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fi C. EXPERIMENT STATfOfI
EDITOR'S PREFACE.
BY a resolve of the Legislature of Massachusetts, 1859, chap.
93, I was directed to issue a new edition of Dn Harris's
admirable Treatise on Insects Injurious to Vegetation, with suitable
additions and illustrations.
By a resolve of the Legislature of 1861, chap. 80, I was author-
ized to use the plates prepared for the illustration of the edition
for the Commonwealth, in the publication of one or more editions
designed for a wider circulation than that for the State could be
expected to have.
It was thought best to insert the additions contemplated in
the resolve, in the form of foot-notes. No alterations have been
made in the author's language, and the additional notes are en-
closed in brackets to distinguish them from those in the former
editions. Large additions h^ve been made to the text, however,
from the author's own manuscripts. These will be found exclu-
sively in the chapter upon the butterflies. In giving a somewhat
wider significance to the title, I have but carried out the plan
adopted by the author in his last revision of the work.
Professor Louis Agassiz very kindly offered to supervise the
drawings, comparing them with the original specimens before en-
graving. It is believed that very great scientific accuracy has
thus been secured in the illustrations. Special acknowledgments
are due to Professor Agassiz for this valuable service, and also for
assistance rendered by way of suggestion and advice throughout.
Acknowledgments are also due to the following gentlemen, who
have contributed notes on the subjects named : — Dr. John L.
Leconte, of Philadelphia, on the Coleoptera ; Philip R. Uhler,
IV EDITOR'S PREFACE.
Esq., of Baltimore, on the Orthoptera and Hemlptera ; Dr. Jolia
G. Morris, of Baltimore, on the Lepidoptera ; Edward Norton,
Esq., of Farraington, Connecticut, on the Hymenoptera ; and Baron
R. Osten Sacken, Secretary of the Russian Legation at Washing-
ton, on the Diptera. These distinguished entomologists have made
specialties of the orders on which they have had the kindness to
furnish notes, and their contributions have added much to the
completeness of the work. I am greatly indebted, also, to Mr.
Alex. E. R. Agassiz for very valuable services, and to Mr. Fran-
cis G. Sanborn, whose enthusiasm in making collections, and oth-
erwise promoting the progress of the work, has continued unabated
from the first. Also to Messrs. James M. Barnard and Edward
S. Rand, Jr., who have devoted much time and thought to the
details of the work. Many individuals have aided by presenting
or lending specimens for illustration, or otherwise, and among them
should be mentioned; in addition to the above, Messrs. S. H. Scud-
der, of Boston, and J. H. Treat and J. O. Treat, of Lawrence.
To prevent any misconception, it should be stated that, in the
specimens from which figures 109, 111, 112, 113, 115, 116,
117, 126, 127, 128, 129, and 130 were drawn, the second pair
of feet were displayed instead of the first, and that in figure
114 the fore foot should have been omitted.
The drawings for the steel plates were made by Mr. Antoine
Sonrel ; those for the wood-cuts by the Messrs. Sonrel and J.
Burckhardt. The engraving as well as coloring of the steel
plates is the work of Mr. John H, Ilichard ; the engraving on
wood, that of Mr. Henry Marsh. The work of these artists
needs no comment. The printing has been done by Messrs.
Welch, Bigelow, & Co., of the University Press, Cambridge.
This also speaks for itself.
No labor has been spared to secure the utmost accuracy and
perfection in every respect, and it is hoped and believed that the
objects of the Legislature in ordering a new edition of this valu-
able treatise have been fully accomplished,
CHARLES L. FLINT,
Secretary of the, Stale Board of Agriculture.
Boston, January, 1862.
AUTHOR'S PREFACE.
THE first edition of this work was printed in the year 1841.
It formed one of the scientific Reports, which were pre-
pared and pubUshed by the Commissioners on the Zoological and
Botanical Survey of Massachusetts, agreeably to an order of the
General Court, and at the expense of the State. The Commis-
sion for this Survey bore the date of June 10th, 1837 ; and the
following instructions from his Excellency, Governor Everett, ac-
companied it : —
" It is presumed to have been a leading object of the Legisla-
ture, in authorizing this Survey, to promote the agricultural benefit
of the • Commonwealth, and you will keep carefully in view the
economical relations of every subject of your inquiry. By this,
however, it is not intended that scientific order, method, or com-
prehension should be departed from. At the same time, that
which is practically useful will receive a proportionally greater
share of attention, than that which is merely curious ; the promo-
tion of comfort and happiness being the great human end of all
science."
Upon a division of duties among the Commissioners, the depart-
ment of Insects was assigned to me. Some idea of the extent
of this department may be formed by an examination of my Cata-
logues of ttie Insects of Massachusetts, appended to the first and
second editions of Professor Hitchcock's Report, in which above
2,300 species were enumerated ; and these doubtless fall very far
short of the actual number to be found within this Commonwealth.
vi AUTHOR'S PREFACE.
In entering upon my duty, I was deterred from attempting to
describe all these insects by the magnitude of the undertaking,
and by the consideration that such a work, much as it might pro-
mote 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. The subject and the plan of my Report were sug-
gested by the instructions of the Governor, and by the want of a
work, combining scientific and practical details on the natural his-
tory of our noxious insects. From among such of the latter as
are injurious to plants, I selected for description chiefly those that
were remarkable for their size, for the peculiarity of their struc-
ture and habits, or for the extent of their ravages ; and these
alone will be seen to constitute a formidable host. As they are
found not only in Massachusetts, but throughout New England, and
indeed in most parts of the United States, the propriety of giving
to the work a more comprehensive title than it first bore, becomes
apparent. This was accordingly done in the small impression
that was printed at my own charge, while the original Report was
passing through the press, and in which some other alterations
were made to fit it for a wider circulation.
In the course of eight years, all the copies of the Report, and
of the other impression, were entirely disposed of. Meanwhile,
some materials for a new edition were collected, and these have
been embodied in the present work, which I have been called
upon to prepare and carry through the press.
Believing that the aid of science tends greatly to improve the
condition of any people engaged in agriculture and horticulture,
and that these pursuits form the basis of our prosperity, and are
the safeguards of our liberty and independence, I have felt it to be
my duty, in treating the subject assigned to me, to endeavor to
make it useful and acceptable to those persons whose honorable
employment is the cultivation of the soil.
T. W. 11.
Cambridge, Mass., Oct. 15, 1862.
CONTENTS.
CHAPTER I
INTRODUCTION.
Insects defixed. — Brain and Nerves. — Air-pipes and Breath-
ing-holes. — Heart and Blood. — Insects are produced from
Eggs. — Metamorphoses, or Transformations. — Examples of
Complete Transformation. — Partial Transformation. — Lar-
va, OR Infant State. — Pupa, or Intermediate State — Adult,
OR Winged State. — Head, Eyes, Antennae, and Mouth. — Tho-
rax OR Chest, Wings, and Legs. — Abdomen or Hind-body,
Piercer, and Sting. — Number of Insects compared with Plants.
— Classification ; Orders ; Coleopteea ; Orthoptera ; Hemipte-
ea; Neuroptera; Lepidoptera; Hymenoptera; Diptera; Other
Orders and Groups. — Remarks on Scientific Names. . . 1-22
CHAPTER II.
COLEOPTERA.
Beetles. — Scarab^ians. — Ground-Beetles. — Tree-Beetles. —
Cockchafers or May-Beetles. — Flower-Beetles. — Stag-Bee-
TLES. — BUPRESTIANS, OR SaW-HORNED BoRERS. — SpRING-BeETLES.
Timber-Beetles. — Weevils. — Cylindrical Bakk-Beetles. —
Capricorn-Beetles, or Long-horned Borers. — Leaf-Beetles. —
Criocerians. — Leaf-mining Beetles. — Tortoise-Beetles. —
Chrysomelians. — Cantharides. 23-140
CHAPTER III.
ORTHOPTERA.
Earwigs. — Cockroaches. — Mantes, or Soothsayers. — Walking-
Leaves. — Walking-Sticks, or Spectres. — Mole-Cricket. —
Field Crickets. — Climbing Cricket. — Wingless Cricket. —
Grasshoppers. — K.\ty-did. — Locusts. 141-191
Vlll CONTENTS.
CHAPTER I Y.
HEMIPTERA.
Bugs. — Squash-Bug. — Chinch-Bug. — Plant-Bugs. — Haevest-Flies.
— Tree-Hoppeks. — Leaf-Hoppers. — Vine-hopier. — Bean-Hop-
per — Thrips. — Plant-Lice. — American Blight. — Enemies of
Plant-Lice. — Bakk-Lice. 192-256
•
CHAPTER V.
LEPIDOPTERA.
Caterpillars. — Butterflies. — Skippers. — Hawk-Moths. — .^geri-
' ANS OR Boring-Caterpillars. — Glaucopidians. — Moths. — Spin-
ners. — Lithosians. — Tiger-Moths. — Ermine-Moths. — Tussock-
Moths. — Lackey-Moths. — Lappet-Moths. — Saturnians. — Ceea-
TocAMPiANS. — Carpenter-Moths. — Psychians. — Notodontians. —
Owl-Moths. — Cut- Worms. — Geometers, or Span-Woems, and
Canker- Worms. — Delta-Moths. — Leaf-Rollers — Bud-Moths. —
Fruit-Moths. — Bee-Moths. — Corn-Moths. — Clothes-Moths. —
Feather- WINGED Moths. 257-511
CHAPTER VI.
HYMENOPTERA.
Stingers and Piercers. — Habits of some of the Hymenoptera.
— Saw-Flies and Slugs. — Elm Saw-Fly. — Fir Saw-Fly. — Vine
Saw-Fly. — Rose-bush Slug. — Pear-Teee Slug. — Horn-tailed
Wood- Wasps. — Gall-Flies. — Chalcidians. — Baeley Insect and
Joint- Worm. 512-561
CHAPTER Y 1 1 .
DIPTERA.
Gnats and Flies. — Maggots, and their Transformations. — Gall-
Gnats. — Hessian Fly. — Wheat-Fly. — Remarks upon and De-
scriptions OF some other Dipterous Insects. — Radish-Fly. —
Two-winged Gall-Flies, and Fruit-Flies. — Conclusion. . 562-626
APPENDIX. — The Army- Worm 627-630
INDEX 631-640
EXPLANATION OF PLATES
Fig.
PLATE I . (Frontispiece.)
Nepa apiculata 12
Agrion basalis , 12
Mutilla coccinea 15
Asilus (Erax) aestuans, Linn 17
Cassida (Coptocycla) aurichalcea, Fab 122
Locusta (CEdipoda) sulphurea, i^a6 . 177
Nymphalis Arthemis, Brur 283
PLATE II. (Page 23.)
Fig. 1. Eumolpus auratus, Fab. .
'' 2. Chrysobothris (Trachypteris) Harrisii,
" 3. Galernca vittata, Fab. .
" 4. Coccinella novemnotata
'' 5. Haltica chalybea, Jlllff. .
" 6. Attelabus bipustulatus, Fab.
" 7. Dicerca (Stenurus) divaricata, Say
" 8. Sitopliilus Oryzce, Linn.
" 9. Chrysomela trimaculata, Fab.
" 10 Clytus flexiiosus, Fab.
" 11. Callidiuin antennatum, Newm.
" 12. Hylotrupes bajulus, Linn. .
" 13. Saperda ( Compsidea) tridentata, Oliv
" 14. Omaloplia (Serica) vespertina, (r^W.
" 15. Clytus speciosus, Say
" 16. Saperda Candida, Fab.
" 17. " ' " Larva .
•' 18. Desmocerus cyaneus, Fab.
" 19. Saperda vestita, Say
'' 20. Areoda (Cotalpa) lanigera, Linn.
" 21. Saperda (Anaerea) calcarata, Say .
Hentz
134
51
124
246
129
66
48
83
132
103
100
100
111
33
101
107
108
115
109
24
106
PLATE III. (Page 141
Fig. 1. Locusta (Chloealtis) curtipennis
" 2. Locusta (Tragocephala) viridi-fasciata, De Geer
b
184
182
X EXPLANATION OF PLATES.
Fig. 3. Locusta (CEdipoda) Carolina, Z«wn. 176
•' 4. Aphis mali 235
" 6. Tettigouia (Erythroiieura) vitis 22"
" 6. Clastoptera proteus 225
" 7. Cicada septendecim, Linn 211
" 8. Chrysopa euryptera, Burm 247
" 9. " " Larva and cocoon 247
f L A T E IV. Page 257.)
Fig. 1. Vanessa (Grapta) comma, Ilarr 300
" 2. " " '• Vacant chrysalis ... 301
" 3. Thecla Hamuli, Barr 276
" 4. Papilio Asterias, Fab. $ 265
" 5. " " 9 265
" 6. " " Larva 263
" 7. " " Chrysalis 264
PLATE V. (Page 318.)
Fig. 1. Eudamus (Goniloba) Tityrus, Smith 310
" 2. Philampelus Satellitia, Linn 325
" 3. Philampelus Achemon, Drury 326
" 4. Choerocampa (Darapsa) pampinatrix, Smith .... 327
" 5. iEgeria (Ti-ochilium) Pyri, Harr 335
" 6. " " exitiosa, Say $ 331
" 7. " " " Vacant chrysalis . . . 332
" 8. " " Cucurbitse, Harr 331
Fig. 1.
" 2.
" 3.
" 4.
" 5.
" 6.
9.
10.
11.
12.
PLATE VI. (Page 340.)
Lophocampa (Halesidota) Caryse, Harr. Larva
" " " Cocoon
Deiopeia bella, Drury
Perophora Melsheimerii, Harr. Larva Case
Pygsera (Datana) ministra, Drury .
Eudryas grata, Fab. Larva
'* " Imago .
Arctia (Spilosoma) acrea, Drury ^
11 (1 (I p
Notodonta (Pygoera) concinna, Smith
Clostera Americana, Harr.
361
362
342
415
415, 417
430
427
427
354
354
426
433
Fig.
PLATE VII. (Page 376.)
Orgj'ia leucostigma, Smith. Lai-va ....
" " 9 after depositing eggs
Cocoon and eggs .
367
. 367
367, 368
. 367
EXPLANATION OF PLATES.
XI
Fig. 6.
10.
11.
12.
13.
14.
15.
16.
17.
18.
19
Tinea granella. Larva
" " Wheat attacked by
Pyralis farinalis, Hnrr
Gortyna Zeae, Harr
Hyphantria (Spilosoma) textor. Cocoon
" " " Pupa .
" " " Young larva
Clisiocampa Americana, Harr. Larva
c? . .
" " Vacant cocoon
" " Cluster of eggs
SSI
Clisiocampa silvatica, Harr.
Larva
49r
497
475
439
358
358
,358
371
372
372
370
372
376
375
Fig. 1.
" 2.
" 3.
" 4.
" 5
" 6.
" 7.
" 8.
" 9.
" 10.
" 11.
" 12.
PLATE VIII. (Page 512.)
Tachina vivida, Harr.
Gasterophilus (Gastrus) Equi, Linn.
Lophyrus Abietis, Harr. $
" " " antenna
Cynips dichlocerus. Natural size .
" " Magnified
" " Gall on Rose-bush
Cynips confluens. Galls on oak-leaf
Cimbex Ulmi.
Cocoon
$
. 612
623
. 520
520
. 520
549
. 549
549
. 546
546, 547
. 519
518
Note. — The hair-line at the side of a cut shows its natural size.
INSECTS
INJUEIOUS TO VEGETATION.
CHAPTER I.
INTRODUCTION.
Insects defined. — Brain and Nerves. — Air-pipes and Beeatiiing-holes.
— Heart and Blood. — Insects are produced from Eggs. — Metamor-
phoses, OR Transformations. — Examples of Complete Transforma-
tion. — Partial Transformation. — Larva, or Infant State. — Pupa,
or Intermediate State. — Adult, or Winged State. — Head, Eyes,
Antenn.e, and Mouth. — Thorax or Chest, Wings, and Legs. — Abdo-
men OP. Hind-body, Piercer, and Sting. — Number of Insects compared
with Plants. — Classification ; Orders ; Coleoptera ; Orthoptera •
Hemiptera; Neuroptera; Lepidoptera; Hymenoptera; Diptera; Other
Orders and Groups. — Remarks on Scientific Names.
THE benefits which we derive from insects, thouoh
neither few in number nor inconsiderable in amount,
are, if we except those of the silk-worm, the bee, and the
cochineal, not very obvious, and are almost entirely 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. A familiar acquaint-
ance with our insect enemies and friends, in all then- forms
and disguises, will afford us much help in the discovery
and proper application of the remedies for the depredations
of the former, and will tend to remove the repugnance
wherewith the latter are commonly regarded.
Destructive insects have their appointed tasks, and are
limited in the performance of them ; they are exposed to
I
2 INTRODUCTION.
many accidents through the influence of the elements, and
they fall a prey to numerous animals, many of them also
of the insect race, which, while they fulfil their own part
in the economy of nature, contribute to prevent the midue
increase of the noxious tribes. Too often, by an unwise
interference with the plan of Providence, we defeat the
very measures contrived for our protection. We not only
suffer from our own carelessness, but through ignorance
fall into many mistakes. Civilization and cviltivation, in
many cases, have destroyed the balance originally exist-
ing between plants and insects, and between the latter and
other animals. Deprived of their natural food by the
removal of the forest trees and shrubs, and the other
indigenous plants that once covered the soil, insects have
now no other resource than the cultivated plants that have
taken the place of the original vegetation. The destruc-
tion of insect-eating animals, whether quadmpeds, birds,
or reptiles, has doubtless tended greatly to the increase of
insects. Colonization and commerce have, to some extent,
introduced foreign insects mto countries where they were
before unknown. It is to such causes as these that we
are to attribute the unwelcome appearance and the undue
multiplication of many insects in our cultivated grounds, and
even in our store-houses and dwellings. We have no reason
to believe that any absolutely new insects are generated or
created fi'om time to time. The supposed new species, made
known to us first by then' unwonted depredations, may have
come to us fi'om other parts, or may have been driven by the
hand of im})rovcment fi'om their native haunts, where here-
tofore the race had lived in obscurity, and thus had escaped
the notice of man.
To luiderstand the relations that insects bear to each other
and to other objects, and to leam how best to check the
ravages of the noxious tribes, we must make ourselves thor-
oughly acquainted with the natural history of these animals.
This subject is particularly important to all persons who are
INSECTS. — GENERAL CHARACTERISTICS. 3
interested in agricultural pursuits. For their use, chiefly,
this account of the principal insects that are injurious to
vegetation in New England, has been prepared. It has
been thought best to prefix thereto some remarks on the
structm'e and classification of insects, to serve as an intro-
duction to the succeeding chapters, and, in some measure,
to supply the want of a more general and complete work
on this branch of natural history.
The Avord Insect, which, in the Latin language, fi'om
whence it was derived, means cut into or notched, Avas
designed to express one of the chief characters of this
gi'oup 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
marrow, 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 directions. 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 throuoh little
holes, called spiracles, generally nine in number, along each
side of the body. Some, hoAACver, 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, ha\ang little holes on each
side for the admission of the juices of the body, which are
prevented fi'om escaping again by valves or clappers, formed
to 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, Avhich is a colorless or yellow fluid, does not cir-
4 INTRODUCTION.
ciilate in proper arteries and veins ; but is driven from the
fore part of the heart into the head, and thence escapes into
the body, Avliere it is mingled Avith the nutritive juices that
filter through the sides of the intestines, and the mingled
fluid penetrates the crevices among the flesh and other in-
ternal 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.
Insects are never spontaneously generated from putrid ani-
mal or vegetable matter, but are produced fi'om eggs. A
few, such as some plant-lice, do not lay their eggs, but re-
tain them within their bodies till the young are ready to
escape. Others invariably lay their eggs where their yomig,
as soon as they are hatched, will find a plentifril 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 metamorjjJioses, 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 caterpillar-skin, and pre-
sents 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 distinct
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
Avings 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.
The little fish-like animals that swim about in vessels of
stagnant water, and devour the living atoms that swarm in
the same situations, soon come to matmity, cast their skins,
TRANSFORMATION OF INSECTS. 5
and take another form, wherein they remain rolled up like a
ball, and either float at the surface of the water, for the pur-
pose of breathing through the two timnel-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 transformation ; the skin splits
on the back between the breathing-tubes, the head, feody, 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 ele-
ment, 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, Avhile 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
%'iands of our tables, or sip the liquid contents of our cups.
Caterjsillars, grubs, and maggots undergo a complete trans-
formation in coming to maturity ; but there are other insects,
such as crickets, grasshoppers, bugs, and plant-lice, Avhich,
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 un-
able to move from place to place in any other way than by
6 INTRODUCTION.
the use of its legs ; as it grows larger it is soon obliged to
cast off its skin, and, after one or two moul tings, its body
not only increases in size, but becomes proportionally longer
than before, while little stump-like wings begin to make their
appearance on the top of the back. After this, the grass-
hopper continues to eat voraciously, grows larger and larger,
and hops about without any aid fi'om its short and motion-
less wirfgs, 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 ma-
ture 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, powers, 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 gimbs, cat-
erpillars, 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 be-
fore 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 iisually
cast off their skins repeatedly.
The second period — wherein those insects that undergo a
partial transformation retain their activity and their appe-
tites for food, continue to grow, and acquire the rudiments
of Avings, while others, at this age, entirely lose their larva
form, take no food, and remain at rest in a deathlike sleep —
is called the pupa state, from a slight resemblance that some
of the latter present to an infant trassed in bandages, as was
the fashion among the Romans. The pupae fi'om caterpillars,
however, are more commonly called chrysalids, because some
of them, as the name imphes, are gilt or adorned with golden
ORGANS OF INSERTS DESCRIBED. 7
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 fiiHy grown, and (with few exceptions) provided
with wings. Thus they enter upon their last or adult state,
wherein they no longer increase in size, and during which
they provide for a continuation of their kind. This period
usually lasts only a short time, for most insects die imme-
diately after their eggs are laid. Bees, wasps, and ants,
however, which Hve 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 tlie 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 rino<;s or segments,
the thorax not being distinctly 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 num-
ber, 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 larvse,
and of the active pupae of those insects that undergo an
imperfect transformation. INIoreover, 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, catei^pillars, and of other completely trans-
forming larvae, are not compound, but consist 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 a>itcHnce,
8 INTRODUCTION.
corresponding, for the most part, in situation, with tlie ears
of other animals, and supposed to be connected with the
sense of liearing, 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 or chewing,
that of others for taking the food only by suction. The
biting-insects have the parts of the mouth variously modified
to suit the nature of the food ; and these parts are, an upper
and an mider lip, two nippers or jaws on each side, moving
sidewise, and not up and down, and four or six little jointed
members, called j!;a/pi or feelers, whereof two belong to the
lower lip, and one or two to each of the lower jaws. The
mouth of sucking-insects consists essentiallv 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 recognized. Thus
the jaws of catei'pillars are transformed to a spiral sucking-
tube in Imtterflies and moths, and those of maggots to a
hard proboscis, fitted for piercing, as in the mosquito and
horse-fly, or to one of softer consistence, and ending A\dth
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 posi-
tion 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 tnose that are subject
BASIS OF CLASSIFICATION. 9
only to a partial transformation. The parts of the legs are the
liij>-joint, by which the leg is fastened to the body, the thio-h,
the shank (tibia), and the foot, the latter consisting some-
times of one joint only, more often of two, three, four, or five
pieces (tarsi), connected end to end, like the joints of the
miger, and armed at the extremity Avith one or two claws.
Of the larvae that midergo a complete transformation, mag-
gots and some others are destitute of legs ; many gmbs have
six, namely, a pair beneath the under-side of the first three
segments, and sometimes an additional fleshy prop-leg under
the hindmost extremity ; caterpillars and false caterpillars
have, besides 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 many winged or adult insects are provided. The
piercer is sometimes 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 scab-
bard, containing a central borer, or instruments like saws, de-
signed 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, connected wherewith
in the inside of the body is a bag of venom or poison. The
parts belonging to the abdomen of larvie are various, 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 tQO 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 1,200
2
10 INTRODUCTION.
flowering plants in Massachusetts, and it -will be within
bounds to estimate the species of insects at 4,800, or in the
proportion of four .to one plant. To facilitate the study of
such an immense number, some kind of classification is neces-
sary ; it will be useful to adopt one, even in describing the
few species noAv before us. The basis of this classification is
fomided upon the structure of the mouth, in the adult state,
the number and nature of the wings, and the transfoiinations.
The first great divisions are called orders, of which the fol-
lowing seven are very generally adopted by natui'ahsts.
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. Trans-
formation 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
injurious to vegetation. The tiger-beetles [Cicindeladce*), the
predaceous ground-beetles (Carabidce), the diving-beetles (Di/tis-
cidce), the lady-birds (^ Cocci nelladts), and some others, are erai-
Fic. 1 nently serviceable by preying upon caterpillars,
w -rf plant-lice, and other noxious or destructive insects.
? ! L SbC- The water-lovers {Hydrophilidee), rove-beetles {Sta-
phylinidce), carrion-beetles {Silphadce), skin-beetles
{^Dermestadce, Byrrhidce, and Trogidce), bone-beetles
(some of the Niiiduladoe and Clerida;), and vari-
ous kinds of dung-beetles {^Sphceridiadce, Histeridce,
T nebrio oiitor Geotrupid(E,'\ Copr%didc£^\ and Aphodiadce\), and
(Mealworm.) cloL'ks {Pimeliadce and Blaptidce), act the useful
Larva. ^^^^ ^^ scavengers, by removing can-ion, dung, and
other filth, upon which alone they and tlieir larvae subsist. Many
* See the Catalogue of Insects appended to Professor Hitchcock's Report on
the Geology, Jlineralogy, Botany, and Zoology of Massachusetts. 2d edit. 8vo.
Amlierst. 1835.
t All the ScarabteidcB of my Catalogue, from Ateuchus to Geotntpes inclusive,
to which may be added many included in the genus ScaraboBus.
;
COLEOPTERA. — ORTHOPTERA. — HEMIPTERA. 11
Coleoptera (some Staphylinidce and Nitididadce, Dia- jig. 2.
'perididce, sotne Serropalpidce, Mycetophagidce, Eroty-
lidce, and Endomychidce) 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 {Elateridce), dark-
ling-beetles (TenebriomdcB), (Figs. 1-3,) and many pio-. 3.
bark-beetles (Helopidce, Clsteladce, SerropalpidcB, (Eie-
meradce, 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 considered as serviceable, by contribut-
ing to destroy and reduce to dust plants that have passed imago,
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 ( CocAiroacAgs, Crickets, G-rasshopiyers, ^^O-
Insects with jaws, two rather thick and opaque upper wino-s,
overlapping a little on the back, and tAvo larger, thin wino-s,
which are folded in plaits, like a fan. Transformation par-
tial. LarvfB and pupa^ active, but wanting Avino-s.
All of the insects of this order, except the camel-crickets (Man-
tid(E), which prey on other insects, are injurious to our household
possessions, or destructive to vegetation.
3. Hemiptera {Bugs, Locusts, Plant-lice, (f c). Insects
with a horny beak for suction, four wings, whereof the
uppermost are generally thick at the base, with thinner
extremities, Avhich 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. Larvae
and pupaj nearly like the adult insect, but wanting wings.
The various kinds of field and house bugs giv^e out a stron"' and
disagreeable smell. Many of them (some Pentatomadce and Ly-
12 INTRODUCTION.
gceidce, Cimicidce, Reduviadce, Hydrometradce, Nepadae [Plate L
Fig. 1, Nepa apiculata], and Nototiectadce) 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 cicadas, tree-hoppers, plant-lice, bark-lice,
mealy bugs, and the like, that suck the juices of plants, and re-
quire the greatest care and watchfulness on our part to keep them
in check.
4. Neuroptera (^Dragon-fiies^ Lace-^vinged fies; Mai^^
flies, Ant-lion, Dag-Jlg, WJdte Ants, (fc). Insects witli 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 anA, wood-lice, and wood-ticks, {Termitidce and
P^cidce,) the latter including also the little ominous death-Avatch,
-^..-are aJmSsi Jhe"itmy noxious insects in the order, and even these
T^ not't-injure lijvilig j)lants. The dragon-flies, or, as they are com-
monly call'ed i^ ^ tliis country, devil's-needles {LibelhdadcB), (Figs.
4, SJt (Plate *I. ^ig. '2, Agrion basalis,) prey upon gnats and
mdsquitoes ; and their larvce and pupie, as well as those of the
day-flies {^Ephemerada:), semblians (^Semblididce), and those of
some of the May-flies, called caddis-worms {PhrygtineadcE), (Fig.
6,) all of which live in the water, devour aquatic insects. The
predaceous habits of the ant-lions {Myrmeleontidce), (Fig. 7,)
have been often described. The lace-winged flies {Hemerohi-
adce), (Fig. 8,) in the larva state, live wholly on plant-lice, great
mimbers of which they destroy. The mantispians {Mantispa-
dce), and the scorpion-flies {PanorpadcB), are also predaceous
insects.
5. Lepidoptera (Butterflies and Moths'). Mouth with a
spiral sucking-tube ; wings four, covered with branny scales.
Transformation complete. The larvae are caterpillars, and
have six true legs, and from four to ten fleshy prop-legs.
14 INTRODUCTION.
Pupa with the cases of the wings and of the legs indistinct,
and soldered 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, fruit, seed^•,
bark, pith, stems, and roots of plants.
6. Hymenoptera (^jSaw-Jiies, Ants, Wasjjs, Bees, ^c).
Insects with jaAvs, 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.
Larvas mostly maggot-like, or slug-like ; of some, caterpillar-
like. Pupae 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 larvfe of the
saw-flies ( Tenthredinidce), under the form of false-caterpillars and
slugs, are leaf-eaters, and are oftentimes productive of much injury
to plants. The larvje of the xiphydrians {XiphydriadcB), and of
the horn-tails ( JJroceridce), are borers and wood-eaters, and con-
sequently injurious to the plants inhabited by them. Pines and
firs suffer most from their attacks. Some of the warty excres-
cences 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
{Diphlepidid<B), and the irritation produced by their larvae, which
reside in these swellings. The injury caused by them is, com-
paratively, 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, thei'efore, write down these insects
among the benefactors of the human race. Immense numbers of
caterpillars and other noxious insects are preyed upon by in-
ternal enemies, the larvte of the ichneumon-flies i^Evaniadce, Ichneu-
monidce, and Chalcididce), which live upon the fat of their victims,
and finally destroy them. Some of these ichneumon-flies {Ichneu-
mones ovidoriim*) are extremely small, and confine their attacks
* Now placed among the Proctotrujndce.
HABITS OF SOME HYMENOPTERA. 15
to the eggs of other insects, which they punoture, and the little
creatures produced from the latter find a sufficient quantity of food
to supply all their wants within the larger eggs they occupy. The
ruby-tails {Chnjsididce) 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 conse-
quently starved to death. The wood-wasps ( Crabfonidce), and
numerous kinds of sand-wasps {Larradce, Bembicidcs, SphegidcE,
FQmpilidtB, and Scoliadce), mud-wasps (Pelopceus), the stinging
velvet-ants {MutiUadce), (Plate I. Fig. 3, Mutilla coccinea,) and the
solitary wasps {Odynerm and JEumenes), are predaceous in their
habits, and provision 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 softer parts of other insects, great numbers of which
they seize and destroy for this purpose. The solitary and social
bees (Andrenadce and Apidce) 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 comfort and convenience of man, in return for the care and
attention afforded them. Honey and wax are also obtained
from several species of wild bees {Melipona, Trigona, and Tetra-
gonct), essentially different from the domesticated kinds. While
bees and other hymenopterous 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 y)arts prepared to receive and be
fertilized by it, whereby they render an important service to
vegetation.
16 INTRODUCTION.
7. DiPTERA (^Mosquitoes^ Gnats, Flies, ^cJ). Insects
with a horny or fleshy proboscis, two wings only, and two
knobbed threads, called balancers or poisers, behind the
wings. Transformation complete. The larvge are maggots,
without feet, and Avith the breathing-holes generally in the
hinder extremity of the body. Pupae mostly incased in the
dried skin of the larvae, sometimes, however, naked, in which
case the wings and the legs are visible, and are found to be
more or less ii'ee or unconfined.
The two-winged insects, though mostly of moderate or small
size, are not only very numerous in kinds or species, but also ex-
tremely 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 jaAvs, and fitted
for piercing and sucking, or ending with soft and fleshy lips for
lapping. In our own persons we suffer much from the sharp
suckers and bloodthirsty propensities of gnats and mosquitoes
( CuUcidce), and also from those of certain midges ( Ceratopogon
and Simulium), including the tormenting black-flies {Simulium
molesfum) 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 (Tabanidce), whose larvae
live in the ground, and the stinging stable-flies (Stomoxf/s), which
closely resemble common house-flies, and in the larvas state live
in dung, attack both man and animals, goading the latter some-
times almost to madness by their severe and incessant punctures.
The winged horse-ticks (Hippoboscce), the bird-flies {Orniihomyioe),
the wingless sheep-ticks {Melophagi), and the spider-flies {Nycte-
ribice), and bee-lice {Braidce), 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 {(Estridce), as
they are sometimes called, appear to take no food while in the
winged state, and are destitute of a proboscis ; 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
TWO-WINGED INSECTS. 17
apparently harmless in the winged state, deposit their eggs on
plants, on the juices of which their young subsist, and are often-
times productive of immense injury to vegetation ; among these
the most notorious for their depredations are the gall-gnats
(Cecido)nyice), including the wheat-fly and Hessian fly, the root-
eating maggots of some of the long-legged gnats (Tipulce), those
of the flower-flies {Aiithomyice), 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 viviparous flesh-flies {SarcophagcB and CynomyicB),
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 harmless in all their states, and many are emi-
nently 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 larvse upon
dung, carrion, and all kinds of filth, by which means, and by
similar 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 unwhole-
some. Those whose larvse live in stagnant water, such as gnats
(CulicidcB), feather-horned gnats (CMronomus, &c.), the soldier-
flies {StrcUiomyadce), the rat-tailed flies {Helophihis), &c., &c., tend
to prevent the Avater from becoming putrid, by devouring the de-
cayed animal and vegetable matter it contains. The maggots of
some flies {MycetophilcB and various Muscadce) live in mush-
rooms, toadstools, and similar excrescences growing on trees ;
those of others {Sargi, Xylophagidce, Asilidce, Hierevce, Milesite,
Xylotce, Borbori, &c., &c.), in rotten wood and bark, thereby join-
ing with the grubs of certain beetles to hasten the removal of
these dead and useless substances, and make room for new and
more vigorous vegetation. Some of these wood-eating insects, with
others, when transformed to flies, {Asilidce [Plate I. Fig. 4, Asilus
aestuans], Rhagionidce, Dolichopidee, and Xylophagidce,) prey on
other insects. Some (Syrphidte), though not predaceous them-
3
18 INTRODUCTION.
selves in the winged stcate, deposit their eggs among plant-Hoe,
upon the blood of which their young afterwards subsist. Many
(^Conopidce, excluding Stomoxys, Tachince, Ocypterce, Phorce, &c.)
lay their eggs on caterpillars, and on various other larvae, within
the bodies of which the maggots hatched from these eggs live till
they destroy their victims. And finally others {Anthrucidce and
VoluceUce) drop their eggs in the nests of insects, whose offspring
are starved to death, by being robbed of their food by the off-
spring of these cuckoo-flies. Besides 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 furnishing 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 all kinds, as well as on flies and other insects, while the warblers,
vireos, 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
resemblances. It is impossible to show the mutual relations
of these orders, when they are arranged in a continuous se-
ries, 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
gi'oups, 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 Rhipiptera of
Latreille, consists of certain minute insects, wliicli undergo
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 (^Polutes fuscata) of this
DIFFICULTIES IN ARRANGEMENT. . 19
country. 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. The
females never acquire wings, and never leave the bodies of
the bees or wasps into which they penetrate while yoimg.
The males, in the adult state, 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 ar-
rangement. Latreille puts them between the Lepidoptera and
Diptera, but thinks them most nearly allied to some of the
Hymenoptera.^
The flea tribe (^PuUcidce') 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, in the place whereof
there are four httle scales, pressed closely to the sides of
their bodies ; their mouth is fitted for suction, and provided
with several lancet-like pieces for making punctures ; they
undergo a complete transformation ; their larvae are worm-
like and without feet; and their pupee have the legs free.
These insects, of which there are many different kinds, are
intermediate in their characteristics between the Hemiptera
and the Diptera, and seem to connect more closely these
two orders.
The eanvigs QForficidadce')^ of which also there are many
kinds, were placed by Linnaeus in the order Coleoptera, but
most naturahsts now include them among the Orthoptcra ;
indeed, they seem to be related to both orders, but most
[1 Systematic authors now consider the order of Strepsiptera as simply a fam-
ily, though a verj' aberrant one, of Coleoptera. It is placed after the Rhipipho-
ridiB, under the name Stylopidje, from its principal genus, Stylops, which is par-
asitic in certain genera of bees; a species of this genus has been discovered in
Nova Scotia, and will probably be found hereafter in New England. — Lec]
20. INTRODUCTION.
closely to the Ortlioptera, 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. (^ffijjpoboscadce'),
which, with Latreille and others, I have retained among the
Diptera, form the order Homaloptera of Leach, and the
English entomoloffists.
The May-flies, or case-flies (^Phryganeadce)^ have been
separated from the Neuroptera ; and constitute the order
Trichoptera of Kirby. Latreille and most of the natu-
ralists of the continent of Europe still retain them in
Neuroptera, to which they seem properly to belong.
The Thrips tribe consists of minute insects more closely
allied to Hemiptera than to any other order, but resembling
in some respects the Orthoptei*a also. It forms the little
order Thysanoptera of Haliday ; but I propose to leave it,
as Latreille has done, among the Hemiptera.
The English entomologists separate from Hemiptera the
cicadas or harvest-flies, lantern-flies, frog-hoppers, j)lant-lice,
bark-lice, &c., under the name of Homoptera ; but these
insects 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 partial
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, be-
ADVANTAGE OF TECHNICAL NAMES. 21
pause of the scientific language and names they were obUged
to employ. Entomology, or the science that treats of insects,
abounds in such names more than any other branch of natu-
ral history ; for the different kinds of insects very far outn
number the species in every class of the animal, vegetable,
and mineral 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
ton ones ; and hence most of those that hav^e been described
in works of natural history are known only by their scientific
names. The latter have the advantage over other names in
being intelligible to all well-educated persons in all parts of
the world ; Avhile the common names of animals and plants
in our own and other modern languages are very limited in
their application, and moreover are often misapplied.
For example, the name weevil is given, in this country, to
at least six different kinds of insects, tAVO of which are moths,
two are flies, and two are beetles. Moreover, since nearly
four thousand species of weevils have actually been scientifi-
cally 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 Avould at once be removed. To give
each of these weevils a short, appropriate, significant, and
purely English name, would be very difficult, if not impos-
sible, 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 surnames, requiring in addition
only a small number of different words, like christian names,
to indicate the various species or kinds. There is oftentimes
a gi-eat convenience in the use of single collective terms for
groups of animals and plants, whereby the necessity for enu-
22 INTRODUCTION.
inerating all the individual contents or the characteristics of
these groups is avoided. Thus the single word Ruminantia
stands for camels, lamas, giraffes, deer, antelopes, 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 ;
Lepidoptera 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 Avould be
difficvdt 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 his-
tory, 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 taufht or leai'ned without the use of technical words or
phrases belonging to each, and which, to the inexperienced
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 signifi-
cation, as many of them are. So, too, the terms of science
lose their forbidding 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.
.")
J-fy
h
J^
CHAPTER II.
CO.LEOPTERA.
Beetles. — Scarab^ians. — Ground-Beetles. — Tree-Beetles. — Cock-
chafers OR May-Beetles. — Flower-Beetles. — Stag-Beetles. — Ba-
PRESTiANs, OR Saw-hokned Borers. — Spring-Beetles. — Timber-Beetles.
— Weevils. — Cylindrical Bark-Beetles. — Capricorn-Beetles, or
Long-horned Borers. — Leaf-Bketles. — Criocerians. — Leaf-mining
Beetles. — Tortoise-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 betAveen their
bases. Hence the order to which these insects belong is
called CoLEOPTERA, a word signifying wings in a sheath.
Beetles * are biting-insects, and are provided with two pairs
of jaws moving sidewise. Their young are grubs, and un-
dergo a complete transformation in coming to maturity.
At the head of this order Linn{i?us placed a group of
insects, to which he gave the name of Scarab^us. 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 imposing appearance, require
to be noticed, on account of the injury sustained by vegeta-
tion fi-om their attacks. An immense number of Scarabae-
ians (ScARAB^iD^), as they may be called, are now known,
differing greatly from each other, not only in structure, but
* Beetle, in old English, betl, bytl, or biiel, means a biter, o/insect that bites.
24 COL.EOPTERA.
in their habits in the larva and adult states. They are all
easily distinguished by their short movable horns, or anten-
nae, 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 antennte are implanted. 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 A'ery extensive family of insects is subdivided into sev-
eral smaller groups, each composed 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 (^Creotrupidce)^ and dung-beetles (^Coprididce
and Aphodiadce)^ which, in all their states, are found in excre-
ment, the skin-beetles (^Trogidce)^ which inhabit dried animal
substances, 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 beautifid of the
tree-beetles of this country, is the Areoda lanigera^ or woolly
Areoda, sometimes also called the goldsmith-beetle (Plate
II. Fig. 20). It is about nine tenths of an inch in length,
broad oval in shape, of a lemon-yellow color above, glittering
[2 Areoda lanigera, now called Cotalpn lanigera ; the orenus Cotalpa, established
by Burmeister, differs from the true Areoda by not having the last joint of the
tarsi armed beneath with an angular projection. — Lec]
THE GOLDSMITH AND GRAPE-VINE BEETLES. 25
like burnished gold on the top of the head and thorax ; the
under-side of the body is copper-colored, and thickly cov-
ered 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 con-
tinue 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 rvistling sound among
the branches of trees, the tender leaves of which they de-
vour. 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 endeavor to
conceal themselves by drawing two or three leaves together,
and holding them in this position Avith their long unequal
claws. In some seasons they occur in profiision, and then
may be obtained in great quantities by shaking the young
trees on wliich they are lodged in the daytime, as they do not
attempt to fly when thus disturbed, but fall at once to the
ground. The larva? of these insects are not known ; prob-
ably they live in the ground upon the roots of plants. The
group to which the goldsmith-beetle belongs may be called
Rutilians (Rutilid^), fi'om 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 gi'oup, having the short and robust
legs of the former, with the leaf-eating habits of the latter.
The spotted Pelidnota, Pelidnota punc- ^jg 9
tata (Fig. 9), is also arranged among the
Rutilians. This large beetle is found on
the cultivated and wild grape-vine, some-
times in gi*eat 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,
4
26 COLEOPTEKA.
or dull brownish-yellow, with three distinct black dots on
each ; the thorax is darker and sliglitly 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 inju-
rious to the vine. The only method of destroying them is
to pick them off by hand and crush them under foot. The
larva3 live in rotten wood, such as the stumps and roots of
dead trees , and do not differ essentially from tliose of other
Scarabaeians.
Among the tree-beetles, those commonly called dors, chaf-
ers, 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 Melolontha^ a word used by the ancient
Greeks to distintmish 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,
togetlier with many others, for which no common names exist
in our language, are now united in one family called Melo-
LONTHADJS, or Melolontliiaiis. The following are the general
characters of these insects. The body is oblong oval, con-
vex, and generally of a brownish color ; the antenna? are nine
or more commonly ten jointed, the knob is much longer in
the males than in the females, and consists generally 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 the base on the inner
side with an oval space, crossed by ridges, like a millstone,
for grinding ; 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 beneath, or are split at the end like the
jiib of a pen. The powerful and horny jaws are admirably
HABITS OF THE COCKCHAFER. 27
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 lor digging in the ground,
point out the place of their transformations.
The habits and transformations of the common cockchafer
of Europe have been carefidly observed, and will serve to
exemphty those of the other insects of this family, which, as
far as they are known, seem to be nearly the same. This
insect devours 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 deposit their eggs,
amounting, according to some writers, to nearly one hundred,
or, as others assert, to two hundred fi-om each female, which
are abandoned by the parent, who generally ascends again to
the surface, and perishes in a short time.
From the eggs are hatched, in the space of fourteen days,
little whitish grubs, each provided Avith six legs near the
head, and a mouth flirnished 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 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 vegeta-
ble 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
28 . COLEOl'TEKA.
oval cavity, which is hned 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, antennie,
and wing-cases of the future beetle are visible through the
transparent skin which envelops them, but appear of a yel-
lowish-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 perfected beetle digs its way
to the surface, from which it finally emerges during the night.
According to Kirby and Spence, the grubs of the cockchafer
sometimes destroy whole acres of grass by feeding on its
roots. They undermine the richest meadows, and so loosen
the turf that it Avill roll up as if cut by a turfing spade. They
do not confine themselves to grass, but eat the roots of Avheat,
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 govern-
ment for the best mode of destroying them. The Society of
Arts in London, during many years, held forth a premivun
for the best account of this insect, and the means of check-
ing 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 gi'ound, 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 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 irregularly, darting hither and
tliither Avith an uncertain aim, hitting against objects in their
way with a force that often causes them to fall to the ground.
FOOD OF ANIMALS AND BIRDS. 29
They frequently enter houses in the night, apparently attract-
ed, as well as dazzled and bewildered, by the lights. Their
vao-aries, 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 slnnibs, 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. Moutfet
relates that, in the year 1574, such a number of them fell
into the river Severn as to stop the Avheels 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 infinite 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, Anoniala 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,
marten, bats, rats, the common dung-hill fowl, and the goat-
sucker or night-hawk. To this list may be added the com-
mon crow, which devours not only the pej-fect insects, but
their larvae, for which purpose it is often observed to follow
the plough. In " Anderson's Recreations " it is stated, that
" a cautious observer, having found a nest of five young jays,
remarked that each of these birds, while yet very young,
consumed at least fifteen of these frill-sized grubs in one day.
30 . COLEOPTERA.
and of course would require many more of a smaller size-
Say that, on an average of sizes, they consumed twenty
apiece, 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 reckoning their descendants after the first
year, would destroy eighty thousand grubs. Let us suppose
that the half, namely, forty thousand, 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 labors of
a 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 Melolonthaj form a portion
of their nourishment.
We have several Melolonthians whose injuries in the perfect
and grub state approach to those of the Eu-
ropean cockchafer. Phyllophaga * quereina of
Knoch, the May-beetle, as it is generally
called here, is our common species. (Fig.
10.) It is of a chestnut-brown color, smooth,
but finely punctured, that is, covered w^ith
little impressed dots, as if pricked with the
point of a needle ; each wing-case has two or
* A genus proposed by me in 1826. It signifies leaf-eater. Dejean subse-
quently called this grtius Ancylonycha.^
[ 3 The genus Phylhphnfjn was indeed proposed by Dr. Harris, but was not
accompanied by any description; it must therefore yield to the name Lnchnosternn
of Hope, described in 1837 Burmeister has improperly adopted for the genus the
name given by Dejean, but which wa.s not sanctioned by a description until 1845.
It is a very numerous genus, and many of the species resemble each other very
closely. — Leg.]
DESTRUCTION OF THE MAY-BEETLE. 31
three slightly elevated longitudinal lines ; tlie 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 hum-
ming noise in the night, from the middle of May to the end
of June, and frequently enters houses, attracted by the light.
In the coui'se 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 supera-
bundant juices not having evaporated, while others exhibit the
true color and texture of the perfect insect. The gi'ubs de-
vour 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 gi'ub* 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 ex-
crement filled Avith the wing-cases of these insects.
A writer in the " New York Evening Post " says, that the
beetles, which fi-equently commit serious ravages on fruit-
trees, may be effectually exterminated by shaking them fi'om
the trees every evening. In this way two pailfiils of beetles
. were collected on the first experiment ; the number cauglit
regularly decreased until the fifth evening, Avhen only two
beetles were to be found. The best time, however, for shak-
ing 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 re-
ceive 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 a grub, somewhat resembling this, which is frequently found under
old manure-heaps, and is commonly called muck-womi. It differs, however, in
some respects, from that of the May-beetle, or dor-bug, and is transformed to a
dung-beetle called Scarabceus reliclus by Mr. Say.
32
COLE OPT ERA,
There is an undescribed kind of Phyllophaga^ or leaf-eater,
called, in my Catalogue of the Insects of Massachusetts,* fra-
terna^ because it is nearly akin to the qmrcina, in general
appearance. It differs from the latter, however, in being
smaller, and more slender ; the punctures on its thorax and
wincT-covers are not so distinct, and the three elevated lines
on the latter are hardly visible. 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 PhyUophagn has baen described by Knoch
and Say, under the name of Idrtiada (Fig.
11), meaning a little hairy. It is of a bay-
brown color, the punctures on the thorax
are larger and more distinct than in the
qmrcina, 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 Phyl-
lopliaga Georgicana (Fig. 12) 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-
broAvn color, entirely covered on the upper
side with very short, yellowish gray hairs,
and measures seven tenths of an inch, or
more, in length.
* In order to save unnecessary repetitions, it may be well to state, that the
Catalogue above named, to which frequent reference will be made in the course
of this treatise, 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 sec-
ond, with numerous additions, in 1835.
Fijs 12.
POLYPHYLLA VARIOLOSA.
33
Fig. 13.
Fig. 14.
PhyUophaga pilodcollis (Fig. 13) of Knoch, or the liaiiy-
necked leaf-eater, is a small chafer, of an
ochre-yellow color, with a very hairy tho-
rax. 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.
Hentz's diehlontha variolosa'^ i^'^-,- l"!)'
or scai-red Melolontha, differs essentially
from the foregoing beetles in the structure
of its antennae, the knob of which consists
of seven narrow, strap-shaped ochre-yellow
leaves, which are excessively long in the
males. This fine insect is of a light broAvn
color, with irregular whitish blotches, like
scars, on the thorax and Aving-covers. It
measures nine tenths of an inch, or more,
in length. It occurs abundantly, in the montli 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, nur-
series, 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 vai'ious forest-trees,
such as the elm, maple, and oak.
Omaloplia^ vespertina (Plate II. Fig. 14) of Gyllenhal, and
serieea of lUiger, attack the leaves of the sweetbrier, 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 proportionally shorter and
[* Melolontha variolosa. This insect belong.s to the genns Polyphylla, proposed
by Dr. Harris, and now adopted by all entomologists. — Lec]
[5 OmalopUn. The species here mentioned, with all the other allied American
species, belong rather to Serica of M'Leay, than to true Omaloplia, which is thus
far confined to the other continent. — Lec]
34 C L K P T E R A .
thicker, and much smaller in size. The first of them, the
vespertine or evening Omaloplia, is bay-hrown ; the wing-
covers are marked with many longitudinal shallow furrows,
which, with the thorax, are thickly punctured. This beetle
varies in leno;th from three to four tenths of an inch. Oma-
loplia sericea, the silky Omaloplia, closely resembles the pre-
ceding in everything but its color, which is a very deep
chestnut-brown, iridescent or changeable like satin, and re-
flecting the colors of the rainbow.
All these Melolonthians are nocturnal insects, never ap-
pearing, except by accident, in the day, during which they
remain under shelter of the foliage of trees and shrvibs, or
concealed in the grass. Others are truly day-fliers, commit-
ting their ravages by the light of the sun, and are conse-
quently exposed to observation.
One of our diurnal Melolonthians is supposed by many nat-
Fig. 15. uralists to be the Anomala varians (Fig. 15)
of Fabricius ; and it agrees very well with
this writer's description of the liicicola ; but
Professor Germar thinks it to be an unde-
scribed species, and proposes to name it coe-
lehs. It resembles the vine-chafer of Europe
in its habits, and is found in the months of
June and July on the cultivated and wild
grape-vines, the leaves of which it devours. During 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 punctured ; the wing-covers are clay-yellow, irregu-
larly 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,
THE COMMON ROSE-CHAFER. 85
or light red. The males are sometimes entirely 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
exceedingly 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 natu-
ral food. Should these beetles increase in numbers, they will
be found as difficult to check and extirpate as the destructive
vine-chafers of Europe.
The rose-chafer, or rose-bug, as it is more commonly and
incorrectly called, is also a diurnal insect. It is the ^- ^g
Melolontlia subspinosa (Fig. 16) of Fabricius, by
whom it was first described, and belongs to the
modern genus Macrodactylus 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 twentieths 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 subspi-
nosa, 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
Macrodach/lus, 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.* The prevalence of this insect on the
* See my Essay in the Massachusetts Agricultural Repository and Journal,
36 COLEOPTERA.
rose, and its annual appearance coinciding with the blossom-
ing 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 tavorite,
the blossoms of the rose ; but within forty 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 deplorable ravages. The grape-vine
in particular, the cherry, plum, and apple trees, have annu-
ally suffered by their depredations ; many other fruit-trees
and shrubs, garden vegetables and 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 coming, 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 })erish, 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 sur-
face 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 tender roots as are within their reach. Like other
grubs of the Scaraba^ians, when not eating they lie upon
the side, with the body curved, so that the head and tail
Vol. X. p. 8, reprinted in the New England Farmer, Vol. VI. p. 18, &c.; my Dis-
course before tlie JIassachusetts Horticultural Society, p. 31, Svo, Cambridge,
1832; Dr. Green's communication on this insect in the New England Farmer,
Vol. VI. pp. 41, 49, &c.; my Report on Insects Injurious to Vegetation, in Massa-
chusetts House Document, No. 72, April, 1838, p. 70; and a communication ia the
New England Farmer, Vol. IX. p. 1.
THE COMMON ROSE-CHAFER. 37
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 obtuse 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
transformed 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 per-
fected beetle ; but it is of a yellowish-white color, and its
short stump-like wings, its antennse, and its legs are folded
upon the breast ; and its whole 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 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 per-
fected 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 fi'om
their subterranean retreats, and have congregated upon our
vines, trees, and other vegetable productions, in the complete
38 COLEOPTERA.
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 hfe, for they are not
affected by any of the apphcations usually found destructive
to other insects. Experience has proved the utility of gather-
ing them by hand, or of shaking them or brushing them fi'om
the plants into tin vessels containing a little water. They
should be collected daily during the period of their visitation,
and should be committed to the flames or killed by scalding
water. The late John Lowell, Esq., states,* that in 1823 he
discovered, on a solitary apple-tree, the rose-bugs " in vast
numbers, such as could not bs described, and would not be
believed if they were described, or, at least, none but an
ocular Avitness could conceive of their numbers. Destruction
by hand was out of the question," in this case. He put
sheets under the tree, and shook them down, and burned
them.
Dr. Green, of Mansfield, whose investigations 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 w^YG females ; by this destruction, eight hundred
eggs, at least, wex'e prevented from becoming matured.
During the time of their prevalence, rose-bugs are some-
times found in immense numbers on the flowers of the com-
mon white-weed, or ox-eye daisy ( Chrysanthemum leucanthe-
mum)^ 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 expe-
dient rapidly to mow down the infested white-weed in diy
* Massachusetts Agricultural Repository, Vol. IX. p. 145.
THE FLOWER-BEETLES. 89
pastures, and consume it, with the sluggish rose-buds, on
the spot.
Our insect-eating birds undoubtedly devour many of these
insects, and deserve to be cherished and protected for their
services. 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, wdiich he calls the enemy of the cut-worm,
probably the larva of a Carabus or predaceous ground-beetle,
preys on the grub"> 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, wdiich probably contribute to check tha increase
of our native Melolonthians.
Very few of the flower-beetles are decidedly injurious to
vegetation. 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 feAV 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 Ceto-
NiAD^, or Cetonians. They are easily distinguished from the
other Scarab»ians by their lower jaws, which are generally
soft on the inside, and are often provided with a flat brush of
hairs, that serves to collect the pollen and juices on wdiich
they subsist. Their upper jaws have no grinding plate on
the inside. Their antennse 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
40 COLEOPTERA.
concealing the upper lip. The thorax is either rounded, some-
what square, or triangular. 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 flat-
tened 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 Groliatiis^ of Guinea, the latter being more
than four inches long, two inches broad, and thick and heavy
in proportion.
Two American Cetonians must suffice as examples in this
Fig. 17. group. The first is the Indian Cetonia, Cetonia
Incla * (Fig. 17), one of our eai'liest 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 Avoods, and in dry, open fields, fly-
ing just above the grass Avith a loud humming sound, like a
humble-bee, for Avhich perhaps it might at first sight be mis-
taken. 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-
* ScarabcBus Indus of Linnceus, Cetonia barbata of Say.^
[* Cetonia Inda. The old genus Cetonia has been divided recently into many
genera, some of which have again been merged together by later investigators;
our species belong to the one called Euryomia, as enlarged by Lacordaire. — Lkc]
THE AMERICAN CETONIANS. 41
brown, but changeable, with pearly and metaUic 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 measures
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 appearino-
fresh and bright, as though they had just completed their last
transformation. 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. Fortunate would
it be for us if they fed on these only ; but their love of sweets
leads them to attack our finest peaches, which, as soon as
ripe, they begin to devour, and in a very few hours entirely
spoil. I have taken a dozen of them from a single peach,
into which they had burrowed so that nothing but the naked
tips of their hind-body could be seen ; and not a ripe peach
remained unbitten by them on the tree. When touched, they
leave a strong and disagreeable scent upon the fingers. 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
sjjot, Avhere they pass the winter in a torpid state, and in the
spring issue from their retreats, and finish their career by
depositincp their eo-srs 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
iars'se or grubs may live on the roots of herbaceous plants.
The other Cetonian beetle to be described is the Osmo-
derma scaher* or rough Osmoderma (Fig. 18). It is a large
* Triddus scaher, Palisot de Beauvois; Gymnodus scaher, Kirby.
6
42 COLEOPTERA.
insect, with a broad, oval, aiid flattened body ; the thorax is
J,, jg nearly round, but wider than long ;
there are no wedge-shaped pieces be-
tween the corners of the thorax and
the shoulders of the wing-cases, and
the outer edges of the latter are en-
tire. 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 are generally much larger than the males, and
often want the coppery 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, Avhere
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 thie place of their retreat.
This strong smell suggested the name Osmoderma, 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 larvte live in the hollows of these same trees, feedin<i
upon the diseased wood, and causing it more rapidly to de-
cay. 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 fi'agments of wood, strongly cemented with a kind
THE LUCANIAN BEETLES. 43
of glue ; it goes through its transformation within this cell,
and comes fortli in the beetle form in the month of July.
We have another scented beetle, equal in size to the pre-
ceding, 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 eremicola * (Fig. ID), a name
that cannot be rendered literally into Eng-
lish by any single word ; it signifies wil-
derness-inhabitant, for which might be
substituted hermit. I believe that this in-
sect lives in forest-trees, but the larva is
unknown to me.
The family Lucanid.e, or Lucanians, so named from the
Linnsean genus Lucanus, must be placed next to the Scara-
bseians 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 large and broad,
especially in the males ; the thorax is short, and as wide as
the abdomen ; the antennae are rather long, elbowed or bent
in the middle, and composed of ten joints, the last three or
four of which are broad, leat-like, and project on the inside,
giving to this part of the antennas 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 ex-
tend considerably beyond the mouth ; each of the under jaws
is provided with a long hairy pencil or brush, which can be
seen projecting beyond the mouth between the feelers ; and
the under hp has two shorter pencils of the same kind ; the
* Cetonia eremicola of Kiioch.
44 COLEOPTERA
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 dui'ing the night, and frequently enter houses at
that time, somewhat to tlie alami of the occupants ; but they
are not venomous, and never attempt to bite without provo-
cation. They pass the day on the trunks of trees, and live
upon the sap, for procuring Avhich the bnishes of their jaws
and lip seem to be designed. They are said also occasionally
to bite and seize caterpillars 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
larvae hatched from these ecjo-s resemble 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 sawdust ; and the injury thus caused by them is
frequently very considerable. When they have arrived at
their full size^ they enclose themselves in egg-shaped pods,
composed of gnawed particles of Avood and bark stuck to-
gether and lined with a kind of glue ; Avithin these pods they
are transformed to pupae, 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 Avails of their prison,
craAvl through the passages the larvai had gnawed, and come
forth on the outside of the trees.
The largest of these beetles in the Ncav England States
AA^as first described by Linnaeus, under the name of Lucanus
Capreolus * (Fig, 20), signifying the young roebuck ; but
here it is called the horn-bug. Its color is a deep mahogany-
* Lucanus Dama of Fabricius.
THE SERRICORN BEETLES.
45
brown ; the surface is smooth and pohshed ; the upper jaws
of the male are long, curved like p. go
a sickle, and ftirnished 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 nar-
rower 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 Au-
gust. The grubs live in the trunks and roots of various
kinds of trees, but particularly in those of old apple-trees,
willows, and oaks. All the foregoing beetles have, by some
naturalists, been gathered into a single tribe, called lamelli-
com or leaf-horned beetles, on account of the leaf-like joints
wherewith the end of their antennae is provided.
The beetles next to be described have been brought to-
gether 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, somewhat like the teeth
of a saw. The beetles belonging to the family Buprestid^e,
or the Buprestians, have antennte of this kind. The Bupres-
tis of the ancients, as its name signifies in Greek, was a poi-
sonous 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, how-
ever, unfortunately applied this name to the insects of the
above-mentioned family, none of which are poisonous to ani-
mals, and are rarely, if ever, found upon the grass. It is in
allusion to the original signification of the word Baprestis^
that popular English writers on natural history sometimes
give the name of burncow to the harmless Buprestians ; while
46 COLEOPTERA.
the French, with greater propriety, call them richards, on
account of the rich and brilliant colors wherewith many of
them are adorned. The Buprestians, then, according to the
Linna^an application, or rather misapplication, of the name,
are hard-shelled beetles, often brilliantly colored, of an ellip
tical or oblong oval form, obtuse before, tapering behind, and
broader than thick, so that, when cut in two transversely, the
section is oval. The head is sunk to the eyes in the fore part
of the thorax ; and the antenna? 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
win CT-co vers. 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
little 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 conspicu-
ous ; in the Buprestians, however, the scutel is generally
very small, and sometimes hardJy 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 antennse and fall to the ground.
