■*A; For Reference NOT TO BE TAKEN FROM THIS ROOM PROPERTY OF 2.. P. METCALF LIBRARY OF I885_IQ56 THE American Entomologist AN ILLUSTRATED MAGAZINE POPULAR AND PRACTICAL ENTOMOLOGY. EDITED BY CHARLES V. RILEY. VOL. III. SECOND SERIES, VOL. I NEW-YORK . HUB PUBLISHING COMPANY of n. y. 323 PEARL STREET. 1880. INDEX Abnormal Prevalence of Blow-flies. . Acacias, Scale on Academy of Natural Sciences of Philadelphia Acantkockeir artnaia Acanthocinus nodosus Acanthoderes ^-gibbus 237, Acanthus Acarus 39, 40, " ghverii Acerophagzis coccois. A chatodes zea A chlya Ackyranthus Acridium increase of . ... A crony eta aceris. " alni . . Disintegration of the ge- leporina ligustri megacepkala , /"■ strigosa tridens stellatum Additional experiments with Pyre- thrum " list of Contributors Address of President J. A. Lintner. Adelops 36, 39, 40, hirtus 36,79,80, Aeaa purpuriella A egeria exitiosa 11, " tipuli/omiio A enophthira pilleriana Agathidium Agenia Aglaope in/austa Agonoderus 1.3, comma 153,154, " dorsalis 1.53, " rugicollis Agricultural Ants and Cotton-worms Agrilus egenus " ruficoUis 91, 92, " " Gall produced by " " Larva of Agrotis 77, " cochrani " exclaniationis " inermis 75, 108, 154, " messoria " saucia 154, " segetum " subgothica " vulgaris " ypsilon Ailanti-culture 56, Ailanthus obnoxious to insects " Silkworm Alcoholic extract of Pyrethrum powder 44, Aleockara antkomyiiE Aletia. . .67, 77, 93, 108, 189, 154, 179, " argillacea 6, 52, 289, " chrysalides destroyed by Boll- Destruction of Fruit by. in New York State nd on. " Influence of " Pupa of " Vertebrate enemies of . Al«urode« on Oxalit Alpine flowers. Fertilizers of 1(5 Alnus serrulata 290 Alucita 235 Amara 13, 216 " angustata 26 " fallax 108 " jacobincE 108 terrestris 108 A mblyopsis 38 " spelcBus 79 Ambrosia artemisicefolia..^im, 251, 277 trifida 247 A melanchier 271 American Meromyza 181, 202 " Staphylinidae wanted 127 " Vines, Resistance of to Phylloxera 25 " vs. Italian Bees 195 Amceba 199 A tnphasia interstitialis 217 Amphicerus bicaudatzts. . . .51, 108, 181 A mphioxus 199 A mycla fuscicornis 178 Anatomy of Insects, Study of 210 A nax Junius 181 Anchvlopera fragaritE 110 A ncylonycha 139 A ndrenidae 281 A ndrena humilis 280 Anpiillula in roots of Cow-peas . . . 205 Animal and Vegetable Life, Consen- sus in 63, 87 Aniseed and Grain Weevils 26 A nisodactylus 13, 216, 217 baltimorensis 218 " rusticus 217 " sericeus 216 A nisopelma lycti 24 " minima 24 utilis 24 A nisoplia austriaca 103, 294 A nisota rubicunda 77 Annual Address of S. H. Scudder be- fore the Entomol. Club A. A. A. S. 207 A nobii 97 A noecia corni 178 A nomis 128 " exacta 128 " illita 128 " xylina 128 A nophthalmus^ Deseription of a new 62 Larva of 81, 82 " interstitialis 40, 52, 79 " menetriesii 37,39,40,52,79, 82 tellkampfii 36,39,40,53,79, 82 " tenuis 52 A nthaxia viridi/rons 237 A nthomyia 37, 79 " angzisti/rons 279 brassicae 199,264 A nthonomus 97 A ntliracini 283 A nthrax 280, 281 A nthophora abrupta 282 A nthrenus scrophulariee ft3 " varius 145, 146 Anthrobia 37 " monmouthia 79 A ntigaster 293 A ntigaster tnirabilis in Florida . . . 152 Antispiia 260, 262 Ants Fed upon by Blue-birds 217 " Intelligence in 45 " vs. Cotton-worms 249, 251 Apatura 166, 167 Atatura alicia. Larva of from Floridm 206 Apatura celtis 206 Aphelinus mytilaspidis 152 Aphis 7nali 229 Aphodius fi}netarius 216 inquinatus 216, 217 " occidentalis 108 Aphcenogaster treati 226 Apiaries, Floating 126 hw\^\!iia 79 Pyre- 206 Bill providing for the extermination thrum Powder . . . 194 Its Winter Habits 85 177 276 210 Binkley Atomizer Biological studies on Silplia ramosa Birds destroying innoxious Insects. . ?11 ^00 i^U 265 100 Cactus opitntia ... 297 176 Larva of .... Chilomonas 132 Caddis-worms, Carnivorous habits of 79 70 244 Caecidotca iiiicrocephala . . :37;79 80 80 Chion ductus Chionobas " of prey. Destruction of 286 " vs. Insects 69, 96 Calandra rc»iotipunctata . 50 Chironoimis 130 Bisulphide of Carbon for Cabbage- Callichroma splendidum.. 239 Chlaenius tomentosus 216 217 maggots Bitter-sweet, Secretion on Stems of. 264 254 238 238 Chlorops Chramesus kicorite 99 variabile 237 Black Ash borer 181 CalUdryas . ..126, 164 129 " Bass, Larva: in Stomach of. . . 130 " eubulc 102 " supposed to be those ol Blackberry affected by Insects „ Canes, Gall on 62 107 226 201 Aletia Clirysaiitliemuni leucanthetnum. . . 108 Callimorpha fulvicosta . . 151 Black-fly, Development of 191 " lecontei ....201 216 Chrysobothris femorata [typ. err. 173 Black-locust injured by Insects 59 Calliphora votnitoria •-'03 Chrysomela multipunctata 108 Blastopliwa 77 Callosamia proincthea ... Calomicrus 132 Ckrysomphalus fictis 267 Ch rysopa rufilabris Chtkonius abeillei 268 Blind-eyed Smerintlius 254 132 291 Blzssus leucopterus 46 Caloptenus bivittatus 22^ 84 Blister-beetles affected by Pyrethrum clypeatus 220 84 113 . ... 196 'M) " cephalotes incertus H4 " from New Mexico 132 " femur-rubrutn 220 84 " Retarded development " Junius 219 packardi 37,79,83, 84 of .... 196 robustus 220 " spelcFus 84 wanted 181 ^/rrf?«..73,220. 225,279 296 Cicada affected by Fungus 148 Blow-flies . 21 124 21 turnbulli Calopteryx- 219 196 " canicularis " scptemdecivt ... .27, 148, 178 167 " Abnormal prevalence of . . 203 84 215 108 " " in Colorado " in Iowa Bluebird, Food of the moniliatum 25 feeding on parasitic and predaceous Insects " obsoletum 108 in Ohio.... 226 227 204 " scrutator 229 " Seventeen and thirteen year Bodo 79 tepiduin 265 year broods of 172 Bogus Colorado Potato-beetle '^ Yucca Moth.. 141,145 118 182 Caiuharus bartonii . , 38 38 '■ tredecim Cicadula 148 Pellucidus 73 Boisduval t 103 Cambridge Entomological Club. 102 1(H " exitiosa 72 78 Boll, Jacob t ;^7fi CainituUi pellucida ....251 W9 Cicindela lecontei 13 Boll-rot caused by Boll-worm. . .250 252 Campodca 34. 79, 261 262 lepida 108 Boll-worm 7 79 250 " affected by Pyrethrum. . 252 fragilis 199 " purpurea 108 causing the Boll-rot 25(t Canker Worm 42 180 108 " devouring Cotton-worm 25;^ Canna fed upon by Hesperid Larvae 229 repanda 78 feeding on Cotton-leaf. . 254 Cannajiaccida 229 Cioidae 297 " feeding on hard Corn . . . 5>78 Cantharis nuttalli 108 Cis/uscipcs 297 very destructive in Texas 250 Carabidac fed upon by Bluebirds. . . Circular scale of the Orange 267 107 204 216 94 Bombyliidae 279 Bomhyliini ^s-? Carabus palustris " ttedatus 217 Cleonus 68 283 108 punctiTentris Clisiocaiiipa ncustria 103 Bombylius major .280, 281 Carnivorous habits of Caddis worms 176 99 " boghariensis 280 " propensity of Plant -feeders 200 180 medius 281 Carpet-beetle 5:^ Borer 108,179 180 Borer in Black Ash 22 173 99 263 "in Genesee Co. N. Y " preventive Pomonella 23, 125 227 Borers in Cherry, Peach and Plum Cassia 102 Weevil 108 trees 298 Catalogues and Monograph , of In- Clydoiwpteron tecomae . . . .^&)o, 287 288 Boston Society of Natural History. Bostrychus 104 51 162 78 199 60 Catalogus Coleopterorum, old and Gemminger by Har- 99 Box-Elder injured by bug Coccinella 98 Brachylobus 13 Caterpillar, Romance of a . ....111 XM " h-notata 108 Bradycellus 13 Catops 36 37 Cochineal Insect 112 62 218 205 98 Cattle-flies .... 30 98 278 99 Cockroaches affected by Pyrethrun Powder 194 Bruchus 125 „ " .?>'■"■ 254 " destructor .... 127 Codling Moth Bucculatrix Cocoons 76 99 222 Larva, Wandering habi " pseudacaciae . . 60 Colaphusater 98 of 60 robinice 60 61 Calaspis flavida 243 THE AMERICAN ENTOMOLOGIST. V Cold, Effect of on Chrysalides of Cottonwood, A foe to 1.59 Diplotaxis sordida 278 Butterflies . . 110 Beetle 1.59 Dipterous Parasite of Saw-fly 221 " " " Insect Larvae.. 222 Borer 161 Directions for raising Pyrethrum . . . Disease of Chauliognathus Larvae. . 197 Coleopterous Parasites of the com- Cottony Maple-scale 149 277 mon Hickory 236 Crane-fly 24 Diseases of Currants and Gooseber- Colia r 164 es hirta 281 Cratacanthus dubius Crata-gtis crus-galli 217 271 93 Collet Disintegration of the genus Acro- Colopha 76 " tomentosa 151 271 nycta 49 Color Chemical change of in Butter- ^ings 294 Criocephalns nubilus Crioceris asparagi 238 4 108 fly Distribution of the 17-year Cicada 89 1878 97 42 116 117, 190, 193 Cryptorhopalum 50 Dog-day Cicada 167 " " in New Hampshire 195 " Method of destroy- ing of 169 " Natural enemies of 190 Cryptitsjunceus 1.54 «• 94 123 90 Dolichos Dominican Case-bearer Dor-bug 68 Cucumber Flea-beetle . . 227 " Cuphea viscosissitna 109 " " " history of 169 Currant affected by Insects 92 Dorcaschema alternatum 270 " " Transformations of 169 " Borers 93 nigrum 270 Colorado Beetle's preferences 294 " Diseases of 93 Wildii 270 on Tiger-beetle 77 butors to the Entomologist . 2 '' Stalk Borer " Worm 92 93 93 W Contr DoryphoralQ-lineata. ...116, 118 Consensus in Animal and Vegetable Cut-worm 108 286, 290, 291 296 life 205 201 " juncta 117 Dragon-flies and Telegraph-wires. . . 118 Cora 196 " Dark-sided 20 Cordycefis armeniaca 139 " Fed upon by Bluebird. .. " from Stomach of Robin. «15 Dragon-fly Eggs 174 entomorrhiza 139 201 " Larvae 174 falcata 1.39 298 130 Drasterius ajnabilis 132 Drosera rotundijolia ^47 ' gracilis 139 Cybi.ier gunni 139 Cydonia japonica 271 Dryobius Q-fasczatus 289 ' miliiaris 139 ■inyrntecophila 139 " vulgaris Cylasformicarius 271 297 938 Dysdercus stiturellus 129 Palustris 139 Cyllene antennaUts " Pictus 2.37,239 239 Dvsphaga tenuipes 237 271 ' 271 Dyschirius 13 ' ravenelii 139 robertsii 139 " robinicB_ Cynthia cardui 102 130 ' " roeselius 248 ' sinclairii 1.39 Cynipid Gall on Oak Twigs 1.53 sinensis 139 " Larvae eaten by Squirrels.. 226 » sobolifera 139 Cynipidae 293 E sphecocephala 139 Cynips quercus-batata 1.53 stylophora 139 " " -decidua 278 Early Life-history of Chauliogna- taylori 139 " -mellaria 298 thus pensylvatucus 249 Coriscium 256, 257. 258. 259. 262 '' " -punctata 153 " Siik-culture in Virginia " stages of Ephemeridae 126 albanotella 259 " " -spongifica 226 48 •' operator " seminator 284 284 Earth-worms, Phosphorescence of . . Earwig ferus 216 132 Corix a turuida 130 niured by Diabrotica lonei- CyPhon Cyrtophorus verrucosus 130 239 939 Corn Economic Entomology in Public cornis 247 Schools. 175 Corn-r ettle 51 " investigations in the Cortic aria 37 alus cnmuiuM 17S D Dalmatian Insect Powder . . .43, 104 Damage to Wheat 151 201 South and West 198 Coryd Ecpaiitheria scribonia 133 Corymbites morulus 108 937 Corynetes 24 Effects of Cold on Chrysalides of Coscinoptera dominicana 227 Danais archippus 10, 73, 101 Butterflies 110 Cossus ligniperda 99 111, 116, 162 226 " Frost on Grubs 992 Cotton Army Worm 206 " " Clustering of... " " Flights of 10-? 952 " belt, Division of 10,15, 94 226 " on different " culture in Brazil 128 " " Migrations of . . 101 Insects 250 " " at Manzanillo, Mexico 152 " " Pupation of 162 " severe Cold on Insects . . 1.50 crops in 1880 274 Dandelion 173 Eggs of Corydalus cornutus 178 Insects in Brazil 128 Dark-sided Cut-worm Datura metel 201 118 286 " Moth 6,8, 77 " Appearance and habits of 74 " inerTne 939 " irroratum " " captured in Januarj' ... 152 Daughtrey Atomizer, The 213 " mucronatujn 239 " " eaten by Night-hawks .. 250 " Food of. 68, 94 Decoction of Pyrethrum Powder . . 44 " parallelutn 239 199 " " Habits and characters of 67 Deilephila I i neat a 75 Eleodes extricata 108 " " Male genitalia of 67 Depressaria robi7iiella 60 '• hirtilabris 108 " " Prolificacy of 68 Dermestes lardarius 145 " obsoleta 108 " seeds. Sowing in hot beds of 107 squares injured by Butterfly Destnocerus auripennis 239 " opaca " tricostata 108 " " palliatus 108 Larvae ^201 Destroying Codling Moths Pea-weevils Destruction of Birds of Prey 222 205 244 Elipsoctts 79 84 Stainer 129 Worm 6, 42, 67, 129, 186, 193 Elm-lice " Elm-tree Beetle, Imported 3 290 " " affected by Pyrethrum 242 Tobacco Plants by Enchophyllum binotatutn 2.54 " " and Ants ^9 147 130 " and Spider 250 Destructive Insects increasing ir English Sparrow, Intrcduction of in- i' " Bulletin on 123 California 49 to the South 95 " " destroyer 204 Development of the Eyes and Lumi Entomological Commission, Appro- " devoured by Boll-worm 253 nosity in the Fire-flies 176 177 " Extensive destruction of 124 74 247 " " Instruction to Agents of.... Diabrotica vittata 140 218 " First appearance of . . . " lottgicornis injurious to " " Organization of 198 93, 149, 181 " Hibernation of 6 247 63 " Reports of .... " Club, American Associa- " Diastrophus cuscutcE/ormis " " in Alabama 206 " nebulosus 63 tion for the Advance- " " in Brazil 128, 129 Dichelonycha backii 108 ment of Science. 147, 198 272 " " in Florida 205,227 Didictyum 293 :' Legislation 222 " " in Manzanillo, Mexico 152 " zigzag 52 Diedrocephala flaviceps tH Magazine, Value of to " " in Mississippi 206 78 Fruit-growers 125 " " in Texas 206,228 mollipes 78 " Papers read before the A A. A.S " " in the United States.. 93 196 293 " " investigation. Organi- Digger Wasp 167 " section. Academy of Nat- zation of 197 Dimorphism in Locusts 219 ural Sciences of Phila- " " notes from Vera Cruz, Dionasa muscipula 90 delphia 104 Mexico 179 Diplax 175 " section, Boston Society ol " " not on Plants covered Diplocoelus 129 Natural History 104 with road-dust 251 " Parasites of 93 Diplosis ... 230 132 " work at the Department ol Agriculture " Diilotaxis 222 THE AMERICAN ENTOMOLOGIST. Entomologists at Boston " in Europe, Number of Entomology, Economic, in Public Schools "• Importance of to the Fruit-grower in Amerfca in 1879.10, Entomophthora Entomo-phytology Embryology of Insects in America. . Etnihytits »iaculaius £»,/>usa 41, " muscie 89, Epeira stellata Ephemeridse, Early stages of Ephestia zeie Epicaerus imbricatus Epicaiita " vittata Epitrix brevis " fuscula " hirtipennis " lobata " sitbcrinita Erebojiiaster Ergatcs spiciilatus Erechthites hieracifolia Eriosojna tessellata Errata 49, 75, 127, 150, Erysiphe Erythroneura Eudamus tityrus . . Eudemis botrana Eufitchia ribearia Eumenes fratcrna Eupatorimn album Eupelmus Euphoea Eupogonius' tomentoiiis " vestitus Euptoieta European Tussock-moth Euryomia inda Euschistus servtis Evania laevigata Evarthrus 21G, 217, Exchanges with European Entomol- ogists " wanted Exothecus prodoxi 145, Experience with the Imported Cab- bage worm Extensive destruction of the Cotton- worm Extermination of Insects, Bill pro- viding for the Extract of Pyrethrum Powder Fall Web-worm 22, False Chinch-bug Fauna of the Mammoth Cave Fertilization of Plants of the Tulip Fertilizers of Alpine Flowers Fever-worm Fictis nitida Fidia Fig caprificator Fighting injurious Insects Fire-flies " Development of Eyes and Luminosity of " Phosphorescence in Fish fungus Fitch, Dr. Asa, Obituary of Flat-headed Apple-tree Borer Flea-beetles " affected by Pyrethrum Powder " destroying Tobacco- plants " on Tobacco-plants . Flies beheaded by a Plant " Remedy to keep out " riding on a Tumble-dung . Flight in Insects, How directed. " of Danais arcliippus . . . Floating Apiaries Fly fungus 40, Foe to Cottonwood Food habits of Ground-beetles. . .75, " " the Longicorn Beetles or Wood-borers. .. . " " Thrushes 2, Food of the Bluebird 215, 231 " " " Summary of... 233 Forficula 132 Formica melligera 273 Fountain Pump 186 French Aid in Studying Grape Phyl- loxera 223 Fuchsias injured by Beetles 200 Fuller's Rose-beetle 153 " " in Califon.ia.. . . 26 Fungi considered as Insecticides, Remarks on 40 Fungus disease and Phylloxera 148 " " of beneficial Insects. 149 " Insects 103 " foes 297 " growth. Use of to destroy Insects 269 " in Cicada 148 Further remarks on the differences between Promiba and Prodoxus 182 " Notes and Observations on the Army Worm .... 184, 214 Gaillonella Galeritaj'anus " lecontei " " Larva of Galerucella xanthomelaena .... 3, Galeodes. Gall-making Femphigi}ite Plant-lice, Habits of. . . Gall on Oak leaves " " Oak twigs " " Blackberry and Raspberry " " Pelargonium " " Solidago leaves ... " produced by Agriliis riijicollis Galls, Structure and development of Gelecliia 260, " Larvae of " pseudacaciella 60, Geopinus Geranium sylvaticuiit Glow-worm " Phosphoresence of Glycohius speciosus Goodin Sprinkler Goes dcbilis " pulchcr " pulverulentns " tigrinus Gonzka Gooseberry affected by Insects " Diseases of " Span-worm Gordius Gortyna nitela Gouty Gall on Blackberiy and Rasp- berry canes Gracilaria 256, 257, 258, 2.59, " erigeronella robiniclla 59, 60, 61, 258, 259, Grain Aphis 123, " ^' ais. Rust Grain-beetle Grain Weevil 26, " " destroyed by Pyrethrum Grape Phylloxera " " French aid in study- ing " " in California 3, " " in Geelong, Victoria " in Napa Valley.... " " in Sonoma " " not at the Cape. .. . " " not permanently in- jurious Grapevine Apple-gall " Colaspis Fidia Flea-beetle 152,183, " Remedies for. 183, " m'^Mx^^hy Avipkicerus . . " Roots infested by Wood- lice Grapia interrogaiionis Graptodera carinata . " chalybea Grass-worm Green-fly Green varieties in the genus Argyn- Greeting to Subscribers 1 Ground-beetles, Food habits of ..75, 173 Vegetal-feeding. 26, 277 Gryllofalpa borealis 132 vulgaris 132 Gryllus abbreviatus 215 Guano, Use of for Grape Phylloxera 173 Gyrinus Larva 182 H Habit of Bucculatrix Larva 50 Gall-making Plant-lice.... 107 Insects, Study of 209 Psepkcnus lecontei 73 " Trichoplerous Insects 59 Hadena brassicae 99, 100 Hair-worms and Red-mites upon Lo- custs in California 227 Haldeman, Prof. S. S., Obituary note of 248 Halesus 59 Halictus 77, 145 Haltica cucumeris 123 Ham-beetle, Red-legged 24 Handsome Digger-wasp 167 Harpactor ductus 190 Harpalid-beetles fed upon by Blue- birds 216 Harpalus caliginosus 251, 277 herbivagus 173, 231 Harvesting Ants in New Jersey. 225, 228 Harve.^^tman 39 Hawk Moths 75 Hedgehog Caterpillar 133 Heleiiiujn tenui/olium 271 Heliothis armigera 7, 99, 354 " " feeding on hard Corn 278 Hemimerus 210 Hemispherical Larva at bottom of Ant-hill 129 Hepicilus humuli 99 Herbivorous Ground-beetles 26, 277 Hesperid Larva feeding on Canna.. 229 Hessian-fly 285 Hessian Fly, Bulletin on 123 " Eggs of 140 ' " ■' Habits of the Larva of 121 " " " and Natural His- tory of 118 " " Means of checking it.. 118 " " Mode of Egg-laying .. 120 " Notes 21 " " Number of Broods of. . 118 " " Parasites of l40 " " Probable geographical limits of ... . 141 " " " parthenogen- esis in 127 " " Remedies for 21 " " Summai-y of its habits. 140 Hetaerina 196 Heterachthes guadrimaculatus . . . 237 Hexaplasta 293 Hibernation of the Cotton-worm. .6, 15 Hickory Borer 239 Galls made by Phylloxera. . 230 Scolytus 58 " Twigs and Trunks, Coleop- tera bred from 236 Hippopsis lemniscata 271 Hispa suturalis 59, 60, 61 Honey-ant 273 " " \zx. mexicanus 285 " " var. hortus-deorum 285 Honey-bees as a nuisance 55, 176 Honey-producing Oak-gall 298 Hoplosia Huhila 271 Horse-flies 99 Horn-tails 98 House-fly, Proboscis of 125 Houstonia caerulea 88 purpurea 88 How flight in Insects is directed 221 Hydrocanthus 130 Hydrophobia, Remedy for 50 Hydroporus 130 Hylesinus tri/olii 108, 180 Hylobius 97 Hylotrupes bajulus 238 Hylurgus dentatus. 108 Hymeiiarcys nervosa 217, 218 Hymenopterous Parasites, Three new 24 Hypeiia scabralis 8 hyperplatys aspersus 271 " tnaculatus 271 THE AMERICAN ENTOMOLOGIST. Hyf'haHtria tcxtor 23, 181 Hyponomeitta paradoxica 177 h-J>tcHctella..\XZ,\U, 155, 177 Hypotheneintis hispidnlus 129 I Ichneumon 233 " cceruleiis 134 " signatipes 134 " from Stomach of Blue- bird 203 Ichneumonidie fed upon by Blue- birds 204 Ilex decidua 231 Imbricated Snout-beetle 200 Importance of Entomology to the Fruit-grower 20 Imported Cabbage Worm . . . .22, 55, 178, 194 Currant Worm 92, 93 " Elm-tree Beetle 3 Increase of destructive Insects in California 49 Index Entoinologicus 198 Infecting Phylloxera with Fungus disease 148 Influence of Wind on Aletia 105 Injui-y caused by Chinch-bug 46 " " Phylloxera in France 47 Insect anatomy. Progress in 147 " collections preserved by Tal- low 145 " enemies and diseases of our small Fruits.. 61, 91, 109 " " Methods of combat- ing 61 " " of growmg Rice . . . 253 Insecticide, A natural 128 Insecticides 41 " for the protection of Cot- ton 245 Insectivorous Birds 71 " Plants 89, 90 Insect Powder 43, 104, 151 Insects affected by severe Cold 150 " affecting the Blackberry ... . 62 " " " Cotton-plant in Brazil 128 " Currant 92 " " " Gooseberry.... 93 " " " Raspberry .... 91 " and Plants, Relation between " Catalogues and Monographs of 78 " destroyed by Buckwheat .... 48 " found about Orange Trees . . 132 " from Stomach of Rock Bass. 130 " " " " Lark, Rob- in and Sunfish 278 " Fungus diseases of 103 " in Europe, Number of 72 " injuring the Black Locust... 59 " injurious to Strawberry 109 " killing Mules 148 " Transmission of through the mails 104 Intelligence in Ants 45 Intelligent Wasp 107 Interesting Cotton-worm Notes from Vera Cruz, Mexico 179 Intermittence of phosphoresence in Fire-flies 146 Investigation of Orange Insects. . . . 222 Isaria 138, 148, 182 " destructor 103 Isabella Tiger-moth 133 J Jamaica, Cave-fauna in 30 Jassid, Remarks on a new form of. . . 72 Jassiis 181 " ininiicus 78 " sexnotatus 78 Johnson Spray Machine 188 June-bug 109 Juniperuscalifornica, var. utaheii- sis 65 " virginiana 108 K Kalmia lafi folia 88 Katter's Index Entomologicus 198 Kerosene Oil as remedy for Cotton- worms 246 Kerosene Oil for repelling Flies 239 Kiesenwetter, E. A. H., von, t 150 King-bird 286 Kirschbaum, Prof C. L., t 196 Kolpoda 79 Laccophilus Lace-wing Lachnosterna fusca 10! " querciita Lady-birds Ladybird, Twice-stabbed.... Laemosacciis plagiatus Lagoa opcriuiaris Lamp for attracting Insects. . . Lampronota Lampyrida;, Revision of Lampyris noctiluca Laporte, F. F. de, t Laphygma frugiperda Larder-beetle Large Phosphorescent Larva . " White Scale on Acacias Larva at bottom of Ant-hill " boringalong the axis of Apple- twigs " of Apatura alicia Larvse in Stomach of Black Bass . . . " froni Stomach of Bluebird . . . Larval habits of the Longicorn Bee- tles Laverna Leaf-cutting Ant in New Jersey Leaf-hoppers injuring Wheat fields . " injurious to small Grain Leaf-miner on White Oak Leaf-mining Lepidopterous Larvae, Changes in Mouth-parts and Legs Leioptilus sericidactylus " palaceus Lepidoptera, Mouth organs of Lepidiiim virginiciiin " vs. Bedbugs Lepiopomtis pallidus Lepisma Leptocoris trivittatus Lepiostylus nculifer " biustus " coinmixtiis " macula Leptura zebra Lesteva Leucania cratcegi " unipuncta 8, 94, " " Larva of in Stom- ach of Bluebird. "■ zeee Leucantheniiivi vulgare 151, Leucatithiza amphicarpeafoliella . 256, 259, Lightning Bugs, Discussion on phos- phorescence of Ligyrus rugiceps 130, Limetiitis 164, Linden and Ash destroyers Liodes Liopus cinerens ' crassulus /. i/>aris chrysorrhosa l.ifit of Contributors Lithocollctis cincinnatiflla itti ■ ■IL, 2.56, 257, 2.'59, 261, ornateUa....'JA,m,%\, 255, 256, 257, 258, robiniella...h^, 60,61, 259, Lithosia miniata ... Locusts in California infested by Hair-worms and Red- " " the Northwest " Modifications ob.servable in Locust Tree Borer Loew's Entomological Library London Purple 41, 42, 43, 170, " " for Cotton-worms " " " killing Codling- moths " " in Missouri " " " Texas " " less dangerous than Paris Green Longicorn Beetles, Food habits of . . 237, Long Scale of the Orange Lucilia ca-sar 21, 203 Lucilia vtacellaria 21, 203 Liimbricus terrestris 74 Luminosity in the Fire-flies 176 Luminous Elaterid Larva 201 Luperus brunneus 132 " niorulus 132 " noxius 77 Lyctus striatus 24, 237 Lydella doryphora 190 Lyttini 282 Mackilis 37, 79 Macrobasis albida 132 Macrosila cluentiits 126 Maggot of the Rice fields 262 Mallodon dasystomus 238 " melanopus 238 " serriilatus 238 Ma VI est r a incincta 75 picta 196 Mammoth Cave, Fauna of 79 " " Two days' collect- ing in 34, 79 Mantis Carolina 291 Mandible of Lithocolletis guitijini- tella 294 Many-banded Robber 190 Maple-moth 77 Maple, New Scale-insect on 220 Scale 149 Mason-bees _. 77 May-beetles swarming in Alabama. . 148 Meal-sacks infested by Worms 229 Mealy-bug 105 Mecas inornata 271 Medeola virginica 66 Megaderus bi/asciatus 239 Megilla maculata 173 Melampyrum americanuin 264 Melanactes 202 Mclanoplus collar is 220 clypeatus 220 glaucipes 220 Melanotus 218 Melissodes atriventris 156 " bimactclata 156 desponsa 156 " nigripes. Note on 156 " taurea 154 Melittia cucurbitce 264 Meloidae 282 Mentzelia nuda 45 " ornata 45 Meracantha contracta 217 " Larva of 201 Meroinyza americana 181 Methods of combating Insect enemies 61 Metric system 49 Microcentrus retinervis 152 Microcora coccophila 148 Microdon globosus 129 Microgaster 201 Microphotus 150 Micropterus sabnoides 130 Migrations of Butterflies 100 " " Potato-beetles 247 Milkweed Butterfly 73, 101 Mimetic Hemiptera 146 Minor Ambrosia Plume 2:36 Minute borers in Cherry, Peach and Plum trees 298 Mission Grape, The, and the Phyl- loxera 19 Mistaken Instinct 74 Mistakes made by Instinct 221 Mitchella_ repens 88 Mite preying on Orange Scale 106 Locusts 227 Modifications observable in Locusts. 251 Mold and Phylloxera 147 Molorckus bimaculatus 237 Monas 79 Motiilema 270 Monographs of Insects 78, 154 Monohammiis confusor 270 " scutellatus 270 " _ titillator 270 Monstrosities of Insects 210 Mordella 53 Morphology of Insects, Study of . . . . 209 Morris' Ant 225 Moth trap 286 Moths caught by the Tongue 75 in Alabama 107 " issuing from a Larva 114 " Ravages of in Cushions 30 THE AMERICAN ENTOMOLOGIST. Mud-wasp and Parasite 154 " " Spider 176 " " " Egg-nest 180 Mulberry Silkworm 58, 112 Mules killed by Insects 148 Miisca citia vincit. The facts drive " analogy " to the wall. Here they are : 25 Cotton Worm chrysa- lides ploughed up out of the ground, in a field that was riddled by the insects last fall. This is unimpeachable evidence and, in the opinion of the court, is ampl}' sufficient to convict the prisoner.' " " The chrysalides," continues Prof. Willet, " appear to my eye very like Aletia chrysalides which I have in spirits and I await your verdict with interest." The chrysalides referred to in this in- stance resemble those of Aletia so thorough- ly in form, size and general appearance, that they might have been mistaken there- for even by some entomologists ; yet from certain minute structural differences, easily observable with a good lens, I was able at once to decide that they belonged to an- other insect, the Aspila virescens of Fabri- cius, a beautiful moth with olivaceous pri- maries marked with three distinct pale transverse lines relieved by coincident deeper shades, the translucent green larva of which, speckled with minute pale fleshy elevations, I have found feeding on Sola- tium sieglinge in St. Louis.* There are many species of night-flying moths which go through their transforma- tions beneath the ground and there hiber- nate in the chrysalis state. The leaves of the cotton plant are palatable to a very large number of such, while the Boll Worm, * I append a description of the larva. Smooth, soft, tran- slucent, with the normal complement of 16 legs. Color either green or lilaceous. Finely speckled with pale yellowish -pots, (appearing under the lens as fleshy elevations) arranged in a somewhat longitudinal manner, and forming along the stig- matal region a tolerably well-marked b:uid, the stigmata, which are in the upper portion of this band, being black with a carneous centre and white annulation. Piliferous spots in normal position, very small, dark, with a paler annulation ; the hairs fine and translucent. The two posterior joints some- what squarely cut off. Head, thoracic legs and cervical shield polished, slightly more yellow than body. Full grown in July ; imago issuing in August of same year. iHeliothis ar??iigera) and the " Grass Worm " 'Laphrygjna frugiperda) which thus trans- form are sometimes very abundant in a cotton field. It is not at all surprising, therefore, that chrysalides should be plowed or dug up in land planted to cot- ton. All of them, upon careful scrutiny, will be found to differ from the chrysalis of Aletia, which may be distinguished by its slender form, and particularly by the tip of the body with its armature, as shown in the accompanying Fig. In short, the nature of the Aletia chrysalis effectually prevents it from working beneath the ground except where, dropping out of its cocoon, it happens to fall into some crack or crevice and thus wriggle beneath the surface. It is, also, contrary to all analogy that a chrysalis normally formed above ground in a cocoon should work beneath the soil ; for all insects that pupate underground, descend while in the larva state. [Fig. 4-] Pupa of Aletia. — a, cremaster from side ; b, neath, still further enlarged. Experiments which I have repeatedly made prove that the Aletia chrysalis, when placed under ground, either rots and per- ishes, or the moth — if in a sufficiently ad- vanced state when the chrysalis is buried — will vainly attempt to escape and push through its unnatural surroundings. Regarding the ability of the moth to sur- vive the winter, nearly one half of the more intelligent correspondents state that they have known it to be found flying during warm days in the winter and that it consequently hibernates in that state. Mr. Jno. T. Humphreys of Morgantown, N. C, who was, for a while, employed by the State of Georgia in entomological work, says that he has absolute proof of the hi- bernation of the moth. Page after page of testimony and expe- rience from the most competent and reli- able planters might be adduced in support 8 THE AMERICAN ENTOMOLOGIST. of the fact that the moth is to be seen either hidden in sheltered situations or flying during the milder weather of winter, and in spring, in all of the Southern por- tion of the belt. The situations in which it is most often reported as sheltering are under the shingles of gin houses, under rails, and under the loose bark and in the hollows of trees and prostrate logs. In old pine stumps the sap wood separates from the heart wood and forms excellent retreats for this purpose. The general hue of the large scales of pine bark is sufficiently close to that of the moth to make the resemblance protective. A dense forest of Long-leaved pines also modifies and equalizes the winter temper- ature. These facts would lead one to sup- pose that pine forests offer unusually fa- vorable conditions for hibernation, and Mr. Humphreys has, in fact, found the moth hibernating under pine scales, while some of my most reliable correspondents report having seen the moths sporting in great numbers in the edges of pine forests during the month of March. Nevertheless, the persistent search, by Mr. Schwarz last winter, under my direction, while yet con- nected with the Department of Agriculture, failed to reveal the moth under pine bark ; whereby I was led to the conclusion that it seeks winter shelter some distance from the ground. It has been reported by some correspondents in greatest numbers in swamps of Sweet gum, Oak, Magnolia, Poplar, etc., such as are found in Southern Alabama. These swamps are warm, moist, and miasmatic, and the moths are said to have been seen literally packed together in a torpid state in such places, in the hollows and burrows made in rotting logs by boring larvae. The evidence on this point of the hiber- nation of the moth would be overwhelm- ing did it come from scientific observers ; but, unfortunately, allied species are so often and so easily mistaken for Aletia that doubt still surrounds the subject. The liability to confound hibernating species is all the greater, in that their characteristic markings are more or less effaced or faded. The Hypena scabralis (Fabr.) * a moth, be- longing to a different family {Fyralidcc) and which hibernates in the imago state all over the country, is especially common in the Southern States and large numbers have been sent to me as the genuine Aletia. It is nearly of the same size and form, and while normally of a darker brown, faded, hibernating specimens are easily mistaken for the Cotton Moth because of undulating darker lines across the front wings somewhat similar to those on the latter. Its palpi are longer and snout-like, and its front wings invariably lack the dark discal spot and the white specks characteristic of Aletia. Phoberia atomaris Hiibn., and many other similar moths have been forwarded with the remark that they were the Cotton Moth ; while Leiicania uuipimcta Haw., the parent of the Northern Army Worm — which feeds on grasses and cereals— ^is everywhere found in the South during win- [Fig. 5-: ^^d^^^ Leucania unipuncta : «, male moth ; b^ female abdomen, natural size ; c, eye ; «■, portion of female antenna ; ., grubs, caterpillars, maggots, etc.) should be packed alive, in some tighl tin box — the tighter the better, as air-holes are not needed — along with a supply of their appropriate food sufficient to last them on their journey ; otherwise they generally die on the road and shrivel up. If dead when sent, they should be packed in cotton moistened with alcohol. Send as full an account as possible of the habits of the insect respecting which you desire information; for example, what plant or plants it infests ; whether it destroys the leaves, the buds, the twigs, or the stem ; how long it has been known to you ; what amount of damage it has done, etc. Such particulars are often not only of high scientific interest but of great practical importance.] Borers in Black Ash— Fall Web Worm — Apple Tree Insects — I luive this daj' expressed a box of Black Ash wood and the worms found therein, [i. | Also a tent of leaf-worm that has long infested the Ash of western New York. They have sometimes been so numerous at to defoliate trees before autumn. [2.] The enclosed apples show marks of the so-called gimlet-worm, which attacks full grown apples. It is quite distinct from the Codling Moth ; is a comparative new-comer, and is fast increasing. [3.] The small THE AMERICAN ENTOMOLOGIST. 23 box contains eggs of an orchard insect first ob- served here last j'car. The}' are deposited on the bark near the forlvs, and number from two to twenty per tree. I called attention to them at the last winter meeting of the Western New York Horticultural Society ; but one member had ob- served them. They are deposited in early autumn to hatch in spring, but this fall has been so exceptionally warm up to date that j'ou will see that manj^ of the eggs have hatched. I have not seen or recognized the matured insect. What are they, friend or foe? [4.] ScottsvilU, N . Y. Shelby Eeed. [i.] The borer that so badly affects the roots, and which is reported to be absolutely killing out the Black Ash trees in parts of New York, belongs to the Cerambycidaox long-horned beetles. The species cannot, however, be determined un- til it is reared to the perfect state, as none of the writers on the insects of New York mention any beetle larva thus affecting this tree. The only ash-borer mentioned by entomologists is a Lepi- dopterous insect {Troc/iiliittn demidatitni). [2.] The webs or tents so common upon that tree are those of the Fall web-worm {Hyphantria textor) ; it is also prevalent on many other kinds of trees. It has been particularly abundant in New York State the present year. [3.] We found nothing in the apples sent but a dead specimen of the ordinar}' apple-worm (Carpocapsa ponionclla). We shall be glad, therefore, to get otherbored apples, so as to learn the real nature of what you call the " gimlet worm." [4. J The supposed eggs upon the bark of your orchard trees are in reality the cocoons of the Apple-leaf Bucculatrix {Bitccu/a- (rix pomofoliella Clemens). It is found upon apple trees in most of the States where apples are grown. The little worm that spins these cocoons feeds externally on the leaf, being quite active, and letting itself down by a web when disturbed. It measures about one-half inch in length when full- grown, and is of a dark green color, with the joints of the body swollen so as to look like a series of beads. The principal damage is done in the month of September. The pupa, which is of a dark brown color, works its way partly out of the cocoon and gives forth the moth in spring. The female moth at once lays her eggs on the tender leaves, the worms which hatch therefrom spinning up in midsummer. There are, there- fore, two annual broods. As stated in the fourth Report on the Insects of Missouri, the great peculiarity of this insect is its habit of forming its little ribbed cocoon in company on the bark — a habit which at once gives us the mastery over it ; for as the pupa remains in the cocoon all through the winter, we can make war upon it at any time during that season. When the insect is abun- dant these cocoons will absolutely cover the smaller twigs in the manner shown in the accom- panying figure, and they will be found even on the larger branches and trunk. Anything ap- plied to the tree with the object of killing these pupae must be of an oily nature, so as to readily soak through the cocoon. We have experiment- ally proved that an application of kerosene oil is death to them, and though we have had no oppor- tunity of testing it on an extensive scale, we have no hesitancy in advising its use, or that of linseed [Fig. 6.] ArpLE-LEAF Buccui.ATRix.— rt, twig covered with cocoons ; b^ cocoon enlarged ; iful exfrnsiono/mme. ]//// 1862-I8W Mf7cj's ^roodHV. (i) Are the Seventeen Year Locusts'(C/- cada septeiiukcuiiA abundant in your neighborhood this year ? (2) Are they doing any damage ? (3) When were they known to be in your neigh- borhood before this ? (4) If this is not " Locust Year " with you, please to state exactly when it occurred, if known to you. There are probably some localities in which the Seven- teen Year Locusts never have ap- peared,— please to note and investi- gate. A few days later I published the same inquiries in the '* College Quarterly" (a paper published by the Agricultural Col- lege, and having a wide circulation, being in fact sent to every county in the State). As a result of these inquiries I received re- plies from about fifty counties. In some counties where no Cicadas have ever ap- mation, the greater part of which is fully reliable. In a few cases only is there doubt as to the value of these replies. As fast as answers were received I marked in red upon a map those counties in which the Cicadas were reported as having ap- peared this year : those in which they ap- peared in 1 87 1 were marked in blue ; while those in which they have never appeared were marked with a large circle [O]. A copy of this map accompanies this paper. Twenty-eight counties were reported as having more or less of the Cicadas in 1878 and they are seen on the map to occupy a large area extending from the south- eastern portion of the state northwestward up the Des Moines river. This area in- cludes several counties from which no replies have been received, but in which 28 THE AMERICAN ENTOMOLOGIST. doubtless the Cicadas appeared ; these added to the reported counties make the whole number thirty-three or thirty-four, or, say one third of the State. A careful calculation shows this area to include from 18,000 to 20,000 square miles. Its north- ern, or more properly, its northeasterly mar- gin is parallel with the Des Moines river, and distant from it about fifty miles, run- MT ning from near the city of Muscatine to ■5^ Hamilton Co. when it bends off southwest- wardly to Cass Co. and thence to the State line in Decatur County. That part of the area lying southward, or southwestward of the Des Moines river is considerably broad- er than that on the northeast, being from sixty to seventy miles in width. List OF COUNTIES, WITH EXTRACTS FROM CORRESPONDENCE. Van Buren. (i) Yes. (2) They are not doingvery much damage. (3) In 1861. Davis. Information that they were in this county this year is derived from a news- paper account. Wayne. Abundant. Decatur, (x) Abundant. (3) In 1861. Des Moines. Rather abundant, but not to be compared with what they were • in 1861. Henry. They are not abundant ; not nearly so many as when here in i86r. Fairfield. They are not considered abun- dant this year. Hon. C. W. Slagle made a memorandum in June 1844 " Our groves are alive with an innu- merable multitude of Locusts. I note this Locust Year." And again in June 19, 1 86 1 "The Locusts are very nu- merous at present." Wapello. Not abundant here, compared with the amount we had in 1861, when they did some damage to fruit trees and timber. Monroe. Very abundant in 1861 ; fewer this year. Union, (i) They are here, but not in numbers sufficient to create any alarm. (3) In 1861. Louisa, (i) They are in our county this year, but are not abundant. (2) Do- ing little damage. (3) As near as I can learn they were here in 1861 and again about seven years ago [187 1]. This is interesting, as indicating an overlapping of the two broods (/. e. of 1871 and 1878) which occur in the State. [C. E. B.] Keokuk, (i) They seem to be abundant in the timber and adjacent thereto. (3) 1861. Mahoska. (i) Quite abundant. (2) Not doing any damage. (3) 1861. Marion, (i) Quite abundant in the groves of native timber. (2) Not doing as much damage as I have known them to do heretofore. (3) 1844 and 1861. Warren, (i) Quite abundant here, es- pecially in the woods. (3) They were here in 1861, and were much more nu- merous than now. Madison, (i) They are in this county in considerable numbers, but not so as to be called abundant. (3) Old settlers say they were here in 1861. Adair, (i) They are very few in number. (3) They were very plentiful when here in 1861. Cass. One informant in the eastern part of this county says " They are here though in small numbers": while an- other in the western part reports " none at all this year." Iowa, (i) We have them, but not abund- antly. (3) We had them in 187 1 in great abundance. 3^==" This report, like that from Louisa Co., indicates an overlapping of broods. Another correspondent from the same part of the county reports no Cicadas this year, but refers to the brood of 1871. [C. E. B.] PowESHiCK. (i) They are here in abund- ance. (3) Numerous in 1861. Some years ago [1871] there were a great many, but not a tenth part as many as this year. Jasper, (i) Quite numerous. (3) In 1861, according to old settlers. Polk. Not near as abundant as at their last visit in 1861. Dallas, (i) Not abundant. (3) I have lived here twenty-five years, and do not remember ever seeing them here before. Marshall, (i) They are abundant in parts of this county. When they first made their appearance, two weeks ago, they were only where there were natu- ral groves of timber. Within a few days they are spreading out on the prairies to where there are planted groves and orchards. (3) In 1861. Story, (i) Abundant in certain parts of the woodlands. In one extensive piece of low woodland, none at all were ob- served. As there had been a great freshet a little while before the time for their appearance above ground, THE AMERICAN ENTOMOLOGIST. 29 probably they were drowned. (3) In 1861 according to old settlers. [C.E.B.] Boon. A correspondent informs me that they were in this county this year. Greene, (i) Abundant. (3) Were here in 1861. Another correspondent says they were abundant in 1861, and that in 1871 " there were quite a number on the rivers, more than usual ; but not in great force." Hamilton, (i) In small numbers. (3) Were here seventeen years ago. SOME doubtful REPORTS. Mr. Meredith, a member of the Senior Class of the Agricultural College, and a resident of Taylor County, informs me that there were no Cicadas in that county this year, but that they were thei-e in 1863. He says he "is certain as to the last date." Unless there is some mistake in this, we have here a small area of a third brood — Professor Riley's Brood No. XV. [See ist Mo. Ent. Rep. p. 36.] A Page County correspondent reports none this year, and says that the only one he has seen for many years was one he caught in 1864. Professor Todd, of Tabor College, Fremont Co. reports that he trav- eled extensively in Nebraska and south- western Iowa in June of this year, and that he " neither heard nor saw one." He says further, " I find some old settlers who say they have never seen them. Two or three, however, have told me that some year be- tween 1850 and i860 they were abundant in some localities." I incline to the belief that we must make here due allowance for the well known de- fective memory of the average man, and include Taylor and Fremont counties in the area of the brood of 1861. This would carry the western bounjdary line from Cass Co. to the northwest corner of the State, and would add six counties to the area as already made out. I have indicated the direction of this line on the map by a dotted red line. It will be seen to in- clude Adams, Ringgold, Taylor, Page, and all or part of Fremont and Montgomery counties. This addition, if made, carries the whole number of counties in the area of this brood up to thirty-nine or forty. As Professor Riley in the Report above referred to says that in 1861 the Cicadas [his Brood XIII] were at St. Joseph in northwestern Missouri, it is probable that this interpretation of the testimony from southwestern Iowa is the correct one. It will be noticed that in many cases in the " Extracts " given above, the testimony is that there were fewer Cicadas in 1878 than when they were present last, i. e., sev- enteen years ago. This fact, which is in- teresting in itself, may possibly afford an explanation of the fact that no Cicadas were seen this year in the southwestern counties. Possibly the decrease so generally noticed throughout the area of the brood, was simply much greater here than else- where. Is this brood dying out ? We can only begin to guess the answer after the next seventeen years shall have passed. SOME NOTES ON THE BROOD OF 1871. Incidentally I have obtained some valu- able information regarding the area occu- pied by the Cicadas of the Brood of 1871, — Riley's Brood V, — the results of which I give below. Twelve counties reported that in 187 1 the Cicadas were more or less numerous. These are so distributed upon the map as to make it certain that at least four other counties must be added to the area ; so that without doubt we may say that this brood occupied sixteen counties, or an area somewhat, less than half as large as that of the brood of 1878. The boundary line, as I have approxi- mately drawn it [on Map I] runs from Louisa Co. to Tama Co. at a distance of some miles south of the north line of the brood of 1878 ; from Tama Co. it passes by an approximately straight line to near the northwestern corner of the State. I have definite information as to their occur- rence in the following counties : viz. Louisa, Johnson, Iowa, Poweshiek, Clinton, Cedar, Jones, Benton, Dubuque, Delaware, Bu- chanan and Clayton. Doubtless they also occurred in Muscatine, Scott, Jackson and Lima. There is some uncertainty as to the west- ern boundary of the area occupied by this 3° THE AMERICAN ENTOMOLOGIST. brood. It is probable that the line should be drawn from Tama Co. northward so as to include Mitchell Co. on the north line of the State. Our informant reports that they were in Butler Co. " eight or nine years ago " — which may have been intended for the year 1871. A correspondent in Mitchell Co. speaks of the year 1855 as ''Locust Year", — and this may refer to 1854, which is the year of the brood of 1871. On the other hand, a correspondent at Waterloo, in Black Hawk Co., says : " I would say from the most reliable informa- tion obtainable, they have not appeared here in twenty-five years, in numbers suf- ficient to attract attention." Another in Howard Co. says: "I have heard nothing of the Seventeen Year Locust since I came here in 1858." The testimony from Win- neshiek Co. is not clear ; my correspond- ent knew of no "locust year" whatever. A correspondent in Fayette Co. answers as follows : "(i) Now here. (3) Fourteen years ago. (4) The only locusts that have been here are those above mentioned." This would make the date 1864, which cer- tainly is somewhat doubtful. I am inclined to think that in the last cases, as in that of the brood of 1878, we may have to make corrections, and thus carry the western boundary line from Tama Co. through Bruner, Floyd and Mitchell, as I have indicated on Map I by a dotted blue line. That this' area does not extend much if any west of this line is quite cer- tain ; the testimony upon this point is quite conclusive. Cave Fauna in Jamaica. — During the spring of 1877, while in the island of Ja- maica I examined many caverns, but found no blind, true cave animals. Insects were not however wanting, although they were all twilight-loving forms found in dark places above ground. In the Jamaican caves there occurred very abundantly a large cricket (?) with well developed eyes, but aborted wings and antennae six inches long. Preying upon the cricket there was also found a Phrynus {F. reniformis Fab. ?) with fore legs as long as the antennae of its prey. Upon accumulations of bats' dung there lived multitudes of small flies, and upon the bats themselves besides large ticks, mallophagous parasites {Tric/todectes), long- legged, active and wingless spider-flies [Nyctcribid) and a winged parasitic fly {Stre- bla vespertilionis f). A Mycetophilid fly is found upon the stalactites, where its ver- miform larva may also be seen suspended by ropes of slime. The outer portions of the caves are of course resorted to by many myriapods, cockroaches, etc. A curious Hymenopteron, Evania Icevigata Oliv. was found parasitic on a large cockroach {Be- riplanetd) — H. G. Hubbard. ENTOMOLOGY IN AMERICA IN 1879. Address of President J. A. Lintncr, at the late meeting of the Entomological Club of the A. A. A. S. [Continued from fi. 19.] To the Study of the Tortricidae — a family which has received scarcely any attention in this country since the death of Mr. C. T. Robinson, Prof. C. H. Fernald, .of Orono, Me., has been devoting special and earnest attention. He has been able to examine nearly all the material contained in the principal collections in this country, and during the past winter has visited the larger collections in Europe for their study and a comparison with our forms. In England, the Tortricidae in the following collections were critically examined by him : those of the British Museum, of H. T. Stainton, R. McLachlan, C. J. Bar- rett and Lord Walsingham ; and on the continent, the collections in Brussells, Berlin, Munich, Naples, of Prof. Zeller in Stettin, Dr. O. Staudinger, MM. Deyrolle and Ragenot and the Jardin des Plants in Paris. The above amount of preliminary work should certainly enable Prof. Fernald, as is his hope, to present us with a re- arrangement of this extensive family quite in advance of any heretofore proposed. Prof. Fernald has prepared a synonymical list of our North American species, which is nearly ready for publication. The work of Mr. V. T. Chambers on the Tineidse of the United States, has been vigorously prosecuted, as may be seen in THE AMERICAN ENTOMOLOGIST. his frequent publications in the Canadian Entomologist. His papers on Tineina and their Food-F hints, dind Index to the Described Tineina of the United States and Canada (Bull. U. S. Geolog.-Geograph. Surv. , vol. iv., pp. 107-167), have been appreciatively received as very convenient for reference. The comparatively small but difficult group of the Pterophoridae has engaged the attention of Mr. Charles Fish, of Oldtown, Me., and his studies have already made him our best authority in these forms. From the above references to special studies in several of the families of the Lepidoptera, it will be seen that this at- tractive Order gives every promise of soon occupying high vantage ground. In the other Orders — it is quite unneces- sary that I should refer in the Coleoptera to the labors of Drs. LeConte and Horn. You all know of their untiring work, which has made the field which they are so thoroughly working almost exclusively their own. In the Diptera, Mr. C.«P. Whitney has published descriptions of a few species of Tabanidae. Mr. W. H. Fatten has communicated some descriptive papers on Hymenoptera to the Canadian Entomologist. Mr. E. T. Cresson has published a cata- logue of North American Apidse, with descriptions of new species, comprising 108 pages of vol. vii. of the Trans. Amer. Entomolog. Soc. Some valuable lists of species, collected in particular regions have been given us, which are of service in extending our knowledge of Geographical Distribution. Among these, in the Coleoptera, may be mentioned, a list by E. A. Schwarz of 1,457 Florida species (Proc. Amer. Philosoph. Soc, v. 17, pp. 353-472) ; of 1,246 species from the Lake Superior region by H. G. Hubbard and E. A. Schwarz ; by the same, of 1,787 species from the lower peninsular of Michigan (loc. cit., v. 17, pp. 593-666) ; by Dr. LeConte, of 220 species collected in the Rocky Mountains at an elevation of 6,000 feet and upwards (Bull. Geolog.- Geograph. Surv. Terr., v. 4, pp. 447-480) ; additions to Messrs. Austin and LeContes' Catalogue of the Coleoptera of Mt. Wash- ington, of 89 species, extending the number to 319, by F. Gardiner, Jr. (Psyche, v. 2, p. 211) ; 316 species from Wallace Co., Kansas, by F. H. Snow (Trans. Kans. Acad. Sci., vol. vi., pp. 61-70) ; and additions of 435 species to the Catalogue of Kansas Cole- optera, by E. A. Popenoe (ut. cit., pp. 77- 86), increasing the number to 1,711. In the Lepidoptera, Mr. C. E. Worthing- ton furnishes a list of 229 species of Noc- tuidae from the vicinity of Chicago, 111. (Canad. Entomol, v. xi., p. 68) ; Mr. W. L. Devereaux, a shorter list of species taken in Wayne Co., N. Y. (ut. cit. p. 105); Prof. F. H. Snow, a list of 104 species col- lected in Colorado, by the Kansas Uni- versity Scientific Expedition in 1876. The valuable biological studies of Mr. W. H. Edwards have been continued with their wonted earnestness. Through the success attained by him in carrying a large number of species of butterflies from the egg through their transformations, he has secured their entire life-histories, several of which have been published during the past year, and others illustrated in the volume of the Butterflies of North Amer- ica. Of the Satyridae, the larvae of which are so rarely met with that I may venture to say many members of this Club have not seen a living example, he has reared all of our Eastern species with the two ex- ceptions of Satyrus Fegale and Chionobas semidea. The interesting experiments in producing change in the imago by the application of cold to the chrysalis have been continued and been duly recorded. A large number of biological papers have been contributed to our entomolo- gical journals. From those accessible to me at the time of writing I find contribu- tions from the following : C. J. S. Bethune, J. Boll, Robert Bunker, V. T. Chambers, A. J. Cook, Charles Dury, H. Edwards, W. H. Edwards, J. H. Emerton, G. H. French, H. A. Hagen, E. C. Howe, D. S. Kellicott, J. L. LeConte, B. P. Mann, T. L. Mead, C. V. Riley, W. Saunders, C. G. Siewers, Emma A. Smith, F. H. 32 THE AMERICAN ENTOMOLOGIST. Snow, C. E. Webster, O. S. Westcott, C. E. Worthington, and G. D. Zimmerman — a quite incomplete list of the contributors to this department. Results of anatomical studies of insects have been published by Messrs. C. F. Gissler, J. D. Hyatt, E. L. Mark, and C. V. Riley. It would be inexcusable in a notice of biological work to omit reference to what is being done in this direction at the Museum of Comparative Zoology at Cam- bridge. Under the hand of the eminent Curator of the Entomological Department, Dr. H. A. Hagen, a biological collection of insects has been brought together that is far in advance of any similar collection in the world. It was my privilege recently to give it a partial examination, and when I say that I know not how to express my high estimation of it, I give it but imper- fect praise. No one, whose studies have prepared him for the appreciation of such a collection, can examine it without won- dering when, where and how the material was obtained. As an illustration of the natural history of species, in their several stages, architecture, depredations, food- plants, diseases, parasites, etc., it is difficult to see how its plan of arrangement can be improved. In consideration of its high value, it is very gratifying to see that such unusual means have been resorted to for its preservation, as, with a reasonable super- vision and without the operation of other than the ordinary causes of destruction, will extend its benefits to our successors in coming centuries. In addition to the biological collection, two others have been arranged : the one comprising the insects of North America, and the other those of the world. Of the number of type speci- mens contained in these collections, there is not the time at present, nor is it the occasion, for more than simple mention. The student in American Entomology, who aims to be fully abreast of the most advanced progress in his line of study, can- not neglect the means of information which the Collections and Library of the Ento- mological Department at the Cambridge Museum offer him. The published results of economic in- vestigations during the year have been quite limited. In consideration of the exceeding importance of these studies, it is painful to have to record the fact of the issue of but one Annual Report of a State Entomologist — that of Cyrus Thomas. This second report of Dr. Thomas, form- ing the seventh in the series of the Illinois reports, is a volume of nearly 300 pages. In it Dr. Thomas discusses the depreda- tions of some of the Orthoptera, Coleoptera, and Hemiptera. Prof. G. H. French, Assistant Entomologist, presents brief de- scriptions of a large number of diurnal and nocturnal Lepidoptera and their larvae, with notices of their habits, accompanied by analytical tables for their identification. Miss Emma A. Smith, special Assistant Entomologist, offers the results of original investigations in some species of special economic importance. The publication of this and the preceding Report, without, as is evident, the opportunity of the revision and correction o^ proof by the authors, is much to be regretted, as serious errors in the nomenclature and elsewhere have there- by been given extensive circulation. The Annual Report of the Entomological Society of Ontario, making the ninth in the series, contains its usual amount of matter of interest to the entomologist, and of value to the agriculturist and horticulturist. Several articles treating of insect depre- dations have appeared in our scientific journals, which cannot now be referred to. The United States Entomological Com- mission, continued by an appropriation by the last Congress of $10,000, is actively engaged in its second year's operations. In its investigations of the Rocky Moun- tain Locust, its labors have been almost entirely confined to that portion of country designated as the Permanent region, with a view of determining the limits of these permanent breeding grounds, and to obtain the requisite data for the preparation of a map, and a scheme to be recommended to the Government, by which the excessive multiplication of the species in that region, and the consequent migration therefrom, THE AMERICAN ENTOMOLOGIST. 33 may be prevented. It is understood that the recommendation to the Government will be, that in connection with the author- ities in British America, efforts be made to restrain the extensive prairie fires in autumn which are common to that region, and subsequently to burn them in the spring after the hatching of the young locusts. This plan is believed to be feas- ible, as the breeding grounds are not co- extensive with the so-called Permanent region, but are limited to the richer valleys, plateaus and river borders within it. The Commission will also, it is under- stood, in its forthcoming Report, recom- mend to the Government a scheme for a system of warning and prevention, through the aid of the mounted police patrol of the Dominion Government, and our Signal Bureau and military posts. Having been favored with a transcript of the subjects to be treated of in the forth- coming 2nd Report of the Commission, and the assignment of subjects to the respective members of the Commission, I have no hes- itancy in giving assurance of a volume of unusual interest and value. It is to be hoped that Congress will not repeat the inexcusa- ble blunder of ordering of it an edition by far too small to supply the demand, or for the accomplishment of a main object in its laborious preparation — the diffusion of the needed information among those to whom it could not fail of proving beneficial. The Commission is also occupied with investigation of the Hessian-fly and the Chinch-bug — each of which are chargeable with annual injuries to the amount of sev- eral millions of dollars. The investigation of the natural history and habits of the Cotton-worm, commenced by the Department of Agriculture last year, has by direction of Congress, been trans- ferred to the Entomological Commission. Prof. Riley has been pursuing its study in Southern Texas and in the Gulf States, aided by special assistants, and it is be- lieved that discoveries have recently been made which will reduce the cost of destroy- ing the larvae to perhaps a fourth of what it has hitherto been. Among the special subjects of study which have claimed attention lately, an interesting one has been the pupation of butterflies. Observations made during the past year on the pupation of some of our butterflies have shown us that we have been at fault in accepting the account given of it by Reaumur over a century ago, and re- ceived and quoted by subsequent authors. The most interesting operation in the pu- pation of the suspensi butterflies is the withdrawal of the chrysalis from the larval skin, the casting off of the skin with its attachment by the terminal legs to a button of silk spun for the purpose by the larva, and the attachment and suspension of the chrysalis by its anal spine to the silk but- ton. Reaumur represented it as accom- plished by the chrysalis in its extensions and contractions grasping the larval skin between the segments, and by this means raising itself until it regained the button. Recently Mr. Osborne, an English Ento- mologist, discovered a membrane serving as a suspensory agent in the change to the pupal state, and for the first, questioned the account given by Reaumur. His ob- servations were confirmed by those of Mr. W. H. Edwards, and followed up by addi- tional observations on large numbers of Nymphalidse and Danaids, some of which have been presented in the Canadian jEn- tomologist. There seems to be no question of the existence of such a membrane, and that it consists of the portion of the larval skin lining the region of the rectum, caught upon two knobs conveniently placed for the purpose. Prof. Riley, in a communication to Psyche (vol. ii, p. 249) finds other means of chrysalis suspension — the principal one being the shed intestinal canal, and acces- sory ones, the tracheal vessels of the last pair of spiracles ; these Prof. Riley regards as the principal agents in suspension. In opposition to this Mr. Edwards considers these ligaments as of but little, if any service, and finds the membrane to furnish all the requisite support. Additional ob- servations are required to reconcile these different views. The beds of fossil insects recently dis- 34 THE AMERICAN ENTOMOLOGIST. covered in the Tertiaries of our western Territories are proving to be wonderfully rich in number of species and condition of preservation. From a single small basin exposed by a railway cut in the vicinity of Green River Station, Union Pacific Rail- road, in Wyoming, Mr. S. H. Scudder in Fossil Insects of the Green River Shales (Bull. U. S. Geolog.