their appearance
here towards the end of July.

III. MOTHS. {Phalana.)*

The third great section of the Lepidoptera, which Linnaeus
named Phalana, includes a vast number of insects, sometimes
called millers, or night-butterflies, but more frequently moths.
The latter term, thus applied, comprehends not only those do-
mestic moths, which in the young or caterpillar state, devour
cloth, but all the other insects, belonging to the order Lepidop-
tera, which cannot be arranged among the butterflies and hawk-
moths.

These insects vary greatly in size, color, and structure. Some
of them, particularly those with gilded wings, are very minute ;
while the Atlas-moth of China (Jlttacus Atlas) , when its wings
are expanded, covers a space measuring nearly nine inches by five
and a half ; and the owl-moth {Erebus Strix) has wings, which
though not so broad, expand eleven inches. Some female moths
are destitute of wings, or have but very small ones, wholly unfitted
for flight ; and there are species whose wings are longitudinally
cleft into several narrow rays, resembling feathers. The stalk of

See page 210.

238 INSECTS OF MASSACHUSETTS.

the antennae of moths generally tapers from the base to the end.
These parts sometimes resemble simple or naked bristles, and
sometimes they are plumed on each side of the stalk, like feath-
ers. There is often a good deal of difference in the antenna?, ac-
cording to the sex ; feathered or pectinated antennae being gener-
ally narrower in the females than in the males ; and there are some
moths the males of which have feathered antenna?, while those of
the other sex are not feathered at all, or are only furnished with
very short projections, like teeth, at the sides. Most moths have
a sucking-tube, commonly called the tongue, consisting of two
hollow and tapering threads, united side by side, and when not in
use rolled up in a spiral form ; but in many, this member is very
short, and its two threads are not united ; and in some it is en-
tirely wanting, or is reduced to a mere point. Two palpi or
feelers are found in most moths. They grow from the lower lip,
generally curve upwards, and cover the face on each side of the
tongue. Some have, besides these, another pair, which adhere to
the roots of the tongue. Many moths are said to have no feel-
ers ; these parts being in them very small, and invisible to the
naked eye.

The caterpillars of these insects differ more from each other
than the moths. In general they are of a cylindrical shape, and
are provided with sixteen legs ; there are many, however, which
have only ten, twelve, or fourteen legs ; and in a few the legs are
so very short, as hardly to be visible, so that these caterpillars
seem to glide along in the manner of slugs. Some caterpillars
are naked, and others are clothed with hairs or bristles, and the
hairs are either uniformly distributed, or grow in tufts. Some-
times the surface of the body is even and smooth ; sometimes it is
covered with little warts or tubercles ; or it is beset with prickles
and spines, which not unfrequently are compound or branched.

Many caterpillars, previous to their transformation, enclose
themselves in cocoons, composed entirely of silk, or of silk in-
terwoven with hairs stripped from their own bodies, or with frag-
ments of other substances within their reach. Some go into the
ground, where they are transformed without the additional protec-
tion of a cocoon; others change to chrysalids in the interior of the
stems, roots, leaves, or fruits of plants. The chrysalids of moths

LEPIDOPTERA. 239

are generally of an elongated oval shape, rounded at one end, and
tapering almost to a point at the other ; and they are destitute of
the angular elevations which are found on the chrysalids of butter-
flies.

These brief remarks, which are necessarily of a very general
nature, and comprise but a few of the principal differences observ-
able in these insects, must suffice for the present occasion.

Linnaeus divided the Moths into eight groups, namely, Attaci,
Bombyces, Nocture, Geometrce, Tortriccs, Pyralides, Tintte, and
Alucitcc; and these (with the exception of the Altaci, which are
to be divided between the Bombyces and Noctua), have been
recognised as well-marked groups, and have been adopted by
some of the best entomologists* who succeeded him.

1. Spinners. [Bombyces).

The Bombyces, so called from Bombyx, the ancient name of
the silk-worm, are mostly thick-bodied moths, with antennas, in
the greater number, feathered or pectinated, at least in the males,
the tongue and feelers very short or entirely wanting, the thorax
woolly, but not crested, or very rarely, and the fore-legs often
very hairy. Their caterpillars have sixteen legs, are generally
spinners, and, with few exceptions, make cocoons within which
they are transformed.

This tribe has been subdivided into a number of lesser groups
or families ; but naturalists are not at all agreed upon the manner
in which these should be arranged. We might place at the head
of the tribe those large moths, whose Sphinx-like caterpillars are
naked and warty, and which, in the winged state, are ornamented
with eye-like spots like the Smerinthi; or, we might place first
in the series the moths whose caterpillars are wood-eaters, with
the habits and transformations of the JEgerians; or, we may be-
gin with the smaller species, with hairy caterpillars, whose habits
and transformations are like those of the Glaucopidians , and

* It is hardly necessary to say that among these are Denis and SchiffermUller,
the authors of the celebrated " Vienna Catalogue", besides Latreille, Leach,
Stephens, and others, whose classifications of the Moths, how much soever va-
ried, enlarged, or improved, are essentially based on the arrangement proposed by
Linnams.

240 INSECTS OF MASSACHUSETTS.

which resemble the latter closely in the winged state ; and thus
the series, from Procris and other moth-like Sphinges to the true
Moths, will be uninterrupted. The latter, on the whole, seems
to be the most natural course, and it agrees with the arrangement
of Dr. Boisduval, which I shall follow, with some slight changes
only.

Agreeably to this arrangement the first family of the Bombyces
will be the Lithosians (Lithosiad^e), so named from two Greek
words*, meaning a stone, and to live ; for the caterpillars of many
of these insects live in stony places, and devour the lichens grow-
ing on rocks. (Such also are the habits of Gkmcopsis Pho/us,
one of the Glaucopidians.) On this account they are not properly
subjects for notice in this essay ; but as some of the larger spe-
cies are grass-eaters, are conspicuous for their beauty, and natu-
rally conduct to another family, particularly obnoxious to the cul-
tivators of the soil, it may be interesting to point out their distin-
guishing traits, and the manner in which the transition to the next
family is effected.

The Lithosians are slender-bodied moths, mostly of small size,
whose rather narrow upper or fore wings, when at rest, generally
lie flatly on the top of the back, crossing or overlapping each
other on their inner margins, and entirely covering the under-
wings, which are folded longitudinally, and, as it were, moulded
around the body ; more rarely the wings slope a little at the sides,
and cover the back like a low roof. The antennae are rather
long, and bristle-formed ; sometimes naked in both sexes, more
often slightly feathered with a double row of short hairs beneath,
in the males. The tongue and one pair of feelers are very dis-
tinct and of moderate length. The back is smooth, neither woolly
nor crested, but thickly covered with short and close feather-like
scales. The wings of many of the Lithosians are prettily spotted,
and they frequently fly in the daytime like the Glaucopidians.
Their caterpillars are sparingly clothed with hairs, growing in lit-
tle clusters from minute warts on the surface of the body. They
enclose themselves in thin oblong cocoons of silk interwoven with

* This is the derivation given by M. Godart. Hist. Nat. Lepidopt. de France.
Vol. V., p. 10.

LEPIDOPTERA. 241

their own hairs. The rings of their chrysalids are generally so
closely joined as not to admit of motion. Of about a dozen kinds
inhabiting Massachusetts, I shall describe only two. The first
of these may be called Gnophria vittota *, the striped Gnophria.
It is of a deep scarlet color ; its fore-wings, which expand one
inch and one eighth, have two broad stripes, and a short stripe be-
tween them at the tip, of a lead-color, and the hind-wings have a
very broad lead-colored border behind; the middle of the abdo-
men and the joints of the legs are also lead-colored. The cater-
pillar lives upon lichens, and may be found under loose stones in
the fields in the Spring. It is dusky, and thinly covered with
stiff, sharp, and barbed, black bristles, which grow singly from
small warts. Early in May it makes its cocoon, which is very
thin and silky ; and twenty days afterwards is transformed to a
moth.

By far the most elegant species is the De'iopeia bella, the beau-
tiful Dei'opeiaf. This moth has naked bristle-formed antennae;
its fore-wings are deep yellow, crossed by about six white bands,
on each of which is a row of black dots ; the hind-wings are
scarlet red, with an irregular border of black behind ; the body is
white, and the thorax is dotted with black. It expands from one
and a half to one inch and three quarters. Its time of appearance
here is from the middle of July till the beginning of September.
The caterpillar is unknown to me ; but Drury states that he was
informed it was of the same color as the fore-wings of the moth,
(that is yellow and white dotted with black,) and that it feeds
upon the blue lupines J. The European De'iopeid pulchella,
which is very much like our species, feeds, in the caterpillar

* This moth has all the essential characters of the European Gnophria rubri-
collis, an insect closely resembling in its colors the Procris Americana. The name
of the genus is derived from a Greek word signifying dusky, in allusion to the
dark colors of the insects.

t This is the name of the fairest of fourteen nymphs, who attended upon Juno,
mentioned by Virgil in these lines ;

" Sunt mihi bis septem praestanti corpore Nymplije,
Quarum, qure forma pulcherrima, Deiopeiam
Connubio jungam stabili, propriamque dicabo." ^Eneid, I., 71 to 73.

t Drury 's Illustrations, I., p. 52. pi. 24, fig. 3.

31

242 INSECTS OF MASSACHUSETTS.

state, on the leaves of the mouse-ear, Myosotis arvensis and pa-
lustris ; and it is probable that ours may be found on plants of the
same kind here.

Some of the large and richly colored Lithosians resemble, in
many respects, the insects in the next family, called, by the
French, chcloniaires, or tortoise-shell, and, by the English, tiger
and ermine moths. The caterpillars of most of these tiger-moths
are thickly covered with hairs, whence they have received the
name of woolly bears, and the family, including them, that of
ArctiaDjE, or Arctians, from the Greek word for bear. The
Arctians, or tiger-moths, have shorter and thicker feelers than the
Lithosians; their tongue is also for the most part very short, not
extending, when unrolled, much beyond the head ; their antennae,
with few exceptions, are doubly feathered on the under-side ; but
the feathering is rather narrow, and is hardly visible in the females ;
their wings are not crossed on the top of the back*, but are roofed
or slope downwards on each side of the body, when at rest ; the
thorax is thick, and the abdomen is short and plump, and gener-
ally ornamented with rows of black spots. Their fore-wings are
often variegated with dark colored spots on a light ground, or light-
colored veins on a dark ground; and the hind -wings are frequently
red, orange, or yellow, spotted with black or blue. They fly
only in the night. Their caterpillars are covered with coarse
hairs, spreading out on all sides like the bristles of a bottle-brush,
and growing in clusters or tufts from little warts regularly ar-
ranged in transverse rows on the surface of the body. They run
very fast, and when handled roll themselves up almost into the
shape of a ball. Many of them are very destructive to vegeta-
tion, as, for example, the salt-marsh caterpillar, the yellow bear-
caterpillar of our gardens, and the fall web-caterpillar. When about
to transform, they creep into the chinks of walls and fences, or
hide themselves under stones and fallen leaves, where they en-
close themselves in rough oval cocoons, made of hairs, plucked
from their own bodies, interwoven with a few silken threads.
The chrysalis is smooth, and not hairy, and its joints are movable.

* To tins character there is an exception in the Lophocampa tesscllaris, the
wings of which are closed like those o£ Lithosia quadra.

LEPIDOPTERA. 243

Some of the slender-bodied Arctians, with bristle-formed an-
tennae, which are not distinctly feathered in either sex, and having
the feelers slender, and the tongue longer than the others, come
so near to the Lithosians that naturalists arrange them sometimes
among the latter, and sometimes among the Arctians. They be-
long to Latreille's genus Callimorpha* (meaning beautiful form),
one species of which inhabits Massachusetts, and is called Calli-
morpha militarise the soldier-moth, in my Catalogue. Its fore-
wings expand about two inches, are white, almost entirely bor-
dered with brown, with an oblique band of the same color from
the inner margin to the tip ; and the brown border on the front
margin generally has two short angular projections extending
backwards on the surface of the wing. The hind-wings are white,
and without spots. The body is white ; the head, collar, and
thighs buff-yellow ; and a longitudinal brown stripe runs along the
top of the back from the collar to the tail. This is a very vari-
able moth ; the brown markings on the fore-wings being some-
times very much reduced in extent, and sometimes, on the con-
trary, they run together so much that the wings appear to be
brown, with five large white spots. This latter variety is named
Callimorpha Lexontei, by Dr. Boisduval. The caterpillar is un-
known to me. The caterpillars of the Callimorphas are more
sparingly clothed with hairs than the other Arctians ; and they are
generally dark colored with longitudinal yellow stripes. They
feed on various herbaceous and shrubby plants, and conceal
themselves in the daytime under leaves or stones.

Most of the other tiger and ermine moths of Massachusetts may
be arranged under the general name of Arctiaf. The first of

* The French naturalists, whom I have followed, include in this genus the
European moths called Hera, Dominula, Donna, Jucobaa, &c.

Closely allied to the Hera, and still more so to the militaris, is a large and fine
species, which inhabits the Southern States, and which I have named Callimorpha
Carolina. It differs from the militaris in being larger, measuring across the
wings two inches and a quarter, or more, and in having the hind-wings of a deep
Indian-yellow or ochre color, with one or two black spots near the hind margin ;
the abdomen also is ochre-yellow. It is possible that this may be the Clymene of
Esper and Ochsenheimer, or the Colona of Hubner, whose works I have not seen.

t Chelonia of the French, Eyprcpia of the Germans (from a Greek word signi-
fying preeminent beauty), and subdivided, by the English entomologists, into
many genera, founded on minute differences in the length of the joints of the feel-
ers, &c, which it is unnecessary to regard in this treatise.

244 INSECTS OF MASSACHUSETTS.

them would probably be placed by Mr. Kirby in Callimorpha*,
from which, however, they differ in their shorter and more robust
antennae, always very distinctly feathered, at least in the males.
They are distinguished from the rest by having two black spots
on the collar, and three short black stripes on the thorax. The
largest and the most rare of these moths is the Jlrctia virgo, or
virgin tiger-moth. On account of the peculiarly strong and disa-
greeable odor which it gives out, it might, with greater propriety,
have been named the stinking tiger-moth. It is a very beautiful
insect. Its fore-wings expand from two inches to two and a half,
are flesh-red, fading to reddish buff, and covered with many stripes
and lance-shaped spots of black ; the hind-wings are vermilion-
red, with seven or eight large black blotches ; the under-side of
the body is black, the upper side of the abdomen vermilion-red,
with a row of black spots close together along the top of the back.
The caterpillar is brown, and pretty thickly covered with tufts of
brown hairs. The moth appears here in the latter part of July
and August.

The Jirge tiger-moth resembles the preceding, but is smaller,
and not so highly colored, and the black markings on the fore-
wings are smaller, and separated from each other by wider spaces.
Its general tint is a light flesh-color, fading to nankin ; the fore-
wings are marked with streaks and small triangular spots of black ;
the hind-wings are generally deeper colored than the fore-wings,
and have from five to seven or eight black spots of different sizes
upon them ; there are two black spots on the collar, and three on
the thorax, as in the preceding species; the abdomen is of the
color of the hind-wings, with a longitudinal row of black dots on
the top, another on each side, and two rows, of larger size, be-
neath. The wings expand from one inch and three quarters to
two inches. I have taken this moth from the twentieth of May
till the middle of July. The caterpillar appears here sdmetimes
in large swarms, in the month of October, having then become
fully grown, measuring about one inch and a half in length, and

* Mr. Kirby's Callimorpha Parthenicc and Virguncuhi closely resemble the first
two or three species which follow. The European pudica, and probably also the
Jfemeophila pluntaginis belong to the same group. See Fauna Boreali Americana,
Vol. IV., p. 304,305, pi. 4, fig. G.

LEPIDOPTERA. 245

being at this time in search of proper winter quarters wherein to
make their cocoons. They are of a dark greenish gray color, but
appear almost black from the black spots with which they are
thickly covered ; there are three longitudinal stripes of flesh white
on the back, and a row of kidney-shaped spots of the same color
on each side of the body. The warts are dark gray, and each
one produces a thin cluster of spreading blackish hairs. They eat
the leaves of plantain and of other herbaceous plants, and it is
stated * that they sometimes make great devastation among young
Indian corn in the Southern States.

A much more abundant species in Massachusetts is that which
has been called the harnessed moth, Jlrctia yhalerata of my Cata-
logue. It makes its appearance from the end of May to the mid-
dle of August, and probably breeds throughout the whole sum-
mer. It is of a pale buff or nankin color ; the hind-wings next to
the body and the sides of the body are reddish ; on the fore-wings
are two longitudinal black stripes and four triangular black spots,
the latter placed near the tip ; and these stripes and spots are ar-
ranged so that the buff-colored spaces between them somewhat
resemble horse-harness ; the hind-wings have several black spots
near the margin ; there are two dots on the collar, three stripes
on the thorax, and a stripe along the top of the back, of a black
color ; the under-side of the body and the legs are also black.
The wings expand from one inch and a half, to one inch and
three quarters. The caterpillar is not yet known to me. This
moth, in many respects, resembles one called Phyllira f by
Drury, rarely found here, but abundant in the Southern States ;
the fore-wings of which are black, with one longitudinal line, two
transverse lines, and near the tip two zigzag lines forming a W, of
a buff color.

The feelers and tongue of the foregoing moths, though short,
are longer than in the following species, which have these parts,
as well as the head, smaller and more covered with hairs. Some
of the latter may be said to occupy the centre or chief place
among the Arctians, exceeding all the rest in the breadth of their
wings, the thickness of their bodies, and the richness of their

* Abbot's Insects of Georgia, p. 125, pi. 63. t More properly Fhilyra.

246 INSECTS OF MASSACHUSETTS.

colors. Among these is the great American tiger-moth, Arctia
Americana, an undescribed species, which some of the French
entomologists* have supposed to be the same as the great tiger,
Arctia Caja, of Europe. Of this fine insect I have a specimen,
which was presented to me by Mr. Edward Doubleday, who ob-
tained it, with several others, near Trenton-falls in New York. It
has not yet been discovered in Massachusetts, but will probably
be found in the western part of the State. The fore-wings of the
Arctia Americana expand two inches and a half or more ; they
are of a brown color, with several spots and broad winding lines
of white, dividing the brown surface into a number of large irreg-
ular blotches ; the hind-wings are ochre-yellow, with five or six
round blue-black spots, three of them larger than the rest ; the
thorax is brown and woolly ; the collar edged with white before
and with crimson behind ; the outer edges of the shoulder-covers
are white ; the abdomen is ochre-yellow, with four black spots on
the middle of the back ; the thighs and fore-legs are red, and the
feet dark brown. This moth closely resembles the European
Caja, and especially some of its varieties, from all of which, how-
ever, it is essentially distinguished by the white edging of the
collar and shoulder-covers, and the absence of black lines on the
sides of the body. It is highly probable that specimens may oc-
cur with orange-colored or red hind-wings like the Caja, but I
have not seen any such. The caterpillar of our species probably
resembles that of the Caja, which is dark chestnut-brown or
black, clothed with spreading bunches of hairs, of a foxy red
color on the forepart and sides of the body, and black on the
back : but the clusters of hairs, though thick, are not so close as
to conceal the breathing holes, which form a distinct row of pearly
white spots on each side of the body. These caterpillars eat the
leaves of various kinds of garden plants, without much discrimina-
tion, feeding together in considerable numbers on the same plant
when young, but scattering as they grow older.

The largest of the American Arctias is the Scribonia, or great
white leopard-moth, which varies in expansion from two and a
half to three and a half inches, the females being invariably much

* Godart. Lepidopt. de France, T. IV., p. 303.

LEPIDOPTERA. 247

larger than the males. It is of a white color; the fore-wings and
thorax are ornamented with many small oval black rings, the
hind-wings are more or less spotted with black ; and the abdomen
is yellow, with rows of large blue-black spots on the back and
sides. The caterpillar, as represented by Mr. Abbot*, is the
counterpart of that of the Hebe of Europe, being chestnut-brown,
with transverse red bands between the rings ; and is clothed with
clusters of dark brown hairs. It is said to eat the leaves of the
wild sun-flower, and of various other plants. It has been confi-
dently reported to me that the great leopard moth has been seen
in Brookline ; but it must be very rare here, for I have never
heard of its being taken in any part of New England. Specimens
of this fine insect would be a very acceptable addition to any col-
lection of such objects.

Of all the hairy caterpillars frequenting our gardens, there are
none so common and troublesome as that which I have called the
yellow bear. Like most of its genus it is a very general feeder,
devouring almost all kinds of herbaceous plants, with equal relish,
from the broad-leaved plantain at the door-side, the peas, beans,
and even the flowers of the garden, and the corn and coarse
grasses of the fields, to the leaves of the vine, the currant, and the
gooseberry, which it does not refuse when pressed by hunger.
This kind of caterpillar varies very much in its colors ; it is per-
haps most often of a pale yellow or straw color, with a black line
along each side of the body, and a transverse line of the same
color between each of the segments or rings, and it is covered
with long pale yellow hairs. Others are often seen of a rusty or
brownish yellow color, with the same black lines on the sides and
between the rings, and they are clothed with foxy red or light
brown hairs. The head and ends of the feet are ochre-yellow,
and the under-side of the body is blackish in all the varieties.
They are to be found of different ages and sizes from the first of
June till October. When fully grown they are about two inches
long, and then creep into some convenient place of shelter, make
their cocoons, in which they remain in the chrysalis state during
the winter, and are changed to moths in the months of May or

Insects of Georgia, p. 137, pi. G9.

248 INSECTS OF MASSACHUSETTS.

June following. Some of the first broods of these caterpillars ap-
pear to come to their growth early in summer, and are trans-
formed to moths by the end of July or the beginning of August, at
which time I have repeatedly taken them in the winged state ; but
the greater part pass through their last change in June. The
moth is familiarly known by the name of the white miller, and is
often seen about houses. Its scientific name is Arctia Virginica,
and, as it nearly resembles the insects commonly called ermine-
moths * in England, we may give to it the name of the Virginia
ermine-moth. It is white, with a black point on the middle of
the fore-wings, and two black dots on the hind-wings, one on the
middle and the other near the posterior angle, much more distinct
on the under than on the upper side ; there is a row of black dots
on the top of the back, another on each side, and between these a
longitudinal deep yellow stripe ; the hips and thighs of the fore-
legs are also ochre-yellow. It expands from one inch and a half
to two inches. Having been much troubled with the voracious
yellow bears in the little patch, (I cannot call it a garden,) where
a few beans, and other vegetables, together with some flowers,
were cultivated, I required my children to pick off the caterpillars
from day to day and crush them, and taught them not to spare
" the pretty white millers," which they frequently found on the
fences, or on the plants, laying their golden yellow eggs, telling
them that, with every female which they should kill, the eggs,
from which hundreds of yellow bears would have hatched, would
be destroyed. In some parts of France, and in Belgium, the
people are required by law to echeniller, or uncaterpillar, their
gardens and orchards, and are punished by fine if they neglect the
duty. Although we have not yet become so prudent and public
spirited as to enact similar regulations, we might find it for our
advantage to offer a bounty for the destruction of caterpillars ; and
though we should pay for them by the quart, as we do for berries,
we should be gainers in the end ; while the children, whose idle
hours were occupied in the picking of them, would find this a
profitable employment.

The salt-marsh caterpillar, an insect by far too well known on

* It is most like the rfrcliu Urtica, but is of a much purer white color.

LEPIDOPTERA. 249

our sea-board, and now getting to be common in the interior of
the State, whither it has probably been introduced, while under
the chrysalis form, with the salt hay annually carried from the
coast by our inland farmers, closely resembles the yellow bear in
some of its varieties. The history of this insect forms the sub-
ject of a communication made by me to the " Agricultural So-
ciety of Massachusetts," in the year 1823, and printed in the
seventh volume of the " Massachusetts Agricultural Repository
and Journal," with figures representing the insect in its different
stages. At various times and intervals since the beginning of the
present century, and probably before it also, the salt marshes
about Boston have been overrun and laid waste by swarms of
caterpillars. These appear towards the end of June, and grow
rapidly from that time till the first of August. During this month
they come to their full size, and begin to run, as the phrase is, or
retreat from the marshes, and disperse through the adjacent up-
lands, often committing very extensive ravages in their progress.
Corn-fields, gardens, and even the rank weeds by the way-side
afford them temporary nourishment while wandering in search of
a place of security from the tide and weather. They conceal
themselves in walls, under stones, in hay-stacks and mows, in
wood-piles, and in any other places in their way, which will afford
them the proper degree of shelter during the winter. Here they
make their coarse hairy cocoons, and change to chrysalids, in
which form they remain till the following summer, and are trans-
formed to moths in the month of June. In those cases where,
from any cause, the caterpillars, when arrived at maturity, have
been unable to leave the marshes, they conceal themselves be-
neath the stubble, and there make their cocoons. Such, for the
most part, is the course and duration of the lives of these insects
in Massachusetts ; but in the Middle and Southern States two
broods are brought to perfection annually; and even here some of
them run through their course sooner, and produce a second
brood of caterpillars in the same season ; for I have obtained the
moths between the fifteenth and twentieth of May, and again be-
tween the first and the tenth of August. Those which were dis-
closed in May passed the winter in the chrysalis form, while the
moths which appeared in August must have been produced from
32

250 INSECTS OF MASSACHUSETTS.

caterpillars that had come to their growth, and gone through all
their transformations during the same summer. This, however,
in Massachusetts, is not a common occurrence ; for by far the
greater part of these insects appear at one time, and require a
year to complete their several changes. The full-grown cater-
pillar measures one inch and three quarters or more in length. It
is clothed with long hairs, which are sometimes black and- some-
times brown on the back and forepart of the body, and of a
lighter brown color on the sides. The hairs, like those of the
other Arctias, grow in spreading clusters from warts, which are of
a yellowish color in this species. The body, when stripped of
the hairs, is yellow, shaded at the sides with black, and there is a
blackish line extending along the top of the back. The breathing-
holes are white, and very distinct even through the hairs. These
caterpillars, when feeding on the marshes, are sometimes over-
taken by the tide, and when escape becomes impossible, they roll
themselves up in a circular form, as is common with others of the
tribe, and abandon themselves to their fate. The hairs on their
bodies seem to have a repelling power, and prevent the water
from wetting their skins, so that they float on the surface, and are
often carried by the waves to distant places, where they are
thrown on shore, and left in winrows with the wash of the sea.
After a little time most of them recover from their half-drowned
condition, and begin their depredations anew. In this way these
insects seem to have spread from the places where they first ap-
peared to others at a considerable distance. From the marshes
about Cambridge they were once, it is said, driven in great num-
bers, by a high tide and strong wind, upon Boston neck, near to
Roxbury line. Thence they seem to have migrated to the
eastern side of the neck, and, following the marshes to South
Boston and Dorchester, they have spread in the course of time to
those which border upon Neponset river and Quincy. How far
they have extended north of Boston I have not been able to
ascertain ; but I believe that they are occasionally found on all
the marshes of Chelsea, Saugus, and Lynn. Although these in-
sects do not seem ever entirely to have disappeared from places
where they have once established themselves, they do not prevail
pvery year in the same overwhelming swarms ; but their numbers

LEPIDOPTERA. 251

are increased or lessened at irregular periods, from causes which
are not well understood. These caterpillars are produced from
eggs, which are laid by the moths on the grass of the marshes
about the middle of June, and are hatched in seven or eight days
afterwards, and the number of eggs deposited by a single female
is, on an average, about eight hundred. The moths themselves
vary in color. In the males, the thorax and upper side of the
fore-wings are generally white, the latter spotted with black ; the
hind-wings and abdomen, except the tail, deep ochre-yellow, the
former with a few black spots near the hind margin, and the ab-
domen with a row of six black spots on the top of the back, two
rows on the sides, and one on the belly ; the under-side of all the
wings and the thighs are deep yellow. It expands from one inch
and seven eighths to two inches and a quarter. The female dif-
fers from the male either in having the hind-wings white, instead
of ochre-yellow, or in having all the wings ashen gray with the
usual black spots. It expands two inches and three eighths or
more. Sometimes, though rarely, male moths occur with the
fore-wings ash-colored or dusky. Professor Peck called this
moth pseuderminea, that is, false ermine, and this name was
adopted by me in my communication to the " Agricultural So-
ciety." Professor Peck's name, however, cannot be retained,
inasmuch as the insect had been previously named and described.
Drury, the first describer of the moth, called the male Caprotina,
and the female Acrea*, supposing them to be different species ;
but the latter name alone has been retained for this species by
most naturalists.

In order to lessen the ravages of the salt-marsh caterpillars, and
to secure a fair crop of hay when these insects abound, the
marshes should be mowed early in July, at which time the cater-
pillars are small and feeble, and being unable to wander far, will
die before the crop is gathered in. In defence of early mowing,
it may be said that it is the only way by which the grass may be
saved in those meadows where the caterpillars have multiplied to
any extent ; and, if the practice is followed generally, and con-
tinued during several years in succession, it will do much towards

* The proper orthography is Acr<Ka.

252 INSECTS OF MASSACHUSETTS.

exterminating these destructive insects. By the practice of late
mowing, where the caterpillars abound, a great loss in the crop
will be sustained, immense numbers of caterpillars and grasshop-
pers will be left to grow to maturity and disperse upon the up-
lands, by which means the evil will go on increasing from year to
year ; or they will be brought in with the hay to perish in our
barns and stacks, where their dead bodies will prove offensive to
the cattle, and occasion a waste of fodder. To get rid of "the
old fog" or stubble, which becomes much thicker and longer in
consequence of early mowing, the marshes should be burnt over
in March. The roots of the grass will not be injured by burning
the stubble, on the contrary they will be fertilized by the ashes ;
while great numbers of young grasshoppers, cocoons of cater-
pillars, and various kinds of destructive insects, with their eggs,
concealed in the stubble, will be destroyed by the fire. In the
Province of New Brunswick, the benefit arising from burning the
stubble has long been proved ; and this practice is getting into
favor here.

During the autumn, there may be seen in our gardens and fields,
and even by the way-side, a kind of caterpillar whose peculiar ap-
pearance must frequently have excited attention. It is very
thickly clothed with hairs, which are stiff, short, and perfectly
even at the ends, like the bristles of a brush, as if they had all
been shorn off with shears to the same length. The hairs on the
first four and last two rings are black ; and those on the six inter-
mediate rings of the body are tan-red. The head and body of the
caterpillar are also black. When one of these insects is taken up,
it immediately rolls itself into a ball, like a hedge-hog, and, owing
to its form, and to the elasticity of the diverging hairs with which
it is covered, it readily slides from the fingers and hand of its
captor. It eats the leaves of clover, dandelion, narrow-leaved
plantain, and of various other herbaceous plants, and, on the ap-
proach of winter, creeps under stones, rails, or boards on the
ground, where it remains in a half torpid state till spring. In
April or May it makes an oval blackish cocoon, composed chiefly
of the hairs of its body, and comes forth in the moth state in June
or July. My specimens remained in the chrysalis form five

LEPIDOPTERA. 253

weeks ; but Mr. Abbot* states that a caterpillar of this kind,
which made its cocoon in Georgia on the twenty-fourth of June,
was transformed to a moth on the fifth of July, having remained
only eleven days in the chrysalis state. The moth is the Arctia
Isabella, or Isabella tiger-moth, and it differs essentially from
those which have been described, in the antennae, which are not
feathered, but are merely covered on the under-side with a few
fine and short hairs, and even these are found only in the males.
Its color is a dull grayish tawny yellow ; there are a few black
dots on the wings, and the hinder pair are frequently tinged with
orange-red ; on the top of the back is a row of about six black
dots, and on each side of the body a similar row of dots. The
wings expand from two inches to two inches and three eighths.
The specific name, which was first given to this moth by Sir
James Edward Smith, is expressive of its peculiar shade of
yellow.

We have a much smaller tiger-moth, with naked antennas like
those of the Isabella. Its wings are so thinly covered with
scales as to be almost transparent. It has not yet been described,
and it may be called the ruddle tiger-moth, Arctia rubricosa. Its
fore-wings are reddish brown, with a small black spot near the
middle of each ; its hind-wings are dusky, becoming blacker be-
hind (more rarely red, with a broad blackish border behind), with
two black dots near the middle, the inner margin next to the body,
and the fringe, of a red color ; the thorax is reddish brown ; and
the abdomen is cinnabar-red, with a row of black dots on the top,
and another row on each side. It expands about one inch and
one quarter. This moth is rare ; and it appears here in July and
August. It closely resembles the ruby tiger-moth, Arctia fuligi-
nosa, of Europe, the wings of which are not so transparent, and
have two black dots on each of them, with a distinct row of larger
black spots around the outer margin of the hind pair. The
caterpillar of our moth is unknown to me ; it will probably be
found to resemble that of the ruby-tiger, which is blackish, and
thickly covered with reddish brown or reddish gray hairs. It eats
the leaves of plantain, dock, and of various other herbaceous

* Insects of Georgia, page 131, plate 6G.

254 INSECTS OF MASSACHUSETTS.

plants, grows to the length of one inch and three eighths, passes
the winter concealed beneath stones, or in the crevices of walls,
and makes its cocoon in the spring.

The caterpillars of all the foregoing Arctians live almost en-
tirely upon herbaceous plants ; those which follow (with one
exception only), devour the leaves of trees. Of the latter, the
most common and destructive are the little caterpillars known by
the name of fall web-worms, whose large webs, sometimes ex-
tending over entire branches with their leaves, may be seen on
our native elms, and also on apple and other fruit trees, in the lat-
ter part of summer. The eggs, from which these caterpillars
proceed, are laid by the parent moth in a cluster upon a leaf near
the extremity of a branch ; they are hatched from the last of June
till the middle of August, some broods being early and others
late, and the young caterpillars immediately begin to provide a
shelter for themselves, by covering the upper side of the leaf with
a web, which is the result of the united labors of the whole brood.
They feed in company beneath this web, devouring only the up-
per skin and pulpy portion of the leaf, leaving the veins and lower
skin of the leaf untouched. As they increase in size, they enlarge
their web, carrying it over the next lower leaves, all the upper
and pulpy parts of which are eaten in the same way, and thus they
continue to work downwards, till finally the web covers a large
portion of the branch, with its dry, brown, and filmy foliage, re-
duced to this unseemly condition by these little spoilers. These
caterpillars, when fully grown, measure rather more than one inch
in length ; their bodies are more slender than those of the other
Arctians, and are very thinly clothed with hairs of a grayish color,
intermingled with a few which are black. The general color of
the body is greenish yellow dotted with black ; there is a broad
blackish stripe along the top of the back, and a bright yellow
stripe on each side. The warts, from which the thin bundles of
spreading, silky hairs proceed, are black on the back, and rust-
yellow or orange on the sides. The head and feet are black. I
have not observed the exact length of time required by these
insects to come to maturity; but towards the end of August and
during the month of September they leave the trees, disperse,
and wander about, eating such plants as happen to lie in their

LEPIDOPTERA. 255

course, till they have found suitable places of shelter and conceal-
ment, where they make their thin and almost transparent cocoons,
composed of a slight web of silk intermingled with a few hairs.
They remain in the cocoons in the chrysalis state through the
winter, and are transformed to moths in the months of June and
July. These moths are white, and without spots ; the fore-
thighs are tawny-yellow, and the feet blackish. Their wings ex-
pand from one inch and a quarter to one inch and three eighths.
Their antennae and feelers do not differ essentially from those of
the majority of the Arctians, the former in the males being
doubly feathered beneath, and those of the females having two rows
of minute teeth on the under-side. This species was first
described by me in the seventh volume of the " New England
Farmer," page 33, where I gave to it the name of Arctia textor,
the weaver, from the well-known habits of its caterpillar. Should
it be found expedient to remove it from the genus Arctia, I pro-
pose to call the genus, which shall include it, Hyphantria, a
Greek name for weaver, and place in the same genus the many-
spotted ermine-moth, Jlrctia punctatissima of Sir J. E. Smith,
which is found in the Southern States, and agrees with our weaver
in habits. From the foregoing account of the habits and trans-
formations of the fall web- worm, or Hyphantria tea tor, it is evi-
dent that the only time in which we can attempt to exterminate
these destructive insects with any prospect of success, is when
they are young and just beginning to make their webs on the
trees. So soon, then, as the webs begin to appear on the ex-
tremities of the branches, they should be stripped off, with the few
leaves which they cover, and the caterpillars contained therein,
at one grasp, and should be crushed under foot.

There are many kinds of hairy caterpillars in Massachusetts,
differing remarkably from those of the other Arctians, and re-
sembling in some respects those belonging to the next tribe, with
which they appear to connect the true Arctians. The first of
these are little party-colored tufted caterpillars, which may be
found in great plenty on the common milk-weed, Jlsclrjrias Syriaca,
during the latter part of July and the whole of August. Although
the plants on which these insects live are generally looked upon
as weeds, and cumberers of the soil, yet the insects themselves

256 INSECTS OF MASSACHUSETTS.

are deserving of notice, on account of their singularity, and the
place that they fill in the order to which they belong. They keep
together in companies, side by side, beneath the leaves, their
heads all turned towards the edge of the leaf while they are eating,
and when at rest they arch up the forepart of the body and bend
down the head, which is then completely concealed by long over-
hanging tufts of hairs, and if disturbed they jerk their heads and
bodies in a very odd way. These harlequin caterpillars have
sixteen legs, which, with the head, are black. Their bodies are
black also, with a whitish line on each side, and are thickly cov-
ered with short tufts of hairs proceeding from little warts. Along
the top of the back is a row of short black tufts, and on each side,
from the fifth to the tenth ring inclusive, are alternate tufts of
orange and of yellow hairs, curving upwards so as nearly to con-
ceal the black tufts between them ; below these along the sides of
the body is a row of horizontal black tufts ; on the first and sec-
ond rings are four long pencil-like black tufts extending over the
head, on each side of the third ring is a similar black pencil, and
two, which are white, placed in the same manner on the sides of
the fourth and of the tenth rings. About the last of August, and
during the month of September, these caterpillars leave the milk-
weed, disperse, conceal themselves, and make their cocoons,
which mostly consist of hairs. The chrysalis is short, almost
egg-shaped, being quite blunt and rounded at the hind end, and is
covered with little punctures like those on the head of a thimble,
only much smaller. The chrysalids are transformed to moths be-
tween the middle of June and the beginning of July. These
moths, though not so slender as the Callimorphas, arc not so
thick and robust as the Arctias, their antennas resemble those of
the latter, but are rather longer, the feelers are also longer, and
spread apart from each other, and the tongue is but little longer
than the head, when unrolled. The wings are rather long, thin,
and delicate, of a bluish gray color, paler on the front edge, and
without spots; the head, thorax, under-side of the body, and the
legs are also gray ; the neck is cream-colored ; the top of the ab-
domen bright Indian-yellow, with a row of black spots, and two
rows on each side. Jt expands from one inch and three quarters
to neatly two inches. This moth was figured and described

LEPIDOPTERA. 257

many years ago by Drury, who named it Egle. Though marked
and colored like some of the Arctias (for example, the luclifera of
Europe), it cannot with propriety be included in the same genus,
and therefore I have proposed to call it Euchcttes Egle ; the first
name, signifying fine-haired, or having a flowing mane, is given to
it on account of the long tufts of hairs overhanging the forepart of
the caterpillar like a mane. This moth, in some of its characters,
approaches to the Lithosians, but seems, in others, too near to
the Arctians to be removed from the latter tribe, and it is evi-
dently, in the caterpillar state, nearly allied to the following
insects, which are undoubtedly Arctians, but lead apparently to
the Liparians. If our Arctians are grouped in a circle, with the
larger kinds, such as the great American tiger and leopard moths
in the middle, and the others arranged around them, then will
these species, which are here described last, be brought round to
the Callimorphas with which the series began, and thus a natural
order of succession will be preserved.

During the months of August and September, there may be
seen on the hickory, and frequently also on the elm and ash,
troops of caterpillars, covered with short spreading tufts of white
hairs, with a row of eight black tufts on the back, and two, long,
slender, black pencils on the fourth and on the tenth ring. The
tufts along the top of the back converge on each side, so as to
form a kind of ridge or crest ; and the warts, from which these
tufts proceed, are oblong oval and transverse, while the other
warts on the body are round. The hairs on the forepart of the
body are much longer than the rest, and hang over the head ; the
others are short, as if sheared off, and spreading. The head,
feet, and belly, are black ; the upper side of the body is white,
sprinkled with black dots, and with black transverse lines between
the rings. These neat and pretty caterpillars, when young, feed
in company on the leaves ; while not engaged in eating, they bend
down the head and bring over it the long hairs on the forepart of
the body ; and, if disturbed or handled, they readily roll up like
the other Arctians. When fully grown, they are nearly one inch
and a half long. They leave the trees in the latter part of Sep-
tember, secrete themselves under stones, and in the chinks of
walls, and make their cocoons, which are oval, thin, and hairy, like
33

258 INSECTS OF MASSACHUSETTS.

those of the other Arctians. The chrysalis is short, thick, and
rather blunt, but not rounded at the hinder end, and not downy.
The moths, which come out of the cocoons during the month of
June, are of a very light ochre-yellow color; the fore-wings are
long, rather narrow, and almost pointed, are thickly and finely
sprinkled with little brown dots, and have two oblique brownish
streaks passing backwards from the front edge, with three rows of
white semitransparent spots parallel to the outer hind margin ; the
hind-wings are very thin, semitransparent, and without spots ; and
the shoulder-covers are edged within with light brown. They
expand from one inch and seven eighths to two inches and a quar-
ter or more. The wings are roofed when at rest ; the antennae
are long, with a double, narrow, feathery edging, in the males, and
a double row of short, slender teeth on the under-side, in the
females ; the feelers are longer than in the other Arctians, and
not at all hairy; and the tongue is short, but spirally curled.
This kind of moth does not appear to have been described before,
and it cannot be placed in any of the modern genera belonging to
the Arctians; for this reason I propose to call it Lophocampa
Carijct ; the first name meaning crested caterpillar, and the sec-
ond being the scientific name of the hickory, on which it lives.
In England, the moths, that come from caterpillars having long
pencils and tufts on their backs, are called tussock-moths ; we
may name the one under consideration the hickory tussock-moth.
In August and September I have seen on the black walnut, the
butternut, the ash, and even on the oak, caterpillars exactly re-
sembling the foregoing in shape, but differing in color, being cov-
ered, when young, with brownish yellow tufts, of a darker color
on the ridge of the back, and having four long white, and two
black pencils extending over the head from the second ring, and
two black pencils on the eleventh ring ; when they are fully grown
they are covered with ash-colored tufts, those on the ridge black-
ish ; the head is black, the body black or greenish black above,
and whitish beneath, and the legs are rust yellow. This is evi-
dent 1)' a different species or kind from the hickory tussock, being
differently colored, and having the two hindmost pencils placed on
the eleventh and not on the tenth ring. I. have not vet succeeded

LEPIDOPTERA. 259

in keeping these caterpillars alive until they had finished their
transformations.

In my collection are specimens of a moth closely resembling
the hickory tussock in every thing except size and color. It may
be named Lophocampa maculata, the spotted tussock-moth. It
is of a light ochre-yellow color, with large irregular light brown
spots on the fore-wings, arranged almost in transverse bands. It
expands nearly one inch and three quarters. The caterpillar, as
far as I can judge from a shrivelled specimen, was covered with
whitish tufts forming a crest on the back, in which were situated
eight black tufts ; there was a black pencil on each side of the
fourth and of the tenth ring, and a quantity of long white hairs
overhanging the head and the hinder extremity ; the head was
black ; but the color of the body cannot be ascertained.

A fourth kind of Lophocampa, or crested caterpillar, remains to
be described. It is very common, throughout the United States,
on the button-wood or sycamore, upon which it may be seen in
great numbers in July and August. The tufts on these cater-
pillars are light yellow or straw-colored, the crest being very little
darker ; on the second and third rings are two orange-colored
pencils, which are stretched over the head when the insect is at
rest, and before these are several long tufts of white hairs ; on
each side of the third ring is a white pencil, and there are two
pencils, of the same color, directed backwards, on the eleventh
ring. The body is yellowish white, with dusky warts, and the
head is brownish yellow. These caterpillars leave the trees
towards the end of August, and conceal themselves in crevices of
fences, and under stones, and make their cocoons, which resemble
those of the hickory tussock ; and from the middle of June to the
end of July the moths come forth. These moths are faintly
tinged with ochre-yellow; their long, narrow, delicate, and semi-
transparent wings lie almost flatly on the top of the back ; the up-
per pair are checkered with dusky spots, arranged so as to form
five irregular transverse bands ; the hind edge of the collar, and
the inner edges of the shoulder-covers are greenish blue, and be-
tween the latter are two short and narrow deep yellow stripes ;
the upper side of the abdomen and of the legs are deep ochre-yel-
low. The wings expand about two inches. The name of this

260 INSECTS OF MASSACHUSETTS.

beautiful and delicate moth is Lophocampa tessellaris, the check-
ered tussock-moth. It is figured and described in Smith and
Abbot's " Insects of Georgia," where, however, the caterpillar
is not correctly represented. Mr. Abbot's figure of the cater-
pillar has been copied in the illustrations accompanying Cuvier's
last edition of the " Rtgne Animal," and is there referred to
Latreille's genus Sericaria. This includes, besides various other
insects having no resemblance to the foregoing, the true tussock
caterpillars belonging to the next group ; but from these the cater-
pillars of all the kinds of Lophocampa differ essentially in being
much more hairy, in not having the warts on the sides of the first
ring longer than the rest, and in being destitute of the little retrac-
tile vesicles on the top of the ninth and tenth rings ; moreover their
chrysalids are not covered with short hairs in clusters or ridges.
On the other hand they agree with the Arctians in being covered
with warts and spreading bunches of hairs, in rolling up like a ball
when handled, and in the form and structure of their cocoons. The
position of the wings of the checkered tussock-moth, when at rest,
is almost exactly like that of some of the Lithosians ; but the
other kinds of Lophocampa do not cross the inner edges of the
wings ; and the bodies of all of them are much thicker and more
robust than those of the Lithosians.

The third group or family of Bombyces may be called Lipa-
rians (LiPARiDiE*). Of the moths bearing this name, the females
have remarkably thick bodies, and are sometimes destitute of
wings, while the males are generally slender, and have rather
broad wings. Their feelers are very hairy, and for the most part
are rather longer than those of the Arctians. Their tongues are
very short, and invisible or concealed. Their antenna? are short,
bent like a bow, and doubly feathered on the under-side, the
feathering of those of the males being very wide, and of the
females mostly narrow. When at rest, these moths stretch out
their hairy fore-legs before their bodies, and keep their upper and
lower wings together over their backs, sloping a very little at the

* From Liparis, more properly Liparus, the name of a genus of moths, belong-
ing to this group. This name means fat or gros3, and was probably assigned to
the genus on account of the thickness of the bodies of some of these moths.

LEPIDOPTERA. 261

sides, and covering the abdomen like a low or flattened roof.
The females, even of those kinds that are provided with wings,
are very sluggish and heavy in their motions, and seldom go far
from their cocoons ; the males frequently fly by day in search of
their mates. The caterpillars of most of the Liparians are half
naked, their thin hairs growing chiefly on the sides of their
bodies; the warts which furnish them being only six or eight* in
number on each ring ; and they have two little soft and reddish
warts (one on the top of the ninth, and the other on the tenth
ring), which can be drawn in and out at pleasure. Some of them
have four or five short and thick tufts, cut off square at the ends,
on the top of the back, two long and slender pencils of hairs ex-
tending forwards, like antennae, from the first ring, sometimes two
more pencils on the fifth ring, and a single pencil on the top of the
eleventh ring. The warts which produce these pencils are more
prominent or longer than the rest. These caterpillars are called
tussocks in England, from the tufts on their backs. They live
upon trees and shrubs, and, when at rest, they bend down the
head, and bring over it the long plume-like pencils of the first
ring. Their cocoons are large, thin, and flattened, and consist of
a soft kind of silk, intermixed with which are a few hairs. The
chrysalids are covered with down or short hairs, and end at the
tail with a long projecting point. In Europe there are many
kinds of Liparians, some of them at times exceedingly injurious
to vegetation, their caterpillars devouring the leaves of fruit-trees,
and not unfrequently extending their devastations to the hedges,
and even to the corn and grass f. There do not appear to be
many kinds in the United States, and they never swarm to the
same extent as in Europe.

During the months of July and August, there may be found on
apple-trees and rose-bushes, and sometimes on other trees and

* The Arctians have ten or more warts on each ring.

t These destructive kinds are the caterpillars of the brown-tailed moth (Par-
thesia auriflua), of the golden-tailed moth {Pnrthesia chrysorrhcca) , of the gipsey-
moth (Hypngymna dlspar), and of the black arches-moth (Psilura monacha). The
first of these abounded to such an extent in England, in the year 1782, that prayers
were ordered to be read in all the churches, to avert the destruction which was an-
ticipated from them.

262 INSECTS OF MASSACHUSETTS.

shrubs, little slender caterpillars of a bright yellow color, sparingly
clothed with long and fine yellow hairs on the sides of the body,
and having four short and thick brush-like yellowish tufts on the
back, that is on the fourth and three following rings, two long
black plumes or pencils extending forwards from the first ring,
and a single plume on the top of the eleventh ring. The head,
and the two little retractile warts on the ninth and tenth rings are
coral red ; there is a narrow black or brownish stripe along the
top of the back, and a wider dusky stripe on each side of the
body. These pretty caterpillars do not ordinarily herd together,
but sometimes our apple-trees are much infested by them, as was
the case in the summer of 1828. When they have done eating,
they spin their cocoons on the leaves, or on the branches or
trunks of the trees, or on fences in the vicinity. The chrysalis
is not only beset with little hairs or down, but has three oval clus-
ters of branny scales on the back. In about eleven days after the
change to the chrysalis is effected, the last transformation follows,
and the insects come forth in the adult state, the females wingless,
and the males with large ashen-gray wings, crossed by wavy
darker bands on the upper pair, on which, moreover, is a small
black spot near the tip, and a minute white crescent near the
outer hind angle. The body of the male is small and slender,
with a row of little tufts along the back, and the wings expand
one inch and three eighths. The females are of a lighter gray
color than the males, their bodies are very thick, and of an oblong
oval shape, and, though seemingly wingless, upon close examina-
tion two little scales, or stinted winglets, can be discovered on
each shoulder. These females lay their eggs upon the top of
their cocoons, and cover them with a large quantity of frothy mat-
ter, which on drying becomes white and brittle. Different broods
of these insects appear at various times in the course of the sum-
mer, but the greater number come to maturity and lay their eggs
in the latter part of August, and the beginning of September ; and
these eggs are not hatched till the following summer. The name
of this moth is Orgyia* leucostigma, the white-marked Orgy i a or

* This name is derived from a word which signifies to stretch out the hands,
and it is applied to t His kind of moth on account of its resting with the fore-legs

LEPIDOPTERA. 263

tussock-moth. It is to the eggs of this insect that the late Mr. B.
H. Ives, of Salem, alludes, in an article on " insects which infest
trees and plants," published in Hovey's " Gardener's Maga-
zine"*. Mr. Ives states, that on passing through an apple orch-
ard in February, he " perceived nearly all the trees speckled
with occasional dead leaves, adhering so firmly to the branches as
to require considerable force to dislodge them. Each leaf cov-
ered a small patch of from one to two hundred eggs, united
together, as well as to the leaf, by a gummy and silken fibre, pe-
culiar to the moth." In March he " visited the same orchard,
and, as an experiment, cleared three trees, from which he took
twenty-one bunches of eggs. The remainder of the trees he left
untouched until the tenth of May, when he found the caterpillars
were hatched from the egg, and had commenced their slow but
sure ravages. He watched them from time to time, until many
branches had been spoiled of their leaves, and in the autumn were
entirely destitute of fruit ; while the three trees, which had been
stripped of the eggs, were flush with foliage, each limb without
exception, ripening its fruit." These pertinent remarks point
out the nature and extent of the evil, and suggest the proper
remedy to be used against the ravages of these insects.

In the New England States there is found a tussock or vaporer
moth, seemingly the same as the Orgyia antiqua^ the antique or
rusty vaporer-moth of Europe, from whence, possibly its eggs
may have been brought with imported fruit-trees. The male moth
is of a rust-brown color, the fore-wings are crossed by two deeper
brown wavy streaks, and have a white crescent near the hind
angle. They expand about one inch and one eighth. The
female is gray, and wingless, or with only two minute scales on
each side in the place of wings, and exactly resembles in shape
the female of the foregoing species. The caterpillar is yellow on
the back, on which are four short square brush-like yellow tufts ;
the sides are dusky and spotted with red ; there are two long

extended The Germans call these moths strechfitssige Spinner, the French
pattcs 6tendues, and the English vaporer-moths, the latter probably because the
males are seen flying about ostentatiously, or vaporing, by day, when most other
moths keep concealed.
* Vol. 1 , p. 52.

264 INSECTS OF MASSACHUSETTS.

black pencils or plumes on the first ring, one on each side of the
fifth ring, and one on the top of the eleventh ring ; the head is
black ; and the retractile warts on the top of the ninth and tenth
rings are red. These caterpillars live on various trees and
shrubs, and are stated, by Miss Dix, in Professor Silliman's
" Journal of Science" *, to have been " very destructive to the
thorn hedges in Rhode Island," "appearing very early in sum-
mer, and not disappearing till late in November." The cocoons
resemble those of the white-marked vaporer ( Orgyia leuco-
stigma), and the females, after they have come forth, never leave
the outside of their cocoons, but lay their eggs upon them and
die there.

In the early part of August another kind of tussock-moth is
sometimes seen on fences or on the sides of buildings. Both
sexes are winged, the females differing from the males only in
being of a larger size, and in having antennae which are not dis-
tinctly feathered. They are of a brownish gray color ; their
fore-wings are traversed by two zigzag brown lines, and these are
crossed by a straight brown line running parallel to the inner mar-
gin, and there is a large pale spot near the middle of the front
margin ; on the top of the abdomen are two little tufts composed
of black glittering scales. The wings expand from one inch and
a half to two inches. These moths belong to the genus Dasy-
chira, a word signifying thick hand, and applied to insects of this
kind on account of the thick covering of hairs on their fore-legs.
The present species seems to be the hucopluea, or brown and
white tussock-moth, figured in Mr. Abbot's sumptuous work on
the insects of Georgia. The caterpillar I have not seen ; but in
the figure of it, given by Mr. Abbot, it is represented of a green-
ish yellow color, clothed with yellow hairs on the sides, with four
yellow brush-like tufts on the back, and two brownish pencils on
the first, eleventh, and twelfth rings. It is said to live on the
leaves of various kinds of oaks. The chrysalis is of a brownish
color, is hairy, and has four oval spots covered with branny
scales on the back.

The last of the tussock-moths to be described is of a very pale

* Vol. XIX., P. 62.

LEPIDOPTERA. 265

straw-yellow color ; the thorax and abdomen are very woolly, and
the fore-wings are marked with a small black spot towards the
tip, and several short crinkled black and brown lines on the mid-
dle ; all the legs are very hairy, and the feet are black. Both
sexes are provided with wings, expanding from one inch and a
half to one inch and three quarters, or more. The females are
invariably larger than the males, and their antennae are not per-
ceptibly feathered beneath, while those of the other sex are
widely feathered in a double row, from one end to the other.
The caterpillar, according to Mr. Abbot, is covered with
brownish hairs, which rise gradually on each side to a ridge along
the middle of the back, giving to it a shape like the roof of a
house ; the hairs grow in clusters, and are short and even at the
ends as if sheared off to a uniform length, except those at the
hinder extremity, which form a kind of bushy tail. It feeds on
the Viburnum or hobble-bush, the sassafras, and the plum-tree.
In the month of September it makes a small tough silken cocoon
of an oval shape, having a flat circular lid at one end, and fastens
it to the side of a twig. The moth does not come forth till the
month of July in the following summer. It was named opercu-
laris by Sir James E. Smith, from the operculum or lid of its
cocoon. It agrees in several of its generical characters with the
brown and golden tailed moths of Europe (Liparis or Porthesia
auriflua and chrysorrhcea) ; but the caterpillar and cocoon are en-
tirely different from those of the above named insects. On ac-
count of the short and squat form, and the little bushy tail of the
caterpillar, and the thick woolly body and legs of the moth, I call
it Lagoa * opercularis, the rabbit tussock-moth f.

The next group may be called Lasiocampians (Lasiocam-
pad^:), after the principal genus | included in it, the name of
which signifies hairy caterpillar. The Lasiocampians are woolly,
and very thick-bodied moths, distinguished by the want of the
bristles and hooks that hold together the fore and hind wings of

* Lagoa comes from the Greek, and signifies of, or belonging to, a rabbit or hare.

t It is possible that this insect may be the Bombyx Americana of Fabricius.

t To Lasiocamjia belong the European moths called Rubi, Trifolii, Quercus,
Polaris, Dumcti, &c. I have not seen any insects like these in Massachusetts,
and believe that such are seldom if ever to be found in the United States.