Being furnished with ample wings, their flight is swift, and
attended with a whizzing noise. They keep concealed 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 transforma-
tions of these insects take ])lace in the trunks and limbs of
trees. The larvse that are known to me have a close
resemblance to each other ; a general idea of them can be
formed from a descri])tion of that which attacks the pig-nut
hickory (Fig. 21). It is of a yellowish-white color, very
-FOREST-TREE BORERS. 47
long, narrow, and depressed in form, but abruptly widened
near the anterior extremity. The head is brownish, j.j ,j
small, and sunk in the fore j)art of the first segment ;
the upper jaws are provided with three teeth, and
are of a black color ; and the antenna are very
short. The segment which receives the head is
short and transverse ; next to it is a large oval seg-
ment, broader than long, and depressed or flattened
above and beneath. Behind this, the segments are
very much narrowed, and become gradually longer ; but are
still flattened, to the last, which is terminated by a rounded
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
elongations of the segments, aided, perhaps, by the tubercu-
lar exti'emity of the body, and by its jaws, with which it takes
hold of the sides of its burrow, and thus draAvs itself aloncr.
These grubs are found under the bark and in the solid wood
of trees, and sometimes in great numbers. They fi'equently
rest with the body bent sidewise, so that the head and tail
approach each other. This posture those found under bark
usually assume. They appear to pass several years in the
larva state. The pupa bears a near resemblance to the per-
fect 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 off", 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 can-
not bear any comparison with the extensive ravages of their
48 COLEOPTERA.
larviB. The solid trunks and limbs of sound and vigorous
trees are often bored through in various directions by these
insects, Avhich, during a long-continuqd 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 freqviently
injured by these borers. The means to be used for destroy-
ino- them are similar to those employed against other borers,
and will be explained in a subsequent part of this essay. It
may not be amiss, however, here to remark, that woodpeckers
are much more successful in discovering the retreats of these
i)orers, and in dragging out the defenceless culprits from their
burrows, than the most skilftil gardener or nurseryman.
The largest of these beetles in this part of the United
States is the Buprestis (^Chalcophord) Vir-
ginica (Fig. 22) 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 punc-
tured ; the top of the head is deeply in-
dented ; on the thorax there are three pol-
ished 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 sev-
eral short lines of the same kind between them ; the imder-
side of the body is sparingly covered with short whitish down.
It measures fi'om 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 (lifferent kinds
of pines, and is oftentimes very injurious to these trees.
The wild cherry-tree (^Primus serotina), and also the
garden cherry and peach trees, suffer severely from the at-
tacks of borers, which are transformed to the beetles called
Buprestis (^Dicerca) divaricata by Mr. Say, because the wing-
THEBUPRESTIANS. 49
covers divaricate or spread apart a little at the tips. (Plate
II. Fig. 7.) These beetles are copper-colored, sometimes
brassy above, and thickly covered with little 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 inter-
mediate 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 montlis
of June, July, and August.
The borer of the hickory has already been described. It
is transformed to a beetle which appears to be yi^. 23
the Buprestis (^Dicerca) lurida * (Fig. 23) of
Fabricius. It is of a lurid or dull brassy color
above, bright copper beneath, and thickly punc-
tured 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
during the gi*eater part of the summer on the trunks and
limbs of the hickory.
Buprestis ( Chrt/sobothris') dentipes f (Fig. 24) of Germar,
so named from the little tooth on the under-side jj 24.
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
Fi;. 23
* Buprestis obscwa, F., found in the Middle and Southern States, oiosely reicni-
bles the lurida.
t Buprestis characteristica, Harris. N. E. Farmer, Vol. VIII. p. 2,
7
60 COLEOPTERA.
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 im-
pressed spots, two of which are oblique ; the tips are round-
ed. Length from one half to six tenths of an inch.
Bwprestis (^Chrysohoihris) femorata (Fig. 25) of Fabricius
Fig. 25. ^^ss the first pair of thighs toothed beneath, like
the preceding, which it resembles 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 wdno-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 larvge
bore into the trunks of these trees.
The Buprestis (^Chrysohothris) fiilvo guttata* (Fig. 26), or
Fig 26. tawny-spotted Buprestis, first described by me in
the eighth volume of the " New England Farm-
er," 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 transverse lines, and is some-
* Mr. Kirby has re-described and figured this insect under the name of Buprestis
( Trnchypteris) Drummondi, in the fourth volume of the " Fauna Boreali- Ameri-
cana." 7
[7 Buprestis ( Chrytobothris) fuhorjuttnta does not belong to Chrysobnthris but to
Melanophila, Esch. The anterior thighs are not armed with a tooth, and the base
of the thorax is truncate. — Lec]
THE SPRING-BEETLES. 51
times 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 Biiprestis
(^Ckrysohoihris) Harrisii. (Plate II. Fig. 2.) 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 meas-
ures 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 wliich
I have repeatedly captured the beetles about the middle of
June.
These seven species form but a very small part of the Bu-
prestians inhabiting Massachusetts and the other New Eng-
land States. My knowledge of the habits of the others is not
sufficiently perfect to render it worth while to insert desci'ip-
tions of them here. The concealed situation of the grabs 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, (Elaterid^,) 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
52 COLEOPTERA.
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 unsheathes 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 ex-
ertions until its object is effected. In these beetles the body
is of a hard consistence, and is usually rather narrow and
tapering behind. The head is sunk to the eyes in the fore
part of the thorax ; the antenna are of moderate length, and
more or less notched on the inside like a saw. The thorax
is as broad at the base as the wing-covers ; it is usually
rounded before, and the hinder angles are sharp and promi-
nent. The scutel is of moderate size. The legs are rather
short and slender, and the feet are five-jointed.
The larvse 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 slenderness and uncommon hard-
ness. They are not to be confounded with the American
wire-worm, a species of lulus^ which is not a time 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 gar-
dens recently converted from pasture lands. We have
THE SP^INQ-BEETLES. . 53
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 vcvo.y 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 strew-
ing sliced potatoes or turnips 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 resembling the com-
mon meal-worm ; they were nearly cylindrical, with a hard
and smooth skin, of a buflp 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 hind-
most 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 proj>
leg, serving to support the extremity of the body, and prevent
it fi'om trailing on the ground. Other grubs of Elaters differ
fi'om the foregoing in being proportionally broader, not cy-
lindrical, 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 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 state, appears to be chiefly
derived fi-om flowers ; but some devour the tender leaves
of plants.
54
COLEOPTERA.
Fig. 27.
The largest of our spring-beetles is the Mater QAlaug)
oculatm of Linna3us (Fig. 27). It is
of a black color ; the thorax is oblong-
square, and nearly one third the length
\ fflH^ / of the whole body, covered above with a
jS^Sm^ whitish powder, and with a large oval
^^■S velvet-black spot, like an eye, on each
side of the middle, from Avliich the in-
sect derives its name, oadatus^ or eyed ;
the wing-covers are marked with slen-
der longitudinal impressed lines, and are
sprinkled with numerous white dots ;
the under-side of the body, and the
leo-s, are covered with a white mealy powder. This large
beetle measures from one inch and a quarter to one inch and
three quarters 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 larvae, Avhich
eat the wood, and from which I subsequently obtained the
insects in the beetle state. These larvee are reddish-yellow
grubs, proportionally much' broader than the other kinds,
and very much flattened. One of them, which was found
frilly grown early in April, measured two inches and a half
in length, and nearly four tenths of an inch across the mid-
dle of the body, and was not much narrowed at either ex-
tremity. The head was broad, broAvnish, 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 antennae ; 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, and around the
THE SPRING-BEETLES. 55
sides with short spines ; the true legs were six, a pair to
each 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 (^Pyrophorus) 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 sugai'-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 lit-
tle 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 ^. _.
J- Fig. 28.
grubs live in wood. The first of these beetles is
the ash-colored Elater, Elater (^Melanotus) cirie-
reus of Weber (Fig. 28). It is about six tenths
of an inch long, and is dark broAvn, 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 fences, the trunks of trees, and in paths, in
April and May.
Elater (^Melanotus) communis of Schonherr, is, as its name
implies, an exceedingly common and abundant species. It
closely resembles the preceding, but is smaller, seldom ex-
ceeding 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.
56 C L E O P T E R A .
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 under 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 Mater (^Ludiiis) appressifrons
of Say. Its specific name probably refers to the front of
the head or visor being pressed downwards over the lip. The
body is slender and almost cylindrical, of a deep chestnut-
brown color, rendered gi'ay, 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 cer-
tain lights has a brassy hue ; the wing-covers are finely punc-
tured, 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 di-
mensions, 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
J.. 29. now known to inhabit Massachusetts, I shall
add to the foregoing a description of only one
more species. This is the Mater (^Agriotes)
ohcsus^ of Say (Fig. 29). It is a short and
thick beetle, as the specific name implies ; its
real color is a dark brown, but it is coA^ered Avith
dirty yelloAvish-gray hairs, which on the wing-
covers are arranged in longitudinal stripes ; the head and
[8 Elater (Agriotes) obesiis. I am inclined to believe this species to be the Jila-
ler mancns, Say, and not his E. obesus, which is now entirely unknown. — Lec]
THE TIMBER-BEETLES. 57
thorax are thickly punctured, and the wing-covers are punc-
tured in rows. Its length is about three tenths of an inch.
This beetle closely resembles one of the kinds which, in
the grub state, is called the wire-worm in Europe, and pos-
sibly 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 gi'ound, and sometimes also on
fences.
The utility of a knowledge of the natural history of in-
sects in the practical arts of life was never more strikingly
and triumphantly proved than by Linnreus himself, who,
while giving to natural science its language and its laws,
neglected no opportunity to point out its economical advan-
tages.* On one occasion this great 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 ascer-
tained the history of the depredators, by directing the timber
to be sunk under water dviring 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 Lym,exylon navale, the
naval timber-destroyer. They have since increased to an
alarming extent in some of the dock-yards 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.
* See the Prefiice to Smith's " Introduction to Botany," and Pulteney's " View
of the Writings of Linnaus," for several examples, one of which it may not be
amiss to mention here. Linnaeus was the first to point out the advantages to
be derived from employing the Arundo nrenaria, or beach-grass, in fixing the
eands 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.
8
58 COLEOPTERA.
These destructive insects belong to a family called Ly-
MEXYLiD^, which may be rendered timber-beetles. They
cannot be far removed from the Buprestians and the spring-
beetles in^a natm'al 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 antennae are short,
and, from the third joint, flattened, widened, and saw-toothed
on the inside ; and the jaw-feelers of the males have a singu-
lar fringed piece attached to them. The body is long, nar-
row, nearly cylindrical, and not so firm and hard as in the
Elaters. The feet are five-jointed, long, and slender.
The larv?e of Lymexylon and Hylecoetus 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 Ly-
mexylon, and like a straight horn in Hylecoetus. 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
Fi.i,'- 30. ''
England. I shall describe only two of them.
The first was obtained by beating the limbs of
some forest-tree. It may be called Lymexylon
sericeum (Fig. 30), 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 fore part of the thorax ; the eyes are very large, and
almost meet above and below ; the antenna) are brownish
red, widened and compressed from the fourth to the last
T H E W E E V I L S . 59
joint inclusive ; the thorax is longer than wide, rounded be-
fore, 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 Hi/lecoetus, 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 called Htjleccetm Americanus, the
American timber-beetle. 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 fore part 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 antennte resemble those of
Lymexylon sericeum, but are shorter ; the thorax is nearly
square, 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 bor-
ers, and various kinds of leaf-eating beetles, all of which are
exceedingly injurious to vegetation.
So gi-eat is the extent of the AYeevil tribe,* and so imper-
fectly known is the history of a large part of our native
* See page 21.
60 COLEOPTERA.
species, that I shall be obliged to confine myself to an ac-
count of a few only of the most remarkable weevils, and
principally those that have become most known for their
depredations. Mr. Kollar's excellent " Treatise on Insects
injurious to Gardeners, Foresters, and Farmers," contains
an account of several kinds of weevils that are unknown
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 finiit-trees, the
work of Mr, Kollar may be consulted with gi'eat advantage.
Weevils, in the Avinged state, are hard-shelled beetles, and
are distinguished from other insects by having the fore part
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 Aveevils
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 RnYNCHOPHORiDiE, lit-
erally, snout-bearers. These beetles are mostly of small size.
Their antennye 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 antenna?
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 run-
ning 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, fi-uit, 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 simshine. Some of them fly well ; but others
have no wings, or only very short ones, under the wing-
THE PEA-WEEVIL. 61
cases, and are therefore unable to fly. They walk slowly,
and being of a timid nature, and without the means of de-
fence, when alarmed they turn back their antenntB 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 sh-ell, and the rings of their bodies are
very convex or hunched, by both of which characters they
are easily distino-uished from the magcrots 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 penetrate into the solid
wood, interrupt the course of the sap, and occasion the
branch above the seat of attack to wither and die. Most
of these grubs are transformed within the vegetable sub-
stances upon Avhich they have lived ; some, however, when
fully grown, go into the ground, where they are changed
to pupa?, and afterwards to beetles.
In the spring of the year, we often find among seed-
peas many that have holes in them ; and, if the peas have
not been exposed to the light and air, we see a little in-
sect peeping out of each of these holes, and waiting appar-
ently 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 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 Avhite spot shaped like
the letter T on the exposed extremity of the body. Tliis
little insect is the Bruchus Pisi of Linnaeus (Fig. 31), the
62 COLEOPTERA.
pea-Bruclius, or pea-weevil, but is better known in America
by the incorrect name of pea-buo;. The original
Fig. 31. -^ . . ^
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 in-
terior of seeds, often leaving but little more than
the hull untouched. They belong to a family of
the great weevil tribe called Bruchid^e, and are distin-
guished from other weevils by the following characters. The
body is oval, and slightly convex ; the head is bent down-
wards, 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 ab-
domen ; 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 larv«
are similar to those of the pea-weevil, which remain to be
described. It may be well, however, to state here, that these
beetles frequent the legmninous or pod-bearing plants, such
as the pea, Gleditschia, Robinia, Mimosa, Cassia, &c., during
and immediately after the flowering season ; they wound the
skin of the tender pods of these plants, and lay their eggs
singly in the wounds. Each of the little maggot-like grabs
hatched therefrom perforates the pod and enters a seed, the
pulp of which suffices for its food till fully gi'own.
Few persons while indulging in the luxury of early green
peas are aware how many insects they unconsciously sAval-
low. When the pods are carefully examined, small discol-
ored 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
THE PEA-WEEVIL. 63
oTub then bores a round hole from the hollow in the centre
of the pea quite to the hull, but leaves the latter, and gen-
erally the germ of the future sprout, untouched. Hence
these buggy peas, as they are called by seedsmen and gar-
deners, will frequently sprout and grow when planted. The
"■rub 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, Avhich frequently does not hap-
pen before the peas are planted for an early crop. After
the pea-vines have flowered, and while the pods are young
and tender, and the peas within them are just beginning to
swell, the beetles gather upon them, and deposit their tiny
eo-o-s singly in the punctures or wounds which they make
upon the surface of the pods. This is done mostly during
the night, or in cloudy weather. The grubs, as soon as
they are hatched, penetrate the pod and bury themselves
in the opposite peas ; and the holes through which they
pass into the seeds are so fine as hardly to be perceived,
and are soon closed. Sometimes every pea in a pod will
be found to contain a weevil-grub ; and so great has been
the injuiy 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 diminish the weight of the
peas in which they lodge nearly one half, and their leavings
are fit only for the food of swine. This occasions a great
loss where peas . are raised for feeding stock or for family
use, as they are in many places. Those persons who eat
whole peas in the winter after they are raised, run the risk
of eating the weevils also ; but if the peas are kept till they
are a year old, the insects will entirely leave them.f
The pea-weevil is supposed to be a native of. the United
States. It seems to have been first noticed in Pennsylvania,
* See Kalm's Travels, (Svo. Warrington, 1770,) Vol. I. p. 173.
t See the " Boston Cultivator " for July 1, 1848, for an interesting account of
the habits of these insects, by Mr. S. Deane.
64 COLEOPTERA.
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 trav-
eller, who tells us of the fear with which he Avas filled on
finding some of these Aveevils in a parcel of peas Avhich he
had carried home from America, having in view the whole
damage which his beloved 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 Eng-
land, whither they may have been carried from this country.
As the cultivated pea Avas not originally a native of Amer-
ica, 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 indigenous and less
productive pulse, is not a matter of surprise, analogous facts
being of common occurrence ; but that, for so many years, a
rational method for checkincr its ravao;es 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-
peas 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 peas Avill be quickened. The insect is limited to a
certain period for depositing its eggs ; late-sown peas there-
fore escape its attacks. The late Colonel Pickering observed
that those sown in Pennsylvania as late as the 20th of May
were entirely free fi'om Aveevils ; and Colonel Worthington,
of Rensselaer County, New York, who sowed his peas on
the 10th of June, six years in succession, never found an
insect in them dui'ing that period. .
The crow black-bird is said to devour great numbers of
THE ATTELABIANS. 65
the beetles in the spring ; and the Baltimore oriole or hang-
bird splits open the green pods for the sake of the grubs con-
tained in the peas, thereby contributing greatly to prevent
the increase of these noxious insects. The instinct that en-
ables 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 Provi-
dence, Avhich 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 peas, thereby securing a succession of crops
for our benefit and that of their own progeny.
The Attelabians (Attelabid^) are distinguished from the
Bnichians 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 antennae are usually
implanted near the middle of the snout. The larvae re-
semble 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 knoAvn 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. pig. 32.
The larvro and habits of our native species
are unknown to me. The most common one
here is the Attelabus analis of Weber (Fig.
32), 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
9
66 COLEOPTERA.
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 hipustulatus of Fabri-
cius, (Plate II. Fig. 6,) is also found on oak-leaves during the
same season as the preceding. 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 fiaiit of this and
of other plants. In consequence of the damage caused by
them and by their larvae, whole vineyards are sometimes
stripped of their leaves, and fi'uit-trees are despoiled of their
foliage and fi'uits. These insects belong to the genus Ryn-
chites, a name given to them in allusion to their snouts. I
have not seen any of them on vines or fruit-trees in this
country. The largest one found here is the Ryrichites hicolor
of Fabricius, or two-colored» Rynchites. 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 Avith 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
T H E B R E N T III A N S . 67
way. They receive the above name from the shape of the
beetles, which resembles that of a pear. Say's Apioii, Apion
Sayi * of Schonherr (Fig. 33), 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 Rohinia
pseudacacia.
Naturalists place here a little group of snout-bestles, called
Brenthid^, 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 projects 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 extremity,
and the nippers are not visible to the naked eye. The
feelers are too small to be seen. The antennse are short,
straight, slightly thickened towards the tip, and implanted
before the prominent eyes, on the middle of the snout in
the males, and at the 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 con-
tained 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
• Apion rostrum, Say.
68 COLEOPTERA.
States is the Brenthus (^Arrhenodes) sejjtemtrioms * of Herbst
(Fig. 34), the Northern Brenthus, so named because most
Fig. 31. of the other species are tropical insects. It
is of a mahogany-brown color ; the wing-cases
are somewhat darker, ornamented with nar-
row 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 com-
mon length of this insect, including the snout, is six tenths
of an incli ; but much larger as well as smaller specimens
frequently occur. The Northern Brenthus inhabits the Avhite
oak, on the trunks and under the bark of which it may be
found in June and July, having then completed its trans-
formations. The female, when about to lay her eggs, punc-
tures 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 sawdust ; and the holes made by
the insects are easily discovered 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 thick-
ness. It is nearly cylindrical, being only a little flattened
on the under-side, and is of a whitish color, except 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 at the end, so as to form a kind of gouge or scoop,
the cdcres of which are flirnished with little notches or teeth.
It is by means of this singular scoop that the grub shovels
the minute grains of the wood out of its burrow. The pupa
* A mistake undoubtedly for septemirionalis. It is the Brenthus maxillosus of
Olivier aiul Schonherr.
THE CURCULIONIANS. 69
is met with in the burrow formed by the larv^a. It is of
a yellowish-white color ; the head is bent under the thorax,
and the snout rests on the breast between the folded legs
and wino-s : the back is furnished with transverse rows of
little thorns or shai'p 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 burrow
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 fiiel, 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
bv grubs of this kind. The credit of discoverino; the habits
and transformations of the Northern Brenthus is due to the
Rev. L. W. Leonard, of Dublin, New Hampshire, 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 I have not ventured to
alter the arrangement generally adopted.
The rest of the weevils are short and thick beetles, differ-
ing from all the preceding in their antennie, which are bent
or elbowed near the middle, the first joint being much longer
than the rest. Their feelers are not perceptible. They be-
long to the family Curculionid^, so called from the princi-
pal genus, Ciircidio^ a name given by the Romans to the corn-
weevil. The Curculionians vary in the form, length, and
direction of their snouts. Those belonging to the old genus
Curcidio have short and thick snouts, at the extremity of
which, and near to the sides of the mouth, the antennge are
implanted ; those to which the name of Rkynchcenus was for-
merly applied have longer and more slender snouts, usually
bearing the antenna on or just behind the middle ; and the
third great genus, called Calandra^ contains long-snouted
70 COLEOPTERA.
beetles, whose antennae are fixed just before the eyes at the
base of the snout.
Curcidio (^Pandeleteius) hilaris of Herbst (Fig. 35), wliich
we may call the gi-ay-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 (^Hylohius) Pahs of Herbst
(Fig. 36), is a beetle of a deep chestnut-brown
color, having a line and a few dots of a yellow-
ish-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 Rhynckcenus by some nat-
uralists ; but the antennse are implanted before the middle of
the snout, and not far fi:'om 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
abundance, 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 mate-
rially differ from those of other weevils, inhabit these and
THE PALES WEEVIL. 71
probably other kinds of pines, doing sometimes immense
injury to them. Wilson, the ornithologist, describes the
depredations of these insects, in his account* of the ivory-
billed woodpecker, in tlie 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 diameter and a hundred and fifty feet
high ! Yet whoever passes along the high road from George-
town 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 prevent-
ive or more complete remedy can be devised against these
insects, and their larvae, I avouM humbly suggest the pro-
priety 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 destructive in-
sects 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 Hylohius picivorus by Ger-
mar and Schonherr, or the pitch-eating weevil ; it is sel-
dom 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 larvse live under
* American Ornithology, VoL IV. p. 21.
72 COLEOPTERA.
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 beneath, in consequence of which the part
perishes, and the tree itself soon languishes and dies.
The white-pine weevil, Rliynchoenus (^Pissodes) Strohi*
j,.^ g. of Professor Peck (Fig. 37), unites with
the two preceding insects in destroying
the pines of this country, as above de-
scribed. But it employs also another
mode of attack on the white pine, of
Avhich an interesting account is given by
the late Professor Peck, the first describer
of th,e insect, in the fourth volume of the
" Massachusetts Agricultural Repository and Journal," ac-
companied by figures of the insect. The lofty stature of the
white pine, and the straightness of its trunk, depend, as Pro-
fessor Peck has remarked, upon the constant health of its
leadino- 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 uncommon, and is
caused by the ravages of the white-pine weevil.
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 fi'om one fifth to
three tenths of an inch. Its eggs are deposited on the lead-
ing shoot of the pine, probably immediately under the outer
bark. The larvas, 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
* PissoJes nemorensis of Gerniar.
THE WHITE-PINK WEEVIL. 73
the insect is changed to a pupa, it gnaws a passage from
the inside quite to the bark, which, however, remaining un-
touched, serves to shelter the httle '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 m September, and continue to leave the wood
through that month and a part of October. The shoot at
this time will be found pierced Avith small round holes on
all sides ; sometimes thirty or forty may be counted on one
shoot. Professor Peck has observed that an unlimited in-
crease 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 sa-
gacity to discover the retreat of the larva, the body of which
it stings, and therein deposits an egg. From the latter a grub
is hatched, Avhich devours the larva of the weevil, and is
subsequently transformed to a four-winged fly, in the habita-
tion 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 flre.
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 bee-
tles 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.
10
74 COLEOPTERA.
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 Balaninus, a name
that signifies living or being in a nut. The common nut-
weevil of Europe lays her eggs in the hazelnut 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 immedi-
ately 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 tall, its little inhabitant also comes to its
growth, gnaws a round hole in the shell, through which it
afterwards makes its escape, and burrows in the gi'ound.
Here it remains unchanged through the winter, and in the
following summer, 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
Fig. 38. -^
state. The most common of the nut-wee-
vils known to me appears to be the Rhyn-
chcenus (^Balaninus) nasicus of Say (Fig.
38), the long-snouted nut-weevil. Its form
is oval, and its gi'ound 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 slender as a
bristle, of equal thickness from one to the other, and slightly
curved ; it bears the long elbowed antennae, 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. Specimens have been found paired upon the hazel-
nut-tree in July, at which time probably the eggs are laid.
THE CURCULIO, OR PLUM-WEEVIL. 75
Others appear in September and October, and must pass the
winter concealed in some secure place. From its size and
resemblance to the nut-weevil of Europe, this is supposed
to be the species which attacks the hazelnut here.
It is now well known that the falling of unripe plums is
caused by little whitish grubs, which bore into the fruit.
The loss 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 depredations
of the grubs, which have been ascertained to be the larvae or
V0un2 of a small beetle of the weevil
•^ . ® Fig. 30. Fig. 40.
tribe, called Rhynchcenas (^Conotrache-
lus) Nenuphar* (Figs. 39 and 40,) the
Nenuphar or plum- weevil. This wee-
vil, or ciirculio^ as it is often called, is
a little rough, dark-brown, or blackish
beetle, looking like a dried bud when it
is shaken from the trees, Avhich resem-
blance 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 motion, and seemingly lifeless.
It is fi-om three twentieths to one fifth of an inch long, ex-
clusive of the curved snout, which is rather longer than the
thorax, and is bent under the breast, between the fore legs,
when at rest. Its color is a dark broAvn, variegated with
spots of white, ochre-yellow, and black. The thorax is un-
even ; the wing-covers have several short ridges upon them,
those on the middle of the back formino- 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. I have found these beetles as
early as the 30th of March, and as late as the lOth of June,
and at various intermediate times, according with the for-
* First described by Herbst, in 1797, under the name of Curculio Nemiphar;
Fabricius redescribed it under that of RhynchoEnus Argula ; and Dejean has named
it Conotrachelus variegatus.
76 COLEOPTERA.
wardness or backwardness of vegetation in the spring, and
have frequently caught them flying in the middle of the day.
They begin to sting the plums as soon as the fruit is set,
and continue their operations to the middle of July, or, as
some say, till the first of August. In doing this, the beetle
first makes a small" crescent-shaped incision, -with its snout,
in the skin of the plum, and then, turning round, inserts
an egg in the Avound. From one plum it goes to another,
until its store of eggs is exhausted ; so that, where these
beetles abound, not a plum Avill escape being stung. Very
rarely is there more than one incision made in the same
fniit ; and the weevil lays only a single egg therein. The
insect hatched from this egg is a little whitish grub, desti-
tute of feet, and very much like a maggot in appearance,
except that it has a distinct, rounded, light-brown head. It
immediately burrows obliquely into the fruit, and finally pene-
trates to the stone. The irritation, arising from the wounds
and from the gnawings of the grabs, causes the young fruit
to become gummy, diseased, and finally to drop before it
is ripe. Meanwhile, the grub comes to its growth, and, im-
mediately after the falling of the fruit, quits the latter and
burrows in the ground. This may occur at various times
between the middle of June and of August ; and, in about
three weeks afterwards, the insect completes its transforma-
tions, and comes out of the gi'ound in the beetle form.
The earliest account of the habits of the plum weevil, that
I have seen, was written by Dr. James Tilton, of Wilming-
ton, DelaAvare. It will be found, under the article Fruit, in
Dr. James Mease's edition of Willich's " Domestic Encyclo-
psedia," published at Philadelphia in 1803. The same ac-
coimt has been reprinted in the " Georgic Papers for 1809 "
of the Massachusetts Agricultural Society, and in other
works. According to Dr. Tilton, this insect attacks not only
nectarines, plums, apricots, and cherries, but also peaches,
apples, pears, and quinces, the truth of which has been abun-
dantly confirmed by later writers. I have myself ascertained
THE CURCULIO, OR PLUM-WEEVIL. 77
that the cherry-worm, so called, Avhich is very common in this
fruit when gathered from the tree, produces, at maturity, the
same curculio as that of the plum ; but, unlike the latter,
it rarely causes the stung cherry to drop prematurely to the
ground. The late Dr. Joel Burnett, of Southborough, the
author of two interesting articles on the plum-weevil,* sent
to me, in the summer of 1839, some specimens of the in-
sect, in the chrysalis state, which were raised from the small
grubs in apples ; and, since that time, I have seen the same
grubs in apples, pears, and quinces, in this vicinity. They
are not to be mistaken for the more common ajjjAe-tvorms,
from which they are easily distinguished by their inferior
size, and by their want of feet. In 1831, Mr. Thomas Say,
in a note on the plum-weevil, stated that it " depredates on
the plum and peach and other stone-fruits ; " and that his
" kinsman, the late excellent William Bartram, informed him
it also destroys the English walnut in this country." f
Observers do not agree concerning some points in the
economy of this insect, such as the time required for it to
complete its transformations, the condition and j^lace wherein
it passes the winter, and the agency of the curculio in pro-
ducing the warts or excrescences on plum and cherry trees.
The average time passed by the insect in the ground, during
the summer, has appeared to me to be about three weeks ;
but the transformation may be accelerated or retarded by
temperature and situation. It has also been my impression
that the late broods remained in the ground all winter, and
that from them are produced the beetles which sting the fruit
in the folloAving spring. Dr. Burnett's observations coincide
with this opinion. According to him, the insect " under-
goes transformation in about fifteen or twenty days, in the
month of June or fore part of July ; but all the larvse, (as
* New England Farmer, Vol. XVIIL p. 304, March 11, 1840; and Hovey's Mag-
azine of Horticulture, Vol. IX. p. 281, August, 1843, reprinted in the New England
Farmer, Vol. XXII. p. 49, August IG, 1843, and in the Transactions of the Jlassa-
chusetts Horticultural Society, for 1843-1846, p. 18.
t Descriptions of Curculionites, p. 19 (8vo, New Harmony, 1831).
78 COLEOPTERA.
far as he had observed,) that go into the earth as late as the
20th of July, do not ascend that season, but remain there in
the pupa stage until next spring." Dr. Tilton, in his account
of the curculio, stated that " it remains in the earth, in the
form of a grub, during the winter, ready to be metamorphosed
into a beetle as the spring advances." According to M. H.
Simpson, Esq., of Saxon ville, the larvae, or grubs, "go through
their chrysalis state in three weeks after going into the ground,
and remain in a torpid state through the season, unless the
earth is disturbed." * Dr. E. Sanborn, of Andover, has come
to entirely different conclusions, from a series of experiments
made upon these insects. It is his opinion that they do not
remain m the ground, during the winter, either in the grub
or in the beetle state ; but that, under all conditions of place
and temperature, " in about six weeks " after they have en-
tered the earth " they return to the surface perfectly finished,
winged, and equipped for the work of destruction " ; and that,
" as neither the curculio nor its grub burrows in the ground
during the winter, the common practice of guarding against
its ravages, by various operations in the soil, rests upon a
false theory, and is productive of no valuable results."! If
these conclusions be correct, these insects must pass the win-
ter above ground, in the beetle state, and the place of their
concealment, during this season, remains to be discovered.
In July, 1818, Professor W. D. Peck obtained, from the
warty excrescences of the cheny-tree, the same insects that
he " had long known to occasion the fall of peaches, apricots,
and plums, before they had acquired half their growth";
and, not aware that this species had already received a scien-
tific name, he called it Rhynchcenus Cerasi, the cherry- weevil.
His account of it, with a figure, may be seen in the fifth
volume of the " Massachusetts Agricultural Repository and
* Hovey's Magazine, Vol. XVI. p. 257, June, 1850.
t See Dr. Sanborn's interesting communications on the Plum Curculio, in the
Boston Cultivator, for May 19, 1849, and July 13, 1850, and in the Puritan Re-
corder for May 2, and the Cambridge Chronicle for May 30, 1850.
CURCULIO FOUND IN WARTS. 79
Journal." The grubs, found by Professor Peck in the tumors
of the cherry-tree, went into the ground on the 6th of July,
and on the 30th 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.
The plum, still more than the cherry tree, is subject to a
disease of the small limbs, that shows itself in the form of larffs
irregular warts, of a black color. Professor Peck referred
this disease, as well as that of the cherry-tree, to the agency
of insects, but was imcertain whether to attribute it to his
cherry-weevil " or to another species of the same genus."
It was his opinion, 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 thick-
ness ; the cuticle bursts, the swelling becomes irregular, and
is formed into black lumps, with a cracked, uneven, granu-
lated surface. The wood, besides being deprived of its nutri-
ment, is very much compressed, and the branch above the
tumor perishes." Dr. Burnett rejected the idea of the insect
origin of this disease, which he considered as a kind of ftingus,
arising in the alburnum, from an obstruction of the vessels,
and bursting through the bark, which became involved in the
disease. These tumors appear to me to begin between the
bark and wood. They are at first soft, cellular, and full of
sap, but finally become hard and woody. But whether
caused by vitiated sap, as Dr. Burnett supposed, or by the
irritating punctures of insects, which is the prevailing opin-
ion, or whatever be their origin and seat, they form an
appropriate bed for the growth of numerous little parasitical
plants or fungi, to which botanists give the name of Sphceria
mo7'bosa. These plants are the minute black granules that
cover the surface of the wart, and give to it its black color.
When fully matured, they are filled with a gelatinous fluid,
and have a little pit or depression on their summit. They
come to their growth, discharge their volatile seed, and die
in the course of a single summer ; and with them perishes
80 COLEOPTERA.
the trnnor whence they sprung. It is worthy of remark,
that they are sure to appear on these warts in due time, and
that they are never found on any other part of the tree.
Insects are often found in the warts of the plum-tree, as
well as in those of the cherry-tree. The larvae of a minute
Cynips^ or gall-fly, are said to inhabit them,* but have never
fallen under my observation. The naked caterpillars of a
minute moth are very common in the warts of the plum-
tree, in which also are sometimes found other insects, among
them little ginibs from which genuine i)lum-weevils have been
raised. This is a very interesting fact in the economy of
the plum-weevil. It may be questioned, however, whether
it be a mere mistake of instinct that leads the curculio to
lay its eggs in the warts of the plum-tree, or a special pro-
vision of a wise Providence to secure thereby a succession
of the species in unfruitful seasons.
The following, among other remedies that have been sug-
gested, 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. Keeping the fruit covered with a coat of
whitewash, which is to be applied with a syringe as often
as necessary, has been much recommended of late to repel
the attacks of the curculio. A little glue, added to the
whitewash, causes it to stick better and last longer. We
may succeed by this remedy in securing a crop of plums ;
but as we cannot apply it to cherries and apples, they will
be sure to suffer more than ever, and hence no check will
* Schweinitz, Synopsis Fungorum ; in Transactions of the American Pliilo-
sophical Society, Philadelphia, New Series, Vol. IV. p. 204.
THE POTATO-WEEVIL. .81
be given to the increase of the weevil. All the fallen fruit
should be immediately gathered and thrown into a tight
vessel, and after it is boiled or steamed to kill the en-
closed grubs, it may be given as food to swine. Many
of the grubs will be found in the bottom of the vessel in
which the fallen fi'uit has been deposited. Not one of these
should be allowed to escape to the ground, but they should
all be killed before they have time to complete their trans-
formations. The diseased excrescences on the trees should
be cut out, and, as they often contain insects, they should
be burnt. If the wounds are washed with strong brine,
the formation of new warts will be checked. The moose
plum-tree (^Prunus Americana} seems to be free from warts,
even when growing in the immechate vicinity of diseased for-
eign trees. It would, therefore, be the best of stocks for
budding or ingrafting upon. It can be easily raised from the
stone, and grows rapidly, but does not attain a great size.
Among the many insects that have been charged with
being the cause of the wide-spread pestilence, commonly
called the potato-rot, there is a kind of weevil that lives in
the stalk of the potato. The history of this little insect was
first made known by Miss Margaretta H. Morris, of Ger-
mantown, Pennsylvania. In August, 1849, her attention
was called to this subject by Mr. Wilkinson, the principal*
of the JNIount Airy Agricultural Institute, " who discovered
small grubs in the potato-vines on his farm, and naturally
feared injurious consequences." On the 28th Fig. 4i.
of the same month and year. Miss Morris sent
to me some specimens of the insects in a piece
of the potato-stalk, wherein they underwent their
transformations. They proved to be the beetles
described by Mr. Say under the name of Bari-
dius trinotatus (Fig. 41), so called from their
having three black dots on their backs. This kind of beetle
is about three twentieths of an inch long. Its body is covered
with short whitish hairs, which give to it a gray appearance.
11
82 COLEOPTERA.
One of the black dots is on the scutel, and the others are
on the hinder angles of the thorax ; and by these it can be
readily distinguished from other species. According to Miss
Morris, it lays its eggs singly on the plant at the base of a
leaf. The grubs burrow into and consume the inner sulj-
stance of the stalk, proceeding dowuAvards towards the root.
In many fields in the neighborhood of Germantown every
stem was found to be infested by these insects, causing the
premature decay of the vines, and giving to them the appear-
ance of having been scalded. The insects undergo all their
transformations in the stalks. Their pupa state lasts from
fourteen to twenty days, and they take the beetle form dur-
ing the last of August and beginning of September. These
insects, though common enough in the Middle States, I have
never found in New England, in the course of thirty years
of observation, and have failed to discover them here since
my attention was called to their depredations by Miss Morris.
That ihey may become very injurious to the potato crop
where they abound, will be readily admitted ; but, as they
do not occur in all places, either here or in Europe, where
the potato-rot has prevailed, they cannot be justly said to
produce this disease.*
The most pernicious of the Rhynchophorians, or snout-
'beetles, are the insects properly called gi'ain- weevils, belong-
ing to the old genus Calandra. These insects must not be
confounded with the still more destructive larvae of the corn-
moth (^Tinea (/ranella), which also attacks stored grain, nor
with the orange-colored maggots of the wheat-fly (^Cecidomyia
Tritici)^ which are found in the ears of growing wheat. Al-
though the grain-weevils are not actually injurious to vege-
tation, yet as the name properly belonging to them has often
been misapplied in this country, thereby creating no little
confusion, some remarks upon them may tend to prevent
future mistakes.
* See my communication on this insect, &c., in the New England Farmer, for
June 22, 1850, Vol. II. p. 204.
GRAIN-WEEVILS. 83
The true grain-weevil or wheat-weevil of Europe, Calan-
dra (^Sitophilas) granaria, or Curculio granarius of Linnaeus,
in its pertected state is a slender beetle of a pitchy-red color,
about one eighth of an inch long, with a slender snout slightly
bent downwards, 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 abdomen. This little insect, both in the beetle
and grub state, devours stored wheat and other grains, and
often commits much havoc in granaries and brewhouses. 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 ap-
pearance 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 gi'ubs undergo their transformations,
and come out of the hulls, in the beetle state, to lay their
eggs for another brood. These insects are effectually de-
stroyed by kiln-drying the wheat ; and grain that is kept
cool, well ventilated, and is frequently moved, is said to be
exempt from attack.
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 some-
what smaller, measuring only about one tenth of an inch
in length, exclusive of the snout. This beetle, the Calan-
dra (^Sitophilus) Oryzoe* or rice- weevil (Plate 11. Fig. 8),
is not entirely confined to rice, but depredates upon wheat,
and also on Indian corn. In the Southern States it is called
the black weevil, to distinguish it from other insects that in-
* Curculio Oryzce of Linnaeus.
84 COLEOPTERA.
fest grain. I am not aware that these weevils attack wlieat
in New England ; but 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 jjrotected 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, however, the rice well seeded for a future
harvest of weevil-grubs. In due time the eggs are hatched,
the grubs live securely and unseen 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 ])articles of
rice-flour, and then are changed to pup;B. 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 then should 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 Avinter 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
THE BARK-BEETLES. 85
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 ex-
tremities, and about one quarter of an inch in length. They
are seen sloAvly creeping upon the sides of wooden buildings,
resting on the tops of fences, or wheeling about in the air,
and every now and then suddenly 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 thou-
sands 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, Ave
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 gi-own.
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 depreda-
tions interrupt the descent of the sap, and prevent the forma-
8G COLEOPTERA.
tion of new Avood ; tlie bark becomes loosened fi'om the wood,
to a greater or less extent, and the tree languishes and prema-
Fig. 42. turely decays. The name of this insect is Hylur-
yjty gus terebrans* the boring Hylm'gus (Fig. 42) ; the
/vSh^ generical name signifying a carpenter, or Avorker in
■/^V wood. It belongs to the family Scolytid^, includ-
ing various kinds of destructive insects, Avhich may be called
cylindrical bark-beetles. The insects of this family may be
recognized by the following characters. The body is nearly
cylindrical, obtuse before and behind, and generally of some
shade of brown. The head is rounded, sunk pretty deeply
in the fore part of the thorax, and does not end Avith a
snout ; the antenna are short, more or less crooked or curved
in the middle, and end Avith an OA'al knob ; the feelers are
very short. The thorax is rather long, and as broad as the
folloAving part of the body. The Aving-covers are frequently
cut off obliquely, or holloAved at the hinder extremity. The
legs are short and strong, Avith little teeth on the outer edge
or extremity of the shanks, and the feet are not AA'ide and
spongy beneath.
Though these cylindrical bark-beetles are of small size,
they multiply very fast, and AA'here they abound are produc-
tiA^e of much mischief, particularly in forests, Avhich are often
greatly injured by their larvse, and the AA'ood is rendered
unfit for the purposes of art. In the year 1780, an insect
of this family made its appearance in the pine-trees of one
of the mining districts of Germany, AAhere it increased so
rapidly that in three years afterAA^ards A\diole forests had
disappeared beneath its ravages, and an end A\'as nearly put
to the AA'orking of the extensive mines in this range of
country, for the AA'ant of fuel to cany on the operations.
Pines and firs are the most subject to their attacks, but there
are some kinds AA'hich infest other trees. The premature
decay of the elm in some parts of Europe is occasioned by
the ravages of the Scolytus destructor^ of Avhich an interesting
* Scolytus terebrans of Olivier.
THE BARK-BEETLES. . 87
account was written in 1824, by Mr. Macleay. An abstract
of his paper may be found in the fifth volume of the " New
EngUmd Fanner." * The larvae or gi*ubs of these bark-
beetles resemble those of the Hylargus terebrans^ or pine bark-
beetle already described. Like the grabs of the weevils,
they are short and thick, and destitute of legs.
The red cedar is inhabited by a veiy small bark-beetle,
named by Mr. Say Hylargus 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 mth little grains,
which become more elevated towards the hinder part, and
are arranged in longitudinal rows, with little furrows between
them. The tooth-like appearance 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 laid. The grubs
hatched from these proceed in feeding nearly at right angles,
forming on each side numerous parallel furroAvs, smaller than
the central tube of the female. They complete their trans-
fomiations in October, and eat their way through the bark,
which will then be seen to be perforated with thousands of
little round holes, thi'ough which the beetles have escaped.
Under the bark of the pitch-pine I have found, in com-
pany with the pine bark-beetle, a more slender bark-beetle,
of a dark chestnut-brown color, clothed with a few short yel-
lowish hairs, with a long, almost egg-shaped thorax, which is
very rough before, and short wing-covers, deeply punctured
in rows, holloAved 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
* Page 169.
88 COLEOPTERA.
or excavated, was given to it by Mr. Say on acconnt 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 com-
mon 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
preceding, from which it differs chiefly in the inferiority of
its size, being; but three twentieths of an inch in
Fig. 43. * .
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 (Fig. 43). The ginibs
of this insect are veiy 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.
There is another small bark-beetle, the Tomicus liminaris^
of my Catalogue, which has been found, in great numbers,
by Miss Morris, under the bark of peach-trees, affected with
the disease called the yelloivs, and hence supposed by her to
be connected with this malady.* I have found it under
the bark of a diseased elm ; but have nothing more to offer,
from my own observations, concerning its histoiy, except
that it completes its transformation in August and September.
It is of a dark-brown color ; the thorax is punctured, and
the wing-covers are marked with deeply punctured fiirroAvs,
and are beset with short hairs. It does not average one
tenth of an inch in length.
The pear-tree in New England has been found to be
subject to a peculiar malady, which shows itself during mid-
summer by the sudden withering of the leaves and fruit, and
the discoloration of the bark of one or more of the limbs,
[9 Tliis species differs from the others known in this country by having the last
three joints of the antennas dilated laterally, forming a lamellate club like that of
the Scarabseidas ; it therefore belongs to the genus Phloiotribus. — Lec]
* See Miss Moms on the Yellows, in Downing's Horticulturist, Vol. IV. p. 502.
THE BLIGHT-BEETLE. 89
followed by the immediate death of the part aft'ected. This
kind of blight, as it has been called, being oftenest confined
to a single branch, or to the extremity of a branch, seems to
be a local affection only. It ends with the death of the
branch, down to a certain point, but does not extend beloAV
the seat of attack, and does not affect the health of other
parts of the tree. In June, 1816, the Hon. John Lowell, of
Roxbury, discovered a minute insect in one of the affected
limbs of a pear-tree ; afterwards, he repeatedly detected the
same insects in blasted limbs, and his discoveries have been
confirmed by Mr. Henry Wheeler and the late Dr. Oliver
Fiske, of Worcester, and by many other persons. Mr. Low-
ell 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 " Massa-
chusetts Agiicultural Repository and Journal."
From this account, and from the subsequent communica-
tion by Mr. Lowell, in the fifth volume of the " New Eng-
land Farmer," it appears that the gnib 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,
afler 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 circula-
tion is cut off". This takes place when the increasing heat of
the atmosphere, producing a greater transpiration from the
leaves, renders a large and continued flow of sap necessar)^
to supply the evaporation. For the want of this, or from
some other unexplained 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 subsequently to a little beetle, in
12
90 COLEOPTERA.
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 insect, which may be called the hli<jht-heetle, from the
injury it occasions, attacks also apple, apricot, and plum trees,
though less frequently than pear-trees. In the latter part of
May, 1843, a piece of the blighted limb of an apple-tree was
sent to me for examination. It was twenty-eight inches
in length, and tliree quarters of an inch in diameter at
the lower end. Its surface bore the marks of twenty buds,
thirteen of which were perforated by the insects ; and from
the burrows within I took twelve of the bligl it-beetles in
a living and perfect condition, the thirteenth insect having
previously been cut out. On the 9th of July, 1844, the
Hon. M. P. Wilder sent to me a piece of a branch from
a plum-tree, which contained, within the space of one foot,
four nests or branching burrows, in each of which several
insects in the grub and chrysalis state were found, and also
one that had completed its transformations. Soon afterwards
I caught one of the blight-beetles on a plum-tree, probably
about to lay her eggs. In the following montli of August,
I received a blighted branch of an apricot-tree, one inch in
diameter at the largest end, and containing, within the short
distance of six inches, seven or eight perfect blight-beetles,
each in a separate burrow, and vestiges of other burrows
that had been destroyed in cutting the branch.*
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 of the color of iron-inist. 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 behind ; the shanks are widened
and flattened towards the end, beset with a few little teeth
* See my communications on these insects in the Massachusetts IMoughman for
June 17, 1843. Also Downing's Horticulturist for February, 1848, Vol. II. p. .365.
THE BOSTRICHIANS. 91
externally, and end with a short hook ; and the joints of
the feet are slender and entire. Tiiis insect cannot be
retained in the genus Scolytm., as defined by modern nat-
uralists, but is to be placed in the genus Tomicus. The
minuteness of the insect, the difficulty attending the discov-
eiy 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 beloto 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 baetles, much like the preceding in
form, whose grubs bore into the solid wood of trees. They
were formerly included among the cylindrical bark-beetles,
but have been separated from them recently, and now fonn
the family BostrichiDzE, 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 veiy 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 fore
part of it. The antennae are of moderate length, and end
with three large joints, which are saw-toothed internally.
The larvre are mostly wood-eaters, and are whitish fleshy
grubs, wrinkled on the back, furnished with six legs, and
92 COLEOPTERA.
resemble in fomi the ginibs of some of the small Scara-
baeians.
The shagbark or walnut tree is sometimes infested by the
grubs of the red-shouldered Apate, or Apate hasillaris of
Say, an insect of this family. The grubs bore diametrically
through the tmnks of the walnut to the very heart, and
undergo their transformations in the bottom of their bur-
rows. Several trees have fallen under my observation wliich
have been entirely killed by these insects. The beetles are
of a deep black color, and are punctured all over. The
thorax is very convex and rougli 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 poweiiid and destructive of the wood-eating
insects are the grubs of the long-homed or Capricorn-beetles
(Cerambycid.e), 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 consideration differ much fi'om each other in their
habits. Some li\'e altogether 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 essen-
tially 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 folloAving respects.
THE CAPRICORN-BEETLES. 93
The antennae are long and tapering, and generally curved
like the honis of a goat, which is the origin of the name
above given to these beetles. The body is oblong, approach-
ino- to a cylindrical form, a little flattened above, and taper-
ino- 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, 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 nibbing the joints of the thorax
and abdomen together. The females are generally larger
and more robust than the males, and have rather shorter
antennaB. 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 downwards, 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 cylindri-
cal 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 bur-
rows by alternate extension and contraction of their bodies.
94 COLEOPTERA.
on each or on most of the rings of which, both above and
below, there is an oval space covered with httie elevations,
somewhat like the teeth of a fine rasp ; and these little oval
rasps, which are designed 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 sawdust; others, as fast as they proceed,
fill up the passages behind them with then' castings, Avell
known here by the name of powder-post. These borers
live fi'om one year to three or perhaps more years before
they come to their growth. They undergo their transfor-
mations 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 antennjB are turned back against the sides of the body,
and 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 burroAv, and comes out
of its dark and confined retreat, to breathe the ft-esh 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 fami-
lies, corresponding with the genera PrionuB^ Ceramhyx^ 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, project-
ing jaws, and kidney-shaped eyes. Those in the second
have eyes of the same shape, more slender or much longer
antennfe, and smaller jaws ; and are often variegated in
their colors. The beetles belonging to the third family are
readily distinguished by their eyes, which are round and
prominent. These three families are divided into many
THE PRIONIANS.
95
smaller groups and genera, the peculiarities of which cannot
be particularly pointed out in a \voi*k of this kind.
The Prionians, or Prionid^, deriA^e their name from a
Greek word signifying a saw, which has been applied to
them either because tlie antennte, in most of these beetles,
consists 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 (Fig. 44),
Prionus laticollis * of Drury, its
first describer. It is of a long
oval shape and of a pitchy-black
color. The jaws, though short,
are very thick and strong ; the an-
tennae 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 lat-
eral 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 to-
gether irregularly. It measui'es
* Prionus brevlcornis of Fabricius
Fig. 44.
from one inch and one
96
COLEOPTERA.
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 gi'own, 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 fi'equently 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
Jig. 45. (Fig. 45), inhabits pine-trees.
Its body is long, narrow, and
flattened, of a light bay-bro"wn
color, with the head and an-
tennae 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 ele-
vated ribs on each of them.
This beetle measures 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. ft 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, Cerambycid.e, 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 fii'st joint
of the antennse, which are not saw-toothed, but generally
* P. cyllndricus of Fabricius.
[10 This species was very properly separated by Serville as a distinct genus
Orthosoma. — Lec]
THE BANDED STENOCORUS. 97
slender and tapering, sometimes of moderate length, some-
times excessively long, especially in the males ; the thorax
is longer and more convex than in the preceding 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 tip, and by the great length of their antennaB, belong to
the genus Stenocorus, a name signifying narrow or straitened.
One of them, which is Fig.
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 Stenoeorus (^Ceras-
phorus) cinctus,* or band-
ed Stenoeorus (Fig 46).
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 antennae of the
males are more than twice the length of the body, Avhich
measures from three quarters of an inch to one inch and one
quarter in length.
The ground beneath black and white oaks is often ob-
served 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 oi* 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 discovered therein. In
* Ceramhyx cinctus, Drury ; Stenoeorus gargankut, Fabricius.
13
98
COLEOPTERA.
Fig. 47.
Fig. 48.
the spring this grub is transfonned to a pupa, and in June or
July it is changed to a beetle, and comes out of the branch.
The histoiy of this insect was first made
pubhc by Professor Peck,* wlio ciilled it
the oak-pruner, or Stenocorus {Elaplddmi)
putator (Fig 47). ^^ In its aduh state it is
a slender long-horned beetle, of a dull
brown color, sprinkled with gray spots,
composed of very short close hairs ; the
antennfE 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 yellow-
ish-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 (Fig 48)
hatched from it penetrates at that spot to the
pith, and then continues its course towards the
body of the tree, devouring the pith, and there-
by forming a cylindrical burrow, several inches
in lengtli, in the centre 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 (Fig 49, pupa),
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 pre-
Pupa. cipitated to the ground by the autumnal winds.
* Massachusetts Agricultural Repository and Journal, Vol. V., with a plate.
[ 11 This species was previously described by Fabricius as Stenocorus villosus,
which specific name must therefore be preserved. — Lec ]
Fig. 49.
THE CAPRICORN-BEETLES. 99
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 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 de-
stroying 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 forward, as in Steno corns ; 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 larvas
are of moderate length, more flattened than the grubs of
the other Capricorn-beetles, have a very broad and horny
head, small but powerful jaws, and are provided with six
extremely small legs. They undermine the bark, and per-
forate 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 sawdust 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. The sides of the body in the pupa are thin-edged,
and finely notched, and the tail is forked.
100 COLEOPTEEA.
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 Aving-covers ; the thorax is
nearly circular, is covered with fine whitish down, and has
two elevated polished black points upon it ; and the Aving-
covers are very coarsely punctured. It measures from four
tenths to three quarters of an inch in length. This insect is
the Callidium hajulus (Plate II. Fig. 12) ; 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 informed by Kirby and Spence, that the grubs
sometimes greatly injure the wood-work of houses in Lon-
don, piercing the rafters of the roofs in eveiy direction, and,
when arrived at maturity, even penetrating 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 com-
mon in the maritime parts of the United States, it was
probably first brought to this country by vessels from Eu-
rope.
The violet Callidium, Callidium violaceum* ^ (Plate II.
Fig. 11,) 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
winding tracks may be traced by the hardened sawdust with
* Cerambyx violaceus of Linnjeus.
[12 Our species is considered different from the European Callidium violaceum,
under the name C. anten/ialum, Newman. — Lec]
THE CAPRICORN-BEETLES. 101
which they are crowded. Just before they are about to be
transformed, they bore into the sohd wood to the depth of
several inches. They are said to be very injurious to the
saphng pines in JNIaine. Professor Peek supposed this species
of Calhdiuni to liave been introduced into Europe in timber
exported from this countiy, as it is found in most parts of
that continent that have been much connected with North
America by navigation. Thus Europe and America seem
to have 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 beau-
tiful of our forest-trees, and is esteemed as one of the most
valuable, on account of its many usefld 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 transformations of these borers.
In the summer of 1828, his attention was called to some
young maples, in Keene, which were in a languishing condi-
tion. 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 sev-
eral 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. The beetle was first described in 1824, in the Ap-
pendix to Keating's " Narrative of Long's Expedition," by
Mr. Say, who called it Clytiis sjyeciosus ; that is, the beauti-
ful Clytus. (Plate II. Fig. 15.) It was afterwards inserted,
102 COLEOPTERA.
and accurately represented by the pencil of Lesueur, in Say's
" American Entomology^," and, more recently, a description
and figure of it have appeared in Griffith's translation of
Cuvier's " Animal Kingdom," under the name of Clytas
Hayii.
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 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 yellow 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 yellow band arching back-
wards, 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 sawdust 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
THE PAINTED CLYTUS. 103
pollen, which they devour. During the month of Septem-
ber, the painted Clytus, Clytus pictas,* (Plate II. Fig. 10,) is
often seen in abundance, feeding by day upon the blossoms
of the golden-rod. If the trunks of our common locust-tree,
Rohinia pseudacaeia, 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
Foster, who then described it under the name of Leptura
Hobinice, 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 priority, in point of time, over all the others that
have been subsequently imposed, must be retained. This
Capricorn-beetle has 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 w^ith 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 fi'om 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 w^ith a rapid bowing of the
shoulders, accompanied by a creaking sound, indicative of
* Leptura picta, Drury; Clytusjlexwisus, Fabricius.
104 COLEOPTERA.
recognition or defiance. Having paired, the female, attend-
ed by her partner, creeps over tlie 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 immedi-
ately burrow into the bark, devouring the soft inner sub-
stance 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 ?ls 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 sawdust 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 tumors, caused by
the efltbrts of the trees to repair the injuries they have
suffered. According to the observations of General H. A.
S. Deai'born, who has given an excellent account* of this
insect, the grabs attain tlieir frill size by the 20tli 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.
Whitewashing, and covering the trunks of the trees with
grafting composition, may prevent the female fr'om deposit-
ing her eggs upon them ; but this practice cannot be carried
to any great extent 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 con-
* Massachusetts Agricultural Repository and Journal, Vol. VI. ]>. 272.
THE TICKLER.
105
tained in them, as well as to promote a more vigorous
growth. Much evil might be prevented by employing chil-
dren to collect the beetles while in the act of providing for
the continuation of their kind. A common black bottle, con-
talnino- 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 ourselves of this
destructive insect.
The largest Capricorn-beetle, of the Cerambycian family,
found in New England, is the Lamia (^Monohammus titillator)
of Fabricius (Fig. 50), or the tickler, so named probably on
Fig. 50.
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 anten-
nae. Three or four of these beetles may sometimes be seen
14
106 . COLEOPTERA.
together in June and July, on logs or on the trmiks of trees
in the woods, the males paying their coui't to the females,
or contending with theu* rivals, waving their antennge, and
showing the eagerness of the contest or pursuit by their
rapid creaking sounds.
The head of the Lamias is vertical or perpendicular ; the
antennas 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 m 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 eiohth to
one inch and one quarter. What kind of tree the grub of
this insect inhabits is unknown to me.
Trees of the poplar ti'ibe, both in Europe and America,
are subject to the attacks of certain kinds of borers, differing
essentially from all the foregoing when arrived at maturity.
They belong to the genus Saperda. In the beetle state the
head is vertical, the antennae 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
(Plate II. Fig. 21), or the spurred Saperda, so named
because 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 punc-
tured 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
THE TWO-STRIPED SAPERDA. 107
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 Sajyerda carcharias, •which inhabits
the poplar ; and the grubs of our native species, with those
of the broad-necked Prionus, have almost entirely destroyed
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 nearlv two
inches in length. The body is very thick, rather larger
before than behind, and consists of twelve segments separated
from each other by deep ti'ansverse fiirrows. 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 tininks and branches of the
various kinds of poplars, in August and September ; they
fly by night, and sometimes enter the open windows of
houses in the evening.
The borers of the apple-tree have become notorious, through-
out the New England and Middle States, for their extensive
ravages. They are the larvae of a beetle called Sape)'da
Uvittata * by ]\Ir. Say, the two-striped, or the brown and
white striped Saperda (Plate 11. Fig. 16) ; the upper side of
its body being marked with two longitudinal white stripes
between three of a liglit-brown color, while the face, the an-
tennae, the under side of the body, and the legs are white.
This beetle varies in length fi'om a little more than one
half to three quarters of an inch. It comes forth fi'om 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 fi'om tree to tree in search
* Snperda Candida ? Fabricius.
108 COLEOPTERA.
of companions and food. In the daytime it keeps at rest
among the leaves of the plants which it devours.
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 Httle from the first ring to the end of the body.
(Plate II. Fig. 17.) 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 ; tlie 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, 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 tmnk of the tree, its bvirrow at the
end approaching to, and being covered only by, the bark.
Here its transformation takes place. The pupa does not
differ much from other pupjB of beetles ; but it has a trans-
verse row of minute prickles on each of the rings of the
back, and several at the tip of the abdomen. These prob-
ably assist the insect in its movements, when casting off" its
pupa-skin. The final change occmrs about the first of June,
THE COATED SAPERDA. 109
soon after which, the beetle gnaws through the bark that
covers the end of its burrow, and comes out of its place of
confinement in the night.
Notwithstanding the pains that have been taken by some
persons 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 neg-
lected, and not only the rugged tninks of the trees, but
even a forest of unpruned suckers around them, are left to
the undisturbed possession and perpetual inheritance of the
Saperda.
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 fiilly 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 previously inserted,
this practice promises to be more effectual ; but experiments
are wanting to confirm its expediency.
The coated Saperda, or Saperda vestita (Plate II. Fig. 19),
described by Mr. Say in the Appendix to Keating's Narrative
of Major Long's Expedition", resembles the foregoing species
in forai. It measures from six to eight tenths of an inch in
length ; it is entirely covered with a close gi-eenish-yellow
down or nap, and has two or three small black dots near the
middle of each wing-cover. Mr. Say discovered it near the
southern extremity of Lake Michigan, and states that it is
110 COLEOPTERA.
also sometimes found in Pennsylvania ; but he does not
appear to have known anything of its history. It is also
found in Massachusetts, but has been rarely seen until
within a few years. One of my specimens was taken in
Milton about twenty years ago, and several others were
taken in Cambridge, during the summers of 1843 and 1844,
upon the European lindens, from the tininks and branches
of which they had just come forth. A knowledge of the
habits of this insect might have led to its more frequent
discovery. One of the lindens above named was a noble
and A^enerable tree, with a trunk measuring eight feet and
five inches in circvimference, three feet from the ground.
A strip of the bark, two feet wide at the bottom, and
extending to the top of the trunk, had been destroyed, and
the exposed surface of the wood was pierced and grooved
with countless numbers of holes, wherein the borers had
been bred, and whence swarms of the beetles must have
issued in past times. Some of the large limbs and a portion
of the top of the tree had fallen, apparently in consequence
of the ravages of these insects ; and it is a matter of surprise
that this fine linden should have withstood and outlived the
attacks of such a host of miners and sappers.
The lindens of Philadelphia have suffered much more
severely from these borers. Dr. Paul SAvift, in a letter
written in jNIay, 1844, gave to me the following interesting
account of them. " The trees in Washington and Inde-
pendence Squares were first observed to have been attacked
about seven years ago. Within two years, it has been found
necessary to cut down forty-seven European Imdens in the
former square alone, where there now remain only a few
American lindens, and these a good deal eaten." " Many
of the beetles were found upon the small branches and leaves
on the 28th day of INIay, and it is said that they come out
as early as the first of the month, and continue to make
their way through the bark of the trunk and large branches
during the whole of the warm season. They immediately fly
THE SAPERDA TRIDENTATA. Ill
into tlie top of tlie tree, and there feed upon the epidermis of
the tender twigs, and the petioles of the leaves, often wholly
denuding the latter, and causing the leaves to fall. They
d^'posit their eggs, two or three in a place, upon the trunk
and brandies, especially about the forks, making slight incis-
ions or punctures, for their reception, with their strong jaws.
As many as ninety eggs have been taken from a single beetle.