-Geograph. Surv. Terr., iv, No. 4, pp. 747-776) enumerates eighty species, representing all the orders of the Insecta except Lepidoptera. An idea of the richness of these beds may be obtained from the statement, that a two hours' search was rewarded by the collection of fifty new species. We are glad to learn that Mr. Scudder is engaged upon a general work on our fossil insects, which will form one of the volumes of the quarto reports of the Hayden Survey — the beautiful typography and illustration of which causes us to regret the prospective speedy termi- nation of the series. As the Tertiary Shales of the Rocky Mountain region give every promise of being richer in insect remains than any other country in the world, the material for this volume will be more ample than any other student in fossil entomology has been able to command. For the evident omission of reference to much valuable work done during the period reviewed, I ask indulgence. The time that I had allotted to the preparation of my sketch was found, too late, to be quite insufficient for the extended bio- graphical examinations required for even an approach to completeness. I offer it only as a partial sketch, and as such please accept it. Statistics gathered for the forthcoming annual report of the New-Jersey Labor Bureau include reports from sixty-seven silk mills, mostly in Paterson. The Pat- erson mills alone employ 10,000 hands, besides from 2,000 to 3,000 employed in their own homes. The annual production of these mills reaches the total of $14,- 000,000. — Scientific American. It is officially announced that the French vintage for 1879 is 30,000,000 hectolitres under the average of the last ten years. TWO DAYS' COLLECTING IN THE MAMMOTH CAVE, WITH CONTRIBUTIONS TO A STUDY OF ITS FAUNA. H. G. HUBBARD, DETROIT, MICH. During the past summer, while acting as entomologist to the Kentucky State Geo- logical Survey, I made, at Prof. Shaler's direction, repeated examinations of the limestone caves in the vicinity of Penning- ton's Gap in the Cumberland Mountains of Lee Co., Va., without however finding a single specimen of any true cave insect, except a cricket {Raphidophord). Being dissatisfied with this negative result, and anxious to test my powers in a locality known to be inhabited by blind insects, I [Fig. 8.] Campodea sp. : a, dorsal view ; hair line showing natural size ; b, part of antenna, still more enlarged (after Hubbard). determined on my return to make a short visit to the Mammoth Cave. Accordingly on the 19th of August, in company with one other member of the Survey party, I found myself in the stage coach, rapidly traversing the ten miles of hilly country that intervenes between the railroad at Cave City and this world-renowned cavern. We reached the hotel about six o'clock in the evening, and, after supper, joined a party which we found about to take ** the short route," a tour in the cave of three and a half miles and the same distance back, making a walk of seven miles. THE AMERICAN ENTOMOLOGIST. 35 We entered the cave, the mouth of which is in a little hollow behind the hotel, and after proceeding about two hundred yards found ourselves in a very large chamber called the Rotunda. Here two avenues lead off, one to the right, the other to the left. The left-hand turn is taken by all parties making either the " long " or the "short" route, and to the Rotunda they must always return on the way out. The passage to the right is an immense As I was anxious to begin at once my acquaintance with subterranean life I de- cided to remain behind, leaving the guide and his party to continue their route, and arranging to meet them here in the Rotunda on their return at eleven o'clock. I watched their fading lights and listened to the rapidly diminishing sound of their foot- steps as they receded down the long pas- sage, then turned into Audubon Avenue, and following previous instructions, found [Fig. 9-] Phrixis longipes : a, claw of anterior tarsus ; i, claws of posterior tarsi ; c, spider enlarged ten times (after Hubbard). gallery, like a great tunnel, eighty feet wide and forty feet high, and about three miles long. It is called Audubon Avenue, and has but few branch galleries, none of them very long. The first side passage that leaves Audubon Avenue is a mile long, and opens at its end into the top of Mam- moth Dome. So one may follow this passage to eternity, by stepping from the top to the bottom of Mammoth Dome, a distance of two hundred and fifty feet. and traversed to its end the side passage leading to the jump-off into the dome. The gallery was however very dry, and after careful search, finding no insects, I lost no time in returning to the Rotunda. This is also a dry chamber, but in a few places the walls are slightly moist, and there are ledges upon which the droppings of bats are collected. I found at last on one such moist shelf a little pile of fresh bats' dung, and on disturbing it, three or 36 THE AMERICAN ENTOMOLOGIST. four specimens of Adelops hirtus ran swiftly away from it and hid in cracks, or in the shadows of small projections of the wall, as though they perceived and shunned the light of my lamp. Their manner was exactly that of a Catops when simi- larly .disturbed. Before the return of the party I succeeded in finding one other moist crevice with bats' dung, about which I found and captured a few more speci- mens of Adelops. My friend N. who had gone with the guide, brought back a speci- men of Afiophthabnus Tellka7npfii and two of Adelops, both found at Richardson's Spring. This is one of the places where parties stop to take lunch, and crumbs of food are left scattered about. The guide William, who assisted Dr. Packard in his [Fig. 10.] CiCCiDOTEA STYGiA : magnified six times, with inner short antenna of left side (after Hubbard). explorations, thinks it the best locality in the cave for Afiophthalmi, but I did not visit it. The next morning N. and I returned to the Rotunda, and found a fresh supply of Adelops about the same bits of dung where I had taken them the night before. Other and better ledges also turned up, and we secured in all about thirty speci- mens of the beetle. While examining the side walls a small patch of clay adhering to the rock, attracted my attention from its lumpy appearance, and picking at it I opened a small oval cell in which was a pupa, evidently of Adelops. This was a grand discovery, and while N. made a search for other lumpy patches, I carefully uncovered four cells, all that were found together in this piece. Each cell contained a pupa, and I collected them with the skins of the larvD2. Near by I found another and then a third cluster, and N. found one or two more, all within a foot or two of the floor. The number of cells in each cluster varied from four to twelve. One cell enclosed a larva, and two or three others contained recently transformed imagos of Adelops hirtus. In the immediate vicinity we also found a few larvae feeding upon bats' dung in company with imagos, some of the latter quite young and soft, evidently not long out of their pupa cells. I have since examined and verified Pack- ard's figure of the larva {Am. Naturalist, Vol. X, pi. II) which proves to be cor- rectly ascribed to this beetle, and very well represents its appearance when con- tracted by strong alcohol. The history of Adelops is therefore now complete. At the end of this paper will be found descrip- tions, with figures, of the larva and pupa. Nearly every part of the Rotunda is very dry and devoid of life, the corner in which the cells of Adelops occured, had however a slight cave dampness, and so well repaid our search that we devoted the greater part of the morning to examining this recess alone.* The carcass of an ox lay here close to the wall and partly buried beneath a heap of stones and earth. Though long past the stage of putrefaction, if indeed the ordinary process of putrefac- tion ever takes place in the pure air of the cave, and entirely odorless, the flesh still * The manufacture of saltpetre, abandoned in 1812, was formerly carried on very extensively in the Rotunda, where traces of the " works " may still be seen in the remams of huge wooden troughs and water pipes, and a general litter of boxes and barrels about the chamber. Oxen were at that time em- ployed in the excavations, and lived and died here. In later times three log houses were erected in the Rotunda, which for a time were tenanted by a small colony of consumptives, who hoped to prolong their lives by living in a climate that does not vary the year round. Like the oxen these unfortunates quickly succumbed to the dampness and darkness, and left behind them, if not their bodies, many another rich feast for the mites and mould. THE AMERICAN ENTOMOLOGIST. 37 adhered to the bones, in a wet and mouldy condition, communicating its moisture to surrounding objects. Upon pieces of wood and boards that lay upon this heap, and were thus kept perpetually moist, we captured seven specimens of Campodea, (Fig. 8, described hereafter) and four of Machilis, both of which though blind had the habits of their felatives the Bristle- tails and Poduras, also five specimens of the blind Pseudo-scorpion, [Chthoniiis Pack- ardi Hagen, described and figured in the second part) and two specimens of a transparent and delicate Psocus with small eyes and rudimentary or undeveloped wings. The last is perhaps a wanderer from without, but the three former are blind and colorless, true cave forms. The larger cave fly {Anthomyia) was common about the ledges,,and a single specimen of Afiophthalmus Menetriesii, which presents an extreme amount of variation, was dis- covered after much searching, deeply hidden in a crevice, four feet above the floor. Some of the numerous fragments of wood that lay scattered about the chamber were covered with thick downy masses of brown or white mould, and no life could be found upon them. The greater part were however dry and but slightly mouldy, and upon such pieces we discovered four specimens of a Lathridiid beetle, {Cor- ticarid) with well-developed eyes, and not differing remarkably from other cellar-inhabiting species of the same ge- nus.* At noon my friend left me and returned to the hotel. I was too much excited to interrupt this my first acquaintance with a true cave fauna, and momentarily expected to find a new beetle or to make some other grand discovery. I left the Rotunda and proceeded along Audubon Avenue perhaps * Packard's list of wanderers into the cave does not include this beetle. He mentions {Am. Nat. v, p. 286) from neighboring caves, Bairisus spretus^ Quedius fiilgidus., and two other Staphylinid beetles, probably both common Philonthi^ but his beautifully executed figures are rendered valueless for specific determination by the omission of the punctation and other details. Cope also names three species of beetles taken within the mouth of Wyandotte Cave in Indiana, Catops n. sp. ? Quedius spelaus Horn, I.esieva n. sp. and an Aleocharid allied to Tachyusa (Am. Nat. vi, p. 413.). a quarter of a mile, to the first sharp turn. Here I heard water dripping at the summit of a long hill of loose rock which rose be- fore me to the roof of the dome. Up this I climbed until I reached the spot upon which the water fell. Most of it sank at once between the rocks and disappeared, but accumulations of sand here and there retained shallow pools, and formed tiny beaches among the fallen fragments. The wet sand was seen at the first glance to be covered with the tracks of insects, as if the hillside swarmed with life. And in fact crickets {Raphidophora subterranea Scud.) and their young were quite numerous upon the wet stones, although they were congre- gated in still greater numbers upon the side walls and roof. Almost the first stone I turned uncovered an Anopthaltnus, but it fled like a shadow into a crevice and saved itself. Three or four others, however, shortly fell into my clutches, and then during an hour's hunt I could find no more. My movements had, I suppose, frightened the rest, and caused them to seek shelter in the cavities below. I took however two specimens of a minute blind spider [Anthrobia) which were running upon the sand. I next turned my attention to the pools of water, and though none of them were larger than an ordinary wash- bowl, I found them all veritable little aquaria, well stocked with the Crustacean described by Packard {Ccscidotea stygia, Fig. lo). Some of the pools contained twenty or thirty specimens in all stages of growth. In company with them occurred not rarely a leech, or possibly worm, of very slender form, not thicker than an insect pin, but capable of extending its delicate body to a length of two inches. Being almost transparent these creatures were rendered visible by their shadows only. This ended the day's collecting. I re- turned to the hotel, and in the evening looked over my specimens, each lot of which were collected separately in small vials of alcohol. They were all transferred to fresh vials of alcohol, and carefully cleaned from sand and other impurities. The following day we resolved to visit 38 THE AMERICAN ENTOMOLOGIST. the river Styx, which is at the lowest level of the cave and about three miles from the entrance by the route usually taken. There is however another route, called the Cork- screw, which cuts off two and a half miles of this distance, but is a very narrow and difficult passage. It begins in the upper level near the Rotunda, and sinks abruptly to the deepest gallery of the cave. The first part of the descent, through an almost vertical well, is made on ladders, and the remainder by a steep declivity over rough rocks. A large party of visitors was going by the long route to the end of the cave, and a guide was to be sent in advance with a basket of provisions. N. and I de- cided to take advantage of this arrange- ment, and following the guide " Pete " down the Corkscrew, after a short, but somewhat exciting descent, we found our- selves in the long avenue leading to the river, which we reached an hour in ad- vance of the main party. With this avenue the water system of the cave communicates at several points, forming pools known as Lake Lethe, the River Styx, and similar Plutonic appella- tions. The floor of the avenue is of fine sand, and at high tide the water rises from forty to fifty feet, filling it nearly to the roof. When the Green River rises above a certain height a submarine connection is established between its waters and those of the so-called river of the cave, which then rises and falls with the water outside. At the time of our visit the flood was at its usual summer ebb, and these stygian pools lay in motionless tranquility, their crystal depths undimmed, and their glassy surfaces unruffled by current or eddy. Arrived at the point where the River Styx crosses the gallery, we found Charon's boat drawn up upon the sand, and deposit- ing our burdens, we began a search along shore for blind fish and crawfish. The forms of several were soon seen floating like white phantoms in the almost invisible water, and we captured with an insect net several small specimens of both species of blind fish, Amblyopsis and Typ/ilichthys, which resemble each other closely, but want the ventral fin in the latter genus. We took also good specimens of the cave crawfish [Cajnbarus pellucidus Tellk.), and in addition a gigantic female of Cambarus Bartonii, the common crawfish of the Green River, but which has quite often been found in the cave waters. A very unexpected find however was a common frog. He was res^ng upon the sand, not far from the water, and was somewhat emaciated, and apparently much discour- aged. A fish with large and perfect eyes, probably a darter, showed itself in one of the large pools. It remained for some time motionless at the surface of the water, within easy reach, but " Pete " missed it with the net, and it vanished in a twink- ling, not to appear again. A single ^«^/i- thalmus, found running on the sand, was the only insect, except cfickets, seen here. When therefore the party arrived we de- cided to accompany them farther. We em- barked with them in one of the boats, and leaving the gallery on our left, pushed under a low, wide arch, and floated for half a mile in an aqueduct, like a mammoth sewer, over water thirty or forty feet deep. The guides, standing up in the bows, propelled the boats by pushing with their paddles against the low roof. At its end, the river sinks beneath the wall of rock, but another great gallery opens here at the side, and another system of halls and avenues begins, the farthest point of which, and the end of the " long route " is still a walk of six miles from the river. We landed and hurried on before, three miles farther to Washington's Hall, a chamber of the largest size, and for many years the lunching place of tourists. The floor of the hall is of white gypsum sand strewn with fragments of the same material. The larger masses of gypsum afford convenient seats and tables for pic- nickers, and are strewn about with chicken bones and bits of food. The accumulation of such rejectamenta is very great, to be reckoned perhaps by the cart-load, yet not- withstanding the presence of so much offal, kept perpetually moist by contact with the gypsum sand, not the slightest taint is per- ceptible in the air of the chamber, only THE AMERICAN ENTOMOLOGIST. 39 at close quarters the recently deposited morsels give off a peculiar rancid odor. As before in the Rotffnda I was struck with the conviction that decay in the cave is an exceedingly slow process, accomplished mainly through the agency of a few fungi.* Prof. Tyndall has shown that in the pure atmosphere of the Alps, perishable in- fusions of meat and vegetables remain un- changed for an indefinite length of time.f May it not be that the equally pure and bracing air of these caverns is likewise com- paratively free from the germs of Bacteria, Vibrios and other agents of putrefaction and fermentation ? It has been asserted by the guides, that meat hung up '^ at the mouth of the cave " will keep fresh a long time. J But if Bacteria are absent, other scavengers in abundance attack this food material. I found it swarming with the larvae of Adelops and the maggots of a small fly {Fhora). The imagos of the beetle, and puparia of the fly were also present in countless numbers. The adult beetles were very agile, and on being dis- turbed when gathered in a cluster about a bit of meat, they scattered in every direc- tion over the sand, so that it was diffi- cult to pick them up rapidly. I found the best method to be to throw the lump with Adelops clinging to it on to a handkerchief. The beetles then hid in the folds of the cloth and could be picked up by a quill passed through the cork of the collecting bottle. In this way we secured several hundred specimens in a few minutes. To secure a good supply of larvae it was suffici- ent to tie up in a cloth one or two small fragments of chicken bone crowded with in- sects. These unfortunately remained for- gotten in my collecting sack, until after my return home a week later, when I found * The fungi of our caves have not as far as I know been studied. Two species have been identified by Dr. Farlow from the Mammoth Cave, Ozonium auricomum Link, the mycelium of an unknown fungus, and Stemonitis ferruginea^ also immature. A list by Pokorny of fungi from the Adelsberg and Lueg caverns, (Germany) extracted from Dr. Ad. Schmidt's " Die Grotten und floehlen von Adelsberg," Wien, 1854, and kindly sent me by Dr. Hagen, enumerates nineteen species, all found above ground, and originating, as Pokorny thinks, from spores introduced from without on wood. t For an account of these experiments see Popular Science Monthly_ for Feb., 1878. X During the summer months, when the temperature out- side is higher than that of the cave, (59'' F.) a strong current of air flows out of its mouth. The in-coming supply is said to be by filtration through the rocks, in which case it would be very probably freed of floating germs. and examined them They were much crushed, and the larvae all dead, but of twenty or more adult Adelops which ad- hered to the lumps, and had been im- prisoned with them, two were still alive. Both however died after another week's confinement. Some of the puparia of the fly were also uninjured, and in a few days several perfect Phoras made their appear- ance from them. Three or four living mites {Acarus) end a very minute Psocid, {Atropos divinatoria Muell.) possessing eye- spots and undeveloped wings were also found upon the lumps. Washington's Hall was said to be a good locality for Anophthalmus, but we found only a few specimens under flat pieces of gypsum. The party of sight-seers had in the meantime gone on to. the end of the cave, and a few minutes before their return " Pete," who remained behind with us, pro- posed to take us to a place where plenty of Anophthalmi could be found. He then led us back a short distance to a passage called Martha's Vineyard. Here the rocks are damp, with some dripping springs and one quite large pool known as Hebe's Spring. This locality did not disappoint our expectations. It is one of the best in the cave, but as we had but a few minutes time, we were obliged to hurry over the ground and could delay but a few mo- ments in one place. The guide constantly moving on, called back to us that it was dangerous to fall behind. At Hebe's Spring the repairing of a stairway left the timbers of the former structure scattered about, and under these, Afiophthalmus Tellkampfii and A. Menetriesii were common,the former much more abundant than the latter how- ever. I found here under a piece of wood lying on sand a specimen of a larva which agrees perfectly with Packard's figure of that of A. Tellkampfii* We also secured two specimens of Phrixis lojigtpes, (Fig. 9) the blind Phalangid spider or Harvestman described by Cope.f With a little more time at our disposal, I feel sure that the • pupa of Anophthalmus would have been found at this spring, as many of the imagos * Am. Naturalist, Vol. x, pi. II. + Ibid, vi, p. 421. 4° THE AMERICAN ENTOMOLOGIST. taken here were quite fresh. The pupa has however already been figured by Packard in his paper on the beetles of the cave. While I devoted myself to hunting under stones and boards for other insects, taking only an occasional specimen of Anophthalmus, " Pete " and N. were capturing numbers of the latter, all of them resting in exposed places upon the side walls, where it was quite damp, and usually several feet from the floor. They were not at all difficult to find or to capture, and we took about thirty specimens while rapidly passing over the first half mile of our route back to the river. The party overtook us soon after we reached the boats, and without making any further stops we hurried back, reaching the mouth of the cave at 8 o'clock p.m. I intended to return to Hebe's Spring on the following day, as our examination of this locality was entirely insufficient, half of the day being consumed on the journey there and back. This however proved my last collecting in the cave, for on reaching the hotel I found a message summoning me home. In examining the results of my two days' collecting I find in forty specimens of Anophthalmus Tellka7npfii but little varia- tion. Of twelve A. Menctriesii, three show considerable variation in size and form, and one is plainly pubescent. An undoubtedly new species of this genus has been detected among specimens of the latter species, which I have named A. interstitialis* A small mite {Acarus ?) in- fests the bodies of the Anophthalmi. While studying the larva of Adelops, and observ- ing the action of the muscular lobes that close the rectum at the end of the anal tube, by pressure I succeeded in expelling the foeces in ovoidal masses, and along with them several thread-like bodies, curved in the shape of a fish-hook and pointed at the ends. Under a magnifying power of 250 diameters they appear to be filled with granules, and are thicker and shorter than Trichina spiralis. I suspect that they are intestinal worms. [To be continued.'] * A description of it will be found in the Descriptive columns of this number. — Ed. SOME REMARKS ON FUNGI CONSIDERED AS INSECTICIDES. BY PROF. \V. H. SEAMAN, WASHINGTON, D. C. An article has recently appeared in the Canadian Entomologist for June last from the pen of Dr. H. A. Hagen, in which it is proposed to propagate certain parasitic and other fungi to destroy insects injurious to Agriculturists. The success of this novel remedy depends on the genetic connection alleged to exist between the fly fungus, " common mould," the yeast fungus, and a small water plant known only to profes- sional botanists. What this latter may be is altogether left to conjecture. The con- nection is vouched for by Dr. Bail of Prussia, whose experiments cover more than a dozen years, but whose views are " not accepted by prominent botanists." It is unfortunate for students of fungi that the names of the above plants are not given with more precision, " common mould" and ".a small water plant known only to professional botanists " are not suf- ficiently definite terms to inspire confidence in the investigations on which the new remedy is founded. The word mould in popular language is applied to many species of cryptogamous plants that differ widely in character, and have no genetic connection with each other. The mould on paper on damp \\;alls, is usually a Chaetomium, that on pea leaves is an Erysiphe, both of which bear their spores in little capsules, or asci. The mould on fermenting liquors is at first some Torula, which Pasteur has shown is inti- mately connected with the process of fer- mentation. It consists of single cells that propagate by budding, and it is not yet demonstrated that they increase in any other manner. It is to this plant the names of " yeast fungus," ** vinegar plant," etc. are given. When the Torulas have exhausted the sugar, other species of moulds, as As- pergillus and Penicillium appear to com- plete the decomposition of the fluid. Again, the moulds composed of masses of white threads that appear in cellars on damp wood, etc. are not perfect fungi at all, but THE AMERICAN ENTOMOLOGIST. 41 are the first stages in the growth of toad- stools, that is, Agarici and Polypori. Which of the above Dr. Hagen would have us believe grows from the fly fungus it is difficult to say. The fly fungus is a species of the genus Saprolegnia, formerly called Sporondonema, Empusa, or Achlya. It consists of short jointed threads, two to five millimeters long, growing from the body of flies, usually in Autumn. These threads enlarge in the outer end or last joint, which becomes filled with swarm spores that as soon as mature burst their envelope, move about for a few hours, then come to rest, generally near the parent filament and im- mediately begin to grow. It has been asserted hy some authors that this plant is identical with the fish fungus, which de- stroys eggs and young fish in fish-breeding establishments. Other writers make sev- eral species in this class of fungi, dependent on variations in the form of the filaments and peculiarities of the sexual organs. The sexual characteristics of the Saproleg- niese connect them more closely with Pero- nospora or the rusts, such as cause the potato disease, than with any other class of fungi, but no one but Dr. Bail has yet suggested a specific relation between them. We fear the observations of Dr. Bail have not been made with such care as to compel full credence. Dollinger and Drys- dale have shown that the microscopic monad has a cycle of growth as definite and unvarying as any quadruped, and fungi, in all their wonderful varieties of fructifi- cation, do not pass certain well marked limits of modification. The spores of Sa- prolegniese and of numerous moulds are continually floating in the air in larger or smaller numbers according to the season, and their development depends upon nice conditions of temperature and moisture that man cannot control. Supposing it were possible to find a parasitic fungus to attack the grasshopper, the conditions of its growth must be provided, and we appre- hend this would be impossible. The rarity of epidemics of fungi shows how seldom all circumstances combine with sufficient nicety to allow an injurious de- velopment. The "pebrine" of the silk- worm must be regarded as the result of en- feeblement of the constitution of the worms caused by an artificial life. But Dr. Bail is not alone in his views with regard to the polymorphic development of microscopic spores. Metcalfe Johnson in the Monthly Microscopical Journal of 187 1, vol. 6, p. 217, describes with what appears to be irrefragible precision and fullness of detail, the development of moss (a mnium) from monads. This is only one of several state- ments affirming polymorphic development, which do not yet receive much attention, because of a conviction in the minds of accurate students, that many of them assert positively, what is yet doubtful, as regards the extent oi variation. It often happens that one species of fungus grows on another without any but an accidental local relation between the two, and it is in this way so easy to be mistaken, that nothing but the most careful and repeated observation will establish a genetic connection between forms so remote from each other in charac- ter, as saprolegnia and yeast, and it is cer- tain that these observations are yet to be made. TWO VALUABLE INSECTICIDES. London Purple.* This powder is obtained in the follow- ing manner in the manufacture of aniline dyes. Crude coal-oil is distilled to pro- duce benzole. This is mixed with nitric acid and forms nitro-benzole. Iron filings are then used to produce nascent hydro- gen with the excess of nitric acid in the benzole. When distilled, aniline results : to this arsenic acid, to give an atom of oxygen which produces rose aniline, and quicklime are added to absorb the arsenic. The residuum which is obtained by filtra- tion or settling is what has been denomi- nated " London Purple," the sediment being dried, powdered, and finely bolted. The powder is, therefore, composed of lime and arsenious acid, with about 25 per cent. of carbonaceous matter which surrounds * From advance sheets of Bulletin No. 3 of the U. S. Ento- mological Commission, by C. V. Riley. 42 THE AMERICAN ENTOMOLOGIST. every atom. Experiments which I made with it in 1878 impressed me favorably with this powder as an insecticide, and its use on the Colorado potato-beetle by Pro- fessors Budd and Bessey, of the Iowa Agricultural College, proved highly satis- factory. I was, therefore, quite anxious to test its effect on the Cotton-Worm in the field on a large scale, and in the winter of 1878-79 induced the manufacturers to send a large quantity for this purpose to the Department of Agriculture. The analysis* made of it by Professor Collier, the chem- ist of the Department, showed it to contain : Per cent. Rose aniline 12.46 Arsenic acid 43-65 Lime 21.82 Insoluble residue ^ 14-57 Iron oxide 1.16 Water 2.27 Loss 4.07 100.00 Through the liberality of the manufac- turers, Messrs. Hemingway & Co., a num- ber of barrels of this powder were placed at my disposal the past season and distri- buted to various observers and agents in Georgia, Alabama, and Texas. Early in the spring Mr. A. R. Whitney, of Franklin Grove, Illinois, found it to be a perfect antidote to the canker-worms which had not been prevented from ascending his* apple-trees, and the experiments of those whom I had intrusted to make them on the Cotton-Worm, as well as those made under my own supervision, all showed that its effects are fully equal to those of Paris green. Like the latter it kills the worms ■ quickly and does not injure the plants, if not applied in too great a quantity. Farther, it also colors the ingredients so as to prevent their being mistaken for harm- less material. Finally, its cheap price removes the temptation to adulterate the poison, as every adulteration would prove more expensive than the genuine article. It is even superior to Paris green, as, owing to its more finely-powdered condi- tion, it can be more thoroughly mixed with other ingredients and used in smaller proportion. Experiments on a large scale * Ordinarily the Rose aniline has mixed with it a little ulmic acid, and an increase of 2 per cent, of arsenic acid. have been made with the dry application at the rate of 2 lbs. to 18 lbs. of diluents, also at the rates of i, i, i, and i lb. to 18 of the diluents. The last proved only partially effectual, and in no case were the plants injured or the leaves even burned. In all but the last case the worms were effectually killed, but as the mixture, at the rate of i lb. was applied with greater care and regularity than is generally had on a large scale, and also in very dry weather, the proportion of i lb. to 18 of the diluents is most to be recommended. All higher proportions are simply waste of the material. Like Paris green, it is not soluble,* but is much easier kept suspended in water than the former. If applied in this way some care has to be taken in stirring it in the water, as it has a tendency to form lumps, owing to its finely-powdered con- dition. Experiments on a large scale with this material diluted in water gave the fol- lowing results : When used in the same proportion as Paris green, namely, i lb. of the poison to about 40 gallons of water, one experimenter reports that the leaves were slightly crisped, while four others re- port a perfect success, and no injury whatever to the plant. Experiments by myself and Mr. Schwarz showed that when applied in the proportion mentioned and thoroughly stirred up in the water the leaves were partly crisped, though by no means so much as by arsenic, even when applied in weaker solution. When used in smaller proportion, or at the rate of f or ^ lb. to 40 gallons of water, it did not burn the leaves and still proved effectual in de- stroying the worms. Repeated experi- ments on a smaller scale confirmed these results obtained on large fields, and also showed that the proportion may be still farther reduced, and when applied with great care and in very dry weather i lb. to 40 gallons will kill. Still farther reduction in the proportion of the powder used gave negative results. I would, therefore, re- commend the use of i lb. of this powder to from 50 to 55 gallons of water as the pro- * The manufacturer-; can render about 13 per cent, of it soluble if desired. THE AMERICAN ENTOMOLOGIST. 43 portion most likely to give general satisfac- tion by effectually destroying the worms without injuring the plants. All that has been said under the head of Paris green as to the desirability of adding a small quantity of flour or other substance to give adhesiveness to the liquid will hold equally true of London purple, but the latter has in many respects a great advantage over the former, especially in its greater cheapness, being a mere refuse which, from its poisonous nature, was a drug to the manufacturers and had to be gotten rid of by being dumped long dis- tances out at sea. This substance can be put upon the market at the bare cost of transportation. It can be sold in New York at the low rate of 6 cents per lb., and there is no reason why it should not be obtained at any of the large shipping points in the South at figures ranging between 7 and 10 cents a pound. This means virtu- ally that the cost of destroying the worms by this powder is reduced to such a mini- mum as to depend mainly on the labor and the other ingredients or diluents em- ployed ; in other words, that, while the planters, as heretofore, were obliged to pay as much as $1 for the first cost of the active poison needed for one acre, and never less than 15 cents, he may now ob- tain it for from 3 to 5 cents. London purple has this farther advan- tage over other arsenical compounds hitherto employed : Its finely-pulverized condition seems to give it such penetrating power that, when used in liquid, it tints the leaves so that cotton treated with it is readily distinguished at a distance, the general effect being quite marked as com- pai;ed with any of the other poisons simi- larly applied. It seems also to be more effectually absorbed into the substance of the leaf, and is therefore more persistent. At the same time experience shows that it does not injure the squares any more than Paris green. Pyrethrum Powder. The insecticide and insectifuge qualities of the dried and finely-powdered flower- heads of different species of Pyrethrum, and the harmlessness of the powder to man, to other animals, and to plants, have long since been known. Used against various household pests under the names " Persian Insect Powder " or " Dalmatian Insect Powder," it has hitherto been put up in small bottles or packages and sold at such high prices as to preclude the idea of using it on a large scale in the field. The so-called Persian Powder is made from the flowers of Pyrethrum carneum and P. roseum, while that from P. cinerarice- foHum, a native of Dalmatia, Herzegovina, and Montenegro, is more generally known as Dalmatian Powder. Some interesting experiments made during the past year on different insects by Mr. William Saunders, of London, Ontario, show that the use of this powder may be satisfactorily extended beyond the household, while a series which I made in the summer of 1878 with the same powder on the Cotton-Worm showed it to have striking destructive powers, the slightest puff of the powder causing certain death and the almost instant dropping of the worm from the plant. Repeated on a still more extensive scale the present year at Columbus, Tex., the powder proved equally satisfactory in the field. Here, then, we have a remedy far ex- ceeding any other so far known in efficacy and harmlessness to man and plant, and the only question in my mind has been to reduce its cost. There was some hope of doing this by ascertaining the destruc- tive principle, and it is to Prof. E. W. Hilgard, of the University of California, that we owe the first accurate determina- tion of the same. The following extract from a letter received from Professor Hil- gard last September indicates the results of some of his experiments : Dear Sir : Yours of 22d is to hand. I have had Milco's product in hand for some time, and have tried it on various bugs both in powder and infusion. To understand the best manner of using it in each case, it must be kept in mind : 1. That the active substance is a volatile oil. 2. That said oil, under the influence of air, not only volatilizes, but is also oxidized, and thereby converted into an inert resin. It follows from i, that the pyrethrum is at a disadvantage when used in the shape of powder j in the open air, especially when the wind blows ; 1 from 2, that it is of the greatest importance that 44 THE AMERICAN ENTOMOLOGIST. the substance should be fresh, or should have been kept tightly packed, for the same reason that hops must be similarly treated. Hence I find that Milco's fresh powder is of greater efficacy than the best imported, although some of the latter contains twice as much matter soluble in ether ; but the extract from the " bu- hach " is a clear greenish oil, while that from im- ported powder, and especially that from "Lyon's magnetic" — ground-up refuse, stems, etc., as I take it— is dark and thickish, ox almost dry and crumbly. Like all volatile oils, the essence of pyrethrum is soluble in water to some extent, and the tea from the flowers, and to a less extent that from the flower-stems and leaves, is a valuable and convenient insecticide for use in the open air, provided that it is used at times when it will not evaporate too rapidly, and that it is applied in the shape of spray, whose globules will reach the insect despite of its water-shedding surfaces, hairs, etc. Thus applied, I find that it will even pene- trate the armor of the red scale bug— or rather, perhaps, get under it— so that the bug falls off dead, in a day or two. The hairy aphides are the most troublesome, and require a strong tea of the flowers, atomized. The diluted alcoholic solution can, of course, be made as strong as you please, and will kill an3rthing entomological. Some persons have tried the decoction, and have of course failed, as the oil is dissipated by boiling. My own experiments and those of Pro- fessor Hilgard were made with the powder from plants grown in California by Mr. G. N. Milco, of Stockton, and this powder, when used fresh, I have found to be more powerful than the imported kinds. Mr. Milco, a native of Dalmatia, has been cul- tivating the F. ci7iera7-i(zfoliitin in Cali- fornia in constantly increasing area for the past three'years, and deserves great credit for his efforts in introducing it. The California product is put upon the market in neat bottles and packages under the nam.e of " Buhach," and I am under obli- gations to Mr. Milco for the liberal supply which he has placed at my disposal free of cost, wherewith to carry on my experi- ments. Before considering the cost of using this insecticide in the cotton-field it will be well to summarize the results of these experiments. Pure Pyrethrum powder, mixed with a small quantity of finely-powdered rosin, was applied to the under-side of the leaves by means of a small pair of bellows. Tak- ing advantage of the direction of the wind, and using the bellows freely, all the upper leaves of the plants were found to be well powdered, and consequently almost all the worms upon these leaves received at least some particles. The smaller worms died in convulsions in from lo to 20 minutes, according to their size, and to the quantity of powder they had received. Larger worms soon became uneasy, and finally fell to the ground, where they invariably died in from 5 to 24 hours. Every attempt to restock with worms a freshly-powdered plant failed. They evi- dently do not like the smell of the powder, and throw themselves from the leaves until they either fall to the ground or reach a leaf which has not been powdered. Diluted with flour in varying proportions from one part of each tip to one part of Pyrethrum and ten of flour, it produced equally good results as when pure. Mixed with 16 parts of flour, it proved at first in- sufficient, but upon being kept in a tight glass jar for two weeks, it evidently gained in power, for it then proved almost as effectual as the stronger mixtures. The powder can be successfully sifted on the plants during cloudy days or during the evening when the worms are on the upper side of the leaves. On sunny days, or when the worms are just hatched, it is more necessary to apply it to the under side of the leaves, as it acts only when coming in actual contact with the worms. A strong decoction of the powder applied to the leaves produced no effect ; nor did the worms appear to suffer from eating leaves thoroughly soaked with this decoc- tion. An alcoholic extract of the powder, diluted with water at the rate of one part of the extract to 15 of water, and sprayed on the leaves, kills the worms that have come in contact with the solution in a few minutes. The mixture in the proportion of one part of the extract to 20 parts of water was equally efficacious, and even at the rate of i to 40 it killed two-thirds of the worms upon which it was sprayed in 15 or 20 minutes, and the remainder were subsequently disabled. In still weaker solution or at the rate of i to 50 it loses in efficacy, but still kills some of the worms and disables others. I confidently recom- THE AMERICAN ENTOMOLOGIST. 45 mend, therefore, the alcoholic extract of Pyrethrum, diluted at the rate of i part of the extract to 40 parts of water, and sprayed .upon the plants, as an effectual remedy against the worm. The extract is easily obtained by taking a flask fitted with a cork and a long and vertical glass tube. Into this flask the alcohol and Pyrethrum is introduced and heated over a steam tank or other moderate heat. The distillate, condensing in the vertical tube, runs back, and, at the end of an hour or two the alcohol may be drained off and the extract is ready for use. Let us now briefly consider the approxi- mate cost of using this material at present figures. The powder is now selling in California at wholesale, in 8-lb. packages, at $1.25 per lb. ; but from facts kindly communicated by Mr. Milco, it appears that he has raised as much as 647 lbs. to the acre, and that the cost of production, milling, etc., on a large scale, need not ex- ceed 6 to 7 cents per lb., because in the experiments attending the introduction of the plant many obstacles and expenses in- cident to new enterprises have had to be met. The plant is wonderfully free from insect enemies and blooms all through the summer, and there seems no good reason why it should not grow in most of the Southern States. Carefully estimating from the results of experiments made, it will require about one and three-quarter pounds of the Pyre- thrum powder to go over an acre of cotton at medium height ; in other words, that quantity of Pyrethrum to 20 lbs. of flour or other diluents will answer the purpose. Such being the case, the question as to whether the Pyrethrum can be used as a substitute for Paris green, London purple, and other arsenical powders resolves itself in one of relative market price, and if Mr. Milco's estimates are warranted — and no one in the country is better able to state the facts or give the figures on the subject — the Pyrethrum may be produced as cheaply as even London purple. It is a question which future experience alone can deter- mine, but that the prospects are encourag- ing there can be no question, and it is highly probable that the planter in the fu- ture will make it a rule to grow a patch or a few rows of this most useful plant as a ready means wherewith to protect his crop from the worm whenever the occasion for so doing presents itself. So far as experiments have been made there would seem to be a decided advan- tage in point of economy in the use of the crude powder, since, in the ordinary meth- ods of spraying, 40 gallons of liquid are required for an acre, and to produce this amount of diluted extract of Pyrethrum at the above figures would require alDOUt six pounds of powder. This diluted extract has the advantage, however, over every other liquid so far used that it contains no solid and obstructing particles. It may, therefore, doubtless be used in a much finer spray than any of the other poisons. Intelligence in Ants. — Whilst weed- ing in the garden last August, I broke open the upper galleries of a nest of small black ants, and in so doing scattered a number of eggs, which had been carried up from below, that they might be warmed by the sun, which at the time was shining brightly. As I watched the ants gathering them into the nest, I noticed a little fellow dragging one, two or three times larg'er than himself, up what must have seemed to him a very steep hill ; at last he stuck fast, and, after a few plucky efforts, he left the egg, made a few casts round the ground to see how the "land lay," and then returned to the egg, which he pulled up an easy ascent, of which he had been in search, and which was in quite another direction to the one in which he was going when he stuck fast. — Thomas Winder, Sheffield, in Science Gossip. The Beheading of Flies by a West- ern Plant. — Professor Gray requests those who have an opportunity of obtain- ing the plants Mentzelia ornata and M. nuda, both of which occur in our western plains and prairies, to investigate whether this cruel behavior to flies is well founded. It is declared by a French naturalist, who has studied it in Paris, that the stiff 46 THE AMERICAN ENTOMOLOGIST. bristles or barbs of each whorl of the plant are interspersed with softer ones, which secrete a viscid matter attractive to insects. Flies thrust the proboscis in- to the harpoon-like bristles, and when withdrawn the head is held fast. The harder the backward pull, the more exten- sive is the attachment to the sharp barbs, and the head becoming congested, the in- sect is seldom able to disengage it, and it is twisted off by the gyrations made. — Gardener s Monthly. THE CHINCH-BUG.* AMOUNT OF INJURY IT CAUSES. The Chinch-bug {Blissus leucopterus Say) is unquestionably one of the most formid- able insect pests with which the farmers within the wheat producing area of the United States have to contend. Although not exceeding a grain of wheat in size, rather slow-motioned and possessing no other weapon of destruction than its tiny slender beak, yet the species is enabled to make up by number for the lack of indi- vidual capacity for destruction. The locusts of the West are the only creatures of this class " which exist within the bounds of our national domain whose multiplication causes more sweeping de- struction than^does that of this diminutive and seemingly insignificant insect." In the territory east of the Mississippi it is without a rival. Mr. Walsh estimated the loss from the ravages of this insect in Illinois alone in 1850 at 4,000,000 dollars, an average of $4.70 to every man, woman and child then living in the State. Dr. Shimer says that it "attained the maximum of its development in the sum- mer of 1864, in the extensive wheat and corn fields of the valley of the Mississippi, and in that single year three-fourths of the wheat and one-half of the corn crop were destroyed throughout many extensive districts, comprising almost the entire Northwest, with an estimated loss of more than 100,000,000 dollars in the currency that then prevailed." * From advance sheets of Bulletin No. 5, of the U. S. Entomological Commission, by Cyrus Thomas. Mr. Thomas, in his second report, as State Entomologist of Illinois, remarks as follows in reference to the loss occasioned by them in 187 1 : " I find no complaints of damage re- corded in 1870, but as the summer was dry over a large area, and they appeared in immense numbers in 1871, it is more than probable that they began to increase in the latter part of the season." As Dr. LeBaron has noticed somewhat fully in his second report their operations in 1 87 1, it would be unnecessary for me to do more than advert to it were it not for the fact that this second report does not appear to have been generally distributed and is rarely seen. The following quota- tion will suffice to show the extent and severity of this visitation : " Some idea of the loss caused by the depredations of this insect, in this and neighboring States, may be realized when we learn that over a belt of territory one hundred miles wide, commencing in the western part of Indiana, and extending more than four hundred miles west, em- bracing an area of more than forty thou- sand square miles, the great staple of spring wheat was reduced to not more than a quarter of an average crop, and in many places wholly destroyed ; and that over the same territory barley was less than half a crop, and oats not more than three-quarters of their usual amount. " The center of this belt appears to have been a little north of the center of the State, being about on a line with the junction of Iowa and Missouri, and taking in a corresponding part of southern Iowa and Nebraska, and of northern Missouri and Kansas. South of this belt winter wheat takes the place of spVing wheat and barley, and the Chinch-bugs, though pre- sent in considerable numbers, ceased to commit any very serious damage. North of this belt, also, notwithstanding that spring wheat constitutes a leading crop, the bugs became gradually less numerous, and a tolerable crop of this grain was har- vested. And yet all through northern Illinois and the southern part of Wiscon- sin, these insects were numerous enough to damage the crop to some extent, and to excite the most serious apprehensions for the succeeding year. " In order to obtain as correct an idea as possible of the amount of loss sustained by the agriculturist from the depredations THE AMERICAN ENTOMOLOGIST. 47 of this insect the past year (187 1), both in this and the northwestern States, I have made the following calculations based upon the statistics of the Department of Agri- culture, with a reasonable estimate of the proportional damage caused by this insect to those crops upon which they depredate. All such calculations must necessarily be only approximately correct, and very loose and extravagant conjectures have sometimes been indulged in upon the loss caused by Chinch-bugs in former seasons of their prevalence. It has been my in- tention to keep within reasonable bounds and by giving the figures in the case, I give others the opportunity to review my estimates. " Taking the returns of the Department of Agriculture, for the years 1869 and 1870, for our guide, we may assume the present annual yield of wheat in the State of Illinois to be 30,000,000 of bushels, of oats 40,000,000, and of barley 3,000,000. " The area seriously ravaged by these insects, comprised, as we have above stated, about the middle third of the State. This section would bear its full proportional third of the wheat and oats, and at least one-half of the barley raised in the whole State. This would give as the product of that part of the State ravaged by Chinch- bugs 10,000,000 bushels of wheat, upwards of 3,300,000 bushels of oats, and 1,000,000 bushels of barley. The proportion of these crops destroyed by Chinch-bugs we have put at three-quarters of the wheat, one-half of the barley, and one-quarter of the oats. This will give as the amounts actually destroyed by these insects, 7,500,000 bushels of wheat, 500,000 bushels of barley, and in round numbers, 3,300,000 bushels of oats. " If we make a cash estimate of this loss, by putting the price of wheat at one dollar a bushel, barley at fifty cents, and oats at twenty-five cents, we shall have an aggre- gate loss of upwards of eight and a half millions of dollars in the central third of the State of Illinois. " In this estimate we have made no ac- count of the injury done to corn through- out the State, nor of the damage to small grains north of the central belt. Here the calculation becomes more indefinite, but I believe it will be generally admitted to be a low estimate if we add, for this purpose, one-quarter part to the above aggregate of loss. This will make the total loss caused by Chinch-bugs, in the State of Illinois, in the year 1871, upwards of ten and a half millions of dollars. If we assume an equal amount of loss for the two States of Iowa and Missouri combined, and another equal amount for the four States of Indiana, Kansas, Nebraska, and Wisconsin, we shall have a total loss in one year, in the north- western States, of upwards of 30,000,000 of dollars, from this one species of insect." The loss in 1874 was probably equal to that in 1864. Prof. Riley made a careful estimate by counties of the loss in Missouri which he found to aggregate the large sum of 19,000,000. I made careful estimates of the loss on corn alone in Illinois by this insect in 1874. These estimates were based on different data so as to form checks the one upon the other, and the loss by drouth was eliminated. The result showed a loss of about 20,000,000 of dollars on this single cereal. The entire loss to the State that year by the operations of this perni- cious insect were not less than 30,000,000 dollars, I11.50 to each inhabitant. If the loss in the two States, Missouri and Illinois, amounted to nearly 50,000,000, it is not probable that the entire loss to the nation by this diminutive insect in 1874 fell any short of 100,000,000 dollars. As the species appears to have a maxi- mum of development about every five years, the foregoing estimates render it probable that the annual loss to the nation by its operations averages ^20,000,000. The phylloxera has, up to the close of last year, extended over more than 1,600,- 000 acres in France, and utterly ruined the vines in 700,000 of them. The appearance of the insect is even reported in the Medoc, the most famous vine-growing section of France, and Chateau Lafitte for which Baron Charles Rothschild paid $830,000 two years ago, is nearly ruined. At this rate, it is expected that the whole district will be in- fected before the end of next year. Sul- phuret of carbon Is the most favored remedy, though deep trenching and ma- nuring, with an application of turpentine and powdered rosin to the roots, is said to be a cheaper and equally effective remedy. Some vine-growers are planting American stocks, thinking them less liable to attack. — Land and Home. 48 THE AMERICAN ENTOMOLOGIST, A VALUABLE PRESERVING FLUID. The Zoologischer Afizeiger, edited by Prof. J. V. Carus of Leipzig, Germany (No. 45, December 29, p. 669-70), pub- lishes the Letters Patent of the Wickers- heim Preserving Fluid. The inventor claims that animal or vegetal bodies im- pregnated with this fluid or kept in the same will retain their form, color and flex- ibility in the most perfect manner. The objects to be preserved are put in the fluid for from six to twelve days, according to their size, then taken out and dried in the air. The ligaments remain always soft and movable, and the preserved animals or plants are for many years fit for anatom- ical dissection. In order to perfectly pre- serve the color it is necessary to leave the objects in the fluid, or, if taken out and dried, to keep them in air-tight vessels. This preserving fluid is made in the fol- lowing way : Dissolve 100 g. alum, 25 g. common salt, 12 g. salpetre, 60 g. potash and 10 g. arsenious acid in 3,000 g. boiling water. Filter the solution and when cooled add to 10 litres of the fluid 4 litres gly- cerine and one litre methyl-alcohol. We understand that the German govern- ment, after thoroughly testing the value of the mixture as a preservative fluid, paid a handsome sum for the patent, and now publishes the recipe /r^ bono publico. USE OF BUCKWHEAT TO DESTROY INSECTS. Here is something new to us in the way of an insecticide. It comes to us from the other side of the Atlantic. Perhaps it works on the principle of the " hair of the same dog curing his bite," for it has long been claimed that a too free use of buck- wheat cakes caused cutaneous eruptions in man, and that the raw grain had a similar ef- fect upon birds . It is a fact, also, well known to entomologists, that the plant is wonder- fully free from insect attacks. The Tar- tarian buckwheat referred to in the fol- lowing extract from The Farmer (Lond.), has a rough kind of grain different from the ordinary varieties, and it is sometimes cultivated in the New England States under the name of Merino Buckwheat : Many 3'ears' practical experience has convinced M. Lagarde that sowing buckwheat in soils in- fested by white worms, grubs, ants, etc., etc., allowing it to grow till it flowers, and then plowing or digging it in as green manure, effect- ually frees them from all their subterranean para- sites. The proportion of buckwheat to be sown is about a hectolitre per hectare. The crop, es- pecially the variety known as Tartary buckwheat, springs up rapidly, chokes all the weeds, and ab- stracts but little nitrogen from the soil as it draws its principal nutriment from the atmosphere. It further possesses the property of decomposing very quickly in a good soil, doubtless owing to the spongy nature of its leaves. This decompo- sition is immediate, and it is at this moment that larvjE, etc., underground are asphyxiated by the large quantities of gas disengaged. M. La- garde further suggests that good results might be obtained in combating the phjdloxera by sowing buckwheat among the vines in close rows, and digging the 3'oung crop in with the fork as near to their roots as possible. Early Stages of Ephemerid^. — The Rev. A. E. Eaton would like to communi- cate with anybody who would supply him with examples in fluid of nymphs of some of the American genera of Ephem- eridae. He would readily offer to pay a fair price for them and would defray their carriage to England. All that would be required would be 5 or 6 nearly full grown examples of one species per genus, put up in narrow tubes or narrow cylindrical bot- tles (one tube for each set) containing a so- lution of two parts of water to three of spirits about 60 over proof, well corked, and with the cork tied down. Some tissue paper should be put into each tube with the specimens, to prevent the solid contents moving about within the tube when its po- sition is shifted, care being taken not to compress the insects ; and the tube should be filled up as nearly as possible with the fluid to the exclusion of air-bubbles. The tubes should be packed up with cotton wool or tow in a box, so that they shall be kept upright during the voyage ; and this box should be packed into a stronger case with tow or hay or straw, and forwarded to Mr. Eaton by express, or through the agency of some bookseller, not through the Post Office. Address Rev. A. E. Eaton, 51 Park Road, Bromley, Kent, England. We bespeak consideration of Mr. Eaton's request by those of our subscribers inter- ested in the Ephemeridce. THE AMERICAN ENTOMOLOGIST, 49 The metric system is now coming into such general use that measurements in fractions of an inch are preferably based on that system. We shall, therefore, adopt it in the Entomologist. Our readers will bear in mind that one millimeter equals about one twenty-fifth of an inch (more accurately 0.3937). ■ -♦ — ^ We are pleased at the manner in which our first number has been received. In addition to the list of promised writers given last month, we have assurances of support and occasional contributions from Mr. S. H. Scudder, Mr. Hermann Strecker, Mr. Chas. R. Dodge, Mr. E. A. Popenoe, Prof. Chas. Fish, Prof. C. E. Bessey and Mr. J. Monell. Scientific Symbols. — The sign $ is used in natural history as an abbreviation for the word male, the sign ? for female, and the sign 9 for neuter. Since in insects the sexes of the same species are often quite dissimilar, we shall frequently use these signs with our illustrations, as an index to the sex of the insect figured. In astromony the first sign denotes the planet Mars, and the second the planet Venus. The sign ? has been known for centuries by the name of " crux ansata," or the cross with the handle to it, and occurs profusely on old Egyptian monu- ments. Increase of destructive Insects in California. — In a recent letter Mr. C. H. Dwindle, Lecturer on Practical Agricul- ture, at the University of California, writes as follows : " I can assure you that we have no occa- sion to complain of a scarcity of insects here now. Our enterprising fruit growers and nurserymen have imported numberless species from all quarters of the globe, to add to our natural resources in this line." i^^ We have received so many encour- aging letters and also numerous notices printed in newspapers throughout the country, that we must express our thanks through these columns instead of letters. It will be our constant endeavor to seek to instruct the many who know little or nothing of entomology. To do so success- fully we shall depend a great deal on good illustrations, and in proportion as our efforts meet with substantial support, we shall liberally illustrate the magazine. Disintegration of the Genus Acro- NYCTA. — Mr. Butler communicated a paper (illustrated by an exhibition of preserved larvae from Lord Walsingham) " On the affinities of the British moths usually placed in the genus Acronyctay He referred these to various old (mostly) Hiibnerian genera, and the result of his analysis was as fol- lows : A rumicis and auricoma should be transferred to the Arcfiidce, leporina and aceris to the Liparidce ; megacephala, psi, iridens strigosa, etc., to the Notodontidce, whereas only alni and Hgustri remained in the Noctiiid^. — Proc. I>ondon (Eng.) Ent. Soc. Nov. 5th, 1879. Errata. — Page 3, for " xanthomelina " read ^^ xanthomelcena." Page 3, 2nd col., line 24, transpose " Sonoma " and " Napa." Page 20, 2nd col., line 7, for '''' Libellutie" read ^^ Libel/ it I i da;." On Our Table. On Litophane and New Noctuida;. By A. R. Grote. 