34

266 INSECTS OF MASSACHUSETTS.

other moths, by the wide and turned-up fore-edge of the hind-
wings, which projects beyond that of the fore-wings when at rest,
and by their caterpillars, which (with few exceptions) are not
warty on the back, and are sparingly clothed with short, soft
hairs, mostly placed along the sides of the body, and seldom dis-
tinctly arranged in spreading clusters or tufts. These moths fly
only by night, and both sexes are winged. Their antennae gener-
ally bend downwards near the middle, and upwards at the points,
are longer than those of the Liparians, but not so widely feathered
in the males, and very narrowly feathered beneath in the females.
The feelers of some are rather longer than common, and are
thrust forward like a beak ; but more often they are very short
and small. The tongue, for the most part, is invisible. Their
wings cover the back like a steep roof, the under pair, being
wider than common, are not entirely covered by the upper wings,
but project beyond them at the sides of the body when closed.
Their caterpillars live on trees and shrubs, and some kinds herd
together in considerable numbers or swarms ; they make their co-
coons mostly or entirely of silk. The winged insect is assisted
in its attempts to come forth, after its last change, by a reddish
colored liquid, which softens the end of its cocoon, and which, as
some say, is discharged from its own mouth, or, as others with
greater probability assert, escapes from the inside of the chrysalis
the moment that the included moth bursts the shell.

To this group belong the caterpillars that swarm in the un-
pruned nurseries and neglected orchards of the slovenly and im-
provident husbandman, and hang their many-coated webs upon the
wild cherry-trees that are suffered to spring up unchecked by the
way-side and encroach upon the borders of our pastures and
fields. The eggs, from which they are hatched, are placed
around the ends of the branches, forming a wide kind of ring or
bracelet, consisting of three or four hundred eggs, in the form of
short cylinders standing on their ends close together, and covered
with a thick coat of brownish water-proof varnish. The cater-
pillars come forth, with the unfolding of the leaves of the apple
and cherry tree, during the latter part of April or the beginning of
May. The first signs of their activity appear in the formation of
a little angular web or tent, somewhat resembling a spider's web,

LEPIDOPTERA. 267

stretched between the forks of the branches a little below the
cluster of eggs. Under the shelter of these tents, in making
which they all work together, the caterpillars remain concealed at
all times when not engaged in eating. In crawling from twig to twig
and from leaf to leaf, they spin from their mouths a slender silken
thread, which is a clue to conduct them back to their tents ; and
as they go forth and return in files, one after another, their path-
ways in time become well carpeted with silk, which serves to
render their footing secure during their frequent and periodical
journeys in various directions, to and from their common habita-
tion. As they increase in age and size, they enlarge their tent,
surrounding it, from time to time, with new layers or webs, till, at
length, it acquires a diameter of eight or ten inches. They come
out together at certain stated hours to eat, and all retire at once
when their regular meals are finished ; during bad weather, how-
ever, they fast, and do not venture from their shelter. These
caterpillars are of a kind called lackeys in England, and livrees in
France, from the party-colored livery in which they appear.
When fully grown they measure about two inches in length.
Their heads are black ; extending along the top of the back, from
one end to the other, is a whitish line, on each side of which, on
a yellow ground, are numerous short and fine crinkled black lines,
that, lower down, become mingled together, and form a broad
longitudinal black stripe, or rather a row of long black spots, one
on each ring, in the middle of each of which is a small blue spot ;
below this is a narrow wavy yellow line, and lower still the sides
are variegated with fine intermingled black and yellow lines, which
are lost at last in the general dusky color of the under-side of the
body ; on the top of the eleventh ring is a small blackish and
hairy wart, and the whole body is very sparingly clothed with
short and soft hairs, rather thicker and longer upon the sides than
elsewhere. The foregoing description will serve to show that
these insects are not the same as either the Neustria * or the

* Neustria, was the ancient name of Normandy, from whence this European
species was first introduced into England. The Neustria caterpillar has a bluish
head on which, as also on the first ring, are two black dots ; the back is tawny
red, with a central white, and two black lines from one end to the other ; the
sides are blue, with a narrow red stripe ; on the top of the eleventh ring is a little
blackish wart; and the belly is dusky.

26S INSECTS OF MASSACHUSETTS.

camp* lackey caterpillars of Europe, for which they have been
mistaken. From the first to the middle of June they begin to
leave the trees upon which they have hitherto lived in company,
separate from each other, wander about awhile, and finally get
into some crevice or other place of shelter, and make their co-
coons. These are of a regular long oval form, composed of a
thin and very loosely woven web of silk, the meshes of which are
filled with a thin paste, that on drying is changed to a yellow
powder, like flour of sulphur in appearance. Some of the cater-
pillars, either from weakness or some other cause, do not leave
their nests with the rest of the swarm, but make their cocoons
there, and when the webs are opened these cocoons may be seen
intermixed with a mass of blackish grains, like gunpowder, ex-
creted by the caterpillars during their stay. From fourteen to
seventeen days after the insect has made its cocoon and changed
to a chrysalis, it bursts its chrysalis skin, forces its way through
the wet and softened end of its cocoon, and appears in the winged
or miller form. Many of them, however, are unable to finish
their transformations by reason of weakness, especially those re-
maining in the webs. Most of these will be found to have been
preyed upon by little maggots living upon the fat within their
bodies, and finally changing to small four-winged ichneumon
wasps, which in due time pierce a hole in the cocoons of their
victims, and escape into the air.

The moth of our American lackey-caterpillar is of a rusty or
reddish brown color, more or less mingled with gray on the mid-
dle and base of the fore-wings, which, besides, are crossed by two
oblique, straight, dirty white lines. It expands from one inch and
a quarter, to one inch and a half, or a little more. This mothf

* The caslrcnsis, or camp-caterpillar, lias a narrow broken white line on the top
of the back, separating two broad red stripes, which are dotted with black; the
sides are blue, with two or three narrow red stripes; the head and first ring are
not marked with black dots ; there is no wart on the top of the eleventh ring; and
the belly is white, marbled with black.

t A short but very accurate account of this insect may be found in the late Pro-
fessor Peck's " Natural History of the Canker Worm," printed at Boston, among
the papers of the " Massachusetts Society for promoting Agriculture," in the year
17%. Professor Peck seems to have been aware that it was not identical with
the jYcustria, but he forebore to give it another scientific name. It is figured, in

LEPIDOPTERA. 269

closely resembles the castrensis, and still more the Neustria of
Europe, from both of which, however, it is easily distinguished
by the oblique lines on the fore-wings, which are not wavy as in
the foreign species. Moreover, the caterpillar is very different
from both of the European lackeys ; and it does no seem probable
that either of them, if introduced into this country, could have so
wholly lost their original characters. Our insect belongs to the
same genus, or kind, now called Clisiocampa, or tent-caterpillar,
from its habits ; and I propose to distinguish it furthermore from
its near allies by the name of Jlmericana, the American tent-cater-
pillar or lackey. The moths appear in great numbers in July,
flying about and often entering houses by night. At this time
they lay their eggs, selecting the wild cherry, in preference to all
other trees, for this purpose, and, next to these, apple-trees, the
extensive introduction and great increase of which, in this coun-
try, afford an abundant and tempting supply of food to the cater-
pillars in the place of the native cherry-trees that formerly, it
would seem, sufficed for their nourishment. These insects, be-
cause they are the most common and most abundant in all parts of
our country, and have obtained such notoriety that in common
language they are almost exclusively known among us by the name
of the caterpillars, are the worst enemies of the orchard. Where
proper attention has not been paid to the destruction of them, they
prevail to such an extent as almost entirely to strip the apple and
cherry trees of their foliage, by their attacks continued during the
seven weeks of their life in the caterpillar form. The trees, in
those orchards and gardens where they have been suffered to
breed for a succession of years, become prematurely old, in con-
sequence of the efforts they are obliged to make to repair, at an
unseasonable time, the loss of their foliage, and are rendered un-
fruitful, and consequently unprofitable. But this is not all ; these
pernicious insects spread in every direction, from the trees of the
careless and indolent, to those of their more careful and indus-
trious neighbours, whose labors are thereby greatly increased

its different forms, in Mr. Abbot's " Natural History of the Insects of Georo-ia '
where it is named castrensis, by Sir J. E. Smith, the editor of the work.

270 INSECTS OF MASSACHUSETTS.

and have to be followed up year after year, without any prospect
of permanent relief.

Many methods and receipts for the destruction of these insects
have been published and recommended, but have failed to exter-
minate them, and indeed have done but little to lessen their num-
bers. Mr. Lowell* has justly said that "the great difficulty is
the neglect to do any thing, till after the caterpillars have covered
the trees with their nests. Then the labors of the sluggard com-
mence, and one tree, let his receipt be ever so perfect and pow-
erful, will cost him as much time and labor as ten trees would
have required three weeks sooner." The means to be employed
may be stated under three heads. The first is, the collection and
destruction of the eggs. These should be sought for in the win-
ter and the early part of spring, when there are no leaves on the
trees. They are easily discovered at this time, and may be re-
moved with the thumb-nail and fore-finger. Nurseries and the
lower limbs of large trees may thus be entirely cleared of the
clusters of eggs during a few visits made at the proper season.
If a liberal bounty for the collection of the eggs were to be of-
fered, and continued for the space of ten years, these destructive
caterpillars would be nearly exterminated at the end of that time.
Under the second head are to be mentioned the most approved
plans for destroying the caterpillars after they are hatched, and
have begun to make their nests or tents. It is well known that
the caterpillars come out to feed twice during the daytime,
namely, in the forenoon and afternoon, and that they rarely leave
their nests before nine in the morning, and return to them again at
noon. During the early part of the season, while the nests are
small, and the caterpillars young and tender, and at those hours
when the insects are gathered together within their common habi-
tation, they may be effectually destroyed by crushing them by
hand in the nests. A brush, somewhat like a bottle-brush, fixed
to a long handle, as recommended by the late Colonel Pickering,
or, for the want thereof, a dried mullein head and its stalk fastened
to a pole, will be useful to remove the nests, with the caterpillars

* See the " Massachusetts Agricultural Repository and Journal," Vol. VII.,
page 391.

LEPIDOPTERA. 271

contained therein, from those branches which are too high to be
reached by hand. Instead of the brush, we may use, with nearly
equal success, a small mop or sponge, dipped as often as neces-
sary into a pailful of refuse soap-suds, strong white-wash, or cheap
oil. The mop should be thrust into the nest and turned round a
little, so as to wet the caterpillars with the liquid, which will kill
every one that it touches. These means, to be effectual, should
be employed during the proper hours, that is, early in the morn-
ing, at mid-day, or at night, and as soon in the spring as the cater-
pillars begin to make their nests ; and they should be repeated as
often, at least, as once a week, till the insects leave the trees.
Early attention and perseverance in the use of these remedies
will, in time, save the farmer hundreds of dollars, and abundance
of mortification and disappointment, besides rewarding him with
the grateful sight of the verdant foliage, snowy blossoms, and rich
fruits of his orchard in their proper seasons. Under the third
head, I beg leave to urge the people of this Commonwealth to
declare war against these caterpillars, a war of extermination, to
be waged annually during the month of May and the beginning of
June. Let every able-bodied citizen, who is the owner of an ap-
ple or cherry tree, cultivated or wild, within our borders, appear
on duty, and open the campaign on the first washing-day in May,
armed and equipped with brush and pail, as above directed, and
give battle to the common enemy ; and let every housewife be
careful to reserve for use a plentiful supply of ammunition, strong
waste soap-suds, after every weekly wash, till the liveried host
shall have decamped from their quarters, and retreated for the
season. If every man is prompt to do his duty, I venture to
predict that the enemy will be completely conquered, in less time
than it will take to exterminate the Indians in Florida.

Another caterpillar, whose habits are similar to those of the
preceding, is now and then met with, in Massachusetts, upon oak
and walnut trees, and more rarely still upon apple-trees. Ac-
cording to Mr. Abbot " it is sometimes so plentiful in Virginia
as to strip the oak-trees bare." It may be called Clisiocampa
silvatica, the tent-caterpillar of the forest. With us it comes to
its full size from the tenth to the twentieth of June, and then
measures about two inches in length. There are a few short

272 INSECTS OF MASSACHUSETTS.

yellow hairs scattered over its body, particularly on the sides,
where they are thickest. The general color of the whole body is
light blue, clear on the back, and greenish at the sides ; the head
is blue, and without spots ; there are two yellow spots, and four
black dots on the top of the first ring ; along the top of the back is a
row of eleven oval white spots, beginning on the second ring, and
two small elevated black and hairy dots on each ring, except the
eleventh, which has only one of larger size; on each side of the
back is a reddish stripe bordered by slender black lines ; and
lower down on each side is another stripe of a yellow color be-
tween two black lines ; the under-side of the body is blue-black.
This kind of caterpillar lives in communities of three or four hun-
dred individuals under a common web or tent, which is sometimes
made against the trunk of the trees. When fully grown they
leave the trees, get into places sheltered from rain, and make
their cocoons, which exactly resemble those of the apple-tree
tent-caterpillars in form, size, and materials. The moths appear
in sixteen or twenty days afterwards. They are of a brownish
yellow or nankin color ; the hind-wings, except at base, are light
rusty brown ; and on the fore-wings are two oblique rust-brown
and nearly straight parallel lines. A variety is sometimes found
with a broad red-brown band across the fore- wings, occupying
the whole space, which, in other individuals, intervenes between
the oblique lines. The wings expand from one inch and one
quarter, to one inch and three quarters. The great difference in
the caterpillar will not permit us to refer this species to the Neus-
tria of Europe, for which Sir J. E. Smith* mistook it, or to the
castrcnsis, which it more closely resembles in its winged form.

Most caterpillars are round, that is, cylindrical, or nearly so ;
but there are some belonging to this group that are very broad,
slightly convex above, and perfectly flat beneath. They seem
indeed to be much broader and more flattened than they really
are, by reason of the hairs on their sides, which spread out so as
nearly to conceal the feet, and form a kind of fringe along each
side of the body. These hairs grow mostly from horizontal
fleshy appendages or long warts, somewhat like legs, and of which

See Abbot's " Insects of Georgia,'' where it is figured.

LEPIDOPTERA. 273

there is one hanging from the side of every ring ; those on the
first ring being much longer than the others, which progressively
decrease in size to the last. On the forepart of the body one or
two velvet-like and highly colored bands may be seen when the
caterpillar is in motion ; and on the top of the eleventh ring there
is generally a long naked wart. When these singular caterpillars
are not eating, they remain at rest, stretched out on the limbs of
trees, and they often so nearly resemble the bark in color as to
escape observation. From the lappets, or leg-like appendages,
hanging to their sides, they are called lappet-caterpillars by Eng-
lish writers.

Twice I have found, on the apple-tree, in the month of Sep-
tember, caterpillars of this kind, measuring, when fully grown,
two inches and a half in length, and above half an inch in breadth.
The upper side was gray, variegated with irregular white spots,
and sprinkled all over with fine black dots ; on the forepart of the
body there were two transverse velvet-like bands of a rich scarlet
color, one on the hind part of the second, and the other on the
third ring, and on each of these bands were three black dots ; the
under-side of the body was orange-colored, with a row of diamond-
shaped black spots ; the hairs on the sides were gray, and many
of them were tipped with a white knob. The caterpillar eats the
leaves of the apple-tree, feeding only in the night, and remaining
perfectly quiet during the day. The moth produced from it was
supposed by Sir J. E. Smith* to be the same as the European
llicifolia, or holly-leaved lappet-moth, from which, however, it
differs in so many respects that I shall venture to give it another
name. It belongs to the genus Gastropacha, so called from the
very thick bodies of the moths ; and the present species may be
named Americana, the American lappet-moth. Were it not for
its regular shape, it might, when at rest, very easily be mistaken
for a dry, brown, and crumpled leaf. The feelers are somewhat
prominent like a short beak ; the edges of the under-wings are
very much notched, as are the hinder and inner edges of the fore-
wings, and these notches are white ; its general color is a red-
brown ; behind the middle of each of the wings is a pale band,

* See Abbot's " Insects of Georgia," p. 101, pi. 51.
35

274 INSECTS OF MASSACHUSETTS.

edged with zigzag dark brown lines, and there are also two or
three short irregular brown lines running backwards from the front
edge of the fore-wings, besides a minute pale crescent, edged with
dark brown, near the middle of the same. In the females the pale
bands and dark lines are sometimes wanting, the wings being
almost entirely of a red-brown color. It expands from one inch
and a half to nearly two inches. Mr. Abbot, who has figured it,
states that the caterpillar lives on the oak and the ash, that it spun
itself up in May among the leaves in a gray-brown cocoon, in
which the chrysalis was enveloped with a pale brown powder, and
that the moth came out in February. My specimens, on the
contrary, as above stated, were found on apple-trees, made their
cocoons in the autumn, and appeared in the winged form in the
early part of the following summer.

The foregoing is the only American lappet-moth, with notched
wings, which is known to me ; but we have another much larger
one, with entire wings. It is the Velleda of Stoll, so named
after a celebrated German female, commemorated by the ancient
historian Tacitus. This moth has a very large, thick, and woolly
body, and is of a white color, variegated or clouded with blue-
gray. On the fore-wings are two broad dark gray bands, inter-
vening between three narrow wavy white bands, the latter being
marked by an irregular gray line ; the veins are white, prominent,
and very distinct ; the hind-wings are gray, with a white hind
border, on which are two interrupted gray lines, and across the
middle there is a broad, faint, whitish band ; on the top of the
thorax is an oblong blackish spot, widening behind, and consisting
of long black and pearl colored erect scales, shaped somewhat
like the handle of a spoon. There is a great disparity in the
size of the sexes, the males measuring only from one inch and a
half to one inch and three quarters across the wings, while the
females expand from two and a quarter, to two inches and three
quarters or more. The caterpillar of this fine moth I have never
seen alive ; but one was sent to me, in the autumn of 1828, by the
late T. G. Fessenden, Esq., who received it from Newburyport,
from a correspondent, by whom it was found on the fifth of Au-
gust, sticking so fast to the limb of an apple-tree, that at first it

LEPIDOPTERA. 275

was mistaken for a cankered spot on the bark*. It was said to
have measured two inches and a half in length, but when it came
into my hands it had spun itself up in its cocoon. A caterpillar
of the same kind, found also on an apple-tree, has been described
by Miss Dix in Professor Silliman's "Journal of Science."!
This observing lady states, that "when at rest the resemblance of
its upper surface was so exact with the young bark of the branch
on which it was fixed, that its presence might have escaped the
most accurate investigation ; and this deception was the more
complete from the unusual shape of the caterpillar, which might
be likened to the external third of a cylinder. The sides of the
body were cloaked and fringed with hairs. It was of a pale sea-
green color above, marked with ash, blended into white ; and be-
neath of a brilliant orange, spotted with vivid black. When in
motion its whole appearance was changed, it extended to the
length of two inches, and two thirds of an inch in breadth, its
colors brightened, and a transverse opening was disclosed on the
back, two thirds of an inch from the head, of a most rich velvet
black color. It was sluggish and motionless during the day, and
active only at night." Mr. Abbot found the caterpillar of the
Velleda lappet-moth on the willow-oak, and on the persimmon ;
and, in his figure, it is represented of a dark ashen gray color,
with a velvet-like black band across the upper part of the third
ring!. The cocoon of the specimen sent to me by Mr. Fessen-
den, resembled grocers' soft brownish gray paper in color and
texture, with a very few blackish hairs interwoven with the silk of
which it was made. It was an inch and a half long, and half an
inch wide, bordered on all sides by a loose web, which made it
seem of larger dimensions ; its shape was oval, convex above,
and perfectly flat and very thin on the under-side. The moth
came forth from this cocoon on the fifteenth of September, or
about forty days after the cocoon was spun.

The Chinese silk-worm and its moth, Bombyx mori, the
Bombyx of the mulberry, should follow these insects in a natural
arrangement ; for the former is slightly hairy when first hatched

* See " New England Farmer," Vol. VII., p. 33.

t Vol. XIX., pp. 62 and 63. } " Insects of Georgia," p. 103, pi. 52.

276 INSECTS OF MASSACHUSETTS.

from the egg, and, though naked afterwards, it has, like the lappet-
caterpillars, a long fleshy wart on the top of the eleventh ring.
The history of the silk-worm, however, does not belong to the
subject of this treatise.

There are several kinds of caterpillars, in the United States,
whose cocoons are wholly made of a very strong and durable silk,
fully equal to that obtained in India from the tusseh and arrindy
silk-worms. These insects, together with some others, whose
cocoons are much thinner, and consist more of gummy matter
than of silk, belong to a family called Saturnians (Saturniad^:),
from Saturnia, the name of a genus included in this group. The
caterpillars are naked, are generally short, thick, and clumsy,
cylindrical, but frequently hunched on the back of each ring,
especially when at rest, and are furnished with a few warts, which
are either bristled with little points or very short hairs, or are
crowned with sharp and branching prickles. They live on trees
or shrubby plants, the leaves of which they devour ; some of
them, when young, keep and feed together in swarms, but separate
as they become older. When fully grown and ready to make
their cocoons, some of them draw together a few leaves so as to
form a hollow, within which they spin their cocoons ; others
fasten their cocoons to the stems or branches of plants often in the
most artful and ingenious manner ; and a very few transform upon
or just under the surface of the ground, where they cover them-
selves with leaves or grains of earth stuck together with a little
gummy matter. The escape of the moth from its cocoon is ren-
dered easy by the fluid which is thrown out and softens the
threads. The chrysalis offers no striking peculiarities, being
smooth, not hairy, and not provided with transverse notched
ridges. This group contains some of the largest insects of the
order ; moths distinguished by great extent and breadth of wings,
thick and woolly bodies, and anlennae which are widely feathered
on both sides, from one end to the other, in the males at least,
and often in both sexes. The tongue and feelers are extremely
short and rarely visible. The wings are generally spread out,
when at rest, so as to display both pairs, and they are held either
horizontally, or more or less elevated above the body; a very
few, however, turn the fore-wings back, so as to cover the hind-

LEPIDOPTERA. 277

wings and the body in repose. There are no bristles and hooks
to keep the fore and hind wings together. In the middle of each
wing there is generally a conspicuous spot of a different color
from the rest of the surface, often like the eye-spot on peacocks'
feathers, sometimes with a transparent space like talc or isinglass
in the middle, and sometimes kidney-shaped and opake. These
moths commonly fly towards the close of the day, and in the
evening twilight. Their eggs are very numerous, amounting to
several hundreds from a single individual.

Although the injuries committed by the caterpillars of the Sa-
turnians are, by no means, vfcry great, the magnitude and beauty
of the moths render them very conspicuous and worthy of notice.
The largest kinds belong to that division of the Bombyces called
Jlltacus by Linnaeus. They are distinguished from the rest of the
Saturnians by having wide and flat antennae, like short oval
feathers, in both sexes, and by the fleshy warts on the backs of
their caterpillars, which are richly colored, and tipped with
minute bristles. Preeminent above all our moths, in queenly
beauty, is the Attacus Luna, or Luna moth, its specific name
being the same as that given by the Romans to the moon, poeti-
cally styled " fair empress of the night." The wings of this fine
insect are of a delicate light green color, and the hinder angle of
the posterior wings is prolonged, so as to form a tail to each, of
an inch and a half or more in length ; there is a broad purple-
brown stripe along the front edge of the fore-wings, extending
also across the thorax, and sending backwards a little branch to an
eye-like spot near the middle of the wing ; these eye-spots, of
which there is one on each of the wings, are transparent in the
centre, and are encircled by rings of white, red, yellow, and
black ; the hinder borders of the wings are more or less edged or
scalloped with purple-brown ; the body is covered with a white
kind of wool ; the antennae are ochre-yellow ; and the legs are
purple-brown. The wings expand from four inches and three
quarters to five inches and a half. The caterpillar of this moth
lives on the walnut and hickory, on which it may be found, fully
grown, towards the end of July and during the month of August.
It is of a pale and very clear bluish green color ; there is a yellow
stripe on each side of the body, and the back is crossed, between

278 INSECTS OF MASSACHUSETTS.

the rings, by transverse lines of the same yellow color ; on each
of the rings are about six minute pearl-colored warts, tinged with
purple or rose-red, and furnishing a few little hairs ; and at the
extremity of the body are three brown spots, edged above with
yellow. When this insect is at rest it is nearly as thick as a man's
thumb, its rings are hunched, and its body is shortened, not
measuring, even when fully grown, above two inches in length ;
but, in motion, it extends to the length of three inches or more.
When about to make its cocoon, it draws together, with silken
threads, two or three leaves of the tree, and within the hollow
thus formed spins an oval and very close and strong cocoon, about
one inch and three quarters long, and immediately afterwards
changes to a chrysalis. The cocoons fall from the trees in the
autumn with the leaves in which they are enveloped ; and the
moths make their escape from them in June.

A caterpillar, closely resembling that of the Luna moth, may
be found on oaks, and sometimes also on elm and lime trees, in
August and September. Its sides are not striped with yellow,
and there are no transverse yellow bands on the back ; the warts
have a pearly lustre, more or less tinted with orange, rose-red, or
purple, and between the two lowermost on the side of each ring
is an oblique white line ; the head and the feet are brown ; and
the tail is bordered by a brown V shaped line. These caterpillars,
in repose, cling to the twigs of the trees, with their backs down-
wards, contract their bodies in length, and hunch up the rings
even more than those of the Luna moth, which, when fully
grown, they somewhat exceed in size. They make their cocoons
upon the trees in the same manner, with an outer covering of
leaves, which fall off in the autumn, bearing the enclosed tough
oval cocoons to the ground, where they remain through the win-
ter, and the moths come out in the month of June following.
Notwithstanding the great similarity of the caterpillar and its co-
coon to those of the Luna, the moth is entirely different. Its
hind-wings are not tailed, but are cut off almost square at the cor-
ners. It is of a dull ochre-yellow color, more or less clouded
with black in the middle of the wings, on each of which there is a
transparent eye-like spot, divided transversely by a slender line,
and encircled by yellow and black rings ; before and adjoining to

LEPIDOPTERA. 279

the eye-spot of the hind-wings is a large blue spot shading into
black ; near the hinder margin of the wings is a dusky band, edged
with reddish white behind ; on the front margin of the fore-wings
is a gray stripe, which also crosses the forepart of the thorax ; and
near the base of the same wings are two short red lines, edged
with white. It expands from five and a quarter to six inches.
This moth, on account of its great size, is called Polyphemus, the
name of one of the giants in mythology.

Attacus Cecropia * is a still larger insect expanding from five
inches and three quarters to six inches and a half. The hind-
wings are rounded ; and not tailed. The ground-color of the
wings is a grizzled dusky brown, with the hinder margins clay-
colored ; near the middle of each of the wings there is an opake
kidney-shaped dull red spot, having a white centre and a narrow
black edging ; and beyond the spot a wavy dull red band, bor-
dered internally with white ; the fore-wings, next to the shoulders,
are dull red, with a curved white band ; and near the tips of the
same is an eye-like black spot, within a bluish white crescent ;
the upper side of the body and the legs are dull red ; the forepart
of the thorax and the hinder edges of the rings of the abdomen are
white ; and the belly is checkered with red and white. This moth
makes its appearance during the month of June. The caterpillar
is found on apple, cherry, and plum trees, and on currant and
barberry bushes in July and August. It comes to its full size by
the first of September, and then measures three inches, or more,
in length, and is thicker than a man's thumb. It is entirely of a
fine, clear, light green color ; on the top of the second ring are
two large globular coral red warts, beset with about fourteen very
short black bristles ; the two warts on the top of the third ring are
like those on the second, but rather larger ; on the top of the
seven following rings there are two very long egg-shaped yellow
warts, bristled at the end, and a single wart of larger size on the
eleventh ring ; on each side of the body there are two longitu-
dinal rows of long light blue warts, bristled at the end, and an ad-
ditional short row, below them, along the first five rings. This
caterpillar does not bear confinement well ; but it may be seen

* Cecropia was the ancient name of the city of Athens; its application, by Lin-
narns, to this moth is inexplicable.

2S0 INSECTS OF MASSACHUSETTS.

spinning its cocoon, early in September, on the twigs of the trees
or bushes on which it lives. The cocoon is fastened longitudi-
nally to the side of a twig. It is, on an average, three inches
long, and one inch in diameter at the widest part. Its shape is an
oblong oval, pointed at the upper end. It is double, the outer
coat being wrinkled, and resembling strong brown paper in color
and thickness ; when this tough outer coat is cut open, the inside
will be seen to be lined with a quantity of loose yellow-brown
strong silk, surrounding an inner oval cocoon, composed of the
same kind of silk, and closely woven like that of the silk-worm.
The insect remains in the chrysalis form through the winter.
The moth, which comes forth in the following summer, would not
be able to pierce the inner cocoon, were it not for the fluid pro-
vided for the purpose of softening the threads ; but it easily forces
its way through the outer cocoon at the small end, which is more
loosely woven than elsewhere, and the threads of which converge
again, by their own elasticity, so as almost entirely to close the
opening after the insect has escaped.

A few brown and curled leaves may frequently be seen hanging
upon sassafras-trees during the winter, when all the other leaves
have fallen off. If one of these leaves is examined, it will be
found to be retained by a quantity of silken thread, which is
wound or woolded round the twig to the distance of half an inch
or more on each side of the leaf-stalk, and is thence carried down-
wards around the stalk to an oval cocoon, that is wrapped up by
the sides of the leaf. The cocoon itself is about an inch long, of
a regular oval shape, and is double, like that of the Cecropia
caterpillar, but the outer coat is not loose and wrinkled, and the
space between the outer and inner coats is small and does not
contain much floss silk. So strong is the coating of silk that sur-
rounds the leaf-stalk, and connects the cocoon with the branch,
that it cannot be severed without great force ; and consequently
the chrysalis swings securely within its leaf-covered hammock
through all the storms of winter. Cocoons of the same kind are
sometimes found suspended to the twigs of the wild cherry-tree,
the Azalea, or swamp-pink, and the Cephalanthus, or button-
bush, but not so often as on the sassafras-tree. Two of them,
hanging close together on one twig, were once brought to me,

LEPIDOPTERA. 2S1

and a male and female moth were produced from these twin co-
coons in July, the usual time for these insects to leave their win-
ter quarters. Drury called this kind of moth Promethea, a mis-
take probably for Prometheus*, the name of one of the Titans,
all of whom were fabled to be of gigantic size. The color of At-
tacus Promethea differs according to the sex. The male is of a
deep smoky brown color on the upper side, and the female light
reddish brown ; in both, the wings are crossed by a wavy whitish
line near the middle, and have a wide clay-colored border, which
is marked by a wavy reddish line ; near the tips of the fore-wings
there is an eye-like black spot within a bluish white crescent ;
near the middle of each of the wings of the female there is an an-
gular reddish white spot, edged with black ; these angular spots
are visible on the under-side of the wings of the male, but are
rarely seen on their upper side ; the hind-wings in both are
rounded and not tailed. These moths expand from three inches
and three quarters to four inches and a quarter. The female
deposits her eggs on the twigs of the trees, in little clusters of five
or six together, and these are hatched towards the end of July or
early in August. The caterpillars usually come to their full size
by the beginning of September, and then measure two inches or
more in length, when extended, and about half an inch in diame-
ter. The body of the caterpillar is very plump, and but very
little contracted on the back between the rings. It is of a clear
and pale bluish green color ; the head, the feet, and the tail are
yellow ; there are about eight warts on each of the rings ; the two
uppermost warts on the top of the second and of the third rings
are almost cylindrical, much longer than the rest, and of a rich
coral-red color ; there is a long yellow wart on the top of the
eleventh ring ; all the rest of the warts are very small, and of a
deep blue color. Before making its cocoon the caterpillar in-
stinctively fastens to the branch the leaf that is to serve for a
cover to its cocoon, so that it shall not fall off in the autumn, and
then proceeds to spin on the upper side of the leaf, bending over
the edges to form a hollow, within which its cocoon is concealed.

* Mas was the brother of Prometheus, and this name, it will be recollected, has
been given to another of the Bombyces, an immensely large moth from China.

36

282 INSECTS OF MASSACHUSETTS.

The Luna, Polyphemus, Cecropia, and Promethea moths are
the only native insects belonging; to the genus Atiacus which are
known to me. Their large cocoons, consisting entirely of silk,
the fibres of which far surpass those of the silk-worm in strength,
might perhaps be employed in the formation of fabrics similar to
those manufactured in India from the cocoons of the tusseh and
arrindy silk-worms, the durability of which is such, that a garment
of tusseh silk " is scarcely worn out in the lifetime of one person,
but often descends from mother to daughter ; and even the cov-
ers of palanquins made of it, though exposed to the influence of
the weather, last many years." The method, employed by the
inhabitants of India for unwinding the cocoons of their native silk-
worms, would probably apply equally well to those of our coun-
try, which have not yet, that I am aware of, been submitted to the
same process. It is true that experiments, upon a very limited
scale, have been made with the silk of the Cecropia, which has
been carded and spun and woven into stockings, that are said to
wash like linen. The Rev. Samuel Pullein was among the first
to attempt to unwind the cocoons of the Cecropia moth, an ac-
count of which is contained in the "Philosophical Transactions
of the Royal Society of London" for the year 1759*. Mr. Pul-
lein ascertained that twenty threads of this silk twisted together
would sustain nearly an ounce more in weight than the same num-
ber of common silk. Mr. Moses Bartram, of Philadelphia, in the
year 17G7, succeeded in bringing up the caterpillars from the
eggs of the Cecropia moth, and obtained several cocoons from
themf. In the Paris " Journal des Debats," of the twenty-
third of July, 1S40, is an account of the complete success of Mr.
Audouin, in rearing the caterpillars of this or of some other
American species of Attacus, the cocoons of which were sent to
him from New Orleans. The Cecropia does not bear confine-
ment well, and is not so good a subject for experiment as the
Luna and Polyphemus, which are easily reared, and make their
cocoons quite as well in the house as in the open air. The fol-

• Vol. LI., p. 54.

t See " Transactions of the American Philosophical Society of Philadelphia,"
Vol. 1., p. 2'J4.

LEPIDOPTERA. 2S3

lowing circumstances seem particularly to recommend these indi-
genous silk-worms to the attention of persons interested in the
silk culture. Our native oak and nut trees afford an abundance
of food for the caterpillars ; their cocoons are much heavier than
those of the silk-worm, and will yield a greater quantity of silk ;
and, as the insects remain unchanged in the chrysalis state from
September to June, the cocoons may be kept for unwinding at any
leisure time during the winter. By a careful search, after the
falling of the leaves in the autumn, a sufficient number of cocoons
may be found, under the oak and nut trees, with which to begin a
course of experiments inbreeding the insects, and in the manufac-
ture of their silk.

Two more moths, belonging to the family under consideration,
are found in Massachusetts. They may be referred to the genus
Saturnia*, and are distinguished from the foregoing by their an-
tennae, which are widely feathered only in the males, the feather-
ing being very narrow in the other sex ; their caterpillars, more-
over, are furnished with small warts crowned with long prickles
or branching spines. None of the caterpillars described in the
preceding pages are venomous, all of them may be handled with
impunity. This is not the case with the two following kinds, the
prickles of which sting severely. The first of these begin to ap-
pear by the middle of June, and other broods continue to be
hatched till the middle of July. These caterpillars live on the
balsam poplar and the elm, and, according to Mr. Abbot, on the
dogwood or cornel, and the sassafras ; they feed well also on the
leaves of clover and Indian corn. They are of a pea-green color,
with a broad brown stripe edged below with white on each side of
the body, beginning on the fourth ring and ending at the tail ; they
are covered with spreading clusters of green prickles, tipped with
black, and of a uniform length ; each of these clusters consists of
about thirty prickles branching from a common centre, and there
are six clusters on each of the rings except the last two, on which
there are only five, and on the first four rings, on each of which
there is an additional cluster low down on each side ; the feet are
brown, and there is a triangular brown spot on the under-side of

The sirname of Juno, the daughter of Saturn.

2S4 INSECTS OF MASSACHUSETTS.

each ring, beginning with the fourth. The prickles are exceed-
ingly sharp, sting very severely when the insect is handled, and
produce the same kind of irritation as those of the nettle. When
young, these caterpillars keep together in little swarms. They do
not spin a common web, but, when not eating, they creep under a
leaf, where they cluster side by side. In going from or returning
to their place of shelter they move in regular files, like the pro-
cessionary caterpillars (Lasiocampa processioned) of Europe, a
single caterpillar taking the lead, and followed closely by perhaps
one or two in single file, after which come two, side by side,
close upon the heels of these creep three more, the next rank
consists of four, and so on, the ranks continually widening behind,
like a flock of wild-geese on the wing, but in perfectly regular or-
der. When about half grown they disperse, and each one shirks
for himself. At the age of eight weeks they get to their full size,
in the meanwhile moulting their skins four times, and finally
measure two inches and a half or more in length. At this age
they leave off eating, crawl to the ground, and get under leaves or
rubbish, which they draw round their bodies to form an outer
covering, within which they make an irregular and thin cocoon,
of very gummy brown silk, that has almost the texture of thin
parchment. As soon as their cocoons are finished, the insects
are changed to chrysalids, in which form they remain throughout
the winter, and in the following summer, during the month of
June, or beginning of July, they come out in the winged or moth
state. The scientific name of these moths is Saturnia Io*. Un-
like those of the genus Attacus, they sit with their wings closed,
and covering the body like a low roof, the front edge of the un-
der wings extending a little beyond that of the upper wings, and
curving upwards. The two sexes differ both in color and size.
The male, which is the smallest, is of a deep or Indian yellow
color ; on its fore-wings there are two oblique wavy lines towards
the hind margin, a zigzag line near the base, and several spots so
arranged on the middle as to form the letters A H, all of a pur-
plish red color; the hind-wings are broadly bordered with pur-

* Io, a priestess of Juno, in Greece, afterwards became the wife of Osiris, the
king of Egypt, and received divine honors under the name of Isis.

LEPIDOPTERA. 285

plish red next to the body, and near the hinder margin there is a
narrow curved band of the same color ; within this band there is
a curved black line, and on the middle of the wing a large round
blue spot, having a broad black border and a central white dash.
The fore-wings of the female are purple-brown, mingled with
gray ; the zigzag and wavy lines across them are gray, and the
lettered space in the middle is replaced by a brown spot sur-
rounded by an irregular gray line; the hind-wings resemble those
of the male in color and markings ; the thorax and legs are pur-
ple-brown ; and the abdomen is ochre-yellow with a narrow pur-
ple-red band on the edge of each ring. These moths expand
from two inches and three quarters to three inches and a half.

The other Saturnia, inhabiting Massachusetts, is the Maia* of
Drury, or Proserpina] of Fabricius. The moth probably rests
with its wings closed, like the Io moth, the fore-wings covering
the other pair, the front edge of which seems formed to extend a
little beyond that of the fore-wings in this position. The wings
are thin and almost transparent like crape ; they are black, and
both pairs are crossed by a broad yellow-white band, near the
middle of which, on each wing, there is a kidney-shaped black
spot having a central yellow-white crescent or curved line on it ;
the thorax is covered with black hairs on the top, pale yellow
hairs on the forepart, and has two tufts of rust-red hairs behind ;
the abdomen is black, with a few yellowish hairs along the sides,
and a patch of a rust-red color at the extremity, in the males.
The wings expand from two inches and a half to three inches and
one eighth. Satumia Maia seems to be a very rare moth in
Massachusetts ; I have never met with it alive, but have seen
several specimens which were taken in this State. The time of
its appearance here is not known to me with certainty ; but, if I
am rightly informed, it has been found in July and the beginning
of August, flying by day on the borders of oak woods, or resting
on the shrub oaks which cover the sides of some of our high
hills. Of the caterpillar I have seen only one specimen, which

* Maia, in Mythology, was one of the seven daughters of Mlas ; they were
placed in the heavens after death, and formed the constellation called Pleiades.
t Proserpina was the wife of Pluto, the god of the infernal regions.

2S6 INSECTS OF MASSACHUSETTS.

was found, fully grown, on an oak, towards the end of Septem-
ber ; it was destroyed, however, before I had an opportunity of
making a description of it. Mr. Abbot* has figured two of the
caterpillars, which differ from each other in color and markings.
They are nearly three inches long ; the head and all the feet are
red; and on each of the rings there are six long branched prickles.
One of these caterpillars is represented of a dusky brown color
mingled with yellow, with yellow warts from which the prickles
arise. The other is yellow, with red warts, and two black
stripes along the back. Mr. Abbot states that these caterpillars,
while small, feed together in company, but disperse as they grow
large ; they eat the leaves of various kinds of oaks ; sting very
sharply when handled ; and that they go into the ground to trans-
form ; but he does not inform us whether they make cocoons.
Probably their cocoons are like those of the Io moth, composed
of a gummy membranaceous substance, covered either with leaves
or with grains of earth.

As far as I can ascertain, these six moths are the only Satur-
nians which have been discovered east of the Mississippi, and
they are commonly met with throughout the United States f . The

* " Insects of Georgia," p. 99, pi. 50.

t Mr. Audubon has figured two more, apparently sexes or varieties of one spe-
cies, in the fourth volume of his magnificent "Birds of America", pi. 359; but
has not named or described them. He informs me that they were taken by Mr.
]\uttall near the Rocky Mountains. Through the kindness of Mr. Edward
Doubleday, of Epping, England, the present possessor of one of the very speci-
mens from which Mr. Audubon's drawing was made, an opportunity of examining
and describing this fine insect has been granted to me. Though differing some-
what from the other species of Saturnia, it approaches so near to the Maia that I
shall not venture to separate it from this genus, especially as the caterpillar and its
habits are unknown. It may be called Saturnia Hera, the latter (a generical name
proposed for it by Mr. Doubleday) is the name given by the Greeks to Juno.
The specimen before me is a male. It resembles the Maia in form and size, but
the wings are not quite so thin, and are more opake. The fore- wings, when the
insect is resting, probably cover the hind-wings, the front edge of which appears
to be formed to project a little beyond that of the fore-wings. It is of a pale yel-
low color ; on each of the wings there is a kidney-shaped black spot between two
transverse wavy black bands ; the outer margins are black ; the veins, from the
external black band to the edge arc marked with broad black lines ; and there is a
short black line at the base of the fore-wings; the head, forepart of the thorax, and
upper sides of the legs are deep ochre-yellow ; and the rings of the abdomen are
transversely banded with black at the base, and with ochre-yellow on their hinder

LEPIDOPTERA. 287

last of them, together with some foreign species, such as the Tau
moth of Europe, seem naturally to conduct to the next family,
which I call Ceratocampians (Ceratocampad^e), after the name
of the chief genus contained in it. This name, moreover, signi-
fying horned caterpillar, serves to point out the principal peculi-
arity of the caterpillars in this group ; they being armed with
thorny points, of which those on the second ring, and sometimes
also those on the third, are long, curved, and resemble horns.
These caterpillars eat the leaves of forest-trees, and go into the
ground to undergo their transformations without making cocoons.
The rings of the chrysalis are surrounded by little notched ridges,
the teeth of which, together with the strong prickles at the hinder
end of the body, assist it in forcing its way upwards out of the
earth, just as the moth is about to burst the skin of the chrysalis.
The moths are very easily distinguished from all the foregoing by
their antennae, which are short, and, in the males, are feathered on
both sides for a little more than half the length of the stalk, and
are naked from thence to the tip ; while those of the females are
threadlike, and neither feathered nor toothed. The feelers (ex-
cept in Ceratocampa, in which they are very distinct,) and the
tongue are very small, and not ordinarily visible. There are no
bristles and hooks to fasten together the wings, which, when at
rest, are not spread, but are closed, the fore-wings covering the
hinder pair, and the front edge of the latter, in most cases, ex-
tends a little beyond that of the fore-wings. These are some of
the principal characters on which I have ventured to establish
this family, which is now, for the first time, pointed out as a pe-
culiar group. I believe that it is exclusively American.

One of the largest and most rare, and withal the most magnifi-
cent of our moths is the Ceratocampa regalis, or regal walnut-
moth. Its fore-wings are olive-colored, adorned with several
yellow spots, and veined with broad red lines ; the hind-wings are

edges. The kidney-shaped spots on the fore-wings have a very slender central
yellow crescent, and those on the hind-wings touch the external black band. The
wing-s expand three inches. The other moth, figured on the same plate in 31r.
Audubon's work, which is probably the female of the foregoing, apparently differs
from it only in being of a deep Indian yellow color, and in having the crescent in
the middle of the kidney-shaped spots very distinct, whereas in the male it is
almost obsolete.

288 INSECTS OF MASSACHUSETTS.

orange-red, with two large irregular yellow patches before, and a
row of wedge-shaped olive-colored spots between the veins be-
hind ; the head is orange-red ; the thorax is yellow, with the edge
of the collar, the shoulder-covers, and an angular spot on the top
orange-red ; the upper side of the abdomen, and the legs are also
orange-red. Unlike the other moths of the same family, the feel-
ers in this are distinct, cylindrical, and prominent, and the front
edge of the hind-wings does not seem to be formed to extend be-
yond that of the other pair when the wings are closed. It ex-
pands from five to six inches. In the year 1828, I found three of
the eggs of this fine insect on the black walnut on the twentieth
of July and the fourth of August. They were just hatched at
the time, and the caterpillars were near to them resting on a leaf.
The position of these young insects was so peculiar as to attract
attention, independently of the long branching spines with which
the forepart of their body was armed. They were not stretched
out in a straight line, neither were they hunched up like the cater-
pillars of the Luna and Polyphemus moths ; but, when at rest,
they bent the forepart of the body sidewise, so that the head
nearly touched the middle of the side, and their long horn-like
spines were stretched forwards, in a slanting direction, over the
head. When disturbed they raised their heads and horns, and
shook them from side to side in a menacing manner. These little
caterpillars were nearly black ; on each of the rings, except the
last two, there were six straight yellow thorns or spines, which
were furnished on all sides with little sharp points like short
branches. Of these branched spines, two on the top of the first
ring, and four on the second and the third rings, or ten in all,
were very much longer than the rest, and were tipped with little
knobs, ending in two points ; they were also movable, the insect
having the power of dropping them almost horizontally over the
head, and of raising them up again perpendicularly. On the
eleventh ring there were seven spines, the middle one being long
and knobbed like those on the forepart of the body ; on the last
ring there were eleven short and branched spines. After casting
its skin two or three times, the caterpillar becomes lighter colored,
and gradually changes to green ; the knobs on the long spines dis-
appear, their little points or branches do not increase in size, and

LEPIDOPTERA. 289

finally these spines become curved, turning backwards at their
points, and resemble horns. When fully grown, the caterpillar
measures from four to five inches in length, and about three quar-
ters of an inch in diameter. It is of a green color, and trans-
versely banded across each of the rings with pale blue ; there is a
large blue-black spot on each side of the third ring ; the head and
legs are orange-colored ; the ten long horn-like spines on the
forepart of the body are orange-colored, with the tips and the
points surrounding them black ; the other spines are short and
black. Notwithstanding the great size, formidable appearance,
and menacing motions of this insect, when handled it is perfectly
harmless, and unable to sting or wound with its frightful horns.
Jt lives solitary on walnut and hickory trees, the leaves of which
it eats ; crawls down and goes into the ground towards the end of
summer, and changes to a chrysalis without previously making a
cocoon. Unfortunately my caterpillars died before the time for
their transformation arrived ; and the chrysalis is known to me
only from the figure given by Mr. Abbot*, in which I cannot dis-
cover the transverse notched ridges or little teeth that are found
on the chrysalids of the other insects belonging to the same family,
and perhaps they do not exist on this one. The insect remains
in the ground through the winter, and the moth comes out in the
following summer, during the month of June, if I am rightly
informed. I have not been able to obtain one myself, and my
description of the moth was made from a very fine specimen be-
longing to a friend, who received it from New Bedford.

Between the regal Ceratocampa and the smaller insects of this
family belonging to the new genus Dryocampa, should be placed a
noble moth, which partakes, in some respects, of the characters
of both ; its horned caterpillar, particularly while young, when its
horns are proportionally longer and more formidable in appear-
ance than afterwards, resembles somewhat that of the Cerato-
campa ; its chrysalis is exactly like that of a Dryocampa, and like
the latter also, in the winged state, its feelers are minute, its hind-
wings project beyond the front edges of the fore-wings when at
rest, and its style of coloring is the same. In my Catalogue of

" Insects of Georgia," p. 121, pi. 61.
37

290 INSECTS OF MASSACHUSETTS.

the " Insects of Massachusetts," I placed this moth, the impcri-
alis of Drury, in the genus Ccratocampa, from which, however,
it must be removed, on account of its very small feelers, and the
position of its wings ; and I now refer it, with some hesitation, to
the genus Dryocampa, with which it agrees so well in the moth
state, although its caterpillar differs a good deal from those of the
other insects of the same genus. The imperial moth, Dryocampa
imperialism has wings of a fine yellow color, thickly sprinkled with
purple-brown dots, with a large patch at the base, a small round
spot near the middle, and a wavy band towards the hinder margin
of each wing, of a light purple-brown color ; in the males there is
another purple-brown spot, covering nearly the whole of the outer
hind margin of the fore-wings, and united to the band near that
part ; the body is yellow, shaded with purple-brown on the back,
and with three spots of the same color on the thorax. It expands
from four inches and a half to more than five inches. In a variety
of this moth, of which I have a colored drawing done by Mr.
Abbot, the purple-brown color prevails so much as to cover the
wings, with the exception only of a large triangular yellow spot
contiguous to the front margin of each wing. This moth appears
here from the twelfth of June to the beginning of July, and then
lays its eggs on the button-wood tree. The caterpillars may be
found upon this tree, grown to their full size, between the twen-
tieth of August and the end of September, during which time
they descend from the trees to go into the ground. They are
then from three to four inches in length, and more than half an
inch in diameter, and, for the most part, of a green color, slightly
tinged with red on the back ; but many of them become more or
less tanned or swarthy, and are sometimes found entirely brown.
There are a few very short hairs thinly scattered over the body ;
the head and the legs are pale orange-colored ; the oval spiracles,
or breathing holes, on the sides, are large and white, encircled
with green ; on each of the rings, except the first, there are six
thorny knobs or hard and pointed warts of a yellow color, cov-
ered with short black prickles ; the two uppermost of these warts
on the top of the second and of the third rings are a quarter of an
inch or more in length, curved backwards like horns, and are of a
deeper yellow color than the rest ; the three triangular pieces on

LEriDOPTERA. 291

the posterior extremity of the body are brown, with yellow mar-
gins, and are covered with raised orange-colored dots. The
chrysalis, which is not contained in a cocoon, is about two inches
long, of a dark chestnut-brown color, rough with little elevated
points, particularly on the anterior extremity, ends behind with a
long forked spine, and is surrounded, on each ring, with a notched
ridge, the little teeth of which point towards the tail. Three of
the grooves or incisions between the rings are very deep, thus
allowing a great extent of motion to the joints, and these, with
the notched ridges, and the long spine at the end of the body,
enable the chrysalis to work its way upwards in the earth, above
the surface of which it pushes the forepart of its body just before
the moth makes its escape.

Dryocampa, oak or forest caterpillar, is a name originally ap-
plied by me to certain insects, found sometimes in great numbers
on oak-trees, which then suffer very severely from their ravages.
Of these caterpillars there are several kinds, resembling each
other in shape, and in the form and situation of the thorns with
which they are armed, but differing in color, and in the moths
produced f.om them. They live together in swarms, but do not
make webs ; their bodies are cylindrical, remarkably hard and
stiff, naked or not hairy, and have, on each ring, about six short
thorns, or sharp points, besides two on the top of the second ring,
which are long1 slender, and threadlike, but not flexible, and pro-
ject in the manner of horns. The most common of these cater-
pillars in Massachusetts is black, with four narrow ochre-yellow
stripes along the back, and two on each side. It is found in
swarms of several hundreds together, on the limbs of the white
and red oaks, during the month of August. The eggs from which
they proceed are laid in large clusters on the under-side of a leaf
near the end of a branch. The caterpillars are hatched towards
the end of July, but sometimes earlier, and at other times later.
At first they eat only the youngest leaves at the end of the
branches and twigs, and, as they grow larger and stronger, pro-
ceed downwards, devouring every leaf, to the midrib and foot-
stalk, from one end of the branch to the other. They have their
regular times for eating and for rest, and when they have finished
their meals, they cluster closely together along the twigs and

292 INSECTS OF MASSACHUSETTS.

branches. If disturbed, they raise the forepart of their bodies,
and shake their heads to signify their displeasure. When fully
grown they measure about two inches in length. Commonly in
the early part of September, they crawl down the trees and go
into the ground, to the depth of four or five inches, where they
are changed to chrysalids. These resemble the chrysalids of the
imperial Dryocampa, but are much smaller, and like them they
remain in the ground throughout the winter, and work their way
up to the surface in the following summer. These chrysalids
may often be seen sticking half way out of the ground under oak-
trees in the latter part of June and the beginning of July, at which
time the moths burst them open and make their escape. Dryo-
campa senatoria, the senatorial Dryocampa, which is the name of
this kind of moth, is of an ochre-yellow color ; the wings are
faintly tinged with purplish red, especially on the front and hind
margins, and are crossed by a narrow purple-brown band behind
the middle ; the fore-wings are sprinkled with blackish dots, and
have a small round white spot near the middle. The male is
much smaller than the female, its wings are thinner, and more
tinged with dull purple-red. It expands about an inch and three
quarters; the female two inches and a half, or more.

Three more kinds of Dryocampa are found in Massachusetts,
but they are all rare in this State. The largest of them is the
stigma of Fabricius, or spotted-wing Dryocampa. It is of a red-
dish ochre or deep tawny yellow color ; the fore-wings are tinged
with purplish red behind, are thickly sprinkled with blackish dots,
have a small round white spot near the middle, and a narrow ob-
lique purple-red band behind ; the hind-wings have a narrow trans-
verse purple-red band, behind which the border is sprinkled with
a few black dots. It expands from one inch and three quarters
to two inches and three quarters. The caterpillar, which I have
not seen, is figured in Mr. Abbot's work*, where it is colored
yellow, with black thorns on its back. It is said to live on the
oak, in swarms, while young, but these disperse as the insects
grow large.

The following resembles the senatorial Dryocampa ; but is

* "Insects of Georgia," p. Ill, pi. 5G.

LEPIDOPTERA. 293

«

rather smaller, and is a more delicate moth. The color of its
body is ochre-yellow ; the fore-wings of the male are purple-
brown, with a large colorless transparent space on the middle,
near which is a small round white spot, and towards the hinder
margin a narrow oblique very faint dusky stripe ; the hind-wings
are purple-brown, almost transparent in the middle, and with a
very faint transverse dusky stripe ; the wings of the female are
purplish red, blended with ochre-yellow, are almost transparent in
the middle, and have the same white spots and faint bands as those
of the male. It expands from one inch and three quarters to two
inches and a quarter, or more in some females. The distinguish-
ing name, given by Sir J. E. Smith* to this moth, is pellucida,
and we may call it the pellucid or clear-wing Dryocampa. I have
only once seen the caterpillar, which was found on an oak on the
twenty-fifth of September. It was about the size of that of the
senatorial Dryocampa, and resembled it in every thing but color.
Its head was rust-yellow, its body pea-green, shaded on the back
and sides with red, longitudinally striped with very pale yellowish
green, and armed with black thorns.

The last of these insects is the rubicunda of Fabricius, or rosy
Dryocampa. This delicate and very rare moth is found in Mas-
sachusetts in July. Its fore-wings are rose-colored, crossed by a
broad pale yellow band ; the hind-wings are pale yellow, with a
short rosy band behind the middle ; the body is yellow ; the belly
and legs are rose colored. It expands rather more than one inch
and three quarters. The caterpillar is unknown to me f.

All the Moth caterpillars thus far described in this essay, live
more or less exposed to view, and devour the leaves of plants ; but

* Abbot's " Insects of Georgia," p. 1]5, pi. 58.

t Only one more North American Dryocampa is known to me. This moth was
taken in North Carolina, and does not appear to have been described. It may be
called Dryocampa hicolor, the two-colored, or gray and red Dryocampa. The up-
per side of the fore-wings and the under-side of the hind-wings are brownish o-ray
sprinkled with black dots, and with a small round white spot near the middle and
a narrow oblique dusky band behind it on the fore-wings; the upper side of the
hind-wings, and the under-side of the fore-wings, except the front edge and hinder
margin of the latter, are crimson red; and the body is brownish gray. The male
expands two inches and a quarter. The female and the caterpillar of this insect I
have not seen.