The grubs, hatched from these eggs, undermine the bark to
the extent of six or eight inches, in sinuous channels, or
penetrate the solid wood an equal distance. It is supposed
that three years are required to mature the insect. Various
expedients have been tried to arrest their course, but without
effect. A stream, thrown into the tops of the trees from the
hydrant, is often used with good success to dislodge other
insects ; but the borer-beetles, when thus disturbed, take
wing and hover over the trees till all is quiet, and then alight
and go to work again. The trunks and branches of some of
the trees have been washed over with various preparations
without benefit. Boring the trunk near the ground, and
putting in sulphur and other drugs, and plugging, have been
tried with as little effect."
This beetle I have taken in Massachusetts only in June,
mostly between the 1st and 17th, and none after the 20th
day of the month. The grub closely resembles that of the
apple-tree borer. Figures of the insect, in all its stages,
may be seen in the tenth volume of Hovey's Magazine,
page 330.
There is another destructive Saperda, whose history re-
mains to be written. It is the Saperda tridentata (Plate II.
Fig. 13), so named by Olivier on account of the tridentate
or three-toothed red border of its wing-covers. This beetle
is of a dark brown color, with a tint of gray, owing to a
thin coating of very short down. It is ornamented with a
curved line behind the eyes, two stripes on the thorax, and
a three-toothed or three-branched stripe on the outer edge
of each wing-cover, of a rusty red color. There are also
112 COLEOPTERA.
six black dots on the thorax, two above, and two on the
sides ; and each of the angles between the branches and the
lateral stripes of the Aving-covers is marked with a blackish
spot. The two hinder branches are oblique, and extend
nearly or quite to the suture ; the anterior branch is short
and hooked. Its average length is about half an inch ; but
it varies from four to six tenths of an inch. The males are
smaller than the females, but have longer antennae.
This pretty beetle has been long known to me, but its
habits were not ascertained till the year 1847. On the 19th
of June, in that year, Theophilus Parsons, Esq. sent me
some fragments of bark and insects which were taken by
Mr. J. Richardson from the decaying elms on Boston Com-
mon ; and, among the insects, I recognized a pair of these
beetles in a living state. My curiosity was immediately
excited to learn something more concerning these beetles and
their connection with the trees, but was not satisfied by a
partial examination made in the course of the summer. It
was not till the following winter, that an opportunity was
afforded for a thorough search, with the permission of the
Mayor, the Hon. Josiah Quincy, Jun., and with the help of
the Superintendent of the Common.
The trees were found to liave suffered terribly from the
ravages of these insects. Several of them had already been
cut down, as past recovery ; others were in a dying state,
and nearly all of them were more or less affected with disease
or premature decay. Their bark was perforated, to the height
of thirty feet from the ground, with numerous holes, through
which insects had escaped ; and large pie(!es had become so
loose, by the undermining of the grubs, as to yield to slight
efforts, and come off in flakes. The inner bark was filled
with the burrows of the grubs, great numbers of which, in
various stages of growth, together with some in the pupa
state, were found therein ; and even the surface of the wood,
in many cases, was furrowed with their irregular tracks.
Very rarely did they seem to have penetrated far into the
THE SAPERDA TRIDENTATA. 113
wood itself; but their operations were mostly confined to the
inner layers of the bark, which thereby became loosened from
the wood beneath. The grubs rarely exceed three quarters
of an inch in length. They have no feet, and they resemble
the larvae of other species of Saperda, except in being rather
more flattened. They appear to complete their transforma-
tions in the third year of their existence.
The beetles probably leave their holes in the bark during
the month of June and in the beginning of July ; for, in the
course of thirty years, I have repeatedly taken them at
various dates, from the 5th of June to the 10th of July.
It is evident, from the nature and extent of their depreda-
tions, that these insects have alarmingly hastened the decay
of the elm-trees on Boston Mall and Common, and that they
now threaten their entire destruction. Other causes, how-
ever, have probably contributed to the same end. It will be
remembered that these trees have greatly suffered, in past
times, from the ravages of canker-worms. Moreover, the
impenetrable state of the surface-soil, the exhausted condition
of the subsoil, and the deprivation of all benefit fi'om the
decomposition of accumulated leaves, which, in a state of
nature, the trees would have enjoyed, but which a regard for
neatness has industriously removed, have doubtless had no
small influence in diminishing the vigor of the trees, and
thus made them fall unresistingly a prey to insect-devourers.
The plan of this work precludes a more full consideration
of these and other topics connected with the growth and
decay of these trees ; and I can only add, that it may be
prudent to cut down and burn all that are much infested
by the borers.
The tall blackberry, Ruhus 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 tha
15
114 COLEOPTERA.
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 cylindrical form, and their antennse are of moderate
length and do not taper much towards the end.
The species which attacks the blackberry appears to be the
Saperda ( Oherea) tripmictata of Fabricius (Fig.
51). It is of a deep black color, except the
fore part of the breast and the top of the tho-
rax, 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 irregularly on the sides and tips,
each of which is slightly notched 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 raspberry,
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.
The Lepturians, or Lepturad>e, constitute the third fam-
ily of the Capricorn-beetles. In most of them the body is
narrowed behind, which is the origin of the name applied
THE LEPTURIANS. 115
to them, signifying 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 prom-
inent, and the antennas are more distant from them, and are
implanted near the middle of the forehead. Moreover, the
head is not deeply sunk in the fore part 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 ex-
tremely short legs.
• The largest and finest of these beetles in New England is
the Desmocerus palliatus* (Plate II. Fig. 18,) which appears
on the flowers and leaves of the common elder towards the
end of June and until the middle of July. It is of a deep
violet or Prussian-blue color, sometimes glossed with green,
and nearly one half of the fore part 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 nar-
row. 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 fol-
lowing joints abruptly thickened at the extremity, giving
them the knotty appearance indicated by the generical name
Desmocerus, 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. ■"• ^ /^ I
The bark of the pitch-pine is often extensively loosened by
the grubs of Lepturians at work beneath it, in congjequence
* Cerambyx palliatus of Forster; Stenocorus cynneus, Fslbficivis.
116 COLEOPTERA.
of which it falls off in large flakes, and the tree perishes.
These grabs live 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 laave the tree
until spring. It is the ribbed Rhagium, or
'^' " Rhagium Kneatum* (Fig. 52,) so named be-
cause 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
Avith black, and thickly punctured ; the anten-
nae 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, gradually taper behind, and are slightly convex
above ; they are coarsely punctured between the smooth ele-
vated 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 Idnd of nap,
which is easily rubbed off.
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. Some of the beetles in these two groups resemble
each other closely in their forms and habits. The resem-
blance 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 larvse also are not only very similar in
* Stenocorus Uneatus of Olivier.
THE LEAF-BEETLES. 117
their forms, but they have the same habits ; hving in the
centre of stems, and devouring the pith.
The insects that have passed under consideration in the
foregoing part of this treatise spend by far the greater por-
tion of their lives, namely, that wherein they are larv£e 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 unnoticed and unknown. Thus the
work of destruction goes secretly and silently on, till it be-
comes manifest by its melancholy consequences ; and too late
we discover the hidden foes that have disappointed the hopes
of the husbandman, and ruined those sj)ontaneous produc-
tions 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 noux'ishment, 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. When, as in certain seasons, they
appear in considerable numbers, they do not a little injury
to vegetation, and, being generally exposed to view on the
leaves that they devour, they soon attract attention. But
the power possessed by most plants of renewing their foli-
age, 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 hidden 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 tapei-ing. Some of them have an oblong
118 COLEOPTKRA.
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 (Crioceridid^),
have some resemblance to the Capricorn-beetles. They are
distinguished by the following characters. The eyes are
prominent and nearly round ; the antennae are of moderate
length, composed of short, nearly cylindrical or beaded joints,
and are implanted before the eyes ; the thorax is narrow and
almost cylindrical 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,^^
(Fig. 53,) will serve to exemplify the habits of
^'^ ^ ■ the greater part of the msects of this family.
This beetle is about one quarter of an inch long,
of a rusty buflP 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
edo-es of the same ; the antennte (except the first joint), the
outside of the shins, and the feet are dusky. The thorax is
abruptly narrowed or pinched in on the middle of each side.
When held between the fingers, these insects make a creak-
ing sound like the Capricorn-beetles. They appear early in
June on the leaves of the potato-vines, having at that time
recently come out of the ground, where they pass the winter
in the pupa state. Within a few years, these insects have
excited some attention, on account of their prevalence in
some parts of the country, and from a mistaken notion that
they were the cause of the potato-rot. They eat the leaves
[18 The genus Cr-ioceris as now restricted contains only species indigenous to the
oMier continent, although one of them, C. nfpnragi, has been recently introduced
from Europe, and is found abundantly near Brooklyn, New York. The species
above mentioned belongs to Lemn. — Lec]
THE LEAF-BEETLES. 119
of the potato, gnawing large and 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 afterwai'ds, are of a
dirty yello\vish or ashen-white color, with a darker-colored
head, and two dark spots on the top of the first wing. 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 Avith
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, is pushed forwards, as fast as it ac-
cumulates, towards the head, until the whole of the back is
entirely coated with it. This covering shelters their soft and
tender 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 off, but re-
placed 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 off 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 dischargad from its mouth, and when this is done, it
changes to a pupa. In about a fortnight more the insect
throws off 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.
120 COLEOPTEEA.
The only method that occurs to me, by means of which
we may get rid of them, 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.
The liabits of the Hispas, little leaf-beetles, forming the
family Hispad.e, were first made knoA\Ti 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 pupa?, may be found.
The upper side of the beetles 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 their opera-
tions, turns brown and dries, and has somewhat of a blistered
appearance, and within these blistered spots the larvse 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 surface of the leaves, sometimes singly, and
sometimes in clusters of four or five together. The gi'ubs
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 provided Avith small fleshy Avarts at the sides, and
transverse rows of little rasp-like points above and beneath.
The pupa state lasts only about one week, soon after Avhich
the beetles come out of their burroAvs.
The leaves of the apple-tree are inhabited by some of these
little mining insects, Avhich in tlie beetle state are probably
the Hispa rosea f of Weber, or the rosy Hispa (Fig. 54).
They are of a deep or taAvny reddish-yelloAV color above,
marked Avith little deep red lines and spots. The head is
* Vol. I. p. 141. t Hispa quadrata, Fabricius; 11. marginnia, Sny.
THE ROSY HISPA. 121
small ; the antennoe are short, thickened towards the end,
and of a black color ; the thorax is narrow Yig. 54:
before and wide behind, rough above, striped
with deep red on each side ; the wing-covers
taken together form an oblong square ; there j^m |
are three smooth longitudinal lines or ribs on
each of them, spotted with blood-red, and the
spaces between these lines are deeply punc-
tured in double rows ; the under side of the body is black,
and the legs are short and reddish. They measure about
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 ovalis), and choke-berry
(^Pyrus arbutifolia), during the latter part of JNlay and the
beginning of June.
In the middle of June, another kind of Jlisj^a may be
found pairing and laying eggs on the leaves of the locust-
tree. The grubs appear during the month of July, and are
transformed to beetles 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 Hispa 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^. This name, derived from a word signifying a
helmet, is applied to them because the fore part 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 convex above. The
antennae are short, slightly thickened at the end, and inserted
close together on the crown of the head. The latter is small,
IG
122 coleoptp:ra.
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 pupse resemble those of the
following species in most respects.
Cassida auriclialeea (Plate I. Fig. 5), so named by Fabri-
cius 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 (^Solanum dulcamara), and in
great abundance on various kinds of Convolvulus, such as our
large-flowered Convolvulus sepium, 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
survived the Avinter in some place of shelter and concealment,
and their larvaj in a week or two afterwards. The larvae
are broad oval, flattened, dark-colored grubs
ig<w- (Fig. 55), with a kind of fringe, composed 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 brood's of larvae arrive at their
growth and change to pupae early in July, fixing themselves
firmly by the hinder part of their bodies to the leaves, when
this change is about to take place. The pupa remains
fastened to the cast-skin of the larva. It is broad oval,
fringed at the sides, and around the fore part of the broad
thorax, with large prickles. Soon afterwards the beetles
come forth, and lay their eggs for a second brood of gi'ubs,
which, in turn, are changed to beetles in the course of the
autumn. In June, 1824, the late Mr. John Lowell sent me
THE CHRYSOMELIANS. 123
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 ex-
hibit the change of color, are lined beneath with an orancce-
colored paint, which seems to be filled with little vessels ;
and these are probably the soiu'ce of the changeable bril-
liancy of the insect.
The Chrysomelians (Chrysomelad^) compose an exten-
sive tribe of leaf-eating beetles, formerly included in the
old genus Gltrysomela. The meaning of this word is golden
beetle, and many of the insects to which it was aj^plied by
Linnteus 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 Galerucadje, or Galerucians, consists mostly of dull-
colored beetles ; having an oblong oval, slightly convex body ;
a short, and rather narroAv, and uneven thorax ; slender
antennae, more than half the length of the body, and im-
planted 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 black-
ish color, and are provided with six legs. They live and
feed together in swarms, and sometimes appear in very great
124 COLEOPTERA.
numbers on the leaves of plants, committing ravages, at these
times, as extensive as those of the most destructive caterpil-
lars. This was the case in 1837 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 mid-
summer by swarms of the larvae of Galeruca C almar lends ;
and, in the latter place, after the trees had begvm to revive,
and were clothed with fresh leaves, they were again attacked
by new broods of these noxious grubs. These insects, which
Avere undoubtedly introduced into America Avith the Euro-
pean 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 yellow color. The pupa state of
some species occurs on the leaves, of others in the ground ;
and some of the larv£e live also in the ground on the roots
of plants.
One of the most common kinds is the Galeruca vittata,* or
striped Galeruca, (Plate II. Fig. 3,) generally known here
by the names of striped bug, and cucumber-beetle. This
destructive insect 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 blqpk, forming a third
narrower stripe down the middle of the back ; the abdomen,
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 hotrijapiam and ovalis, and Pyrus
arhutifolia, towards the end of April. It makes its first
appearance, on cucumber, 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
* Crioceris vittata of Fabricius.
THE CUCUMBER-BEETLE. 123
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 tlie
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, wheu 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 researches.
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 cvicumber 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 snuff to be
applied in the same way. As these insects fly by night, as
well as by day, and are attracted by lights, burning sphnters
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 pre-
servative, both against these insects and the equally destruc-
tive 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 frames
expeditiously and economically, and his directions may be
126 COLEOPTERA.
found in the second volume of the " New England Farmer," *
and in Fessenden's " New American Gardener," f 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 Halticad^. 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 nar-
rowed 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 Haltica^
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 colored. 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 holS 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, mustard, 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 JIalticas, 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. Another small flea-
beetle is often very injurious to the grape-vines in Europe,
and a larger species attacks the same plant in this country.
The flea-beetles conceal themselves during the Avinter, in dry
places, under stones, in tufts of withered grass and moss,
* Page 305. t Sixth edition, p. 91.
THE FLEA-BEETLES. 127
fo'
and in chinks of walls. They lay their eggs in the spring
upon the leaves of the plants upon which they feed. The
larvas, or young, of the smaller kinds burrow into the leaves,
and eat the soft pulpy substance under the skin, formino-
therein little winding passages, in which they finally com-
plete their transformations. Hence the plants suffer as much
from the depredations of the larvse, as from those of the
beetles, a fact that has too often been overlooked. The
larvjB of the larger kinds are said to live exposed 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
mining larvae, the only kinds which are known to me fi'om
personal examination, are little slender grubs, tapering to-
wards each end, and provided with six legs. They arrive
at maturity, tui'n to pupae, and then to beetles in a few
weeks. Hence there is a constant succession of these in-
sects, in their various states, throughout 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 common spe-
cies, 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 de-
stroying the plant immediately. Supposing this to be an
undescribed insect, I formerly named it Haltica
. Fig- 66.
Cucumeris^ the cucumber flea-beetle (Fig. 56) ;
but Mr. Say subsequently informed me that it was
the puhescens of Illiger, so named because it is very
slightly pubescent or downy. Count Dejean, who
gave to it the specific name o£ fuscula, considered
it as distinct from the puhescens ; and it differs from the
descriptions of the latter in the color of its thighs, and in
never having the tips and shoulders of the wing-covers yel-
128 COLEOPTERA.
lowish ; so that it may still bear the name given to it in my
Catalogue. It is only one sixteenth of an inch long, of a
black color, with clay-yellow antennae and legs, except the
liindmost thighs, Avhich are brown. The upper side of the
body is covered with punctures, which are arranged in rows
on the wing-cases ; and there is a deep transverse furrow
across the hinder part of the thorax. During the summer,
these pernicious flea-beetles may be found, not only on cu-
cumber-vines, but on various other plants having fleshy and
succulent leaves, such as beans, beets, the tomato, and the
potato. They injure all these plants, more or less, according
to their numbers, by nibbling little holes in the leaves Avith
their teeth ; the functions of the leaves being thereby im-
paired in proportion to the extent of surface and amount of
substance destroyed. The edges of the bitten parts become
brown and dry by exposure to the air, and assume a rusty
appearance. Since the prevalence of the disease commonly
called the potato-rot^ attention has been particularly directed
to various insects that live upon the potato-plant ; and, as
these flea-beetles have been found upon it in great numbers,
in some parts of the country, they have been charged with
being the cause of the disease. The same charge has also
been made against several other kinds of insects, some of
■ which will be described in the course of this work. In my
own opinion, the origin, extension, and continued reappear-
ance of this wide-spread pestilence are not due to the depre-
dations of insects of any kind. Mr. Phanuel Flanders, of
Lowell, where the flea-beetles have appeared in unusual
numbers, showed to me, in August, 1851, some potato-leaves
that were completely riddled Avith holes by them, so that
but little more than the ribs and veins remained un-
touched. He thinks that their ravages may be prevented
by Avatering the leaves with a solution of hme, a remedy
long ago employed in England, with signal benefit, in pre-
serving the turnip crop from the attacks of the turnip flea-
beetle.
THE GRAPE-VINE FLEA-BEETLE. 129
The wavy-striped flea-beetle, Haltica striolata * (Fig.
may be seen in great abundance on the horse-rad-
ish, 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, desti'oying 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
Eiu'opean turnip flea-beetle, which it closely resembles 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 buff"-
ycllow 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 hipustulata^\ the two-spotted.
The steel-blue flea-beetle, Haltica chalyhea of Illiger, (Fig.
58, and Plate II. Fig. 5,) 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 gi'ape- ^^i^i^ ^
vines, the buds and leaves of which it destroys.
Though it has received the specific name of
chalyhea, meaning steel-blue, it is exceedingly
variable in its color, specimens being often seen on the same
vine of a dark purple, violet, Prussian blue, gi'eenish 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
* Crioceris striolata, Fabricius. t Crioceris biputtulata, Fabricius.
17
130 COLEOPTERA.
country these beetles begin tc come out of their winter
quarters 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 opportunity to trace the history
of these insects any further, and consequently their larvae are
unknown to me. Mr. David Thomas has given an interest-
ing 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 unusu-
ally great numbers in New Haven, Conn., and its vicinity,
and the injury done by them was " wholly unexampled."
" 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 sus-
pecting these to be the larvae of the beetle (which he called
Clirysomela vitivora), 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 experiments to be tried with a view of checking
THE CHRYSOMELIANS. 131
them, it is thought that " the careful and systematic use
of Hme 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 vai'ious 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 injunng
the plants. The solution may be made by dissolving one
pomid 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-beetles from touching
them. Perhaps a decoction of walnut-leaves might be equal-
ly 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 bruisino; or breaking their tender
leaves.
The Chrysomelians, Chrysomelad^, 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, be-
tween the eyes and the corners of the mouth ; being much
further apai't than those of the Galerucians and flea-beetles.
The legs are rather short, nearly equal in length, and the
hindmost thighs are not tliicker than the others, and are not
132 COLEOPTERA.
fitted for leaping. The colors of these beetles are often rich
and brilliant, 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 gnibs, 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 themselves by the tail,
when about to be transformed. Some, however, go into
the ground when about to change to pupae. 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 injuri-
ous 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 (^Asclepias Syriacd)^ upon which it
may be found, in some or all of its states, from the middle
of June till September. Its head, thorax, body beneath, an-
tennas, 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 C%'y-
somela trimaculata by Fabricius, or the three-spotted Chry-
somela (Plate II. Fig. 9). It is nearly three eighths of an
inch long, and almost hemispherical. Its larvae and pupae
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
Fig. 59. scalaris of Leconte, literally the ladder Chryso-
mela (Fig. 59). It is about three tenths of an
inch long, and of a narrower and more regularly
oval shape than the preceding. The head, tho-
rax, and under side of its body are dark green,
the wing-covers silvery white, ornamented with small green
THE BLUE-WINGED CHRYSOMELA. 133
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 dear injured by them and by tlieir larvse (Fig.
60). 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 pupae. Should they
become 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 larvae of Galeruca Cal-
mariensis.
The most common leaf-beetle of the family under consid-
eration is the blue-winged Chrysomela, or j,. g^
CJirysomela ccerideipennis of Say (Fig. 61),
an insect hardly distinct from the European
Cfhrysomela Polygons and like the latter it '"^m^^ T
lives in great numbers on the common knot- /h^H^ 1
grass (^Polygonum avicidare), which it com-
pletely strips of its leaves two or three times
in the course of the summer. This little
134 COLEOPTERA.
beetle is about tbree 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 verj- odd appearance before they have
laid their ego-s, their abdomen being enonnously 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 Api'il to September inclusive.
The larvae eat the leaves of 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 Etimolpas auratus
by Fabricius, that is, the gilded Eumolpus (Plate II. Fig. 1).
It is of a brilliant golden green color above, and of a deep
purplish green below ; the legs are also purple-green ; but
the feet and the antennse 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 Chrysome-
lians. It is about three eighths of an inch long. This splen-
did beetle may be found in considerable numbers on the
leaves of the dog's-bane (^Apocpium Androscemifoliuni)^ which
it devours, during the months of July and August. The
larvffi are unknown to me.
The fourth family of the leaf-eating Chrysomelians consists
of the Ciyptocephalians (Cryptocephalid^), so named from
the principal genus Crypto cephalus^ a word signifying con-
cealed head. These insects somewhat resemble the beetles of
the preceding family ; but they are of a more cylindrical fonn,
and the head is bent down, and nearly concealed in the fore
part of the thorax. Their larvae are short, cylindrical, whit-
ish grabs, which eat 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, yv\t\\
an opening at one end, within which the grab lives, putting
out its head and fore legs when it wishes to eat or to move.
THE CANTHARIDES. 135
"When it is fully gi'own, it stops up the open end of its case,
and chano-es 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 dominiccmcO-^ inhabits the
sumach, C. quadrif/uttata^'^ oak-trees, Chlamys gibbosa low
whortleberry bushes, Cryptocephalus luridus the wild indigo-
bush, and most of the other species may be found on difllerent
kinds of oaks.
Although the blistering beetles, or Cantharides (Caxtha-
RIDID.E), have been enumerated among the insects directly
beneficial 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 Canthar-
ides, 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 sometimes appear in immense swarms,
on the privet, lilac, and ash ; so that the limbs of these plants
bend under their weight, and are entirely stripped of their
foliage by these leaf-eating beetles. In like manner our
native Cantharides devour the leaves of plants, and some-
times prove very destructive to them.
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-
room-beetles, flat bark-beetles, and the like, with which they
form a large and distinct section of Coleopterous insects.
[1* Clyihra (Coscinoptera) dominicana. — Lec]
[15 Clythra {Babia) quadriguttata. — Lec]
136 COLEOPTERA.
The following are the most striking peculiarities of the fam-
ily to which the bhstering 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
narroAv, 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 yelloAvish 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 natiA^e Cantharides have
been thus successfully employed, and are found to be as pow-
ei'fol in their effects as the imported species. For forther
particulars relative to their use, the reader is referred to my
account of them published in 1824, 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
Caniliaris vtttata,* or striped Cantharis. It is of a dull
tawny yellow or light yellowish-red color above, with two
* Lyita vittafa, Fabricius.18
[ 16 The. name Lytia is now adopted bj- most entomologists in preference to that
of Cantharis for these insects. — Lec]
THE MARGINED CANTHARIS. 137
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 leo-s, and the antennae are black, and covered with a
grayish down. Its length is fi'om five to six tenths of an
inch. In this and the three following species the thorax is
very much narrowed before, and the wing-covers are long
and narrow, and cover the whole of the back. The striped
Cantharis is comparatively rare in New England ; but in the
Middle and Western 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. It is one of the insects to which the production
of the potato-rot has been ascribed. 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 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 Ranunculus or buttercups,
and, in the JNIiddle and Southern States, those of Clematis
viorna and crispa. This beetle is the Cantharis
marginata of Ohvier, or margined Cantharis
(Fig. 62). It measures six or seven tenths of
an inch in length. Its head and thorax are
thickly covered 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
edging ; and the under side of the body and the
legs are also gray.
The most destructive kind of Cantharis found in Massa-
18
138 COLEOPTERA.
chusetts 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 veiy
short down of that color. Hence it is called Caniliaris cineA
J.. Qg^ rea*^^ or the ash-colored Cantharis (Fig. 63). l
When the insect is rubbed, the ash-colored '
substance comes off, leaving the surface
black. It begins to appear in gardens about
the 20th 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 ; 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 1st of August they go into the ground and lay
their eggs, and these are hatched in the course of one month.
The larva3 are slender, somewhat flattened grubs, of a yel-
lowish color, banded with black, with a small reddish head,
and six legs. These grabs 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 maturity, 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 vai'i-
* Lytta cinerea, Fabricius.
[ 17 As this specific name was previously applied by Forster to the species men-
tioned on the previous page as Cantharis or Lytta marrjlnata, and has priority over
that name, I have changed the name of the present species to Lytta Fabricii. —
Lec]
THE BLACK CANTHARIS. 139
ous kinds of golden-rod, particularly the tall golden-rod
(^Solidago altissima), which seems to be its favorite food.
In some places it is as plentiful 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
vittata, without a suspicion of their being distinct from each
other. The black Cantharis, or Cantharis atra-
Fi". 64.
ta* (Fig. 64), is totally black, without bands or
spots, and measui'es 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, 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-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
diy, and may be made profitable by selling them to the
apothecaries for medical use.
There are some blisterino; beetles, belonging to another
genus, which seem deserving of a passing notice, not on
account of any great injury committed by them, but be-
cause they can be used in medicine like the foregoing,
and are considered by some naturalists as forming one of
the links connecting the orders Coleoptera and Orthoptera.
These insects belong to the genus Meloe, so named, it is
supposed, because they are of a black, or deep blue-black
* Lytta atrata, Fabricius.
140 COLEOPTERA.
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 pro-
portion 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 Meloe angustieolKs of Say, or
narrow-necked oil-beetle. (Fig. 65 repre-
'^" ^' sents the female, and the antenna of the
male at her left.) 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 eio-ht tenths of an inch to
one inch in length. It is very common
on buttercups 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,
belonging 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, Hemiptera, 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.
Do-aga
CHAPTER III.
ORTHOPTERA.
Earwigs. — Cockroaches. — Mantes, or Soothsayers. — Walking-Leaves.
— Walking -Sticks, ok SrECTKEs. — Mole-Cricket. — Field Crickets.—
Climbing Cricket. — 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 ftiture remark in
this treatise. 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
misapplication of names, by persons unacquainted with nat-
ural history, 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 capable of becoming a good observer, and of making
valuable discoveries 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
142 ORTHOPTEEA.
result of liis observations intelligible and useful to the com-
munity.
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 are also covered by a pair of tliicker
wing-like members, which, in the locusts and grasshoppers,
are lono; and narrow, and lie lengtliwise 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 horizontally on the top of the
back, overlapping on their inner edges ; and in the crickets,
the wing-covers, Avhen closed, are placed like those of cock-
roaches, but have a narrow outer border, Avliich is folded
perpendicularly downwards so as to cover the sides of the
body also.
All the Orthopterous insects are provided with transverse-
ly movable jaws, more or less like those of beetles, but they
do not undergo a complete transformation in coming to ma-
turity. The young, in fact, often present a close resemblance
to the adult insects in form, and differ fi'om 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 matimty 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 jjz^pa or chrysalis^ more nearly resem-
bling the form of a beetle, but soft, whitish, and with its im-
developeel wings and limbs incaseel in a thin transparent skin
which impedes all motion. On the contrary, the Orthoptera
in the pupa state do not differ from the young and from the
old insects, except in having the rudiments of wings and
DIVISIONS. 143
■win o'-co vers projecting, like little scales, from the back near
the thorax. These pupae are active and voracious, and in-
crease oreatly in size, which is not the case with the insects
that are subject to a complete transformation, for such never
eat or orow 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 mem-
bers, 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 receive the name
of imperfect or incomplete' transformation, in contradistinc-
tion to the far greater changes exhibited by those insects
which pass through a complete transformation m their pro-
gress 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 occasion-
ally ; but by far the greater part of the Orthopterous insects
subsist on vegetable food, grass, flowers, fruits, the leaves,
and even the bark of trees ; whence it follows, in connection
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 (^Ortlwjjtera cursoria^^^ including earwigs and
cockroaches, with all the legs fitted for rapid motion ;
2. Gkaspers ( Ortlioptei-a raptorid)^ 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 Avith teeth, and thus forms an instrument for seizing
and holding their prey ;
* These are the four divisions proposed hj Mr. Westwood in his "Introduc-
tion," who, however, applies to them their Latin names only.
144 ORTHOPTERA.
3. Walkers ( Orthoptera ambulatorid), like tlie 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
poweiiul muscles, which enable these insects to leap with
facility.
I. RUNNERS. ( Orthoptera Cursor ia. )
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.
They have a rather long and someAvhat 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 scien-
tific writers. Althouo;li no well authenticated instances are
on record of their entering the human ear, yet, during the
daytime, they creep into all kinds of crevices for the sake
of concealment, and come out to feed chiefly by night. It
is common with English gardeners to hang up, among the
flowers and fruit-trees subject to their attacks, pieces of hol-
low reeds, lobster claws, and the like, which offer enticing
places of retreat 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 erroneously called earAvig 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.
COCKROACHES.
145
rig. 66.
Of cockroaches QBlatta) we have also several kinds;
those which are indigenous I believe are
found exclusively in woods, under stones
and leaves, while the others, and particu-
larly the Oriental cockroach (^Blatta ori-
entalis), (Fig. 6*30 which is supposed to
have orig-inated in Asia, whence it has
spread to Europe, and thence to Amer-
ica, and has multiplied and become estab-
lished 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
disgustincr and ill-smelling insects con-
fine themselves to our dwellings, and do not visit our gar-
dens and fields, they will require no further remarks than
the mention of a method which has sometimes been found
useful in destroying them. Mix together a table-spoonful
of red-lead and of Indian meal with molasses enough to
make a thick batter, and place the mixture at night on a
jjlate or piece of board in the closets or on the hearths
frequented by the cockroaches. They will eat it and be-
come poisoned thereby. The dose is to be repeated for
several nights in succession. Dr. F. H. Horner* recom-
mends the following preparation to destroy cockroaches.
Mix one teaspoonful of powdered arsenic with a table-
spoonful of mashed potato, and crumble one third of it,
every night, at bedtime, about the kitchen hearth, or M'here
the insects will find and devour it. As both of these prep-
arations are very poisonous, great care should be taken in
the use of them, and of any portions that may be left by
the insects.
* Downlng's Horticulturist, Vol. H. p. 343 (Jan. 1848).
19
146 ORTHOPTERA.
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 pre-
daceous insects, seizing, with their singular fore legs, cater-
pillars, 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.
III. WALKERS. [Orthoptera amhulatoria.)
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 (^Phyllium
pulchrifolium, siccifolium^ &c.). Others are wingless, of a
long and cylindrical shape, resembling a stick with the bark
on it, while the slender legs, standing 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 American Bacteria
arumatia^ rubispinosa, and phjllina, and two species of Dia-
ijlieromera ? ^ described and figured in Say's " American
Entomology," under the names of Spectrum femoratiun (Fig.
67, male) and hivittatum^ are of the latter description. These
insects are very sluggish and inactive, are found among trees
[ 1 Two species of Phasma are noticed. The first is Bncunculus femoratus, Say,
which has also received the name of B a cunculus Snyi, Burm., and under which
name it is best known to European authors. The latter was long ago figured by
Stoll, in his great work upon the Orthoptera, and his name preoccupied that of
Say and should be retained for it; it is Amisomorpka Buprestoirfes. The former
has been found in most of the States east of the Mississippi, while the latter is
peculiar to Florida and some of the Southern States. — Uhler ]
THE WALKING-STICK.
147
and bushes, on which they often remain motionless for a long
time, or walk slowly over the leaves and young shoots, which
fig. 67.
are their appropriate food. The American species are not
so numerous, and have not proved so injurious as particu-
larly to attract attention.
148 ORTHOPTERA.
IV. JUMPERS. ( Ortkoptera saltatoria . )
These are by far the most abundant and proHfic, and the
most destructive of the Orthopterous insects. They were all
included by Linnaeus in his great genus Gryllus^ in separate
divisions, however, three of which correspond to the families
Achetadce* Crrylliadce,^ and Locustiadce^X in my " Catalogue
of the Insects of Massachusetts," and may retain the synony-
mous English names of Crickets, Grasshoppers, and Locusts.
These three families may thus be distinguished from each
other.
1. Crickets (Achetadce) ; with the wing-covers horizon-
tal, and furnished with a narrow, deflexed outer border ;
antennae long and tapering ; feet three-jointed (except OEcan-
thus, which has four joints to the hind feet) ; two tapering,
downy bristles at the end of the body, between which, in
most of the females, there is a long spear-pointed piercer.
2. Grasshoppers (Gryllid.^:) ; with the wing-covers slop-
in c 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 ( Locust AD^) ; with the wing-covers roofed,
and not bordered ; antennae rather short, and in general not
tapering at the end ; feet with only three joints ; female with-
out a projecting piercer.
1. Crickets. (^Achetadce.')
There may sometimes be seen in moist and soft ground,
particularly 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
* Gryllua Achetn, Linnseus. f Gryllut Teitiffonia, L. J Gryllus Locusta, L.
THE COMMON MOLE-CRICKET. 149
(Fig. 68) is, when fully grown, about one inch and a quarter
in length, of a light bay or fawn color, j-j^ gg
and covered with a very short and vel-
vet-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 Aving-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 projections,
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
fi'om Crri/Hus, the ancient name of the cricket, and Talpa,
a mole ; and our common species has the additional name
of hrevipennis* or short-winged, to distinguish it from the
European species, which has much longer wings. Mole-
crickets avoid the light of day, and are active chiefly during
the niglit. 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, sometimes 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
* Serville, " Orthoptferes," p. 308.2
[ 2 It was previously described by Burmeister, under the name G. borenlis, and
this name must be applied to it and retained. It was known to Catesby, who
figures it in his " Natural Histoiy of Carolina." — Uhler.]
160 ORTHOPTERA.
finger-like projections on the shin. The mole-cricket of Eu-
rope 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 Europe, although their depredations have
hitherto been limited to so small an extent as not to have
attracted much notice. Should it hereafter become necessaiy
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 in-
habit gardens and fields, and enter om' houses only by acci-
dent. 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 species, however, which diifer greatly from the
others in their social habits. These are not unfrequently
seen during the daytime in great numbers in paths, and by
the roadside ; 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, locusts, and harvest-
flies, the males only are musical; for the females are not
provided with the instruments from which the sounds emitted
[ 3 This Inngna^e may apply to the particular district in which Dr. Harris made
his observations, but it would be p-atuitous to say that we have no house-crickets
in America, for nothing is better known to the country-people of Maryland than
the "cricket on the hearth," and in some sections of the West they are also well
known to inhabit the chimney-places and first-floor apartments of the dwellings.
— Uhler.]
HABITS OF THE CRICKETS. 151
by these different insects are produced. In the male cricket
these make a part of the wing-covers, the horizontal and over-
lapping 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 organs,) 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 a-i-cri, are evi-
dently derived from the creaking sounds of these insects.
Mr.- White of Selbome says that " the shrilling of the field-
cricket, though sharp and stridulous, yet marvellously de-
licrhts some hearers, fillino; their minds with a train of summer
ideas of eveiything that is rural, verdurous, and joyous " ;
sentiments 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 continvied and monotonous
somids, which they keep up during the whole night, so
loner as autumn lasts, are both weai'isome and sad. Where
crickets abound, they do great injury to vegetation, eating
the most tender parts of plants, and even devouring roots
and fruits, whenever they can get them. Melons, squashes,
and even potatoes, are often eaten by them, and the quantity
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
can meet with and can overpower 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.
152
ORTHOPTERA.
Fig. 69.
The scientific name of the genus that includes the cricket
is Aclieta^ and our common, species is
the Acheta abhreviata (Fig. 69), 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 border. The
pale line is most distinct in the female,
and is oftentimes entirely wanting in
the male.
We have another species witli 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
Acheta nigra,^ the black cricket.
A third species, differing from these two in being entirely
destitute of wings, and in having the wing-covers proportion-
ally much shorter, and the last joint of the feelers (^palpi)
almost twice the length of the preceding joint, is furthermore
distinguished from them by its greatly inferior size, and its
different coloring. It measures from three to above four
tenths of an inch in length, and A-aries in color from ckisky
brown to rusty black, the wing-covers and hindmost thighs
being always someAvhat lighter. In the brownish-colored
varieties three longitudinal 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.
[ * It is A. Pennsylvanica, Burm. Priority of nomenclature requires this name
to be retained. — Uhler.]
THE CLIMBING CRICKETS. 153
This is one of the social species, wliich, associated together
in great swarms, and f'eedino; in common, fre-
o ' » , ' Fig. 70.
quent our meadows and road-sides, and, so far
from avoiding the hght of day, seem to be quite
as fond of it as others are of darkness. It may-
be called AcJieta vittata,* (Fig. 70,) 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 -^ere 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 August, 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 Aving-cover against the other ; but they generally raise
their winoj-covers much hio;her 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 exceedingly
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 pro-
portion 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 sep-
arated fi'om the other crickets, under the generical name of
(Ecanthus, a word which means inhabiting flowers. They
* It belongs to M. Serville's new genus Nemobius.
20
154
ORTHOPTERA.
Fig. 71.
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 perfora-
tions 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 tAvilight, 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 Avill effectually
banish sleep. Of tlfree species which in-
habit the United States, one only is found
in Massachusetts. It is the (Ecanthus ni-
veus (Fig. 71), or white climbing cricket.
The male is ivory-white, with the up-
per side of the first joint of the antennae,
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 antennse ; and in some
individuals the extremities of the feet and the under sides
of the hindmost thighs are ochre-yellow. The body is
The
female (Fig. 72) is usually
rather longer, but the wing-
covers are much narrower
than those of the male, and
there is a gi'eat diversity of
coloring in this sex ; the body being sometimes almost Avhite,
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
blacldsh. The wing-covers and wings are yellowish-white,
about half an inch long, exclusive of the wing-covers.
Fig. 72.
* Memorie intorno le Locuste grillajole. 8vo, Verona, 1750.
THE GRASSHOPPERS. 155
sometimes with a tinge of green, and the Avings are rather
loncrer than the covers. Some of these insects have been
sent to me by a gentleman who found them piercing and
laying eggs in the branches of a peach-tree. Another cor-
respondent, who is interested in the tobacco culture in Con-
necticut, informed me that they injured the plant by eating
holes in the leaves.
2. Grasshoppers. (^G-ryllidce.')
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 resembling 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.
Tliis overlapping portion, which forms a long triangle, is
traversed, in the males, by strong projecting veins, between
which, in many of thefti, are membranous spaces as transpar-
ent 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 un-
common insect, it may receive a passing notice here. It is
foxmd 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 belongs to M. Serville's genus Pha-
langopds^ and I propose to call it PJialangopsis maculata^^
* Gryllus maculatns, Harris. Catalogue of the Insects of Massachusetts. 5
[5 According to the authority of Erichson, it was previously described with
the name Phalangqpsis lapidicola, Burm — Uhlee.]
156 ORTHOPTERA.
(Fig. 73,) the spotted Avingless cricket. Its Lodj is of a pale
yellowish-brown color, darker on the back, which is covered
Fig. 73. w'ith little light-colored
spots, and the outside of
the hindmost thighs is
marked Avith numerous
short oblique lines, dis-
posed in parallel rows,
like those on the thighs of
Acheta 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 gi'asshoppers are of a green color, and are fiirnished
with wings and wing-covers, the latter frequently resembling
the leaves of trees and shrubs, upon Avhich, indeed, many of
these insects pass the greater i:>art of their lives. Their leaf-
like form and green color evidently seem to have been de-
signed for their better concealment. They are nocturnal
insects, or at least more active by night than by dav. When
taken between the fingers, they emit' from their mouths a
considerable quantity of dark-colored fluid, as do also the
locusts or diurnal gi-asshoppers. They devour the leaves of
plants, and lead a solitary life, or at least do not associate
and migrate from place to place in great swarms, like some
of the crickets and the locusts. There is a remarkable differ-
ence in their habits, which does not appear to have been
described hitherto. Some of these grasshoppers live upon
grass and other herbaceous or low plants in fields and mead-
ows. The piercer of the females is often straight, or only
slightly curved. They commit their eggs to the earth, thrust-
ing them into holes made therein with the piercer. They lay
a large number of eggs at a time, and cover them with a kind
of varnish, which, when diy, forms a thin film that com-
pletely encloses them. These eggs are elongated, and nearly
of an ellipsoidal form. Other green Grylli live upon trees
and shrubs. Their wino;-covers and wrings are broader, and
THE KATY-DID. 157
their piercer is shorter and often more curved, than in the
forecToing kinds. They do not lay their eggs in the ground,
but deposit them upon branches and twigs, in regular rows.
My attention was first directed to the eggs of the tree-grylli
by Mr. F. C. Hill, late of Philadelphia.
Some of these grasshoppers have the front of the head
obtuse, and others have it conical, or prolonged to a point
between the antenna. Among the former is the insect
which, fi'om its peculiar 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 down-
wards 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 with-
in their concavity, meeting at the edges above and below,
somewhat like the two sides or valves of a pea-pod. The
veins are large, veiy 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 consist of a pair of
taborets. They are formed by a thin and transparent mem-
brane stretched in a strong half-oyal 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 wins-covers
are opened and shut, and consists of two or three distinct
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
158
ORTHOPTERA.
and increase the sound to such a degree, that it may be
heard in the stilhiess of the night, at the distance of a quarter
of a mile. At the approach of twihght 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 neighboring 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 owm, which was published in 1831 in
the eighth volume of the " Encyclopsedia Americana," page
J. 74_ 42. It is the Platyiyliyllum*
concavum,\ (Fig. 74,) and
measures, ft*om 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, later-
ally compressed, and curved
like a cimeter ; and there
are, in both sexes, two little
thorn-like projections fi*om
the middle of the breast be-
tween the fore legs. The
katy-did is found in the per-
fect state durincr the months
of September and October, at which time the female lays her
eggs. These are slate-colored, and are rather more than
* Platyphyllum means broad-wing.
t Can this be the Lociesta j)erspidllata of Fabricius?6
[6 This \a Cyrtophyllus perspicillatus^J&wrra. ^ Locusta perspicillota, Fab. Dr.
Harris's generic name has priority o<^r that of Burmeister, and hence this insect
must be called Platyphyllum perspicillatum, Fab. The insect called katy-did in
the Southern States is entirely different from this one, although its habit of sitting
upon the trees and issuing this shrill note has induced some persons to mistake it
for the true one from New England. The Southern katy-did belongs to the genus
Phylloptera, and from the ovipositor being shaped somewhat like that of Locusta
curvlcauda, De Geer, Dr. Haixis supposed it to be that species. — Uhler.]
THE OBLONG LEAF-WING. 159
one eighth of an inch in length. They resemble tiny oval
bivalve shells in shape. The insect lays them in two con-
tiguous rows along the surface of a twig, the bark of which is
previously shaved off or made rough with her piercer. Each
row consists of eight or nine eggs, placed somewhat obliquely,
and overlapping each other a little, and they are fastened to
the twig with a gummy substance. In hatching, the egg splits
open at one end, and the young insect creeps through the cleft.
I am indebted to Miss Morris for specimens of these eggs.
We have another broad-winged green grasshopper, differ-
ing 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 opaque, and is traversed by a strong curved vein ; that
of the right wing-cover is semi-transparent in the middle.
This insect is the Phylloijtera oblongifolia* (Fig. 75,) or ob-
Fig. 75.
long 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 perfect 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
* Locusta oblongifoUa of De Geer, a different species from the laurifoUa of Lin-
naeus, with which it has been confounded by many naturahsts.
160
ORTHOPTERA.
of the male, though grating, are comparative!}' feeble. The
females lay their eggs in the autumn on the twigs of trees
and shrubs, in double rows, of seven or eight eggs in each
row. These eggs, in form, size, and color, and in their
arrangement on the twig, strikingly resemble those of the
katy-did. The Rev. Thomas Hill, of Waltham, had the
kindness to procure some of them for me from Philadelphia.
A third species, also of a green color, with still narrower
\ving-covers, which are of almost equal width from one end
to the other, but are rounded at the tips, and are shorter
than the Avings, has the head, thorax, musical organs, and
breast like those of the preceding species, but the piercer is
Fig. 76.
much shorter, and very much more crooked, being bent
vertically upwards fi'om near its base. The male has a long
tapering projection from the under side of the extremity of
THE MEADOW GRASSHOPPERS. 161
the body, curved upwards like the piercer of the female.
This grasshopper belongs 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^*
(Fig. 76,) the narrow-leaved. It measures from the fore-
head 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 ohlongifolia. It comes to maturity
some time in the latter part of August or the beginning of
September.
From the middle till the end of summer, the grass in our
meadoAvs 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 antennae,
and a broader brown stripe bounded on each side by deeper
brown on the top of the thorax. The antennae, knees, and
shanks are gi'een, faintly tinted with brown, and the feet are
dusky. When come to maturity, they measure three quar-
ters 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 narrowed in the middle, and taper thence
to the tip, which, however, is rounded, and extends as far
back as the Avings. The color of the wing-covers is gi'een,
but they are faintly tinged with brown on the overlapping
portion, and have the delicacy and semi-transparency of the
* I former!}' mistook this insect for the Locusia cnrvicaudn 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 PhyllnpteraJ
[T This is the true cwvicauda ; it was figured by Drury as P. myrttfoUa, but he
unfortunately confounded it with a species somewhat resembling it from South
America, w-hich has caused some authors to refer his figure to the one described
by Linnffius; but that is a different insect, belonging to the genus Phyllnptera.
The synonymy of this species is, Phnneroptera curvicaitth, De Geer = P. myrtifolia,
Drury = P. septentnonalis, Serv. = P. angustifoUa, Harris. — TThler.]
21
162
ORTHOPTERA.
skin of an onion. The shrillins: organs in the 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 gi-asshoppers ; 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 anten-
nae are very long and slender, and extend, when turned
back, considerably beyond the end of the hind legs. During
the evening, and even at other times in shady places, the
males make a sharp clicking noise, somewhat like that pro-
duced by snapping the point of a pen against the thumb-nail,
but much louder. This kind of grasshopper very much
resembles the Locusta agilis of De Geer, which is found in
Pennsylvania and the Southern States, but does not inhabit
Massachusetts, and is distinguished from
our species by having the wings nearly one
tenth of an inch longer than the wing-
covers, the antennae excessively long (two
inches or more), and the piercer not quite
so much curved as in our species, besides
other differences which it is unnecessary
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 (Fig. 77), the com-
mon meadow-grasshopper, the generical
name signifying literally, I dance in the
meadow.
THE SWORD-BEARER. 163
With this species another one is also found, bearing a con-
siderable 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 abdomen is brown, with
the edges of the segments greenish-yellow, and the piercer,
which is nearly three tenths of an inch long, is brown and
nearly straight. This little insect comes very near to Lo-
custa 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 Fig.
same, and propose to call it Orcheli-
mum gradle (Fig. 78), the slender
meadow-grasshopper. M. Serville,
by whom this genus was instituted,
has described three species, two of ^^
which are stated to be North Amer-
ican, and the remaining one is probably also from this coun-
try ; but his descriptions do not answer for either of our
species. Both of these kinds of meadoAv-grasshoppers are
eaten greedily by fowls of all kinds.
One more grasshopper remains to be described. It is
distinguished from all the preceding species by having the
head conical, and extending to a blunt point between the
eyes. It belongs to the genus Conocephalus^ a word express-
ive of the conical form of the head, and, in my Catalogue
of the Insects of Massachusetts, bears the specific name of
ensiger (Fig. 79, male), the sword-bearer, from the long,
straight, sword-shaped piercer of the female. It measures
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
164 ORTHOPTERA.
the head whitish, or only faintly tinted Avith green, and the
legs and abdomen are pale brownish-green. A little tooth
Fig. 79.
projects downwards from the under side of the conical part
of the head, which extends between the antennae, and imme-
diately before this little tooth is a black line bent backwards
on each side like the letter U. The hindmost 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 opaque, 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 is perfectly straight from thence to
the tip, which ends in a point. The color of this grasshop-
per 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 different species.*
* In the collection belonging to the Boston Society of Natural History, there is
an insect which I suppose to be the Conocephalus dissimilis 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 froui 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 formings
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 LOCUSTS. 165
3. Locusts. QLocustadce.^
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 antennae 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 beloAv, 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 j^ieces, 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 producing 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 proba-
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 Conocephalus uncinatua, from the hook on the tip of the head.
166 ORTHOPTERA.
bly act in some measure to increase the reverberation of the
sound, hke the cavity of a viohn. When a locust begins to
play, he bends the shank of one hind leg beneath the thigh,
where it is lodged in a fiirrow designed to receive it, and
then draws the leg briskly up and down several times against
tlie 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
wdiich 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 grass-
hoppers, 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 strengthened by little crossing veins, which
form a kind of network. 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 unsteady, while that of
locusts is longer and better sustained. Many locusts, when
they fly, make a loud whizzing noise, the source of which does
THE LOCUSTS. 167
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 larjier mim-atincr locusts of Asia and
Africa, the noise of their flight bears no comparison to that
of the latter. When a lariie number of these take flight
together, it is said that the noise is like the rashing of a
whirlwind ; and hence we read, of the symbolical locusts
of the Apocalypse, that the sound of their wings Avas as
the sound of chariots of many horses running to battle ; *
and of others, that their coming is like the noise of chariots
on the tops of mountains, or the crackling of stubble when
\ overrun 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 pesti-
lence 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 numer-
ous travellers in Asia and Africa, some of whom have been
eyewitnesses of the devastations of these insects. Among
* Revelation ix. 9. t Joel ii. 5.
J Locus and nstiis.
(j 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 leai-ned and instructive work of
tny father, entitled, "The Natural History of the Bible, by Thaddeus Mason Har-
ris," 8vo, Boston, 1820.
1G8 ORTHOPTERA.
the later accounts, that contained in OHvier's " Travels "
does not seem to have been quoted by English writers. The
following is a free translation of the passage. Olivier, at the
time of writing it, was in Syria. " After a burning south
wind had prevailed for some time, there came, fi'om 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 com-
panion, ]\I. Brugieres, and myself were twice witnesses. It
is ditticult 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 dash-
ing of a shower of rain. The heavens Avere 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 saAV 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 (^Lociista inigratoria)^ but con-
sisted of the species called Acri/duim perearinum.
Althouo-h the ravages of locusts in America are not fol-
lowed by such serious consequences as in the Eastern con-
tment, yet they are sufficiently formidable to have attracted
attention, and not unfrequently have these insects laid waste
considerable tracts, and occasioned no little loss to the cul-
tivator 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-
* Olivier, Voyage' dans I'Empire Ottoman, I'Egypte et la Perse, Tom. II. p. 424.
THE RED-LEGGED LOCUSTS. 169
legged species (^Acrydium femur-ruhrum)^ (^'^§,- 80» P* 1^4,)
intermingled occasionally with some larger kinds. These,
in certain seasons, almost entirely consume the grass of these
marshes, from whence they then take their course to the up-
lands, devouring, in their way, grass, corn, and vegetables,
till checked by the early frosts, or by the close of the nat-
ural 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 tliis country locusts are not dis-
tinguislied from grasshoppers, and are generally, though in-
correctly, 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 in-
jurious to vegetation during the young or larva and pupa
states, when they are not provided with wings, as they are
when fully grown. In our newspapers I have sometimes
seen accounts of the devastations of grasshoppers, which
could only be apphcable to some of on;' locusts.
At various times they have appeared in great abundance
in dififerent parts of New England. It is stated that, in
Maine, "during dry seasons, they often appear in great mul-
titudes, and are the greedy destroyers of the half-parched
herbage." " In 1749 and 1754 they were very numerous
and voi-acious ; 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
everything green. Indeed, so great was the alarm they oc-
casioned among the people, that days of fasting and prayer
were appointed," * on account of the threatened calamity.
The southern and western parts of New Hampshire, the
northern and eastern parts of Massachusetts, and the south-
em part of Vermont, have been overrun by swarms of these
* See Williamson's History of Maine, Vol. L pp. 102, 103, and compare with
p. 172 of the same work.
22
170 ORTHOPTERA.
miscalled grasshoppers, and have suffered more or less from
their depredations.
Among the various accounts which I have seen, the follow-
ing, extracted fi'om the Travels of the late President Dwight,*
seems to be the most full and circumstantial. " Bennington
(Vermont), and its neighborhood, liave for some time past
been infested by grasshoppers (locusts) of a kind with which
I had before been wholly unacquainted. At least, their his-
torv, 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 voracity 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 separated, are
terniL'd sawdust. The appearance of a board fence, from
which the particles had been eaten in this manner, and Avhich
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 Avas authentically informed that
some persons, employed in raising the steeple of the church
in Williamstown, were, while standing near the vane, cov-
ered by them, and saw, at the same time, vast swarms of
* Travels in New England and New York, by Timothy Dwight, Vol. 11. p. 403.
THE LOCUSTS OF MASSACHUSETTS. 171
tliem 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 kind-
ness of the Rev. L. W. Leonard, of Dubhn, New Hampsliire,
I have been favored with specimens of the destmctive locusts
which occasionally 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, Mary-
land, was infested by insects of this kind ; arid I was in-
formed by a young gentleman from that place, then a student
in Harvard College, 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 e^vtended line of cas-
tigators 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
mentioned.
It is not to be supposed that these are the only depreda-
tory 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 I have met with in
ascertaining, from mere verbal reports, or from the accounts
that occasionally appear in our public 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
172 ORTHOPTERA.
may be included in three large groups or genera ; viz. Acry-
dixim (of GeofFroy and Latreille), Locusta (^Grj/Uus Locusta
of Linnaeus), and Tetnx (of Latreille). These three genera
may be distinguished from each other by the following
characters.*
1. Acrydlam. The thorax (^p'othorax 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 Aving-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 (^protliorax') greatly prolonged,
tapering to a point behind, and covering the whole of the
back to the extremity of the abdomen ; wing-covers exceed-
ingly minute, consisting only of a little scale on each side of
the body ; fore part of the breast forming a projection, like a
cravat or stock, to receive the lower part of the head ; no
spine in the middle of the breast ; no cushions between the
nails.
* 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 antennte ; eyes oblong oval and oblique ; anten-
nae short, flattened, and more or less enlarged toward the base, and tapering
toward the point; a pointed tubercle between the fore legs on the breast; wing-
covers narrow and pointed; face sloping down toward the breast, and forming an
acute angle with the top of the head.
Truxcills. Body rather thicker; head shorter, but ending in a blunt cone be-
tween the antennte; eyes oval and oblique; antennas 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 toward 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.
Xiphicera.- Robust; head not conical, but with a projection between the an-
tennae; face vertical; antennte 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; ftice vertical; antennre short, of
Bqual thickness to the end, seventeen or eighteen jointed; thorax with a some-
THE SPINE-BREASTED LOCUSTS. 173
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
entomologists. I have followed Latreille and Serville in con-
fining it to those locusts which have a projecting s})ine or
tubercle in the middle of the fore part of the breast between
the fore legs. To this genus belong the following native
species.
1. Acrydium 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 semi-transparent, with
irregular brownish spots ; wings transparent, uncolored, netted
with dirty 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, herring-bone fashion, by numerous brown
lines ; hindmost shanks reddish, with yellowish-white spines,
which are tipped with black. Length, to the end of the ab-
domen, 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 jiavo-vittatum? Yellow-striped Locust.
Dull green or olive-colored, with a yellowish line on each
side fi-om the forehead to the tips of the wing-covers ; hind-
■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 grasslioppers with
the locust family, while the last two approach nearer to the genus Acrydium;
many foreign genera, however, are interposed between them.
[ 8 This reference to De Geer is incorrect, no such species being found in his
works; it may refer to Drury. Illustrations I. pi. 49, f. 2. — Uhler.]
[9 This insect was previously described by Say, who calls it A. bim'ttatus.
The difference between the species, as found in New England and that of the
174 ORTHOPTERA.
most 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 1| ; expands from 1^^ 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, extend-
ing, when the insect acquires wings, along the inner margin
of the wing-covers. It is very troublesome in gardens,
climbing upon the stems of beans, peas, and flowers, devour-
ing the leaves and petals, and defiling them with its excre-
ment. The young begin to appear in June, and they come
to their growth and acquire their wings by the first of Au-
gust. When about to moult, like other locusts, they cling
to the stem of some plant, till the skin bursts and the insect
withdraws its body and legs from it, and leaves the cast-skin
still fastened to the plant.
3. Acrydium femur-ruhrum}^ Red-legged Locust. (Fig- 80.)
Grizzled with dirty olive and brown ; a black spot extend-
ino; from the eyes alono; the sides
Fig. 80. 1 • ■
of the thorax ; an oblique yellow
line on each side of the body be-
neath the wings ; a row of dusky
brown spots along the middle of
the winff-covers : and the hindmost
shanks and feet blood-red, with black spines. The wings
western sections of the Union, consists only in the color of the legs and greater
depth of tint upon the thorax, &c. In the latter, the synonymy stands as follows:
A. ( Caloptenus) biviltatus, Say = A. ( Cohplenus) femoratus, Burm. = A. Milberti,
Serv. = A flavo-viUatum. Harris. — Uhlek.]
( l" This is also a Caloptenus. — Uhleu.]
THE LOCUSTS PROPER. 175
are transparent, with a very pale greenish-yellow tint next
to the body, and are netted with brown lines. The hind-
most thighs have two large spots, on the upper side, and the
extremity, black ; but are red below, and yellow on the in-
side. The appendages at the tip of the body in the male
are of a long triangular form. Length from f inch to 1
inch ; exp. l^ to 1| inch.
The red-legged locust was first described by De Geer from
specimens sent to him from Pennsylvania, and I have re-
tained the scientific name which he gave to it. It is the
Grylliis (^Locmtd) erytlu'opus of Gmelin, and the Acrydiam
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 described its prevalence on
our salt-marshes ; and it seems to constitute those large mi-
grating swarms whose flight has been observed and recorded
in various parts of this country. It comes to maturity with
us by the latter part of July ; some broods, however, a little
earlier, and others later. It is most plentiful and destructive
dui'ing 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 Acrydiam ; but Latreille afterwards separated
them from Acrydium under the generical name of (Edijwda
(which means swelled leg), and he is followed in this by
Serville, the latest writer on the Orthoptera. In the in-
sects of this genus the breast is not armed with a blunt
spine or tubercle, a character which distinguishes the genus
Acrydium from it. In other respects these two genera are
much alike.
176 ORTHOPTERA.
1. Locusta Carolina* ^^ Carolina Locust. (Plate III. Fig. 3.)
Pale yellowish brown, witli small dusky spots ; wings
black, with a broad yellow hind margin, which is covered
with dusky spots at the tip. Length from 1 to \h inch ; exp.
2| 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 summer. It generally makes use of its large and
handsome wings in moving from place to place. It is fre-
quently 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, immediately 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 fol-
lowing 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 sur-
face of the soil.
2. Locusta corallina. Coral-winged Locust.
Light brown ; spotted with dark brown on the wing-cov-
ers ; 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 1 to 1^ inch ; exp. 2^ to 2| inches.
This species closely resembles the Acridiiim tuberculatum
of Palisot de Beauvois, which seems to be the (Edipoda dis-
coidea of Serville, found in the Southern States, of a much
larger size than the coral-wino;ed locust, and having the
wings of a much deeper and duller red color, and the black-
* Gryllus Locusta Carolinus, Linnseus.
[ 11 L. Carolina must be referred to (Edipoda. — Uhler.]
THE YELLOW-WINGED LOCUST. 177
ish border not so much narrowed behind. It cannot be
mistaken for the fenestralis, which M. Serville describes as
liaving 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 wdiich it makes in flying. It probably passes
the winter in the pupa state, and undergoes its last transfor-
mation in the spring ; but its history is not yet fully known
to me, and this opinion is the result only of conjecture.
3. Lociista sulphureaP Yellow-winged Locust. (Plate I. Fig. 6.)
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 y^j to 1| inch ; exp. If to
21 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 Acndium 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 Massachu-
setts.
[ 12 X. sulphurea must be referred to (Edipoda. — Uhler.]
23
178 ORTHOPTERA.
'4. Locusta Maritima}^ Maritime Locust
Ash-gray ; face variegated with white ; wing-covers sprin-
kled with minute brownish spots, and semi-transparent 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, Avith the extreme points of the spines
black. Length | to 1^ inch ; exp. IxV inch to 2f inches.
This species comes very near to Mr. Kirby's description
of the Locusta leucostoma ; but is evidently distinct fi'om it,
and does not appear to have been described before. I have
received it from Sandwich, and have found it in great abun-
dance among the coarse grass which grows near the edges
of our sandy beaches, but have never seen it except in the
immediate vicinity of the sea. It comes to maturity and lays
its egffs about the middle of August or a little later.
-OC3
5. Locusta cequalis}* Barren-ground Locust.
Ash-gray, mottled with dusky brown and white ; wing-
covers semi-transparent at tip, with numerous dusky spots
which run together so as to form three transverse bands ;
wings light yellow on their basal half, transparent Avith
dusky veins and a few 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
Ij- inch ; exp. 2|- inches.
Mr. Say, to whom I sent a specimen of this handsome
locust, informed me that it was his Ciryllus equalis, probably
intended for cequalis. It is found, during the months of July
[ 18 L. maritimn must be referred to (Edipoda. — Uhler.]
[ i* L. cequalis and latiptnnia are merely to be separated as races of one species,
and cannot remain as separate species. They must be referred to the genus
(Edipoda. — Uhler.]
THE MARBLED LOCUST. 179
and August, on dry barren hills and on sandy plains, upon
the scanty herbage intermingled with the reindeer moss.
6. 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 net-
work, 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 j^^j inch ;
exp. IxV inch.