8vo. pp. 8. (Ext. from Bull. U. S. Geol. and Geog. Surv. Vol. V, No. 2.) Washington, Sept. 6, 1879. From the Author. Eighth Report of the State Entomologist on the Noxious and Beneficial Insects of the State of Illinois. Third Annual Report by Cyrus Thomas,' Ph. D. 8vo. pp. 212. From the Author. The Gardener's Monthly and Horticulturist. Vol. XII. No. 253. Jan. 1880. Philadelphia. From the Publishers. Butterflies and Moths in their connection with Agriculture and Horticulture. A paper prepared for the Pennsylvania Fruit Growers' Society, Jan. 1879. By Herman Strecker. 8vo. pp. 22. From the Author. The Butterflies of North America. By W. H. Edwards. Second series. Part VIII. 4to. 3 plates. Hurd & Hough- ton, Boston. The Kansas City Review of Science and Industry. Vol. Ill, No. 9. Jan. 1880. From the Publishers. Eighth Annual Report of the Curators of the Museum of W^esleyan University. Middletown, Conn. 8vo. pp. 15. Annual Address of V. T. Chambers, Esq., President Cin- cinnati Soc. Nat. Hist. (E.xt. from Journ. Cincinnati Soc. Nat. Hist. Vol. II, No. 2. July 1879.) 8vo. pp. 22. From the Author. Description of the Storm of Easter Sunday, April 21, 1878. in Iowa. By Dr. Gustavus Hinrichs, Director of the Iowa Weather Service. 8vo. pp. 80. 6 plates. The Maryland Farmer. Vol. XVII, No. 1. Jan. 1880. From the Publisher. List of a Collection of Aculeate Hymenoptera made by Mr. S. W. Williston in Northwestern Kansas. By W. H. Patten. 8vo. pp. 22. (Ext. from Bull. U. S. Geol. and Geogr. Surv. Vol. V, No. 3.) Washington, Nov. 30, 1879. From the Author. On Sex in Castanea Americana. Verb. Comm. By Thomas Meehan. 8vo. pp. 22. (Ext. from Proc. Acad. Nat. Sci. Phila., July 8, 1879.) From the Author. Proceedings of the New-Jersey State Horticultural Society. 1876-77-78. From the Secretary. 50 THP: AMERICAN ENTOiMOLOdlS T. Extracts from Correspondence, [We shall publish in this Department such extracts from the letters of our correspondents as contain entomological facts worthy to be recorded, on account either of their scientific or of their practical importance. We hope our readers will con- tribute each their several mites towards the general fund ; and in case they are not perfectly certain of the names of the in- sects, the peculiarities of which are to be mentioned, will send specimens along in order that each species may be duly identified.] Wandering Habit of Larvae belonging to the Genus Bucculatrix. — The first number of the Entomologist is at hand. I hope it may prove as useful and interesting as its predecessor of the same name. lam afraid you will find that the "habit (of Bucculatrix poiiiifoliella) oi ioxvaxng its little rib- bed cocoon in company on the bark " of apple trees, will nqt "give us the mastery over it." Like some of its European congeners the larva of this species has a habit of crawling away to consider- able distances from its food-plant to spin its co- coon. I have sometimes found as many as twenty cocoons in a cluster on stalks of Elder {Sanibucus) as much as fifty yards from the nearest apple tree; and have bred the moth from these same cocoons. But I hav^e never found any indication that the larva (or any Tineid larva) feeds on leaves of Samhucus . This habit is not uncommon in larvae oi Bucculatrix : and this fact together with the singularity of a larva of this genus feeding on a coniferous tree, lead me to suspect that possibly B. thuiella Packard does not feed on Thuja. If I remember Dr. Packard's account he does not state that he saw the larva feeding, but only that he found it and the pupa on that tree ; just' as I found the pupa; of B. potiiifoliella on Sainbucus, which however does not feed thereon. Just so I bred i9. amhrosiicella Cham, from Ambrosia trifida but did not see it feeding on it, and it may result that both B. ain/>rosi,€ella and B. thuiella are unfortunately named. — V. T. C, Covington, Ky. Russian Remedy for Hydrophobia.— A cor- respondent of Za;;,/rt;/a'^Frt/^;-(London), describes the following Russian treatment of Hydrophobia: In Saraton the inhabitants collect the larva of the rose beetle {Cetonia attrata), which are chiefly found in the wood-ants' nest. The grubs are gathered in the spring, placed in earth, and their change of metamorphosis watched for. When this takes place they kill the beetles and dry them. The powdered insect must be kept in her- metrically sealed bottles, or the dried beetles may be kept in sealed pots and reduced to powder when wanted. Three beetles powdered are consid- ered a dose for an adult, given immediately after the bite. One for a child and five for an adult in which the disease has declared itself. The effect is to produce a long sleep, which must not be interrupted. The bite is also treated surgically. The beetles caught on flowers are not so benefi- cial; they must be secured in the larva stage, and killed directly after they attain the imago. Some of the Russians give their dogs occasionally half a beetle as a preventative. We give the above for what it is worth. As we have several species of Cctoma in the United States, perhaps some one inay desire to go into the business of making Hydrophobia powder from them. These beetles may possess some curative proper- ties not as yet discovered, but we leave the finding of it out to the medical faculty. Answers to Correspondents. [We hope to make this one of the most interesting and in- structive departments of the Entomologist. All inquiries about insects, injurious or otherwise, should be accompanied by specimens, the more the better. Such specimens, if dead, should be packed in some soft material, as cotton or wool, and inclosed in some stout tin or wooden box. They will come by mail for one cent per ounce. Insects should nexer be ENCLOSED loose IN THE LETTER. Whenever possible, larv£e {i. e.^ grubs, caterpillars, maggots, etc.) should be packed alive, in some tight tin box — the tighter the better, as air-holes are not needed — along with a supply of their appropriate food sufficient to last them on their journey ; otherwise they generally die on the road and shrivel up. If dead when sent, they should be packed in cotton moistened with alcohol. Send as full an account as possible of the habits of the insect respecting which you desire information ; for example, what plant or plants it infests ; whether it destroys the leaves, the buds, the twigs, or the stem ; how long it has been known to you ; what amount of damage it has done, etc. Such particulars are often not only of high scientific interest but of great practical importance.] Tipula Eggs in Stomach of Cat-bird. — If you will again look at the vial I sent, you will find a number of oblong black eggs, convex on all sides, in the same bottle with the ovipositors. The lat- ter I put in as an illustration of the Tipulids found with the eggs. In fact, there is no evidence apparent that the cat-birds picked up the eggs separately. The occurrence of Tipulid fragments in every case where the eggs were found, would indicate that all the latter came from the abdo- mens of the females. S. A. F., Normal, Ills. We failed to find any other than the Tipula eggs described, and were misled by our corres- pondent's language, as given on page 24 of our last issue. We entirely agree with him that the birds do not pick up the eggs separately, and shall be glad to receive specimens of the eggs he now describes for examination. Beetles supposed to be feeding on Wheat.— A few months since our Professor of Agriculture received a small quantity of wheat from the De- partment at Washington. He planted the wheat, and upon examining the grains obtained from the crop, he found a large number of small insects that were rapidly destroying the wheat. I send one of these insects by this mail with the request that you will examine it for me and inform me what it is. By doing this you will greatly oblige Yours very truly, P. H. M. Agr. and Mec. Col. Auburn, Ala. The insect you send, supposed to be destroying wheat received from the Department of Agricul- ture, is in reality the larva of some species of Cryptorhopalum , belonging to the family Dernies- tidiE. This family of beetles preys in the larval state upon a great many dead animal substances but is not known to feed on any vegetation. The probability is that the wheat in question was in- jured by some one of the numerous enemies to that grain, e. g. the common Grain-weevil, {Calau- dra remotipunctata) and that the larva you sent was preying upon its remains. If you will send a lar- ger quantity of the injured grain I may be able to solve the question for you more satisfactorily. The Apple-twig Borer. — Enclosed (in short quill) find beetle just taken from grape-vine in vineyard of Concords which was so severely trimmed last winter by an unskillful operator that scarcely an inch of the previous season's growth was left. Much of the old wood died down to the stocks and that dead wood has been THE AMERICAN EN TOiMOLOCilS T 51 riddled by borers eating out the pith. Last sum- mer the vines were not cared for but made im- mense growth of new canes. The management of this vineyard (2,200 vines) has just come into my hands, and in trimming I often find in the axils where buds start out, a perforation which leads to a hollowed channel extending a short distance both above and below the bud — the pith of the vine being eaten out. In one of these chambers I found this beetle, alive but dormant. The same axillary perfora- tions are abundant in young orchard trees set out last spring. Please give me the name of the specimen sent and informa- tion whether the perforations are the work of this beetle in some of its forms, or of some other insect. Also best approv- ed remedies or preventatives. Amph.cerus b.cau- H. G. WOLCOTT. DATas;rt, female; Fremont, Neb. b, male. The beetle sent by our correspondent is the common Apple-twig Borer {Aiiiphicerus bicauda- tus Saj'). It is extremely common throughout the Western States, and is more often received for identification during the winter and spring months [Fig. 12.1 .\pple twigs bored by A iiiphicerus bicaudatus : c, entrance ; ■/, burrow cut open. than any other beetle. Its habits being well de- scribed by our correspondent it suffices to say that it works not only in grape canes but in the more tender twigs of apple, pear, and peach trees. Both sexes of the beetle bore these holes and may then be found in them head downward at any time during the winter and spring months, the holes being made both for protection and for food and not for breeding purposes. Indeed the breed- ing habits of the insect are not yet known with certainty ; for while Dr. Henry Shimer found cer- tain larvje in grape canes which he conjectured to be of this species (see Trans. Am. Ent. Soc. 1868, vol. II, p 9), yet they were doubtless those of an allied beetle (Stnoxy/on bast /are Say) which I sub- sequently reared from larvae thus inhabiting grape canes — (4th Missouri Ent. Report, p. 53). Both sexes of the Apple-twig Borer have been found in the sap wood of forest trees, and species of the allied genus Bosirychtis to which the insect un- der consideration used to be referred are ordina- rily found with their larvae in dry oak logs that are rotting. As I have already stated elsewhere : ' ' the probabilities are that our Twig-borer breeds under the bark of oak trees and that it is in such situations that we must search for its larva. That it so breeds in the forest and not in the orchard, is rendered still more probable when we consider that its larval habits have so long evaded detec- tion. We may furthermore infer that it comes to maturity late in the summer, and flying into our orchards and vineyards, the beetles bore into twigs during the Fall. Here winter overtakes them, and they hibernate in the holes, some of them dying ; but most of them surviving until spring, when they continue feeding for awhile, and afterward repair to the forest again to propo- gate their kind. I have caught both sexes flying as early as the middle of March, during genial, sunny weather. " The bored twigs most always break off" by the wind, or else the hole catches the water in spring and causes an unsound place in the tree. If the twig does not break off, it withers and the leaves turn brown. The only way to counteract the in- juries committed by this beetle is to prune the infested twigs, whenever found, and take great care to burn them with their contents. It is in the nursery that most injury is done, as the in- sect is seldom numerous enough in an orchard of large trees to more than cause what the philo- sophic orchardist has been wont to term ' a good summer pruning.'" — C. V. R. in New-York Tributie. Stinging Caterpillar — You will probably re- member that some time last summer I took the liberty of making some inquiries of j'ou concern- ing insects, and particularly one by which I had been stung. You gave the supposed name and class, but said I had best send you a specimen to examine, which I do now, having obtained it from the limb of a pear tree. I have found it most frequently on this tree. In the summer it is found (as a hairy caterpillar about half-inch long, and quite thick, covered with a short, velvet-like down, rather coarse) on the leaves of corn, and the negroes call it "Corn-nettle." Harris de- scribes an insect belonging to the Lepidoptera, named Fithecieum, which resembles the Corn- nettle, but does not answer the description fully. By giving me the name of this insect, you will much oblige. Th. Pollard, Richmond, Va. The cocoon enclosed by Mr. Pollard, though somewhat badly smashed, was recognizable as that of Lagoa opercularis, the larva being covered with soft hairs, but having urticating spines beneath them. This species feeds upon a number of different trees, and produces a moth remarkable for the woolliness of its body and wings. The color is cream-yellow, with some of the denser tufts of the front wings brownish, inclined to black. The antennae of the male are very broadly pectinate, while those of the female are simple. The species is subject to the attacks of a par- ticular Tachina-fly. G. W. S., iW7t' Smyrna, Fla.—The tough co- coon with a hump on the back and which you find on orange trees, the larva doing considerable damage and stinging so severly that it is dreaded by the fruit pickers, is the same species. 52 THE AMERICAN ENTOMOLOGIST. Descriptive Department. a new genus op proctrotrupidje. Didictyum*Nov. Gen. — j¥i"at/ transverse; three ocelli, approximate and triangularly arranged ; labial palpi 3-jointed; antennsc inserted in front and close together ; in the ? hardly reaching to the abdomen, 13-jointed, the two basal joints stout ; joints 3-7 suddenly narrowed and together not much longer than i and 2 ; 3 being twice as long as the others ; 8-13 twice as stout, peduncled, subequal in length, very slightly narrowing toward tip : in the i as long as body, 15-jointed, joint 3 twice as long as any of the others, 4-15 subequal in length. T'/iorax as long as abdomen, slightly wider in the middle than the head, scutellum prominent- ly raised, subovate and marginally ridged; legs with the tarsi uniforml}' 5-jointed ; front wings without stigma but with the veins forming with the costa two closed cells ; hind wings with a stout costal vein, reaching and broadening to basal third of wing where it is suddenly bent upward. Ad- domen narrower than thorax, with a short pe- duncle. [Fig. 13.] DiDiCTYUM ZIGZAG : showing female from above, and male and female antenna; (after Riley). D. zigzag, n. sp. — Average length 1.6"""'. Body uniformly polished black. Legs, palpi, and an- tennae reddish in female ; coxae, femora, and an- tennae toward tip infuscate in the male. Pedun- cled joints of antennae with a few minute spines around the crown and longitudinallv striate. [Fig. 14.1 DiDiCTVUM zigzag: female from side (after Riley). Base of thorax and of abdomen with pale pubes- cent hairs. Wings hyaline, sparsely beset with minute spines which increase radially and form a fringe around the posterior half; the veins of *A£S double; 6kltvO'(\ net. front wings forming a sprawling W with partial cross veins proceeding from the lower angles, the basal cross vein longest ; the longitudinal veins with a few prominent spines. Abdomen, S , showing but 4 joints, the terminal three short and hardly distinguishable ventrally ; abdomen, '■, , with the terminal joints more telescoped so as not to be seen from above. 12 2 s, 5 is reared by Prof. J. H. Comstock, from the chrysalis of Aletia argillacea* in Alabama. The genus is readily distinguished, by the character of the venation and the structure of the antennae, from Basalys Westwood with which it has some affinity. DESCRIPTION OF A NEW ANOPHTHALMUS FROM MAMMOTH CAVE. Anophthalmus interstitialis, n. sp. — Pale rufo-testaceus, shining. Head elongate-oval, deeply arcuately bi-impressed, nearly as wide as prothorax. Antenna; slender. Thorax longer than broad, narrowed behind, sides moderately rounded, sinuate posteriorly, hind angles rec- tangular, base truncate, median line impressed throughout its entire length, basal impressions deep. Elytra elongate-oval, feebl)' convex, mod- erately deeply striate, the striae obsoletely punct- ate and scarcelyfainter at the sides, sides sinuate immediately behind the humeri, which arc obliquely rounded, base prolonged at middle, elytral interspaces distinctly but sparsely punct- ured, more distinctly outwardly from the fourth, the punctures on alternate interspaces almost uniseriate, and each bearing a short erect hair. Length, 5.4.'"™; .21 inch. A single ? from " Washington's Hall" in the Mammoth Cave. The species is at once distinguished from all others in our fauna by the punctured outer inter- spaces of the elytra. Though plainly pubescent (the lines of hairs on the elytra are easily seen with a lens of moderate power) it differs from all other pubescent species by the thorax being longer than wide and the base of the elytra obliquely prolonged. Th'e elytra moreover can not be called sub-opaque, and are hardly less shining than in A. Menetiiesi. It is most closely allied to A. tt'iniis, which it resembles especially in its very elongate form, but differs by the very distinctly striate elytra. The elytra are less trun- cate at base than in A. Menelriesi and the punc- tures of the striae are much finer and less distinct. The antennae are long and slender as in A. Tell- kampjii and the form of the body is even more slender. The penultimate joint of maxillary palpi is shorter than the last joint. A specimen of A. MenetHesi from Mammoth Cave, in my possession, is plainly but very sparsely pubescent, there being a single row of fine hairs on each elytral interspace. Twelve other specimens of the same species all show traces of pubesence. The smallest individual among these measures but 4.8"""; .19 inch in length, is somewhat lighter in color, more elongate in form, and with the hind angles of prothorax less acute. This description, without figi p. 44, Bulletin 3 U. S. E. C. ears simultaneoush TITB NEW YORK, MARCH, 1880. No. 3 PUBLISHED MONTHLY BY THE HUB PUBLISHINCx CO. of n. y, 823 Peapl St., New York. TERMS Two dollars per advance KDITORS : CHAS. V. RILEY, Editor Washington, D. C. A. S. FULLER, Assistant Editor, Ridgewood, N. J. TRAPPING THE CARPET BEETLE. The recently introduced Carpet-beetle [Anthrenus scrop/iula?-ice), the larva of which isknown under the rather misleading name [Fig. I5-; Imported'Carpet-beetle : — a, larva ; i^, pupa, dorsal"view surrounding; c, do. ventral view removed^ f rom skin; tzT, beetli natural size (after Riley). of " Buffalo moth," bids fair to be even more injurious to carpets and woolen goods generally, than the old and familiar clothes moths belonging to various species of the genus Tinea. It has certainly become widely disseminated in this country, for many of our correspondents who employ a sweep-net in collecting, whether in Oregon, California, or any intermediate locality, ob- tain specimens, every season. For several seasons we were at a loss to know upon what kind of plant or plants the perfect insect fed, as it was quite evi- dent that the persons who sent them had made their collections in the field and not in the house where the larva pursued its mischievous work. Last summer, how- ever, in collecting pollen-loving beetles belonging to the genus Mordella upon the flowers of Spiraas, which they fre- quent, Mr. Fuller was somewhat surprised, as well as pleased, to find this very carpet pest at work among them, likewise feeding upon the pollen of the flowers. Every day for several weeks he caught some of these beetles on the same plants, but on no others in his garden. It is quite probable that they do feed upon the pollen of other plants, but they appear to prefer the Spiraeas. As these plants are in- digenous to all parts of the country from the Atlantic to the Pacific ocean, the beetles can always find enough of them, if preferred to other kinds. It is very easy to capture the beetles while feeding, and it might be well to use the Spiraeas as a bait, planting them about and near the house, not only to insure a visit from the beetles, but also to make it convenient for the members of the family to examine the plants frequently, and capture the little pests. The beetles after casting their pupa skin, pass out of the house into the open air to obtain food and meet their mates, vith split larva skin -hair lines showing 54 THE AMERICAN ENTOMOLOGIST. the females returning to deposit their eggs around the edges of carpets, or in almost any woolen stuffs, that are most conveni- ent, though they seem to prefer carpets. The beetles (Fig. 15, ^,) are so small (being scarcely more than one twelfth of an inch in length and somewhat less in breadth) that they can readily crawl in and out of any ordinary room without being observed, and if they were seen there are few persons who would take them to be anything more than some kind of seed, or lump of dirt, unless caught crawling or flying. But the larvae (Fig. 15, a,) are larger, being nearly a quarter of an inch long, and covered with erect bristling hairs of a dark brownish color — their appearance probably suggesting the name of " Buffalo moth," in connection with the fact that the insect was first noticed as injuring carpets at Buffalo, N. Y. The word " moth " is very inappropriate, entomologically, as it refers to insects of another order, and the name we use is also preferable to "carpet-bug," " new carpet pest " and others by which it has been called. But no matter by what common name this species goes, it is doing a great amount of damage and in some parts of the country has become so abundant that housekeepers have had to dispense with all kinds of floor coverings made in part or wholly of wool, and use various kinds of matting instead. We would advise trying the Spiraeas as traps for this pest, planting the small flowering species, as these seem to be pre- ferred by the beetles. The Goats-beard {^Spircea aruncus\ Sorb-leaved, {S. sorbifo- Hd) and the Meadow spiraea, (,5". iibnarid). These plants are worthy of a place in every garden even if not utilized as beetle traps. There is, therefore, nothing lost if they do not prove useful for the purpose named. Dr. H. A. Hagen in an interesting article read about a year ago before the Boston Society of Natural History, makes the fol- lowing remarks on the European habits of this beetle and its workings in America : The interest of the fact, be3rond the sad conse- quences with which I have a sincere sympathy, is the sudden appearance and spreading of an in- sect over a large part of the United States, which seems doubtlessly imported from Europe. I had first some doubt about the iicxv apparition, but the most reliable American authorities for Cole- optera affirm never to have met with this species before, except that a variety, also to be found in Europe, was found twenty )-ears ago by Dr. J. L. Le Conte on flowers in California. Collections of North American beetles, sixty to eighty years old, as those of Melsheimer, Ziegler, and Harris, were consulted by me, but none of them con- tained the beetle, which is, by the wa}', of such variegated and striking colors that it would hardly be overlooked. In Europe the species is very common everywhere, living on flowers, but its destructive propensities were well known and described more than a century ago. There it likes to enter through the attic windows, and prefers to live on dead flies common in such places. But where it spreads from there through other rooms, it is just as obnoxious as it is here. Every woolen thing, collections of objects of nat- ural history, plants, insects, birds, rawhides, hair, furs and similar things are quickly destroyed. As carpets are not in use in Europe except in winter time, and then mostly not fastened down near the walls, and as all carpets are carefully stored away during the summer, it has not the chance to be as destructive as here, as just the spring and summer are its most favorite seasons. Nevertheless it is rather difficult to understand that this insect was not introduced earlier, and I think the most plausible opinion is that a large lot of infested carpets bought in Europe and im- ported here has been the first cause of its alarm- ing appearance. In a communication to the Farmer s Rcviciv (Chicago), last spring, we remarked: Most persons who have used tobacco, pepper, camphor, carbolic acid, and turpentine have found them of no avail ; on the contrary, the hairy crea- tures seem to thrive amid these substances ; but benzine or kerosene both eflf"ectually destroy it. Cotton, saturated with either of these substances, stuffed into the joinings of floors and crevices beneath the base-boards, during the winter months, will effectually destroy the pest. Ben- zine is certainly the least objectionable of the two substances, as it more rapidly evaporates and does not materially soil. Boiling hot water, which I first recommended, is much less objec- tionable than either, and will certainly prove as effectual. There is every reason to believe also that the pure Persian insect powder, when freshly ground, will prove a successful prophylactic. All methods of destruction must, however, from the tenacity of life possessed by the insect, prove annoying and troublesome. Hence the impor- tance of prevention. Its distribution has been largely traced from a certain Boston carpet house, and all housekeepers, when purchasing carpets, should carefully scrutinize them before laying them down. Wherever they can be steamed, this proceeding will effectually disinfect them. Another effectual way of preventing injury is to use druggets. These, not being tacked down, are less subject to attack, and far more easily watched. Dr. Hagen suggests the use of common tallow along the cracks and joints of floor- ing and of tallowed paper underneath the borders of carpets. The figure which we THE AMERICAN ENTOMOLOGIST. 55 give will introduce this unwelcome emi- grant to those who have not seen it, and it is hardly necessary to add that it is the hairy larva (a) which does the mischief. The beetle is black, rather prettily varied with white and bright brick-red. THE BEE NUISANCE. To even refer to the Honey-bee as a nuisance under any circumstance will no doubt be resented by the professional apiarian. But there are neighborhoods where bees are kept in such large numbers that they do, in many instances, become an intolerable nuisance. Under excep- tional circumstances bees actually puncture and work through the skin of tender fruit, but as the fact is strongly denied by those who have not witnessed it, we will pass over this mooted point for the present. All agree that they are ready to avail them- selves of the depredations of other insects in this direction, as well as any accidental wound or crack of a delicious peach or other fruit, and it is not always pleasant to be compelled to be on one's guard in seek- ing a specimen, else gather a handful of bee-stings as a penalty for carelessness. Last summer our neighbor's bees visited our peach trees at the time the fruit was ripening and in such numbers that it was positively dangerous to undertake to gather the peaches as they reached maturity from day to day. The bees also bored into the raspberries and blackberries and swarmed in the flower garden, and to cut a spike of scarlet sage, mignonette, or heliotrope with- out first brushing off the bees, was pretty certain to be followed with a thrust of a poisonous lance. But even these annoy- ances could be submitted to with a better grace than the visits of the little honey- gatherers to our greenhouses during the warm days of winter and early spring, be- fore the flowers appear in the garden. There have been days during the past mild winter when so many bees visited the green- houses that few persons would care to mix in their company, or endeavor to pick a flower. We once kept a few stands of bees, but had to dispose of them on account of their persistent visits to the greenhouse in the spring, at the time we were most busy working among the plants ; but dispos- ing of our own stock has not been much of a relief, on account of the nearness of neigh- bors who are engaged in bee-keeping. We have no inclination to speak ill of the Honey-bee, but there is such a thing as having too many in a neighborhood, and when this occurs it becomes a serious ques- tion whether they should be treated as noxious or beneficial. We fail to see why a bee-keeper should have the right to pas- ture his bees on another man's land any more than his sheep or cattle, especially if they are a nuisance and do harm to his neighbor's property. In some parts of the country, men owning or renting a few acres of land keep bees enough to gather all the honey from the flowers growing in a circuit of several miles, and 'this they claim as a right, but upon what grounds we fail to dis- cover. To keep bees in moderation is certainly not objectionable in the country, but there should be some limit even to the Honey-bee. — A. S. F. ■♦—♦ Poultry 7'.r. Imported Cabbage Worm. — A correspondent of the Prairie Fanner, writing from Desmoines, la., states that al- lowing poultry to run among the cabbage plants has proved of no avail against Pieris rapce, and cites a case in which hens with young chickens were tied among the plants, and the plants covered with corn meal. " The chickens," he writes, " apparently never touched a worm, even when covered with meal ; nor did the hens drive off or capture the butterflies that hovered about in such numbers." Silkworm Eggs : Silk Culture. — We are continually receiving requests for Silk- worm eggs ; also for information on the rearing and culture of Silkworms. We have no eggs to dispose of and would re- fer correspondents to the Department of Agriculture which doubtless has, or to Mr. L. S. Crozier of Bayou Sara, La. We would also refer for general information on the subject to our " Manual of Instructions on the Production of Silk," being special report No. 1 1 of the Department of Agri- culture, which can be obtained upon appli- cation to the Commissioner. 5^ THE AMERICAN ENTOMOLOGIST. THE AILANTHUS SILK-WORM. (Attacus \^Sa»iia] cynthia.) [In the last number of Science News, a worthy monthly, the discontinuance of which we regret, we gave some account of the Ailanthus Silk-worm, and herewith reproduce portions of the article. — Ed.] The serious failure of the French silk crop the present year has caused renewed attention to be paid to other silk produc- [Fig. twisting of several of the simple threads to- gether. The difficulty in thus twisting or combining several threads of this silk has in the past proved the greatest hindrance to successful ailanti-culture. In view of the renewed interest manifested in the sub- ject, an account of the insect will prove timely, and interesting. 16.] Attacus cvnthia : — a, eggs ; b, larva ; c, cocoon ; d, chrysalis ; e, female moth (after Riley). ing worms. A recent article in the London Times draws attention to the fact that one of the principal difficulties in the way of utilizing the silk of the Ailanthus silk- worm has been removed by a device in- vented by M. Le Doux, that facilitates the unwinding of the cocoon and permits the The Ailanthus silk-worm is the only species of the different worms which have been introduced from Asia, either into Europe or America, which has proved of a hardy nature ; or which has become fully acclimated. The vigor of its constitution may be likened to the characteristics of THE AMERICAN ENTOMOLOGIST. 57 the tree upon which it feeds, — which tree is known to flourish on all kinds of soil and in widely different latitudes. There are some interesting features in the natural history of this worm. The female deposits on an average, two hundred and fifty eggs.* These are about i.e"""". long, oval in form, and of a cream color (Fig. 16, a). They are spotted in places with dark green or black particles, which can be rubbed off and which under the microscope are found to consist principally of gum, mixed with minute hairs. The moth fastens them by means of a gum with tolerable firmness to whatever object she may be upon. They are however easily detached, and if subsequently placed on moist cloth or paper will again adhere. They hatch at a temperature of 65° Fahr. Within a month after hatching the worm (Fig. 16, f) spins up, forming its cocoon (Fig. 16, c) within the leaf which is drawn partly around it, and fastening the leaf stalklet to the main stalk with strong silk, In five days it becomes a chrysalis (Fig. 1 6, d), and if of the first brood, produces the moth within three weeks afterwards. The second brood of worms generally have the instinct to fasten their cocoons to the more perma- nent twigs, to which they hang securely during the winter ; but they often attach them to the leaf stalk, with which they are carried to the ground in the fall ; and the streets of the cities in which they have be- come wild are often strewn with such co- coons which get trodden on and destroyed. The moth is of a rusty yellow color inclining to green, and marked with pale lilac and white, with transparent crescent spots. The males are smaller that the females, having smaller bodies and nar- rower wings, the hind ones, especially, being much less rounded. The male antennae are scarcely any broader than those of the female. The above descriptions are general in their character. The insect is not only variable in intensity of markings and color- ation, but likewise, to an unusual degree, * Parthenogenesis has been known to occur exceptionally in this as in other species of the family. See A nnaies de la Soc. Ent. de France. 1872. LXII. in the time required for development. In a number of them which we have had under close observation, some of the first that were bred were very irregular in this re- spect, part of the second brood issuing as moths in the fall, and part remaining over winter in the cocoon till the middle of the following June. The chrysalis has also remained not only through one win- ter, but throughout the summer, and suc- ceeding second winter, and not giving forth the moth till the second summer though the cocoons were submitted to precisely the same conditions under which others hatched, from the same batch of eggs issued in the fall of the year in which they were hatched. This is the common ex- perience of most persons who have raised the worms in large quantities. A high temperature generally hastens their development, as it does in other in- sects ; and while many of those of the sum- mer brood average but 25 days from the time of hatching to spinning, those of the fall brood which issue the same year, aver- age 30 days. Some specimens which we happened to have feeding in 1869, in cages contain- ing plum twigs as well as Ailanthus, seemed to eat the leaves of the former with as much relish as of the latter ; and no doubt other food plants might be found for this insect, if it was desirable. In Europe they have also been fed with success on Rhus coriaria and Pimpernel ; while Dr. Alexander Wallace, of London, has fed them with Plum and Laburnum, producing moths weakened and defective in size. He gives, in one of his papers, a very interest- ing account of some dwarfs produced from celery-fed worms. The silk of the Ailanthus worm is no doubt very valuable, but to what extent, depends on our ability to manufacture it successfully. It has several disadvantages, but native ingenuity may devise some means to overcome them or turn them to account. The value of any silkworm de- pends on our ability to unwind its cocoon. The cocoon of this worm is prolongated and its threads are attached by strong and very THE AMERICAN ENTOMOLOGIST. tenacious gluten, for which reason it has never been successfully unwound, and even carding is not an easy operation. Like that of our Cecropia, the Ailanthus cocoon is open at one end, and though the thread is continuous, and if disengaged of the glutinous matter which binds it, may be continuously reeled off, yet such reeling is rendered difficult from the fact that the moment the cocoons are placed in the ba- sin they fill with water, sink to the bottom, and cause the threads to continually break. There are some important facts connected with ailanthus silk which recommend it. It bleaches well, and has long been used in China, where it is known to be so durable that a dress made from it frequently de- scends as an heir loom for generations. It has for many years been in the markets of France, and specimens of manufactured staffs from it, which we saw in Paris and London, took on sundry dark colors very well and looked remarkably fine. This class of goods is known as Ailan- tiiie, and might be put to a great many uses, as there is always a demand for coarse silks. We have understood that specimens of this silk have been successfully woven at Paterson, N. J. A number of devices for unwinding the cocoons have been patented in Europe, but none seem to have come into general use, and whatever impetus they may give ailanti-cwliwre;, we may rest perfectly satis- fied that such culture will never become general, and that the Ailatithus silkworm will never replace that of the Mulberry. The prime reason why the Mulberry silkworm must ever be the silk producer of commerce, aside from the superior qual- ity and quantity of its silk, is that it is a domesticated insect, and that the worm can be fed in large quantities in partial confinement and under control ; further, that, while enduring this artificial life, it shows no disposition to escape from the shallow trays upon which it is fed. All the other worms suffer more or less when brought together in large numbers, or when confined or sheltered, and in this fact more than in any difficulty in using the silk, lies the secret of the failure to substi- tute any of them for mori. The hardiness and adaptability of cynthia to different cli- mates cannot offset this objection ; for it remains essentially a wild worm, and it will require many centuries of selecting and artificial rearing ere it can be domes- ticated to the same extent that is the Seri- cai'ia mori. There never can be any de- pendence placed on the production of silk from worms growing wild on their food- plants, as in such state their exposure to birds and other enemies will always render the cocoon harvest uncertain, and it is far more expensive and troublesome to pro- tect both the wild worms and the trees on which they grow, than it is to rear the Mulberry worm by the ordinary methods employed. The question of cultivating our Attacus cecropia is again being discussed in France. Its silk is less valuable than that of cynthia, and all the objections to this last apply still more forcibly to cecropia. The fol- lowing conclusions which we came to in 1 87 1,* after considering all the introduced and native silkworms of any importance, hold equally true to-day : There can be no good .reason given why .silk- culture ma}' not become one of the industries of this country, especially if fostered at the start. We would, however, advise no one to enter into it on a large scale, as a business. The raising of silk is seldom lucrative, even in the most favor- able countries ; for in this as in most other in- dustries, the principal profits accrue to the mid- dlemen, reelers, and manufacturers ; but on a small scale, and prosecuted in connection with other branches of agriculture and horticulture, it will give most desirable returns for the time employed. The erection of a few reeling estab- lishments is absolutely necessary to establish this industry. For in-door culture, no worm surpasses the mulberry species {mori), for out-door culture none at present surpass the ailanthus species {cynthia), though \i yama-ntai and />er/iyi can once be accli- mated, their cocoons are more valuable. Of the native worms polypheiiius is the most valuable and important, its silk being easily reeled and of excellent quality : cecropia comes next in order, its silk being reeled with difficulty, while that of proiiu-thea and luna is of less value, has never yet been, and probably cannot be reeled. The Hickory Scolytus (-5". ^-spinosus Say), has recently been received from Wash. Ter., showing that this pest is more widely dis- tributed than heretofore supposed. * 4th Mo. Ent. Rep., p. THE AMERICAN ENTOMOLOGIST. 59 AN UNRECORDED HABIT IN THE LIFE-HISTORY OF CERTAIN TRICHOPTEROUS INSECTS. Mr. Salvin recently placed in my hands three leaves of hazel, upon each of which was a gelatinous mass, enveloping either ova or recently hatched larvae of some Tri- chopterous insect ; the bushes upon which they were found were situated at a consid- erable distance from the nearest stream. The ova in the still undeveloped mass were arranged in regular series, made still more evident by the two black eye-spots of each embryo, which showed both through the eggs and through the viscid surroundings. After the lapse of about twenty-four hours, the previously unhafched larvae were roam- ing in their transparent environment, and some of those already hatched had left it, and were wandering about the box, prob- ably in search of the element they were not destined to find, and their size had won- derfully increased since they were hatched. Only a few days before this experience, Mr. Rye informed me that poplar leaves bearing similar gelatinous masses had come under his notice. This reminded me that Prof. Westwood had once either recorded, or mentioned to me verbally, quite a paral- lel case (I now believe it was a verbal com- munication) ; the accumulation of evidence appears worthy of notice in a more promi- nent manner. The size of the gelatinous masses was considerable ; undoubtedly large at the time of deposition, and increased by the absorp- tion of moisture from the air. The juven- ile larvae appeared to me to belong to the Family Littuiophilidce, and, considering the time of year, I have little doubt they per- tain to the genus Halesus, all the conditions agreeing therewith. These observations open up more than one interesting problem in the early life-history of Trichopterous larvae. Halesus is a genus the larvae of which frequent streams. The larvae hatched from the egg-masses collected by Mr. Salvin would have had to travel many yards before they reached the near- est stream, or water of any kind, save that resulting from recent rains. Furthermore, it appears to me that the gelatinous secre- tion in which the eggs are enveloped may serve as food for the young larvae, other- wise it is difficult to account for the very considerable increase in size of those I had under observation, amounting in less than two days to about double that of the newly emerged larvae. All Trichoptera (so far as is known) void their eggs in a viscid surrounding. Most of them deposit this mass in the water or on water plants. In the case now under consideration it appears probable that cer- tain of them prefer (either habitually, or casually) to avert immediate contact with the element in which their progeny must eventually pass the greater part of their lives, and to trust to chance that some of them may, at the proper time, reach their aquatic home. There is mystery about the infantine life of most Trichopterous larvae, notwithstand- ing that it was from observations on the eggs of a species of this Order that Baddach, in 1854, wrote a memoir that contributed greatly to the advancement of embryology in insects, a subject that of late years has become almost a distinct branch of natural science. — R. McLachlan, in Entom. Monthly Mag. (London^ Nov. 1879. INSECTS INJURING THE BLACK LOCUST {Robinia psendacacid). BY V. T. CHAMBERS, COVINGTON, KY. Farmers in Northern Kentucky are mak- ing many complaints about the injury that is being done to locust trees by insects. The principal depredators are the beetle Hispa {Uroplata) suturalis Fabr., both as larva and imago, and the Tineid larvae of Lithocolletis ornatella Cham., Lithocolletis robiniella Clem, and Gracilaria {Parec- topd) robiniella Clem. Many other insects feed also on the Locust ; and it sometimes happens that a species which has been usually not very abundant, will suddenly become so numerous and commit such devastation as to become for the time a plague. For this reason I deem it best to refer briefly to the other insects which feed on the Locust, before referring further to the principal depredators above named. Thus 6o THE AMERICAN ENTOMOLOGIST. ^■^cea piirpui-iella Cham, is a leaf-miner of the Locust ; that is, it burrows in the sub- stance of the leaves between the upper and lower cuticles. Its mine is small and placed at the junction of a vein and the midrib, if this is indeed the work of this species, the history of which has not yet been suf- ficiently investigated. There is also a small larva which is sometimes found inhabiting a tube made of " frass " inside the mines of LithocoUctis robiniella and L. ornatella, and it is possible that this may prove to be the larva of A. purpuriella, as to the larval habits of which nothing can be said with certainty except that it feeds on locust leaves. Gclechia pseudacaciella Cham, is another locust-feeding larva, which when very young, may be found under a minute web which extends a little way along the side of the midrib on the under-side of the leaf, and later in life may be found feeding between two leaflets or inside of the mine of L. robiniella, the pupa of which it fre- quently eats. Dr. Packard mentions another larva, that of Depressaria robiniella, as feed- ing on locust leaves, but it is unknown to me. The larva of Xylesthia Clemensella burrows in the dead locust timber, and pos- sibly also in the living wood, and there is a singular larva, the imago or moth of which is unknown, which burrows in locust twigs, eating the pith. Its jaws, head and thor- acic segments are large and nearly black, and its feet are well developed ; the abdo- minal segments are yellow, marked with spots like those many Gclechia larvge, and the larva is about half an inch long. All of the foregoing species, except perhaps the last and Hispa suturalis, belong to the Le- pidopterous family Tincidce. Besides these the moth Xylcutes robinice, and the butterfly Eiidamus tityrus also feed in the larval state on the Locust ; the former boring in the wood, the latter feeding exter- nally on the leaves. Besides the Hispa before mentioned, another beetle, Clytus robinice, feeds on or rather in the Locust in its larval state, burrowing in the wood. There are also some small Homoptera of the genus Etythroneura Fitch, which suck the juices of the leaves ; but possibly the Locust may not be their only food-plant ; and there are two species of Diptera {Ceci- dofnyia pseudacacice and Cecidomyia robinice) which feed exclusively on locust leaves in the larval state. The first of these {C. pseud- acacice^ is not very abundant in this local- ity, but C. robinice is quite abundant and no doubt contributes to the destruction of the trees. It feeds externally on the leaves, causing them to curl and turn pale yellow over the affected part ; but the burnt ap- pearance which the trees present is not attributable to them, but to Hispa suturalis, Lithocolletis ornatella, and L. rolmiiella and Gracilaria robiniella. Prof. Haldeman, in the Pennsylvania Farm Journal, VI, men- tions this appearance, and attributes it chiefly to Cecidomyia robinice and Hispa suturalis; but the two species of Litho- colletis and the Gracilaria were probably unknown to him, and their work was attri- buted to the beetle, which has sins enough of its own to answer for in this respect. Locust groves are not so numerous in this region now as they were twenty-five years ago, but whether the insects above referred to have had anything to do with their decrease, I do not know. Their depre- dations only began to attract attention some ten or twelve years ago, and they have been on the increase ever since. By the ist of August the groves look as if a fire had swept over them ; and on examining the leaves in many groves almost every leaflet will be found to contain a "mine," as the burrow of the larva is technically called, and many of them will contain three or four ; while the imago or mature insect of Hispa suturalis will be found in great numbers feeding externally on the leaves. The mine of this species is a large blister- like spot of a brown or grayish-brown color, and the larva contained in it is somewhat flattened, and has large jaws as compared with the other leaf-miners found in the same leaves, and it passes the pupa state in the mine. The mine of Lithocolletis orna- tella is a flat, pale yellowish blotch, and the larva up to its fifth stage is whitish, flat, and small ; after that time however it be- comes green and more cylindrical. It leaves THE AMERICAN ENTOMOLOGIST. 6i the mine to pupate. The larva of L. robini- ella like that of L. ornatella is found in both surfaces of the leaflets, and is what is tech- nically termed a tentiform mine, — that is, it is a large white blister-like spot. Its larva up to its third stage is flat and white, and after that becomes cylindrical. The larva of the beetle is much larger than either of those of Lithocolletis. The fourth mine is that of Gracilaria {Parectopa) robiniella. It is pale yellowish and extends along the midrib on the upper side of the leaflet, sending off finger-like processes on each side. The larva is somewhat de- pressed, by which fact it may be dis- tinguished from the larva of L. robmiella. These larvae of Lithocolletis and Gracilaria have each only six legs ; but in their mines, and especially in the mines of L. robinietla, may frequently be found a larger, striped larva with eight legs ; this is the larva of Gelechia pseudacaciella before mentioned. Fully nine-tenths of the depredations of insects on locust trees in this locality are the work of Hispa suturalis, Lithocolletis robiniella, L. ornatella, G. robiniella and Cecidomyia robinice, and probably one-half of it is the work of LL. suturalis. When we look at a grove in August the wonder is not that it should be destroyed by these depredators, but that it does not succumb much sooner than it does. It will continue to live, in spite of its injuries, for several years, the trees gradually dying out one by one. The young trees seem to suffer most, as the insects seem to prefer their foliage ; and large old trees seldom exhibit the burnt appearance of the young groves. Young shoots growing up around an old trunk will sometimes have nearly all their leaves blistered, while but few com- paratively of those on the old tree will be injured. No means of checking the ravages of these species are at present known, other than those afforded by nature, and these seem wholly insufficient. I have bred two species of Chalcid parasites from L. robini- ella, and two from L. ornatella, and one from Gracilaria robiniella, and there are also parasites which prey upon LLispa sutur- alis; but although these parasites are abund- ant they are not numerous enough to check perceptibly the devastations of the leaf- mining larvse. Economic Entomology may and it is to be hoped will accomplish much in the future ; unfortunately, man is at present very much at the mercy of his con- temptible little foes. ^ -^ THE INSECT ENEMIES AND DISEASES OP OUR SMALL FRUITS. [Read before the New Jersey State Horticultural Society, Jan. 16, 1880, by A. S. Fuller.] Insects and diseases are frequently so closely united, or so dependent upon each other, that the naturalist often finds it dif- ficult to determine to which the fruit-' grower should attribute his losses. Some species of insects attack only diseased or dead plants ; others only the living and healthy. If a plant shows signs of failing we are inclined to speak of it as being dis- eased, whether the failure is caused by a lack of some element in the soil, attacks of parasitic fungi, or noxious insects. The loss is the same in the end, whether from one or all of these enemies combined. There are two practical methods of com- bating insect enemies and diseases of plants ; one is to so carefully cultivate and stimulate the growth of the plants that they may possess the power of resisting at- tack ; the other is to make war directly upon them by artificial means. Of course, the first method is most applicable or prac- ticable against the more minute species, such as the plant-lice, rust, smut, and mildew. I do not recommend forcing plants to extremes, in order to enable them to resist their enemies, as this might work an irre- parable injury ; but the condition to be aimed at should be a healthy, vigorous growth ; for anything beyond this, is more the sign of weakness than strength. The half-starved, over-worked, and un- cared for horse is sure, sooner or later to become the prey of various kinds of inter- nal and external parasites, which are thrown off, or their attacks successfully resisted by the healthy, vigorous and well fed animal ; and the same principle holds good all 62 THE AMERICAN ENTOMOLOGIST. through the animal and vegetable king- doms— whether the subject be a man, horse, sturdy oak, or delicate strawberry plant. Not that all diseases are due to loss of vigor through starvation and neglect ; but that a large number of them are, is well known. The experience of the grape-grower of France with the Phylloxera is one of the most remarkable instances on record of the success of what may be termed the " resistant methods " of combating insect enemies. After having searched in vain for many years to find some practical method of destroying this pest. Prof. Riley in his remarkable investigations in this •country discovered that some of our native American varieties were capable of resist- ing it, /. e. of growing vigorously notwith- standing the presence of the lice upon their roots. This discovery opened a way out of the difficulty, and the French are successfully availing themselves of it by using our resisting species as stock for their more susceptible kinds. The Grape Phylloxera is more or less abundant in all of our vineyards, but owing to the rapid and vigorous growth of most of our native varieties it does comparatively little harm. But we have many kinds of insects that attack our small fruits that cannot be con- trolled upon this resistant system, and we are compelled to combat them in a more di- rect and vigorous way, and among the first to which I would call your attention are those AFFECTING THE BLACKBERRY. Some ten years ago, the cultivators of the Blackberry in various parts of New Jersey noticed that the ends of the young growing canes in summer would occasion- ally curl, twist about, and often assume a singular, fasciated form, resulting in an en- tire check to their growth. The leaves on these infested shoots did not die and fall off, but merely curled up, sometimes as- suming a deeper green than the healthy leaves on the same stalk. At the approach of winter the infested leaves remained firmly attached to the diseased stems, and all through the cold weather and far into the spring, these leaf -laden and diseased stems were a conspicuous object in many of the blackberry plantations of this State. If the infested shoots are examined in summer, thousands of minute insects of a pale yellow color and covered with a powdery exudation will be found sucking the juices of the succulent stems and leaves,- causing the crimping, curling, and twisting of these parts as described. This parasite resembles somewhat an ordinary green-fly [Aphis] or plant-louse, but according to the observations of Prof. Riley it belongs to the closely allied Flea- lice family {FsyllidcB}, distinguished from [Fig. 17.] PsYLLA TRIPUNCTATA — hair line showing nat. size (after Riley). the plant-lice by a different veining of the wings, and by the antenna being knobbed at the tip, like those of the butterfly, the knob usually terminating in two bristles. These insects jump as briskly as a flea, from which characteristic they derive their scientific name. The particular species in question was called by Prof. Riley the " Bramble Flea-louse {Psylla rubi*)" in the American Entomologist (Vol. I, p. 225). It has in- creased very rapidly during the past half dozen years or more, and unless fruit- growers make a more vigorous fight than they yet have done, it will soon get the mastery of most blackberry plantations. The only practical method as yet discov- ered for checking the ravages of this in- sect, is, to cut off the ends of the infested canes and burn them. This operation should always be performed either in the morning, or during cool wet weather, else many of the insects will escape, and at all times the severed shoots should be im- * It cannot be distinguished from Psylla tripunctata Fitch (Catalogue of Homop^ra, etc.), and, what is most singular, the same species is very common on Pine trees all over the eastern part of the continent, from Florida to Canada.— Ed. THE AMERICAN ENTOMOLOGIST. 63 mediately dropped into bags and in them carried to the place where they are to be burned, and there emptied into the fire. If every one having blackberry bushes in their gardens would practice this method of destruction, this pest would soon cease to do much harm. Several species of Borers infest the Blackberry : the most common one is the larva of a small, slender, red-necked beetle, the Obereaperspicillata of Haldeman. The small, legless grubs bore the pith of the canes, causing them to die prematurely, or so weakening them that they are broken [Fig. 18.] DiASTROPHUS NEBULOSUS : a, gall ; b, slice of same showing cells and grubs nat. size ; c, larva ; d, pupa— enlarged (after Riley). down with the wind. As there are some fourteen or fifteen species of the Oberea now known, it may be that more than one species breed in the Blackberry. Thus far however I am not aware that they have been very injurious, but it would be well to gather all infested canes and burn them with their contents. The Blackberry is subject to the attacks gf several species of gall-insects, A fuzzy. prickly gall on the twigs is produced by a four-winged fly [Diastrophus aiscutcefor- mis O. S). Another species of the same ge- nus {Diastrophus nebulosus O. S.) produces a large pithy gall on the canes, but both of these gall-makers have very formidable par- asitic enemies which keep them in check. There are also a few leaf-eating beetles, slugs and caterpillars, that sometimes attack the Blackberry, but they are seldom sufficiently numerous or injurious to attract much at- tention. The larger species are readily destroyed by hand-gathering, and the smaller ones can usually be driven off by dusting the plants with lime. The most formidable enemy however of both the Blackberry and Raspberry is what is called the Orange-rust ( Uredo rubo- runi). It is perhaps more abundant on the Black-cap raspberry {Rubus occidentalis) than on the ordinary varieties of the Black- berry ; still it is sufficiently abundant and destructive to all to attract the attention of horticulturists throughout the country. I do not know of any remedy except to stamp out the disease by rooting up every af- fected plant and burning it. It may be that applications of lime, salt, or some similar substance would check the disease, and while these may be safely tried as pre- ventive measures, the destroying of all in- fested plants should not be omitted. (To be continued^ THE RELATION BETWEEN INSECTS AND PLANTS, AND THE CONSENSUS IN ANIMAL AND VEGETABLE LIFE.