294 INSECTS OF MASSACHUSETTS.

there are others that are concealed from observation in stems and
roots, which they pierce in various directions, and devour only
the wood and pith ; their habits, in this respect, being exactly like
those of the JEgerians among the Sphinges. These insects be-
long to a family of Bombyces, by some naturalists called Zeu-
zeradj;, and by others Hepialid^e, both names derived from
insects included in the same group. The caterpillars of the
Zeuzerians are white or reddish white, soft and naked, or slightly
downy, with brown horny heads, a spot on the top of the fore-
part of the body which is also brown and hard, and sixteen legs.
They make imperfect cocoons, sometimes of silk, and sometimes
of morsels of wood or grains of earth fastened together by gummy
silk. Their chrysalids, like those of the Ceratocampians, are
provided with notched transverse ridges on the rings, by means of
which they push themselves out of their holes when ready to be
transformed. The moths differ a good deal from each other,
although the appearance and habits of the caterpillars are so much
alike. The antennae in some are threadlike, or made up of nearly
cylindrical joints put together like a string of beads ; in others
they are more tapering, and doubly pectinated or tooihed on the
under-side, at least in the males ; and in Zcazera, a kind of moth
not hitherto found in this country, the antennae resemble those of
the Ceratocampians, being half-feathered in the males, and not
feathered in the females. The wings are rather long and narrow,
and are strengthened by very numerous veins. The female is pro-
vided with a kind of tube at the end of the body, that can be
drawn in and out, by means of which she thrusts her eggs into the
chinks of the bark or into the earth at the roots of plants.

Of the root-eaters there is one kind which is very injurious to
the hop-vine in Europe. It is called HejnoJus Humuli, the hop-
vine Hepiolus. The caterpillar is yellowish white ; the head, a
spot on the top of the first and second rings, and the six fore-legs
are shining brown, and it is nearly naked, or has only a few short
hairs scattered over its body. It lives in the roots of the hop,
and, when about to transform, buries itself in the ground, and
makes a long, cylindrical cocoon or case, composed of grains of
earth held together by a loose silken web. The chrysalis has
transverse rows of little teeth on the backs of the abdominal rings,

LEPIDOPTERA. 295

and by means of them it finally works its way out of the cocoon
and rises to the surface of the ea th ; this being done, the included
moth bursts its chrysalis shell, and comes forth into the open air.
In moths of this kind (genus Hepiolus) the antennae are very
short, slender, almost threadlike, and not feathered or pectinated ;
the tongue is wanting or invisible ; and the feelers are excessively
small, and concealed in a tuft of hairs. The hop-vine Hepiolus
has not yet been detected in Massachusetts ; but we have a much
larger species, known to me only in the moth state, which is the
reason of my having given the foregoing account of the prepara-
tory stages of a European species. This moth does not appear
to have been described. It is named, in my Catalogue of the
" Insects of Massachusetts," Hepiolus argenteomaculatus, the
silver-spotted Hepiolus. Its body and wings are rather long. It
is of an ashen gray color ; the fore-wings are variegated with
dusky clouds and bands, and have a small triangular spot and a
round dot of a silvery white color near their base ; the hind-wings
are tinged with ochre-yellow towards the tip. It expands two
inches and three quarters.

The locust-tree, Robinia pseudacacia, is preyed upon by three
different kinds of wood-eaters or borers, whose unchecked rav-
ages seem to threaten the entire destruction and extermination of
this valuable tree within this part of the United States. One of
these borers is a little reddish caterpillar, whose operations are
confined to the small branches and to very young trees, in the
pith of which it lives ; and by its irritation it causes the twig to
swell around the part attacked. These swellings, being spongy
and also perforated by the caterpillar, are weaker than the rest of
the stem, which therefore easily breaks off at these places. My
attempts to complete the history of this insect have not been suc-
cessful hitherto ; and I can only conjecture that it belongs to the
iEgerians, or possibly to the tribe of Bombyces.

The second kind of borer of the locust-tree is larger than the
foregoing, is a grub, and not a caterpillar, which finally turns to the
beetle named Clytus piclus, the painted Clytus, already described
on a preceding page of this essay.

The third of the wood-eaters, to which the locust-tree is ex-
posed, though less common than the others, and not so universally

296 INSECTS OF MASSACHUSETTS.

destructive to the tree as the painted Clytus, is a very much
larger borer, and is occasionally productive of great injury, espe-
cially to full-grown and old trees, for which it appears to have a
preference. It is a true caterpillar, belonging to the tribe of
moths under consideration, is reddish above, and white beneath,
with the head and top of the first ring brown and shelly, and there
are a (ew short hairs arising from minute warts thinly scattered
over the surface of the body. When fully growr, it measures two
inches and a half, or more, in length, and is nearly as thick as the
end of the little finger. These caterpillars bore the tree in various
directions, but for the most part obliquely upwards and down-
wards through the solid wood, enlarging the holes as they in-
crease in size, and continuing them through the bark to the out-
side of the trunk. Before transforming, they line these passages
with a web of silk, and, retiring to some distance from the orifice,
they spin around their bodies a closer web, or cocoon, within
which they assume the chrysalis form. The chrysalis measures
one inch and a half or two inches in length, is of an amber color,
changing to brown on the forepart of the body ; and, on the upper
side of each abdominal ring, are two transverse rows of tooth-like
projections. By the help of these, the insect, when ready for its
last transformation, works its way to the mouth of its burrow,
where it remains while the chrysalis skin is rent, upon which it
comes forth on the trunk of the tree a winged moth. In this its
perfected state, it is of a gray color ; the fore-wings are thickly
covered with dusky netted lines and irregular spots, the hind-
wings are more uniformly dusky, and the shoulder-covers are
edged with black on the inside. It expands about three inches.
The male, which is much smaller, and has been mistaken for an-
other species, is much darker than the female, from which it
differs also in having a large ochre-yellow spot on the hind-wings,
contiguous to their posterior margin. Professor Peck, who first
made public the history of this insect*, named it Cossus Uobinice,
the Cossus of the Locust-tree, scientifically called Robinia. It is
supposed by Professor Peck to remain three years in the cater-

* Sec ''Massachusetts Agricultural Repository and Journal," Vol. V., p. G7,
with a plate

LEPIDOPTERA. 297

pillar state. The moth comes forth about the middle of July.
The same insect, or one not to be distinguished from it while
a caterpillar, perforates the trunks of the red oak. Mr. New-
man * has recently given the name of Xyleutes, the carpenter,
to the genus including this insect, instead of Cossus, which it
formerly bore, because the latter, being the name of a species,
ought not to have been applied to a genus. The European
carpenter-moth, called Bombyx Cossusf by Linnaeus, will now be
the Xyleutes Cossus ; and our indigenous species will be the
Xyleutes Robinict, or locust-tree carpenter-moth. The moths
of this genus have thick and robust bodies, broad and thickly
veined wings, two very distinct feelers, and antennas, which are
furnished on the under-side, in both sexes, with a double set
of short teeth, rather longer in the male than in the female.
Their tongue is invisible. They give out a strong and peculiar
smell, whence they are sometimes called goat-moths by English
writers.

Some caterpillars, which eat the leaves of plants, live in cases
or long oval cocoons, open at both ends, and large enough for
the insects to turn around within them, so as to go out of either
end. They do not entirely leave these cases, even when moving
from place to place, but cling to them on the inside with the legs
of the hinder part of their bodies, while their heads and fore-legs
are thrust out. Thus in moving they creep with their six fore-
legs only, and drag along their cases after them as they go.
These cases are made of silk within, and are covered on the out-
side with leaves, bits of straw, or little sticks. The caterpillars
are nearly cylindrical, generally soft and whitish, except the head
and upper part of the first three rings, which are brown and hard ;
they have sixteen legs ; the first three pairs are long, strong, and
armed with stout claws ; the others are very short, consisting
merely of slight wart-like elevations provided with numerous mi-
nute clinging hooks. When they are about to change their forms
their cases serve them instead of cocoons ; they fasten them by
silken threads to the plant on which they live, stop up the holes

* See " Entomological Magazine," Vol. V. p. 129.

t Subsequently named Cossus ligniperddby Fabricius.

38

298 INSECTS OF MASSACHUSETTS.

in them, and then throw off their caterpillar-skins. The chrysa-
lids are remarkably blunt at the hinder extremity, and are pro-
vided with transverse rows of minute teeth on the back of the
abdominal rings. The moths, of which there are several kinds
produced by these case-bearing caterpillars, differ very much
from each other ; but, as they all agree in their habits and general
appearance while in the caterpillar form, they are brought together
in one family called Psychad.e, the Psychians, from Psyche,
a genus belonging to it. The Germans give these insects a more
characteristic name, that of sacktrager*, that is, sack-bearers,
and Hiibner called them Canephorte, or basket-carriers, because
the cases of some of them are made of little sticks somewhat like
a wicker basket. The cases of the insects belonging to the
European genus Psyche are covered with small leaves, bits of
grass or of sticks, placed lengthwise on them. The chrysalis of
the male Psyche, pushes itself half-way out of the case when
about to set free the moth ; the female, on the contrary, never
leaves its cocoon, is not provided with wings, and its antennae and
legs are very short. The male Psyche resembles somewhat the
same sex of Orgyia, having pretty broad wings, and antennas that
are doubly feathered on the under-side ; it has also a bristle and
hook to hold the wings together. The cases of Oiketicusj-,
another and much larger kind of sack-bearer, inhabiting the West
Indies and South America, are covered with pieces of leaves and
of sticks arranged either longitudinally or transversely. The
cases of some of the females, measure four or five inches in
length. Some which I received from Cuba were covered with
little bits of sticks, about a quarter of an inch long, arranged
transversely, and the cases were hung by a thick silken loop or
ring to a twig ; the lower end of these cases was filled with a
large quantity of loose and very soft brownish floss-silk, which
completely closed the orifice within. The male Oi/cf tints resem-
bles a Zeuzcra in the form and great length of its body, in the
shape of its wings, and in its antennae, and in both the latter it

* Sec Gcrmar's " Magazin der Entomologie," Vol. I. p. 19.
t This name ought lobe (Kccticus. See Mr. Guilding's description of the in-
sect in the "Transactions of the Linnrcan Society," Vol. XV.

LEPIDOPTERA. 299

resembles also the same sex of a Drijocamjia, particularly in its
antenna;, which are feathered on both sides on the lower part of
the stalk, and are bare at the other end. The female has neither
wings, antennae, nor legs, and is said to remain always within its
cocoon. Some years ago, a case or cocoon of an Oikcticus,
which was found on Long Island, was presented to me. It was
smaller than the West Indian specimens, measuring only an inch
and a half without its loop, and was covered with a few little
sticks longitudinally arranged. It contained a female chrysalis,
with the remains of the caterpillar.

We have, in Massachusetts, another sack-bearer, which does
not appear to have been described, and differs so much both from
Psyche and Oiketicus, when arrived at maturity, as to induce me
to give it another generical name. I therefore call it Perophora
Mtlsheimerii * , Melsheimer's sack-bearer. A case of this insect,
containing a living caterpillar, was brought to me towards the end
of September, by a student of Harvard University, Mr. H. O.
White, who found it on an oak-tree in Cambridge. This case
was nearly an inch and a half long, and about half an inch in di-
ameter. It was not regularly oval, but somewhat flattened on its
lower side. It consisted externally of two oblong oval pieces of
a leaf, fastened together in the neatest manner by their edges, but
the seams made a little ridge on each side of the case; this had
become dry and faded, and was lined within with a thick and
tough layer of brownish silk, in which there was left, at each end,
a circular opening just big enough for the caterpillar to pass
through. The caterpillar was cylindrical, about as thick as a
common pipe-stem, of a light reddish brown color with a paler
line along the back ; it was rough, with little elevated points ; its
head and the top of the first ring were black, hard, and rough
also. The head was provided with a pair of jointed feelers,
which the insect extended and drew in at pleasure, and which,
when they were out, were kept in continual motion. On each side
of the middle of the head, there was a black and flexible kind of

* Named in honor of Dr. F. E. Melsheimer, (the son of the Rev. F. V. Melshei-
mer, the father of American Entomology, as he has been called,) from whom I
have received specimens of this insect, and its curious case.

300 INSECTS OF MASSACHUSETTS.

antenna, very slender where it joined the head, and broader to-
wards the end, like the handle of a spoon. The first three pairs
of legs were equal in length, and armed with stout horny claws.
The other legs, if such they could be called, were ten in number,
and so short that only the oval soles of the feet were visible, and
these were surrounded by numerous minute hooks. The tail-end
of the body was as blunt as if it had been cut off with a knife ; it
sloped a little backwards, and consisted of a circular horny plate,
of a dark gray color, which, when the caterpillar retired within
its case, exactly shut up one of the holes in it. This caterpillar
eat the leaves of the oak, and fed mostly by night ; while eating
it came half way, or more, out of its cocoon ; and in moving laid
hold of the leaf with its fore-legs, and then shortened its body
suddenly, so as to bring its cocoon after it with a jerk ; and, in
this way, it went by jerks from place to place. When it had
done eating, it moored its case to a leaf by a few silken threads
fastened to one, and sometimes to both ends ; and before moving
again, it came out and bit off these threads close to the case. It
could turn round easily within its case, and go out of either end,
as occasion required. So tenaciously did it cling to the inside
of its case with the little hooks of its hinder feet, that all attempts
to make it come wholly out, except by a force which would have
been fatal to the insect, were without effect. This kind of cater-
pillar prepares for transformation by fastening both ends of its
cocoon to a branch, and then stops up each of the holes in it with
a little circular silken lid, exactly fitting the orifice, and made
about the thickness of common brown paper. There is no great
difference in the size or form of the chrysalids which produce the
male and female moths ; they are about three quarters of an inch
in length ; on both of them the sheaths for the wings, antennae,
and legs are alike, and are as plainly to be seen as on the chrysa-
lids of other winged moths. The chrysalis tapers very little, and
does not end with a point, but is blunt behind ; and on the edge
of each of the rings of the back, there is a transverse row of little
pointed teeth which shut into corresponding notches in the ring
immediately behind them. These teeth are evidently designed
to enable the chrysalis to move towards the mouth of its case, and
to hold with, when it is engaged in forcing off the lid in order to

LEPIDOPTERA. 301

allow of the escape of the moth. I do not know at what time the
moths come out in Massachusetts ; they have been taken in July,
in Virginia. Both sexes leave their cocoons when arrived at
maturity, and both are provided with wings. Their feelers are
of moderate size, cylindrical, blunt pointed, and thickly covered
with scales. The tongue is not visible. Their antenna; are
curved, and are recurved or bent upwards at the point ; the stalk
is feathered, in a double row, on the under-side, very widely, in
the males, for more than half its length, and beyond the middle
the feathery fringe is suddenly narrowed, and tapers thence to the
tip ; in the females the antennae are also doubly feathered, but the
fringe is narrower throughout than in the other sex. The body
and the wings almost exactly resemble those of the foreign silk-
worm moth in shape ; but the fore-wings are rather more pointed
and hooked at the tip. There are no bristles and hooks to hold
together the wings, which, when at rest, cover the sides like a slop-
ing roof, and the front edge of the hind-wings does not project
beyond that of the fore-wings. These moths are of a reddish
gray color, finely sprinkled all over with minute black dots ; the
posterior margin of the hind-wings above, and the under-side of
the fore-wings, especially behind the tip, are tinged with tawny
red ; there is a small black dot near the middle of the fore-wings ;
and both the fore and hind wings are crossed by a narrow black-
ish band, beginning with an angle on the front edge of the former,
and passing obliquely backwards to the inner edge of the hind-
wings. They expand from one inch and three eighths to two
inches, or a little more.

The last family of the Bombyces, remaining to be noticed, may
be called Notodontians (Notodontad;e). Many of the cater-
pillars belonging to it have hunched backs, or tooth-like promi-
nences on the back ; and hence the origin of the name of this fam-
ily, which comes from a word signifying toothed-back. Most of
these caterpillars are entirely naked ; some of them are downy
or slightly hairy, but the hairs generally grow immediately from
the skin, and not in spreading clusters from little warts on the
rings. They have sixteen legs ; some raise the last pair when at
rest, and some keep these always elevated and do not use them in
creeping, in which case these terminal legs are lengthened, and

302 INSECTS OF MASSACHUSETTS.

form a forked appendage or tail to the hinder part of the body.
Hence such caterpillars are often described as having only four-
teen legs, although the wanting members really exist in a modi-
fied form. Moreover the caterpillars of some of the Notodonti-
ans seem to be without legs, and even on close examination only
the soles of the feet can be perceived. The Notodontians are
found chiefly on trees and shrubs, the leaves of which they eat.
When about to be transformed, the most of them enclose them-
selves in cocoons, which are often very hard and thick, made
either of silk, or of silk mixed with fragments of wood and bark ;
some make thin, semitransparent, and filmy cocoons under a
covering of leaves ; some merely cover themselves with grains
of earth, held together by silken threads ; and a very few go into
the ground to transform, without making cocoons. The chrysa-
lids taper behind, and are not provided with transversed notched
ridges on the back. The moths close their wings over the sides
of the body like a sloping roof, when at rest ; but the front edges
of the hind-wings never extend beyond those of the fore-wings,
and the bristles and hooks for holding the wings together, are
never wanting. The antennae are rather long ; those of the males
are generally doubly feathered on the under-side ; but the feath-
ery fringe is often very narrow towards the tips, and, in the fe-
males, is always narrower than in the other sex ; in a few of both
sexes the antennas are not feathered at all. The feelers and
tongue, though short, are generally visible. The body is rather
long, and not very thick. In what follows, a few only of the
most remarkable species will be described.

Among the many odd-shaped caterpillars belonging to this fam-
ily, not the least remarkable are those which are called Lima-
codes, that is, slug-like, on account of their seeming want of
feet, their very slow gliding motions, and the slug-like form of
some of them. In these caterpillars the body is very short and
thick, and approaches more or less to an oval form, it is naked,
or, in some kinds, covered only with short down ; the head is
small, and can be drawn in and concealed under the first ring ;
the six fore-legs are also small and retractile ; and the other legs
consist only of little fleshy elevations, without claws or hooks.
The under-side of the body is smeared with a sticky fluid, which

LEPIDOPTERA. 303

seems designed to render their footing more secure, and leaves a
slimy track wherever the insects go. Their cocoons are very
small, almost round, tough, and parchment-like, and are fastened
to the twigs of the plants on which the insects live. The moths
of some, if not of all, of the Limacodcs make their escape by
pushing off one end of the cocoon, which separates like a little
circular lid.

The most common of these slug-caterpillars, in Massachusetts,
live on walnut-trees. They come to their full size in September
and October, and then measure five eighths of an inch in length,
and rather more than three eighths across the middle. The body
is thick, and its outline nearly diamond-shaped ; the back is a lit-
tle hollowed, and the middle of each side rises to an obtuse angle ;
it is of a green color, with the elevated edges brown. The boat-
like form of this caterpillar induced me to name it Limacodes
Scapha, the skiff Limacodes, in my Catalogue of the " Insects
of Massachusetts." My specimens generally died after they had
made their cocoons, and consequently the moth is unknown
to me.

The moth of a Limacodes, called Cippus * by Sir J. E.
Smith, is sometimes found in Massachusetts, from the middle of
July till the tenth of August. It is of a reddish brown color ; on
each of the fore-wings there is a small dark brown dot near the
middle, and a broad wavy green band beginning at the base, and
bending round till it touches the front margin near the tip ; behind
a deep notch of this band, near the base of the wing, there is a
triangular tawny spot, and another smaller one near the tip. The
green band is sometimes broken into three triangular green spots,
the middle one of which is wanting in some specimens. One half of
the stalk of the antennas of the male is doubly feathered beneath ;
the remainder to the tip is bare. The antennas of the female are
thread-like and not fringed. The wings expand from one inch
to one inch and one eighth. The caterpillar figured by Mr.

* Probably not the true Cippus of Fabricius, which is found in Surinam. There
is a figure of our species in Guerin's " Iconographie du Regne Animal," where
it is named Limacodes Delphinli, but for what reason I know not, for it does not
live on the Delphinium or larkspur.

304 INSECTS OF MASSACHUSETTS.

Abbot * is oblong oval, striped with purple and yellow, with
twelve fleshy horns, of an orange color, on the sides of its back,
namely six on the forepart, two on the middle, and four on the
hind-part of the body. Mr. Abbot says that it eats the leaves of
the dogwood (Comus Florida), oak, and of other trees ; that it
makes its cocoon in September, and that the moth comes out in
July.

A still more extraordinary slug-caterpillar, having a very re-
mote resemblance to the last, is sometimes seen here on oak-trees,
in the month of September. It is of a dark brown color, and is
covered with a short velvet-like down ; its body is almost oblong
square, but the sides of the rings extend horizontally in the form
of flattened teeth ; three of these teeth on each side, that is, one
on the forepart, the middle, and the hind-part of the body, are
much longer than the others, and are curved backwards at the end.
When fully grown, the caterpillar measures nearly an inch in
length. It does not bear confinement well, and my specimens
generally died without making cocoons. Dr. Melsheimer, to
whom I am indebted for one of the moths, informs me that the
caterpillar eats the leaves of the wild cherry, as well as those of
the white and red oak, that it makes its cocoon about the middle
of September, changes to a chrysalis the following April, and
that the moth appears in about eight weeks afterwards. The
name given to this insect by Sir J. E. Smith f is pitkecium, the
meaning of which is a shrivelled and monkey-faced old woman,
bestowed upon it probably on account of the shrivelled appear-
ance and dark color of the caterpillar. Jn its winged state, Lima-
codes pithecium, or the hag-moth, as it may be called, is of a
dusky brown color ; its fore-wings are variegated with light yel-
lowish brown, and with a narrow curved and wavy band, of the
same light color, edged externally with dark brown near the outer
margin, and a light brown spot near the middle ; the fringes of
all the wings are spotted with light brown ; the legs are covered
with long hairs ; the antenna;, in both sexes, are slender, almost

* " Insects of Georgia," p. 145, pi. ?:!.

t Abbot's " Insects of Georgia," p. 147, pi. 74.

LEPIDOPTERA. 305

thread-like, and not feathered. It expands from nearly one inch
to one inch and a quarter.

There is a kind of caterpillar, found in July and August on the
balsam poplar, and sometimes on other poplars and willows,
whose form, posture, and motions are so odd as at once to arrest
attention. Its body is naked, short, and thick, tapers behind and
ends with a forked kind of tail, which is held upwards at an ob-
tuse angle with the rest of the body. This forked tail, which
takes the place of the hindmost pair of legs, the others being
only fourteen in number, is not used with the latter in creeping,
and consists of two movable hollow tubes, within each of which
is concealed a long orange-colored thread that the insect can
push out and draw in at pleasure. The feet are short and small ;
the head is small, of a purple color, and can be drawn under
the front part of the first ring ; the body is green, with a trian-
gular purple spot on the top of the forepart, and a large diamond-
shaped patch, of the same color, covering the back and middle of
the sides like a mantle, and prolonged behind to the tail. When
young, these caterpillars have, on the top of the first ring, two
little prickly warts, which disappear after one or two changes of
the skin. When teazed by being touched or irritated by flies, the
caterpillar runs out the threads from its forked tail, which it jerks
forwards so as to lash the sides of its body and whip off the in-
truder. When fully grown, it measures sometimes an inch and a
half in length, without including the terminal fork. Caterpillars
of this kind are called Cerura, horned-tail, by some, and Dicran-
wm, forked-tail, by other naturalists. Early in August the one
above described makes a tough cocoon of bits of wood and bark
glued together with a sticky matter, and fastened to the side of
a branch, the lower side being flat and the upper convex. The
last transformation occurs about the middle of June, when, after
the end of the cocoon has been softened by a liquid thrown out
by the insect within, the moth forces its way through. This in-
sect has been figured in Mr. Abbot's work,* where it is called
furcuht, a name, however, which belongs to an European insect.
It is also represented in Guerin's " Iconographie " and in Griffith's

* " Insects of Georgia," p. 141. pi. 71.

39

306 INSECTS OF MASSACHUSETTS.

translation of Cuvier's " Animal Kingdom ; " and I have adopted
the specific name given to it by Dr. Boisduval in these works.
Cerura borcalis, the northern Cerura or fork-tail moth, like
others of the genus, has the antennas feathered in both sexes, but
narrow, and tapering and bent upwards at the point ; the legs,
especially the first pair, which are stretched out before the body
when at rest, are, like those of our native Limacodes, very hairy ;
and the wings are thin and almost transparent. The ground-color
of our moth is a dirty white ; the fore-wings are crossed by two
broad blackish bands, the outer one of which is traversed and in-
terrupted by an irregular wavy whitish line ; the hinder margins
of all the wings are dotted with black, and there are several
black dots at the base and a single one near the middle of the
fore-wings ; the top of the thorax is blackish, and the collar is
edged with black. In some individuals the dusky bands of the
fore-wings are edged or dotted with tawny yellow ; in others
these wings are dusky, and the bands are indistinct. They ex-
pand from one inch and three eighths to one inch and three
quarters.

Here should be placed some insects belonging to Mr. Doub-
leday's proposed genus Balia, whose caterpillars strongly resem-
ble those of Cerura, while the moths have most of the characters
of the European genus Stauropus or Harjiya. These insects,
though not uncommon in the Middle and Southern States, have
not yet been found in Massachusetts. They evidently lead,
through Harpya Ulmi and Milhauseri, to the Notodontians called
unicornis and concinna.

The following insects, for the sake of convenience, may be
included in the old genus Notodonta. The first of them is found
in August and September on plum and apple trees, and, accord-
ing to Mr. Abbot*, on the red-berried alder, Prinos verticillatus.
The top of the fourth ring of this caterpillar rises in the form of
a long horn, sloping forwards a little; the tail, with the hindmost
feet, which are rather longer than the others, is always raised
when the insect is at rest, but it generally uses these legs in
walking ; its head is large, and of a brown color ; the sides of

* " Insects of Georgia," p. 171, pi. 86.

LEPIDOPTERA. 307

the second and third rings are green ; the rest of the body is
brown, variegated with white on the back, and on it there are a
very few short hairs, hardly visible to the naked eye. When fully
grown, it measures an inch or more in length. Though mostly
solitary in their habits, sometimes three or four of these caterpil-
lars are found near together, and eating the leaves of the same twig.
Towards the end of September they descend from the trees, and
make their cocoons, which are thin and almost transparent, re-
sembling parchment in texture, and are covered generally with
bits of leaves on the outside. The caterpillars remain in their
cocoons a long time before changing to chrysalids, and the moth
does not come out till the following summer. There are proba-
bly two broods in the course of one season, for I have taken the
moths early in August. In Georgia the caterpillar made its cocoon
on the thirtieth of May, and was transformed to a moth fourteen
days afterwards. This moth is the Nolodonta unicornis, or uni-
corn moth, so called from the horn on the back of the caterpillar.
The fore-wings are light brown, variegated with patches of green-
ish white and with wavy dark brown lines, two of which enclose a
small whitish space near the shoulders ; there is a short blackish
mark near the middle ; the tip and the outer hind margin are
whitish, tinged with red in the males; and near the outer hind
angle there are one small white and two black dashes ; the hind-
wings of the male are dirty white, with a dusky spot on the inner
hind angle ; those of the female are sometimes entirely dusky ;
the body is brownish, and there are two narrow black bands across
the forepart of the thorax. The wings expand from one inch and
a quarter to one inch and a half, or nearly.

Our fruit-trees seem to be peculiarly subject to the ravages
of insects, probably because the native trees of the forest, which
originally yielded the insects an abundance of food, have been
destroyed to a great extent, and their places supplied only par-
tially by orchards, gardens, and nurseries. Numerous as are the
kinds of caterpillars now found on cultivated trees, some are
far more abundant than others, and therefore more often fall un-
der our observation, and come to be better known. Such for
instance, are certain gregarious caterpillars that swarm on the
apple, cherry, and plum trees towards the end of summer, strip-

308 INSECTS OF MASSACHUSETTS.

ping whole branches of their leaves, and not unfrequently despoil-
ing our rose-bushes and thorn hedges also. These caterpillars
are of two kinds, very different in appearance, but alike in habits
and destructive propensities. The first of these may be called
the red-humped, a name that will probably bring these insects to
the remembrance of those persons who have ever observed them.
Different broods make their appearance at various times during
August and September. The eggs, from which they proceed,
are laid, in the course of the month of July, in clusters on the
under-side of a leaf, generally near the end of a branch. When
first hatched they eat only the substance of the under-side of the
leaf, leaving the skin of the upper side and all the veins un-
touched ; but as they grow larger and stronger they devour whole
leaves from the point to the stalk, and go from leaf to leaf down
the twigs and branches. The young caterpillars are lighter colored
than the old ones, which are yellowish brown, paler on the sides,
and longitudinally striped with slender black lines ; the head is
red ; on the top of the fourth ring there is a bunch or hump, also
of a red color ; along the back are several short black prickles ;
and the hinder extremity tapers somewhat, and is always elevated
at an angle with the rest of the body, when the insect is not
crawling. The full-grown caterpillars measure one inch and a
quarter, or rather more, in length. They rest close together on
the twigs, when not eating, and sometimes entirely cover the
small twigs and ends of the branches. The early broods come
to their growth and leave the trees by the middle of August, and
the others between this time and the latter part of September.
All the caterpillars of the same brood descend at one time, and
disappear in the night. They conceal themselves under leaves,
or just beneath the surface of the soil, and make their cocoons,
which resemble those of the unicorn Notodonta. They remain a
long time in their cocoons before changing to chrysalids, and are
transformed to moths towards the end of June or the beginning of
July. Mr. Abbot* states that in Georgia these insects breed
twice a year, the first broods making their cocoons towards the
end of May, and appearing in the winged form fifteen days after-

" " Insects of Georgia," p. 109, pi fco.

LEPIDOPTERA. 309

wards. This Notodonta is a neat and trim looking moth, and is
hence called concinna by Sir J. E. Smith. It is of a light brown
color ; the fore-wings are dark brown along the inner margin, and
more or less tinged with gray before ; there is a dark brown dot
near the middle, a spot of the same color near each angle, a very
small triangular whitish spot near the shoulders, and several dark
brown longitudinal streaks on the outer hind margin ; the hind-
wings of the male are brownish or dirty white, with a brown spot
on the inner hind angle ; those of the other sex are dusky brown;
the body is light brown, with the thorax rather darker. The
wings expand from one inch to one inch and three eighths.

There are ten or more kinds of Notodonta in Massachusetts,
all of them differing from the preceding, and more or less from
each other ; the caterpillars of the last of them are cylindrical,
with only a slight elevation or wart-like prominence on the top of
the eleventh ring ; but as these insects, however interesting as
objects of natural history, are not particularly worthy of notice
on any other account, they must be passed by here, without further
remarks.

Every person who has paid any attention to the cultivation of
the grape-vine in this country must have observed upon it, be-
sides the large sphinx caterpillars that devour its leaves, a small
blue caterpillar transversely banded with deep orange across the
middle of each ring, the bands being dotted with black, with the
head and feet also orange, the top of the eleventh ring somewhat
bulging, and the forepart of the body hunched up when the crea-
ture is at rest. These caterpillars begin to appear about the mid-
dle of July, and others are hatched afterwards, as late, perhaps,
as the middle of August. When not eating they generally rest
upon the under-sides of the leaves, and, though many may be
found on one vine, they do not associate with each other. They
live on the common creeper as well as on the grape-vine. They
eat all parts of the leaves, even to the midrib and stalks. When
fully grown, and at rest, they measure an inch and a quarter, but
stretch out, in creeping, to the length of an inch and a half or
mofe. Towards the end of August they begin to disappear, and
no more will be found on the vines after September. They
creep down the vines in the night, and go into the ground, bury-

310 INSECTS OF MASSACHUSETTS.

ing themselves three or four inches deep, and turn to chrysalids
without making cocoons. The chrysalis is dark brown, and
rough with elevated points. The moths begin to come out of
the ground as soon as the twenty-fifth of June, and others con-
tinue to appear till the twentieth of July. Though of small size,
they are very beautiful, and far surpass all others of the family in
delicacy of coloring and design. The name of this moth is Eu-
dryas grata*, the first word signifying beautiful wood nymph, and
the second agreeable or pleasing. The antennae are rather long,
almost thread-like, tapering to the end, and not feathered in
either sex. The fore-wings are pure white, with a broad stripe
along the front edge, extending from the shoulder a little beyond
the middle of the edge, and a broad band around the outer hind
margin, of a deep purple-brown color ; the band is edged internal-
ly with olive-green, and marked towards the edge with a slender
wavy white line ; near the middle of the wing, and touching the
brown stripe, are two brown spots, one of them round and the
other kidney-shaped ; and on the middle of the inner margin
there is a large triangular olive-colored spot ; the under-side of
the same wings is yellow, and near the middle there are a round
and a kidney-shaped black spot. The hind-wings are yellow above
and beneath ; on the upper side with a broad purple-brown hind
border on which there is a wavy white line, and on the under-side
with only a central black dot. The he;.d is black. Along the
middle of the thorax there is a broad crest-like stripe of black and
pearl-colored glittering scales. The shoulder-covers are white.
The upper side of the abdomen is yellow, with a row of black
spots on the top, and another on each side ; the under-side i f the
body, and the large muff-like tufts on the fore-legs, are white ; and
the other legs are black. This moth rests with its wings closed
like a steep roof over its back, and its fore-legs stretched for-
wards, like a Cerura. It expands from one inch and a half to
one inch and three quarters.

Eudryas unio, of Hiibner, the pearl Eudryas, as its name im-
plies, is a somewhat smaller moth, closely resembling the pre-
ceding, from which it differs in having the stripe and band on its

' This insect is the Bombijx grata of Fabricius.

LEPIDOPTERA. 311

fore-wings of a brighter purple-brown color, the round and kidney-
shaped spots contiguous to the former also brown, the olive-col-
ored edging of the band wavy, with a powdered blue spot between
it and the triangular olive-colored spot on the inner margin, and a
distinct brown spot on the inner hind angle of the posterior
wings ; all the wings beneath are broadly bordered behind with
light brown, and the spots upon them are also light brown. It
expands from one inch and three eighths to one inch and a half.
This species has been taken in Massachusetts, but it is rare, and
the caterpillar is unknown to me.

In the remarks preceding the description of Notodonta concin-
na, mention was made of two kinds of caterpillars, living in great
numbers on fruit-trees in the latter part of summer. The sec-
ond kind are now to be described. They grow to a greater size,
are longer in coming to their growth, their swarms are more nu-
merous, and consequently they do much more injury than the
red-humped kind. Entire branches of the apple-trees are fre-
quently stripped of their leaves by them, and are loaded with
these caterpillars in thickly crowded swarms. The eggs from
which they are hatched will be found in patches, of about a hun-
dred together, fastened to the under-side of leaves near the ends
of the twigs. Some of them begin to be hatched about the twen-
tieth of July, and new broods make their appearance in succes-
sion for the space of a month or more. At first they eat only
the under-side and pulpy part of the leaves, leaving the upper side
and veins untouched ; but afterwards they consume the whole of
the leaves except their stems. These caterpillars are sparingly
covered with soft whitish hairs ; the young ones are brown, and
striped with white ; but, as they grow older, their colors become
darker every time they cast their skins. They come to their full
size in about five weeks or a little more, and then measure from
an inch and three quarters to two inches and a quarter in extent.
The head is large, and of a black color ; the body is nearly
cylindrical, with a spot on the top of the first ring and the legs
dull orange-yellow, a black stripe along the top of the back, and
three of the same color alternating with four yellow stripes on
each side. The posture of these caterpillars, when at rest, is
very odd ; both extremities are raised, the body being bent, and

312 INSECTS OF MASSACHUSETTS.

resting only on the four intermediate pairs of legs. If touched
or otherwise disturbed, they throw up their heads and tails with a
jerk, at the same time bending the body semicircularly till the
two extremities almost meet over the back. They all eat togeth-
er, and, after they have done, arrange themselves side by side
along the twigs and branches which they have stripped. Begin-
ning at the ends of the branches they eat all the leaves succes-
sively from thence towards the trunk, and if one branch does not
afford food enough they betake themselves to another. When
ready to transform, all the individuals of the same brood quit the
tree at once, descending by night, and burrow into the ground to
the depth of three or four inches, and, within twenty-four hours
afterwards, cast their caterpillar-skins, and become chrysalids
without making cocoons. They remain in the ground in this
state all winter, and are changed to moths and come out between
the middle and end of July. These moths belong to the genus
Pygcera, so named because the caterpillar sits with its tail raised
up. The antenna; are rather long, those of the males fringed
beneath, in a double row, with very short hairs nearly to the tips,
which, however, as well as the whole of the stalk of the antennae
in the other sex, are bare ; the thorax is generally marked with
a large dark-colored spot, the hairs of which can be raised up so
as to form a ridge or kind of crest ; the hinder margin of the
fore-wings is slightly notched ; and the fore-legs are stretched out
before the body in repose. Our Pygcera was named, by Drury,
ministra, the attendant or servant. It is of a light brown color ;
the head and a large square spot on the thorax are dark chestnut-
brown ; on the fore-wings are four or five transverse lines, one
or two spots near the middle, and a short oblique line near the tip,
all of which, with the outer hind margin, are dark chestnut-brown.
One and sometimes both of the dark brown spots are wanting on
the fore-wings in the males, and the females, which are larger
than the other sex, frequently have five instead of four transverse
brown lines. It expands from one inch and three quarters to
two inches and a half.

I have seen on the oak, the birch, the black walnut, and the
hickory trees, swarms of caterpillars slightly differing in color
from each other and from those, above described, that live on the

LEPIDOPTERA. 313

apple and cherry trees ; they were more hairy than the latter,
but their postures and habits appeared to be the same. Wheth-
er they were all different species, or only varieties of the minis-
tra, arising from difference of food, I have not been able to as-
certain. Mr. Abbot * found the caterpillars of the minislra on a
species of Andromeda. He says that they also eat the leaves of
several kinds of walnut and oak ; that those which eat walnut
leaves are always black, with white hairs ; and when their food is
of the oak that they are more yellow ; but that he had not ob-
served any material difference in the moths.

The cultivation of the balsam and our other large-leaved native
poplars seems to have been neglected of late years. It is true
that these trees are not so durable and so valuable as many oth-
ers ; but we sometimes meet with noble specimens of them ; and
the rapidity of their growth, the great size they attain in favorable
situations, and the fine shade they afford, are qualities not to be
overlooked or despised ; nor is the wood entirely worthless, either
as fuel or in the arts. If these trees are planted alternately with
other more slow-growing trees, we shall have the benefit of the
shade and shelter of the former till the others have become large
enough to fill their places. They are not subject to be attacked
by canker-worms, oak-caterpillars, web-worms, and many other
kinds of insects that infest our hard-wood, ornamental, and shade
trees ; but, unfortunately, they suffer too often from insect depre-
dators of their own, such as the grubs of two or three kinds of
beetles, which bore into their trunks ; the spiny caterpillars of
the Antiopa butterfly and of the Io moth, the fork-tailed Cerura,
the caterpillar of the herald-moth, and another kind of caterpillar
now to be described, all which devour the leaves of these trees.
This last kind of caterpillar is found in little swarms on the trees
from the last of July to the beginning of October. It does not
raise the hinder part of its body when at rest. It is nearly cy-
lindrical, with two little black warts close together on the top of
the fourth and of the eleventh rings. There are a few short
whitish hairs thinly scattered over the body, which is pale yellow,
with three slender black lines on the back, and a broad dusky

* See " Insects of Georgia," p. 161, pi. 81.
40

314 INSECTS OF MASSACHUSETTS.

stripe, also marked with three black lines, on each side ; and the
head, fore-legs, and spiracles are black. When fully grown,
these caterpillars measure about an inch and a half in length.
They live together, in swarms of twenty or more individuals, in
a nest made of a single leaf folded or curled at the sides, and
lined with a thin web of silk. An opening is left at each end of
the nest ; through the lower one the dirt made by the insects falls,
and through the upper one, which is next to the leaf-stalk, the
caterpillars go out to feed upon the leaves near to their nests.
When young they sometimes fold up one side of a leaf for a nest,
and eat the other half. The stalks of the leaves, to which their
nests are hung, become covered with silk from the threads carried
along by the caterpillars in going over them ; and these threads
help to secure the nests to the branches. They eat all parts of
the leaves except the stalks and larger veins, and frequently strip
long shoots of their foliage in a very few days. Towards the end
of September or early in October, according to the age of the
different broods, they descend from the trees, disperse, and seek
a shelter in crevices or under leaves and rubbish on the ground,
where they make their cocoons. These are thin irregular silken
webs, so loosely spun that the insects can be seen through them ;
but they are protected by their situation, or by the dead leaves and
other matters under which they are made. As soon as the
cocoons are finished, the insects become chrysalids, and remain
quiet through the winter ; and about the middle of June, or
somewhat later, they are transformed to moths. They belong to
the genus Clostera, or spinner, so named on account of the
spinning habits of the caterpillars. The antenna? are narrowly
feathered or pectinated in both sexes ; the thorax has an elevated
crest in the middle ; the tail is tufted and turned up at the end, in
the males ; the fore-legs are thickly covered with hairs to the
end, and are stretched out before the body when the insect is at
rest. Our poplar spinner may be called Clostera Americana,
the American Clostera. It closely resembles the European ana-
stomosis, from which, however, it differs essentially in its cater-
pillar state, and the moth presents certain characters, which, on
close comparison with the European insect, will enable us to dis-
tinguish it from the latter. It is of a brownish gray color ; the

LEPIDOPTERA. 315

fore-wings are faintly tinged with pale lilac, and more or less
clouded with rust-red ; they have an irregular row of blackish
dots near the outer hind margin, and are crossed by three whitish
lines, of which the first nearest the shoulders is broken and widely
separated in the middle, the second divides into two branches,
one of which goes straight across the wing to the inner margin,
and the other passes obliquely till it meets the end of the third line,
with which it forms an angle or letter V ; across the middle of
the hind- wings there is a narrow brownish band, much more dis-
tinct beneath than above ; on the top of the thorax there is an
oblong chestnut-colored spot, the hairs of which rise upwards
behind and form a crest. All the whitish lines on the fore-wings
are more or less bounded externally with rust-red. It expands
from one inch and one quarter to one inch and five eighths. In
Georgia this insect breeds twice a year ; and the caterpillars eat
the leaves of the willow as well as those of the poplar*.

2. Owlet-moths. (Noctuce.)

Our second tribe of moths, the Nocture of Linnaeus, appears
to have been thus named from JYoctua, an owl, because they fly
chiefly by night, and are hence called eulen, or owl-moths by the
Germans. This tribe contains a very large number of thick-
bodied and swift-flying moths, most of which may be distinguish-
ed by the following characters. The antennas are long and taper-
ing, and seldom pectinated even in the males ; the tongue is long ;
the feelers are very distinct, and project more or less beyond the
face, the two lower joints being compressed or flattened at the
sides, and the last joint is slender and small ; the thorax is thick,
with rather prominent collar and shoulders, and is often crested on
the top ; the body tapers behind ; the wings are always fastened
together by bristles and hooks, are generally roofed, when at rest,
and each of the fore-wings is marked behind the middle of the
front margin with two spots, one of them round and small, and
the other larger and kidney-shaped. A few of them fly by day,
the others only at night. Their colors are generally dull, and of

* See Phalcena anastomosis of Smith, in Abbot's " Insects of Georgia," p.
143, pi. 72.

316 INSECTS OF MASSACHUSETTS.

some shade of gray or brown, and so extremely alike are they in
their markings, that it is very difficult to describe them without
the aid of figures, which cannot be expected in this treatise. The
caterpillars are nearly cylindrical, for the most part naked, though
some are hairy, slow in their motions, and generally provided with
sixteen legs ; those with fewer legs never want the hindmost pair,
and never raise the end of the body when at rest. Some of them
make cocoons, but the rest go into the ground to transform.
Many of the Noctuas vary more or less from the characters above
given, and the tribe seems to admit of being divided into several
smaller groups or families, under which their peculiarities might
be more distinctly pointed out. Unfortunately the history of
most of our moths is still imperfectly known to me ; and, for this
reason, as well as on account of the length to which the forego-
ing part of this treatise has already extended, I have concluded to
suppress a considerable portion of my observations on the owlet-
moths and the rest of the Lepidoptera, and shall confine my re-
marks to a few of the most injurious species in each of the re-
maining tribes.

The injury done to vegetation by the caterpillars of the Noctu-
as, or owlet-moths, is by no means inconsiderable, and sometimes
becomes very great and apparent ; but most of these insects are
concealed from our observation during the day-time, and come
out from their retreats to feed only at night. To turn them out of
their hiding-places becomes sometimes absolutely necessary, and it
is only by dear-bought experience that we learn how to discover
them. This is not the case with all ; those of the first family,
which I would call Acronyctians (Acronyctad^:*), live exposed
on the leaves of trees and shrubs. They have sixteen legs, are cy-
lindrical, and more or less hairy, some of them closely resembling
those of the genus Clostera, having a wart or prominence on the
top of the fourth and the eleventh rings, and some of them have
the hair in tufts like Arctians and Liparians. They make tough
silken cocoons, in texture almost like stiff brown paper, into
which they weave the hairs of their bodies. Their moths have

* From Acronycta, a genus of moths appearing at night-fall, as the name im-
plies.

LEPIDOPTERA. 317

bristle-formed antennas, and the thorax is not crested. Their
fore-wings are generally light gray with dark spots, and in many
are marked with a character resembling the Greek letter y near
the inner hind angle. Of those that want this character on the
fore-wings, the largest American species, known to me, may be
called Apatela Americana, which has been mistaken* for Apatela
Aceris, the maple-moth of Europe. Its body and fore-wings are
light gray ; on the latter there is a wavy, scalloped white line
edged externally with black near the outer hind margin, and the
usual round and kidney-shaped spots are also edged with black ;
the hind-wings are dark gray in the male, blackish in the female,
with a faintly marked black curved band and central semicircular
spot ; all the wings are whitish and shining beneath, with a black
wavy and curved band and central semicircular spot on each ; the
fringes are white, scalloped, and spotted with black. It expands
from two inches and a quarter to two inches and a half, or more.
This kind of moth flies only at night, and makes its appearance
between the middle and the end of July. The caterpillar eats
the leaves of the various kinds of maple, and sometimes also those
of the elm and chestnut. It is one of the largest kinds ; and, early
in October, when it arrives at maturity, measures from one inch
and three quarters to two inches or more in length. It is of a
greenish yellow color above, with the head, tail, belly, and feet,
black ; its body is covered with long and soft yellow hairs, grow-
ing immediately from the skin ; on the top of the fourth ring there
are two long, slender, and erect tufts of black hairs, two more
on the sixth ring, and a single pencil on the eleventh ring.f
When about to make its cocoon it creeps into chinks of the bark,
or into cracks in fences, and spins a loose, half-oval web of silk,

* See Phalcena Aceris, Smith, in Abbot's " Insects of Georgia," p. 185, pi. 93.

t Those naturalists, who are familiar with the appearance of the European
caterpillar of Apatela Jlceris, will perceive the great and essential difference be-
tween it and that of our American Apatela, which bears about as much resem-
blance to the former as does that of Astasia torrefacta, of Sir J. E. Smith an
insect apparently belonging to the Notodontians, and near to Clostera and Pyo-ara.
Apatela signifies deceptive ; and this name was probably given to the genus be-
cause the caterpillars appear in the dress of Arctians and Lipaiians, but produce
true owlet-moths or Noctuas.

318 INSECTS OF MASSACHUSETTS.

intermixed with the hairs of its body ; under this it then makes
another and tougher pod of silk, thickened with fragments of bark
and wood, and, when its work is done, changes to a chrysalis, in
which state it remains till the following summer.

The caterpillars of the Nonagrians (Nonagriad.e *) are
naked, long, slender and tapering at each end, smooth, and gen-
erally of a faint reddish or greenish tint, with an oval, dark color-
ed, horny spotf on the top of the first and last ring. Most of
them live within the stems of reeds, flags, and other water-plants ;
some in the stems, and even in the roots of plants remote from the
water. They devour the pith and the inside of the roots, and
transform in the same situations, having previously gnawed a hole
from the inside of their retreat, through the side of the stem or
root to the outside skin, which is left untouched, and which the
moth can easily break through afterwards. The chrysalids are
generally very long and cylindrical, and are blunt at the extremi-
ties. Most of the moths have very long bodies, a smooth thorax,
and are of a yellowish clay or drab color ; the fore-wings want
the usual spots, are faintly streaked and dotted with black, and
have a scalloped hind margin. Those that do not live in water
plants are distinguished by brighter colors of orange yellow and
brown, with the usual spots more or less distinct on the fore-
wings, the margin of which is wavy ; the collar is prominent, and
the thorax crested. In all of them the antennae of the males are
slightly thickened with short hairs beneath.

These insects are fatal to the plants attacked, the greater part
of which, however, are without value to the farmer. Indian corn
must be excepted ; for it often suffers severely from the depreda-
tions of one of these Nonagrians, known to our farmers by the
name of the spindle-worm. The Rev. L. W. Leonard has favored
me with a specimen of this insect, its chrysalis, and its moth,
together with some remarks upon its habits ; and the latter have
also been described to me by an intelligent friend conversant with
agriculture. This insect receives its common name from its de-

* From JVon<ii$ria,, the meaning of which is uncertain.

t These dark homy spots are found on the first ring of most of the caterpillars
that burrow in the steins of plants, or in the ground.

LEPIDOPTERA. 319

stroying the spindle of the Indian corn ; but its ravages generally
begin while the corn-stalk is young, and before the spindle rises
much above the tuft of leaves in which it is embosomed. The
mischief is discovered by the withering of the leaves, and, when
these are taken hold of, they may often be drawn out with the
included spindle. On examining the corn, a small hole may be
seen in the side of the leafy stalk, near the ground, penetrating
into the soft centre of the stalk, which, when cut open, will be
found to be perforated, both upwards and downwards, by a slen-
der worm-like caterpillar, whose excrementitious castings sur-
round the orifice of the hole. This caterpillar grows to the
length of an inch, or more, and to the thickness of a goose-quill. It
is smooth, and apparently naked, yellowish, with the head, the
top of the first and of the last rings black, and with a band across
each of the other rings, consisting of small, smooth, slightly ele-
vated, shining black dots, arranged in a double row. With a
magnifying glass a few short hairs can be seen on its body, arising
singly from the black dots. This mischievous caterpillar is not
confined to Indian corn, it attacks also the stems of the Dahlia,
as I am informed, both by Mr. Leonard, and by the Rev. J. L.
Russell, both of whom have observed its ravages in the stems of
this favorite flower. The chrysalis, which is lodged in the burrow
formed by the spindle-worm, is slender, but not quite so long in
proportion to its thickness as are those of most of the Nonagrians.
It is shining mahogany-brown, with the anterior edges of four of
the rings of the back roughened with little points, and four short
spines or hooks, turned upwards, on the hinder extremity of the
body. The moth produced from this insect differs from the
other Nonagrians somewhat in form, its fore-wings being shorter,
and more rounded at the tip. It may be called Gortyna* Zece,
the corn Gortyna ; Zta being the botanical name of Indian corn.
The fore-wings are rust-red ; they are mottled with gray, almost
in bands, uniting with the ordinary spots, which are also gray and
indistinct ; there is an irregular tawny spot near the tip, and on
the veins there are a few black dots. The hind-wings are yel-

* Gortyna, in ancient geography, was the name of a city in Crete, so called
from its founder.

320 INSECTS OF MASSACHUSETTS.

lowish gray, with a central dusky spot, behind which are two
faint, dusky bands. The head and thorax are rust-red, with an
elevated tawny tuft on each. The abdomen is pale brown, with
a row of tawny tufts on the back. The wings expand nearly one
inch and a half.

In order to check the ravages of these insects they must be de-
stroyed while in the caterpillar state. As soon as our corn-fields
begin to show, by the withering of the leaves, the usual signs that
the enemy is at work in the stalks, the spindle-worms should be
sought for and killed ; for, if allowed to remain undisturbed until
they turn to moths, they will make their escape, and we shall not
be able to prevent them from laying their eggs for another brood
of these pestilent insects.

The roots of the Columbine are attacked by another caterpillar
belonging to this family. It burrows into the bottom of the
stalk and devours the inside of the roots, which it injures so much
that the plant soon dies. One of these caterpillars, which was
found in July, in the roots of a fine double Columbine in my gar-
den, was of a whitish color, with a few black dots on each of the
rings, a brownish head, and the top of the first and of the last
rings blackish. It grew to the length of about one inch and a
quarter, turned to a chrysalis on the nineteenth of August, and
came out a moth on the twenty-fourth of September. The moth
closely resembles the Gortyna jlavago of Europe, but is suf-
ficiently distinct from it. It may be called Gortyna hucostigma,
the white-spot Gortyna. The fore-wings are tawny yellow,
sprinkled with purple-brown dots, and with two broad bands and
the outer hind margin purple-brown ; there is a distinct tawny
yellow spot on the tip, followed by a row of faint yellowish cres-
cents between the brown band and margin ; the ordinary spots are
yellow, margined with brown, and there is a third oval spot of a
white color near the round spot. The hind-wings are pale buff
or yellowish white, with a central spot, and a band behind it, of a
brownish color. The head is brown ; the thorax is tawny yellow,
with a brown tuft ; and the edges of the collar, and of the shoulder-
covers are brown. The wings expand rather more than one inch
and a half. I have what appear to be varieties of this moth, ex-

LEPIDOPTERA. 321

panding one inch and three eighths, with three or four white dots
around the kidney-spot, and the ordinary round spot wholly
white.

Numerous complaints have been made of the ravages of cut-
worms among corn, wheat, grass, and other vegetables, in various
parts of the country. After a tiresome search through many of
our agricultural publications, I have become convinced that these
insects and their history are not yet known to some of the very
persons who are said to have suffered from their depredations.
Various cut-worms, or more properly subterranean caterpillars,
wire-worms or luli, and grub-worms, or the young of May-
beetles, are often confounded together or mistaken for each other ;
sometimes their names are interchanged, and sometimes the same
name is given to each and all of these different animals. Hence
the remedies that are successful in some instances are entirely
useless in others. The name of cut-worm seems originally to
have been given to certain caterpillars that live in the ground
about the roots of plants, but come up in the night, and cut off
and devour the tender stems and lower leaves of young cabbages,
beans, corn, and other herbaceous plants. These subterranean
caterpillars are finally transformed to moths belonging to a group
which may be called Agrotidians (AgrotidiDjE), from a word
signifying rustic, or pertaining to the fields. Some of these rustic
moths fly by day, and may be found in the fields, especially in the
autumn, sucking the honey of flowers ; others are on the wing
only at night, and during the day lie concealed in chinks of walls
and other dark places. Their wings are nearly horizontal when
closed, the upper pair completely covering the lower wings, and
often overlapping a little on their inner edges, thus favoring these
insects in their attempts to obtain shelter and concealment. The
thorax is slightly convex, but smooth or not crested. The an-
tennae of the males are generally beset with two rows of short
points, like fine teeth, on the under-side, nearly to the tips. The
fore-legs are often quite spiny. Most of these moths come forth
in July and August, and soon afterwards lay their eggs in the
ground, in ploughed fields, gardens, and meadows. In Europe it
is found that the eggs are hatched early in the autumn, at which
time the little subterranean caterpillars live chiefly on the roots
41

322 INSECTS OF MASSACHUSETTS.

and tender sprouts of herbaceous plants. On the approach of
winter they descend deeper into the ground, and, curling them-
selves up, remain in a torpid state till the following spring, when
they ascend towards the surface, and renew their devastations.
The caterpillars of the Agrotidians are smooth, shining, naked,
and dark-colored, with longitudinal pale and blackish stripes, and
a few black dots on each ring ; some of them also have a shining,
horny, black spot on the top of the first ring. They are of a
cylindrical form, tapering a little at each end, rather thick in pro-
portion to their length, and are provided with sixteen legs. They
are changed to chrysalids in the ground, without previously mak-
ing silken cocoons. The most destructive kinds in Europe are
the caterpillars of the corn rustic or winter dart-moth (rfgrotis
segetum), the wheat dart-moth [Jlgrotis tritici), the eagle-moth
{Jlgrotis aquilina) , and the turf rustic or antler-moth (Charcms gra-
minis)*. The first two attack both the roots and leaves of winter
wheat ; the second also destroys buck-wheat ; and it is stated that
sixty bushels of mould, taken from a field where they prevailed,
contained twenty-three bushels of the caterpillars ; those of the
eagle-moth occasionally prove very destructive in vineyards ; and
the caterpillars of the antler-moth are notorious for their devasta-
tions in meadows, and particularly in mountain pastures.