It is possible that this may be a variety of the preceding
species, 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. (Fig. 8L)
Ash-colored, variegated with pale yellow and black ; thorax
suddenly narrowed before the mid- rig. 8i.
die, and' the slightly elevated longi-
tudinal line on the top is cut through
in the middle by a transverse fissure ; ^'^'—r";^t
wing-covers marbled with large whit-
ish and black spots, and semi-transparent 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 inter-
mediate black band, which, narrowed and curving inwards
on the hind margin, nearly reaches the inner angle ; hind-
most thighs pale yellow, black at the extremity, and nearly
[ 16 Ij, mnrmorata must be referred to (Edipoda. — Uhler.]
180 ORTHOPTERA.
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 fi'om ^V to above -ju inch ; exp. l^^jj to l-j^j inch.
The marbled locust, which is one of our prettiest species,
is found in the open places contiguous to or within pitch-pine
w^oods, flying over the scanty grass and reindeer moss which
not unfrequently 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 middle of October.
8. Locusta eucerata}^ Long-horned Locust.
Ash-colored, variegated with gray and dark brown ; anten-
nae 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
semi-transparent at tip ; wings next to the body yellow,
sometimes pale, sometimes deep and almost orange-colored,
at other times uncolored and semi-transparent ; with a broad
black band across the middle, which is narrowed and pro-
longed 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
whitish, with a black ring at each end, a broad one of the
same color just above the middle, and the spines tipped with
black. Length ^ inch to -/j inch ; exp. If^^y 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
[ 18 X. eucerata must be referred to CEdipoda. — Uhlek.]
THE DUSKY LOCUST. 181
of the wings vermilion-recl, but in other respects it approaches
to this species. The long-lionied locust is found oftentimes
in comi)any 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 nehulosay 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 y^j
inch to more than ly^^. inch ; exp. from 1^ 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 j)receding in
having the antennae shorter than the thorax, and slightly
thickened towards 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
sub-genus, which may receive the name of Tragocepliala^^^ or
goat-headed locusts.
10. Locusta {Tragocephala) infuscata. Dusky Locust.
Dusky brown ; thorax with a slender keel-like elevation ;
wing-covers faintly spotted with brown ; wings transparent,
pale greenish yellow next to the body, with a large dusky
[ 17 L. vebulosn must be referred to (Edipoda. — Uhler.]
[18 Tragocephala is synonymous with Gomphocerus, and L infuscata, L. viridi-
fasciata, and L. radiata must be referred to it. — Uhler.]
182 ORTHOPTERA.
cloud near tlie 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 Ij inch.
Tliis somewhat resembles the clouded locust, from which,
however, it is easily distinguished by its much shoi'ter anten-
nas and the dusky cloud on the hinder margin of the wings.
I have captured 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 described before.
11. Locusta {Tragocephald) viridi-fasciata. Green-striped Locust.
(Plate III. Fig. 2.)
Green ; thorax keeled above ; wing-covers with a broad
green stripe on the outer margin extending from the base
beyond the middle and including two small dusky spots on
the edge, the remainder dusky but semi-transparent 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 margin ; antennae,
fore and middle legs reddish ; hind thighs green, with two
black spots in the ftirrow 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 Acrydiam viridi-fasciatum of De Geer,
who was the first describer of it, the Grryllus Virginianus of
Fabricius, the Grryllus Locusta chrysomelas of Gmelin, the
Acrydium maryinatum of Olivier, and the Acridium hemipte-
rum of Palisot de Beauvois. It is remarkable that a species
so strongly marked as this is should have been so proftisely
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 opaque, and the dusky portion thin and
semi-transparent, as in the wing-covers of Hemipterous in-
THE RADIATED LOCUST. 183
sects. It is very common in pastures and mowing lands
from the first of June to the middle of August, beino; 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 antennae. These locusts are sometimes very
troublesome in gardens, living upon the leaves of vegetables
and flowers, and attacking 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 semi-transparent at the end ; wings transparent,
with brown network, and the principal longitudinal veins
black ; they are veiy faintly tinted with green next to the
body, have a lax'ge 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 1| 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
1st of July, and have received another from Dr. D. S. C. H.
Smith of Sutton, Massachusetts. It is found in North Caro-
lina as early as the month of May in the perfect state.
The folloAving species have the face still more oblique than
the foregoing, but the antennae 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 elevated lines, and the hind margin
is very nearly transverse, or not much (if at all) angulated
184 ORTHOPTERA.
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 sub-
genus by the name of Chloealtis, derived from the Greek,
and signifying a grasshopper.
13. Locusta (Okloealtis) 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 ^% inch.
This may be merely a variety of the following species,
though very differently colored.
14. Locusta {^Chlo'ealtis) abortiva. 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, Avhitish just below tlie knees, the spines tij)ped
with black. Length nearly -f^s inch.
This and the preceding locust have much the appearance
of pupge or young insects ; nevertheless I believe that their
wings and Aving-covers never become larger, and Mr. Leon-
ard informs me that they are found paired. I have captm'ed
the abortive locust in pastures near the end of July.
15. Locusta (Ghloealtis) curtipennis. Short-winged Locust.
(Plate IIL Fig. 1.)
Olive-gray above, variegated with dark gray and black ;
legs and body beneath yellow ; a broad black line extends
fi'om behind each eye on the sides of the thorax ; wing-cov-
THE GROUSE-LOCUSTS. 185
ers, in the male, as long as the abdomen, in the female,
covering two thirds of the 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 i to more than ^j hich ;
exp. from /^ to nearly 1 inch.
The flight of the short- winged locust is noiseless and short,
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 distin-
guished 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.
III. 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 fan-
cied some resemblance 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 distinguishing 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 veiy 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
beneath 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 antennse
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.
24
186 ORTHOPTERA.
I. Antennce 14-Jointed; eyes very prominent, with a project-
ing 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 asli-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 ^^ to -f^ inch to the 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 Acrydium ornatum*
2. Tetrix dorsalis. Red-spotted Grouse-locust.
Rusty black, with ochre-yellow sj^ots on the sides and legs,
and a large rusty-red spot on the top of the thorax ; wings
extending beyond the apex of the thorax. Length h 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
■rs to yV of an inch.
This is a shorter and thicker species than the ornamented
grouse-locust. It is not uncommon in pastures from the first
of May to the first of June.
4. Tetrix hilineata. Two-lined Grouse-locust.
Ash-colored ; thorax paler, with a narrow angular whitish
line, on each side, extending from the head beyond the mid-
dle ; the angular portion including a long blackish patch on
each side ; wings, in the male, rather shorter than the tho-
rax, in the female longer. Length from sV to more than ^^o
inch.
* American Entomology, Vol. I. Plate 5.
THE GROUSE-LOCUSTS. 187
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 ^j^ inch to nearly i 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. Antennce 22-jointed ; eyes hardly 'prominent^ top of the
head not horizontal between them, hat carving towards 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 face and the edges of the lateral margins of the tlio-
rax yellow. Length from ^^ to -fa- of an inch.
This species was first described by Mr. Say under the
name of Acrydium laterale.* I have taken it from the mid-
dle of April to the middle of May. It varies in being darker
above sometimes.
7. Tetrix parvipennis. (Fig. 82.) 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 ^'s- §2.
shorter than the thorax ; male with the face and
the edges of the lateral margins of the thorax
yellow. Length from ^V to more than ^(j inch.^^
This species is much shorter and thicker than
the Tetrix lateralis. I have taken it in April
and May, in the perfect state, and have found
the pupae near the end of July.
* American Entomology, Vol. I. Plate 5.
[ 19 Color and style of marking is of very little value in separating the species
of Tetrix, and the species described by Dr. Harris are probably all referable to the
two species of Say. — Uhlek.]
188 ORTHOPTERA.
The liablts 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 extremely agile, and consequently very diffi-
cult to capture, for they leap to an astonishing distance, con-
sidering their small size, being moreover aided in this motion
by their ample wings. The young, Avhich are deprived of
wings, are generally found about midsummer, and are readily
distinguished by the thorax, which is somewhat like a re-
versed boat, beino; furnished with a longitudinal ridjie or keel
from one end to the other. These little locusts are analogous
to the insects belonging to the genus Memhracis in the order
Hemiptera, Avliich 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 Orthoptera 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 checking and destroying them should be fully ex-
plained. 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
histor}'. In doing this, he opens to others the way to a suc-
cessful course of experiments, the trial of which he is gener-
ally 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 covered with a sort of gum in which they are
REMEDIES. 189
enveloped by the insects. Rewards are offered and paid for
their collection, half a franc beino; criven for a kiloo;rannne
(about 2 lb. 3^- oz. avoirdupois) 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 1G13 ; in 1824, five thou-
sand 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 kilogrammes (or
from 131b. "^3 oz. 13.22 dr. to 151b. 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 Avliom draw it
rapidly along, so that the edge may sweep over the surface of
the soil, and the tAvo others hold up the cloth behind at an
angle of forty-fiA'e degrees.* This contrivance seems to oper-
ate somewhat like a horse-rake, in gatherino; the insects into
winrows or heaps, from wliich 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 published in the " New Eng-
land Farmer." f It is there stated that, in Jnly, 1826, Mr.
Arnold Thompson, of Epsom, New Hampshire, caught, in
one evening, between the hours of eight and twelve, in his
own and his neighbor's grain-fields, five bushels and three
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 forAvard. At
the sides of the drag, braces extended from the pole to raise
the back part considerably from the ground, so that the
gi-asshoppers could not escape. After running the drag about
a dozen rods with rapidity, the braces Avere taken out, and
* See Annales de la Society Entomologique de France, Vol. II. pp. 486 - 489.
t Vol. V. p. 5.
190 ORTHOPTERA.
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 burdensome (their weight is about the same as
that of the same measure of corn), the bag was opened into a
larger one, and the grasshoppers received into a new deposit.
The drag can be used only in the evening, when the grass-
hoppers 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 appear-
ance, 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 furnished 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 following 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 neighbors,
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
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-
NATURAL ENEMIES. 191
like brown or blackish worms (^Filarid), resembling in ap-
pearance those called horse-hair eels (^Gordius). I ha^•e
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 Oajpete ; 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, lo-
custs, and even crickets. Young turkeys, if allowed to go at
large during the summer, derive nearly the whole of their
subsistence from these insects.
CHAPTER IV.
HEMIPTERA.
Bugs. — Squash-Bug. — Chinch-Bug. — Plant-Bugs. — Harvest-Flies —
Tree-Hoppers. — Leaf-Hoppers. — Vine-Hopper. — Bean-Hopper. —
TiiRiPS. — Plant-Lice. — American Blight. — Enemies of Pl.\.nt-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 bugbear, and also as a term of contempt for
somethino; disao;reeable or hateful. In later times it became,
with the common people, a general name for insects, which,
beins 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 pre-eminence ; 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
insects, 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
BUGS. 193
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 construction
of their wing-covers, the hinder half of which is thin and
fihny like the wings, while the fore part is thick and opaque.
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 opaque, and these,
by most entomologists, are also classed among Hemipte-
rous insects, because they come much nearer to them than
to any other insects, in stinicture 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 successive moulting of the skin, till they
are ftilly developed in the full-grown insect.
The Hemiptera are divided into two groups, distinguished
by the following characters.
1. Bugs, or True Hemiptera, (^Hemiptera lietewptera^ in
which the wing-covers are thick and opaque at the base, but
thin and more or less transparent and wing-like at the tips,
are laid horizontally 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 hori-
zontal, and the beak issues from the fore part of it, and is
abruptly bent backwards beneath the under side of the head
25
194 HEMIPTERA.
and the breast. Some of the insects belono-ino; to this division
hve on animal, and others on vegetable juices.
2. Harvest-flies, Plant-lice, and Bark-lice, (^Hemipie-
ra Jiomo-ptera^ in which the wing-covers are, as the scientific
name implies, of one texture throughout, and are either en-
tirely thin and transparent, like wings, or somewhat thicker
and opaque ; they are not horizontal, and do not cross each
other at their extremities, but, together with the wings, are
more or less inclined at the sides of the body, like the Aving-
covers of locusts ; the face is either vertical, or slopes oblique-
ly under the body, so that the beak issues from the under
side of the head close to the breast. All the insects in-
cluded in this division live on vegetable juices.
I. BUGS. (Hemiptera heteroptera.)
The hemipterous insects belonging to this division are vari-
ous kinds of bugs, properly so called, such as squash-bugs,
bed-bugs, fruit-bugs, Avater-bugs, water-boatmen, and many
others, for which there are no common names in our lan-
guage. In my Catalogue of the Insects of ]\Iassachusetts,
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 suf-
ficiently prepared to furnish these details at present, I shall
confine my remarks to two or three species only.
The common squash-bug, Coreua tristis
(Fig. 83), 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 unwar-
rantably changed to moestus, having, however,
the same meaning. Fabricius called it Coreus rugator^ the
latter word signifying one who wrinkles, which was probably
THE COMMON SQUASH-BUG. 195
applied to this ins'jct 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 de-
scribed, re-described it under the name of Coreiis 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 bujr.
About the last of October squash-bugs desert the plants
upon which they have lived during the summer, and conceal
themselves 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 tlieir 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 find
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 place where
they generally remain during the daytime, apparently to es-
cape 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 punc-
tures of the insects, and the quantity of sap imbibed by them,
196 HEMIPTERA.
soon wither, and eventually become brown, dry, and wrin-
kled ; 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, dur-
incr the months of September and October. In this last state
the squash-bug measures 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 tliin overlapping portion of the wing-cov-
ers is black ; the ^vings are transparent, but are dusky at their
tips ; and the upper side of the abdomen, upon which the
wings rest when not in use, is of a deep black color, and vel-
vety appearance.
The ground-color of this insect is really ochre-yellow, and
the rusty black hue of the head, thorax, thick part of the
win(i'-covers, and legs, is occasioned by numerous black punc-
tures, 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 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 grasshoppers, 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 han-
dled, and still more when crushed, the latter give out an odor
* They appear to belong to the genus Gonocerus of Burmeister.
THE CHINCII-BUG. 197
precisely similar to that of an over-ripe pear, but far too pow-
erful 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 neglect-
ed 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 pre-
vail, the vines will suffer so much from the bugs and drought
together, as to produce but little if any fruit. Whatever con-
tributes 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 prepara-
tions, have, with this intent, been applied with benefit.
The Avheat-fields and corn-fields of the South and West
often suffer severely from the depredations of certain minute
bugs, long known there by the name of chinch^bugs, which
fortunately have not yet been observed in New England.*
It is not improbable, however, that they may spread in this
direction, and attack our growing grain and other crops. In
anticipation of such a sad event, and to gratify a curiosity
that has been expressed concerning these offensive insects, I
venture to offer a few remarks upon them. Attention seems
early to have been directed to them. They are mentioned in
the eleventh volume of Young's " Annals of Agriculture,"
published, I believe, about 1788. From this work Messrs.
Kirby and Spence probably obtained the following account,
* While this sheet is passing through the press, I have to record the discovery
of one of theoe bugs in my own garden, on the 17tb of June, 1S52.
198 HEMIPTERA.
contained in the first volume of their interesting " Introduc-
tion to Entomology." " America suffers in its wheat and
maize from the attack of an insect, which, for what reason I
know not, is called the chinch-bug fly. It appears to be
apterous, and is said in scent and color to resemble the bed-
bug. They travel in immense columns from field to field, like
locusts, destroying everything as they proceed ; but their
injuries are confined to the States south of the 40th degree of
north latitude. From this account," add Kirby and Spence,
" the depredator here noticed should belong to the tribe
Geocorisce^ Latr. ; but it seems very difficult to conceive how
an insect that lives by suction, and has no mandibles, could
destroy these plants so totally."
I have ascertained, fi'om an examination of living speci-
mens, that the chinch-bug is the Lygceus Leuco^terus (Fig.
84), or white-winged Lygaeus, described by
Mr. Say, in December, 1831, in a rare
little pamphlet on the " Heteropterous Hc-
miptera of North America." It appears,
moreover, to belong to the modern genus
Rhjparoeliromus. In its perfect state it is
not apterous, but is provided with wings,
and then measures about three twentieths
of an inch in length. It is readily distinguished by its white
wing-covers, upon each of which there is a short central
line and a large marginal oval spot of a black color. The
rest of the body is black and downy, except the beak, the
legs, the antennae at base, and the hinder edge of the thorax,
which are reddish yellow, and the fore part of the thorax,
which has a grayish lustre. The young and wingless indi-
viduals are at first brio;ht red, chano;ino; with age to brown
and black, and are always marked with a Avhite band across
the back. It is a mistake that these insects are confined to
the States south of the 40th degree ; for I have been fa^'ored
with them by Professor Lathrop, of Beloit College, Wiscon-
sin, and by Dr. Le Baron, of Geneva, Illinois. The latter
THE PLANT-BUGS. 199
gentleman had no difficulty in obtaining a sufficient number
without going out of his own garden. The eggs of the
chinch-bu(T are laid in the ground, in which the young have
been found, in great abundance, at the depth of an inch or
more. They make their appearance on wheat about the
middle of June, and may be seen in their various stages of
growth on all kinds of grain, on corn, and on herds-grass,
durino- the whole summer. Some of them continue alive
through the winter in their places of concealment. A very
good account of these destructive bugs, with an enlarged
figure, will be found in the " Prairie Farmer," for December,
1845. In the same publication, for September, 1850, there
is an excellent description of the chinch-bug, by Dr. Le
Baron, who, not being aware that it had been previously
named by Mr. Say, called it Rhyparocfiromus devastator.
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 conse-
quence 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 ]\Iessrs.
Hovey, at Cambridge Port, I observed, about the same time,
that these insects were committing sad havoc, and was in-
formed that various means had been tried to destroy or expel
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 believe 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, terminal 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 sub-
sequently visible, apparently poisoning the parts attacked.
200 HEMIPTERA.
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 grow-
ing extremities of the plants, at which time it was not very
dithcult to catch them ; but, after being warmed 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. In July, 1851, some of these insects were sent
to me by a gentleman, who brought them from St. Johns-
bury, Vt., where they w'ere confidently believed to be the
cause of the jyotato-i-ot
This kind of bug is the Phytocoris lineolaris^ (Fig. 85),
a variety of which Avas first described and figured by Palisot
de Beauvois, under the specific name above given, and Avas
doubtingly referred by him to the genus Coreus ; and it was
subsequently described by Mr. Say, who called it Cajjsus
oblmeatus. All the insects belonging to the genus Pliyto-
coris* (Avhich means plant-bug) are found on plants, and
subsist on their juices, Avhich they obtain by suction through
their sharp beaks. They are easily distinguished from other
bugs by the folloAving characters. Eyelets Avanting; antennaa
four-jointed, Avith the first and second joints much thicker
than the last tAvo, Avhicli are A-ery slender and threadlike ; the
head short and triangular ; the body oA'al, flattened, and soft ;
the thorax in the form of a broad triangle, Avith the tip of the
anterior angle cut ofi', and the broadest side applied to the
base of the Aving-covers ; the latter, Avhen folded, cover the
whole of the abdomen, and their thin portions liaA'e only one
[1 Dr. Harris misquotes Beauvois for this Phytocoris; the name applied by that
author is P. linearis, not lineolaris. — Uhlee.]
* This new genus, or sub-genus, was instituted by Fallen, and is not noticed by
Latreille and Laporte. It differs ftom Cfipsus chiefly in having a smaller head,
and the thorax wider behind, and narrower before, than in the latter genus.
THE LITTLE-LINED PLANT-BUG. 201
or two little veins ; the legs are slender, and the shanks are
bristled with little points. There are, in Massachusetts, a
good many species belonghig to tliis genus ; but, in my Cata-
logue of the insects of this Commonwealth, they are included
among the species of Capsus, which, indeed, they closely re-
semble.
The Phytocoris Uneolaris (Fig. 85), or little-
lined plant-bug, measures one fifdi of an inch,
or rather more, in length. It is an exceed-
ingly variable species. The males are gen-
erally 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 antenna?, the terminal half of the sec-
ond, 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 immediately 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 imper-
fect, 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 longi-
tudinal veins sometimes pale or yellowish, and behind this
thick part there is a large yellowish spot, on tlie 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 marked with a yellowish line or a longitu-
dinal series of yellow spots on each side of the middle ; the
legs are dirty brownish yellow, the thighs blackish at base,
and with two black rings near the tip, and the extremities of
26
202 HEMIPTERA.
the feet are blackish. The females are most often of a pale
olive-o-reen, 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 yel-
low V, or the three spots on the thorax, and the large yellow
spot tipped with black on the wing-covers, are conspicuous
charactei's, which readily afford the means of identifying the
species. I have taken this insect in the spring, as early as the
20th 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 Pennsyl-
vania, Indiana, the Northwest 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
observed ; and the insects, during the early periods of their
existence, 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 in-
sects 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 wutli
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 impracticable. 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 buo;s. The great increase of these
HARVEST-FLIES. 203
and other noxious insecls 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 in-
crease unless these little friends of the farmer are protected,
or left undisturbed to multiply, and follow their natural
habits. ]\lean while, some advantage may be derived from
encouraging the breed of our domestic fowls. A flock of
young chickens or turkeys, if suifei'ed 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 derived from their destruction of insects.
II. HARVEST-FLIES, &c. ( Hemiptera Homoptera. )
By many entomologists this division is raised to the rank
of a separate oyder, 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 in-
sects in any other order, which shows the propriety of keeping
these two divisions together, and that separately they hold
only a subordinate importance compared with other orders.
The insects belonging to tliis division are divided by nat-
uralists into three large groups, or tribes. .
1. Harvest-flies, or Cicadians (Cicadad.e) ; having short
antennae, which are awl-shaped or tipped with a little bris-
tle ; Avings 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^) ; having antennre longer than
the head, and threadlike or tapering from the root to the
end ; wing-covers and wings frequently wanting in the
females ; feet tAvo-jointed ; the body veiy soft, generally fur-
nished with two little tubercles at the end ; no piercer in the
females.
^
204 HEMIPTERA.
3. Bark-lice (Coccid^) ; having threadlike or tapering
antennie, longer than the head ; the males alone provided
with wings, which lie hoi'izontally on the top of the back ;
no beak in tliis sex ; females wingless, but ftirnished Avith
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.
1. IIaryest-flies. ^ (Cicadada;.)
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 Aving-covers and
wings ; and by the elevation on the back part of the thorax
in the form of the letter X. The males have a peculiar
organization, Avhich enables them to emit an excessively loud
buzzing kind of sound, Avhich, in some species, may be heard
at the distance of a mile ; and the females are furnished Avith
a curiously contrived piercer, for perforating tlie limbs of
trees, in Avhich they place their eggs. Without attempting
a detailed description of the complicated mechanism of these
pai'ts, Avhich 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 instruments of the male consist of a pair of kettle-
dnims, one on each side of the body, and these, in the
seventeen-year Cicada (or locust as it is generally but im-
properly called in America), are plainly to be seen just
behind the Avincrs. These drums are formed of conA^ex
pieces of parchment, gathered into numerous fine plaits, and,
in the species above named, are lodged in cavities 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 Avith great rapidity, the drum-heads
THE HARVEST-FLIES. 205
are alternately tiglitened and loosened, recovering their nat-
ural convexity by their own elasticity. The effect of this
rapid alternate tension and relaxation is the production of a
rattling sound, like that caused by a succession of quick
])ressures upon a slightly convex and elastic piece of tin
plate. Certain cavities within the body of the insect, 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 out-
side of the body, but are covered by convex triang-ular
pieces on each side of the first ring behind the thorax, which
must be cut away in order to expose 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 extremity
of the body of the female is conical, and the under side
has a longitudinal channel for the reception of the piercer,
wdiich is furthei'more 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 betAveen the other
two. Thus this instrument has the power and does the work
both of an awl and of a double-edged saAV, or rather of two
key-hole saws cutting opposite to each other. No species of
^ Cicada possesses the power of leaping. 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.
206 HEMIPTERA.
To increase 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 l*ingth of which depends, in great measure, upon the
nature and abundance of their food. Thus maggots, which
subsist upon decaying animal or vegetable matter, come more
quickly to their growth than caterpillars and other insects
which devour living plants ; the former are appointed to
remove an offensive nviisance, and do their work quickly ;
the latter have a longer time assigned to them, corresponding
in some degree to the progress or continuance of vegetation.
The facilities afforded for obtaining food influence the dura-
tion 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 last only
for a season, and require no laborious efforts to be prepared
for food. The harvest-flies continue only a few weeks after
their final transformation, 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 shortness of their life in the
winged state by the length of their previous existence, during
which they are wingless and ginib-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 Avhich they imbibe by suction. To meet the diffi-
culties of their situation and the precarious supply of their
food, for which they have to grope in the dark in their
subterranean retreats, a remarkable longevity is assigned
to them ; and one species 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
THE CICADA SEPTENDECIM. 207
Massachusetts, and in the valley of the Connecticut River, as
far north at least as Hadley ; but does not seem to have ex-
tended to other parts of the State. The earliest account that
we have of it is contained 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 a])peared 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 Secretary
Morton's " Memorial," states that these insects appeared in
Plymouth, Sandwich, and Falmouth, in the year 1804 ; but,
if the exact period of seventeen years had been observed,
they should have returned in 1803. Circumstances may
occasionally retard or accelerate then' progress to maturity,
but the usual interval is certainly seventeen years, accord-
ing to the observations and testimony of many persons of
undoubted veracity. Their occurrence in large swarms at
long intervals, like that of the migratoiy locusts of the East,
probably suggested the name of locusts, which has commonly
been applied to them in this country. The following 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 re-
specting 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 ap-
pearance was in 1801, and their last, previous to that, was
in 1787. I ascertained these periods from the statements
of individuals, Avho 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
* Dated October 19, 1832.
208 HEMIPTERA.
to forget. The remembrance of all, though fixed by differ-
ent events, concurred in establishing the same years for the
appearance 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 Avas distinctly heard there. On
going to visit them, I found the oak-ti-ees and bushes swarm-
ing with them in a winged state. They came up ovit of the
ground a creeping insect. Very soon after they had ar-
rived 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 rui)ture on
the back ; showing an entire withdrawing of the living ani-
mal, as much so as does the snake's skin after he has left it.
Thus these skins lay in immense numbers under the trees,
entirely empty, and perfect in shape. The winged insects
did not, so far as I could ascertain, eat anything. Motion
and propagation appeared to be the whole object of their
existence. Tliey continued about four or five weeks, and
then died." Previous to this event " the females laid their
effo-s in the tender parts of oak branches, near the extremi-
ties, making a longitudinal furrow, and depositing rows
of eggs therein (Fig. 86). They then sawed the branch
partly off below the eggs, so that the wind could twist off
the extreme part containing the eggs, and let it fall to the
ground. In this way they injured the trees extensively.
The forest had a gloomy appearance 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
THE SEVENTEEN-YEAR CICADA.
209
different years, and understand that the locust-year, in some
places not far distant,
is different from their *^'
year in this town."
This letter was ac-
companied by specimens
of the insects, in their
various states, obtained
and preserved by Mr.
Goodwin.
The writer of an ai*-
ticle in the " Boston
Magazine " for Novem-
ber, 1784, observes that
Mr. IMorton 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 occurred, is believed to liavc
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 furthermore con-
firmed by the observations of various persons * who have
* Among the authorities which I have consulted upon the history of the seven-
teen-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. I., pages 86 and
108; ^Ir. Moses Bartram's account in Dodsley's "Annual Register" for 1767,
p 103; Dr. McMurtrie, in the 8th vol. of the "EncyclopEedia Americana," p. 43;
Dr. S. P. Hildreth's interesting account in the 10th vol. of Silliman's " American
Journal of Science," p. 327; and a pamphlet entitled "Notes on the Locusta,"
&c., with which I have been favored by the author, Pfofessor Nathaniel Potter,
27
210 HEMIPTERA.
publislied accounts of the occurrence of these insects in the
Middle, Southern, and Western States, where, at regular in-
tervals of seventeen years, varying according to the locality,
they are seen even in greater abundance than in Massachu-
setts. The following dates and places of their ascent are
jnven in Professor Potter's " Notes on the Locusta decern
Septima " \/( CVca£?« septendechn) x Maryland, 1749, 1766,
1783, 1800, 1817, 1834 ; South Carolina and Georgia, 1817,
1834 ; Middlesex County, New Jersey, 1826 ; Louisiana,
1829 ; Gallipolis, Ohio, 1821, and Muskingum, 1829 ; west-
ern parts of Pennsylvania, 1832 ; Fall River, Massachusetts,
1834. To these may be added from other sources, Penn-
sylvania, 1715, 1766, 1783, 1800, 1817 ; * Marietta, Ohio,
1795, 1812 ; Plymouth, 1633, 1804 ; SandAvich, 1787, 1804,
1821 ; Hadley, 1818 ; Westfield, 1835 ; North Haven, Conn.,
1724, 1741, 1758, 1792, 1809, 1826, 1843 ; Genesee Coun-
ty, New York, 1832; Martha's Vineyard, 1833. From
information derived from various sources it appears that this
species is widely spread over the country, with the exception
only of the northern parts of New England ; 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 retaixl the return of individuals,
or even of an entire swarm, in any one place, yet the lineal
descendants of one particular faniily or swarm will ordina-
rily come forth only once in seventeen years, Avhile those
of other swarms may appear, after equally regular intervals,
in the intervening period, in other places.
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. Collins's " Observations on
the Cicada of North America," published in the " Philosophical Transactions" of
London, Vol. LIV. p. 65, with a pl.ate, probably refer to the seveiiteen-year Cica-
da, but the insects figured are not the same, and seem to be the Cicada jjruinosa
of Mr. Say.
* A writer in the " United States Gazette " records the appearance of these
insects in great numbers in Germantown, Pennsylvania, on the 2bth of May, at
four successive periods. •
THE SEVENTEEN-YEAR CICADA. 211
The seventeen-year Cicada (^Cicada ssptendecim of Lin-
naeus), (Plate III. Fig. 7,) in the winged state, is of a
black color, with transparent wings and wing-covers, the
thick anterior edge and larger veins of which 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
visitation 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 re-
sound 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, Avhich 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 latei'al 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 repetition 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
212 HEMIPTERA.
from one end to the other, upon which she removes to a
Httle distance, and begins to make another nest to contain
two more rows of egijs. She is about fifteen minutes in
preparing a single nest and filhng it with eggs ; but it is
not unusual for her to make fifteen or twenty fissures in the
same hmb ; 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 in-
sect.* After one limb is thus sufficiently stocked, the Cicada
goes to 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 provide for a succession of her kind, as
to falter and fall in attempting 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 impelled by the necessity for depositing their eggs, and
not unfrequently 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 are 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 in-
jurious punctures of these insects.
The eggs are one twelfth of an inch long, and one six-
teenth 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 fonn 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
* See also my communication in Downing's Horticulturist, Vol. III. p. 278,
Dec., 1848.
THE SEVENTEEN- YEAR CICADA, 213
Miss Morris says in forty-two days, and other persons say in
fourteen days.
The young insect when it hursts 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 pareiit insect, and is
furnished with six legs, the first pair of which are veiy large,
shaped almost like lobster-claAvs, and armed with stron"-
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
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 clew, like that of the canker-
worm, to carry them in safety through the air and break
the force of their fall. The instinct which impels them
thus fearlessly to precipitate themselves from the trees, from
heights of wliich they can have formed no conception, with-
out any experience or knowledge of the result of their adven-
turous 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 OAvn 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
214
H E M I P T E R A .
which has implanted in them an unerring guide, where rea-
son, 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 in-
stinct to this end, would be considered incredible, perhaps,
if it had not been ascertained and repeatedly contirmed by
persons who have witnessed the proceeding. On reaching
the ground the insects immediately bury themselves in the
soil, burrowing by means of their broad and strong fore feet,
which, like those of the mole, are admirably adapted for dig-
ging. In their descent into the earth they seem to follow the
^ Fig 87.
roots of plants, and are subsequently found attached to those
which are most tender and succulent, perforating them with
their beaks, and thus imbibing the vegetable juices which
constitute their sole nourishment. (Fig. 87.)
Miss Margaretta H. Morris, who attributes the decline of
the pear-tree and the failure of its fruits to depredations of
the young Cicadas on its roots, has given interesting accounts
of her observations upon these insects. On removing the
earth from " a pear-tree that had been declining for years,
without any apparent cause," she " found the larvae of the
Cicada in countless numbers clinging to the roots of the tree,
with their suckers piercing the bark, and so deep and firmly
placed, that they remained hanging for half an hour after
being removed from the earth. From a root a yard long,
THE SEVENTEEN-YEAR CICADA. 215
and about an inch in diameter, she gathered twenty-tliree
larvse ; they Avere of various sizes, ft'om a qviarter of an inch
to an inch in length. They were on all the roots that grew
deeper than six inches below the surface. The roots were
unhealthy, and bore the appearance of external injury from
small punctures. On removing the outer coat of bark, this
appearance increased, leaving no doubt as to the cause of the
disease." *
The grubs 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 dis-
covered 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 which the insects are subject, during
the long period of their subterranean confinement, is an
increase of size, and the more complete development of the
four small scale-like prominences on their backs, which rep-
resent and actually contain their future wings.
As the time of their transformation approaches, they grad-
ually ascend towards the surface, making in their progress
cylindrical passages, oftentimes very circuitous, and seldom
exactly perpendicular, 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 por-
tion 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 recon-
* Proceedings of the Academy of Natural Sciences, Philadelphia, Nov. and
Dec, 1846; and Downing's Horticulturist, Vol. H. p. 16, July, 1847.
216 HEMIPTERA.
noitre, but descending again on the occuri'ence of cold or wet
weatlier.
During their temporary residence in these burrows near
the surface, the Cicada grubs, or more properly pupge, for
such they are to be considered at this period, though they
still retain something of a gnib-like form, acqviire 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 sub-
terranean 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 object in their vicinity to
which they can fasten themselves securely by their claAvs.
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
Cicada 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 opaque, but, being perfectly soft and flexible,
they soon stretch out to their full dimensions, and in the
course of a few hours the superfluous moisture of the body
evaporates, and the insect becomes strong enough to fly.
During several successive nights the pupte 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 consideration leaves the ground in Februaiy
and jNIarch, 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 transforma-
tion 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
THE DOG-DAY HARVEST-FLY. 217
periods so distant that vegetation often lias 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, Avhich 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 Avhen 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
transformation, 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 peril-
ous descent from the trees.
There are sevei-al other harvest-flies in the United States,
the males of which are musical ; but their drums are con-
cealed within little cavities in the sides of the first abdominal
ring. One of these is found in Massachusetts, and, thoujih 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 (Fig. 88}, from the circumstance of its in-
variably 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 25th 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
28
218 HEMIPTERA.
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, expand about three inches.
Fig. 88.
Its body is black on the upper side ; the under side of the
head, the breast, and the sides of the belly are covered Avith
a white substance resembling flour ; the top of the head and
the thorax are ornamented with olive-green lines and char-
acters, 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.* I am not aware
* The, form and proportions of the abdomhial valves have decided me to sepa-
rate the caniculnris from Mr. Say's pruinosa, although, with the exception of their
difference in size, they present no other constant characters which will invariably
THE HARVEST-FLIES. 219
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 har-
vest-fly, but are considerably larger. Some individuals of
this species continue with us as late as the end of September,
As they are not very numerous, the injury sustained by the
trees from their punctures is comparatively small.
The other harvest-flies of this country have only two eye-
lets, 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 leap-
ing insects, result from an enlargement of their hindmost
thifrhs, w^hich do not differ much in thickness from the
others ; but is owing to the length of their hindmost 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
unbends 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
serve to distinguish them from each other.2 In my collection are four more na-
tive species of C/catZa ; namely, the TT«feto of Germar, our largest species, from
North Carolina; a second specie>, apparently undescriljed, about equal to this in
magnitude, from Long Island, New York; the iibicen of Linn^us, also from New
York, and quite common even within the city; and thernieroglyphica of Say,
■which, I believe, was captured in Florida, and was presented to me by Mr. Ed-
ward Doubleday. A specimen of theMj6jC6n, or some other large species, has been
taken in Massachusetts, but I have not the individual to refer to at this time.
[2 This is nothing more than a local variety of C- pruinosa, Say; there is no
persistency in the form and length of the abdominal valves, and the coloration
and extent of ^riH'«(-»sewes« upon the iasect depend upon various contingencies to
which it is liable. — Uhler.]
220 HEMIPTERA.
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 harvest-tiies have the
fliC3 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 MemhraciSy
to which allusion has already been made ; and, as they are
found mostly on the limbs of trees and shrubs, they may
receive the name of tree-hoppers.* In 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^), and the variations of this
part are productive of many odd forms among these insects,
and particularly in foreign species. Among the species in-
habiting; 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 vait of my Cata-
logue.^ To these the name of ^Memhracis^ which means
sharp-edged, is most applicable. In other species (J/, emar-
ginata and sinuata of Fabricius, and eoncava 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
middle, but only in some part; thus^/. Ampehpsidis^ has
an oblong square crest on the middle of the thorax ; 31. hi-
* Mr. Rennie, in the " Library of Entertaining Knowledge," has misapplied this
name to the Cicadas, which do not leap.
■O [3 Both belong toithe genus Smilia, Amyot. — Uhler.]
<'- [^M emnrginntrq sinuata, and eoncava belong to Entilia, Amyot. — Uiiler.]
r [ ^^M. ampelopsidis belongs to Ttlamoiui, Fitch. — Uhler ]
THE TREE-HOPPERS. 221
C'
maculata of Fabricius and univittata^ of my Catalogue have
a thin horn-hke projection, blunt, however, at the end, ex-
tending obliquely forwards and upwards from the fore part
of the thorax ; and^Jf". binotata an(Platii)e8 ^ 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'-' 3/. bubalas of FabriciusP diceros
of Say, ancPtaurina^ of my Catalogue, the ridge of the tho-
rax, viewed from above, has somewhat the shape of the
letter T, becoming broad at the fore part, 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 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 Mem- o^^^
bracis bimaculata* of Fabricius (Fig. 89), which
may be found in great abundance on the limbs of
the locust-tree (^Robinia pseudacacid) during the
months of September and October. These, as well
as other tree-hoppers, show but little activity Avhen undis-
turbed, remaining without motion for hours together on the
limbs of the trees ; but on the approach of the fingers, they
leap vigorously, and, spreading their wings at the same time,
* Fabricius describes the male only under this name; the female is his Mem-
bracis acuminata. This species belongs to Professor Germar's new genus, Btmi-
ptycha.^ .
[6 M. bimaculata and univhtata belong to Thella, Amyot. — Uhler.]
\J^M. binotata unitcatipes belong to Euchenom, Amyot. — Uhleu.]
r ^M. bubalus, diceros, anataurina belong to Ceresa, Amvot. — Uhler. 1
L o O
[9 It might be added, that this genus is now restricted t(rMembracis j)unciata,
Fab., and a few allied species. — Uhler.]
222 HEMIPTERA.
fly to another limb and settle there, in the same position as
before. They never sit across the hmbs, but always in the
direction of their length, with the head or forepart of the
body towards tlie extremity of the branches. On account
of their peculiar form, which is that of a thick cone Avith a
very oblique direction, their dark color, and their fixed pos-
ture while perching, they would readily be mistaken for the
thorns of the tree, a circumstance undoubtedly 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 Avliich 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 Avisely made in the construction of cer-
tain 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, Avhich remains
to be described; — it measures about half an inch from the
tip of the horn to the end of the body ; the male is black-
ish above, with a long yellow spot on each side of the back ;
and the female is ash-colored, and Avithout spots. While on
the trees, these insects, though perfectly still, are not vniem-
ployed ; but puncture the bark with their sharp and slender
beaks, and imbibe the sap for nourishment. 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, Avith Avhich to make suitable perforations in the
branches. As I have never seen the young on these trees,
THE TREE-HOPPERS. 223
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 conse-
quence of the quantity of sap abstracted fi'om 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 \ilf. 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 fore part, and there is a
white line on the back, extending from the top of the horn
to the hinder extremity.
The common creeper (^Ampelopsis qidnquefolid) is inhabit-
ed 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 transversely 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 the top of the hind part of the crest. '"" '^'
This species may be CdWadiMemhracis
Ampelopsidis * (Figs. 90 and 91), from
the plant on wliich 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,
lO
* It is the Memhracis Cissl of my Catalogue.
224 HEMIPTERA.
after which they are seen ascending the stems of the creeper,
on which they change their skins for the last time. Tliis
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, accompanied 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-spot-
ted tree-hopper, or Memhracis hinotata 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 Avax-work, may be likened to a flock of old and
young partridges. They appear to p^ss 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 punc-
tures made by the former, of Avhich the ants are very fond.
Those kinds that live on the stems of plants fi'om the time
when they are hatched till they are fully grown, are very
closely attended by ants ; and as from their constant suck-
ing the young become often wet, their careiul attendants,
the ants, find regular employment in wiping them clean and
dry with their antennas and tongues.
The remaining Homopterous insects have a thorax of
moderate size, not tapering to a point behind, and not cov-
ering 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 (Cercopidid^), which pass their whole lives on
plants, on the stems of which their eggs are laid in the
THE LEAF-HOPPERS. 225
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 concealed in large
masses of foam, until they have completed their final trans-
formation, 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 Massachu-
setts, 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 summer, fully grown and
preparing to lay their eggs. In this state they possess the
power of leaping in a still more remarkable degree 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 spine's 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 al-
most horizontal and quite broad across the middle, which,
with the shortness of their legs, gives them a squat appear-
ance.* Q
The leaf-hoppers (Tettigoniad^) leap almost as well as
the spittle-insects just mentioned ; bvit their hind legs are
longer, are not surrounded Avith coronets of short spines, but
are three-sided, and generally fringed on two of their edges
o
* The following species are found in Massachusetts, namely: Cercopis ignipecta
of my Catalogue, and t)\e^aralltla~qundrangukiris, nnA^obtum, of Say. The last
three belong to Germar's genus Aphrophora,\ which means spume-bearer. Cercopis,
which may be translated impostor, was applied by the Greeks to a small Cicada.
y^Clastopttra protevs, an insect of this class which does great injury to the cran-
berry crop in some parts of Massachusetts, but of whose habits very little has
been ascertained, is figured on Plate HI. Fig. 6. — Ed ]
29
226 HEMIPTERA.
with numerous long and slender spines, which contribute,
like the coronets of the frog-hoppers, to fix their slianks
firmly when they are about to leap. The leaf-hoppers have
been divided, by Professor Germar and other entomologists,
into many genera, according to the 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 Geoifroy, or rather adopted
from the ancient Greeks, who gave this nape to the small
kinds of harvest-flies, calling the larger ones Tettix.
The Tettigonians, or leaf-hoppers, have the head and tho-
rax somewhat like those of frog-hoppei's, but their bodies
are, in general, proportionally longer, not so broad across
the middle, and not so much flattened. The head, as seen
from above, is broad, and either crescent-shaped, semicir-
cular, 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 lai'ge triangular scutel or escutcheon. The
wing-covers are generally opaque, rather long and narrow,
and more or less inclined 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
edffe of the head. Notwithstanding the small size of most
of these insects, they are deserving our attention on account
of their beauty, delicacy, and surprising agility, as well as
for the injury sustained by vegetation from them.
THE VINE-HOPPERS. 227
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 depredations 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 \Plate III. Fig. 5). 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.
The vine-hoppers, as they may be called, inhabit the for-
eign 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. Durino; most of
the time they remain perfectly quiet, with their beaks thrust
into the leaves, from which they derive their nourishment
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
* Article Locust, p. 43.
228 HEMIPTERA.
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 infested leaves at length become yellow, sickly, and
prematurely dry, and give to the vine at midsummer the
aspect it naturally assumes on the approach of winter. But
this is not the only injury arising from the exhausting punc-
tures of the vine-hoppers. In consequence of the interrup-
tion 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 mildews,
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 durins: the comino; winter beneath fallen leaves
and among the decayed 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 perish.
As the vine-hoppers are much more hardy and more
vivacious than the European vine-fretters or i)lant-lice, the
applications that have proved destructive to the latter are
by no means so efficacious with the former. Fumigations
with tobacco, beneath a movable tent placed over the trel-
lises, answer the purpose completely.* They require fre-
quent repetition, and considerable care is necessary to pre-
vent the escape and insure the destruction of the insects ;
circumstances which render the discovery of some more
expeditious method an object to those whose vineyards are
extensive.
There is another little leaf-hopper that has been mistaken
for a vine-fretter or Thrips, though never found upon the
grape-vine. It lives upon the leaves of rose-bushes, and is
* See Fessenden's "New American Gardener," p. 299, for a description of the
tent and of the process of fumigation.
THE BEAN LEAF- HOPPER. 220
very injurious to them. In its perfect state it is rather less
than three twentieths of an inch long. Its body is yellowish
white, its wing-covers and wings are white and transparent,
and its eyes, claws, and piercer brown. The male has two
recurved appendages at the tip of its hind body. It may
be callecr Tetti(jonia Hosce* Swarms of these insects may
be found, in various stages of growth, on the leaves of the
rose-bush, through the greater part of summer, and even
in winter upon housed plants. Their numerous cast skins
may be seen adhering to the lower side of the leaves. They
pair and lay their eggs about the middle of June, and they
probably live through the winter in the perfect state, con-
cealed under fallen leaves and rubbish on the surface of the
ground. Fumigations with tobacco, and the application of
a solution of whale-oil soap in water with a syringe, are the
best means for destroying these leaf-hoppers.
I have found that the Windsor bean, a variety of the
Vicia Faha 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 tlie 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 in-
fested with little leaf-hoppers, not fully grown, and unpro-
vided with wings. Usually between the end of July and
* This insect may be the Cicada Bosce of LinnjEus. or lassus Rnsce of Fabricius.
SJ
s. or jassHs nosce or i^ aorjc
tTettiaonia Fubce. The 7
It belongs to Dr. Fitch's genni^Empoa, as also does^etti^onia Faboe. The Tttti-
i^onia Vitit is surErythroneura of the same author.
230 Hf:MIPTERA.
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-hoppers 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 sit-
uated 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 tAventieths of an inch. It may be csMed^ Tettigonia
Faboe. Probably it passes the winter in the same way as
the vine-hopper.
2. Plant-lice. {Aphididce.)
The Aphidians, in which group we include the insects
commonly known by the name of plant-lice, differ remarka-
bly from all the foregoing in their appearance, their forma-
tion, and their manner 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, Avhen 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 dif!er 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
iow'f and threadlike, and are tipped with two short bristles
THE LEAPING PLANT-LICE. 231
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 diti'erent, however, from
the piercers of the foregoing insects. With this they prick
the leaves, in which they deposit 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 jump-
ing insect. They are by no means so prolific as the other
plant-lice, for ordinarily 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 imbibe through their tubular beaks.
The vouncr 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.
Within a few years, a kind of Psylla^ before unknown
here, has appeared upon pear-trees in the western parts of
Connecticut and of Massachusetts, particularly in the valley
of the Housatonic, and in the adjoining counties of Dutchess
and Columbia iri New York. It was first made known to
me, in December, 1848, by Dr. Ovid Plumb, of Salisbury,
Connecticut, and it is the subject of a communication in the
" American Agriculturist," for January, 1849. Since that
time, Dr. Plumb has favored me with additional observa-
tions, and an account of his experiments, with various rem-
edies, and towards the end of July, 1851, a brief visit to
Salisbury gave me an opportunity of seeing the insects in
a living condition, and in the midst of their operations
upon the trees.
This Psylla^ or jumping plant-louse, is one of the kinds
whose young are naked, or not covered with a coat of cotton.
In some of its forms it is found on pear-trees during most
of the time from May to October ; and probably two if not
more broods are produced in the course of the summer.
232 HEMIPTERA.
It was first observed by Dr. Plumb in the spring of 1833,
on some imported pear-trees, which had been set the year
before. These trees, in the autumn after they were planted,
wore an unhealthy aspect, and had patches of a blackish
rust upon their branches. During the second summer, these
trees died ; and other trees, upon which the same nisty
matter was found, proved to be infested Avith the same
insects.
Like the aphides, or plant-lice, these insects live by suc-
tion. By means of their suckers, which come from the
lower side of the head near the breast, they puncture the
bark of the twigs and small branches, and imbibe the sap.
They soon gorge themselves to such a degree, that the fluid
issues constantly from their bodies in drops, is thrown over
the surface of the twigs, and, mingled with their more solid
castings, defiles the bark, and gives it the blackish color
above noticed. Swarms of flies and ants upon the trees are
a sui'e indication of the presence of these sap-suckers, being
attracted by the sweetish fluid thrown out by them.
Young trees sufler excessively by the attacks of these in-
sects, nor do old trees escape without injury from them. In
consequence apparently of their ravages alone. Dr. Plumb
lost several hundred pear-trees from 1834 to 1838 inclusive ;
his trees have continued to suffer, to some extent, from this
cause, since that time ; and he informs me that the same
destructive depredations have been observed in all the ad-
jacent region. On the 23d of July, I saw these insects
on the trees, some already provided with wings, and others
advancing towards maturity. The young ones Avere of a
dull orange-yellow color. They were short, and Avere ob-
tuse behind, and had little wing-scales on the sides of their
bodies. The perfect, or winged individuals, Avere about one
tenth of an inch long from the forehead to the tips of the
closed wings. The front of the head was notched in the
middle. The eyes Avere large and prominent. The head
and thorax were brownish orange, and the hind body green-
THE PEAR-TREE PSYLLA. 233
ish. Their four ample wings were colorless and transparent,
and were marked with a few dark veins. The body of the
female is pointed at the end, and inclines to a reddish
hue.
The pear-tree, in Europe, is subject to the attacks of
a similar insect, called Psylla Pyri^ the pear-tree Psylla.
The European species is said to vary in color at different
ages, and in different seasons of the year, being of a dull
crimson color, shaded with black in the spring, when it
comes forth to lay its eggs. Not having seen any of our
pear-tree Psyllce in their spring dress, I cannot say whether
they agree with those of Europe in being of the same crim-
son color at this season of the year. As, however, they do
correspond very nearly in other respects to the descriptions
given of the European species, and have precisely the same
destructive habits, and as they wei'e first detected upon
imported pear-trees, I apprehend that they were introduced
from abroad, and that they will prove to be the same species
as the European Psylla Pyri.
The following particulars, abridged from Kollar's " Trea-
tise," if confirmed by future observations, will serve to
complete the history of the American insect. The European
pear-tree Psylla comes forth from its winter retreat, pro-
vided with wings, as soon as the buds of fruit-trees begin to
expand. After pairing, the female lays her eggs in great
numbers near each other on the young leaves and blossoms,
or on the newly-formed fruit and shoots. The eggs are
oblong, yellowish, and look somewhat like grains of pollen.
The young insects hatched therefrom resemble wingless plant-
lice, and are of a dark yellow color. They change their
skins and color repeatedly, and acquire wing-scales, or rudi-
mentary wings. They then fix themselves to the bark in
rows, and remain sucking the sap till their last change ap-
proaches, at which time they disperse among the leaves,
cast off" their skins, and appear in the winged form.
When considerable numbers attack a pear-tree, the latter
30
234 HEMIPTERA.
soon assumes an unhealthy appearance, its growth is checked,
its leaves and shoots curl up, and the tree dies by degrees,
if not freed fi'om its troublesome guests. Kollar recommends
brushing off the insects, when young, with a brush of hog's
bristles, and crushing under foot those that fall ; and also
advises to search for the winged females in the spring, and
destroy them by hand. Such a process would be altogether
too tedious and uncertain here. I would therefore suggest
the expediency of washing the twigs with a brush dipped
in a mixture of strong soap-suds and flour of sulphur. If
this be done before the buds expayid, the latter will not be
injured thereby, while the application Avill be likely to deter
the insects from laying their eggs on the tree. A weaker
application of the same, or the common solution of whale-oil
soap, may suffice to kill the young insects after they have
fastened themselves upon the bark. If the latter be thrown
upon the trees with a syringe, it will destroy the insects
on the leaves also.
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 exceedingly 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 j)lants, 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 TItrips.
Their punctures appear to poison plants, and often produce
defomiities in the leaves and blossoms. The peach-tree
sometimes suffers severely from their attacks, as well as
from those of the time plant-lice ; and they are found be-
neath the leaves, in httle hollows caused by their irritating
punctures.
The same applications that are employed for the destruc-
tion of plant-lice may be used with advantage upon plants
infested with the TJirijos. Mrs. N. G. S. Gage, fonnerly of
THE PLANT-LICE. 235
Concord, N. H., to whom I am indebted for much valuable
information respecting the wheat- fly, or Cecidomyia Tiilici^
has discovered another pernicious insect in the ears of grow-
ing wheat. It seems to agree with the accounts of the Thrips
cerealium, which sometimes infests wheat, in Europe, to a
great extent. This insect, in its larva state, is smaller than
the wheat maggot, is orange-colored, and is provided with
six legs, two antennae, and a short beak, and is very nimble
ill 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 pungled. This little pest may proba-
bly be destroyed by giving the grain a thorough coating of
slacked lime.
Aphides^ 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 harbor one or two kinds peculiar to itself. They
are, moreover, exceedingly prolific, for Reaumur has proved
that one individual, in five generations, may become the
progenitor of nearly six thousand millions of descendants.
It often happens, that the succulent extremities 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
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,
(Plate III. Fig. 4, Aphis mali,') from a Greek word which
signifies to exhaust. The folloAving are the principal char-
acters by which they may be distinguished from other insects.
Their bodies are short, oval, and soft, and are fiirnished at
236 HEMIPTERA.
the liinder extremity with two httle tubes, knobs, or pores,
from which exude ahnost constantly minute dro])s 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 eyelets, their antennae are long, and usually taper to-
wards the extremity, 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 Avings, are
much longer than the body, are gradually widened towards
the extremity, and nearly triangular; they are almost ver-
tical 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 stated. 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 maturity. 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 imme-
diately to continue their kind. Their young, however, are
not hatched from eggs, but are produced alive, and each
female may bo the mother of fifteen or twenty young lice
in the course of a single day. The plant-lice of this second
generation are also Avingless females, which grow up and
have their young in due time ; and thus brood after brood
is produced, even to the seventh generation or more, with-
out the appearance or intervention, throughout the whole
season, of a single male. This extraordinary kind of prop-
agation 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 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
THE PLANT-LICE. 237
means of its long tubular beak ; and tliey rarely change
their places till they have exhausted the part first attacked.
The attitudes and manners of these little creatures are ex-
ceedingly amusing. When disturbed, like restive horses,
they begin to kick and sprawl in the most ludicrous manner.
They may be seen, at times, suspended 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 appear-
ance 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 apprised 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 upwards, and others
lazily descending with their bellies swelled almost to bursting.
When arriA'ed 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 possible terms with them ; and, on the
238 HEMIPTERA.
Other liand, the ants, though unsparing of other insects
weaker than themselves, u[)on -which they frequently prey,
treat the plant-lice with the utmost gentleness, caressing
them with their antenna?, 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 ichneumon flies that
are forever 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, Aj)his Mosce, 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 Brassicce, 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 {Cari/a porcina), in
all stages of growth, from the first to the middle of July.
It is the AjMs * Caryce 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
* It probably belongs to the genus Lachnus of Illiger, or Cinara of Curtis.
THE SUBTERRANEAN PLANT-LICE. 239
substance like tlie 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 antenna,^, which are clothed Avith 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 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 Avings
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
antennae, and the legs, are tawny yellow. This species
cannot be identical with the willow-louse. Aphis Salicis of
Linuffius, which has a spotted body ; and therefore I pro-
pose to call it ApJiis Salicti}^ the plant-louse of Avillow
groves. When crushed, it communicates a stain of a red-
dish or deep orange color.
Some plant-lice live in the ground, and derive their nour-
ishment from the roots of plants. We annually lose many
of our herbaceous plants, if cultivated in a light soil, from
the exhausting attacks of these subterranean lice. Upon
pulling up China asters, which seem 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 Avinged, and therefore
conclude from this circumstance, as Avell as from their pecu-
liar situation, that they never acquire wings. Whether these
are of the same species as the ApMs radicum of Europe,
I cannot ascertain, as no sufficient description of the latter
[ 10 Tlie name Sidled was long ago appropriatefl by Schrank to a very different
species of Aphin. inhabiting Europe. This name must therefore fall as a synonyme
to some other which may be applied to it. It might be called Aphis Salicicola. —
Uhler.]
240 hejMiptera.
has ever come to my notice.^^ These httle Hce are attended
by ants, whicli 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 con-
sequence of the combined operations of the lice and the
ants, the plants wither and prematurely perish.
When these subterranean lice are disturbed, the attendant
ants are thrown into the greatest confusion and alarm ; they
carefully take up the lice Avhich have fallen from the roots,
and convey them in their jaws into the deep recesses of
their nests ; and here the lice still contrive 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 the attacks of other insects,
and cany them about in their mouths to change their pas-
ture ; 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 sim. On the other hand,
the sweet fluid supplied in abundance by these lice forms
the chief nutriment both of the ants and their young, which
is sufficient to account 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 hol-
lows beneath, and corresponding crispy and reddish swell-
ings above, and finally to perish and drop off prematurely.
Wliether our insect is the same as the European Aphis of
[11 It is very probable that the Aphis infestino; China asters is the same with the
radicis of Europe. Many foreign species of plant-lice have become naturalized in
this country, and we may thus expect to find most, if not all, of tlie commoner
European species infesting our vegetation. The Aphis ( Tramn) rndicis of Europe
corresponds with our own in color, and, as supposed by Dr. Harris, winged speci-
mens have never been discovered. — Uhler]
* See Kirby and Spence's Introduction to Entomology, Vol. II. pp. 91, 92.
THE DOWNY PLANT-LICE. 241
the peach-tree (^Aphis Persicce of Sulzer) I cannot determine,
for the want of a proper description of the latter.
The injuries occasioned by plant-lice are much greater
than would at first be expected from the small size and
extreme weakness 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 de-
ranged or interrupted, the food of the plant, which is there
elaborated to nourish the^tem and mature the fruit, is with-
drawn, before it can reach its proper destination, oris con-
taminated 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 attacked, become stunted,
curled, or warped.
The punctures of these lice seem to poison some plants,
and affect others in a most singular manner, producing
warts or swellings, which are sometimes solid and some-
times 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
of this kind, as big as a pigeon's egg, growing upon leaves,
to which they were attached by a slender neck, and con-
taining thousands 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 aWiIcIi are used in the making
of ink. The lice which inhabit or produce them generally
differ from the others, in having shorter antennae, being
without honey-tubes, and in frequently being clothed with
a kind of white down, which, however, disappears when
the insects become winged.
31
242 HEMIPTERA.
These downy plant-lice are now placed in the genus Erio-
8oma^ which means woolly body, and the most destructive
species belonging to it was first described, under the name
of Aphis lanigera, 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 f for a long time previous to both of the above
dates, and, according to Mr. Rennie, J is found in the or-
chards about Harfleur in Normandy, and is very destructive
to the apple-trees in the department of Calvados.
There is now good reason to believe that the miscalled
American blight is not indigenous 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 Naturalist," from which, and fi'om Hausmann's de-
scription, the following 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 en-
veloped in a cotton-like substance furnished by the body
of the insect. They are deposited in the crotches of the
branches and in the chinks of the bark at or near the sur-
face 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 appear in
* llliger's Magazin, Vol. 1. p. 440. J Insect Miscellanies, p. 180.
t Salisbury's Hints on Orchards, p. 39.
^ New England Fanner, Vol. VII. p.- 169 ; Vol. IX. p, 178.
THE APPLE-TREE LOUSE. 243
the spring of the year hke httle specks of moukl on the
trees (F'm. 92). As the season advances, and
,.^''.^ .. ., ' Fig. 92.
the uisect nicreases in size, its downy coat he-
comes 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, antenniE, suck-
er, 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 testimony both of Hausmann and Knapp, and are des-
titute 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 Avafted by the winds of autumn, and
thus the evil will gradually spread throughout an extensive
orchard. The numerous punctures of these lice produce on
the tender shoots a cellular appearance, and Avherever a
colony of them is established, warts or excrescences arise
on the bark ; the limbs thus attacked become sickly, the
leaves turn yelloAv 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 annu-
ally destroyed by them, and in the year 1826 they abounded
244 HEMIPTERA.
there in such incredible luxuriance, that many trees seemed,
at a short distance, as if they had been whitewashed.
Mr. Knapp thinks that remedies can prove efficacious in
removing this evil only upon a small scale, and that when
the injury has existed for some time, and extended its influ-
ence 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 consisting of
three ounces of melted resin mixed with the same quantity
of fish-oil, which is to be put on while warm, with a painter's
brush. Sir Joseph Banks succeeded in extirpating the in-
sects from his own trees by removing all the old and rugged
bark, and scrubbing the trunk and branches with a hard
brush. The application of the spirits of tar, of spirits of
turpentine, of oil, urine, and of soft soap, has been recom-
mended. 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 numbers of the insects har-
bored.
The following treatment I am inclined to think will prove
as successful as any wliich has heretofore bsen recommended.
Scrape off 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 destruc-
tion 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 uncovered. 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.
REMEDIES. 245
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 descriptions 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 soapsuds and tobacco-
water, used warm and applied with a watering-pot or with a
garden engine, 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. Professor Lindley recommends syringing plants, as
often as necessary to remove the lice, with a solution of half
an ounce of strong carbonate of ammonia in one quart of
water, which has the merit of being clean as well as effectual.
Lice on the extremities of branches may be killed by bend-
ino; over the branches and holding; them for several minutes
in warm and strong soapsuds, or in a solution of whale-oil
soap.
Against the depredations of the plant-lice that sometimes
infest potato-fields, dusting the plants with lime has been
found a good remedy. 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 fumi-
gations with tobacco or with sulphur. To destroy subterra-
nean lice on the roots of plants, I have found that watering
with salt water was useful, if the plants were hardy ; but
246 HEMIPTERA.
tender herbaceous plants cannot be treated in this way, but
may sometimes be revived, when suffering from these hidden
foes, by free and frequent watering with soapsuds.
Plant-hce would undoubtedly be much more abundant
and destructive, if they were not kept in check by certain re-
doubtable 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 larvie 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 ])]entiiul insects,
and are generally diffused among plants. 1 hey live, both in
the perfect and young state, upon ])lant-lice, and hence their
^. .„ services are very considerable. Their young are
Fig. 93. '' J b
k I small flattened grubs (Fig. 98) of a bluish or
\9u blue-black color, spotted usually with red or yel-
_flK. low, and furnished with six legs near the fore
' ^B^ part of the body. They are hatched from little
^m yellow eggs, laid in clusters among the jilant-
lice, so that they find themselves at once Avithin
reach of their prey, which, from their superior strength,
they are enabled to seize and slaughter in great numbers.