* BY LESTER F. WARD, WASHINGTON, D. C. The object of this paper is rather to show the importance of a more connected study of these two great departments of Natural History than to present new facts in either of them. The prevailing practice of isolating them and carving out of each a number of exclusive specialties, while it is necessary and advisable within certain limits, nevertheless allows, when univer- sally followed, a large class of important * This paper, read at the St. Louis meeting of the A. A. A. S., was placed in our hands in the Fall of 1878 when we expected to commence the publication of the Ento}nologist^ and with the author's permission has been held by us since that time. — Ep, 64 THE AMERICAN ENTOMOLOGIST. phenomena lying on the border-land be- tween them, to escape entirely. It is an old truth that many animals subsist on vegetables. It is a newer truth that all animals depend altogether, either ' directly or indirectly, upon plants. It is a still newer truth that many plants are partially or wholly dependent for their ex- istence on certain animals. The power of plants to manufacture protoplasm and starch has no parallel in animal physiology. Viewed from their relations to the inorganic world plants are producers while animals are parasites. True, there are organisms which, from morphological considerations, are called plants, but which are also parasites. And there are other organisms which have been and still are called animals, but which originate organic matter. But these are only illustrations of the difficulty in at- tempting to preserve popular names which were applied to things before science had taught us the nature of the things them- selves. And this question of names is still further complicated by cases in which both functions are performed by the same in- dividual. We may remand Volvox and the Bacteria to the vegetable kingdom and the fungi to the animal, but what shall we do with the mistletoe, the pine-sap, and the broom-rape ? The terms " animal " and " plant " do not express the fundamental distinction which nature makes between the two departments of life ; and when we attempt to define that distinction by say- ing that the true vegetal function is chemical while the true animal function is physiological, the terms thus employed must be taken in a special scientific sense and not in the popular acceptation. Giving them this sense we can correctly say that there are large groups of organisms in which both animal and vegetal functions are performed by the same individual, whose reference to the one or the other of the two kingdoms is a pure matter of convenience, to be determined chiefly by morphological considerations. Still cling- ing to our definition, we may also correctly declare that all animals subsist exclu- sively on the products of vegetation. They are parasites in the highest sense, fully installed parasites, the respectable ruling classes, who never think of work. The so- called parasitic plants, on the other hand, are degenerate tramps who combine a little drudgery with much nns\stematic plunder, thus rendering themselves un- popular. And it may be generally stated that the tendency of all life is to escape this drudgery of organic production wherever an opportunity presents itself, and this it does even where great degen- eracy is the necessary result.* I certainly need not point out here the parallel be- tween the two great sciences of Biology and Sociology. Leaving these general considerations relative to the fundamental dependence of animal upon vegetable life, I propose to call attention to some facts of a more practical nature coming under the same head. It is of course chiefly as food that animals appropriate plants ; but there are many and varied ways in which this takes place, and the extent to which certain ani- mals are nourished by certain plants exerts a great influence upon both the floras and faunas of the various regions of the globe, thus bearing directly upon the problems of geographical distribution. The intro- duction of a new animal into a region in which it did not previously exist often so greatly alters the vegetation in a few years that it would scarcely be recognized. Such an effect has been produced in South Am- erica by the introduction of horses which have become wild and now roam in great numbers over the pampas. And even small animals produce effects which seem quite out of proportion to the cause. The operations of man in changing the face of Nature, when scientifically viewed, consti- tute an illustration of the same truth. Of all the migratory animals man exerts the most profound influence upon the flora of the globe. He not only exterminates cer- tain species and fosters others, as do other * Ernst Haeckel, Ueber de IndividualitSt des ThierkOr- ers, pp. 10, n. THE AMERICAN ENTOMOLOGIST. 65 animals, but, by a system of artificial selec- tion which he to a great extent uncon- sciously practices, he effects the most extra- ordinary modifications in the plants them- selves, illustrations of which it would be quite superfluous to adduce. When to these considerations we add those arising out of the relations which insects sustain to plants we are brought face to face with the most practical questions of horticulture and agriculture, a thorough acquaintance with which is of the utmost importance. To this same group also belongs the extensive subject of galls. This study is essentially compound and belongs to botany as well as to ento- mology. The gall presents a case in which, in the normal condition, the plant is the loser, yet there is reason to believe that such is not universally the case. The whole subject has been so exclusively given over to the entomologist that it may be safely predicted that whenever it shall be phytologically studied much valuable knowledge will be added to that already acquired. Plants are not generally killed by the bite of the insect. This would defeat the end the insect itself has in view. The normal channels of circulation and growth in the plant are simply blocked up and forced to re-form under new conditions favorable to the insect. The case is anal- ogous to those in which man turns the channels of streams to his own advantage or in any manner diverts the forces of Nature in his own favor, which is the essence of invention and of all material progress. In neither case is Nature actually defeated, it is only controlled. In the gall the insect has learned to control the forces of growth to its own advantage. Where the same insect operates in the same manner upon the same plant for many generations a certain adaptation must take place. The abnormal mode of growth must become to a certain extent normal. We may even suppose cases in which the presence of the gall has come to be a benefit rather than an injury. I have my- self observed many cases in which it ap- peared in no way to arrest the normal function of the plant. Specimens of Eupatoriicm album recently collected ex- hibited a swelling in the peduncle at the base of each head, in the center of which was a hollow cavity enclosing the larva. But the tissue all round this cavity seemed perfectly healthy and the flowers were in all states of advancement and apparently wholly unaffected by the gall. A remark- able gall which I found on the prevailing juniper of the Wasatch range, Juniperus Californica, var. Utahensis, deceived every- body but professional naturalists by its resemblance to fruit, and though abundant in certain localities, did not seem in the least to impair the growth of the trees. Oak galls, as all know, are green ; they contain chlorophyl and must perform the regular functions of assimilation. The insect producing a gall may be regarded as a parasite on the particular plant chosen whose growing tissue the larvae usually devour at something near the rate at which it forms. There are cases both where plants are parasitic on plants (e. g. lichens on fungi*), and where animals are parasitic on animals,! in which the foster individ- ual is benefited, and that such should sometimes be the case with plants regu- larly affected by the same gall is not an- tecedently improbable. With these few remarks on the first gen- eral division of the subject or that in which the dependence of animal life upon plant life is shown, we may now pass to the second division which includes the evi- dence of a reciprocal dependence of the plant upon the animal. That quadrupeds and birds are perpetually conferring great service upon many forms of plant life there is now no doubt. This is done chiefly in securing their proper distribution over the earth. Were the seeds of plants compelled to depend upon gravitation and the winds alone for their distribution the relative proportions of the various species would be very different from that which we actually find. In many cases the seeds, berries, and nuts. * Sachs, Lehrbuch der Botanik, p. 330. t Van Beneden, Animal Parasites and Messmates. 66 THE AMERICAN ENTOMOLOGIST. falling directly to the earth, would spring up in such dense clumps as to choke each other and endanger the life of all. Every species has to pass through a certain or- deal in the history of its struggle for ex- istence, at which period any, even the smallest, additional obstacle to its progress is sufficient to turn the scale against it and force it to succumb. It is at this time that a wide distribution is of the greatest advantage. With most of the choicest nut and fruit bearing species this is the case, and had no other agency existed for ac- complishing this purpose than those of in- organic nature it is doubtful whether they could have survived. This great service is performed by animals and by birds in a variety of interesting ways. The full significance of the many re- markable kinds of fruit can only be under- stood by recognizing this principle. But it must also be remembered that the adapt- ation has been mutual. We cannot assume the various fruits to have first existed and that afterwards the animals and birds came upon the stage and accomplished their distribution. The development of both has gone ow. pari passu from the beginning, and this also harmonizes in a suggestive manner with the known simultaneous geo- logical appearance of these higher forms of vegetable and animal life. Under the law of natural selection, now the fundamental principle of biological dynamics,* berries and fruits have gradually acquired at- tractive dimensions, tastes and colors,f while the true germinal portion, (seeds, drupes, &c.) have been protected from de- struction in various ways, and thus the animal world has been employed to distri- bute the vegetation, for which labor it re- ceives its own subsistence as a remuneration. Not always, however, is compensation thus meted out, for in the many kinds of burs, by whose aid the plant is equally bene- * That department of biology which takes account of the changes that have taken place and which are constantly tak- ing place in the form, habits, location and numerical relations of living things. t In Medeola Virginica^ the Indian Cucumber-root, I have suspected that the brilliant red color of the upper whorl of leaves which accompanies the ripening of the berries lo'cated at its base, may have been developed through natural selection for the attraction of birds, fited, the task of distribution is an invol- untary and unwelcome one to the creature performing it. But interesting as these considerations are, and pointedly as they show the inti- mate connection subsisting between the physical life of animals and plants, they are nevertheless trite, in comparison with the astonishing facts which a study of in- sect life in its relation to plants reveals. Whether it be true or not, as queried above, that plants may in certain cases de- rive benefit from insects through the agency of galls, it is now certain that they do de- rive such benefit in at least two other en- tirely distinct ways ; viz. — i : by the action of the insects in cross-fertilizing flowers ; and 2 : by the action of plants in entrap- ping insects and appropriating them to their own nourishment. Considering the first of these modes, that of cross-fertilization, it is surprising to what extent the evidence already obtained, and that by comparatively few observers, supports the conclusion that for the higher forms of vegetation this reciprocity is one of equality, and that the vegetable king- dom is as absolutely dependent upon the animal as the animal is upon the vegetable. This fact of insect agency in cross-fertiliz- ation which Sprengel, its original observer, appropriately styled " The newly-discov- ered Secret of Nature," has been so far established and extended by recent obser- vation that it has become the key to the greater part of the mysteries of vegetable morphology. In fact it has so enlarged our conceptions of the science that the peculiarities of structure observed in flow- ers are no longer looked upon as positive facts (I use the term positive in the Com- tean sense) but as effects, and we at once proceed to interpret their significance and determine their true cause or raison d' ctre. Just as when the archaeologist dis- covers a singular vessel or implement he refers it to the agency of an intelligent being who must have constructed it, so the modern botanist, when he sees a curious structure in a flower, proceeds by a course of rational deduction to account for it as THE AMERICAN ENTOMOLOGIST. 67 the result of insect agency. The parallel, however, holds only so far. The manner in which the result is produced, as also the motive of the agent, being widely different in the two cases. New facts are b^ing continually added to prove the extent of this influence. There is scarcely a flower in our woodlands or meadows whose attentive study does not teach us something of it. Upon them all these tiny creatures have impressed their stamp. It is now extensively maintained that all that makes flowers attractive to us, their brilliant hues, their fragrant odors, as well as their size and form, are the fruits of the industry of the insect microcosm as slowly brought about through ages of time That celebrated couplet in Gray's Elegy written in a Country Churchyard : " Full many a flower is born to blush And waste its sweetness on the desert air," was the product of the knowledge of the 1 8th century and is no longer true. Showy and fragrant flowers are the consequence of a true psychic force, of an aesthetic fac- ulty identical with that of man, and our admiration of them simply proves that we admire what the insect world admires, and that there is a standard of taste which holds not only for mankind but for all sentient beings. (To be continued.) THE COTTON WORM. HABITS AND CHARACTERS OF THE MOTH OR IMAGO.* The moth measures from \\ to li inches from tip to tip of wing when these are ex- panded. Its general color, above, is oliv- aceous, more or less effectually subdued by lilaceous or purple hues, and often having a clay-yellow, or faintly golden cast. The under-side is more gray, with nacreous re- flections. The markings that more particularly characterize and distinguish it from all other North American moths are certain undulating vinous or carmine lines across the front wings, a dark oval spot near their disc containing pale scales, which usually form a double pupil (the basal or inner one the smallest and whitest), and three white specks dividing the space between this dark spot and the shoulder in about three equal parts. (Fig. 19, a « a.) The sexes are not readily distinguish- able, as the relative stoutness of the male [Fig. 19.] * From Bulletin 3, U. S. Entomological Commission, by C. V. Riley. Outline of Alexia : showing characteristic marks and white specks (a a a) — twice natural size (after Riley). antennse compared with those of the female is so slight as to be no safe guide. An examination of the tip of the abdomen, especially from the side, will always show the difference, however, the last joint in the male (Fig. 20, a) being the longer and more full, and the pale tufts of hair that belong to the withdrawn genitalia* show- ing within or beyond the squarely docked tip ; while in the female (Fig. 20, b) this joint is shorter, more pointed, and oblique- ly truncate beneath. The habits of this moth can only be studied at night, as, like almost all the rest of its family, it is nocturnal. During the day it simply starts up when disturbed, and darts by swift and low flight to some other sheltered spot a few yards, or perhaps rods, away. After sunset, however, it may be seen leisurely hovering about, either bent on the perpetuation of its kind or feeding upon whatever sweets it can get, whether from the cotton or from other sources. It is very strong and swift of wing, and capable, when the necessity arises, of flying long distances. In alighting upon the plant it * The male genitalia in this species are remarkable for hav- ing two extensile organs, usually retracted and showing as dense tufts of hair, but capable of extension to thrice the length of the rest of the armature ; also for two attenuated double-jointed spines which lie when at rest in a sheath on one side of the penis with the points extending beyond it, but which in action bend back at right angles therefrom. 68 THE AMERICAN ENTOMOLOGIST. generally turns its head downward, and when it rests, the wings are but shallowly roofed, the front ones closed along the back and fully hiding the hind ones. In this re- spect it may always be distinguished from the parent of the Boll Worm, which rests with the front wings partly open and not entirely covering the hind ones. The female begins to lay her eggs in from two to four days after issuing from the chrysalis, the time varying with the different generations and according to temperature. In experiments which I have made with moths confined in vivaria, eggs have some- times been laid thirty-six hours after issu- ing, and the moths have continued laying for twenty-one nights, the number laid each night ranging from 4 to 45. [Fig. 20.] Cotton Moth : , : c, underside of head (after Hubbard). broader than long, sides slightly rounded, trun- cate in front, sparsely covered with fine hairs. No ocelli. Antennae arising from the convex sides of the head, just before the middle, directed backwards ; of four joints, the first tuberculous, the second elongate-cylindrical, slightl}' enlarged anteriorl3^ the third twice as long as the second, slightly curved, thickened on the inner (anterior) side, sparsel}' covered with bristles, a longer bristle on the inside at the thickest portion, a stout spine on the inside at apex, fourth joint appendicuiate, -bearing lateral bristles and a short spine at tip. Epistoma prominent trapezoidal, strongly angulate, edges straight. .Labrum mov- able, deflexed, transverse, oval, bearing spines above and below. Mandibles stout, lobed at base, with molar surface striate, moderately curved, bidentate at tips, overlapping when •closed. Maxillae large, prominent, passing the mandibles, protuberant and strongly angulate at base, consisting of elongate cardinal and basal pieces, and a p3framidal palpiger, obscurel)' sep- arated into two lobes by a longitudinal furrow, the upper lobe bearing internall}' four or five spines, the lower lobe terminating in a curevd, ciliated crest; maxillary palpus, arising from the base of the palpiger, of two stout basal and one THE AMERICAN ENTOMOLOGIST. 8i slender, spiniform, terminal joints. Labium with a large rounded mentum, broader than long, slightly narrowed behind, bearing long hairs, labial palpi widel)' separated b}^ the base of the iigula, of two joints and a palpigerous piece resembling a third joint Ligula very large, prominent, elongate, with a square lobe in front, nearly reaching the tips of the palpi. Thoracic segments equal, larger than the abdominal seg- ments, twice as wide as long, side margins pro- duced, dorsal surfaces with two, and on the pro- thorax with several, rows of short blunt spines ; sides of prothorax less strongly rounded than the following segments ; each with a pair of moder- ately long legs, of two joints and a terminal claw- joint representing the tarsus, tibia clothed with spinules. Abdomen of nine strongly transverse segments, each with a row of six blunt spines above, which are replaced by sharp spinules on the ventral surface, terminal segments bearing a pair of moderately long appendages with one short cylindrical basal joint, the remainder seti- form, very obscurely multi-articulate. Anal pro- longation stout, tubular, ending in four fleshy lobes which are usually retracted into the rectum. Stigmata nine pairs, the first pair larger, situated in the fold at the hind angles of prothorax, the eight remaining pairs on the first eight abdominal segments, at the middle of the edge of the dorsal shield, and immediately below a short tubular spine (the last spine of the dorsal row). The larva of Adelops presents the general char- acters of Silphid larvse as given by Erichson, but is most closely allied to those of Liodes and Agathidium. From the larger Silphidse it differs [Fig. Adelops hirtus : «, pupa, underside ; b^ do. from above ; c, anal appendages (after Hubbard). notably in possessing a movable labrum, not soldered to the clypeus, and from all described larvre of the family in having the palpigerous pieces of the lower lip (labium) widely separated, forming in fact a third joint of the palpi, and in the size and prominence of the ligula. There are no long sensitive hairs upon any part. Of the larva of Catops \\.% nearest ally, no description is known to me, except that of C. fusciis Gyll. by Erichson, which is too short to be of use. The pupa, (Fig. 20, a, ventral, b, dorsal view, enlarged 10 times, c, anal appendages, much en- larged) now first made known, is characterized as follows : It is short, thick, almost conical, broadly rounded anteriorly, suddenl}^ tapering behind, sparsely covered with fine hairs. Head bent downwards upon the breast, not visible from above, upper lip prominent, emarginate, tips of palpi projecting, free, constricted at the joints. Antenna; bent upwards and backwards, lying back of the knees in the concavity of the protho- rax, and projecting beyond the dorsal surface at its hind angles, constricted at the joints, the outer half a heavy club, each articulation of which bears large spiny tubercles. Prothorax very large, al- most hemispherical, covering the body like a hood. Wings folded over on to the ventral surface, lying under the anterior legs, covering the thighs of the last pair. Dorsal surface almost entirely ex- posed, at the base of the wings three conical protuberances placed close together, the largest [Fig. ■1. . ' « I n.i' III ■'. iiii.'niiii._ li! 'Mill Cells of Adelops. on the median line covering the scutellum, the two smaller on either side upon the elytra ; the tip of the metathorax protuberant, acutely pro- longed over the first abdominal segment. Ab- domen strongly arched downwards terminating in two thigh-shaped appendages with two or three long hairs on the sides, and a curved bristle at their apices, between tliem at the base, a lobe surmounted by two converging tubular processes. Color transparent white. Length 2.5'""'=.io in., width i.5"'"^=.o6 in. Anophthahniis sp. — Larva (Fig. 22, «, head, much enlarged, b, underside of same.) No de- tailed description of this larva has yet been pub- lished. Packard's figure (/. c. x, pi. ii) suffi- ciently well represents the form. General form long and very slender, cylindrical, gradually narrower in front, more suddenly be- hind. Color brilliant white, head and legs honey- yellow, with the mandibles darker, dorsal shields of the thorax tinged with yellow, those of the ab- domen colorless. Length of a somewhat distended specimen 8™'"=. 32 in. Head rather small, in- clined upwards, nearly quadrate, slightly nar- rowed behind, flattened above and below, sides almost straight, posterior border sinuate above, broadly emarginate below, with a few hairs, longer on the sides. Head above with anterior border projecting between the mandibles in an obtusely tridentate clypeus, with thickened, slightly re- flexed margins, a shallow, arcuate impression extending between the bases of the antennae, and following the frontal margin, an oval depression at the summit of the frontal elevation midway between the antennse, Y-suture represented only by the upper portions of its branches, which ex- tend from the base of the clypeal projection on each side, backwards and inwards, half way to the median line. Head beneath with anterior border slightly rounded, lobed by the projection of the mentum. Eyes wanting. Antenna; placed above, in slight emarginations at the anterior angles of the head, projecting forwards, not longer than the mandibles ; of four joints ; the first uni- formly cylindrical ; the second shorter, enlarged anteriorly, with a single bristle ; the third longer 82 THE AMERICAN ENTOMOLOGIST. than the first, deformed, the basal half a thickened palm, bearing; a small, oval, porrect lobe, and minute papilljc, the remainder of the joint a curved, cylindrical continuation joining the palm on the inside, two bristles on the palm and one on the finger ; fourth joint appendiculate, bearing several long lateral, and one minute terminal bristles. Mandibles moderately long and thick, arcuate, with a short tooth near the middle. Maxillae consisting of a very short cardinal piece, a stout cylindrical basal piece, longer than the mandibles, with two long, and several short ex- ternal bristles, above with a row of six or seven spinules near the inner margin, and two internal bristles near the apex, surmounted by a two- jointed internal lobe, the basal joint thicker and shorter than the terminal, and a four-jointed pal- pus; the first and second joints thick, the first very short ; the second much longer ; third and [Fig. 22.] b "/ Anophthalmias sp. «, head, much enlarged ; b, underside of same (after Hubbard). fourth joints together equal to the first two com- bined, more slender, terminal joint longest. Men- tum elongate, convex, separated from the under surface of the head only by shallow longitudinal, parallel impressions, projecting slightly beyond the anterior border as a rounded lobe, sur- mounted b}' a convex palpiger, not broader than long, somewhat obcordate, the anterior emargin- ation deeper when seen from above. Labial palpi of two joints, equal in length, the first thick the last slender. Ligula invisible from below, dis- tinguisliablefrom above as a minute papilla placed at the bottom of the emargination between the palpi, and bearing two hairs. Thoracic segments narrower than the abdominal segments, moder- ate!)' convex above, flattened beneath ; the pro- thorax oval, longer than broad, sides gentl}' curved, anterior border sinuate, produced at middle ; meso-and metathorax broader than long, more strongly rounded on the sides, widest be- hind the middle ; dorsal shields elliptical, fringed with short brown hairs, prothoracic shield larger than the following. Legs moderately long, sub- equal and similar, sparsely clothed with hairs, of five joints and a claw ; coxae widely separate, conical, stouter and longer than the other joints ; trochanter, femur, and tibia exactly equal ; tarsal joint rather longer, more slender, tapering; tarsal claw shorter, curved, pointed. Abdominal seg- ments nine in number, convex above and below, strongly rounded on the sides ; dorsal shields transverse, elliptical, indicated by fringing, short, brown hairs ; on the side of each segment a promi- nence bearing a few hairs ; segments i to 4 in- sensibly increasing in size ; then decreasing to the 7th, which equals the ist ; 8th sensibly smal- ler ; gth much smaller, conical, ending in a pair of rather stout appendages, not exceeding the segment in length, curving inwards, bearing bristles, and a cylindrical anal proleg, when dis- tended showing two diverging lobes, equal to the appendages in length. Stigmata normal, one larger pair on the prothorax, placed posteriorly a little below the middle of the side, the following on segments i to 8 of the abdomen, above and a little in advance of the lateral hair-bearing prom- inence, exceedingly minute, and from their want of color barel)' visible. The hairs of the body are few in number and very short, those of the head are no longer than are seen on most car- abid larvpe, and bear no comparison to the long sensitive hairs found upon all parts of the imago. A single specimen in alcohol, found on wet sand near Hebe's Spring, Mammoth Cave, six miles from the entrance. The species may be either^. Tellkanipfii ox A. Menetriesii. Except in its ver)' elongate form I can find no striking diflFerences between this and other Carabid larvae allied to Trechus. Phora sp. — (Fig. 23 a, larva enlarged 10 times, profile ; b, front view of head and thorax ; c, anal propleg from above ; a and b much enlarged.) The larva of the smaller cave fly is cjdindrical, iffll [Fig. 23.: Larva of Phoua : a, side view ; b^ head and thorax from front ; c, anal joints from above (after Hubbard). narrowed in front, more suddenly narrowed be- hind. Head small, rounded, convex, deeply inserted in the thorax ; above on each side an acute, three-jointed tubercle ; in front a second pair of very minute tubercles, separated by a sut- ural line, which branches below them ; space be- tween the branches of the Y-suture excised, en- closing the buccal opening, which appears as a dark transverse slit. Three thoracic segments smaller than the abdominal segments, retractile, bearing at or near the anterior border a row of acute tubercles or spines ; the prothoracic with a pair of tubular spines arising from depressions at the middle of each side. Abdomen of nine segments, each with three folds on the dorsal THE AMERICAN ENTOMOLOGIST. 83 surface, the posterior fold bearing a row of spines similar to those on the thorax ; sides wrinkled, with tubercular prominences between the seg- ments, and one or two spines anterior to those of the dorsal row ; ventral surface, each segment with three transverse ridges, one median, slightly in advance of the two lateral ridges ; two last segments smaller, the terminal with an anal pro- jection consisting of two large retractile tubercles, directed upwards and bearing spiracles, sur- rounded by six radiating spiny processes. Color dull white, darker at the extremities. Length when moderately distended 5"""= .21 in. Several specimens in alcohol. The larva of the European Phora Dauci, ob- served by Bouche in rotten radishes, is figured without detail by Westwood, (Int. to Class" ii. Fig. 132, 12) that of P. incmssata, found in bee- hives, is reproduced in Packard's Guide. Both agree with this larva, as far as the figures and descriptions go. Chthoniiis Packardi Hagen, n. sp. — (Fig. 24, f5 , enlarged fifteen times, b left mandible from below, c feathered bristle of the mandibles more enlarged, (/ movable finger of mandible, occas- ional in 2 , ^ chela of the palpus, / termination of tarsus, g plantula from above.) " Dull whitish, mandibles and palpi very light brown, segments of the abdomen yellowish white. Thorax flat, a little longer than broad, quadrangular ; very little enlarged just before the anterior border and a little narrowed behind in female ; lateral bor- ders nearly straight, a little convex just before the anterior border, where the eyes should have been ; angles rectangular, the hind ones scarcely rounded ; no eyes ; thorax smooth with a few sensitive bristles, four on each side, two near the anterior border and two near the posterior one ; two more in the middle each side nearer to the anterior border, which is a little produced in middle ; mandibles large, one third shorter than the thorax ; base convex above, oblong, a little V narrowed to the [Fig. 24.] fingers, which are shorter than the base ; the movable finger incurved, strongly pointed, with sometimes a small knob or ex- ternal indentation before the tip ; on the underside of the base, just be- fore the division into fingers, inter- nally three long feathered bristles placed in a line, usually larger on the left mandible, sometimes want- ing (or rubbed oft?) ; abdomen less than twice as long as the thorax, scarcely broader at base, ovoid, thicker in the fe- male ; two rows of hairs on the seg- ments I to 3, four rows on the three following seg- ments, and six rows on the two following seg- ments ;* a trans- „ „ T 1 J £r. • 7 j-1.1 versal row of hairs Chthonil's Packardi: «, 6 enlarged fifteen times; /;, mandible; , , c, bristle of the mandible ; d^ finger of the mandible ; ^, chela of palpus ; ^n eacn ventral y, end of tarsus ; g\ plantula (after Hubbard). segment. Male with the second ventral segment triangularly ex- cised ; female with two small holes ; palpi thin, longer than the body by about the length of their fingers ; hypopodium oblong, incurved ; trochanter short, enlarged at tip, incurved, about half as thick as long ; femur very long, straight, cylindrical, slender, a little convex above before the tip, as long as the thorax and the three basal segments of the abdomen ; tibia similar to trochanter, incurved, enlarged at tip, less than half as long as the femur ; chela thin, one half longer than the femur ; the hand as thick as the tibia, cylindrical, a little enlarged below just be)rond The pupa is visible through the skin of the larva, which becomes an indu- rated puparium, light red in color, oval, pointed at the ends, smooth and convex be- neath, more de- pressed on the dorsal surface, which is margined, with the segments indicated by ridg- es. The extremi- ties of the pupari- um show the parts of the larva un- changed. Length 3.6""" = .14 in. All the stages were found on of- fal in Washington Hall, Mam. Cave, Aug. 2ist. Ima- ges appeared from pupae taken to De- troit, Michigan, a week later. Dr. Hagen has, with the greatest liberality, placed at my disposal his unpublished descrip- tions and figures of new Pseudo-scorpions be- longing to the genus Chthoniiis. The following is the description of the cave species. The few changes I have taken the liberty of making in his manuscript, have been rendered necessary by new facts developed in correspondence, and in an article published in advance of the descrip- tions by Dr. Hagen in the Zoologischer Anzeiger, Leipzig, July 1879. *The number of hairs is found to vary on the abdomen, Hub. 84 THE AMERICAN ENTOMOLOGIST. the articulation, straight, shorter than the femur ; fingers as long as the femur ; slender, straight, viewed in profile a little incurved, the tips hooked suddenly, the movable finger a little shorter ; both with a series of sharp teeth inside ; legs slender, the two anterior pairs as long as the bod)', the two posterior pairs extending beyond the body the length of the tarsus ; hypopodia oblong, a little incurved, those of the first pair a little pointed before ; trochanter short, a little longer than thick ; femur long cylindrical, tibia half as long as the femur ; first ta'rsal joint as long as the tibia, second as long as the femur ; the two pos- terior pairs with the trochanter and base of the femur enlarged ; femur with a spurious articu- lation before the middle ; first tarsal joint shorter than the tibia ; all legs with long fine hairs ; two very slender and strongly curved booklets on tip ; between them an anchor-shaped plantula with a thin cylindrical stem. The palpi of female are as long as those of the male. Length 2.3""" = .09 inch. Hab. Wyandotte Cave. Indiana ; five males, one female in alcohol. The female has a small external indentation of the movable finger of the mandibles ; the finger of the males has no Indentation, but in two specimens the tip is somewhat broader, more obliquely cut, and with a fine engraved line where the indentation should be." The discovery of this blind Pseudo-scorpion in America is very interesting. It belongs with- out any doubt to Schioedte's genus Bht/irus, which on careful examination proves however to be merely ChtJioniiis with undeveloped eyes, and is the smallest species known. " C. {Blothriis) spcLcus differs by the longer tibia of the palpi, and by the two anterior pairs of legs with a two-jointed tibia. The last state- ment is doubted by Mr. Simon, but Mr. Schioed- te's accuracy is so well known, that his statements are to be accepted. {B.) Abcillii has much longer palpi and legs, and the sexes of dissimilar devel- opment. {B.)breviiua7ms\?>on\y\iXiO\vn to me b)' an insuflficient diagnosis. {B.) cephalotcs seems rather similar to {B.)Packardi, only a little larger, the mandible granulated, nearly as long as the thorax ; the fingers of the palpi equally longer." Another form, with two eyes, occurs in the Mammoth Cave ; It is "pale )'ellowish ; the thorax, mandibles, palpi, legs and segments of the abdomen about the same color ; the base of the mandibles a little darker, the abdomen between the segments and on the sides paler. I have seen only three specimens in alcohol, all from the Mammoth Cave region, one couple from one locality and a female from another locality. I have compared all very carefully with C. {Blolh- rits) Fackardi from Indiana. They are a little longer, 3 to 3.2 millim long, a little darker, or perhaps a little less white, but all three have on each side of the thorax one eye, distant from the anterior border as far as the length of the diame- ter of the eye ; the movable finger of the mandi- bles is not indented. The examination of all other details shows no difference. Hab. From the bottom of Doine, Mam. Cave, with dead bat, Nov. 9th, and Long Cave near Glasgow Junction, Ky., one mile from daylight, May nth." My specimens, two males and two females from the Rotunda in Mammoth Cave, have each two C3'es, which however vary in the convexity of the cornea and are so faint as to be easil}' overlooked. The males are very white, one of the females shows traces of an indentation on the mandibu- lar finger. The male from which the figure was drawn measures 3 millim. in length, or exclusive of the mandibles 2.3'""'. The hairs upon thorax and abdomen, which are correct!}' represented in the figure, differ slightly from the description of the blind form, but the}' are probably vari- able. In his article in Zoologischcr Auzcigcr, July 1879, Dr. Hagen refers to this form as follows : " * * As the position and number of the e)'es has hitherto furnished for C//t'///t'''-genera a trustworthy indication, I had described it as a new species.* A subsequent very close compari- son with {Blothrus) Fackardi gave as a result that the two species appear to be identical, only, the former has two eyes, the latter is blind. Further research showed that neither can be separated from the genus Chlhonius, which has two eyes on each side. Consequently we have here the in- teresting fact, that ChtJioiiius living without the caves has two eyes on either side, and that within the caves live forms of this genus, in which either only the anterior pair of eyes is aborted, or these too are wanting, and light-refracting cells (licht- brechende Kerne) under the skin at the base of the sensitive hairs seem to form a partial substi- tute for the wanting organs of sight." To Dr. H. Hagen my grateful acknowledg- ments are due for invaluable aid and suggestions. I have added nothing to his observations on Pseudo-scorpions, the portions indicated by quo- tation marks are copied almost verbatim from his manuscript. Atropos diviiiatona Muell. — This is one of our commonest insects and found ever3'where. Its occurrence in the Cave, though probable, is not certain, as it was found upon offal from the Cave after it had been taken to Detroit. The two specimens of Psocus found in the Rotunda have been examined b}' Dr. Hagen who pronounces them fully developed imagos, but of the short- winged kind. They have developed eyes and three ocelli and are therefore not n3'mph:c. Dr. Hagen sends the following notes : "The short-winged imagos differ from the nympha; by the short wings fastened only to the exterior corner of the thorax, and the wings are even shorter than the wing-covers of the pupae would be. Both belong to the Psoci with three- jointed tarsi, therefore to Myopsocus (one Amer. species known) or to Elipsoctts (three Amer. species known). But as the N. Amer. species ol Psocus are very imperfectly studied, this species may belong to one still undescribed. At all events it is particularly interesting that in the caves such imagos imperfectly developed occur." * Under the manuscript name C. (Blothrus) incerttis. Tiru NEW YORK, APRIL, 1880. No. 4. PUBLISHED MONTHLY BY THE HUB PUBLISHING CO. of n. y. 323 Pearl St., New York. TERMS Two dollars per annum, in advance. EDITORS : CHAS. V. RILEY, Editor, ^ rt^ashington, D. C. A. S. FULLER, Assistant Editor,^ Ridgewood, N. J. THE CHINCH-BUG.* ITS WINTER HABITS. It was known soon after the insect became troublesome that there were more broods than one ; some, as Mr. Hadley, supposing there were " five or six genera- tions." It is a quite common opinion, and [Fig. 25.] it is held by many to the present day, that there are three broods. This belief arises very naturally from the fact that those which hiber- nate appear in the /f im^.M V, spring to deposit eggs ; i wS/ li the perfect insects from '^ ^ these are counted as a second brood, the fall brood being the third, according to the method of counting ; but as will be seen by careful observation, those which appear in the spring are the same ones seen late in the fall. / Chinch-dug: Hair line underneath showing natu- ral length (after Riley). Dr. Shinier observed in 1864 and 1865 that this species is two-brooded, but no account of his observations were published until 1867 ; in the mean time Prof. Riley published the fact in 1866 that they are but two-brooded in the northern part of this State (Illinois). Subsequent observations * From Bulletin No. .5, U. S. E. C, by Prof. Cyrus Thomas. have shown this to be the rule in the other parts of the State and throughout the north- west. There is some evidence of an occa- sional third brood in the extreme southern part of the State, but not sufficient to jus- tify me in asserting it as a fact, or to satisfy me of its correctness. Insects may pass the winter as eggs, which is a very common method ; as larvae or young, which is rather unusual ; as pupae, which is a very common method in those orders where the pupa state is one of complete quiescence ; and lastly, they may pass the winter as perfect insects. [Fig. 26.] t-i#?; n ru V i Immature stages of Chinch-bug : a, i, eggs ; c, newly- hatched larva ; d, its tarsus ; e, larva after first molt ; y", same after second molt ; jf, pupa — the natural sizes indicated at sides; A, enlarged leg of perfect bug; /, tarsus of same still more enlarged ; z, proboscis or beak, enlarged (after Riley). The last method is the one adopted by the Chinch-bug. When cold weather comes on those of the fall brood leave the now dry and hardened corn stalks and seek secure places in which to remain during the winter. Occasionally they take flight at the time, but usually they seek the most secure places which can be found in and immediately around the field. Any rubbish left in the field, if of a nature to meet their wants, is eagerly sought ; corn shocks, straw piles, stumps, logs, and fence rows are used as hiding places ; they even hide beneath the clods when no better places can be found. But many move 86 THE AMERICAN ENTOMOLOGIST. into the forest, grove or woodland, if either happens to be near at hand. I have found also that the line of bushes along any stream traversing the field is a favorite resort. Sheds, barns, rail fences, and stacks often furnish them with winter quarters. During the winter they remain in a torpid or semi-torpid state, but are easily warmed into life and activity. As the cold weather becomes more and more severe they press deeper and deeper, if possible, into the inner recesses of their hiding places. They prefer dry quarters if readily obtained. Whether the males survive in equal numbers with the females is a point not ascertained so far as I am aware, but I am of the opinion that the females are the more numerous. Their time of coming forth in the spring depends upon the latitude and season. In a few instances in unusually early springs they have been seen as early as the middle or latter part of March in the southern part of the State ; while on the other hand, in the northern part of the State in a late spring they have delayed their appearance until late in May, and probably even until the first of June. Usually they come out during the month of April in the southern and central part of the State. But it must be admitted that there is but little testi- mony on this point, as but very few of our farmers pay attention to insects except when they become injurious or appear in immense masses. The Chinch-bug, when flying, would scarcely be distinguished by the unpracticed eye from a gnat. On this account our correspondence, and the printed and manuscript notes we have ex- amined, make far more frequent mention of the first appearance of the young than they do of the spring appearance of the hibernating brood. In order to show the various hiding places they select in which to hibernate, I quote the following notes from corres- pondents as found in my second report : " When winter set in they went into winter quarters under corn shocks, clods, rails, etc." " I have never known them to winter in timothy or any tame hay, but if you want to raise an extra crop of bugs, leave a few bottoms of prairie haystacks, and piles of corn fodder and straw until June, and my word for it you will have them." " Their winter quarters are old rail fences, corn stalks, house-roofs, logs, leaves, etc." In addition to these places we may add that in timbered sections they frequently go to the woods and seek shelter under the leaves and in the^ crevices of the bark of trees, under loose bark, and even under stones. I have found them quite abund- ant in old stumps and old logs and around corn fields which had been in corn during the summer previous. When no other hiding place can be found they will seek shelter from the cold under clods of earth. As the cold increases they will penetrate farther and farther into their recesses. They prefer comparatively dry situations, as moisture appears to be inimical to them, though in this stage of their existence it does not appear to be necessarily de- structive of life, as the following state- ment in my second report, given by a cor- respondent on whose veracity and intelli- gence I can rely, will show : " They have been taken from ice, by thawing it, and when slightly warmed would manifest signs of life, crawling about as in spring. They thus appear to be able to endure cold or heat." I have often taken them in winter in- closed in a covering of frost and to all appearance frozen stiff ; yet when placed in a warm atmosphere for a time, they would survive. The following statement by Dr. Henry Shinier of Mt. Carroll, 111., in reference to their winter life, will be interesting in this connection : " After the early autumn frosts, they left their feeding grounds, on foot, in search of winter quarters ; none could be seen on the wing, at harvest time. For a winter retreat, they resorted to any con- venient shelter they might chance to find, as long grass, weeds, boards, pieces of wood rails, fallen tree leaves, etc., etc. "In January, 1865, I next examined their condition ; those that I found in the sheathes of the corn leaves above the snow. THE AMERICAN ENTOMOLOGIST. 87 and had been thus exposed during the previous severe weather — when for several successive days the thermometer was 15°- 20° below zero — were invariably found dead, without exception, and those beneath the snow were alive. This observation was made in the common farm cornfields, as they might be found anywhere all over the wide country ; for in autumn the Chinch-bugs remain in great numbers in the corn husks, and under the sheathes of the blades, as well as in other winter re- treats. Upon various occasions, as the winter advanced, I brought in corn husks, filled with ice, inclosing the Chinch-bugs in the crystallized element ; when the ice was thawed, they were able to run, ap- parently unaffected by that degree of cold. It is therefore proved that these insects possess vitality sufficient to withstand the effect of a temperature below the freezing point, and perhaps below zero, as must have been their condition in these ice- bound husks ; but when in the open air, exposed to the sweeping prairie winds, 15 or 20 degrees below zero, for a long time, they succumb to the cold. "March 7, 1865. The snow having cleared off from the ground, I examined the condition of a host of these Chinch- bugs that had chosen for their winter covering cord-wood sticks lying on the ground, entirely surrounded by frost and ice ; of these 20 per cent, were living ; those that were more fortunate in their selection of winter quarters fared much better. From a single handful of leaves, picked up at one grasp from beneath an apple-tree, I obtained 355 living and 312 dead Chinch-bugs ; and of their lady-bird enemies that had entered the same winter quarters with them, 50 were living and 10 were dead. Of these Chinch-bugs I placed a number in comfortable quarters in the house, in a small paste-board box — not in a stove room — together with some Coleop- terous insects, casually gathered among the Chinch-bugs ; after one month I found the latter all dead and the former living. " The entire month of March was rain, snow, thawing, freezing, alternately, seem- ing to be very uncomfortable for any liv- ing creature to remain out of doors, so poor- ly sheltered, and on top of the ground. " April 1-6, I again made repeated ex- aminations of these Chinch-bugs in their winter quarters, and found about the same proportion of them living as noted on the 7th of March. At this time they wan- dered away, on foot, from their winter quarters," THE RELATION BETWEEN INSECTS AND PLANTS, AND THE CONSENSUS IN ANIMAL AND VEGETABLE LIFE.* BY LESTER F. WARD, W.ASHINGTON, {Continued /rom p. 67.) It is a fact of profound significance that the higher flowering plants made their first appearance on the globe simultaneously with the Hymenoptera and Diptera in the Ju- rassic and Cretaceous formations, while they did not reach their highest perfection until the Lepidoptera had appeared in the early Tertiary. The Neuroptera and Orthoptera which are found in the Carboniferous could have contributed nothing to the demand for cross-fertilization, and the Coieoptera, sparingly met with below the Trias, were doubtless then equally ineffectual in this respect ; as even at present they only sup- plement to a slight degree the work of the bees, flies, moths, and butterflies. And we accordingly find that the vegetation prior to the Jurassic and Cretaceous epochs con- sisted almost wholly of Cryptogams and Gymnosperms, with only a few amentace- ous and monochlamydeous Angiosperms in the highest of these strata. These facts justify the assumption that ' most of the higher flowering plants would speedily perish were insect aid withdrawn, and also that but for such, aid in the past we should now see, instead of our gorgeous flora of Orchids, Lilies, Magnolias, and Roses, one consisting chiefly of Ferns, Cy- cads, and Conifers, mingled with willows, oaks, and alders, and plain grasses and rushes. But when we consider how poorly adapted Cryptogamous and Coniferous vegetation is to the support of animal life, we may also declare with perhaps equal certainty, that but for the Phaenogaviia there could have been no Mammalia. A picture that should represent herds of buffaloes and antelopes roaming amid the Ferns, Lepido- phytes, and Calamites of the Carboniferous epoch would be an anachronism whose realization it would , be impossible to con- ceive. And thus we have, only on a grand scale, one of those singular chains of cause and effect of which naturalists have pointed THE AMERICAN ENTOMOLOGIST. out several (that of the dependence of clover upon cats, being perhaps the most familiar), but which, apart from that gro- tesqueness which they sometimes possess on a superficial view, are among the best illustrations of that intimate and far-reach- ing consensus which pervades all depart- ments of life. Considering to what extent man is de- pendent upon the Palmaccm, Rosacece, and other fruit and nut-bearing trees and plants, which, at least on the theory of man's simian origin, must have been far greater if not absolute in the early period of his existence ; considering, too, in connection with this, that it is the Hymenoptera that have contributed most to render the exist- ence of this class of vegetation possible, it ceases to be a mere poetic fancy to claim for the bee and the ant the high merit of having literally prepared the way for the advent of man, whose prototype they are to so great an extent, both in their psychic and their social attributes. The works of Darwin, Lubbock, Hilde- brand, and Hermann Midler, contain an immense array of evidence bearing upon ' this interesting subject of cross-fertiliza- tion by insect agency, and I will only refer to a few typical cases peculiar to this country, and for the most part omitted in those works. Our American flora certainly presents as promising a field for this line of research as that of any other portion of the globe. Our Orchids are more varied and beautiful than those of Europe, and their peculiar forms doubtless embody les- sons not yet imparted to man. The Asclc- piadacecB of which we have a rich abund- ance, depend wholly upon insects to extri- cate the pollen-masses from the deep cells in which they would otherwise remain permanently imprisoned. Our Mountain Laurel, Kalniia latifolia, has its anthers embedded in pits in the corolla from which, when freed by insects working at the nectar tubes below, they fly back by the elastic spring of the filaments, and cast their pollen to distant flowers. Houstonia purpurea and H. ccerulea, as also Mitchella repens and other RubiacecB furnish marked examples of heterostyly, while cases of di- chogamy are common among the Geraniacece. Umbellifene, Composites and Gentianacece. Science is indebted to two distinguished citizens of St. Louis, for the double dis- covery that our beautiful Yucca filamentosa is fertilized wholly by insect agency, and that this is accomplished by a single species of insect without whose services it can not bring forth fruit. Most of you doubtless remember the bril- liant paper by Prof. C. V. Riley, read at the Dubuque meeting of this association in 1 87 2, in which these discoveries, the first made by Dr. George Engelmann and the second by himself, were announced, and Pronuba yuccasella was formally christened. This case has an especial interest in con- nection with the general subject of this paper, since it illustrates more pointedly than any other within my knowledge, the nature of that consensus which exists be- tween the insect world and the world of flowers, and at the same time forcibly de- monstrates the necessity of studying these two sciences in connection. Without enumerating additional in- stances, I may be permitted to refer to my own recent observations on Sabbatia angu- larts, whose curious behavior seems to me to admit of no other interpretation than as designed to secure the prevention of self- fertilization. This flower, which is very showy and handsome, contains 5 stamens with elong- ated, sagittate, introrse anthers, which are abruptly curved outward near the summit, and a single style about as long as the stamens terminated by a forked stigma nearly as much longer, the commissure being often visible as a distinct line to near the base of the style. These branches of the style which are stigmatic on the inside, are at first closely twisted together in such a manner as to conceal the stigmatic portion. They after- wards untwist and present the simply bi- furcate appearance. The plant is protandrously dichogamous and this untwisting of the stigma lobes does not take place until the anthers have THE AMERICAN ENTOMOLOGIST. shed their pollen, so that the pollen of later flowers must be conveyed by insects to the stigmas of earlier ones. But in ad- dition to this, the style itself is abruptly bent near the base, so as to form an angle of from 45 to 90 degrees with the perpen- dicular, carrying the stigmas far away from the stamens and usually locating them be- tween the lobes of the corolla. Still more remarkable, however, is the fact that in most cases the stamens also are bent, but always in precisely the opposite direction from the style, so as to lean conspicuously away from the center, and it was not difficult to find flowers in which these peculiarities were carried so far that both the style and all the stamens were found lying flat upon the floral envelopes and pointing in opposite directions. Later, however, and after fecundation has taken place, both the style and the stamens par- tially or completely resume the vertical position. * The aid which insects render to plants in procuring cross-fertilization is not their only service in return for the work of as- similation performed by the roots and leaves which constitute the plant the true producer in the organic economy. Many of them sacrifice their lives to the needs of the plant and the plant appropriates the bodies of its insect prey as systematically as does the swallow or the fly-catcher. If the great mass of insects, along with other animals, devour plants for their sustenance, so do certain plants as regularly devour insects for their sustenance, and not a few are the cases in which the imago pays back to the plant with its life arfd its body the board-bill which it contracted in the larval state. This fact which was so long denied and then doubted, is now, thanks to the labors of Charles Darwin, fully established, and it * Since the presentation of this paper and the subsequent publication of my observations in the Gardener^ s Monthly y it has been kindly pointed out to me by Prof. Asa Gray that the dichogamous {^ protaiidrous") nature of several Sabbatias (S. chloroides, S. stellaris &=€.) as well as the peculiar posi- tion of the style, had been previously noticed in his works. " The opposite position of the stamens," he however adds, " is quite new to me. * * * " We had not noticed this in the stamens o/ 5'. chloroides nor in 6". stellaris" My observa- tions were repeated in 1879 ^""^ '^* results, accompanied by drawings, were communicated to the Association at its Saratoga meeting. They fully confirmed the above description. exhibits another important side of that closely-woven web which holds the two kingdoms together. The number of Insectivorous Plants is far greater than was at first supposed pos- sible, and it is by no means probable that all of those endowed with this attribute, even among species systematically well known, have yet been recognized as be- longing to this class. There are two distinct ways in which plants appropriate insects, for the entrap- ping of which many remarkable devices exist. One method is almost wholly analo- gous to that by which the same function is performed by animals and constitutes a true digestion, the insect being decom- posed by the action of a gastric juice, and the materials already assimilated passing directly into the circulation of the plant. The other method consists in the absorp- tion by the roots and lower parts of the plant of the highly nitrogenous liquor formed of the decayed bodies of insects dissolved in rain-water. The first class utilize the insects as food, the second as manure. Exhaustive experiments have proved that in both these ways the plant is benefited and a true nourishment de- rived. Plants of this kind, of necessity, partially lose their power, both of radical and of parenchymatous assimilation, and become in so far parasitic, but strange as it may sound, parasitic on animals.* Interesting as are these physiological facts, the morphological changes which take place in plants to adapt them to insectivorous habits, are if possible still more remarkable. As in cross-fertilization it is the flowers, so in insectivorous plants it is the leaves which exhibit these modifications and per- form these functions. The leaves of in- sectivorous plants are usually radical, and the organic matter derived from the bodies of insects finds its way through their por- ous petioles to the region of the roots, whence it enters directly into the circula- tion, as if taken from the soil. * Empusa mwscce is a kind of mould parasitic on the house- fly. 9° THE AMERICAN ENTOMOLOGIST. Mr. Darwin, in his excellent work on Inseciivorous Plants has described most of the species then known. He has, how- ever, omitted several of our American species belonging to the second class, or manure-generating plants. Of these I may- mention Sarracenia purpurea, the well known pitcher-plant. Its brown-purple color denotes that it lacks the usual supply of chlorophyl, and its singular pitcher- shaped root-leaves generally contain a dark fluid with numerous drowned insects in all stages of decomposition. The stiff bristles on the inner face of the so-called "hood" have been described, but the much longer and slenderer hairs at the bottom or small end of Ihe pitchers seem to have been overlooked.* These cover the inner sur- face of the pitchers, commencing at the base, extending about one-fourth of the way to the top, and terminating abruptly all round at the point where the pitcher begins rapidly to enlarge. I found them all closely appressed with their free ends uni- formly pointing downward, and although they are more slender than would be thought most effective, there can be little doubt that they constitute an efficient snare for small insects venturing down into the narrow portion to which they are attracted by a savory secretion. In Darlingtonia, an allied genus from the Pacific coast, an excellent description of which may be found in the -Bota?iy of Cali- fornia, the mechanism for accomplishing the same purpose is still more complicated and well illustrates the astonishing lengths to which morphological modification may be carried to secure these apparently un- necessary ends. Cup/iea viscosissima, a little plant in the natural order LythracecB, and a congener of the common garden Cigar-plant, is, as its name implies, "most viscid" throughout its stem and branches, which are densely covered with gland-bearing hairs. These serve as effective fly-traps, being usually found more or less covered with' small gnats, and I have more than once found *Prof. C. V. Riley has observed and describes similar hairs 1 Sarracenia variplaris. See Proc, A, A. A. S, full-sized flies adhering by their feet. Although it is difficult to understand how this plant succeeds in utilizing the prey thus caught, it is perhaps more difficult to believe that all this cruelty is entirely wanton and purposeless. But aside from optimistic considerations, it is not easy to account for the development of any wholly useless mechanism. The reddish color of the stem of this plant marks a deficiency in chlorophyl and points in so far to a probable partially parasitic habit, and though no movements take place in the glands,* an internal circulation and "pro- cess of aggregation" may reasonably be assumed to go on. America furnishes in Dioncea muscipula the most perfectly adapted insectivorous plant known to botanical science. Its wonderful mechanism and behavior have been faithfully portrayed both by Mr. Wm. M. Canby and Mrs. Mary Treat, as also by Mr. Darwin, and my own limited observa- tions upon it simply confirm, so far as they go, the results obtained by them. I men- tion it merely as l illustration of the rich field which this cou try presents for the investigation of all these questions. The entire subject-matter of this paper is without a specific designation or name, and without a place in any existing class- ification or curriculum of the sciences. We have zoology, jmd we have botany, and we have entomology, but neither of these embraces any of the above-named phen- omena, or at most, only half of each phenomenon. I should therefore fail to justify its presentation were I not to point out, in conclusion, the importance of bring- ing botany and entomology, at least into more intimate connection. The botan- ist who is unfamiliar with insect forms is never attracted by them when seen in and around flowers, drowned in the troughs, or caught in the viscid secretions of insectiv- orous plants. Thus the observation is only half made. I state this as a confession, and it is a confession which every thought- * Prof. Thomas Meehan, " The Native Powers and Ferns of the United States," Vol. j, p. 43. THE AMERICAN ENTOMOLOGIST. 