The habits of our cut-worms appear to be exactly the same as
those of the European Agrotidians. It is chiefly during the
months of June and July that they are found to be most destruc-
tive. Whole corn-fields are sometimes laid waste by them.
Cabbage-plants, till they are grown to a considerable size, are
very apt to be cut off and destroyed by them. Potato-vines,
beans, beets, and various other culinary plants suffer in the same
way. The products of our flower-gardens are not spared ; asters,
balsams, pinks, and many other kinds of flowers are often shorn
of their leaves and of their central buds, by these concealed
spoilers. Several years ago I procured a considerable number of
cut- worms in the months of June and July. Some of them were
dug up among cabbage-plants, some from potato-hills, and others
from the corn-field and the flower-garden. Though varying in

* See " Kollar's Treatise," p. 94, 102, 106, and 136.

LEPIDOPTERA. 323

length from one inch and a quarter to two inches, they were fully
grown, and buried themselves immediately in the earth with which
they were supplied. They were all thick, greasy-looking cater-
pillars, of a dark ashen gray color ; but I neglected at first to ex-
amine them carefully in order to see if they were marked exactly
alike. Some of the last found were observed to have one or two
blackish stripes on each side of the body, and a pale stripe on the
back, with four little black dots on each ring. The head was
also blackish. They were soon changed to chrysalids, of a
shining mahogany-brown color ; and between the twentieth of
July and the fifteenth of August they came out of the ground in
the moth state. Much to my surprise, however, these cut-worms
produced five different species of moths ; and, when it was too
late, I regretted that they had not been more carefully examined,
and compared together before their transformation.

The largest of these moths may be called Jlgrotis ielifera, the
lance-rustic. It closely resembles Jlgrotis suffusa, the dark
sword-rustic of Europe. The fore-wings are light brown, shaded
with dark brown along the outer thick edge, and in the middle
also in the female ; these wings are divided into three nearly
equal parts by two transverse bands, each composed of two wavy
dark brown lines ; in the middle space are situated the two ordi-
nary spots, together with a third oval spot, which touches the an-
terior band ; these spots are encircled with dark brown, and the
kidney-spot bears a dark brown lance-shaped mark on its hinder
part ; the hindmost third of the wing is crossed by a broad pale
band, and is ornamented by a narrow wavy or festooned line, and
several small blackish spots near the margin. The hind- wings are
pearly white, and semitransparent, shaded behind, and veined
with dusky brown. The thorax is brown or gray-brown, with
the edge of the collar blackish. The abdomen is gray. The
wings expand two inches or more.

Another of these moths is the counterpart of the ctqua and
agricola of Europe. It also resembles the telifera in form, but is
destitute of the lance-shaped spot on the fore-wings ; and hence I
have named it Jlgrotis inermis, the unarmed rustic moth. The
fore-wings are light brown, shaded in the middle and towards the
hinder margin with dusky brown ; they are crossed by four, more

324 INSECTS OF MASSACHUSETTS.

or less distinct, wavy bands, each formed of two blackish lines ;
the kidney-spot is dusky ; and there are several blackish spots on
the outer thick edge of the wing. The hind-wings are pearly
white in the middle, shaded behind and veined with dusky
brown. The thorax is reddish brown, with the collar and
shoulder covers doubly edged with black. The abdomen is gray.
It expands two inches.

The reaping rustic (Jlgrotis messoria), as it may be called, is
the representative of the corn-rustic (Jlgrotis stgctum) of Europe.
The fore-wings are reddish gray, crossed by five wavy blackish
bands, the first two of which, and generally the fourth also, are
double ; the two ordinary spots, and a third oval spot near the
middle of the wing, are bordered with black. The hind-wings
are whitish, becoming dusky brown behind, and have a small cen-
tral crescent and the veins dusky. The head and thorax are
chinchilla-gray ; the collar is edged with black ; and the abdomen
is light brownish gray. It expands one inch and four tenths.

The smallest of these rustic moths may be called Jlgrotis tesscl-
lata, the checkered rustic. It probably comes near to the occl-
lina and aquilina of Europe, which, however, I have not seen.
The fore-wings are dark ash-colored, and exhibit only a faint
trace of the transverse double wavy bands ; the two ordinary
spots are large and pale, and alternate with a triangular and a
square deep black spot ; there is a smaller black spot near the
base of the wing. The hind-wings are brownish gray in the mid-
dle, and blackish behind. It expands one inch and one quarter.

The fifth species I am assured by one of my friends is the moth
of the cabbage cut-worm. It agrees, in the main, with the de-
scription given of the Pkalcciia Noctua devastator, by Mr. John
P. Brace, in the first volume of Professor Silliman's " American
Journal of Science ;" and may therefore be called Jlgrotis devasta-
tor. It somewhat resembles Dr. Boisduval's figures of the Jlgro-
tis lalens of Europe. The fore-wings are of a dark ashen gray
color, with a lustre like satin ; they are crossed by four narrow
wavy whitish bands, which are edged on each side with black ;
there is a transverse row of white dots followed by a row of black,
arrow-shaped spots, between the third and fourth bands, and three
white dots on the outer edge near the tip ; the ordinary spots are

LEPIDOPTERA. 325

edged with black and white, and there is a third spot, of an oval
shape and blackish color, near the middle of the wing, and touch-
ing the second band. The hind-wings are light brownish gray,
almost of a dirty white in the middle, and dusky behind. The
head and thorax are chinchilla-gray ; and the abdomen is colored
like the hind-wings. It expands from one inch and five eighths
to one inch and three quarters. This kind of moth is very com-
mon between the tenth of July and the middle of August. Like
all the foregoing species, it flies only at night. According to Mr.
Brace, this moth lays its eggs in the beginning of autumn, at the
roots of trees, and near the ground ; the eggs are hatched early
in May ; the cut-worms continue their depredations about four
weeks, then cast their skin and become pupae or chrysalids in the
earth, a few inches below the surface of the ground ; the pupa
state lasts four weeks, and the moth comes out about the middle
of July ; it conceals itself in the crevices of buildings and beneath
the bark of trees, and is never seen during the day ; about sun-
set it leaves its hiding-place, is constantly on the wing, is very
troublesome about the candles in houses, flies rapidly, and is not
easily taken.* From what is known respecting the history of the
other kinds of Jigrotis^ and from the size that the cabbage cut-
worms are found to have attained in May, I am led to infer that
they must generally be hatched in the previous autumn, and that,
after feeding awhile on such food as they can find immediately
under the surface of the soil, they descend deeper into the ground
and remain curled up, in little cavities which each one makes for
itself in the earth, till the following spring.

Dr. F. E. Melsheimer, of Dover, Pennsylvania, has favored
me with the wing of a moth, which he states is produced from
the corn cut-worm. The following remarks on this insect are
extracted from his letters. " There are several species of Agro-
tis, the larvae of which are injurious to culinary plants ; but the
chief culprit with us is the same as that which is destructive to
young maize." " The corn cut-worms make their appearance in
great numbers at irregular periods, and confine themselves in their
devastations to no particular vegetables, all that are succulent

* " American Journal of Science," Vol. I., p. 154.

326 INSECTS OF MASSACHUSETTS.

being relished by these indiscriminate devourers : but, if their
choice is not limited, they prefer maize plants when not more than
a few inches above the earth, early sown buckwheat, young
pumpkin-plants, young beans, cabbage-plants, and many other
field and garden vegetables." " When first disclosed from the
eggs they subsist on the various grasses. They descend in the
ground on the approach of severe frosts, and reappear in the
spring about half grown. They seek their food in the night or
in cloudy weather, and retire before sunrise into the ground, or
beneath stones or any substance which can shelter them from the
rays of the sun ; here they remain coiled up during the day, ex-
cept while devouring the food which they generally drag into their
places of concealment. Their transformation to pupae occurs at
different periods, sometimes earlier, sometimes later, according to
the forwardness of the season, but usually not much later than the
middle of July." " The moths, as well as the larvae, vary much
in the depth of their color, from a pale ash to a deep or obscure
brown. The ordinary spots of the upper wings of the moth are
always connected by a blackish line ; where the color is of the
deepest shade these spots are scarcely visible, but when the color
is lighter they are very obvious." This moth is very abundant in
the New England States, from the middle of June till the middle
or end of August. The fore-wings are generally of a dark ash-
color, with only a very faint trace of the double transverse wavy
bands that are found in most species of Agrotis ; the two ordi-
nary spots are small and narrow, the anterior spot being oblong
oval, and connected with the oblique kidney-shaped spot, by a
longitudinal black line. The hind-wings are dirty brownish white,
somewhat darker behind. The head, the collar, and the abdo-
men are chestnut-colored. It expands one inch and three quar-
ters. The wings, when shut, overlap on their inner edges, and
cover the top of the back so flatly and closely that these moths
can get into very narrow crevices. During the day they lie hid-
den under the bark of trees, in the chinks of fences, and even
under the loose clapboards of buildings. When the blinds of our
houses are opened in the morning, a little swarm of these insects,
which had crept behind them for concealment, is sometimes ex-
posed, and suddenly aroused from their daily slumber. This

LEPIDOPTERA. 327

kind of moth has the form and general appearance of some species
of Pyrophila, but not the essential characters of the genus. It
differs also from Agrotis and Graphiphora in some respects, and
therefore I have thought it best to leave it, for the present, in the
old genus Noctua, under the specific name of clandestinely the
clandestine owlet-moth.

Among the various remedies that have been proposed for pre-
venting the ravages of cut-worms in wheat and corn-fields, may
be mentioned the soaking of the grain, before planting, in copperas-
wTater and other solutions supposed to be disagreeable to the in-
sects ; rolling the seed in lime or ashes ; and mixing salt with the
manure. These may prevent wire-worms (lull) and some in-
sects from destroying the seed ; but cut-worms prey only on the
sprouts and young stalks, and do not eat the seeds. Such stimu-
lating applications may be of some benefit, by promoting a more
rapid and vigorous growth of the grain, by which means the
sprouts will the sooner become so strong and rank as to resist or
escape the attacks of the young cut-worms. Fall-ploughing of
sward-lands, which are intended to be sown with wheat or planted
with corn the year following, will turn up and expose the insects
to the inclemency of winter, whereby many of them will be killed,
and will also bring them within reach of insect-eating birds. But
this seems to be a doubtful remedy, against which many objections
have been urged.* The only effectual remedy at present known,
has been humorously described by Mr. Asahel Foote in the
" Albany Cultivator", and reprinted in the seventeenth volume of
the " New England Farmer". After having lost more than a
tenth part of the corn in his field, he " ordered his men to pre-
pare for war, to sharpen their finger ends, and set at once about
exhuming the marauders. For several days it seemed as if a
whole procession came to each one's funeral, but at length victory
wreathed the brow of perseverance ; and, the precaution having
been taken to replace each foe dislodged with a suitable quantity
of good seed-corn, he soon had the pleasure to see his field
restored, in a good measure, to its original order and beauty,
there being seldom a vacancy in a piece of four acres." Mr.

See Mr. Colman's " Third Report of the Agriculture of Massachusetts," p 62.

328 INSECTS OF MASSACHUSETTS.

Foote's statement, founded on an estimate of the time employed
in digging up and killing the cut-worms, and the increased produce
of the field, is conclusive in favor of this mode of checking the
ravages of these insects.

Mr. Deane states that he " once prevented the depredations of
cut-worms in his garden by manuring the soil with sea-mud. The
plants generally escaped, though every one was cut off in a spot
of ground contiguous." He acknowledges, however, that " the
most effectual, and not a laborious remedy, even in field-culture,
is to go round every morning, and open the earth at the foot of
the plant, and you will never fail to find the worm at the root,
within four inches. Kill him, and you will save not only the
other plants of your field, but, probably, many thousands in future
years." Mr. Preston of Stockport, Pennsylvania, protected his
cabbage-plants from cut-worms by wrapping a walnut or hickory
leaf around the stem, between the root and leaves, before planting
it in the ground. The late Honorable Oliver Fiske, of Worcester,
Massachusetts, says, that " to search out the spoiler, and kill him,
is the very best course ; but, as his existence is not known except
by his ravages, I make a fortress for my cabbage-plants with
paper, winding it conically and firmly above the root, and securing
it by a low embankment of earth."

There is another naked caterpillar which is often found to be
injurious to cabbages, cauliflowers, spinach, beets, and other gar-
den vegetables with succulent leaves. It does not conceal itself
in the ground, but lives exposed on the leaves of the plants which
it devours. It is of a light yellow color, with three, broad, lon-
gitudinal, yellow stripes, one on each side and the third on the top
of the back ; and the head and feet are tawny. Dr. Melsheimer
calls it the zebra-caterpillar, on account of its stripes. It comes
to its full size here in September, and then measures about two
inches in length. Early in October it leaves off eating, goes into
the ground, changes to a shining brown chrysalis, and is trans-
formed to a moth about the first of June. It is probable that
there are two broods of this kind of caterpillar every summer, in
some, if not all parts of this country ; for Dr. Melsheimer in-
forms me that it appears in Pennsylvania in June, goes into the
ground and is changed to a chrysalis towards the end of June or

LEPIDOPTERA. 329

the beginning of July, and comes forth in the moth state near the
end of August. The moth may be called Mamcstra picta, the
painted Mamestra, in allusion both to the beautiful tints of the
caterpillar, and to the softly blended shades of dark and light
brown with which the fore-wings of the moth are colored. It is
of a light brown color, shaded with purple brown ; the ordinary
spots on the fore- wings, with a third oval spot behind the round
one, are edged with gray ; and there is a transverse zigzag gray
line, forming a distinct W in the middle, near the outer hind mar-
gin. The hind-wings are white, and faintly edged with brown
around the tip. It is evident that this insect cannot be included
in either of the foregoing groups of the owlet-moths. It belongs
to a distinct family, which may be called Mamestrad^:, or Ma-
mestrians. The caterpillars in this group are generally distin-
guished by their bright colors ; they live more or less exposed on
the leaves of plants, and transform in the ground. The moths fly
by night only ; most of them have the thorax slightly crested ;
and they are easily known by the zigzag line, near the outer hind
margin of the fore-wings, forming a W or M in the middle.

As the caterpillar of the painted Mamestra does not seek con-
cealment, it may easily be found, and destroyed by hand.

At the end of the tribe of owlet- moths may be arranged cer-
tain insects, which, from the structure of their caterpillars and
their manner of creeping, evidently seem to connect this tribe
with the Geometers. Some of these caterpillars have the first
and sometimes also the second pair of proplegs, under the middle
of the body, so short, that they cannot be used in creeping ; oth-
ers have only twelve or fourteen legs, the first pair of the prop-
legs, or the second also, being entirely wanting in them. These
caterpillars creep with a kind of halting gait, and arch up the
middle of the body, more or less, with every step they take,
thereby imitating the gait of the true geometers or span-worms.
The twelve-legged caterpillars are sometimes injurious to culti-
vated vegetables ; but not enough so, in this country, to have at-
tracted much notice. Their moths are distinguished by golden
or silvery spots on their fore-wings. The species, with the first
and second pairs of proplegs short and rudimentary, feed mostly
on the leaves of shrubs and trees ; their moths are of large size

42

330 INSECTS OF MASSACHUSETTS.

with the hind-wings often crimson, scarlet, or yellow, and traversed
by black bands. But as these insects are not particularly interest-
ing to the farmer, any further account of them, in this treatise,
will be unnecessary.

3. Geometers. (Geometrce.)

The caterpillars of the Geometry of Linnaeus, earth-measur-
ers, as the term implies, or geometers, span-worms, and loopers,
have received these several names from their peculiar manner of
moving, in which they seem to measure or span over the ground,
step by step, as they proceed. Most of these caterpillars have
only ten legs ; namely, six, which are jointed and tapering, under
the forepart of the body, and four fleshy proplegs, at the hinder
extremity ; the three intermediate pairs of proplegs being want-
ing. Consequently, in creeping, they arch up the back while
they bring forward the hinder part of the body, and then, resting
on their hind-legs, stretch out to their full length, in a straight
line, before taking another step with their hind-legs. Some of
the Geometers have twelve or fourteen legs ; but the additional
proplegs are so short that the caterpillars cannot use them in
creeping, and their motions are the same as those that have only
ten legs. Some caterpillars with fourteen legs, and wanting only
the terminal pair of proplegs, are placed in this tribe on account
of the resemblance of their moths to those of the true Geometers.
The latter live on trees and bushes, and most of them undergo
their transformations upon or in the ground, to reach which, by
travelling along the branches and down the stem, would be a long
and tedious journey to them, on account of the deficiency of their
legs, and the slowness of their gait. But they are not reduced
to this necessity ; for they have the power of letting themselves
down from any height, by means of a silken thread, which they
spin from their mouths while falling. Whenever they are dis-
turbed they make use of this faculty, drop suddenly, and hang
suspended, till the danger is past, after which they climb up again
by the same thread. In order to do this, the span-worm bends
back its head and catches hold of the thread above its head with
one of the legs of the third, segment, then raising its head it seizes
the thread with its jaws and fore-legs, and, by repeating the same

LEPIDOPTERA. 331

operations with tolerable rapidity, it soon reaches its former sta-
tion on the tree. These span-worms are naked, or only thinly
covered with very short down ; they are mostly smooth, but
sometimes have warts or irregular projections on their backs.
They change their color usually as they grow older, are some-
times striped, and sometimes of one uniform color, nearly resem-
bling the bark of the plants on which they are found. When not
eating, many of them rest on the two hindmost pairs of legs against
the side of a branch, with the body extended from the branch, so
that they might be mistaken for a twig of the tree ; and in this
position they will often remain for hours together. When about
to transform, most of these insects descend from the plants on
which they live, and either bury themselves in the ground, or
conceal themselves on the surface under a slight covering of
leaves fastened together with silken threads. Some make more
regular cocoons, which, however, are very thin, and generally
more or less covered on the outside with leaves. The cocoons
of the European, tailed Geometer (Ourapteryx sambucaria),
which lives on the elder, and of our chain-dotted Geometer (Ge-
ometra catenaria), which is found on the wood-wax, are made
with regular meshes, like net-work, through which the insects
may be seen. A very few of the span-worms fasten themselves
to the stems of plants, and are changed to chrysalids, which hang
suspended, without the protection of any outer covering.

In their perfected state these insects are mostly slender-bodied
moths, with tapering antennae, which are often feathered in the
males. Their feelers are short and slender ; the tongue is short
and weak ; the thorax is not crested ; the wings are large, thin,
and delicate, sometimes angular, and often marked with one or
two dark-colored oblique bands. They generally rest with the
wings slightly inclined and almost horizontal ; some with them
extended, and others with the hind-wings covered by the upper
pair. A very few carry their wings like the Skippers. Some of
the females are without wings, and are distinguished also by the
oval and robust form of their bodies. These moths are most
active in the night ; but some of them may be seen flying in
thickets during the day-time. They are very short-lived, and die
soon after their eggs are laid.

332 INSECTS OF MASSACHUSETTS.

Those kinds, whereof the females are wingless, or have only
very short, scale-like wings, and naked antennae, while the males
have large, entire wings, and feathered or downy antenna?, seem
to form a distinct group, which may be named Hybernians (Hy-
berniad^e), from the principal genus included therein. The
caterpillars have only ten legs, six before and four behind ; and
they undergo their transformations in the ground. The insects
called canker-worms, in this country, are of this kind. The
moths, from which they are produced, belong to the genus Ani-
sopferyx,* so named because in some species the wings in the two
sexes are very unequal in size, and in others the females are
wingless. In the late Professor Peck's " Natural History of the
Canker-worm," which was published among the papers of " the
Massachusetts Society for Promoting Agriculture," and obtained
a prize from the Society, this insect is called Phaltena vemata,
on account of its common appearance in the spring, and also to
distinguish it from the winter moth (Phalana or Cheimatobia
brumata) of Europe. In the male canker-worm moth the anten-
nae have a very narrow, and almost downy edging, on each side,
hardly to be seen with the naked eye. The feelers are minute,
and do not extend beyond the mouth. The tongue is not visible.
The wings are large, very thin and silky ; and, when the insect
is at rest, the fore-wings are turned back, entirely cover the hind-
wings, and overlap on their inner edges. The fore-wings are
ash-colored, with a distinct whitish spot on the front edge, near
the tip ; they are crossed by two jagged, whitish bands, along
the sides of which there are several blackish dots ; the outermost
band has an angle near the front edge, within which there is a
short, faint, blackish line ; and there is a row of black dots, along
the outer margin, close to the fringe. The hind-wings are pale
ash-colored, with a faint blackish dot near the middle. The
wings expand about one inch and a quarter. This is the usual
appearance of the male, in its most perfect condition ; by which
it will be seen that it closely resembles the Anisopteryx JEs-
cularia of Europe. Compared with the latter, I find that our
canker-worm moth is rather smaller, the wings are darker, propor-

■ Literally unequal icing.

LEPIDOPTERA. 333

tionally shorter and more obtuse, the white bands are less distinct,
and are often entirely wanting, in which case only the whitish
spot near the tip remains, the hind-wings are more dusky, and
the feelers are gray instead of being white. Specimens, of a
rather smaller size, are sometimes found, resembling the figure
and description given by Professor Peck, in which the whitish
bands and spot are wanting, and there are three interrupted dusky
lines across the fore-wings, with an oblique blackish dash near
the tip. Perhaps they constitute a different species from that of
the true canker-worm moth. Should this be the case, the latter
may be called Anisopteryx pometaria, or the Anisopteryx of the
orchard, while the former should retain the name originally given
to it by Professor Peck. The female is wingless, and its anten-
nae are short, slender, and naked. Its body approaches to an
oval form, but tapers and is turned up behind. It is dark ash-
colored above, and gray beneath.

It was formerly supposed that the canker-worm moths came
out of the ground only in the spring. It is now known that many
of them rise in the autumn and in the early part of the winter.
In mild and open winters I have seen them in every month from
October to March. They begin to make their appearance after
the first hard frosts in the autumn, usually towards the end of
October, and they continue to come forth, in greater or smaller
numbers, according to the mildness or severity of the weather
after the frosts have begun. Their general time of rising is in
the spring, beginning about the middle of March, but sometimes
before, and sometimes after this time ; and they continue to come
forth for the space of about three weeks. It has been observed
that there are more females than males among those that appear
in the autumn and winter, and that the males are most abundant
in the spring. The sluggish females instinctively make their way
towards the nearest trees, and creep slowly up their trunks. In
a few days afterwards they are followed by the winged and active
males, which flutter about and accompany them in their ascent,
during which the insects pair. Soon after this, the females lay
their eggs upon the branches of the trees, placing them on their
ends, close together in rows, forming clusters of from sixty to
one hundred eggs or more, which is the number usually laid by

334 INSECTS OF MASSACHUSETTS.

each female. The eggs are glued to each other, and to the bark,
by a grayish varnish, which is impervious to water ; and the clus-
ters are thus securely fastened in the forks of the small branches,
or close to the young twigs and buds. Immediately after the
insects have thus provided for a succession of their kind, they
begin to languish, and soon die. The eggs are usually hatched
between the first and the middle of May, or about the time that
the red currant is in blossom, and the young leaves of the apple-
tree begin to start from the bud and grow. The little canker-
worms, upon making their escape from the eggs, gather upon the
tender leaves, and, on the occurrence of cold and wet weather,
creep for shelter into the bosom of the bud, or into the flowers,
when the latter appear. As this treatise may fall into the hands
of persons who are not acquainted with the habits and devasta-
tions of our canker-worms, it should be stated that, where these
insects prevail, they are most abundant on apple and elm trees ;
but that cherry, plum, and lime trees, and some other cultivated
and native trees, as well as many shrubs, often suffer severely
from their voracity. The leaves first attacked will be found
pierced with small holes ; these become larger and more irregular
when the canker-worms increase in size ; and, at last, the latter
eat nearly all the pulpy parts of the leaves, leaving little more
than the midrib and veins. A very great difference of color is
observable among canker-worms of different ages, and even
among those of the same age and size. It is possible that some
of these variations may arise from a difference of species ; but it
is also true that the same species varies much in color. When
very young, they have two minute warts on the top of the last
ring ; and they are then generally of a blackish or dusky brown
color, with a yellowish stripe on each side of the body ; there are
two whitish bands across the head ; and the belly is also whitish.
When fully grown, these individuals become ash-colored on the
back, and black on the sides, below which the pale yellowish line
remains. Some are found of a dull greenish yellow and others
of a clay color, with slender interrupted blackish lines on the
sides, and small spots of the same color on the back. Some are
green, with two white stripes on the back. The head and the
feet partake of the general color of the body ; the belly is paler.

LEPIDOPTERA. 335

When not eating, they remain stretched out at full length, and
resting on their fore and hind legs, beneath the leaves. When
fully grown and well fed, they measure nearly or quite one inch
in length. They leave off eating when about four weeks old,*
and begin to quit the trees ; some creep down by the trunk, but
great numbers let themselves down by their threads from the
branches, their instincts prompting them to get to the ground by
the most direct and easiest course. When thus descending, and
suspended in great numbers under the limbs of trees overhanging
the road, they are often swept off by passing carriages, and are
thus conveyed to other places. After reaching the ground, they
immediately burrow in the earth, to the depth of from two to six
inches, unless prevented by weakness or the nature of the soil.
In the latter case, they die, or undergo their transformations on
the surface. In the former, they make little cavities or cells in
the ground, by turning round repeatedly and fastening the loose
grains of earth about them with a few silken threads. Within
twenty-four hours afterwards, they are changed to chrysalids in
their cells. The chrysalis is of a light brown color, and varies
in size according to the sex of the insect contained in it ; that of
the female being the largest, and being destitute of a covering for
wings, which is found in the chrysalis of the males. The occur-
rence of mild weather after a severe frost stimulates some of
these insects to burst their chrysalis skins and come forth in the
perfected state ; and this last transformation, as before stated,
may take place in the autumn, or in the course of the winter, as
well as in the spring ; it is also retarded, in some individuals, for
a year or more beyond the usual time. They come out of the
ground mostly in the night, when they may be seen struggling
through the grass as far as the limbs extend from the body of the
trees under which they had been buried. As the females are
destitute of wings, they are not able to wander far from the trees
upon which they had lived in the caterpillar state. Canker-worms
are therefore naturally confined to a very limited space, from

* In the year 1841, the red-currant flowered, and the canker-worms appeared,
on the fifteenth of May. The insects were very abundant on the fifteenth of
June, and on the seventeenth scarcely one was to be seen.

336 INSECTS OF MASSACHUSETTS.

which they spread year after year. Accident, however, will of-
ten carry them far from their native haunts, and in this way, prob-
ably, they have extended to places remote from each other.
Where they have become established, and have been neglected,
their ravages are often very great. In the early part of the season
the canker-worms do not attract much attention ; but it is in
June, when they become extremely voracious, that the mischief
they have done is rendered apparent, when we have before us
the melancholy sight of the foliage of our fruit-trees and of our
noble elms reduced to withered and lifeless shreds, and whole
orchards looking as if they had been suddenly scorched with fire.
In order to protect our trees from the ravages of canker-worms,
where these looping spoilers abound, it should be our aim, if pos-
sible, to prevent the wingless females from ascending the trees to
deposit their eggs. This can be done by the application of tar
around the body of the tree, either directly on the bark, as has
been the most common practice, or, what is better, over a broad
belt of clay-mortar, or on strips of old canvass or of strong pa-
per, from six to twelve inches wide, fastened around the trunk
with strings. The tar must be applied as early as the first of
November, and perhaps in October, and it should be renewed
daily as long as the insects continue rising ; after which the bands
may be removed, and the tar should be entirely scraped from the
bark. When all this has been properly and seasonably done, it
has proved effectual. The time, labor, and expense attending
the use of tar, and the injury that it does to the trees when al-
lowed to run and remain on the bark, have caused many persons
to neglect this method, and some to try various modifications of
it, and other expedients. Among the modifications may be men-
tioned a horizontal and close-fitting collar of boards, fastened
around the trunk, and smeared beneath with tar ; or four boards,
nailed together, like a box without top or bottom, around the
base of the tree, to receive the tar on the outside. These can
be used to protect a few choice trees in a garden, or around a
house or a public square, but will be found too expensive to be
applied to any great extent. Collars of tin-plate, fastened around
the trees, and sloping downwards like an inverted tunnel, have
been proposed, upon the supposition that the moths would not be

LEPIDOPTERA. 337

able to creep in an inverted position, beneath the smooth and
sloping surface. This method will also prove too expensive for
general adoption, even should it be found to answer the purpose.
A belt of cotton-wool, which it has been thought would entangle
the feet of the insects, and thus keep them from ascending the
trees, has not proved an effectual bar to them. Little square or
circular troughs of tin or of lead, filled with cheap fish oil, and
placed around the trees, three feet or more above the surface of
the ground, with a stuffing of cloth, hay, or sea-weed between
them and the trunk, have long been used by various persons in
Massachusetts with good success ; and the only objections to
them are the cost of the troughs, the difficulty of fixing and keep-
ing them in their places, and the injury suffered by the trees
when the oil is washed or blown out and falls upon the bark.
Mr. Jonathan Dennis, Jr., of Portsmouth, Rhode Island, has
obtained a patent for a circular leaden trough to contain oil, offer-
ing some advantages over those that have heretofore been used,
although it does not entirely prevent the escape of the oil, and
the nails, with which it is secured, are found to be injurious to
the trees. These troughs ought not to be nailed to the trees,
but should be supported by a few wooden wedges driven between
them and the trunks. A stuffing of cloth, cotton, or tow, should
never be used ; sea-weed and fine hay, which will not absorb the
oil, are much better. Before the troughs are fastened and filled,
the body of the tree should be well coated with clay-paint or
white-wash, to absorb the oil that may fall upon it. Care should
be taken to renew the oil as often as it escapes or becomes filled
with the insects. These troughs will be found more economical
and less troublesome than the application of tar, and may safely
be recommended and employed, if proper attention is given to the
precautions above named. Some persons fasten similar troughs,
to contain oil, around the outer sides of an open box enclosing
the base of the tree, and a projecting ledge is nailed on the edge
of the box to shed the rain ; by this contrivance, all danger of
hurting the tree with the oil is entirely avoided. In the "Man-
chester Guardian," an English newspaper, of the fourth of No-
vember, 1840, is the following article on the use of melted Indian
rubber to prevent insects from climbing up trees. " At a late

43

338 INSECTS OF MASSACHUSETTS.

meeting of the Entomological Society, [of London ?] Mr. J. H.
Fennell communicated the following successful mode of prevent-
ing insects ascending the trunks of fruit-trees. Let a piece of
Indian rubber be burnt over a gallipot, into which it will gradu-
ally drop in the condition of a viscid juice, which state, it appears,
it will always retain ; for Mr. Fennell has, at the present time,
some which has been melted for upwards of a year, and has been
exposed to all weathers without undergoing the slightest change.
Having melted the Indian rubber, let a piece of cord or worsted
be smeared with it, and then tied several times round the trunk.
The melted substance is so very sticky, that the insects will be
prevented, and generally captured, in their attempts to pass over
it. About three pennyworth of Indian rubber is sufficient for the
protection of twenty ordinary sized fruit-trees." Applied in this
way it would not be sufficient to keep the canker-worm moths
from getting up the trees ; for the first comers would soon bridge
over the cord with their bodies, and thus afford a passage to their
followers. To insure success, it should be melted in larger
quantities, and daubed with a brush upon strips of cloth or paper,
fastened round the trunks of the trees. Worn out Indian rubber
shoes, which are worth little or nothing for any other purpose,
can be put to this use. This plan has been tried by a few per-
sons in the vicinity of Boston, some of whom speak favorably of
it. It has been suggested that the melted rubber might be appli-
ed immediately to the bark without injuring the trees. A little
conical mound of sand surrounding the base of the tree is found
to be impassable to the moths, so long as the sand remains dry ;
but they easily pass over it when the sand is wet, and they
come out of the ground in wet, as often as in dry weather.

Some attempts have been made to destroy the canker-worms
after they were hatched from the eggs, and were dispersed over
the leaves of the trees. It is said that some persons have saved
their trees from these insects by freely dusting air-slacked lime
over them while the leaves were wet with dew. Showering the
trees with mixtures that are found useful to destroy other insects,
has been tried by a few, and, although attended with a good deal
of trouble and expense, it may be worth our while to apply such
remedies upon small and choice trees. Mr. David Haggerston,

LEPIDOPTERA. 339

of Watertown, Mass., has used, for this purpose, a mixture of
water and oil-soap (an article to be procured from the manufacto-
ries where whale oil is purified,) in the proportion of one pound of
the soap to seven gallons of water ; and he states that this liquor,
when thrown on the trees with a garden engine, will destroy the
canker-worm and many other insects, without injuring the foliage
or the fruit. Jarring or shaking the limbs of the trees will dis-
turb the canker-worms, and cause many of them to spin down,
when their threads may be broken off with a pole ; and if the
troughs around the trees are at the same time replenished with
oil, or the tar is again applied, the insects will be caught in their
attempts to creep up the trunks. In the same way, also, those
that are coming down the trunks to go into the ground will be
caught and killed. If greater pains were to be taken to destroy
the insects in the caterpillar state, their numbers would soon
greatly diminish.

Even after they have left the trees, have gone into the ground,
and have changed their forms, they are not wholly beyond the
reach of means for destroying them. One person told me that
his swine, which he was in the habit of turning into his orchard in
the autumn, rooted up and killed great numbers of the chrysalids
of the canker-worms. Some persons have recommended digging
or ploughing under the trees, in the autumn, with the hope of
crushing some of the chrysalids by so doing, and of exposing
others to perish with the cold of the following winter. If hogs are
then allowed to go among the trees, and a few grains of corn are
scattered on the loosened soil, these animals will eat many of the
chrysalids as well as the corn, and will crush others with their
feet. Mr. S. P. Fowler* thinks it better to dig around the
trees in July, while the shells of the insects are soft and tender.
He and Mr. John Kenrick, of Newton, Mass., advise us to re-
move the soil to the distance of four or five feet from the trunk
of the trees, and to the depth of six inches, to cart it away and
replace it with an equal quantity of compost or rich earth. In
this way, many of the insects will be removed also ; but, unless

* See " Yankee Farmer" of July 18, 1840, and " New England Farmer" of
June 2, 1841, for some valuable remarks by Mr. Fowler.

340 INSECTS OF MASSACHUSETTS.

the earth, thus carried away, is thrown into some pond-hole, and
left covered with water, many of the insects contained in it will
undergo their transformations and come out alive the next year.

Canker-worms are subject to the attacks of many enemies.
Great numbers of them are devoured by several kinds of birds,
which live almost entirely upon them during- their season. They
are also eaten by a very large and splendid ground-beetle yCalo-
soma scrutator), that appears about the time when these insects
begin to leave the trees. These beetles do not fly, but they run
about in the grass after the canker-worms, and even mount upon
the trunks of the trees to seize them as they come down. The
latter are also stung by a four-winged ichneumon-fly, which de-
posits an egg in every canker-worm thus wounded. From the
egg is hatched a little maggot, that preys on the fatty substance of
the canker-worm, and weakens it so much that it is unable to go
through its future transformations. I have seen one of these flies
sting several canker-worms in succession, and swarms of them
may be observed around the trees as long as the canker-worms
remain. Their services, therefore, are doubtless very considera-
ble. Among a large number of canker-worms, taken promiscu-
ously from various trees, 1 found that nearly one third of the
whole were unable to finish their transformations, because they
had been attacked by internal enemies of another kind. These
were little maggots, that lived singly within the bodies of the
canker-worms, till the latter died from weakness ; after which
the maggots underwent a change, and finally came out of the
bodies of their victims in the form of small two-winged cuckoo-
flies, belonging to the genus Tachina. Mr. E. C. Herrick, of
New-Haven, Connecticut, has made the interesting discovery
that the eggs of the canker-worm moth are pierced by a tiny
four-winged fly, a species of Platygaster, which goes from egg to
egg, and drops in each of them one of her own eggs. Some-
times every canker-worm egg in a cluster, will be found to have
been thus punctured and seeded for a future harvest of the Platy-
gaster. The young of this Platygaster is an exceedingly minute
maggot, hatched within the canker-worm egg, the shell of which,
though only one thirtieth of an inch long, serves for its habitation,
and the contents for its food, till it is fully grown ; after which

LEPIDOPTERA. 341

it becomes a chrysalis within the same shell, and in due time
comes out a Platygastcr fly, like its parent. This last transfor-
mation Mr. Herrick found to take place towards the end of June,
from eggs laid in November of the year before ; and he thinks
that the flies continue alive through the summer, till the appear-
ance of the canker-worm moths in the autumn affords them the
opportunity of laying their eggs for another brood. As these
little parasites prevent the hatching of the eggs wherein they are
bred, and as they seem to be very abundant, they must be of
great use in preventing the increase of the canker-worm. With-
out doubt such wisely appointed means as these were once
enough to keep within due bounds these noxious insects ; but,
since our forests, their natural food, and our birds, their greatest
enemies, have disappeared before the woodman's axe and the
sportsman's gun, we are left, to our own ingenuity, perseverance,
and united efforts, to contrive and carry into effect other means
for checking their ravages.

Apple, elm, and lime trees, are sometimes injured a good deal
by another kind of span-worm, larger than the canker-worm, and
very different from it in appearance. It is of a bright yellow
color, with ten crinkled black lines along the top of the back ; the
head is rust colored ; and the belly is paler than the rest of the
body. When fully grown, it measures about one inch and a
quarter in length. It often rests with the middle of the body
curved upwards a little, and sometimes even without the support
of its fore-legs. The leaves of the lime seem to be its natural
and favorite food, for it may be found on this tree every year ;
but I have often seen it in considerable abundance, with common
canker-worms, on other trees. It is hatched rather later, and
does not leave the trees quite so soon as the latter. About or
soon after the middle of June it spins down from the trees, goes
into the ground, and changes to a chrysalis in a little cell five or
six inches below the surface ; and from this it comes out in the
moth state towards the end of October or during the month of
November. More rarely its last transformation is retarded till
the spring. The females are wingless and grub-like, with slen-
der thread-shaped antenna?. As soon as they leave the ground
they creep up the trees, and lay their eggs in little clusters, here

342 INSECTS OF MASSACHUSETTS.

and there on the branches. The males have large and delicate
wings, and their antenna? have a narrow feathery edging on each
side. They follow the females, and pair with them on the trees.
This kind of moth closely resembles the lime-looper or umber
moth {Ilybernia defoliaria) of Europe ; but differs from it so
much in the larva state, that I have not the slightest doubt of its
being a distinct species, and accordingly name it Hybernia Tilia-
ria, the lime-tree winter-moth, from Tilia, the scientific name
of its favorite tree. The fore-wings of the male are rusty buff
or nankin-yellow, sprinkled with very fine brownish dots, and
banded with two, transverse, wavy, brown lines, the band nearest
the shoulders being often indistinct ; in the space between the
bands, and near to the thick edge of the wing, there is generally a
brown dot. The hind-wings are much paler than the others, and
have a small brownish dot in the middle. The color of the body
is the same as that of the fore-wings ; and the legs are ringed
with buff and brown. The wings expand one inch and three
quarters. The body of the female is grayish or yellowish
white ; it is sprinkled on the sides with black dots, and there
are two square black spots on the top of each ring, except the
last, which has only one spot. The front of the head is black ;
and the antenna? and the legs are ringed with black and white.
The tail is tipped with a tapering, jointed egg-tube, that can be
drawn in and out, like the joints of a telescope. Exclusive of
this tube, the female measures about half an inch in length. The
eggs are beautiful objects when seen under a microscope. They
are of an oval shape, and pale yellow color, and are covered with
little raised lines, like net-work, or like the cells of a honey-
comb.

As these span-worms appear at the same time as canker-
worms, resemble them in their habits, and often live on the
same trees, they can be kept in check by such means as are
found useful when employed against canker-worms.

Probably more than one hundred different kinds of Geometers
may be found in Massachusetts alone. Seventy-eight are already
known to me. Some of these are small, and are not otherwise
remarkable ; some are distinguished for their greater size and
beauty in the moth state, or for the singularity of the forms and

LEPIDOPTERA. 343

habits of their caterpillars. None of them, however, have be-
come so notorious on account of their devastations as the species
already described.

4. Delta Moths. (Pyralides.)

The Pyralides of Linnaeus are nearly akin to the Geometers.
Latreille called them Deltoides, because the form of the moths,
when their wings are closed, is triangular, like that of the
Greek letter A. For the same reason I have called them Delta-
moths. The body, in these moths, is long and slender. The
fore-wings are long and rather narrow, and cover the hind-wings
nearly horizontally when at rest. The feelers are generally very
long, flattened sidewise, and more or less turned up at the end.
The tongue in some is of moderate length, in others it is very
small or invisible. The antennas are long and generally simple or
bristle-formed in both sexes ; in some males, however, they are
feathered, and in a few others they have a singular knot or crook
in the middle. The legs are long and slender ; and the first pair
is often fringed with tufts of long hairs. Most of these moths fly
at night ; a few are on the wing in the daytime also. They
generally prefer moist and shady places, where the long grass
and thick foliage shelter them from the light and heat of the sun.
Some of them frequent houses. The meal-moth (PyraUs farina-
lis), the caterpillar of which may be found in old flour-barrels, is
often seen on the ceilings of rooms, sitting with its tail curved over
its back. The fore-wings of this pretty moth are light brown,
crossed by two curved white lines, and with a dark chocolate-
brown spot on the base and tip of each. The tabby, or grease-
moth (Aglossa pinguinalis) , the larva of which lives in greasy
animal substances, is also to be found in houses, and is known by
its narrow glossy wings, of a smoky gray color, crossed by wavy
lighter colored bands ; its tongue is not visible. The motions
of some of the day-flying kinds (Simaethis) are very curious.
When they alight upon a leaf, they whirl round sidewise, in a
circular direction, with the head in the centre of the circle, and
then return in the contrary direction, and repeat these gyrations
several times in succession.

The larvae or caterpillars of the Delta-moths are long and

344 INSECTS OF MASSACHUSETTS.

slender, tapering at each end, and naked, or with only a few
short hairs, which are rarely visible to the naked eye. Some of
them have sixteen legs, others have only fourteen. The latter
creep very much like the span-worms, but are more active and
quick in their motions. Most of them live exposed upon or
under the leaves of plants, and, when they come to their full
growth they enclose themselves in cocoons formed of folded
leaves thinly lined with silk, in which they undergo their trans-
formations. Some kinds (Hydrocampa and Petrophila) live in
the water upon aquatic plants, and secure themselves in cylindri-
cal leafy cases, fitted to cover the whole of the body except the
head and six fore-legs, and made air-tight. These cases pre-
vent the water from getting into the lateral breathing holes of the
caterpillars, and contain a sufficient quantity of air for them to
breathe ; and, with them, they can easily move about under the
surface, upon the plants which serve them for food. Some of
the aquatic kinds do not make these air-tight cases, for they do
not need them, as they breathe through fringed gills, placed
along the sides of their bodies. Thus we see that even aquatic
plants are inhabited by peculiar tribes of insects, which keep in
check their redundant vegetation, and which are fitted, by extra-
ordinary and curious contrivances, for the element wherein they
are appointed to live. These aquatic insects stand on the limits
of the order, and connect the Lepidoptera with the Newoptera,
by means of the May-flies (Phryganeada) belonging to the latter
order.

Those caterpillars of the Pyralides that have only fourteen legs,
may be called Herminians (Herminiad2e), after the principal
genus in the group. The hop-vine is often infested by great num-
bers of these caterpillars. They eat large holes in the leaves, and
thereby sometimes greatly injure the plant. Caterpillars of this
kind have also been observed on the hop in Europe, from whence
ours may have been introduced ; but until specimens from Europe
and this country are compared together, in all their states, it
will be well to consider the latter as distinct. Our hop-vine
caterpillars arc false-loopers, bending up the back a little when
they creep, because the first pair of proplegs, found in other
caterpillars, is wanting in them. The rings of their bodies are

LEPIDOPTERA. 345

rather prominent, the cross-lines between them being deep.
They are of a green color, with two longitudinal white lines
along the back, a dark green line in the middle between them,
and an indistinct whitish line on each side of the body. The
head is green, and very regularly spotted with minute black dots,
from each of which arises a very short hair. There are similar
dots and hairs arranged in two transverse rows on each of the
rings. When disturbed they bend their bodies suddenly and
with a jerk, first on one side and then on the other, each time
leaping to a considerable distance, so that it is difficult to catch or
hold them. They make no webs on the leaves, and do not sus-
pend themselves by silken threads like the Geometers ; but they
are very active, creep fast, and soon get upon the leaves again af-
ter leaping off. When fully grown they are about eight tenths of
an inch long. They then form a thin, imperfect, silky cocoon
within a folded leaf, or in some crevice or sheltered spot, and are
changed to brownish chrysalids, which present nothing remarkable
in their appearance. Three weeks afterwards the moths come
forth from these cocoons. There are two broods of these insects
in the course of the summer. The caterpillars of the first brood
appear in May and June, and are transformed to moths towards
the end of June, and during the early part of July. Those of the
second brood appear in July and August, and are changed to
moths in September. The insects of the second brood are much
the most numerous usually, and do much more damage to the hop-
vine than the others. The moth has been named Hypena Humuli,
the hop-vine Hypena, upon the supposition that it is distinct
from the Hypena rostralis, or hop-vine snout-moth of Europe.
These moths are readily known by their long, wide, and flattened
feelers, which are held close together, and project horizontally
from the forepart of the head, in the manner of a snout. The
antennae in both sexes are naked, and bristle-formed. The wings
vary in color, being sometimes dusky or blackish brown, and
sometimes of a much lighter rusty brown color. The fore-wings
are marbled with gray beyond the middle, and have a distinct
oblique gray spot on the tip ; they are crossed by two wavy
blackish lines, one near the middle, and the other near the outer
hind margin ; these lines are formed by little elevated black tufts,

44

346 INSECTS OF MASSACHUSETTS.

and there are also two similar tufts on the middle of the wing.
The hind-wings are dusky brown or light brown, with a paler
fringe, and are without bands or spots. The wings expand about
one inch and a quarter.

The means for destroying the hop-vine caterpillars are shower-
ing or syringing the plants with strong soap-suds, or with a solu-
tion of oil-soap in water, in the proportion of two pounds of the
soap to fourteen or fifteen gallons of water.

The foregoing is the only kind of Delta-moth that appears to
be particularly injurious to any of our useful or cultivated plants.

5. Leaf-rollers. [Tortrices.)

There are many caterpillars that curl up the edges of the
leaves of plants into little cylindrical rolls, open at each end, and
fastened together with bands or threads of silk. These rolls
serve at once for the habitations and the food of the insects ; and
to the latter Linnaeus gave the name of Tortrices, derived from
a Latin word signifying to curl or twist. All the caterpillars
now put in this tribe are not leaf-rollers. Some of them live in
leaf and flower buds, and fasten the leaves together so that the
bud cannot open, while they devour the tender substance within.
Some live in a kind of tent formed of several leaves, drawn to-
gether and secured with silken threads. Others are found in the
tender shoots or under the bark of plants. A few bore into
young fruits, which they cause to ripen and fall prematurely. A
still smaller number of kinds live on the leaves of plants, exposed
to view, and without any kind of covering over them. Most of
these insects, when disturbed, let themselves down by threads,
like the Geometers. Very few of them make cocoons ; the
greater number transforming within the rolled leaves, or in the
other situations wherein they usually dwell. They are furnished
with sixteen legs, and their bodies are nearly or quite naked.
Many of their chrysalids have two rows of minute prickles across
each of the rings of the hind-body, by the help of which they
push themselves half way out of their habitations, when the in-
cluded moths arc about to come forth.

The moths of this tribe are mostly of small size, very few of
them expanding more than one inch. They carry their wings

LEPIDOPTERA. 347

like a steep roof over their bodies when they are at rest. Their
fore-wings are very much curved and are very broad at the shoul-
ders, and hence these insects are called Plalyomitles, that is,
broad shoulders, by the French naturalists. These wings are
generally very prettily banded and spotted, and are sometimes
ornamented with brilliant metallic spots. The hind-wings are
plain, and of an uniform dusky or grayish color, and the inner
edge is folded like a fan against the side of the body. Their
antennae are naked or threadlike. Their feelers, two in number,
are broad, of moderate length, or project like a short beak in
front of the head, and are never curved upwards. The spiral
tongue is mostly short and sometimes invisible. The body is
rather short and thick, and the legs are also much shorter in
proportion than in the Delta-moths. These little moths fly only
in the evening and night, and remain at rest during the day upon
or near the plants inhabited by their caterpillars. They are most
abundant in midsummer, but certain species appear in the spring
or autumn. The habits of the Tortrices, in all their states, are
not yet known well enough to enable us to group the insects
together under family names.

The caterpillars of some of our largest species are found on
the ends of the branches of various trees and bushes, in nests,
made of the young leaves drawn together in bunches, and fast-
ened with threads. In the middle of these nests the caterpillars
live, either singly, or in companies of several individuals togeth-
er. Nests of this kind, containing a large number of caterpillars,
may often be seen on oak-trees in the summer. The chrysalids
force their way partly out of the nests by the help of the trans-
verse rows of prickles on their backs, when the moths are about
to make their escape. The moths resemble in form and general
appearance those of another species, the caterpillars of which
live singly in much smaller nests, on apple-trees and rose-bushes.
Early in May, or soon after the buds of the apple-tree begin to
open, these little caterpillars begin their labors. They curl up
and fasten together the small and tender leaves that supply them
both with shelter and food ; and in this way, they often do con-
siderable damage to the trees. These caterpillars are sometimes
of a pale green color, with the head and the top of the first ring

348 INSECTS OF MASSACHUSETTS.

brownish ; and sometimes the whole body is brownish or dull
flesh-red ; they are rough to the touch with minute warts, each
of which produces a very short hair, invisible to the naked eye.
They come to their full size towards the middle of June, and
then measure nearly or quite half an inch in length. After this,
they line the inner surface of the curled leaves, composing their
nests, with a web of silk, and are then changed to chrysalids of
a dark brown color. Towards the end of June, or early in July,
the chrysalis pushes itself half way out of its nest, and bursts
open at the upper end, so that the moth may come out. The
moth closely resembles the Lozohenia * oporana of Europe, but
differs from it in having the fore-wings broader at the base, more
curved on the front edge, and more hooked at the tip, and its
markings are also somewhat different. It may be called Loxot te-
nia Rosaceana, the oblique banded moth of the Rose tribe, for
to the latter the apple-tree belongs as well as the rose. The
fore-wings of this moth are very much arched on their outer
edge, and curve in the contrary direction at the tip, like a little
hook or short tail. They are of a light cinnamon-brown color,
crossed with little wavy darker brown lines, and with three broad
oblique dark brown bands, whereof one covers the base of the
wing, and is oftentimes indistinct or wanting, the second crosses
the middle of the wing, and the third, which is broad on the front
edge and narrow behind, is near the outer hind margin of the
wing. The hind-wings are ochre-yellow, with the folded part
next to the body blackish. It expands one inch or a little more.
Little caterpillars of another species are sometimes found in
May and June in the opening buds and among the tender leaves
of the apple-tree. They live singly in the buds, the leaves of
which they fasten together and then devour. These caterpillars
are of a pale and dull brownish color, warty and slightly downy
like the foregoing kind, with the head and the top of the first ring
dark shining brown ; and a dark brown spot appears through the

* This word was probably an error of the press in the " Catalogue " of Mr. Ste-
phens, by whom the genus was proposed. It lias, however, been copied in sever-
al other works by other authors, without correction or comment. Loxotania,
meaning oblique band, seems to be the right name for the mollis of this genus
which arc distinguished by the oblique bands on their fore-wings.

LEPIDOPTERA. 3l9

> skin on the top of the eighth ring. They generally come to
their growth by the middle of June, and are changed to shining
brown chrysalids within the curled leaves, in a little web of silk,
wherewith their retreats are lined. The chrysalis has only one
row of prickles across the rings of the back. The moths come
out early in July. They very closely resemble the European
Penthina comitana*, and perhaps may be merely a variety of it.
The head and thorax are dark ash-colored. The fore-wings are
of the same color at each end, and grayish white in the middle,
mottled with dark gray ; there are two small eye-like spots on
each of them ; one near the tip, consisting of four little black
marks, placed close together in a row, on a light brown ground,
the inner ma#ks being longer than the others ; the second eye-
spot is near the inner hind angle, and is formed by three minute
black spots, arranged in a triangle, in the middle of which there
is sometimes a black dot. The hind-wings are dusky brown.
This moth expands from one half to six tenths of an inch. It
may be called Penthina oculana, the eye-spotted Penthina. My
attention was called to the depredations of this bud-moth, and of
the preceding species, by John Owen, Esq., of Cambridge, by
whom the moths were raised from the caterpillars, and presented
to me. It is difficult at first to conceive how such insignificant
creatures can occasion so much mischief as they are found to do.
This seems to arise from the number of the insects, and their
mode of attack, whereby the opening foliage is checked in its
growth, or nipped in the bud. To pull off and crush the wither-
ed clusters of leaves containing the caterpillars or the chrysalids,
is the only remedy that occurs to me. It were to be wished
that some better way of putting a stop to the ravages of the leaf-
rollers and bud-moths, that infest many of our fruit-trees and
flowering shrubs, could be discovered.

Apricot, peach, and plum trees, when trained against walls in
the open air, are said to suffer very much sometimes from the
attacks of insects whose habits resemble those of the eye-spotted
Penthina. But, as I have not yet seen them in the moth state,

* Spllonota comitana, Stephens ; Pmcilochroma comilana, Curtis ; Penthina. lus-
cana, Duponchel.

350 INSECTS OF MASSACHUSETTS.

I cannot say whether they are of the same species as the bud-
moth above named. Perhaps they are identical with the apri-
cot-bud caterpillars (Ditula angustiorana) , of Europe, the dep-
redations of which have been described by Mr. Westwood in
the fourteenth volume of the " Gardener's Magazine". Be-
sides picking off the curled and confined clusters of leaves, when
practicable, I would recommend thoroughly drenching the trees
with Mr. Haggerston's remedy, a pound of oil-soap in from
seven to ten gallons of water, in the hope that some of the mix-
ture might penetrate the injured buds and leaves, and destroy the
caterpillars concealed therein. A mixture of one gallon of the
liquor expressed by tobacconists from tobacco, with five gallons
of water, has been used to the same intent.

Roses are infested with several kinds of caterpillars belonging
to this tribe. Mr. Westwood has described one of them, and
mentions others that are found in Europe, in the thirteenth vol-
ume of the " Gardener's Magazine ". Similar species are not
uncommon in this country. Some of these spoilers fasten upon
the leaves, and roll them up, or stick them together, to serve
them for food and shelter ; while others lurk unseen in the flower-
buds, and canker them to the heart, before they can spread their
lovely petals to the sun, and breathe out their fragrance to the
air. A particular description of each of these insects would oc-
cupy too much space here ; and I can only add that the worm in
the bud is to be destroyed only by hand.

Pine and fir trees are also injured by some of the Tortrices,
that pierce the tender shoots and terminal buds. The seat of
their depredations becomes known by the oozing of the resin and
by the withering of the bud or shoot. The latter commonly dies
in consequence of the injury, the upward growth is checked, and
the stem only puts forth side shoots the following year. Some
one of these side shoots, in time, takes the place of the leading
shoot, and thus gives to the trunk an irregular and crooked ap-
pearance, and renders it unfit for timber. The history of several
Kuropean Tortrices or turpentine-moths, that thus injure pines
and firs, is given in Kollar's " Treatise", wherein we are advised
to search for the lumps of turpentine in the autumn, and destroy
the caterpillars under them, or to cut oft' the injured shoots and

LEPIDOPTERA. 351

burn them with their inhabitants. This advice it may be proper
for us to follow, although it is not yet certain that our turpentine-
moths are actually the same as those of Europe.

Among the insects, that have been brought to America with
other productions of Europe, may be mentioned the apple-worm,
as it is here called, which has become naturalized wherever the
apple-tree has been introduced. This mischievous creature has
sometimes been mistaken for the plum-weevil (Rhynchctnus Co-
nolrachelus Nenuphar), described in another part* of this essay ;
but it may be easily distinguished therefrom by its shape, its hab-
its, and its transformations. Although the plum-weevil prefers
stone fruit, it is sometimes found in apples also ; and Dr. Joel
Burnett, of Southborough, Massachusetts, has lately sent to me
specimens of plum-weevils, in the pupa state, raised by him from
grubs in apples. On the other hand, the apple-worm has never
been found here in plums. It is not a grub, but a true caterpillar,
belonging to the Tortrix tribe, and in due time, is changed to a
moth, called Carpocapsa Pomonella], the codling-moth, or fruit-
moth of the apple. An anonymous writer, in the "Entomologi-
cal Magazine "| of London, has well remarked that this moth " is
the most beautiful of the beautiful tribe to which it belongs ; yet,
from its habits not being known, it is seldom seen in the moth
state ; and the apple-grower knows no more than the man in the
moon to what cause he is indebted for his basketfuls of worm-
eaten windfalls in the stillest weather."