In July, 1848, a friend sent to me a whole brood of
lady-bird grubs, which, being found upon potato- vines, were
thought by some of his neighbors to be the cause of the
rot. In a few weeks the grubs were transformed to beetles,
Fig 94 about as big as half a pea, and having nine
black dots on their dull orange-colored wing-
shells. Hence they derive their name of
Coccinella novomiotata^ (Fig. 94, pupa and
imago, and Plate II. Fig. 4,) the nine-dot-
ted Coccinella. It need hardly be added,
that these little insects were wholly innocent
of all offence to the plants, upon which, when infiested with
PLANT-LICE DESTROYERS. 247
the common potato plant-lice, they may always be found.
It is amusing, however, that both of these kinds of insects
should have been charged with the same fault, one. having
no more to do with producing the disease than the other.
There are some lady-birds, of a very small size, and black-
ish color, sparingly clothed with short hairs, and sometimes
with a yellow spot at the end of the wing-covers, whose
vouno- are clothed with short tufts or flakes of the most
delicate white down. These insects belong to the genus
Sci/mnus, which means a lion's whelp, and they well merit
such a name, for their young, in proportion 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 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
hunger or diminishing its activity.
The second kind of plant-lice destroyers are the young of
the golden-eyed lace- winged fly, Chr^sojja j^erla^^ (Plate III.
Fig. 8). This fly is of a pale green color, and has four
wings, resembling delicate lace, and eye.s of the brilliancy of
polished gold, as its generical name implies ; but notwith-
standing 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, (Plate III. Fig. 9 ; Fig. 10,
cocoon,) is a rather long and slender grub, provided Avith
a pair of large curved and sharp teeth Q'atvs'), moving later-
ally, and each perforated with a hole, through which it sucks
the juices of its victims. The havoc it makes is astonishing ;
for one minute is all the time 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
[ 1'- Chrysnpa perla is not foiincf in this country; probably C. enrypfevft. Rnrm.,
or some other species common to New England, will be found destructive of tliuae
pernicious plant-lice. — Uhler.]
248 HEMIPTERA.
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 wing, 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 pointed 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 much groping about, in con-
sequence- of the provident care of the parent flies, which
leave their eggs in the very midst of the sluggish 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 several larvae of Coccinella or Syrphi.
3. Bark-lice. ( Coccidce.)
The celebrated scarlet in grain, which has been employed
in Asia and the South of Europe, from the earliest ages,
as a coloring material, was known to the Romans by the
name of Coccus^ derived from a similar Greek word, and
was, for a long time, supposed 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, hav-
ing been discovered, Linnaeus retained them all under the
same name. Hence in the genus Coccus are included, not
BARK-LICE. 249
only the Thola of the Phoenicians and Jews, the Kermes
of the Ai'abians, or the Coccus of the Gi'eeks and Romans,
but the scarlet grain of Poland, and the still more valuable
Cochenille of Mexico, together with various kinds of bark-
lice, asrreeino; 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 kidney-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 d, partial transformation, or rather scarcely
any other change than that of an increase in size, which
in some species, indeed, is enormous, compared with the
previous condition of the insect ; but the males pass through
a complete transformation before arriving 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, terminated
by a single claw. The mature female retains the beak or
sucker, but does not acquire wings ; the male on the con-
trary 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 provided 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 appar-
ently torpid, situated longitudinally in regard to the bi'anch,
* It was drawn up by me in the year 1828, and published in the seventh vol-
ume of the " New England Farmer," pp. 186, 187.
32
250 HEMIPTERA.
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 tlie 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 dis-
covered beneath it, and the insect appears dried up and
dead, and only its outer skin remains, which forms a convex
cover to its future progeny. Under this protecting shield
the young are hatched, and, on the approach of Avarm Aveath-
er, make their escape at the lower end of the shield, whicli
is either slightly elevated or notched at this part. They
then move with considerable activity, and disperse them-
selves 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 Ifegs 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 greenhouses. 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 sap that
nourishes them.
Reaumur observed the ground quite moist under peach-
trees infested with bark-lice, wliich was caused by the drip-
ping of the sap from the numerous jjunctures made by these
insects. While they continue their exhausting suction of
sap, they increase in size, and during this time are in what
is called the larva state. When this is comj:)leted, the in-
sects will be found to be of diflerent 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
BARK-LICE. 'Zb'l
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 days 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 before had ; the smaller ones, on the contrary,
continue under their outer skins, which serve instead of co-
coons, and from which they seem to shrink and detach them-
selves, and then become perfect pupae, the rudiments of
wings, antennae, feet, &c. being discoverable on raising the
shells.
If we follow the progress of these small lice, which are
to produce the males, we shall see, in process 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 des-
tined to remain immovable, and never change their place
after they have once become stationary. The male is ex-
ceedingly 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 without alteration ; but serves to
shelter the eggs which are to give birth to her future off-
spring. These eggs, when matured, pass under the body
of the mother, and the latter by degrees shrinks more and
252
HEMIPTERA.
Fig. 95.
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 (Fig. 95). 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 au-
tumn, after Avhich 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 sometimes completely covered with
these insects, and present a very singularly wrinkled and
rouofh appearance from the bodies which are crowded closely
together. In the winter these insects are torpid, and ap-
parently dead. They measure about one tenth of an inch in
length, are of an oblong oval shape, gradually decreasing to
a point at one end, and are of a brownish color very near to
tliat of the bark of the tree. These
insects resemble in shape one which
Avas described by Reaumur* in 1738,
who found it on the elm in France,
and Geoffroy named the insect Coc-
cus arhorum linearis^ while Gmelin
called it conchiformis (Fig. 96). This,
or one much like it, is A^ery abundant
upon apple-trees in England, as we
learn from Dr. Shaw f and Mr.
Fig. 9S.
* Memoires, Vol. IV. p. 69, plate 5, figs. 5, 6, 7.
t General Zoiilogy, Vol. VI. Part I. p. 196.
BARK-LICE. 253
Kirby ; * and Mr. Rennie f states that he found it in great
plenty on currant-bushes.
It is higlily probable that we have received this insect
fi'om Europe, but it is somewhat doubtful whether our apple-
tree bark-louse be identical with the species found by Reau-
mur on the elm ; and the doubt seems to be justified by the
diiference in the trees and in the habits of the insects, our
species being gregarious, and that of the elm nearly solitary.
It is true that on some of our indigenous forest-trees bark-
lice of nearly the same form and appearance have been ob-
served ; 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 Bridgeton, Maine, written in 1794, and published among
the early papers of the Massachusetts Agricultural Society. J
These insects have now become extremely common, and
infest our nursei'ies 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 stationary, 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 pro-
vide 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,
* Introduction to Entomologj', Vol. I. p. 201.
t Insect Transformations, p. 92. J See Papers for 1796, p 32.
254 HEMIPTERA.
especially those of the genera Parus and Hegulus, contain-
ing the chickadee 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 application 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 brino; it to the
consistence of thick whitewash. This is to be put upon the
trunks and limbs of the trees with a brush, and as high as
practicable, so as to cover the whole surface, and fill all the
cracks in the bai'k. The proper time for washing over the
trees is in the early part of June, when the insects arc 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 com-
mon salt in two gallons of Avater.
There has been found on the apple and pear tree another
kind of bark-lous^^e, 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 Dalman in the " Transactions of the Royal
Academy of Sciences of Stockholm," * for the year 1825,
under the name of Coccus crypto (jamus. 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,
* Kongl. Vetenskaps Academ Nya Handlingar.
BARK-LICE. 255
being broad at the hinder extremity, but tapering towards the
other, which is surmounted by a httle 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 extrem-
ity is covered by a minute oval dark-colored scale. These
little shell-like bodies are clustered together in great num-
bers, are of a white color and membranous texture, and
serve as cocoons to shelter the insects while they are under-
going their transformations. The large ones are the pupa-
cases or cocoons of the female, beneath which the ego-s 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 passing 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 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, vary-
ing according; to the sex, and becomino- 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 there-
fore 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 con-
cealed 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 ; slie undero;oes no change, and never emerires
from her habitation. The male becomes a chrysalis or pupa,
and about the middle of July completes its transformations,
makes its escape from its case, Avhich 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
256 HEMIPTEEA.
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 deposits 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 recom-
mended for the extennination of the previous species.
Many years ago, when on a visit from home, I observed
on a 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 occur till the summer of
1839, when I Avas led to the discovery of a few of these
lice on my Isabella grape-vines, by seeing the ants ascending
and descending the stems. Upon careful search I discov-
ered the lice, which were nearly of the color of the bai*k
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 atti-acted. Further observations
were arrested by a fire which consumed the house and the
vines that were trained to it.
Sour el del ,
CHAPTER V
LEPIDOPTERA.
Catekpillars. — Butterflies. — Skippers. — Hawk-Moths. — .(Egerians or
Boring-Caterpillars, —r Glaucopidians. — Moths. — Spinners. — Litho-
SIANS. — TiGER-MoTHS. — ErMINE-MoTHS. — TuSSOCK-MoTHS. — LaCKEY-
Moths. — Lappet- Moths. — Saturnians. ^— Ceratocampians. — Carpenter-
Moths — FSYCHIANS. — ^OTOnONTIANS. — OWL-MOTHS. — CUT-WOKMS. —
Geometers, or Span-Worms, and Canker- Worisis. ^- 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 vegetation. Caterpillars are the young
of butterflies and of moths ; and of these, five hundred spe-
cies, which are natives of Massachusetts, are already known
to me, and probably there are at least as many more kinds
to be discovered within the limits of this Commonwealth.^
As each female usually lays from two hundred to five hun-
dred eggs, one thousand different kinds of butterflies and
moths will produce, on an average, three hundred thousand
caterpillars ; if one half of this number, when arrived at
[ 1 The number of species in the United States may fairly be estimated at 3,500,
or even more. My Catalogue, published by the Smithsonian Institute, contains
the names of nearly 1,800 already described by various authors, exclusive of
Microlepidoptera, which is a numerous family of it.self, and comparatively little
progress has as yet been made in the discovery of our indigenous species gen-
erally. Tlie latest and most complete work on German and Swiss Lepidoptera
(Die SchmeUerUnge Dtulschlands und der Schweiz, von H. v. Heinemann, Brunswick,
1859) gives 1,387 species, exclusive of Microlepidoptera, in those two countries
alone, and we can confidently reckon on finding over three times that number in
the United States. — Morris ]
33
258 ^ . LEPIDOPTERA.
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 number 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
fi^irs, 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 general, their bodies are more or less cylindrical, and
composed of twelve rings or segments, with a shelly head,
and from ten to sixteen 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 extremity by numerous
minute hooks. There are six very small eyes^ on each
side of the head, two short antennae, 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 co-
coons, and in various other purposes of their economy. Two
Ions and slender bajis, 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
[2 Though Dr. Harris mentions the "eyes" of caterpillars, yet be it under-
stood, he does not assert that they see. It is very doubtful whether they have the
faculty of vision. — MoRisis.]
CATERPILLARS. 259
to the air. Some caterpillars make but very little silk ;
others, such as the silk-worm and the apple-tree caterpillar,
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 con-
struct 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 con-
ceal 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 lengtli they leave off
eating entirely, and prepare for their first transformation.
Most of them, at this period, spin around their bodies a sort
of shroud or cocoon, 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 cater-
pillars suspend tlismselves, in various ways, by silken threads,
without enclosing their bodies in cocoons ; and again, there
are others which merely enter the earth to undergo their
transformations.
When the caterpillar has thus prepared itself for the ap-
proaching change, by repeated exertions and struggles it
bursts open the skin on the top of its back, withdraws the
fore part of its body, and works the skin backwards till the
hinder extremity is extricated. 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 examination, however,
there maybe found traces of a head, tongue, antennte, wings,
and legs, closely pressed to the body, to which these parts
260 LEPIDOPTERA.
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, antennae, and body of a butterfly or
moth. When it first emerges from its pupa-skin the in-
sect is soft, moist, and weak, and its wings are small and
shrivelled ; soon, however, the wings stretch out to their
full dimensions, the superfluous moisture of the body passes
off", and the limbs acquire their proper firmness and elas-
ticity.
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 antennae become mucli longer than before, and four
wings are acquired. Moreover, the mouth and digestive
organs undergo a total change ; for the insect, after its final
transfonnation, is no longer fitted to subsist upon the same
gross aliment as it did in the caterpillar state ; its pow-
erftil 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 be-
comes 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 recjalino; themselves with their
sweets, or in slaking their thirst with dew or with the
water left standing in puddles after 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.
CLASSIFICATION. 261
These insects belong to an order called Lepidoptera,
which means scaly wings ; for the mealy powder with which
their wings arc covered, when seen under a powerful micro-
scope, 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 sido, by a small triangidar 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
formincf 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 veiy 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 Lepidopterous insects according to their forms, appear-
ance, and habits, in the caterpillar state, because the cater-
pillars of many of them are as yet unknown ; and therefore
it is found expedient to classify 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, corre-
[S The systematists of the present day determine genera, and even species, by
the peculiar and various modifications of these veins. The main veins are called
neixures, the branches nei-vules, and the whole system Pterology. The French
and the Germans differ as to the names of the distinct veins, so that, unless a
student knows to which of the schools a describer belongs, he would be apt to be
misled. — Mokkis.]
262 • LEPIDOPTERA.
spending to the genera Papilio, /Sjjhinx, and Phalcena of
Linnfeus."^
The Butterflies (^Pa^jiliones) have threadhke antennae,
which are knobbed at the end ; the fore wings in some, and
all the wings in the greater number, are elevated pei'pen-
dicularly, and turned back to back, when at rest ; they have
generally two little spurs on the hind legs ; and they fly
by day only.
The Hawk-Moths (^Spldyiges) generally have the an-
tennae thickened in the middle, and tapering at each end,
and most often hooked at the tip ; the wings are naiTow
in proportion to their length, and are confined together by
a bristle or bvmch 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 upper ones cover-
ing the lower wings ; 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 (^Phalcence) the antennae 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 to-
gether 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. (PapiUones.)
Besides the characters already given, which distinguish
this section of the Lepidoptera, it may be stated that their
[ * Modern writers divide them into two great divisions : 1st, Rhopalocera. with
filiform antennffi, terminating in a chib or knob, from poTraXoi/, club, and Kfpas,
horn; and 2d, Heierocern, with antennae of variable form, sometimes prismatic,
linear, pectinated, plumose, &c., &c., from (Tfpos, variable, and Ktpas, horn. —
Morris.]
BUTTERFLIES. 263
caterpillars always have sixteen legs ; namely, two, which are
tapering, jointed, and scaly, to each of the first three seg-
ments behind the head, and a pair of thick fleshy legs, with-
out 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 Avhen
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 antennae are knobbed, but never hooked, at the end.
Their caterpillars have a head of moderate size, suspend
themselves by the tail when about to transform, and are
not enclosed in cocoons. Some of these butterflies have the
six legs all equally fitted for walking ; their caterpillars are
more or less cylindrical, and secure themselves by a trans-
verse band, as Avell as by the tail, previously to their trans-
formation 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, (Plate IV.
Fig. 6,) more commonly called parsley-worms, which are
somewhat swelled towards the fore part 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, Avith
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
264 LEPIDOPTERA.
spot on the tail. These caterpillars alter in color and ap-
pearance with each successive moulting, and before they
are half grown the projecting points and the white band
and spots entirely disappear, the skin becomes perfectly
smooth, and of a delicate 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
yelloAv 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 tlie caterpillars from the
annoying attacks of flies and ichneumons. These caterpil-
lars usually come to their full size between the 10th and
20th of July, and then measure 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 entangles
the hooks of its hindmost feet in it, so as to fix them securely
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
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 support 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 project-
ing ledge, where it hangs suspended, nearly horizontally, 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, (Plate IV. Fig. T,) of a
THE ASTERIAS BUTTERFLY. 265
pale green, ochre-yellow, or ash-gray color, with two short
ear-like projections above the head, just below which, on the
upper part of the back, is a little prominence like a puo--
nose. The chrysalis hangs in the same way as the cater-
pillar, and remains in this state from nine to fifteen 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 butterfly issues fi-om 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 Asterias^ of Cramer. (Plate
IV. Fig. 4.) 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 Avith a black centre ; and the spots of the under
side are tawny orange. The female (Plate IV. Fig. 5)
differs from the male, above described, in having only a few
small and distinct yellow spots on the upper side of tlie
wings. Tlie 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 following month, on various umbellate plants,
placing them singly on different parts of the leaves and
stems. I have found the caterpillars on the parsley, carrot,
parsnip, celery, anise, dill, caraway, and fennel of our gar-
dens, as well as on the conium, cicuta, sium, and other
native plants of the same natural family, which originally
[ 5 The synonymes of P. Asterias are P. Troilus Smith Abbot, I. pi. 1 ; P. Ajax
Clerck, Icon., t. 83; P. jwlyxenes Fab. — JIokris.]
34
266 LEPIDOPTERA.
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
inconsiderable ; they not only eat the leaves, but are par-
ticularly 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 caterpillars come to their
growth towards the end of September, or the beginning of
October ; they then suspend themselves, become chrysalids,
in which state they remain during the winter, and are not
transformed to butterflies till the last of May or the begin-
ning of June in the following year.
I know of no method so effectual for destroying these
caterpillars 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 de-
voted, every day or two, to a careful search in the garden,
during the season of their depredations, will suffice to re-
move them entirely.
There is another butterfly which bears a close resemblance
to the female of the Asterias butterfly, and is nearly of the
same size ; but the blue spots on the hind wings are much
larger, and cover nearly one third of the surface ; the yel-
low spots around the margin are larger and paler ; the eye-
like spot near the hind angle has not a black centre, and
there is a large orange-colored spot near the middle of the
front margin of the same wings. This species is the Troilus
butterfly, or Papilio Troilus of Linnaeus.
The caterpillar is entirely different from that of the As-
terias butterfly. It lives on the leaves of the sassafras-tree,
upon the upper surface of which it spins a little web, and
folds over the sides of the leaf so as to form a furrow or
case, in which it resides. The fore part of its body is large
and swollen, and it tapers thence to the tail. When first
THE TROILUS BUTTERFLY. 267
liatched it is slate-colored above, with a black spot like an
eye on each side of the third segment, below and behind
which is a large and long white spot, and the top of the
eleventh segment is white. After changing its skin, it be-
comes of a pale brownish olive color, the white spots dis-
appear, and on the top of the back we find two rows of
minute blue dots. When fourteen or fifteen days old it
changes its skin and its colors again, the back becoming pea-
green, with blue dots, the sides yellowish, and the head,
belly, and legs pink ; there is a transverse black line on
the top of the first segment, and there are two large orange-
colored spots on the fourth segment, and two of the same
color, with a black centre, on the third segment. The cat-
erpillar retains these colors from ten to sixteen days, increas-
ing greatly in size during this period, and finally attains to
the length of two inches or more. It comes to its full
growth when about four weeks old, and then eats no longer,
but, deserting its leafy habitation, it seeks a suitable place in
which to undergo its transformation, previously to which it
casts off its green coat, and appears in one of an ochre-yellow
color. It then suspends itself in the same way as the cat-
erpillar of the Asterias butterfly, and within two or 'three
days after its last change of skin it moults again, and be-
comes a chrysalis.
The chrysalis is generally of a pale wood-color, smoother
than that of the preceding species, and with rather longer and
sharper ear-like projections. The chrysalids, which are pro-
duced fi'om caterpillars hatched in August and September,
remain unchanged through the winter, and are not trans-
formed to butterflies till the middle of the following; June.
It is possible that these butterflies may lay their eggs so early
as to produce a brood of caterpillars in the summer, and these
may come to their growth, and pass through their transfor-
mations, before September ; but I have only found the cater-
pillars towards the end of summer. I once discovered them
on the leaves of the lilac, on Avhich they appeared to thrive
■juite as well as on the sassafras.
268
LEPIDOPTERA.
One more butterfly is found in Massachusetts, resembling
the preceding in its larva state and in its habits. It is our
largest species, expanding from four and a half to five inches.
The prevailing color of the wings is yellow, with a broad
black margin, on which is a row of yellow spots ; the fore
rig. 9".
wings have four short black bands extending from their front
edge, and the hind wings are tailed, and are ornamented
with an orange-red spot near the hind angle. It is the
Papilio Turnus of Linnaeus (Fig. 97).*
The caterpillar of the Turnus butterfly (Fig. 98) lives
upon the leaves of apple
and wild-cherry trees, folding
them up in the same way
as does that of the Troilus
butterfly, which, moreover.
Fig. 98.
[* In this figure, and others which follow, the under side of the wing, detached
from the body of the insect, is represented, as well as the upper side, which in
this figure is on the left, and connected with the body. — Ed.]
THE WHITE BUTTERFLY. 2G9
it resembles in form. When fully grown, it measures from
two to two and a half inches in length ; it is of a green color
above, with little blue clots in rows, a yellow eye-spot with
a black centre on each side of the third segment, a yellow
and black band across the fourth segment, and the head,
belly, and legs are pink. It suspends itself and becomes a
chrysalis about the first of August, and is not changed to a
butterfly till the month of June in the following summer.
Great numbers of these butterflies are sometimes seen around
puddles of water left by rain in New Hampshire, where this
species is much more common and abundant than in Massa-
chusetts.
The caterpillars of the three foregoing species are the
only ones in Massachusetts which are provided with forked
scent-organs, capable of being withdrawn and concealed
within the first segment of the body. All Avhich follow are
destitute of this means of defence.
In Europe there are several kinds of caterpillars which
live exclusively on the cruciferous or oleraceous plants, such
as the cabbage, 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 scalloped 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 antennjB 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 INIassachusetts there
is a white butterfly, which, in all its states, agrees with the
270
LEPIDOPTERA,
foregoing characters.
Fig. 99.
It is the Pontia oleracea^ (Fig. 99),
potherb Pontia, or white
butterfly, and was first de-
scribed by me in the year
1829, in the seventh vol-
ume of the " New England
Farmer." * About the last
of May, and the beginning
of June, it is seen flutter-
ing 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 distinguished from the ribs of the
leaves beneath Avhich they live. They do not devour the
leaf at its edge, but begin indiscriminately upon any part of
its under side, through which they eat irregular 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 fore part 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
[6 Pontia oleracea belongs to the genus Pieris Schrk. (^lorris's Catalogue).
The P. casta of Kirby, in Fuun. Bor., IV. 288, is only a variety of Harris's P.
oleracea; and Kirby 's casta is the cruciferarum of Boisd. Spec. Gen., I. 619. —
Morris ]
* Page 402. For a figure of it, see " Lalie Superior," by Agassiz and Cabot,
pi. 7, fig. 1.
THE WHITE BUTTERFLY. 271
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 fore part of the body, corresponding to the
thorax of the included butterfly, is a thin projection, having
in profile some resemblance to a Roman nose.
The chrysalis state lasts eleven days, at the expiration 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 next to the body are deep yellow ; the
back is black, and the antennae are blackish, with narrow
white rings, and ochre-yellow at the tips. The wings ex-
pand 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 disclosed from them till
May or June. In gardens or fields infested by the cater-
pillars, boards, placed horizontally an inch or two above tlie
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 chrysalis 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, Avith other insect-eating birds, will be found
equally useful, if jiroperly protected.
272
LEPIDOPTERA.
Fig. 101.
Twice a year our pastures and road-sides are enlivened
by great numbers of the small yellow Pliilodice butterfly
(^Colias Philodice of Go-
dart). (Fig. 100, male;
Fig. 101, female.) They
begin to appear towards
the end of April, are
common throughout the
month of May, after which
no more are seen till near
the end of July, when a
new brood begins to come
forth, and some of them
continue till late in the
autumn. Their wings are
yellow, with a black hind
border, which in the fe-
males is quite broad on
the fore wings, and spotted with yellow ; the fringes of the
wings, the antennae, and the shanks are red ; the fore Avings
have a small narrow black spot on both sides near the mid-
dle ; the hind wings have a round orange-colored spot in
the middle of the upper side, which on the under side is
replaced by a large and a small silvery spot close together,
and surrounded by a rust-colored ring.
The males are generally smaller than the females. The
caterpillars live upon clover, medicago, and lucerne, and I
have occasionally found them on pea-vines. They are green,
slightly downy, paler or yelloAvish at the sides, and grow to
the length of about one inch and a half. They suspend
themselves to the stems of plants by the tail and a trans-
verse loop, in the same way as the preceding species. The
chrysalis (Fig. 102) is straw-colored, not angulated at the
sides, with a slight prominence over the thorax, and the
anterior extremity ends in a short and blunt point. The
genus CoUas, to which the Philodice butterfly belongs, is
THE LYCENIANS, 273
distinguished by the following characters. Six legs formed
for walkino; ; short antennte, gradually
'^ . . Fig- 102.
thickened towards the end ; wings entire,
hinder ones rounded, with a gutter on their
inner edge to receive the abdomen, and
the central mesh closed behind by an an-
gular vein ; caterpillars cylindrical, smooth
or downy ; not striped on the top of the
back ; suspending themselves by the tail
and a loop round the body ; chrysalids
somcAvhat gibbous or bulging, not angulated
at the sides, and conical at the upper ex-
tremity.
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 Avoods, flying Ioav 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, Avhen 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, Avhich are sixteen in number,
are so short, that these caterpillars in moving seem to glide
rather than creep. The chrysalids (Fig. 103) are Fig. 103.
short and thick, with the under side flat, the upper
side very convex, and both extremities rounded or
obtuse. They belong to a little group which may be called
Lycenians (Lyc^nad^), from the principal genus included
in it.
The most common of these butterflies has generally been
mistaken for the European Lyccena Phlceas, but I am con-
vinced that it is distinct, and propose to call it the American
copper butterfly, Lyccena Americana (Fig. 104). The fore
wings on the upper side are coppery red, Avith about eight
small square black spots, and the hind margin broadly bor-
35
274
LEPIDOPTERA.
Fig. 104.
tiered with dusky brown ; hind wings with a few small black
spots on the middle, and a broad cop-
pery-red band on the hind margin.
The wings expand from lyV to 1|
inch. This butterfly is found through-
out the summer fluttering on the
grass and other low plants. The
caterpillar is long, oval, and slightly convex above, and of
a greenish color ; it probably lives, like the Phlceas^ on the
leaves of dock and sorrel. The chrysalis, which is usually
suspended under a stone, is light yellowish-brown, and spot-
ted with black dots.
The Epixanthe butterfly, Lyccena Epixanthe (Boisduval),
resembles the preceding in form and size, but is of a dusky
brown color above, with a few black spots on the middle of
the wings, and a narrow, wavy band, or a few contiguous
spots of an orange color on the hinder margin of the pos-
terior wings. This species is rather rare. The wings in
both these butterflies are entire, or not notched or tailed, and
the knobs of their antennae are short, thick, and nearly oval.
There are others with the hind wings also entire and
rounded, but the knobs of the antennae are longer and not
near so thick, and their caterpillars are shorter and very
convex above. These characters exist in the beautiful
azure-blue butterfly, Polyommatus Pseudargiolus (Boisd.),
(Fig. 105, male. Fig. 106, var. profile,) which measures
Fig. 105. Fig. 106. from lyV to 1\ inch
across the win rrs. These
in the male are lio[ht
blue on the upper side,
with the lustre of satin ;
the fore wings of the
female have a broad blackish outer margin, and on that of
the hind wings is a row of small blackish spots ; all the
wings on the under side are pearl-gray, with little blackish
spots ; the fringes of the wings are white.
THE COMYNTAS BUTTERFLY. 275
The blue Lucia butterfly (^Polyommatiis Lucia of Kirby)
greatly resembles the preceding, but the black border of
the fore wings in the female is not so broad, the fringes of
the wings are spotted with black, and all the wings on the
under side are dusky gray, with larger blackish spots, and a
broad blackish border behind. INIr. Kirby has described only
the male of this butterfly, in the fourth volume of the Fauna
Boreali- Americana. It is found in April and May.
The Comyntas butterfly (^Polyommatus Comyntas of Go-
dart) is readily distinguished from the foregoing by having
a little thread-like tail on the edge of the hind wings. The
wings in the males are violet blue, and in the females black-
ish glossed with blue on the upper side, Avith whitish fringes ;
there are several blackish spots around the hind margins,
and on the hind wings near the posterior margin two cres-
cents of a deep orange-color. The under sides of all the
wings are gray, with black spots encircled with white, and
each of the two orange-colored crescents of the hind wings
encloses a deep black spot encircled with silvery blue. The
wings expand about one inch. This butterfly is found in
dry woods and pastures in July and August, and the cater-
pillars live on the leaves of the Lespedeza^ which grows in
those places. They are oval, convex, and downy, of a pale
green color with three darker green lines, the sides of the
body reddish, and the head black. The chrysalis, which is
usually fastened to a leaf, is at first pale green, but becomes
brownish afterwards ; it is sparingly clothed with whitish
hairs, and there are three rows of black dots on the back.
The chrysalis state lasts from nine to eleven days.
We have several more of these small butterflies with
thread-like tails on their hind wings, but they differ from
all the preceding species in having the knobs of the antennae
longer and nearly cylindrical, the eyes covered with a very
fine down, and an oval opaque spot on the fore wings, near
the front margin in the males. They belong to the genus
Thecla. Their caterpillars are longer and flatter than those
276 LEPIDOPTERA.
in the genus PolyommatuB, and tliey usually live on trees.
One of our largest kinds is the Falacer butterfly ( Thecla
Falacer of Godart). Its wings expand from lyV ii^^li ^o \-^^
inch, are dark brown on the upper side, with two slender
tails, one of which is very short, on each of the hind
wino;s ; and on the hind marmn of the same wings is an
orange-colored spot, larger and more conspicuous in the
females than in the other sex ; the under side of the wings
is lighter brown; and on each wing near the middle is a
dark-brown spot margined within and without with white,
and beyond the middle thai'e are two rows of spots of the
same color, bordered on one side only with white ; besides
these spots, there are on the hind Avings near the margin three
or four orange-colored crescents, the inner one of which is
separated from the others by a large blue spot. This insect
is found among bushes in July and August. The caterpil-
lar is said to live upon various kinds of hawthorns.
The streaked Thecla (^Thecla strigosa') has a long and a
short tail on each of the hind wings, and is of a dark -brown
color without spots on the upper side ; the wings beneath are
ornamented with wavy transverse white streaks, and near
the hind margin of the posterior wings is a row of deep
orange-colored crescents, with a large blue spot near the
hindmost ano;le. It measures one inch and one tenth across
the wino-s. I took it on Blue Hill on the 1st of August. In
the markings of the under side of the wings it nearly resem-
bles Thecla Liparo2?s.
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 diflers from it in so many respects, that I do not
hesitate to give it another name, and will therefore call it
the hop-vine Thecla, TJiecla Humuli ' * (Plate IV. Fig. 3).
[ T r. Humuli is the T. melinus of Hiibner. — Morris.]
* M. Boisduval has figured and described this species under the name of Thecla
Favonius, in his "Histoire des Lepidopteres de rAm^rique Septentrionale."
THE AUBURN THECLA. 277
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 Avavy 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.
The last of these butterflies with two tails to each of the
hind wings, does not seem to have been described, unless it
is to be referred to the Simaethis of Drury, the Damon of
Cramer, or the Smilacis of Boisduval, with the descriptions
of which it does not fully agree. I propose, therefore, to call
it the Auburn Thecla {Thecla Auhmniana)^ from a favorite
spot near Cambridge, formerly known by the name of Sweet
Auburn, where I have repeatedly taken it before the place
was converted to a cemetery. As in the preceding species,
the outermost of the tails is very short, and often nothing
remains of it but a little tooth on the edge of the wing. It
varies considerably in color ; the females are generally deep
brown above, but sometimes the wings are rust-colored or
tawny in the middle, as they always are in the males ; the
oval opaque spot which characterizes the latter sex is ochre-
yellow. Upon the under side the wings in both sexes are
green, the anterior pair tinged with brown from the middle
to the inner edge ; externally, next to the fringe, they are
all margined by a narrow wavy white line, bordered inter-
nallv with brown ; this line on the fore wings does not reach
the inner margin ; on the hind wings it consists of six spots
arranged in a zigzag manner, and the last spot next to the
inner margin is remote from the rest ; besides these there are
on the same wings three more white spots bordered with
278 LEPIDOPTERA'.
brown between the zigzag band and the base ; and between
the same band and the margin three black spots, behind the
middle one of which is a rust-red spot with a black centre.
The wings expand from l^'j to ll'^y inch. This pretty species
is found on the mouse-ear (^G-naphaliiun plantacjineurn) in
May, and on the flowers of the spearmint in August.
Some kinds of Tliecla have the hind edo;es of the wings
notched, but not tailed. This is the case with the Niphon
Fig. 107. butterfly (^Thecla Niphon of Hiib-
ner), (Fig. 107,) which has been
taken at Sweet Auburn early in
j\Iay. As in the Auburn butterfly,
the wings are deep brown above,
with a large rusty space on each ;
the notches on their edges are white, and the teeth between
them are rounded and of a black color ; on the under side
the wings are light brown, with dark brown wavy and zigzag
lines, two of which are bordered on one side with white.
The wings expand 1^ inch.
The Mopsus butterfly ( Thecla Mopsus of Hiibner) differs
from all the foregoing in having the hind wings entire and
not tailed ; but the inner angle projects a little, as it does in
some species of Lycoena. In form, and in the color and
arrangement of the spots on the under side of the wings,
it approaches to the Phlceas and Americana; but in these
species the eyes are not downy, and the males have not the
oval opaque spot near the front margin of the anterior wings.
The Mopsus butterfly is dark brown above, with a row of
seven or eight deep orange-colored spots near the margin of
the hind wings, larger and much more conspicuous on the
under than on the upper side. The Avings beneath are light
brown, with a row of deep orange or vermilion-colored spots
near the hind marn;ins of all the wings, an inner and more
irregular row of small black spots encircled with white on
the same, and two more similar spots close together on the
middle of the hind wings. It expands 1^^ inch. My only
FOUR-FOOTED BUTTERFLIES. 279
specimen of this fine butterfly was taken at Sandwich, by
Mr. John Betliune.
Some butterflies have the first pair '^
of legs so much shorter than the oth-
ers that they cannot be used in walk-
ing, and are folded on the breast like
a tippet. Their caterpillars, when
about to transform, do not make a Thecia Augusta,
loop to support the fore part of tlie body, but suspend them-
selves 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 caterpil-
lar wanders about till it has discovered a suitable situation
in which to pass through its transformations. This may be
the under side of a branch or of a leaf, or any other hor-
izontal object beneath which it can find sufficient room for
its future operations.
Here it spins a web or tuft of silk, fastening it securely to
the surface beneath Avliich it is restino;, 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 fore part 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 fore part
of the chrysalis protrudes from the fissure, and, by a wrig-
ghng kind of motion, the caterpillar-skin is slipped back-
wards 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,
and to make itself fast to the silken tuft by the minute hooks
with Avhich the hinder extremity is provided. Not having
the assistance of a transverse loop to support its body while
it disengages its tail, the attempt would seem perilous in the
extreme, if not impossible. Without having witnessed the
operation, we should suppose that the insect would inevitably
fall, while endeavoring to accomplish its object. But, al-
280 LEPIDOPTERA.
though 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 chrysahs 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 sus-
pended 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 Avhich 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 caterpillar-skin by whirl-
ing itself around repeatedly, till the old skin is finally loos-
ened 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 in-
sect fail to accomplish it successfully and safely.
We may see the whole process in the caterpillars of the
Archippus butterfly (^Danais Archippus of Fabricius), which
lives on the common silk-weed or milk-weed (^Asdejnas
Syriaca) in June and July. This caterpillar is cylindrical,
with a pair of thread-like black horns on the top of the
second segment, and a shorter pair on the eleventh segment,
and its body is mai'ked with alternate transverse bands of
yellow, black, and white. It comes to its growth in about
THE ARCHIPPUS BUTTERFLY. 281
fourteen days, during which it changes its skin three times,
and finally attains to the length of nearly two inches. The
chrysalis is about an inch long, but very thick, nearly cylin-
drical in the middle, and rounded at each end, with a very
slender black point, by which it is suspended. Its skin is
exceedingly thin and delicate, of a light green color, and
ornamented with golden spots and a transverse stripe of
black and gold. The chrysalis state lasts ten or twelve days,
at the expiration of which the butterfly comes forth. The
Archippus butterfly is very common on flowers, particularly
on low lands, from the middle of July to the first of Sep-
tember. The wings on the upper side are tawny orange, on
the under side deep nankin-yellow ; they are surrounded by
a black border spotted with white ; the veins are black, and
there are several yellow and white spots on the black tips of
the fore wings. The males are distinguished by an elevated
black spot contiguous to one of the veins near the middle of
the hind wings. This butterfly measures across the wings
from 3^ to 4| inches. The antennce in the genus Danais
have a long and curved knob ; the head and thorax are
spotted with white ; the males have an elevated .spot near the
middle of the hind wings, which in both sexes are rounded,
and never tailed or indented. The caterpillars are furnished
with projecting thread-like horns in pairs, and the chrysalids
are short and thick, somewhat oval, and are ornamented with
golden spots. The other characters of the genus are the
same as those of the division to which it belongs.
We have another four-footed butterfly which closely re-
sembles the Archippus in color and markings, but differs from
it entirely in the chrysalis and caterpillar state. It is the
Disippe butterfly (^Nymphalis Disippe* of Godart). (Fig.
109.) It is of a tawny yellow above, and of a paler yellow
beneath, the wings are surrounded by a broad black border
spotted with white, the veins are black, there is a triangvilar
patch spotted with white near the tips of the fore wings, and
* This is the Misippus of Fabricius, but not of Linnajus.
36
282 LEPIDOPTERA.
on the hind wings a curved black band. It expands from
three to three and a half inches. The caterpillar lives on
the poplar and willow ; it is of a pale brown color, more or
less variegated with white on the sides, and sometimes with
green on the back ; the head is notched on the top ; there is
a hump on the second segment, from which proceed two
Fig. 109.
slender blackish horns, barbed on all sides with little points ;
the third, fourth, and fifth segments are also somewhat
humped above, and on the tenth and eleventh are short tu-
bercles. It suspends itself by the hind feet, before chang-
ing to a chrysalis. The latter is angular, and tapers towards
the tail ; it is of a pale brown or ashen-gray color, with the
sides of the back and the extremity of the body whitish ;
and there is a thin almost circidar projection standing verti-
cally on its edge on the middle of the back. The butterfly
appears in September, and lays its eggs for a second brood
of caterpillars, which are transformed to chrysalids in the
autumn, and remain without further change till the following
spring, when they are changed to butterflies.
The genus Nymplialis * is readily distinguished by the
following characters. Four-footed butterflies, with a long
straio-ht and slender knob to the antenna?, the edges of the
* The name Limenitis,' under which I formerly included our species, is now
appropriated by Dr. Boisduval to certain butterflies of the eastern continent, such
as the Camilla, &c.
THE EPHESTION BUTTERFLY. 283
wings, particularly of the hinder ones, scalloped but not
tailed, the inner margin grooved so as to receive and conceal
the abdomen below, no closed mesh in the middle of the
wings, and no elevated spot on them in the males ; cater-
pillars and chrysalids in form like those of the Disippe, and
suspended only by the hindmost extremity.
The caterpillar of the Ephestion butterfly (^Nymphalis
Ephestion of Stoll) is of a brownish color, more or less varie-
gated with white on the sides, and with green above, and,
like that of the Disippe, has two long barbed brown horns on
the second segment. I have found it on the scrub-oak
(^Qucrcus iUcifolid) in June, but JNIr. Abbot says it lives on
the whortleberry-bush and the cherry-tree.
The chrysalis is not to be distinguished from that of the
Disippe in form and color, and the butterfly leaves it eleven
days after the insect has changed from a caterpillar. This
butterfly is found about the middle of June ; I have seen it
again in September, though rarely, and the caterpillars of
the last brood remain in the chrysalis state throughout the
winter, and are changed to butterflies in the months of April
and May following. This butterfly is of a blue-black color,
finely glossed with blue on the hinder part of the wings,
the scalloped edges of which are white, and the hind margins
bordered with three black lines ; near the tips of the fore
wings are two or three white spots, and just within the
border a row of orange-colored spots ; these spots are moi'e
distinct on the under side of the fore wings, which are more
or less tinged with brown, and have near the body two large
orange-colored spots ; on the under side of the hind wings
is a row of seven orange-colored spots inside of the hind
border, and three more of the same color near the shoulders
of the wings. It expands from 3 to 3f| inches.
The Arthemis butterfly (^JSfymphalis Arthemis of Drury)
(Plate I. Fig. 7) is very rare in Massachusetts, but more
common in the hilly parts of New Hampshire. It is
smaller than the precedmg, measuring from 2!^ to 3 inches.
284 LEPIDOPTERA.
resembles it a good deal in form and general color, but
is readily distinguished from it, and from all the other
American butterflies, by the broad white arched band on the
wings, which, beginning just beyond the middle of the front
edse of the fore wino;s, curves backwards, crossing both
wings, and ends on the inner edge of the hind wings. The
male differs from the female in having a row of orange-col-
ored spots on the itpper side of the hind wings next to the
border, as well as on the under side. The caterpillar and
chrysalis of this species are unknown to nie.
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, whicli generally are furnished with
little stiff" branches. The butterflies have the knobs of the
antennjB short and broad ; the feelers are rather long, and
placed close together, at the base at least ; the inner margin
of the hind wrings 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 arc
divided so as to appear double. This group may be called
Vanessians (VANESSADiE), and contains the genera Argyn-
nts, Melitcea^ Cynthia^ and Vanessa.
In Argynnis the wings are never angulated or toothed,
and the hind ones are generally ornamented with silvery or
pearly spots beneath; the feelers spread apart at their points;
the caterpillars have a round head, and are furnished with
branched spines on all their segments, two of those on the
first segment being usually longer than the rest, and directed
forwards ; chrysalids somewhat angular, arched, rather thick
at both ends, with the head squared or very slightly notched,
without a prominent nose-like projection on the thorax, and
on the back are two rows of projecting points, which are
usually golden-colored. Most of the caterpillars in this
senus are observed to live on various kinds of violets, and
THE aRGYNNIS BUTTERFLIES.
285
on tliese plants we may expect to find the caterpillars of our
native species, Avliich as yet are mostly unknown, in the
months of May, June, and July.
Argynnis Idalia, Drury. Idalla Butterfly. (Fig. 110.)
Fore wings deep tawny orange, spotted with Llack, and
with a broad black hind border, around Avhich, in the fe-
males, is a row of white spots ; hind wings blue-black above.
Fig. 110.
with two rows of spots behind, both of which in the female
are cream-colored, but in the males the spots of the outer
row are deep tawny orange ; all the wings on the under
side have a row of pearly-white crescents within the black
border ; and on the hind wings, which are brown, are seven-
teen more pearly-Avhite spots ; the fringes of all the wings
are spotted with white.
Expands from C^ to 3.^ inches or more.
This large and fine butterfly is found in meadows in the
latter part of July and beginning of August.
Argynnis Aphrodite, Fabricius. Aphrodite Butterfly. (Fig. 111.)
Wings tawny-yellow in the males, ochre-yellow in the
females, in both brownish next to the body, with a black line
near the hinder margins, within which is a row of black
crescents, and within the latter is a row of round black
286
LEPIDOPTERA.
spots ; the rest of the surface is more or less covered with
large irregular black spots ; beneath the tips of the fore
wings are seven or eight silvery spots, and on the under
Fig. 111.
side of the hind wings are above twenty large silveiy-white
spots, six of which are near the base, and the rest are
arranged in three curved rows.
Expands from 2f to 3^ inches.
Very common on flowers in low grounds in the latter part
of July and the beginning of August.
Argynnis Myrina, Ci'amer. Myrina Butterfly. (Fig. 112.)
Wings tawny, bordered with black above, with a row of
black crescents adjoining the
border, and another of round
black spots at a distance from
it ; the remainder of the sur-
face from the base to the mid-
dle with irregular black spots;
under side of the hind wings
variegated with brown, with a few ochre-yellow spaces inter-
posed, and above twenty silvery-white spots arranged in four
rows ; between the two outer rows is a series of black dots,
and between the two inner rows a single black dot encir-
cled with silvery white.
Expands from l^ to l^^jy inch.
THE MELIl^EA BUTTERFLIES. 287
Tlie wings and the feelers of this and the following species
are pro})ortionalIy more elongated tliun in the Idalia and
Aphrodite butterflies. The INIyrina begins to appear about
the last of May, and may be found till the end of June ; it
reappears again in August and September.
Argynnis Bellona, Fabricius. Bellona Butterfly. (Figs. 113, 114.)
Wings tawny above, with two rows of black spots around
the liind margins, at a distance from which is a row of round
spots of the same color ; from the base to beyond the middle
Fig. 113. Fig. 114.
tlie wings are covered with blackish spots, running together
more or less, as in the preceding species ; tips of the fore
wings beneath, and under side of the hind wings, brownish,
and glossed with purplish white on the posterior half of tlie
latter, which are variegated with dark brown lines and spots.
Expands from 1| to l/^r inch.
Very closely resembles the IVIyrina in form and color of
the upper surface of the wings, but is easily distinguished
from it by the want of the silvery spots beneath. It is found
on flowers in the latter part of July.
The butterflies of the genus dlelitcea agree in most re-
spects with those of Argynnis, except that the under side of
the hind wings is usually checkered with various colors, but
not ornamented with silvery or pearly spots. Their cater-
pillars are veiy different, being covered with blunt tubercles
beset with very short stiff bristles, and most of them live on
various kinds of plantain. The chrysalids are of the same
258 LEPIDOPTERA.
form as those of Argynnis, and spotted with black or brown,
but are not ornamented with golden spots.
Meliteea Phaeton, Drurj. Phaeton Butterfly. (Fig. 115.)
Wings black, with a row of orange-red crescents around
Jig ijg the hind margin,
within which are
from two to four
rows of cream-col-
ored spots ; on the
fore wings, behind
the middle of the
front margin, are
two orange-red spots, and sometimes another of the same
color on the middle of the hind wings. All the wings are
black beneath, and spotted in the same way as on the
upper side, Avith the addition of several large orange-red and
pale yellow spots between the middle and the base ; the
abdomen has three rows of cream-colored dots on the top.
Expands from 2 to 2i inches or more.
This species is rare in Massachusetts ; it appears in Ioav
grounds in June. The wings are elongated, as in Argynnis
3Iyrina, but the feelers are short.
McUtcBa Ismeria .^ Boisduval. I.>mcria Butterfly.
Wings taAvny above, blotched with blackish narrow spots
at the base, the fore wings blackish on the hind margins and
tips ; the hind wings veined and edged with black, with a
row of black crescents near the hind border, next to which
is a row of round black dots ; body covered with white down
beneath ; under side of the wings ochre-yellow, with a row
of pale yellow crescents edged with black near the hind
margin ; the rest of the surflice of the fore wings variegated
with small black and large yellowish spots ; next to the
external row of crescents of the hind wings is a row of
yellowish dots encircled with black, across the middle a
THE PHAROS BUTTERFLY. 289
broad pale yellow band traversed and edged Avitli wavy
black lines, which with the black veins divide it into a series
of checkers ; on the shoulders of these wings a long pale
yellow spot surrounded with black, behind which are three
square ones of the same colors, contiguous by their sides,
and behind these two more joining each other by their
angles.
Expands 1^ inch.
I think it possible that this species may be distinct from
the Ismeria^ which is known to me only by Dr. Boisduval's
fiiiure.* The wincrs are short and broad, and the feelers
longer and more slender at their tips than in the Phaeton.
In the markings of the under side of its hind wings it ap-
proaches to the 3IatHrna, Cyntlda^ and Ossianus of Europe.
The only specimen which I have seen was sent to me by
Dr. D. S. C. H. Smith of Sutton.
MiiUtfEa Pharos, Drurr. Pharos Butterfly. (Fig. IIG, male.
Fig. 117, female.)
"VVings short and broad, tawny-orange above, with a broad
black hind border, on which is a row of narrow tawny cres-
cents, and before these a row of round black spots, much
Fig. 116. Fig. 117.
more distinct on the hind than on the fore wings ; the rest
of the wings, from the middle to the base, is marked with
narrow black spots, running together like network ; and
on the fore wings is a large black spot, extending nearly
half across the wing ; the under side of the fore wings is
tawny, variegated with black and brown, with a buff-colored
* Hist, des Lf'pidopt. de I'Am^rique Septent., pi. 46.
37
290 LEPIDOPTERA.
spot at tip, and a crescent-shaped one of tlie same color
on the middle of the hind margin ; under side of the hind
wino"s pale ochre-yellow or butf, variegated with brown lines
and spots, with a very large brown spot on the hinder mar-
gin, on the middle of which is a whitish crescent, and be-
fore this a row of blackish dots.
Expands from li^j to li inch.
The chrysalis is about half an inch long, brown and sprin-
kled with white dots before, and reddish brown with black
dots behind, and three rows of minute points on the back ;
the anterior extremity is square and the top of the thorax
arched, with three little points disposed in a triangle. The
butterfly comes out about the first of June. This little and
very common butterfly varies considerably in the depth and
quantity of its dark markings. It is found on flowers in
June, July, and August.
The genus Cynthia was proposed by Fabricius to contain
certain butterflies which some entomologists now place in
Vanessa. Taken, however, in a more limited sense than
was originally intended, it may be retained for some of the
species which differ from the others in the form and coloring
of the wings, in the habits of the caterpillars, and in the
shape of the chrysalids. As thus restricted, the genus
Cynthia is distinguished by the wings of the butterflies
included in it being more or less scalloped on the edges, but
not indented or tailed, and not marked with metallic charac-
ters beneath ; their feelers are much longer than the head,
are tapering, curve upAvards and are contiguous to their
extremity, giving the head of the insect, when viewed side-
ways, somewhat the form of the bows of a ship. The
caterpillars are armed with branched spines, about equal in
length on all the segments except the first and last, on
which they are often wanting, and the head is heart-shaped,
with little elevated points or short spines on the top. They
are solitary, and conceal themselves under a web, or within a
THE THISTLE BUTTERFLY. 291
folded leaf, and suspend themselves by the liind feet alone
when abovit to transform. The chrysalids are angular on
the sides, with two or three rows of sharp tubercles on the
back, the anterior extremity is nearly square, or hardly
notched, and there is a short and thick prominence on the
top of the thorax. The tubercles, and oftentimes the gi'eater
part of the surface of the chrysalis, have the color and lustre
of burnished gold ; from wliich originated the name chrysa-
lis, derived fi'om the Greek name for gold, now, however,
applied to other insects in their second stage of transforma-
tion, which are not golden-colored.
Cynthia Cardui. Thistle Butterfly. (Fig. IIS.)
Wings tawny above, with a tinge of rose-red, spotted
with black and white ; hind Avings marbled beneath, with a
Fig. 118.
triangular white spot in the middle, and a row of five eye-
like spots near the hind margin.
Expands 2i to 2^ inches or more.
The caterpillars of this butterfly are found on thistles,
particularly the spear-thistle ( Cnicus lanceolatus) and cotton-
thistle ( Onopordon acantJdum'), on the loaves of the sun-
flower, hollyhock, burdock, and other rough-leaved plants, in
June and July. Though there may be several on the same
plant, they keep at some distance from each other. Each
one spins for itself a thin web on the surface of the leaf,
usually near the edge, to which it is also fastened, so as to
292 LEPIDOPTERA.
draw over a part of the leaf, and thus form a httle tent
beneath whicli the caterpillar lives. It devours the skin and
pulpy substance of the leaf, without touching the under
skin ; and, when it has exhausted the part under its tent, it
removes to another j^lace, and makes a larger habitation as
before. Very young caterpillars, which are distinguished by
their darker color as Avell as their inferior size from the
older ones, cover themselves with a very small portion of the
leaf, and are principally protected by means of the silken
tent. The full-grown caterpillar is about one inch and a
half long. Its head is black, its feet reddish, its body striped
with black and yellow interrupted lines, with about seven
branched spines, of a white color tipped with black, on each
segment except the first, those on the fore part of the body
being more obscure than the rest. These caterpillars fre-
quently suspend themselves to tlie plants on which they live,
and they seldom wander far in search of a place wherein to
prepare for transformation. The chrysalis varies in color,
being most often brown, with golden or brassy spots on the
sides and back, sometimes entirely golden, and sometimes
white with a silvery lustre. The chrysalis state lasts from
eleven to fourteen days. The butterflies appear from the
middle to the end of July, and are found on the flowers of
thistles and other plants. I have also found them early in
May, and as late as the month of August.
Cynthia Huntera, Fab. Hunter's Butterfly. (Fig. 119.)
Wings tawny above, variegated and spotted with black and
white ; hind wings marbled and streaked- beneath, with two
large eye-like spots near the hind margin.
Expands from 2.} to* 2J inches.
The caterpillars are found on the same plants as those of
the thistle butterfly, and particularly on the burdock and
cotton-thistle in June and July. Mr. Abbot says that they
live on a species of everlasting (^CrnapJialiuni j^olijccpJialum')
also. They, as well as the chiysalids, are very much like
THE LAVINIA BUTTERFLY. 293
those of the preceding species. The butterflies appear in
August and September.
Fig. 119.
Cynthia Lavinia* Fab. Lavinia Butterfly.
"VYings dark brown above, each with a large and a small
eye-like spot on both sides ; the fore wings witli two orange-
red spots near the middle of the front margin, and a large
whitish band enclosing the hinder eye-like spots ; hind Avings
with a reddish band near the hind margin.
Expands from 2 to 2^ inches.
The caterpillar is said to be blackish and dotted with
white, with the belly and legs tawny, and two white lines on
each side, the uppermost one of which is spotted with tawny
orange ; the spines (of which there are two short ones on the
head, besides those on the body) are black and branched.
According to Mr. Abbot, it lives on the Canada snap-dragon
(^Antirrhinum Canadense), and remains in the chrysalis state
sixteen days. The chrysalis resembles in form that of the
two preceding species, but is said to be destitute of metal-
lic spots. I took one of these butterflies in a meadow in
Milton, on the 19th of August, 1827, and have never met
with it since in this State. It is very common in the South-
ern States throughout the whole of the summer.
* Dr. Boisduval has described this insect under the specific name of Cania.
294 LEPIDOPTERA.
Cynthia Atalanta, L. Atalanta Butterfly. (Fig. 120.)
Wings black above, spotted with -wliite near the tips of
tlie first pair, on whicli is also an orange-red band across
the middle ; hind wings with a marginal orange-red band,
Fig 120.
on which is a row of black dots, the two nearest to the hind
angle having a pale blue centre.
Expands from 2^ to 3 inches.
The Atalanta butterfly was probably introduced into
America from Europe with the common nettle, Avhich it in-
habits. It deposits its eggs in May upon the youngest and
smallest leaves of this plant, being cautious to drop only
one upon a single leaf. The young caterpillar is guarded
against injury from the poisonous prickles of the leaf by the
numerous branching spines Avith which it is covered, and
which, being longer than the prickles, prevent its body
from coming in contact with the latter. The head is cov-
ered Avith a tovigh shell, which sufficiently protects this part,
while its strong and horny jaws are adapted for cutting
and chewing the leaves and their prickles with impunity.
As soon as the caterpillar is hatched, it spins a little Aveb
to cover itself, securing the threads all around to the edges
of the leaf, so as to bend upwards the sides and form a
kind of trough, in which it remains concealed. One end
of the cavity is open, and through this the caterpillar thrusts
THE ATALANTA BUTTEKFLY. 295
its head while eating. It begins with the extremity of
the folded leaf, and eats downwards, and, as it gradually
consumes its habitation, it retreats backwards, till at last,
having, as it were, eaten itself out of house and home,
it is forced to abandon its imperfect shelter, and con-
struct a new one. This is better than the first ; for the
insect has become larger and stronger, and withal more
-skilfiil from experience. The sides of the larger leaf selected
for its new habitation are drawn together by silken threads,
so that the edges of the leaf meet closely and form a light
and commodious cavity, which securely shelters and com-
pletely conceals the included caterpillar. This in time is
eaten like the first, and another is formed in like manner.
At length the caterpillar, having eaten up and constructed
several dwellino-s in succession, and changed its skin three or
four times, comes to its full size, leaves off eating, and seeks
a suitable place in which to undergo its transformations.
The young caterpillars are almost black ; the full-grown ones
measure about one inch and a half, are generally of a brown
color more or less dotted with white, with a black head,
rough Avith elevated white points, with white branching
spines on the back, and on each side there is a row of
yellow crescents. The chrysalis is gi'ay, with a whitish bloom
upon it like that on a plum, and the little pointed tubercles
on its back are gold-colored. The chrysalis state continues
about ten days, or longer if the weather be cool and wet.
The butterflies from the first brood appear in July, and from
the second in September.
In the butterflies belonging to the genus Vanessa^ the
wings are iagiied 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, curv-
ing, 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
296 LEPIDOPTERA.
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 Anfiopa, L. Antiopa Butterfly.^ (Fig. 121.)
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 31 inches.
This butterfly passes the winter in some slieltered place
in a partially torpid state. I have found it in mid-winter
Fig. 121.
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 together above the back, and apparently
benumbed and lifeless ; but it soon recovers its activity on
being exposed to warmth. It comes oiit of its winter quar-
[ 8 This is one of the few butterflies comiTion to this country and Europe, and
has probably been uitroduced here. — JIoRius.]
THE ANTIOPA BUTTERFLY. 297
ters very early in spring, often before tlie snow has entirely
left the ground, but with ragged and faded wings ; and may
be seen sporting in warm and sheltered spots in the begin-
ning 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."
The caterpillars (Fig. 122) of the.Antiopa butterfly live
together in great numbers on j,.. ^22
the poplar, Avillow, and elm, on v \. li a \\^ \>
which tlie nrst broods may be ^SniS^^^^Sij^HuZ^
found early in June. They are ^rS^SSF^PW'^^nWi^^^
black, mmutely 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
except the first, are black, stiff, and branched, and the inter-
mediate legs are reddish. When fully grown they measure
an inch and three quarters in length, and appear very for-
midable with their thorny armature, which is doubtless in-
tended to defend them from their enemies. It was formerly
supposed that they were venomous, and capable of inflicting
dangerous wounds ; and within my remembrance many per-
sons Avere so much alarmed on this account as to cut down
all tlie poplar-trees around their dwellings.. This alarm Avas
unfounded ; for, although there are some caterpillars that
have the power of inflicting venomous Avounds Avith their
spines and hairs, this is not the case Avitli those of the An-
tiopa butterfly. The only injury AA'hich 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 ha\'e sometimes
seen them in such profusion on the AvilloAv and elm, that the
limbs bent under their Aveight, and the long leafless branches,
38
298 LEPIDOPTERA.
which they had stripped and deserted, gave sufficient proof
of tlie voracity of these caterpillars. The chrysalis (Fig.
123) is of a dark brown color, with large tawny spots
Fig. 123. 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 J Album. The White J Butterfly.
Wings pale tawny red above, each Avith a white spot be-
tween two black ones near the outer angle on the front
margin ; the fore wings with a larger black spot on the mid-
dle of the front edge, and five smaller roundish black spots
near the middle of the Avings ; hind Avings Avith a silvery-
Avhite character somewhat in the shape of the letter J in the
middle of the under side.
Expands from 2i to 3 inches.
The caterpillar and chrysalis of tliis butterfly are un-
knoAvn to me. The butterfly probably survives the Avinter
like the Antiopa, for it has been observed late in the autumn,
and again early in the ensuing spring, sometimes in great
numbers ; but it is very inconstant in its appearance. It is
more common in New Hampshire than in Massachusetts.
Vanessa Interrogationis, F. Semicolon Butterfly.^ (Fig. 124.)
Wings on the upper side taAvny orange, Avith broAvn spots
running together on the hinder part, and Avith black spots in
the middle ; hind Avings 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 Avith reddish Avhite ;
under side of the wings in some rust-red, in others marbled
Avith light and dark broAvn, glossed- Avith reddish AA'hite, and
[9 Vanessa Interrogationis belongs to the genus Grapta,'K.\x\)y. — Moekis.]
THE SEMICOLON BUTTERFLY. 299
■with a pale gold-colored semicolon on tlic middle of the
hinder pair.
Expands from 2^ to 2.f 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 semi-
colon butterfly, instead of translating the specific name. It
first appeal's 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 caterpillars live on
the American elm and lime trees, and also on the hop-vine,
Fig. 124.
and on the latter they sometimes abound to such a degree 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, Avhen the insects have
become chrysalids, should be cut down, stripped of the fruit
that is sufficiently ripened, and then burnt. There is prob-
f * This butterfly received its name from the Greek note of interrogation, which
is identical with our semicolon. — Eu.l
300 LEPIDOPTERA.
ably 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 yel-
lowish 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 mao-o-ots within them, which, in due time, are trans-
formed to tiny four-winged flies (^Pteromalus Vanessce'),
which make their escape by eating little holes through the
sides of the chrysalis. They are ever on the watch to lay
their eggs on the caterpillars of this butterfly, and are so
small as easily to avoid being wounded by the branching-
spines of their victims.
Vanessa Comma. Comma Butterfly.!^ (Plate IV. Fig. 1.)
Upper siae 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 transverse 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
f i*> V. Comma belongs to the genus Grapta Kirby. — JIokris.]
THE PROGNE BUTTERFLY. 301
album) of Europe, for whicli it lias 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 (Plate IV. Fig. 2, chrysalis from
which the butterfly has escaped) is brownish gray, or white
variegated Avith 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
parrot's beak in shape. The butterflies appear first in the
beginning of May ; I have obtained them from the chrysa-
lids in the middle of July, and on the first of September.
Vanessa Progne* Fab. Progne Butterfly.
Upper side tawny orange ; fore wings bordered and spot-
ted with black ; hind wrings blackish on the posterior half,
with two black spots before the middle, and a row of small
orange-colored spots before the hind margin ; tails and pos-
terior 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 appearance, 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
* Jlr. 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.
aryenteum.
302 LEPIDOPTERA.
slender, and is sometimes entirely wanting. I have raised
the Progne and Comma butterflies from caterpillars which
were so much alike, that I am 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 21st and 22d
of August, changed to chrysalids Avithin twenty-four hovirs,
and were transformed to butterflies sixteen days afterwards.
At another time, a Progne butterfly was obtained from a
caterpillar, which I neglected to describe, on the 18th 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 two conical double-pointed horns or
ears on the head, the outer points very short, and the inner
ones longer and curving inwai'ds.
VaJiessa Milherti* Godart. Milbert's Butterfly. (Fig. 12o.)
Black above, with a broad orange-red band near the
hinder margin of all the
/
Fig. 125.
wings, behind which on
the hind wings is a row
of pale blue crescents ;
fore wings Avith a small
white spot near the tips,
and two orange-red spots
near the middle of the
front edge ; under side
deep brown, with a pale band near the extremity of the
wings, and no metallic characters on the hinder pair.