91 ful collector in either field must have often made to himself. The collector must know his plant as well as he knows his insect, and vice versa, in order correctly to interpret either the peculiarities in the form of the one or the peculiarities in the con- duct of the other. However it may be with other departments of biology, the import- ance and the feasibility of combining as one science or specialty an acquaintance, systematic at least, with plants and insects^ or if this be thought too much, such an acquaintance with Ph?enogamous plants and with the Lepidopte7-a, Hymenoptera and Diptera, cannot be doubted. In no other way can the proper observations be made to exhibit the true relations which subsist between these organisms. It is a rare oc- currence that a botanist and an entomolo- gist collect in company, and should they do so, the results would still be less satis- factory than where both are combined in the same individual. Far be it from me to urge a departure from the practice of choosing specialties and mastering such specialties. In no other way can true ex- cellence be attained. Neither is it often possible to make all forms of life a spe- cialty. There will never be many Charles Darwins. But considering the remarkable interdependence which I have sought to point out between certain entirely dis- similar forms of life, which obviously can never be fully understood by specialists in any one department, it seems a necessity, if we would ever understand these ques- tions, to combine the study of portions of two of these departments into one spe- cialty and to prosecute them conjointly. There could thus be secured a corps of competent workers, specialists in this field, without which no great subject can ever be thoroughly canvassed. Zoo-phytology, or the science of the relations which subsist between animals and plants in general, is an ideal science whose general aspects only can be grasped by a few minds of high synthetic capaci- ties. But Entomo-phytology, or the science of those relations of interdependence exist- ing between certain insects and certain plants, and which may be said to embrace the three subjects of galls, cross-fertiliza- tion of flowers, and insectivorous plants, — this science, when pruned of everything not necessary to the investigation of the problems to which this interdependence and reciprocity give rise, may certainly be regarded as a practical one whose pursuit would be attended with abundant success THE INSECT ENEMIES AND DISEASES OF OUR SMALL FRUITS. [Read before the New Jersey State Horticultural Society, Jan. 16, 1880, by A. S. Fuller.] \Co)itinued from p. 63.] As the Raspberry is closely allied to the Blackberry and belongs to the same genus, the diseases and insects infesting both do not materially differ. Some few species of insects seem to prefer the Rasp- berry, notably among which is what is [Fig. 37.] called the Red-necked Bu- , prestis [Agrilus ruficollis, Fig. 27), a small beetle that . seems to be particularly fond of the red and black- cap varieties, but will oc- casionally attack the Black- *<^ berry. The larva (Fig. 29) bores the canes in summer, Agrilus ruficollis. causing large excrescences or galls (Fig. 28), checking the flow of sap, and causing the death of the cane. This insect seems to be far more plentiful in the western than eastern States ; but it is widely distributed, and every cultivator of the Raspberry may as well be on the lookout for it, and gather and burn all canes upon which galls of any kind are found. The snowy Tree-cricket {^CEcanthus ?iiveus Harris, Fig. 30), is another insect that ap- pears to prefer the canes of the Raspberry as a nidus for its eggs to the twigs of other shrubs or trees. It will, however, use the Grape, Willow, Peach, and other kinds, if Raspberries are not convenient. The long, slender eggs are deposited in a close com- pact row, an inch or more in length, each egg placed at a slight angle, and deep enough to reach the pith of the cane or THE AMERICAN ENTOMOLOGIST. [Fig, 28. twig in which it is set (Fig. 32). This weakens the canes, and they are often broken off by the wind. This injury does not amount to much, but the perfect insect has a very bad habit of cut- ting off leaves in sum- mer; and sometimes ex- tends its mischievous work to the grape-vine, trimmingoff both leaves and fruit, working at night when perfectly safe from observation or molestation. One of my correspondents in Tex- as wrote me, a few years ago, that one of these pests would completely defoliate a young grape- vine in a single night, and he was a long time in discerning the suc- Gall produced by Agrilus CCSSful UOCtumal prUU- ruficolhs (after Riley). ^^^ ^^^ ^^j^^^ disCOVCrcd he was at a loss how to circumvent it. De- stroying the eggs is the only way I know of fighting this insect. The Currant and Gooseberry. After two or three centuries of almost [Fig. 29.] entire exemption from noxious insects, it is no wonder that our people came to look upon the Currant as a fruit for everybody, and one that could be raised in almost any corner of the garden without care or cultivation ; but all at once and without warning, not only did its ancient enemy from the other side of the At- lantic appear in this country and commence its destructive work, but several native species of in- sects joined in making havoc wath our Currant and Gooseberry L^j7^^of.^g^|- bushes. First, the Imported (after Riley). Currant Womi {Nematus ventri- cosus King, Fig. 33) made its appearance about Rochester, New York, in 1857; then it was soon discovered that we had a Gooseberry span-worm {Eujitchia nbcraria, Fitch), the former being the larva of a four- winged fly, and the latter [Fig. .30.] the caterpillar of a small moth. These two species spread with great rapidity, and seemed for a while to defy all the usual insecti- cides and other methods of destruction. Then the late Mr. Walsh of Illinois dis- Snowy Tree-cricket, covered a native saw-fly, male. the Pristiphora grossula?'iie, which was also double-brooded like its European congener, and fed upon the Currant and [Fig. 31.] Snowy Tree-cricket, female. Gooseberry, rather preferring the latter. With these three insects ; with a borer or two that perforates the stems of the plants, and several species of [Fig. 32.] plant-lice infesting leaves, roots, and green shoots, the cultivators of the Currant and Gooseberry have had x all they could do to ^ keep their plants alive, ci and obtain even a mod- erate crop of fruit. As all these Currant and Gooseberry pests have been very fully de- scribed in the writings of Fitch, Walsh, and Prof. Riley, I will not detain you by repeat- ing any part of the same, but merely say that for the different species feeding on the - dered white hellebore. A few dustings THE AMERICAN ENTOMOLOGIST. 93 with this, at the proper time, will usually destroy these pests. Hand-gathering may also be practiced, as well as frequent cul tivating the ground among the bushes, in order to unearth the worms that have passed into it to undergo their trans- formation. The common Currant stalk-borer (^^^r/^r tipuUformis) is well known to all growers of this fruit ; at least the larva or grub is, which may be found in the canes during the fall and winter -months, and during this time all infested shoots should be cut and burned with their contents. There are also one or two other species of Currant- [Fig. 33]. Imported Currant Worm : — a, «, «, larvae in differein positions ; b^ side of a middle joint enlarged, showing arrange- ment of tubercles (after Riley). borers, but as they are all found in the stems during winter, one method of de- stroying will answer for all. The diseases of Currants and Goose- berries are mainly climatic, consequently difficult to prevent or cure. Mildew on the Gooseberry is the one most dreaded, and the better way is to avoid it by culti- vating only those varieties that are adapted to your soil and climate, and the native ones are preferable to the foreign on this account. In cool, moist soils, or with a liberal amount of mulch and thinning out of the heads of the plants, the European varieties may be occasionally made to suc- ceed moderately well. ( To be continued.) THE COTTON WORM IN THE UNITED STATES.* The paper records some of the scientific results of the inquiry respecting the Cotton Worm and other insects injurious to the cotton plant, begun by Prof. Riley while entomologist to the Department of Agri- culture, and now being continued by him under the auspices of the U. S. Entomo- logical Commission. Among the incorrect statements that have hitherto been made, and opinions that have obtained, regarding the habits of the Cotton Worm, the author mentions, ist, that as to the first appear- ance of the young worms as late as the last of June or later in the season in the cane- brake country of Alabama ; 2nd, the so- called sudden appearance of the worms in great numbers over large districts ; 3d, the idea that there are but three annual generations ; 4th, the belief that the species has no parasites. Three of these opinions were iterated in an interesting paper read by Prof. A. R. Grote, at the 1874 meeting of the Associa- tion, and were emphasized by the announce- ment that the paper was based on a resi- dence and experience of five years in cotton-growing States. Prof. Riley finds that the opinions are erroneous in that, firstly, the first worms hatch in April in Southern Georgia and Alabama ; that, sec- ondly, the first generation appears in spots and generally in such small numbers as to be easily overlooked, and that in subse- quent generations the worms disperse and increase more or less rapidly, according as the surrounding conditions are favorable or otherwise ; that, thirdly, there are from six to eight annual generations in the Southern portion of the cotton belt ; and that, fourthly, the species is attacked by at least ten distinct parasites, some of which are quite efficient in keeping it in check. In addition to two not yet reared to the perfect state, the following are enumerated : From the egg of Aletia — Trichogramma pretiosa, n. sp. ; from both larva and *Abstract of a paper read at the Saratoga meeting of the American Association for the Advancement of Science, by C. v. Riley. 94 THE AMERICAN ENTOMOLOGIST. pupa Tachina aletice, n. sp., and Sarcophaga sarracenicz Riley ; from the pupa alone — Pinipla conquisitor (Say), Cryptus nuncius Say, Chalets ovata Say, Cirrospilus esurus, n. sp., and Didictyum (n. gen.) zigzag, n. sp.* Regarding the theory of the annual dying out of the insect in the States, and the consequent annual migration of the moth thereto from some exotic country — a theory largely based on the above mentioned erroneous opinions, and which Prof. Grote made his own in the paper referred to — Prof. Riley states that the theory was first suggested by Mr. ■Robert Chisolm of Beaufort, S. C., but first fully propounded in 1847 by Dr. D. B. Gorham in DeBow's Review.f In 1854 it was again set forth by Dr. W. I Burnett in the Proceedings of the Boston Society of Natural History.^; The facts collected dur- ing the past year strengthen the belief that the moth hibernates with us, and that no such theory is necessary to explain the phenomena connected with its annual de- velopment. Its comparative absence dur- ing some years and its prevalence in inju- rious numbers during others, are depend- ent on the same natural conditions which govern the same phenomena in many species injurious to vegetation, and notably in the case of the Northern Army Worm {Leucania unipunctd). Prof. Riley finds it convenient to divide the cotton belt into ist, the southern or permanent portion, where the first worms annually appear and the moths in all prob- ability hibernate ; 2d, the northern or tem- porary portion, in which the insect does not hibernate, but into which it spreads, either by gradual dispersion or by more sudden migration, from the permanent portion. The dividing line between these two portions must needs be difficult to de- fine, because there is an uncertain region that may, according to season or circumstance, belong to either, and also because of the limited observations that have yet been made. Taking the early appearance of * These species have since been described in Canadian Entoviologist (Vol. XI^ p. 162) and Bulletin 3 of the U. S. Entomoiogical Commission. t Vol. III. pp. 535-43. % Vol. IV, 316. the worms as a basis, the southern portion may be thus roughly defined: Beginning with Texas, it includes the region south of the Galveston, Harrisburg and San Antonio Railroad, excluding perhaps the extreme western portion, but extending somewhat farther north along the river bottoms. In Louisiana and Mississippi it includes the valley of the Mississippi River and its trib- utaries, with uncertain northern limits. In Alabama it is represented by the limestone cotton belt south of Montgomery, though probably extending farther north to the east of that point. In Georgia it does not extend north of Albany on the west, but doubtless includes the sea islands along the coast, as also those of South Carolina, though at the present time cotton cultiva- tion is limited principally to Saint Cathar- ine's Island. In Florida it includes all parts where cotton is grown. While the theory of annual immigration does not apply to the first or southern por- tion. Prof. Riley believes that it does ap- ply to the northern portion, and that the insect is there killed out each winter ; so that some of Prof. Grote's arguments have force if restricted to this more northern portion of the belt. The interesting fact is recorded that the cotton plant furnishes not only the natu- ral food of the larva, in the leaf ; but like- wise that of the moth, in a sweet liquid exuding from certain glands on the under- side of the leaf, and at the base of the outer lobes of the involucre : also that the tip of the proboscis in the moth is admir- ably adapted to penetrate ripe fruit and that much injury is done to such by the moth. The fact that the first worms of the season usually appear in certain low, moist spots in a field, is explained by the sweet exudation being most copious and most attracting the parent moths there ; also by the greater scarcity in such places of ants, which are very abundant in cotton fields and destructive to the worm when young, or rnolting, or enfeebled from what- soever cause; while the more rapid devel- opment and multiplication of the insect during moist or rainy weather is explained THE AMERICAN ENTOMOLOGIST, 95 by the decreased efficiency of its natural enemies. Aside from the parasites men- tioned, the worm is beset on all sides by enemies which cannot work so well during wet weather, and whenever the natural checks are hindered in their work the great prolificacy of the plant-feeder soon gives it the advantage in the struggle for exist- ence. The conclusion is also arrived at, from certain futile attempts made to intro- duce the English sparrow into the South, that this bird cannot be acclimated there, and that while it will extend into the cot- ton belt during winter time it returns fur- ther north in summer, and dies when the temperature exceeds loo'' Fahrenheit. FURTHER NOTES ON THE GRAPE PHYLLOXERA IN CALIFORNIA. We have received from Prof. E. W. Hilgard of the University of California a supplement to the biennial report of the Board of Regents, which contains over loo pages of very interesting reading, and indicates the thoroughness and energy which the Professor of Agriculture and Botany has brought to the College of Agriculture. We quote some passages of his remarks on the Grape Phylloxera, which indicate the true status of things there, and are suggestive : The situation a year ago may be summed up as follows : The ravages of the enemy have become manifest in a greater or less degree, from about six and a half miles above Sonoma Town to the lower end of the valley, a length of ten or eleven miles in all. Within these limits large tracts have been completely destroyed, the vines having been uprooted and grain sown in- stead for several years. It is difficult to ascertain the total area of vineyard that has disappeared, but it counts many hundreds of acres. On a still larger area, probably, the condition of the vines has be- come such as to render them unprofitable, so that they are being pulled up and used for firewood in the wineries. So far, no material difference in respect to the resistance of the several varieties has been reported, all those grown being of the type of the European vine ( J^itis vinifcra), grown on its own or kindred stock. The Mission vine, nat- uralized for over a century in California, is at least as badly attacked as is the Riesling, Zin- fandel. Rose of Peru, or any other grown. Amid the general devastation, nevertheless, there are some exceptions — green islands, ap- parently of healthy vines in good bearing, yet surrounded on all sides by defunct vine- yards. This is even the case in the vineyard which first succumbed, where, nevertheless, some of the original vines still remain, apparently in good condition. A close study of these exceptions could not fail to lead to highly valuable results ; but to do so would require the whole time of a thoroughly qualified person for at least an entire season. In general it appears that great care of the vines, good tillage, and manuring have been practiced in all these cases ; but there are many others in which no amount of care or manuring has seemed to possess any perceptible efficacy, and where the destruction has been as swift as in the doomed vine3'ards of France. Whatever may be the true explanation of these remarkable exceptions, the general fact remains that in four years the insect has spread no more than about two and a half miles up the valley, from a point of great virulence, notwithstanding the fact that this is the prevalent direction of the summer winds. The natural inference from this fact would seem to be that from some climatic cause, the Phylloxera in California does not develop into the winged form, which evidently mediates its rapid progress in Europe ; and that its progress is here altogether dependent upon the transporta- tion or migration of the wingless forms. It would be most important practically, as well as most interesting theoretically, to verify this inference by observation ; but I have been unable as yet to obtain any observations on the subject, save as regards the general statement that no one has noticed about the infested vines any very small flies in July and August. If it were definitely known that the winged form does not make its appearance, then it would follow that the pest can be stamped out by a concerted effort, by using those insecticides which, though locally effective, have failed to prevent the spread of the insect in Europe. Although too costly to be carried out by each one, such method could well be afforded by a community for the purpose of putting an end to the fearful evil, once for all. I mention in this con- nection the sulpho-carbonates, and the clay cubes impregnated with carbon bi-sulphide. It is true that a few dozen of the latter have been tried in a vine3'ard near Sonoma, with no perceptible ef- fect ; but this cannot be a matter of surprise, since the mistake was made of putting them around alternate vines, so that the one intended to be relieved would in any case be promptly restocked fron its neighbors. The vines to be treated should, of course, have been entirely isolated, in order to render the experiment de- cisive. As to the presence of the Phylloxera in other portions of the State, extensive inquiries have failed to satisfy me that it exists outside of the Sonoma Valley, save at one point, in Fresno County, where it was introduced with cuttings of choice grape varieties from Europe. The pro- prietor, recognizing the fact in time, and con- scious of the danger incurred by one of the fore- most industries in the State, has used every eflfort to confine the pest within his own vineyard, at a considerable pecuniary sacrifice. It must be a subject of congratulation, that with the introduction of such a great number of grape varieties from foreign countries, a larger number of insect pests and diseases has not been introduced. On the whole it may be said that the vines of California are remarkable for their rapid growth, vigor and thriftiness. It is noteworthy, in this connection, that so far the varieties derived from the native American grape, which are alrnost exclusively relied on in 96 THE AMERICAN ENTOMOLOGIST. of this insecticide. the essence of Pyre- in water ; and I think, the States east of the Rocky Mountains, are grown in California only as a matter of curiosity, or for table use at home. Their cultivation leaves open a wide field of future possibilities in var3'ing and modifying the wine product of California, whose climate seems wonderfully adapted to the assimilation of the most varied cultures. ^_^ NOTES ON PYRETHRUM. In the pamphlet above alluded to, Prof. Hilgard, after showing the importance of freshness in the use remarks : Like all volatile oils, thrum is slightly soluble from my experiments, that the tea or infusion, prepared f7-om the flowers (which need not be ground up for the purpose) is the most con- venient and efficacious form of using this insecti- cide in the, open air ; provided that it is used at times when the water will not evaporate too rapidly, and that it is applied, not b}' pouring over in a stream, or even in drops, but in the for»i of a spray from a syringe with flne holes in its rose. In this case, the fluid will reach the insect de- spite of its water-shedding surfaces, hairs, etc., and stay long enough to kill. Thus applied, I have found it to be efficient even against the armored scale-bug of the orange and lemon, which falls off in the course of two or three days after the application, while the young brood is almost instantly destroyed. As the flower tea, unlike whale soap and other washes, leaves the leaves perfectly clean, and does not injure even the most tender growth, it is preferable on that score alone ; and in the future it can hardly fail also to be the cheaper of the two. This is the more likely, as the tea made of the leaves and stems has similar, although considerably weaker, ef- fects ; and if the farmer or fruit grower were to grow the plants, he would save all the expense of harvesting and grinding the flower-heads, by simply using the header, curing the upper stems, leaves, and flower-heads all together, as he would hops, making the tea of this material by the hogshead, and distributing it from a cart through a syringe. It should be diligently kept in mind, that the least amount of boiling will seriously injure the strength of this tea, which should be madew'xlh briskly boiling water, but then simplj'^ covered over closely, so as to allow of as little evaporation as possible. The details of its most economical and effectual use on the large scale remains, of course, to be worked out by practice. But I have little doubt that its cultivation will prove an im- portant acquisition to California, exposed as she is to the importation of the insect pests of the whole world. Some observations reported to me seem to render it probable that the cultivation of the Pyrethritm between the rows of other plants will, in a great measure, protect these from the attacks of insects ; as, of course the plants themselves are let severely alone b}' them. It might even seem worth while to try this plan against the Phylloxera, in so far as the winged insect could scarcely escape the deadly effects of the Pyre- thrum, thus preventing its spread. It has been reported that a certain kind of sumac has thus served to save many of the vineyards of the Isle of Cyprus, BIRDS vs. INSECTS. EDOUARD FERRIS. {Concluded from p. 69.] [The remainder of this paper (excepting the parts in quotation-marks) has been freely trans- l.Ttcd and very much condensed. A discussion of the parasitism of insects has been wholly omitted. While recognizing the fact that the considera- tions brought forward by the author are essential to a fair and complete idea of the services of birds, the translator does not wish further to commit himself to the views of Mr. Perris. — S. A. F.] Taking up the orders of insects seriatim and referring first to the cockchafers, whose larvae, known as white grubs, live on the roots of plants, the author calls attention to the fact that the mature insects, being nocturnal, are subject to destruction only by owls and goat-suckers. If we suppose all these birds to live exclusively upon cockchafers during their season, the num- ber destroyed would amount to nothing practically, since the birds are so few and the insects so very numerous. The larvae, being subterranean, can be reached only by birds which dig up the ground, viz.: ravens, magpies, starlings and woodpeckers. Magpies and woodpeckers are too few and scattering to do any ap- preciable good. The ravens and starlings, however, gather in flocks in early autumn, and pass the winter in France and more southerly countries. Long observation of their food habits shows that they live at first on acorns, and on corn (maize) pilfered from the fields. At seed-time they forage the fields of barley and rye, probably pick-. ing up a few insects as they dig for grain. Later they scatter everywhere and live as they can. They resort especially to pas- tures and meadows where they pick to pieces the droppings of stock for fragments of grain and coprophagous larvae. They also pick up grain, earthworms and hiber- nating insects, frequently di^iging into the ground a depth of 2 to 6 decimeters, but not by any means deep enough to reach tlie white grubs. These, in cold weather especially, retreat far beyond the reach of birds. " I believe, then, that it is demonstrated that birds and cockchafers can live very THE AMERICAN ENTOMOLOGIST. 97 well together, and that the latter have nothing serious to dread from the birds." The LucanidcB (or stag-beetles) are not injurious, as they only attack dead or dying wood ; and they are at any rate pro- tected by their size and solidity when mature, and by their situation in the lar- val state. Of the BuprestidcB, many attack plants of no value, or live in dead wood, — but some give the finishing stroke to trees which are merely unhealthy. The females lay their eggs in crevices of the bark, on very hot days. At this sea- son of the year only three kinds of birds search the bark of trees for food during the hotter part of the day, — creepers, nut- hatchers and woodpeckers. But these are scarce, and besides, are not at hand just at the proper time to defend the invalid tree, since they find an abundance of food everywhere. During the winter, the wood- peckers and titmice eat a great many of the Buprestid larvae which work beneath the bark, but nothing can reach those which penetrate the wood. These are, indeed, the most useful of birds, — but they require no protection, because no one hunts them. The Anobii, although often very destruc- tive, are domestic beetles, and consequently not exposed to birds. The great snout-beetle family, although it includes an immense number of species and countless individuals, contains com- paratively few enemies to man. A Rhyn- chites causes the destruction of a few grape leaves, but does no appreciable harm. An- other girdles young shoots of pears and quinces in whose tips it has laid its eggs and may thus do some injury, although it usually merely helps to prune the trees. These insects have a very hard crust, and, lost among the leaves, can seldom be found by birds, while their larvae are not molested at all. Another weevil, called the Grisette {Feri- telus griseus), much commoner and more noxious, destroys the buds of fruit trees ; but the birds cannot affect it, because it is of nocturnal habit, and spends the day underground, or hidden among the leaves and. lichens. Species of Polydrosus and Fhyllobius, in- jurious to young buds of the pear and apple, hide in the foliage, and are con- cealed by their small size, their color and their immobility. The same is true of Balaninus (nut-weevils), whose larvae live in nuts and acorns. The birds discover a few of them, but the larvae are completely pro- tected,— especially as the birds distinguish and reject wormy acorns. Two species of Anthonomus blight many blossoms of pears and apples, but prob- ably do more good than harm by thus lightening the burdens of the trees, — only anticipating the labors of the gardener. At any rate, as they have the color of bark, and remain hidden and inactive during the day, they do not attract the attention of the birds, and their larvae are wholly out of sight. Hylobius and Pissodes are destructive of conifers, and a few are probably caught among the leaves ; but they spend most of their time on the bark whose color they simulate. During the winter, one often finds dead trees riddled with the holes made by titmice {Mesanges) and woodpeckers in relieving them of a part of the larvae which have destroyed them : — after death, the doctor ! Species of Ceutorhyiichus and Baridiits are destructive of cabbages, turnips, etc.,. liiit are too minute to be taken by birds, while their larvae are hidden within the j-ilant. The destructive grain-weevil, Sito- philus granarius, found in stores of grain, is of course unmolested by birds. No ornithophile has yet ventured to suggest that the sparrows, which enter the granary whenever they can, are attracted there by the search for weevils. Other weevils, attracting only dead wood, too minute for notice, nocturnal in their habits, and, as larvae, out of the reach of birds, need not be further specified. The author here gives a condensed ac- count of the habits of the Scolytidce (bark- bol-ers), whose ravages are a very serious matter in Europe. The most dangerous THE AMERICAN ENTOMOLOGIST. species mine in the liber, where they lay their eggs. The larvse continue the galleries thus formed by the female and transform beneath the bark. The adults of some species also eat the buds of evergreens, so mutilating the tree as usually to effect its destruction in the end. These noxious insects are of small size, varying from half a millimeter to six millimeters in length, they are all of a dusky hue and are nocturnal in their habits, remaining buried in the wood or beneath the bark by day. Their larvae are of course always hidden, and are subject to the attack of woodpeckers only. The Bi-uchid(E (or weevils), which infest peas and other leguminous seeds, do not seem to be noticed by birds, and the author . has seen infested by BriuJius beds of peas in which the linnet {fauvetie habillardc) had built its nest. Sparrows are often seen among the vines, but they destroy the peas themselves. " The sparrow is a pillager who carries on his depredations in the harvest-field, in the garden, in the granary, and among the ripe grapes on our trellises ; and I cannot join in the kind of worship paid him by certain persons more credulous of his pretended utility than struck by his instinct of rapine and waste." Almost all of the CerambycidiP (wood- borers), are lignivorous, but the great majority of them feed only on dead wood or on trees too unhealthy to have any great value. The ravages of the injurious species are readily controlled by man, as it suffices to cut down and bark the dead trees. The larvae of this family live always under cover, and the adults are many of them nocturnal and many of them large enough to take care of themselves. A few of the smaller or medium-sized individuals are doubtless eaten by birds, but in too small numbers appreciably to diminish 'the mass. Among the Chrysonielidce (leaf-feeders), are mentioned Colaphus ater, a scourge in the fields of lucerne, neglected by the birds, which do not frequent these fields ; certain Galerucides which attack the slum, but which no birds are known to eat, not- withstanding their immense numbers in some years ; and Haliicides which injure young cabbages, turnips and beets, but are of so minute a size that a bird would dis- dain to open his beak for one of them. The author does not regard the non- migratory grass-hoppers and locusts as sufficiently harmful to make their destruc- tion by birds a matter of especial import- ance. Of the Neurpptera, all are entirely in- offensive except the white ants, Termites, and these "laugh at the birds." Only the winged form is exposed to them in May. Among the Hy/neiioptera, only the Saw- flies, Horn-tails, Ants and Wasps are es- pecially mentioned. Of the first two fam- ilies it is admitted that birds eat a few, but their larvae are usually not exposed. Ants are regarded as annoying rather than in- jurious. They eat fruit, but only that which has been previously injured. Al- though many are eaten, they are neverthe- less abundant everywhere. Wasps are usually able to take care of themselves. The hornet is an especially annoying pest, catching bees and eating grapes and other fruits. The Hemiptcra are next reviewed. A pernicious cabbage bug {Strachia oleracea), although conspicuous by its brilliant color, and working all day entirely exposed to the birds, is unmolested by them because it is not appetizing. M. Ferris dwells upon the. variety and extent of the injury done by plant-lice (including Phylloxera)^ de- scribes their abundance and enormous fecundity, but says that birds do not amuse themselves with so minute a prey, and apparently do not like them, but are much more likely to pick out of a serried phalanx of aphides the larger larval Syrphus, Coc- cinella or Lace-wing, which is feeding upon them. The same remarks apply to the en- ormously destructive bark-lice as well. The Thrips, which sometimes blights the flowers of fruits and grain, falls likewise under the category of insects too minute to be no- ticed by a bird. Among the Diptera^ the Cecidomyice first demand attention. The plants upon which THE AMERICAN ENTOMOLOGIST. 99 these live are too various to enumerate, and only two species are especially men- tioned ; — C. nigra, which attacks young pears, and C. tritici, often very destruc- tive to wheat. But in the wheat fields, at this time, there are no more than a few pairs of partridges, quails and larks, and the insects in question are, at any rate, almost invisible from their small size and their delicacy of form. The same may be said of other minute flies, which cause de- formities in the young wheat stalks, — such as species of Oscinis and Chlorops. Most of the horse and cattle-flies, in- cluding the bot-flies, etc., are protected from birds by their extreme agility. Cherries, olives and oranges are attacked by flies, of which a few are probably taken by birds, but the larvae can only be reached by eating the fruit they infest. In short, it may be said of the Diptera in general that but a very small part of them are noxious, and that birds find an abundance of inoffensive flies for food, and do us little service. The Lcpidoptera embracing a much larger number of enemies, those most harmful are reviewed in some detail, to show to what extent they are exposed to birds. Only the Fieridce need be mentioned among diurnals. The services of a pair of chaffinches in cleaning a garden of cabbage caterpillars {Fieris brassicce and P. napi), have been greatly vaunted, but with evident exaggeration. Chaffinches and other small birds avoid caterpillars as hairy as those of the FieridcB. The larvae of Leucania cratcBgi, injurious to fruit trees, live en- tirely exposed to the birds in summer, and in winter remain suspended in groups to the bare branches in purse-like structures made of leaves ; but the birds respect them altogether. The caterpillars are too hairy. The nocturnal Lepidoptera comprise many more exceedingly noxious species. Hepialus humuli devours the roots of the hop, Sesia mutillceformis lives beneath the bark of the pear trees, and Aglaope infausta {^Zygcenidce) eats the leaves of the almond. Clisiocampa neustria, a very hairy cater- pillar, living in societies, defoliates the apple and pear and often prevents their ripening fruit. The processionary caterpillar of the pine {Cnethocampa pityocai/ipa), which often de- stroys the foliage of an entire forest, and continues its ravages year after year, is in- closed during the winter in a tough nest, firmly attached to the leaves, and is also thickly covered with stinging hairs; Liparis chrysorrhoea, very injurious to fruit trees, is likewise hairy, and sheltered by a silky screen in winter. It is against this noxious and very common species that the laws requiring the destruction of caterpillars are chiefly directed. Cossus ligniperda de- vours the liber at the base of the trunk of willows, chestnuts and elms, often killing the trees by girdling them. Zeuzera aesculi mines beneath the bark and ex- cavates the trunks and branches of pear and apple trees. Triphcena pronuba eats lettuce and other garden plants at night, but hides in the earth by day. Nearly all the garden Leguminosce, the cereals, maize, tobacco and beets, fall a victim to the common cut-worm or green worm; Ag- rotis segetum, and Agrotis exclamationis are equally destructive. Hadena brassicce devours the leaves of cabbage and even penetrates to the center of the head. Jlel- iothis armigera and Leucania zece. eat the kernels of young corn beneath the husk, and the former also attacks the kidney bean in the pod. The Pyralid, Aenophthira pilleriana, is so destructive to the grape as to have attracted the attention of the gov- ernment, and Cochylis roserana is almost equally dangerous. The apple Pyralid, Carpocapsa pomonana, is the moth which makes pears and apples wormy, and causes often a general dropping of the unripe fruit. Others of the same genus similarly effect plums, chestnuts, acorns and olives. Colonies of the caterpillar, Yponomeuta niaiinella, protected by a common web, gradually cover whole branches of the apple, completely denuding them of leaves flowers and fruit. Finally the grain moths, Tinea granella and Butalis cerealella do great injury to the garnered grain. Now what relief from this host of enemies THE AMERICAN ENTOMOLOGIST. may we hope from the birds ? Each can answer this question for himself when he learns : ist, that the moths of every one of the caterpillars mentioned above are noc- turnal, adepts at concealment by day, and exposed, while active, only to a few goat- suckers and nocturnal birds of prey ; 2d, that those caterpillars which develop under the open sky are very hairy, and respected by all birds except the cuckoo, and in winter the charcoal titmouse {Mdsange charbonniere) ; 3d, that all the others, ex- cepting Hadena brassier, and this for a few days only, live wholly concealed and protected from depredation, or else en- veloped in webs which birds do not like to penetrate. Now what can a few cuckoos, goat-suckers and titmice do against such an innumerable population ? After this summary of incontestible fa.cts, the following recapitulation of principles will stand some chance of being under- stood : " I St. Birds are assembled in larger or smaller troops only at the period of the vernal and autumnal migrations, — that is to say, when most insects are infinitely less numerous than in midsummer. The remainder of the time they live in pairs, ordinarily scattered here and there, not common in cultivated fields, while the in- sects invade en masse the trees which they attack, the products of the soil of which they are the enemies. " 2d. Birds destroy enormous numbers of insects, but these insects are in great part innoxious, while some are eminently useful. The species really noxious are so few compared with the whole mass, that birds are really of little service. They may even injure us, — either by devouring our fruit or by eating grain in seed time or in harvest, but especially by killing so many carnivorous or parasitic insects, which ren- der us the greatest service. " 3d. Those insects which give us most cause to complain are some of them large enough to brave the birds, others (and these are commonly the most formidable) too small to attract their attention, and still others offensive to the taste. Many are nocturnal and remain hidden by day, with an instinct of self-preservation as well developed as that of larger animals, or re- maining motionless, are overlooked by birds, which perceive much more easily and pursue more willingly insects which fly or run ; some live underground or in houses, and all are endowed with a fe- cundity which sometimes astonishes the imagination, and which, at all events, is such that man, with the most persevering and assiduous diligence cannot extermi- nate them even in a small field, cannot even relieve his house of them, — no, not so much as a single room. " 4th. The caterpillars and other larvse which are especially injurious, nearly all live hidden under the earth or bark, within the wood, in the stems of plants, in fruits, in habited places, or under silken webs, and pay the birds only a slender tribute. " Those which are exposed during their growing period are generally covered with hairs which repulse the birds ; some are nocturnal, and disappear before day, and others are protected by their excessive mi- nuteness. "Who does not see that, hunting insects without the least discernment, birds destroy, among many harmless species, many useful ones also, and especially parasites, which, almost wholly diurnal and endowed with great activity, are particularly liable to become their prey ?" THE MIGRATIONS OF BUTTERFLIES. The fact that many animals, especially rats, mice and lemmings, occasionally mi- grate from place to place in immense numbers is familiar, and abundantly re- corded. These animals are not normally migratory but become so only as a result of excessive multiplication, and the migrat- ing habit, when once developed, possesses some peculiarities not easy to explain, one of which is that the movement is usually very persistent in some given direction. Many insects that usually exhibit no migra- tory tendencies, likewise exceptionally con- THE AMERICAN ENTOMOLOGIST. gregate and migrate in vast bevies, and numerous instances in several different Orders of insects might be cited. It has been especially noticeable in butterflies and moths, however, and European papers have lately very freely recorded the extra- ordinary abundance of Vanessa cardui and Plusia gamjna, the flights and movements of which were a marked feature of the year 1879, and phenomenal. Such occasional migratory movements are beyond doubt a result of excessive multiplication, due to unusually favorable conditions for the de- velopment of the species, but the conviction has been of late years forcing itself upon our minds that, with some butterflies, there are regular annual migrations that are more to be likened to those of birds of passage [Fig, toward the south and southeast in the Fall of the year, and in the very opposite direc- tion the ensuing spring. In the vast plains and prairies lying to the north between the Mississippi and the Rocky Mountains, upon the richer parts of which milk-weeds abound and Danais archippus more particularly flourishes and multiplies, there is a very general want of such protecting forest as will permit of hibernation, even if the but- terflies could withstand the severe winter of the sub-boreal zone, in which they may be seen in such large numbers during the summer. The more densely timbered re- gions to the south and southeast, as well as the milder winters, undoubtedly offer more favorable hibernating conditions, and we believe that there is an instinctive move- Danais archipi than to the more erratic and irregular in- sect-flights alluded to. The same laws which govern the move- ments of the Rocky Mountain Locust and cause it to move southward and southeast- ward during the latter portion of the grow- ing season, and its issue to return in the opposite direction in spring and early summer, seem also to govern some of our more widely distributed butterflies. Num- erous accounts of the flight in swarms of the common Milk-weed butterfly {Danais archippus^ have been published, and, after collecting all accounts that we have been able to during the last ten years, of the movements of this butterfly in the Missis- sippi valley, the fact becomes apparent that there is an instinctive movement ;s (after Riley). ment toward these more favorable regions — a movement quite independent of the fact that the prevailing winds in late summer and autumn aid it. This belief is confirmed by the fact that during the winter vast swarms of these butterflies are seen congregating in the Southern States. Mr. R. Thaxter of New- tonville, Mass., gives, in a recent number of the Canadian Entomologist^ an interesting account of their thus congregating in Ap- alachicola in Florida, in pine groves. He says : "The trees were literally festooned with but- terflies within an area of about an acre, and they were clustered so thickly that the trees seemed to be covered with dead leaves; fig. 35 . will ena- ble the reader to form some idea of their appear- ance thus grouped. Upon shaking some of th- trees a cloud of butterflies flew off, and the flape THE AMERICAN ENTOMOLOGIST. ping of their wings was distinctly audible. They hung in rows (often double) on the lower dead branches, and in bunches on the needles. I find by my note book that visiting the flock towards evening, it was receiving additions every moment. I caught a net full off a bunch of dead needles, and. walking awa)^ to some distance and letting them go, all but three returned to the flock. The question as to where they came from seems a very interesting one. I was told by Dr. A. W. Chap- man that there was hardly milk-weed enough in all Florida to produce one of these flocks, which doubtless do not confine themselves to Apalachi- cola. During my visit I found ttvo more flocks not far from the first, but neither of these was as large. I should mention that I often observed examples among them ?'« coitu." The inference is legitimate from facts like this that the pine forests of the more southern States offer the most favorable hibernating quarters for this butterfly, not- withstanding the milk-weeds are scarce throughout that country compared with what they are in the more northern States. Under the most favorable conditions there is little doubt that the larger proportion of [Fig. 35.] Clustering of Danais archippl-.s (after Tha.\ter). the individuals comprising such swarms perish before spring. The few pregnant females that survive may be seen, faded and often tattered, 'flying swiftly in the spring in a northward or northwestward direction over the prairie region of Texas, Indian Territory, Kansas, etc., supplying the milk-weeds here and there with eggs. A fresh generation is produced in less than a month, and these extend still further north, until we find the species late in summer away up in the Saskatchewan country. In an article in the Scientific American for April 6, 1878, in which these views were put forth, we concluded with the following paragraph : "We can thus understand how there are two, three, or more broods in southerly regions, but only one toward British America. The excep- tional flights noticed in the spring, and which, so far as recorded, take place quite early and in the same southerly direction, find a similar explana- tion. They may be looked upon as continuations of the autumn flights. Hibernating in the tem- perate belt, the butterflies are awakened and aroused upon the advent of spring, to find the milk-weeds not yet started, and they instinctively pass to more southern regions, where spring is more advanced. In short, these migrations find their readiest explanation in the instinct of the species to lengthen the breeding season and to extend its range ; and the prevailing winds at particular seasons are of a character to assist it. There is a southward migration late in the grow- ing season in congregated masses, and a north- ward dispersion early in the season through isolated individuals. It is a notable fact that the two butterflies which most display this instinct, namely, the species in question and the ' Painted \3.dy {Cynthia cardiii), have the widest range of known species. The last is cosmopolitan, occur- ring in all quarters of the globe ; while our Ar- chippus, originally confined to America, though ranging from Canada to Bolivia, appears to be following the milk-weeds wherever these are, through chance or purpose, introduced. It has lately sprea;! over some of the islands of the Pacific, to Queensland and New Guinea, and over the Azores to Europe, such a spread neces- sarily indicating great power of long-sustained flight, since the milk-weeds are not plants of com- mercial value, and it is highly improbable that the species has been carried in any of the pre- paratory states on ships." What is true of the Archippus butterfly is largely true also of the large yellow but- terfly, Calidryas eubule, which has a very wide range, and the larva of which feeds on different species of Cassia. Careful observers in the Southern States have in- sisted that this butterfly invariably moves to the south or southeast in the Fall of the year and just as invariably in the opposite direction in the spring. So marked is this in the case of eubule that day after day the insects may be seen flying by in a bee-line which they pursue so persistently that, rather than deviate to the right or left of a building or other intervening obstacle, they always pass over it though the flight is or- dinarily quite low. The regular meetings of the Cambridge Entomological Club for the next three months are fixed on April 9, May 14 and June II. The Club meets at 19 Follen St., Cambridge, Mass., at 7.45 p. m. THE AMERICAN ENTOMOLOGIST. 103 FUNGUS DISEASES OP INSECTS. Prof. Elias Metschnikoff gives, in the Zoologischer Anzeiger, No. 47, p. 44-47, a short abstract of his investigations on the fungus diseases of insects during the year 1878, together with some more recent ob- servations on the practical application of parasitic fungi for the destruction of in- jurious species. The original contribution is in the Russian language, " On the dis- eases of the larva of the Grain-beetle." (Odessa, 1878.) This beetle is a Lamel- licorn, {Atiisoplia austriaca) which, with several allied species of the same genus, is most injurious to wheat and other grains in Southern Russia. Prof. M. found that the Anisoplia-\a.rwa. which lives in the ground is subject to several diseases, one which he calls the "green muscardine," being produced by a parasitic fungus {Isaria destructor). The same fungus was also found to so greatly infest another beetle, Cleonus ptinctive?i(ris, which is very injurious to beets, that in the month of August, when the disease had not yet dis- appeared, about 40 per cent, of the pro- geny of the beetle was destroyed. Of the experiments made to infest the Anisoplia- larvae with the spores of the Isaria several were successful, but in some cases the larvae remained healthy for a long time. The same experiments made to infest the Cleotius-Xzxvx. were eminently successful. Of 90 larvae which for a short time were brought in contact with the spores. 62 died from muscardine within i 2 days. ' On the imago of the Cleoiius the muscardine acts somewhat more slowly but just as surely. Of 58 beetles which he infected when fresh from the pupa, 52 died from muscardine within 15 days. From these and other experiments Prof. M. concludes that Isaria destructor produces an epizootic disease on the insects mentioned, and believes it possible to produce this disease by sowing the spores. But in order to do this it be- comes necessary to cultivate a quantity of the spores. This was easily done by bury- ing insects that had died from muscardine in wet sand and keeping them there for a few weeks, when a rich mycelium was found to be developed. It proved much more difficult to cultivate the spores in organic fluid, but finally it was found that when beer mash is kept boiling for some time, and, when cooled, spores are sown on the fluid, a rich mycelium is developed on the surface as well as within the fluid. " The data here given," Prof. M. concludes, "are based upon the principles of the more recent mycology, especially on the classic works of deBary on insecticide fungi, while Hagen relies for his proposed method on the older ideas of Bail, according to whom the parasitic fungi are in genetic relation- ship with the yeast-fungus, moulds and Saprolegnice. It is on this last supposition that Prof. Hagen thinks it possible that the yeast-fungus when applied to insects can penetrate within the body, live there parasitically as Empusa, and finally cause the death of the host. So long, however, as the scientific basis of this theory is not more firmly established, a practical application of the same is simply out of the question." There are over 200,000 species of insects in this country, many of them useful as para- sites and many injurious. Many injurious insects can be held in check by a concert of action. The curculio has been whipped and the coddling moth has been held in check by a concert of action. If the exec- utive committee of our society would offer a premium of $50 or $100 to that township or neighborhood that will bandage and perfectly protect the trees in the largest area, it will be a great credit to the society, and will be the means of doing great good, and as Entomologist of the society I re- commend it. — Prof. A. J. Cook, before the Michigan Pomological Society. -^—^ Messrs. List & Franke, booksellers, Leipzig, Germany, offer for sale the rich entomological library of the eminent dip- terist, Prof. Loew, who died a year ago. ■ ^ -*■ Among European entomologists few were better known in this country than Dr. Jean- Baptiste Alphonse Dechauffour de Bois- duval, who died last December, in his seventy-ninth year. I04 THE AMERICAN ENTOMOLOGIST. In the report of the U. S. Entomological Commission concerning their efforts to discover a method for destroying the worm or caterpillar which is so destructive of growing cotton plants, there is high credit given to a product which is now being de- veloped by enterprising Californians in the San Joaquin valley. We refer to the Cali- fornia-grown Dalmatian insect powder, or "Buhach," as it is styled by Mr. Milco, of Stockton, who brought the plant from his native country. * * * This report of Prof. Riley will doubtless aid in developing the enterprise which ^ Messrs. Milco, Peters and Paulsell now have in hand, and we trust it may be fully successful and profitable to its projectors. It bids fair ere long to shut off the impor- tation of foreign insect powders, and this will gain for it the sympathy of all lovers of home industry. — Pacific Rural Press. Regular meetings of the Entomological Section of the Boston Society of Natural History are announced for April 28 and May 26. On the transmission of Insects THROUGH THE U. S. Mails. — Entomolo- gists have suffered .much annoyance ■ and loss through the action of postmasters who have refused to allow insects to pass through the mails. A very vexatious circumstJ^nce of this kind which occurred recently, de- termined me to ascertain what the laws were respecting this matter ; and, if neces- sary, to. urge that some change be made so that specimens of insects could be trans- mitted in this manner, provided they were so packed that no injury could result to other mail matter, or to the person of any one engaged in the postal service. The result of a subsequent study of the postal laws and of an interview with the Postmas- ter-General may be of interest to those readers of the American Entomologist who, like the writer, have submitted to hav- ing highly prized property destroyed by postmasters. There is nothing whatever in the postal laws that declares dead insects unmailable. Section 222 of the Postal Laws and Regu- lations, ed. 1879, expressly states that it is live insects that are unmailable. Neither is there any reason why pinned specimens should not lie mailable. Section 223 [l.c], which prescribes how sharp-pointed instru- ments are to be secured so as not to injure the mails, indicates a mode of packing al- most identical with that commonly prac- ticed by entomologists. Hence there is no reason why entomological specimens should be excluded from the mails, provided they are securely packed and are not alive. As to living specimens, the Post Office authorities are unwilling to change the law so as to admit them to the mails as "fourth- class matter," fearing that such a change would result in the admission of very ob- jectionable creatures. It therefore only remains for those who desire to send living insects by mail to seal the package contain- ing them, and to pay postage upon it at letter rates. The following law protects such packages : "Sec. 434 [l. C.J. First-class matter not to be held unmailable on mere suspicion.- — Postmasters are specially warned that they have no right to detain first-class matter upon the mere suspicion that it contains articles forbidden to be sent in the mails. Neither will they, under any circum- stances, be justified in breaking the seal of any letter or package to ascertain whether or not un- mailable matter is inclosed." —J. H C, Washington, D. C. The Cambridge Entomological Club at its recent annual meeting re-elected Mr. Burgess as President ; Mr. B. Pickman Mann Secretary, Treasurer and Editor of Psyche. The Club consists now of 16 resi- dent and 56 non-resident members. ^- -♦ Bran seems to be a popular remedy just now in England for slugs, which are said to be fond of it, being attracted from all di- rections to it. It is placed among the plants in the evening, on pieces of slate, and these traps subsequently emptied with the slugs into a vessel of salt and water The Entomological Section of the Acad- emy of Natural Sciences of Philadelphia will hold regular meetings on April 9th, May 14th and June nth, in the building of the Academy. THE AMERICAN ENTOMOLOGIST. 105 On Our Table. Practical Floriculture ; a Guide to the successful cultivation of Florists' Plants, for the Amateur and Professional Florist. By Peter Henderson. Third edition. Greatly enlarged. 12mo. pp. 311. 72 illustrations. New York, 1879. Orange Judd Co. This third edition of an inestimably useful work has grown out of " hundreds of questions which have sug- gested themselves to those already in possession of the first and second eduions." It is replete with information of value, especially to the novice and the amateur ; and no flower lover who owns a garden, or a window-garden, should be without it. The Chinch-bug ; its history, characters and habits, and the means of destroying it or counteracting its injuries. P.ulletin No. 5, U. S. Entomological Commision. By Cyrus Thomas, Ph. D. This is an exhaustive account of an insect which, taken all in all, is perhaps the most serious pest which the grain-grower has to contend with. While giving accurate in- formation as to the insect's habits, natural history and enemies, it is, like the other publications of the Commission, chiefly de- voted to the practical question of how to control the enemy. Written for the farmer, with all necessary illustrations, its wide circulation can not fail to be productive of good. The Entomological Libraries of the United States. By Samuel Hubbard Scudder. 8vo. pp. 6. (Republished from Bull, of Library of Harvard University.) Cambridge, Mass., 1880. From the Author. Some of the Insects that frequent the Orchard and Garden. By Rev. T. W. Fyles. 8vo. pp.13. Illustrated. (Reprinted from 4th Rep. of the Montreal Hort. Soc.) Montreal, 1879. From the Author. The Food of Birds. (The Thrush Family.) By S. A. Forbes. 8vo. pp. 58. (From Trans. 111. State Hort. Soc. Vol. XIII. 1879.) From the Author. An Historical Sketch of Henry's Contribution to the Electro-magnetic Telegraph, with an Account of the Origin and Development of Prof. IVIorse's Invention. By William B. Taylor. 8vo. pp. 103. (From the Smithsonian Report for 1878.) Washington, 1879. From the Author. Etude sur les Especes de la Tribu des Feronides qui se ren- contrent en Belgique. Par A. P. de Borre. 8vo. pp. 46. (Ext. des Annales de la Societe Ent. de Belgique.) Nov. 1878. From the Author. Quelque conseils aux Chasseurs d'Insectes. Par A. Preud- homme de Borre. 8vo. pp.7. (Ext. des Comptes-rendus de la Soc. Ent. de Belgique. Seance du 2 Novembre, 1878.) From the Author. Sur I'oeuf et la jeune larve d'une espece de Cyphocrania. Par A. Preudhomme de Borre. 8vo. pp. i. (Ext. des Comptes-rendus de la Soc. Ept. de Belgique. Seance du 'X Novembre, 1878.) From the Author. Note sur des Difformites observees chez V Abax ovalis et le Geotrupes syh'aticus. Par A. P. de Borre. 8vo. pp. 3. (Extr. des Comptes-rendus de la Soc. Ent. de Belgique. Seance du 7 Decembre, 1878.) From the Author. Annual Report of the North Carolina Agricultural Experi- ment Station, for 1879. By Albert R. Ledoux, A. M., Ph. D. 8vo. pp. 198. Raleigh, N. C, 1879. From the Author. Description of some minute Hymenopterous Insects. By J. O. Westwood, M. A., F. L. S., etc. 4to. pp. 11. 1 plate. (Ext. from Trans. Linnean Soc. of London. Second series. Zoology, Vol. I.) London, Eng., 1878. From the Author. Observations on the Uraniidae, a Family of Lepidopterous Insects, with a Synopsis of the Family and a Monograph of Coronidia, one of the Genera of which it is composed. By J. O. Westwood, M. A., F. L. S., etc. 4to, pp. .36. 4 plates. (Ext. from Trans. Zool. Soc. Vol. X. Part XII.) London, Eng., 1879. From the Author. A Decade of new Cetoniidae. By J. O. Westwood, M. A., F. L. S., etc. 8vo. pp.10. 2 plates. (Ext. from Trans. Ent. Soc, 1879. Part II.) London, Eng. From the Author. Report of E. W. Hilgard, Professor of Agriculture, Uni- versity of California. (Supplement to the Biennial Report of the Board of Regents.) 8vo. pp. 113. Sacramento, Cal., 1879. From the Author. Leeds & Co.'s Plant Catalogue for Spring of 1880. 8vo. pp. 5(5. Richmond, Ind. From Leeds & Co. Sopra Certi Organi di Senso nelle Antenne dei Ditteri. Memoria del Dott. Paolo Mayer. 4to. pp.12, pi. 1. (Reale Accademia dei Lincei. Anno 1878-9.) Roma, 1879. From the Author. Report of the Curator of the Southern Illinois Normal Uni- versity, G. H. French. 8vo. pp. 18. (Ext. from the Fifth Annual Report of the Prin^pal to the Board of Trustees.) Carbondale, 111., 1879. From the Author. Ein sechstes Phytoptocecidium von Acercampestre. Von Dr. Fr. Thomas. 8vo. pp. 6. (Abdruck aus der Zeitschrift fiir die gesammten Naturwissenschaften Band. LII. 1879. September-October-Heft.) From the Author. De la Meilleure Disposition a donner aux Caisses et Cartons des Collections d'Insectes. Par A. P. de Borre. 8vo. pp.4. (Ext. des Annales de la Soc. Ent. de Belgique. Seance du 5 Avril, 1879.) From the Author. Notice sur les Especes des Tribus des Panageides, des Loricerides, des Licinides, des Chlsenides et des Broscides, qui se rencontrent en Belgique. Par A. Preudhomme de Borre. 8vo. pp. 27. (Ext. des Comptes-rendus de la Soc. Ent. de Belgique. Seance du 1 Juin, 1878.) From the Author. "Production and Distribution of Cereals of the United States. By J. R. Dodge. 