Before proceeding to a description of this insect, it may be
proper to state some facts respecting the habits of the plum-wee-
vil, that were omitted in the foregoing part of this essay, with
others that have recently come to my knowledge ; for, by means
of these, the difference between the two insects will be made
more clear. It must be borne in mind that this plum-weevil, an
insect unknown in Europe, when arrived at maturity, is a little,

* Page 66.

t Tinea PomoneUa, L. ; Pyralis Pomana, F. Jf the modern name of the ge-
nus be correct, it was probably formed from two Greek words signifying to devour
fruit. Perhaps the name should have been Carpocampa, that is, in English, fruit-
caterpillar.

t Vol. I. page 144.

352 INSECTS OF MASSACHUSETTS.

rough, dark brown or blackish beetle, looking like a dried bud,
when it is shaken from the trees, which resemblance is increased
by its habit of drawing up its legs and bending its snout close to
the lower side of its body, and remaining for a time without mo-
tion and seemingly lifeless. In stinging the fruit, before laying
its eggs, it uses its short curved snout, which is armed at the tip
with a pair of very small nippers ; and by means of this weapon,
it makes, in the tender skin of the young plum or apple, a cres-
cent-shaped incision, similar to what would be formed by indent-
ing the fruit with the finger nail. Very rarely is there more than
one incision made in the same fruit ; and in the wound, the weevil
lays only a single egg. The insect hatched from this egg is a little
whitish grub, destitute of feet, and very much like a maggot in ap-
pearance, except that it has a distinct, rounded, light brown head.
Through the kind attentions of several gentlemen I have been fur-
nished with numerous specimens of these grubs, obtained from the
fruit and from the warty tumors of the trees ; and to the liberality
of another gentleman am indebted for an opportunity of examining
the same with a powerful microscope, presented to me for the
purpose. By this means 1 have satisfactorily ascertained that the
grubs from the fruit and from the warts were exactly alike, and
that both were without feet. It appears, furthermore, that the tu-
mors on plum and on cherry trees are infested not only by these
insects, but also by another kind of grub, provided with legs, and
occasionally by the wood-eating caterpillars of the yEgeria exi-
liosa, or peach-tree borer. When the grubs of the plum-weevil
are fully grown, they go into the ground, and are there changed to
chrysalids of a white color, having the legs and wings free and
capable of some motion ; and finally they leave the ground in the
form of little beetles, exactly like those which had previously stung
the fruit. Further observation seems to be wanting before it can
be proved that the cankerous warts on plum and cherry trees arise
from the irritating punctures of the plum-weevils and of the other
insects that occasionally make these warts their places of abode ;
although it must be allowed that the well-known production of
galls by insects on oak-trees and on other plants, would lead us
to suppose that those of the plum-tree have a similar origin. In
addition to the means already recommended for preventing the

LEPIDOPTERA. 353

ravages of plum-weevils, I would observe that wall-fruit can be
perfectly secured by a screen of millinet or close netting, which
should be put on as soon as the fruit is formed, and should re-
main till it begins to ripen. The opportunity that has lately been
offered to me for proving that the plum-weevil occasionally at-
tacks the apple also, the destruction of great quantities of stone-
fruit every year, and in some instances the entire failure of the
crop, from the ravages of this insect, and the interest that has
been taken in the subject by the " Massachusetts Horticultural
Society," must be my apology for this digression, if the reasons
already given for it are not enough.

The apple-worm has been long known in Europe, and its his-
tory has been written by Rosel, Reaumur, Kollar, Westwood*,
and other European naturalists. A good account of it, and of its
transformations, by Joseph Tufts, Esq., of Charlestown, Massa-
chusetts, was published in the year 1819, in the fifth volume of
" The Massachusetts Agricultural Repository and Journal ;" and
Mr. Joseph Burrelle, of Quincy, Massachusetts, has also made
some remarks on the same insect, in the eighteenth volume of
" The New-England Farmer."! At various times, between the
middle of June and the first of July, the apple-worm moths may
be found. They are sometimes seen in houses in the even-
ing, trying to get through the windows into the open air, having
been brought in with fruit while they were in the caterpillar state.
Their fore-wings, when seen at a distance, have somewhat the
appearance of brown watered silk ; when closely examined they
will be found to be crossed by numerous gray and brown lines,
scalloped like the plumage of a bird ; and near the hind angle
there is a large, oval, dark brown spot, the edges of which are of
a bright copper color. The head and thorax are brown mingled
with gray ; and the hind-wings and abdomen are light yellowish
brown, with the lustre of satin. Its wings expand three quarters
of an inch. This insect is readily distinguished from other moths
by the large, oval, brown spot, edged with copper color, on the

* " Gardener's Magazine," Vol. XIV., p. 234.

t Page 398. See also some remarks on this insect in my •' Discourse before the
Massachusetts Horticultural Society, in 1832," page 42.

45

354 INSECTS OF MASSACHUSETTS.

hinder margin of each of the fore-wings. During the latter part
of June and the month of July, these fruit-moths fly about apple-
trees every evening, and lay their eggs on the young fruit. They
do not puncture the apples, but they drop their eggs, one by one,
in the eye or hollow at the blossom-end of the fruit, where the
skin is most tender. They seem also to seek for early fruit
rather than for the late kinds, which we find are not so apt to be
wormy as the thin-skinned summer apples. The eggs begin to
hatch in a few days after they are laid, and the little apple-worms
or caterpillars produced from them immediately burrow into the
apples, making their way gradually from the eye towards the
core. Commonly only one worm will be found in the same
apple ; and it is so small at first, that its presence can only be
detected by the brownish powder it throws out in eating its way
through the eye. The body of the young insect is of a whitish
color ; its head is heart-shaped and black ; the top of the first
ring or collar and of the last ring is also black ; and there are
eight little blackish dots or warts, arranged in pairs, on each of
the other rings. As it grows older its body becomes flesh-
colored ; its head, the collar, and the top of the last ring, turn
brown, and the dots are no longer to be seen. In the course
of three weeks, or a little more, it comes to its full size, and
meanwhile has burrowed to the core and through the apple in
various directions. To get rid of the refuse fragments of its
food, it gnaws a round hole through the side of the apple, and
thrusts them out of the opening. Through this hole also the
insect makes its escape after the apple falls to the ground ; and
the falling of the fruit is well known to be hastened by the in-
jury it has received within, which generally causes it to ripen
before its time.

Soon after the half-grown apples drop, and sometimes while
they are still hanging, the worms leave them and creep into
chinks in the bark of the trees or into other sheltered places,
which they hollow out with their teeth to suit their shape. Here
each one spins for itself a cocoon or silken case, as thin, deli-
cate, and white as tissue paper. Some of the apple-worms,
probably the earliest, are said by Kollar to change to chrysalids
immediately after their cocoons are made, and in a few days

LEPIDOPTERA. 355

more turn to moths, come out, and lay their eggs for a second
generation of the worms ; and hence much fruit will be found to
be worm-eaten in the autumn. Most of the insects, however,
remain in their cocoons through the winter, and are not changed
to moths till the following summer. The chrysalis is of a bright
mahogany-brown color, and has, as usual, across each of the
rings of its hind-body, two rows of prickles, by the help of which
it forces its way through the cocoon before the moth comes
forth.

As the apple-worms instinctively leave the fruit soon after it
falls from the trees, it will be proper to gather up all wind-fallen
apples daily, and make such immediate use of them as will be
sure to kill the insects, before they have time to escape. Mr.
Burrelle says that if any old cloth is wound around or hung in
the crotches of the trees, the apple-worms will conceal them-
selves therein ; and by this means thousands of them may be
obtained and destroyed, from the time when they first begin to
leave the apples, until the fruit is gathered. By carefully scrap-
ing off the loose and rugged bark of the trees, in the spring,
many chrysalids will be destroyed ; and it has been said that
the moths, when they are about laying their eggs, may be
smothered or driven away, by the smoke of weeds burned
under the trees. The worms, often found in summer pears,
appear to be the same as those that affect apples, and are to be
kept in check by the same means.

6. TlNEiE.

The word moth was formerly used in a much more restricted
sense than it now is. It was originally given to the caterpillars
of certain insects, called Tine^e by Linnaeus, and well-known
as the destroyers of clothing and of other household stuffs. In
this sense we find it used in our version of the Scriptures, and
in the works of old English writers. It occurs, with very little
change, in other languages also, and seems to have been derived
from a word signifying to gnaw or to eat.* Nearly all the moth-

* From the Gothic maten, to gnaw, and from matjan, to eat, we have the
Anglo-Saxon word moth, as now used, and matha, a maggot.

356 INSECTS OF MASSACHUSETTS.

worms, or caterpillars belonging to the tribe of Tineae, gnaw
holes or winding paths in the substances wherein they live.
Some of the fragments they devour, and the rest they fasten to-
gether, with a fewr silken threads, so as to shelter or clothe their
tender bodies. With these materials some of them make cylin-
drical burrows, through which they can move freely, and carry
on the work of destruction unseen ; and others, with the same,
shape for themselves various kinds of pods or cases, large enough
to cover their bodies entirely when they are at rest, and so light
that they can bear them about on their backs, as snails do their
shells. Some moth-worms are dark colored ; but most of them
are of a dirty white color, with a brownish head, and a brown
spot on the top of the first ring. They are either wholly naked,
or have only a few short hairs thinly scattered over the surface
of their bodies. They generally have sixteen legs. Some, how-
ever, want the first pair of prop-legs, having only fourteen in all.
They undergo their transformations in the burrows or cases that
have served them for habitations, either with or without the addi-
tional covering of a cocoon spun within their places of abode.
The chrysalids are of a brown color, and are rather more slen-
der than those of other moths. In the winged state they vary
greatly both in form and color. They all agree, however, in
having the wings long and narrow, and folded or wrapped
around the body, more or less closely, when they are at rest.
Their antennae are bristle-shaped, and very rarely feathered in
either sex. Some of them have four feelers, others only two ;
and the spiral tongue is short. Most of these winged moths
are very small ; indeed, the least of the Lepidoptera belong to
this tribe. They have been divided by some naturalists into
two, and by others into three groups, namely, Crambidcc, Ypono-
meatadce, and Tinccuhe, the differences between which it is not
necessary particularly to notice in this place.

Some moth-worms burrow into leaves, and make winding pas-
sages in the pulpy substance thereof, under the skin ; some bore
into the stems of plants ; and a few are found only on the sur-
face of leaves, or on roots. Living plants, however, form but a
small part of the food of the Tineae, most of which subsist on
other substances ; and, for this reason, they would have been

LEPIDOPTERA. 357

passed by without further notice, were it not for the depredations
of certain species on some of our most valuable possessions.
Most of these pests are foreign insects, and have been introduced
into this country from abroad ; it will not, therefore, be in my
power to offer any thing absolutely new about them. Neverthe-
less, a few remarks on some of the most remarkable or destruc-
tive of these moths may not be wholly useless or unacceptable to
those persons for whom this treatise was particularly designed.

The largest insects of this tribe belong to the group called
CrambiDjE, or Crambians, among which the bee-moth or wax-
moth is to be placed. This pernicious insect was well known
to the ancients, and we find it mentioned, under the name of
Tinea, in the works of Virgil and Columella,* old Roman writ-
ers on husbandry. In the winged state, the male and female
differ so much in size, color, and in the form of their fore-wings,
that they were supposed, by Linnaeus and by some other natural-
ists, to be different species, and accordingly received two differ-
ent names. f To avoid confusion, it will be best to adopt the
scientific name given to the bee-moth by Fabricius, who called
it Galleria cereana, that is, the wax Galleria, because, in its cat-
erpillar state, it eats beeswax. Doubtless it was first brought to
this country, with the common hive-bee, from Europe, where it
is very abundant, and does much mischief in hives. Very few
of the Tinea exceed or even equal it in size. In its perfect or
adult state it is a winged moth or miller, measuring, from the
head to the tip of the closed wings, from five eighths to three
quarters of an inch in length, and its wings expand from one
inch and one tenth to one inch and four tenths. The feelers are
two in number ; and the tongue is very short, and hardly visible.
The fore-wings shut together flatly on the top of the back, slope
steeply downwards at the sides, and are turned up at the end,
somewhat like the tail of a fowl. This resemblance probably
suggested the name of the genus, Galleria, which seems to have
been derived from the Latin word for a fowl. The male is of a
dusty gray color ; his fore-wings are more or less glossed and

* Virgil. Georgic IV., line 246. Columella. Husbandry, Book IX. chap. 14.
t Tortrix cereana, the male ; Tinea mellonella, the female.

358 INSECTS OF MASSACHUSETTS.

streaked with purple-brown on the outer edge, they have a few
dark brown spots near the inner margin, and they are scolloped
or notched inwardly at the end ; his hind-wings are light yellow-
ish gray, with whitish fringes. The female is much larger than
the male, and much darker colored ; her fore-wings are propor-
tionally longer, not so deeply notched on the outer hind margin,
and not so much turned up at the end ; they are more tinged
with purple-brown, sprinkled with darker spots ; and the hind-
wings are dirty or grayish white. There are two broods of these
insects in the course of a year. Some winged moths of the first
brood begin to appear towards the end of April, or early in
May ; those of the second brood are most abundant in August ;
but between these periods, and even later, others come to per-
fection, and consequently some of them may be found during the
greater part of the summer. By day they remain quiet on the
sides or in the crevices of the bee-house ; but, if disturbed at
this time, they open their wings a little, and spring or glide
swiftly away, so that it is very difficult to seize or to hold them.
In the evening they take wing, when the bees are at rest, and
hover around the hive, till, having found the door, they go in and
lay their eggs. Those that are prevented by the crowd, or by
any other cause, from getting within the hive, lay their eggs on
the outside, or on the stand, and the little worm-like caterpillars
hatched therefrom easily creep into the hive through the cracks,
or gnaw a passage for themselves under the edges of it. These
caterpillars, at first, are not thicker than a thread. They have
sixteen legs. Their bodies are soft and tender, and of a yellow-
ish white color, sprinkled with a few little brownish dots, from
each of which proceeds a short hair ; their heads are brown and
shelly, and there are two brown spots on the top of the first ring.
Weak as they are, and unprovided with any natural means of
defence, destined, too, to dwell in the midst of the populous
hive, surrounded by watchful and well-armed enemies, at whose
expense they live, they are taught how to shield themselves
against the vengeance of the bees, and pass safely and unseen in
every direction through the waxen cells, which they break down
and destroy. Beeswax is their only food, and they prefer the
old to the new comb, and are always found most numerous in

LEPIDOPTERA. 359

the upper part of the hive, where the oldest honeycomb is lodg-
ed. It is not a little wonderful, that these insects should be
able to get any nourishment from wax, a substance which other
animals cannot digest at all ; but they are created with an appe-
tite for it, and with such extraordinary powers of digestion, that
they thrive well upon this kind of food. As soon as they are
hatched they begin to spin ; and each one makes for itself a
tough silken tube, wherein it can easily turn around and move
backwards or forwards at pleasure. During the day they remain
concealed in their silken tubes ; but at night, when the bees can-
not see them, they come partly out, and devour the wax within
their reach. As they increase in size, they lengthen and enlarge
their dwellings, and cover them on the outside with a coating of
grains of wax mixed with their own castings, which resemble
gunpowder. Protected by this coating from the stings of the
bees, they work their way through the combs, gnaw them to
pieces, and fill the hive with their filthy webs ; till at last the dis-
couraged bees, whose diligence and skill are of no more use to
them in contending with their unseen foes, than their superior
size and powerful weapons, are compelled to abandon their per-
ishing brood and their wasted stores, and leave the desolated hive
to the sole possession of the miserable spoilers. These cater-
pillars grow to the length of an inch or a little more, and come
to their full size in about three weeks. They then spin their
cocoons, which are strong silken pods, of an oblong oval shape,
and about one inch in length, and are often clustered together in
great numbers in the top of the hive. Some time afterwards,
the insects in these cocoons change to chrysalids of a light brown
color, rough on the back, and with an elevated dark brown line
upon it from one end to the other. When this transformation
happens in the autumn, the insects remain without further change
till the spring, and then burst open their cocoons, and come forth
with wings. Those which become chrysalids in the early part
of summer are transformed to winged moths fourteen days after-
wards, and immediately pair, lay their eggs, and die.

Bees suffer most from the depredations of these insects in hot
and dry summers. Strong and healthy swarms, provided with a
constant supply of food near home, more often escape than small

360 INSECTS OF MASSACHUSETTS.

and weak ones. When the moth-worms have established them-
selves in a hive, their presence is made known to us by the little
fragments of wax and the black grains scattered by them over
the floor. Means should then be taken, without delay, to dis-
lodge the depredators and invigorate the swarm. These are so
fully described in Dr. Thacher's " Treatise on the Management
of Bees," and in other works on the same subject, that I shall
limit myself to a few remarks, and refer the reader for further
particulars to these works. Kollar states that there is but one
sure method of clearing bee-hives of the moth, and this is to look
for and destroy the caterpillars or moth-worms and the chrysa-
lids ; and he advises that the hives should be examined, for this
purpose, once a week, and that all the webs and cocoons, with
the insects in them, should be taken out and destroyed. At all
events, the examination ought to be made every year, early in
September, when the cocoons will be found in greater numbers
than at any other time, and should be carefully removed and
burned. The winged moths are very fond of sweets ; and if shal-
low vessels, containing a mixture of honey or sugar, with vinegar
and water, are placed near the bee-house in the evening, the
moths will get into them and be drowned. In this way great
numbers may be caught every night. Several kinds of hives and
bee-houses have been contrived and recommended, for the pur-
pose of keeping out the bee-moth ; but it does not appear that any
of them entirely supersede the necessity for the measures above
recommended.

The various kinds of destructive moths, found in houses,
stores, barns, granaries, and mills, are mostly very small insects ;
the largest of them, when arrived at maturity, expanding their
wings only about eight tenths of an inch. The ravages of some
of these little creatures are too well known to need a particular de-
scription. Among them may be mentioned the clothes-moth
(Tinea vcstianella), the tapestry or carpet-moth (71. (apcizclla),
the fur-moth ( T. pdlionclla), the hair-moth (T. crinella), and
the grain-moth ( T. granclla), with some others belonging to a
group, which may be called Tineans (Tinead.e) ; also the pack-
moth (Anacampsis sarcitclla), which is very destructive to wool
and fabrics made of this material, and the Angoumois grain-moth

LEPIDOPTERA. 3G1

(Anacampsis cercalella), both of which are to be included among
the Yponomeutians. In the cabinet of the Boston Society of
Natural History the cases, containing the large and beautiful col-
lection of shells, were formerly lined with fine white flannel. In
this some moths soon established themselves, multiplied very
fast, and, in the course of a few years, did so much damage that
it became necessary entirely to remove the moth-eaten linings.
In their winged state these moths were of a light buff color, with
the lustre of satin, and had a thick orange-colored tuft on the
forehead ; the wings were deeply fringed, and the first pair were
lance-shaped, and expanded rather more than half an inch. This
species agrees very well with the description given, by the old
naturalists, of the Tinea flavifrontella,* or the orange-fronted
Tinea, and with Wood's figure of Tinea destructor, the destroy-
er. Should it prove to be different from these, it may be named
the satin-buff moth. Objects of natural history are very apt to
be injured by another moth, closely resembling the foregoing, and
differing from it chiefly in being somewhat smaller, and in having
the hind-wings tinged with gray. Chocolate, as Reaumur has re-
marked, is devoured by another Tinea, whose little silken cases
are often seen between the cakes, and I have also found them in
chocolate put up in tin cases. Other articles of food are also de-
voured by some of these Tinere, and even our books are not
spared by them.

Mention has been made of two kinds of grain-moths, and an
account of them may be expected. Before entering upon their
history it will be well to point out some of the peculiarities of the
Tineans, and state what are the. means to be employed for pre-
serving clothes and other household stuffs from their attacks.
The Tineans, in the winged state, have four short and slender
feelers, a thick tuft on the forehead, and very narrow wings, which
are deeply fringed. They lay their eggs in the spring, in May
and June, and die immediately afterwards. The eggs (according
to Latreille and Duponchel, from whose works the following re-
marks are chiefly extracted) are hatched in fifteen days, and the
little whitish caterpillars or moth-worms proceeding therefrom im-

* Not the Butia jlavifronlclla of the English entomologists.

46

362 INSECTS OF MASSACHUSETTS.

mediately begin to gnaw the substances within their reach, and
cover themselves with the fragments, shaping them into little hol-
low rolls and lining them with silk. They pass the summer with-
in these rolls, some carrying them about on their backs as they
move along, and others fastening them to the substance they are
eating ; and they enlarge them from time to time by adding por-
tions to the two open extremities, and by gores set into the sides,
which they slit open for this purpose. Concealed within their
movable cases, or in their lint-covered burrows, they carry on the
work of destruction through the summer ; but in the autumn they
leave off eating, make fast their habitations, and remain at rest
and seemingly torpid through the winter. Early in the spring
they change to chrysalids within their cases, and in about twenty
days afterwards are transformed to winged moths, and come forth,
and fly about in the evening, till they have paired and are ready to
lay their eggs. They then contrive to slip through cracks into
dark closets, chests, and drawers, under the edges of carpets,
in the folds of curtains and of garments hanging up, and into va-
rious other places, where they immediately lay the foundation for
a new colony of destructive moth-worms.

Early in June the prudent housekeeper will take care to beat
up their quarters and put them to flight, or to disturb them so as
to defeat their designs and destroy their eggs and young. With
this view ward-robes, closets, drawers, and chests will be laid
open, and emptied of their contents, and all woollen garments,
and bedding, furs, feathers, carpets, curtains, and the like, will
be removed and exposed to the air, and to the heat of the sun,
for several hours together, and will not be put back in their pla-
ces without a thorough brushing, beating, or shaking. By these
means, the moths and their eggs will be dislodged and destroyed.
Ln old houses, that are much infested by moths, the cracks in the
floors, in the wainscot, around the walls and shelves of closets,
and even in the furniture used for holding clothes, should be
brushed over with spirits of turpentine. Sheets of paper
sprinkled with spirits of turpentine, camphor in coarse powder,
or leaves of tobacco, should be placed among the clothes, when
they are laid aside for the summer. Furs, plumes, and other
small articles, not in constant use, are best preserved by being

LEPTDOPTERA. 363

put, with a few tobacco leaves, or bits of camphor, into bags
made of thick brown paper, and closely sewed or pasted up at
the end. Chests of camphor-wood, red cedar, or of Spanish
cedar, are found to be the best for keeping all articles from moths
and other vermin. The cloth linings of carriages can be secured
for ever from the attacks of moths by being washed or sponged on
both sides with a solution of the corrosive sublimate of mercury
in alcohol, made just strong enough not to leave a white stain on
a black feather. Moths can be killed by fumigating the article
containing them with tobacco smoke or with sulphur, or by shut-
ting it in a tight vessel and then plunging the latter into boiling
water, or exposing it to steam, for the space of fifteen minutes,
or by putting it into an oven heated to about one hundred and
fifty degrees of Fahrenheit's thermometer.

Stored grain is exposed to much injury from the depredations
of two little moths, in Europe, and is attacked in the same way,
and apparently by the same insects, in this country. Not having
had sufficient opportunity to examine these insects myself, I have
been obliged to rely upon the accounts given by foreign writers,
for most of the following particulars respecting their history.

The European grain-moth (Tinea granella), in its perfected
state, is a winged insect, between three and four tenths of an inch
long from the head to the tip of its wings, and expands six tenths
of an inch. It has a whitish tuft on its forehead ; its long and
narrow wings cover its back like a sloping roof, are a little turned
up behind, and are edged with a wide fringe. Its fore-wings are
glossy like satin, and are marbled with white or gray, light brown,
and dark brown or blackish spots, and there is always one dark
square spot near the middle of the outer edge. Its hind-wings
are blackish. Some of these winged moths appear in May, oth-
ers in July and August, at which times they lay their eggs ; for
there are two broods of them in the course of the year. The
young from the first laid eggs come to their growth and finish
their transformations in six weeks or two months ; the others live
through the winter, and turn to winged moths in the following
spring. The young moth-worms do not burrow into the grain,
as has been asserted by some writers, who seem to have con-
founded them with the Angoumois grain-worms ; but, as soon as

364 INSECTS OF MASSACHUSETTS.

they are hatched, they begin to gnaw the grain and cover them-
selves with the fragments, which they line with a silken web. As
they increase in size they fasten together several grains with their
webs, so as to make a larger cavity, wherein they live. After a
while, becoming uneasy in their confined habitations, they come
out, and wander over the grain, spinning their threads as they go,
till they have found a suitable place wherein to make their co-
coons. Thus, wheat, rye, barley, and oats, all of which they
attack, will be found full of lumps of grains cemented together by
these corn-worms, as they are sometimes called ; and when they
are very numerous, the whole surface of the grain in the bin will
be covered with a thick crust of webs and of adhering grains.
These destructive corn-worms are really soft and naked caterpil-
lars, of a cylindrical shape, tapering a little at each end, and are
provided with sixteen legs, the first three pairs of which are coni-
cal and jointed, and the others fleshy and wart-like. When fully
grown, they measure four or five tenths of an inch in length, and are
of a light ochre or buff color, with a reddish head. When about
six weeks old they leave the grain, and get into cracks, or around
the sides of corn-bins, and each one then makes itself a little oval
pod or cocoon, about as large as a grain of wheat. The insects
of the first brood, as before said, come out of their cocoons, in
the winged form, in July and August, and lay their eggs for
another brood : the others remain unchanged in their cocoons,
through the winter, and take the chrysalis form in March or April
following. Three weeks afterwards, the shining brown chrysalis
forces itself part wTay out of the cocoon, by the help of some little
sharp points on its tail, and bursts open at the other end, so as to
allow the moth therein confined to come forth.

The foregoing account will probably enable the readers of this
essay to determine whether these destructive insects are found in
our own country. From various statements, deficient however
in exactness, that have appeared in some of our agricultural jour-
nals, I am led to think that this corn-moth, or an insect exactly
like it in its habits, prevails in all parts of the country, and that it
has generally been mistaken for the grain-weevil, which it far sur-
passes in its devastations. Many years ago I remember to have
seen oats and shelled corn (maize) affected in the way above de-

LEPIDOPTERA. 365

scribed, and have observed seed-corn, hanging in the ears, to
have been attacked by insects of this kind, the empty chrysalids
of which remained sticking between the kernels ; but, for some
time past, no opportunity for further investigation has offered
itself.

There is another grain-moth, which, at various times, has beeri
found to be more destructive in granaries, in some provinces of
France, than the preceding kind. It is the Angoumois moth
(Anacampsis ? cerealella), an insect evidently belonging to the
family of yponomeutad^e, or Yponomeutians. The winged moths
of this group have only two visible feelers, and these are gener-
ally long, slender, and curved over their heads. Their narrow
wings most often overlap each other, and cover their backs hori-
zontally when shut. The Angoumois grain-moth probably be-
longs to the modern genus Anacampsis, a word derived from
the Greek, and signifying recurved, in allusion to the direction of
the feelers of the moths. It is stated in the " Introduction to
Entomology,"* by the Rev. Mr. Kirby and Mr. Spence, that
the insect under consideration is not yet named. This, however,
is a mistake ; for it was named Alucita cerealella, by Olivier, f
as long ago as the year 17S9. Olivier's name for it appears also
to have been overlooked by Latreille, who has given it that of
CEcophora granella.\ Moreover, the writers of the " Introduc-
tion" have extracted, from the works of Reaumur §, an account
of the habits of this insect, which they call Tinea Hordei and
Ypsolophus granellus, || without seeming to be aware that it is the
same as the Angoumois moth. In the year 176S, Colonel Lan-
don Carter, of Sabine Hall, Virginia, communicated to the
American Philosophical Society at Philadelphia, some inter-
esting " Observations concerning the Fly-weevil that destroys
wheat." These were printed in the first volume IF of the u Trans-

* Fifth edition, Vol.1., p. 172.

t " Encyclopedic Methodique. Hist. Nat. Insectes," Vol. IV., p. 121. See
also Guerin's edition of Tigny's " Histoire Nat. des Insectes," Vol. IX., p. 301.
X Cuvier's "Regne Animal," 2d. edition.
§"Memoires,"II.,p. 486.
J| " Introduction to Entomology," Vol. I., p. 174.
11 Paffe 274.

.366 INSECTS OF MASSACHUSETTS.

actions" of the Society, and were followed by some remarks on
the subject by " the Committee of Husbandry." It is highly prob-
able that this fly-weevil is no other than the destructive Angou-
mois grain-moth ; for Colonel Carter's account of it, though de-
ficient in some particulars, agrees essentially with what has been
published respecting the European insect. Mr. E. C. Herrick
has recently sent to me, from New Haven, Connecticut, some
wheat, that has been eaten by moths precisely in the same way
as grain is attacked by the Angoumois grain-moth ; and a gentle-
man to whom this moth-eaten wheat was shown, informed me that
he had seen grain thus affected in Maine. Unfortunately the in-
sects contained in this wheat were dead when received, having
perished in the chrysalis state; had they lived to finish their trans-
formations, I have good reason to think that they would have
proved to be identical with the Angoumois moths. The follow-
ing particulars respecting the latter are chiefly gathered from
Reaumur's " Memoires," and from a work by Duhamel du Mon-
ceau and Tillet, * who were commissioned by the Academy of
Sciences of Paris, in the year 1760, to inquire into the nature of
the insect, on account of its ravages in Angoumois, a part of
France where it had long been known, and had multiplied to an
alarming extent. The Angoumois moth, or Anacampsis cercal-
ella, in its perfected state, is a four-winged insect, about three
eighths of an inch long, when its wings are shut. It has a pair of
tapering curved feelers, turned over its head. Its upper wings
are narrow, of a light brown color, without spots, and have the
lustre of satin ; they cover the body horizontally above, but droop
a little at the sides. The lower wings and the rest of the body
are ash-colored. This moth lays its eggs, which vary in number
from sixty to ninety, in clusters, on the ears of wheat, rye, and
barley, most often while these plants are growing in the field, and
the ears are young and tender ; sometimes also on stored grain in
the autumn. Hence it appears that they breed twice a year; the
insects from the eggs laid in the early part of summer, coming to

*"Histoire d'un Insectc qui devore les grains de l'Angoumois." 12mo. Paris.
1762. See also " Histoire dc l'Academie Royale des Sciences," Annee 1761, p.
66, and " Memoires," p. 289, 4to. Paris, 1763.

LEPIDOPTERA. 367

perfection and providing for another brood of moth-worms in the
autumn. The little worm-like caterpillars, as soon as they are
hatched, disperse, and each one selects a single grain, into which
it burrows immediately at the most tender part, and remains con-
cealed therein after the grain is harvested. It devours the mealy
substance within the hull ; and this destruction goes on so secret-
ly, that it can only be detected by the softness of the grain or the
loss of its weight. When fully grown this caterpillar is not more
than one fifth of an inch long. It is of a white color, with a
brownish head ; and it has six small jointed legs, and ten ex-
tremely small wart-like proplegs. Duhamel has represented it
as having two little horns just behind the head, and two short
bristles at the end of its tapering body. Having eaten out the
heart of the grain, which is just enough for all its wants, it spins
a silken web or curtain to divide the hollow, lengthwise, into two
unequal parts, the smaller containing the rejected fragments of its
food, and the larger cavity serving instead of a cocoon, wherein
the insect undergoes its transformations. Before turning to a
chrysalis it gnaws a small hole nearly or quite through the hull,
and sometimes also through the chaffy covering of the grain,
through which it can make its escape easily when it becomes a
winged moth. The insects of the first, or summer brood, come
to maturity in about three weeks, remain but a short time in the
chrysalis state, and turn to winged moths in the autumn, and at
this time may be found, in the evening, in great numbers, laying
their eggs on the grain stored in barns and granaries. The moth-
worms of the second brood remain in the grain through the win-
ter, and do not change to winged insects till the following sum-
mer, when they come out, fly into the fields in the night, and lay
their eggs on the young ears of the growing grain. When dam-
aged grain is sown it comes up very thin ; the infected kernels
never sprout, but the insects lodged in them remain alive, finish
their transformations in the field, and in due time come out of
the ground in the winged form.

It has been proved by experience that the ravages of the two
kinds of grain-moths, whose history has been now given, can be ef-
fectually checked by drying the damaged grain in an oven or kiln ;
and that a heat of one hundred and sixty-seven degrees, by Fan-

368 INSECTS OF MASSACHUSETTS.

renbeit's thermometer, continued during twelve hours, will kill
the insects in all their forms. Indeed the heat may be reduced
to one hundred and four degrees, with the same effect, but the
grain must then be exposed to it for the space of two days. The
other means, that have been employed for the preservation of
grain from these destructive moths, it is unnecessary to describe ;
they are probably well known to most of our farmers and millers,
and are rarely so effectual as the process above mentioned.

7. Feather-winged Moths. Alucitce.

The last tribe of Lepidopterous insects, remaining to be no-
ticed, contains the Alucitje of Linnaeus, or feather-winged
moths, called Pterophorid^: by the French naturalists. These
moths are easily known by their wings being divided lengthwise
into narrow, fringed branches, resembling feathers. The fore-
wings in the genus Fterophorus are split, nearly half way, into
two, and the hind-wings are divided, to the shoulder-joint, into
three feathers ; and each of the wings, in Alucita, consists of six
feathers, connected only at the joint. The antenna? of these
moths are slender and tapering ; the tongue is long ; the feelers
are two in number, and of moderate length ; and the body and
legs are very long and slender. When at rest their wings do not
cover the body, but stand out from it on each side, not spread
however, but folded together like a fan, so that only the outer
part of each of the fore-wings is visible. They fly slowly and
feebly, some of them by day, and others only at night, and, when
on the wing, they somewhat resemble the long-legged gnats.
Their caterpillars are rather short and thick, are clothed with a
few hairs, and have sixteen short legs. Most of them live on the
leaves of low or herbaceous plants, and, when about to change to
chrysalids, they fasten themselves by the hind-feet and by a loop
over the back, like the Lyca?nians. Those which belong to the
genus Ahicita are said to live in buds, and undergo their transfor-
mations in thin, transparent cocoons. The number of species in
this tribe is small ; and those that arc found in this country are so
few, and of so little consequence, in an economical point of view,
that a particular description of them will not be necessary in this
treatise.

HYMENOPTERA. 369

HYMENOPTERA.

Stingers, and Piercers. — Habits of some of the Hymenoptera. — Saw-
Flies, and Slugs. Elm Saw-Fly. Fir Saw-Fly. Vine Saw-Fly. Rose-
bosh Slug. Pear-tree Slug. — Horn-tailed Wood-Wasps. — Gall-Flies.

Bees, wasps, ants, saw-flies, and ichneumon-flies, of many-
different kinds, together with other insects, unknown by any-
common names in the English language, belong to the order
Hymenoptera. Their wings are four in number, are traversed
by a (ew, branching veins, and are more or less transparent, or of
a thin and filmy texture, as expressed by the name of the order,
which signifies membranaceous wings. They fly swiftly, and are
able to keep on the wing much longer than any other insects,
because their bodies are light, and compact, and their wings very
thin, narrow, and withal very strong. They have four nippers
or jaws ; the upper pair being horny, stout, and fitted for biting
or cutting ; the lower are longer and softer, and, with the lower
lip, which they cover, form a kind of beak or sucker. Their
antennae vary in form and length ; but are most often cylindrical,
and of equal thickness to the end. The males have no weapons
of offence or defence except their jaws. The females are armed
with a venomous sting, concealed within the end of the hind-
body, or are provided with a piercer, of some sort, for boring
or sawing the holes wherein their eggs are deposited. Hence
the insects of this order may be divided into two groups, Sting-
ers, and Piercers. Though both of them undergo a complete
transformation in coming to maturity, they differ from each other
in the early states of their existence. The young of all the
stinging Hymenoptera are soft, white, and maggot-shaped, and
are without legs ; some of those of the Piercers have the same
form, but the others more nearly resemble grubs and caterpillars,
having a horny head, and six, jointed legs, and some of them nu-
merous, fleshy, proplegs, besides. The latter, when food fails
them in one place, are able to creep to another, and can look out
for themselves a proper place of shelter, wherein to go through
with their transformations. The others are exceedingly helpless,

47

370 INSECTS OF MASSACHUSETTS.

and depend wholly upon the instinctive foresight of their parents,
or the daily care of attentive nurses, for their food and habita-
tions. When fully grown, nearly all of these young insects spin
oblong oval cocoons, wherein they change to chrysalids, and
finally to winged insects. A few, however, never obtain wings
in the adult state ; but these are mostly certain neuter and female
ants, the males of which possess wings. With the exception of
the white ants, belonging to another order, it is only among Hy-
menopterous insects that we find certain individuals constantly
barren, and hence called neuters. These form the principal part
of those communities of bees, of wasps, and of ants, that unite
in making a habitation for the whole swarm, and in providing a
stock of provisions for their own use, and for that of their help-
less brood ; and nearly or quite all the labor falls upon these in-
dustrious neuters, whose care and affection for the young, which
they foster and shelter, could not be greater were they their own
offspring.

Hymenopterous insects love the light of the sun ; they take
wing only during the daytime, and remain at rest in the night, and
in dull and wet weather. They excel all other insects in the
number and variety of their instincts, which are wonderfully dis-
played in the methods employed by them in providing for the
comfort and the future wants of their offspring. In the introduc-
tory chapter some remarks have already been made on their hab-
its and economy ; and the limits of this essay will not allow me
now to enlarge upon them. I shall not, therefore, attempt to
show how admirably the Hymenoptera arc fitted, in the formation
of all their parts, for their appointed tasks. If any of my read-
ers are curious to learn this, and to witness for themselves the
various arts, resources, and contrivances resorted to by these in-
sects, let them go abroad in the summer, and watch them during
their labors. They will then see the saw-fly making holes in
leaves with her double key-hole saws, and the horn-tail boring
with her auger into the solid trunks of trees ; — they will not fail
to observe and admire the untiring scrutiny of the ichneumon-
flies, those little busy-bodies, for ever on the alert, and prying
into every place to find the lurking caterpillar, grub, or maggot,
wherein to thrust their eggs ; — the curious swellings produced

HYMENOPTERA. 371

by the gall-flies, and inhabited by their young; — the clay cells of
the mud-wasp, plastered against the walls of our houses, each
one containing a single egg, together with a large number of liv-
ing spiders, caught and imprisoned therein solely for the use of
the little mason's young, which thus have constantly before them
an ample supply of fresh provisions ; — the holes of the stump-
wasp, stored with hundreds of horse-flies for the same purpose ;
— the skill of the leaf-cutter bee in cutting out the semicircular
pieces of leaves for her patchwork nest; — the thimble-shaped
cells of the ground-bee, hidden, in clusters, under some loose
stone in the fields, made of little fragments of tempered clay,
and stored with bee-bread, the work of many weeks for the indus-
trious laborer ; — the waxen cells made by the honey-bee, with-
out any teaching, upon purely mathematical principles, measured
on\y with her antennas, and wrought with her jaws and tongue ; —
the water-tight nests of the hornet and wasp, natural paper-makers
from the beginning of time, who are not obliged to use rags or
ropes in the formation of their durable paper combs, but have
applied to this purpose fibres of wood, a material that the art of
man has not yet been able to manufacture into paper ; — the her-
culean labors of ants in throwing up their hillocks, or mining their
galleries, compared wherewith, if the small size of the laborers
be taken into account, the efforts of man in his proudest monu-
ments, his pyramids and his catacombs, dwindle into insignifi-
cance. These are only a few of the objects deserving of notice
among the insects of this order; many others might be mentioned,
that would lead us to observe with what consummate skill these
little creatures have been fashioned, and how richly they have
been endowed with instincts, that never fail them in providing for
their own welfare, and that of their future progeny.

Comparatively speaking, there are not many of the Hymen-
optera which are actually or seriously injurious to vegetation.
Those which I propose now to describe are not provided with
venomous stings, and, consequently, are to be included among
the Piercers.

Such are the saw-flies (Tenthredinid^:), insects that are
found on the leaves of plants, and live almost entirely on vege-
table food. They are the least active of the Hymenoptera, are

372 INSECTS OF MASSACHUSETTS.

sluggish in their habits, fly heavily and but little, and do not at-
tempt to escape when touched. Most of them are rather short
and somewhat flattened. They have a broad head, which, seen
from above, appears transversely square. The hind-body is not
narrowed to a point where it joins the thorax, but is as broad as
the latter, and is closely united to it. The antennae are generally
short ; but they vary much in form ; in many species they are
thread-like and slightly tapering ; in some, thickened or knobbed
at the end ; more rarely they end suddenly with a few very small
joints, much more slender than the rest ; they are feathered in
some males, and notched in the other sex ; and sometimes they
are forked, or divided into long branches. Their wings cross
and overlap each other, and cover the back horizontally when
closed. But the most striking peculiarity of these insects con-
sists in the double saws wherewith the females are provided.
These are lodged in a deep chink under the hinder part of the
body, like the blade of a penknife in its handle, and are covered
by two, narrow, scabbard-like pieces. The saws are two in num-
ber, placed side by side, with their ends directed backwards, and
are so hinged to the under-side of the body that they can be
withdrawn from the chink, and moved up and down when in use.
They vary in their form, and in the shape of their teeth, in dif-
ferent kinds of saw-flies ; but they generally curve upwards and
taper towards the end, and are toothed along the lower or convex
edges. Each of the saws, like a carpenter's fine saw, has a back
to steady it ; the blade, however, is not fastened to the back, but
slides backwards and forwards upon it. Moreover, the saw-blade
is not only toothed on the edge, but is covered, on one side, with
transverse rows of very fine teeth, giving to it the power of a
rasp, as well as that of a saw.

The female saw-flies use these ingeniously contrived tools to
saw little slits in the stems and leaves of plants, wherein they af-
terwards drop their eggs. Some, it appears, lay their eggs in
fruits ; for Mr. Westwood discovered their young within apples
that had fallen from the trees before they had grown to the size of
walnuts. The wounds made in plants by some kinds of saw-
flies swell, and produce galls or knobs, that serve for habitations
and for food to their young. The eggs, themselves, of all these

HYMENOPTERA. 373

flies, are found to grow, and increase to twice their former size
after they are laid, probably by absorbing the sap of the plant
through their thin shells.

Most of the larvae or young of the saw-flies strikingly resem-
ble caterpillars, being usually of a cylindrical form, of a greenish
color, and having several pairs of legs. Hence they are some-
times called false caterpillars. With the exception of such as
belong to the genera Lyda and Cephus, in which the legs are
only six, and the proplegs are entirely wanting, these false cater-
pillars have a greater number of legs than true caterpillars, being
provided with from eighteen to twenty-two ; but their proplegs
have not the numerous little hooks that arm those of caterpillars.
They have the means of spinning silk from their lower lips, but
not often in any great quantity. They are mostly naked and
without hairs ; a few have forked prickles on their backs ; some
are covered with a white flaky substance, that easily rubs ofT;
and others have a dark colored slimy skin, which has caused them
to be called slugs or slug- worms. They shed their skins about
four times, and, after the last moulting, often materially change in
appearance. Not only do these insects resemble caterpillars in
their forms, but they have nearly the same habits. They are
generally found on the leaves of plants, which they devour.
Many kinds are altogether solitary ; a few live together in swarms,
under silken webs, which they spin for a common place of shelter ;
others are found also in swarms, but without any webs over them,
and, when disturbed, they throw up their heads and tails, in a
very odd way ; some roll up leaves, and live in the hollow thus
formed, like the Tortrices ; others make portable cases of bits
of leaves, which they carry about on their backs, like the Tinese ;
certain kinds live within the stems of plants, and devour the pith ;
and wheat, in Europe, is said to suffer considerable injury from
internal feeders (Cephus pygmceus) of this kind. When fully
grown, most of them go into the ground, and enclose themselves
in thin silken cocoons, of an oblong oval shape, coated with
grains of earth. Some make much thicker cocoons, in texture
resembling parchment, and fasten them to the plants on which
they live, or conceal them in crevices, or under leaves and stones
on the ground. They generally remain for a long time unchanged

374 INSECTS OF MASSACHUSETTS.

in their cocoons, most of them during the winter ; are trans-
formed to chrysalids, of a whitish color, in the spring, and come
out in the winged form soon afterwards. Of some kinds there
are two broods in the course of the summer, the false caterpillars
of the first brood coming to their growth, and passing through all
their transformations, within six or seven weeks from their first
appearance.

The names of above sixty native species of saw-flies may be
found in my "Catalogue of the Insects of Massachusetts."
Some of these are very interesting in their appearance and hab-
its in the caterpillar state. In what follows an account will be
given of one of the largest species, and of some smaller kinds,
that have been found very injurious to cultivated plants.

Our largest saw-fly belongs to the genus Cimbex. This name
was originally given by the Greeks to certain insects resembling
bees and wasps, but not producing honey. It therefore applies
very well to some kinds of saw-flies, such as the female of this
species, which, at first sight, might be mistaken for a hornet.
Her head and thorax are shining black. Her hind-body is oval,
and of a steel blue or deep violet color, with three or four,
oval, yellowish spots on each side. Her antennse are buff-colored,
except at the base, where they are dusky ; they are short, and
end with an egg-shaped knob. Her wings are smoky brown, and
semitransparent. Her legs are blue-black, and her feet pale yel-
low. The length of her body varies from three quarters to seven
eighths of an inch, and her wings expand an inch and three quar-
ters or more. In the manuscript lectures of the late Professor
Peck, she is called Cimbex Ulmi, because she inhabits the elm.
The male is the Cimbex Americana of Dr. Leach, and differs so
much from the female, that it might be taken for a different species.
His body is longer and narrower than that of the female, and
wants the white spots on the sides ; and there is a transverse, oval
hole, filled with a whitish film, behind the thorax, which is hard-
ly perceptible in the other sex. His hind-legs are very thick ;
the shins are bowed, and hairy within ; and the first joint of his
feet ends with a stout hook, curved inwards. He often measures
an inch in length, and his wings expand about two inches.
These insects appear from the latter part of May to the middle

HYMENOPTERA. 375

of June, during which period the female lays her eggs upon the
common American elm, the leaves whereof are the food of her
young. The latter come to their growth in August, and then
measure from one inch and a half to two inches in length. They
are rather thick, and nearly cylindrical in form, and have twenty-
two legs, or a pair to every ring except the fourth. They have
a firm, rough, skin, of a pale greenish yellow color, covered with
numerous transverse wrinkles, with a black stripe, consisting of
two narrow black lines, along the top of the back, from the head
to the tail ; and their spiracles, or breathing-holes, are also black.
When at rest, they lie on their sides, curled up in a spiral form,
and, in this position, look not much unlike some kinds of cockle
or snail shells. Like all the false caterpillars of the genus Cim-
bex, this insect, when handled or disturbed, betrays its fears or
its displeasure by spirting out a watery fluid from certain little
pores situated on the sides of its body just above its spiracles.
After its feeding state is over, it crawls down from the tree to
the ground, and conceals itself under fallen leaves or other rub-
bish, and there makes an oblong oval, brown cocoon, very close-
ly woven, as tough as parchment, and about an inch in length.
In this the false caterpillar remains unchanged throughout the
winter, and is not transformed to a chrysalis till the following
spring. At length the insect bursts its chrysalis skin, and, by
pushing against the end of its cocoon, forces off a little circular
piece like a lid, and through the opening thus made it comes forth
in its winged form.

For some years past many of the fir-trees, cultivated for or-
nament, in this vicinity, have been attacked by swarms of false
caterpillars, and, in some instances that have fallen under my no-
tice, have been nearly stripped of their leaves every summer, and
in consequence thereof have been checked in their growth, and
now seem to be in a sickly condition. These destructive insects
agree in their habits and in their general appearance, in all their
states, with the pine and fir saw-flies, described by Kollar,* by
whose ravages whole forests of these trees have been destroyed
in some parts of Germany. It is probable, however, that the

* " Treatise," pages 340 and 347.

376 INSECTS OF MASSACHUSETTS.

American fir saw-flies are not identical with those of Europe, as
they differ from them rather too much to have originated from the
same stock ; neither do they sufficiently agree with Dr. Leach's
descriptions of Lophyrus Americanus, Abbotii, compar, &c. ;
and, therefore, I propose to name this apparently undescribed
species Lophyrus Abietis, the Lophyrus of the fir-tree. The
following is a description of the insect in its winged state. The
two sexes differ very much from each other in size and color,
and still more remarkably in the form of their antennae. The
male is the smallest, measures one quarter of an inch in length,
and expands his wings about two fifths of an inch. His body is
black above, and brown beneath ; his wings are transparent, with
changeable tints of rose-red, green, and yellow ; and his legs
are wholly of a dirty leather-yellow color. His antennae resem-
ble very short, black feathers, wide at the end, and narrowed to a
point, and are curled inwards on each edge, so as to appear hol-
low. The genus Lophyrus derives its name from the plume-like
crest on the heads of the male insects. The body of the female
is about three tenths of an inch long, and her wings expand half
an inch or more. She is of a yellowish brown color above, with
a short blackish stripe on each side of the middle of the thorax ;
her body beneath and her legs are paler, or of a dirty leather-
yellow color ; and her wings resemble those of the male. Her
antennae are short, taper to a point, consist of nineteen joints, and
are toothed on one side like a saw. My specimens of this kind
of saw-fly, which were raised from the caterpillars in the summer
of 1838, came out of their cocoons towards the end of July in
the same year ; but I have also found them on pines and firs early
in May. The European pine saw-flies lay their eggs in slits
which they make with their saws in the edges of the leaves ; and
it is probable that our fir saw-flies proceed in the same way. In
June and July the false caterpillars of the latter may be found on
firs ; and, according to notes made by me many years ago, the
same insects, or some very much like them, were observed on
the leaves of the pitch-pine also. They are social in their habits,
living together in considerable swarms, and so thick that some-
times two may be seen feeding together on the same leaf, and sit-
ting opposite to each other. In order to lay hold of the leaf

HYMENOPTERA. 377

more firmly they curl the hinder part of the body around it ; and,
if they are disturbed, they throw up their heads and tails with a
jerking motion. When fully grown, they are from five to six
tenths of an inch in length ; they are nearly cylindrical in form,
thickest before the middle, and tapering behind, and have twenty-
two legs. The head, and the first three pairs of legs, are black.
The body is of a pale and dirty green color above, with a light
stripe along the top of the back, separating two of a darker green
color ; there are two dark green stripes on each side of the body ;
and the belly and proplegs are yellowish. When young, the two
stripes on the back are much darker, and those on the sides are
nearly black. The skin, though covered with very fine trans-
verse wrinkles, is not rough, and, with a magnifying glass, a few
short hairs may be seen scattered over it. After the last moult-
ing their color fades, and they become almost yellow. The
greater part of them then suddenly leave the trees, either by trav-
elling down the trunks, or by falling from the branches to the
ground. A kw, either from weakness or from some other cause,
remain on the trees, make their cocoons among the leaves, and
rarely finish their transformations, most of them perishing from the
internal attacks of ichneumon-grubs. Some creep into cracks
in fences and into other crevices ; but most of those which reach
the ground bury themselves under decayed leaves, or among the
roots of the grass, and, in such secure places, make their co-
coons. The latter are oblong oval cases, of tough grayish silk,
and measure nearly three tenths of an inch in length. In due
time the insects change to saw-flies, and come out of their co-
coons, one end whereof separates, like a lid, to allow of their
escape. Although some of them are found to finish their trans-
formations in August, it is probable that the greater part of them
remain unchanged in the ground till the following spring.

No means for the destruction of the caterpillars of the fir saw-
fly have been tried here, except showering them with soap-suds,
and with solutions of whale-oil soap, which has been found ef-
fectual. They may also be shaken ofT or beaten from the trees,
early in the morning, when they are torpid and easily fall, and
may be collected in sheets, and be burned or given to swine.
For other means to check their depredations the reader may con-

48

37S INSECTS OF MASSACHUSETTS.

suit the articles on the pine and fir saw-flies of Europe, contained
in Kollar's " Treatise."

The following account of a kind of saw-fly which attacks the
grape-vine is chiefly extracted from my " Discourse before the
Massachusetts Horticultural Society, in 1832," where the in-
sect is named Selandria Vitis. The saw-fly of the vine is of a
jet-black color, except the upper side of the thorax, which is
red, and the fore-legs and under-side of the other legs, which are
pale yellow or whitish. The wings are semitransparent, of a
smoky color, with dark brown veins. The body of the female
measures one quarter of an inch in length, that of the male is
somewhat shorter. These flies rise from the ground in the
spring, not all at one time, but at irregular intervals, and lay their
eggs on the lower side of the terminal leaves of the vine. In
the month of July the false caterpillars, hatched from these eggs,
may be seen on the leaves, in little swarms, of various ages, some
very small, and others fully grown. They feed in company, side
by side, beneath the leaves, each swarm or fraternity consisting of
a dozen or more individuals, and they preserve their ranks with a
surprising degree of regularity. Beginning at the edge they eat
the whole of the leaf to the stalk, and then go to another, which
in like manner they devour, and thus proceed, from leaf to leaf,
down the branch, till they have grown to their full size. They
then average five eighths of an inch in length, are somewhat
slender and tapering behind, and thickest before the middle.
They have twenty-two legs. The head and the tip of the tail
are black ; the body, above, is light green, paler before and be-
hind, with two transverse rows of minute black points across
each ring ; and the lower side of the body is yellowish. After
their last moulting they become almost entirely yellow, and then
leave the vine, burrow in the ground, and form for themselves
small oval cells of earth, which they line with a slight silken film.
In about a fortnight after going into the ground, having in the
mean time passed through the chrysalis state, they come out of
their earthen cells, take wing, pair, and lay their eggs for a sec-
ond brood. The young of the second brood are not transformed
to flies until the following spring, but remain at rest in their co-
coons in the ground through the winter. For some years pre-

HYMENOPTERA. 379

vious to the publication of my "Discourse," I observed that
these insects annually increased in number, and, in the year
1832, they had become so numerous and destructive that many
vines were entirely stripped of their leaves by them. Whether
the remedies then proposed by me, or any other means, have
tended to diminish their numbers, or to keep them in check, I
have not been able to ascertain, and have had no further oppor-
tunity for making observations on the insects themselves. At
that time, air-slacked lime, which was found to be fatal to these
false caterpillars of the vine, was advised to be dusted upon them,
and strewed also upon the ground under the vines, to insure the
destruction of such of the insects as might fall. A solution of
one pound of common hard soap in five or six gallons of soft
water, is used by English gardeners to destroy the young of the
gooseberry saw-fly ; and the same was recommended to be tried
upon the insects under consideration.

All the young of the saw-flies do not so closely resemble cat-
erpillars as the preceding ; some of them, as has already been
stated, have the form of slugs or naked snails. Of this descrip-
tion is the kind called the slug-worm in this country, and the
slimy grub of the pear-tree in Europe. So different are these
from the other false caterpillars, that they would not be suspected
to belong to the same family. Their relationship becomes evi-
dent, however, when they have finished their transformations ;
and accordingly we find that the saw-flies of our slug-worms and
those of the vine are so much alike in form and structure, that
they are both included in the same genus. Moreover, there are
certain false caterpillars intermediate in their forms and appear-
ance between the slimy and slug-like kinds and those that more
nearly resemble the true caterpillars ; thus admirably illustrating
the truth of the remark, that nature proceeds not with abrupt or
unequal steps ; * or, in other words, that amidst the immense
variety of living forms, wherewith this earth has been peopled,
there is a regular gradation and connexion, which, in particular
cases, if we fail to discover, it is rather to be attributed to our own
ignorance and short-sightedness than to any want of harmony and

* Naturasaltus non facit. Linnaeus. Syst. Nat. I. 11.

380 INSECTS OF MASSACHUSETTS.

regularity in the plan of the Creator. In considering the resem-
blances of species, we cannot fail to admire the care that has
been taken, by almost insensible shades of difference among
them, or by peculiar circumstances controlling their distribution,
their habits of life, and their choice of food, to prevent them
from commingling, whereby each species is made to preserve for
ever its individual identity.