Expands from 2^ to 2| inches.
This showy butterfly is rare in the vicinity of Boston, but
* This is the Vantssa furcillata of Mr. Say; but Godart's name lias the priority
in point of time.
THE HIPPARCHIANS. 303
abundant in the northwestern part of tlie State and in New
Hampshire. It appears in May, and again in July and Au-
gust. The caterpillars live together on the common nettle.
They vary in color, some being much darker than others ;
generally, however, they are pale brown, minutely dotted
with yellowish white, with a dark brown longitudinal line on
the top of the back, a whitish one on each side just above
the feet, and above this a row of brown spots ; the head is
small, black, and rough, with little black and Avhite tuber-
cles ; the spines are blackish, short, and, with A^ery small
branches or lateral bristles. It measures when fully grown
an inch and a quarter or more in length, the chrysalis is pale
brown with golden spots, the top of tlie head Avidely but not
deeply notched, and the nose-hke prominence very small.
The last of the four-footed butterflies remainino; to be de-
scribed may be called Hipparchians (^HipparcJiiadce^ . The
wings of the butterflies belonging to this group are entire,
with the veins of the flrst pair swelled at their origin, and
the central mesh of the second pair closed behind. Their
caterpillars are not spiny, and are of a green color, spindle-
shaped, or cylindrical, tapering at both ends, with the hinder
extremity notched or terminating in two conical points, and
the head is either rounded or notched above. They live
exclusiA'ely on various kinds of grasses, for the most part
concealing themselves during the day among the stubble,
and suspend themselves by the liindmost feet alone when
about to transform.
The chrysalis is either oblono; and somewhat an<rular at
the sides, with the head notched and two rows of pointed
tubercles on the back, or short and rounded, with the head
obtuse ; but never ornamented with metallic spots. The
small size and uniformly green color of the caterpillars of
our native species, and tlie obscurity in which they gener-
ally live, render it very difficult to discover them ; and
hence they rarely pass under our observation. This being
304 LEPIDOPTERA.
the case, and not liaving much to communicate respecting
the habits of individual species, I shall confine my further
remarks to a description of the insects in their final state,
when they are exposed to view, and attract our notice by
their neat and modest coloring, and their graceful and gentle
motions. They are mostly found in thickets and woods, and
more rarely in places more open and exposed.
Hipparchia semidea, Say. The Mountain Buttcrfl}'. (Fig. 12G.)
Wings dusky brown above, thin, delicate, and almost
transparent, in the male
'^' * paler, and with more of an
ochre-yellow tint; fringes
black, barred with ochre-
yellow, and a row of faint
ochre-yellow spots near
the hind margin of the
second pair ; the under
side of these wings and of the tips of the fore wings is mar-
bled with black and white, a portion of the white forming
an irregular band beyond the middle of the hind wings.
Expands 1/ty inch to 2 inches.
This butterfly has hitherto been taken only on the summit
of the White Mountains of New Hampshire in June and
July. It was observed in great abundance flying about on
the top of Mount Washington on the 29th of July last. It
has also been seen on the ISIonadnoc Mountain, and will
probably be discovered on the tops of the high mountains in
our own State, if looked for at the proper season. It closely
resembles the Fortunatus of Lapland, with which I have
compared it, and find it to be specifically distinct. ]\Ir. Say
was the first describer of it, and it is well figured in his
American Entomology. Dr. Boisduval has since re-described
and figured it under the name of Chionabas Also*
* Icones L(5pidopt. Nouv., I. p. 197, PI. 40, fig. 1, 2, and Lt'pidopt. Amer., I.
p. 222.
BOISDUVAL'S BUTTERFLY. 305
Hlpparchia Alope, Fab. Alope Butterfly, (Fig. 127.)
Dark brown ; fore wings with a broad ochre-yellow band
beyond the middle, enclosing two round black spots, with a
sky-blue centre ; hind wings notched behind, with from one
to three eye-like spots of a black color, with a blue centre
on the upper side, and
four or five of the same
kind, but of unequal
size, beneath ; the under
side of the wings is pale
brown, Avith numerous
dark brown streaks. The
eye-sjDOts on the hind
wino;s are sometimes
wanting in the males.
Expands from 2 to 2| inches. In the Southern States
individuals are found measurino; three inches.
The Alope butterfly is found from the first of July to the
middle of September in open woods and in orchards. The
caterpillar is pale green with dark green stripes ; the head is
round, and the tail ends in a short fork. The chrysalis is
elongated, roundish at the sides, Avith the head notched.
Hipparchia Boisduvallii. Boisduval's Butterfly. (Fig. 128.)
Pale yellowish-brown ; the fore wings upon both sides
have four eye-like, blackish
. , -^ , . Fig. 128.
spots, with a white centre,
and the hind wings have
six, the external spot re-
mote from the others, and
the two next to the hind
angle very small and close
together. In some indi-
viduals the white centre is
wanting in some of the eye-spots on the upper side of the
wings.
89
306
LEPIDOPTERA.
Expands 2 inches or more.
This butterfly is figured in Dr. Boisduval's Jllstoire des
Lepidopteres de VAmerique^ under the name of Satyrus
Canthus ; hut as it does not agree with the descriptions of the
Canthus of Linnteus and of Fabricius, in both of which there
are no eye-spots on the upper side of the wings, I have
thought it entitled to a new name, and am happy to dedicate
it to one of the most accomphshed entomologists now living.
This delicate butterfly delights in open and elevated situa-
tions, and is found in July on the sides of the highest hills,
and in the mountain meadows of the northwestern parts of
this State.
Fig. 129.
Hipparchia Eurytris, Fab. Eurytris Butterfly. (Fig. 130.)
Dark brown above, paler beneath, with two longitudinal
dusky stripes ; on the upper
side of the wings are two
black eye-spots, enclosed in
an ochre-yellow ring, with
two lead-colored dots in the
centre of each spot ; on the
hind wings there is another
smaller spot, with a lead-col-
ored centre, near the hinder angle ; all these spots are found
on the under side of the wings, and between them are in-
terposed the same number of small lead-colored spots.
Expands 1 inch and 6 or 7 tenths.
This butterfly is found
in June and July among
bushes and in the paths
of woods, seekino; the
shade rather than the
sunshine. The caterpil-
lar resembles that of the
Alope butterfly, but the
chrysalis is shorter, with
the head obtuse.
Fig. 130.
Hipparchia Nephele.
THE SKIPPERS. 307
2. Skippers. {Hesperiadai.)
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 extended horizontally, and the fore wincrs some-
what 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. Notwithstanding this difference
in the position of the wings, the Hesperians all have certain
characters in common, by which they are readily distin-
guished 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 antennne 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 lit-
tle 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, cylindrical
in the middle, and tapering at each extremity, without 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 ( Cyn-
iliia Cardai and Atalanta), and undergo their transforma-
tions within an envelope of leaves or of fi'agments 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 orna-
mented 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
308 LEPIDOPTERA.
leaves, which are connected together by a loose internal
web of threads, forming a kind of imperfect cocoon.
Heteropterus marginatus. Bordered Skipper. (Fig. 131.)
Fore wings tawny yellow above, shaded with brown be-
pj,. J3J hind, and with an indistinct brownish
streak in the middle ; beneath, brown,
with the front and hind margin broadly
bordered with tawny yellow ; hind wings
tawny yellow, with a broad brownish
outer margin above, and Avithout a bor-
der beneath ; antennae and legs ringed with black and white ;
body slender, longer than the hind wings, wliich are hori-
zontal in repose, and the fore wings raised and spread a
little.
Expands about ^ of an inch.
This pretty species does not appear to have been described
before. The chrysalis from which it was obtained, on the
20th of July, is rather long, nearly cylindrical, but tapering
at the hinder extremity, aiid with an obtusely rounded head.
It is reddish ash-colored, minutely sprinkled with brown
dots. I am not sure that this skipper belongs to the genus
Heteropterus^ but have placed it in this genus on account
of the antennae, which are not hooked at the end, but ter-
minate much like those of the genus Polyommatus.
In the greater number of our skippers the antennae are
curved or hooked at the end. This is the case in the kinds
belonging to the genus Thanaos, which have the knobs of
the antennse long, tapering, and curved, the body thick, and
shorter than the wings ; the latter are generally spread in
repose, and the fringes are of one uniform color, or not
spotted. The males are distinguished by having the middle
of the front edge of the fore wings doubled back on the
upper surface.
THE BRIZO SKIPPER. 309
Thanaos JuvenaUs, Fab. Juvenal's Skipper.
Smoky brown on both sides ; fore wings variegated above
witli gray, Avith transverse rows of dusky spots, and six or
seven small semi-transparent white spots near the tips ; six
of these spots are disposed in a transverse row, but the two
hindmost are separated from the others by a considerable
interval, and the seventh spot, which is sometimes wanting,
is placed nearer the middle of the wing ; hind wings with a
row of blackish spots near the hind margin.
Expands l^^^ inch.
There is a local variety of this skipper, that is much more
common in Massachusetts than the preceding, of inferior
size, seldom expanding more than l^j inch, in which the
white spots are smaller, and the seventh is wanting near
the middle of the fore wing. This skipper is found in
meadows in May, and again in August. The caterpillar
lives on various pea-blossomed plants, such as the Glycine^
or groundnut, the Lathyrus, or vetchling, &c. It is green,
with pale stripes, and a heart-shaped brown head. The
chrysalis is rather long and tapering, according to Mr. Ab-
bot of a green color, and is enclosed in a cocoon of leaves
and threads ; in my specimens pale yellowish brown, with
a few minute hairs on the body, and with the tongue-case
prominent and projecting beyond the middle of the breast ;
and the cocoon Avas composed of stubble. Mr. Abbot in-
forms us that in summer the skipper leaves the chrysalis in
nine days ; but the autumnal brood continues in the chrysalis
state throughout the winter.
Thanaos Brizo. Brizo Skipper. (Fig. 132.)
Dark brown ; fore wings almost black on the upper side,
and variegated -with gray externally ; near their hind mar-
gin is a row of gray dots, within which is a transverse band,
composed of another row of oval gray spots, between two
slender black zigzag lines, and across the middle is another
band of the same kind ; on the hind wings are two wavy
310 LEPIDOPTERA.
rows of oclire-ycllow dots near the liincl margin ; all the
whigs beneath have two rows of dots of the same color
behind.
Expands from Itj to Ifj inch.
Fig. 132. This skipper * has not been
described before, but is figured
in Dr. Boisduval's work under
the name above given. It is
found in the same places and
at the same times as the pre-
ceding species, to which also it
bears a close resemblance in the caterpillar and chrysalis
states, and lives on the same kind of plants.
In the skippers which Dr. Boisduval arranges imder the
name of Eudamus^ the knobs of the antenme 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 Avings are often tailed, or
are furnished with a little projection on the hinder angle ;
the fringes are spotted ; and all the wings {ire raised when
at rest.
Eudamus Tityrus, Fab. Tityrus Skipper.^l (Plate V. Fig. 1.)
Wings brown ; first pair with a transverse semi-transparent
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 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
* It is figured in Abbot's Insects of Georgia as one of tlie sexes, or a variety,
of the Juvtnnlls ; but tlie sexes of botli of these species are known to me.
[11 Eudamus ^('/(/nfs belongs to the genus (?o?ij7o6a Doubleday. — Mourns.]
THE TITYRUS SKITPER.
311
so great that it cannot be captured without clanger of its
beino- greatly defaced in its struggles to escape. The females
lay their eggs, singly, on the leaves of the common locust-
tree (^Robinia pseudacacia), and on those of the viscid locust
(^Rohinia viscosd), 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. AVhen 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 (Fig. 133), which Fig. 133.
attains to the length of about two ^^imtprnmimnitm ^
inches, is of a pale green color, trans- K^^M^f^^^^^^-'jr^JF^
versely streaked with darker green,
with a red neck, a very large head roughened with minvite
tubercles, slightly indented or furrowed 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
caterjiillars 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 arc very clean-
ly 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 consider-
able 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
(Fig.' 134) of leaves or fragments
of stubble, the interior of which is lined with a loose web
Fig. 134.
312 LEPIDOPTERA.
of silk. They remain in their cocoons without further
change throughout the winter, and are transformed to but-
terflies 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 tempo-
raiy shelter to the caterpillars.
Eudamus Bathyllus, Smith. Bathyllus Skipper. (Fig. 135.)
In Massachusetts we have what I suppose to be only a
local variety of the Bathyllus
skipper, differing from South-
ern specimens in the inferior
size of the Avhite spots on the
fore wings, the less prominent
hind angle of the hind wings,
and the darker color of the
frinoes. It is of a dark brown color ; on the fore Avings is
a row of small white spots across the middle, and another
shorter row of only three or four contiguous spots between
the first and the tip ; the wings beneath are light brown,
shaded at the base with dark brown ; the hinder pair with
a slightly prominent posterior angle, and two dark brown
transverse bands.
Expands from 1^ to ly^ inch.
This species is found on flowers in June and July ; in the
Southern States it appears also in ]\Iarch and April. The
caterpillar is very similar to that of the Tityrus skipper, and
is found on various kinds of Crlycine^ Hedysarayn, &c., in
May and June.
The rest of our skippers belong to the old genus Hesperia
of Fabricius, Avhich, as now restricted by the French ento-
mologists, very nearly coincides with Pampldla of the Eng-
lish writers. The American species are quite numerous,
and moreover vary a good deal ; which, with the difference
existing between the sexes, renders it quite difficult to deter-
THE HESPERIANS. 313
mine and characterize them. In the distribution of the
Hesperians, by far the largest portion of the family or group
seems to have been assigned to the Western Continent ; and
it is probable that New England, or perhaps Massachusetts
alone, contains a larger number of species than the whole of
Europe. The insects of this group recede in many striking
characters, and in their general habits, from the true butter-
flies, and seem to form the connecting link between the latter
and the sphinges or hawk-moths. Those belonging to the
genus Hesperia delight in cool and shady places, and most
commonly appear on the wing towards the evening, which
led Fabricius to give them a generic name indicative of this
circumstance. Their antennae are considerably shorter than
in those included in Thanaos and Eudamus, and the knob at
the end, which is thick and oblong oval, terminates suddenly
in a little point directed to one side. The upper wings are
raised and the lower are expanded when at rest ; and the
fringes are not spotted. The body is thick, and about as long
as the hind wings. Most of the males are distinguished by
an oblique black dash near the middle of the fore wings.
The caterpillar lives chiefly on low herbaceous plants. The
chrysalis (Fig. 136) is described as being conical,
with a pointed head, and a long tongue-case,
folded on the breast, but not confined at the point.
The transformation takes place in a slight cocoon
of stubble or grass, connected by a few threads
within. These skippers frequent meadows, and
other grassy and somewhat shady places, during
the middle and latter part of summer. They are
of smaller size than the preceding Hesperians, and are much
more common and abundant. Their flight, though short
and intermitting, is exceedingly swift, and they possess a
great deal of muscular strength.
Hesperia Hohomoh. Hobomok Skipper. (Fig. 137.)
Dark brown above ; on each of the wings a large tawny-
40
314 LEPIDOPTERA.
yellow spot occupying the greater part of the middle, four
or five minute spots of the same color near the tips of the
fore wings, on which is also a short browniih line at the
outer extremity of the central mesh :
Y\(r 137.
under side of the fore wings similar
to the upper, but paler ; hind wings
brown beneath, Avith a yellow spot
near the shoulder, and a very broad
deep yellow band, Avliich does not
attain the inner margin, and has a
tooth-like projection extending towards the hinder edge.
The male has not the usual distinguishing oblique dash on
the fore wings, which differ from those of the female only
in the greater size of the tawny portion, which extends to
the front margin.
Expands from 1/^ to lj*j inch.
This skipper comes very near to the OtJio of Smith and
Abbot (which is not the same as the Otho of Boisduval), and
also approaches closely to a species that is figured in Dr.
Boisduval's work under the name of Zahidon ; but does not
sufficiently agree with either of them, and, in the belief that
it has not been described before, I have given it the name
of one of our celebrated Indian chiefs. It is found in June
and July.
Hesperia Leonardus. Leonard's Skipper. (Fig, 138.)
Dark brown above ; fore wings of the male tawny yellow
on the front margin from the
'^' ■ base to beyond the middle ;
behind this tawny portion is
a short black line, and be-
hind the latter a row of con-
tiguous tawny spots, extend-
ing from the middle of the
inner edge towards the tip ;
the spots at this extremity small and separated from the oth-
PECK'S SKIPPER. 315
ers ; fore wings in the female without the tawny front edge
and black hne ; liind wings, in botli sexes, with a central,
curved, tawny-yellow hand ; Avings beneath bright red-
brown ; the first pair blackish from the middle to the inner
edge, and spotted as on the upper side ; hind wings with a
yellow dot in the middle, and a curved row of seven bright
yellow spots behind it.
Expands from l/^r to ll- inch.
This very distinct and strongly marked skipper does not
seem to have been described before. For a specimen of the
male I am indebted to the Rev. L. W. Leonard, to whom I
have dedicated the species. The females I have taken in the
beginning of September.
Hesperia Sassacus. Sassacus Skipper.
Dark brown above ; all the wings with a tawny-yellow
spot occupying the greater part of the middle of each, and
with two or three little detached spots of the same color near
the extremity of the first pair ; beneath ochre-yellow, with
small pale yellow spots near the tip, corresponding to those
on the upper side of the fore wings ; and on the hind wings
seven small, square, pale yellow spots, namely, one before the
middle and the others in pairs behind it.
Expands 1:^ inch.
Of this skipper I have seen only the female, which was
taken in Cambridge in the month of June. Its upper side
is very much like that of the Hobomok skipper, but it differs
from it in the color and markings of the under side, and
seems not to have been described before. I have therefore
given it, as a new species, the name of an Indian Avarrior.
Hesperia Pechius, Kirby. Peck's Skipper. (Fig. 139.)
Dark brown above ; fore wings with a row of contiguous
tawny-yellow spots, extending from the middle of the inner
margin towards the tip, where the spots are more distant,
and a tawny line from the base to the middle, behind which,
316 L E P I D P T E R A .
in the male, is a short, curved, deep black Hne ; hind wings
with an indented tawny band, or row of unequal spots,
behind the middle, which, m the male, are very indistinct ;
beneath, light brown ; fore wings
marked with bright yellow spots ;
hind Avings with a very large, irreg-
ular, bright yellow spot, covering
nearly the whole under surface, and
almost divided in two near the middle.
Expands from l^V ^o If^^ inch.
This skipper was named by Mr. Kirby in honor of the
late Professor Peck of Cambridge, and is figured and de-
scribed in the fourth volume of the " Fauna Boreali Ameri-
cana." The upper surface of the female resembles that
of the same sex of the Phylceus of Drury or Vitellius of
Fabricius ; but the under side is different. It is found on
flowers in meadows in the latter part of July and in August.
Hesperia Cernes ? Boisduval. Cemes ? Skipper.
Dark brown above, fore wings of the male with a large
brassy-yellow spot, extending from the front edge beyond the
middle, and an oblique wavy black line ; hind wings with a
brassy gloss ; under side of the fore wings tawny yellow
before, dusky behind, with a pale yellow oblique spot neaf
the middle, and two or three minute spots of the same color
near the front margin ; hind Avings dusky ochre-yellow be-
neath, with a transverse row of four small paler yellow
almost obsolete spots ; head and body gloss;jd with green
above, yellowish white beneath.
Expands IfV inch.
In one individual from the Southern States there are two
or three minute yellow dots on the fore wings between the
oblique line and the tip. I think it probable that this may
be the species figured, but not described, by Dr. Boisduval,
under the above name. It is found in the latter part of
July, but seems to be rare, and the female is unknown to
me.
THE AHATON SKIPPER. 317
Hesperia Metacomet. Metacomet Skipper.
Dark brown, sliglitly glossed witK greenish yellow above,
the male with a short, oblique black line on the middle of
the fore wings, on both sides of which, in the female, are two
yellowish dots on the middle, and two more near the front
margin and tip ; hind wings beneath with a transverse row
of four very faint yellowish dots, which, however, are often
wanting.
Expands \^xs inch.
It resembles the preceding in some respects, but is of a
uniform dark color above, and is probably a distinct species.
It appears in July. Metacomet was the Indian name of the
celebrated King Philip.
Hesperia Ahaton. Ahaton Skipper. (Fig. 140.)
Dark brown above ; fore wings in the male tawny before
the middle from the base nearly to j-j i^^
the tip, the tawny portion ending ex-
ternally in three minute wedge-shaped
spots ; on the middle an oblique vel-
vet-black line, near the outer extrem-
ity of which are two or three small
tawny spots ; under side spotted as above ; hind wings with-
out spot above ; of a greenish or dusky yellow tinge below,
with a transverse curved row of four minute yellowish dots,
which are often very faint or entirely wanting. In the fe-
male there is a tawny dash along the front margin of the
fore wings, and the oblique black line is wanting, but the
other spots are larger and more distinct.
Expands from 1 inch to l-^j.
The markings on the fore wings somewhat resemble those
of H. Leonardus, but in other respects it is different, and is
much inferior in size. It was captured many years ago in
Milton, and I have given it the name of an Indian from that
vicinity.
318 LEPIDOPTERA.
Hesperia Wamsutta. Wamsutta Skipper. (Fig. 141.)
Dark brown above ; fore wino;s witli a broken row of
small tawny spots towards the tip, and in the males a large
tawny patch covering the whole of the fore part of the wings
Fig. 141. from the base to the middle, and an
oblique curved black line behind it ;
hind wings with a small tawny dot
before the middle, and an indented
tawny band, or row of contiguous
unequal spots ; under side of the fore wings light brown,
and with larger yellow spots tlian on the other side, hind
wings light brown, with two large irregular bright yellow
spots connected in the middle and covering nearly the
whole surface.
Expands from -^(s of an inch to nearly an inch.
This species hardly differs fi'om Peck's skipper, except
in being uniformly smaller. It is a very common kind,
and is found in meadows in the latter part of summer,
particularly through the month of August. Wamsutta,
whose name I have given it, was the oldest son of the
Sachem Massasoit.
There are a few more skippers in my collection, which
were taken in Massachusetts, but some of them are not suffi-
ciently perfect to be described, and of the others I have
only one sex.
II. HAWK-MOTHS. {Sphinges.*)
Linnseus 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, Avhen 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
* See page 2C2.
DOTigal sc.
HAWK-MOTHS. 319
fore part of the body, and remain immovably fixed in this
posture for hours together. In the winged state, the true
SjMnges are known by the name of humming-bird moths,
from the sound which they make in flying, and hawk-moths,
from their habit of hoverino; in the air Avhile takino; their
food. These humming-bird ( r hawk moths may be seen
during the morning and evening twihglit, flying with great
swiftness from flower to flower. Their wings are long,
narrow, and pointed, and are moved by powerful muscles,
to accommodate Avhich their bodies are very thick and ro-
bust. Their tongues, when uncoiled, are, for the most part,
excessively long, and with them they extract the honey from
the blossoms of the honeysuckle 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 Sesite make their appearance among the
flowers, 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 ^Egerians 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 antennae,
fly mostly by day, and alight to take their food, like many
moths, which some of them resemble in form, and in their
transformations. The caterpillars of the Sphinges have six-
teen legs, placed in pairs beneath the first, second, third,
sixth, seventh, eighth, ninth, and last segments of the body ;
all of them, except the uEgerians and Glaucopidians, have
320 LEPIDOPTERA.
either a kind of horn or a tubercle on the top of the last
segment, and, when at rest, sit with the fore part of the body
elevated.
Having devoted a large portion of this treatise to a de-
scription 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 devastations in the caterpillar state.
Those persons who are curious to know more about the
Sphinges than can be included in this essay, 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 com-
monly called ; a large green caterpillar (Fig. 142), with a
kind of thoni 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 catei'pillar-skin, and becomes a chrysa-
lis (Fig. 143), 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 sum-
mer the chrysalis-skin bursts opan, a large moth crawls out
of it, comes to the surface of the ground, and, mounting
upon some neighboring 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 con-
[ 12 A more complete monograph of the Sphinges has been latelj- published in
the Journal of the Academy of Natural Sciences of Philadelphia, 1859, Art. V.,
p. 97, by Dr. Brackinridge Clemens, of Easton, Penn. — Morris.]
THE FIVE-SPOTTED SPHINX.
321
322
LEPIDOPTERA.
Fig. 145.
founded with the Carohna Sphinx {Sphinx Carolina of Lin-
naeus, Fig. 145, Fig. 1-16, larva, Fig. 147, pupa), which it
Fig. 146.
■!^=*ay
Fig. 147.
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 Eng-
lish entomologists Sphinx quinqiiemaculatus (Fig. 144), the
five-spotted Sphinx. Its tongue can be unrolled to the
THE FOUR-HORNED CERATOMIA.
323
length of five or six inches, but, when not in use, is coiled
like a watch-spring, and is almost entirely concealed be-
tween 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 fore part of the back, I have named Ceratomia *
quadricornis (Fig. 148), or four-horned Ceratomia. On
rig. 148.
some trees these Sphinges exist in "great numbers, and their
ravaged 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 pellets
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 Com-
mon 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 caterpillars (Fig. 149), at
this period of their existence, are about three inches and a
* Ceratomia, derived from the Greek, means having horns cm the shoulders, a
peculiarity which I have not observed in any other Sphinx.
324 LEPIDOPTERA.
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
Fijr. 149.
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 expand
nearly five inches, are of a light brown color, variegated
with dark brown and Avliite, and the hinder part of the body
is marked with five longitudinal dark brown lines. A young
friend of mine, in Boston, once captured on the trunks of
the trees a larjxe number of these moths during a morning's
walk in the Mall, although obliged to be on the alert to
escape from the guardians of the Common, whose duty it
was to prevent the grass from being trodden down. Nearly
all of these specimens were females, ready to deposit their
eggs, with which their large bodies Avere completely filled.
On being taken they made scarcely any efforts to escape,
and Avere safely carried away. It would not be difficult,
by such means, very considerably to reduce the number of
tliese 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 cat-
erpillars which may be found in those public walks where
they abound.
From the genus Sphinx i have separated another group
GRAPE-VINE SPHINGES. 325
to which I have given the name of PMlainpelus* from the
circumstance that the larvte or caterpillars live upon the
grape-vine. When young they have a long and slender tail
recurved over the Lack 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
Linn sens ; narrow oval and scalloped, in that which is trans-
formed to the species called Acliemon (Fig. 150) by Drury.^^
Fig. 150.
They have the power of withdrawing the head and the first
three segments of the body within the fourth segment, which
gives them a short and blunt appearance when at rest. As
they attain to the length of three inches or more, and are
thick in proportion, they consume great quantities of leaves ;
and the lono; leafless branches of the vine too often afford
evidence of their voracity. They also devour the leaves
of the common creeper (^Amjjelopsis quinquefolid) , which,
with those of our indigenous vines, were their only food till
the introduction 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 (Plate V. Fig. 2) expands from four to five inches,
* The literal signification of this word is, I love the vine.
[.13 p. acheman is Sphinx crantor Cramer and Hiibner. — 5Toi;kis.]
326 LEPIDOPTERA.
and is of a light olive color, variegated with patches of dark-
er olive. The Achemon (Plate V. Fig. 3 ; Fig. 151, pupa)
• expands from three to four
inches, is of a reddish ash-
color, with two trianiTular
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 raA'-
ages of another kind of Sphinx caterpillars, smaller in size
than the preceding, and like them solitary in their habits,
but more numerous, and, not content Avith 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 Achemon
and jSatelUtia, and are generally of a pale green color
(sometimes, 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 extremity. The head is very small, and, Avith
the fore part 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 abruptly to the head, the fore part
of the body presents a resemblance to the head and snout
of a hog. This suggested the gencrical name of Choero-
campa, or hog-caterpillar, which has been applied to some
of these insects. (Fig. 152, caterpillar covered with cocoons
of a pai'asitic Hymenopterous insect ; Fig. 153, the parasite,
natural size and magnified.)
THE APPLE-TREE SMERINTHUS. 327
The species under consideration is found on the vine and
the creeper in July and August ; when fully grown, it de-
scends to the ground, conceals itself under fallen leaves.
Fig. 152.
which it draws together by a few threads so as to fonn 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 pi ^^^
(Fig. 154), 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^^ (Plate V. Fig. 4), 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,
which are rust-colored, and the fore wings and shoulder-
covers are traversed with olive-green bands.
Among the Sphinges of Massachusetts may be mentioned
those belonging to the genus Smerinthus^ 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 bllnd-cyed Smerinthus (aS'. exccecata^
Fig. 155) is fawn-colored, clouded with brown, except
the hind Avings, which are rose-colored in the middle, and
ornamented with an cye-like black spot having a pale blue
centre. The caterpillar lives on the apple-tree, but is not
[1* C. pampinatrix is Spldnx myron Cramer, and Sphinx cnotua Hiibner. —
MOHKIS.]
328 LEPIDOPTERA.
common enougli to pi'ove seriously injurious. The same
observation will apply to that of the chocolate brown-eyed
Sphinx (^Smerinihus m^ojjs), "which lives on the wild-cheny-
Fig. 155.
tree, and to the walnut Sphinx (^Smerinthus Juglandis)^
which lives on tlie black Avalnut 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 drujjifcrariun inhabits the
hackberry (^Celtis occidentalis) and the plum-tree ; Sphinx
Kalmice inhabits the broad-leaved laurel (^Kalmia latrfolia) ;
the caterpillar of the Crordius is found on the apple-tree;
that of the great ash-colored Sphinx (>S'. cinerea) on the
lilac ; Hijlceus on the black alder (^Prinos glaher^ &c.)
and whortleberry ; and the curiously checkered caterpillar
of Spldnx coniferarum on pines. Of the hog-caterpillars,
those of Clioerocampa choerilus and versicolor may be found
on swamp pinks (^Azalea viscosa and nudiflora). The cater-
pillar of the white-lined morning Sphinx (^Dcilejjhila lineatd)
feeds upon pui'slane and tui'nip leaves ; and that of Deile-
pMla Chamcenerii on the willow-herb (^Epilohium angusti-
folium^. The clear- winged Sphinges, Sesia pelasgus^^ (Fig.
156) and diffinis, are distinguished by their transparent
wings and their fan-shaped tails. They hover over flowers,
[ 15 S. pelasf/us is S. tkisbe Fab. = S. cimbkiformis Stephens = S. rufcaudis
Kirby. — Mokkis.]
THE ^GERIANS. 329
like liummlng-birds, rig- 156.
(luring the daytime,
in the months of July
and August. Their
caterpillars bear a
general resemblance
to those of the genus
3phinx, and, as far
as they are known,
seem to possess the
same habits.
The ^Egerians (^Egeriad^e) constitute a very distinct
group among Sphinges. They are easily recognized, in the
perfected 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 cater-
pillar 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 ^gerians
are concealed within the stems or roots of plants, and
derive their novirishment 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 destitute of a thorn or prominence
on the last segment of the body. When they have come
to their full size, they enclose themselves in j,j ^^.
oblong oval cocoons (Fig. lo7), made of
fragments of wood or bark cemented by a
gummy matter, and within these are trans-
formed to chrysalids. The latter are of a shining bay color,
42
330 LEPIDOPTERA.
and the ed<2es of the abdominal segments are armed with
transverse rows of short teeth. By means of these httle
teeth, the chrysahs, just before it is about to be transformed
to a winged insect, works its way out of
Fi" 158 o ' J
the cocoon, and partly through the hole, in
the stem or root, which the caterpillar haii;!
previously made l and the shell of the chrys-
alis (Fig, 158) ^eft half emerging from the*
orifice, after the iiioth has escaped from it.
The asli-tree suffers very much from the attacks of borers
of this kind, which perforate the bark and sap-wood of
the tiTink from the roots upwards, and are also found in
all the branches of any considerable size. The trees thus
infested soon show symptoms of disease, in the death of
branches near the summit ; and, when the insects become
numerous, the trees no longer increase in size and height,
and premature decay and death ensue. These borers as-
sume the chrysalis form in the month of June, and the
chiysalids may be seen projecting half-way from the round
holes in the bark of the tree in this and the following
month, during which time their final transformation is ef-
fected, and they burst open and escape from the shells
of the chrysalis in the winged or moth state. Under this
form this insect Avas described, in my paper in Professor
Silliman's " Journal of Science," by the name of Trocld-
Uuni* denudatum ; as the habits of the larva are now
ascertained, we may call it the ash-tree Trochiliiim. Its
general color is brown ; the ed<ies 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
transpai'cnt ; the fore wings are opaque and brown, varie-
gated with rust-red ; they have a transparent space near the
tips, and expand about an inch and a half.
* The word TrochiUum is derived from Troiliilus, the scientific name of the
humming-bird genus; and these insects are sometimes culled humming-bird
moths.
THE PEACH-TREE BORER. 331
During the month of August, tlie squash and other
cucurbitaceous vines are frequently found to die suddenly
down to the root. The cause of this premature death is
a little borer (Fig. 159, larva), which be- t'ig. 159.
gins its operations near the ground, per-
forates the stem, and devours the interior.
It afterwards enters the soil, forms a cocoon (Fio-.
cocoon containing chrysalis) 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 10th of July till
the middle of August. This insect, which may be called
the squash-vine ^geria, was first described by me in the
year 1828, under the name of u.'Egeria^^ Cucurhitce (Plate
Y. Fig. 8), the trivial name indicating the tribe of plants
on which the caterpillar feeds.*
The pernicious borer (Fig. 161, larva)
which, during many years past, has proved
very destructive to peach-trees throughout j 1 1 1 1
the United States, is a species of ^^geria^ mJ ;t 1 : 1 i
named exitiosa (Plate V. Fig. 6, male), or "\\^
the destructive, by Mr. Say, who first scientifically described
it in the third volume of the " Journal of the Academy of
Natural Sciences of Philadelphia," and subsequently gave
a representation and account of it in his " American En-
[ 16 The genus ^Ef/eria Fab. is now rejected by the best authorities, and all
the species are put under Trocldlluni Scopoli, ■which has the priority by thirty
years. — Mokkis.]
* See New England Farmer, Vol. VIH. p. 3.3 ; my Discourse before the
Massachusetts Horticultural Society, in 1S32, p. 26; and Sillimau's Journal,
Vol. XXXVl. p. 310.
332 LEPIDOPTERA.
tomology." In the fifth volume of the " Xew England
Farmer " I have given the history of this insect, have men-
tioned the principal authors who have noticed it, and rec-
ommended preventive measures, which have been found
effectual in protecting the peach-tree from its most sex'ious
attacks.
The eggs, from which tliese 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 timnk or of the root, or in the earth and
gum contiguous to the base of the trees ; soon afterwards
yj jg, they are transformed to cluysalids (Fig, 102),
(Plate V. Fig. 7, chrysalis from which the moth
has escaped,) 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, hoAvever, during the month of
July, in the State of Massachusetts. Here, although there
are several broods produced by a succession of hatches, there
is but one rotation of metamorphoses consummated within
a year. Hence borers, of all sizes, will be found in the
trees throughout the year, although it seems to be necessaiy
that all of them, whether more or less advanced, 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 (Plate V. Fig. 6), which is much smaller than
the female, has all the wings transparent, but bordered
THE PEACH-TREE BORER. 333
and veined with steel-blue, which is the general color of
the body in both sexes ; the palpi or feelers, the edges
of the collar, 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 opaque, 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-
colored belt. It expands an inch and a half, or more.
This insect does not confine its attacks to the peach-tree.
I have repeatedly obtained both sexes from borers inhabit-
ing the excrescences which are found on the trunks and
limbs of the cherry-tree ; and, moreover, I have frequently
taken them in connection 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 prema-
ture decay and death.
The following plan, which was recommended by me in
the year 1826, 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. Re-
move 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 Avide, 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 Avith new or unexhausted loam. This
334 LEPIDOPTEKA.
operation should be performed in the spring, or during the
montli of June. In the winter the strings niaj be remoA-ed,
and in the following spring the trees should again be exam-
ined for any borers that may have escaped search before,
and the protecting applications should be renewed.
In Europe there is a species of x^geria^ named by Lin-
naeus tijmliformis, 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 culti-
vated currant, with which it may have been introduced from
Europe. The caterpillars are produced from eggs laid sin-
gly, 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 intci'ior of the stem.
As the borer increases in size, it enlarges the hole com-
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 transformed to a moth. The inferior size of
the fruit affords an indication of the operations of the
borers ; and the perforated stems freqvaently break off at
the part affected, or, if of sufficient size still to support the
weight of the foliage and fruit, they soon become sickly,
and finally die.
In some gardens, nearly every currant-bush has been
attacked by these borers ; and instances are known to me
wdierein 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
complete their transformations, and appear in the moth state,
about the middle of June.
The moth is of a blue-black color ; its wings are trans-
parent, 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
THE PEAR-TREE BORER. 335
yellow. The wings expand three quarters of an inch, or a
little more.
Some years ago, it was ascertained that a species of
^geria inhabited the pear-tree in this State ; and it is said
that considerable 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, liaving, 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 ^Egeria 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 tlie name of
j^geria Pyri (Plate Y. Fig. 5), 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, bordered, and fringed with pur]:)lish
black, and across the tips of the fore wings is a broad dark
band glossed Avitli coppery tints ; the prevailing color of the
upper side of the body is purple-black ; but 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 aci'oss the middle of the
abdomen, preceded by two narrow bands of the same color.
There are several more insects * belonging to this group
in Massacluisetts, one of Avhich lives in the stems of the
lilac, and another inhabits those of the wild currant, Rihe^
jioridiim. The winged male of the latter species is remarka-
ble for the very long, slender, and cylindrical tuft or pencil
at the extremity of the body. Of the rest, there is nothing
particularly Avorthy of note.
* See Silliman's Journal, Vol. XXXVI. pp. 309 to 313.
336 LEPIDOPTERA.
The Glaucopidians,* 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 Avorks
such antennse are called pectinated, 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 chrysa-
lids 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 M'inged
states, in the nature of their transformations, and in their
habits, these insects approach very closely to the Fhalcence^
or moths, forming the third division of Lepidopterous in-
sects, among which they are arranged by some naturalists.
There are not many of them in -ISIassachusetts, and only
one species requires to be noticed liere.f
This is the Procris Americana (Fig. 163), a small moth
of a blue-black color, with a saifron-
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 ampelophaga
of Europe, which, in the caterpillar state, sometimes proves
very injurious to the grape-vine. The habits of our spe-
cies are exactly the same ; but have been overlooked, or
* See additional observations on page 319.
t For the other species see Silliman's Journal, Vol. XXXVI. pp. 315 to 319.
THE GLAUCOriDIANS. 387
very rarely observed, in this vicinity. The caterpillars
are gregarious, that is, considerable numbers of them live
and feed together, collected side by side on the same leaf,
and only dispei'se when they are about to make their co-
coons. They are of a yellow color, with a transverse
row of black velvety tufts on each ring, and a few con-
spicuous hairs on each extremity of the body. They are
hatched from eggs, which are laid in clusters of twenty or
more together on the lower sides of the leaves of the grape-
vine and creeper ; and they come to their growth from the
middle to the end of August. They then measure six tenths
or rather more than one half of an inch in lenfrth. Their
feet are sixteen in number, and rather short, and their mo-
tions are sluggish. When touclied, they curl their bodies
sidewise and fall to the ground, or, more rarely, hang sus-
pended from the leaves by a silken thread. When young,
they eat only portions of the surface of the leaf; but as they
grow older, they devour all but the stalk and principal veins,
and, passing from leaf to leaf, thus strip whole branches of
their foliage. When numerous, they do much damage to
the vines and fruit, by stripping off the leaves in midsum-
mer, when most needed, I have found them in Massachu-
setts on the grape-vine and on the common creeper, or Amjye-
lopsis quinquefoUa, and conjecture that the latter constitutes
their natural food.
About the year 1830, Professor Hentz found them in
swarms upon cultivated grape-vines at Chapel Hill, in North
Carolina ; and constant care was required to check their
ravages there, during several sviccessive years. Several
broods appeared there in the course of the summer ; but
hitherto, only one annual brood has been observed in
Massachusetts, although two or more broods may occasion-
ally be produced. When about to make their cocoons,
the caterpillars leave the vines, and retire to some sheltered
spot. They then enclose themselves, each in a very thin,
but tough, oblong oval cocoon, and soon afterwards are
43
338 LEPIDOPTERA.
transformed to shining brown chrysalids. Early in July,
and in the middle of the day, I have seen the moths flying
about grape-vines and creepers, at ■which time, also, they
pair and lay their eggs. A more full account of this insect,
illustrated by figures, will be found in Hovey's Magazine,
for June, 1S44.
III. MOTHS. {Phalame.)*
The third great section of the Lepidoptera, which Lin-
nasus named Phalcena, includes a vast number of insects,
sometimes called millers, or night-butterflies, but more fre-
quently moths. The latter term, thus applied, comprehends
not only those domestic moths which, in the young or
caterpillar state, devour cloth, but all other insects belong-
ing to the order Lepidoptera 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 (^Attacus
Atlas), when it's wings are expanded, covers a space meas-
uring nearly nine inches by five and a half; and the owl-
moth (^Erehus 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 longitu-
dinally cleft into several narrow rays, resembling feathers.
The stalk of the antennjB 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 feathers. There is often a
good deal of difference in the antennae, according to the
sex J feathered or pectinated antennae being generally nar-
rower in the females than in the males ; and there are
some moths the males of which have feathered antennae,
* See page 320.
MOTHS. 389
while those of the other sex are not feathered at all, or
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 fonn ; 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, Avhich adhere to the roots of the tongue. Many moths
are said to have no feelers ; 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 Avith hairs or bristles, and the hairs are either
uniformly distributed, or grow in tufts. Sometimes the
surface of the body is even and smooth ; sometimes it is
covered Avith little warts or tubercles ; or it is beset Avith
prickles and spines, which not unfrequently are compound
or branched.
Many caterpillai's, previous to their transformation, en-
close themselves in cocoons, composed entirely of silk, or
of silk interwoA'en Avith hairs stripped from their own bodies,
or Avith fragments of other substances Avithin their reach.
Some go into the ground, where they are transformed
Avithout the additional protection of a cocoon ; others change
to chrysalids in the interior of the stems, roots, leaves,
or fruits of plants. The cluysalids of moths are generally
of an elongated oval shape, rounded at one end, and tapering
340 LEPIDOPTERA.
almost to a point at the other ; and they are destitute of
the angular elevations which are found on the chrysalids
of butterflies.
These brief remarks, which are necessarily of a very
general nature, and comprise but a few of the principal
differences observable in these insects, mvist suffice for the
present occasion.
Linnseus divided the Moths into eight groups ; namely,
Attaci^ Bomb^ces, Noctuce, G-eometrce, Tortrices, Pyralides^
Tinece^ and Alucitce ; and these (with the exception of the
Attaci^ which are to be divided between the Bomhyces and
Noctuoe) have been recognized as well-marked groups, and
have been adopted by some of the best entomologists * who
succeeded him.
1. Spixxeus. {Bomhyces.)
The BoMBYCES, so called from Bomhyx, the ancient name
of the silk-worm, are mostly thick-bodied moths, with anten-
nae 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 excep-
tions, 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 Smennthi; or we might place first in the series
the moths whose caterpillars are wood-eaters, with the habits
* It is hardly necessary to say that among these are Denis and Schiffermuller,
the authors of the celebrated Vienna Catalogue, besides Latreille, Leach, Ste-
phens, and others, whose classifications of the Moths, how much soever varied,
enlarged, or improved, are essentially based on the arrangement proposed by
Linnceus.
DoTigal
^
THE LITHOSIANS. 341
and transformations of the JEgerians ; or we may begin
with the smaller species, with hairy caterpillars, whose hab-
its and transformations are like those of the Glaucopidimis^
and which resemble the latter closely in the winged state ;
and thus the series, from Procris and other moth-like
Sphinges to the true 3Ioths, will be uninternipted. 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 Bom-
byces will be the Lithosians (Lithosiadje), 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 growing on rocks. (Such also are
the habits of Glaucopis PJiolus pj ^^
(Fig. 1G4), one of the Glaucopid-
ians.) On this account they are
not properly subjects for notice in
this essay ; but as some of the
larger species are grass-eaters, are
conspicuous for their beauty, and naturally conduct to
another family particularly obnoxious to the cultivators of
the soil, it may be interesting to point out their distinguish-
ing traits.
The Lithosians are slender-bodied moths, mostly of small
size, whose I'ather 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 longi-
tudinally, 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,
* This is the derivation given by M. Godart, Hist. Nat. L^pidopt. de France,
Vol. V. p. 10.
342 LEPIDOPTERA.
in the males. The tongue and one pair of feelers are
very distinct 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 arc
sparingly clothed wuth hairs, growing in little clusters from
minute warts on the surface of the body. They enclose
themselves in thin oblono; cocoons of silk interwoven with
their own hairs. The rings of their chrysalids are gen-
erally 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 Gno-
phria vittata*^'^ the striped Gnophria. It is of a deep
scarlet color ; its fore Avings, which expand one inch and
one eighth, have two broad stripes, and a short stripe
between them at the tip, of a lead-color, and the hind
wings have a very broad lead-colored border behind ; the
middle of the abdomen and the joints of the legs are also
lead-colored. The caterpillar 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 hella
(Plate VI. Fig. 3), the beautiful Deiopeia. This moth
has naked bristle-formed antenna; ; 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
* This moth has all the essential characters of the European Gnophria rtibri-
coUis, an insect closely resembling in its colors the Procris Americana. The name
of the genns is derived from a Greek word signifying dusky, in allusion to the
dark colors of the insects.
[17 Gnophria vittata is Lithosia miniata Kirby, — Morris.]
THE ARCTIANS. 343
white, and the thorax is clotted with Llack. It expands
from one incli and a lialf to one 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, yel-
low and white dotted with black,) and that it feeds upon
the blue lupines.* The European De'iopeia pulchella, which
is very much like our species, feeds, in the caterpillar state,
on the leaves of the mouse-ear, Mi/osotis arvensis and palus-
tris ; 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 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,f 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 generally orna-
mented 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 Avith
black or blue. They fly only in the night. Their caterpil-
* Drurj''s Illustrations, Vol. I. p. 52, pi. 24, fig. 3.
t To this character there is an exception in the Lophocampa tessellaris, the
wings of which are closed like those of Lilhosia quadra.
344 LEPIDOPTERA.
lars 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 arranged 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 destruc-
tive to vegetation, as, for example, the salt-marsh caterpil-
lar, the yelloAv 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, Avhei'e they enclose themselves in
rough oval cocoons, made of haii's plucked from their own
bodies, interwoven Avith a few silken threads. The chrysalis
is smooth, and not hairy, and its joints are movable.
Some of the slender-bodied Arctians, with bristle-formed
antennse, Avhich 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
amono; the Arctians. They belong to
Fig. 165. f . .
Latreille's genus Callimorpha * (meaning
beautiful form), one species of which in-
habits Massachusetts, and is called Cal-
limorpha militaris (Fig. 165), the soldier-
moth, in my Catalogue. Its fore wings
expand about tAvo inches, are white, al-
most entirely bordered with brown, with
an oblique band of the same color from
the inner margin to the tip ; and the
* The French naturalists, whom I have followed, include in this genus the Eu-
ropean moths called Hera, Dominula, Donna, Jacobcece, &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 Callimoi-jAa 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 Ch/mene of Espcr and Ochsen'
teimer, or the Colona of Hiibner, whose works I have not seen.
THE TIGER-MOTHS. 345
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 variable
moth : the brown markino;s on the fore wing's being some-
times very much reduced in extent, and sometimes, on the
contrary, they run together so much that the wings appear
to be brown, with five large white spots. Tliis latter variety
is named Callimorjiha Lecontei by Dr. Boisduval. The cat-
erpillar is unknown to me. The caterpillars of the Calli-
morphas are more sparingly clothed with hairs than the
other Arctians ; and they are genei'ally dark-colored, with
longitudinal yellow stripes. They feed on various herba-
ceous 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 ai-ranged under the general name of Arctia* The
first of them would probably be placed by Mr. Kirby in Cal-
Umorjjha^f from which, however, they differ in their shorter
and moi-e robust antennae, always very distinctly feathered,
at least in the males. They are distinguished from the rest
by having tAvo black spots on the collar, and three short
black stripes on the thorax. The largest and most rare of
these moths is the Arctia virgo, or virgin tiger-moth. On
account of the peculiarly strong and disagi'eeable odor which
it gives out, it might with greater propriety have been named
the stinking tiger-moth. It is a very beautiful insect. Its
* Chelonia of the French, Euprepia of the Germans (from a Greek M-ord sig-
nifying pre-eminent 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.
t Mr. Kirby' s CalUmorpha parthenke and virguncula closely resemble the first
two or three species which follow. The European pudica, and probably also the
Nemeopliila plantaginis belong to the same group. See Fauna Boreali Americana,
Vol. IV. pp. 304, 305, pi. 4, fig. 6.
44
346 LKPIDOPTERA.
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 abdo-
men vermil ion-red, Avith a row of black spots close together
along the top of the back. The caterpillar is brown, and
pretty thickly covered Avitli tufts of brown hairs. The moth
appears here in the latter part of July and August.
The Arge 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 Avings, 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 beneath.
The wings exj)and from one inch and three quarters to two
inches. I have taken this moth from the 20th of INIay till the
middle of July. The caterpillar appears here sometimes in
large swarms in the month of October, having then become
fully grown, measuring about one inch and a half in length,
and being at this time in search of proper Avinter quarters
wherein to make their cocoons. They arc of a dark green-
ish-gray color, but appear almost black from the black spots
with which they are thickly covered ; there are three longi-
tudinal stripes of flesh-Avhite on the back, and a roAV of
kidney-shaped spots of the same color on each side of the
body. The Avarts are dark gray, and each one produces a
thin cluster of spreading blackish hairs. They eat the leaA'es
of plantain and of other herbaceous plants, and it is stated*
* Abbot's Insects of Georgia, p. 125, pi. 63.
THE TIGER-MOTHS. 347
that they sometimes make great devastation among yomig
Indian corn in the Soutliern States.
A much more abundant species in Massachusetts is that
which has been called the harnessed moth, Arctia pJialerata
CFin;. 166) of my Catalogue.
^ » ^. -^ =' Fig. 166.
It makes its appearance from x
the end of May to the middle ^^^*^ ^'
of August, and probably breeds
throuo-hout the whole summer.
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 arranged so that the buif-colored spaces be-
tween 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 logs are also black. The Avings ex-
pand from one inch and a half to one inch and three quar-
ters. The caterpillar is not yet known to me. This moth,
in many respects, resembles one called PhylUra* by Drury,
rarely found here, but abundant in the Southern States ; the
fore wings of which are black, with one longitvidinal line, two
transverse lines, and near the tip two zigzag lines forming a
W, of a buif color.
The feelers and tonoTie of the foreofoins: 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 colors. Among these is
the great American tiger-moth, Arctia Americana^ an unde-
* More properly Phihjra.
34S LEPIDOPTERA.
scribed species, wliicli some of the French entomologists*
have supposed to be the same as the great tiger, Arctia Caja^
of Europe. Of this fine insect I liave a specimen, which was
presented to me by Mr. Edward Doubledaj, who obtained it,
with several others, near Trenton Falls in New York. It
has not yet been discovered in Massachusetts, but Avill proba-
bly 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 lai*2;;e irrefnilar blotches ; the hind wino;s 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 abdo-
men 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 Caj'a, and
especially some of its A'arieties, from all of which, however,
it is essentially distinguished by the white edging of the col-
lar and shoulder-covers, and the absence of black lines on the
sides of the body. It is highly probable that specimens may
occur with orange-colored or red hind wings like the Oaja,
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 fore part 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, Avhich form
a distinct row of pearly-white spots on each side of the body.
These caterpillars eat the leaves of various kinds of gar-
den plants without much discrimination, feeding together in
considerable numbers on the same plant when young, but
scattering as they grow older.
* Godart. L^pidopt. de France, Tom. IV. p. 303. It is figured in the " Lake
Superior " of Agassiz and Cabot, pi. 7, fig. 5.
THE VIRGINIA ERMINE-MOTH. 349
The largest of tlie American Arctians is the Scrihonia, or
great white leopard-moth, \vhic]i varies in expansion from
two and a half to tlu-ee and a half inches, the females being
invariably much 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 wuth transverse red bands between the riniis, and is
clothed with clusters of dark brown hairs. It is said to
eat the leaves of the wild sunflower and of various other
plants. It has been confidently 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 collection of such
objects.
Of all the hairy caterpillars frequenting our gardens, there
are none so common and troublesome as that wliich I have
called the yellow-
bear (rig. lo<).
Like most of its
genus, it is a very
general feeder, de-
vouring 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
perhaps most often of a pale yellow or straw color, with a
black line along each side of the body, and a transverse line
* Insects of Georgia, p. 137, pi. 69.
350
LEPIDOPTERA.
of the same color between each of the scsments or rinofs, 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 a^es 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 co-
coons, in which they remain in the chrysalis state during the
winter, and are changed to moths in the months of May or
June following. Some of the first broods of these caterpil-
lars appear to come to their growth early in summer, and are
transformed 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 Juno. The
moth (Fig. 168) is fa-
miliarly known by the
name of the white mil-
ler, and is often seen
about houses. Its sci-
entific 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.
Fig. 168.
[18 Arctia Mrginiva belongs to the genus Spilosoma. — Morris.]
* It is most like the Arctia Urlicce, but is of a much purer white color.
THE SALT-MARSH CATERPILLAR. 351
It expands from one inch and a lialf to two inches. Its eggs
are of a golden-yellow color, and are laid in patches upon the
leaves of plants. In some parts of France, and in Belgium,
the people have been required by law to echeniUer, or uncat-
erpillar, their gardens and orchards, and have been punished
by fine for the neglect of the duty. Although Ave 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 (Fig. 169), an insect by far too
well known on our seaboard, and now getting to be common
in the interior of the ^. ,„
Fig. 169.
State, whither it has
probably been intro-
duced, while under
the chrysalis form,
with the salt hay an-
nually 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 subject of a communication
made by me to the Agricultural Society 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 SAvarms of cater-
pillars. 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 ran, as the
phrase is, or retreat from the marshes, and disperse through
the adjacent uplands, often committing very extensive ravages
352 LEPIDOPTERA.
in their progress. Corn-fields, gardens, and even the rank
weeds by the way-side, afford them temporary nom'ishment
wliile wandering in search of a place of security from the
*ide 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 transformed
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 beneath the stubble, and
there make their cocoons. Such, for the most part, is the
course and duration of the lives of these insects in Massa-
chusetts ; 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 15th and 20th of May, and again be-
tween the 1st and the 10th of August. Those which were
disclosed in May passed the winter in the chrysalis form,
while the moths which appeared in August must have been
produced from caterpillars that had come to their growth and
gone through all their transformations during the same sum-
mer. 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 caterpillar measures one inch and three
quarters or more in length. It is clothed with long hairs,
which are sometimes black and sometimes brown on the back
and fore part of the body, and of a lighter brown color on
the sides. The hairs, like those of the other Arctians, groAv
in spreading clusters from warts, which are of a yellowish
color in this species. The body, when stripped of the hairs,
THE SALT-MARSH CATERPILLAR. 353
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 A^eiy distinct even through
the hairs. These caterpillars, when feeding on the marshes,
are sometimes overtaken by the tide, and when escape be-
comes impossible they roll themselves up in a circular form,
as is common with others of the tribe, and abandon them-
selves 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 appeared to others at a considerable distance.
From the marshes about Cambridge they were once, it is
said, driven in great numbers by a high tide and strong wind
upon Boston Neck, near to Roxbury line. Thence they seem
to have migi'ated to the eastern side of the Neck, and, follow-
ing 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 insects do
not seem ever entirely to have disappeared from places where
they have once established themselves, they do not prevail
every year in the same overwhelming swarms ; but their
numbers 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 gi'ass 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 motlis themselves vary
45
354 LEPIDOPTF.RA.
in color. In the males (Plate VI. Fig. 0), 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-yelloAv, the former with a few black spots
near the hind margin, and the abdomen 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 (Plate VI.
Fig. 10) differs from the male either in having the hind Avings
white, instead of ochre-yellow, or in having all the wings
ashen-gray with the usual black spots. It expands two in-
ches 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 Avas adopted by me in my communi-
cation to the Agricultural Society. 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 caterpil-
lars, and to secure a fair crop of hay when these insects
abound, the marshes should be mowed early in Jul}-, at
which time the caterpillars 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 exent ; and if
the practice is followed generally, and continued during sev-
eral years in succession, it will do much towards extermi-
nating these destructive insects.
By the practice of late mowing, where the caterpillars
abound, a great loss in the crop will be sustained, immense
* The proper orthography i3 Acraa.
THE ISABELLA TIGER-MOTH. 355
numbers of caterpillars and grasshoppers will Le left to grow
to maturity and disperse upon the uplands, 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 conse-
quence of early mowing, the marshes should be burnt over in
March. The roots of the grass will not be injured by burn-
ing the stubble, on the contrary they will be fertilized by the
ashes ; while great numbers of young grasshoppers, cocoons
of caterpillars, and various kinds of destructive insects, with
their eggs, concealed in the stubble, will be destroyed by the
lire. In the Province of New Brunswick, the benefit arising
from burning the stubble lias 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 (Fig.
170) whose peculiar appearance
must frequently have excited at-
tention. It is very thickly clothed
with hairs, which are stiif, short,
and perfectly even at the ends, like
the bristles of a brush, as if they
had all been shorn oif with the shears to the same Icnfrth.
The hairs on the first four and last two rings are black ; and
those on the six intermediate rings of the body are tan-red.
The head and body of the caterpillar arc 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 elas-
ticity of the diverging hairs with which it is covered, it read-
ily slides from the fingers and hand of its captor. It eats
the leaves of the clover, dandelion, narrow-leaved plantain,
and of various other herbaceous plants, and on the approach
of winter creeps under stones, rails, or boards on the ground,
where it remains in a half-torpid state till spring. In April
856 LEPIDOPTERA.
or May it makes an oval Llackisli cocoon, composed chiefly
of the hairs of its body, and comes fortli in the moth state
in June or July.
My specimens remained in the chiysalis form five weeks;
but Mr. Abbot* states that a caterpillar of this kind, Avhich
made its cocoon in Georgia on the 24th of June, was trans-
foi-med to a moth on the 6th 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 antenna?, 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 Avings, 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, Avhicli
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 antennae
like those of the Isabella. Its wings are so thinly covered
with scales as to be almost transpar-
ent. It has not yet been described,
and it may be called the ruddle tiger-
moth, Arctia rubricosa (Fig. 171).
Its fore wings are reddish-brown,
with a small black spot near the
middle of each ; its hind wings are dusky, becoming blacker
behind (more rarely red, with a broad blackish border be-
hind), 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
i*ow of black dots on the top, and another row on each side.
It expands about one inch and one quarter. This moth is
* Insects of Geprgia, p. 131, pi. 66.
THE FALL WEB-WOEM. 357
rare ; and it appears here in July and August. It closely
resembles the ruby tiger-moth, Arctia fulicjinosa, 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
catei'pillar of our moth is unknown to me ; it will probably
be found to resemble that of the ruby tiger, which is black-
ish, and thickly covered with reddish-brown or reddish-gray
hairs. It eats the leaves of plantain, dock, and of various
other herbaceous 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
entirely 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 extending over entire branches with their leaves,
may be seen on our native elms, and also on apple and other
fruit trees, in the latter 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 cat-
erpillars immediately begin to provide a shelter for them-
selves 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
upper 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, reduced to this unseemly
condition by these little spoilers. These caterpillars (Plate
358 LEPIDOPTERA.
VII. Fig. 12, young caterpillar), 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 hap-
pen to lie in their course, till they have found suitable places
of shelter and concealment, where they make their thin and
almost transparent cocoons (Plate YII. Fig. 10 ; Fig. 11, pu-
pa), composed of a slight web of silk intermingled with a few
hairs. They remain in the cocoons in the chrysalis state
through the Avinter, 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 expand 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 scA^enth volume of the New England Farmer,
page So, where I gave it the name of Arctia textor, the weav-
er, from the well-knoAvn habits of its caterpillar. Should it
be found expedient to remove it from the genus Arctia^ I
propose 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, Arctia punctatissima^^ of Sir J.
[19 Arctia jmnctatissima is Spilosoma cunea Drury. — SIokris.]
THE MILK-WEED CATERTILLAR. 359
E. Smith, which is found in the Southern States, and agrees
with our Aveaver in habits. From the foregoing account of
the habits and transformations of the fall web-worm, or
Hyphantria iextor^^ it is evident 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 be-
ginning to make their webs on the trees. So soon, then, as
the webs begin to appear on the extremities of the branches,
they should be stripped off, Avith 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 haiiy caterpillars in Massachu-
setts, differing remarkably from those of the other Arctians,
and resembling in some respects
those belonging to the next tribe, >g * •
with Avhich they appear to con-
nect the true Arctians. The first
of these are little party-colored
tufted caterpillars (Fig. 172),
which may be found in great plenty on the common milk-
weed, Asclepias 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 cumber-
ers of the soil, yet the insects themselves are deserving of
notice, on account of their singularity, and the place that
they fill in the order to which they belong. They keep to-
gether 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 fore part of the
body and bend down the head, which is then completely con-
cealed by long overhanging 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 covered with short tufts of hairs
• _ [20 Hyphantria (extor is SpUosoma textor. — Morris.]
360 LEPIDOPTERA.
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 conceal the
black tufts between them ; below these, along the sides of the
body, is a row of horizontal black tufts ; on the first and
second 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 (Fig. 173), which mostly consist of
Fig. 1-3. Fig. 1-4. l^ai^s. The chrysalis (Fig. 174)
is short, almost egg-shaped, being
quite blunt and rounded at the
hind end, and is covered with lit-
tle punctures like those on the head of a thimble, only much
smaller. The chrysalids are transformed to moths between
the middle of June and the beginning of July. These moths,
though not so slender as the Callimorphas, are not so thick
and robust as the Arctias, their antennae 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 abdomen bright Indian-yellow, with
a row of black spots, and two rows on each side. It expands
from one inch and three quarters to nearly two inches. This
moth was figured and described many years ago by Drury,
who named it Egle. Though marked and colored like some
of the Arctias (for example, the luctifera of Europe), it
cannot with propriety be included in the same genus, and
therefore I have proposed to call it Euchcetes Egle; the first
THE HICKORY TUSSOCK-MOTH. 361
name, signifying fine-haired, or having a flowing mane, is
given to it on account of the long tuft of liairs overhanging
the fore part 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 evidently, in the caterpillar
state, nearly allied to the following insects, which are un-
doubtedly 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 (Plate VI. Fig. 1), 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, wdiile the other warts on the
body are round. The hairs on the fore part 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 Avhite,
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 fore part of the body ; and, if disturbed or han-
dled, 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 September, secrete them-
selves under stones and in the chinks of walls, and make
40
362 LEPIDOPTERA.
their cocoons (Plate VI. Fig. 2), which are oval, thin, and
.hairy, like 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
backAvards from the front edge, with three rows of white
semi-transparent spots parallel to the outer hind margin ; the
hind wings are very thin, semi-transparent, and withovit spots ;
and the shoulder-covers are edo;ed within Avith lio;ht brown.