8vo. pp. 14. (Ext. from Report of Joseph Nimmo, jr., chief of the Bureau of Statistics on the Internal Commerce of the United States.) Washington, Dec. 1, 1879. From the Author. Bulletin de la Societe Entomologique Suisse. Vol. V, No. 9. Schaffhausen, Dec. 1879. From the Editor. Le Phylloxera. Comites d'etudes et de vigilance. Rapports et Documents, lie Fascicule. Paris. Oct. 1879. From the Editor. Report of the Board of Trustees of the Maryland Agricul- tural College. 8vo. pp. 20. Annapolis, 1880. From A. Grabowskii. Extracts from Correspondence. [We shall publish in this Department such extracts from the letters of our correspondents as contain entomological facts worthy to be recorded, on account either of their scientific or of their practical importance. We hope our readers will con- tribute each their several mites towards the general fund ; and in case they are not perfectly certain of the names of the in- sects, the peculiarities of which are to be mentioned, will send specimens along in order that each species may be duly identified.] Pyrethrum for House Plants. — I have tried the Pj-rethrum powder to some extent, and find it a perfect remedy for the green Aphis on house plants. We have dusted our plants only twice this winter and there is not an Aphis nor a scale, nor a Mealy-bug to be seen, either in the house or in the pit. Our plants never were so thrifty and beautiful. We have, however, had an ex- ceptionally mild and sunn}' winter. — Marj' E. Murtfeldt. Green varieties in the genus Argynnis.— I have been very much interested in Edwards's Butterflies of North America, especially with reference to the fact that three species of the genus Argynnis there figured have always green females. Now in the New Forest, I find that a fair percentage of females of Argyniiis paphia are green, and it appears to me that in this wild district we have an archaic coloration of tliis species ; for I am told that rarel)', if ever, in other parts of England is such a variety seen. I took twenty-two specimens of this variety in August last, after great labor, as the Forest was a complete bog, owing to our wet season. — J. Jenner Weir, London, Eng. Influence of Winds on Aletia. — I discover your leaning towards the theory that, in this latitude the Aletia hibernates, and that the ad- vent of it on the summer's cotton growth is from the hibernated moth of the vicinage. I have heretofore expressed both to yourself and to Prof. Comstock the result of my observa- io6 THE AMERICAN ENTOMOLOGIST. tions, to the effecl that a dry season, that is, one not too wet for cotton, ma)^ be followed by the caterpillar, in this latitude, in such numbers as to do great injury to the crop ; and that a wet sea- son, that is, one in which the rain-fall lessens the maturity of the fruit, may not be followed by the caterpillar in sufficient numbers to injure the crop. I desire to direct afresh your observation to the influence of the winds on the Aletia. For some years past this has been my own observation on that subject, viz. : (i) At any season of the year the prevalence of S. East winds for two or three days consecu- tively, regardless of wet or dry weather, will be followed in fifteen to twenty days after the pre- valence stated of those winds, by the moth of the Aletia in large numbers. (2) If the winds prevail from any other course than E. and S. of East, after May and until Octo- ber, we do not, in this latitude, find the caterpil- lar in numbers sufficient to injure the crop of cotton. (3) Last year (1879) I made note of the follow- ing facts : the month of May was dry in this vicinity ; so dry that corn was retarded in growth, and ever)'where unpromising ; E. and S. East winds prevailed; ergo (?) early in June the cotton caterpillar was reported in large numbers in Montgomery and Dallas counties ! (4) Early in June the winds changed their course from E. and S. E. to S. and S. West. The caterpillars present did no harm whatever, for full three months. Now, let us note the seasons from June to loth Sept., when at this latter date the caterpillars began to destroy the crops. The season from June to 15th July was dry, and the winds were S. and S. West. A rainy season began on 15th July. We had daily rains until 19th August. The winds con- tinued to come from S. and S. West all the rainy season. The caterpillars did no harm in this rainy season, although they were alarmingly present. The rain ceased 6 days to begin again on 25th August. The winds veered on 25th Aug. or about that day, from S. and S. West to E. and S. East, and by loth Sept. all the foliage had been stripped from the cotton ! The summary of these facts is that (i) early in June after a dry May, distinguished by the preva- lence of E. and S. East winds, the caterpillar ap- peared; (2) the caterpillar did not then eat the crop, and contemporaneously with its advent the winds changed from E. and S. E. to S. and S. West ; (3) a rainy season put in 15th July and was ex- cessive until 19th August, and the winds were S. and S. West, and the caterpillar though present did no work ; (4) the rains began again 25th Aug. I and the winds were then, for the first time since May, E. and S. East, and by loth Sept. the cater- pillar had destroyed the crop. There were two seasons of E. and S. East winds only, one in May followed by the caterpillar, an- other from 25th Aug. to 10th Sept. followed by the caterpillar. The caterpillar was present from June until 25th August but did no work, and in that time the winds were S. and S. West. What effect has the course of the winds on the character of the growth of the cotton plant? and what character of growth in the cotton plant is favorable or unfavorable to the sustenance of the caterpillar? M}' observation is, the prevalence of E. and S. E. winds is followed by a rich, juicy, sappy, heavy foliage, never that which precedes a heavy fruitage of blooms and bolls ; and that the pre- valence of S. and S. W. winds is followed by small, pale-green, shaip-pointed foliage, favorable to heavy fruitage of blooms and bolls. I have also noted that the caterpillar destroys the rich foliage much more greedily than he does the hard pale-green foliage. It is a common remark that a "worm)'earis never a cotton year, even if the worm did not destroy the crop." I never saw a good yield of blooms and bolls with the winds from E. and S. East. — J. W. Du- Bose, Pike Road, Montgomery Co., Ala. Mite preying on Orange scale. — In Canadian Entomologist No. 8, Vol. XI, I described a mite under the name Acarus glovei-ii, and thought it probably preyed upon the eggs of a scale insect. This winter I have continued my investigations and have had the pleasure of studying up its life history. The mite belongs to the genus Tyroglyphus. The eggs, between two and three hundred, are laid in December on the under part of an orange leaf, generally close to a midrib or a pri- mar)f vein, and frequently alongside a scale. The)^ are elliptical, of a reddish-3'ellow color, nearly twice as long as broad, and very finely granulated. Length about 1-500 of an inch. From the middle of January until the middle of March, there hatches a six-legged mite, of a bright blood-red, with three or four oval black spots on hinder part of abdomen, and sparsely covered with long hairs, six of these (two anterior, two posterior, and two lateral) are much longer than the others. In from three to four weeks these curl up their legs and form a sort of pupa, which in a few days changes into an eight-legged mite, having nearly the shape as before, only larger, broader and more flattened, with two short hairs protruding from the head and of a lighter shade of red. In these stages they are gre^rious, all living hud- THE AMERICAN ENTOMOLOGIST. 107 died together close to midrib. The eight-legged mite again changes its skin and becomes the active little mite described in Canadian Entomol- ogist. Scales, on the same leaf with these mites, are alwa)'S empty, proving that they are beneficial to the orange grower. — Wm. H. Ashmead, Jackson- ville, Fla. Habits of Gall-making Plant-lice. — The most astonishing feature of my recent observations on "Pemphigus bursarius" is, that the first " pupi- fera" come back to the tree before even the last "emigrants" have left it, and, as the first ones bearing the sexuated young enter in the old galls just left by the emigrants, it looks as if some of the " emigrants " instead of leaving the tree re- mained in it. — J. Lichtenstein, Montpellier, France. Answers to Correspondents. [We hope to make this one of the most interesting and in- structive departments of the Entomologist. All inquiries about insects, injurious or otherwise, should be accompanied by specimens, the more the better. Such specimens, if dead, should be packed in some soft material, as cotton or wool, and inclosed in some stout tin or wooden box. They will come by mail for one cent per ounce. Insects should never be ENCLOSED LOOSEIN THE LETTER. Whenever possible, larvae (i. e.^ grubs, caterpillars, maggots, etc.) should be packed alive, in some tight tin box — the tighter the better, as air-holes are not needed — along with a supply of their appropriate food sufficient to last them on their journey ; otherwise they generally die on the road and shrivel up. If dead when sent, they should be packed in cotton moistened with alcohol. Send as full an account as possible of the habits of the insect respecting which you desire information ; for example, what plant or plants it infests ; whether it destroys the leaves, the buds, the twigs, or the stem ; how long it has been known to you ; what amount of damage it has done, etc. Such particulars are often not only of high scientific interest but of great practical importance.] Gouty Gall on Blackberry and Raspberry Canes. — A friend has referred me to you for the name (common and scientific) of the insect which stings blackberry canes and causes them to swell and die. If an account of the habits, etc. of this insect is published in any of your Re- ports, please tell me how or on what terms I can get the number desired. — P. S., Vineland, N. J. We are troubled with an insect that bids fair to destroy our canes both of Blackberry and Rasp- berry more especially on the " Early Wilson " Blackberry and the Red varieties of the Rasp- berry. The insects deposit their eggs from six inches to a foot above the ground, and the first indication of their work is an enlargement of the cane; they usually select the largest canes, and they remain over the winter above the enlarge- ment, where they can be found very readily at this time. I would like to know if there is a practical remedy? I have been watching their work for a number of years and find they are on the increase. I would like to know how soon the insect's work can be detected and how long are they depositing their eggs? — T. A. C, Anna, 111. One of our principal revenues here is derived from raising blackberries ; within a few years, swells have appeared on the canes ; and are increasing from year to year, threatening to either destroy the business, or make it very un- profitable. We are alarmed for our safety and have appointed a committee (of which I am one) to investigate the cause, and if possible to find a remedy; I appeal to j'ou, hoping you will be so kind as to give us the necessary information by which we can save a crop upon which we so much depend. Many of the swells this year are below ground. — J. W., Vineland, N. J. All three of the above inquiries refer to the same insect [Agrihis rtificollis), treated of and illustrated in another part of this number. The larva retires into the pith to transform in April and May, and the canes should therefore be cut and burned before the month of April. The beetles should be looked for in June and July when the females are laying their eggs, and are easily seen and captured. Sowing Cotton Seeds in hot-beds and transplanting as a means of preventing injury from the Cotton Worm. — Wm. J. W., Fort Magaia, Youngstown, N. Y. — The suggestion which you make of planting cotton seeds in hot beds' during the winter and transplanting the plants thus raised when spring opens, in order to gain time and produce a crop before the Cotton Worm appears, occurred to us two years ago on our first visit to the South, but, upon suggesting it and urging it to experienced planters, they in- variably replied that the cotton plant forms such a long tap-root and is so very sensitive to re- moval or transplanting, that it will be impractica- ble to do as we do in the more northern States with young sweet-potato plants. The only way in which cotton plants could be successfully transplanted would be from small pots, and»such mode is precluded on account of the expense, thpugh paper bags, it seems to us, might in many instances be successfully used for this purpose. Not the Cotton Moth.— Z?. B. Woodbury, Paris, Oxford Co., Me. — The moth which you send is not the Cotton Moth, but something quite dis- tinct, known to entomologists as Tolype velleda. Its larva feeds on Apple and sundry other trees. Moths caught in Alabama ; Muscle-shaped Bark-louse on Apple trees South—/. F. Bailey, Marion, Ala. — Your specimens were duly re- ceived. Of the moths it would be useless to give you the names, as they were not numbered ; none of them, however, were Aletia, but there were specimens of the common Northern Army Worm and of one of the commonest Cut-worm moths {Agrotis ypsilon). The large black butter- fly is Papilio p/iilenor, the larva of which feeds on Aristolochia. You are right in the determination of Pieris rapce. The large bee which is robbing the honey bees of their scanty stores is Bombus virginictis ? . The mussel-shaped scales on apple-twigs from the orchard of Mr. E. A. Heard are the dreaded mussel-shaped bark-louse of the Apple {Mytilaspis pomicorticis Riley). We have THE AMERICAN ENTOMOLOGIST. not before received them from so far south, and would recommend Mr. Heard to get rid of the trees that are already dead, severely prune the rest, burn the prunings and then apply flax-seed oil or brush the trunk and twigs over rapidly and lightly with kerosene. If carefully done this will not injure the trees materially and will be sure death to the scale-insects. The Cedar Beetle. — I send you two speci- mens of an insect that is very abundant here upon the Arbor-vitae and Red Cedar trees, eating the bark from the small branches and twigs. This insect has already destro3'ed a large number of the above named trees in this part of the country, and still continues its ravages. Please tell me what you know about this pest. — P. B. Fuisen, La Grange, Tex. The small beetle, about one-tenth of an inch long, with dark brown, rough wing-cases, is an old and well known pest of various kinds of ever- green trees. It is the Hyliirgtis dentatus Say, or, according to a recent revision of the Scolytidie of the United States by Dr. J. LeConte, Phhvosiniis dentatus Say. It belongs to a very destructive family of insects, as the Scolytidir are mainly bark- beetles and wood-borers, and instances are re- corded where they have destroyed extensive forests in a few years. The Toothed Hylurgus, or Cedar-bark beetle, has long been known to attack the Red Cedar {Juniperus virgiiiiana) and the Arbor-vitae {Thuja occidetitalis), and it no doubt infests other closely allied species of the Coniferaj. * Harris states "that the female bores a cylindrical passage beneath the bark of the Ce- dar, dropping her eggs at short intervals as she goe^ along, and dies at the end of her burrow when all her eggs are laid. The grubs hatched from these proceed in feeding nearly at right angles, forming on each side numerous parallel furrows, smaller than the central tube of the fe- male. They complete their transformations in October, and eat their way^ through the bark, which will then be seen to be perforated with thousands of little round holes, through which the beetles escape." The description of the habits of this insect as given by Dr. Harris is applicable to several other species of Scoiytus, and it is just possible that the one he describes is not the F. dentatus ; besides he says nothing of the beetles feeding on the bark, which the one under consideration evidently does, to the great in- jury of the trees it infests. We hope you will make further observations as to the habits of this insect, and remove the bark from infested trees, both dead and dying, and see to what extent they bore under the bark ; also note the form and extent of their excavations. — A. S. F. Chrysalides supposed to be those of Aletia. — I inclose in a small tin box, accompanying this letter, some cocoons ploughed up to-day in my cotton field here where there were Cotton worms last year, which resemble the plexus of that insect. They are somewhat bleached by remaining under ground so long. This may be considered a fair test, if they should come out of their cover. If none of them bring forth the Cotton miller then they are not perpetuated in that form. I gathered these myself by following the plow a few rounds. Please acquaint me with the result. — William J. Jones, Virginia Point, Tex. The chrysalides sent by our correspondent are not those of Aletia but belong to other species of night-flying moths, one the parent of a common Cut-worm {Agrotis iiwn/iis), tlie other J'lvdcnia lincatclla Harvey, the parent of a worm that is quite commonly found in cotton fields. Apple-twig borer. — T. ]'. .)/., Dciiison, Tex. — The beetles you send, boring during the month of February in the twigs of your apple trees, are the common Apple-twig hox&i {Amphicerus bicau- datus) of which you will find an account, with figures, on pp. 50-51. The reasons why you failed to find the larvae of this beetle in the twigs are also given there. Clover-weevil.— /r. IV. F., ]Vate>-uiIIe, Ohio. — The weevil 3'ou refer to in 3'our letter of Feb. 16, which does considerable damage to clover in* the eastern part of your State, hy workin in the seed and reducing it to a mere shell, cannot be the Clover Root-borer {Hylesinus t7-ifoiu') of which we gave an account in our Report to the Department of Agriculture, because this latter confines its work to the roots and to the stem immediately above the ground. Without seeing specimens it is impossible for us to say anything definite about your species, as there are several "weevils" known to infest clover seeds. We shall be glad to receive specimens. Beetles from Northwest Territory. — John D. Evans, Belleville, Ontario. — The Coleoptera from Great Northwest Ter., near Manitoba, are No. i, Qicindela montana Lee. No. 3, Cie pn?purea, var. Auduboni Lee. No. 4, Cic purpurea, green variety. No. 7, Cic lepida Dej. No. 12, Calosoma obsole- tuin Say. No. 16, Carabus tiedatus Fabr. No. iS, Calosoma nioitiliatuni Lee. No. 20, Platynus micans M6n. No. 22, Platynus molestus Lee. No. 37, Amara jacobiiia Lee. No. 49, Ainara fallax Lee. No. 54, Amara terrestris Lee. No. 65, Bembidium impressum Fabr. No. 216, Asida polita Say. No. 2.x^,Eleodes opaca Say. No. 217, Eleodes obsoletd Say. No. 211, Eleodes hirtilabris Say. No. 214, Eleodes extricata Say. No. 213, Eleodes tricostata Say, No. lOi , Quedius fulgidus Fabr. No. 118, Coccinella ^-notata Kirby. No. 132, Aphodius occidentalis Horn. No. 136, Di- clielonycha Backii Kirby. No. 150, Corymbites morulus Lee. No. 160, Fhotinus borealis Rand. No. 162, Fhotinus nigricans Say. No. 196, Dis- onycha collaris Fabr. No. 182, Chtysomela multi- punctata Say. No. 203, Graptodera — . No. 230 Cantharis Nutalli Say. — A. S. F. TXT I? Vol. III. VOLl NEW YORK, MAY, 1880, No, 5, PUBLISHED MONTHLY BY THE HUB PUBLISHING CO. of n. y, 828 Pearl St., New York. TERMS .Two dollars per annum, in advance. EDITORS : CHAS. V. RILEY, Editor Washington, I\ C. A. S. FULLER, Assi.stant Edi . Ridgewood, N. J. THE INSECT ENEMIES AND DISEASES OF OUR SMALL FRUITS. [Re.id before the New Jersey State Horticaltiiral Society, Jan. 16, 1880, by A. S. Fuller.] \_Concluded f7-om p. 93.] The Strawberry. Among the insect enemies of the Straw- berry, the common White Grub is probably one of the most destructive. It is the Lirva of tlie May-beetle, June-bug, or Dor- [Fig. 36.] Strawberry Worm : — i, Ventral view of pupa ; 2, side view of same ; 3, enlarged sketch of perfect fly, the wings on one side detached ; 4, larva crawling, natural size ; 5, perfect fly, natural size ; 6, larva at rest ; 7, cocoon ; 8, enlarged antenna, showing joints ; 9, enlarged egg (after Riley). bug — being known by all these names in different parts of the country. There are over fifty distinct species of May-beetles found in this country north of Mexico, but the one here referred to is our most com- mon brown May-beetle, the Lachnosterna fiisca of Frohlich. These beetles frequent meadows, pastures and uncultivated fields, for the purpose of depositing their eggs in places where their young will be sure of plenty of food, and not likely to be disturbed. The young grubs as soon as hatched com- mence feeding upon the roots of various plants, those of the Strawberry and different kinds of grasses being preferred to the weeds. These grubs live three years before passing through the pupa state and coming forth as beetles. During these three years of constant work upon the roots of plants they may 'do much damage to whatever kind they may attack. Their injury to Strawberry plantations results mainly from bad management and the failure of the grower to use preventive measures. Good old pasture and meadow lands are fre- (piently selected for Strawberry plantations, and sod is turned over, and as soon as suf- ficiently rotted, the plants are set out. In the mean time the grubs that were already in the ground, and perhaps of various ages from a few weeks to a year or two, have been fasting, or making an occasional meal of the half-decayed grass roots. Find- ing fresh Strawberry roots thrust before them, they commence a most vigorous at- tack upon such tender food. The planter is astonished to see his Strawberries disap- pear, and wonders where all the grubs could have come from in so short a time. Now in regions where the White Grub abounds it is not safe to set out Strawber- ries on freshly inverted sod ; but the land should be cultivated at least two seasons in some crop requiring frequent hoeing and plowing, before using it for this purpose. Neither should the Strawberry plantation THE AMERICAN ENTOMOLOGIST. remain or be continued on the same piece of land for more than two or three years, if what is called the matted or bed system of cultivation is pursued ; because the parent beetle soon learns that these weedy, little-disturbed plantations, are a safe place for her to deposit her eggs. To avoid injury to Strawberry planta- tions by this insect, use land that has been occupied at least two years in some hoed crop, like corn, potatoes, or beans, and then set out a new one on fresh land as soon as the old plants begin to fail. As all the May-beetles are nocturnal in habit many may be taken by using tubs of water with a floating light in the center. [Fig. 37.] Strawberry Leaf-roller:— a, larva, natural size ; 3, head and thoracic joints ; d, anal joint of same ; f, moth — enlarged (after Riley). A few hundred taken every evening during the first few weeks of summer will do something toward diminishing the number of the succeeding generations in a neigh- borhood, but the birds and domestic fowls are the Strawberry grower's most efficient helpers in the way of destroying May- beetles and White Grubs. Among the various other kinds of insects injurious to the Strawberry there is perhaps none more destructive than that known as the " Strawberry Worm." This pest is a small, slender, pale-green worm that attacks the leaves, eating large holes in them. When at all abundant it soon destroys the entire foliage, and of course prevents fur- ther growth of the plants. A few years ago this pest almost ruined the plants in my garden, but of late it has not been very abundant, although it has not entirely dis- appeared. This Strawberry Worm is the larva of a small black fly {Emphytus niacii- latus Norton, Fig. 36, 3). Dusting the leaves with lime would probably check the in- crease of this insect. There is also an- other worm that attacks the leaves of the Strawberry, but this is a leaf-roller and the caterpillar of a small, handsome moth {Anchylopera fragarice Walsh and Riley, Fig. 37). I have not observed it in my grounds, but it is quite abundant in the Western states, also in Canada, where it is occasionally very destructive. In addition to the above there is a small snout-beetle known as the Strawberry Crown-borer (7)'- loderma fragarice, Riley, Fig. 38), that works in the crowns of the plants, destroy- ing the embryo fruit stalks and leaves. The remedy proposed is to plow up the Strawberry plantations soon after gathering the fruit in summer, and while the little grubs are still in the crown of the plants. Strawberry Crown-borer: — a, larva; b^ beetle, side view; c, do. dorsal view — enlarged (after Riley). Several other species of noxious insects might be added to the above list of those injuring the small fruits, but I think enough have already been named to show that the berry growers do not find the business quite so profitable or free from annoyances as many persons seem to imagine. EFFECTS OF COLD APPLIED TO THE CHRY- SALIDES OF BUTTERFLIES. Mr. Wm. H. Edwards of Coalburgh, W. Va., has recently given in Psyche a detailed account of a series of experiments, made with a view of ascertaining the effects of artificial cold brought to bear on the chry- salides of butterflies. The efi^ects of hiber- nation in the chrysalis state as exemplified in the vernal forms of double-brooded or many-brooded species is toward reduction in size and albinism or loss of color. We proved this by actually breeding the ver- nalis form of Pieris protodice, from eggs laid by the typical summer form of this last, and have been often struck with the THE AMERICAN ENTOMOLOGIST. same fact in comparing butterflies from those parts of British North America, where the species may be presumed to be mono- goneutic, with the same species from Mis- souri, where it is digoneutic. This gen- eralization does not apply to species that hibernate in the imago state, though even here the lower mean temperature of the sub-boreal zone lessens the average size and renders the colors less strong. This is not noticeable with species like Daiiais archippus, which, we believe, annually mi- grate to such sub-boreal regions from more southern points. Mr. Edwards's experi- ments indicate that artificial cold on the chrysalis produces in' the resulting imago the same effect that cold does in nature. We quote his general conclusions : 1. Papilio ajax. The longer the exposure under a low temperature the more decided the change, but 25 or 30 days seem quite sufficient in many cases, and changes have been produced by exposure for 20, 16 and 11 days ; no changes re- corded at less than 11 days ; while exposure at 8 days and less has produced no effect in some cases to prolong the chrysalis period. 2. The longest interval between pupation and exposure to cold when any change has resulted, has been 3 days. In all instances beyond that no change has been produced. The shortest inter- val has been two hours, and in this instance the buttertly was changed to ivalshii, which is a change more extreme than to telamoiiides. Most chrysalids exposed so early die in the process, but as many changes have been effected when the age of the chrysalis at exposure has been from 12 to 24 hours, I believe that to be the most satis- factor\- period. The chrysalis has then become hardened, and the growth of the organs of the pupa probably then begins, and their direction may best be turned by the cold then applied. 3. The effect of the cold is to albinize the butterfly, the black area being constantly reduced. 4. Cold has failed to change the shape of the wings, its influence being confined to coloration and markings ; the frontal hairs of the head have also been changed ; and the sexes are equally susceptible. 5. Grapta interrogation! s. 14 days' exposure after the chrysalids have hardened, has been found sufficient to produce changes ; and the females were most susceptible to the influence of cold. 6. With different species the degree of temper- ature required to produce the most decided change varies. I have succeeded best with FJivciodes tharos, at 40'^ F. [4.4' C.]. At 32° F. \o° C] have destroyed many Grapta chrysalids, but this may have been principally because the chrysalis was too tender when exposed. ' With P. ajax 32" to 40° F. [o'^ to 4.4° C] seems a proper temperature. M}- experiments with Ph. tharos are given in Can. Entom., v. IX, p. 4, and p. 204-206. Also in Butterflies of N. A., v. II, pt. 7. In the former, a complete change was brought .about, and ever}- butterfly emerged in the winter form. Temper- ature about 40" F. [4.4" C], and continued for 7 days, the chrysalids being 3," 6, g hours old when exposed, and before several had hardened. In the second experiment the temperature was about 32° F. [o' C] ; the chrysalids were 10 min- utes to g hours old, and the exposure was about 20 days. It was found that the butterflies emerg- ing from chrj-salids which had been from i to g hours old were completely changed ; some which had been from 30 to 60 minutes old were not changed, while others of same lot were greatly suffused. I concluded that with this species it was not necessary that cold should be applied after the chrysalids had hardened, in order to change the form. THE ROMANCE OP A CATERPILLAR. BY \VM. C. Of the insect tribes the most directly useful to man have been the producers of honey, silk and cochineal. The importance of the Bee to the ancients will be realized when we consider that they had to rely on honey alone for the means of sweetening food. Plato and Sophocles were honored by being called respectively the " Athenian Bee" and the "Attic Bee," in allusion to the dulcet style of their writings. The great attraction of the land which the Children of Israel struggled so hard to at- tain, was due to its reputation of flowing with milk and honey. In the paradise imagined by Lucian, honey spouted from some of the fountains. Sugar was then little known, except as one of the rare and curious things from the far East, and Strabo probably refers to it in a descrip- tion of certain stones that had the color of frankincense, and a sweetness greater than that of figs or honey ; they were obtained in India. Pliny is more precise ; he says, " Arabia produces sugar, but that of India is preferable. It is a kind of honey, col- lected within reeds — a gum, almost white, brittle to the teeth, the largest (pieces) of the size of a hazel-nut, used only in medi- cine." Let us imagine for a moment that sugar should become equally rare at the present time. Would not the sweetness of life seem to have departed ? In the region beyond the Ister, according to the story told to Herodotus, the land was so com- pletely possessed by bees that travel was * Read before the Linnean Society of New York, January •i4th. 1880. THE AMERICAN ENTOMOLOGIST. impeded. But even if favored with such a source of supply, we would find the Thracian honey a poor substitute for the $80,000,000 worth of sugar now annually imported into the United States. The dye furnished by the cochineal in- sects has also had and passed its day of high importance. The splendor of the Tyrian purple lives only in tradition, but we may fairly doubt whether it surpassed the best cochineal in richness of tint. The dark ages sadly needed bright colors. Few of the gifts of the Western continent have been of more service to mankind than the scarlet and crimson juices of the coccus; l)ut now, its brightest tints seem pale beside the sunset glow of the aniline colors. The Silkworm still retains its original importance, and is at present the most valuable of all insects to mankind. While no substitute for silk has been discovered, and perhaps none will ever be, a prophecy [Fig. 39.] to that eltect would not be quite safe. For instance: the limit of change in the properties of glass may not have been reached in the new processes of hardening it ; suppose we could vulcanize it, as we do India-rubber; how long would it be before spun glass would be wound upon bobbins and woven in looms ? Whatever rival it may have to meet in the future, silk has at least an unbroken record of favor throughout the whole re- corded history of civilization. • Every- where it is associated with ideas of opulence and luxury. Its bright threads are inter- woven with and gleam out through the ro- mances of every age. The discovery of the uses of silk must have been made at a very remote period, at least as far back as the era of the Mediterranean mythologies. The Egyptians attributed the invention to Isis, the Greeks to Minerva, the Lydians to Arachne. The ladies last-named had an unhappy quarrel. Arachne was the daughter of a dyer, and hence had a good introduction to the textile arts early in life. Especially was she skilled in em- broidery, and she challenged the goddess of wisdom to a match with the needle. Each competitor ])repared a show-jjiece of her handiwork. The fal)ric made by Arachne was certainly very elaborate, for it depicted all the noted love-scrapes of Jupiter. It is said to have been a really admirable piece of workmanship, but of course that of the goddess was pronounced the better. Poor Arachne committed sui- cide, and Minerva changed her into a spider, so that she might always be pulling threads and weaving webs for herself. It is generally conceded that the use of silk began in China. Modern and ancient opinions on this point coincide. The fol- lowing extracts give Pliny's notions; they are in Holland's (juaint transla- ^"^ tion: " The first i)eople of any knowledge and acquaintance be the Seres, famous for the fine silke that their woods doe yield." * * * * "It is commonly said that in the island of Coos '"^ there be certain silkeworms en- I _,Lndeied of flowers, which by the meanes of raine-showers are beaten down and fall from the cypres tree, terebinth, oke and ashe; and they soon after doe quicken and take life by the vapor arising out of the earthe." Nearly all the allusions to silk in Greek and Roman literature show a belief that it was found as a downy substance — a sort of wool — upon trees; there are also expressions giving the idea that this material was spread upon trees by the feet of in- sects. There can be no doubt that the early silk-culturists of the East kept, or rather, left the larv^ on the trees where they first found them. It is asserted that the Silkworm is still to be found living freely on the mulberry trees in the vicinity of Hangchow, where the insect is known as Tien tse, i. e., the Son of Heaven. This is supposed by the Chinese to be the prim- ordial race of silkworms, whence the do- THE AMERICAN ENTOMOLOGIST. 113 mestic varieties have sprung; it deposits its eggs directly on the branches of the trees.* There is a very well known Chinese legend that attributes to a (]ueen the arts l)y which silk lias been made useful to mankind. If she had lived in an age when inventors took out patents, she might have based her claims for originality on three points: first, collecting the insects in a place prepared for them, where she herself fed them; second, reeling the fiber from the cocoons; third, making garments of silk. These claims would not be invali- dated by the fact that her husband, the emperor Hoang Ti, suggested the experi- ments to her and urged the attempt for the sake of the happiness of his ])eople. He seems to have thought that the product of the Silkworm could be utilized; she is credited with the actual performance. Her [Fig. 40.] Mulberry Silkworm : cocoon (after Riley). grateful subjects have accorded to her di- vine honors; she is the Goddess of Silk- worms. The ceremonies of worshipping this divinity, whose name is Si ling chi, are performed at the season of the year when the eggs of the Silkworm are hatched. Silk-culture in China is closely inwoven with religious observances, and the details are given with minuteness in the Book of Rites by Confucius. Authorities differ enormously in fixing the date of Hoang Ti's reign; it was probably not less than 1,800 nor more than 2,600 years before the Christian era. He was the third emperor of China; another of the monarchs of that country has a high place in their pantheon ^Le Cocon de Soie : E. Duseigneur — Kelber: Paris, 1875. because he encouraged the cultivation of the mulberry tree. The early historic books of the Chinese describe the occu- pation of different provinces successively, and, in connection therewith, mention in- stances where, in different localities, the culture of the mulberry was then begun. tFig. 41. Mulberry Silkworm : moth (after Riley). While the date at which the Silkworm first became useful was very much later in Japan than in China, it is equally shrouded by the mists of a great antiquity. The legends are wholly mythologic; but though none of them have an historic dignity much above folk-lore, there is one that has per- manently fixed itself in the Japanese lan- guage by conferring technical terms on the stages of the silkworm's growth. A certain king of India had many wives and a considerable family; but the wife whom he loved best had borne him no children. At last, however, she announced to him that she was about to become a mother, and the king took a far deeper in- terest in the event than was usual with him on such occasions. He hoped to have an heir that would at a future day worthily fill the throne. Great was his disappoint- ment when the midwives brought to him a daughter instead of a son. He made a most unfatherly remark about the baby; this was repeated in the palace, and came to the ears of the mother, to whose illness it gave an unhappy turn, so that the king was soon called upon to lament her loss. The double sorrow and remorse for his hasty words preyed upon the heart of the king, and before many weeks he was buried with his much-loved consort. The baby, known as Youan Thsan, was left in charge of some of its numerous stepmothers, who, very naturally, soon 14 THE AMERICAN ENTOMOLOGIST. found that it was in the way of their am- bitious projects. To get rid of the in- fant, they exposed it in a wilderness where lions resorted. Presently a young whelp approached the child and threatened at- tack or at all events undue familiarity. "Who art thou?" asked the infant, con- fronting her enemy boldly. " My father is the king of beasts," replied the young lion. " But my father," haughtily rejoined Youan Thsan, "was the king of men!" Thereat the whelp was abashed, and withdrew to summon the older lions; in his absence the child escaped, and found her way back to the palace. Then the stepmothers took Youan Thsan to a valley that was frequented by eagles, and left her there. Soon one of these birds seized the child and carried it to the eyrie in a lofty tree. As soon as the old bird had departed, the child looked around in the nest, and demanded of the eaglets, "Who are you?" They answered, "Our father is the king of birds; " and then Youan Thsan discomfited them with such a rejoinder as she had made to the lion. Of course, after that, she clambered out of the nest and returned to the palace again. This time the stepmothers put her on a desolate island. She would certainly ha\-e perished there but for the timely arrival of a fisherman, who came in a canoe. He at first claimed her as his property, since he had a right to whatever might be stranded on the island. But she told him that her father was the king of kings and of men; and so, the fisherman took her up tenderly, gave her a sail in his canoe, and brought her back again to her royal home. "Really, we must put a stop to these ad- ventures," said the stepmothers, and they took the princess out and buried her in the courtyard of the palace. But the laborers who performed the burial were touched with compassion, and threw the sods on so lightly that the child found room to breathe. That night an earthquake shook the palace, and out of the cloven ground Youan Thsan stepped forth unharmed. But the malice of the stepmothers was not abated, and ultimately they devised a successful plan. They put the infant in a hollow mulberry tree and launched this on the ocean. After long tossing on the waves, the tree with its precious freight was dashed on the shores of Japan. The unhappy child, exhausted by exposure and shipwreck, died just at the moment when her frail bark reached the land. But a pitying heaven looked down, and transformed -her into a Silkworm that fed on the mulberry tree. Of course, the tree took root, and eventually supported a numerous brood of silkworms. To this day the successive molts of the larva are known in Japan as the time of the lion, of the eagle, of the canoe, and of the court- yard. The great lion's head is carried annually, in a festival procession, through the streets of Yedo. According to the Nihonji, silkworm eggs and mulberry trees were brought from China to Japan, and the trees first planted in the latter country, A. D. 462. There is a myth which describes the Silkworm as originating from the root-follicle of an eyelash extracted from a Japanese virgin. The likeness of such follicles to larv?e, is doubtless embalmed in many traditions; the wagoner of queen Mab, Shakespeare tells us, was '' not half so large as a round little worm, plucked from the lazy finger of a maid." In Japanese pictorial art the Silkworm and the goat are often associated, perhaps because both are apt to feed on leaves in a ravenous manner. ( To be continued.) In France the bee-keeper is obliged to keep his hives one hundred and ten yards from neighboring property, to lessen injury to persons and to fruit. Moth issuing from a Larva. — At the November 5 meeting of the London En- tomological Society, Mr. J. Jcnner Weir exhibited a specimen of Orgyia which was said to have issued from the larva skin without passing through the pupa stage. Where the female is so degraded and lar- viform as in this genus, such an anomaly is less striking or remarkable than it other- wise would be. THE AMERICAN ENTOMOLOGIST. "5 THE ROSE-SLUG. (Sc/aitJria rosu Harris.) The main points in the history of tliis well-known garden pest are given by Harris in his "Insects Injurious to Vegetation," etc. It undoubtedly originated in New England, probably upon Rosa lucida or R. blanda, as these are the species of wild Rose upon which it preferably feeds. Dr. Harris first observed it in the gardens of Cambridge, Mass., in 1831, and mentions that it was six or seven years before it made its appearance in Milton, where he then resided. So far as can be ascertained [Fig. 42.] Selandria kos.k : (i, egg, natural size; /', do. enlarged ; c, slug and its work, natural size, ; , her sav tenna — enlarged (after Riley). grown slug is rather more than one-third of an inch in length, by one-ninth in diameter. The thoracic joints are some- what swollen and humped, but not puffed out laterally, as in some closely allied species, nor has it, like these, a slimy sur- face. The color is a translucent dull yellow, becoming more opaque at the last molt. Soon after this it enters the ground, and incloses itself in a fragile, earthen cocoon, within which it remains dormant i6 THE AMERICAN ENTOMOLOGIST. for many months, not changing to pupa until late the following spring. Harris's assertion that it is dotible-brooded has long been doubted by careful observers and is unquestionably disproved by Miss Murt- feldt's experiments. Owing to the longevity of the flies and the different dates at which they emerge, there is a succession of the larvae, covering a period of from four to six weeks; but they are all of the same brood, and when once they have entered the ground, tliat is the end of them for the season. The Rose Sing, like most other insects, has a large number of natural enemies, but these are not yet adequate to the task of keeping it in check. The attention of florists has, therefore, been largely directed to the discovery of some reliable artificial remedy. Various applications have been tried with more or less success, among which the most certain in its effects is whale oil soap suds, made in the proportions of one pound of the soap to eight gallons of water. The objections to this remedy are that it has a disagreeable odor and is liable to discolor the opening buds. Dusting freely with powdered White Hellebore has also been tried with very good success, and it may be used in water by dissolving a tablespoonful of the powder in two gallons of boiling water. The Pyrethrum powders have as yet been used only to a limited extent, but with the prospect that thorough- ly applied they would prove effectual. Lime has long been used with satisfactory results, especially if applied when the dew is on the plants. Capt. E. H. Beebe of Galena, 111., wrote some time since to the Gardeners Monthly that he had found powdered sulphur ap- plied when the leaves were wet, certain destruction, and Miss E. A. Smith cor- roborates his experience {^Prairie Farmer, May 4th, 1878). Wood ashes were strongly recommended in the Country Gentletnan for June 13th, 1871. The Paris Green mix- ture has been used with excellent results on bushes where it was not desired to cut or pluck the flowers, but in view of the other available means of destruction is not to be recommended. All applications should be made just at night, as they are then more certain of coming in contact with. the insects. Something can also be done to prevent the flies from maturing. As the cocoon in which the larva hibernates is very frail, and as the latter does not sur- vive the rupture of the same, it follows that many of the insects may be killed by thor- oughly stirring and pulverizing the soil of rose beds. Roses that are transplanted from one locality to another should, before setting, be immersed in a tub of water and have every particle of soil washed from their roots. By observing this precaution newly-made gardens may be secured for a long time against this worst enemy of the fairest flower. THE COLORADO POTATO-BEETLE. RETROSPECTIVE. Some sixty years ago, or in 1819, the United States Government fitted out an exploring expedition to the Northwest Ter- ritories under the command of Major Stephen H. Long. The zoologist of this expedition was Mr. Thomas Say of Phila- delphia, whose name has since become so familiar to every entomologist. While on this expedition, extending through 1819 and 1820, numerous specimens of a species of beetle were found on the upper Mis- souri, near the base of the Rocky Moun- tains, which some four years later (1824) Mr. Say described in a paper read before the Academy of Natural Sciences, Phila- delphia, under the name of Doryphora 10- lineata, an insect that has since received the common name of Colorado Potato- beetle. At the time of its discovery, neither Mr. Say nor any of his associates could have had the remotest idea that this insect would at some future day become one of the greatest pests that ever afflicted the farms and gardens of this country. Later explorers, visiting the same regions of country where Mr. Say originally found the "ten-liners," discovered it feeding on THE AMERICAN ENTOMOLOGIST. 17 a wild species of Solanuin (vS. rostratuni), a plant allied to and belonging to the same genus as the cultivated Potato {Solanum tuberosum). The pioneers on the western plains and prairies little imagined that they were in such close proximity to an insect that would soon give them an immense amount of trouble, and make the culti- vation of the Potato anything but a pleas- ant or profitable occupation. But in 1861, Mr. Thos. Murphy of Atchison, Kansas, reported that they were so numerous in his garden that he was enabled in a very short time to gather two bushels of them. His Potatoes were quickly destroyed, and the beetles then spread in all directions. In the same year they appeared in other parts of Iowa, and from there passed eastward, [Fig. 44.] the few scattering plants of the wild Sola- num, as found on the plains, its numbers were limited to a few thousands, or per- haps hundreds to the square mile ; but as an acre of Potatoes will probably furnish more food than all the wild plants on a hundred of prairie, the sudden increase of this pest when it reached the out-lying settlements or farms of Kansas, Nebraska and Iowa, can readily be accounted for. At first the progress of the beetles east- ward was at the rate of about sixty or seventy-five miles annually, but as they reached the more thickly settled regions their progress was more rapid, probably receiving some assistance from the rail- roads, specimens flying into the cars at station and escaping at another a hundred or two miles eastward, or in what- ever direction the train may have been going. That the beetles were in many instances scattered over the country by such means can scarcely be questioned, as they were frequently found in the cars that had passed through infested regions. EASILY CONFOUNDED WITH AN ALLIED SPECIES. some western Colorado Potato-beetle <:, pupa; ^, (/, beetle, back and side view: punctation ; y", leg — enlarged (after Riley). crossing the Mississippi River in 1864, ap- pearing in several localities almost sim- ultaneously within the State of Illinois. In stating that this insect passes from one locality to another, it must not be under- stood that it migrates, it merely spreads, enough remaining behind to keep up an abundant stock, and they are probably no less abundant on the western plains at this time than when first discovered there by Mr. Say, sixty years ago. The sudden and enormous increase in numbers, as noted in Kansas and Iowa, was wholly due to the increase in the supply of food, for so long as this insect had to depend upon different stages of growth ; ,, left wing-cover, showing WCll This beetle is now too known to need de- scription, but it may be well to note that there is a closely allied species (Z>. juncta, Germar,) that is fre- quently confounded with the genuine " ten- liner," although it never attacks the Potato, but feeds upon various species of wild Sola- num, but especially the Horse-nettle {Sola- num carolinense), a very common weed, es- pecially in the Middle and Southern States. Both the larva and mature insect of this Bogus Potato-beetle resemble the genuine ; but upon a close examination, a very marked difference may be discovered. The most prominent distinctive character- istics observed in the nearly mature larvae are as follow : In the true or D. lo-lineata THE AMERICAN ENTOMOLOGIST. the sides are ornamented with two rows of black dots, and the head is black ; while m juncta there is but one row of dots, and the head is of a pale color, the first joint behind the head reddish-brown and edged with black. The mature insects differ still more widely, for while lo-liiicata, as the name indicates, has ten black stripes on its elytra, the third and fourth stripe, count- ing from the outside, are joined behind ; \n Juncta, the second and third are joined, and in a large proportion the two stripes are united the entire length, by deep brown, or black, thus forming one broad and con- spicuous stripe. There are also other dis- tinctive characters, shown in the accom- panying figures, such as the arrangements [Fig. 45.] JoGUs Colorado Potato-bketle. — -)ii, states, as a summary- of our present knowledge of the subject, that the Aletia never hiber- nates as egg, larva or chrysalis, and that it survives the Winter only in the Southern portion of the cotton-belt in the moth or perfect stage. Hibernation seems more common in the West- ern part of this belt than the Eastern portion, and consequently it is here that the earliest appearance of the worm is noticed. If what that paper states is really " a summary" of the knowledge arrived at with reference to the hibernation of the Cotton Worm, I acknowledge myself, vulgarly speaking, "stumped." The fact is that in the process of plowing (in sandy land) during the past month, I have noticed hundreds of the larva or chrysalis of the Cotton Worm, alive and kicking, healthy looking, thrown up. — Robert Worrel, St. Joseph, La. We can only refer j^ou to what we have said on the subject of hibernation of Aletia in chapter 10 of Bulletin No. 3 of the U. S. Entomological Commission as reprinted in the January num- ber of this magazine. We recommend that you carefully compare the larvae and chrysalides found in the ground and supposed by you to be those of Aletia, with the figures we have given. If this comparison does not satisfy j'ou, keep )'our chrysalides, covered with a little soil, in a closed glass jar, and compare the moths which will issue therefrom with the figure of Aletia which we have given. We hope you will then be convinced that your supposition is wrong. Aleurodes on Oxalis. — Inclosed are leaves from the "Oxalis" infested with an insect new in my experience ; be so kind as to say what it is. I fail, with the lens I have, to determine vvhich are eggs and which are larvae. I shall be very I30 THE AMERICAN ENTOMOLOGIST. glad if thy time will allow some attention to the subject. — S. A. Conard, West Grove P. O. The insect proves to be a species of Aleurodes in different stages of development. The eggs are elongate-oval and of a very light bluish- green color, more whitish toward the margins. They are pretty firmly attached to the surface of the leaf in an upright position b)' a short spini- form thread. Only one larva was to be found. It is elongate, and of a light green color. Both egg and young larva are difficult to observe, as they are quite small. The pupa is ova', flattened on two sides, uniformly greenish-white with the dark ej^es visible through the delicate and trans- parent shell. It is always firmly fastened to the leaf. Of winged imagos there are quite a number, both males and females, the sexes differing princi- pally in the form of the abdomen. The color of this winged form is bright yellow, eyes brown, an- tennjE, wings and legs white. This white color dis- appears entirely when the specimens are mounted in balsam, a fact which shows the importance of describing these insects from living specimens. The species is doubtless undescribed, as very little or no attention has so far been paid to this interesting family in this country. Larvae in stomach of Black Bass.— .S". A. /., Norma/, III. — Of the two larvae you send us as having been found in the stomach of a Black Bass {AficivpterHs salnioidcs). one is too imperfect to admit of determination. All that can be said about it is that it is a Coleopterous larva, perhaps belonging to the Dascillidcv. The other larva belongs to the Dytiscid,c, is allied to Cybistcr, but differs in the form of the head. From the larva oi Dytiscus it differs by its very slender maxillary palpi. We take it to be the larva of either Lnc- cophilus or Hydrocantktis, several species of which are very common. Insects from Stomach of Rock Bass,— I take it for granted that you will be at least as much interested in the subject of the food of fishes as in that of the food of birds, and 1 therefore send you a minute larva (or a part of one) which is not 'un- common in the stomachs of Rock Bass and Sun- fishes taken in the Illinois River in July. It is sometimes associated with such aqu.^tic insects as Corixa tiiinida, Hydroporus, and larvfe of Chi- ronomoiis ; and sometimes (in the common Sun- fish, Lepiopomus pallidus) with terrestrial insects washed in. I send you as nearly perfect an in- dividual as I have found, taken from the latter species.— S. A. Forbes, Normal, 111. Unfortunately the specimen sent by Prof. Forbes came to hand with the anal portion, which is of so much importance in determining many Coleopterous larvae, (for such it is) entirely want- ing. From the general structure of the remainder of the body we should say that it might be the larva of Cyphon, in which event it is not strictly aquatic but was washed into the water with mud. That it is Coleopterous there is no ques- tion ; that it is not aquatic is more than probable ; but for the rest there is no certainty. New Enemy to Sugar Cane. — The beetles of which I send you with this a few specimens have appeared in large quantities upon many of our sugar plantations, and are doing very much damage to our small canes. They eat to the centre of the cane under ground and destroy the inside just above the mother stock for some two inches. As many as 56 have been found in 15 inches length of row The}' threaten to become a very serious pest. Can you give me any informa- tion regarding them and what means, if any, can be taken to protect the sugar plants from them ? — D. Th., Patterson ville, St. Mary's Parish, La. The species is IJgyrus rugiceps and has been previously reported to us from the same region of countrj', especially from Baton Rouge, as in- jurious to young corn and grasses, in the same [Fig. Kl .\ simple form of field lamp. manner as decsribed by our correspondent to sugar cane. We cannot find that this habit of injuring sugar cane by this beetle has been any- where previously recorded. The natural history of this species is absolutely unknown, so that it is impossible to suggest any remedy based there- on. The beetles are no doubt attracted by light, and might be killed in great numbers by use of the ordinary lamps and kerosene pans employed to attract the Cotton Moth and illustrated in the recent Bulletin which we issued on that insect. We reproduce a figure of one of the simpler forms of these lamps, the pan of which should be partly filled with water and kerosene. THE AMERICAN ENTOMOLOGIST. 131 Parasites of the Plum Curculio. — Some of the members of our Ithaca Farmers' Club sa}' that you know of an insect which will kill out the Plum Curculio completely in three 3'ears, if intro- duced and cultivated. They wish to know if this is so, and to cultivate such enemy to the Cur- culios which have been uncommonly injurious here the past season. For them 1 make the above inquiry, but am inclined to think some- body has misunderstood you. — W. S. Barnard, Ithaca, N. Y. The statement alluded to by our correspondent is undoubtedly based upon what we wrote nearly ten years ago on certain parasites of the Plum Curculio, having (3d Missouri Report, pp. 24-29) there shown that there were two such in existence. We quote portions of our account of the most common and wide-spread of these parasites and herewith introduce figures which will cause them to be recognized : Just 10 [now 20] years ago, in his "Address on the Curculio," delivered at the annual meeting of the N. Y. State Agricultural Society, Dr. Fitch gave an account, accompanied with a figure, of a small Ichneumon-fly which he named Sigalp/itis cuiridionis, and which he believed was parasitic on the Curculio. Before that time no parasite had ever been known to attack this pestilent little weevil, and even up to the present time it is currently believed that no such parasite exists ; for unfortunately the evidence given by Dr. Fitch [Fig. 49.] SiGALHHUS CUKCULION (after Riley). was not sufficient to satisfy some of our most eminent entomologists. These [)arasites were in fact received by him from Mr. D. W. Beadle of St. Catherines, C. W., who had bred them from Black-knot, from which he bred at the same time a certain number of Curculios ; but as other worms besides those of the Curculio are likewise found in Black-knot, we had no absolute proof that this fly was parasitic on the insect \*n. question. Consequently we find that Mr. Walsh, in his Re- port as Acting State Entomologist of Illinois, rather ridicules the idea of its being a Curculio- pyphen parasite and endeavors to prove that it is parasitic instead on the larva of his Plum Moth {Semasia pritnivom). But I have this year not only proved that poor Walsh was himself wrong in this particular inference, but that he was equally wrong in supposing his little Plum Moth, so called, to be confined to plums ; for I have bred it from Galls (Quercus frondasa Bassett) ; from haws, from crab apples, and abundantly from tame apples. To be brief, Dr. Fitch's Siga/f'hus is a true parasite on the Plum Curculio and I have bred hundreds of the flies from Curculio larva3. The first bred specimens gave me much pleasure, for as soon as I saw the}^ belonged to the same genus as Dr. Fitch's fly, I felt assured that another dis- puted question was settled. But to make assur- ance doubly sure, I repeatedly half filled large jars with pure earth, finely sifted so that no liv- ing animal remained in it. Into these jars I placed Curculio larvje from day to day as they issued from peaches that were thrown into another vessel, and in due time the parasitic flies began to issue from the ground along with the perfect Curculios. Nay more than this, I soon learned to distinguish such Curculio larvse as were parasitised, and after they had worried thehiselves under the ground — seldom more than half an inch— I would uncover them, and on several occasions had the satisfaction of watching the gnawing worm within reduce its victim until finally nothing was left of him. As soon as the Curculio larva is destroyed by the parasite, the latter (Fig. 49, a) encloses itself in a tough little yellowish cocoon of silk (Fig. 49, />), then gradu- ally assumes the pupa state (Fig. 49, c) and at the end of about the same length of time that the Curculio requires to undergo ils transformations and issue as a beetle, this, its deadly foe, gnaws a hole through its cocoon and issues to the light of day asablack four-winged fly (Fig. 50,(7, male; b, female). In the vicinity of St. Louis, this fly was so common the past season, that after very careful estimates, I am satisfied three-fourths of all the more early developed Curculio larvse were destroyed by it. As Mr. Walsh bred this same parasite from the larvaj of his little Plum Moth, it doubtless at- [Fig. 50.] tacks other soft-bodied larv;e and does not con- fine itself to the Plum Curculio. This is the more likely as it would scarcely pass the winter in the fly state. The female, with that wonderful in- stinct which is exhibited in such a surpassing de- gree in the insect world, knows as well as we great Lords of Creation what the little crescent mark upon a peach or plum indicates ; and can doubt- less tell with more surety, though she never re- ceived a lesson from her parents, whether or not a Curculio larva is drilling its way through the fruit. When she has once ascertained the pres- ence of such a larva by aid of her antennse — which she deftly applies to difterent parts of the fruit, and which doubtless possess some occult and delicate sense of perception, which, with our comparatively dull senses, we are unable to com- prehend—then she pierces the fruit, and with un- erring precision, deposits a single egg in her victim, by means of her ovipositor. Now there is a variety (7-21/21 s) of this parasite, with the ovipositor nearly one-fifth of an inch long, but in the normal form the ovipositor is only twelve-hundredths of an inch long, and the Curculio larva must therefore be reached soon after it hatches, or while yet very young. Conse- 132 THE AMERICAN ENTOMOLOGIST. quently wc find that the earliest Curciilio larvse, or those which hatch wliile the fruit is 3'et small, are the most subject to be parasitised, and while from larva obtained early in the season, I bred more parasites than Curculios, this order of things was reversed a little later in the year. Blister Beetles from New Mexico — J. M., Silver City, N. M., have been received. The large Blister Beetle you send is J/ai^/viasis aZ/i/c/a, very common in the south west, and, as you sug- gest, beyond doubt valuable as a vesicant. There is no reason why these beetles, where they can be easil}^ obtained in large quantities, should not be used as a substitute for the Spanish Cantharides. The smaller beetle is a Diplotaxis, altogether too much broken to determine specificall}'. and it has not, as far as it is known, any visicatory properties. Abnormal Cocoon. — I have collected many Callosainia proiiiethea (Drury) cocoons here, but to-da}^ I have found on the maple a cocoon sus- pended like C. promcthea and having the same general form, but with the following peculiarities: I, it occurred on a twig of the sugar maple ; 2, it is only one-fourth the usual size ; 3, it is woven very thin, loose and transparent, without a leaf involved ; 4, the moth has already appeared and deposited about fifty eggs in a frothy hard mass over one side of the cocoon. What can this be ? — W. S. B., Ithaca, N. Y. The cocoon which was kindly sent for inspection is simply a stunted specimen of that of Orgyia antiqtin. It had been fastened to a twig, which is an abnormal position, and by winds or some other means had become partly detached except at one point, the silk which had been spun along the twig twisting and forming the suspensory band. Its real character is shown alike by the texture of the cocoon, the nature of the eggs and of the chrysalis shell and larval exuvium. Insects found about Orange Trees.