The saw-fly of the rose, which, as it does not seem to have
been described before, may be called Selandria Rosa, from its
favorite plant, so nearly resembles the slug-worm saw-fly as not
to be distinguished therefrom except by a practised observer. It
is also very much like Selandria barda, Vitis, and pygmcca, but
has not the red thorax of these three closely allied species. It is
of a deep and shining black color. The first two pairs of legs
are brownish gray or dirty white, except the thighs, which are
almost entirely black. The hind-legs are black, with whitish
knees. The wings are smoky, and transparent, with dark brown
veins, and a brown spot near the middle of the edge of the first
pair. The body of the male is a little more than three twentieths
ctf an inch long, that of the female one fifth of an inch or more,
and the wings expand nearly or quite two fifths of an inch.
These saw-flies come out of the ground, at various times, be-
tween the twentieth of May and the middle of June, during which
period they pair and lay their eggs. The females do not fly much,
and may be seen, during most of the day, resting on the leaves ;
and, when touched, they draw up their legs, and fall to the ground.
The males are more active, fly from one rose-bush to another,
and hover around their sluggish partners. The latter, when about
to lay their eggs, turn a little on one side, unsheathe their saws,
and thrust them obliquely into the skin of the leaf, depositing, in
each incision thus made, a single egg. The young begin to hatch
in ten days or a fortnight after the eggs are laid. They may
sometimes be found on the leaves as early as the first of June,
but do not usually appear in considerable numbers till the twen-
tieth of the same month. How long they are in coming to ma-
turity, I have not particularly observed ; but the period of their
existence in the caterpillar state probably does not exceed three
weeks. They somewhat resemble the young of the saw-fly in

HYMENOPTERA. 381

form, but are not quite so convex. They have a small, round,
yellowish head, with a black dot on each side of it, and are pro-
vided with twenty-two short legs. The body is green above,
paler at the sides, and yellowish beneath ; and it is soft, and al-
most transparent like jelly. The skin of the back is transversely
wrinkled, and covered with minute elevated points ; and there
are two, small, triple-pointed warts on the edge of the first ring,
immediately behind the head. These gelatinous and sluggish
creatures eat the upper surface of the leaf in large irregular patch-
es, leaving the veins and the skin, beneath, untouched ; and they
are sometimes so thick that not a leaf on the bushes is spared by
them, and the whole foliage looks as if it had been scorched by
fire, and drops off soon afterwards. They cast their skins sev-
eral times, leaving them extended and fastened on the leaves ; af-
ter the last moulting they lose their semitransparent and greenish
color, and acquire an opake yellowish hue. They then leave the
rose-bushes, some of them slowly creeping down the stem, and
others rolling up and dropping off, especially when the bushes
are shaken by the wind. Having reached the ground, they bur-
row to the depth of an inch or more in the earth, where each
one makes for itself a small oval cell, of grains of earth, cement-
ed with a little gummy silk. Having finished their transforma-
tions, and turned to flies, within their cells, they come out of the
ground early in August, and lay their eggs for a second brood of
young. These, in turn, perform their appointed work of destruc-
tion in the autumn ; they then go into the ground, make their
earthen cells, remain therein throughout the winter, and appear,
in the winged form, in the following spring and summer.

During several years past, these pernicious vermin have infest-
ed the rose-bushes in the vicinity of Boston, and have proved so
injurious to them, as to have excited the attention of the Massa-
chusetts Horticultural Society, by whom a premium of one hun-
dred dollars, for the most successful mode of destroying these
insects, was offered, in the summer of 1840. About ten years
ago, I observed them in gardens in Cambridge, and then made
myself acquainted with their transformations. At that time they
had not reached Milton, my former place of residence, and have
appeared in that place only within two or three years. They

382 INSECTS OF MASSACHUSETTS.

now seem to be gradually extending in all directions, and an ef-
fectual method for preserving our roses from their attacks has
become very desirable to all persons who set any value on this
beautiful ornament of our gardens and shrubberies. Showering
or syringing the bushes with a liquor, made by mixing with water
the juice expressed from tobacco by tobacconists, has been rec-
ommended ; but some caution is necessary in making this mix-
ture of a proper strength, for if too strong it is injurious to plants;
and the experiment does not seem, as yet, to have been conduct-
ed with sufficient care to insure safety and success. Dusting lime
over the plants when wet with dew has been tried, and found of
some use ; but this and all other remedies will probably yield in
efficacy to Mr. Haggerston's mixture of whale-oil soap and wa-
ter, in the proportion of two pounds of the soap to fifteen gallons
of water. Particular directions, drawn up by Mr. Haggerston
himself, for the preparation and use of this simple and cheap ap-
plication, may be found in the "Boston Courier," for the twenty-
fifth of June, 1841, and also in most of our agricultural and hor-
ticultural journals of the same time. The utility of this mixture
has already been repeatedly mentioned in this treatise, and it
may be applied in other cases with advantage. Mr. Haggerston
finds that it effectually destroys many kinds of insects ; and he
particularly mentions plant-lice of various kinds, red spiders,
canker-worms, and a little jumping insect, which has lately been
found quite as hurtful to rose-bushes as the slugs or young of the
saw-fly. The little insect, alluded to, has been mistaken for a
species of Thrips or vine-fretter ; it is, however, a leaf-hopper,
or species of Tettigonia, much smaller than the leaf-hopper of
the grape-vine (Tettigonia Vitis), described in a former part of
this essay,* and, like the leaf-hopper of the bean, entirely of a
pale green color.

According to the plan to which I have found it necessary to
limit this essay, only one more species of saw-fly remains to be
described. Of the habits and transformations of this insect the
late Professor Peck hits given us an admirable account, under the
title of a " Natural History of the Slug worm," which was printed

* Page 184.

HYMENOPTERA. 383

in Boston, in the year 1799, by order of "the Massachusetts
Agricultural Society," and obtained the Society's premium of
fifty dollars and a gold medal. As my own observations on this
insect agree perfectly with those of Professor Peck, in the fol-
lowing remarks I have merely abridged and condensed his "Nat-
ural History of the Slug worm," a work now out of print, and
rarely to be met with. It will be proper to premise that Profes-
sor Peck was inclined to believe this slug-fly to be a variety of
the Tenthr e do Cerasi of Linnaeus, an insect found more common-
ly on the pear-tree in Europe than on the cherry, although it has
a specific name derived from the latter tree. Most naturalists
now reject the name given by Linnaeus to the slimy grub of the
pear-tree, because it is not strictly correct, and substitute a spe-
cific name imposed upon it by Fabricius. The European insect,
therefore, is now called Selandria [Blennocampa) JEthiops ; and
a good account of it, by Mr. Westwood, may be found in the
thirteenth volume of " The Gardener's Magazine." It is possible
that our slug-fly may have been imported from Europe, and it
may turn out to be really a mere variety of the European insect.
Professor Peck was aware that it did not agree with the descrip-
tion, given by Linnaeus, of the latter ; and it appears to me that
the difference between the two insects, in their winged state, is
enough to entitle them to be considered as specifically distinct
from each other. For this reason I shall retain for our insect the
specific name adopted by Professor Peck, because this slug does
really live upon the cherry, in this country, as well as on the
pear tree ; and shall merely prefix to it the generical name which
it should bear according to modern nomenclature. The fly of
our slug- worm may therefore be called Selandria {Blennocampa)
Cerasi. The meaning of the word Selandria is unknown to me.
Blennocampa signifies slimy caterpillar, a name which, it will be
seen, may be applied with great propriety to our slug- worm.

This slug-fly is of a glossy black color, except the first two
pairs of legs, which are dirty yellow or clay-colored, with black-
ish thighs, and the hind-legs, which are dull black, with clay-
colored knees. The wings are somewhat convex and rumpled
or uneven on the upper side, like the wings of the saw-flies gen-
erally. They are transparent, reflecting the changeable colors of

384 INSECTS OF xMASSACHUSETTS.

the rain-bow, and have a smoky tinge, forming a cloud or broad
band across the middle of the first pair ; the veins are brownish.
The body of ths female measures rather more than one fifth of
an inch in length ; that of the male is smaller. In the year 1828,
I observed these saw-flies, on cherry and plum trees, in Milton,
on the tenth of May ; but they usually appear towards the end
of May or early in June. Soon afterwards some of them begin
to lay their eggs, and all of them finish this business and disappear
within the space of three weeks. Their eggs are placed, singly,
within little semicircular incisions through the skin of the leaf,
and generally on the lower side of it. The flies have not the
timidity of many other insects, and are not easily disturbed while
laying their eggs. On the fourteenth day afterwards, the eggs be-
gin to hatch, and the young slug-worms continue to come forth
from the fifth of June to the twentieth of July, according as the
flies have appeared early or late in the spring. At first the slugs
are white ; but a slimy matter soon oozes out of their skin and
covers their backs with an olive-colored sticky coat. They have
twenty very short legs, or a pair under each segment of the body
except the fourth and the last. The largest slugs are about nine
twentieths of an inch in length, when fully grown. The head, of
a dark chestnut color, is small, and is entirely concealed under
the forepart of the body. They are largest before, and taper
behind, and in form somewhat resemble minute tadpoles. They
have the faculty of swelling out the forepart of the body, and
generally rest with the tail a little turned up. These disgusting
slugs live mostly on the upper side of the leaves of the pear and
cherry trees, and eat away the substance thereof, leaving only the
veins and the skin beneath untouched. Sometimes twenty or
thirty of them may be seen on a single leaf ; and, in the year
1797, they were so abundant, in some parts of Massachusetts,
that small trees were covered with them, and the foliage entirely
destroyed ; and even the air, by passing through the trees, be-
came charged with a very disagreeable and sickening odor, given
out by these slimy creatures. The trees attacked by them are
forced to throw out new leaves, during the heat of the summer,
at the ends of the twigs and branches that still remain alive ; and
this unseasonable foliage, which should not have appeared till the

HYMENOPTERA. 3S5

next spring, exhausts the vigor of the trees, and cuts off the
prospect of fruit. The slug-worms come to their growth in
twenty-six days, during which period they cast their skins five
times. Frequently, as soon as the skin is shed, they are seen
feeding upon it ; hut they never touch the last coat, which re-
mains stretched out upon the leaf. After this is cast off, they no
longer retain their slimy appearance and olive color, hut have a
clean yellow skin, entirely free from viscidity. They change
also in form, and become proportionally longer ; and their head
and the marks between the rings are plainly to be seen. In a
few hours after this change, they leave the trees, and, having
crept or fallen to the ground, they burrow to the depth of from
one inch to three or four inches, according to the nature of the
soil. By moving their body, the earth around them becomes
pressed equally on all sides, and an oblong oval cavity is thus
formed, and is afterwards lined with a sticky and glossy substance,
to which the grains of earth closely adhere. Within these little
earthen cells or cocoons the change to chrysalids takes place ;
and, in sixteen days after the descent of the slug-worms, they
finish their transformations, break open their cells, and crawl to
the surface of the ground, where they appear in the fly form.
These flies usually come forth between the middle of July and
the first of August, and lay their eggs for a second brood of slug-
worms. The latter come to their growth, and go into the ground,
in September and October, and remain there till the following
spring, when they are changed to flies, and leave their winter-
quarters. It seems that all of them, however, do not finish their
transformations at this time ; some are found to remain unchanged
in the ground till the following year ; so that, if all the slugs of
the last hatch in any one year should happen to be destroyed,
enough, from a former brood, would still remain in the earth to
continue the species.

The disgusting appearance and smell of these slug-worms do
not protect them from the attacks of various enemies. Mice and
other burrowing animals destroy many of them in their cocoons,
and it is probable that birds also prey upon them when on the
trees, both in the slug and the winged states. Professor Peck
has described a minute ichneumon-fly, stated by Mr. Westwood

49

38G INSECTS OF MASSACHUSETTS.

to be a species of Encyrtus, that stings the eggs of the slug-fly,
and deposits in each one a single egg of her own. From this, in
due lime, a little maggot is hatched, which lives in the shell of the
slug-fly's egg, devours the contents, and afterwards is changed to
a chrysalis, and then to a fly like its parent. Professor Peck found
that great numbers of the eggs of the slug-fly, especially of the
second hatch, were rendered abortive by this atom of existence.

Ashes or quicklime, sifted on the trees by means of a sieve
fastened to the end of a pole, was recommended, by the late
Hon. John Lowell, of Roxbury, for the destruction of the slugs ;
and it is found to answer the purpose. It is probable that Mr.
Haggerston's almost universal remedy may prove to be still more
effectual.

The saw-flies, though undoubtedly belonging to the order Hy-
menoptera, depart from the general characters thereof more than
any other insects in it. They are more dull and heavy in all
their motions ; they have not the powerful jaws of the predaceous
tribes, nor the long and slender lower jaws and tongue of those
that subsist upon honey. They live but a short time, and their
food appears to be pollen, the tender parts of leaves, and some-
times the plant-lice and other soft-bodied insects frequenting flow-
ers. In the stiffness of their upper wings, and the heaviness of
their flight, they somewhat resemble beetles, and, analogically,
may be said to typify the Coleoptera, or, in other words, they
may be called the beetles of the Hymenoptera. They will be
found, on comparison, to have some features in common with the
crickets, which, with the earwigs, are also the representatives of
the Coleoptera. Although they differ essentially from butterflies
and moths, the resemblance of most of their young to caterpil-
lars, in form and in habits, is very striking and remarkable.
Hence the saw-flics plainly show the relation existing between
the orders Lcpidoptera and Hymenoptera, and serve closely to
connect them together.

The next piercing insects to be described belong to the family
of Urocerid.e, or horn-tails, so called because they have a
horny point at the end of the body. The Germans call them
wood-wasps. Their antennae are slender, and thread-like, or ta-
pering. They have a large head, convex before, and flat behind

HYMENOPTERA. 387

where it joins the thorax. Their wings are long, narrow, and
strong, and overlap on the top of the back, when closed. The
body is very long, and nearly or quite cylindrical ; the thorax and
the after part of the body are of equal thickness, and are closely
joined together. The horn, at the end, is short, and conical or
triangular, in the males ; longer, and sometimes spear-pointed, in
the females. Moreover the latter are provided with a long, cy-
lindrical borer, hinged to the middle of the belly, which is fur-
rowed to receive it. The borer usually extends some distance
beyond the end of the body, and consists of five pieces. The
two outermost are grooved within, and, when shut, form a hollow
tube or scabbard to the others, one of which represents the two
backs of the saws of the saw-flies, joined together, and encloses
two needles for boring holes. The part, serving for a back to
these needles, is notched on each side, and the needles them-
selves, which are as fine as a hair, and as strong and elastic as
wire, have several small teeth along the lower side towards the
end. These needles, and the back in which they play, are so
connected as to appear to be only a single spear-pointed awl.
With this complicated and powerful tool the females bore holes
into the trunks of trees, wherein they drop their eggs. Their
young are cylindrical and fleshy grubs, of a whitish color, with a
small, rounded, horny head, and a pointed and horny tail. They
have six very small legs under the forepart of the body, and are
provided with strong and powerful jaws, wherewith they bore
long holes in the trunks of the trees that they inhabit. Like
other borers, these grubs are wood-eaters, and often do great
damage to pines and firs, wherein they are most commonly found.
When fully grown, the grubs make thin cocoons of silk, inter-
woven with little chips, in their burrows, and in them go through
their transformations. The chrysalis is somewhat like the winged
insect in form, but is of a yellowish white color, till near the time
of its last change, and the wings and legs are folded under the
breast ; in all these respects it agrees with the chrysalids of other
Hymenopterous insects. After the chrysalis skin is cast off, the
winged insect breaks through its cocoon, creeps to the mouth of
its burrow, and gnaws through the covering of bark over it, so
as to come out of the tree into the open air. It is slated that the

388 INSECTS OF MASSACHUSETTS.

grubs of the large species come to their growth in seven weeks
after the eggs are laid. If this be true, and it seems hardly pos-
sible, the chrysalis state must last a long time, for the perfected
insects have been known to come out of timber that had been
cut up and applied to mechanical uses by the carpenter. Some
persons have supposed that they attacked only diseased and de-
cayed trees, in which it must be admitted they are often found in
great numbers. But many instances might be mentioned of their
appetite for sound wood also, and it is probable that the presence
of these insects, like that of many others, is the cause and not
the consequence of the decay of the trees wherein they live. It
is stated in the London " Zoological Journal," that two hundred
Scotch firs have been destroyed by the Urocerus Juvencus, in the
woods of Henham Hall, the seat of the Earl of Stanhope, their
trunks being bored through and through by the grubs of this in-
sect. Mr. Westwood relates * that a piece of wood, twenty feet
in length, from a fir-tree in Bewdley Forest, Worcestershire,
England, was found to be so intersected by the burrows of these
grubs, as to be fit for nothing but fire-wood ; and that the winged
insects continued to come out of it, at the rate of five, six, or
more each day, for the space of several weeks. Mr. Marsham
states, on the authority of Sir Joseph Banks, that several speci-
mens of Urocerus gigas were seen to come out of the floor of a
nursery in a gentleman's house, to the no small alarm and discom-
fiture of both nurse and children. The grubs must therefore
have existed in the boards or timbers before they were employed
in building, and these materials would not have been used if in a
decayed state. The sexes of most of these insects differ con-
siderably in size and color, and in the shape of their body and of
their hind-legs. There are not many different kinds, but they
are very prolific, and abound in mountainous districts, and in
temperate climates, where forests of pines and firs prevail. A
new order was proposed for their reception by Mr. Macleay, and
was named Bomboplera, on account of the humming sound that
they make in flying. Their young partake of the nature of the
wood-eating grubs of the Capricorn beetles, which therefore they

• " Introduction to the Modern Classification of Insects," Vol. II., p. 118.

HYMENOrTERA. 389

may be said to represent, as the saw-flies do some of the leaf-
eating insects of the same order.

Eight of the Urocerid^e are enumerated in my "Catalogue
of the Insects of Massachusetts," including two kinds of Xiphy-
dria, which are now known to belong- to the same family.

In the autumn of 1826, Major E. M. Bartlett, of Northamp-
ton, "found, on the body of one of his almost lifeless pear-trees,
a dead insect, about one inch and a half long, attached to the
tree by its awl or borer, of about the same length, near an inch
of which was fast in the hard wood ; and there were several deep
punctures near it, evidently made by the same instrument, and in
some of them eggs were deposited." Not long afterwards Major
Bartlett found that the body of this tree, two or three feet from
the ground, was pierced with many small holes, to the depth of
an inch or more, and, in these holes, there were great numbers of
larvae, about one sixth of an inch in length, which he supposed
were hatched from the eggs seen there before ; and he came to
the conclusion that the tree was "destroyed by the deadly nee-
dles of the winged insect" above mentioned.* The latter was
subsequently sent to me for examination, and enabled me to fur-
nish an account of it, which, with a description of the male insect,
was published in January, 1827, in the fifth volume of the " New
England Farmer." The insect proved to be the Sirex Columba
of Linnaeus, or Treniex Columba of modern naturalists. Si7'ex is
a corruption of the Greek name for a wild bee ; Trcmex signifies
a perforator, or maker of holes ; and Columba a pigeon. The
body of the female is cylindrical, about as thick as a common
lead-pencil, and an inch and a half, or more, in length, exclusive
of the borer, which is an inch long, and projects three eighths of
an inch beyond the end of the body. The latter rounds up-
wards, like the stem of a boat, and is armed with a point or short
horn. The head and the thorax are rust-colored, varied with
black. The abdomen, or hinder and longest part of the body,
is black, with seven ochre-yellow bands across the back, all of
them but the first two interrupted in the middle. The horned
tail, and a round spot before it, impressed as if with a seal, are

* See " New England Farmer/' Vol. V., pages 167, 175, 18G, and 211.

390 INSECTS OF MASSACHUSETTS.

ochre-yellow. The antennas are rather short and blunt, rust-
colored, with a broad black ring in the middle. The wings ex-
pand two inches and a quarter, or more ; they are smoky brown
and semitransparent. The legs are ochre-yellow, with blackish
thighs. The borer, awl, or needle, is as thick as a bristle, spear-
pointed at the end, and of a black color ; it is concealed, when
not in use, between two, narrow, rust-colored side-pieces, form-
ing a kind of scabbard to it. This insect is figured and de-
scribed in the second volume of the late Mr. Say's " American
Entomology." The male does not appear to have been de-
scribed by any author; and, although agreeing, in some respects,
with the two other species, represented by Mr. Say, is evidently
distinct from both of them. He is extremely unlike the female, in
color, form, and size, and is not furnished with the remarkable
borer of the other sex. He is rust-colored, variegated with
black. His antennas are rust-yellow or blackish. His wings are
smoky, but clearer than those of the female. His hind-body is
somewhat flattened, rather widest behind, and ends with a conical
horn. His hind-legs are flattened, much wider than those of the
female, and of a blackish color ; the other legs are rust-colored,
and more or less shaded with black. The length of his body
varies from three quarters of an inch to one inch and a quarter ;
and his wings expand from one inch and a quarter to two inches,
or more.

An old elm-tree in this vicinity used to be a favorite place of
resort for the Tremex Cohanba, or pigeon Tremex ; and around
it great numbers of the insects were often collected, during the
months of July and August, and the early part of September.
Six or more females might frequently be seen at once upon it,
employed in boring into the trunk and laying their eggs, while
swarms of the males hovered around them. Within a year or
two, some large button-wood trees, in Cambridge, have been vis-
ited by them in the same way. The female, when about to lay
her eggs, draws her borer out of its sheath, till it stands perpen-
dicularly under the middle of her body, when she plunges it, by
repeated wriggling motions, through the bark into the wood.
When the hole is made deep enough, she then drops an egg there-
in, conducting it to the place by means of the two furrowed

HYMENOPTERA. 391

pieces of the sheath. The borer often pierces the bark and
wood to the depth of half an inch or more, and is sometimes
driven in so tightly that the insect cannot draw it out again, but
remains fastened to the tree till she dies. The eggs are oblong
oval, pointed at each end, and rather less than one twentieth of
an inch in length. The larva, or grub, is yellowish white, of a
cylindrical shape, rounded behind, with a conical, horny point on
the upper part of the hinder extremity, and it grows to the length
of about an inch and a half. It is often destroyed by the mag-
gots of two kinds of ichneumon-flies (Pimjjla atrata and lunator
of Fabricius). These flies may frequently be seen thrusting
their slender borers, measuring from three to four inches in length,
into the trunks of trees inhabited by the grubs of the Tremex
and by other wood-eating insects ; and, like the female Tremex,
they sometimes become fastened to the trees, and die without be-
ing able to draw their borers out again.

Urocerus albicomis, of Fabricius, the white-horned Urocerus,
has white antenna?, longer and more tapering than those of the
pigeon Tremex, and black at each end. The female is of a deep
blue-black color, with an oval, white spot behind each eye, and
another on each side of the hinder part of the abdomen. The
horn on the tail is long, and shaped like the head of a lance.
The wings are smoky brown, and semitransparent. The legs
are black, with white joints. The body measures about an inch
in length, and the wings expand nearly two inches. The male has
a black head, with a white spot, on each side, behind the eyes.
His thorax and legs are black. His abdomen is flattened, and
rust-colored, and ends with a flattened horny point. He meas-
ures about an inch in length. This species, which is not com-
mon, has been found on pine-trees in July.

Urocerus nitidus, the polished horn-tail, is an undescribed spe-
cies, for which I am indebted to the Rev. L. W. Leonard.
The male is not known to me. The female is of a deep blue
color, downy on the head and thorax, smooth and highly polished
on the abdomen, the end of which is armed with a flattened horny
point. Her wings are clear and perfectly transparent, with brown-
ish veins, and have only a faint smoky tinge towards the tip. Her
legs are ochre-yellow. The body of this insect measures rather

392 INSECTS OF MASSACHUSETTS.

more than three quarters of an inch, exclusive of the horn on the
tail. This insect differs from the European Uroccrus Juvcncus
in the much greater brilliancy of its color, and in having shorter
antennae. The borer of this and of the preceding species resem-
bles, in form and structure, that of the pigeon Tremex, and is
used in the same way

Urocerus abdominalis,* the black and the orange horn-tail, of
which only the male is known to me, has not been described be-
fore. It is black, with the four middle segments of the abdomen
deep orange. There is a pale yellow spot behind each eye ; the
front corners of the thorax are pale brownish yellow ; and there
are two minute yellowish scales on the back part of the thorax.
The abdomen is flattened and widened behind, and ends with a
flattened or triangular point. The antennae are long and tapering,
of a reddish brown color, with the two extremities black. The
wings are transparent, with brown veins, and are a little smoky at
the tips. The first four legs are ochre-yellow, with black thighs ;
and the hind-legs are black, with yellow knees and feet. This
insect varies in length from six tenths to more than three quarters
of an inch. It is found in July, on the trunks of the white pine.

Mr. Westwood has ascertained that the grubs of the insects
belonging to the genus Xiphydria have the same form and habits
as those of the horn-tailed wood-wasps. The name comes from
a word signifying a small sword, in allusion to the borer of the
female, which is shorter than in the preceding horn-tails. The
winged insects have a rounded head, distant from the thorax, to
the lower part of which it is joined by a slender conical neck.
The body is nearly cylindrical, a little flattened, somewhat turned
up behind, and ends with an obtuse point. The antennae are
short, curved, and tapering at the end.

Xiphydria albicornis of my " Catalogue," or the white-horned
Xiphydria, has white antennae with the two lowest joints black.
The head is black, with a narrow white line around each of the
eyes, forming a large oval, interrupted only in two places, on
each side of the head. The body is black, with a spot on the

* So named from the great contrast in the colors of the abdomen. In my
" Catalogue " it stands under the genus Sircx of Linnaeus, which is the same as
Urocerus of Geoflroy.

HYMENOPTERA. 393

front corners of the thorax, and six spots on each side of the
abdomen, of a white color. The legs are reddish yellow or
honey-yellow, with dusky feet. The wings are transparent, and
have blackish veins. The body measures from six tenths to
nearly three quarters of an inch in length. This insect is found
on the trunks of trees of soft wood, in August.

Xiphydria mellipes, of my " Catalogue," may be merely a va-
riety of the preceding, from which it differs chiefly in having only
four white spots on each side of the abdomen. It is four tenths
of an inch long. I am indebted to the Rev. L. W. Leonard for
specimens of these two species.

The name of the genus Oryssus comes from a Greek word
signifying to dig holes. The insects belonging to it differ con-
siderably from the other Uroceridce, but, from what little is
known respecting them, they appear to have the same habits.
They have a cylindrical body, almost rounded behind, or bluntly
pointed, and not distinctly horned. Their heads are large, and
very rough on the front. Their antennae appear to come out
of the mouth, being inserted close to it, under the outer angles of
the visor ; are rather short, curved, and thread-like : and are un-
equal in the number and size of the joints, in the two sexes. They
have a short and thick neck. Their borer is very slender, is en-
tirely concealed in a deep and narrow chink under the hinder part
of the body, and is coiled up at its base, so that it can be darted out
to some distance when extended. The fore-legs of the females
are very thick, and have only three joints to the feet ; while the
rest, as well as all of the feet of the male, are five-jointed. Their
wings have but few veins and meshes in them. These insects
are active, fly quickly, and love to alight and run about on the
sunny side of the trunks of trees, wherein they are supposed to
lay their eggs.

For a long time, only two kinds of Oryssus were known to nat-
uralists, and both of them were European insects. In the year
1833, three undescribed species were enumerated in my " Cata-
logue of the Insects of Massachusetts ;" and these, in the second
edition of the "Catalogue," which was published early in 1S35,
received the following descriptive names, by means whereof an
entomologist would find little or no difficulty in recognising tnem ;

50

394 INSECTS OF MASSACHUSETTS.

namely hamorrhoidalis, the red-tailed, maurus. the dark-colored,
and ajftnis, the allied, so called from its near resemblance to the
preceding species. These singular insects were taken upon a
willow-tree, by my friend, the Rev. L. W. Leonard, and were
presented to me many years ago.

The red-tailed Oryssus has been renamed and described, by
Mr. Newman, in the October number of the fifth volume * of
" The Entomological Magazine," published in London in 1838.
It is his Oryssus terminalis. The female only is known to me.
Her body is black, rough before, and smooth behind, with the
last three segments of a blood-red color. The outer side of the
fourth and fifth joints of her antennae, her knees, and a line on the
outer edge of her shins, are white. Her feet are dull red. Her
wings are clear and transparent, with a broad, smoky brown, trans-
verse band, beyond the middle of the first pair. Her body meas-
ures nearly six tenths of an inch in length.

The dark-colored Oryssus is probably the same as one de-
scribed by Mr. Westwood, in 1835, in the fifth volume f of " The
Zoological Journal," under the name of Oryssus Sayii, in honor
of the late Mr. Say, who sent him the insect. It is of a deep
black color, rough before and smooth behind, and is marked with
white on the antennae and legs, like the red-tailed kind, with the
addition of two, short, white lines on the forehead, between the
lower corners of the eyes. The feet are black. The wings
have a smoky band beyond the middle, which, however, fades
away towards the inner margin. I have seen only females of this
species, and they measure from four to five tenths of an inch in
length.

It is possible that my Oryssus offinis, which is a male, may be
the mate of the foregoing dark-colored species, from which it
differs in having reddish feet, and in wanting the two white spots
on the forehead. It measures four tenths of an inch in length.

From this somewhat extended account, it is evident that we
have very little power over the insects of the foregoing family.
The most that we can do, towards checking their ravages, will
be to destroy the females, whenever they are found laying their

egg*-

* Page 486. I I'age 440.

HYMENOPTERA. 395

The four-winged gall-flies have very little outward resemblance
to the saw-flies and horn-tailed wood-wasps. They agree with
them, however, in boring into plants, and in laying their eggs there-
in. Vegetation does not often suffer much injury from their attacks,
and it is only on account of the very singular productions, called
galls, arising from the irritating punctures of these insects, that
the attention of cultivators is at all likely to be drawn to them.
There are some two-winged flies, and also some other insects,
which produce various kinds of excrescences or galls on plants ;
but these, now under consideration, are very small, four-winged
insects, belonging to the order Hymenoptefa, and distinguished
by the following peculiarities. The head is small ; the antennae
are rather short, slender, and thread-like ; and the thorax is thick
and hunched. The abdomen or hind-body, viewed sidewise, ap-
pears round or oval, but it is sharp-edged above and below,
very thin or pinched up at the sides, and is hung to the thorax by
a very short and slender stem. The fore-wings are rather long,
and have only a (ew veins in them ; the hind-wings are small, and
seemingly veinless. The borer of the females is very long, and
slender, concealed in the under-side of the hind-body, the curva-
ture whereof it follows, and is capable of being straightened and
thrust out of a narrow chink, which is covered by two little,
grooved, sheath-like pieces, that serve to conduct the eggs into
the holes made with the instrument. The genus containing most
of the gall-flies was called, by GeofFroy, Diplolcpis^ that is,
double scales, on account of the two pieces that cover the open-
ing for the borer in the hinder part of the abdomen. The same
insects, however, had previously been placed by Linnaeus in the
genus Cynips, so called from a word used by ancient authors to
designate some small piercing insect. The Linnasan name, though
for some time rejected, has been restored to the gall-flies, which
accordingly are now included in a family called Cynipid^e. The
punctures, made by these insects in the leaves, buds, stems, and
roots of plants, are followed by swellings of the wounded parts,
which increase rapidly in size, and become spongy or pulpy with-
in. The thin-skinned eggs, dropped into the punctures, grow
awhile, by absorbing the sap around them, and, when at length
they are hatched, the little grubs, proceeding therefrom, find

396 INSECTS OF MASSACHUSETTS.

themselves comfortably bedded within the pulpy tumors, and
plentifully supplied with food on every side. They feed on the
vegetable substance immediately around them, come to their
growth in due time, cast their skins, and appear first in the chrys-
alis and then in the winged form, and finally gnaw their way
through the hard shell of the galls, and come out into the open
air. There are a few of the grubs, however, that leave the galls
when fully grown, and finish their transformations in the ground.
The grubs or young of the gall-flies are of a whitish color, and
somewhat resemble maggots, but are shorter and thicker, and have
a small, distinct head. They are without proper legs, and move
only by means of the swollen edges of their rings, with the aid,
it is said, of certain little contractile warts, on their bodies, that
serve them instead of feet. There are almost as many kinds of
galls as there are species of gall-flies ; and each species confines
its attacks to some one sort of plant, and to some particular part
thereof. It is wonderful that there should be such a diversity in
the forms and texture of the galls of insects so nearly resembling
each other in form and structure ; and, on the other hand, that
each species of gall-fly should invariably produce galls of the
same kind. Many galls are very irregular and uneven, others are
round and resemble fruits ; some are smooth, others are beset
with prickles, or covered with a woolly substance ; some hang by
little stems, others are perfectly flat, and adhere closely to the
surface of leaves. At first they are soft or spongy within, but,
after some time, they become hard and almost or quite woody.
The eggs of some gall-flies do not hatch till the galls begin to
grow hard on the outside ; this is the reason why we do not find
any insects within certain kinds of galls, so long as they remain
soft and unripe. Of this description are the galls called swamp-
apples and cedar-apples. The former grow on the small twigs
of the swamp-pink, or Azalea viscosa ; they are irregular in
shape, of a greenish while color, and fleshy consistence, like an
apple, and are sometimes eaten, but are rather too astringent to
be pleasant. Cedar-apples are found on the twigs of the red
cedar (Juniperus Virginiana)] in their unripe state they are
large, irregular, and coarsely fringed lumps, of an orange color,
and as soft as jellv ; they afterwards shrink, become hard and

HYMENOPTERA. 397

round, and the thick, fringe-like projections on their surface short-
en, and take the appearance of leathery prickles. They have been
given as a medicine to expel worms ; and their efficacy, if they
really have any, probably depends upon the resin and oil pecu-
liar to the tree, which gives to the galls, even when dried, some-
what of a turpentine smell. The round and hard Aleppo galls,
or nutgalls of commerce, used in the making of ink, in coloring,
and in medicine, are caused by the punctures of the Cynips gallcz
tinctorice, on a kind of oak, growing in the western part of Asia ;
and the insect may often be found in those which are not pierced
with holes. Some galls contain only a single insect, lodged in a
little cavity in the centre ; other kinds are inhabited by several
grubs, each in a cell by itself, and the cells not unfrequently re-
semble numerous small seeds, clustered together in the middle of
a fruit. Two or three different kinds of insects are often found
to come from one gall, namely a few gall-flies, which are the law-
ful proprietors thereof, and more numerous four-winged flies
(CHALcmiDiE), with elbowed antennae. The latter are bred
from grubs, which devour the grubs of some of the gall-flies, or
starve them by eating up their food, and thereby contribute to
check the too great increase of the gall-flies.

The largest galls found in this country are commonly called
oak-apples. They grow on the leaves of the red oak, are round
and smooth, and measure from an inch and a half to two inches
in diameter. This kind of gall is green and somewhat pulpy at
first, but, when ripe, it consists of a thin and brittle shell, of a
dirty drab color, enclosing a quantity of brown spongy matter,
in the middle of which is a woody kernel about as big as a pea.
A single grub lives in the kernel, becomes a chrysalis in the au-
tumn, when the oak-apple falls from the tree, changes to a fly in
the spring, and makes its escape out of a small round hole which
it gnaws through the kernel and shell. This is probably the usual
course, but I have known this gall-fly to come out in October.
The name of this insect is Cynips conjluc.ntus.* Its head and
thorax are black, and rough with numerous little pits and short
hairs ; the hind-body is smooth, and of a shining pitch color ; the

* Di-plolepis confiuenlus, Harris. u Catalogue."

398 INSECTS OF MASSACHUSETTS.

legs are dull brownish red ; and the fore-wings have a brown spot
near the middle of the outer edge. Its body is nearly one quar-
ter of an inch long, and its wings expand five eighths of an inch.

A dwarf oak (Quercus infectoria), growing on the borders of
the Dead Sea, produces galls somewhat like the foregoing, which
have been supposed to be the apples of Sodom, described by an-
cient writers as fruits fair to the view, but crumbling into dust
when handled. A late writer,* however, has shown that these
tempting and deceptive productions are the real fruits of a tree,
the Asclepias procera, resembling our common silk-weed in its
botanical characters.

Clusters of three or four round and smooth galls are often seen
on the small twigs of the white oak. They are nearly as large
as bullets, of a greenish color on one side, and red on the other.
They approach in hardness to the Aleppo galls, and perhaps
might be put to the same use. Each one is the nest of a single
insect, which turns to a fly and eats its way out, in June and July,
having passed the winter as a chrysalis, within the gall, lodged in
a clay-colored egg-shaped case, about three twentieths of an inch
long, and with a brittle shell. These little cases appear to be
cocoons, but are not made of silk or fibrous matter. Similar co-
coons are found within many other galls, and I have some which
were discovered under stones, and were not contained in galls,
but produced gall-flies, the insects having left their galls to finish
their transformations in the ground. The gall-fly of the white
oak varies in color. Sometimes it closely resembles the gall-fly
of our oak-apple, differing from it only in size, and in wanting
the brownish spot and dark colored veins on the fore-wings ; and
sometimes it is of a dull brownish yellow color, with a brown
spot on the back. It is three twentieths of an inch long, and its
wings expand three tenths of an inch. It is the Diploic pis, or
more properly Cynips, oneratus of my " Catalogue."

Galls of the size and color of grapes are found on the leaves
of some oaks. Each one contains a grub, which finishes its
transformations in June. The winged insect is my Cijnips nubil-
ipennis, or cloudy-winged Cynips, so named from the smoky

* Robinson's " Biblical Resenrclies in Palestine," Vol. II., p. 235.

HYMENOPTERA. 399

cloud on the tips of its wings. Excepting in this respect, it
closely resembles the dark-colored variety of Cynips oncratus,
and very little exceeds it in size.

One of our smallest gall-flies may be called Cynips seminator,
or the sower. She lays a great number of eggs in a ring-like
cluster around the small twigs of the white oak, and her punctures
are followed by the growth of a rough or shaggy reddish gall, as
large sometimes as a walnut. When this is ripe, it is like brittle
sponge in texture, and contains numerous little seed-like bodies,
adhering by one end around the sides of the central twig. These
seeming seeds have a thin and tough hull, of a yellowish white
color ; they are egg-shaped, pointed at one end, and are nearly
one eighth of an inch long. The gall-insects live singly, and un-
dergo their transformations, within these seeds ; after which, in
order to come out, they gnaw a small hole in the hull, and then
easily work their way through the spongy ball wherein they are
lodged. They are less than one tenth of an inch long, are almost
black, or of the color of pitch, highly polished, especially on
the abdomen, and their mouth, antennae, and legs are cinnamon-
colored.

It has been observed that no tree in Europe yields so many
different kinds of galls as the oak. Those which I have de-
scribed are not all that are found on oaks in this country, and
they seem to be sufficiently distinct from the galls of European
oaks.

Round, prickly galls, of a reddish color, and rather larger than
a pea, may often be seen on rose-bushes. Each of them con-
tains a single grub, and this in due time, turns to a gall-fly, which
may be called Cynips bicolo?-, the two-colored Cynips. Its head
and thorax are black, and rough with numerous little pits ; its
hind-body is polished, and, with the legs, of a brownish red col-
or. It is a large insect compared with the size of its gall, meas-
uring nearly one fifth of an inch in length, while the diameter of
its gall, not including the prickles, rarely exceeds three tenths of
an inch.

Cynips dichlocerus, or the gall-fly with two-colored antennae,
is of a brownish red or cinnamon color, with four little longitudi-
nal grooves on the top of the thorax, the lower part of the an-

400 INSECTS OF MASSACHUSETTS.

tennre red, and the remainder black. It varies in being darker
sometimes, and measures from one eighth to three sixteenths
of an inch in length. Great numbers of these galls- flies are bred
in the irregular woody galls, or long excrescences, of the stems of
rose-bushes.

The small roots of rose bushes, and of other plants of the
same family, sometimes produce rounded, warty, and woody
knobs., inhabited by numerous gall-insects, which, in coming out,
pierce them with small holes on all sides. The winged insects
closely resemble the dark varieties of the preceding species, in
color, and in the little furrows on the thorax ; but their legs are
rather paler, and they do not measure more than one tenth of an
inch in length. This species has been named Cynips semijnccus.

Monstrous swellings of buds, and various other kinds of ex-
crescences, may often be seen on plants ; but my specimens of
the insects producing them are not in a condition to be described.
The foregoing account, however, will serve to illustrate the hab-
its of some of our most common gall-flies, and explain the ori-
gin, forms, and structure of their singular productions. Such
excrescences, as soon as they are observed on plants of any val-
ue, should immediately be cut off, and put into the fire. Fortu-
nately the parasitical insects, that live at the expense of the four-
winged gall-flies, are almost or quite as numerous as the latter,
and, as already stated, limit them in their powers of multiplication.

DIPTERA. 401

DIPTERA.

Gnats and Flies. — Maggots. — Remarks upon and Descriptions of some of
the Diptera. — Radish-Fly. — Two-winged Gall-Flies, and Fruit-Flies.
— Hessian Fly Wheat-Fly. — Conclusion.

Under the name of Diptera, signifying two-winged, are in-
cluded all the insects that have only two wings, and are provided
with two little, knobbed threads in the place of hind-wings, and a
mouth formed for sucking or lapping.

Various kinds of gnats and of flies are therefore the insects
belonging to this order. The proboscis or sucker, wherewith
they take their food, is placed under the head, and sometimes can
be drawn up and concealed, partly or wholly, within the cavity of
the mouth. It consists of a long gutter, usually ending with two
fleshy lips, and enclosing, in the channel on its upper side, sever-
al fine bristles, from two to six in number, which are sometimes
as sharp as needles, and are then capable of inflicting severe
punctures. These piercing bristles really take the place of the
jaws of biting insects, and hence the wounds made therewith, by
gnats and mosquitos, are very properly called bites. The saliva
of these insects flowing into the wounds, renders them more
painful, and is the cause of the inflammation and itching that follow.
The grooved sheath of the proboscis is usually very large and
fleshy in the flies that only lap or sip their food. Two small,
jointed feelers are commonly found attached to the base of the pro-
boscis. Gnats and flies have softer bodies than most other winged
insects. The head is large, and fastened to the thorax by a very
slender neck. The eyes, especially in the males, are large, and
occupy the whole of the sides of the head. The antennae, in
gnats and mosquitos, are rather long, slender, and many-jointed ;
in flies, they are short, consisting of only two or three thick
joints, the last of which often bears a little bristle or delicate
feather. The wings are filmy, like those of Hymenopterous in-
sects, but usually have a greater number of veins in them. Just
behind the wing-joints there are two little, convex scales, which

51

402 INSECTS OF MASSACHUSETTS.

open and shut with the motion of the wings ; they are called the
winglets. The two balancers or poisers are short threads, knob-
bed at the end, and placed on each side of the hindmost part of
the thorax, immediately behind the winglets. The thorax is
often the thickest and hardest part of the body ; to it the hind-
body is more or less closely united, and the latter, in many fe-
males, ends with a tapering, retractile tube, wherewith the eggs
are deposited. The legs are six in number, and each of the feet
is provided with two claws, and two or three little cushions or
skinny palms, by the help whereof the insects can walk on the
smoothest surfaces, and on the ceilings of rooms, with the back
downwards, as easily as when upright ; for the palms act like
suckers, and thus prevent them from falling.

Mosquitos and gnats are active both by day and night, but flies
take wing only during the day. The life of these insects, even
from the time when they are first hatched, is generally very short,
seldom lasting more than a few weeks ; but of some kinds several
broods are produced in the course of a single summer, and often
in the greatest profusion. In certain countries and seasons they
multiply so fast, and appear in such immense swarms, as to be-
come a serious annoyance both to man and beast.

The young insects, hatched from the eggs of gnats and of flies,
are fleshy larvae, usually of a whitish color, and without legs.
They are commonly called maggots, and sometimes are mistaken
for worms. They vary a good deal in their forms, structure, hab-
its, and transformations, so that it is somewhat difficult to give any
general description of them. Their breathing-holes are usually
situated near the extremities of the body. Aquatic maggots
often have a tubular tail, through which they breathe, and the ori-
fice of this tube is sometimes surrounded with beautiful feather-
formed appendages. The larvae or maggots of the gnats, and of
nearly all those flies which have four or six bristles in the probos-
cis, have a distinct head covered with a horny shell. Larvae of
this kind, when fully grown, cast off their skins to become pupae
or chrysalids. These pupae are usually of a brown color, and
somewhat resemble the chrysalids of certain moths, or more
nearly those of Hymenopterous insects ; for their short and imper-
fect legs and wings, though folded on the breast, are not immova-

DIPTERA. 403

bly fastened to it. They commonly have several small thorns on
each end of the body, and a row of smaller prickles across each
of the rings of the back. By the help of these thorns and prickles
they work their way out of the places wherein they had previous-
ly lived, just before they burst open their pupa-skins to come
forth in the perfected or winged state. The pupse of mosquitos
are not prickly, but they possess the power of swimming or tum-
bling about in the water, by the help of two little fins on their
tails.* The larvae of the Dipterous insects in general do not
make cocoons ; those of some gnats (tMycetop'iiJce), which live in
tree mushrooms, or boleti, not only cover themselves with a sil-
ken web, under which they live, but also spin cocoons, wherein
they undergo their transformations. The larvee of the other flies
are not so variable in their forms as the foregoing. They are
commonly plump, whitish maggots, obtuse behind, and tapering
before, with a small and soft head, that can be drawn within the
forepart of the body. They take their food almost entirely by
suction, for their jaws are merely two little hooks, that enable
them to fasten themselves upon the substances which serve for
their nourishment. They increase rapidly in size, and when they
are fully grown, they change their forms, without casting off their
skins at all, merely by the gradual shortening of their bodies,
which take an oblong oval shape, and turn hard and brown on the
outside. The hardened skin of the larva thus becomes a shell
or kind of cocoon, within which the insect is afterwards changed
to a pupa, having its imperfect limbs folded on its breast, and from
which, in due time, it comes forth in the form of a fly, by forcing
off one end of the shell. f

In the introductory chapter! a short account has already been
given of the habits of the various kinds of gnats and flies, be-
longing to the principal families of this order. Besides the few
species that are injurious to vegetation, and are to be more fully
described hereafter, there still remain some of our native flies,
that deserve a passing notice, on account of their size, or of pe-
culiarities in their forms, structure, and habits, although they are
not to be included among the insects which are hurtful to plants.

* See pages 5 and 6. t See page 6. t Page 15«

404 IiNSECTS OF MASSACHUSETTS.

Among our long-legged gnats there is no one more singular in
its appearance and graceful in its motions than the PtycJioptera
clavipcs, of Fabricius, or club-footed Ptychoptera. A new
genus, called Bittacomorpha, on account of the fancied resem-
blance of this insect to the Neuropterous genus Bittacus, has lately
been made for its reception, by Mr. Westwood.* This pretty
gnat is of a black color, with a broad, white stripe on the face,
a short, white line on the forepart of the thorax, and three broad,
white rings on the legs. The sides of the thorax are silvery
white, and the hind-body is dusky brown, with a narrow white
line on the edges of each of the rings. The head is small, and
almost hidden under the thick and hunched thorax ; the antennae
are many-jointed, slender, and tapering ; the hind-body is long,
narrow, and somewhat flattened ; the legs are very slender next
to the body, and increase in thickness towards the end, and the
first joint of the feet is swollen, oblong oval, and very downy.
The length of the body is about half an inch, and the wings ex-
pand nearly three quarters of an inch. It appears in July, and
takes wing by clay. As it flies slowly along, it seems almost to
tread the air, balancing itself horizontally with its long legs, which
are stretched out, like rays, from the sides of its body.

There are exceptions to almost all general rules. Thus we
find, among Dipterous insects, some kinds that never have wings.
One of these is the thick-legged snow-gnat, or Chionea volga.
This singular insect looks more like a spider than a gnat. Its
body is rather less than one fourth of an inch long, and is of a
brownish yellow or nankin color. The legs are rather paler, and
are covered with short hairs. The head is small and hairy. The
first two joints of the antennae are thick, the others slender and
tapering, and beset with hairs. Although the wings are wanting,
there is a pale yellow poiser on each side of the hinder part of
the thorax. The hindmost thighs are very thick, and somewhat
bowed, in the males, which suggested the name of vnlga, or bow-
legged, given to the insect in my "Catalogue." The body of
the female ends with a sword-shaped borer, resembling that of a
grasshopper. These wingless gnats live on die ground, and the

* " Philosophical Magazine," Vol. VI. p. 281. Lond. 1835.

D1PTERA. 405

females bore into it to lay their eggs. They are not common
here. Mr. Gosse found considerable numbers of them in Canada,
crawling on the snow, in pine woods, during the month of
March.*

Travellers and new settlers, in some parts of New England and
Canada, are very much molested by a small gnat, called the black
fly (Simulium molestum), swarms of which fill the air during the
month of June. Every bite that they make draws blood, and is
followed by an inflammation and swelling which last several days.
These little tormentors are of a black color ; their wings are
transparent ; and their legs are short, and have a broad whitish
ring around them. The length of their body rarely exceeds one
tenth of an inch. They begin to appear in May, and continue
about six weeks, after which they are no more seen. They are
followed, however, by swarms of midges, or sand-flies (Simulium
nocivum), called no-see-'em, by the Indians of Maine, on ac-
count of their minuteness. So small are they, that they would
hardly be perceived, were it not for their wings, which are of a
whitish color, mottled with black. Towards evening these
winged atoms come forth, and creep under the clothes of the
inhabitants, and by their bites, produce an intolerable irritation,
and a momentary smarting, compared f to that caused by sparks
of fire. They do not draw blood, and no swelling follows then-
attacks. They are most troublesome during the months of July
and August.

The most common of our large gad-flies, or horse-flies, appears
to be the Tab anus atratus, of Fabricius. It is of a black color,
and the back is covered with a whitish bloom, like a plum. The
eyes are very large, and almost meet on the top of the head ;
they are of a shining purple-black or bronzed black color, with a
narrow deep black band across the middle, and a broad band of
the same hue on the lower part. The body of this fly is seven
eights of an inch or more in length, and the wings expand nearly
two inches. The Tabanus cinctus, of Fabricius, or orange-
belted horse-fly, is not so common, and is rather smaller. It is
also black, except the first three rings of the hind-body, which

* " Canadian Naturalist." p. 51. t See Gosse's " Canadian Naturalist." p. 100.

406 INSECTS OF MASSACHUSETTS.

are orange-colored. The most common of our smaller horse-flies
is the Tabanus lineola, so named, by Fabricius, because it has a
whitish line along the top of the hind-body. Besides these flies,
we have several more kinds of Tabanus, some of which do not
appear to have been described. These blood-thirsty insects be-
gin to appear towards the end of June, and continue through the
summer, sorely tormenting both horses and cattle with their sharp
bites. Their proboscis, though not usually very long, is armed
with six stiff, and exceedingly sharp needles, wherewith they
easily pierce through the toughest hide. It is stated ibat they
will not touch a horse whose back has been well washed with a
strong decoction of walnut leaves. The eyes of these flies are
very beautiful, and vary in their colors and markings in the differ-
ent species.

The golden-eyed forest flies are also distinguished for the bril-
liancy of their spotted eyes, and for their clouded or banded
wings. They are much smaller than the horse-flies, but resemble
them in their habits. Some of them are entirely black (Chrysops
ferrugatus, Fabricius), others are striped with black and yellow
(Chrysojjs vittatus, Wiedemann). They frequent woods and
thickets, in July and August.

The bee-flies, or Bombylians (Bombyliadje), have a very
slender proboscis, sometimes exceeding the length of their body.
They are met with in sunny paths in the woods, in April and
May. They fly with great swiftness, stop suddenly every little
while, and, balancing themselves with their long, horizontally
spread wings, seem to hang suspended in the air. They often
hover, in this way, over the early flowers, sucking out the honey
thereof, like humming-birds, with their long bills. Our largest
bee-fly is the Bombylius aqualis, so named by Fabricius, because
the wings are divided lengthwise, in their color, into two equal
parts, the outer part being brownish black, and the inner half col-
orless and transparent. The body of this insect is short, rounded,
and covered with yellowish hairs, like a humblebee. It meas-
ures three eighths of an inch in length, and the wings expand rather
more than seven eighths of an inch.

There are some flies that prey on other insects, catching them
on the wing or on plants, and sucking out their juices. Some of

DIPTERA. 407

these rapacious flies are of great size. The largest one found
here is the orange-banded Midas (Midas JUatus*), specimens of
which are sometimes found measuring an inch and a quarter in
length, with wings expanding two inches and a quarter. It is
black, with an orange-colored band on the second ring of the
hind-body ; and the wings are smoky brown, with a metallic lustre.
It receives its scientific name, jilatus, signifying threadlike, from
its antennas, which are long and slender, but they end with an ob-
long oval knob. Its generical name was also given to it on ac-
count of its long antennas ; Midas, in Mythology, being the name
of a person fabled to have had the long ears of an ass. The
orange-banded Midas may often be seen flying in the woods in
July and August, or resting and basking in the sun upon fallen
trees. Its transformations have never been described. Its larva
and pupa almost exactly resemble those of the rapacious Asilians
(AsiLiDiE). Tl e larva is a cylindrical, whitish maggot, tapering
before, and almost rounded behind ; it has only two breathing-
holes, which are placed in the last ring but one ; and it grows to
the length of two inches. It lives and undergoes its transforma-
tions in decayed logs and stumps. The pupa measures about an
inch and a quarter in length ; it is of a brown color, and nearly
cylindrical shape ; its tail is forked ; there are eight thorns on the
forepart of its body ; and each ring of the abdomen is edged with
numerous sharp teeth, like a saw, all these teeth pointing back-
wards, except those on the back of the first ring, which are di-
rected forwards. The pupa pushes itself half way out of the
stump when the fly is about to come forth, and the latter makes
its escape by splitting open the back of the pupa-skin.

In the month of June, there may sometimes be seen, resting
on the grass or on rotten stumps, in open woods, a large, light-
brown or drab-colored fly, somewhat like a horse-fly in form,
but easily distinguished therefrom by two little thorns on the
hinder part of the thorax; and by the wings, which do not spread
so much when the insect is at rest. It is heavy and sluggish in
its motions, and does not attempt to fly away when approached.
This insect was called Ccenomyia pallida, the pale Ccenomyia,

* Incorrectly named Mydas filata, by Fabricius.

40S INSECTS OF MASSACHUSETTS.

by Mr. Say, in the Appendix to Keating's "Narrative," and in
the second volume of the " American Entomology," where it is
figured. The generical name, signifying a common fly, is rather
unfortunate, for this is a rare insect. The only specimens known
to Mr. Say were found by him in a small forest of scattered trees,
on the Pecktannos river, in Wisconsin Territory. A few have
been taken in Massachusetts, one of them on Blue Hill, in Mil-
ton ; and Mr. Gosse found three specimens, in as many years, in
Canada. In its transformations this insect is more nearly related
to the gad-flies and the Asilians than to the soldier-flies, near
which it has generally been placed ; though it approaches the
latter in its structure, and in its sluggish habits. The larvas or
maggots, though not yet discovered, ui.doubtedly live in the
ground, or in decayed vegetable substances, like those of the
horse-flies and other predatory insects ; for Mr. Gosse found
one of his specimens, on the grass, in the act of en.erging from
the pupa-skin. He has also figured* the pupa, which is of a
chestnut-brown color, and has transverse rows of spines on the
abdominal rings.

Most of the soldier-flies (Stratiomyadje) are armed with
two thorns or sharp spines on the hinder part of the thorax.
They form the first family of the flies that undergo their transfor-
mations within the hardened skin of the larva, which is not thrown
oil' till they break through it to come out in the winged state.
Their proboscis contains, at most, only four bristles, is not fitted
for piercing, but ends with large fleshy lips, by means whereof
these flies suck the sweet juices of flowers. Most of them are
found in wet places, where their larvae live ; some of the latter be-
ing provided with a tube, in the hinder extremity, which they
thrust out of the water in order to breathe. The skin of these
larvae is merely shortened a little, without wholly losing its former
shape, when the inclosed insects change to pupas ; thereby show-
ing that this family is truly intermediate between the preceding
flies, which cast ofF their larva-skins, and those which retain them,
and take an oblong oval shape, when they become pupae. Some
of the soldier-flies (<Stratyomi/s) have a broad oval body, orna-

* " Canadian Naturalist." p. 199.

DIPTERA. 409

merited with yellow triangles or crescents on each side of the back,
and their antennae are somewhat like those of Midas and of the
gad-flies ; others (Sargus) are slender, often of a brilliant brassy
green color, with a bristle on the tip of their antennae. The
maggots of the latter live in rich mould.

The Syrphians (Syrphidjs) have a fleshy, large-lipped pro-
boscis, elbowed near the base, and enclosing only four slender
bristles. They live on the honey of flowers. The last joint of
their short antennas bears a bristle, which is sometimes feathered.
Their heads are large and hemispherical. Many of these flies are
often mistaken for bees or wasps, and some of them lay their
eggs in the nests of the insects they so closely resemble. Others
drop their eggs among plant-lice, which their young afterwards
destroy in great numbers. The larvae of a few are aquatic, and
are provided with very long, tubular tails, through which they
breathe, and have been called rat-tailed maggots. Some of the
largest and most beautiful of these flies live, in the maggot state,
in rotten wood. One of these rat-tailed flies is often seen on
windows, in the autumn. It flies with a buzzing noise. Its eyes
are very large, and of a bright copper-color ; its body is brassy
green; and there are five gray stripes on the thorax. It meas-
ures about four tenths of an inch in length. It is the Eristalis
sincerus of my "Catalogue." The Milesia excentrica, named in
the same work, strikingly resembles a hornet ; its hind-body be-
ing banded with black and yellow in the same way. Its head and
thorax are black, the former margined around the eyes, and the
latter spotted, with yellowish-white. The legs are ochre-yellow,
except the shanks and feet of the first pair, which are black. Its
body measures nearly three quarters of an inch in length. My
Sphecomyia undata has the slender form of a Sjjhex or mud-wasp.
It is of a light brown color, darker on the back, and on the middle
of the thighs and shanks ; its head is conical, and bears the an-
tennae on the tip of the cone ; its wings are brown on the outer
part, with a small transparent spot near the edge, and the inner
part is transparent in two large wavy spaces. It is about five
eighths of an inch long, and its wings expand one inch and a quar-
ter, or more. It is possible that this singular fly may be the
Pyrgota undata of Wiedemann. An insect, closely resembling

52

410 INSECTS OF MASSACHUSETTS.

it, is figured in Griffith's translation of Cuvier's "Animal King-
dom," under the name of Myopa nigripennis. It is found on
fences around gardens in May and June. It sits with its wings
half spread, moves slowly, and flies heavily. My Sphccomyia
valida, though rather shorter than the preceding, has a thicker
body. Its color is brownish yellow, and it is striped with brown.
The wings are transparent, and are mottled with small, dusky
spots.