They expand from one inch and seven eighths to two inches
and a quarter or more. The wings are roofed Avhen 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 loliger
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 Arcti-
ans ; for this reason I pro-
pose to call it Lophocayn-
pa~^ Caryce (Fig. 175) ; the
first name meaning crested
caterpillar, and the second
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 tus-
sock-moths ; we may name the one under consideration the
hickory tussock-moth.
In August and September I have seen on the black wal-
nut, the butternut, the ash, and even on the oak, caterpillars
exactly resembling the foregoing in shape, but differing in
[21 Lojjhocampa is Jlalesidota Walker. — Monuis.]
THE CHECKERED TUSSOCK-MOTH. 363
color, being covered, when young, Avith 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 blackisli ; the head
is black, the body black or greenish black above, and whit-
ish beneatli, and the legs are rust-yellow. This is evidently
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 yet succeeded in keeping these caterpillars alive until
they had finished their transformations.
In my collection are specimens of a moth closely resem-
bling the hickory tussock in everything except size and color.
It may be named Loj^hocampa tnacidata^ the spotted tussock-
moth. It is of a light ochre-yellow color, with large irregu-
lar 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 overhang-
ing the head and the hinder extremity ; the head was black ;
but the color of the body cannot be ascertained.
A fourth kind of Lophocam-pa^ or crested caterpillar, re-
mains to be described. It is very common, throughout
the United States, on the buttonwood or sycamore, upon
which it may be seen in great numbers in Jvily and August.
The tufts on those caterpillars are llglit 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
364 LEPIDOPTEEA.
pencils, of the same color, directed backwards, on tlie elev-
enth ring. The body is yellowish Avhite, wath 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 upper pair are
checkered with dusky spots, arranged so as to form five
irre<Tular transverse bands ; the hind edfre of the collar, and
the inner edges of the shoulder-covers, are greenish blue, and
between the latter are two short and narrow deep yellow
stripesv; the upper side of the abdomen and of the legs are
deep ochre-yellow. The wings expand about two inches.
The name of this beautiful and delicate moth is Lophocampa
tesseUaris, the checkered 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 caterpillar has been copied in the illus-
trations accompanying Cuvier's last edition of the " Regne
Animal," and is there referred to Latreille's genus Sericaria.
This includes, besides various other insects having no re-
semblance to the foregoing, the true tussock caterpillars be-
lono-ing to the next group ; but from these the caterpillars
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 retractile 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
ao'ree with the Arctians in beino; 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.
THE LIPARIANS. 365
when at rest, is almost exactly like that of some of the
Lithosians ; but tlie 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
Liparians (Liparid^*). 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 haiiy, and
for the most part are rather longer than those of the Arctians.
Their tongues are very short, and invisible or concealed.
Their antennae are short, and 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 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 Avarts which furnish them
being only six or eight f 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), Avhich 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 extending
forwards, like antennae, from the first ring, sometimes two
* From Liparis, more properly Liparus, the name of a genus of moths belong-
ing to this group. This name means fat or gross, and was probably assigned to
tlie genus on account of the thickness of the bodies of some of tliese moths.
t The Arctians have ten or more warts on each ring.
366 LEPIDOPTERA.
more pencils on tlie 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 Avith 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 injuri-
ous to vegetation, their caterpillars devouring the leaves of
fruit-trees, and not unfrequently extending their devastations
to the hediies, and even to the corn and n;i*^ss.* 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 shrubs, little slender caterpillars (Plato VII.
Fig. 1), 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 fovirth 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 cater-
pillars do not ordinarily herd together, but sometimes our
* Thesfl destructive kinds are the caterpillars of the brown-tailed moth {Por-
(kesia aurijlua), of the golden-tailed moth (Poiihesla chrysorrhan), of the gypsy-
moth (Ilypof/ymnadispnr), and of the black arches-moth {Psilura monacha). The
first of these abounded to such an extent in England, in the year 17S2, that
prayers were ordered to be read in all the churches, to avert the destnictioa
which was anticipated from them.
THE WHITE-MARKED ORGYIA. S67
apple-trccs are mucli infested by tliem, as was the ease in
the summer of 1828. In the summers of 1848, 1849, and
1850, they were very numerous on trees in Boston, both in
private yards and on the common, where the horse-chestnuts,
which seem ordinarily to escape the attacks of insects, were
ahnost entirely stripped of their leaves by these insects.
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 clusters 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 Avhite 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
(Plate YII. Figs. 2 and 3) 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 (Plate VII. Fig. 5), and cover them
with a large quantity of frothy matter, which on drying
becomes white and brittle. Different broods of these insects
appear at various times in the course of the summer, but
the greater number come to maturity and lay their eggs in
the latter j)art of August and the beginning of September,
and these eiro-s are not hatched till the following; summer.
The name of this moth is Orgyia * leucostigma (Plate VII.
* This name is derived from a word which signifies to stretch out the hands,
and it is applied to tliis Ivind of moth on account of its resting witli the fore legs
extended. The Germans call these moths streckfiissir/e Spinner ; the French, paUes
etendues; 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.
368 LEPIDOPTERA.
Fig. 4, male), tlie white-marked Orgyia or 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
orchard 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 covered a small patch of from one to two
hundred eggs, united together, as well as to the leaf, by a
gummy and silken fibre, peculiar 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 10th
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 re-
marks point out the nature and extent of the evil, and sug-
gest 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 possi-
bly its eggs may have been brought witli 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
* Vol. I. p. 52.
THE LASIOCAMPIANS. 369
are four short square binish-like yellow tufts ; the sides are
dusky and spotted with red ; there are two long Llack 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 arc 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 A^ery early
in summer, and not disappearing till late in November."
The cocoons resemble those of the white-marked vaporer
( Orgyia leucosiigma), and the females, after they have come
forth, never leave the outside of their cocoons, but lay their
eggs upon them and die there.
The next group may be called Lasiocampians (Lasiocam-
padje), after thfe principal genus f 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 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 distinctly arranged in
spreading clusters or tufts. These moths fly only by night,
and both sexes are winged. Their antennte generally bend
downwards near the middle, and upwards at the points, are
longer than those of the Liparians, but not so widely feath-
ered 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
* Vol. XIX. p. 62.
t To Lasiocampa belong the European moths called RuU, TrifoU'i, Quercm,
Boboria, Dumeti, &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.
47
370 LEPIDOPTERA.
often they are very short and small. The tongue, for the
most part, is invisible. Their Avings 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 cater-
pillars live on trees and shrubs, and some kinds herd together
in considerable numbers or swarms ; they make their cocoons
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
unpruned nurseries and neglected orchards of the slovenly
and improvident husbandman, and hang their many-coated
webs upon the wild cherry-trees that are suffered to spring
up unchecked by the wayside 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 (Plate VII. Fig. 1(3).* The
caterpillars 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, some-
what resembling a spider's web, 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 togeth-
er, the caterpillars remain concealed at all times when not
engaged in eating. In crawling from twig to twig and from
* A good figure of a cluster of these eggs may be seen in the Boston Cultiva/«
tor, Vol. X. No. 10, for March 4, 1848.
THE AMERICAN LACKEY-CATERPILLAR. 371
leaf to leaf, they spin from their moutlis a slender silken
thread, which is a clew to conduct them back to their tents ;
and as they go forth and return in files, one after another,
their jiathways 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 habitation. 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 diam-
eter of eight or ten inches. They come out together at
certain stated hours to eat, and all retire at once Avlien their
regular meals are finished ; during bad weather, however,
they fast, and do not venture from their shelter. These
caterpillars (Plate VII. Fig. 13) are of a kind called lackeys
in England, and livrees in France, from the party-colored
livery in which they appear. Wlien 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 Avhich, 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 Avavy 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 veiy 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 *
* Nemtrict -was the ancient nnme of Normandy, from whence this European
species was first introduced into England. Tlie Neustria caterpillar lias a bluish
head, on which, as also on the first ring, are two black dots; the back is tawny-
Ted, with a central white and two black lines from one end to the other; the sides
372' LEPIDOPTERA.
or the 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 cocoons (Plate VII. Fig. 15).
These are of a regular long oval form, composed of a thin
and very loosely Avoven 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 caterpillars, 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, excreted 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 fin-
ish their transformations by reason of weakness, especially
those remaining; 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 (Plate VII. Fig. 14 male. Fig. 17 female)
of our American lackey-caterpillar is of a rusty or reddish-
browji color, more or less mingled with gray on the middle
and base of the fore wings, which, besides, are crossed by
are blue, with a narrow red stripe; on the top of the eleventh ring is a little
blackish wart; and the belly is dusky.
* The caslrensis, or camp-caterpillar, has 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.
THE AMERICAN LACKEY-CATERPILLAR. 373
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 moth* 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 spe-
cies. Moreover, the caterpillar is very different from both
of the European lackeys ; and it does not 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 Clisiocamjja, or
tent-caterpillar, from its habits ; and I propose to distin-
guish it furthermore from its near allies by the name of
Americana, the American tent-caterpillar 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
country, afford an abundant and tempting supply of food
to the caterpillars, in the place of the native cherry-trees
that formerly, it Avould seem, sufficed for their nourishment.
These insects, because 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 caterjnl-
lars, 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
* A short but very accurate account of this insect may be found in the late
Professor Peck's " Natural Historj' of the Canker- Worm," printed at Boston,
among the papers of the Massachusetts Society for promoting Agriculture, in
the year 1796. Professor Peck seems to have been aware that it was not identical
with the Neustria, but he forbore to give it another scientific name. It is figured,
in its different forms, in Mr. Abbot's " Natural History of the Insects of Georgia,"
where it is named castrensis by Sir J. E. Smith, the editor of the work.
374 LEPIDOPTERA.
continued during the seven weeks of their life in the cater-
pillar form. The trees, in those orchards and gardens where
they have been suffered to breed for a succession of years,
become prematurely old, in consequence of the efforts they
are obliged to make to repair, at an unseasonable time, the
loss of their foliage, and are rendered unfruitful, and con-
sequently unprofitable. But this is not all ; these pernicious
insects spread in every direction, from the trees of the care-
less and indolent to those of their more careful and indus-
trious neighbors, whose labors are thereby greatly increased,
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 exterminate them, and indeed have done but little
to lessen their numbers, as, indeed, might be expected from
the tenor of the foregoing remarks. In order to be com-
pletely successful, they must he universally adopted. These
means comprehend both the destruction of the eggs and of
the caterpillars. The eggs are to 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 removed with the thumb-nail and forefinger. Nur-
series and the lower limbs of large trees may thus be entirely
cleared of the clusters of en-gs durino; a few visits made at
the proper season. 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 habitation, 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
THE TENT-CATERPILLAR. 375
dried mullein head and its stalk fastened to a pole, will be
useful to remove the nests, with the caterpillers 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
necessary into a pailful of refuse soapsuds, strong white wasli,
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 morning, at midday, or at night,
and as soon in the spring as the caterpillars 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 blos-
soms, and rich fruits of his orchard in their proper seasons.
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 and cherry-trees. According to Mr. Abbot, " it is
sometimes so plentiful in Virginia as to strip the oak-trees
bare " ; and I may add, that it occasionally proves very in-
jurious to orchards in Maine. It may be called Clisiocampa
silvatica, the tent-caterpillar of the forest (Plate VII. Fig.
19). With us it comes to its full size from the 10th to
the 20th of June, and then measures about two inches in
length. There are a few short 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 tne top of the first ring ; along the top of the back
is a row of eleven oval white spots, beginning on the second
376 LEPIDOPTERA.
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 strijoe bordered by
slender black lines ; and lower down on each side is another
stripe of a yellow color between two black lines ; the under
side of the body is blue-black. This kind of caterpillar lives
in communities of three or four hundred individuals, under
a common web or tent, which is made against the trunk or
beneath some of the principal branches 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 (Plate VII. Fig. 18) appear in six-
teen or twenty days afterwards. They are of a brownish
yellow or nankin color ; the hind Avings, except at base, are
light rusty-brown ; and on the fore Avings 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 Avhich in other individ-
uals intervenes between the oblique lines. The wings ex-
pand 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 Neustria of Europe, for
which Sir J. E. Smith* mistook it, or to the castrensis,
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, hanging from the sides of every ring ;
those on the first ring being much longer than the others,
* See Abbot's " Insects of Georgia," where it is figured.
W^-
V
DoTigal
THE AMERICAN LAPPET-MOTH. 377
which progressively decrease in size to the last. On the
fore part of the body one or two velvet-like and highly col-
ored 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 eat-
ing, 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 appen-
dages, hanging to their sides, they are called lappet-caterpil-
lars by English writers.
Twice I have found, on the apple-tree, in the month of
September, 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 fore part of the body there Avere 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 Avere 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 pro-
duced from it was supposed by Sir J. E. Smith * to be the
same as the European IlicifoUa,
or holly-leaved lappet-moth, from
which, however, it differs in so
many respects that I shall ven-
ture to give it another name. It
belongs to the genus Crastropa-
cha^ so called from the very
thick bodies of the moths ; and the present species may be
named Americana^ the American lappet-moth (Fig. 176).
* See Abbot's "Insects of Georgia," p. 101, pi. 61.
[22 Gastropacha Americana is G. occidentalia Walker. — Morris.]
48
378 LEPIDOPTERA.
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,
edged with zigzao; dark brown lines, and there are also two
or three short irregular brown lines running backwards from
the front edge of tlie fore wings, besides a minute pale cres-
cent, edged with dai'k 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 pow-
der, and that the moth came out in February. My speci-
mens, on the contrary, as above stated, were found on
apple-trees, made their cocoons in the autumn, and ap-
peared m the Avinged form in the early part of the following
summer.
The foregoing is the only American lappet-moth, with
notched wings, which
Fig. 177. . , ,
is known to me ; but
we have another much
larger one, with en-
tire wings. It is the
Velleda (Fig. 177) of
Stoll, so named after
a celebrated German
female, commemorated by the ancient historian Tacitus.
This moth has a very lai'ge, 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-
THE VELLEDA LAPPET-MOTH. 379
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 inter-
rupted 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 (Fig. 178, young ,,,,,,^,1!^^!/
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. Fes-
senden, Esq., who received it from Newburyport, from a
correspondent, by whom it was found on the 5th of August,
sticking so fast to the limb of an apple-tree, that at first
it was mistaken for a cankered spot on the bark.* It was
said to have measured tAvo 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." f This observing lady
states, that " when at rest the resemblance of its upper sur-
face 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.
* See " New England Farmer," Vol. VH. p. 83.
t Vol. XIX. pp. 62 and 63.
380 LEPIDOPTERA.
It was of a pale sea-green color above, marked with ash,
blended into white ; and beneath 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 persim-
mon ; 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. Fessenden 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, bor-
dered on all sides by a loose web, Avliich 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 15th of September, or
about forty days after the cocoon was spun.
The Chinese silk-worm and its moth, Bomhyx mori, the
Bombyx of the mulberry, should follow these insects in a
natural arrangement; for the former is slightly hairy when
first hatched 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, how-
ever, does not belong to the svibject 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
* Insects of Georgia, p. 103, pi. 52.
THE SATURNIANS. 381
Saturnians (Saturxiad^), from Saturnia, the name of a
genus included in this group. The caterpilhirs are naked,
are generally short, thick, and clumsy, cylindrical, but fre-
quently hunched on the back of each ring, especially when
at rest, and are furnished Avith a few Avarts, 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 Avhich 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 Avhicli 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, Avliere they cover themselves with
leaves or grains of earth stuck together Avitli a little gummy
matter. The escape of the moth from its cocoon is rendered
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 Avitli 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 antenme 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 feel-
ers are extremely short and rarely visible. The Avings are
generally spread out AAdien at rest, so as to display both pairs,
and they are held either horizontally, or more or less elevated
above the body ; a A^ery fcAv, however, turn the fore wings
back, so as to cover the hind Avings and the body in repose.
There are no bristles and hooks to keep the fore hind Avings
together. In the middle of each Aving there is generally a
conspicuous spot of a different color from the rest of the
surface, often like the eye-spot on peacocks' feathers, some-
times Avith a transparent space like talc or isinglass in the
382 LEPIDOPTERA.
middle, and sometimes kidney-shaped and opaque. These
moths commonly fly towards the close of the day, and in the
evening twilight. Their eggs are very numerous, amount-
ins; to several hundreds from a single individual.
Although the injuries committed by the caterpillars of the
Saturnians are by no means very great, the magnitude and
beauty of the moths render them very conspicuous and wor-
thy of notice. The largest kinds belong to that division of
the Bombyces called Attacus by Linmeus. They are dis-
tinguished 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. Pre-
eminent above all our moths in queenly beauty is the Atta-
cus Luna (Fig. 179), or Luna moth, its specific name being
the same as that given by the Romans to the moon, poetically
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
antennas 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 the rings, by transverse lines of
THE LUNA MOTH.
383
384 T.EPIDOPTERA.
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 measur-
ing, 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 (Fig. 180),
about one inch and three quarters
long, and immediately afterwards
changes to a chrysalis. The co-
coons 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,
mav 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 lower-
most 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 downwards,
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 ATTACUS CECROPIA. 385
the winter, and the moths come out in the month of Jinie
following. Notwiihstandijig tlie great similarity of the cater-
pillar and its cocoon to those of the Luna, the moth is en-
tirely different. Its hind wings are not tailed, but are cut
off almost square at the corners. It is of a dull ochre-yel-
low 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 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 strijie, which also crosses the fore part
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 (Fig. 181), the name of one of
the giants in mythology.
Attacus Cccropia* (Fig. 182) is a still larger insect, ex-
panding 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 opaque kidney-shaped dull red spot,
havins; a white centre and a narrow black edsins ; and be-
yond the spot a wavy dull red band, bordered 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 cres-
cent ; the upper side of the body and the legs are dull red ;
the fore part of the thorax and the hinder edges of the
rings of the abdomen are white ; and the bc'lly is checkered
with red and white. This moth makes its appearance dur-
ing the month of June. The caterpillar (Fig. 183) is
* Cecropia was the ancient name of the city of Athens ; its application, by
LinnsEus, to tliis moth is inexplicable.
49
a86
LEPIDOPTERA.
THE ATTACUS CECROPIA.
38T
388
LEPIDOPTERA.
found on apple, cheny, and plum trees, and on currant and
barberry bushes in July and August. When young it is
of a deep yellow color, '*vith rows of minute black warts on
its back. It comes to its full size by the first of September,
Fig. 183.
and then measures three inches or more in length, and is
thicker than a man's thumb. It is then 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 four-
teen 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 longitudinal rows of
long light blue warts, bristled at the end, and an additional
short row, below them, along the first five rings. This cat-
erpillar does not bear confinement well ; but it may be seen
spinning its cocoon, early in September, on the twigs of the
trees or bushes on which it lives. The cocoon (Fig. 184,
Fig. 184.
Fig. 185, pupa) is fastened longitudinally to the side of a
twig. It is, on an average, three inches long, and one inch
THE ATTACUS CECROPIA. 389
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 thick- '^'
ness ; 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
tlie 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 provided 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 else-
where, 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 twio-
to the distance of half an inch or more on each side of the
Jeaf-stalk, and is thence carried downwards 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 cater-
pillar ; but the outer coat is not loose and wrinkled, and the
space between the outer and inner coats is small, and docs
not contain much floss silk. So strong is the coatino; of silk
that surrounds the leaf-stalk, and connects the cocoon witli
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..
390
LEPIDOPTERA.
Cocoons of the same kind are sometimes found suspended
to the twigs of the Avild 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
toirether on one twifj, were once brouo-ht to me, and a male
and a female moth were produced from these twin cocoons
in July, the usual time for these insects to leave their winter
quarters. Drury called this kind of moth Promeiliea, a
mistake probably for Prometheus* the name of one of the
Titans, all of whom were fabled to be of gigantic size. The
color of Aitacus PrometUea differs according to the sex.
The male (Fig. 18G) is of a deep smoky brown color on the
Fig. 186.
upper side, and the female (Fig. 187) light reddish brown ;
in both, the wings are crossed by a waA'y 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 angular reddish-white spot, edged Avith black ;
these angular spots are visible on the under side of the wmgs
* Atlas 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.
THE ATTACUS PROMETHEA.
391
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 Au-
gust. 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
diameter. 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
Fig. 187.
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 instinctively
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
392 LEPIDOPTERA.
over the edges to form a hollow, within which its cocoon
is concealed.
The Luna, Folyphemus, Cecropia, and Promethea moths
are the only native insects belonging to the genus Attacus
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
fi'om the cocoons of the tusseh and arrindy silk-worms, the
durability of which is such, that a gamient 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 influ-
ence of the weather, last many years." The method em-
ployed by the inhabitants of India for unwinding the cocoons
of their native silk-worms would probably apply equally
well to those of our country, 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 Avash like
linen. The Rev. Samuel PuUein was among the first to
attempt to unwind the cocoons of the Cecropia moth, an
account of which is contained in the " Philosophical Trans-
actions of the Royal Society of London," for the year 1759.*
Mr. Pullein ascertained tl.at twenty threads of this silk
twisted together would sustain nearly an ounce more in
w^eight chan the same number of common silk. Mr. Moses
Bartram, of Philadelphia, in the year 1707, succeeded in
bringing i;p the caterpillars from the eggs of the Cecropia
moth, and obtained several cocoons from them.f In the
Paris " Journal des Debats," of the 2Sd of July, 1840, is
an account of the complete success of Mr. Audouin in
* Vol. LT. p. 54.
t See " Tnmsactions of the American Philosophical Society of Philadelphia,"
Vol. I. p 294.
THE SATURNIA 10. 393
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 hear confine-
ment well, and is not ^o good a suhject 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 following circumstances seem particularly to rec-
ommend these indigenous 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 in breeding the in-
sects, and in the manufacture of their silk.
Two more moths, belonging to the family undor consid-
eration, are found in Massachusetts. They may be referred
to the genus Saturnia,* and are distinguished from the fore-
going by their antennae, which are widely fjatliered only
in the males, the feathering being very narrow in the other
sex ; their caterpillars, moreover, are furnished with small
warts crowned with long prickles or branching spines. None
of the caterpillars described in the preceding pages are ven-
omous ; 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 appear
by the middle of June, and p. ^gg
other broods continue to be
hatched till the middle of July.
These caterpillars (Fig. 183)
live on the balsam poplar and
* The surname of Juno, the daughter of Saturn.
60
394 LEPIDOPTERA.
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 branch-
ing 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 each ring, beginning with the fourth. The
prickles are exceedingly sharp, sting very severely when
the insect is handled, and produce the same kind of irrita-
tion 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 Tegular files, like the
processionary caterpillars (^LasiocamjM processioned) of Eu-
rope, 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 contin-
ually widening behind, like a flock of wild geese on the
wing, but in perfectly regular order. 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 meas-
ure two inches and a half or more in length. At tliis 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 (Fig. 189), of very gummy brown silk,
THE SATURNIA 10.
395
Fig. 190.
that has almost the texture of thin parchment. As soon
as their cocoons are finished, the „. ,„„
' Iflg. 189.
insects are changed to chrysalids
(Fig. 190), in which form they re-
main throughout the winter, and
in the followino; summer, durino; 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 lo* 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 under wings extending a
little beyond that of the upper wings, and cui'ving upwards.
The two sexes differ both in color and size. The male
(Fig. 191), which is the smallest, is of a deep or Indian
Fig. 191.
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 purplish red color ; the hind wings
are broadly bordered with purplish 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
* 7o, 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.
396
LEPIDOPTEKA.
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 (Fig. 192) are purple-brown, min-
Fig. 192.
gled with gray ; the zigzag and Avavy lines across them are
gray, and the lettered space in the middle is replaced by
a brown spot surrounded by an irregular gray line ; the
hind wings resemble those of the male in color and mark-
ings ; the thorax and legs are purple-brown ; and the abdo-
men is ochre-yellow, with a narrow purple-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 Satu7'nia, inhabiting Massachusetts, is the Maia*
(Fig. 193) of Drury, or ProserpinaY of Fabricius. The
Fig. 193.
moth probably rests with its wings closed, like the lo moth,
* Maia, in mj'thology, was one of the seven daughters of Ailns ; they were
placed in the heavens after death, and formed the constellation called Pleiades.
t Froaerjrina was the wife of Pluto, the god of the infernal regions.
THE SATURNIA MAIA. 397
the fore 'wings covering the other pair, the front edge of
which seems formed to extend a httle beyond that of the
fore Avings 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 yel-
low hairs on the fore part, 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.
Saturnia 3Iaia seems to be a very rare moth in Massachu-
setts ; I have never met Avith 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 tlie caterpillar I have
seen only one specimen, which was found, fully grown, on
an oak, towards the end of September ; it was destroyed,
however, before I had an opportunity of making a descrip-
tion 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 rinn;s there are six lono; 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
* Insects of Georgia, p. 99, pi. 50.
398 LEPIDOPTERA.
handled ; and that they go into the ground to transform ;
but he does not inform us whether they make cocoons.
Probably their cocoons are hke those of the lo moth, com-
posed 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
Saturnians which have been discovered east of the Missis-
sippi, and they are commonly met with throughout the
United States.* The last of them, together with some for-
eign species, such as the Tau moth of Europe, seem nat-
urally to conduct to the next family, which I call Cerato-
campians (Ceratocampad.e), after the name of the chief
genus contained in it. This name, moreover, signifying
horned caterpillar, serves to point out the principal pecu-
liarity of the caterpillars in this group ; they being armed
* Mr. Audubon has figured two more, apparently sexes or varieties of one
species, in the fourth volume of his magnificent "Birds of America," pi. 859;
but has not named or described them. He informs nie that thej' were taken by
Mr. Nuttall 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 exam-
ining and describing this fine insect has been granted to me.
Though differing somewhat from the other species of Saturnia, it approaches
so near to the Maia that I shall not venture to separate it from this genus, espe-
cially as the caterpillar and its habits are unknown. It may be called Saturnia
Htra: 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
opaque. 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 yellow 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 are marked
with broad black lines; and there is a short black line at the base of the fore
wings; the head, fore part 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 edges. The kidney-shaped
spots on the fore wings have a verj' slender central yellow crescent, and those on
the hind Avings touch the external black band. The wings expand three inches.
The other moth, figured on the same plate in Mr. Audubon's work, which is
probably the female of the preceding, apparently differs from it only in being of
a deep Indian-yellow color, and in having the crescent in the middle of the kid-
ney-shaped spots very distinct, whereas in the male it is almost obsolete.
THE BEGAL WALNUT-MOTH. 399
with tliorny 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 transforma-
tions 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 fore-
going by their antennse, 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 feath-
ered nor tootlied. The feelers (except 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, extends
a little beyond that of the fore wings. These are some of
the principal characters on which I have ventured to estab-
lish this family, which is now, for the first time, pointed out
as a peculiar group. I believe that it is exclusively Ameri-
can.
One of the largest and most rare, and withal the most
magnificent of our moths, is the Ceratocamjpa regalia (Fig.
194), or regal walnut-moth. Its fore wings are olive-col-
ored, adorned with several yellow spots, and veined with
broad red lines ; the hind wings are orange-red, with two
large irregular yellow patches before, and a row of wedge-
shaped olive-colored spots between the veins behind ; 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
400 LEPIDOPTERA.
same family, the feelers in this are distinct, cylindrical, and
prominent, and the front edge of the hind wings does not
seem to be formed to extend beyond that of the other pair
when the wings are closed. It expands from five to six
Fig. 194.
inches. In the year 1828, I found three of the eggs of this
fine insect on the black walnut on the 20th of July and
the 4th 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 fore part of their body was armed. They
were not stretched out in a straight line, neither were they
hunched up like the caterpillars of the Luna and Polyphe-
mus moths ; but, when at rest, they bent the fore part of
the body sideways, 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 yelloAV thorns
or spines, which were furnished on all sides with little sharp
points like short branches. Of these branched spines, two
THK REGAL WALNUT-MOTH. 401
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 drop-
ping 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 fore part 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 lightei'-
colored, and gradually changes to green ; the knobs on the
long spines disappear, their little points or branches do not
increase in size, and finally these spines become curved, turn-
ing backwards at their points, and resemble horns. When
fully grown, the caterpillar (Fig. 195} measures from four to
Fig. 195.
five inches in length, and about three quarters of an inch
in diameter. It is of a green color, and transversely 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 fore
part of the body ai«e orange-colored, with the tips and the
points surrounding them black; the other spines are short and
black. Notwithstanding the great size, formidable appear-
ance, and menacing motions of this insect, when handled it
is perfectly harmless, and unable to sting or wound Avith its
frightful horns. It 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
51
402 LEPIDOPTERA.
without previously making a cocoon. Unfortunately my
caterpillars died before the time for their transformation
arrived. The chrysalis is short and thick; obtuse behind,
but terminated by two minute points ; and the transverse
notched ridges or little teeth that are found on the chrysa-
lids of the other insects belonging to the same family, are
very small and hardly visible on this one. The insect re-
mains 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 belonging 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 JDryocam'pa should be
placed a noble moth, which partakes, in some respects, of
the characters of both ; its horned caterpillar, jiarticularly
while young, when its horns are proportionally longer and
more formidable in appearance than afterwards, resembles
somewhat that of the Ceratocampa ; 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 wdngs when at rest, and
its style of coloring is the same. In my Catalogue of the
Insects of Massachusetts, I placed this moth, the impcria-
lis of Drury, in the genus Ceratocampa^ from which, how-
ever, it must be removed, on account of its very small
feelers, and the position of its wings ; and I noAV 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 imperialis
(Fig. 196), has wings of a fine yellow color, thickly sprin-
kled with purple-brown dots, with a large patch at the base,
a small round spot near the middle, and a wavy band to-
wards the hinder margin of each wing, of a light purple-
THE IMPERIAL MOTH.
403
404 LEPIDOPTERA.
brown color ; in the males there is another purple-brown
spot, covering nearly the whole of the outer hind margin of
the fore Avings, and united to the band near that part ; the
body is yellow, shaded Avith purple-brown on the back, and
with three spots of the same color on the thorax. It ex-
pands 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
triangidar yellow spot contiguous to the front margin of each
wing. This moth appears here from the 12th of June to
the beginning of July, and then lays its eggs on the button-
wood tree.
The caterpillars (Fig. 197) may be found upon this tree,
grown to their full size, between the 20th 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 OA'er 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, covered 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 triangu-
lar pieces on the posterior extremity of the body are brown,
with yellow margins, 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
THE SENATORIAL DRYOCAMPA. 405
anterior extremity, ends behind with a long forked spine,
and is suri'oundod, on each I'ing, 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 fore part
of its body just before the moth makes its escape.
Dryocamjja^ oak or forest caterpillar, is a name originally
applied by me to certain insects, found sometimes in great
numbers on oak-trees, which then suffer very severely from
their ravages. Of these catei"pillars 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 from 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
long, slender, and threadlike, but not flexible, and project
in the manner of horns. j,. ^gg
The most common of these
caterpillars (Fig. 198) 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,
proceed downwards, devouring every leaf, to the midrib and
foot-stalk, from one end of the branch to the other. They
406 LEPIDOPTERA.
have their regular times for eating and for rest, and when
they have finished their meals, they cluster closely together
along the twigs and branches. If disturbed, they raise the
fore part 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 Sep-
tember, they crawl down the trees and go into the ground,
to the depth of four or five inches, where they are changed
J,, jgg to chrysalids (Fig. 199). These re-
semble the chiysalids 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 sur-
face 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. Dry-
ocampa senatoria
(Fig. 200), the
senatorial Dryo-
campa, 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 Massachu-
setts, but they are all rare in this State. The largest of
THE CLEAR-WINGiDRYOCAMPA. 407
them is the stigma of Fabricius, or spotted-wing Dryocampa.
It is of a reddish ochre or deep tawny yellow color ; the
foi'e wings are tinged Avith purplish red behind, are thickly
sprinkled with blackish dots, have a small round white spot
near the middle, and a narrow oblique purple-red band be-
hind ; the hind wings have a narrow transverse purple 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 rather smaller, and is a more delicate moth. The color
of its body is ochre-yellow ; the fore M-ings 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 sti'ipo ; the
wings of the female are purplish red, blended with ochre-
yelloAv, 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 distinguishing
name, given by Sir J. E. Smith, f 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 25th of September. It was about the size
of that of the senatorial Dryocampa, and resembled it in
everything but color. Its head was rust-yellow, its body
pea-green, shaded on the back and sides with red, longitudi-
nally striped with very pale yellowish green, and armed with
black thorns.
• Insects of Georgia, p. Ill, pi. 56. t Ibid., p. 115, pi. 58.
408 LEPIDOPTERA.
The last of these insects is the ruhicunda (Fig. 201) of
Fabricius, or rosy Dryocampa. This delicate and A^ery rare
moth is found in Massachusetts in July. Its fore wings
are rose-colored, crossed by
201.
a broad pale-yellow band ;
the hind wings are pale yel-
low, with a short rosy band
behind the middle ; the body
is yellow ; the belly and
leiTS are rose-colored. It
expands rather more than one inch and three quarters. The
caterpillar is unknown to me.*
All the Moth caterpillars thus far described in this work
hve more or less exposed to view, and devour the leaves of
plants ; but there are others that are concealed from obsei'va-
tion in stems and roots, which they pierce in various direc-
tions, and devour only the wood and pith ; their habits, in
this respect, being exactly like those of the ^gerians among
the Sphinges. These insects belong to a family of Bomby-
ces, by some naturalists called Zeuzerad^, and by others
Hepialid^, 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 Cerato-
* 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 bicolo?; the two-colored, or graj' and red, Dryocampa. The
upper side of the fore wings and the under side of the hind wings are brownish
gray, sprinkled with black dots, and with a small round white spot near the
middle, and a naiTow 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 seea.
THE HOP-VINE HEPIOLUS. 409
campians, are provided with notched transverse ridges on the
rings, by means of which thej push themselves out of their
holes when ready to be transformed. The moths differ a
good deal from eacli other, although the appearance and
habits of the caterpillars are so much alike. The antennae
in some are thread-like, or made up of nearly cylindrical
joints put together like a string of beads ; in others they are
more tapering, and doubly pectinated or toothed on the
under side, at least in the males ; and in Zeuzera, a kind of
moth not hitherto found in this country, the antennoe resem-
ble 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 nu-
merous A^eins. The female is provided with a kind of tube
at the end of the body, that can be drawn in and oat, 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 Hepiolus Immuli^
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, and by
means of them it finally works its way out of the cocoon and
rises to the surface of the earth ; this being done, the includ-
ed moth bursts its chrysalis shell, and comes forth into the
open air. In moths of this kind (genus Hejnolas) the an-
tennEB are very short, slender, almost thread-like, and not
feathered or pectinated ; the tongue is wanting or invisible ;
and the feelers are excessively small, and concealed in a tuft
of hairs.
52
410 LEPIDOPTERA.
The hop-vine Hepiolus has not yet been detected in Mas-
sachusetts ; but we have a much larger species, known to
me only in the moth state, which is the reason of my hav-
ing given the foregoing account of the preparatoiy stages
of a European species. This moth does not appear to have
been described. It is named in my Catalogue of the In-
sects of Massachusetts, Hepiolus argenteo-maculatus (Fig.
202), the silver-spotted Hepiolus. Its body and wings are
Fig. 202.
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.
A much larger specimen Avas found by Professor Agassiz
near Lake Superior.*
The locust-tree, Rohinia pseudacacia, is preyed upon by
three different kinds of wood-eaters or borers, whose un-
checked ravages 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 cater-
pillar, 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
* See a figure of it in his " Lake Superior," pi. 7, fig. 6.
THE LOCUST-TREE BORERS. 411
by the caterpillar, are weaker than the rest of the stem,
which therefore easily breaks off at these places. My at-
tempts to complete the history of this insect have not been
successful hitherto.
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 Cli/tus jnctus, the paint-
ed Clytus, already described on a preceding page of this
work.
The third of the wood-eaters to which the locust-tree is
exposed, though less common than the others, and not so
universally destructive to the tree as the painted Clytus, is a
very much larger borer, and is occasionally productive of great
injury, especially to full-grown and old trees, for which it
appears to have a preference. It is a trae caterpillar (Fig.
203), belonging to the tribe of moths under consideration,
Fig. 203.
is reddish above, and white beneath, with the head and top
of the first ring brown and shelly, and there are a few short
hairs arising from minute warts thinly scattered over the
surface of the body. When fully grown, 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 downwards through the solid wood, enlarging
the holes as they increase in size, and continuing them
through the bark to the outside of the trunk. Before trans-
forming, 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 Avhich they
assume the chrysalis form. The chrysalis (Fig. 204) meas-
412 LEPIDOPTERA.
ures one inch and a half or two inches in length, is of an
amber color, chanfrino- to brown
^'_ _ on the fore part of the body ;
and on the upper side of each
abdominal ring are two trans-
verse rows of tooth-like projec-
tions. By the help of these, the insect, when ready for its
last transformation, works its way to the mouth of its bur-
row, where it remains while the chrysalis skin is rent, upon
which it comes forth on the trunk of the ti-ee a Avinged
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 another 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 Rohinice^
the Cossus of the locust-tree, scientifically called Rohinia.
It is supposed by Professor Peck to remain three years in
the caterpillar state. The moth comes forth about the mid-
dle of Jvily. The same insect, or one not to be distin-
guished from it while a caterpillar, perforates the trunks of
the red oak. Mr. Newman f has recently given the name
of Xyleutea, 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
Cossus J by Linnaeus, will now be the Xyleutes Cossus ;
and our indigenous species will be the Xyleutes Robinice
* See " Massachusetts Agricultural Repository and Journal," Vol. V., p. 6T,
with a plate.
t See '■Entomological Magazine," Vol. V., p. 129.
X Subsequently named Cossus Ugniperda by Fabricius.
THE LOCUST-TREE CARPENTER-MOTH.
413
(Fig. 205), 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 antennae, which
Fig. 205.
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 less 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 outside 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
414 LEPIDOPTERA.
provided with numerous minute clinging hooks. When they
are about to change their forms, their cases serve them in-
stead of cocoons ; they fasten them by silken threads to
the plant on which they live, stop up the holes in them, and
then throw off their caterpillar-skins. The chrysalids are
remarkably blunt at the hinder extremity, and are provided
with transverse rows of minute teeth on the back of the ab-
dominal 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 calkd Psychad^e, the Psy-
chians, from Psijche, a genus belonging to it. Tlie Germans
give these insects a more characteristic name, that of Sack-
i7-(i(/er* that is, sack-bearers, and Hiibner called them Cane-
2)horce^ or basket-carriers, because the cases of some of them
are made of little sticks somewhat like a Avicker 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 antennge and legs are very short. The male Psyche
resembles somewhat the same sex of Orgyia^ having pretty
broad wings, and antennae that are doubly feathered on the
under side ; it has also a bristle and hook to hold the wings
together. The cases of Oiketicus,f another and much larger
kind of sack-bearer, inhabiting the West Indies and South
America, are covered Avith 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
* See Germar's " JIagazin der Entomologie," Vol. I. p. 19.
t This name ought to be CEcet litis. See Mr. puilduig's description of the
hisect in the " Transactions of the Linnoean Societj'," Vol. XV.
MELSHEIMER'S SACK-BEARER. 415
bits of sticks, about a quarter of an inch long, an'anged
transversely, and the cases were hung by a thick silken loop
or rlno; to a twio; : the lower end of these cases was filled
Avith a large quantity of loose and very soft brownish floss-
silk, which completely closed the orifice within. The male
Oikeiicus resembles a Zeuzera in the form and great lenn;th
of its body, in the shape of its wings, and in its antennae,
and in both the latter it resembles also the same sex of a
Dr^ocamjja, particvdarly in its antennae, 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, antennse, nor
legs, and is said to remain always within its cocoon. Some
years ago, a case or cocoon of an Oiketicus, which was found
on Long Island, was jiresented 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. In Philadelphia and the
vicinity, cases of a similar kind are very common on many
of the trees, particularly on the arbor-vitte, larch, and hem-
lock, which are often very much injured by the insects in-
habiting them. These are there popularly called drop-worms
and basket-worms.
We have in Massachusetts another sack-bearer, which
does not appear to have been described, and diifers so much
both from Psyche and Oiketicus, when arrived at maturity,
as to induce me to give it another generical name. I there-
fore call it Perophora Jlelsheimerii* Melsheimer's sack-bearer
(Plate VI. Fig. 5). A case of this insect, containing a
living caterpillar, Avas brought to me towards the end of
September, by a student of Harvard College, Mr. H. O.
White, who found it on an oak-tree in Cambridge. This
case (Plate VI. Fig. 4) was nearly an inch and a half long,
* 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.
416 LEPIDOPTERA.
and about half an inch in diameter. It was not regularl)?
oval, but somewhat flattened on its lower side. It consisted
externally of two oblong oval pieces of a leaf, fastened to-
gether 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 (Fig. 206) was
^^^' '^^ ' cylindrical, about as thick as a common
^H^^^H^ pipe-stem, of a light reddish-brown color
^■^^M^l^ with a paler line along the back ; it was
^njr 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 feelei's, which the insect extended and drew in at
pleasure, and which, when they were out, were kept in con-
tinual motion. On each side of the middle of tlie head,
there was a black and flexible kind of antenna, very slender
where it joined the head, and broader towards 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 visi-
ble, 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 dono
eating, it moored its case to a leaf by a few silken threads
MELSHEIMER'S SACK-BEARER. 41T
fastened to one, and sometimes to botli 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 clinor 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 caterpillar 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 chrysalids 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 immedi-
ately 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 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 m.oderate size, cylindrical,
blunt-pointed, and thickly covered with scales. The tongue
is not visible. Their antennae 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 feath-
ery fringe is suddenly narrowed, and tapers thence to the
tip ; in the females (Plate VI. Fig. 5) the antennae are also
53
418 LEPIDOPTERA.
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 sloping 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 pos-
terior 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 blackish 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 eigliths to two inches, or a little more.
The last family of the Bombyces remaining to be noticed
may be called Notodontians (NoTODOXTADiE). Many of the
caterpillars belonging to it have hunched backs, or tooth-like
prominences on the back ; and hence the origin of the name
of this family, 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 clus-
ters 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 form a forked
appendage or tail to the hinder part of the body. Hence
such caterpillars are often described as having only fourteen
legs, although the wanting members really exist in a modified
form. Moreover, tlie caterpillars of some of the Notodon-
tians seem to be without legs, and even on close examination
only the soles of the feet can be perceived. The Notodon-
tians are found chief! v on trees and shrubs, the leaves of
THE LIMACODES. 419
which they eat. "When about to be transformed, the most
of them enclose themselves 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, semi-trans-
parent, and filmy cocoons under a covering of leaves ; some
merely cover themselves with grains of earth, held togethei
by silken threads ; and a very few go into the ground to
transform, without making cocoons. The chrysalids tapei
behind, and are not provided with transverse 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 antenuEe are rather long ;
those of the males are generally doubly feathered on the
under side ; but the feathery fringe is often very narrow
towards the tips, and in the females is always narrower
than in the other sex ; in a few of both sexes the antenn.-e
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 family, not the least remarkable are those which are
called LiMACODES, 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. Tlie
under side of the body is smeared with a sticky fluid, which
seems designed to render their footing more secure, and
leaves a slimy track wherever the insects go. Their co-
420 LEPIDOPTERA.
coons 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
Limacodes 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 Massa-
chusetts, 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 little hollowed, and the mid-
dle 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 un-
known to me.
The moth of a Limacodes, called Cippus * (Fig. 207) by
Sir J. E. Smith, is sometimes found
'^' '' in Massachusetts, from the middle of
July till the 10th of August. It is
of a reddish-brown color ; on each of
the fore winsis 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 tri-
angular green spots, the middle one of which is wanting
in some specimens. One half of the stalk of the antennae
of the male is doubly feathered beneath ; the remainder to
• Probably not the true CSppus of Fabricius, which is found in Surinam.
There is a figure of our species in Gu^rin's " Iconographie du Ri'gne Animal,"
where it. is named Limacodes DelpMnii, but for what reason I know not, for it
does not live on the Delphinium or larkspur.
THE HAG-MOTH.
421
Fig. 208.
the tip is bare. The antennae of the female are thread-Hke
and not fringed. The wings expand from one inch to one
inch and one eighth. The caterpillar figured by Mr. 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 fore part, two on the middle, and four
on the hind part of the body. Mr. Abbot says that it eats
the leaves of the dogwood QCornus 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 (Fig. 208),
having a very remote resemblance to the last,
has been found here on forest-trees, and oc-
casionally in considei'able numbers on cherry-
trees and apple-trees, from July to Septem-
ber. 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 fore part, 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 con^
finement well, and often dies before completing its trans-
formations. Dr. Melsheimer, to whom I am indebted for
one of the moths, informs me that the caterpillar eats the
leaves of the Avild cherry, as well as those of the white and
red oak, that it makes its cocoon (Fig.
209) 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 pithe-
cium, the meaning of which is a shriv-
elled and monkey-faced old woman, bestowed upon it prob-
Fig. 209.
Insects of Georgia, p. 145, pi. 73.
t Ibid., p. 147, pi. 74.
422 LEPIDOPTERA.
ably on account of the shrivelled appearance and dark color
of the caterpillar. In its winged state, Limacodes pithecium,
or the hag-moth, as it may be called, is of a dusky brown
color ; its fore wings are variegated with light yellowish
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 antennae, in
both sexes, are slender, almost thread-like, and not feath-
ered. 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 aiTest attention. Its body is naked, short, and
thick, tapers behind, and ends with a forked kind of tail,
which is held upwards at an obtuse 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 con-
cealed a long orange-colored thread, that the insect can push
out and draw in at pleasui-e. 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 triangular purple spot on the top of the fore part,
and a large diamond-shaped patch, of the same color, cov-
erino; the back and middle of the sides like a mantle, and
prolonged behind to the tail. When young, these caterpil-
lars have, on the top of the first ring, two little prickly
warts, which disappear after one or two changes of the skin.
When teased by being touched, or irritated by flies, the cat-
erpillar 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 intruder. When fully grown, it measures sometimes
THE FORK-TAIL MOTH. 423
an inch and a half in length, without including the terminal
fork. Caterpillars of this kind are called Cerura^ horned-
tail, hy some, and Dicranura^ forked-tail, by other natural-
ists. 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 trans-
formation 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
insect has been figured in Mr. Abbot's work,* where it is
called f areola^ a name, however, which belongs to an Euro-
pean insect. It is also represented in Gu(^rin's " Icono-
graphie," and in Griffith's translation of Cuvier's " Animal
Kingdom " ; and I have adopted the specific name given to
it by Dr. Boisduval in these Avorks. Cerura borealis, tha
northern Cerura, or fork-tail moth, like others of the genus,
has the antennae 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 interrupted 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 expand from
one inch and three eighths to one inch and three quarters.
The following insects, for the sake of convenience, may
be included in the old genus Notodonta. The first of them
* Insects of Georgia, p. 141, pi. 71.
424 LEPIDOPTERA.
is found in August and September on plum and apple trees,
and, according to Mr. Abbot,* on the red-berried alder,
Prinos verticillatus. The top of the fourth ring of this cat-
erpillar 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 the second and
third rings are green ; the rest of the body is brown, vari-
egated 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 caterpillars 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, resembling 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 summero There are probably
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 30th of May, and was transformed to a
moth fourteen days afterwards. This moth is the Notodonta
unicoryiis^ or unicorn moth, so called from the horn on the
back of the caterpillar. The fore wings are light brown,
variegated with patches of greenish 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 wdiitish,
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
* Insects of Georgia, p. 171, pi. 86.
THE RED-HUMPED CATERPILLAR. 425
entirely dusky ; the body is brownish, and there are two
narrow black bands across the fore part 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 partially 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 under 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, stripping whole
branches of their leaves, and not unfrequently despoiling
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 (Fig. 210), ^. ^^^^
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. AVhen first hatched they eat only the
substance of the under side of the leaf, leavins: the skin
of the upper side and all the veins untouched ; but as they
grow larger and stronger, they devour Avhole 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
54
426 LEPIDOPTERA.
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 de-
scend at one time, and disappear in the night. They con-
ceal 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 trans-
formed to moths towards the end of June or the beo;innins
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 afterwards. This Notodonta is a neat and trim
looking moth, and is hence called eoncinna (Plate VI. Fig.
11) 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 shoul-
ders, and several dark-brown longitudinal streaks on the
outer hind margin ; the hind wings of the male are brown-
ish 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.
Every person who has paid any attention to the cultiva-
tion of the grape-vine in this country must have observed
* Insects of Georgia, p. 169, pi. 85.
THE EUDRYAS GRATA. 427
upon it, besides the large sphinx caterpillars that devour
its leaves, a small blue caterpillar j.^ 211
(Fig. 211, and Plate VI. Fig. 7), _.^^^_^^^l^
transversely banded with deep orange fl|H99^^^^
across the middle of each ring, the W * •'' ^ *
bands being dotted with black, with the head and feet also
orange, the top of the eleventh ring somewhat bulging, and
the fore part of the body hunched up when the creatui'e is
at rest. These caterpillars begin to appear about the middle
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 more. 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, burying them-
selves three or four inches deep, and turn to chrysalids with-
out 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 25tli of June, and others con-
tinue to appear till the 20th 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 Eadryas grata* (Plate VI. Fig. 8), the first
word signifying beautiful wood-nymph, and the second agree-
able 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
* This insect is the Bombyx grata of Fabricius.
428 LEPIDOPTERA.
outer hind margin, of a deep purple-brown color; the band
is edged internally 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 yel-
low, 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 un-
der side with only a central black dot. The head 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 of the body, and the large mutF-
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 forward, like a
Cerura. It expands from one inch and a half to one inch
and three quarters.
Eudryas unto, of Hiibner, the pearl Eudryas, as its name
implies, is a somewhat smaller moth, closely resembling the
preceding, from which it differs in having the stripe and
band on its fore wings of a brighter purple-brown color, the
round and kidney-shaped spots contiguous to the former also
brown, the olive-colored 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 spe-
cies has been taken in Massachusetts, but it is rare, and the
caterpillar is unknown to me.
THE ATTENDANT PYGJ:RA. 429
In the remarks preceding the description of Notodonta con-
cinna, mention was made of two kinds of caterpillars, living
in great numbers on fruit-
trees in the latter part of
summer. The second kind
(Fig. 212) are now to be
described. They grow to a
greater size, are longer in coming to their growth, their
swarms are more numerous, and consequently they do much
more injury, than the red-humped kind. Entire branches
of the apple-trees are frequently 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 hundred together,
fastened to the under side of leaves near the ends of the
twigs. Some of them begin to be hatched about the 20th of
July, and new broods make their appearance in succession
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 con-
sume 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 skms.. 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 alternatino; with
four yellow stripes on each side. The posture of these cat-
erpillars, when at rest, is very odd ; both extremities are
raised, the body being bent, and resting only on the four
intermediate pairs of legs. If touched or otherwise dis-
turbed, they throw up their heads and tails with a jerk, at
430 LEPIDOPTERA.
the same time bending the body semicircularly till the two
extremities almost meet over the back. They all cat to-
gether, and, after they have done, arrange themselves side
by side along the twigs and branches which they have
stripped. Beginning at the ends of the branches, they eat
all the leaves successively from thence towards the trunk,
and if one branch does not afford food enough they betake
themselves to another. When ready to transfonn, all the
individuals of the same brood quit the tree at once, descend-
incr by night, and burrow into the ground to the depth of
three or four inches, and, within twenty-four hours after-
wards, 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 be-
cause the caterpillar sits with its tail raised up. The an-
tennae 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 netched ;
and the fore legs are stretched out before the body in re-
pose. Our Pygcera was named, by Drury, ministra, the
attendant or servant. (Plate VI. Fig. 6.) 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 trans-
verse brown lines. It expands from one inch and three
quarters to two inches and a half.
THE AMERICAN CLOSTERA. 431
I Imve 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 apple and cherry trees ; they were more hairy
than the latter, but their postures and habits appeared to be
the same. Whether they were all different species, or only
varieties of the ministra^ arising from difference of food, I
have not been able to ascertain.
The cultivation of the balsam and our other laro;e-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 others ; but we sometimes meet with noble speci-
mens 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 ornamental and
shade trees of hard wood ; but, unfortunately, they suffer
too often from insect depredators 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 lo moth, the fork-tailed Cerura, the
caterpillar of the herald-moth, and another kind of cater-
pillar now to be described, all which devour the leaves
of these trees. This last kind of cat-
erpillar (Fig. 213) 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 cylindrical, with two little black warts close to-
gether on the top of the fourth and of the eleventh rings.
432
LEPIDOPTERA.
Fig. 214.
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 stripe, also marked with
three black lines, on each side ; and the head, foi'e 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 (Fig.
214) made of a single leaf fold-
ed 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 in-
sects falls, and through the up-
per 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 car-
ried along by the caterpillars
in goins: 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 Sep-
tember 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, u-regular, silken webs, so loosely spun that the in-
THE AMERICAN CLOSTERA. 433
sects can be seen througli them ; but they are protected
by their situation, or by the dead leaves and other mattei's
under whicli they arc made. As soon as the cocoons are
finished, the insects become chrysalids
(Fig. 215), and remain quiet through '^'
the "winter ; and about the middle of
June, or somewhat later, they are trans-
formed to moths. They belong to the genus Clostera, or
spinner, so named on account of the spinning habits of the
caterpillars. The antennte are narrowly feathered or pec-
tinated 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. (Plate VI. Fig. 12.) It closely
resembles the European anastomosis^ from which, however,
it differs essentially in its caterpillar state, and the moth"
presents certain characters, which, on close comparison with
the European insect, will enable us to distinguish it from
the latter. It is of a brownish-gray color ; the fore wings
are faintly tinged with pale lilac, and more or less cloud-
ed with inist-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 distinct beneath than
above ; on the top of the thorax there is an oblong chestnut-
[ 28 This name cannot stand. It is the C inclusa, Hiibner, Zutr. Dr. Harris has
somewhere said that he had no opportunity of consulting Hiibner's worlvs, and
hence is not to be blamed for naming what he conceived to be a new species. ^
MOKBIS.]
55
434 LEPIDOPTERA.
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 cater-
pillars eat the leaves of the willow as well as those of the
poplar.*
2. Owlet-Moths. (JVoctuce.)
Our second tribe of moths, the Noctu^ of Linnceus, ap-
pears to have been thus named from Nbctua, 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 distinguished by the following characters.
The antennae are long and tapering, 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 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 cat-
erpillars 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
* See Phakena ancutomosis of Smith, in Abbot's " Insects of Georgia," p. 143,
pi. 72.
OWLET-MOTHS. 435
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 oi*
families, under which their peculiarities might be more dis-
tinctly pointed out. Unfortunately the history of most of
our moths is still imperfectly known ; and for this reason, as
well as on account of the length to which the foregoing 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 con-
fine my remarks to a few of the most injurious species in
each of the remaining tribes.
The injury done to vegetation by the caterpillars of the
Noctuas, 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 (Acrgnyctadje*), live exposed on the
leaves of trees and shrubs. They have sixteen legs, arc
cylindrical, and more or less hairy, some of them closely
resembUng 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 bristle-formed
antennae, 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 ■\|r near
* From Acronycta, a genus of moths appearing at nightfall, as the name implies.
436 LEPIDOPTERA.
the inner hind angle. Of those that want this character on
the fore wings, the lai'gest American species, known to me,
may be called Apatela Americana'-^ (Fig- 216), which has
been mistaken * for Apatela Aceris, the maple-moth of Eu-
rope. Its body and fore wings are light gray ; on the latter
216.
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 cat-
^'8- 217- erpillar (Fig. 217) eats
the leaves of the va-
rious kinds of maple,
and sometimes also
those of the elm, lin-
den, and chestnut. It
is one of the largest
kinds ; and, early in October, when it arrives at maturity,
[2* A. Americana is synonymous with Acronycta acericola Guen^e. — Morris.]
* See Phalcena Aceris, Smith, in Abbot's "Insects of Georgia," p. 185, pi. 03.
THE NONAGRIANS. 437
measures from one incli 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, growing immediately from the
skin ; on the top of the fourth ring there are two long, slen-
der, and erect tufts of black hairs, two more on the sixth
ring, and a single pencil on the eleventh ring.* While at
rest, it remains curled sidewise on a leaf. 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,
intermixed with the hairs of its body; under this it then
makes another and tougher pod of silk,
Fig. 218.
thickened with fragments of bark and wood,
and, when its work is done, changes to a
chrysalis (Fig. 218), in which state it re-
mains till the following summer.
The caterpillars of the Nonagrians (Nonagriad.^ f ) arc
naked, long, slender, and tapering at each end, smooth, and
generally of a faint reddish or greenish tint, with an oval,
dark-coloi*ed, horny spot^ 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
* Those naturalists who are familiar with the appearance of the European
caterpillar of Apatela Aceris will perceive the great and essential difference be-
tween it and that of our American Apattla^ 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 Pygcera.
Apatela signifies deceptive; and this name was probably given to the genus be-
cause the caterpillars appear in the dress of Arctians and Lipariaus, but produce
true owlet-moths or Xoctuas.
t From Nonagrin, the meaning of which is uncertain.
X These dark horny spots are found on the first ring of most of the caterpillars
that burrow in the stems of plants, or in the ground.
438 LEPIDOPTERA.
can easily bi'eak through afterwards. The chrysalids are
generally very long and cylindrical, and are blunt at the
extremities. 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 thick-
ened 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 depredations 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 re-
marks 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 destroying 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
upwaixls and downwards, by a slender worm-like caterpillar,
whose excrementitious castings surround the orifice of the
hole. This caterpillar gi'ows 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 CORN GORTYNA. 439
the first and of the last rings hlack, and witli a double row,
aci'oss each of the other rings, of small, smooth, slightly
elevated, shining black dots. With a magnify ing-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. Rus-
sell, both of whom have observed its ravages in the stems of
this favorite flower. It has also been found in the pith of the
elder, and the same species of moth was produced from it,
early in August, as from the spindle-worm of corn. The
chrysalis, which is lodged in the burrow formed by the cater-
pillar, 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 extrem-
ity 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 (Plate VII. Fig. 9), the corn Gortyna ; Zea
beino; the botanical name of Indian corn. The fore wincrs
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 yellowish 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, Avith 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 destroyed while in the caterpillar state. As soon as our
cornfields begin to show, by the withering of the leaves, the
* Gortyna, in ancient geography, was the name of a city in Crete, so called
from its founder.
440 LEPIDOPTERA.
usual signs that the enemy is at work in the stalks, the spin-
dle-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.
A wonn, or caterpillar, something like the spindle-worm,
has often been found by farmers in potato-stalks ; and the
potato-rot has sometimes been ascribed to its depredations.
On the 9th of July, 1848, one of these caterpillars was
brought to me in a potato-stalk from Watertown ; and on
the 5th of July, 1851, I found another within the stem of
the pig-weed, or Chenojjodmm. These
^'^' " ■ caterpillars (Fig. 219) were of a livid
g^^^0gg^0^gBi li^^f^r faintly striped with three whitish
^^^^^^^^^ lines along the back. Their transforma-
tions have not yet been observed.
The roots of the Columbine are attacked by another cater-
pillar 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, Avhich was found in July in the roots of a fine
double Columbine in my garden, 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 19th of August, and came out a moth on
the 24th of September. The moth closely resembles the
Crortyna flavago of Europe, but is sufficiently distinct from
•it. It may be called Gortyna leucostigma, 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 crescents
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
THE AGROTIDIANS. 441
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 winss
expand rather more than one inch and a half. I have what
appear to be varieties of this moth, expanding one inch and
three eighths, with three or four white dots around the kid-
ney-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 con-
founded 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
(Agrotidid^), 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
uften overlapping a little on their inner edges, thus favoring
5G
442 LEPIDOPTERA.
these insects in their attempts to obtain shelter and conceal-
ment. The thorax is slightly convex, but smooth or not
crested. The antennae 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 ai'e hatched early in the autumn, at which time the
little subterranean caterpillars live chiefly on the roots and
tender sprouts of herbaceous plants. On the approach of
winter they descend deeper into the ground, and, curling
themselves 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, taper-
ing a little at each end, rather thick in proportion to their
length, and are provided with sixteen legs. They are
changed to chrysalids in the ground, without previously
making silken cocoons. The most destructive kinds in Eu-
rope are the caterpillars of the corn rustic or winter dart-
moth (^Agrotis segetiim), the wheat dart-moth (^Agrotis tritici)^
the eagle-moth (^Agrotis aquilind), and the turf rustic or
antler-moth (^Charceas graminis*}. The first two attack
both the roots and leaves of winter Avheat ; the second also
destroys buckwheat, 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
devastations in meadows, and particularly in mountain pas-
tures.
* See Kollar's Treatise, pp. 94, 102, 166, and 136.
CUT-WORMS. 443
The liabits 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 destructive. 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 culinaiy
plants, suffer in the same Avay. 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 (Fig. 220) 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 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 caterpillars, of a dark ashen-gray color, with a
brown head, a blackish horny spot on the top of the first
and last rings, a pale stripe along the back, and several
minute black dots on each ring. They were soon changed
to chrysalids, of a shining mahogany-brown color ; and be-
tween the 20th of July and the 15th 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 to-
gether before their transformation.
The largest of these moths may be called Agrotis telifera,
the lance-rustic. It closely resembles Agrotis siiffusa, 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
444 - LEPIDOPTERA.
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 ordinary spots, together with a
third oval spot, which touches the anterior band ; these spots
are encircled with dark brown, and the kidney-spot bears a
dark brown lance-shaped mark on its hinder part ; the hind-
most 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 abdo-
men is gray. The wings expand two inches or more.
Another of these moths is the counterpart of the cequa 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 Agrotis inermis^ the unarmed
rustic-moth. The fore win<is are lio;ht brown, shaded in the
middle and towards the hinder margin with dusky brown ;
they are crossed by four more or less distinct, Avavy 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 (^Agrotis messoria), as it may be called,
is the representative of the corn-rustic (^Agrotis segetian') 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
broAvn behind, and have a small central crescent and the
veins dusky. The head and thorax are chinchiUa-gray ; tlie
THE CHECKERED RUSTIC. 445
collar is edged with black ; and the abdomen is light brown-
ish gray. It expands one inch and four tenths.