— 7. .S'. Barnwell, M. D., Darieii, OV?.— The insects you send and which you found on Orange trees are as follow : (i) a species of Aphis in various stages of maturity. Whether or not this species has been described is hard to say, but it is the only one among the insects you send which is really injurious to the plant, when it appears in large numbers on the young leaves. Among j^our spe- cimens are the following enemies of the Aphis just alluded to: (i) a lady-bird {Chilocorus bivul- nerus), the small, round, shining, black beetle with a red spot on the middle of each wing-case, and the abdomen red ; (2) the larva of the forego- ing species, which is easily recognizable by its body being covered with very stout, long, black prickly spines ; (3) the larva of another lady-bird too much injured to allow any exact determina- tion ; (4) a Syrphus ily, the larvaj of which genus are known to feed on Aphides. The following species have no particular connection with the Orange trees, and their presence on or near such is merely accidental, {i) Neoclytus erythroceph- alus, a Longicorn beetle knowri to bore in Elm, Hackberry and other deciduous trees; (2) Dras- tcriiis amabilis, the larva of which, belonging to the so-called "Wire Worms," is known to be in- jurious by feeding on the tender roots of wheat; (3) Platyniis punctiformis, which is one of the commonest species of Ground-beetles in the Southern States, and which is a very beneficial insect by feeding on injurious species; (4) larvae of a species of Forficiila or Earwig, which is frequently met with in the South under old, moist bark, or at the base of trees; (5) Gryllotalpa borealis or the northern mole-cricket, an Orthop- terous insect widely distributed in this country and very remarkable from the form of its front legs, which resemble the ' 'hands" of a mole. This insect burrows usuallj' in wet ground on the margin of ponds and swamps, but has also been reported occasionall}' as doing some harm by burrowing in dr}^ ground and cutting off the ten- der roots of plants. It is, however, by no means as injurious as the European species {G. 7'tilgnris); (6) Psociis 7ieiiosiis, a Neuropterous insect which is commonly met with in old, dead branches, and feeds upon the lichens and fungi growing in such places. In sending insects in future for determination, it will be well to separate aud number each species, to facilitate reference. Descriptive Department. LUPERUS BRUNNEUS {Crotch). After a careful examination of the Liiperns mentioned in our March number as injurious to hollyhocks and corn silk and to which we had given the MS. name of iioxius, it proves to be but a pale race of L. brunneiis Crotch. A comparison of the same with a typical specimen of L. briinueiis which Dr. LeConte has been kind enough to send us shows that the two cannot well be separated specifically. The typical specimen of bruinieiis is of a uniform brown color above and has the elytra sparsel}' and finely punctulate, while all the specimens from Kansas are of a pale ochreous color with the outer joints of the antennae, the side margin of thorax, scutellum, suture and side margin of elytra darker. Other specimens in our cabinet from Texas are brown with the thorax ochreous. The sculpture of thorax and elytra varies, being in some specimens finerand sparser than in others. This species can only be confounded with L. inortilus Lee, both differing from all other North American species of this genus by the stouter antenna? with the second and third joints together hardly longer than the fourth, and especially by the sexual characters. The last abdominal joint of the 3 is not transversely impressed but only slightly flattened at middle; it is truncate at apex, and has each side a longitudinal slit extending from the margin to the middle of the joint. This division represents, according to Dr. LeConte (Proc. Ac. Nat. Sc. Phil. 1865, p. 210) the genus Calotiiicrus Stephens. Luperus moruhis Lee, dif- fers from bruniieus by its more slender form, its deep black color, less transverse thorax, with the angles less rounded, and by its more finely punctulate surface. THTU Vol. Ill -se'^i^s, Vol.1 NEW YORK, JUNE, 1880, No. 6, PUBLISHED MONTHLY BY THE HUB PUBLISHING CO. of n. y. 323 Pearl St., New Vork. TERMS Two dollars per annum, in advance. EDITORS : RILEY, Editor Washington, D. C. .... Ridgewood, N. J. CHAS A. S. FULLER, Assistant Ed NOTES ON OUR COMMONER INSECTS. THE EDITOR. The Isabella Tiger-moth (Arctia \Pyrrharctia\ isabella,'S>m\\.\\). Every one who reads this has doubtless seen the black-and-tan caterpillar which we herewith illustrate (Fig. 51,^?), but not [Fig. Hedgehog C.-^teri'ILlak : — a, larva ; 3, cocoon partly cut open to show chrysalis ; c, moth (after Riley). every one is familiar with the moth which this caterpillar produces. Harris, in his well-known work on Injurious Insects, gives a figure of the larva and a brief descrip- tion, and Mr. B. Pickman Mann, in a recent number oi Psyche (vol. ii, p. 270), gives a further description, with some account of the variations in color, and with the state- ment that he is not aware of any other published description than that of Harris. On page 143 of our 4th report on the " In sects of Missouri," we gave the following account of it, in connection with the figures here used : The larva of this insect (Fig. 51, a) is ver)' com- mon with us, and is familiarly known by the name of the Hedgehog caterpillar. It is thickly cov- ered with stiff black hairs on each end, and with reddish hairs on the middle of the bod}'. These hairs are pretty evenly and closely shorn, so as to give the animal a velvety look ; and as they have a certain elasticity, and the caterpillar curls up at the slightest touch, it generally manages to slip away when taken into the hand. It feeds on plantain, clover, dandelion, grasses, and a variety of other plants, and after passing the winter in some sheUcred spot, rolled up like a hedgehog, it comes out in the spring to feed upon the first herbaceous vegetation, and finally spins its co- coon (Fig. 51, /') and goes through its transforma- tions. The cocoon is composed principally of the caterpillar's hairs (which are barbed) interwoven with coarse silk. The chrysalis is brown, with tufts of very short, golden bristles, indicating the position of the larval warts, and with a tuft of barbs at the extremity. The moth is of a dull orange color, with the front wings variegated with dusky, and spotted with black, and the hind wings somewhat lighter and also with dark spots. In some parts of Missouri this caterpillar is called the "Fever-worm," a term which originated in the South, and is more parti- cularly applied to another larger and jet- black caterpillar, with stiffer spines (larva of Ecpantluria scribonia Stoll). There is but one annual generation of this insect in New England and Canada, according to authors, but even that far north fresh moths frequently issue in the Fall of the year. In Missouri they quite commonly issue during August and Sep- tember, or early enough to beget another generation of larvae, and there can be little doubt but that the species is double-brood- ed in the more southern States. The variation in the color of this cater- '34 THE AMERICAN ENTOMOLOGIST. pillar is great. While it is more commonly marked with red and black, as indicated in our figure, the one color often encroaches more or less upon the other, so that we may have every gradation from individuals that are entirely black to those which are entirely red, and we have seen specimens illustrating all the gradations. The very young larvae usually have most black. But the variation is not confined to the relative amount of these two colors. In the summer of 1870 we found a larva which had so different an appearance that we naturally concluded th'at it belonged to some other species. It was uniformly cov- [Fig. 5-.] Ol'HiON MACRURUM (from American Naturalist). ered with much larger, rufous hairs, tipped with black. On Sept. 20 of that y^ar it changed its skin, eating up the shed skin entirely, and assumed the normal charac- teristics given in our figure. Mr. John Hamilton, of Alleghany, Pa., some years afterwiird communicated to us the follow- ing exjjerience of a similar variation : I captured several of the images near the ist of September. On the 5th of August I found two larva; under drift on the river bank, which I did not recognize as Isabellas at the time ; they were covered with mouse-colored hair, not evenl}' clipped in appearance, but long and soft, and among them were blackish-brown ones, about half-and-half on the two anterior and two pos- terior segments, but scarcely noticeable on the intermediate ones. They spun cocoons on the 6th, and disclosed on the 17th one $ and one ^ , the female a regular Isabella, the male very pale, and the secondaries almost white. I was quite surprised to discover Isabellas disclosing from such larv?e. Other imagos captured a week or two later were all 5 and without any peculiarity. At least four distinct parasites attack this caterpillar, a fact which shows that its stiff hairs are no protection to it, and it is noteworthy that all these parasites belong to tiie group with short ovipositors. We have reared the uniformly honey-yellow Op/lion macriiriim Linn. (Fig. 52), or Long- tailed Ophion, from its chrysalis, the para- site forming a tough cocoon of a deep bronze color within it. We have also reared from it the Ichneumon cccrulcus Cress., the fly issuing from the chrysalis, but making no cocoon of its own. It is a beautiful, steel-blue species, with yellowish-white marks around the eyes, on the neck and thorax, and on the legs, the female being distinguished from the male by having a mark of the same pale color on the lop of the antennae about their mid- dle, but less white around the eyes, about the face and on the legs. Mr. O. S. West- cott has reared from the Isabella chrysalis another beautiful Ichneumon {^Ichneumon sii^^natipcs Cr.), which is characterized by its black head and thorax and deep brown- ish-red abdcmen, and by a yellowish an- nulus just beyond the middle of the anten- nae, one on each of the tibiae, and, besides other yellowish marks, one conspicuous spot on the scutellum or about the middle of the tliorax. A fourth parasite was reared by Mr. Westcott, namely, the Saf- fron-horned Trogus {Trogits obsidianator Brulle), a large black species, with smoky wings, and the feelers and part of the front legs of a saffron-yellow. THE ROMANCE OP A CATERPILLAR. BV \VM. C. WYCKOFF. \_Concluded from p. 114.] There is yet another Japanese legend connected with this subject ; it accounts for improvements in the weaver's art. This story has been recently told in a French newspaper, the Journal dc FAin. The Japanese, like tlie Chinese, regard filial l)iety as the highest of the virtues. In this respect the hero of the tale, Toung Young, was a model son. When his mother died, he beggared himself to procure a coffin. Shortly afterwards his father also died, and the youth sold himself, so as to be able to meet the exi~)enses of the funeral THE AMERICAN ENTOMOLOGIST. 35 and of embalming the remains. These rites finished, Toung Young went to de- liver himself to his purchaser. While on his way, he suddenly met a girl of rare and striking beauty. To his great surprise she offered to share his fortunes. He explained the difficulties of his position, and she agreed to go with him to his employer and give her services in weaving. The residt of this arrangement was that within a month she wove a hundred pieces of silk of new and marvelous patterns, which she offered as a ransom for Toung Young, and they were accepted. The young man, freed from obligations to his employer, started to return home, along with the beauteous maid, seemingly on domestic bliss intent. But when the time for appre- ciating blessings has come, they usually take their flight. On reaching the place where they had first met, the girl bade the young man farewell. She had been sent, she told him, from Heaven, to reward his piety ; and now her mission was accom- plished. She immediately ascended to the sky. The deserted swain went back to his employer and resumed the business of silk- weaving. By carefully imitating the de- signs of the fabrics made by the beautiful being, new goods were produced far su- perior to the ordinary patterns, and the fortunes of Toung Young were assured. The story of the introduction of the silk- worm into Europe has been often told. Two Nestorian monks, it is said, brought the eggs from China. The hollow of the staff which it was customary for every pil- grim to carry, served as a place for con- cealing the eggs. The monks presented themselves and their curiosities to the Em- peror Justinian, A. D. 555. Under their direction the eggs were hatched and the worms fed on leaves of the wild mulberry. From this brood all the silkworms of Eu- rope sprang. Some modern critics have thrown a doubt over this tale. It bears a striking likeness to other and earlier le- gends. One of these sets forth that Kho- tan, a country on the Persian Gulf, was and had always been destitute of silk- worms and mulberry trees. Unsuccess- ful efforts had been made to obtain the worms from other nations, and an official embassy encountered refusal. But event- ually the coveted insects were procured by stratagem. The daughter of an eastern king was affianced to the sovereign of Khotan, and she brought to him not only herself, but also, enwrapped in her turban, the eggs of the silkworm and the seed of the mulberry tree. There can be no doubt that the secrets of silkworm culture were sedulously guarded by the Chinese for many centuries. At the present day there is a considerable party in Japan opposed to the shipment of silkworm eggs from that country, deeming such export con- trary to sound public policy. Neverthe- less, large quantities are shipped to France and Italy, every year. Whether the story of the conveyance of silkworm eggs by Nestorian monks be true or false, it is quite certain that Justinian effected a total revolution in the silk in- dustry. The measures which he took were vigorous and oppressive, the object being to destroy the trade of Persia. It has been said of the great European contest which began with a struggle for the pos- session of the spice islands, that " all Christ- endom went to war for the sake of a gilly- flower." It would be no exaggeration to say, similarly, that the history of mankind was changed on account of the silkworm. We have the authority of the historian Finlay for asserting that the great transfer of civilization from the Hellenic to the Semitic races, which took place in the sixth century, was largely due to the alterations in the currents of trade which Justinian effected. By diverting the commerce with China from its old course through Persia to a new route by Arabia and the Red Sea, fresh life was stirred in the Saracen race, and a pathway was opened for Moham- med's career. When the empire of the Saracens was at its zenith, silk culture and silk manufac- tures were added to the commerce with the farther East, which had already proved a large element of prosperity. The Arabian tales are full of allusions to silk. It was 136 THE AMERICAN ENTOMOLOGIST. the material of the tapestry hangings in the great halls of that enchanted castle where the young king of the Black Isles miserably languished, while he received every day a cowhiding at the hands of his unfaithful spouse. The trade in silk, car- ried by caravans from one city to another, is frequently alluded to : a merchant, dy- ing at Damascus, left, we are told, loo loads of brocac'es and other silks there, made up in bales, ready to be sent to Bag- dad, and the narrative shows that the son felt it a matter of filial duly as well as a good business venture to carry out his father's project by traveling with the goods to the Moslem capital. The gilded youth of that day, if desirous to see the world, usually made the grand tour in a caravan. Bales of silk formed a considerable part of the riches of the robbers' cave, whose door yielded to the words " Open sesame ! " and made the fortunes of Ali Baba. There is a neat story of a jjractical joke practiced by the Caliph Haroun Alraschid on an ob- scure citizen of Bjgdad : the man was stu- pefied by a powerful narcotic, and while in this condition was carried into the palace and put to bed. The next morning he was greeted with every attention and cere- mony as the Commander of the Faithful, while the real Caliph watched him through a lattice and enjoyed his bewilderment. The fun was fast and furious, but it came very near being spoiled by the uncontrol- able mirth that ensued when a pair of silken dr P- 159)) by Berkeley, under the name of Cordyceps ravenelii, and as this was doubt- less the first description of it connected with a name, the fungus must hereafter be known as Torrubia ravenelii — all subse- quent names being synonyms. Mr. Berkeley gives, in the paper already alluded to, the following species of ento- mogenous species of Cordyceps which were at that time known : C. tnilitaris and cutomorrhiza are com- mon to Europe and the United States. C. myrf?iecop/iila is found in England and Italy. C. gracilis in Scotland and Algiers. C. sinensis in China, where it is used as a drug. C. gunni and taylori in Australia. C. sinclairii and robertsii in New Zea- land. C. racemosa and falcata at Myrong in the Khazia mountains of Bengal. C. anneniaca in South Carolina. C. sobolifera and sphecocephala in the West Indies. C. larvata in Cayenne. This list shows that the entomogenous SphcEricB predominate in warm or equable climates. He then describes four other species from South Carolina, and we quote his description of C. ravenelii in full, with the simple remark that Ancylonycha is the old Dejeanian genus for Lachnosterna. Cordyceps ravenelii. Berk, and Curtis ; fusca, stipite elongate fiexuoso sulcato compresso glab- riusculo, capitulo C3'lindrico attenuate longiore ; peritheciis superficialibus. Curt. No. 3080, Rav. No. 1272. On larvse of Ancylonycha Dejean, or Rhizotro- gus Latreille, buried one or two inches in the earth. Spring and summer. South Carolina' Rev. M. A. Curtis and H. W. Ravenel, Esq. Brown. Stem 2 inches or more high, flexuous, compressed or grooved, at first minutely to- mentose, at length smooth ; head 3^ inch long, c)'lindrical, but sliglitly attenuated at either end. Perithecia free, ovate; asci very long; sporidia (Fig. 55, a) very long, filiform, breaking up into joints 15(55 of an inch long. This species has very much the habit of C. sinensis, and Mr. Berkeley remarks that none of the entomogenous species de- scribed by himself from South Carolina " are completely isolated from the rest, for Cordyceps palustris resembles C. sobolifera; C stylopJwra and acicularis are connected [Fig. 55.] Fructification of White Grub Fungus (after Berkeley). through C ravenelii with C. sinensis ; and C. armeniaca calls to mind the apricot-col- ored C luyrmecophila. Besides these spe- cies I have received C. niilitaris from South Carolina, where C entomorrhiza also oc- curs under a very fine form." The following references to this fungus are enumerated here as additional to those in purely scientific publications, and be- cause they are liable to be overlooked by mycologists: Kirtland, J. P. {Prairie Farmer, July 29, 1865, p. 71), briefly refers to it, in an article on Pear 140 THE AMERICAN ENTOMOLOGIST. Tree Blight, as "a fungoid growth from the larva of the Melolontha or May-bug," as having long been known to be of a vegetable nature. B. D. Walsh {Practical Eutomolo;-ist, vol. ii, Nos. II and 12, p. 116, 1867) refers to a larva of the Ma3'-bug, {Lachnostcrna qucrcina) attacked by this fungus. This specimen was sent by Mr. Gilbert, of Tipton, Cedar Co., Iowa. "When found the shoot [fungusj was of a light green color, and thrifty." " There were large numbers of such specimens turned up by the plough, and the root [fungus] came from the worm in exactly the same part of the body in all." B. D. Walsh {American Entomologist, vol. i, No. 4, p. 77, December, 1868). The writer refers to this fungus, a specimen of which had been sent to the Sedalia (Pettis Co., Mo.) Press by Mr. W. B. Porter. This article is an abstract of Walsh's article in the Practical Entomologist re- ferred to above. American Entomologist (vol. i. No. 5, p. 92, January, 1869) gives a communication of Mr. S. H. Y. Early, of Va., according to whom the White Grub fungus is very common in Virginia, where the negroes believe that it produces a white mush- room which is poisonous and fatal to hogs. C. V. Riley {Scientific American, June i, 1872). A box with specimens of this fungus had been sent by Mr. A. J. B., of Kansas, for determin- ation, and a figure thereof is given, with an ex- planation of the fungus growth. Mr. F. S. {Rural World, June 8, 1872,) writes to the editors of that journal that this fungus was very commonly found in Kansas in the spring of 1869 and 1872. T. J. Burril {Country Gentleman, August 27, 1874), while speaking of the depredations of Lachnosterna larvje mentions that these grubs are also attacked b)^ a fungus " which ultimately grows out of their mouth, three or four times the length of the body of the insect, of course killing T. J. Burril {Rural World, May 15 (?), 1874), while speaking of a larva, which, " save its size, corresponds perfectly with that of the common striped squash beetle {Diabrotica vittata)" and which was attacked by a fungus in a similar way as the large White Grub {Lachnosterna fusca). This fungus he refers to Cordiceps, C. V. Riley (6th_ Missouri Report, 1874, p. 123), in an article on the White Grub Parasite {Tiphia inornata Say) mentions that the White Grub "is at times extensively destro)'ed by a parasitic cryptogamic plant {Tormina militaris Tul.)," which Mr. W. R. Gerard of Poughkeep- sie, N. Y., is inclined to refer to 7'. cinerea Tul. On page 125 this fungus is figured. C. V. Riley {Rural World, June 12, 1875) pro- poses the name of Torrubia clongata for the White Grub fungus, and gives two figures of it. The specimens referred to in this article came from various localities in Missouri. C. V. Riley (New York Weekly Tribune, Oct. 4, 1877), refers briefly to the deve'lopment of this fungus. Weekly New York Sun, September 12, 1878, mentions the common occurrence of this fungus' especially in the South and West, and the great help this fungus gives in checking the numbers of the White Grubs. A very primitive figure accompanies this article. E. A. Popenoe {Kans. Farmer, date unknown) figures the fungus and briefly describes its ap- pearance, and says that it occurs very numerously m some locality, referring to Riley's 6th Report THE HESSIAN PLY. SUMMARY OK ITS HAEIIS AND OF CHFXKING IT.* HE MEANS 1. There are two broods of the fly, the first laying their eggs on the leaves of the young wheat from early April till the end of May, the time varying with the latitude and weather ; the second brood appearing during August and September, and laying about 30 eggs on the leaves of the young winter wheat. 2. The eggs hatch in about four days after tliey are laid ; several of the maggots or larvj^ make their way down to the sheathing base of the leaf and remain be- tween the base of the leaves and the stem, near the roots, causing the stalks to swell and the plant to turn yellow and die. By the end of November, or from 30 to 40 days after the wheat is sown, they assume the " flaxseed " state, and may, on removing the lower leaves, be found as little brown, oval, cylindrical, smooth bodies, a little smaller than grains of rice. They remain in the wheat until during warm weather in April, when the larva rapidly transforms into the pupa within its flaxseed-skin, the fly emerging from the flaxseed case about the end of April. The eggs laid by this first or spring brood of flies, soon hatch ; the second brood of maggots live but a few weeks ; the flaxseed state is soon under- gone and the autumn or second brood of flies appear in August. (In some cases there may be two autumn broods, the earliest August brood giving rise to a third set of flies in September.) 3. There are several destructive Ichneu- mon parasites of the Hessian Fly, whose combined attacks are supposed to destroy about nine-tenths of all the flies hatched ; of these the most important is the Chalcid four-winged fly {^Seviiotellns destructor), which infests the flaxseed ; and the egg- parasite {Fiatygaster). 4. By sowing a part of the wheat early, and if affected by the fly, ploughing and sowing the rest afteY September 20th, the ♦From advanced sheets of Bulletin No. 4, U. S. E. C, by A. S. Packard, Jr., M. D. THE AMERICAN ENTOMOLOGIST. 14] wheat crop may in most cases be saved. It should be remembered that the first brood should be thus circumvented or de- stroyed in order that a second brood may not appear. 5. If the wheat be only partially affected it may be saved by fertilizers and careful cultivation ; or a badly damaged field of winter wheat may thus be recuperated in the spring. 6. Pasturing with sheep and consequent close cropping of the winter wheat in No- vember and early December may cause many of the eggs, larvae and flaxseeds to be destroyed ; also, rolling the ground may have nearly the same effect. 7. Sowing hardy varieties. The Under- bill Mediterranean wheat, and especially the Clawson variety, which tillers vigorously, should be sown in preference to the slighter, less vigorous kinds, in a region much in- fested by the fly. The early August sown wheat might be Diehl, the late sown Claw- son. 8. Of special remedies, the use of lime, soot or salt may be recommended; also raking off the stubble ; but too close cut- ting of the wheat and burning of the stub- ble are of doubtful use, as this destroys the useful parasites as well as the flies. PROBABLE GEOGRAPHICAL LIMITS OF THE HESSIAN FLY. The question naturally arises whether this pest will ever infest the wheat regions of Western Dakota, Montana, Utah, Col- orado, and the Pacific States and Terri- tories. We believe not, though aware that such a statement may be hazardous. It was originally an inhabitant of Central and Southern Europe ; it has become accli- mated in the Eastern, Atlantic and Middle States, in the valley of the upper St. Law- rence and in the valley of the Mississippi River ; that it can thrive in the elevated, dry Rocky Mountain plateau regions, with- stand the cool nights and dry, hot at- mosphere of the Far West, seems very doubtful. At least so slowly has it spread westward ; so slight an amount of wheat or straw is transported, all produce of this kind going eastward, that we doubt whether during this century at least it will extend west of Kansas and Minnesota, where it has already had a foothold for several years. _ THE TRUE AND THE BOGUS YUCCA MOTH; WITH REMARKS ON THE POLLINATION OF YUCCA. BY THE EDITOR. In our first article on Pronuba yuaasella, read before the St. Louis Academy of Science, September 2, 1872, we referred to a smaller, apodous larva that is frequently found in the seed-pods of Yucca aloifolia, sometimes in considerable numbers, feed- ing upon the flesh of the fruit. We stated at the time that " it may be traced from slight depressions on the outside, and shows Hymenopterous affinities. It oc- casionally gnaws into the seed from the outside, but its legless character at once distinguishes it from the larva of Fronuba." In our attempts to get further specimens of the larva and to rear it, we have been led to the discovery of the curious little moth characterized in the Descriptive De- partment of this number as Prodoxus decipiens. For while the larva certainly does show " Hymenopterous affinities " and is well calculated to deceive, especi- ally when it has the pale color, as when found inhabiting the fruit as above quoted, yet it turns out to be Lepidopterous. Fur- ther experience shows, however, that it is by no means confined to the fruit, but in- fests far more commonly the flower-stems of different species of Yucca and particu- larly Y. rupicola. In the winter and spring of 1879 we received flower-stems of Y. aloifolia and Y. gloriosa collected on different occasions in various Southern States by Mr. E. A. Schwarz and contain- ing this larva. The moth was reared by us from these specimens in considerable numbers in May 1879. The species proved to be identical with specimens received some years before from Dr. J. H. Melli- champ, of Bluffton, S. C, who took them from Yucca flowers. Though smaller in size and lacking some of the essential 142 THE AMERICAN ENTOMOLOGIST. characters of Fronuba, it nevertheless so closely resembles it in general appearance that upon studying its characters we marked it in our cabinet with the name with which it is here christened. In passing through Dallas, Texas, in July 1879, we stopped over to make a call on Mr. Jacob Boll, having learned that he had also bred what he considered to be Fronuba from the flower-stems of Y. rupicola, and we at once saw that the insect which he had so bred was this Frodoxus. Before the Entomological Club of the American Association for the Advancement of Science, at its meeting in Saratoga last August, we gave a brief account of this Frodoxus, showing how it differs from Fronuba in the genitalia of the male ; in wanting the characteristic maxillary tentacle of the fe- male ; in inclining to maculation ; in the larva having no legs ; in the characters of the chrysalis, and in habit. We also ven- tured the opinion that its existence ac- counted for various experiences that led Messrs Boll and Chambers to certain un- warranted conclusions regarding Pronuba. In a paper on the fertilization of Yucca, read before section B, at the same meeting of the Association, Mr. Thomas Meehan, editor of the Gardeners MontJily, gave some experience with the fructification of Yucca angustifolia, endeavoring to show that Fronuba is always abundant in the flowers of this species of Yucca, which blooms two or three weeks earlier than Y. filamentosa, but that notwithstanding the presence oi Fronuba the former plant never produced fruit unless he himself artificially poUinized it. We then made the point that the moths seen by Mr. Meehan upon the flowers of Yucca angustifolia^tx&^xohdXAy this Frodoxus, in which event the inference which Mr. Meehan drew from his facts, namely, that because Pronuba did not poUinize Y. angusti folia, therefore it did not pollinize Y. filamentosa, would fall to the ground, as would also the statements in the following paragraph which we quote from his paper : Pronuba yuccasella, the Yucca Moth, has for years abounded on my flowers of the Yticca fit- ameniosa. It has not been known to visit an)' other plant than Yucca. Yucca angustifolia be- gins to flower from three to two weeks and its blossoming is all over before Yucca filamentosa begins to open. The facts now adduced show that the moths exist weeks before the flowers bloom with which they have been so intimately connected, feeding of course on other flowers, and would perhaps make use of other fruits as depositaries for their eggs if Yucca should not exist. At any rate the facts weaken any belief we may have that the Yucca and Yucca Moth, through the long ages, have become mutually adapted to each other through a fancied mutual benefit. We recently learned from Mr. Meehan that he had discovered and sent to Dr. Hagen, of Caml)ridge, what the latter con- sidered a Coleopterous larva, boring in the flower-stem of Yucca, and we at once inferred that this might possibly be the same larva with which we are now dealing, its presence in Mr. Meehan's plants giving fresh warrant for the explanation which we offered of his facts presented last autumn. Dr. Hagen has not been willing to favor us with a specimen of said larva, but informed us recently that it had trans- formed and proved to be not Coleopte- rous. We have long been familiar with the facts brought forward by Mr. Meehan as to the non-seeding of Yucca angustifolia, and in a paper read before the St. Louis Academy of Science (vol. iii, p. 570), thus alluded to them : An interesting fact connected with Yucca pol- lination came to my notice in the summer of 1876. I have elsewhere shown that the Pronuba larva, as it lies in the cocoon underground, is not sus- ceptible to the forcing influences that hasten the development of most other insects. The moths usually issue in St. Louis too late to pollinize the flowers of Yucca angustifolia. This species blooms from two to three weeks earlier than Y. filamentosa, which, with its varieties, is most commonly cultivated. As a consequence, the former very rarely produces seed. One of the rare occasions on which it did so was in the year stated, in the garden of Dr. Engelmann. All the early flowers at the base of the raceme fell infertile, but a few of the very latest at the apex were fruc- tified, and, as the subsequent discovery of the Pronuba larva in the capsules proved, they had been duly visited by the moth. It was undoubtedly this Frodoxus which caused Mr. V. T. Chambers to assert that Fronuba yuccasella was sometimes spotted, and which led us {loc. cit.) to make the fol- lowing criticism of his statement : THE AMERICAN ENTOMOLOGIST. 143 " In a recent Bulletin of Hayden's Geological and Geographical Survey of the Territo7-ies (vol. iii, No. i) is an extended article by Mr. V. T. Chambers on ' The Tineina of Colorado,' in which, on the very first page (121 of the Bulletin) the following paragraph occurs : " Prottuba yuccasella Riley. — Very abundant in the flowers of 'soap-weed' ( Yucca) as high up on the mountains as 7,000 feet, in the vicinity of Colorado Springs. Mr. Rile\' says (Fifth An- nual Report Noxious and Beneficial Insects of Mis- souri, p. 151), ' Front wings uniformly silvery- white,' but at least half of the numerous speci- mens observed by me in Colorado had the wings more or less spotted with black (like Hypono- meuta, to which in the form and neuration of the wings it seems somewhat allied, though its affi- nities seem to be rather with the true Titieidcs ; it is, however, sui generis). These spots vary in number from o to 13, and when all are present are arranged as follows : one (the largest) at the end of the disk, with three others before it, making a coffin-shaped figure ; one on the dorsal margin before the cilia, and eight others around the apex. The one at the end of the cell is found oftener than any of the others, and those around the apex oftener than the other four. The ex- panse of wings is given by Mr. Riley at i. 00 inch for the 2 and 0.90 inch for the 6 . The largest 2 specimen observed by me scarcely exceeded 10 lines and the smallest ^ was scarcely 6 lines, so that it seems to attain a greater development of wings in the east than in the west, contrary to the rule said by Prof, Baird, Dr. Packard, and others, to prevail among other insects and birds." " The statements in the above extract are al- together erroneous, being based upon mistaken identity. A careful examination of these sup- posed spotted Pronubas which I have been per- mitted to make, through the courtesy of Dr. H. A. Hagen, of Cambridge, Mass., whither Mr. Chambers had sent all his examples, enables me to state positively that the spotted moths which Mr C. mistook {or Pronuba yuccasella are, in reality, Hyponomeuta ; and, what is the more remarkable, they are one of Mr. C.'s own de- scribed species — H. ^-punctella. Of the six specimens submitted to me, there was but one Pronuba, and that was immaculate, as the species always is. The spots orx Hyponomeuta are very variable, while some individuals of i^-punctella are immaculate, when at first sight they might be mistaken for Pronuba. Setting aside the less easily observed venation, this Hyponomeuta may at once be distinguished from Pronuba by its smaller size, narrower and at the same time less pointed wings, and more pearly-white color. The (, differs in the anal hooks, and the 2 in having the ovipositor of different shape and faintly notched superiorly,* as well as in lacking the characteristic maxillary tentacles. " I have reared upward of 500 specimens oi Pro- * This faintly notched character of the ovipositor is notice- able exceptionally in both species, and is evidently due to a varied degree of contraction in the dry specimens. 7iuba, and have it from South Carolina, Texas, California, Colorado, and Missouri, and there is never the faintest tendency to maculation. The tendency to variation is, also, exceptionally small." We assumed that Mr. Chambers had made a proper reference in describing his Hvponomenta ^-pitnctella., but we are now perfectly satisfied that he had not, since many specimens of Prodoxus agree exactly in maculation with his description and figure. More careful study plainly shows that Prodoxus does not even belong to the same family, but must be placed with Pro- nuba in the Tineidce. Hyponoineuta not only has, ordinarily, serrate antennae, but it lacks the maxillary palpi which help to distinguish the Tineidae, while the joints of the labial palpi are differently proportioned The venation of the wings also differs greatly, the forked disco-longitudinal ven- let of the primaries being absent and the basal portion of the internal vein not being forked. The secondaries in Hyponomeuta have, moreover, a notch beyond the middle, and there are other minor differences. Mr. Chambers, in reply to our strictures above quoted,has published some 14 pp.* of matter containing many interesting but irrelevant facts, and more that is funny than con- vincing when it comes to the point at issue. He brings forward no fresh evidence ex- cept such as he calls circumstantial, and admits that he does not " pretend that they [the arguments] are conclusive of the question, especially when opposed to the positive statements of so competent an observer," when a careful re-examination of his specimens would have saved him so much fruitless labor. That such re-exami- nation was not, however, easy, we have since been made aware by being ourselves unable to make the re-examination of his supposed spotted Pronubas, the types of which are in the Cambridge museum. Fortunately we are confirmed in our opin- ion without such re-examination of the types, by the very facts which Mr. Cham- bers urges in his reply above cited, the position of the five spots in his Hypono- Jour. Gin. Soc. of Nat. His., Oct., i8 144 THE AMERICAN ENTOMOLOGIST. meuta t^-punctella, as figured by him, being precisely that found in some specimens of Prodoxus. Nevertheless we have not thought best to adopt Mr. Chambers' spe- cific name on our own confidence, because we prefer to leave it to those who substan- tiate our views beyond peradventure and who believe in the extremest law of prior- ity to relegate decipiens as a synonym of ^-punctelia, and further because we are of those who believe that a description under a well-defined and well-known genus car- ries with it the characters of that genus, and is worse than no description at all, if as in this instance, the species has totally different characters. Here is the original description of Hy- po7iomeuta ^-puncteUa, from the Cafiadian Ent07nologist, vol. vii (1875), p. 7 : Snowy white. On the forewings are five dis- tinct, circular, black spots, three of them form- ing a line along the middle of the wing, the other two being in the dorsal half of the wing, one of them opposite the space between the first and second, and the other opposite the space be- tween the second and third spots. The first spot is placed about the basal fourth, the second about the middle, and the third about the apical fourth. Hind wings silvery white, tinged with gray. Al. ex ^X. inch. Bosque Co. [Tex.] The number of specimens examined is not stated, so that we learn nothing of variation, and every reader would be justi- fied in assuming that the wings had the peculiar venation and that there was the want of maxillary palpi, with other peculi- arities that characterize the genu's, Hyp one - meuta. Mr. Chambers subsequently tells us, in his Cincinnati paper, that eight specimens were examined and showed no variation. We made the mistake of trust- ing in Mr. Chambers' generic reference and of assuming that because his supposed Pronubas were specifically identical with his H. 5-putictella^ therefore they were Hy- ponofneuta. This mistake on our part would have been avoided had we been al- lowed to critically examine the specimens by denudation of the wings and other parts; but the specimens were borrowed with the promise that they should be returned to Cambridge intact. We said and we main- tain that they were Mr. Chambers' H. 5- punctella, and his Cincinnati brochure is really an unintentional criticism of his own previously published views. In like manner many of the fallacies set forth by Mr. Boll, to which we called at- tention in our paper read before the St. Louis Academy, may likewise be traced to observations made on Prodoxus instead of Proniiba. The larva of Prodoxus never quits the stem in which it lives. It eats comparatively little, packing its pale buff-colored excre- ments very tightly in its burrow, and spin- ning as winter approaches a neat cocoon of white silk covered on the outside with its castings. Prior to forming its cocoon a passage way is always made to the out- side of the stem, leaving but a very thin covering. In issuing, the chrysalis pushes half way out, very much as is the case with all other Lepidopterous endophytes. Oviposition has not yet been observed. We thus see that, notwithstanding this de- ceptive resemblance to Pronuba, Prodoxus differs not only in many essential charac- ters in its different stages {vide descrip- tion), but likewise essentially in habit. Who, studying these two species in all their characters and bearing, can fail to conclude that, notwithstanding the essen- tial differences that distinguish them not only specifically but generically, they are derivations from one and the same ances- tral form ? Pronuba, depending for its existence on the pollination of the flower, is profoundly modified in the female sex in adaptation to the peculiar function of pollination. Prodoxus, dwelling in the flesh of the fruit or in the flower-stem and not depending upon the fructifi- cation of the plant, is not so modified, but has the ordinary characters of the family in both sexes. In the former, the larva quits the capsules and burrows in the ground : it has legs to aid it in its work, while the chrysalis is likewise beau- tifully modified to adapt it to prying through the ground and mounting to the surface. The latter, on the contrary, never quitting the stem, has no legs in the larva state, and in the chrysalis state is more particularly adapted, by the prominence of THE AMERICAN ENTOMOLOGIST. 145 the capital projection, to piercing the slight covering of the stem left ungnawed by the larva. The former is very regular in its appearance as a moth at the time of the flowering of Yucca Jilaftientosa, a fact which would indicate that it was modified while living upon that species and had a range co-extensive with it and other species blooming simultaneously. The latter ap- pears earlier, as the food of its larva is earlier ready. Which of the two insects is the oldest in time, or whether the diverg- ence from some archetypal form has been simultaneous, are matters of opinion which those interested in evolution will decide for themselves one way or the other, or according as knowledge increases. That other species of both these genera will yet be discovered, there can be but little doubt. This Bogus Yucca Moth is subject to the attacks of at least one parasite, a honey-yel- low Braconid, which Mr. Cresson considers new, and which is described in this num- ber as Exothecus prodoxi. THE FERTILIZATION OF THE TULIP. BY W. H. PATTON, WATERBURY, CT. It has been believed that the nectar of the tulip is poisonous to bees and that they rarely escape from the flower alive. How- ever this may be with the yellow tulip, Tulipa sylvestris, in which Kerner (Flowers and their Unbidden Guests, p. 88) has de- scribed a special contrivance for excluding small insects from the nectar secreted at the bases of the filaments, it cannot apply to our common garden tulip, T. gestteriana, for in this species there are neither glands to secrete nectar nor tangles of hairs to pro- tect it, and I have never found nectar in the flowers. It is, moreover, small insects which the plant appears to attract, although the smooth cup of the perianth probably excludes crawling insects. Some of the smaller species of bees of the genus Hal- ictus I have, during the past five years, ob- served to be frequent guests, coming for the pollen. They always alight upon either the perianth or the stigma, most frequently upon the latter, and crawling down from their alighting place to the base of the stamens, they then climb up to reach their booty. Whatever pollen they bring from other flowers has therefore a chance of reaching the stigma first. The perianth of the flower is red, the stigma is yellow and the stamens, which are deeper down in the cup of tlie flower and thus to a cer- tain extent out of the line of the bee's flight, are black ; and it is probable that the marked difference in the color of the stigma serves to attract the bees to the proper and most convenient landing. There appear to have been no direct observations hitherto made upon the fer- tilization of the tulip by insects. It may be that in the native home of the plant large insects are concerned in its fertiliz- ation, or that T. sylvestris thus differs from T. gesnerianaj but Kerner's supposition that the trichomes on the filaments of T. sylvestris are intended to exclude small insects from the nectar, is open to doubt in view of the observations upon the visits of small bees to the other species. A similar structure for protecting the nectar in Ger- aftittm sylvaticum was believed by Sprengel to serve as a shield against rain, and it may be that this is the real purpose in the tulip. Whether the supposition (of which mention is made in Miss Staveley's "British Insects," p. 250) that the nectar of the tulip is poisonous, is founded upon authen- ticated facts, is also worthy of further in- vestigation. Tallow to preserve Insect Collec- tions.— The odor of tallow is disagreeable and repellant to a large number of insects, and it has long been the custom to protect woolen goods from the clothes-moth, dur- ing the summer months, by placing among them a tallow candle wrapped in paper. For some time past, I have employed the same protective means for the preserva- tion of my entomological collection from the attack of the Dermestes lardarius and the Anthrenus varius, by placing tallow candles among my cases, and small pieces of the same within the cases. Some inter- 146 THE AMERICAN ENTOMOLOGIST. esting experiments recently made with a colony of Dermestes, probably the familiar larder-beetle (see a communication by Miss Heustis in the Canadian Entomolo- gist, vol. X, p. 141, 1878), gave the follow- ing results : "They were confined in a glass jar, and a piece of camphor placed therein. At first they manifested some uneasiness, but in a minute or two commenced travel- ing about and over the camphor with entire unconcern. Upon a small piece of tallow being dropped in the jar, the effect was instantaneous and ludicrous — a regu- lar stampede ensued. The beetles fled precipitately to the side of the jar, and after endeavoring to effect their escape, they huddled together in a mass, where they remained so long as observed. The jar was set aside, and upon looking at it again a fortnight thereafter, only one dead beetle was found of the large family. It is presumable that they died soon after their exposure to the tallow, and had eaten up the dead bodies of one another." A similar experiment instituted by me upon some larvae of A. varius, was not at- tended by like results. The larvae did not manifest any uneasiness from the presence of the tallow, nor did they die from the effects of it. While, therefore, I do not believe that the odor of tallow will destroy the larvae, I have reason to believe that it is serviceable in preventing the deposition of the eggs of Anthrenus, Dermestes and similar pests. — J. A. Lintner. Intermittance of Phosphorescence IN Fire-flies. — There has been an inter- esting discussion recently at the meetings of the London Entomological Society on this question, some members urging that the light is not intermittent, others again, that it is Mr. McLachlan drew attention to a previous discussion of the same subject, in the course of which he had suggested that the intermittance might be due to " slight currents of air altering the position of the insect when flying, and thus alternately ex- posing and obscuring the light-producing surfaces." Judging from our experience with North American species of Lampyridce, this explanation is not a valid one All our American species, so far as we know, have the power of extinguishing their light, whether in flight, at rest, or in captivity. In flight there is no simultaneous flashing of all the individuals in a given space, but a constant and irregular flashing and ex- tinguishing. In some cases there is a single flash followed by extinction ; in others, two successive flashes, and in others again, three ; and if pursued, the insect seems to have the power of suppressing its light. These facts hold true of those species which are luminous, and have power of flight, in both sexes. Where, however, the female has not the power of flight the light is not intermittent, so far as our obser- vations go, and the same holds true of the luminous larvae of those species which, in the imago state, give out an intermittent light. Yet even these larvae and larvi- form females possess the power of sup- pressing their light, as everyone who has collected them must have experienced to his sorrow. A gem of soft blue light will attract the attention from some distance, in long grass, or damp places, such as these larvae frequent. The collector approaches cautiously, but, unless he is very wary, so soon as he touches the object upon or near which the light-giving specimen may rest, the light goes out, and the specimen very often escapes being captured ! We call the attention of all those inter- ested in the fertilization of those beautiful flowers, the Yuccas, to our remarks on the True and Bogus Yucca Moths in the pres- ent number. It is during the month of June that observations can be made on the habits of these interesting insects, and we shall always be glad to publish addi- tional experience or additional observa- tions. ^ — ^ In the Oefversigt of Finska Vetenskap- Societetens forhandlinger Vol. xxi, 1879, (Helsingfors), Mr. O. M. Renter gives a synopsis of what is known on the habits of mimetic Hemiptera, together with some new observations on mimicry in this order. THE AMERICAN ENTOMOLOGIST. 147 Grain Aphis vs. Rust. — The May crop reports given out by the Department of Agriculture of Georgia, show very clearly how injurious the Grain Aphis has been to wheat and oats in that State. These grains have also suffered very much from rust, and many of the correspond- ents are disposed to consider the rust a consequence of the Aphis work. That the punctures and the saccharine excre- tions of plant-lice greatly encourage the growth of some kinds of rust, there can be no question whatever. Other kinds, however, as the ordinary Orange rust {Fiic- cinia graminis) have little or no connec- tion with these insects. The reports from the Department would be a great deal more valuable if they were analyzed by some competent hand, and the loose gen- eral references, which carry no definite meaning, were rendered more specific and explicit. -^ — * Continued Destruction of Tobacco Plants by Flea-beetles. — The Farmers' Home Journal of Kentucky gives the fol- lowing account of the continued injury to tobacco, appending many reports in con- firmation. We call attention to what we said on p. 123 of the May number : There has been a flood of "bug" letters in the last week ; and according to the tenor of these advices no portion of the State, or indeed of the entire tobacco belt East or West, is exempt from the evil. Reports from the southern and Green River counties are most unfavorable, but the dam- age appears to be general, including the Western district, or the Purchase, and also the Mason County district. In some sections of the State a number of farmers have used canvas to cover their plant-beds, and alwaj's with the best results, as the covering not only proves to be a complete protection against the bug or fly, but also ha'stens the growth of plants. In some neighborhoods there is the curious spectacle of uncovered beds entirely stripped of plants, in the immediate vicinity of covered beds full of uninjured and flourishing plants. Advices from Tennessee indicate great destruc- tion of plants, and injuries are also reported from Missouri, Indiana, and Ohio. A Virginia dis- patch of the 6th inst. stated that the bugs have so reduced the supply of plants that not more than a quarter of an average area can be planted. The Tennessee Commissioner of Agriculture reports that there will be only half an average supply of plants in that State. The annual meeting of the Entomo- logical Club of the American Association for the Advancement of Science, will be held at the Museum of the Boston Society of Natural History, corner of Berkeley and Boylston Streets, Boston, commencing at 2 P. M., Tuesday, Au- gust 24, 1880. It is proposed to send to every member of the American Association, and to all others who may favor the undersigned with their address for that purpose, a circular announcing the special subjects which will be presented at this meeting of the Club ; and therefore all entomologists who desire to read communications at that time, are requested to notify one of the undersigned before August ist. This will ensure a fuller discussion of the topics presented, and, it is hoped, a larger attendance. — Samuel H. Scudder, Pres., B. Pick- man Mann, Secretary, both at Cambridge, Mass. Mold and Phylloxera. — M. Rom- mier recently stated before the Paris Academy, that where mycelium was devel- oped on phylloxerized roots, kept in a vessel at 15^ to 20° temperature (R.), the insect disappeared, whereas, without such myceleum it continued to multiply. What conclusion of practical value can be drawn from such fact we fail to see, as it must be the experience of everyone who has studied Phylloxera in glass tubes, that those very conditions of excessive warmth and moisture which would permit the growth of mycelium, are the very condi- tions which would prove fatal to the insect. Any inference that mycelium itself destroys the Phylloxera is certainly unwarranted, if we may judge from our own experience. An excellent review of the recent pro- gress in insect anatomy is given by Mr. Edward Burgess, in his annual address as president of the Cambridge Entomologi- cal Club. Those interested in the subject will find the address in full in the March number of Psyche. 148 THE AMERICAN ENTOMOLOGIST. Infecting Phylloxera with Fungus Disease — The French Academy of Sci- ences, at its meeting of March 8, 1880, discussed the question of the infection of Phylloxera by parasitic fungi. Mr. A. Giard considers Dr. Hagen's proposed me- thod of infection as impractical. There exists no species of these fungi which infects all insects, each species infects only a sin- gle species of insect or a single group, and experiments to inoculate Phylloxera ought to be made with a fungus which is known to affect an allied insect, e. g., with Micro- cora coccophila. But so far no method is known by which this fungus can be arti- ficially cultivated, as is possible with Isaria. Mr. Hamm enumerates the different species of fungi known to infest different species of insects, and proposes to find out, by experiment, whether the Phylloxera is sus- ceptible to the attacks of one of these fungi, then to discover a medium wherein to cultivate its spores ; succeeding in this, he would recommend to impregnate guano with the spores and thus bring the Phyl- loxera in contact with them. Mr. Emile Blanchard has little confidence in the effective destruction of Phylloxera by this remedy, because such destruction of insect life always occurs in nature in a restricted sense, and the Phylloxera cannot possibly be compared in this respect with the Silk- worm, which, domesticated for centuries, lives under abnormal conditions. FuNGU'^ IN Cicada. — It has long been known that our Periodical Cicada (Cicada septetjidecim and C. tredecini) is subject to the attacks of a peculiar fungus. The in- sect is often found with the internal parts, especially of the abdomen, filled with a yellowish, or clay-colored powder, which is in reality composed of spores. Mr. Peck has recently named this fungus Masso- sphora cycadina, in the introductory portion to the Thirty-first Report of the New York State Museum of Natural History. Prof. Jos. Leidy referred to this fungus in the Proceedings of the Phila. Ac. Nat. Sc, for 185 X (Vol. v, p. 235), but without naming it On the Nature of the Phosphores- cence OF the Glow-worm. — In some experimental researches, the results of which have lately been published in the Comptes-rendus of the French Academy, (Vol. 90, No. 7,) Mr. Jousset de Bellesme draws the following conclusions : " It is very probable that the phosphorescent sub- stance is a gaseous product, for the struc- ture of the gland, well studied by Owsjani- kof, does not give one the idea of an organ secreting liquid. But chemical phosphor- escent products at an ordinary temperature are not numerous, which induces one to be- lieve the substance is phosphoretted hy- drogen. It is for chemists to elucidate this point ; but they should seek the matter in the cellular protoplasm and not directly. " My researches induce me to believe phosphorescence a property of protoplasm, consisting in the disengagement of phos- phoretted hydrogen. This explains why many of the lower animals, deprived of a nervous system, are phosphorescent. Be- sides, it offers the advantage of connecting the phenomena of phosphorescence in living beings with that we see in organic matters in a state of decomposition. It is one more example of a phenomenon of the biological order traced to an exclusively chemical cause." Death of Mules caused by Insects. — The report comes from the Ouachita Valley, Louisiana, that great numbers of a " poisonous midge" made their appearance, attacking the mules to such an extent that in Ouachita, Caldwell, and Morehouse parishes alone, about 6,000 mules perished as a consequence. The insects disappeared as suddenly as they came. The "pois- onous " midge alluded to is, without doubt, a species of Simulium, but whether or not the report is exaggerated we have no means of knowing. May-beetles have been swarming to an unusual extent on the oaks around Mobile, Ala., during the past month, absolutely de- foliating the oak forests. THE AMERICAN ENTOMOLOGIST. 149 Fungus Diseases of Beneficial In- sects.