Some of the Conopians (Cdnopidce) still more closely resem-
ble slender-bodied wasps than the preceding Sphex-flies. Conops
sagittaria, of Say, (nigricomis, Wiedemann) might almost be mis-
taken for a species of Eumenes. Its hind-body is very slender
and cylindrical next to the thorax, and swells out behind. Its an-
tennas are long, and thickened towards the end. Its proboscis is
very long and slender, elbowed at the base, and extends far be-
yond the head. This fly is of a black color ; the rings of the
hind-body are edged with white ; the face is yellow ; the legs are
brownish yellow, shaded with black on the thighs ; and the wings
are black, with two uncolored and wavy spaces on the inner mar-
gin. Its body is five eighths of an inch long, and its wings ex-
pand rather more than three quarters of an inch. This fly may
be found sucking the honey of flowers in June and July. The
Greeks gave the name of Conoj)s to some stinging fly or gnat.
The Conopians undergo their transformations in the bodies of
bumblebees, their young subsisting on the fat contained within the
abdomen of their luckless victims.

A host of flies, forming nearly one third of the whole number
of species in the order Diptera, will be found to have a short
and soft proboscis, ending with large fleshy lips, enclosing only
two bristles, and capable of being drawn up within the cavity of
the mouth. Their antenna) are generally short, hang down over
the face, and end with a large oval joint, bearing a little bristle.
Their larvae, or young, are fleshy, whitish maggots, which never
cast their skins, but when the pupa-slate comes on, shorten, take
the oblong oval form of an egg, and become brown, dry, and
hard on the outside. This immense tribe includes the various
kinds of flesh-flies, blow-flies, house-flies, dung-flies, flower-flies,
fruit-flics, two-winged gall-flics, cheese-flics, and many others,

DIPTERA. 411

for which we have no common names, but all composing the
tribe of Muscans, or Muscad^e. Some of these flies do not
strictly conform to the foregoing characters of the tribe, in all
respects ; but the exceptions are few in number, and the most
remarkable of them will be noticed in the following pages.

Many flies of this tribe are parasitic in their larva state, their
young living and undergoing their transformations within the bod-
ies of other insects, particularly in caterpillars, which they there-
by destroy. These flies belong chiefly to the family of Ta-
chinad^e, a name applied to them on account of the swiftness of
their flight. In form they somewhat resemble house-flies ; like
them they have very large winglets, and their wings spread apart
when they are at rest. They are easily distinguished, however,
by the stiff hairs wherewith they are more or less covered, and
by the bristles on their antennae, which are not usually feathered.
A large fly of this kind, the Tachina vivida of my "Catalogue,"
is often seen on fences, and on plants, and sometimes in houses,
towards the end of June and during the month of July. Its
large, oval hind-body is of a clear and light red color, with two
or three black spots, in a row, on the top of it, and a thick row
of black bristles across each ring. The face is grayish white,
like satin, and the eyes are copper-colored. The thorax is gray,
with brownish lines upon it. The antennae, proboscis, and legs
are light red. Its body is short and thick, and is about half an
inch long, and its wings expand rather more than nine tenths of
an inch.

Most insects are hatched from eggs which are laid by the
mother on the substances that are to serve for the food of her
young. Some flesh-flies produce their young alive, or already
hatched, and drop them on the dead and putrefying animal matter,
which they are obliged to consume and remove in the shortest
possible time. An exception from the usual course among insects
appears therefore to have been made in favor of these viviparous
flesh-flies, to enable their young promptly to perform their ap-
pointed tasks. These insects produce an immense number of
young, as many as twenty thousand having been observed by
Reaumur in a single fly.* Our largest viviparous flesh-fly is the

* "Memoires." Vol. IV. p. 417.

412- INSECTS OF MASSACHUSETTS.

Sarcophaga Georgina of Wiedemann. It appears towards the
end of June, and continues till the middle of August, or perhaps
later. Its face is silvery white, and there is an oblong square
black spot between the eyes, which are copper-colored. The
thorax is light gray, with seven black stripes upon it. The hind-
body is nearly conical, has the lustre of satin, and is checkered
with square spots of black and white, shifting or interchanging
their colors according to the light wherein they are seen. The
legs are black, and the hindmost pair are very hairy in the males.
The female is about half an inch long ; the male is rather smaller.
In the Sarcophagans, or flesh-eaters, as the name implies, the
bristles on the antennas are feathered.

The flies that abound in stables in August and September, and
sometimes enter houses on the approach of rain, might be mis-
taken for house-flies, were it not for the severity of their bites,
which are often felt through our clothing, and are generally fol-
lowed by blood. Upon examination they will be found to differ
essentially from house-flies in their proboscis, which is very long
and slender, and projects horizontally beyond the head. The
bristles on their antenna? are feathered above. Cattle suffer sore-
ly from the piercing bites of these flies, and horses are sometimes
so much tormented and enraged by them as to become entirely
ungovernable in harness. The name of this kind of fly is Sto-
moxys calcitrans; the first word signifying sharp-mouthed, and
the second kicking, given to the fly from the effect it produces on
horses. It lays its eggs in dung, where its young are hatched,
and pass through their transformations. The larva? and pupae do
not differ much in appearance from those of common house-flies.

The next three flies have feathered bristles on their antennae.
The first of them, a large, buzzing, and stinking meat-fly, named
JWusca (Calliphora.) vomitoria, is of a blue-black color, with a
broad, dark blue, and hairy hind-body. It is found all summer
about slaughter-houses, butchers' stalls, and pantries, which it
frequents for the purpose of laying its eggs on meat. The eggs
are commonly called fly-blows ; they hatch in two or three hours
after they are laid, and the maggots produced from them come to
their growth in three or four days,' after which they creep away
into some dark crevice, or burrow in the ground, if they can get

DIPTERA. 413

at it, turn to egg-shaped pupae, and come out as flies, in a few
days more ; or they remain unchanged through the winter, if
they have been hatched late in the summer. A smaller fly, of a
brilliant blue-green color, with black legs, also lays its eggs on
meat, but more often on dead animals in the fields. It seems
hardly to differ from the Musca (Lucilia) Cccsar of Europe.
The house-fly of this country has been supposed to be the same
as the European Musca domestical but I cannot satisfy myself
on this point for the want of specimens from Europe. It is pos-
sible that our sharp-biting stable-flies, the meat-flies, and the
house-fly, may really be distinct species from those which are
found in Europe. Our house-fly is the Musca Harjnjia, or Har-
py-fly, of my "Catalogue." It begins to appear in houses in
July, becomes exceedingly abundant in September, and does not
disappear till killed by cold weather. It is probable that, like
the domestic fly of Europe, it lays its eggs in dung, in which its
larvce live, and pass through their changes of form. The Amer-
icans are accused of carelessness in regard to flies, and apparent-
ly with some reason. But, if these filthy, dung-bred creatures
swarm in some houses, covering every article of food by day, and
absolutely blackening the walls by night, in others comparatively
few are found ; for the tidy house-keeper takes care not to leave
food of any kind standing about, uncovered, to entice them in,
and makes a business of driving out the intruders at least once a
day. If a plateful of strong green tea, well sweetened, be placed
in an outer apartment accessible to flies, they will taste of it, and
be killed thereby, as surely as by the most approved fly-poison.
In the first volume of " The Transactions of the Entomological
Society of London," Mr. Spence gives an account of a mode of
excluding flies from apartments, which has been tried with com-
plete success in England. It consists of netting, made of fine
worsted or thread, in large meshes, or of threads alone, half of
an inch or more apart, stretched across the windows. It appears
that the flies will not attempt to pass through the meshes, or be-
tween the threads, into a room which is lighted only on one side ;
but if there are windows on .another side of the room they will
then -fly through; such windows should therefore be darkened
with shutters or thick curtains.

414 INSECTS OF MASSACHUSETTS.

The Anthomyians, or flower-flies (Anthomyiad,e), are easily
distinguished from the preceding flies, which they otherwise re-
semble, by the smaller size of their winglets, and by the mesh in
the middle of their wings, which is long, narrow, and open at the
end. They are smaller insects than the foregoing, their flight is
more feeble, their wings, when at rest, do not spread so much,
and the bristle on the last joint of their antenna? is not often
feathered. Most of them frequent flowers, and are sometimes
seen sporting together, in large swarms, in the air, like certain
kinds of gnats. In the larva state some of them live in manure,
and in rotten vegetable substances ; others are found in the roots
of living plants, such as onions, radishes, turnips, and even in the
pulpy parts of leaves and of stems, which they devour. The
latter have nearly the same form as the maggots of common flies ;
some of the former are shorter, flattened, and fringed on the sides
with feathery hairs.

Many instances are recorded of these fringed maggots having
been discharged from the human body. They are supposed to
be the young of a fly named Anthomyia (Homalomyia) scalaris.*
Flies closely resembling this are sometimes seen in privies, and a
friend has presented me with one of them, together with the dried
larva-skin out of which it came. The larva was found in excre-
ment. The fly is grayish black, and hairy, with large copper-
colored eyes, which are surrounded by a narrow silvery white
line. It measures one quarter of an inch in length. The larva-
skin has two rows of hairs on the back, and two more on each
side. Another fly, sometimes seen on windows in the autumn,
is produced, if I mistake not, from a hairy maggot that lives in
rotten turnips. This fly strikingly resembles the Anthomyia
canicularis of Europe, and is possibly identical with it. It is of
a dark gray color, with copper-colored eyes, encircled by a sil-
very white line, and with a large, semi-transparent, yellowish
spot on each side of the first three rings of the hind-body. It
measures rather less than one quarter of an inch in length. The
fringed maggots of the canicularis are stated by some naturalists

* For an account of Hie transformations of the fly of privies, with figures, see
Swammerdam's " Uook of Nature," translated by Hill, Part II., p. 38, plate 3c\

DIPTERA. 415

to have been obtained from the human body. It is not impossi-
ble that they may have been swallowed with turnips, or other
vegetables, eaten when going to decay.

Radishes, while growing, are very apt to be attacked by mag-
gots, and rendered unfit to be eaten. These maggots are finally
transformed to small, ash-colored flies, with a silvery gray face,
copper-colored eyes, and a brown spot on the forehead of the fe-
males ; they have some faint brownish lines on the thorax, and a
longitudinal black line on the hind-body, crossed by narrower
black lines on the edges of the rings. They vary in size, but
usually measure rather more than one fifth of an inch in length.
They finish their transformations, and appear above ground, to-
wards the end of June. The radish-fly is called Anthomyia
Raphani, in my " Catalogue," from the botanical name of the
radish, on the root of which its larvae feed. It closely resembles
the root-fly (Anthomyia radicuin) of Europe.

Onions, soon after they come up in the spring, and until they
are grown to a considerable size, are often observed to turn yel-
low and die. Many years ago I remember to have seen them
extensively affected in this way, so that there was a failure of
three fourths of the plants in a large bed. The cause of their
death was not suspected at the time, and no examination was
made for the discovery of insects in them. Since then, I have
been favored by Mr. Westwood with copies of two articles* by
him, on the onion-fly (Anthomyia Ceparum), which, in the mag-
got state, lives in the roots of onion plants in Europe, and causes
them to wither and perish exactly in the same way as young
onions do here. Hence there is good reason to believe that
the failure of our onion crop is caused by the ravages of maggots
similar to those of the European onion-fly. The latter lays its
eggs on the leaves of the onion, close to the earth, so that the
maggots, when hatched, readily make their way to the heart of
the onion. The maggots come to their growth in about two
weeks, turn to pupae within the onions, and come out as flies a

* See the " Magazine of Natural History," Vol. VII., p. 425, and the " Gar-
dener's Magazine," Vol. XIII., p. 241. The same insect is also described and
figured in Ktillar's " Treatise." p. 157.

416 INSECTS OF MASSACHUSETTS.

fortnight afterwards. We have a kind of fly, corresponding
almost exactly with the description of the onion-fly. This
strengthens my belief that our onions suffer from the depredations
of the maggots of this or of a similar insect. The fly to which
I allude is often found on windows in the spring. It is ash-
colored, with black hairs sparingly scattered on its body. It has
a rust-colored forked spot on the top of its head, and three rust-red
lines on the thorax ; and the wings are tinged with yellow near
the shoulders. It measures one fourth of an inch in length. It
is stated that there are two or three generations of the European
onion-flies during the summer, and that the late broods pass the
winter in the pupa state, and are ready to burst forth at the first
warmth of the following spring. The only practicable plan for
destroying these insects that has been suggested, consists in pul-
ling up the onions as soon as they are found to turn yellow, and
putting them immediately into the fire.

Some two-winged flies deposit their eggs in the stems, buds,
and leaves of plants, thereby producing large tumors or galls,
wherein their young reside. Others lay their eggs in fruits, on
the pulp of which their maggots live. These gall and fruit flies
belong to a family called Ortalidians (OrtalidiD/E^), from a word
signifying to flap or shake the wings ; for they keep their wings
in motion nearly all the time, jerking them up and down, and
twisting them round so that the thick outer edges often come, to-
gether. Some of them are in the habit of suddenly raising their
wings perpendicularly above their backs, and running along a few-
steps with them spread like the tail of a peacock. These insects,
together with several other groups of flies, differ from all the fore-
going in many respects, although they agree with them in their
transformations. The forehead is broad in both sexes ; their
winglets are very small or entirely wanting ; their powers of flight
are feeble ; and they are rarely found sporting on flowers in the
sunshine, but seem generally to prefer shady and damp places. The
wings of the Ortalidians are often beautifully variegated, striped, or
spotted with shades of brown or black. The hind-body in the
female generally ends with a pointed lube, wherewith the eggs are
deposited. The little while maggots often found in over ripe
whortleberries, raspberries, cherries, and other fruits, are the

DIPTERA. 417

young of some of these insects. Swellings, or galls, as large as a
walnut, are often seen on the stems of some of our native Asters
or starworts. They are caused by the punctures of a fly, which
lays its eggs, singly, in the stem, when the latter is tender. The
puncture is followed by a spongy swelling, wherein the maggot,
hatched from the egg, lives, and passes through its transforma-
tions. The insect finally comes out in the fly state, through a
small hole previously made in the gall by the maggot. This fly
maybe called the gall-fly of the starwort (Tephritis Asteris).
Its body is about one fifth of an inch long ; it is of a light yellow-
ish brown color, with paler legs ; the wings are broad, rounded
at the tip, and clouded with brown in large spots, forming three
wide, irregular bands across them.

Many of the smallest flies, belonging to several other groups,
are placed near the end of the order. One of them has a head
like a hammer-headed shark, short and very wide, with large glob-
ular eyes on each side of it. This little insect has been found,
in considerable numbers, flying near the ground, on the edges of
banks. It is the Sphyracephala brevicornis of Mr. Say, and is
figured and described in the third volume of his "American En-
tomology." The well known cheese-maggots are the young of a
fly {Piophila casei), not more than three twentieths of an inch
long, of a shining black color, with the middle and hinder le gs
mostly yellowish, and the wings transparent like glass. Some
minute flies, belonging to a family called Oscinid^:, are found to
be very injurious to wheat, rye, and barley, in Europe. One of
them (Oseinis frit), a shining black fly, with yellowish feet, and
measuring about one tenth of an inch in length, lays its eggs in
the blossoms of barley, the grains of which afterwards perish in
consequence of the depredations of the maggots of this fly ; and
Linnaeus states that a tenth part of the produce of the barley in
Sweden is thereby annually destroyed. The larva? or maggots of
Oscinis lineata, Chlorops pumilionis, Chlorops glabra, and other
flies allied to them, live within the lower part of the stems of
wheat, rye, and barley, thereby impoverishing the plants, and
causing them to become stinted in their growth. They are rather
larger insects than the frit-fly, and they have black and yellow
stripes on the thorax. It is highly probable that some of these

53

418 INSECTS OF MASSACHUSETTS.

species, or other Oscinians, with similar habits, may be found in
the stems of wheat and other grains in this country, and perhaps
also in the ears. Several kinds of small flies, evidently different
from the Hessian and wheat flies, have often been observed here,
in fields of grain, when the plants are in flower ; but their history
has not yet been investigated, and the insects have not been scien-
tifically examined and described. From the somewhat vague ac-
counts that have been given of them, it is evident that they are
much too large for any of the parasitical insects which attack the
larvae and eggs of the Hessian and wheat flies ; and they appear
sometimes to have been mistaken for the latter. In an extract
from a paper by Mr. Worth, on the Hessian fly, mention is made
of a pale yellow worm (maggot), about three sixteenths of an inch
long, having been found by him within the stalks of wheat near
the root, where its presence was detected by a swelling of the
part attacked. This was probably the larva of one of the Oscin-
ians. A careful examination of all the insects that inhabit our
fields of grain is very much wanted.

The various insects, improperly called bot-bees, a-e two-
winged flies, and belong to the order Diptera, and the family
(Estrid^;, so named from the principal genus in it. Bot-flies
do not seem to have any mouth or proboscis ; for although these
parts do really exist in them, the opening of the mouth is ex-
tremely small, and the proboscis is very short, and is entirely con-
cealed in it ; so that these insects, while in the winged state, do
not appear to be able to take any nourishment. They somewhat
resemble the Syrphians in form and color, and in the large size of
theirheads ; but the eyes are proportionally small, and there is a
large space between them. The face is swollen or puffed out
before. The antennas are very short, and almost buried in two
little holes, close together, on the forehead. The winglets are
large and entirely cover the poisers. The hind-body of the fe-
males ends with a conical tube, bent under the body, and used for
depositing the eggs, which the insect lays whilst flying. The lar-
va:, or young of bot-flies live in various parts of the bodies of an-
imals. They arc thick, fleshy, whitish maggots, without feet,
tapering towards the head, which is generally armed with two
hooks ; and the rings of the body are surrounded with rows of

DIPTERA. 419

smaller hooks or prickles. When they are fully grown, they drop
to the ground and burrow in it a short distance. After this, the
skin of the maggot becomes a hard and brownish shell, within
which the insect turns to a pupa, and finally to a fly, and comes
out by pushing off a little piece like a lid from the small end of
the shell.

More than twenty different kinds of bot-flies are already known,
and several of them are found in this country. Some of them
have been brought here with our domesticated animals from abroad,
and have here multiplied and increased. Three of them attack
the horse. The large bot-fly of the horse (Gasterophilus equi)
has spotted wings. She lays her eggs about his knees ; the small
red-tailed species (G. h&morrhoidalis), on his lips ; and the
brown farrier bot-fly (G. veterinus) under his throat, according to
Dr. Roland Green. By rubbing and biting the parts where the
eggs are laid, the horse gets the maggots into his mouth, and
swallows them with his food. The insects then fasten them-
selves, in clusters, to the inside of his stomach, and live there
till they are fully grown. The following are stated to be the
symptoms shown by the horse when he is much infested by these
insects. He loses flesh, coughs, eats sparingly, and bites his
sides ; at length he has a discharge from his nose, and these symp-
toms are followed by a stiffness of his legs and neck, staggering,
difficulty in breathing, convulsions, and death. No sure and safe
remedy has yet been found sufficient to remove bots from the
stomach of the horse. The only treatment to be recommended,
is copious bleeding, and a free use of mild oils, in the early stages
of the attack. The preventive means are very simple, consisting
only in scraping off the eggs or nits of the fly every day.* Bracy
Clark, Esq., who has published some very interesting remarks f
on the bots of horses and of other animals, maintains that bots

* See Dr. Green's " Natural History of the Horse-Bee," in Adams's " Medical
and Agricultural Register," Vol. 1., p. 53 ; and the same in " The New England
Farmer," Vol. IV., p. 345.

t " Observations on the Genus OZstrus," in the " Transactions of the Linnean
Society," Vol. III., p. 289, with figures; "On the insect called Oistros by the
Ancients," in Vol. XV. of the same work; and " An Essay on the Bots of Horses
and other Animals." 1 vol. 4to. Lond. 1815.

420 INSECTS OF MASSACHUSETTS.

are rather beneficial than injurious to the animals they infest.
His principal work on this subject I have not yet seen. The
maggots of the CEstrus bovis, or ox bot-fly, live in large open
boils, sometimes called wornils or wurmals, that is, worm-holes,
on the backs of cattle. The fly is rather smaller than the horse
bot-fly, although it comes from a much larger maggot. The
sheep bot-fly (Cephalemyia oris) lays its eggs in the nostrils of
sheep, and the maggots crawl from thence into the hollows in the
bones of the forehead. Deer are also afflicted by bots peculiar
to them. Our native hare, or rabbit, as it is commonly called,
sometimes has very large bots, which live under the skin of his
back. The fly (GZstrus buccatus) is as big as our largest humble-
bee, but is not hairy. It is of a reddish black color ; the face
and the sides of the hind-body are covered with a blueish white
bloom ; there are many small black dots on the latter, and six or
eight on the face. This fly measures seven eighths of an inch, or
more in length, and its wings expand about three quarters of an
inch. It is rarely seen ; and my only specimen was taken in the
month of July, many years ago.

At the very end of this order is to be placed a remarkable
group of insects, which seems to connect the flies with the true
ticks and spiders. Some of these insects have wings ; but others
have neither wings nor poisers. Of the winged kinds there is
one (Hippobosca equina) that nestles in the hair of the horse ;
others are bird-flies (OrnUhomyia), and live in the plumage of al-
most all kinds of birds. The wingless kinds have sometimes
been called spider-flies, from their shape ; such are sheep-ticks
(Mcllophagus ovis), and bat-ticks (Nycteribia). These singular
creatures are not produced from eggs, in the usual way among
insects, but are brought forth in the pupa state, enclosed in the
egg-shaped skin of the larva, which is nearly as large as the body
of the parent insect. This egg-like body is soft and white at first,
but soon becomes hard and brown. It is notched at one end, and
out of this notched part the inclosed insect makes its way, when
it arrives at maturity.

The flea (/V/m), may almost be considered as a wingless kind
of fly. Its proboscis seems to be intermediate in its formation
between that of flies and of bugs ; its antennae are concealed in

DIPTERA. 421

holes in the sides of its head, like those of certain water-bugs
(Ncpa and Belostoma), and somewhat resemble them in shape ;
while the transformations of the flea are not very much unlike
those of the flies, whose maggots cast off their skins on becoming
pupae.

The foregoing remarks, on the structure, habits, and transfor-
mations of Dipterous insects, have been somewhat extended be-
yond what was originally designed, in order to make amends for the
want of information relating to the history of the gnats and flies
which are injurious to vegetation. The consideration of the lat-
ter has been reserved to the last, and the printing of this portion
of my essay has been delayed, in the hope that additional and
more valuable materials would be obtained. It is a source of re-
gret to me that I have nothing original to offer on this subject,
not having had an opportunity to watch the growth and changes
of these destructive insects myself. Very little success has at-
tended my efforts to collect new materials for the history of the
insects that are injurious to wheat and other cultivated grains ;
and my numerous private letters and public communications, so-
liciting information, have procured for me only a few facts in an-
swer to them. In looking over a great number of volumes for
papers relative to these insects, my labors have been rewarded,
as it were, with only a few scattered grains among bushels of chaff.

The far-famed Hessian fly and the wheat-fly of Europe, and
of this country, are small gnats or midges, and belong to the
family called CecidomyiadjE, or gall-gnats. The insects of this
family are very numerous, and most of them, in the maggot
state, live in galls or unnatural enlargements of the stems, leaves,
and buds of plants, caused by the punctures of the winged in-
sects in laying their eggs. The Hessian fly, wheat-fly, and
some others differ from the majority in not producing such altera-
tions in plants. The proboscis of these insects is very short, and
does not contain the piercing bristles found in the long proboscis
of the biting gnats and mosquitos. Their antennae are long, com-
posed of many little, bead-like joints, which are larger in the
males than in the other sex ; and each joint is surrounded with
short hairs. Their eyes are kidney-shaped. Their legs are
rather long and very slender. Their wings have only two, three,

422 INSECTS OF MASSACHUSETTS.

or four veins in them, and are fringed with little hairs around the
edges ; when not in use, they are generally carried flat on the
back. The hind-body of the females often ends with a retrac-
tile, conical tube, wherewith they deposit their eggs. Their
young are little, footless maggots, tapering at each end, and gen-
erally of a deep yellow or orange color. They live on the
juices of plants, and undergo their transformations either in these
plants, or in the ground.

The Hessian fly was scientifically described by Mr. Say, in
1817, under the name of C cidomyia destructor.* It obtained
its common name from a supposition that it was brought to this
country, in some straw, by the Hessian troops under the com-
mand of Sir William Howe in the war of the Revolution, f This
supposition, however, has been thought to be erroneous, because
the early inquiries made to discover the Hessian fly in Germany
were unsuccessful ; and, in consequence thereof, Sir Joseph
Banks, in his report to the British Government, in 17S9, stated
that " no such insect could be found to exist in Germany or
any other part of Europe." J It appears, however, that the
same insect, or one exactly like it in habits, had been long known
in Europe ; an account of it may be found in Duhamel's " Prac-
tical Treatise of Husbandry," § and in a communication :j: made
to the Duke of Dorset, in 1788, by the Royal Society of
Agriculture of France. In the year 1833 the wheat in Hungary
was considerably injured by an insect of the same kind, supposed
to be the Hessian fly by the Baron Kollar. || Moreover, Mr. E.
C. Herrick, of New Haven, Connecticut, has recently published
an account H of the discovery of the true Hessian fly, by Mr.
James D. Dana, in Minorca, near Toulon in France, and in the
vicinity of Naples. Nothing has yet been found relative to the
existence of the Hessian fly in America before the Revolution.

* " Journal of the Academy of Natural Sciences, of Philadelphia." Vol. L,

p. 45.

t Dobson's " Encyclopedia." Vol. VIII., p. 491.

I " Encyclopaedia Britannica," and Dobson's " Encyclopaedia." Vol. VIII., ar-
ticle Hessian Fly.

§ p. HO. 4to. Loud. 1?.")!). See also his " Elements of Agriculture," Vol. I.,
p. 269. Bvo. Lond. 1664.

|| « Treatise," p. 118.

U Silliman's " American Journal of Science," Vol. XLI., p. 133.

D1PTERA. 423

It was first observed in the year 1776, in the neighbourhood of
Sir William Howe's debarkation on Staten Island, and at Flat
Bush, on the west end of Long Island. Having multiplied in
these places, the insects gradually spread over the southern parts
of New York and Connecticut, and continued to proceed inland
at the rate of fifteen or twenty miles a year. They reached
Saratoga, two hundred miles from their original station, in 1789.
Dr. Chapman says, that they were found west of the Alleghany
mountains in 1797 ; from their progress through the country,
having apparently advanced about thirty miles every summer.
Wheat, rye, barley, and even timothy grass were attacked by
them ; and so great were their ravages in the larva state, that the
cultivation of wheat was abandoned in many places where they
had established themselves.* In a communication by Mr. J. W.
Jeffreys, published in the sixth volume of Buel's " Cultivator,"
it is stated, that soon after the battle of Guilford, in North Caro-
lina, the wheat crops were destroyed by the Hessian fly in
Orange county, through which the British army, composed in
part of Hessian soldiers, had previously passed. Although it
is possible that, in this instance, the chinch bug may have been
mistaken for the Hessian fly, the remark shows how prevalent
was the belief respecting the introduction of the latter. The
foregoing statements, taken in connexion with the habits of the
Hessian fly, induce me to think that the common opinion relative
to its origin is deserving of some credit, although we are as yet
without any positive evidence of the existence of this insect in
Germany.

The following brief history of the habits and transformations
of the Hessian fly will be found to agree essentially with the ex-
cellent observations on this insect, written in the year 1797, by
Dr. Isaac Chapman, and published in the fifth volume of the
" Memoirs of the Philadelphia Society for promoting Agricul-
ture." Mr. Herrick has kindly permitted me to make free use
of his valuable account of this insect, contained in the forty-first
volume of " The American Journal of Science," and of other

* " Encyclopaedia Britannica," and Dobson's " Encyclopaedia," Vol. VIII., ar-
ticle Hessian Fly.

424 INSECTS OF MASSACHUSETTS.

information communicated by him to me in various letters. The
latter gentleman has spent some time in carefully observing the
habits of the fly, during many years in succession ; and, having
fitted himself for the task by the study of the natural history of
insects in general, his statements may be implicitly relied upon.
Moreover they are corroborated by the observations of many
other persons, published in various works, which I have consult-
ed in the course of my investigations. Nor have I neglected to
examine every thing on this insect that has fallen under my no-
tice ; and shall hereafter allude to some of the contradictory
statements that have been published relative to certain parts of its
economy.

The head and thorax of this fly are black. The hind-body is
tawny, and covered with fine grayish hairs. The wings are
blackish, but are more or less tinged with yellow at the base,
where also they are very narrow ; they are fringed with short
hairs, and are rounded at the end. The body measures about
one tenth of an inch in length, and the wings expand one quarter
of an inch, or more. It is a true Cecidomyia, differing from
Lasioptera in the shortness of the first joint of its feet, and in
the greater length of its antennae, the bead-like swellings whereof
are also more distant from each other. Two broods or genera-
tions are brought to maturity in the course of a year, and the flies
appear in the spring and autumn, but rather earlier in the South-
ern and Middle States than in New England. The transformations
of some in each brood appear to be retarded beyond the usual time,
as is found to be the case with many other insects ; so that the life
of these individuals, from the egg to the winged state, extends to
a year or more in length, whereby the continuation of the species
in after years is made more sure. It has frequently been assert-
ed that the flies lay their eggs on the grain in the ear ; but wheth-
er this be true or not, it is certain that they do lay their eggs on
the young plants, and long before the grain is ripe ; for many
persons have witnessed and testified to this fact. In the New
England States, winter wheat, as it is called, is usually sown
about the first of September. Towards the end of this month,
and in October, when the grain has sprouted, and begins to show
a leaf or two, the flies appear in the fields, and, having paired,

DIPTERA. 425

begin to lay their eggs, in which business they are occupied for
several weeks. The following interesting account of the manner
in which this is done was written by Mr. Edward Tilghman, of
Queen Ann County, Maryland, and was published in the eighth
volume of " The Cultivator," in May, 1841. "By the sec-
ond week of October, the first sown wheat being well up, and
having generally put forth its second and third blades, I resorted
to my field in a fine warm forenoon, to endeavour to satisfy my-
self, by ocular demonstration, whether the fly did deposit the
egg on the blades of the growing plant. Selecting a favorable
spot to make my observation, I placed myself in a reclining po-
sition in a furrow, and had been on the watch but a minute or
two, before I discovered a number of small black flies alighting
and sitting on the wheat plants around me, and presently one set-
tled on the ridged surface of a blade of a plant completely within
my reach and distinct observation. She immediately began de-
positing her eggs in the longitudinal cavity between the little
ridges of the blade. I could distinctly see the eggs ejected from
a kind of tube or sting. After she had deposited eight or ten
eggs, I easily caught her upon the blade, and wrapped her up in
a piece of paper. I then proceeded to take up the plant, with
as much as I conveniently could of the circumjacent earth, and
wTrapped it all securely in a piece of paper. After that I con-
tinued my observations on the flies, caught several similarly oc-
cupied, and could see the eggs uniformly placed in the longitudi-
nal cavities of the blades of the wheat ; their appearance being
that of minute reddish specks. My own mind being thus com-
pletely and fully satisfied as to the mode in which the egg was
deposited, I proceeded directly to my dwelling, and put the
plant with the eggs upon it in a large glass tumbler, adding a little
water to the earth, and secured the vessel by covering it with
paper so that no insect could get access to the interior. The
paper was sufficiently perforated with pin holes for the admission
of air. The tumbler with its contents was daily watched by
myself to discover the hatching of the eggs. About the middle
of the fifteenth day from the deposit of the eggs, I was so fortu-
nate as to discover a very small maggot or worm, of a reddish
cast, making its way with considerable activity down the blade,

54

426 INSECTS OF MASSACHUSETTS.

and saw it till it disappeared between the blade and stem of the
plant. This, I have no doubt, was the produce of one of the
eggs, and would, I presume, have hatched much sooner, had the
plant remained in the field. It was my intention to have carried
on the experiment, by endeavouring to hatch out the insect from
the flax-seed state into the perfect fly again ; but being called
from home, the plant was suffered to perish. The fly that I
caught on the blade of the wheat, as above stated, I enclosed in
a letter to Mr. John S. Skinner, the editor of the ' American
Farmer,' of Baltimore, who pronounced it to be a genuine Hes-
sian fly, and identical in appearance with others recently received
from Virginia." Dr. Chapman agrees with this writer in saying,
that the Hessian fly lays her eggs in the small creases of the
young leaves of the wheat. Mr. Havens, in an article on this
insect, which will again be referred to, states, that the fly lays
her eggs on the leaves. In the fortieth number of " The Con-
necticut Farmer's Gazette," Mr. Herrick says, " I have re-
peatedly, both in autumn and in spring, seen the Hessian fly in
the act of depositing eggs on wheat, and have always found, that
she selects for this purpose the leaves of the young plant. The
eggs are laid in various numbers on the upper surface of the strap-
shaped portion (or blade) of the leaf." His remarks in Professor
Silliman's Journal are to the same effect. Other authorities on
this point might be mentioned ; but the foregoing are sufficient,
in my opinion, to establish the fact, that the Hessian fly lays her
eggs on the leaves of wheat soon after the plants are up. " The
number on a single leaf," says Mr. Herrick, " is often twenty
or thirty, and sometimes much greater. In these cases many of
the larvae must perish. The egg is about a fiftieth of an inch
long, and four thousandths of an inch in diameter, cylindrical,
translucent, and of a pale red color." Mr. Tilghman was cor-
rect in supposing that the eggs would hatch in less than fifteen
days, under favorable circumstances ; for, if the weather be warm,
they commonly hatch in four days after they are laid. The mag-
gots, when they first come out of the shells, are of a pale red
color. Forthwith they crawl down the leaf, and work their way
between it and the main stalk, passing downwards till they come
to a joint, just above which they remain, a little below the sur-

DIPTERA. 427

face of the ground, with the head towards the root of the plant.
Having thus fixed themselves upon the stalk, they become sta-
tionary, and never move from the place till their transformations
are completed. They do not eat the stalk, neither do they pen-
etrate within it, as some persons have supposed, but they lie
lengthwise upon its surface, covered by the lower part of the
leaves, and are nourished wholly by the sap, which they appear
to take by suction. They soon lose their reddish color, turn
pale, and will be found to be clouded with whitish spots ; and
through their transparent skins a greenish stripe may be seen in
the middle of their bodies. As they increase in size, and grow
plump and firm, they become imbedded in the side of the stem,
by the pressure of their bodies upon the growing plant. One
maggot thus placed seldom destroys the plant ; but, when two or
three are fixed in this manner around the stem, they weaken and
impoverish the plant, and cause it to fall down, or to wither and
die. They usually come to their full size in five or six weeks,
and then measure about three twentieths of an inch in length.
Their skin now gradually hardens, becomes brownish, and soon
changes to a bright chestnut color. This change usually hap-
pens about the first of December, when the insect may be said
to enter on the pupa state, for after this time it takes no more
nourishment. Mr. Herrick informs me, that the brown and
leathery skin, within which the maggot has changed to a pupa
or chrysalis, is long egg-shaped, smooth, and marked with
eleven transverse lines, and measures one eighth of an inch
in length. In this form it has been commonly likened to a
flax-seed. It appears then, from the remarks of Dr. Chap-
man, Mr. Herrick, and other careful observers, that the maggots
of the Plessian fly do not cast off their skins in order to become
pupa?, wherein they differ from the larvse of most other gnats,
and agree with those of common flies ; neither do they spin co-
coons, as some of the Cecidomyians are supposed to do. Mr.
Herrick, in one of his letters, observes, that " the pupa
gradually cleaves from the dried skin of the larva, and, in the
course of two or three weeks, is wholly detached " from it.
Still inclosed within this skin, which thus becomes a kind of co-
coon or shell for the pupa, it remains throughout the winter,

428 INSECTS OF MASSACHUSETTS.

safely lodged in its bed on the side of the stem, near the root of
the plant, and protected from the cold by the dead leaves. To-
wards the end of April and in the forepart of May, or as soon
as the weather becomes warm enough in the spring, the insects
are transformed to flies. They make their escape from their
winter quarters by breaking through one end of their shells and
the remains of the leaves around them. In the " Observations
on the Hessian fly," written by Jonathan N. Havens, Esq., and
published in the first volume of the " Transactions of the So-
ciety for the Promotion of Agriculture, Arts, and Manufactures
in New York," it is stated, that " whenever the fly has been
hatched in the house, it always comes forth from its brown case,
wrapt in a thin white skin, which it soon breaks, and is then at
liberty " ; and Mr. Havens supposes, that the same thing occurs
when the transformation takes place abroad. Nothing of the
kind, however, has been recorded by any other writer on this in-
sect. Very soon after the flies come forth in the spring, they
are prepared to lay their eggs on the leaves of the wheat sown in
the autumn before, and also on the spring-sown wheat, that be-
gins, at this time, to appear above the surface of the ground.
They continue to come forth and lay their eggs for the space of
three weeks, after which they entirely disappear from the fields.
The maggots, hatched from these eggs, pass along the stems of
the wheat, nearly to the roots, become stationary, and turn to
pupa; in June and July. In this state they are found at the time
of harvest, and, when the grain is gathered, they remain in the
stubble in the fields. To this, however, as Mr. Havens remarks,
there are some exceptions ; for a few of the insects do not pass
so far down the side of the stems as to be out of the way of the
sickle when the grain is reaped, and consequently will be gath-
ered and carried away with the straw. Most of them are trans-
formed to flies in the autumn, but others remain unchanged in the
stubble or straw till the next spring. Hereby, says Mr. Havens,
" it appears evident, that they may be removed from their natural
situation in the field, and be kept alive long enough to be car-
ried across the Atlantic ; from which circumstance it is possible
that they might have been imported " in straw from a foreign
country. In the winged state, these flies, or more properly

DIPTERA. 429

gnats, are very active, and, though very small and seemingly
feeble, are able to My to a considerable distance in search of
fields of young grain. Their principal migrations take place in
August and September in the Middle States, where they undergo
their final transformations earlier than in New England. There,
too, they sometimes take wing in immense swarms, and, being
probably aided by the wind, are not stopped in their course
either by mountains or rivers. On their first appearance in Penn-
sylvania they were seen to pass the Delaware like a cloud.
Being attracted by light, they have been known, during the wheat
harvest, to enter houses in the evening in such numbers as se-
riously to annoy the inhabitants.*

The old discussion, concerning the place where the Hessian
fly lays her eggs, has lately been revived, in consequence of a
communication made by Miss Margaretta H. Morris, of Ger-
mantown, Pennsylvania, to " the American Philosophical So-
ciety," of Philadelphia. The following remarks upon it are
extracted from a Report made to the same Society, and pub-
lished in their ''Proceedings" for November and December,
1840. " Miss Morris believes she has established that the
ovum (egg) of this destructive insect is deposited in the seed of
the wheat, and not in the stalk or culm. She has watched the
progress of the animal since June, 1836, and has satisfied her-
self that she has frequently seen the larva within the seed. She
has also detected the larva, at various stages of its progress, from
the seed to between the body of the stalk and the sheath of the
leaves. According to her observations, the recently hatched
larva penetrates to the centre of the straw, where it may be found
of a pale greenish white semitransparent appearance, in form
somewhat resembling a silk worm. From one to six of these
have been found at various heights from the seed to the third
joint." Miss Morris's communication has not yet been published
in full ; but, from the foregoing report, we are led to infer, that
the egg, being sowed with the grain, is hatched in the ground,
and that the maggot afterwards mounts from the seed through the

* British and Dobson's " Encyclopedia," and Colonel Morgan's letter in Ca-
rey's '• American Museum," Vol. II., p. 2U8.

430 INSECTS OF MASSACHUSETTS.

middle of the stem, and, having reached a proper height, escapes
from the hollow of the straw to the outside, where it takes the
pupa or flax-seed state. The fact that the Hessian fly does or-
dinarily lay her eggs on the young leaves of wheat, barley, and
rye, both in the spring and in the autumn, is too well authenti-
cated to admit of any doubt. If, therefore, the observations of
Miss Morris are found to be equally correct, they will serve to
show, still more than the foregoing history, how variable and ex-
traordinary is the economy of this insect, and how great are the
resources wherewith it is provided for the continuation of its kind.
Various means have been recommended for preventing or less-
ening the ravages of the Hessian fly ; but they have hitherto
failed, either because they have not been adapted to the end in
view, or because they have not been universally adopted ; and it
appears doubtful, whether any of them will ever entirely exter-
minate the insect. It is stated in the before mentioned Report
of " the Philosophical Society," that Miss Morris advises ob-
taining " fresh seed from localities in which the fly has not made
its appearance," and that " by this means the crop of the following
year will be uninjured ; but in order to avoid the introduction of
straggling insects of the kind from adjacent fields, it is requisite
that a whole neighbourhood should persevere in this precaution
for two or more years in succession." " This result," Miss Mor-
ris says, " was obtained, in part, in the course of trials made by
Mr. Kirk, of Buck's County, Pennsylvania, with some seed-
wheat from the Mediterranean, in and since the year 1837. His
first crop was free from the fly ; but it was gradually introduced
from adjacent fields, and, in the present year (1840), the mis-
chief has been considerable." In other hands this course has
proved of no use whatever. Not to mention other instances, the
following appears to be conclusive on this point. About forty
years ago, Mr. Garret Bergen, of Brooklyn, New York, pro-
cured two bushels of wheat from the Genesee country, then an
uninfected district, which he sowed in a field adjoining a piece
seeded with grain of his own gathering. Both pieces were se-
verely damaged by the Hessian fly, which could not have hap-
pened, in the same season, if the eggs of the insect are laid only
on the grain. A few years ago he soaked his seed-wheat in

DIPTERA. 431

strong pickle, and the crop was comparatively free from the fly.
In 1S39 he tried this experiment again, but not with similar suc-
cess. In 1840 he sowed without previously soaking the grain,
and his crop was uninjured. He says, moreover, that he has
uniformly found the grain most affected in spots, usually near the
edges of the field, where long grass and weeds grew, which af-
forded shelter and protection to the fly. This fact, he thinks,
affords another proof, that the egg is not deposited in the grain.
I regret that my limits will not permit me to extract the whole of
Mr. Bergen's interesting remarks, which may be found in number
eight, of the eighth volume of " The Cultivator," published in
Albany in August, 1841. The best modes of preventing the
ravages of the Hessian fly are thus stated by Mr. Herrick.*
" The stouter varieties of wheat ought always to be chosen, and
the land should be kept in good condition. If fall wheat is sown
late, some of the eggs will be avoided, but risk of winter-killing
the plants will be incurred. If cattle are permitted to graze the
wheat fields during the fall, they will devour many of the eggs.
A large number of the pupae may be destroyed by burning the
wheat-stubble immediately after harvest, and then ploughing and
harrowing the land. This method will undoubtedly do much
good. As the Hessian fly also lays its eggs, to some extent,
on rye and barley, these crops should be treated in a similar man-
ner." It is found that luxuriant crops more often escape injury
than those that are thin and light. Steeping the grain and rolling
it in plaster or lime tends to promote a rapid and vigorous growth,
and will therefore prove beneficial. Sowing the fields with wood
ashes, in the proportion of two bushels to an acre, in the autumn,
and again in the first and last weeks in April, and as late in the
month of May as the sower can pass over the wheat without in-
jury to it, has been found useful. f Favorable reports have been
made upon the practice of allowing sheep to feed off the crop
late in the autumn, and it has also been recommended to turn
them into the fields again in the spring, in order to retard the
growth of the plant till after the fly has disappeared. J Too

* " American Journal of Science," Vol. XLI., p. 358.

t " Cultivator," Vol. V., p. 59.

t " Cultivator," Vol. IV., p. 110, and Vol. V., p. 49.

432 INSECTS OF MASSACHUSETTS.

much cannot be said in favor of a judicious management of the
soil, feeding off the crop by cattle in the autumn, and burning
the stubble after harvest ; a proper and general attention to which
will materially lessen the evils arising from the depredations of
this noxious insect.

Fortunately our efforts will be aided by a host of parasitical in-
sects, which are found to prey upon the eggs, the larvae, and the
pupae of the Hessian fly. Mr. Herrick states,* that, in this part
of the country, a very large proportion, probably more than nine
tenths, of every generation of this fly is thus destroyed. One of
these parasites was made known by Mr. Say, in the first volume
of the " Journal of the Academy of Natural Sciences of Phila-
delphia" ; and the interesting discovery of three more kinds is
due to the exertions of Mr. Herrick. They are all minute Hy-
menopterous insects, similar in their habits to the true Ichneu-
mon-flies. The chief parasite of the pupa is the Eurytoma de-
structor (Ceraphron destructor, of Say), a shining black four-
winged fly, about one tenth of an inch in length. This has often
been mistaken for the Hessian fly, from being seen in wheat-
fields, in vast numbers, and from its being found to come out of
the dried larva skin of that fly. In the month of June, when the
maggot of the Hessian fly has taken the form of a flax-seed, the
Eurytoma pierces it, through the sheath of the leaf, and lays an
egg in the minute hole thus made. From this egg is hatched a
little maggot, which devours the pupa of the Hessian fly, and
then changes to a chrysalis within the shell of the latter, through
which it finally eats its way, after being transformed to a fly.
This last change takes place both in the autumn and in the follow-
ing spring. Some of the females of this or of a closely allied
species of Eurytoma come forth from the shells of the Hessian
fly, without wings, or with only very short and imperfect wings,
in which form they somewhat resemble minute ants. Two more
parasites, which Mr. Herrick has not yet described, also destroy
the Hessian fly, while the latter is in the pupa or flax-seed state.
Mr. Herrick says, that the egg-parasite of the Hessian fly is a
species of Pldtygaster^ that it is very abundant in the autumn,

* " American Journal of Science," Vol. XLL, p. 156.

DIPTERA. 433

when it lays its own eggs, four or five together, in a single egg of
the Hessian fly. This, it appears, does not prevent the latter
from hatching, but the maggot of the Hessian fly is unable to go
through its transformation, and dies after taking the flax-seed
form. Meanwhile its intestine foes are hatched, come to their
growth, spin themselves little brownish cocoons within the skin
of their victim, and, in due time, are changed to winged insects,
and eat their way out. Such are some of the natural means,
provided by a benevolent Providence, to check the ravages of
the destructive Hessian fly. If we are humiliated by the reflec-
tion, that the Author of the universe should have made even small
and feeble insects the instruments of His power, and that He
should occasionally permit them to become the scourges of our
race, ought we not to admire His wisdom in the formation of
the still more humble agents that are appointed to arrest the work
of destruction.

In the years 1829 and 1830 several communications were pub-
lished in the eighth volume of Fessenden's " New England Far-
mer," * respecting a disease of bailey straw, produced by the
punctures of insects. The first account of this disease, that has
fallen under my notice, is contained in an extract from a letter,
dated August 1 6th, 1829, from the Honorable John Merrill, of
Newburyport, to Mr. Fessenden ; wherein it is stated, that the
barley, in the neighbourhood of iSewburyport, yielded only a
very small crop ; on some farms not much more than the seed
sown. Most of the stalks were found to have a number of small
worms within them, near to the second joint, and had become
hardened in the part attacked, from the interruption of the cir-
culation of the sap. During several years previous to this date,
the barley crops, in various parts of Essex and Middlesex coun-
ties, were more or less injured in the same way ; and, in some
places, the cultivation of this grain was given up in conse-
quence thereof. It was supposed that the insects, producing
this disease, were imported from Bremen, or some other port in
the north of Europe, in some barley that was sown in the vicinity
of Newbury, three or four years before 1829. f The worms or

* Pages 43, 138, 217, 299, 330, and 402. Also Vol. IX., p. 2, and Vol. X., p. 11.
f " New England Farmer," Vol. VIII., p. 217.

55

434 INSECTS OF MASSACHUSETTS.

maggots, were found, by John M. Gourgas, Esq., of Weston,
Massachusetts, to be transformed to small flies, which were
thought, by some persons, to be the same as the Hessian flies.
In the summer of 1831, myriads of these flies were found alive
in straw beds in Gloucester ; the straw having been taken from
the fields the year before. An opinion at that time prevailed,
that the troublesome humors, wherewith many persons were then
afflicted, were occasioned by the bites of these flies ; and it is
stated that the straw beds in Lexington, being found to be in-
fested with the same insects, were generally burnt.* If any in-
convenience really arose from sleeping on these beds, it is far
more likely to have been occasioned by the bites or stings of
parasitical insects, than by those of any insect like the Hessian
fly. That vast numbers of parasitical insects, closely resembling
the Eurytoma destructor, come out of the diseased straw will be
shown hereafter. Mr. Gourgas observes,! that when the barley
is about eight or ten inches high, the effects of the disease in
it begin to be visible by a sudden check in the growth of the
plants, and the yellow color of their lower leaves. If the butts
of the straw are now examined, they will be found to be irregu-
larly swollen, and discolored, between the second and third
joints, and, instead of being hollow, are rendered solid, hard, and
brittle, so that the stem above the diseased part is impoverished,
and seldom produces any grain. Suckers, however, shoot out
below, and afterwards yield a partial crop, seldom exceeding one
half the usual quantity of grain. " It is evident," says Mr.
Gourgas, " that the soundness of the grain, raised in a blighted
field, is not affected thereby in the slightest degree ; the seed
(eggs) to perpetuate the disease from year to year is lodged in
the straw, which, when hatched, are the worms " before men-
tioned. Dr. Andrew Nichols, of Danvers, states, \ that these
worms are about one tenth of an inch in length, and of a yellow
or straw color ; and that, in the month of November, they ap-
peared to have passed to the chrysalis state. They live through
the winter unchanged in the straw, many of them in the stubble in

' " New England Farmer," Vol. X , p. 11. t The same, Vol. VIII., p. 2U9.
{ The same, p. 13d.

DIPTERA. 435

the field, while others are carried away when the grain is harvested.
When the barley is threshed, numerous small pieces of diseased
straw, too hard to be broken by the flail, will be found among the
grain. Some of these may be separated by the winnowing ma-
chine, but many others are too large and heavy to be winnowed
out, and remain with the grain, from which they can only be re-
moved by the slow process of picking them out by hand.

In the winter of 1829, Cheever Newhall, Esq. furnished me
with a few pieces of diseased barley straw, each of which con-
tained several, small, whitish maggots. Since that time this af-
fection of the barley has not again fallen under my notice, though
I have reason to think that it continues to prevail in many parts
of Massachusetts. The following account of my observations on
the insects in the barley straw was published in the " New Eng-
land Farmer," * in July, 1830. Each maggot was imbedded in
the thickened and solid substance of the stem, in a little longitudi-
nal hollow, of the shape of its own body ; and its presence was
known by an oblong swelling upon the surface. In some pieces
of straw the swellings were so numerous as greatly to disfigure
the stem, the circulation in which must have been very much
checked if not destroyed. Early in the following spring these
maggots entered the pupa or chrysalis state, and on the fifteenth
of June the perfected insects began to make their escape through
minute perforations in the straw, which they gnawed for this pur-
pose. Seven of these little holes were counted in a piece of
straw only half an inch in length. The insects continued to re-
lease themselves from their confinement till the fifth of July, after
which no more were seen. Much to my surprise they proved
to be minute, four-winged Ichneumon-flies, which are parasitical,
or prey, in the larva state, on the bodies of other insects. I
had hoped to have obtained the true culprits, the cause of the
disease, supposing that the latter were allied to the Hessian fly ;
but these little insects, while in the larva state, had destroyed
them all, and, having finished their appointed task, and undergone
their tranformations, now made their escape from the straw in the
winged form. The scientific name, given to this newly dis-

* Vol. IX., p. 2.

436 INSECTS OF MASSACHUSETTS.

covered parasite, was Eurytoma Hordci, so called from Hordeum,
the Latin name for barley. It is very much like the parasite
(Eurytoma destructor) of the Hessian fly, described by Mr.
Say, but is rather larger, of a jet black color, except the legs,
which are blackish, with pale yellow joints. The head and tho-
rax are somewhat rough, and slightly hairy ; the hind-body is
smooth and polished. The female is thirteen hundredths of an
inch long ; the male is rather smaller. It often moves by little
leaps, but the hindmost thighs are not thickened. This minute
insect is to be reckoned among our friends, being appointed, by
an all-wise and provident Creator, to check the increase of the
destructive fly that attacks our barley. Though disappointed in
my attempts to obtain the latter, in its perfected state, I hail with
pleasure the appearance of its mortal enemy.

Although the barley-fly has not yet been seen by me, there
does not exist the smallest doubt in my mind that it is a two-
winged gnat, like the Hessian fly and wheat-fly. Any one, who
will compare the history of the two latter with what is known of
the barley insect, will arrive at the same conclusion. Both the
Hessian fly and the barley insect attack the culms or straw of
grain, which they injure to a great extent ; and both have a simi-
lar four-winged parasite appropriated to them. In addition to
this statement, the following conjectures, in default of facts, may
be offered. It is probable that the barley-fly is a species of Ce-
cidomyia, distinct from the Hessian and the wheat flies. That it
is of the same genus may be conjectured from its attacking simi-
lar kinds of plants, and from its having a similar parasite. The
maggots of the Hessian fly live between the sheathing bases of
the lower leaves of the culms of the wheat ; but the barley in-
sects are found within the stems themselves, and lie concealed
beneath the thickened epidermis or outer skin of the straw.
Upon this essential difference in the mode of attack I ground my
belief that the two insects are not identical ; and this conjecture
is still further strengthened by the fact, that the parasite of the
barley insect is not the same species as that of the Hessian fly.
The barley midge (Cccidomyia? ccrcalis) of Europe, is said to
be very injurious, in some parts of Germany, to barley and spelt,
in the straw of which the larvae live in considerable numbers to-

DIPTERA. 437

gether, and by their attacks cause the stems to become warty,
notched, and crooked, and afterwards to perish. But the ac-
counts, given of this kind of insect by the Baron Kollar * and
others, do not entirely agree with the little that is known respect-
ing our insect.

We have reason to believe, that the maggots of the barley-fly
remain in the straw during the winter, and that they take the
winged form in the spring, in season to lay their eggs on the
young barley. It is therefore important to prevent them from
completing their transformations. This may be done by burning
the stubble, which contains many of the insects, in the autumn ;
by destroying, in the same way, all the straw and refuse which is
unfit for fodder ; and by keeping the grain in close vessels over
one year, whereby the insects, which are disclosed from the
small heavy pieces of straw remaining unwinnowed from the
grain, will perish without an opportunity to escape.

The wheat crops in England and Scotland often suffer se-
verely from the depredations of the maggots of a very small gnat,
called the wheat-fly, or the Cecidomyia Tritici of Mr. Kirby.
This insect seems to have been long known in England, as ap-
pears from the following extract from a letter, by Mr. Christo-
pher Gullet, written in 1771, and published in the "Philosophi-
cal Transactions " for 1772. " What the farmers call the yel-
lows in wheat, and which they consider as a kind of mildew, is,
in fact, occasioned by a small yellow fly, with blue wings, about
the size of a gnat. This blows in the ear of the corn, and pro-
duces a worm, almost invisible to the naked eye ; but, being seen
through a pocket microscope, it appears a large yellow maggot,
of the color and gloss of amber, and is so prolific that I distinctly
counted forty-one living yellow maggots in the husk of one single
grain of wheat, a number sufficient to eat up and destroy the
corn in a whole ear. One of those yellow flies laid at least eight
or ten eggs, of an oblong shape, on my thumb, only while carry-
ing by the wing across three or four ridges." In 1795, the his-
tory of this insect was investigated by Mr. Marsham,f and since

* Treatise, p. 124.

t " Transactions of the Linnean Society," Vol. III., p. 142, and Vol. IV., p. 224.