The smallest of these rustic moths may be called Agrotis
tessellata (Fig. 221), the checkered
rustic. It probably comes near to '"'
the ocellina and aquilina of Europe,
which, however, I have not seen.
The fore wings arc dark ash-colored,
and exhibit only a fanit trace of the
transverse double wavy bands ; the
two ordinary spots are largo 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 middle, and blackish behind. It ex-
pands 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 description given of the Phalcena Noctita devastator^ by
Mr. John P. Brace, in the fii'st volume of Professor Silli-
man's "American Journal of Science"; and may therefore
be called Agrotis devastator. It somewhat resembles Dr.
Boisduval's figures of the Agrotis latens of Europe. The
fore wings are of a dark ashen-gray color, with a lustre like
satin ; they are crossed by four narrow wavy Avhitish bands,
Avhich are edged on each side with black ; there is a trans-
verse 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 edged with black and Avhite, and there is a third spot, of
an oval shape and blackish color, near the middle of the
wing, and touching 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 common between the
446 LEPIDOPTERA.
10th of July and the middle of August. Like all the fore-
going 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 crev-
ices of buildings and bjneath the bark of trees, and is never
seen during the day ; about sunset 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 Agrotis^ 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-wonn. The following remarks
on this insect are extracted from his letters. " There are
several species of Agrotis, the larvas of which are injuri-
ous 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 devasta-
tions to no particular vegetables, all that are succulent 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 buck-
* American Journal of Science, Vol. 1. p. 154.
THE CLANDESTINE OWLET-MOTH. 447
wheat, 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 retu'e
before sunrise into the ground, or beneath stones or any
substance which can shelter them fi'om the rays of the sun ;
here they remani coik'd up during the day, except while
devouring the food which they generally drag into their
places of concealment. Their transformation to pupae oc-
curs at different periods, sometimes earlier, sometimes later,
accordinor to the forwardness of the season, but usually not
much later than the middle of July." " The moths, as
well as the larvse, 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
those spots are scarcely visible, but when the color is lighter
they are very obvious."
Since the foregoing was written, I have repeatedly ob-
tained the same moths from cut-worms here. The latter
seem, indeed, to be the most common kind ; but they differ
very little from the cut-worms already described. They
vary somewhat in color, as remarked by Dr. Melsheimer.
Young ones are always more or less distinctly marked above
with pale and dark stripes, and are unifonnly paler below.
The 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 Avavy bands
that are found in most species of Agrotis ; the two ordinary
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
448 LEPIDOPTERA.
collar, and the abdomen are chestnut-colored. It expands
one inch and three quarters. The wmgs, when shut, over-
lap on their inner edges, and cover the top of the back so
flatly and closely that these moths can get into very naiTow
crevices. During the day they lie hidden 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
exposed, and suddenly aroused from their daily slumber.
This 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 Ajjrotis and Crraphiphora
in some respects, and therefore I have thought it best to
leave it, for the present, in the old genus JVoctua, under the
specific name of clandestina, the clandestine owlet-moth.
4- Among the various remedies that have been proposed for
preventing the ravages of cut-worms in wheat and corn
fields, may be mentioned the soaking of the grain, before
planting, in copperas-water and other solutions supposed to
be disagreeable to the insects ; rolling the seed in lime or
ashes ; and mixing salt with the manure. These may pre-
vent wire-worms (^lali) and some insects from destroying
the seed ; but cut- worms prey only on the sprouts and young
stalks, and do not eat the seedsr Such stimulating applica-
tions 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 brino; them within reach
of insect-eating birds. But this seems to be. a doubtful rem-
edy, agamst which many objections have been urged.* i
* See Mr. Colman's Third Report of the Agriculture of Massachusetts, p. 62.
REMEDIES AGAINST CUT-WORMS. 449
The only effectual remedy at present known lias been
humorously described by Mr. Asahel Foote in the " Albany
Cultivator," and reprinted in the seventeenth volume of the
" New Eno-land Farmer." After havino; lost more than
a tenth part of the corn in his field, he " ordered his men
to prepare 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 va-
cancy in a piece of four acres." Mr. Foote's statement,
founded on an estimate of the time employed in digging
up and killiug 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 depreda-
tions of cut-worms in his garden by manuring the soil with
sea-mud. The plants generally escaped, thougli every one
was cut off in a spot of ground contiguous." He acknowl-
edges, however, that " the most effectual, and not a labo-
rious 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
roots 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
67
450 LEPIDOPTERA.
paper, winding it conically and firmly above the root, and
securing it by a low embankment of eai*th."^
In the summer of 1851, one of our agricultural news-
papers contained an account of certain naked caterpillars,
that came out of the ground in the night, and, crawling
up the trunks of fruit-trees, devoured the leaves, and re-
turned to conceal themselves in the ground before morning.*
Perhaps these depredators were the same as the following.
Roses, currant-bushes, and other shrubs, and even young
trees, often lose their tender shoots, by having them cut
off and devoured durino- the night. This is the work of
a naked caterpillar, which generally grows to a larger size
than the common cut-worm, and, like the latter, may be
found by digging at the root of the plant. One of these
spoilers, which was turned out of his burroAV eai'ly in June,
measured an inch and a half in length. His body was
livid or brownish and shining above, with a chestnut-col-
ored head, and a horny spot of the same color on the top
of the first and last rings. A few minute dots, producing
very short inconspicuous hairs, were regularly disposed upon
his body. This caterpillar changed to a chrysalis in the
ground, and was trans-
222.
formed to a moth (Fig.
222) on the 1st of July.
The moth very often en-
ters houses in the even-
ing, during the months
of July and August, and,
in its restrained flight,
keeps bobbing against the ceiling and walls. When it
alights, it sits with its wings sloping in the form of a steep
roof. It is easily distinguished by its Spanish-brown upper
wings, marked with a large pale kidney-spot, and a broad
wavy blue-gray band near the end. Its eyes when living
shine like coals of fire. It has been described by mistake
* See Massachusetts Ploughman for June 28, 1851.
THE ZEBRA CATERPILLAR. 451
as a British species, under the name of Hadena arnica, or
the barred arches-moth. The wings of this moth expand
an inch and three quarters, or more, and are proportionally
broader than those of the cut-worm moths. The general
color of the fore wings, as already stated, is deep Spanish-
brown, variegated with gray. The small ordinary oval
spot is marked by a gray border. The kidney-spot is large,
gray, and very conspicuous. There is a broad wavy band
of a pearl-gray or blue-gray color near the outer hind mar-
gin, and a narrow wavy band between the oval spot and
shoulder. The hind wings are pale ash-colored, shaded
behind with brown, having a pale border, and a distinct
central blackish spot beneath. The head and thorax are
dark brown ; the collar and tips of the shoulder-covers are
edged with rust-red ; and the hind body is ash-colored or
pale brown, with a row of four rust-red tufts upon it. This
common moth belongs to the same group or family as the
following species, though differing therefrom in its caterpillar
state.
There is another naked caterpillar (Fig. 223) which is
often found to be injurious
, '' Fig. 2-3
to cabbages, cauliflowers, ^s^.^f^n,. r ■' -n-r^
spinach, beets, and other 0M^^^^^^^^S^^
garden vegetables with sue- ^^
culent leaves. It does not conceal itself in the ground, but
lives exposed on the leaves of the plants which it devours.
When disturbed, it coils its body spirally. It is of a light
yellow color, with three broad, longitudinal, black stripes,
one on each side and the third on the top of the back ; and
the head, belly, and feet are tawny. The lateral black
stripe is worthy of attentive examination. It consists of
numerous transverse black marks somewhat like Runic let-
ters, on a pure white ground ; but the white ground, when
seen without a glass, seems blue, by contrast with the black
characters. Dr. Melsheimer calls this the zebra caterpillar,
on account of its stripes. It comes to its full size here in
452 LEPIDOPTERA.
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 (Fig.
224), and is transformed to a moth about
the first of June. It is probable that there
are two broods of tliis kind of caterpillar
every summer, in some, if not all, parts of this country ;
for Dr. Melsheimer informs me that it appears in Pennsyl-
vania in June, goes into the ground and is changed to a
chrysalis towards the end of June or the beginning of July,
and comes forth in the moth state near the end of August.
The moth may be called 3Iame8tra picta^ the painted Ma-
mestra, in allusion both to the beautiful tints of the cater-
pillar, 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 margin. The hind wings arc
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 Mamestrians.
The caterpillars in this group are generally distinguished 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 maro-in of the fore wings, forming a W or M
in the middle.
As the caterpillar of the painted Mamestra does not seek
concealment, it may easily be found, and destroyed by hand.
There is a small caterpillar which- has been found inju-
rious to the wheat-crop in England, by eating the grain
before and after it is ripe. It is described and figured by
WHEAT-WORMS. 453
Mr. John Curtis, in the fifth volume of the "Journal of the
Royal Agricultural Society of England" (pp. 477-481).
Though unable to rear any of these caterpillars, which al-
ways shrivelled up and died, Mr. Curtis, for reasons stated
by him, was impi'essed with the conviction that they were
produced by a moth called Noctua (^Caradrina) euhicularis.
Our agricultural newspapers contain accounts of certain cat-
erpillars, much like the foregoing in appearance and in
habits, which devour the gi'ains of wheat while growing
and after being harvested. Their transformations have not
been ascertained ; and, on account of the diminutive size
of these caterpillars, it remains uncertain whether they are
the offspring of any species of Noctua. Nevertheless, this
seems to be the most suitable place to record what has
been said and seen of them. They have been called 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 believe that all of them are in-
tended for only one kind of insect. The name of grain-
worms has likewise sometimes been applied to them ; where-
by it becomes somewhat difficult to separate the accounts
of their history and depredations from those of the wheat-
insect, called Cecidoynyia Tritici. 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 belonfj to the same order of insects.
Llr. AVillis Gaylord described this depredator as a kind
of caterpillar, or span-worm, from three to five eighths of
an inch long, of a yellowish-brown or butternut color, pro-
vided with twelve legs, and having the power of spinning
and suspending itself by a thread. He stated that it not
only fed on the kernel in the milky state, but also devoured
the germinating end of the ripened grain, without, however,
burying itself within the hull ; and that it was found, in
great numbers, in the chaff, when the grain was threshed.
454 LEPIDOPTERA.
According to him, it had been known for years in the west-
ern part of New York ; and it was not so much the new
appearance of the insect, as its increase, which had caused
alarm respecting it.* Mr. Nathaniel Sill, of Warren, Penn-
sylvania, 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 en-
emy. He says that it was a caterpillar, about three eighths
of an inch in length when fully grown, and apparently of
a straw color ; but, when seen through a magnifier, it 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 jNIr. Sill in the upper joints of the stems
of the Avheat, 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 w^heat-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 Elaine,
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
transformations. ]\Ir. Elijah "Wood, of Winthrop, ]\Iaine,
savs that the chrysalis has been observed in the chaff late
in the fall.:): A gentleman from the southern part of Pe-
nobscot County informs me that he winnowed out nearly
a bushel of these insects from his wheat, in the autumn of
* The Cultivator, Vol. VI. p. 43. t Ibid. p. 21.
I New England Farmer, Vol. XVII. p. 73.
WHEAT-WORMS. 455
1840 ; 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 Col man observed the same insect in the town of
Eo-remont, in Berkshire County, Massachusetts. It was sep-
arated from the wheat, in great quantities, by threshing and
winnowing the grain.*
On the 26th of September, 1846, my brother brought
to me a sample of wheat-ears, from Dixmont, Maine, con-
taining five of these insects, of different sizes. The largest
measured five eighths of an inch in length, when fully ex-
tended. It was a very slender caterpillar, having sixteen
legs, and was not a true span-worm either in structure or
motions. It was of a pale reddish-brown color, with three
longitudinal paler or colorless lines on the back, and a
broader pale stripe on each side of the body. The head
and the tops of the first and last segments were shining
browuc A few minute black points (each furnishing a short
inconspicuous hair) were regularly disposed on each seg-
ment. The body beneath and all the legs were pale brown-
ish-red. Many of the kernels of wheat had been gnawed
by these caterpillars ; but they refused to eat any more, and
died without change. In the summer of 1850, Dr. Ovid
Plumb had the kindness to send to me some younger speci-
mens of these caterpillars, from Salisbury, Connecticut, where
they had long prevailed in the wheat-fields ; and I saw
them in the wheat at the same place, on the 25th of July,
1851. They had grown only to the length of three six-
teenths or one fourth of an inch at most ; but they resembled
the larger specimens from Maine in all essential particulars.
They were too young and delicate to survive the effects
of a journey without fresh food, which could not be pro-
cu.red for them after my return. When disturbed, they
readily suspended themselves by a slender thread, were very
uneasy on being taken from the ears, and were quick in
* Second Report on the Agriculture of Massachusetts, p. 99.
456 LEPIDOPTERA.
all their motions. Previous accounts concerning their habits
and depredations were fully confirmed by observations and
information at Salisbury.
These wheat-worms, or wheat-caterpillars, as they ought
to be called, if these 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.* A striking similarity between them has been
noticed by a writer in the " Genesee Farmer. "f 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-wonns
unfinished ; but hope that the foregoing statements, which
have been carefully collected from various sources and com-
pared with my own observations, will tend to remove some
of the difficulties wherewith the subject has been heretofore
involved. The contradictory statements and unsatisfactory
discussions that have appeared in some of our papers, re-
specting the ravages of these worms and the maggots of
the wheat-fly, might have been avoided, if the writers on
these insects had always been careful to give a correct and
full description of the insects in question. Had this been
done, a crawling worm or caterpillar, of a brownish color,
three eighths or one half of an inch in length, 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
* New England Farmer, Vol. XVII. p. 73, f Ibid., p. 164.
THE COTTON-WORM. 457
of an inch long, destitute of legs, and unable to spin a
thread. As these destructive wheat-caterpillars may be sep-
arated from the wheat by threshing and winnowing, the
chaff containing them may be put into large tubs, into which
also a sufficient quantity of boiling-hot w^ater may then be
poured to kill all the insects. This will at least prevent
their making their escape, completing their transformations,
and laying the foundation of another brood.
At the end of the tribe of owlet-moths may be arranged
certain 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 prop-
legs, under the middle of the body, so short, that they cannot
be used in creeping ; others 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. To this
group belong the army-worms, or cotton-worms, Avhich rav-
age the cotton-fields of the Southern States. They have
sixteen legs ; but the foremost prop-legs are shorter than the
rest, and the caterpillars crook their backs in creeping, which
has caused them to be mistaken for geometers by some
writers. The cotton-worm is green, doubly striped w'ith
black on the back, and sprinkled with black dots. It grows
to the length of an inch and a half, transforms in a kind
of web or imperfect cocoon, and becomes an olive-brown
moth, called Nuctua xylina by jMr. Say. It is found only
as far as the cotton-plant is cultivated, and never occurs in
New England. The twelve-legged caterpillars are sometimes
injurious to cultivated vegetables ; but not enough so, in this
country, to have attracted much notice. Their moths are
distinguished by golden or silvery spots on their fore wings.
The species, with the first and second pairs of prop-legs short
58
458 LEPIDOPTERA.
and rudimentary, feed mostly on the leaves of shrubs and
trees ; their moths are of large size, with the hind wings
often crimson, scarlet, or yellow, and traversed by black
bands. But as these insects are not particularly interesting
to the farmer, any further account of them, in this treatise,
will be unnecessary.
3. Geometers. {Geometry.)
The caterpillars of the Geometr^e of Linnaeus, earth-
measurers, 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 caterpillai's have only ten legs ; namely, six,
which are jointed and tapering, under the fore part of the
body, and four fleshy prop-legs, at the hinder extremity ; the
three intermediate pairs of prop-legs being wanting. Con-
sequently, 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 prop-legs 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
prop-legs, are placed in this tribe, on account of the resem-
blance 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
GEOMETERS. 459
any height, by means of a silken thread, which they spin
from their moutlis 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 operations
with tolerable rapidity, it soon reaches its former station
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 sometimes striped, and sometimes of one uniform color,
nearly resembling 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 mis-
taken for a twig of the tree ; and in this position they will
often remain for liours together.
When about to transform, most of these insects descend
from the plants on which they live, and either bury them-
selves 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. rig. 225.
The cocoons of the European,
tailed Geometer ( Ourapteryx
mmhucarid)^ which lives on
the elder, and of our chain-
dotted Geometer ( Geometra
catenarid), (Fig. 225, Fig. 226
cocoon, Fig. 227 larva,) which
is found on the wood-wax, are made with regular meshes, like
460
LEPIDOPTERA.
Fig. 22&
Fig. 227
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 sus-
pended, without the protection
of any outer covering.
In their perfected state,
these insects are mostly slen-
der-bodied moths, with taper-
ing antennas, 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 incHned, 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.
Those kinds, whereof the females are Avingless, or have
only very short, scale-like wings, and naked antennre, while
the males have large, entire wings, and feathered or downy
antennae, seem to form a distinct group, which may be
named Hybernians (Hyberniadje), from the principal genus
included therein. The caterpillars have only ten legs, six
before and four behind ; and they undergo their transforma-
tions 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 Anisopteryx* so named
because in some species the wings in the two sexes are very
* Literally unequal tving.
THE CANKER-WORM. 461
unequal in size, and in others the females are wingless.
Among those wliose females are wino-less are the canker-
worm moths. In the late Professor Peck's "Natural His-
tory of the Canker- Worm," which was published among the
papers of " the Massachusetts Society for Promoting Ag-
riculture," and obtained a prize from the Society, this insect
is called Phalcena vernata, on account of its common ap'
pearance in the spring, and also to distinguish it from the
winter moth (^Phalccna or Cheiinatobia hrumata) of Europe.
In the male canker-worm moth (Fig.
228) the antennje have a very nar- '^ "" '
row, 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, veiy 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
finnge. 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 ^^scidaria of Europe. Compared
with the latter, I find that our canker-worm moth is rather
smaller, the wings are darker, proportionally 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
462 LEPIDOPTERA.
the feelers are gray instead of being white. Specimens of
a rather smaller size are sometimes found, resemblino; 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 dif-
ferent 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 antennae
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 formei'ly 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 some-
times before, and sometimes after, this time ; and they con-
tinue 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.
Fig. 229. rj,j^g sluggish females (Fig. 229) instinctively make
their way towards the nearest trees, and creep
slowly up their tninks. 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
THE CANKER-WORM. 463
females lay their eggs (Fig. 230, natural size and magnitied)
upon the branches of the trees, placino; them
. . Fig- 230.
on their ends, close together in rows, form-
ing clusters of from sixty to one hundred
eggs or more, which is the number usually
laid by each female. The eggs are glued
to each other, and to the bark, by a grayish varnish, which
is impervious to water ; and the clusters 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 be-
tween 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 occur-
rence of cold and wet weather, creep for shelter into the
bosom of the bud, or into the flowers, when the latter ap-
pear. As this treatise may fall into the hands of persons
who are not acquainted with the habits and devastations
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 be-
come larger and moi'e 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
464 LEPIDOPTERA.
very young, tliey have two minute warts on the top of the
last ring ; and they are then generally of a Llackish 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
Fig. 231. , '' ...
grown (Fig. 231), 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. 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.
Fig. 232. I^'' tl^6 former, they make little cavities or cells
K^^^ (Fig. 232) in the ground, by turning round re-
^Imm^ peatedly and fastening the loose grains of earth
about them with a few silken threads. Within twenty-four
* In tlie year 1841 the red currant flowered and the canker-wonns aptpeared on
the 15th of May. The insects were very abundant on the 15th of June, and on
the 17th scarcely one was to be seen.
THE CANKER-WORM. 465
•
hours afterwards, they are changed to chrysalids (Fig. 233)
ill their cells.
The chrysalis is of a light-brown color, and ^'^ -^
varies in size according to the sex of the insect .<(QQ^^
contained in it ; that of the female being the lar-
gest, and being destitute of a covering for wings, which is
found in the chrysalis of the males. The occurrence 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 placa|i||k the autumn, or in the course of
the winter, as well ^^^^V^ spring ; it is also retarded, in
some individuals, for ^^^^ oi^more beyond the usual time.
They come out of tlT^^Wmcr^ostly in the niflPf 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 have lived in the caterpillar state. Canker-
worms are therefore naturally confined to a very limited
space, from which they spread year after year. Accident,
however, will often carry them far from their native haunts,
and in this way, probably, they have extended to places
remote from each other. Where they have become estab-
lished, 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^s reduced to withered and lifeless shreds,
and whole orchards looking as if they had been suddenly
scorched with fire.
[26 The insect which ravages the foliage of our "noble elm" in the South is the
larva of a beetle, Galeruca calmariensis, and hence the precautions here recom-
mended are inapplicable. The female flies upon the leaves to deposit her eggs,
59
466 LEPIDOPTERA.
In order to protect our trees from the ravages of canker-
worms, where these looping spoilers abound, it should be our
aim, if possible, to prevent the Avingless females from ascend-
ino" 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
canvas or of strong paper, 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^^mly as long as the in-
sects continue rising; after which qj^romds may be removed,
and the tar should be entirely scraped from the bark. When
all this 'tes been properly and seasonaLly done, it has proved
effectualT The time, labor, and expense attending the use
of tar, and the injury that it does to the trees when allowed
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 mentioned 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 pro-
tect 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 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
and does not crawl up the trunk like the apterous female of Anisopteryx. Some
persons hearing of the New England method, and presuming that the insects were
the same, adopted the plan here recommended, but of course it failed. They were
taught better, and now squirt a decoction of tobacco-leaves on the trees, which is
an effectual antidote, when the trees are not too high. — Morris.]
REMEDIES AGAINST THE CANKER-WORM. 467
found to answer the purpose. A belt of cotton-wool, which
it has been thought Avould 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 stuffino; 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 keeping 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. Jona-
than Dennis, Jr., of Portsmouth, Rhode Island, has obtained
a patent for a circular leaden trough to contain oil, offering
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 inju-
rious 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 tininks. A stuffing of cloth,
cotton, or tow should never be used ; sea-weed and fine hay,
Avhich 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 whitewash, 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 in-
sects. 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 simi-
lar 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 con-
trivance, all danger of hurting the tree with the oil is en-
tirely avoided.
i68 LEPIDOPTERA.
In tlie " Manchester Guardian," an English newspaper, of
the 4th of November, 1840, is the following article on the
use of melted Indian rubber to prevent insects from climbing
up trees. " At a late meeting of the Entomological Society,
[of London ?] Mr. J. H. Fennell communicated the fol-
lowing successful mode of preventing insects ascending the
trunks of fruit-trees. Let a piece of Indian rubber be burnt
over a gallipot, into which it will gradually drop in the con-
dition of a viscid juice, which state, it appears, it will always
retain ; for j\Ir. Fennell has, at the present time, some which
has been melted for upwards of a year, and has been exposed
to all weathers without undero-oing; the slio-htest chano-e.
HaA'ing 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 suf-
ficient 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 persons in the vicinity of Boston, some of whom speak
favorably of it. It has been suggested that the melted rub-
ber might be applied immediately to the bark without injur-
ing 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-
REMEDIES AGAINST THE CANKER-WORM, 469
worms after they were hatched from the eggs, and were dis-
persed over the leaves of the trees. It is said that some
persons have saved their trees from these insects by freely
dustinn; air-slacked lime over them while the leaves were wet
with dew. Showerino; 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 ex-
pense, it may be worth our while to apply such remedies
upon small and choice trees. Mr. David Haggerston, of
Watertown, Mass., has used, for this purpose, a mixture of
water and oil-soap (an article to be procured from the manu-
factories 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, Avithout injuring the foliage or the fruit. This ap-
plication may be found useful in protecting grafts 5 for if
canker-worms attack these, they will very much injure, if not
entirely destroy them. Jarring or shaking the limbs of the
trees will disturb the canker-worms, and cause many of
them to spin down, when their threads may be broken oif
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 di-
minish.
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 per-
son 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 un-
470
LEPIDOPTERA.
der the trees, in the autumn, with the hope of crushing some
of the chrysahds by so doing, and of exposing others tc
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 Ken-
rick, of Newton, Mass., advise us to remove 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 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 ( Calosoma scru-
tator'), (Fig. 234,) that ap-
pears 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 potter- wasp (^JSumenes
* See Yankee Farmer of July IS, 1840, and New England Farmer of June 2,
1841, for some valuable remarks by Mr. Fowler.
Fig. 234.
ENEMIES OF THE CANKER-WORM. 471
fraternd)^ an insect rather smaller than the common brown
wasp, fills her clay cells with canker-worms, often gathering
eighteen or twenty of them as food for her young.* A four-
winged ichneumon-fly also stings them, and deposits an egg
in every canker-worm thus wounded, Fi'om 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 suc-
cession, and swarms of them may be observed around the
trees as long as the canker-worms remain. Their services,
therefore, are doubtless very considerable. Among a large
number of canker-worms, taken promiscuously from various
trees, I 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-wonn
moth are pierced by a tiny four-winged fly
(Fig. 235, greatly magnified), a species of
Platygaster^ which goes from egg to egg, and
drops in each of them one of her own eggs.
Sometimes every canker-worm egg in a clus-
ter will be found to have been thus punctured and seeded
for a future harvest of the Platygaster. 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 it
* See the history of this insect, and a figure of her cells, in the Boston Culti«
vator, for July 15, 1848.
472 LEPIDOPTERA.
becomes a chrysalis within the same shell, and in due time
comes out a Platygaster fly, like its parent. This last trans-
formation 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 appearance 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. Without doubt such wise-
ly 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 en-
emies, have disappeared before the woodman's axe and the
sportsman's gun, we are left to our own ingenuity, persever-
ance, and united efforts, to contrive and carry into effect
other means for checking their ravages.
Between the years 1841 and 1847, canker-worms almost
entirely disappeared in the vicinity of Boston. At the latter
date, there was a visible increase of them here, and their
numbers have rapidly augmented every subsequent year.
In a few years more, unless checked by natural or artificial
means, they will probably prove as destructive as at any
former time. The writer of this work has given repeated
warning of these facts in the public prints, and has pointed
out the remedies to be applied.*
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
* See Prairie Farmer, Vol. YIII. p. 172, for June, 1848. Massachusetts Plough-
man, for June 24, 1848, Nov. 23, 1850, and May 17, 1851. Boston Cultivator, Nov.
24, 1849. New England Farmer, Vol. II. p. 252, for August, 1850.
THE LIME-TREE WIXTER-MOTH. 473
measures about one inch and a quarter in length. It often
rests with the middle of the body curved upwards a httle,
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 slender
thread-shaped antennae. As soon as they leave the ground
they creep up the trees, and lay their eggs in little clusters,
here and there, on the branches. The males have large
and delicate wings, and their antennge have a narrow feath-
ery 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 (^Hyhernia defo-
liarid) of Europe ; but differs from it so much in the larva
state, that I have not the slio-htest doubt of its beino; a
distinct species, and ac-
cordingly name it Hijher- Fig. 233.
nia* T'diaria (Fig. 236),
the lime-tree winter-moth,
from T'dla, the scientific
name of its favorite tree.
The fore wino;s of the
male are rusty buff or
nankin-yellow, sprinkled
with very fine brownish dots, and banded with two trans-
verse wavy, brown lines, the band nearest the shoulders
being often indistinct ; in the space between the bands, and
60
474 LEPIDOPTERA.
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 Avith buff and brown. The wings expand
one inch and three quartei's. Tlie 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 antennce
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 honeycomb.
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 Geom-
eters 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 habits of their caterpillars.
None of them, however, have become so notorious on ac-
count of their devastations as the species already described.
4. Delta-Moths. {Pyralides.)
The Pyralides of Linnaeus are nearly akin to the Ge-
ometers. Latreille called them Ddtoides, because the form
of the moths, when their wings are closed, is triangular,
THE DELTA-MOTHS. 475
like that of the Greek letter A. For the same reason ]
have called them Delta-moths. The body, in these moths,
is lonor and slender. The fore wings are lono; and rather
narrow, and cover the hind wings nearly horizontally when
at rest. The feelers are generally very long, flattened side-
wise, and more or less turned up at the end. The tongue
in some is of moderate length, in others it is veiy small
or invisible. The antennae 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 leo;s are Ions; and slen-
der; 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 ])refer 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 (^Pyralis farinalis), (Plate VII. Fig. 8,)
the caterpillar of which may be found in old flour-barrels,
is often seen on the ceilino;s 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 slender, tapering at each end, and naked, or with only
a few short hairs, which are rarely visible to the naked eye.
476 LEPIDOPTERA.
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 transformations. Some kinds
(Jlydrocampa and Petropliild) live in the water upon aquatic
plants, and secure themselves in cylindrical leafy cases, fitted
to cover the whole of the body except the head and six fore
legs, and made air-tight. These cases prevent the water
from getting into the lateral breathing-holes of the cater-
pillars, 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 Ave see
that even aquatic plants are inhabited by peculiar tribes of
insects, which keep in check their redundant vegetation, and
which are fitted, by extraordinary and curious contrivances,
for the element wherein they are appointed to live. These
aquatic insects stand on the limits of the order, and con-
nect the Lepidoptera with the Neuroptera, by means of the
May-flies {Pliryganeadm) belonging to the latter order.
Those caterpillars of the Pyralides that have only fourteen
legs may be called Herminians (Herminiad^), after the
principal genus in the grovip. The hop-vine is often infested
by great numbers 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 intro-
duced; 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
we false-loopers, bending up the back a little when they
THE HOP-VINE HYPENA. 477
creep, because the first pair of prop-legs, found in otlier
caterpillars, is wanting in them. The rings of their bodies
are 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 leai)ing 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 after leaping off. When fully grown they are about
eight tenths of an inch long. They then form a thin, imper-
fect, silky cocoon Avithin 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 Hamuli (Fig. 237), 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
478 LEPIDOPTERA.
their long, wide, and flattened feelers, which are held close
together, and project horizontally from the fore part of the
head, in the manner of a snout. The antennae in both
sexes are naked, and bristle-foraied. The wings vary in
color, being sometimes dusky or blackish brown, and some-
times of a much lighter rusty-brown color. The fore wings
are marbled with gi'ay beyond the middle, and have a dis-
tinct 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, 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
showering or syringing the plants with strong soapsuds, or
with a solution 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 ToKTRiCES, 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 together
and secured with silken threads. Others are found in the
LEAF-ROLLERS. 479
tender slioots 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 included moths
are 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 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 shoulders, and hence these insects arc
called Platyomides, that is, broad shoulders, by the French
naturalists. These wings are generally very j)rettily banded
and spotted, and are sometimes ornamented with brilliant
metallic spots. The hind wings are plain, and of a 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 thread-like. 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 knoAvn well
480 LEPIDOPTERA.
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 fastened with threads. In the middle of these nests
the caterpillars live, either singly, or in companies of several
individuals together. Nests of this kind, containincr 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 transverse 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 considerable damage to the trees. These
caterpillars are sometimes of a pale green color, with the
head and the top of the first ring 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 com-
posing their nests with a Aveb 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
Lozotoenia* oporana of Europe, but differs from it in having
* This word was probably an error of the press in the " Catalogue " of Mr.
Stephens, by whom the genus was proposed. It has, however, been copied in
BUD- MOTHS. 481
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 Loxotcenia Jiosaceana (Fig. ^'s 238.
238), 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 Avith 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 ten-
der 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 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
several other works by other authors, without correction or comment. Loxotania,
meaning oblique band, seems to be the right name for the moths of this genus,
which are distinguished by the oblique bands on their fore wings.
61
482 LEPIDOPTERA.
resemble the European Penihina comitana* and perhaps
may be merely a variety of it. The head and thorax are
dark asb-colored. The fore winijs 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 marks 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 oeulana^
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 insio-nificant crca-
tures 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 withered 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
manv of our fruit-trees and flowering shrubs could be dis-
covered.
Apricot, peach, and plum trees, when trained against
walls in the open air, are said to suffer very much some-
times 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, I cannot say whether they
are of the same species as the bud-moth above named.
* Spikmota comitana, Stephens; Poecilochroma comitana, Curtis; Penthina luscana,
Duponcliel.
BUD-MOTHS. 483
Perhaps they are identical with the apricot-bud caterpillars
(^Ditida arifjustiorand) of Europe, the depredations of which
have been described by Mr. Westwood in the fourteenth
volume of the " Gardener's Magazine." Besides picking
off the curled and confined clusters of leaves, when practi-
cable, I Avould 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
mixture 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 volume of the " Gardener's ^lao^azine."
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
occupy too much space here ; and I can only add, that the
worm in the bud is to be destroyed only by hand.
Pine and f:r trees are also injured by some of the Tor-
trices., that pierce the t'jnder shoots and terminal buds.
The seat of their depredations becomes known by the
oozing of the resin and by the withering of tlie 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
ippearance, and renders it unfit for timber. The history
484 LEPIDOPTERA.
of several European Tortrices or turpentine-moths, that
thus injure pines and firs, is given in Kollar's Treatise,
wherein ■\ve are advised to search for the lumps of turpen-
tine in the autumn, and destroy the caterpillars under
them, or to cut off the injured shoots and burn them
with their inhabitants. This advice it may be proper for
us to follow, although it is not yet certain that our turpen-
tine-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 natu-
ralized wherever the apple-tree has been introduced. This
mischievous creature has sometimes been mistaken for the
plum-weevil (^Rhynchcenus (^Conotrachelus) Nenuphar), de-
scribed in another part * of this treatise ; but it may be
easily distinguished therefrom by its shape, its habits, and
its transformations. Although the plum-weevil prefers stone
fruit, it is sometimes found in apples also ; 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
Fig. 239 1 /> .
a moth, called Carpocapsa Pomonella (Fig.
^^MM^p 239), t the codling-moth, or fruit-moth of
^ml^K^ the apple. An anonymous writer, in the
"Entomological 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."
* Page 75.
t Tinea Pomonella, L.; Pyralis Pomana, F. If the modern name of the genus
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. p. 144.
THE APPLE-WORM MOTH. 485
The apple-worm lias been long known in Europe, and
its history has been written by Rfjsel, R(^aumur, Kollar,
Westwood,* and other European naturalists. A good
account of it, and of its transformations, by Joseph Tufts,
Esq., of Charlestown, INIassachusetts, was published in the
year 1819, in the fifth volume of " The Massachusetts Agri-
cultural Repository and Journal " ; and Mr. Joseph Bur-
relle, of Quincy, Massachusetts, has also made some remarks
on the same insect, in the eighteenth volume of " The New
England Farmer." f At various times, between the mid-
dle of June and the first of July, the apple-worm moths
may be found. They are sometimes seen in houses in the
evening, 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, M'hen seen at a dis-
tance, have somewhat the appearance of brown watered
silk ; Avhen 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 min-
gled with gray ; and the hind Avings and abdomen are
light yellowish brown, with the lustre of satin. Its wino-s
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 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
* Gardener's Magazine, Vol. XIV. p. 2.34.
t Page 398. See also some remarks on this insect in my " Discourse before the
Massachusetts Horticultural Society, in 1832," page 42.
486 LEPIDOPTERA.
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 hiid, and the httle 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 coUar, 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 injury 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, delicate, and white as tissue paper.
Some of the apple-worms, probably the earliest, are said
by KoUar to change to chrysalids immediately after their
cocoons are made, and in a few days 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-
TINEiE. 487
eaten in the autumn. Most of the insects, liowever, 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 befoi'e
the moth comes forth.
As the apple-worms instinctively leave the fruit soon after
it falls from the trees, it Avill 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. ]\Ir. Burrelle says, that if any old cloth
is wound around or hung in the crotches of the trees, the
apple-worms will conceal themselves 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 scraping off the
loose and rugged bark of the trees, in the spring, many
chrysahds 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. Cranberries are
likewise affected by worms, altogether similar to apple-worms.
6. TlXE.E.
The word moth was formerly used in a much more re-
sti'icted sense than it now is. It was originally given to
the caterpillars of certain insects, called Tineje by Linnasus,
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 lan-
guages also, and seems to have been derived from a word
488 LEPIDOPTERA.
signifying to gnaw or to eat.* Nearly all the moth-worms,
or caterpillars belonging to the tribe of Tinese, 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 few silken threads, so as to shelter or clothe
their tender bodies. With these materials some of them
make cylindrical burrows, through which they can move
freely, and cany on the 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,
however, want the first pair of prop-legs, having only four-
teen in all. They undergo their transformations in the
burrows or cases that have served them for habitations,
either with or without the additional covering of a cocoon
spun within their places of abode. The chrysalids are of
a brown color, and are rather more slender 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 nat-
uralists into two, and by others into three groups, namely,
Crambidoe, Yponomeutadce, and Tlneadce, the differences be-
* From the Gothic maten, to gnaw, and from ma/jan, to eat, we have the Anglo-
Saxon word moth, as now used, and inatha, a maggot.
THE BEE-MOTH. 489
tween which it is not necessary particularly to notice in this
place.
Some moth-worms burrow into leaves, and make winding
passao-es in the pulpy substance thereof, under tlie skin ;
some bore into the stems of plants ; and a few are found
only on the surface of leaves, or on roots. Living plants,
however, form but a small part of the food of the Tineie,
most of which subsist on other substances ; and, for this
reason, they would have been 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 anything absolutely new about them. Nevertheless,
a few remarks on some of the most remarkable or destruc-
tive of these moths may not be wholly useless or unaccept-
able to those persons for whom this treatise was particularly
designed.
The largest insects of this tribe belong to the group called
Crambid^, 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 writers on husbandry. In the winged state,
the male and female differ so much in size, color, and in
the form of their fore Avings, that they were supposed, by
Linnseus and by some other naturalists, to be different spe-
cies, and accordino-lv received two
^ . 1 ,. •■'is- 240
different names. | To avoid confu-
sion, it will be best to adopt the
scientific name jriven to the bee-moth
by Fabricius, Avho called it Galleria
oereana (Fig. 240), that is, the wax
Galleria, because, in its caterpillar
* Virgil, Georgic IV. line 246. Columella, Hasb£).ndry, Book IX. chap. 14
■f Tortrix cereana, the male; Tinea mellunella, the female.
62
490 LEPIDOPTERA.
state, it eats beeswax. Doubtless it was first brouo-ht 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 Tinece exceed or even equal it in size. In its
perfect or adult state it is a winged moth or miller, measur-
ing, 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 prob-
ably suggested tlie 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 streaked with purple-brown on the outer
edge, they have a few dark brown spots near the inner
margin, and they are scalloped or notched inwardly at the
end ; his hind wings are light yollowish-gi'ay, with whitish
fringes. The female is much larger than the male, and
much darker-colored ; her fore wings are proportionally
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 perfection, 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
THE BEE-MOTH. 491
evening they take wing, when the bees are at rest, and
liover 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 tliemselves 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 yellowish-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 ven-
geance of the bees, and pass safely and unseen in every di-
rection 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 the upper part of the hive, where the oldest honeycomb
is lodged. It is not a little wonderful, that these insects
should be able to get any nourishment from wax, a sub-
stance which other animals cannot digest at all ; but they
are created with an appetite for it, and Avith such extraor-
dinary 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, Avherein 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 cannot see them,
they come partly out, and devour the wax within their
reach. As they increase in size, they lengthen and enlarge
492 LEPIDOPTERA.
their dwellings, and cover them on the outside with a coat-
ing of grains of wax mixed with their own castings, which
resemble gunpowder. Protected hy 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 discouraged bees, whose diligence and skill
are of no more use to them in contending with their un-
seen foes, than their superior size and powerful weapons, are
compelled to abandon their perishing brood and their wasted
stores, and leave the desolated hive to the sole possession
of the miserable spoilers. These caterpillars 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 leno-th, and are often clustered too;ether 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 Avith wings. Those Avhich
become chrysalids in the early part of summer are trans-
formed to winged moths fourteen days afterwards, and im-
mediately pair, lay their eggs, and die.
Bees suffer most from the depredations of these insects
in hot and dry summers. Strong and healthy swarms, pro-
vided with a constant supply of food near home, more often
escape than small and weak ones. When the moth- worms
have established themselves 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 dislodge 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
THE TIXEANS. 493
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 chrysalids ; 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 shallow
vessels, containing a mixture of honey or sugar, with vin-
egar and water, are placed near the bee-house in the even-
ing, 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 rec-
ommended, for the purpose 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 variovis 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, ex-
panding 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 description. Among them may
be mentioned the clothes-moth Q Tinea vestiandla), the ta-
pestry or carpet-moth (21 tapetzella), the fur-moth (T". pel-
Uonella)^ the hair-moth (Tl Crinella), and the grain-moth
(Tl granelld)^ with some others, belonging to a group which
may be called Tineans (TiNEADie) ; also the pack-moth
(^Anacampsis sarcitella), which is very destructive to wool
and fabrics made of this material, and the Angoumois grain-
moth (^Butalls cerealella), both of Avhich are to be included
among the Yponomeutians. In the cabinet of the Boston
Society of Natural History, the cases containing the large
494 LEPIDOPTERA.
and beautiful collection of shells were formerly lined with
fine white flannel. In this some moths soon estabUshed
themselves, multiplied very fast, and, in the course of a
few years, did so much damage that it became necessaiy
entirely to remove the moth-eaten
Fig. 241. . , ''
linings. In their win2;ed state these
moths (Fig. 241) were of a light
buff color, with the lustre of satin,
and had a tliick orano;e-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 gJAen,
by the old naturalists, of the Tinea
Fig. 242. ,
fiavifrontella* (Fig. 242, larva, natural
size and magnified), or tlie orange-
fi'onted Tinea, and with Wood's fig-
ure of Tinea destructor^ the destroyer.
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 remarked, is devoured by an-
other Tinea, whose little silken cases are often seen between
the cakes, and I have also found them in chocolate pvit up
in tin cases. Other articles of food are also devoured by
some of these Tineae, and even our books are not spared
by them.
The Tineans, in the winged state, have four short and
slender feelers, a thick tuft on the forehead, and veiy nar-
row wings, which are deeply fringed. They lay their eggs
mostly in the spring, in May and June, and die imme-
diately afterwards. The eggs (according to Latreille and
Duponchel, from whose works the following remarks are
* Not the Bat'ia Jlavifrontella of the English entomologists.
CLOTHES-MOTHS. 495
chiefly extracted) are hatched in fifteen days, and the little
■Nvliitisli caterpillars or moth-worms proceeding therefrom im-
mediately begin to gnaw the substances within their reach,
and cover themselves with the fragments, shaping them into
little hollow rolls and lining them with silk. They pass
the summer within these rolls, some carrying them about
on their backs as they move along, and others fastening
them to the substance tliey are eating ; and they enlarge
them from time to time by adding portions 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 au-
tumn 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 Avithin 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
various other places, where they immediately lay the founda-
tion for a new colony of destrvictive moth-worms.
Early in June the pinident housekeeper Avill take care
to beat lip 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 wardrobes, closets, draw-
ers, and chests will be laid open, and emptied of their con-
tents, 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 places without
a thorough bnishing, beating, or shaking. By these means,
the moths and their eggs will be dislodged and destroyed.
In old houses, that are much infested by moths, the cracks
496 LEPIDOPTERA.
in the floors, In the wahiscot, around the walls and shelves
of closets, and even in the furniture used for holding clothes,
should be brushed over with spirits of turpentine. Powdered
black pepper, strewed under the edges of carpets, is said
to repel moths. Sheets of paper sprinkled with spirits of
turpentine, camphor in coarse powder, leaves of tobacco,
or shavings of Russia leather, 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 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
fumio-atino; the article containing them with tobacco-smoke
or with sulphur, or by shutting 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 depre-
dations of two little moths, in Europe, and is attacked in
the same way, and apparently by the same insects, in tliis
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 per-
fected state, is a winged insect, between three and four
tenths of an inch long, from the head to the tip of its Avings,
and expands six tenths of an inch. It has a whitish tuft
GRAIN-MOTHS. 497
on its forolicad: its Ions and narrow wino;s 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 whigs are blackish. Some of these winjxed moths
appear in May, others in July and August, at which times
they lay their eggs ; for there ai'e 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 Avin-
ter, and turn to Avinged moths in the following spring.
The young moth-worms (Plate VII. Fig. G) do not bur-
row into the grain, as has been asserted by some writers,
who seem to have confounded them with the Angoumols
grain-worms ; but, as soon as they are hatched, they begin
to gnaw the grain and cover themselves with the fragments,
which they line with a silken web. As they increase in
size, they fasten together several grains with their webs
(Plate VII. Fig. 7), 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 cocoons. 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
n-rains.
These destructive corn-worms are really soft and naked
caterpillars, of a cylindrical shape, tapering a little at each
end, and are provided with sixteen legs, the first three pairs
of which are conical and jointed, and the others fleshy and
wart-like. When fully grown, they measure four or five
63
498 LEPIDOPTERA.
tenths of an inch in length, and ai'e of a hght ochre or
huff 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 lai'ge as a grain of wheat.
The insects of the first brood, as before said, come out of
tlieh- 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 way 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.
From various statements, deficient however in exactness,
that have appeared in some of our agricultural journals,
I am k'd to think that this corn-moth, or an insect much
like it in its habits, prevails in all parts of the country,
and that it has generally been mistaken for the grain-weevil.
Many years ago I remember to have seen oats and shelled
corn (maize) affected in the way above described ; and Dr.
Asa Fitch has favored me with a grain-moth, obtained in
a flour-mill at East Greenwich, New York, which agreed
with the descriptions and figures of the European Tinea
granella. In some remarks upon this insect in the Albany
"Cultivator," for January, 1847, he states that the Amer-
ican insect was observed to make its cocoon within the
webs among the grain, instead of retiring therefrom when
about to undergo its transformations. The habits of the
European grain-moth are probably sometimes varied ; for,
although most writers on its history agree in saying that
the insect leaves the grain and conceals itself in crevices
of the granary when preparing to make its cocoon, Olivier*
expressly states that it undergoes its transformation in its
web among the grain.
* Encyclop^die Methodique, Insectes, Tom. IV. p. 114.
THE ANGOUMOIS GRAIN-MOTH. 499
There is another grain-moth, winch, at various times,
has been found to he more destructive in granaries, in some
provinces of France, than the preceding kind. It is the
Angoumois moth, or Anacampsis (^Butalis) cerealella, an
insect evidently belonging to the family of Yponomeutad^,
or Yponomeutians. The winged moths of this group have
only two visible feelers, and these are generally long, slender,
and curved over their heads. Their narrow winss most
often overlap each other, and cover their backs horizontally
when shut. It is stated in the "Introduction to Entomol-
ogy/'* hy the Rev Mr. Kirby and Mr. Spence, that the
insect under consideration is not yet named. This, how-
ever, is a mistake ; for it was named Alucita cerealella, by
Olivier,! as long ago as the year 1789. Olivier's name
for it appears also to have been overlooked by Latreille,
who has given it that of (Ecophora granella.% Moreover,
the writers of the "Introduction" 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 first edition of this treatise, I
stated that " the Angoumois grain-moth probably belongs
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." To this genus, as understood
by most English entomologists, it certainly does belono-;
but Mr. Curtis is disposed to place it in his genus Laverna^
including certain species which he has separated from Ana-
campsis. The French naturalist Duponchel, who has de-
scribed and figured it in the fourth volume of the Sup-
plement to his " Histoire Naturelle des Ldpidopteres de
* Fifth edition, Vol. I. p. 172.
t Encyclopedie Jlt'thodique, Hist. Nat. Insectes, Tom. IV. p. 121. See alsc
Gucriii's edition of Tigny's Histoire Nat. des Insectes, Tom. IX. p. 301,
X Ciivier's R^gne Animal, 2d edition.
§ Mdmoires, Tom. II. p. 486.
|[ Intx-oduction to Entomology, Vol. I. p. 174.
500 LEPIDOPTERA.
France," refers this insect to tlie genus Butalis^ which name
I have thought proper now to adopt.
For more than a century, this insect has prevailed in
the western parts of France, and has gradually heen ex-
tending in an easterly and northerly direction. In the year
1736, the French naturalist RJaumur published an interest-
ing account of it, illustrated by rude figures, in the second
volume of his instructive " Memoires." He found it to be
very injurious to stored barley, at Lucon, in the province
of La Vendee, and ascertained that it destroyed wheat also.
In the adjacent province of Angoumois, it continued to
increase for many years, till at length the attention of gov-
ernment Avas directed to its fearful depredations. This was
in 17G0, when the insect was found to swarm in all the
wheat-fields and rrranaries of Anfroumois and of the neigh-
boring provinces, and the afillcted inhabitants were thereby
deprived not only of their principal staple, wherewith they
were wont to pay their annual rents, their taxes, and their
tithes, but were threatened with famine and pestilence from
the want of wholesome bread. Two members of the Acad-
emy of Sciences of Paris, the celebrated Duhamel du Mon-
ceau and i\I. Tillet, were then commissioned to visit the
province of Angoumois, and inquire into the nature of this
destructive insect. The result of their inquiries was com-
municated to the Academy, in whose history and memoirs
it may be found, and was also subsequently republished
in a separate volume.* From this work, and from the
" Memoires " of Rdaumur, the following particulars are de-
rived.
The Angoumois grain-insect, in its perfected state, is a
little moth, of a pale cinnamon-brown color above, having
the lustre of satin, with narrow broadly fringed hind wings
of an ashen or leaden color, two thread-like antennas, con-
* " Histoire d'un Insecte qui devore les Grains de I'Angoumois," 12mo, Paris,
1762. See also " Histoire do I'Acad^mie Royale des Sciences," Annee 1761, p. 66,
and " JIdmoires," p. 289, 4to, Paris, 1763.
THE ANGOUMOIS GRAIN-MOTH. 501
sisting of numerous beaded joints, a spiral tongue of mod-
erate length, and two tapering feelers, turned over its head.
It lays from sixty to ninety eggs, placing them in clusters
of twenty or more on a single grain. From these ai'e
hatched, in from four to six days, little worm-like cater-
pillars, not thicker than a hair. These immediately dis-
perse, and each one selects for itself a single grain, and
burrows therein at the most tender part, commonly the
place whence the plumule comes forth. Remaining there
concealed, it devours the mealy substance within the hull ;
and this destruction goes on so secretly, as only to be de-
tected 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 brown-
ish head ; and it has six small jointed legs, and ten ex-
tremely small wart-like prop-legs. Having eaten out the
heart of the grain, which is just enough for all its wants,
it spins a silken Aveb or curtain to divide the hollow, length-
wise, 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 trans-
formations. 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 Avhich it
can make its escape easily when it becomes a Avinged moth.
The insects of the first, or summer brood, come to ma-
turity in about three weeks, remain but a short time in
the chrysalis state, and turn to winged moths in the au-
tumn, 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 winter, and do not change
to Avinged insects till the following summer, when they
come out, fly into the fields in the night, and lay their eggs
on the young ears of the growing grain. Although there
seem to be two principal broods in the course of a year,
502 LEPIDOPTERA.
we are not to understand that these are the only ones ; for
French writers inform us, that others are produced during
the Avhole summer, and that the production of the insects
is accelerated or retarded by differences in the temperature
of the air.* When damaged grain is sown, it comes up'
very thin ; the infected kernels seldom sprout, hut the in-
sects lodged m them remain alive, finish their transforma-
tions in the field, and in due time come out of the ground
in the winged form.
To the foregoing sketch must now he added an account
of an American grain-insect, which, in the first edition of
this treatise, I suggested would prove to be the same as
the Angoumois grain-moth. Having since obtained some
of these American insects from various quarters, and having
had a colony of them living and increasing, for three years,
under my own eye, I find them to agree, in all essential
particulars, with the European species. Until, therefore,
they are proved, by actual comparison Avith jicrfect speci-
mens of the latter, to be absolutely distinct, I must consider
it as next to certain that they are identical, and that they
have been introduced into this country from Europe. Per-
haps, hereafter, the mode of their introduction may be as
satisfactorily ascertained as that of the Hessian fly. In the
year 1768, Colonel Landon Carter, of Sabine Hall, Virginia,
communicated to the American Philosophical Society at Phila-
delphia some interesting " Observations concerning the Fly-
Weevil that destroj's Wheat." These were printed in the
first volume of the " Transactions " of the Soc!e>y, and were
followed by some remarks on the subject by " the Committee
of Husbandry." This is the earliest authentic account of
the insect that I have met with. The Committee stated,
that " it was said the injuiy of wheat from these flies began
in North Carolina about forty years before, — and that they
had extended gradually from Carolina into Virginia, ]\Iary-
land, and the lower counties of Delaware, but had not then
* Olivier, Encyclopedic M^thodique, Insectes, Tom. IV. p. 115.
THE ANGOUMOIS GKAIN-MOTH. 503
penetrated into Pennsylvania or passed the Delaware." They
remarked, moreover, that the insects " appeared to be of
the same kind with those that do the like mischief in Europe,
as described to Mr. Duhamel by a gentleman of Angou-
mois."
Mr. Louis A. G. Bosc, who was sent by the French
government, in ITOG, to this country, where he spent several
years, found the Ahicita ccrealella " so abundant in Carolina
as to extinguish a candle when he entered his granary in the
night." * This fly-weevil, or little grain-moth, has spread
from North Carolina and Virginia, where its depredations
were first observed, into Kentucky, and the southern parts
of Ohio and Indiana, and probably more or less throughout
the wheat region of the adjacent States, between the thirty-
sixth and fortieth degrees of north latitude. But these are
not the extreme limits of its occasional depredations, as it has
been found even in New England, where, however, its propa-
gation seems to have been limited by the length and severity
of the winter. Wheat, barley, oats, and Indian corn suffer
alike from it, the last especially when kept unprotected more
than six or eight months.
Several essays on this insect have appeared in agricultural
journals, none of which, however, were known to me when
my first account of the Angoumois moth was written. One
of these is an elaborate article by Edward Ruffin, Esq., of
Hanover County, Virginia, printed in " The Farmers' Regis-
ter " for November, 1833. The object of the writer is to
prove, by a series of experiments, that there is a continued
reproduction of the insect, in stored gi'ain, at short intervals,
throughout the warm season, or from the latter part of June
till further increase is checked by cold weather. Mr. Ruffin
thinks that but very few eggs are deposited on corn in the
field, that these do not ordinarily hatch till the following
summer, and that then they are sufficient to stock the whole
♦ Encyclopedie Mdthodique, Agriculture, Tom. V. p. 243. — Mr. Bosc, a con.
tributor to tJiis work, resided some time at Wilmington, North Carolina.
504 LEPIDOPTERA.
crop of stored grain with their progeny. Mr. Samuel Ju-
clah, of A^incennes, Indiana, in a short and very sensible
article, published in " The Indiana Fanner and Gardener "
for October 4, 1845, seems to have come to nearly the
same conclusions. Mr. Richard Owen, of New Harmony,
Indiana, has given a very good history of this insect, accom-
panied with Avood-cuts, in " The Cultivator," for July and
November, 1846. To this I may have occasion again to
refer, as also to two other articles, on the same subject, by
Edward Ruffin, Esq., in the sixth volume of " The Ameri-
can Agriculturist," pages 52 and 93, published in February
and March, 184T.
In the summer of 1840, Mr. E. C. Herrick, of New Ha-
ven, Connecticut, sent to me a few grains of wheat, that had
been eaten by moth-worms precisely in the same way as grain
is attacked by the Angoumois insect ; and a gentleman, to
whom this moth-eaten wheat was shown, informed me that
he had seen grain thus affected in Maine. Unfortunately,
the insects contained in this wheat were dead when received,
having perished in the chrysalis state. Had they lived to
finish their transformations, they would have afforded me
an opportunity of ascertaining their suspected identity with
the fly-weevil of Virginia, and the Angoumois moth of
Franco. All my attempts to obtain specimens of the fly-
weevil from the South and West were unsuccessful, till the
10th of November, 1845, when I had the pleasure of receiv-
ing a parcel of damaged wheat and a bottle full of the moths
from Richmond, Virginia, through the kindness of j\Ir. John
Dunlop Osborne, then a student in the Law School of
Harvard College. Living specimens, and the insects in the
worm or larva state, were still wanting. These were most
unexpectedly obtained nearer home.
The late Samuel M. Burnside, Esq., of Worcester, told
me, in the summer of 1844, that he had a quantity of corn,
groAvn the year before, which had become infested with
insects, and that he found great numbers of the insects, on
THE ANGOUMOIS GRAIN-MOTH. 505
the wing, in tlie room where the corn was kept. He also
brought to me two large ears of corn from the infected heap.
At that time, I was not aware that the fly-weevil attacked
Indian corn, at least in New England ; and these ears,
appearing sound externally, Avere rolled up in several sheets
of strong brown paper, securely tied, and laid away for
future examination. They were forgotten, however, till De-
cember, 1845, when, upon opening the parcel, I found a
great quantity of dead moths, and several living ones, in the
paper. Every kernel appeared to have been perforated, and
many of the kernels had three or four holes in each of them.
Some contained the insect in the worm state, and some the
fully formed chrysalis. The moths differed from the Vir-
ginia fly-weevil only in being rather larger, with blackish
fore legs, and in having a more conspicuous blackish spot
near the tips of the feelers, showing them to be merely
varieties of the same species. This remark seems to be
confirmed by the now well-known fact, that the fly-Aveevil,
at the South and West, attacks corn as well as wheat, and
by the statement of Mr. Owen, that " the insect found in
com does not differ from that found in wheat ; it is usually,"
says he, " somewhat larger than the specimens from wheat,
but this. may be owing to the greater amount of nourishment
which the corn has afforded." Moreover, we learn from
the works of Olivier and of Bonafous,* that maize also
suffers from the Angoumois moth in France. It is related
that Kalm, the Swedish traveller, on finding some bugs in
pease that he had carried home from this country, was
filled with alarm, " fearing lest he might thereby introduce
so great an evil into his beloved SAveden." With some-
thing of the same feeling, on finding what the insects were
that had been depredating in my friend's corn-bin, I put
the two ears of corn into a large "glass jar, and corked it
tight, to prevent the escape of any moths that might be
* Encyclopedie M<;tho(lique, Insectes, Tom. IV. p. 121. Histoire du Mais, par
M. Bouafous, p. 111.
64
506 LEPIDOPTERA.
developed from worms and chrysalids remaining in tlie ker-
nels. The next June, a swarm of moths appeared in the
jar, in which they continued to propagate three years, suc-
cessively, producing moths in considerahle quantities in June
and in August, with a smaller number at various inter-
mediate times, except during the depth of winter.
These corn-moths, as already stated, were rather larger
than those from the wheat, the wings of some of them
expanding nearly six tenths of an inch.* The head is
smooth, and not tufted. The antenn^fi are thread-like, with
distinctly marked joints. The feelers are long and curved
upwards ; the terminal joint naked, acute, and blackish near
the tip; the second or middle joint rather shorter and thick-
er, hairy beneath, and blackish on the outer side ; the basal
joint very short and hairy. The tongue makes several
spiral turns, and, when extended, is about half the length
of the antennae. The body and fore wings are of that tint
of pale brownish-gray which the French call coffee and
milk color, and they have the lustre of satin. The fore
wings are long and narrow, and are pointed at the end ;
together with their wide fringes, they are more or less
sprinkled with blackish dots, especially near the tips. The
hind wings, are blackish, Avith a leaden lustre ; they are
narrow, and are very suddenly and obliquely contracted to
a point at the tips ; they are entirely surrounded with a
blackish fringe, which is wider on the inner margin than
the wing itself. They are folded lengtlnvise, when at rest,
beneath the upper wings. The fore legs are blackish, and
the hindmost legs are fringed with long hairs on the inner
side. The chrysalis is obtuse at each end ; the tail sur-
rounded with a few minute points, three of which are larger
than the rest ; the rings of the body are smooth, or not
* Mr. Curtis, probably through inadvertence, has stated that Butalis cereahlla ■
" expands ratlier more than one inch." Half an inch is the true measure. See
Journal of the Royal Agricultural Society of England, Vol. VII. p. 86. Compare
Duponchel, Hist. Nat. des Lepidopteres de France, Supplement, Tom. IV. pi.
85, fig. 3.
REMEDIKS AGAINST GRAIN-MOTHS. 507
notched; and the wing-cases extend nearly to the liinder
extremity. The chrysahs-skin generally remains within the
"•rain when the moth comes out; in some few cases, how-
ever, it was found sticking out of the orifice in the kernel,
and sometimes in the crevices between the kernels. The
foregoing minute description, which Is taken from perfectly
fresh and uninjured specimens, will serve to remove any
doubt as to the genus and species to which this corn-moth
is to be referred.
It has been proved by experience, that the ravages of the
two kinds of grain-moths whose history has been now given
can be eflfectually checked by drying the damaged grain
in an oven or kiln ; and that a heat of one hundred and
sixty-seven degrees, by Fahrenheit'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. Insect-mills, some-
what like coffee-roasters on a large scale, have been invented
in France, for the purpose of heating and agitating the in-
fested wheat, by which the eggs and larvre of the little
corn-moth, or Butalis, are destroyed. Fumigation in close
vessels, witji the gas of burning charcoal, is found to be
an effectual remedy ; and Dr. Herpin states that this process
neither imparts any bad flavor to the grain, nor does it
impair its power of vegetating. He recommends also the
early threshing and winnowing of wheat, as tending to pre-
serve it.* This, indeed, is advocated by the most experi-
enced wheat cultivators in this country, particularly if done
bv machinery ; and it should not be deferred later than the
end of July. The concussion and agitation undergone by
the wheat in beino; threshed and winnowed, as intimated
by Dr. Herpin, Mr. Judah, and others, is supposed to dis-
* See D.iiponchel, L^pidopt de France, Supplem., Tom. IV. pp. 450-453; and
Mr. Curtis's paper in the Journ. Koyal Society of Agricult. of England, Vol. VIL
pp. S7-89.
508 LEPIDOPTERA.
lodo-e the egn-s and kill the larvse of the insect. With the
same view, Mr. Owen recommends passing the new wheat
through " a, rubbing mill, such as is used in Virginia and
other large wheat-g-rowino; districts, to insure first-rate flour" ;
after which the wheat may be kept in bulk, or may be im-
mediately ground. If a large surface of grain be exposed
in the barn, the granary, or the mill, during the season
of the moth, it will assuredly become affected ; for, in the
night, when these insects are most active and on the wing,
they will light upon the exposed surface and deposit their
eggs, which, in a few months of hot Aveather, will produce
numerous and successive broods of moth- worms. To se-
cure it from attack, therefore, the grain should be deposited
in tight bins or casks, after having been properly prepared
by being dried in a kiln, or even by exposure to the heat
of the sun.
Some persons have succeeded perfectly in preserving
grain from the corn-weevil and from the corn-moth by
putting it into casks heated and fumigated with burning
charcoal. The charcoal may be burnt in a portable furnace,
lowered into the cask by a chain ; and the grain should be
poured in while the cask is hot. It has been observed that
a low temperature checks the propagation of the corn-moth 