— Messrs. Ch. Brogniart and Max. Cornu, in a note addressed to the French Academy of Sciences, communicate that they observed an epidemic in Syrphus-flies caused by a fungus belonging to the genus Etitomophthora. They found on blades of grass thousands of dead specimens of Syr- phus mellitius with the abdomen distended and greasy, and evidently killed by the same disease which affects our common House-fly. The larvae of our Syrphus-flies are among the most effective enemies to Plant-lice. It thus becomes apparent that our friends among the insects are fully as liable to fungus disease as are our foes. Even if the fly-fungus could be propagated at will by the use of beer-mash, and made to infect other kinds of insects, no matter how diversified their habits (a fact which we have good reason for being sceptical of), there would yet be danger of destroy- ing many beneficial with the noxious spe- cies. This objection, however, applies, in varying degree, to almost all insecticides. Early Appearance of Cotton Worm. — Mr. J. M. Bell, of Boxville, Lavaca Co., Tex., writes, April 29th, 1880 : There are cotton worms in my cotton — more than usual when they first appear. There is no doubt about their being genuine cotton worms. We had a tremendous rain this morning. The Goliad (Tex.) Guard of May 8th has the following : We made a short turn in the country last Mon- day, and saw several farms on the Mannahuilla and Perdido creeks, which were in excellent con- dition. Corn and cotton were doing well, but we were sorry to learn from Mr. L. H. Dreier, a very successful planter on the Perdido, that the worms had already attacked his cotton. His neighbor, Mr. Hausman, whose cotton was well advanced and very fine, was also visited by large numbers of these pests. The presumption in such instances is that the worms were in the field from two to three weeks before being reported. Mr. Geo. Witting sent us, the latter part of April, information that the worms were noticed in the vicinity of Columbus, Tex., and specimens received at Washington, the forepart of May, were all in the chrysalis state. The Butterfly Tongue. — Mr. Ed- ward Burgess has an excellent, and well illustrated article in the May number of the American Naturalist^ on the structure and action of the proboscis, or tongue, of butterflies. He comes to the following conclusions from his study of the subject : From the anatomy of these parts we may un- derstand that the butterfly obtains its food in the following manner : The trunk is unrolled and in- serted in the nectary of a flower ; at this moment the muscles which suspend the oval sack con- tract, and the mouth cavity is thus extended, creating a vacuum which must be supplied by a flow of honey through its trunk to the mouth. When the mouth is full the muscular sack con- tracts, the oval valve closes the aperture to the trunk, and the honey is forced backward into the oesophagus. The mouth cavity is then again opened and the same process repeated. To pre- vent the food being sucked back from the oeso- phagus, it is probable that some of the numerous fibers in the muscular sack, near the origin of the former, can, by contraction, close its opening, but in any case, as the trunk presents a free tube, and the oesophagus leads into the closed alimen- tary canal, it is evident that the former offers the easiest route for a supply to fill the mouth vacuum. In the muscular mouth sack, we have a pump- ing organ, of action too simple to be misunder- stood. As for the so called " sucking stomach," its delicate membranous structure is certainly not adapted for sucking functions, and it prob- ably serves onl}'- as a reservoir. It is usually found to contain nothing else than air, but New- port asserts, that immediately after feeding, food is also found in it. Cottony Maple Scale. — In the Pro- ceedings of the Davenport Academy of Natural Sciences, vol. ii, part 2, just re- ceived, Mr. J. D. Putnam gives a most valuable, painstaking, and thorough ac- count of the above-named insect {Pulvina- ria innumerabilis Rathvon), which has proved very injurious to the soft maples in various parts of the country, and parti- cularly in and around Davenport. He goes into details on the history; the egg; embryo; larva; larva of the second stage; development of the male pupa ; the male; development of the female pupa; the female; the female in winter; the female in spring; contents of the ovaries; develop- ment of the egg; fertilization of the egg; the laying of the egg; the egg; nest; last days of the female; diseases; parasites; enemies; manner of distribution; effect on the trees; remedies; food-plants; and other species of Pulviiiaria. ISO THE AMERICAN ENTOMOLOGIST. Necrological. — News comes to us from Europe of the death of three eminent en- tomologists. Ernest August Hehnuth von Kiesen wetter, born in 1820, was a member of the Saxon Privy Council. Most of his writings appeared in the Stettiner Entomo- logische Zeitung and the Berliner Entonio- logische Zeitschrift^ and they are quite numerous, but exclusively on Coleoptera. S. C. Snellen van Vollenhoven was born in Rotterdam, October 18, 1816, and in his death Holland has lost her most eminent entomologist. For many years director of the Natural History Museum at Leyden, he was so esteemed and respected, that a medal was struck in his honor upon the oc- casion of his retirement. He wrote mostly upon Hymenoptera, and his work upon the Dutch Saw-flies has no equal. His writings were beautifully illustrated with drawings from his own pencil. Francis F. de Laporte, Count of Castelnau, was born in London, December 25, 1810, and died February 4, 1880, at East Melbourne, Aust., where he was for many years French Con- sul. He spent some time in the United States, and gave some attention to Ameri- can insects. He wrote more particularly on Coleoptera and Hemiptera, and among his miscellaneous works were Vues et Sou- venirs de rAmeriqtie du Nord, and Essai sur le systeme siliiricn de r Anie'riqiie scptoi- trionale. Effects of Severe Cold on Insects. — A very general impression prevails that severe winters are prejudicial to insect life. It is, however, a quite erroneous impres- sion, for nothing has struck us so forcibly in our experience with injurious insects, as the fact that in most cases they pass more safely through a steady, even if se- vere winter, than through a mild or change- able one. We have repeatedly called attention to this fact in our own writings, and Miss E. A. Ormerod, in her Notes of Observations on Injurious Insects, for 1879, has some quite pointed remarks on this subject, in connection with the severity of the past winter in England. Severe and steady cold is not only favor- able to insect hibernation by causing a continued state of torpor, but indirectly in preserving them from the attacks of birds and other animals, which, during such se- vere weather, cannot reach them in the frost-bound ground. Mild winters, on the contrary, generally cause premature activ- ity in insects, often followed by relapses into the torpid state, and such changes are prejudicial to their well-being. Insec- tivorous animals also fare better during such mild winters. Exchanges with European Ento- mologists.— We receive frequently from European Entomologists communications offering exchanges of insects of different orders, and especially of Coleoptera. As we cannot ourselves accept any of these offers, for want of time, we would like to have addresses of those of our collectors and specialists who are willing to enter into correspondence and exchange with Euro- pean entomologists. Mr. T. Blackburn of Honolulu com- municates that Vanessa cardui appeared quite frequently in the year 1879, on the island of Hawaii, during the month of February till July. He never before ob- served the species on the island mentioned above. ■♦- -♦■ Revision of the Lampyrid.b. — Mr. Henry S. Gorham of Shipley, Horsham, England, is just completing a revision of the LanipyridcB, or Fire-flies, and desires specimens from the southern part of the. U. S., and from Central America, especi- ally of the genera Microp/iotus, Phe/igodes, and Ptcrotus. Our own Dr. LeConte has, as we understand, been at work on the same family, and has the manuscript of a revision of the Lanipyridce of the U. S. ready for publication. Errata.— Page 80, for " [Fig. 19] " read [Fig. 20, rt] ; page 81, for " [Fig. 20] " read [Fig. 2o,b\\ page 122, col. 2, line 23, for " shows " read " show." THE AMERICAN ENTOMOLOGIST. 151 On Our Table, The Crayfish : An Introduction to the Study of Zoulog>'. By T. H. Huxley, F R.S. 8vo., pp. 371, 82 illustrations. D. Appleton & Co., New York, 1880.— Prof . Huxley is " the man of men " most competi nt to write the life-history of an animal in all its aspects, and in this work, whose title very inade- quately expresses its scope or importance, we have a model study in zoology. " I have desired to show how the careful study of one of the commonest and most insignificant of ani- mals leads us, step by step, from everyday knowledge to the widest generalizations and the most difficult problems of zool- ogy, and, indeed, of biological science in general." So says Prof. Huxley in his preface, and so he leads his reader, from natural history, to the results of the latest researches in physiol- ogy, morphology, distribution and setiology ; defining and com- paring with his wonted clearness and conciseness ; discussing and solving, to the limits of present science, the general problems which claim the attention of the zoologist. A book invaluable to students and instructors. Darwinism and other Essays. By John Fiske, A.M., LL.B. 8vo., pp. 283. Macmillan & Co., London and New York, 1879. Price, §2.00. — Here are brought together in convenient form various ess.-iys and reviews hitherto scattered through periodi- cals, and the collection is a valuable and welcome addition to the literature of evolution. Darwinism has suffered not a lit- tle at the hands of some of its most ardent champions, and, in the words of Mr. Huxley," Many a spirited free-thinker makes use of his freedom mainly to vent nonsense." Mr. Fiske is a more wise and moderate advocate. His essays maybe strongly commended to all interested in the study of contemporary thought ; nor are they less calculated to interest the general reader than to help the student. They are full of valuable thought, and their topics are rendered enjoyable even to the iinproficient. They will be found especially useful and in- structive to those who are perplexed with conflicting views anent the doctrines of evolution. We lay Mr. Fiske's book aside feeling, as its author says at the close of one of his essays : " That yet another charming moment of our reading life has gone to be numbered with the things of the past." The Taxidermists' Manual, by Capt. Thomas Brown, F. L. S. Twenty-eighth edition. New York. G. P. Putnam's Sons. — Persons who take an interest in natural history frequently meet with objects that they would gladly preserve if they pos- sessed the knowledge requisite for the purpose. The present volume is designed expressly as a guide to those who may de- sire information in regard to preserving the various objects of natural history in all countries and climates. The work is fully illustrated, and published as one of Putnam's Popular Series of Instructive Alanuals, and one that will prove valuable to the naturalist while laboring in the field or cabinet. Classification and Description of the American Species of Characeae. By D. B. Halsted. 8vo. pp. 5!2. (Ext. from Proc. Boston Soc. Nat. Hist., Vol. XX, March 5, 1879.) From the Author. Memoirs of the Science Department, University of Tokio, Japan. Vol I, Part 1 : Shell Mounds of Omori. By Edward S. .Morse. 4to. pp. 36. 18 Plates. Tokio, Japan, 1879. From the University. Neue Beobachtungen und Entdeckungen an den auf Ulmus campestris L. vorkommenden Aphiden-Arten. Von Dr. Hermann Friedrich Kessler. 8vo. pp. 34. 2 Plates. Cassel, 1880. From the Author. Commission Superieure du Phylloxera. Session de 1879. Compte rendu et pieces annexes. Loi, decrets et arretes relatifs au Phylloxera. 8vo. pp. 6C. 1 Map. Paris, 1880. Proceedings of the American Philosophical Society. Vol. XVIII, No. 105, January to March, 1880. Philadelphia. From the Society. Annual Reports of the Nebraska State Board of Agricul- ture, and the State Horticultural Society, to September, 1879. 8vo. pp. 350. 1 Map. Lincoln, Neb., 1880. From the Sec- retary. Proceedings of the Poughkeepsie Society of Natural Science, from October, 1878, to July, 1879. 8vo. pp. 54. 4 Plates. Some Interesting New Diptera. By S. W. Williston. 8vo. pp. 4. (Ext. from Trans, of Connecticut Academy. Vol. IV, Part 2, 1880.) From the Author. Proceedings of the Western New York Horticultural Soci- ety. Twenty-fifth Annual Meeting. Rochester, Jan. 28 and 29, 1880. 8vo. pp. 154. From the Secretary. Johns Hopkins University. Studies from the Biological Laboratory. No. IV. The Development of the American Oyster. By W. K. Brooks. 8vo. pp. 116. XI plates. Bal- timore, 1880. From the Author. Las Vides Americanas y La Filoxera en Espafia. Revista publicadapor J. Muiioz del Castillo. Afiol,No.6. Diciembre, 1879. Logrono. From the Publisher. Sur la Nymphe du genre d Ephemerines Baetisca, par Benj. D. Walsh, M. A. Traduit de 1' Anglais et Annote par Le Dr. Emile Joly. 8vo. pp. 19. Angers, 1880. From the Author. Extracts from Correspondence. [We shall publish in this Department such extracts from the letters of our correspondents as contain entomological facts worthy to be recorded, on account either of their scientific or of their practical importance. We hope our readers will con- tribute each their several mitei towards the general fund ; and in case they are not perfectly certain of the names of the in- sects, the peculiarities of which are to be mentioned, will send specimens along in order that each species may be duly identified.! Odontota scutellaris, Oliv., bad on a variety of trees. — On the 7th May — not a locust leaf or flower to be seen, a few buds only, bursting, I observed the terrible enemy of the Robinia. They came in great numbers and were devouring the advanced foliage of Siberian Crab-apples, render- ing them quite shabby — other apples close by, and suckers from the stocks upon which they were grafted, escaped. In the wild woods the tender leaves of Ulmus ameficana, White-elm, were eaten, those of Ulmus fulva, equally abund- ant, escaped. The Cratmgiis tomentosa and some quinces appeared eroded in the same manner, but the insect was not seen. I wrote you last summer that these beetles, on emerging from their pupae in the mined leaflets of the Robinia, at once began feeding upon what green leaves were left, but finding insufficient food, or having had narrow pastures as larvae, their appetites were voracious, and they had attacked the young leaves of Red-oak ((?. rubra). This tree has again furnished them abundant food in the emerg- ency of the late vernation of Robinia. The Q. cocciimea, castanea, prinos, paltistris, macrocarpa, pkillos, lyrata, imbticaria, etc., close by have es- caped, nor has it been seen on the Q. alba, rare here ; but it has raided a favorite tree of the European White-oak, Q. pedunculata — nor have the trees of Q. palustris (of the Red-oak class) been affected, though surrounded by Locust trees. These tastes of the scutellaris are very singular. Apple-twig Borer. — A. S. H., Wytheville, Va. — The insects which you send accompanied by an apple-twig, showing their work, and which are so destructive to your Apple trees, are the well-known Apple-twig bdrer, of which you will find an account, with figures, on p. 51 of this Magazine. Insect Powders. — On running over the pages of your Bulletin on the Cotton Worm I notice that you have something to say about Pyrethrum Powder, which reminds me that Dalmatian Insect Powder is, according to some authorities, made from the Leucanlhemum vulgare, our Ox-eye daisy. In Europe it is called Chrysanthe?num Lcma)ithemuiii. Could we not so utilize that vile weed ? I think the subject is worthy of experiment. The Dalmatian is said to be equally as good as the Persian Insect Powder. — William Saunders, Washington, D. C. 152 THE AMERICAN ENTOMOLOGIST. Cotton Culture and the Cotton Worm at Manzanillo, Mexico. — The larger worm or cater- pillar {Alio/lis xy/iiia) has made its appearance on this coast three times during the last 20 years ; in 1866, in 1873, and again in 1878. It is a dark green looping worm, with white and black lines, and destroj's the cotton plant by devouring the leaves. It is as yet impossible for me to find out the origin or even habits of this worm. I have investigated the supposed causes of its appear- ance, but without success ; the farmers here have not the slightest idea about it. An apparent co- incidence between the appearance of this plague and overflooding of rivers in the cotton regions should be mentioned. 1865, September, high floods, complete inun- dation of cotton lands. February, 1866, appear- ance of the caterpillar in small numbers, not causing much damage. 1872, September, floods, partial inundation of cotton lands, high lands and ridges in the valleys not flooded. February, 1873, appearance of the plague, and total destruction of cotton plant- ations. 1878, September, high floods, complete inun- dation of cotton-growing valleys. 1879, Febru- ary, partial plague, small damage done by the caterpillar. I am of the opinion that the worm has not been imported into Mexico, but originates in the cot- ton valleys in such seasons, when the peculiar condition of the soil and climate combine to fa- vor the development of the larva. The cotton lands in this vicinity are bounded on the W. by the Pacific Ocean, on the E. by high mountains, la "Sierra Madre," on the N. and S. by dense woods and tracts of uncultivated lands. These circumstances present a great many ob- stacles to the flight of the Cotton Moth. The nearest cotton plantations, as well to northward as to southward, are at a distance from Manzan- illo of at least 100 miles. Cotton has been grown in the State of Colima for the last fifty years. It does not grow wild, but if abandoned, some plants grow up to good sized trees, bearing fruit regularly every year. The directions of prevailing winds, on this coast, are the following, viz : January, South and West. February, West and North-west. March, do do April, North-west. May, do June, South and North-west. July, South and West. August, do do September, do do October, do do November, do do December, do do The north-west and west winds blow generally during the day. At night these winds change to the north, and north-east. I give the prevailing winds for the whole year, as our planting and picking seasons here are dif- ferent from those in the United States. — Augustus Morrill, U. S. Consul at Manzanillo, Mex. Antigaster mirabilis in Florida.— I was per- fectly delighted with the different insects describ- ed in the report )'Ou sent me. The parasitic fly {Antigaster mirabilis) was intensely interesting, as I had m3'self raised it from the eggs of Alicro- cciitris rctinervis, and have had no trouble in identifying it from your admirable cut. The Ap/ielimis, named and described by me in Canadian Entoinologist, resembles the cut of A. )iiytilaspidis, only its abdomen is more slender and the thorax is not so thick. — Wm. N. Ashmead, Jacksonville, Fla. Capture of Cotton Moth in January. — I beg to inform you that in a conversation with James Seymour, one of our most energetic, and largest cotton planters, he informed nie that he caught, about the 20th of Januar)? last, a fully developed Cotton Moth. The general impression among planters and farmers is that we shall have the worms very early this season, as the winter has been very mild. We had considerable rain ; the month of January was warm, also part of February, so that many people planted corn and cotton, in this section of country, which was well up and forward, but was destro3'ed by frost in March. — Geo. Witting, Columbus, Tex., Apr. 16. [Mr. Seymour, whose acquaintance we had the pleasure of making, would not be likely to make any mistake in his determination.] Answers to Correspondents. [We hope to make this one of the most interesting and in- structive departnients of the Entomologist. All inquiries about insects, injurious or otherwise, should be accompanied by specimens, the more the better. Such specimens, if dead, should be packed in some soft material, as cotton or wool, and inclosed in some stout tin or wooden box. They will come by mail for one cent per ounce. Insects should never be ENCLOSED LOOSE IN THE LETTER. Whenever possible, larvae (/. ^j Dej., that we do not believe the two should be considered distinct. The following characters are supposed by coleopterists to distinguish them : In y/. comma the hind angles of thorax are almost rounded, the scutellar stria long, and the black color extends to the base of the elytra ; in A. pallipcs the thorax is less narrowed behind, the hind angles more distinct, though obtuse, the scutellar stria is very short and the black color does not reach the base of a^ cut open from the back, and showing (mr) the retaining membrane, (r /) the rectal ligament and (^ /) the tracheal ligaments (after Riley). larva, and the form of which is fore- shadowed in that of said anal plate. This cremaster assumes a great variety of dif- ferent forms, but in general may be said to be a tapering piece, more or less incurved ventrally, and having the ventral and dorsal margins thickened or ridged, and these ridges may be respectively called the vett- tral and the dorsal cremastral ridges {v c r and^^r). This cremaster is surmounted at the apex and sometimes along the ven- tral ridges by what may be called the cremastral hook-pad {c hp), thickly studded * I designate by this name the colorless lining of the larval skin that separates from the forming chrysalis. If, as recent physiological research indicates, it is only the outer half of the outer or epidermic layer of tho skin (cuticula of modern histologistf) which is cast off in the exuviation of inverte- brates, then this mucous lining is developed between the two separating layers of said cuticula. with minute but stout hooks, which are sometimes compound or furnished with barbs, very much as are some of our fishing- hooks, and which are most admirably adapted to the purpose for which they are intended. (Fig. 68, /i.) Secondly. We have the sustainers {siis- tentores), two projections which homologize with the soles {plantce) of the anal prolegs, and which take on various forms [s), but are always directed forward, so as to easily catch hold of the retaining mem- brane. In the yellow butterflies (as Caly- drias, Terias, Colias), where the body of the chrysalis is so thrown back that mere projecting tubercles would not suffice, we find them transformed into actual hooks (Fig. 6g,A, s and E) ; while in some of the succincti they are little more than a thickening of the an- terior margin of the subjoint. In all Lepi- dopterous pupae these remnants of the anal prolegs are more or less indicated, while in certain moths [Ptero- phorid(£), where the pu- pa is partly suspended as it is in the Nympha- lidce, they are covered with long hooks simi- lar to those at the tip of the cremaster and to those which, in the larva, armed the hind plantae. Thirdly. We have what may be called the sustentor ridges (x r) usually connected with the sustainers, and embracing them on the outside, and extending backward to the inside of the ventral cremastral ridges, and sometimes, as in Paphia (Fig. 69, B) and Limenitis, there forming quite a deep notch, which doubtless assists in catching hold of the larval skin in the efforts to attach the cremaster. These sustentor ridges are homologous with the limb of the anal prolegs, and the exposed edge with the posterior border of said THE AMERICAN ENTOMOLOGIST. f6s limb. They vary much in form, and may be more or less obsolete. Fourthly. Between them is what may be called the rectal piece {r p\ consisting of a piece more or less well marked and ele- vated, especially around the closed rectum. It is principally by the leverage obtained by the hooking of the sustainers in the re- taining membrane, which acts as a swing- ing fulcrum, that the chrysalis is prevented from falling, after the cremaster is with- drawn from the larval skin. It is also principally by this same means that it is enabled to reach the silk with the cremas- tral hook-pad. Yet the rectal ligament (Fig. 67.) Ideal representation of the anal subjoint of the larva of Vianessa antiopa, from behind, with the spines removed and all the parts forced apart by pressure so as to show the homol- ogies of the parts in the chrysalis which are concerned in pu- pation ; the homologies indicated by corresponding letters in Fig. 68, except that r (the rectum) corresponds with / r in Fig. 68 (after Riley). plays a most important part, and in some species a more important part even, in my estimation, than the membrane itself. The tracheal ligaments, which, from a study of specimens plunged in alcohol when the larval skin was about half shed, I was at first inclined to believe important auxili- aries, are, I am now satisfied, of very little or no service in most cases. The rectal ligament is a constant physiological factor, and its importance cannot be ascertained by attempts to sever the membrane at the critical moment, because in such attempts the ligament is more or less drawn out be- yond the power of the sphincter muscles in the chrysalis to control it. Dissected immediately after suspension, and the subjoint of the larva will be found to be bathed, especially between the legs and around the rectum, in an abundance of translucent, membranous material. An hour or more after suspension the end of the forming chrysalis begins to separate from the larval skin, except at the tip of the cremaster (see Fig. 70, b). Gradually the skin of the legs and of the whole sub- joint stretches, and with the stretching, the cremaster elongates, the rectal piece re- cedes more and more from the larval rec- tum, and the sustentor ridges diverge more and more from the cremaster, carrying with them, on the sustainers, a part of the soft membrane. If a larva be carefully (Fig. 68.) Anal parts of chrysalis of Vanessa antiopa^ just prior to final extraction from larva skin : c, cremaster ; chp, cremas- tral hook-pad ; h, one of the hooks more enlarged ; vir^ ven- tral cremastral ridge ; dcr^ dorsal cremastral ridge ; /r, larval rectum ; /r, pupal rectum ; r/, rectal plate ; sr^ sustentor ridges ; .r, sustentores • 7«r, membrana retinens r/, rectal ligament ; ^/, tracheal ligament ; the nth or last spiracle-bear- ing joint and the 12th joint being numbered (after Riley). dissected at this stage, the forming mem- brane may be raised with the point of a needle and stretched so as to show its con- nection with the rectal ligament (Fig. 70, d')\ or it may be lifted entirely from the retain- ers, when, by its elasticity, it contracts and becomes more or less fully absorbed in the rectal ligament (Fig. 70, e). It is at this stage that the strength of the latter may l)e fully tested, and if, after the larval skin and retaining membrane are carefully removed without loosening the rectal liga- ment, the chrysalis be grasped in the neigh- borhood of the rectum so as to supply the natural holding power of the sphincter mus- cles, the ligament will sustain, as I have i66 THE AMERICAN ENTOMOLOGIST. abundantly proved, at least ten or twelve times the weight of the chrysalis ; while it will support, if held by the larval skin, several times the weight of the chrysalis, before separating therefrom. E.xperimen- and always intimately connected with and forming but a branch of the rectal ligament. When extended from its attachments, as when the chrysalis rises to the silk, this membrane dries, and in the cast-off larval [Fig. 69.] A, chrysalis of Terias : B^ posterior end of chrysalis of Paphia ; C, do. of Danais : E, one of the sustainers of Terias, greatly enlarged to show its hooked nature ; all the parts of subjoin! let- tered to correspond with the same parts in Fig. 68 (after Riley). tal proof is easily obtained by pinning the larval skin, which has been flayed from the chrysalis, to a small piece of cork and then, while grasping the chrysalis as indicated, sticking additional pins in the cork, until the increasing weight breaks the ligament. skin retains, more or less perfectly, the stretched form. If the mucous membrane of the larva was thick and strong, as in Vanessa, the dried membrane will be broad, with two indentations where it was held by the retainers; if more delicate, as in Danais, [Fig. 70.] Pupation of Butterflies :— a, attachment of \3.rv2ioi Danais archippus : p,do.o{ Pafi/iia rlycerium .- b Ideal larva soon after suspension ; d, do. a few hours later, the needle (n) separating the forming membrane from the sust.-iiners ; e, do. just before splitting of larval skin, with retaining membrane loosened from the sustainers and showing Its connection both with the larval and pupal rectum. In all the figures the joints of body are numbered ; the forming chrysalis is shaded in transverse lines ; the intervening space between it and larval skin IS dotted ; h is the hillock of silk ; hi, hooks of hind legs ; a/, anal plate ; /r, larval rectum ; /r, pupal rectum ; mr. retaining membrane ; c, cremaster; s, sustainers (after Riley) . .r .- .- , In brief, the retaining membrane is that part of the inner larval skin surrounding the prolegs, drawn down by the sustainers, Paphia, or Apatura, the dried membrane is more forked, showing how the retainers have acted upon its elasticity. In every THE AMERICAN ENTOMOLOGIST. 167 case, however, it shows, under the micro- scope, the longitudinal folds and creases incident to the stretching, and compared to the rectal ligament proper it seems to lose importance as it is less needed; for the succincti will generally attach when it is severed or loosened from the retainers, while in Apatura (at least as exemplified in the North American species), which com- bines the peculiarities of both the succincti and suspensi* it does not become spe- cialized, and the chrysalis seems to rely almost entirely on the rectal ligament, as- sisted by the partial holding of the delicate larval skin, not only between what is left of the sustainers and the ventral posterior margin of the twelfth joint, but between the ventral sutures of this last and the pre- ceding joint. And here I would remark, in conclusion, that the ventral borders of two or three of the joints preceding the subjoint are, in most chrysalides which I have studied, so hardened that the mucous membrane is actually grasped between them and the deep sutures made in contracting, or (what would be a more correct statement of the fact) it remains, adhering in these sutures after the outer skin is loosened, in the same way that the membrane remains on the sustainers. In some instances (espe- cially in some species of Papilio) the pos- terior border of the twelfth joint is pro- duced into a medial transverse ridge fully as prominent as that formed by the sus- tainers, which l^ere are flattened and coa- lesce. So that the sutures of some of the terminal joints in the chrysalis do subserve the purpose ascribed to them by Reaumur, but in a somewhat different way. AN INTELLIGENT WASP. While it may not make any great differ- ence in the final winding up of the affairs of the human race whether we call the intelligence of the lower animals instinct or reason, still there can no great harm * The larva of Apatura attaches horizontally, making the front pair of abdominal prolegs answer the purpose of the girth ; but in the shedding of the skin this attachment is severed, and the forming chrysalis assumes the perpendicular position, and in the withdrawal and attachment of the cremas- ter, it acts as the true suspensi. come from making observations, and be- coming acquainted with the habits of the minute as well as larger creatures with which we are surrounded. The entomol- ogist, in his investigations of the habits of insects, frequently finds some species dis- playing more than ordinary intelligence, or exhibiting what would be called, among the higher orders, reasoning powers, that are frequently manifested in their evident premeditated actions and calculations as to the chances of accomplishing their pur- pose by taking advantage of the variable conditions or circumstances by which they are surrounded. One of the most interest- ing exhibitions of insect skill (if we give it no better name) that has come under my observation is annually performed by the Handsome Digger Wasp {Stizus speciosus Drury, Fig. 71,) that frequents my garden. This wasp provisions its nest with the Dog- day Cicada {Cicada canicularis Harris). In my grounds it takes the Cicada prin- cipally if not wholly, as I have never found any other insect in its nest. This wasp appears to know that it would not [Fig. 7: Stizus speciosus. be safe to dig its burrow in ground that is being cultivated during the sum- mer, and for this reason it frequents paths and roads but little used, preferring moderately light and dry soils. In such places it digs its burrows, which are about three-fourths of an inch in diameter and two or more feet in length. They are not perpendicular, but for the first twelve to eighteen inches the wasp digs at an angle of about forty-five degrees, then turns up- ward a few inches to the end. The earth taken out of the excavation i68 THE AMERICAN ENTOMOLOGIST. is left in a heap near the entrance of the burrow. When the burrow is completed the wasp begins to look about for a victim, which, when found, is not killed but merely paralyzed with her powerful sting. The Cicada is then taken to the burrow, dragged into it, and an egg laid upon the body. The wasp, however, often finds it somewhat difficult to transport her victims from the place where captured, to her bur- rows, because the Cicada is really the larger insect of the two, and it also frequents forests and groves that are often far dis- tant from the open field where the wasp has made her nest. It is in this transpor- tation of her victims that she displays her consummate skill, not relying wholly upon her own strength, but taking advantage of the wind and other conditions likely to aid her in the work she has to do. Among the many instances that have come within my own observation, of this handsome burying wasp taking advantage of the wind to secure or transport her victims, there is one that I will relate, inasmuch as it has been so often repeated, that I cannot doubt the premeditated de- sign of the insect. To make the matter plain to the reader I will state that the wasps fretjuent the main walk or road through the center of my grounds, this road running nearly due west to east, slightly descending the entire length, and it is altogether some twenty-five or thirty rods long. For the first half of the distance this road is bordered on both sides with trees and shrubs, some of considerable height. The wasps go beyond these and make their burrows, and within a few rods of the lower end, where there is little to ob- struct their flight or work in digging their holes. The nearest forests or woodland are to the east and north, and on still lowei grounds, from which it would be impossible for the wasps to obtain a supply of Cicadas, while to the west and south they would have to go much further to find their prey. But unfortunately for the latter, but fortunate for the wasps, there is a small grove of about two acres of large old trees on the west side of my place, and up to which the main walk referred to leads. This grove stands upon still higher ground or about twenty feet higher than the point selected by the wasps for their nests. The land about the trees has never been broken up and the Cicadas breed among these old trees and in the ground undisturbed except by their inveterate enemy the Digger Wasp. With the first drumming of the Dog-dav Cicada the wasps appear and the battle commences, and the " tug of war " is in getting the Cicadas from this grove down the path to the burying ground. When the wind blows from the south, east, or north, the Cicadas have peace, but let a breeze spring from the west and then the wasps will begin their murderous work in earnest. As my ofiice stands on the highest point in the grove named, I have abundant op- portunities of witnessing the war of races going on and the tactics of the combat- ants, although it may be said that the armor of the Cicadas soon yields to the deadly thrusts of the wasps. With the first onslaught the Cicada usually falls to the ground, the wasp following immediately, getting astride of its back, clasping her victim with her two front legs, the four hind ones being left free. She quickly ascends the nearest tree, sliding the Cicada up the bark quite rapidly. When the top- most branch is reached, or the wasp thinks she is high enough, she lets go, flying with the wind toward the resting place many rods to the eastward. In one instance a wasp carried her victim up an oak tree on the west side and close to my office, but as the tree reached above it she carried her victim safely over and landed within a rod of her burrow. I followed her as rapidly as my legs would carry me, and found her still astride of the Cicada, trying to slide it along toward the rest. Where the path was firm she succeeded very well, but when striking loose sand she could not obtain a good foothold and had to dismount, turn around and drag the prey along after her. When the mouth of the hole was reached she soon disappeared with her victim. In the meantime I had sent for a spade, with which herself and victim was unearthed, for THE AMERICAN ENTOMOLOGIST. :6g the purpose of learning something of the | next and subterranean act in the drama. [ The Cicada was found at the extreme end of the burrow lying on its back, and the long slender semi-transparent egg of the wasp carefully slipped under the thigh or femora of one of the front legs. I have never found more than one Ci- cada in a burrow, but it seems strange that the wasp should work so long and indus- triously in orddr to bury one victim and lay only one egg. — A. S. F. THE COLORADO POTATO-BEETLE. ( Continued from p. wt.) NATURAL HISTORY AND TRANSFORMATIONS. Prof. Riley was the first to make known the natural history and transformations of the Potato-beetle, in the Prau'ie Fanner for August 8, 1863, and they may be briefly summed up as follows : The female beetle deposits her eggs on the underside of the leaves, in clusters of a dozen, up to fifty or more. The eggs are of an orange color, and hatch in about a week after being laid, the grubs immediately com- mencing to feed and continuing until ma- ture, which occurs in from fourteen to eighteen days, varying somewhat as the weather may be favorable or unfavorable. When full grown, the larvae descend to the ground and hide under leaves or rubbish, or burrow into the soil, where they remain for about ten days, then come forth in the perfect or winged form. Two to four broods are perfected during the season, according to the locality and length of the season, the last brood descending into the ground in the perfect or beetle state, and remaining in a dormant condition over winter, — reappearing as soon as the ground has become sufficiently warm to awaken them from their long slumbers. The beetles at this time may usually be seen crawling about very rapidly, looking for the first shoots of the potato as it appears above ground, which they attack as though their appetite had been sharpened by a long fast. METHOD OF DESTROYING. The first step or most practical method of making war upon this insect is the de- struction of the few or many that come out of the ground in spring, for each female killed at this time may safely be said to represent five to ten hundred in the succeeding generation, for she will, if not prevented, lay about that number of eggs. Some persons, however, claim that it is much the best way to allow the beetles to take their own course, and then destroy the larvae a few days later, when they have fairly commenced feeding upon the leaves, by applying some one or more of the vari- ous poisons recommended for this purpose. That either the beetles or the grubs must be destroyed in order to save the crop, is now generally admitted, and the only room for a difference of opinion is as to how it should be done. Scores of different sub- stances have been tried for this purpose, copperas, lime, mandrake tea, and other common insecticides, but none have proved so effectual and economical as Paris green and other arsenical compounds. That these poisons are dangerous to have about a place, is admitted, and so are sharp knives, reapers, and mowers, still it is not as easy to do without them as to be a little careful in using, and thereby avoid accidents. The Paris green is destructive to the Potato-beetle in both its perfect and larval states, and one pound of the poison, mixed with twenty of pulverized plaster, or of any common kind of flour, and dusted over the leaves while wet with dew in the morning, or after a shower, will quickly cause the death of all the grubs or perfect insects feeding thereon. A duster should be used for applying the poison, and one made of tin, with a perforated bottom, and attached to a handle four or five feet long, will be found a very convenient implement for this purpose. But the operator should be careful not to allow the compound to blow into his face, or inhale it while at work, it being only necessary for him to keep in mind that he is handling a virulent poison, and act ac- cordingly. The green may also be applied by mixing it with water, but as it will not dissolve, but is merely suspended in the I70 THE AMERICAN ENTOMOLOGIST. liquid, it is necessary to frequently agitate the mixture in order to prevent the poison settling to the bottom, as well as to insure its uniform distribution over the leaves. But water is a heavy material to handle, and unless one has the conveniences for applying it, the dusting process will be found the most economical, as requiring the least labor. The recently introduced London purple, referred to in our February number (page 41), may be applied in the same way as Paris green, and will prove equally effec- tive, besides being much cheaper. — A. S. F. THE NORTHERN ARMY WORM. There has been a very marked irruption of this insect the present season in many parts of Maryland, Delaware, and especially in New York and on Long Island, where the worms seem to be most injurious ; so much so as to cause the leading daily jour- nals of New York City to give a good deal of attention to it. As is usual in such cases a great deal of nonsense is published and all sorts of explanations offered of [Fig. 72.] ^'"'^ cause of their sud- den appearance. Since our discovery and de- scription of the eggs, and of tlie method of egg-laying as given in the 8th and 9th Reports on the Insects of Mis- souri, and in the Walker prize essay of the Bos- ton Society of Natural History for 1877, the natural history of the _ . ,,, insect may said to be Full-grown Ar.my Worm ■' ^ >^^ (after Riley). fully kuOWn. CHARACTERS. The worm when full grown is dingy black in color, striped as in our illustration (Fig. 72) with a broad dusky stripe along the back, divided along the middle by a more or less distinct and irregular pale line and bordered beneath by a narrow black line ; then a narrow white line ; then a yellowish stripe ; then a narrow, indis- tinct white line ; then another dusky stripe ; again a narrow white line ; then a yellow stripe, and, finally, again a faint white line : the underside or venter is obscure green. [Fig. 73.] The chrysalis (Fig. 73) is mahogany-brown in color. The moth (Fig. 74) is of a Chr>sau. or armv ^^wn color, with a white Worm spcck near the centre of the front wings and a dusky, oblique line running inwardly from their tips. NATURAL HISTORY. The eggs are laid in the spring of the year so far as we now know, and not in the Fall as was formerly supposed. They are thrust, by means of an ovipositor (Fig, 75, i^) admi- rably adapted for the purpose, in between the folded sides of a grass blade and glued along the grooves with a white, glistening, and adhesive fluid, which not only fastens them together but draws the two sides of the grass blade close around them so as to pretty effectually hide them. The female performs this operation at night and is ex- [Fig. 74.] Army Worm Moth :—a, male moth ; i, abdomen of fe- male— nat. size ; c, eye ; e/, base of male antenna ; e, base of female antenna — enlarged (after Riley). tremely active at the time, laying her eggs with great rapidity, so that the ovaries are soon emptied. Each individual egg (Fig. 75,^, A) is glistening white at first, but be- comes dull yellowish toward maturity. The female prefers a dry blade to a green one, and is especially prone to oviposit in places where there is a thick matting of coarse, last year's grass. The young worm hatches in about ten days, and up to the last molt has all the habits of an ordinary Cut- Worm, the colors being much paler than when full grown, and the worm hiding during the day at the base of the grasses. When not excessively THE AMERICAN ENTOMOLOGIST. n numerous they retain this their normal Cut-Worm habit, and only when they be- come excessively multiplied do they ac- quire the marching and migrating habits. REMEDIES. Experience has established the fact that burning over a meadow, or prairie, or field of stubble, either in winter or spring, usually prevents the worms from originat- ing in such meadow or field. Such burning destroys the previous year's stalks and [Fig. 7.5.] Army Worm Moth : — «, end of abdomen denuded and showing ovipositor at rest ; b^ same with ovipositor fully ex- tended ; f,y, retractile subjoints ; A, eggs — all enlarged ; ^, eggs, natural size (after Riley). blades and, as a consequence of what we have already stated, the nidi which the female moth prefers. Burning as a pre- ventive, however, loses much of its prac- tical importance unless it is pursued annu- ally, because of the irregularity in the appearance of the Worm in injurious num- bers. Judicious ditching, /. e. a ditch with the side toward the field to be protected perpendicular or sloping under, will pro- tect a field from invasion from some other infested region when the worms are march- ing. When they are collected in the ditch they may be destroyed either by covering them up with earth that is pressed upon them, by burning straw over them or by pouring a little coal oil in the ditch. A single plow furrow, six or eight inches deep and kept friable by dragging brush in it, has also been known to head them off. From experiments which we have made we are satisfied that where fence-lumber can be easily obtained it may be used to advantage as a substitute for the ditch or trench, by being secured on edge and then smeared with kerosene or coal tar, the latter being more particularly useful along the upper edge. By means of laths and a few nails the boards may be so secured that they will slightly slope away from the field to be protected. Such a barrier will prove effectual where the worms are not too persistent or numerous. Where they are excessively abundant they will need to be watched and occasionally dosed with kerosene to prevent their piling up even with the top of the board and thus bridg- ing the barrier. The lumber is not injured for other purposes subsequently. SUMMARY. We conclude with the following summary of the natural history of the Worm as given in the 9th Mo. report above referred to : " The insect is with us every year. In ordinary seasons, when it is not excessive!)^ numerous, it is seldom noticed : ist, because the moths are low, swift flyers, and nocturnal in habit ; 2nd, because the worms, when young, have protective coloring, and, when mature, hide during the day at the Ijase of grasses. In years of great abun- dance the worms are generally unnoticed during early life, and attract attention only when, from crowding too much on each other, or from having exhausted the food supply in the fields in which they hatched, they are forced, from necessity, to migrate to fresh pastures in great bodies. The earliest attain full growth and commence to travel in armies, to devastate our fields, and to attract attention, about the time that winter wheat is in the milk — this period being two months later in Maine than in Southern Missouri ; and they soon afterwards descend into the ground, and thus suddenly disappear, to issue again two or three weeks later as moths. In the latitude of St. Louis the bulk of these moths lay eggs, from which are produced a second generation of worms, which become moths again late in July or early in August. Exceptionall)' a third generation of worms may be produced from these. Further north there is but one generation annually. The moths hibernate, and oviposit soon after vegeta- tion starts in spring. The chrysalides may also hibernate, and probabl}' do so to a large extent in the more northern States. The eggs are in- serted between the sheath and stalk, or secreted in the folds of a blade ; and mature and peren- nial grasses are preferred for this purpose. The worms abound in wet springs preceded by one or more very dry years. They are preyed upon by numerous enemies, which so effectually check their increase, whenever they unusually abound, that the second brood, when it occurs, is seldom noticed ; and two great Army Worm years have never followed each other, and are not likely to 172 THE AMERICAN ENTOMOLOGIST. THE PERIODICAL CICADA. SEVENTRF.NV and THIRTEEN-VEAR liROODS. We quote the following from our First Report on the Insects of Missouri : Brood XY .—Septemdecim—1%62,, 1880. In the year 1880, and at intervals of 17 years thereafter, they will, in all probability, appear from Western Pennsylvania to Scioto River, east, and down the valley of the Ohio River, as far as Lewis County, in Virginia. This brood is recorded in Ohio as far back as the year 1812, by "A. M. B.," writing to the Chi- cago Tribune, under date of June 22, 1868. Har- ris also records its appearance in Ohio in 1S29, and they were quite numerous in Coles County, in the centre of the same State, in 1846. or during the first year of the Mexican war, while Dr. Smith records it in the eastern part of the State, extend- ing over twelve counties, west, to the Scioto River, and to Sandusky, on Lake Erie, in 1829, '46 and '63 ; and in Lewis County, Virginia, since 1795. As before stated, this brood occurred in Ohio in 1846, simultaneousl}^ with the tredecini Brood VII in South Illinois. Dr. Fitch, in his account of :w ; b, pupa shell.j c th egg-slits — nat. size The Periodical Cicada: a, pupa, side mature insect, with wings expanded ; rf, twig, e, eggs— enlarged (after Riley). his 5th brood, also records its appearance, and states that it reached to Louisiana. But just as the septcmdecim Brood VIII was confounded with the great tredecim Brood XVIII in 1855, so this septemdecim Brood XV was doubtless also con- founded with it in 1829, for they both occurred that year. Had the western country been as thickly settled in 1829 as it was in 1855, the tredecim Brood XVIII could undoubtedly have been traced in Southern Illinois and Missouri, etc., in the former as it was in the latter year. This belief is furthermore greatly strengthened from our having no other record of the appear- ance of this septemdecim brood, in Louisiana, than Prof. Potter's statement that they appeared there in 1829, whereas they have occurred there since 1829, at intervals, not of 17, but of 13 years, and were there the present year, 1868, as will be seen on referring to Brood XVIII. The dividing line of these two broods (XV and XVIII) is probably the same as with broods VIII and XVIII. The papers have generally noticed the appearance of these insects in the parts of Ohio indicated, and also in Western Penn- sylvania. Among the different items that have come to our notice, we quote the two following as samples : Among the other events that thickly crowd this eventful summer is the advent of the seven- teen-year locust. It reappears in the southern counties of Ohio, and in consideration of the locality its coming must have some political sig- nificance. In 1812 the great W on its wings stood for "war," and in 1863 it stood for "war" again. What it signified in the intervening )'ears when there was no war cloud on the horizon, I do not know. With a judicious variation of this initial letter the locust might, especially on Presidential )rears, become a new force in politics. But it is again the same great W. — Washington (D. C.) Republic. The seventeen-3'ear locust is filling the hills and rich bottom-lands of Western Pennsylvania and Virginia with its dron- ing thunder, which is almost deafening at noon on a sunnj- da}'. The farmers have plenty of reasonable theories to account for its mysterious appearance and long ab- sence. It has, they say, to make a jour- ney to China and back, which takes eight years each way ; or, it is a part of the Egyptian host, lost in the Red Sea, which still live in some nether world but are al- lowed every seventeen years to revisit these glimpses of the moon, and cry on Phar-a- oh ! Pharaoh ! to arouse the remorse of their buried leader ; or, it comes to fore- tell war, as may be seen by the most in- jy credulous in the W on its wing. But ^/ the sole outcome of all these impending disasters will be a downfall of dead limbs in August. This locust eats neither fruit nor vegetable, so far as can be discovered ; it simpl}' riddles the green new wood of the tapering limbs of trees to deposit its eggs. If these branches are burned and the ground plowed up, our visitor will be longer in making his journey from China or the Red Sea.— N. Y. Weekly Tribinie, June 7, 1880. Mr. William H. Edwards, of Coalburgh, writes that it has appeared in his section of West Virginia. We will not now recapitu- late the many interesting facts connected with this insect which have been recorded by ourselves and others, but we ask our readers to help us to perfect our knowledge of the extent and geographical range of this brood, by sending us any facts that have come to their knowledge as to the particular locations in which it has this year appeared. THE AMERICAN ENTOMOLOGIST. 173 We further quote from our chronology of this insect as follows : Brood XVI.— 7Vffl^,f ). Rocky Mountains, under stick?, stones, and va- rious plants. It often does consideniblc injury to fruit trees, and even to gooseberry bii.'-hes, by gnawing the trees and fruit, and in some years it is to be found on all sorts of plants. In 1873 it was quite injurious to ccin, but we have not be- fore heard of its injuriUj^ cabbages. The little green beetle so injurious to Fuchsias at Norfolk, Va., is, as you suppose, a ChrysoinclU, suh-{a.m\\y //a//H-u/u-, ox Flea-lccti:s, and is known as Graptodcra carina ta Germ. It is a very com- mon species, feeding upon a great variety of plants, and we found it very injurious to Fuch- sias in 1S74, at St. Louis, especiallj' on the grounds of Mr. J. M. Jordan. It also attacks many other greenhouse plants. The beetles fly in summer, and first appear during the month of June. The eggs, which are 0.7™'"- long, about one- third as wide, orange, opaque, not shining, are laid flat on the side, in irregular masses of 5 to 10, on the underside of the leaf. Generallj^ a lit- tle streak of excrement is found along the top of the mass. The larvae have very much the same appearance as those of the Grapevine Flea-beetle illustrated in this number. We have noticed that when they affect Fuchsias they first prefer small-loliaged or narrow-leaved varieties, like " Elm City." The same species often swarms on Fire-weed {Ercchthites hicraci folia). In our experience we found that the use of Paris green did but little good, but Pyrethrum not only numbed them, but kept them oflf" the plants until it was necessary to water them again. We have reared it from larvse found feeding on the common Evening Primrose {Oenothera bien- nis). Its natural history is the same as that of the Grapevine Flea-beetle. Spider and Nest. — Mrs. J. B. Harrison. — The spider you send is Acrosoma {Epeira) stcUata Hentz. ,a species not uncommonly occurring in the United States, east of the Rocky Mountains, and easil}' recognizable by its abdomen being armed at the sides and behind with a number of pointed tubercles. The cocoon is in reality the egg sac, a delicate web for the protection of the numerous eggs within. THE AMERICAN ENTOMOLOGIST. Damage to Wheat : Worm boring in the Stalk. — Inclosed I send 3011 a maggot or worm new to me, and which I found in m)' wheat, and still it ma}' be an old enemy. You will find in the inclosed vial samples of the stallc or joint where the maggot was laid or the mature worm has entered. It is the first joint below the head. One of the worms is out in the vial, another is tied in the stalk. I send also samples of the shrunken berry or blaster. The head turns yel- low, as if ripe. I have noticed in a number of fields a great many such heads within a day or two. A ver}' serious damage is being done to wheat, especially the later varieties, and where the winter injured it so as to make it ripen late. I think the Hessian fly is also working in some places badly. I have not discovered much dam- age in my Fultz wheat, which will be a few days earlier than the Clawson, the inclosed being of this variety. — A. R.Frost, Millport, ChemungCo.,N.Y. The worm so injurious to your wheat by boring in the stalks, is what is popularly known as the Stalk-borer, the larva of a night-flying moth {Gor- tyna nitcla Guen., Fig. 107). It bores in the stems [Fig. lor.] GoRTVNA NiTEi.A : 1, moth ; 2, larva (after Riley). of potato vines and a number of other plants, sometimes doing considerable damage, and is also known to infest in the same way corn, pie- plants, several garden flowers, and other plants. It has for some time been known to injure wheat, and an excellent account of it was published by Miss Emil}^ A. Smith, in the 7th Illinois Entomo- logical Report by Prof. Cyrus Thomas, p. 112. Larvae from Stomach of Blue Bird. — S. A. F., N'ormal, III. — The Coleopterous larva you send from the stomach of a Blue Bird is that of Meracantha contracta (Beauv). We first raised it in Ma)', 1866. The larva, which is not uncom- mon in rotten logs in the western States, is easily distinguished from other Tenebrionid larva: with which we are familiar, by its deep brown color, but particularly b}- the enlarged anal end ob- liquely truncate above and deeply excavated. The Lepidopterous larva, marked «, and taken in July, is a Calliniorpha, and ver)' probably the common form lecontei. You will find some ac- count oi C.fulvicostaC\ein. in our 3d Mo. Report, p. T32. That marked b, and found in February, is evidently of the same genus, but lacking the median dorsal pale line. These larvae vary considerably, and are much blacker before the last molt than subsequentl}^ They hibernate in different stages of growth, frequently under the bark of trees. Butterfly Larva Injurious to Cotton Squares. — I send you to-day a specimen of Boll-worm, a perfect stranger in these parts. I have detected some three or four at work this spring on my cotton. The)' penetrate the square exactly like the common Boll-worm ; but, as you will see, it is entirely different in appearance. If conve- nient, let me hear from you in regard to the worm. — B. F. Cooke, Marion, Ala. The slug-like larva which you observed pene- trating the squares of cotton plants is that of a small butterfly belonging to the genus Tliccla. The butterflies of this genus are ver)' handsome, often marked with blue on the upper side of the grayish-black wings, and having a slender, thread-like appendage on the hind wings. The specimen is too much disfigured to warrant specific determination, as the larvae of seveial are very much alike. The species is probabl}' Thecla poeas Hiibn. It is not uncommonly met with in cotton fields, and the larva is known to feed on cotton leaves ; but the fact you commu- nicate, that it also attacks the squares, is quite new to us. This species is, however, not com- mon enough to do any serious damage. The specimen you send proved to be infested with small ichneumon-flies, belonging to the genus ]\Iicrogaster. We should be very much obliged to you for any information regarding insects in- juriously affecting the cotton plant, and for an)' facts you may communicate regarding the de- struction of the Cotton Worm. Cut-worms from stomach of Robin. — S. A. F., Normal, III. — The two vials marked J and / have come to hand. The larva in the former, taken from the stomach of a Robin at Galena, 111., March 31, 1880, and that in the latter, also from the stomach of a Robin at Normal, 111., Feb. 27, 1880, are not Army Worms, though having a very close resemblance thereto. The former belongs to some Agrotis, and probably the same as the latter, which is the fourth larval stage of an Agrotis and apparently Agrotis niessoria Harr. There are quite a number of our ordinary Cut-worms that have a general resemblance to the Army Worm, even to the general markings of the head, and it is this part that has to be more parti- cularly studied in determining them. It is by a critical study of the heads of these specimens that we are able to say positively that they are not Leiicania. Agrotis cochrani Riley is synonymous with A. tnessoria Harr., and an account of its habits was published in our ist Missouri Report, under the name of the Dark-sided Cut-worm. Large Phosphorescent Larva. — A gentleman showed me to-day a beetle larva which had been found by a friend in the mountains of Maryland. It is three inches long, dark cream color, and the head retractile into first segment. It is bril- liantly phosphorescent between the segments on the dorsal side, a bright row of spots on each side corresponding with the stigmata, and on the THE AMERICAN ENTOMOLOGIST. ventral surface are constantly four pairs of bright dots, and others are occasionally flashing. The owner was so cautious of it that I could not get any structural points. — Saml. F.Clarke, Ph. D., Baltimore, Md., June 22, 1S80. We have on several occasions found this lumi- nous larva in Missouri, usually in cellars, and have in vain endeavored to rear it to the perfect state. The accompanying figure, made some years ago for an article on luminous larvae, not 3'et published, will serve to indicate its charac- ter, and the beautiful appearance it presents in the dark. We think Baron Osten Sacken right in conjecturing this larva to be that of Mclaiiactes ; yet, when Packard, in his "Guide," speaks of his figure 426 as that of Melanactes without qual- [Fig. 108.] Luminous elaterid lar\a a A dark, c, probable parent — nat size, , do. above ; c, perfect gall, beneath ; y an outer layer of tin. This plate is secured in place b}' means of a screw soldered beneath the nozzles, running through a tube connected with and rendered firm by a bow (c) soldered at each end to the outer layer of the plate. The screw issuing from this tube receives a nut ; while still greater se- curity is given to the plate by a projection, f;, beneath, which fits into a tube (//) attached to the nozzle-piece. The liquid, therefore, strikes the plate at an obtuse angle, but instead of one jet of li(iuid, as in the Binkley sprinkler, Mr. Schier brings three to bear on the same plate, the orifice of each nozzle being as large as the head of an ordinary pin. This sprinkler can be operated either as shown in Fig. 112 or fastened to a frame on a cart. When the distributor is held down the spray is directed upward, and it can there- fore be used for spraying the under side of the leaves. " The peculiarity of this machine consists in the fact that with an exceedingly small and light instrument an efficient spray can be produced that reaches over five rows of cot- ton, the strength of the distributing apparatus being such as to warant great concentration of pressure. The con- trivance may be considerably simplified, and Mr. Schier, who calls his atomizer the " Diana Cotton Sprinkler," is now perfecting a machine that will supply three of these atomizers and cover sixteen rows of cotton at once, so that in one day from 150 to 200 acres maybe poisoned. "Ruiimann's Improved Atomizer. — For his improved sprinkler, a patent of which has been * Mr. Schier writes that in his sprinkler, as it is patented, there is an arUlitional arrangement for conducting b.ack the hquid that drips from the plate. applied for, Mr. Ruhmann uses the same pump and tripartite discharge-pipe already described and figured (Figs. 96 and ii5«), and the improve- ment consists in an entirely new arrangement for producing the spray. In Fig. 115, which shows the im- proved sprinkler in operation, the letter rt represents the dis- charge-pipe, b b b three rutiber tubes (each about one foot in length, with the intermediate somewhat shorter) that connect the three arms of the discharge- ])ipe with the nozzles or sprink- lers proper, (r