438 INSECTS OF MASSACHUSETTS.

that time Mr. Kirby,* Mr. Gorrie, and Mr. Shirreff,f have also
turned their attention to it. The investigations of these gentle-
men have become very interesting to us, on account of the re-
cent appearance, in our own country, and the extensive ravages,
of an insect apparently identical with the European wheat-fly.
The following account of the latter will serve to show how far
the European and American wheat-flies agree in their essential
characters and in their habits. | The European wheat-fly some-
what resembles a musquito in form, but is very small, being only
about one tenth of an inch long. Its body is orange-colored.
Its two wings are transparent, and changeable in color ; they are
narrow at the base, rounded at the tip, and are fringed with little
hairs on the edges. Its long antennae, or horns, consist, in the
female, of twelve little bead-like joints, each encircled with
minute hairs ; those of the male will probably be found to have a
greater number of joints. Towards the end of June, or when
the wheat is in blossom, these flies appear in swarms in the
wheat-fields during the evening, at which time they are very ac-
tive. The females generally lay their eggs before nine o'clock,
at night, thrusting them, by means of a long, retractile tube in the
end of their bodies, within the chaffy scales of the flowers, in
clusters of from two to fifteen, or more. By day they remain at
rest on the stems and leaves of the plants, where they are shaded
from the heat of the sun. They continue to appear and lay their
eggs throughout a period of thirty-nine days. The eggs are ob-
long, transparent, and of a pale buff color, and hatch in eight or
ten days after they are laid. The young insects, produced from
them, are little footless maggots, tapering towards the head, and
blunt at the hinder extremity, with the rings of the body some-
what wrinkled and bulging at the sides. They are at first per-
fectly transparent and colorless, but soon take a deep yellow or
orange color. They do not travel from one floret to another,
but move in a wriggling manner, and by sudden jerks of the body,
when disturbed. As many as forty-seven have been counted in

• " Transactions of the Linnean Society," Vol. IV., p. 230, and Vol. V., p. 96.
t Coudon's " Magazine of Natural History," Vol. II., p. 323, and 448.
t See also my article on wheat insects in the " New England Farmer," for
March 31, 1841, Vol. XIX., p. 306.

DIPTERA. 439

a single floret. It is supposed, that they live at first upon the
pollen, and thereby prevent the fertilization of the grain. They
are soon seen, however, to crowd around the lower part of the
germ, and there appear to subsist on the matter destined to have
formed the grain. The latter, in consequence of their depreda-
tions, becomes shrivelled and abortive ; and, in some seasons, a
considerable part of the crop is thereby rendered worthless.
The maggots, when fully grown, are nearly one eighth of an inch
long. Mr. Marsham and Mr. Kirby found some of them changed
to pupa;, within the ears of the wheat, and from these they ob-
tained the fly early in September. The pupa, represented by
them, is rather smaller than the full-grown maggot, of a brownish
yellow color, and of an oblong oval form, tapering at each end.
The pupse found in the ears were very few in number, scarcely
one to fifty of the maggots. Hence Mr. Kirby supposes, that
the latter are not ordinarily transformed to flies before the spring.
Towards the end of September he carefully took off the skin of
one of them, and found that the insect within still retained the
maggot form, and conjectures that the pupa is not usually com-
plete until the following spring. According to Mr. Gorrie, the
maggots quit the ears of the wheat by the first of August, descend
to the ground, and go into it to the depth of half an inch. That
they remain here unchanged through the winter, and finish their
transformations, and come out of the ground in the winged form,
in the spring, when the wheat is about to blossom, is rendered
probable from the great number of the flies found by Mr. Shir-
reff, in the month of June, in all the fields where wheat had been
raised the year before. The increase of these flies is somewhat
checked by the attacks of three different parasites, which have
been described by Mr. Kirby.

An insect, resembling the foregoing in its destructive habits,
and known, in its maggot form, by the name of " the grain-
worm," has been observed, for several years, in the northern
and eastern parts of the United States, and in Canada. It seems
by some to have been mistaken for the grain-weevil, the Angou-
mois grain-moth, and the Hessian fly ; and its history has been
so confounded with that of another insect, also called the grain-
worm, in some parts of the country, that it is difficult to ascer-

440 INSECTS OF MASSACHUSETTS.

tain the amount of injury done by either of them alone. The
wheat-fly is said to have been first seen in America about the
year 1828,* in the northern part of Vermont, and on the borders
of Lower Canada. From these places its ravages have gradually
extended, in various directions, from year to year. A consider-
able part of Upper Canada, of New York, New Hampshire, and
of Massachusetts have been visited by it ; and, in 1834, it ap-
peared in Maine, which it has traversed, in an easterly course, at
the rate of twenty or thirty miles a year. The country, over
which it has spread, has continued to suffer more or less from
its alarming depredations, the loss by which has been found to
vary from about one tenth part to nearly the whole of the annual
crop of wheat ; nor has the insect entirely disappeared in any
place, till it has been starved out by a change of agriculture, or
by the substitution of late-sown spring wheat for the other va-
rieties of grain. Many communications on this destructive insect
have appeared in " The Genesee Farmer," and in " The Culti-
vator," some of them written by the late Judge Buel, by whom,
as well as by the editors of " The Yankee Farmer," rewards
were offered for the discovery of the means to prevent its rav-
ages. Premiums have also been proposed, for the same end, by
the " Kennebec County Agricultural Society," in Maine, which
were followed by the publication, in " The Maine Farmer," of
three " Essays on the Grain Worm," presented to that Society.
These essays were reprinted in the seventeenth volume of the
" New England Farmer," wherein, as well as in some other vol-
umes of the same work, several other articles on this insect may
be found. From these sources, and, more especially, from some
interesting letters wherewith I have been favored by a lady lately
resident in Hopkinton, New Hampshire, the foregoing and fol-
lowing statements are chiefly derived. A continued series of
observations, conducted with care, and with a due regard to dates,
is still wanted to complete the history of the various insects
which are injurious to grain in this country. Could Mr. Herrick,

* Judge Duel's Report in " The Cultivator," Vol. VI., p. 26; and " New Eng-
land Farmer," Vol. IX., p. 42. Mr. Jewett says, that its first appearance in
western Vermont occurred in 1820. See " New England Farmer," Vol. XIX.,
p. 301.

DIPTERA. 441

who is so well qualified for the task, be induced to devote the
necessary time and attention to this subject, we have reason to
think that the interests of science and of agriculture would be
greatly promoted thereby.

The American wheat-insect, in its winged form, has not yet
fallen under my notice. It is stated by Judge Buel, Mrs. Gage,
and others, to agree exactly with the description of the Euro-
pean wheat-fly (Cecidomyia Tritici), being a very small orange-
colored gnat, with long slender legs, and two transparent wings,
which reflect the tints of the rainbow. Immense swarms of these
orange-colored gnats infest fields of grain towards the last of June.
While the sun shines they conceal themselves among the leaves
and weeds near the ground. They take wing during the morning
and evening twilight, and also in cloudy weather, when they lay
their eggs in the opening flowers of the grain. New swarms con-
tinue to come forth in succession, till the end of July ; but Mr.
Buel says that the principal deposit of eggs is made in the first
half of July, when late sown winter-wheat and early sown spring-
wheat are in the blossom or milk. The flies are not confined to
wheat alone, but deposit in barley, rye, and oats, when these
plants are in flower at the time of their appearance. The eggs
hatch in about eight days after they are laid, when the little yellow
maggots or grain-worms may be found within the chaffy scales of
the grain. Being hatched at various times during a period of
four or five weeks, they do not all arrive at maturity together.
Mrs. Gage informs me that they appear to come to their growth
in twelve or fourteen days. Specimens of these maggots, which
she has sent to me, were found to agree, in every respect, with
the descriptions and figures of those of the European wheat-fly.
They do not exceed one eighth of an inch in length, and are not
provided with feet. From two to fifteen or twenty have been
found within the husk of a single grain, and sometimes in every
husk in the ear. After a shower of rain they have been seen in
such countless numbers on the beards of the wheat, as to give a
yellow color to the whole field.* These insects prey on the
grain in the milky state, and their ravages cease when the grain

" New England Farmer," Vol. XII., p. 60.
56

442 INSECTS OF MASSACHUSETTS.

becomes hard. They do not burrow within the kernels, but live
on the pollen and on the soft matter of the grain, which they
probably extract from the base of the germs. It appears, from
various statements, that very early and very late wheat escape
with comparatively little injury ; the amount of which, in other
cases, depends upon the condition of the grain at the time when
the maggots are hatched. When the maggots begin their depre-
dations soon after the blossoming of the grain, they do the greatest
injury ; for the kernels never fill out at all. Pinched or partly
filled kernels are the consequence of their attacks when the grain
is more advanced. The hulls of the impoverished kernels will
always be found split open on the convex side, so as to expose
the embryo. This is caused by the drying and shrinking of the
hull, after a portion of the contents thereof has been sucked out
by the maggots. Towards the end of July and in the beginning
of August the full-grown maggots leave off eating and become
sluggish and torpid, preparatory to moulting their skins. This
process, which has been alluded to by Judge Buel and some other
writers, has been carefully observed by Mrs. Gage, who has sent
to me the maggots before and after moulting, together with some
of their cast skins. It takes place in the following manner. The
body of the maggot gradually shrinks in length within its skin, and
becomes more flattened and less pointed, as may easily be seen
through the delicate transparent skin, which retains nearly its
original form and dimensions, and extends a little beyond the in-
cluded insect at each end. The torpid state lasts only a few
clays, after which the insect casts off its skin, leaving the latter
entire, except a little rent in one end of it. This cast skin is
exceedingly thin, and colorless, and, through a microscope, is
seen to be marked with eleven transverse lines. After shedding
its skin, the maggot recovers its activity, and writhes about as at
first, but takes no food. It is shorter, somewhat flattened, and
more obtuse than before, and is of a deeper yellow color, with an
oblong greenish spot in the middle of the body. Within two or
three days after moulting, the maggots either drop of their own
accord, or are shaken out of the ears by the wind, and fall to the
ground. They do not let themselves down by threads, for they
are not able to spin. Nearly all of them disappear before the

DIPTERA. 443

middle of August ; and they are very rarely found in the grain at
the time of harvest. Some persons have slated that they are
transformed to flies in the ears of the grain, having probably mis-
taken the cast skins found therein for the shells of the chrysalis
or pupa. We have good reason for believing that the maggots
burrow in the ground, and remain there unchanged, in a torpid
state, through the winter. Whether, on the approach of spring,
they again cast oft' their skins, in order to become pupae, or
whether the skin hardens and remains as a shell to protect the
pupa, has not been determined ; but it is probable that the skin
is not cast off till the insect comes forth in the winged form.
The last change seems to occur in June and July, when great
numbers of the flies have been seen, apparently coming from the
ground, in fields where grain was raised the year before.

Several cases of the efficacy of fumigation in preventing the
depredations of these insects are recorded in our agricultural
papers.* For this purpose brimstone has been used, in the pro-
portion of one pound to every bushel of seed sown. Strips of
woollen cloth, dipped in melted brimstone, and fastened to sticks
in different parts of the field, and particularly on the windward
side, are set on fire, for several evenings in succession, at the
time when the grain is in blossom ; the smoke and fumes thus
penetrate the standing grain, and prove very offensive or destruc-
tive to the flies, which are laying their eggs. A thick smoke
from heaps of burning weeds, sprinkled with brimstone, around
the sides of the field, has also been recommended. Lime or
ashes, strown over the grain when in blossom, has, in some cases,
appeared to protect the crop ; and the Rev. Henry Colman, the
Commissioner for the Agricultural Survey of Massachusetts, says
that this preventive, if not infallible, may be relied on with strong
confidence. f For every acre of grain, from one peck to a bushel
of newly slacked lime or of good wood ashes will be required ;
and this should be scattered over the plants when they are wet
with dew or rain. Two or three applications of it have some-
times been found necessary. Whether it be possible to destroy

* Among others, see " The Cultivator," Vol. V., p. 13G.

< " Third Report on the Agriculture of Massachusetts," p. 67.

444 INSECTS OF MASSACHUSETTS.

the maggots after they have left the grain, and have betaken them-
selves to their winter quarters, just below the surface of the
ground, remains to be proved. Some persons have advised
burning the stubble, and ploughing up the ground, soon after the
grain is harvested, in order to kill the maggots, or to bury them
so deeply that they could not make their escape after they were
transformed to flies. Perhaps thoroughly liming the soil before
it is ploughed, may contribute to the destruction of the insects.
It is stated that our crops may be saved from injury by sowing
early in the autumn or late in the spring. By the first, it is sup-
posed that the grain will become hard before many of the flies
make their appearance ; and by the latter, the plants do not come
into blossom until the flies have disappeared. In those parts of
New England where these insects have done the greatest injury,
the cultivation of fall-sown or winter grain has been given up ;
and this, for some years to come, will be found the safest course.
The proper time for sowing in the spring will vary with the lati-
tude and elevation of the place, and the forwardness of the season.
From numerous observations, made in this part of the country, it
appears that grain sown after the fifteenth or twentieth of May
generally escapes the ravages of these destructive insects. Late
sowing has almost entirely banished the wheat-flies from those
parts of Vermont where they first appeared ; and there is good
reason to expect that these depredators will be completely starved
out and exterminated, when the means above recommended have
been generally adopted and persevered in, for several years in
succession.

Mrs. Gage has discovered another pernicious insect in the
ears of growing wheat. It seems to agree with the accounts
of the Thrips cercalium, which sometimes infests wheat, in
Europe, to a great extent. This insect belongs to the order
Hkmiptera. In its larva state, it is smaller than the wheat
maggot, is orange-colored, and is provided with six legs, two
antenna', and a short beak, and is very nimble in its motions. It
is supposed to suck out the juices of the seed, thus causing the .
latter to shrink, and become what the English farmers call pun-
gled. This little pest may probably be destroyed by giving the
grain a thorough coating of slacked lime.

DIPTERA. 445

Our agricultural papers contain some accounts of an insect or
of insects much larger than the maggots of the wheat-fly, growing
to the length of three eighths of an inch or more, and devouring
the grain in the ear, and after it is harvested. The insects to
which I allude have received the names of wheat-worms, gray-
worms, and brown weevils ; and, although these different names
may possibly refer to two or more distinct species, I am inclined
to think that all of them are intended for only one kind of insect.
Sometimes this has also been called the grain-worm ; whereby it
becomes somewhat difficult to separate the accounts of its history
and depredations from those of the Cecidomyia, or wheat-insect,
described in the foregoing pages. It may, however, very safely
be asserted that the wheat-worm of the western part of New-
York and of the northern part of Pennsylvania is entirely distinct
from the maggots of our wheat-fly, and that it does not belong to
the same order of insects. From the description of it, published
in the sixth volume of " The Cultivator,"* by Mr. Willis Gay-
lord, this depredator appears to be a caterpillar, or span-worm,
being provided with twelve feet, six of which are situated near
each extremity of its body. Like other span-worms, or Geome-
ters, it has the power of spinning and suspending itself by a
thread. Mr. Gaylord says that it is of a yellowish brown or
butternut color ; that it not only feeds on the kernel in the milky
state, but also devours the germinating end of the ripened grain,
without, however, burying itself within the hull ; and that it is
found in great numbers, in the chaff, when the grain is threshed.
He says, moreover, that it has been known for years in the west-
ern part of New York ; and that it is not so much the new ap-
pearance of this insect, as its increase, which has caused the
present alarm respecting it. The transformations and the appear-
ance of this insect in its perfected state have not yet been de-
scribed. Mr. Nathaniel Sill, of Warren, Pennsylvania, has given
a somewhat different description of it.f On threshing his winter-
wheat, immediately after harvest, he found among the screenings
a vast army of this new enemy. He says that it was a caterpillar,
about three eighths of an inch in length, when fully grown, and

* Page 43. t " The Cultivator," Vol. VI., p. 21.

446 INSECTS OF MASSACHUSETTS.

apparently of a straw-color ; but, when seen through a magnifier,
was found to be striped lengthwise with orange and cream color.
Its head was dark brown. It was provided with legs, could
suspend itself by a thread, and resembled a caterpillar in all its
motions. This insect ought not to be confounded with the
smaller worms found by Mr. Sill in the upper joints of the stems
of the wheat, and within the kernels, until their identity has been
proved by further observations. It appears highly probable that
Mr. Gaylord's and Mr. Sill's wheat-caterpillars are the same,
notwithstanding the difference in their color. Insects, of the
same size as these caterpillars, and of a brownish color, have
been found in various parts of Maine, where they have done much
injury to the grain. Unlike the maggots of the wheat-fly, with
which they have been confounded, they remain depredating upon
the ears of the grain until after the time of harvest. Immense
numbers of them have been seen upon barn-floors, where the
grain has been threshed, but they'soon crawl away, and conceal
themselves in crevices, where they probably undergo their trans-
formations. Mr. Elijah Wood, of Winthrop, Maine, says that
the chrysalis has been observed in the ehaff late in the fall.* A
gentleman, from the southern part of Penobscot county, informs
me that he winnowed out nearly a bushel of these insects from
his wheat, in the autumn of 18 10 ; and he confirms the statements
of others, that these worms devour the grain when in the milk,
and also after it has become hard. In the autumn of 1838, the
Rev. Henry Colman observed the same insect in the town of
Egremont, in Berkshire County, Massachusetts. It was separ-
ated from the wheat, in great quantities, by threshing and win-
nowing the grain, f These wheat-worms, or wheat-caterpillars,
as they ought to be called, if the foregoing accounts really refer
to the same kind of insect, are supposed by some persons to be
identical with the clover-worms, which have been found in clover,
in various parts of the country, and have often been seen spinning
down from lofts and mows where clover has been stowed away.J

* " New England Farmer," Vol. XVII., p. 73.

t " Second Report on the Agriculture of Massachusetts," p. 99.

} " New England Fanner," Vol. XVII., p. 73.

DIPTERA. 447

A striking similarity between them has been noticed by a writer
in the "Genesee Farmer."* Stephen Sibley, Esq., informs
me that he observed the clover-worms, in Hopkinton, New
Hampshire, many years ago, suspended in such numbers by their
threads from a newly gathered clover mow, and from the timbers
of the building, as to be very troublesome and offensive to
persons passing through the barn. He also states, that if he
recollects rightly, these insects were of a brown color, and about
half an inch long. I am sorry to leave the history of these wheat-
worms unfinished ; but hope that the foregoing statements, which
have been carefully collected from various sources, will tend to
remove some of the difficulties wherewith the subject has been
heretofore involved. The contradictory statements and unsatis-
factory discussions, that have appeared in some of our papers,
respecting the ravages of these worms and the maggots of the
wheat-fly, might have been avoided, if the writers on these in-
sects had always been careful to give a correct and full descrip-
tion of the insects in question. Had this been done, a crawling
worm or caterpillar, of a brownish color, three eighths or half of
an inch in length, probably provided with legs, and capable of
suspending itself by a silken thread of its own spinning, would
never have been mistaken for a writhing maggot, of a deep yellow
color, only one tenth of an inch long, destitute of legs, and unable
to spin a thread. When the transformations of the former are
known, and the insect is obtained in its winged or perfected state,
it will undoubtedly turn out to be a very different creature from
the tiny, orange-colored wheat-fly. Until its transformations are
ascertained, it will be of little use to speculate on the means to
be used against its ravages.

* " New England Farmer," Vol. XVII., p. 164.

448 INSECTS OF MASSACHUSETTS.

Having now arrived at the end of my work, I have only to add
a few remarks by way of conclusion. It has been my design to
present to the reader a sketch of the scientific arrangement of the
principal insects which are injurious to vegetation, not only in
New England, but in most of the United States. The descrip-
tions of the insects, being drawn up in familiar language, will
enable him to recognise them, when seen abroad, in all their forms
and disguises. The hints and practical details, scattered through-
out the work, it is hoped will serve as a guide to the selection
and the application of the proper remedies for the depredations
of the insects described. I regret that it has not been in my
power to do full justice to this important subject, which is far
from having been exhausted. My object, however, will have
been fully attained, if this treatise, notwithstanding its many faults
and imperfections, should be found to afford any facilities for the
study of our native insects, and should lead to the discovery
and the general adoption of efficient means for checking their
ravages.

INDEX.

Abdomen,

Achemon hawk- moth,

Acheta abbreviata,

nigra,

vittata,

Achetadse,

Acridium hemipterum,

sulphureum,

■ tuberculatum,

Acronycta,

Acronyctians (Acronyctad;

Acrydiuin,

alutaceum,

Awericanum,

feinorale,

femur-rubrum,

flavo-vittatuin,

laterale,

marginatum,

olivaceum,

ornatum,

- peregrinum,
viridifasciatum,

iEgeria Cucurbitse,

exitiosa,

Pyri,

tipuliformis,

iEgerians (Algeriadae),

Aglossa pinguinalis,

Agrioies.

Agriotidians (Agrotididas),

Agrotis acqua,

agricola,

aquilina,

devastator,

inermis,

latens,

messoria,

ocellina,

segetum,

suffusa,

telilera,

tessellata,

Tritici,

Alaus, .
Alder Sphinx,
Aleppo galls,
Alucita,

cerealella,

Alucita?,
American blight,

'),

135,

232,

Page

8,9
228
122
123
123

119, 120
147
143
142
316
316

139, 141
139
140
141
141
140
152
147
140
150
135
147
232
352
235
234
230
443
50
321
323
323

322, 324
324
323
324
324
324

322, 324
323
323
324
322
48
230
397
368
365
368
193

Ampelopsis. See Creeper
Anacampsis cerealella,
sarcitella,

Ancylonycha,
Angoumois grain- moth,
Anisopteryx,

yEscularia,

pometaria,

vernata,

Anomala atrata,

coelebs,

lucicola,

varians, .

vitis,

Antenna?,

Anthomyia canicularis,

ceparum,

radicum,

Raphani,

scalaris,

Page

361, 365

360

28

360, 365

332

332

333

332

31

31

31

31

26

8

414

415

4i5

415

414

414

218

Anthoinyians (Anthomyiadae),
Antiopa butterflv,

Ants, . "'189,191,369,370,371

Ants attend plant-lice, . 189, 191
Apate basillaris, . . 76

Apatela Aceris, . . 317

- Americana, . . 317

17
164, 186

57

Aphaniptera,
Apliidians (Aphididse),
Aphis,

Rosae,

Caryse,

lanigera,

radicum,

Salicti,

Aphrophora,
Apion rostrum,

Sayi,

Apple-tree borer,

188

190

190

193

190

191

182

59

59

89

buds attacked by moths, 347,

348
sphinx, . . 230

Apple-trees injured by American
blight,

bark-lice, 201.

canker-

worms,

193

203

334

caterpil-

lars, 261, 266, 274, 279, 308, 311
Apple-trees, other insects attack-
ing, . . . 48,97

450

INDEX.

Apple- worm,

Apples attacked by plum

Apples of Sodom,

Apricot bud-moth,

Aptera,

Arctia Acrea,

Americana,

Arge,

Caja, .

caprotina,

fuliginosa,

■ Hebe,

Isabella,

luctifera,

phalerata,

. Phyllira,

pudica,

punctatissima,

rubricosa,

Scribonia,

textor, .

Urticae,

Virginica,

— virgo,

Arctians (Arctiadae)
Areoda lanigera,
Arrhenodes,
Ash-tree borers,
Asilians (Asilida?),
Astasia torrefacta,
Asterias butterfly,
Atlas moth, .

moth of China

Attaci,
Attacus Atlas,

Cecropia,

Luna, .

Polyphemus

Promethea,

Attelabians (Attelabidse),
Attelabus analis,

bipustulatus,

Awl-bearer,
Azalea sphinx,

Bacteria arumatia,
— phyllina,
rubispinosa,

Page
351, 353
weevils, 351
398
349
17
251
246
244
24G
251
253
247
253
257
245
245
244
255
253
24G
255
24S
248
244
242
22
CU
231
407
317
212
237
281
239
237, 2-q
279
277
279
281
58
58
58
126
230

See Poplar-tree.

Baianinus,

Balia,

Balm of Gilead

Park-beetles,

Bark-lice, 157, 165, 198, 201,

enemies of,

on apple-trees,

■ on grape-vines,

to destroy,

Barley, injured by insects, 417,

Hurley midge,

Bat-ticks,

Beach-grass, use of, first pointed

out by Linneeui,
Bean. See Windsor bean.
Beans attacked by insects,

119
119
11!)
65
306

72

205
202
201
205
203
433
436
420

51

111

Page
Bear-eaterpillars, . 242, 247

Bee-flies, . . . 4u6

Bee-moth, . . . 357

Bees, . . 369, 370, 371

Beeswax devoured by moth- worms, 357
Beetles,
Belostoma,
Bird-flies,
Bittacomorpha,
Blackberry bush, its borer,
Black fly,
Blatta orientalis,
Blennocampa, .
Blight, American, .

of peach-trees, .

Blistering-beetles,

Bompoptera,

Bombyces, .

Bombylians (Bombyliadae),

Bombylius sequalis,

Bombyx,

Americana,

Cossus,

Mori,

Borers,

Bostrichians (Bostrichidae),

Bot-bees,

Bot-flies,

Bots,

Brenthians (Brenthidsn),

Brenthus maxillosus,

septemtrionis,

Bruchians (Bruchidae),
Bruchus pisi,
Bud-moths,
Bug, plant,

, squash,

Bugs, . . .

Buprestkms (Buprestidae),
Buprestis characteristica,

dentipes,

divaricata,

Drummondii,

femorata,

fulvoguttata,

lurida,

- obscura, .
Virginica,

Butterflies,

21,26
421
420
404
91
405
118
383
193
192
109
18, 388
239
406
406
239
•-'<;:.
297

41,7:

four-footed,

Button-wood caterpillars,
Button -wood trees bored by wood
wasps,

231

76

418

418

419

59

60

60

55

347

161

158

156, 158

40, 94

44

44

43

45

44

45

44

44

43

209, 210

216

259

390

Cabbage butterfly, •

^caterpillar,

cut-worm,

— plant-louse,

214

213,214

324

190

Cabbages injured by caterpillars, 328
Calandia, . . . 61, 69

granaiia, . ?<>

Oryzffl, . . 70

remotepunctata, . 70

Callidium, ... 82

INDEX.

451

Callidium bajulus,

violaceum,

Calliinorpha Carolina,

Clymene,

Colona,

Dominula,

Uonna,

Hera,

Jacobaea,

Lecontei,

militaris,

Parthenice,

Virguncula,

Calliphora vomitoria,
Calosonia scrutator,
Camel-crickets,
Canephora?,
Canker-worm,
Cantharides (Cantharididae),
Canthaiis atrata,

cinerea,

marginata,

vitlata,

Capricorn-beetles, . 77,

Capsus oblineatus,
Carolina sphinx,
Carpenter- moths,
Carpel-moth,
Carpocapsa Pomonella,
Carrot caterpillars,
Cassida aurichalcea,
Cassidadae,

Caterpillars are the young of but-
terflies and moths,

described,

, false,

, food of, . .

, habits of,

, injurious to gardens,

Page
83
83
243
243
243
243
243
243
243
243
243
244
244
412
34U
118
298
332
109
112
111
111
110
80,94
161
226
297
360
351
211
98
98

-, numbers of,
-, spiny,

transformations of,

, wheat,

Cecidomyia cerealis,

destructor,

Tritici, . 437

Cecidomyiadce,

Cedar (red), insects attacking,

Cedar-apples,

Celastrus. See wax-work plant.

Celtis sphinx,

Cephalemyia ovis,

Cephus, ,

206

206

. 373

206

. 207
247,
249

. 2(16
217

5, 208
445

. 436
422
441
42!
74
396

pygmaeus,

Cerambycida;,
Cerambyx,

cinctus,

- palliatus,
violaceus,

Ceraphron destructor
Cerasphorus,
Ceratocampa regalis,
Ceratocampians (Ceratocampadae)

230
420
373
373

77, 79, 80

79

81

92

83

432

81

287

287

Ceratomia quadricornis,
Cercopididae,
Cercopis ignipecta, .

obtusa, .

parallela,

quadrangularis,

Cerura,

borealis,

furcula,

Cetonia barbata, .

eremicola,

Inda,

Cetonians (Cetoniadse),

Chalcididae, . .

Chafers,

Chalcophora,

Charasas graminis,

Cheese -maggots,

Cheimatobia brumata,

Chelonia,

Cheloniaires,

Cherry-tree slug,

sphinx, .

(wild), its borer,

Cherry-trees, infested by calerp

lars,
Chionea valga,
Chlamys gibbosa,
Chloealtis,
Chlorops glabra, .

pumilionis,

Chcerilus sphinx,
Chcerocampa Chcerilus,

Pampinatrix,

versicolor,

Chrysalids,

Chrysobothris,

Chrysomela,

casruleipennis,

Polygoni,

scalaris,

trimaculata,

vitivora,

Chrysomelians (Chrysomeladae)

Chrysopa perla,
Chrysops ferrugatus,

viltatus,

Cicada,
Cicada, auletes,

blandula,

canicularis,

hieroglyphica,

pruinosa,

septendecim,

seventeen-year, . 165

tibicen, .

Cicadians (Cicadadte),
Cimbex Americana,

— Ulmi,

Cinara,

Clear-winged sphinx,
Clematis attacked by insects
Clisiocampa Americana,

Page
227
182
182
182
182
182
305
306
305
36
38
36
35
397
23,24
43
322
417
332
243
242
383
230
43
1-
266
4o4
109
148
417
417
230
230
229
230
7

44,45
99
108
108
107
107
105
99,
106
197
406
406
114
176
184
175
176
176
165
167
176
164
374
374
190
230
111
269

452

INDEX.

Clisiocampa castrensis,

Neustria,

silvatica,

Clostera Americana,

anastomosis,

Clothes moth,

Clover-worms,

Clypeus,

Clyllira dominicana,

quadrigultata,

Clytus flexuosus,

Hayii,

pictus,

speciosus,

CoccidaD,
Coccinella,
Coccus Adonidum,

arborum linearis,

conchiformis,

cryptogamua,

Hesperidum,

Cochenille,

Cock-chafer,

Cockroaches,

Codling-moth,

Coenomyia pallida,

Coleoptera,

Columbine roots destroyed by cat-

Page

268, 260, 272

. 267, 272

. 271

314

. 314

360

. 447

21

. 109

109

85

84

85

84

. 165, 198

. 196

199

. 201

2)1

. 203

199

198, 199

24

. 118

351

. 407

10,21

erpillars,
Comma butterfly,
Conocephalus dissimilis,

ensiger,

uncinatus,

Conopians (Conopidae),
Conops nigricomis,

sagitt;iria,

Conotrachelus iNemiphar,

variegatus,

Coreus, lineolaris,

incDstus,

ordinatus,

rugator,

tristis,

320
. 221
131, 1:52
131
. 132
410
. 410
410
66, 351
66
. 161
L58
. 158
158
. 158
Corn attacked by spindle-worms, 318

destroyed by caterpillars, 145,249

destroyed by cut-worms, 322,325

Corn-weevil, . . 69, 70

Cossus ligniperda, . . 297

Robiniae, . . 296

Crambidae, . . . 356, 357

Creeper attacked by insects, 180,223
Crickets, . . 119,121

Crioceiians (Criocerididae), 195

Crioceris bipustulata, . 104

Btriolata, . . • 103

trilineata, . . 95

Cryptocephalians (Cryptocephali-

dte), ... 108

Cryptocephalus luridus, . loo

Cuckoo-spit, . . 178,182

Cucuio, .... 4'.'
Cucumber-bug, . . KlO

Cucumber skippers, . . 125

Cucumbers, insects attacking, 100, 102,

103, 125

Curculio,

granarius,

bilaris,

iNenuphar,

Oryzae,

pales, .

Curculionidae,
Currant-bush borer,
Cut-worms, .
Cynipidte,
Cynips,

bicolor,

confluentus,

dichlocerus,

gal las tincloriae,

nubilipennis,

oneratus,

seminator,

semipiceus, .

Cynthia Atalanta,
Cardui,

Dahlia attacked by spindle-'
Dasychira leucophaea,
Deilephila Chamajnerii,

lineata,

Deiopeia bella,

pulchella, .

Delta-moths,

Dermaptera,

Desmocerus palliatus,

Uiapheromera,

Dicerca, .

Diplolepis,

Diptera, .

Ditula angustiorana,

Dog's-bane beetle,

Dor-bugs,

Dors,

Dryocarnpa bicolor, .

imperialis,

pellucida,

rubicunda,

senatoria,

stigma,

Earwig«,

Elapludion,

Elater appressifrons,

brevicornis,

cinereus,

communis,

noctilucus,

obesus,

occulatus,

Elateridffi,
Klder, its borer,
Elm caterpillars,
Elms, insects attacking1,

Page

til

70

62

66

70

62

61

234, 236

321

. 395

395

. 399

397

. 399

397

. 398

398

. 399

4(10

. 223

223

forms, 319

264

. 230

230

. 241

24)

. 343

18

92

119

43,44

397. 398

14,401

395

350

, 1(18

23,26

23, 26

2! 13

290

293

, 293

292

, 292

116

81
49
50
49
49
49
50
48
4li
92

219,220,222
KM), 107

Elm-tree, false caterpillars on it, 37;>

sphinx-caterpillar, . 227

Elm-trees bored by wood-wasps, 390
destroyed by canker-
worms, . . 334,341
Encyrtus, . . . 386

INDEX.

453

Erebus Strix,
Eriosoma,
Eristalis sincerus,
Ermine moths,
Euchales Egle,
Eudamus,

Tityrus,

Eudryas grata,

unio,

Eumenes,
Eumolpus auratus,
Euplexoptera,
Euiytoma destructor,

Hordei,

Eyed sphinx,
Eyes of insects,
Eyprepia,

Page
237

. r93

409

242, 2-1 s

257

. 223

223
. 310

310
. 410

108
18

432

. 436

. 230

8

. 243

False caterpillars, . . 373

Feather- winged moths, . . 368

Fir saw-fly, . . . 375

Fir-trees attacked by moths, • 350

destroyed by wood-wasps, 388

Fire-beetle, . . .49

Flea-beetles, . . 102

Flea tribe, . . 17, 420

Flesh-fly, ... 411

Flies, . . . .401

, flower, . . 414

, golden-eyed, . . 406

, how excluded from houses, 413

, parasitic, . . .411

Flower-beetles, . . 22, 35

Flower-flies, . . . 414

Fly, flesh, . . . 411

, golden-eyed lace-winged, 197

, hammer-headed, . . 417

, Hessian, . . 421

, house, . . . 413

, meat, . . . 412

, radish, . . . 415

, stable, ... 412

, viviparous, . .411

, wheat, . . . 437

Fly-weevil that destroys wheat, 365

Forficula, . . . 117

Frit-fly, . . . .417

. 178, 181

67, 351

Frog-hoppers,
Fruit, weevils in,

Fruit-flies, ... 416
Fruit-moth, . . . 351
Fruit-trees injured by beetles, 28,32,38
canker-
worms, . . . 334

cicadas, 172

Fruits contain maggots, . 416

Fur-moth, . . .360

Gad-flies, . . . 405

Galeruca Calmariensis, . 100

vittata, . . 100

Galerucians (Galerucadae), 99

Galleria cereana, . . 357

Gall-flies, four-winged, . 371, 395

Gall-flies, two-winged,

Gall-gnats,

Galls,

Gasterophilus equi, .

haiinorrhoidalis,

veterinus,

Page

. 416

421

370, 372, 395
419

419
419
Gastropacha Americana, . 273

Ilicifolia, . 273

Velleda, . . 274

Geometers (Geometrae), . 239, 330
Geometra catenaria, . . 331

Geometry, . . . 239, 330

Glaucopidians (Glaucopididse), 225, 236
Glaucopis Pholus, . . 240

Gnat, snow, . . . 404

, wheat, . . 437, 441

, wingless, . . . 404

Gnats, . . . 401,421

, long-legged, . . 404

, gall, ... 421

Gnophria rubricollis, . . 241

vittatse, . . 241

Goat-moths, . . . 297

Goldsmith-beetle, . . 22

Golden-rod, insects on, . 85,112

Goliah-beetle, . . 36

Gortyna flavago, . . 320

leucostigma, . 320

Zere, . . . 319

Grain-moths, . . 360,363

Grain-weevil, . . 69

Grain-worms, . . 439, 445

Grape-vine caterpillars, 228, 229, 309

leaf-hopper, . 183

Procris, . . 237

sphinx, . .228,229

Grape-vines injured by bark-lice, 205
by false cater-
pillars, . . . 378

other insects,

23,31,32, 104
Graspers, . . . 116, 1 18
Grasshopper, its growth and changes, 6
. See Locust.

Grasshoppers,

are locusts,

Gray worm,

Grease-moth,

Ground-beetles,

Grouse-locust,

Grubs,

Gryllidae,

Gryllotalpa brevipennis,

didactyla,

Gryllus, .

bivittatus,

chrysomelas,

— equalis,
erythropus,

maculatus,

migratorius,

sulphureus,

Virginianus,

Gymnodus scaber,

120, 125

114

. 445

343

22

150

10,21

120, 125

. 120

121

. J 19

140

. 147

144

. 141

126

135, 141

143

. 147

37

454

INDEX.

Hackberry sphinx,
Hag-moth,
Hair-moth,
Haltica chalybea,

Cucumeris,

pubescens, .

striolata,

Halticadse,
Hare bot fly,
Harlequin caterpillars
Harnessed moth,
Harpya Milhauseri,

Ulmi, .

Harvest-flies, 114

— , dog-day,
-, frosted,

atus

).

, leaping,

Hawk-moths,
Hazel-nut weevil,
Hedge-hog caterpillar,
Hegemon Goliatus,
Hemiptera, .

heteroptera,

homoptera,

Hemiptycha,

Hepialidse,

Hepiolus argenteomacul

Humuli,

Herminians (Herminiads
Hesperiada?,
Hessian fly,
Hickory borers,

caterpillars,

plant-louse,

Hippobosca equina, .
Hispa marginata,

quadrata,

rosea,

suturalis,

Hispadae,

Hog-caterpillar,

Ilomaloptera,

Homoptera,

Honey-dew,

Hop-vine caterpillars, 21

Hepiolus,

Horn-bugs, .
Horn-tailed wood-wasps
Horse-bot,
Horse-flies,
Humming-bird moths,
Hybernia defoliaria,

Tiliaria,

Hybemians (Hyberniadre),
Hydrocampa,
Ilyleco2tus Americanus,
Hylobiua,

. picivorus,

Hylurgus dmtatus, .

terebrans,

Hymenoptera,
Hypena Humuli

. rostralis,

llyphantria,

Page
. 230
304
. 360
104
. 103
103
. 103
102
. 420
255
. 245
306
. 306
157, 164, 165
. 175
176
. 177
209, 210, 225
65
252
36
. 11, 156
. 157
157, 164
179
. 294
295
. 294
344
. 2:22
421,422
41,44,81
257
. 190
420
97
97
97
98
97
229, 230
18
19, 157, 164
. 189
,220,221,344
. 294
38, 40
3,370,386
419

Hypogymna dispar, .

Page
261

1

Ichneumon-flies, 369, 370, 385, 391
Insects, structure of, . .4
, are produced from eggs, 5

Jumpers,

Kalmia sphinx,
Katydid,
Knot-grass beetle,

Lachnus,

Lackey caterpillars,

Lady-birds,

Lagoa opercularis,

Lamia titillator,

Lappet caterpillars,

Larva,

Lasiocampa Dumeti,

processionea

. 405

225

. 342

342

. 332

344

52

62

63

73

72

13, 369

. 345

345

. 255

Quercus,

Koboris,

Rubi, .

Trifolii,

Lasiocampians (Lasiocampads)

Lasioptera,

Laurel spbinx,

Lepidoptera,

Leaf-beetles,

Leaf-hopper of the rose,

Leaf-hoppers,

Leaf rollers,

Leptura,

picta,

Robinise,

Lepturians (Lepturadee),
Limacodes,

cippus,

Delphinii,

pithecium,

scapha

116, 119

230
127

108

190

267

196

265

87

273

7

265

284

265

265

265

265

265

424

230

12, 206, 20!)

94

. 382

178, 182

346

79

85

85

79, 92

. 302

303

. 303

304

. 303

Lime or linden tree, insects on, 107, 341
Linnaeus, anecdote respecting, 50

made natural history useful, 50

Liparians (Liparida.'),

Liparis,

Lithosians (Lithosiada;),

Locust,

grouse,

. See Cicada,

Locusts,

Locust-tree butterfly,

caterpillar,

260

. 260, 2(55

. 240

134

. 150

165

114,120, 132

•224

. 2-24

it,

boring caterpillars, 295

— other insects attacking

.V.i, 85,98, 179

Locust (honey) attacked by insects, 112
Locusta, . • • 139, 141

. 149

144

. 130

142

. 149

abortiva,
reqnalis,

— agilis,
• - Carolina,

— conspersa,

INDEX.

455

Locusta corallina,

curtipennis,

curvicauda,

eucerata,

- tasciata,
infuscata,

latipennis,

laurifolia,

leucostoma,

maritima,

marmorata,

mitral oria,

nebulosa,

oblongifolia,

perspicillata,

radiata,

sulphurea,

viridi-fasciata,

Locustadae, .
Loopers, .
Lopbocampa Caryae,

— maculata,

tessellaris,

Lophyrus Abbotii,

Abietis,

Americanus,

compar,

Loxotaenia Rosaceana,
LozotfEnia oporana, .
Lucanians (Lucanidae),
Lucanus Capreolus,

Dam a,

Lucilia Caesar,

Ludius,

Lycenians (Lycaenadce),

Lyda,

Lymexylidae,

Lymexylon navale,

sericeum,

Lytta atrata,
cinerea,

— vittata

Page

142

. 149

129

. 145

131

. 147

144

. 128

144

. 143

145

135, 141

14(3

. 128

128

. 148

143

. 147

120, 132

. 330

258

. 258

242, 260

. 37G

376

. 376

376

. 348

348

38

40

40

413

49

215

. 373

51

51

51

. 112

111

. 110

32

6
. 402

417
. 416

415

Macrodactylus subspinosa,
Maggot, its transformations,
Maggots,

, in cheese, .

fruit,

the human body,

meat, . ' 411, 412

radishes and turnips, 415

Mago-ots, rat-tailed, . . 409

, wheat, . 438, 439

Mamestra picta, . . 329

Mantes, . . . 118

Maple caterpillars, . . 317

Maple (sugar), its borer, . 84

Marshes, salt, insects injuring, 135

May-beetles, . . 23, 28
Meadows injured by insects, 25, 28, 50

Meal-moth, . . .343

Mealy-bug, ... 199

Melanotus, . . . 4!)

Mellophagus Ovis, . . 420

Fa go

Meloe angusticollis, . . 113

Melolontha, . . 23, 27, 30

subspinosa, . 32

variolosa, . . 30

Melolonthians (Melolonthadas), 24

Membracidas, . . . 178

Membracis acuminata, . 179

Ampelopsidis, 178, 181

bimaeulata, . 178, 179

binotata, . 178, 181

bubalus, . 178

camelus, . . 178

Cissi, . . 181

concava, . . 178

diceros, . . 178

— emarginata, . 178

latipes, . . 178

sinuata, . .178

taurina, . . 178

univittata, . 178, 180

vau, . . 178

Metamorphoses, . . . 5

Midas hiatus, . . 407

Midges, . . . 405,421

Milesia excentrica, . . 409
Milk-weed beetle,

caterpillars,

Mole-cricket,

Monohammus,

Mosquito, its transformations,

Mosquitos, . . 402,

Moth, origin of the word,

Moths, . . 209,210,237

in houses, how destroyed, 362

Moth-worms, . . 355, 361

Muck-worm, . . .28

Musca Caesar, . . 413

domestica, . . 413

Harpyia, . . 413

vomitoria, . . 412

Muscans (Muscadae), . 411

Mustard butterfly, . . 214

caterpillar, . 213,214

Mycetophilse, . . . 403

Mydas rilata, . . 407

Myopa migripennis, . .410

Myrmecophila, . . 125

Myrtle bark-louse, . .199

Nemeophila plantaginis, . 244

Nemobius, . . .123

Nepa, . . . 421

Nettle butterfly, . . .223

Neuroptera, ... 12

Neuter insects, . . . 370

Noctua clandestina, . . 327

devastator, . . 324

Noctuae, • . 239,315

Nonagrians (Nonagriada;), . 318

Notodonta concinna, . 309

unicornis, . . 307

Notodontians (Notodontadae), 301

Nut-weevil, . . .65

Nycteribia, . . . 420

106
255
120
87
5
403
355

456

INDEX.

Oak-apples,

Oak-pruner,

Oak-tree caterpillars, . 271

Oak-trees attacked by gallflies,

Oaks, other insects attacking

Oberea,
Ocelli,

OZcanthus niveus,
OZcophora granella,
O2dipoda,

discoidea,

OZstrians (OZlstridae),
Oestrus bovis,

buccatus,

Oiketikus,
Oil-beetles,
Omaloplia sericea,

vespertina,

Onion-fly,

Onions, destroyed by maggots,

Opsomala,

Orchelirauin gracile,

vulgare,

Orgyia antiqua,

leucostigma,

Ornithomyia,
Ortalidians (Ortalididse),
Orthoptera,

■ ambulatoria,

cursoria,

raptatoria,

saitatoria,

Oryssus,

aflinis, .

haemorrhoidalis,

rnaurus,

Sayii,

terminalis.

Oscinians (Oscinidaj),
Oscinis frit,

lineata,

Osmoderma eremicola,

scaber,

Ourapteryx Sambucari,

Owl-moth, great,

Owlet-moths,

Ox bot fly,

Oxya,

Pack-moth,

Palpi,

Pandeleteius,

l\i|>ilio Asterias,

Papiliones, . . . 209,

Parsley caterpillars,

Parsley-worms,

Pea-weevil,
Peach-tree borer,
in plum-trees,

Peach-trees injured by plant lice,

Page
397
81
,291,2.99
397
48,89,117,
1(58, 180
91
8
124
365
141
142
418
420
420
298
113
30
30
415
415
138
131
130
263
262
420
416
114
119
116
6, 118
16, 119
393
394
394
394
394
394
417,418
417
417
38
37
331
237
315
420
140

11,

16,

Pear-tree slug,

Pear-trees bored by wood-wasps,

injured by bark-lice,

, oiher insects attacking,

Pears, worms in,
Pease, insects attacking,
Pectinated antennae,
Pelidnota punctata,
Penthina comitana, .

luscana,

oculana,

Perophora Melsheimerii,

Petrophila,

Phalaenas,

anastomosis,

brumata,

vernata,

Phaneroptera angustifolia,
Philampelus Achemon,

Satellitia,

Phyllium pulchrif'olium,

siccif'olium,

Phyllophaga Iraterna,

Georgicana,

hiiticula,

pilosicollis,

quercina,

Phylloptera oblongil'olia,
Phytocoris campestris,
- lineolaris,

Pear-tree borer,

Tl

lrips,

360
8

62
212
210
211
211

54
2: 12

'J.Vj
187,
192
187
235

Page

383

389

203

22,

74

355

54

236

23

349

. 349

349

. 299

344

210, 237

315

. 332

332

. 129

228

. 228

119

. 119

29

29

29

29

28

. 128

163

. 161

10

. 369

391

. 391

375

. 230

350

Piercer,
Piercers,
Pimpla atrata,

lunator, .

Pine saw-flies,

Pine-tree sphinx,

Pine-trees attacked by moths,

by wood-wasps,

3! » 1,392
other insects at-
tacking them, 43. 45, 62, 63, 72,
73,74,80,83, 92
Piophila casei, . . 417
Pissodes, . . . .63
Plant-bug, . . • Ifil
Plant-lice. . 157, 164, 186, 187

. 190

cabbage,

— , downy,

, hickory,

, leaping, .

, peach-tree,

-, rose,

, willow,

, on roots, .

, how to destroy,

, their enemies,

Platygaster,

Platyomides,

Platyphyllum concavum,

Plum-tree warts.

Plum-trees attacked by the peach

tree borer,

lugs,

193

. 190

186

K-7, 19-2

190

. 191

191

. 195

196

340, 432

347

. 128
352

352
383

INDEX.

457

Plum-weevil,
PoBcilochroma comitana,
Polyphylla Melolontha,
variolosa,

Page

06, 351

. 349

30

30

213

219, 305, 313

Pontia oleracea,

Poplar-tree caterpillars,

Poplars, other insects attacking, 80. 88

Porthesia auriflua, . 261,265

chrysorrhsja, . 261, 265

Potato-fly, . . 110, 112

Potato-vines, insects attacking, 95, 110
111, 112,113,226

Potato-worm,
Potato (sweet), insects on,
Prionians (Prionidse),
Prionus brevicornis,

cylindricus,

laticollis,

unicolor,

Procris Americana,

ampelophaga,

Vitis,

Progne butterfly,

Psilura monacha,

Psyche,

Psychians (Psychadae), .

Psylla,

Pteromalus Vanessa?,

Pterophoridse,

Pterophorus,

Ptychoptera clavipes,

Pulex,

Pulicida?,

Pupa,

Purslane sphinx,

Pygasra ministra,

Pyralides,

Pyralis farinalis,

Pomana,

Pyrgota undata,
Pyrophorus, .

Radish-fly,

Radishes, injured by maggots,
Raphidophora maculata.
Rhagium decoloratum,

lineatum,

Rhipiptera,
Rhynchsenus,

Argula,

Cerasi,

nasicus,

nemorensis,

Nenuphar,

Strobi,

variegatus,

Rhynchites bicolor,
Rhynchophoridffi,
Rice-weevil,
Romalea,
Rose-bud moths,
Rose-bug,
Rose-bush galls,
plant-louse,

236,

226

98

79

79

80

79

80

241

'237

. 236

221

. 261

298

. 298

187

. 220

368

. 368

404

. 420

17

7

230

. 312

2.89, 343

. 343

351

. 409

49

. 415

415

. 126

93

93

17

61

68

. 68

66

63

66, 351

63

66

59

53

70

139

347, 350

32

399, 400

190

Rose-bush slug, .

attacked by beetles,

Runners,
Rustic-moths,
Rutilians (Rutiladae),

Sack-bearers,
Salt-marsh caterpillars,
Sand-flies,
Saperda,

bivittata,

calcarata,

tripunctata,

Sarcophaga Georgina,

Sarcophagans,

Sargus,

Sassafras-tree caterpillars,

Satellitia hawk-moth,

Saturnia Hera,

Io, .

Maia,

Proserpina,

Saturnians (Saturniadae),
Saw-flies,

Saw-horned beetles,
Scarabaeians (Scarabaeidae),
Scarabaeus Indus,

Melolontha,

relictus,

Scarlet grain,
Scientific names useful,
Scolytidaa,
Scolytus destructor,

Pyri,

terebrans,

Selandria barda,

Pygmaea,

Rosa?,

Tage

. 380

30, 32,

59

116

. 321

23

— Vitis,

298

248

405

88

89

88

91

412

412

409

280

228

286

284

285

285

. 276

369, 370, 371

40

21

. 36

30

28

198

19

72

. 73

75

72

380

. 380

380

378. 380

(Blennocampa) iEthiops,383
Cerasi, 383

5S

Semicolon butterfly,
Sesia diffinis,

pelasgus,

Sesias,

Shagbark. See Walnut.

Sheep bot-fly,

ticks,

Silk, native,
Silk-worm,
Simaethis,
Simulium molestum,

nocivum,

Siphonaptera,

Sirex Columba, .

Sitophilus,

Skippers,

Slug-caterpillars,

Slug-worm,

Slugs,

Smerinthi,

Smerinthus, .

excaecata,

219

230

. 230

225

. 420

420

276, 282

239, 275

. 343

405

. 405

17

. 389

70

210, 22-2

3(12

. 3-2

373, 379

. 225

230

. 230

458

INDEX.

Smerinthus Juglandis,

niyops,

Snout-beetles,

Snow-gnat,

Sodom, apples of,

Soldier flies,

Soothsayers,

Spanish-flies,

Span-worms,

Spectrum bivittatum,

femora turn,

Sphecomyia undata,

valida, .

Sphinges,

Sphinx Carolina,

cinerea, .

coniferarum,

drupiferarum,

Gordius,

Hylreus, .

Kalmias,

quinquemaculatus,

Sphyraeephala brevicornis

Spilonota comitana,

Spindle-worm,

Spinners,
Spring-beetles,

Squash-bug,

Squash-vine ./Egeria,

Squash-vines, insects injuring,

Stag-beetles,

Star-wort gall-fly,

Stauropus,

Stenocorus,

. — cinctus, .

cyaneus,

garganicus,

lineatus,

putator, .

Sting,

Stingers,

Stinging caterpillars,

Stomoxys calcitrans,

Stratiomyadae,

Stratiomys,

Strepsiptera,

Suture,

Swamp-apples,

Swamp-pink attacked by gall-fl

Syrpliiaiss (Syrphidii-),

Syrphus,

Syromastes,

Tabanus atratus,

circtus,

■ — lineola,

Tachina, .

vivida,

Tachinadce,

Tapestry-moth,

Tarsi,

Tent-making caterpillars,

Tcnthredinida>, .

Tenthredo Cerasi,

Page
230
230
Gl
404
398
403
118
109
330, 445
119
119
409
410
10, 225
22G
2-iO
230
230
230
230
230
227
417
349
318
239
46
158
232
158, 232
38
417
306
81
81
92
81
93
81
10
369
283
412
408
408
17
98
396
396
409
197
160

405
405
406
340
411
411
360
9
266
371
383

tea

Tephritis Asteris,
Tetrix,

bilineata,

dorsalis,

lateralis, .

ornata,

parvipennis,

quadrimaculata,

sordida, .

Tettigonia,

Fabae,

Vitis,

Tettigoniadae,
Thecla Favonius,

Humuli,

Thistle butterfly,

Thola,

Thorn hedges injured by

lars,
Thrips, .

, cerealium,

Thysanoptera,
Tibia,

Tiger moths,
Timber-beetles,
Tinea crinella,

- destructor,
flavifrontella,

— granella,

— Hordei,

-- mellonella,
- pellionella,
Pomonella,

tapetzella,

vestianella,

Tineae,
Tineans (Tineada;),
Tityrus skipper, .
Tomicus exesus,
Pini,

Tortoise-beetles,

Tortrices,

Tortrix cereana,

Trachypteris,

Tragocephala,

Transformations,

-, imperfect,

Tree-beetles,
Tree-hoppers,
Tremex Columba,
Trichius scaber,
Trichoptera,
Trochilium denudatum,
Truxalis,
Turnip butterfly,

caterpillar,

fly, .

Turnips, attacked by insects,

Turpentine-moths,
Tussock moths,

Unicorn moth,
Urocerida?,

Page

. 417
139,150

. 151
151

. 151
150

. 152
151

. 151
382
186
382

. 182
215, 216

. 216
223
198

183,
184.

caterpil-

264
. 187
449
18
9
242, 243
51
. 360
361
. 361
. 360, 363
. 365
357
. 360
351
. 360
360
239, 355
. 356,360
. 223
74
74
98
239, 346
357
45
146
5
115
22,23
178
. 389
37
18
232
. 133
214
213,214
102, 105
102, 105,
414
. 350
258, 261

. 307
38G

INDEX.

459

Urocerus abdominalis,

albicomis,

gigas, . .

Juvencus, .

nitidus,

Vanessa,

Antiopa,

C. album, .

C. argenteum,

Comma,

Interrogations,

Projjne,

Vanessians (Vanessiadas),

Vaporer moths,

Vine saw-fly,

Virgin's bower, insects on,

Visor,

Page

. 392

391

. 388

388, 392

. 391

218
. 218

221
. 22]

221
. 219

221
. 218

2G3
. 378

111
21

Walkers,
Walking leaves,
Walnut-tree beetles,

caterpillars,

sphinx,

Wasps,
Wax-moth,

. 116,119
. 119

76

277, 287

. 230

369, 370, 371

. 357

Wax- work plant attacked by insects, 181
Web- worms, . . 254
Weevils, . . 19,53
, brown, . . 445

Pago

Wheat injured by insects, 69, 363, 365,

417,421,437,439,444,445

caterpillar, . • 445

417,421,437

363, 365

. . 69

445

230

. 219

191

. 230

305

Wheat-flies,
Wheat-moths,
Wheat-weevil,
Wheat-worm,
Whortleberry sphinx,
Willow caterpillars,

plant-louse, .

Willow-herb sphinx,

Willow-tree caterpillars,

Windsor bean attacked by insects, 185

Wire-worms, . . .46

Wood-wasps, . . 386

Woolly bears, . . . 242

Xiphicera,
Xiphydria,

. albicornis,

mellipes,

Xyleutes Cossus,
Robiniae,

Yponomeutadae,
Ypsolophus granellus,

Zebra caterpillar,

Zeuzera, .

Zeuzerians (Zeuzeradce),

139

389, 392

392

. 393

297
. 297

356, 365
. 365

328

. 294
294